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Prioritize the Planet: Climate Change Cycling Tour
Chugs Through Seattle

In the 10 p.m. gloom behind me, I heard a voice. “Is this trail safe?”

Riding after dark through Myrtle Edwards Park two days before Hempfest, the answer didn’t seem very positive. But then I realized the guy asking the question must be a visitor, so I tried to answer, offering my opinion that some of our bike trails could be more 24/7 if a few lights were added.

Maybe that was the wrong suggestion. Turns out my fellow rider was David Kroodsma, in town for a couple of days to rally cyclists and other citizens to take action on climate change.

Add a few more light bulbs to the planet? Maybe not.

“The central message is, you should care about global warming, and there’s a lot of easy solutions you can do,” David told me in a conversation the next day. “The top three are, using energy more efficiently, conserving energy, and supporting renewable energies by contacting your legislature.”

These are things cyclists are good at. Twenty miles on just the 220 of a Clif Bar, what could be more efficient and renewable?

David and his riding partner Bill Bradlee (no, not that Bill Bradley) have ridden 4,000 miles so far, and right now are heading down the coast toward the Bay Area. (Ahh, the coast in August. But I digress.) The two environmental scientists started in Boston some five months ago, and will be wrapping up the journey, for now, with an organized ride into San Fran with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition on Sept. 15. They’ve pedaled a long way for climate change.

Along the way, David said he’s had some good opportunities to address a populace that’s unsure and somewhat uncaring. From Boy Scouts in Pennsylvania to ranchers in Wyoming, “everyone was friendly, but people are very confused, and have conflicting information.” They’re not antagonistic toward the topic – something David feared would happen in Red State America. Neither are they close-minded. “That’s pretty positive, because it means people will listen if we give them the right information.” Unfortunately, though, “for a lot of people, it’s just not high on their priority list.”

The ride is not about getting people to ride their bikes to combat climate change, although the cycling pair evidently believe that’s the way to go. David, in fact, previously rode from California to Argentina on another “climate journey.” However, he does believe that “there is a great potential for bike advocacy groups to take this issue up in ways they haven’t done.” Hear that CBC? BAW?

Meanwhile, the cross-country journeyman wasn’t impressed with our local facilities. “Seattle could be much more bike friendly than it is,” he said. “I’ve crossed the city a few times, and it’s scary to get from one place to another. Minneapolis, Madison, Wisconsin, Bogota, Columbia have better bike route systems.” Ouch. “People should not be satisfied with what they have here.”

Like riding in the dark, while hemp advocates are wielding tent poles to stage a festival for yet another good cause? Perhaps a little dose of light on the trail wouldn’t hurt after all. If it was energy-efficient compact fluorescent. Connected to a solar panel.

Go David. Spread the word. Just don’t talk down our trails – we’re working on that.

Read, donate, get involved: www.rideforclimate.com