The Finish Line

What will it take to connect a critical mass of people to natural systems? How do we inspire ourselves and others to embrace a sustainable lifestyle? What is quality of life and how can we best achieve it for ourselves and our communities? The answers to these questions come in many different shapes and colors, but year after year, one answer is the bike tour. 14 volunteer cyclist-educators, 700 miles, 23 days, 17 schools, 12 gardens, 15 flat tires, 3 brand new compost systems, and thousands of students. As educators, paid or volunteer, experience has shown us, it isn’t enough to teach with words. We have to live our lesson plan. It isn’t enough to ask students to make environmental pledges without building them the resources to follow through. It isn’t enough to teach the students that pay us. We have to BRING IT, outside of Catalina island, outside of the box, outside of the classroom, and outside of an abstract separation between work and life. And we have to have an amazing time while doing it! Thank you to the countless individuals that made it all possible. Thank you to the friends, families, schools, and churches that put us up for the night. Thank you to the farms and natural food stores that fed us. Thank you to the teachers and administrators that worked extra hours to fit us into their schedule and purchased resources to make their schools a model of an ecologically sound future.