Last week I went to a lecture and exhibit of old and new bicycles. Evelyn Gibb wrote a short book about her father's unusual bike trip in 1909 from Santa Rosa to the Yukon. He brought a good friend who he knew from grade school. They had little money but both were determined to make this trip work. It was after the 1906 earthquake and many schools had to close to undertake repair. Children helped their families rebuild communities. Evelyn was given information about this trip when she and her father had a couple of hours for several year when he was 87. There were no TVs. The first world's fair was in Seattle in 1909.
The boys had helped out in the hops fields here and got money to buy saddle bags for their old style bikes, headlamps, and cycloniper. They were 19 years old and encountered all types of problems - sickness, flat tubes, roads turned into dirt trails, no clear maps, they got hurt, had girl problems, rain, had to carry bikes in some places. They used railroad maps and tunnels which were dangerous. they would stop every so often to do jobs in hop fields to get some food and money. Whenever farmers saw them they invited them in for a meal. They had no tents, only a blanket and tarp. They carried a bilican or budda of clay which illustrated
'three things that ought to be'. They met the Igorot tribe from the Philippines in Washington state. In Oregon Greek immigrants invited them to dinner.
It took them 54 days to travel about 1000 miles. Oregon State University has published the book which was adapted into a stage play. It was an award wining book and she also wrote some stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul. In 2009 12 people reenacted this trip.
The Museum had an interesting exhibit about many varieties of historic bikes and described their component and how old they were. Charlie Cunningham wrote" I've seen mountain bike rides transform people not just their bodies, but their way of thinking-their spirit".
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