melissateeple

The People You Meet | Shane

The People You Meet | Shane 5000 miles. – How the conversation ended. How much I have left to eek out of my van tires before I have to toss them where, if in the 80% of tires recycled, they will go to be chemically melted down. Hi there. – How the conversation started. My vanContinue reading “The People You Meet | Shane”

A Mingling of Minds, A Meeting in the Woods

Round and round and round. The microwave plate was taking four various flavored Amy’s organic, vegan, and gluten-free burritos on a little carnival ride, heating them to the core, if I was patient enough. Burritos, burritoed, each into its own tinfoil sleeping bag, I grabbed the lot and headed from the office kitchen to theContinue reading “A Mingling of Minds, A Meeting in the Woods”

The People You Meet | Margarita

Eyes that tell of a soul on fire eight decades in, sparkling enough to be the first thing you see and emit their own energy. Married at 18, by choice, to a man more than two decades her senior, she was happy. She lived life her own way, and after his passing met and remarriedContinue reading “The People You Meet | Margarita”

The People You Meet | Joanne

It was subfreezing. Procrastination brought a midday start for an ambitious ride, 80 miles of gravel and hills. Middle Mountain – a spine that runs along, home to hundreds of acres of forest, just as many stories as trees, and people hwo have lived and died among its folds and peaks – runs to theContinue reading “The People You Meet | Joanne”

DEAR CYCLING INDUSTRY

A call to address and end racism in cycling. Amplify BIPOC voices. Thank you, Marzhel. .WATCH • LISTEN+HEAR • SHARE • ACT. Marzhel is a friend, former coworker, stellar mechanic, and SO MUCH MORE. Please listen to his message. ..I have felt uncomfortable in this space since the second I entered it, and my onlyContinue reading “DEAR CYCLING INDUSTRY”

Tell Me Something… Else

I’m more into year-round resolutions than New Year’s resolutions, which is good since it’s already the end of February. Avoiding an over emphasis on a single day, but respecting your goals and aspirations with a 365-day commitment – a daily commitment – is much more powerful and purposeful in the long term. I have perhapsContinue reading “Tell Me Something… Else”

A Place is Only as Boring as the Person Deeming it So

I’ve driven a lot of miles this year, 30,000 miles in the past 9 months. I’ve seen a lot of “destination locations”, but I’ve also spent a fair amount of time gazing over land that will never make an “America’s Top Road Trip” or “Must Visit” list. I’ve long balked at people’s ideas of badContinue reading “A Place is Only as Boring as the Person Deeming it So”