Bike, Teach, Learn: My Cross Country Adventure

The Spa...

Lulling, gentle music, 70 degrees and fluffy bath robes are not my element I have decided. My loving mother has generously treated me to a spa day before I head off on my biking adventure, but as I sit in this luxurious room, I smile to myself, because I know that next week I'll be lying on the cold ground in a campsite on the California coast, shivering in my sleeping bag and trying to ignore my sore legs. That is the life I live for, adventure, fresh air, exercise, love, and challenges.

Vermont Sunset

Perhaps you haven't heard the plan yet. In less than 48 hours, I will be on my way (by plane unfortunately) to Oakland, California. My bike is already on the road and I can't wait to catch up with it! Upon our reunion, we will begin a long journey together starting at UC Berkeley and ending, if all goes well, back here in Vermont. I am meeting Quinn, from the Kroka semester, in San Francisco and he will bike to San Diego with me. After San Diego, I will be on my own until El Paso where my dad will join me for two weeks or so. Then I will be on my own again, biking through the rest of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont. So, it's a long trip, but I have until June 10th (I want to go to my high school graduation) and I'm not going to force myself to keep biking if I get completely worn out.


Where are you sleeping? How far are you biking? What are you eating? Are you crazy? You're thinking, and the answer is, well, yes. However, I am taking plenty of precautions and there are a great deal of resources at my fingertips. Warm Showers, a free hosting organization for bikers, is one of these resources, and I am hoping to find places to stay/camp through this organization throughout my trip. My daily budget comes out to $19.03 per day for food and lodging, so Warm Showers will be extremely helpful. Otherwise, I will be staying at campgrounds and eating cheaply.

Gear, gear and more gear. 

But why? you ask, should I put myself through all this pain, danger and discomfort? Firstly, for the adventure. Kroka has fully awakened my insatiable sense of adventure, and I intend to keep that sense of adventure for the rest of my life. Secondly, I applied to a lot of colleges all around the country, and I want to visit as many of them as I can without burning anything other than calories. I first thought about this trip on my two day solo during Kroka Expeditions' Ecuador Semester this fall. I sat by myself in nature for two days straight with nothing but a bottle of water and clothes. The solitude gave me space to contemplate my life after Kroka, and before I could stop it, the seed was planted.

Molly's sign!

Kroka Expeditions has been an important aspect of my life for the last few months, and the growth I have seen in myself and my classmates has inspired me to dedicate this trip towards raising money for Kroka's scholarship fund so that more young people can have the opportunity to learn outside of the traditional classroom, travel, live simply, and be a part of a community. Despite its challenges, or rather, because of its challenges, Kroka Expeditions' semester program is an invaluable experience and I hope to help this program continue to offer financial assistance to families in need. To the right is a sign my friend Molly designed which I will have on the back of my bike. Follow the link to check out the website and contribute www,kroka.org!

Love, Peace, and Bicycles,
Sonya