Tag Archives: bamboo

Sacramento, CA to Portland, OR

I just spent 2 weeks living in an intentional community in the forest ~20 miles outside Eugene, OR. This is my first time in Oregon. My-oh-my, is it beautiful! Just a bit cold & wet for my tastes (welcome to the Pacific Northwest!). I give massive cred to the crusties living on the streets here. How do they ever dry their clothes?

Mikey's fully-loaded bicycle is leaned against a well. Itc arrys 4 panniers, 1 backpack, and a huge cardboard box
Bootstrapped moar leik bikestrapped
A ceder-sided building sits in the middle of a dense forest. The side of the building is painted with a picture from the Giving Tree--a tree drops an apple to a boy.
Giving Tree

I spent a wonderful week with a new friend in Sacramento. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Sacramento. The weather was great, the dumpsters were full of gifts (two unopened 4-packs of Pilsner Urquell?!?), and the streets were easy to navigate by bicycle. Coworking offices were pretty ridiculous ($192/day are you mad?!?), but fortunately I was able to work from home.

I was just finishing dinner, planning to see a friend play a folk punk show in Sac when my friend in Eugene asked what time I'd arrive tomorrow. Looks like my calendar was off-by-one day; my train leaves in a few hours. Whoops! I made a call to a friend, packed my stuff, rode-off to amtrak, and quickly boxed my bicycle. When I awoke on the train the next morning, I was crossing a gorgeous lake via causeway with snow-capped mountains in the distance. Everything was green, and--as we climbed in elevation through the cascades--there was snow on the ground.

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Bamboo Workshops in Auroville

This weekend I'm dodging cows, dogs, and goats on my moped through the streets of Tamil Nadu. The engine lets out a constant scream as I ride full-throttle at 40 kph. My usual preference for a cycle is impractical for this weekend's agenda--I'm attending a Bamboo workshop at the Bamboo Center in Auroville.

This weekend I'm dodging cows, dogs, and goats on my moped through the streets of Tamil Nadu. The engine lets out a constant scream as I ride full-throttle at 40 kph.

On my 4-day weekend break from work, I took a 7-hour bus ride from Bangalore in Karnataka to Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu. Auroville is an incredible community with more wisdom per-capita than I've ever experienced in any town or city. Any traveler should land here with the intention to stay a few weeks, and the will to stay a few months. There's volunteer opportunities at every corner, with immense potential for useful knowledge in permaculture, sustainable architecture, community, and spirituality.

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