My friend, Grace Todd, and I have started a podcast production company: TimberTodd Pods.
We’re are preparing three different podcasts for your enjoyment right now:
You can listen to a preview of “Convince Me I Care” now! Full episodes drop starting April 5th.
More information coming soon!
Please support my nephew and the American Brain Tumor Association
In October of 2022, my nephew, Bryant Hall, had a seizure on a flight to Boston. He soon found out that he had a brain tumor and an initial surgery was completed on October 27th. The subsequent diagnosis was a grade IV glioma, an incurable form of brain cancer.
This has all been devastating on many different levels. But, in the midst of it all, Bryant’s good cheer, positive attitude and frank intelligence has been a wonder to witness. All of this unfolded as he was preparing to graduate from medical school so he has been very aware of the ramifications of his diagnosis. With the phenomenal support of his girlfriend Julia and an extended family ready to assist in any way possible, he is still on the road to graduation in May.
Bryant is committing to running the Chicago Marathon this coming October (along with supporters like his girlfriend, dad, stepmom, and more) and to use that occasion to fundraise for the American Brain Tumor Association. You can read more about Bryant and his effort at this ABTA site.
What I’m Doing
I could never do a marathon at this point in my life but I do love to bike and I’m using the occasion of Bryant’s graduation in Portland, Maine, to spend the week afterward biking throughout northeastern Maine, from Brunswick to Bangor and back. As per the map at the top of this post, I’ve drafted a route of about 300 miles.
I am asking that you cheer me on in this effort by giving to Bryant’s campaign to support the American Brain Tumor Association. Just 1 cent per mile will result in $3 more toward the great work of this association. Of course, if you can give 10 cents, $1 or even $10 per mile, that would be awesome! I have already started picking up some special gifts for people who donate but honestly, any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated.
To Give Your Support
Simply go to this ABTA site and go through the donation process! If you want to add a comment that you were inspired to donate by the “Ride for Bryant,” I’ll be sure and find a way to thank you personally.
If you feel comfortable, please ask your friends and family to lend their support as well. You can send them to RideForBryant.com and that will redirect them here. THANKS!
As a very special side note, Bryant and Julia also got engaged in February. Here’s a picture of those two cuties from the night of the engagement:
More About the Ride
As you can tell from the map image, I’ll spend most of my time on the mainland but will be planning to hop over to Vinalhaven island on the 4th day of my ride. How many miles I cover on the island will depend on research, road conditions and what locals tell me is fun. I’ll be planning to cycle somewhere between 10-20 miles on the island but I don’t know what my exact mileage will be. Should you be interested:
Here is my planned mainland route.
And here is a rough idea of options on Vinalhaven.
You can come back to this site for news about Bryant, more details on the ride or follow the trip as it unfolds. It’ll all be under the category “A Ride for Bryant” or by clicking here.
Zen and the Art of Bicycle Riding
(If you’re new here, please see this post to learn what The Ride for April is all about or, if you are ready now, please click the button below and donate in support, please!)
It’s been almost two weeks since I completed my Ride For April. The gifts I collected in Michigan have been distributed, the layers for winter riding packed away, and the planning begun for my next biking adventure. I apologize I couldn’t bring everyone some Michi-Gummies!
In a post along the way, I mentioned seeing sandhill cranes and chatting with amateur photographer and wildlife enthusiast Gary Mason about them. He posted his images from that day and they’re amazing. Below you can see the first baby already hatched, then the second egg with some cracks starting to show, then both the babies out and about. Isn’t that so cool?
I pretty much had to throw myself back into life once getting back to Virginia, but was able to take some time out to do some biking with my best biking partner ever, completing the 2-Day Challenge for the Cap2Cap ride. It was a real treat to have some company after so much solo riding.
I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the trip in conversations with friends and family. I’m still incredibly grateful and continue to feel lucky to have been able to take the time to complete such a journey.
One of the more succinct take-aways for me has been how a trip like I took tends to narrow one’s focus. My regular concerns were very small and specific — what clothes am I going to wear? which way should I turn? do I have enough to eat and, if not, where do I get some food?
Then, as long as those concerns were satisfied, I tended to let my mind wander into the most esoteric and existential places — what is life about? what is my place in the world? how profound is the beauty of nature?
That contrast between mindsets and the constant moving between them was one of the more interesting aspects of the trip. I hope to be able to hold on to the calm and centered feelings that I felt when I was in the long-biking-trip zone and let them reinforce the really great parts of my life.
There is no better book to close this chapter of my life with than April’s Thank You, Earth. It is a beautiful love letter to our planet and the natural world. It was read at April’s Celebration of Life and encompasses so many sentiments I hope I can retain as I trudge through my day-to-day. The book is a gift from April to all of us and I’m so happy to have it and to have known her.
Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. https://davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/
My great Michigan odyssey is over. It ended on a cold, gray day just like it started. But though the weather was similar, my attitude couldn’t have been more different.
On day 1, I was both excited and anxious about what was ahead. On day 8, I felt proud and happy about what I’d done, but also sad that it was ending. Multiple times as I was riding today, I slowed down and just coasted, enjoying the silence and the freedom of a quiet wander through the countryside.
Last night and this morning. I explored South Haven, a cute touristy little town. The most prominent mural I saw had an impressive three dimensionality to it (above). The dreariness of the day meant the beach was just a huge expanse of sand, probably a view not often seen by tourists.
Most of my travel was on the Kal Haven Trail, which I had been looking forward to experiencing since the trip’s start. Back when I worked at Rails-to-Trails, it was one of the mainstays in the literature, a nice nature trail that also connected two significant Michigan cities (Kalamazoo and South Haven).
The trail didn’t disappoint, with access to an impressive pier and platform area shortly after its beginning and interesting trailside info along the way on the importance of blueberries to the area and the brief history of a local oil boom.
But as delightful as it is, my time on it was relatively short as it was my second shortest travel day at just 35 miles. Too quickly, I was back in Paw Paw at the cozy home of my Aunt and Uncle (below). And then it was off to the highway with the long drive to Virginia begun.
The book of April’s that seems best for my last day of riding is “Home at Last” because, even though I’m still not home yet, I’m on my way. This book is about migration so not technically about what I did.
But it is about journeys and the challenges faced by animals who take them, so I think it works. Even though a book for young kids, even adults can learn from it (lobsters migrate?!?) https://www.amazon.com/Home-at-Last-Song-Migration/dp/0805051546#
Lake to lake complete! On a cold, windy afternoon in South Haven, I finally caught a glimpse of Lake Michigan and I couldn’t stop smiling
It’s been almost 275 miles versus the 250 I planned but, after completing the traverse, it seems like I only just started.
It was a much more challenging day than I expected. I left Paw Paw, Michigan, with its stately statehouse around 10:30, another colder than usual morning – but at least it was windy!
Half the day was supposed to be on something called the Van Buren Trail. But when I got to it, here’s what it looked like.
Not asphalt, not crushed rock, not even dirt. It was basically just ground, essentially a hiking trail. After 20 minutes struggling across it, going maybe 2 miles, I jettisoned the trail. It is a straight northwest diagonal shot to South Haven, so instead I had to stair step along alternate northward and westward heading county roads. It definitely added a couple miles but the smoothness of asphalt was like heaven after hobbling along the trail.
I really didn’t stop to check out wildlife or other interesting sites in the last 5 miles or so, anxious for the lake I knew was almost in sight. When I got down to it, the wind was whipping up whitecaps and I had no desire to linger. Before long, I was at my hotel celebrating with a nice cold one.
Tomorrow I wrap up with a relatively light sojourn back to Paw Paw and this biking journey will be over. I’m both sad and excited to wrap it up.
In honor of reaching the lake, I wanted to highlight “Trout, Trout, Trout! A Fish Chant,” April’s first species specific chanting book. Another mainstay in our kids’ reading repertoire, this book has some bold colorful fish drawings that are a great compliment to April’s fun fishy prose.
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Zero miles today! I think my body was a little surprised at the relative inactivity — but grateful!
On this day off, here are a few facts and reflections:
I was supposed to have ridden 225 miles over the past 5 days. With mistakes and misdirections, it’s ended up being over 232. Those “oops”es add up.
Last time I checked, people have donated $995 toward the Sayre Fund for Nature in honor of this ride. I’m really blown away — thank you all so much!
Every day on a trail, I have seen items like water bottles, dog leashes, and gloves hung from fences or placed prominently and obviously on picnic benches. My read has been it’s the result of people finding lost items and putting them somewhere to make finding them easier to those who have lost the items. There’s something about simple hopeful kindnesses like these that almost make me believe in the basic goodness of humans.
The many “Fuck Biden” flags in central Michigan (flying proudly under the American flag) somewhat undercuts that belief. Oh, and the very occasional Confederate flag…in Michigan. I mean, there’s a veneer of hiding behind “Heritage, not Hate” in Virginia. Here, what can that be about other than racism?
There have been a dozen times, I’ll pass a street or landmark and the name of it sticks a song in my head for at least the next hour, if not the whole day. In Port Huron, there was “Electric Avenue.” Outside Jackson, I saw the Stone Soap Company, misread it as Stone Soup and was singing the theme song from one of Holly’s kids shows all day. The sign above prompted me to think “Stop, look around…” leading to a couple hours trying to remember the lyrics to this:
The biggest anxiety of the trip has been imperfect technology (i.e., my phone’s been acting up). Note to self: paper maps don’t need to be charged…
April’s last book to be published, coming out this past March, was “Happy Sloth Day!” It’s a testament to her photography skills, the number of fun shots of sloths included. I wasn’t exactly a sloth today but I did take it easy. April’s book validates sloths for their slow-moving but still fascinating lifestyle, and I’m taking that as a validation of a good day of rest!
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It’s amazing what a difference elevation makes. Michigan does not have the extremes of elevation that your Virginias or your Colorados have but the first 3 days of this ride were subtly uphill most of the way. These last two have been subtly downhill and today’s 52 miles flew by, not even close to the slog I was expecting given my 61 mile day.
Only about of a third of the miles today were on trails but they were nice ones. That’s the Battle Creek Linear Park above and the Kalamazoo Valley Trail below.
In comparison to the long straight trails I’ve mostly been on, the KVT had some cool curvy spots so I could zoom through and pretend I was a racecar (yes, that’s the kind of thing you do when you’re biking all day).
I also had opportunities today to think about non-naturey topics. In downtown Battle Creek there was this impressive monument to the Underground Railroad.
And then as I got close to Kalamzoo, I passed this riverside encampment of folks who are apparently homeless. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a discreet tent in an out of the way spot that was clearly where someone was living, but it was definitely the biggest grouping (the encampment goes on for like another 50 yards).
It made me think of the book I’ve been reading this trip called “Station Eleven.” It’s about a post apocalyptic society where a troupe of actors and musicians are traveling around Michigan. Those who remember the days before the collapse reflect on having things like electricity, flying in planes, being able to use the internet. Seeing those tents today it occurred to me that, if there was some apocalypse, there’d likely be a surprising number of people who wouldn’t know the difference.
On a lighter note, I also took notice when I saw signs for an upcoming historic marker. When I got there, it was a theater! The Barn Theatre is an equity house that’s been doing shows since 1954. Their sign declared hopefully “See you in June!” An equity house in rural central Michigan makes me very happy.
I had picked out “The Slowest Book Ever” to feature today because I thought I was going to be feeling it was the slowest day of the ride, given the mileage and knowing I’d be looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Even though it didn’t end up that way, this is a great book to talk about just because it’s quirky and fun. Here’s the warning April gives at the beginning:
“This is a S-L-O-W book. Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels…”
Thinking about reading while surfing is funny enough, even before the giant weasels. I went faster than I expected today. I’m looking forward to taking it S-L-O-W tomorrow!
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This may have been the first time in 31 years Holly and I spent our anniversary apart. But sweetheart that she is, she sent me on my way with gifts and cards to open on my journey, so I’ve felt her with me the whole time. Love you, Mrs Timberline!
And even though I was wishing Holly was with me, it ended up being a pretty glorious day. For one, I made a friend. Well, maybe more of an acquaintance, but he was a cool guy. His name is Gary Mason and I chatted him up when I saw him taking trailside pictures.
Turns out that the birds I saw yesterday that I thought were herons are actually sand hill cranes! Gary was intently watching a breeding pair because one of their eggs had just hatched (you can see a bit of one of them in the pic above). He let me use his binoculars and it was amazing to see the little fluff ball on the nest.
Gary regularly posts on Facebook and I’ll include a link below to his shots from a couple weeks ago that show the cranes pre-fluff ball.
The first third of my day was spent on two pristine trails, the Inter-city Trail, that has recently been renamed for MLK (above), and the Falling Waters Trail where I met Gary (below).
Falling Waters has to be the best trail I’ve been on, definitely on this trip and possibly ever. As pictured, the trailheads not only feature nice landscapes, they also spotlight cool art. The trail surface was smooth as silk and the vistas beautiful. There was even actual falling water along the way (that’s a waterfall in the background below) and some real signs of spring.
I know I’ve already posted a lot of Michigan lakes but at one point the trail split between two large lovely lakes. It’s hard to capture how dramatic it is to be pedaling along through what is mostly woods and fields and then come upon a wide expansive of water. It can be pretty breathtaking.
The other two thirds of the ride were less picturesque but did have the benefit of some very welcome downhill stretches. I saw many acres of farmland which, this time of year, were clear and empty.
I’m now in a comfy motel in Marshall Michigan, resting up for tomorrow – my second longest day at almost 52 miles. Since I didn’t have much to share about today, I’ll relate something I forgot about yesterday. I stopped for a snack midway through yesterday’s marathon next to a dramatic looking tree. When I looked behind it, I saw it was next to a Biological Research Station (that’s what the sign says behind the tree below). For the next few miles as I road along the fenced area, I couldn’t help but think of “Stranger Things.” This place totally could have been the inspiration for that facility.
The book of April’s I thought of today was “One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab.” It’s one of those classic counting books but using the feet of animals to represent the numbers.
I thought this was appropriate because it’s a book April wrote with her husband Jeff and I love the idea of them hashing out ideas of how to get each number. I was also focused on a specific number all day (31). This was a book that was in regular rotation with our kids when they were little and thinking of it makes me very happy for the exposure my not-so-little-anymore kiddos got to a nature-centric way of thinking that runs through all of April’s books.
Finally, here’s a link to Gary Mason’s post that includes sand hill cranes. Enjoy!
m.facebook.com/gary.mason.3701/posts/pcb.10225739158017048/?photo_id=10225739142776667
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Exactly freezing. It was exactly 32 degrees when I set out this morning right before 10am. Weather reporter last night said it was 15-20 degrees below normal for this time of year. Well, I guess I can take some solace in that.
By 11am, it was 33. By noon, a balmy 34. The cold compelled me forward so I didn’t stop and take many pictures today.
But here’s the Walled Lake, that I passed just 2 miles into the ride. Central Michigan is chock full of beautiful lakes. Here’s another one.
Even as I was trudging on through the cold, I couldn’t help but feel grateful. I passed several construction crews and thought, I’m out here by choice, it’s not my job. I thought about how grateful I was that my panniers kept everything dry on that first rainy day, grateful that local and state governments had preserved the trails I was riding on (like the Huron Valley Trail, below), grateful I had the support of family and friends as I embarked on this ride.
Shortly after noon, small patches of blue skies appeared amidst the steel gray clouds. By two, I was actually riding in sunshine, a first for this trip. You can see shadows in the picture below.
This was my longest day: 61+ miles. For the first time, my body was seriously feeling it, particularly after mile 45. I spent most of the day on the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail. It is a lovely trail but also traverses horse country and farmland, pretty in its own way but not particularly photogenic. Here’s an example.
Right at the end of the trail there was a massive area of reedy wetland and herons were all over the place, and they weren’t so skittish so I got a couple good pics. The one below shows one prominent in the foreground and another one further back.
At the trail’s end, I was just 4 miles from my motel outside Jackson Michigan where mostly I collapsed. Sleeping in tomorrow before tackling a more rational 40 miles.
“Feel the Fog” is one of the books in April’s “Weather Walks” series, which is just a genius idea for something to focus a collection on. I picked it for today because, regardless of the weather, there are times when your mind gets a little foggy when you’re covering as much territory as I did today. There’s a great line in this book, “Fog limits what you can see, but it can expand what you imagine.” This book, like all the ones in the series, delivers answers to intriguing questions (e.g., “Why does fog feel cold?”) with lyrical language. April really was a one of kind talent.
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It’s too early to tell but I think I may look back on today as one of the best days of this ride. It was the shortest mileage wise (just over 35) and most of it was on rail trails. Even though I was climbing all day, it was slow and steady. But most exciting: wildlife!
Back 35 years ago, when I worked for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, I regularly wrote marketing copy about how, among all their other benefits, rail trails were excellent wildlife corridors. I don’t think I really believed it back then but having spent chunks of two days on them, it’s no joke.
I spent the beginning of the day finishing up the Malcomb Orchard Trail (not Macon, an oops in yesterdays post). That’s me at the trail head in the first picture. I’ve seen about a thousand black squirrels and finally got a decent picture of one. Squirrels are mostly a nuisance at home, but the novelty of black ones makes their frequent appearances along the trails pretty charming.
The middle of the day was all Clinton River Trail. While it didn’t spend much time following a river and the surface was an often rough dirt or crushed rock, it regularly opened up into wide boggy wetlands full of cool birds. One little pond had trees dotted with nests, one of which had a Great Blue Heron in it.
I’ve seen a couple dozen red winged black birds which are delightful with their stuttering call and that flash of color as they zip by. (Sorry, they’re too skittish for me to have grabbed a good pic, but boy did I try!)
The day ended on the Michigan Air Line Trail, that was awesome both because of its smooth bike-friendly surface, but also some reedy marshy areas with big white birds I think might be egrets (???). I watched a pair for a while trying to get a good picture but they didn’t cooperate. Here’s a far away one of one of them flying away.
Today ends the first part of the trip I’ve been thinking of as “The Warm Up”: two relatively easy days. Tomorrow begins “The Trial”: three days with distances of 61, 40, and 51 miles. Oy. I’m a little sore just thinking about it.
I picked “Endangered Birds of North America” to feature today because birds were definitely on my mind all day. As April mentions in this book, the kinds of rural / suburban border areas that I was traveling through can be tricky for birds, and all wildlife really: natural oases surrounded by suburban hazards like cats, cars, and careless humans.
I read this book before I left on the trip and, even though it’s for middle schoolers, I learned a lot! One thing I appreciated about April was that she never talked down to her younger readers. This book doesn’t overwhelm you with science-talk but it delivers plenty of hard facts in April’s characteristically approachable way. https://www.amazon.com/Endangered-Birds-Scientific-American-Sourcebooks/dp/080504549X
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