Biking north

Becky here! I'm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina this morning. We rode 55 miles of rolling hills yesterday and it was beautiful. Today we're taking a day off to regroup, restock supplies, and relax a little. It's hard to believe that we started this journey in New Orleans four weeks ago and that we'll soon be in NYC celebrating our time together. At the beginning it was difficult to imagine the completion of the trip--it all seemed like a faraway dream. But day by day what we have experienced is very real, very difficult, very fun, very rewarding.

The second half of the ride has (so far) been much more relaxed in spirit than the first half. As a group we've solidified how we work together and most tasks have become simple routine. The young women with whom I travel have treated me as a peer, while still occasionally seeking my advice about bikes and life. Spending 24/7 for 4 weeks with a group creates strong bonds and I am glad to be among such strong women. They inspire me every day.

I've taken some great photos this past week, but I've had trouble getting them to send to you. Because we are on the go during the days, taking back roads, and then usually in state parks in the evenings, cell phone reception is spotty at best. But most emails get through to me on my phone anyway and it's an incredible delight to read your kind words of encouragement. I am so fortunate to have such supportive friends!

Seeing the country by bicycle is very different from seeing it by car. Slow travel allows seeing beautiful sights and talking to people. I need to go now...more later!

Upcoming Meetings

We know that a lot of our readers are from outside of the St Louis area! If you are living somewhere along the Wanderlust route, or know someone who is, we hope you'll spread the word about the meetings. Here are the tentative stop dates/locations along the way..


Chapel Hill, NC/Carborro - June 21st
Washington, DC - June 26th
Baltimore, MD - June 27th
Philadelphia, PA - June 30th
Princeton, NJ - July 1st
NEW YORK CITY - July 2nd

Here is the information for the upcoming meeting:

THE WANDERLUST REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE STORY COLLECTIVE AND BIKE CARAVAN IS COMING TO TOWN!

This summer, fifteen women are traveling from New Orleans to New York City with the Wanderlust story collective and bicycle caravan. In solidarity with local activists and rooted in the belief that sharing stories is a powerful way to elevate awareness and create social change, we'll be pedaling from town to town to listen to your stories and document how you and others are working to expand access to reproductive health care, defend reproductive rights, and promote reproductive justice.

The goals of the trip are to document the inspirational, groundbreaking work happening across the country, expand the conversation about reproductive justice, and build horizontal networks to strengthen our collective movement for reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Join the Wanderlust bike riders for an evening of story sharing, delicious barbecua, and good conversation!

WHEN: Saturday June 21st from 6 - 8 PM

WHERE: 117 W. Poplar Ave Carrboro, NC

No parking on the street—park at Basnight and Sons at corner of W. Main and W. Poplar or University Methodist Church (if there's no event going on) or Carrboro Elementary School—on Shelton Street.

At the gathering, you'll be able to:
* Meet the Wanderlust Reproductive Justice Bike Caravan riders
* Share your experiences and talk about what reproductive justice means to you
* Hear from others in your area about what they're excited about and the projects
they're working on

Grapefull Sisters

Two nights ago the Wanderlusters stayed at The Grapefull Sisters vineyard! The hosts were the two sisters who started the vinyard about two years ago (hence the name). We have included the link to their site above, and we hope you'll take the time to learn more about this awesome women friendly enterprise. Becky says that they were really wonderful hosts and that she spent the night on the futon on a second floor open air porch! Apparently it was windy, but very fun. Here is a picture of the riders setting up camp on the the vineyard grounds!

Last night everyone stayed at Jones Lake state park (near Elizabethtown, NC) and today they are headed NW and inland. Becky has also noted that "Every place we stay we have conversations, every bike shop along the way has given us free stuff or discounted items. Every ice cream store along the way wants to give us free stuff. We are having a really good time!"

Here is the audio clip from today! The wanderlusters are in Whiteville, NC:

Gabcast! 2000 Miles for Justice! #11 - Whiteville, NC

Keep checking back for mileage updates and pictures! And don't forget to send some love..

Charleston and beyond!

The Wanderlusters have just left Charleston, SC and we have lots of updates from the last few days.

In Charleston, the Wanderlusters had a meeting at a University. A woman and gender studies professor named Allison organized the event and invited people from the local community to participate. At the meeting, everyone broke into small groups and Becky's group included a woman and her family( originally from CA). Both of the young parents spoke about how concerned they are to be raising their son in the environment in Charleston, because they want him to grow up to respect women and their choices. The woman also said that she never felt the need to get involved in reproductive health issues before, because she didn't feel that her rights were threatened in CA. Since moving to Charleston, however, she noted that she has been surprised by the religious stranglehold on various aspects of women's health and really wants to become involved as an activist. Others in the small groups had equally successful conversations, and were able to speak to people from various walks in life about their interest in making connections with others and becoming more involved.

In Charleston, the Wanderlusters stayed in a hostel called NotSo Hostel and were joined by 3 new riders! The NotSo Hostel is a pretty famous Charleston hostel and they have a great website that talks about their room and space sharing philosophy (it opens dialogue!). After sleeping on the ground for the past few nights, I'm sure none of the Wanderlusters minded having to share a bathroom!

One of the new riders, Shelby Knox, has also been writing about the trip at her blog. For those of you unfamiliar with Shelby, she made her mark while still in her teens when she fought with her small Texas high school over their abstinence only curriculum. They chronicled the fight in a documentary called The Education of Shelby Knox, which we highly recommend!

Here is the most recent audio file from Becky! She passed the phone around to a few other riders, and you can hear messages from some of the more seasoned rider, Elizabeth, Vanessa and Elisa, as well as Shelby!

Gabcast! 2000 Miles for Justice! #10 - Meet some of Becky's friends

On the way to Charleston, SC

Hi everyone! Sorry for the brief blog hiatus, the staff has been really busy and we have been in and out of the office for the last few days. Becky has been sending some wonderful pictures and audio clips our way and we will do our best to get everything uploaded ASAP so that you can continue to follow her progress.

We have updated the mileage to reflect the last 3 days of biking, and the Wanderlusters are well on their way towards 800 miles!

Here is Becky talking about some rainy weather on their way into Charleston:

Gabcast! 2000 Miles for Justice! #9 - Rain and Sand biking!