Date: Fri 08-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Cathy-Toad-Buxton-bicyclists

Full Text:

Spinning Their Wheels - Cathy And Toad Buxton Bicycle Across America

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

There are challenges to any cross-country trip, particularly when you are

traveling by bicycle and camping along the way - tornadoes, highway traffic,

100-plus degree heat, sore muscles, and where to find a good cup of coffee.

But Cathy and Toad Buxton of Newtown found the pleasures of slower paced

travel far outweighed any disadvantages when they traveled 3,769 miles to get

a close look at America. Last week, while resting up in Tucson, Arizona, they

shared some of the experiences they had during their four months on the road.

"We wanted to see the country. I've never really done much traveling," said

Cathy, 24. "We've always been avid outdoor enthusiasts and earth-conscious

people. We've spent a lot of time outdoors - we love to hike and bike."

One day, after hiking up a knoll on the Bee Brook trail near Washington Depot,

the couple made the spontaneous decision to tour the country in search of a

new home. They planned carefully for two years, saved, gave away most of their

possessions, and acquired the best gear. Six months before their scheduled

departure, they were involved in a bad car accident, which forced them to

postpone their trip a year.

"We over-prepared for the trip," said Cathy. "We bought all this stuff that

was going to be great for camping. Then we packed our packs and nothing fit.

We gave up a lot of stuff that wasn't necessary."

Once on the road, they each carried at least 100 pounds on their Trek 520

touring bikes. They had a tent, stove, cooking gear, one pair of long pants,

shorts, one short sleeved shirt, rain gear, one long sleeved shirt, underwear,

a very thin hat, and gloves. Most of their packs were filled with food because

the Buxton's are vegans, and on the trip ate mostly lentils, brown rice,

peanut butter and jelly, texturized vegetable protein, pasta, and nutritional

yeast food supplement.

"And Hydrox cookies. They're vegan, but have a lot of sugar," said Cathy. "We

drank a lot of coffee, too. People would think we are health conscious

individuals, but we do it for political reasons, not health reasons. We eat

junk. We'd eat potato chips, vegan chocolate sorbet... But, we'd pay attention

to our bodies. We did eat a lot of fruit [from farm stands]." Unlike the

western and eastern parts of the country, there is nothing for vegans to eat

in the midwest, she added.

Before they left on their trip, Toad and Cathy sought sponsorship from various

companies. Arrowhead Mills was the only one to respond. Although the company

declined to sponsor the couple, they gave them 100 pounds of organic grains.

The Buxtons asked a relative to send two-week provisions general delivery to

post offices along their route.

"It was a very limited diet. But when you're outside, anything tastes good. If

it's a hot meal, it is so true," said Cathy.

The Route

Starting in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine, the couple, who had

not trained, began their trip slowly, clocking 20 to 30 miles one day, and

taking the next off. They proceeded in this manner for the first three weeks

and then picked up the pace. "We hadn't ridden for a year because of the

accident," said Cathy. "We just did it, but we were careful. We weren't silly

about it... And we did do massage on each other, and also did tennis ball

accupuncture."

Stretching each morning to prevent injury, the couple was soon riding 30 miles

a day. The most terrain they covered in one day was 80 miles. "A lot of people

who ride cross-country travel 80 to 100 miles every day. Most people [cross

the US] in two months," said Cathy. "Our goal was not to get across the

country - go from A to B - but really see what was there. We took our time and

looked at flowers, and trees, and animals; took time to meet and talk to

people. We were never in a hurry."

From Maine, they entered New Hampshire in mid-state, went straight across on

the Kancamagus Highway, across Vermont and the Green Mountains, and through

the Adirondaks and plains farm land and Niagara Falls in New York State. The

couple went through southern Ontario, to Bruce Peninsula between lakes Huron

and Ontario, and then took a ferry boat to Manitoulan Island.

"We arrived on Canada Day - on holidays we try to stay off the road because of

people who drink and drive," said Cathy. "That was just beautiful there. All

the wildflowers were in bloom - just magnificent."

The roadways in Canada were not designed with bicyclists in mind, the couple

said. Usually there were not emergency lanes in which to ride, and if there

were, they were gravel.

Taking small bridges from island to island, they returned to the mainland of

Canada and road the Trans-Canadian Highway to Sault Ste Marie. There the

bicyclists entered the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, where they encountered

three continuous weeks of rain. They rode down to the southern end of Lake

Superior, through Wisconsin and Minnesota, into the east corner of South

Dakota, and through the Badlands and Black Hills.

When the couple found themselves in areas that had tornado warnings, they

camped near the closest town or beneath an underpass. One day they took refuge

from 60 mph winds and cherry-sized hale stones in a cement bathroom in the

Pierre, S.D., city park.

"And the winds in Wyoming were unbelievable - somtimes 30 to 40 mph. That was

really tough," said Cathy. With the gear on their bikes, the wind carried them

like a sail, she said. "You have to have so much strength just to hold your

bike up."

Next, they went to Colorado. "I think there are more people in Denver than in

the entire state of Wyoming," said Cathy. "In Colorado we saw snow-capped

mountains... We went to Carbondale to meet some friends from Newtown. We hung

out with them and ended up meeting up with several other friends or

acquaintances from Newtown. It was really bizarre for us - we had gone almost

3,000 miles in basic isolation and get to Colorado where we see about a dozen

people we'd grown up with."

After joining their friends for a week of car trips through Utah, the two

peddled off to southeastern Utah.

"Utah was just spectacular. But the heat really, really started getting

intense in Utah. There was no rain in many days and the temperature reached

110, 115 degrees. Shade is almost nothing but a memory at that point," said

Cathy. "Sometimes we just parked our bikes on the side of the road and climbed

to shade. In the shade there was a 10-degree difference - instantly. Nothing

like in the east." But they thoroughly enjoyed those days despite the heat,

she said, because they rode through passes and canyons.

During their time on the road, they developed a routine. Toad and Cathy would

get up when the sun "baked them out of the tent," pack up the tent, load their

bikes, and have breakfast (usually peanut butter and jelly or cookies). Once

on the road, their first mission was to find a cup of coffee. And then they

rode until they got tired.

"We had destinations and preset goals for each day," said Cathy. "Things also

depended on the weather - that played a great, great role. We had a weather

radio which didn't always work... When you're in the mountains you can't

always get FM frequency. But we were very aware of our surroundings by

watching the sky and feeling the air."

Encountering America

The Buxtons met many interesting people on their trip. "We met Americans.

Americans are unique - we're an interesting people," said Cathy. "I was

surprised to have learned that most people really are pretty compassionate. It

was almost a confirmed shock to find out how much people watch TV and how

afraid people are of each other... People are generally paranoid of each

other."

When they were entering a poor section of Rochester, N.Y., everyone warned

them to "watch their wallets." They encountered no thieves, just curious

people who would stop their cars to say hello. And, when they left their

bicycles unlocked on the sidewalk and went into stores, no one touched their

gear. "No one bothered us in the way that said they wanted to harm us - they

were curious," said Cathy. "That was just incredible. It was probably one of

the best rides in the sense of social experience."

The bicyclists saw a shift in attitude, not just from east to west, but from

region to region. In South Dakota, the farmers would stop their trucks in the

middle of a dusty road to talk with the Buxtons. The couple, who are

environmentally conscious, saw "extreme amounts of pesticide; extreme

exploitation" of the land. "In farm country, they don't seem to care as much -

it's their livelihood, so they can't care as much," said Cathy. "I'm an

organic farmer. And before I left [on this trip], I had this real bias - I

think I blamed the farmers [for polluting and exploiting the land]. After

meeting farmers, I don't blame them. Other people tell them what to grow and

how much they'll get paid for it. That was just one big lesson for me -

farming."

In a very general sense, the Buxtons observed that people in the mid-west seem

to be more interested in enjoying life; those in the east more interested in

success and money, material items and status.

Throughout their journey, the couple was on a "garbage watch." As they

approached a town, they could tell a good deal from the litter on the side of

the roads. "It did change with the towns. You could tell if there was a

convenience store in a town and what they sold," said Cathy. "How people treat

the land is something I concern myself with everyday."

The couple found it shocking to be traveling through the beautiful Unaweep

Canyon in northwestern Colorado near the Utah border, and encounter a

hazardous waste dump. "Around bends we'd see amazing rock formations, spires,

and canyons," said Cathy. "Suddenly there were three or four man-made pools in

fenced-in areas. The fence was 30 or 40 feet from the road, and all along the

fence, every 30 feet, were signs that read: Caution: Radioactive Material."

Apparently, they were cleaning up a Superfund Site and moving the dirt to the

canyon between the site and the pools of water, she said. "Twenty or 30

18-wheeler dump trucks carrying radioactive material were on the road with

us," said Cathy. "After carrying the dirt from the site to the canyon, they

would go back and get the trucks sprayed down in a parking lot. Men or women

in body suits would spray down the trucks, all the water being contained. That

was the water in the pools."

One of the reasons Cathy and Toad chose bicycles as their mode of

transportation for this trip is because it is a form of low-impact travel.

They generated as little garbage as possible, and used solar panels to

recharge Ni-Cad batteries which can be charged 1,000 times before being

recycled by the manufacturer. A company in Windsor, Conn., called Solar Edge,

custom designed Uni-Solar panels so the bicyclists could hook them on to the

outside of their packs and attach them to battery holders. The batteries

powered their weather radio, am/fm radio, the headlamps they wore in the

evening around camp or on the road, and the flashing red lights on the back of

their bikes.

"Children would often [point to the solar panels and] ask, `What's that?' That

was the really inspirational part of the trip - talking to young people along

the way," said Cathy.

Cathy and Toad chose not to take photographs on their trip because of the

expense, the shift of attention to focus on "a good picture," and the toxic

chemicals and animal products used in creation and development of film. "I

wanted to focus on the adventure, every part of it," said Cathy. "You can

never really capture a moment. And I'd rather try to do it with a poem or

picture, or with a memory held inside."

Listeners of WPKN radio station may have heard some on-the-road interviews

between DJ Doug Echols and Cathy Buxton. Every week or two, Cathy would call

the studio and update listeners for 15 to 20 minutes.

"People find it absolutely amazing that anyone would do [a trip like this],"

said Mr Echols, who has known Toad since he was an infant. "They've run into

grandparents with grandchildren who are biking across country. So they're not

just some crazy couple."

Mr Echols said broadcasting this type of adventure allows people to live

vicariously and educates them about different attitudes, people, events, and

communities.

Anyone Can Do It

Cathy encourages everyone to take a bicycle trip - for a weekend, a week, or

longer. "It's wonderful, a completely different experience. It's very peaceful

and stress-relieving. Even riding a bicycle to work - is a great relief of

body and mind," she said. "Don't be afraid of weather. You don't melt when you

get wet and you can always get dry," she said. "Some of our best rides were in

the rain."

Anyone can do it, she said. "It's not something for the elite. We were working

class. We just put it in our minds, saved the money, and we did it," she said.

"It doesn't cost much money once you are on the road. And it would probably

cost less for those who eat meat because of all the buffets offered."

In December, the Buxtons will head to Oregon, where they will get jobs and

start saving for their second bike trip. Although they haven't yet seen the

northwest, they believe they have found a good place to settle down.

"Politically speaking, Connecticut is not our cup of tea. We want to be [in an

area that is] more secluded," said Cathy. "By riding our bicycles we got a

really good look, not only at the landscape, but got to know the towns and the

people.

"Right now, Vermont is it. After traveling 4,000 miles we found we want to be

in Vermont," Cathy laughed.