So much chaos! So much fun!

"It takes a village to ride a bike"

When everyone arrived, we had our orientation at the faux-op, a big red house we have come to know well in all of these months of organizing. Daisy chain flowers adorned the hair of happy villagers as we parked our bikes out front next to the gardens. The village was gathering, assembling and buzzing like a hive of bees. We quickly set up camp in the living room and discussed our points of agreement and the "adventure extravaganza" before us.

Spirits have been high and low and everything in between so far. Yesterday was rough on many levels and the dark side seeped into my peripheral vision as we rode on. Still we ride and rise like a phoenix from the ashes of western civilization, patriarchy, racism and oppressive dynamics. We are coming together intentionally, creating bonds of friendship and solidarity that we know will stand the test of time. Members of the village of 2008 are with us and our collective creation moves forward, onward to Detroit.

Kelty's Mom made a sign that says: Two tired? (picture of a bicycle)
Yup. To Detroit and the social 4m or bust!

This year we have families with small children with us! The youngest member of our village is 18 months and the oldest is 71. This age diversity has taken the grassroutes caravan to a new level of mutual aid, cooperation and enjoyment of all phases of the life cycle. My Dad quickly shoved his bike under the road block with everyone else when it came up unexpectedly on our urban path. It was true anarchy at its finest! We are looking out for each other, challenging old patterns of behavior, thinking on our feet and pushing the normal boundaries of perception. A lot happened on the trail yesterday and over the course of the day that was not anticipated and not in the ride guide. It is a reminder that chaos is all around and can be challenging, but also provide us with great opportunities for leaps in the evolution of culture.

Delyla, Megan, Stan and Lorca of the permibus are ready at all moments, anticipating our health, safety and nutritional needs. At our first stop yesterday, when morale was at a low point, knowing we still had to go another 33 miles and the first 33.3 had been exhausting and hot, Delyla came off the bus with a water sprayer and cooled down our flushed faces. They understand the physical nature of what we are doing and the challenge of doing that as a village with families.

Hard points of yesterday's 66.6 mile day to Milwaukee from our camp site in Lake Mills:

* Members of our village got lost due to construction.

* The head-wind.

* Being at mile 30, arriving late to our lunch spot, hot, tired, sweaty and in need of shade, food and water, and then realizing that the last two miles I had just biked, overshot our destination. I was demoralized and in tears by the time I made it to the park where the permibus was parked and the village was gathering to share food and foot rubs. Mark and I backtracked those two miles, our bikes loaded, my trailer feeling heavy and my body aching and hot.

Highlights of our 66.6 mile trek:

* Spotting two skinny dipping village-mates in the stream as three of us passed over them on the bridged bike path above.

* Coming to a screeching halt and joining the dipsters in the cool waters below the bridge.

* Going around in circles near the Brewers stadium, fire works going off for home runs and then randomly meeting up with a bunch of Milwaukee locals on their bikes with a keg of beer in a bike trailer who invited us to share it with them. It was a magical, unplanned welcoming committee that guided us through the city at night to the CCC (Cream City Collectives). They took us through a back alley-way to drop off the keg before continuing on to the CCC, which is where someone put fireworks in the middle of the alley and chaos really started ensuing. It was right around that time that SarahTops' headlamp elastic snapped and the hard plastic of the lamp hit my nose, causing it to bleed. I was borrowing it because mine was buried in my gear, having not anticipated that we would arrive so late. An audience was assembled for our GrassRoutes Caravan Variety Show, as we continued to ride to them, only seven miles away, yet so far. They stenciled the sidewalks with Power Down Milwaukee imagery and slogans while they waited for us, entertaining themselves and supporting us by staying around as we arrived three hours late for our performance. The performance ended up being postponed and we all just congratulated each other on the long journey there, marveling that we had all made it and were still alive and happy enough to join in the fun at the CCC.

Today we are at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee. The Elements Collective had a quick meeting of the minds in the ecology center's secret room upstairs in the tower before breakfast. The room is behind a wood paneled wall with no door. You just push the wall and it opens up into a carpeted area, perfect for a last-minute logistics meeting. Villagers are working in the gardens at the ecology center and at Concordia Gardens nearby with a phone call just coming in letting me know I should spread the word about a roof-top gardens tour happening later on. All is well and everyone is accounted for. Stay tuned for updates on getting up at 3:30 am tomorrow morning so we can ride with our gear and families 7 miles to the ferry dock which will get us on the boat that will take us to Michigan!

Oh! And tonight, there is a tour of Sweet Water being led by our friend James Godsil!

Mad love, admiration and props to the families with children who are in our village!