On biking and sketching

It was a gentle ride yesterday. I went by myself. That made all the difference. No feeling of holding someone else back… time to stop and look. Again I was awe struck by the beauty of the unfolding summer. Honing in on the roadside flora, the shapes of leaves which curl around flower buds were enchanting. I have forgotten more names of plants than I remember… perhaps a good thing… without a name the shapes stand out in all of their twists and angles and interplay. Emerging flowers in mauve pink, white, yellow, deep red draw my eye. I make the commitment to return with sketch book and pen today… but of course the weather has changed and the rain puts a damper on drawing… what matter, there are day lilies exploding by my kitchen window.

Last week I started a drawing class… figure drawing. The idea was simple. While on our trip across the country I would want to capture what I saw with pen and ink. Improving my skill in drawing would help. Little did I know how hard it would be. Of course I should have taken Drawing I before starting into figure drawing but I went for that which was available for the summer… If learning is supposed to challenge the person - mind, body, and soul - I have to be learning an enormous amount. New materials, new ways of looking at the visual world, shapes, proportion, angles, bones, ribcages (what manner of animal is captured in that cage?), joints… the human body is one amazing machine… I didn’t know it would be so hard to do it justice… and to convey a sense of form and beauty at the same time. With luck, practice, and confidence (which I am lacking now in this endeavor) by the end of class I will be able to succeed to some extent.

The class assignment for the month is to draw, draw, draw… make at least 25 sketches of the human head… all angles, all shapes, all postures. Daryle is kind enough to be my model to start out. I was feeling very intimidated by the whole effort until I started yesterday. He worked at his desk while I tried to balance large sketch pad, graphite stick, tippy easel, and hesitant soul (that was the hard part) to draw a reasonable likeness of him. Made two sketches. The good part is that one can tell it is a human head! One needs to look hard to see it is Daryle… we’ll see what happens 25 to 50 sketches from now!

So for relief and confidence building I turn back to the dance of the flora outside my window… No shape is more elegant than the unassuming simplicity and economy of one flower, one leaf, a bud or two, and the play between them… and yes, I can’t help but share the graphic I did for my dear Women With Wings after a celebration last week. Love and simplicity make so many things clear.

Sunday's ride

The Sunday adventure-ride really started on Friday. I was in Orono in the morning and figured that one more good training ride would help me on Sunday so I took my bike and planned to do a loop from the University, up Rt. 2 to Old Town, over Stillwater Ave to the Black Bear Inn, thru the industrial park to Bennoch Rd and then to down-town Orono and back to the University. Note to self: don’t try to ride thru the business area on Stillwater Ave again… not worth the traffic aggravation. I had heard tales from Aaron in the past about biking in Colorado and Oregon, seeing others on bike rides and just joining up. I figured that was part of his biking culture… when people ride, others just join up. Soooo, as I biked on the Bennoch Road and saw two people from my generation loading their bikes onto a car I figured the right thing to do was to stop and chat… and besides I needed to catch my breath from the hill I had been climbing. Glad I stopped. Learned about places to bike near Old Town as well as the Downeast Sunrise trail and biking in Washington State. Also found some people who enjoy getting out and riding during the day. I guess there is a universal biking culture!

Sunday’s ride was good. (You didn’t really expect me to say it was horrible, did you!?) An all woman ride organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, one had to choose 5, 15, 25, or 50 mile trips. I chose 25, Freeport to Brunswick and back again. At the start I was confident I could do the full trip. I had called the Coalition Office the week before and been told that the ride followed rural roads with gentle rolling hills… It was only 25 miles. I should have skyped the Coalition and been able to see the person I was talking to. Her definition of gentle rolling hills and mine differ by about 45 degrees (and perhaps 25 years!). Oh well, it was just an opportunity to prove to myself I could do more than I thought I could. Somewhere between the first “What were you thinking when you signed up for this” and the realization that I was over halfway through the ride, the rhythm of my ride kicked in. I found a mental space where I was totally present in the movement of my legs, up and down, rolling, seeing the fields and woods, and feeling the wind thru my helmet. It was an interesting juxtaposition of a solo ride happening in community, pleasant to share the struggle on steep hills with others, huffing and puffing along, pleasant also to set my own pace. Coming down out of the Brunswick High School rest stop to ride along the water’s edge was a real treat. It is interesting that the trip odometer on my bike lost its importance around mile 5 and then didn’t seem relevant again until mile 22. At that point someone put big bumps in the road and my legs didn’t really want to work quite so hard. The countdown of the miles from there to 25 seemed forever… Well as a matter of fact it was. The 25 mile ride turned out to be 27 miles. Somewhere in the last couple of miles my friend, Phyllis Havens (from Women With Wings) and I caught up together and powered the last few miles with a song from our group, adapted to the occasion… ‘The Goddess is in me, I did not falter in my journey….’ And so on.

We finished the ride in 2 ½ hours, punctuated the end with shouts and joy, and added one more check mark to the bucket list of life!

The Ride

I didn’t mean to keep riding. I just got on my bike for a quick training trip around the Patterson Road loop…. The weather was wonderful, the wind cooling, my legs just kept going. Wildflowers by the road seduced my ride. Who would believe that a clump of blue flag in a drainage ditch would explode with such energy? Did I know that the deep purple lupine on the green hillside could send power to the core of my being, or that fields of yellow buttercups bounded by dark blue green ragged spruce trees would entice me onwards? Never. Do you know how many greens intertwine in the early summer mosaic of the fields? Have you seen the sweet lavender clover hidden among the grasses, the wispy heads of grasses, the blue-green wheat blossoms left behind in old fields? Ferns are full now, having stretched out of their fiddlehead stage. They still play in the brilliant green of earlier spring, however. Dark green sword-leaves of cat-n-nine tales stretch above other residents of wet areas, punctuated by their fern neighbors. On quiet roads, birdsongs resonate. So the trip just kept growing: Kennebec Road to Meadow Road to Rt. 69, back in Kennebec Rd, to Back Winterport Rd, to Baker Rd to Rt. 1A, to the four mile square – 23.3 miles. I was seduced and loved it!


When I biked on Acadia last week with my friend John, I would look ahead and moan about a hill we were about to climb… He admonished me to be in the present. What a great mantra… to be where I am, to see with open eyes, to trust the day, to relish the offerings. I lived that mantra in the ride yesterday and found an internal power to keep going. I have made peace with the gear shifts on my bike. They actually help me. So, the goal I set for myself some weeks ago: to be able to participate in, complete, and enjoy the 25 mile woman’s bike ride in Freeport this weekend seems to be within sight. Only Sunday will tell what really happens… but for now, the physical and mental training, the pure joy that I have found on the road, and the lush early summer fields have all been unexpected gifts which will power my ride. WAAHOOO!

WonderfulWooly

6/8/2010
To: Nathan Tryon
From: Grammy Kay
Re: The memo you missed about sleep

I understand that you missed the memo which you were supposed to receive last week about sleeping at night - A pity that you missed it. It was full of helpful hints for the care and nurturing of your mom and dad. This is a special edition of the memo, written especially for you, to bring you up to speed on the job of an infant, with special attention to this matter of sleep.

First, you do need to sleep. Did you know that it is ever so much better to sleep when it is dark outside than when the sun shines. You don’t miss anything. Only owl and cat are out playing at night.

Second, when you sleep at night, WondefulWooly, the Dream Catcher, makes Dream Dust and spreads it about. He lives by your bed at night, catching gentle breezes, fragrant flowers, and rolling waves and mixing them together to sprinkle on your toes. When you wake in the morning and play with your toes, they are full of all manner of interesting things to explore. It is said that WonderfulWooly’s Dream Dust tastes like star sprinkles; it fills you with giggles, and makes your breakfast with mommy full of warm snuggles. WonderfulWooly has a lot of work to do as you sleep. He needs you to help him by staying in dozy land as long as possible.

And did you know that WonderfulWooly goes to sleep when the sun is out. That gives him energy to build his supply of Dream Dust for you. Sometime, if you look behind the box in the cat’s closet, you might see Wooly’s tail twitching as he sleeps… (But don’t pull it, he can be grouchy if he wakes during the daylight hours and doesn’t get enough sleep).

Third, and this is a very little known fact, WonderfulWooly shares Dream Dust with mommies and daddies, but only when they are sleeping too. That’s where you come in. WonderfulWooly moved into your house when you were born. You needed his love and help as you began to grow into your new world. Mommy and Daddy needed his help too. The dreams which swell from his Dream Dust help Mommy and Daddy know all about you. Dream dust helps them know when you have a giggle just waiting to explode across your face; they know when your toes are so wiggly they jump with happiness; they know when your tummy is saying its hungry; and they know, when the sad bears surround you and hold you in tears, just how to lift you up and shake those silly bears off. Mommy and Daddy’s Dream Dust comes, just like yours, when they sleep at night.

So dear Nathan, now you have the memo you missed. WonderfulWooly helps you with your job of giggling, growing, changing, and loving. He helps Mommy and Daddy understand you better. Help him by sleeping long hours at night. Tuck the dreams under your chin and go where they lead. Love is guiding you.

Wondering about the plan

Thinking about driving across the country this summer/fall and wondering at the audacity of the plan. There is a war on; a recession is impacting hundreds of thousands of people around the world; people struggle to survive and we are planning to take three months (more or less) to see the country. I could say, “well we’ve saved for it…”, “it’s the only time we have done this..”, “We deserve it after years of work…”, and on and on. All blather. In reality, it is just an opportunity that opens itself to us and we are going to take it. Where it leads to we don’t know, either during the trip or when we get home. We are collecting all manner of material about the states we will travel through… and not making any plans about when we will be in any particular spot or what we will do. That in itself is unlike us. Giving ourselves the opportunity to wake up each morning and 1) figure out where we are in space, 2) figure if we want to move or stay still, and 3) decide what the next minute will look like. We’ll have toys to play with… drawing and painting supplies, cameras, computers, reading, etc. and time to indulge. I’ve been reading web sites about the ‘frugal RVer’. Sounds like there are a lot of options for very low cost camping and living if we get busy and find them along the way. This is not a Conestoga wagon trip however. We will be fully outfitted with computers for music, communication, blogging, etc. There is internal plumbing – shower and toilet – cooking and sleeping place. So creature comforts will be handled. Our bikes will be somewhere in or on the RV. So on to my hopes and dreams for the trip…
• That we get a sense of this vast country of ours;
• That we meet people along the way who love the land in which they live and point us to places and communities which open us to new thinking and understanding;
• That we are able to listen to the places we visit and learn and grow in ways we can’t now imagine;
• That we eat food which is simple and tied to the places we pass through;
• That we hear the howls in the Badlands at night, are overwhelmed by the beauty of the prairie lands; are humbled by the size and scope of the mountains; and that we are changed/deepened as people passing through.
• That the scope and breadth of our nation, its history, its people, and its soul is a little more clear to us.
It is a privilege to be able to take this time to travel. It may be the only time we can do it slowly and with intentionality. Being present where we are, seeing, listening, learning, rejoicing in the time and opportunity. That is the direction and the hope, and of course, having fun as we go!
I’m getting eager to begin. August 12 seems so far away but also so close in time. Daryle retires at the end of this week, we have lots to do around the house to get it ready for a house sitter and our absence, and of course, I am looking forward to a couple of drawing classes this summer, to biking with my sister after she comes to Maine, and to a canoe trip in early August. Life is truly full of opportunity for joy!
On another note, last night we went to see a film about the life of Howard Zinn, the historian and activist. The movie, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train” was beautifully done, documenting one of the outstanding thinkers in our times. One lasting impression from the film was his joy and optimism in life, his courage to speak, and his deep sense of caring. This while he was so involved in raising the hard questions of his times. Courage was big in his life… just one example: after not being tenured at Spellman College because of his activism, he went on to teach at BU. On the day when the Trustees of BU were set to vote on his tenure there, he was asked by the students to be the only speaker at a rally, outside the Trustees Meeting, to challenge the status quo of the University… and he said ‘yes’. He thrived on teaching, on leading, on inspiring, and on sharing. One book which we will take on our journey will be his book, A People’s History of the United States.

A step into a new world

I sat in the bathtub last Sunday, nursing sour legs and savoring the feeling of the day. Daryle and I had gone to Washington County to ride bikes on the new rails-to-trails multi use trail that goes from Calais to Ellsworth. Glorious day... sun but not too warm, trail perfect for riding, beautiful path along Machias Bay and up a river toward East Machias. I covered 27 miles on that ride! A first for me. As I recovered in the warm water of the bath, Daryle turned up the radio in the next room. WBOC was playing Appalachian Spring - Amazing. That was the music we played before our wedding 38 years ago. It held all of the hope and promise which we saw in starting our life together. It has been good. We settled in Maine, raised two wonderful children, worked in jobs which were worth doing and which challenged us, and learned to love the offerings of the State of Maine. We truly grew as "individuals and a family together". In a weeks time Daryle will retire from full time work. I retired almost 2 years ago. Our journey continues with new opportunities and new challenges. The hope in the music of Appalachian Spring resonates today as much as it did 38 years ago. It has deepened, as have we. The chords are more resonant; the melody moves more lightly; simplicity is the gift. It is good to hear the music with different ears.

Our Journey will focus this summer on a drive from Oregon to Maine in a small RV which we will buy from Aaron. The impetus for this blog spot was a request from Heather to start a blog to chronicle our trip across the country. The idea of putting the trip on a public blog spot is a bit weird. Who but a small circle of friends and family would be interested? Why take up cyberspace? We'll figure it out!

The journey is also a start of a new life pattern for Daryle and me. A chance to focus our time and life energy in new ways, to establish a rythem of living which challenges us, which brings joy, and which allows us to share with each other and with our communities in new ways. Appalachian Spring set the tone that got us this far. It will still resonate in our song.

Enough of this - On to planning for a wonderful fall trip across the country.

O