Bike-schooling . . .

[mzteris]

Stole this from GD - thanks Babylonsister! - sounds fantastic!!


http://www.salon.com/life/family/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/07/04/biking_across_the_americas

Our bike trip: 3 years, 2 continents, 1 family
Some say I'm exploiting my sons as we ride from Alaska to Argentina. I say it's the adventure of a lifetime
By Nancy Sathre-Vogel


It was a beautiful spring day in 2006 when my husband slumped into his favorite chair after a particularly rough day in the classroom. His eyes glazed over as he stared out the window, but I knew he wasn't looking at the lawn that needed mowing or the barn that needed fixing.

"I can't do this," he said. "I need to get away."

What he described wasn't a vacation so much as a wild adventure: He wanted to buy a triple bicycle -- a three-seater that would hold our two young boys, then only 8 -- and explore the world. "We'll be the Three Musketeers," he said. "We'll be Mr. Incredible and his children saving the world from destruction and injustice! We'll be Superman and Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk rolled into one!" He stopped his reverie for a moment to be practical. "Oh, you can come along, too."

I had only one response. "Are you crazy?"

At the time, we were living something close to the American dream: two middle-aged parents in Boise, Idaho, with two young boys comfortably nestled in a large suburban home with a couple of cars in the driveway. My husband and I got up early and headed off to work, dropping the kids at daycare on the way. We worked all day as educators, and collapsed into bed, utterly exhausted. Our life was exactly how I always thought it should be. But after that spring day, another question nagged me: Was it really the way I wanted it to be?

Two months later we hit the road -- John and the boys on a bicycle built for three and me on a single bike. Everything we needed -- tent, sleeping bags, stove and cooking pot, clothes and home-schooling supplies -- were lashed, strapped or buckled to the bikes. We spent the next 12 months cycling around the USA and Mexico, 12 months of pure magic. We didn't realize it at the time, but it was only the first leg in our odyssey. By the time we got home, we had pedaled 9,300 miles, and we all agreed on one thing: We wanted more.

snip//

I am convinced my sons are the luckiest boys on earth. They are learning about their world in a way few children ever have the opportunity to do. They live with Mother Nature each and every day and have seen, firsthand, the tremendous power she exerts over us. My boys have learned languages, cultures, currencies and history. No matter what happens in the next year, I can say with confidence this is not my husband's dream, it is not my dream -- it is our family's. And we are living it.

Nancy Sathre-Vogel writes about her family's adventure at Familyonbikes.com.

The family's blog is here:

http://www.familyonbikes.org/about_us.htm

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. Wow!

Thanks for posting this! :hi: