“The Power of Slow”

Hey, world! I have an essay in the September 2016 print edition of Bicycling magazine about the power of slow cycling.

You can read the essay online here: http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

…

…

In listening, I give the whole of myself—my ears, my heart—to a storyteller. In cycling, I give the whole of myself—my body, my spirit—to a place. I move through the landscape and the landscape moves through me. Slowness has become part of my daily practice.

Check it out!

http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

Arohanui,

Devi

Back on the Air

NEW ZEALAND FRIENDS:

I’m going to be back on the radio with Nights on Radio New Zealand National tomorrow night, November 17, at 7:10pm.

The interview should last just under 20 minutes. I’ll tell riveting tales from the cargo ship… or whatever else Bryan Crump dreams up of asking!

Tune in if you can.

Friends everywhere else, I’ll post the link as soon as I have it. You can also listen live here:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights
 
Big love,
Devi

Cargo Ship Update

In my first few hours aboard the Spirit of Singapore, I…

1. Took a nap (holy goodness, I’ve been going for a while without sleeping, I realize… the 11pm-3am night shift on a sailing boat will do that to you….)

This is where I sleep on the cargo ship.

2. Had a one-woman dance party in my room to Amy Ray’s “Cold Shoulder”, while I unpacked my ish and photographed the cranes against the sunset. I guess you could say that I’m settled in.

3. Started to edit a video for my Patreon backers––a series of long, slow shots taken aboard the SV Pelican. It’s a work in progress.

4. Took many photos of the galley and made friends with the cook. I’m going to be more intentional about befriending the crew this time around. Maybe I’ll even get to the level of playing guitar with them. There are two guitars in the crew recreation room. Confidence is a work in progress, always. There are few things as full of magic as a G chord. I love the way it fills a room.

Hand sanitizer in the galley. There’s not a doctor on board, so staying germ-free is a priority.

So many ways to unpack this sign in the galley… SO MANY WAYS. Let’s talk about gender at sea, though, eh? Someone once told me that women on a ship is bad luck. Sounds like misogynistic bullcrap to me. But a “Good Housekeeping” poster featuring a dude? Not to mention the checkered pants. Not to mention EVERYTHING ELSE. Ahem. #culture

5. Made an audio recording of a water story: the 3rd Officer’s narration of my safety tour. I hope that listening to it will give ya’ll a sense of the enormity of the ship. The audio recordings won’t be ready to share for a long while yet, but rest assured that they are there.

6. Shared travel stories with the Captain and Chief Engineer over dinner. And the cook made me a yummy vegetarian curry… praises be on food. It makes all the difference.

7. Cut my hair for the first time in a while, using the scissors on a Swiss Army Knife that an ex-navy friend sent me for my birthday. Sometimes self-care looks like this:  

THANK YOU to everyone who helped me get here (yes, that’s you)! I’m so much looking forward to sharing a piece of this journey with you.

P.S. Kickstarter backers: if you haven’t yet, please respond to the message I sent out so that I know where to address the postcards & letters, etc.

P.P.S. I’ll be out of internet range for the next several days while crossing the Tasman Sea. Thanks for yr patience.

Big cargo love,
Devi at Port

In Case You Missed It

… I wrote a piece for the Guardian that went live a week ago:

Check it out: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/sep/21/one-bike-and-1001-stories-on-climate-change

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me and continues to support me up to this point, esp. to Peppe and Jeanie, who let me stay up late for three nights in their kitchen in Mackay writing this thing, and to Caitlin Kelly, who coached me through it.

I love writing in kitchens.

Balancing three time zones (east coast USA friends to help edit, editors in London, and myself here in Queensland, Australia) was no easy task but I’m happy to say that I’m alive and kickin.

Thank you.

I couldn’t do this without all your help.

More soon.

xo

d

Seeking a Boat to Indonesia

Hey beautiful people,

I’m at it again. As many of you know, I’ve made a commitment to stop flying. I’m doing my best to complete this journey to collect 1001 stories from people I meet about water and/or climate change while traveling entirely overland (and over sea). I crossed the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia aboard a cargo ship.

HOKAY, SO:

Indonesia is next!

setting the magic in motion, one marina at a time

I’ll be leaving notes like these on cork boards at marinas up the east coast of Australia, but I figure the online community is a great place to post the notice, too. I have a profile on FindACrew.net, too.

With a little bit of luck (and help from my friends), this can happen.

If you know of anyone who is making the journey from Australia to Southeast Asia by boat and is willing to take a keen cyclist on board, please send them my way!

Right now my biggest challenge will be making it from Townsville (where I plan to be for my birthday, Sept. 24) to Darwin relatively quickly to catch a boat. Cyclone season starts in late October, and goodness knows there won’t be boats making the passage then.

Australia is huge. If you know of someone who is driving from Townsville to Darwin in late September or early October and would like a buddy / storyteller in the passenger seat to pass the time, please send them my way.

Sweet. Ya’ll are the bees knees.

xo

D

Slow Travel, Mate

Hi there! It’s been a while.

New Zealand-based artist Fleur Wickes took this photo of me. Go check out some of her her amazing work! http://fleurwickes.co.nz/

Life has been happening at full force. Let me do my best to fill ya’ll in.

SLOW TRAVEL, MATE:

I found out just a few days ago that my Australia visa extension went through. This means I can wander about this wonderfully massive island through November 15! With any luck I’ll find a boat to take me to Indonesia next.

Here comes the sun.

PLACES HAVE SO MANY LAYERS:

A few mornings ago I woke up before 3am to climb Mt. Warning for a summit sunrise––the first rays of sun to hit Australia.

Wollumbin is a sacred aboriginal site. Many others climbed, but I hope it wasn’t insensitive to do so. This place is steeped in life.

There were about sixty of us at the top freezing our buns off in anticipation of this sunrise. Oh, the glory!

On the way down I got to take my time enjoying the rainforest that I had climbed through in the dark. I saw seven glow worms on the way up––how cool is that?!

MOUNTAIN SHADOW:

I find that the pain of a long, steep hill (on the bicycle or on foot) lends itself to a kind of clarity that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Also fact: lunch tastes better with a view.

PROGRESS:

Early on in the trip when the going got rough, I used to daydream about being picked up by the cars that pass me by. Now the only thing I wish for is longer daylight hours. Oh, and a surprise visit from the Indigo Girls (but that’s more of a stretch).

I’m getting tougher. Somehow.

& IT WILL HAPPEN. Someday. Even if I have to ride my bicycle to an Indigo Girls concert in North America. #motivation

love these two goddesses

LIVE FROM AUSTRALIA:

Joey & Roo.

This photo is from The Eco Village, a collection of homes near the Gold Coast built on principles of sustainability and community. I was so glad to be able to spend the night there and learn a bit more about this kind of large-scale communal living. In uni I lived in a cooperative house with 32 people, and it’s beautiful to see those same kind of principles extending to a community with over a hundred homes… and permaculture gardens, to boot! The mangoes were absolutely delicious. Thank you so much, Kerstein, for showing me around.

AT THE BORDERLANDS:

I only spent a day in Queensland before looping back down to New South Wales, but WOOHOO did it feel good to make it there! Hello, distance. 

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again:

There are no straight lines.

THE RUNNING COMMENTARY:

Some guy points at my bicycle: “What is this, Tour de France rejects?”

Lol yes, clearly.

….

Things kids say when I ride by: “Why are there so many bags on that bicycle?!”

SMALL JOYS:

 

One of the things I like most about bike touring is that I have an excuse to be outside all day, every day.

The little things become so beautiful.

&  YOU BEST BELIEVE I’M HAVING A TON O’ FUN:

you can’t make this up.

WONDERBAARLIJK:

When your friends teach you untranslatable words that apply so perfectly to the feeling of crossing a bridge by bike in the winter sun and knowing you are going somewhere, and somewhere is the right direction to be.

I CAUGHT MY FIRST WAVE:

… and wiped out a whole bunch of times after that. But wow, do I love being in the water.

More stories to come.