The ride on route 20 west from Utica to Cazenovia, NY was about as agreeable as one could hope for. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the land was flat. I spent a lot of time taking pictures and admiring the many vast and beautiful dairy farms. Old men were out mowing their lawns and women were working in their gardens. Quite frankly everything about central NY seemed very ordinary and almost right out of that John Mellancamp song titled “Ain’t that America?”

After roughly 30 miles I stopped to check my email and twitter messages as I was hoping to hear back from a potential host in Cazenovia and as my phenomenal twitter luck and community would have it… I did. @voicesvt is a friend of mine I had met with in Vermont as I was gathering stories in Burlington and when I asked her if she knew anyone in Cazenovia it just so happened that her mother works for the local high school.  I cannot stress to you enough how remarkable the power of twitter has been on this journey and hands down it has been one of the greatest utilities I have ever used. So I called Mrs. Butler and she informed me that she had arranged for a place to stay in Cazenovia with a one of the teachers on staff. Again… another act of kindness I have experienced on the road here in America.

I pedaled on with enthusiasm and I was starting to get anxious about my visit to Cazenovia. There is a great sensation that comes over me when I roll into a town I have never visited as the possibilities are endless. As I approached Morrisville which is just East of Cazenovia I started to notice something… HILLS! Big steep hills and after 33 miles in the sun this was not exactly what I was looking forward to when it came to wrapping up my day. I had climbed some very intense mountains in both New Hampshire and especially Vermont but these hills are designed a little differently. These hills force you to climb for 30 minutes, reward you with 30 seconds of downhill and then force you to repeat the process several times and it was absolutely grueling.

After my battle with the moving stair master I made it into town and things started off really well. As I parked my bike I started a conversation with a stranger walking down the street (which I encourage people to do more often) and coincidently enough she owned and operated a local restaurant called Circa just one block away and their focus is supporting the consumption of local and organic foods… and if that isn’t enough her husband Eric has friends who run an Amish farm and to top it off he runs his 1984 Mercedes Benz on vegetable oil taken directly from the restaurant. This was a lot of info to absorb in just 2 minutes.

I was already impressed with the people in Cazenovia and to make things even more suitable there is a very quaint stretch of Main Street that leads to a beautiful lake. A few minutes after my conversation with Alicyn of Circa I got in touch with my host and arranged to go over and drop off my belongings and grab a much needed shower.  It turned out that my host was actually leaving for the evening and this was fine by me as I prefer to be alone and independent on my fits of exploration.  I went back into town in search of a meal and good conversation to replenish my mind and body and I was not disappointed with either. The people in Cazenovia were extremely friendly and took a strong interest, support and excitement in my cross country bike trek and I genuinely appreciated this.

The next morning I headed over to the local coffee shop known as Dave’s Diner where I spent 5 hours writing and uploading content to my blog. This was a great place to spend a few hours where I was productive until around noon when all of the local middle school students were let out of school on a half day. My peace and quiet was now turned into a community center filled with screaming kids and pimply faces. 

After my work was done I decided to take a bike ride about 4 miles out of town and visit a local farmer I was introduced to the day before. The ride was beautiful as the weather was perfect and the landscape was breathtaking.  Most of you know I have a strong connection with Vermont, the people there and the amazing agriculture scene… but don’t be fooled with central NY as they have some of the most beautiful farms you will ever find. So during my farm tour I asked a lot of questions and learned a few facts. The main difference in this particular farm was the fact that it was a conventional farm with over 400 cows and this was my first visit to an operation of this style and size. This was a lot for me to compute internally as I have a sweet spot for small organic dairy farmers but what I enjoyed most was the fact that I was talking with a hard working, 3rd generation farming family with all the intentions of keeping the farm alive and successful moving forward and I admired that.

When I left the farm I was wearing a grin from ear to ear and I enjoyed the sunshine and the time on the bike without all of the gear. It’s amazing how light and strong I feel when I remove the 72 pounds of gear I am now carrying on this journey. When I got back into town I explored the lakeside and the Main street area and waited to meet with Eric Woodworth (co owner of Circa)who had offered to show me his old benz he runs on veggie fuel and the local Amish farm in which they gather foods from to feed their customers.

Eric got into town a bit late so we were fairly rushed into our tour of Madison County and before we left Eric took the veggie oil directly from the restaurant, filtered it and put it right into his gas tank. This was fantastic and quite the learning experience. This was a classic example of how one can turn a waste into a resource along with not supporting the purchase of foreign oil.  It may not be practical for everyone however I certainly found it interesting.

After a bit of driving around we reached the Amish farm and I was engulfed with excitement. My experience in Maine where I had visited an Amish farm was truly captivating and to this day is one of my most memorable moments on my trip. The Amish are truly the most pure and fundamental example of what it means to live sustainably. As I toured the farm and watched the children gallop through the land I began to admire the serenity of the lifestyle and the seamless transparency of the Amish farmer.  I spent about 2 hours touring this farm and with complete honesty I can tell you that it has forever changed the way I see farming, the way modern society operates and the way my life could and or perhaps should be.

While I am not preparing  to join the next Amish family I encounter I can certainly tell you that this experience without all of the outside, mass produced, fear inflicted media and whoopla we have created in today’s world I found myself thinking “Why don’t I live this way? I could do it. I wouldn’t have to answer to anyone but myself. I could be healthy, free of outside influences and at peace with my thoughts every day. This could be heaven. And then I thought to myself “whoa… are you allowing your imagination to travel too far and too fast? OR… am I finally finding the life I would honestly like to live? After all that is what this journey is all about”. These thoughts and ranges of emotion are not only very good for one’s well being and essential… but they can be exhausting and right in the nick of time… it was time for me to go.

So as I sit here in the big town of Cortland, NY hosted by a very creative and talented playwright and Professor Dr. Sam Kelly writing with my fancy lightweight laptop and staring at a collection of new tweets on my iPhone I again find myself torn between all things progressive and emerging and the serenity of sustainable living. With all of these wonderful eye opening experiences I am still searching for that perfect balance. All I can do is keep riding. All I can do is keep searching.

Until next time take care and take action!
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