Lauren’s CRAN: This Barn. That Thing? (and the Finish is where it Starts)

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Lauren Van Ham

Since my first or second post, you’ve been hearing about my fascination with BOLD Nebraska’s response to the Keystone XL pipeline. BOLD Nebraska is a grassroots collaboration of ranchers, farmers and Nebraska natives who believe there are other ways to fuel our future than mining the Canadian tar-sands for oil, and transporting it to refineries in Texas.

This Barn, Road Rd 22, Nebraska

Last Fall, in response to proposed pipeline routes and legislation, BOLD Nebraska built This Barn. I have been looking forward to seeing it for myself and made sure my CRAN route would get us close to the right spot. Parvati’s thin tires aren’t too friendly with gravel roads, it so happens, so SAG Master (Mom!) played chauffeur for a quick detour. Time was of the essence and to be sure we didn’t drive in circles, we pulled alongside two farmers talking by their tractors.

This Barn’s roof 🙂

“We’re looking for BOLD Nebraska’s Barn,” my Mom said.

“Oh, that thing?” one of them said.

This Barn. That thing.

And there it is: the teeter-totter on which so many climate conversations lie. I’ve had 450 miles to ponder this. In some moments, it’s “game over.” I don’t have the courage or energy to be curious. There are other moments too, however, when Grace descends and the capacity to hang out for a few more sentences appears.

Build Our Energy sign at This Barn

In a few hours, I’m going to ride from the outskirts of Lincoln, into the City where I grew up. I will be met by members of the village that raised me. It marks the “Finish Line” for my CRAN. For the past two days, I have been pedaling slower, not wanting it to end. I am savoring these HUGE skies, brimming with cotton-candy clouds, these green, green fields and redwing blackbirds dancing ahead of me on the wide swath of road-meets-horizon. Out here, pedaling my prayerful pilgrimage, my purpose has been clear, guided, exquisitely simple. Ironically, the rubber meets the road, when I get off my bike and attempt to talk about why I did this and what I’ve learned.

Left turn to Lincoln!

I pray for the courage, the clarity, the command of language to share this story in a way that might invite others to share theirs. I pray that each of us has the patience and perseverance to bring curiosity to the conversations that might initially ring, “game over.” I pray that, together, we can begin to create a new chapter in our story on this planet…and that we might take delight in the creativity that has been given to us through birth.

Lauren and Parvati, enjoying a different kind of spin

May our capacity to innovate and care for one another and this great spinning home of ours be fueled by great sky, deep ocean, strong mountain, fresh breeze, cool grass, and the spirited animals everywhere. Amen! See you at the Finish, where it all Begins….

P.S. If you haven’t made a donation and want to, there’s still time. Whaddy say? Finish line together with 10k? You can make a secure online donation NOW by clicking on the ‘Support Me’ button. You’ll automatically receive an acknowledgment and I will be notified by email of your support. Thank you for your help!

Lauren’s CRAN: Why Do I Care?

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Lauren Van Ham

Two days ago, I was on Day Three of my Climate Ride Across Nebraska (CRAN). Maybe it was the 57 hilly miles of headwind,

Hwy 81 S, Nebraska

The Pioneers named this river and the sandy hills surrounding it, “Dismal.”

or maybe it was the tepid response I’d received in the North about why I was doing this, or maybe I was feeling the ancestral energy left behind by the pioneers who had attempted, in far worse conditions, with covered wagons (for gosh sake), to trek the sandhill terrain I’d been pedaling across for the past 72 hours.

Whatever the reason, by the time I turned East on Hwy 2, my mind was a tornado and my heart a jumble. Hwy 2 marks the place where the ranches and rodeos, meet railroad and industry. The trains barrel by on the tracks nearly every 20 minutes and every second or third one is filled to the brim with coal.

Train, along Hwy 2, Nebraska

For a few hours that morning, I had the morale boost of a riding companion (I’ve seen a total of 5 cyclists this week!). It was a gift to share conversation and humor as we both leaned in and howled at the wind. My new friend, it turns out, is a scientist, with advanced degrees in conservation. When I shared how much I was looking forward to seeing the Nebraska State Forest (I would be passing it that afternoon), he mentioned that all those trees, hand-planted in the 1920s, were wreaking havoc on Nebraska’s water table.

Oh, Noooooooooooo!!!!!!

I really didn’t want to hear that. Nor did I want to be reminded of my dependency on coal in a steady train-after-train succession, and NEITHER did I want to puzzle any more over what I could ask or say when I’m talking with others who don’t believe there’s a problem with the way we’re using the remaining resources on this planet.

In that moment, clipping along the highway shoulder at a steady 14 mph, I lost it. Tears ran down my face, sobs unlocked the knot in my throat and I wailed loudly as another train roared past. “Why Do I Care So Much?” asked the voice in my heart? “Hmmmm, Right,” said my head. “Why do I care? And, would it really be fair to think that others do NOT care?”

I mean, let’s start with you. Do YOU care? And if enough of us care, why isn’t change happening faster?

Flowers in the wind, Sandhills

Global warming isn’t going to stop because we reuse our bags and ride bikes (great things, of course – keep doing them, start doing them, don’t stop doing them), AND change is going to be fraught with complexities we don’t want to hear and will find overwhelming.

It takes courage to stick with it. I shrink away a lot. It requires vulnerability to feel the grief and of what humans have done to our Earth home. I look the other way sometimes. When we vow to do this together, sort of like working with that damn headwind, we set a pace for one another, resisting the seduction of becoming complacent.

I think that’s part of what my CRAN is about. I’m looking for ways we can ban together, use our voice, and foster change. One way to do that, is to support others who are organizing this effort grassroots to grand, all around the globe. Thanks to so, so many of you, we have raised nearly $9000 to divide between my three chosen beneficiaries. My ride, however, is NOT over. If you haven’t made a donation and want to, there’s still time. Whaddy say? Finish line together with 10k? You can make a secure online donation NOW by clicking on the ‘Support Me’ button, on my Climate Ride page. You’ll automatically receive an acknowledgment and I will be notified by email of your support. Thank you for your help!

Getting my Kicks

Lauren’s CRAN: “Flat. Like a waffle.”

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Lauren Van Ham

Paul and Parvati

The afternoon I arrived in Nebraska, I took Parvati (my bike), to Polkadot Bicycles in Lincoln. Paul, the owner, had generously agreed to give her a once-over and safety check (Thank you, Paul!!!). Lubing her pedals and adjusting a cable he calmly stated facts, sliding some hints my way for the week ahead,

“Nebraska is flat, like a waffle. No pancakes.”

On this ride, I’m ultimately descending (I will lose nearly 2000 ft in elevation, between Chadron & Lincoln), however, it’s Day Two of my CRAN and at 150 miles in, I’ve climbed (beautiful), undulating waffle ridges, climbing more than 1000 feet both days.

Please pass the syrup!!!

rumbles and waffles

So far, in addition to the stunning scenery and intimate peeks into the small and tough rural towns lining the Northern edge of the state, my Mom and I have had some chance encounters with residents, some of whom are curious about why I’m riding, and others who seem pretty certain they’re not interested.

Oh, Nebraska!

You, dear readers, have offered so much support, with your interest!! THANK YOU for following my blog, for “liking” posts on Facebook, and for donating money to this effort. If you haven’t donated and still want to, there is time! Here’s a quick reminder of where your generosity will be shared:

1. 350.org – believes that a global grassroots movement can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice.

Why I chose them: SO many reasons, but simply put because they’re tell the most important story of our times using people, art and action.

2. Interfaith Power & Light – is a national organization with over 40 state affiliates and a network of 15,000 congregations advocating for climate awareness and environmental protection as a moral issue.

Why I chose them: Because as of the 2013 census, the estimated population of Nebraska was 1.85 million, and nearly 56% of the population identifies as religious (compared to the national average of 49%). When communities gather to teach, encourage and celebrate life-affirming values, the ripple effects are powerful, and contagious! Go, Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light!!!

Nearing the end of Day Two and Hwy 20

3. World Bicycle Relief – puts bikes in communities across Africa. In myriad ways, they demonstrate that bikes are infact, “engines of cultural and economic development.”

Day Three: Hwy 83, here I come!

Why I chose them: Because World Bicycle Relief is looking at what I will call WHOLE PICTURE Sustainability (economic, environmental, social and cultural). Visit their website and watch the videos – so inspiring!

YOU are receiving this message because I want to share this week’s events with you. I’ve committed to do the pedaling, my friends. You can help me with your prayers and donations. You can make a secure online donation NOW by clicking on the ‘Support Me’ button, on my Climate Ride page. You’ll automatically receive an acknowledgment and I will be notified by email of your support. Thank you for your help!

Lauren’s CRAN: “Places, Please!”

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Lauren Van Ham

I’m here! I’m in Nebraska! And I have that, “Places, Please!” feeling.

Parvati, newly arrived in Nebraska — ready for assembly!

My love for theatre began in grade school; I had the good fortune of performing a lot in Lincoln, NE. It was my sophomore in high school when I realized that even before the Stage Manager called, “Places!” I was often already in the wings, praying. Being in the wings is a holy ground, of sorts. It’s that space of putting one’s trust in the rehearsals and preparation, combined with the creative tension that ceaselessly nudges for further refinement, fresh paint, the freedom to risk a little. Praying before a performance is my way of surrendering: please remind me to use all I’ve been given. Please grace me with the ease and spontaneity of Being Present.

My CRAN (Climate Ride Across Nebraska) is no different, but more to the point, neither is our miraculous life on this fine planet-home! Tomorrow, my Mom and Parvati and I will drive North and West to Chadron, NE, where I will begin my ride. And, if this were merely, “a ride,” I don’t suppose I would be feeling butterflies. This ride is a joyful, prayer-filled pilgrimage!

Please remember the stakes: We cannot promise our children’s children will have clean water, or land, or air.

And please remember the promise: As highly intelligent, capable and creative mammals, the Divine invites each one of us to bring our love, our ingenuity, and our Whole Self to every moment. My CRAN is rooted in a truth worth celebrating — that we are all (humans, animals, the elements) interconnected, blessed, and worth saving.”

You’re receiving this message because I want to share this week’s events with you. I’ve committed to do the pedaling, my friends. You can help me with your prayers and donations. For those who have already donated, thank you, thank you. Just this afternoon, I reached my minimum goal of $8000…so I’m raising the bar! The proceeds from this ride will be divided between my three, specially-selected & amazing beneficiaries: 350.org, Interfaith Power & Light, and World Bicycle Relief. You can make a secure online donation NOW by clicking on the ‘Support Me‘ button found on my Climate Ride page. You’ll automatically receive an acknowledgment and I will be notified by email of your support. Thank you for your help!

Climate Ride, 2011