Days 4 and 5: NYC to Niagara Falls

June 27 - 28, 2014

It's hard to be in a bad mood when you're riding a bicycle on a sunny, warm day.  And you feel even better when you witness the stunning views from the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY.  Here's a pic as we made our way over and back:

We then cycled to Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's cottage that is now a national historic site situated on 180 acres of beautiful countryside ideal for hiking and cycling.  Many First Ladies are defined through their husband's work, but Eleanor Roosevelt crafted a legacy truly her own.  Married to Franklin D. Roosevelt (U.S. President from 1932 - 1945), she was the first and only First Lady to hold her own press conference.  She was the first white resident of Washington, D.C. to join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  She was appointed Chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.  She wrote books, gave many lectures and created a meaningful life that had a positive impact on countless people.  Eiko and I vowed to return to Val-Kill again, next time without kids, in order to spend more time learning about this fascinating person.

Here are two of Eleanor Roosevelt's quotes that I particularly like:

 - "The greatest thing I have learned is how good it is to come home again."

 - "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.  That's why it's called the present."

We spent the night in the Mills Norrie State Park on the banks of the Hudson River.  Here are a few pics of us setting up the tent:

And here's the view of the majestic Hudson River from our campsite.  

The temperature cooled overnight, and we snuggled inside sleeping bags in our tent.  But by the time we began riding again this morning, the day was sunny and hot.  As we cycled past one of the Hudson River's tributaries, Saya asked if she could cool off in the water.  Seven-year-olds come up with the best ideas:

We finished today's ride in the town of Hudson, New York, named after the river we've been cycling along for the past five days.  The town was founded in 1785 on land purchased from the local Native Americans over a century earlier by Dutch settlers.  Whalers from New England settled here at the time, and the town's street signs pay homage to this history by including an image of a whale.  Sho pointed out that detail, which I would have overlooked.  I love traveling with my kids.  They are living reminders to slow down and recognize the wisdom in Eleanor Roosevelt's observation that "today is a gift."

Thanks for the Support!

We wanted to say a big thank you to the people who have sponsored us so far!  If you would like to join this elite group of fabulous folks, go to http://familyadventureguy.mydagsite.com/ and pick from a variety of stunning prizes.

Big thanks to:

Jessica Daniels and Paul Blackborough
Sanjyot Dunung
Dan and Jen Faber
Carole Flodin
Jeff Hodges
John and Shirley Lachs
Henry Makansi
Susan Patnaik
Alison Qualter Berna
Gary Rancourt
Rachel Robarge
Bonnie Scott
Donna Scott
Lillian Schlein
Nancy Tuana and Charles E. Scott

Your support means a lot to us!

Day 3 - NYC to Niagara Falls

June 26, 2014

I've learned from previous cycling adventures with my kids to take it easy on Day 3.  It takes a few days to adjust to cycling many hours a day, and by the third day of a multi-week trip, it's common to have sore shoulders, a sore butt, heavy legs and general fatigue.  If you push too hard, it's easy to get an injury.  But if you are patient in the first week of riding, your body quickly adjusts to the new normal of cycling much of the day.  After a while, your muscles start to crave the movement, and you smile at how great it feels to say goodbye to sedentary living.

The World Cup match between the U.S. and Germany gave us an excellent excuse to take it easy today.  We spent the morning hanging out with Kristan Flynn and her two fun-loving kids, then we settled down to watch the soccer game in a cafe in Beacon, NY.  The U.S. lost 1 - 0 but still advanced to the next round in the tournament, so we were in high spirits as we pedaled out of town in mid-afternoon.  Along the way, we documented five animals for the roadkill project we're conducting with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, sending photos with location data embedded to Professor Fraser Shilling at the University of California Davis.

We followed the Hudson River to Poughkeepsie, where we replenished our calories in a German beer garden.  Tomorrow, we will explore the national historical sites of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, as we continue to ride north on the east side of the Hudson River.

If you'd like to donate to our ride and receive some not too shabby awards, please go to:  http://familyadventureguy.mydagsite.com/

Here are some photos:

My wife Eiko with Kristan Flynn

Kristan and I

Sofia testing out Saya's trailer cycle

Saya and Sofia's opinion of Sho: "vary anoying"

Sho, Saya and Eiko in front of the waterfall in Beacon

Sho, Saya and I

Saya looking at one of the animals we documented for the roadkill project

Day 2 - NYC to Niagara Falls

June 25, 2014

I love the challenge of cycling long distances with my family and the stimulation of exploring new places.  We've savored delicious food, marveled at amazing sights and memorable cultural experiences as we've cycled through Japan, Iceland, Europe and the U.S.  But the best part of the trips has been the excuse they provide to reconnect with old friends, and the opportunity to make new ones.  Day Two of our ride to Niagara Falls included both.  

We spent the morning with Paul and Debra Descloux, our neighbors for nearly a decade when we lived in Ossining.  Over the years, we watched their children grow up, and it felt good to spend the first night of this trip in their house, a place that feels like a second home.  Paul was a competitive cyclist in college and still rides regularly.  He hopped on his bike and guided us on back roads out of Ossining for the first hour of our ride.  Here are two videos as we got ready to leave, narrated by Paul:

And here's a video and pic from the road:

The last photo we took with Paul, before he returned home:

We cycled through Peekskill and Cold Spring, enjoying gorgeous views of the Hudson River:

We made it to Beacon, New York and were welcomed there by Kristan Flynn and Jeff Domanski, who invited us to stay in their home.  They were definitely taking a gamble, because we had never met before and were only recently introduced via e-mail by my good friend Alison Berna.  Alison went to college with Kristan and convinced her that we wouldn't trash her place.  They have two children, a 6-year-old daughter Sofia and a 2-year-old son Nathan.

Here I am with Kristan and Nathan:  

Nathan being silly:

My daughter Saya immediately hit it off with Sofia.  They sang songs from "Frozen," came up with silly games, put on an ice cream party, and refused to go to sleep at bedtime:

Sho, Eiko, Kristan and Nathan about to eat dinner:

We stayed up late talking with our new friends and felt lucky to have met such a generous and loving family.

Day 1 - NYC to Niagara Falls

June 24, 2014

My wife Eiko, 13-year-old son Sho, 7-year-old daughter Saya, and I hopped on fully loaded bicycles this morning and pedaled out of New York City on Day 1 of our NYC to Niagara Falls (round trip) family adventure.  We'll cover about 900 miles total and expect the ride to take about 5 weeks.

Here's a pic as we were about to start riding from our home on 25th Street. 

And here's a pic and video as we made our way across Manhattan.  It's quite an experience to cycle on the crowded streets in NYC, and even more intense to do with a 7-year-old on a connected trailer cycle and a bike trailer behind that.  

After crossing Manhattan, we rode north along the Hudson River, eventually passing the George Washington Bridge, visible in the background:

We navigated Van Cortlandt Park, then followed the South County Trailway up to Ossining, covering about 45 miles.  We're spending the night at the home of Paul and Debra Descloux, good friends we've known for more than a decade who greeted us with Italian food and wine.  I was grateful for their hospitality and felt lucky to have such generous and loving friends.

My legs were shot by the end of the day -- it's no small task to pull so much weight, especially up the hills around Ossining.  Eiko and the kids were tired too, of course, but didn't complain.  We'll get stronger as the ride goes on and have a lot of fun in the process.

White House Summit + NYC to Niagara Falls Ride

Happy Father's Day!  Fatherhood was top of mind this past week when I was invited to the Working Fathers Lead-up Event for the White House Summit on Working Families.  The event celebrated men who are taking an active role in raising their kids.  The highlight for me, and no doubt for many in the room, was the talk by New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, who skipped his team's season opener earlier this year to attend the birth of his son.  Talk radio hosts criticized him for missing the first two games of the season, but Murphy took the long view and said, "I'm the one who cut his umbilical cord.  And long after they tell me that I'm not good enough to play professional baseball anymore, I'll be a father."  Well done, sir.

A few days after this event, I posted a video in honor of Father's Day, in which I offered some hopes for my children that I think apply to anyone trying to create a meaningful life.  You can watch the video here.

Speaking of fatherhood, I'm about to spend some serious quality time with my two kids.  Starting next week, we will cycle about 900 miles from New York City to Niagara Falls and back.  My wife, Eiko, will join the first two weeks of the five-week ride.  We're collecting roadkill data to reduce the impact of roads on wildlife and are offering some fabulous rewards in return for donations here.

If you're interested in following our progress, I'll post updates from the ride right here on this blog.

Pics from the White House: 

Daniel Murphy, NY Mets

My buddies in the NYC Dads Group

Exuberance at the podium

Keynote to Graduating Seniors at the United Nations International School

I just returned from giving a 1-hour talk to the high school graduating class at the United Nations International School.  This is the fifth year in a row that I have delivered the keynote address during graduation week at the school, and I am always blown away by the quality of the students.  These are young people who see themselves as global citizens and take seriously the vision of making the world a better place.  Nearly every one elects to do the work to receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma, arguably the most academically rigorous high school education available.  All the students have studied at least two foreign languages, and many are fluent in multiple languages.  They have spent many hours volunteering in community service and outdoor environmental education programs.  Spending time with them was like receiving a boost of positive energy and optimism.

The title of my talk was "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?"  I examined this simple, but momentous, question, and encouraged the students to dig deeper, asking, How can you improve the world, and What is the story you want to tell with your life?  I shared lessons learned from cycling thousands of miles with my young children across Japan, Iceland, Europe and the U.S.  I described the awe and respect I have for blind athletes I've guided in marathons and Ironman triathlons -- people who have an excellent excuse not to push themselves so hard, and yet choose to do it anyway.  I challenged the students to go out into the world with this same courageous mindset.

After my talk, a number of students approached to tell me about their hopes and goals.  A recurring theme that came up was how to pay for the meaningful life you want to create.  There's no easy answer, but I know this:  Money comes and goes.  We need it to survive, but not to thrive.

Here are some pics:

The talk was held in the UNIS theater

From the crowd's point of view

Talking with students afterwards - best part of the experience

Tales from a Transatlantic Cruise

I just returned from giving a series of lectures on a Celebrity Cruise Lines transatlantic cruise.  The ship started in Miami and stopped in NYC, Halifax (Nova Scotia), Cork (Ireland) and Harwich (England).  What an interesting experience!  With a couple thousand people on board, it was like living in a small town for 13 days.  I met people from all over the world and had a series of stimulating conversations, especially after my talks, and I sold many copies of my book Rising Son: A Father and Son's Bike Adventure across Japan.  There were over 500 people in the audience for each presentation, and my talks were replayed over and over on a dedicated TV channel.  Strangers on the ship often introduced themselves and started chatting about my most recent talk.  Great way to meet people.

My first presentation was entitled, "Tales from a Family Adventurer."  One guy joked, "What is that, a bunch of pics of your kids in Disney World?"  After I gave the talk, in which I shared stories and lessons learned from cycling thousands of miles through Japan, Iceland, Europe and the U.S. with my young children, he came up to me and said, "Wow.  You blew me away."  Very cool.  

My second lecture, "Lessons from Lewis & Clark," mixed in history, science, nature and adventure.  I quizzed the audience on their knowledge of this famous early 1800's U.S. expedition, in which President Jefferson sent a group of men to find an all water route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.  The men barely survived, produced some incredible journals about the experience, and set the stage for westward expansion.  My questions included: What was the name of Sacagawea's baby? (Answer: Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, named by the French fur trapper who bought her.  Yes, bought her.  So much for women's rights.)  What were some of the animals Meriwether Lewis "discovered" (in quotes, because the Native Americans had known about these animals for thousands of years), etc.

My third talk was, "If You Have a Body, You're an Athlete," based on a quote by Bill Bowerman, the co-founder of Nike.  The Q&A after this talk was the longest and most intense of the cruise.  I offered tips for maintaining an athletic body at any age, which seemed to resonate well with the audience.

I never thought of myself as a "cruise person."  I prefer roughing it in a tent in the wilderness with my family.  But now I understand the appeal.  Life on board was very comfortable.  The sunrises and sunsets out on the open ocean were surreal.  The night sky was profoundly moving.  And the social life on board was stimulating.  Don't be surprised if you see another blog post some time soon about my next cruise! 

Here are a few pics.

Our ship, the Celebrity Infinity

Sailing away from NYC

Sunset over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Moon and sunset at sea

Selfie during one of my talks

The audience

Screen shot from the cruise TV channel

Walking around Cork, Ireland.  It felt good to walk on dry land for a bit.

Keynotes on a Celebrity Cruise Lines transatlantic cruise

I have the distinct honor of giving three lectures over the next week on a transatlantic cruise that started in Miami, Florida and will end in Harwich, England on May 12.  Life on a cruise ship is stimulating.  The sunsets and sunrises over the ocean are glorious.  Laying on a deck chair late at night watching the stars winking in the blackness is profound.  But the best part so far has been meeting a variety of people from all over the world.  One woman I met in a yoga class was in her 60's and recovering from renal cancer.  She had to take frequent breaks during the class, but she didn't give up.  After class, I told her that she was the most impressive person in the room!

Here are some pics:

Theater where I speak

Arriving in NYC

Sunset from the ship

A Young Hero's Odyssey

The cover of this month's edition of the children's magazine Spider shows a dog on a bicycle carrying a recycling bin while pedaling around the globe.

That's a reference to Earth Day on April 22 and to an article in the magazine entitled, "A Young Hero's Odyssey," written by Susan Patnaik.  The "young hero" is my son, Sho Scott, and the odyssey is our 2,500-mile bicycle trip across Japan when he was eight years old.  Sho is probably the youngest person ever to have cycled from one end of mainland Japan to the other.

The article includes a map of our route...

... and some cool photos:

 

We raised money for a global tree planting campaign, gave talks about ways to protect the environment, and used press coverage about our trip to encourage action to address climate change.  The United Nations named us "Climate Heroes" for these efforts.  You can find Sho's "Healthy Planet Tips" here.

In the first week of our 67-day ride across Japan, Sho threw several major temper tantrums.  He was having trouble adjusting to the demands of cycling many hours a day.  I felt insecure, worried that my expectations were too high, and considered giving up on the whole trip.  But then we had a conversation in which I encouraged Sho to see himself as a team member.  I explained that I couldn't cycle across Japan without him, and I promised to listen and make adjustments whenever he was having trouble.  

What happened next taught me an important parenting lesson.  Sho rose to the occasion, the temper tantrums disappeared, and for the next 60 days, he persevered though rain storms, cycled over mountain passes, slept in a tent, and pedaled through hot and humid conditions -- all with a remarkably positive attitude.  Many adults we met said that such a trip was too hard for an eight-year-old.  But Sho told them, "A kid can do a whole lot more than most adults think."  He had learned to be resilient.

Sometimes parents give in to their children too quickly, give up too readily and miss out on the chance to teach how to persevere when things get hard.  High expectations combined with love and open communication may be one of the best gifts we can give our kids.

78-year-old on a Bike

I'm in Nashville, Tennessee, about to cycle for four days on the Natchez Trace Parkway with my wife and kids.  My sister's family will join us for the first two days.  We'll carry all our food, sleep in a tent and enjoy some seriously beautiful night skies devoid of light pollution.  The parkway follows a route that was used by Native Americans (particularly the Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribes) for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.  The original paths were probably formed by bison and deer foraging through the dense forests.  The parkway stretches 444 miles between Nashville and Natchez, Mississippi, and is an ideal place to ride a bike.  For much of the route, a cyclist will see more wildlife than cars and ride through rolling green countryside that is just coming to life this time of year.

We'll make a point of paying respects at Meriwether Lewis's grave, which lies along our route.  Lewis was traveling on the Natchez Trace when he died in October 1809 near Hohenwald, Tennessee.  After cycling 1700 miles of the Lewis & Clark Trail last summer and reading his journals, my kids and I have a particular interest in and appreciation for Meriwether Lewis, especially the care he took to document the many plants and animals he encountered while traveling to the Pacific Ocean and back in the early 1800's.

My mother, who is 78 years old, wasn't comfortable joining us on this long ride, but she used our trip as an opportunity to re-discover her bicycle.  She hasn't cycled outside in 30 years, but she still has the bike I remember her riding when I was a kid in the 1970's.  A blue, steel frame Peugeot "designed for ladies" with the top tube (the bar that usually connects from the seat to the handlebars) connecting lower down (see photo below).  The idea was to make it easier to ride the bike while wearing a dress.  

One of my mom's concerns was whether she would be able to actually get onto the bike.  Could she lift her leg over the top tube and sit on the saddle without falling over?  We leaned the bike to the side, and thanks to the ladies frame design, she had no problem getting her leg over the top tube.  My mom was nervous.  Was it prudent for a 78-year-old woman to ride a bike?  What if she fell?  What if her arthritic knees buckled when she tried to dismount?  But she had confidence in herself, and before long, my mom and I were pedaling beside one another.  She had a big smile on her face and every so often whooped it up with an enthusiastic cheer.  

A rush of memories came back to me.  When I was little, she used to put me in a basket on that bike and ride me around our neighborhood, pointing out bright red Cardinals, chattering Blue Jays, flowering Dogwood trees and, with her lilting Memphis twang, telling dogs who got too aggressive, "Shoo, go away now!"  I realized that the bicycle adventures I've taken with my kids around the world all started there - in a basket on my mom's bike, laughing together and pointing out all the beautiful things we could find.  

Thanks Mom.  I'm proud of you.

Here are a few pics:

First time attempting to straddle the bike.  Notice the tube goes down at an angle, instead of straight across to the base of the seat.

You can do it...

Success!

After riding around her neighborhood

Mom with her proud son

Jeff Hodges - Hero for Autism

I love to celebrate people who combine a personal fitness challenge with a charitable cause.  My friend Jeff Hodges did this in stellar fashion, running four 1/2 marathons (13.1 miles) over four consecutive weekends while raising money for the Kelly Autism Program at Western Kentucky University.  He created a campaign called Making a Difference for Kelly Autism Program (MADKAP) in an attempt to raise awareness and funds for students in need of financial aid.  He set a goal of raising $25,000, which the university agreed to match.  The result?  He doubled his goal and, with the university match, raised over $100,000 and established a new scholarship fund.

On his blog, Jeff shared profiles of students in the Kelly Autism Program, starting with his own son, Ryan, who has Asperger Syndrome.  In a Q&A, Ryan said, "This program should be expanded into more schools because of how it helps people like me get our work done...  Graduation rates would increase if this program was in every college in America."

Jeff also recounted his race experiences.  My favorite entry was his final 1/2 marathon on trails in the Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Jeff described the race course: "Mud, rocks, puddles, downed trees, stobs (devastating when concealed by leaves), exposed roots, more rocks, moving water, thorny vines and small tree branches growing over the path, race requirement for runners to carry their own sources of hydration, even more rocks, no mile markers or clocks, no bands, no fans, no frills."

Maybe you had no frills, Jeff, but you have a lot of fans.  I'm proud of you.

Jeff Hodges during the rainy 1/2 marathon in Nashville