You're doing what?!
That's the question I've been asked the most. Followed by, Why? So here's the story...
Mike rode his bike from Virginia to California. I've always enjoyed riding my cute little bike. (Especially when I was popping wheelies with streamers and a banana seat when my age was a single digit) We talked about doing a bike trip together. We thought with Mike's job that we were going to be moving this summer, in July to San Diego. It was going to be great! Mike was going to have a month for house hunting leave and moving. We already had a place to live and the movers would take care of most of the moving, and I would have the month of August to figure out whatever else needed to be done. Mike suggested we use the time off to ship our bikes to his college roommate in Vancouver and cycle our way down, pass the new homestead in San Diego, reach Tijuana and go back. We also thought this would be fun to do with the dog in a trailer. (Yeah, please laugh with me at that idea. My dog would literally bounce his way out of a bike trailer...)
Someone wiser than us, my MIL, suggested, "maybe you should ride North, so that you're on the other edge of the road on the Pacific Coast Highway and less likely to fall in the Ocean." Smart woman, we took her advice to heart. While this was happening my principal (I'm a middle school math teacher) had approached me about putting together a Fund for Teachers grant proposal. I've received some other cool grants for school- iPads, chrome books, robots, a 3D printer. She said to me, "Parenteau, you must have some cool ideas kicking around?!" And I told her, "As soon as I have a good one, trust me, I'll put something together." Weeks went by and I would look at the amazing things other teaching fellows had done and kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out something for this. And then it hit me! Mike and I had this adventure planned. We (really Mike) had ordered the maps and was starting to look at where we could go, where we had friends, how much it was going to cost, how much time we had, how far we had to go. All these calculations were exactly what Mike had talked about in his presentation at my school's Making Math Career Connections Day the previous school year. Rates, ratios, averages... all the fantastic math. My students ate it up when he came into school that day. "Mister, you're crazy! The farthest I've ever rode my bike was to the Dairy Queen in Groton and back to New London and that only was one day!" So I thought, BINGO, I'll try and get my part of this Pacific Coast Highway trip funded! There's tons of math from it I can bring into the classroom. Plus, it's a parallel of grit, rigor, growth mindset and perseverance that we teach in class, too.
Then, *scary dun, dun, dun sound effect* Mike gets extended in Groton for another year and part of the PCH is in the Pacific Ocean and roads are washed out. Some other time we'll do that adventure we say to ourselves. But wait, a couple weeks later, the Fund for Teachers and school district representatives show up in the math center and award me the grant, and it has to be completed this summer.
I really like pickles (dill, gherkins, bread and butter), but this was a pickle I didn't want to be in. I have money to spend and no plan to execute. Thankfully, a magazine came to the house with an advertisement with some different group bike ride/tours to sign up for. That would work! I could still do a bike adventure, but there would be other people with me, while Mike was home working and taking care of the dog. When I research something, the number of tabs open in my browsers exponentially increases. About 2 weeks of 17 tabs up and I decided on this one from Adventure Cycles Association.
Missoula, MT to Jasper, Canada. 750 miles. 20 days. Camping each night. Cooking our own food. Self Supported (we carry all our own stuff, no sag wagon)
Mike rode his bike from Virginia to California. I've always enjoyed riding my cute little bike. (Especially when I was popping wheelies with streamers and a banana seat when my age was a single digit) We talked about doing a bike trip together. We thought with Mike's job that we were going to be moving this summer, in July to San Diego. It was going to be great! Mike was going to have a month for house hunting leave and moving. We already had a place to live and the movers would take care of most of the moving, and I would have the month of August to figure out whatever else needed to be done. Mike suggested we use the time off to ship our bikes to his college roommate in Vancouver and cycle our way down, pass the new homestead in San Diego, reach Tijuana and go back. We also thought this would be fun to do with the dog in a trailer. (Yeah, please laugh with me at that idea. My dog would literally bounce his way out of a bike trailer...)
Someone wiser than us, my MIL, suggested, "maybe you should ride North, so that you're on the other edge of the road on the Pacific Coast Highway and less likely to fall in the Ocean." Smart woman, we took her advice to heart. While this was happening my principal (I'm a middle school math teacher) had approached me about putting together a Fund for Teachers grant proposal. I've received some other cool grants for school- iPads, chrome books, robots, a 3D printer. She said to me, "Parenteau, you must have some cool ideas kicking around?!" And I told her, "As soon as I have a good one, trust me, I'll put something together." Weeks went by and I would look at the amazing things other teaching fellows had done and kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out something for this. And then it hit me! Mike and I had this adventure planned. We (really Mike) had ordered the maps and was starting to look at where we could go, where we had friends, how much it was going to cost, how much time we had, how far we had to go. All these calculations were exactly what Mike had talked about in his presentation at my school's Making Math Career Connections Day the previous school year. Rates, ratios, averages... all the fantastic math. My students ate it up when he came into school that day. "Mister, you're crazy! The farthest I've ever rode my bike was to the Dairy Queen in Groton and back to New London and that only was one day!" So I thought, BINGO, I'll try and get my part of this Pacific Coast Highway trip funded! There's tons of math from it I can bring into the classroom. Plus, it's a parallel of grit, rigor, growth mindset and perseverance that we teach in class, too.
Then, *scary dun, dun, dun sound effect* Mike gets extended in Groton for another year and part of the PCH is in the Pacific Ocean and roads are washed out. Some other time we'll do that adventure we say to ourselves. But wait, a couple weeks later, the Fund for Teachers and school district representatives show up in the math center and award me the grant, and it has to be completed this summer.
I really like pickles (dill, gherkins, bread and butter), but this was a pickle I didn't want to be in. I have money to spend and no plan to execute. Thankfully, a magazine came to the house with an advertisement with some different group bike ride/tours to sign up for. That would work! I could still do a bike adventure, but there would be other people with me, while Mike was home working and taking care of the dog. When I research something, the number of tabs open in my browsers exponentially increases. About 2 weeks of 17 tabs up and I decided on this one from Adventure Cycles Association.
Missoula, MT to Jasper, Canada. 750 miles. 20 days. Camping each night. Cooking our own food. Self Supported (we carry all our own stuff, no sag wagon)
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