What inspired you to create the Pedaling Astronomer Project ?
What inspired you to create the Pedaling Astronomer Project ?
I was driving home from AstronomyOutreach network ’ s 2014 Big Bear Starlight Festival , still stoked from participating in the sharing of solar and night-sky telescope views with so many thousands of delighted guests , when I noticed a fellow struggling up a steep grade pushing a bicycle along the shoulder of I-40 just west of Flagstaff , Ariz . And by struggling , I mean , it looked like it was all he could do to move his overloaded bike up the very long , very steep incline . It ’ s the first time I can recall seeing a cyclist on an interstate highway , much less seeing one pushing his bike . Anyway , the scene was so improbable , I pulled off at the next exit and waited for him . When he finally caught up , I asked if he needed help . He laughed and explained that , no , he was traveling coast-to-coast by bike and pushing it up steep hills was just part of his daily routine . When I asked why he wanted to travel so far by bike , his main explanation — that you see things from the seat of a bike that you miss at highway speeds in an automobile — resonated so , that I resolved then and there to make a bicycle journey of my own . I ’ d driven through all 48-states in my old van , and that ’ s the problem : I ’ d been through the 48 states , but had stopped to enjoy only a few of them . My initial plan was to bike the East Coast Greenway from Key West to Calais , starting in early February of 2015 and stopping at the Winter Star Party and NEAF along the way . That plan was interrupted by a minor stroke in January of 2015 , which also gave me more than enough down time for the scheme to evolve into a 48-state ride . As lagniappe , I discovered while preparing for the project that cycling and amateur astronomy push many of
COURTESY OF Gary Parkerson
the same positive emotional buttons . Both are engaging outdoor activities , both speak to our senses of adventure , both represent investments in ourselves , and both return enormous rewards for minimal investments . So , combining the two made even more sense the more I explored the possibilities .
Above , a young viewer enjoys views of the Sun from a telescope mounted on Parkerson ’ s cargo bike at a Focus Astronomy Outreach event in Southern California . Left , a break in the clouds provides nice solar views captured by a DayStar Quark pumping sunlight through a little Celestron NexImage Burst color camera to a laptop shielded by a LapDome on the Surly Big ’ s rear deck .
Sky ’ s Up
COURTESY OF Gary Parkerson
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