Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy

European Summer

This summer I decided to take a kinder more gentle civilized ride through Europe. The idea is to meet up with old friends and new, drink strong Italian coffee, devour daily scoops of gelato, enjoy chilled steins of beer, sip on Mediterranean wine, and eat copious amounts of pasta and pizza. I still plan to put on miles, climb steep mountains (think Alps), camp in unpredictable places, and get caught in darting rain and unbearable heat, but any long term suffering will be tempered with the serenity of a mountain chalet, azure waters of the Mediterranean, or the tranquil splendor of a medieval hilltop town.

I have no set plans other than flying into Stuttgart on July 1 to visit my sister and get organized, perhaps meeting up with a friend in Basal and from there getting on the Eurovelo 5 towards Milan. After this the plan gets vague. More or less, I will head towards Florence, Siena, down to the Island of Elba, then cross over the width of Italy to Assisi, the Adriatic coast, and eventually back up through the Dolomites to Munich were I fly home September 10th. As I know from every trip I’ve even been on, plans can change and they often do. Nevertheless, it feels good to start with some sort of outline of where I’m heading.

In the Works

This past school year started off with a bang. I got inspired on my bike trip last summer on the divide route (GDMBR) to start a bike program/bike culture at Renton Technical College where I have worked for many years. I talked to the administrative team and they agreed that the best place to start was with the youth re-engagement program called, Open Doors. Ali Cohen, the associate dean, eagerly jumped on board and became my ally. The program needed a health class, so I developed a quarter long online class. I’d never even created a one day online class or used an online platform with my students before COVID so this was a major growth move on my part that required many hours of reading, writing and tearing my hair out in coffee shops and at the kitchen table. The class is called, “Community Health” and explores physical, mental and environmental health at the intersection of biking.

In addition to the class, Ali and I developed a bike ride and community resource fair. We got the Chamber of Commerce, King Co. Youth Source, and the city of Renton involved. We all agreed that we want to work together to promote biking for recreation and transportation in Renton. It all went down according to plan. We learned a lot and are ready to make it great next year.

And, that’s not all, we got a grant to buy five bikes, helmets and locks to start a ride share program at RTC. This is still in the works, but we’re excited to get it going. Also, a guy in the community, Steve Beck, fixes donated bikes and gives them away. He was kind enough to donate a bike to one of my Community Health students.

Oh ya, this also happened. I received a grant to go to a bike touring leadership training in Tucson, Arizona in February hosted by Adventure Cycling Association. The idea is that I will someday lead a group of students on a bike tour. We’ll see how that all plays out.

In Other News…

As many of you might know, I have a slightly strange alternative life style. I house sit when in Seattle rather than rent. I’ve been doing this since I left my job to travel in 2007. It allows me to save money and pick up and leave to travel on extensive trips whenever I want. It just keeps working out, so I keep doing it. Often times pets are involved, but not always. Right now I am in West Seattle for two months in a huge gorgeous house taking care of a parrot. My friend Christina is also here which makes it really nice. We have both fell in love with this little green guy. I like to say that we are happily co-parroting. I will be sad to leave at the end of June. One of the hazards of my job.

On a trip, I wake up every morning asking myself what magic will come my way today? Lately, I’ve been asking myself that same question here at home. And just like that, I’m realizing that there is magic and adventure in everyday life right here, right now. You don’t have to leave your house for the impossible to happen, traveling just more readily puts you in the state of receiving it. Try that little game yourself and let me know what happens. Just being aware changes everything.

Stay tuned for an update before I leave!

Thanks for joining me on another adventure,

Denise