Lorraine Escher

From the Vault: Cycling 1,000 miles Along the US Pacific Coast — with a Parrot

Rick and I thrive on challenges. But, this one was a little weird.

Here is a magazine article that I wrote in 2005 which describes the 1,000-mile journey we took from Abbotsford, Canada to San Francisco, bicycling with our parrot, Dixie (pictured).

Caveat

What this article glosses over is that I was basically bicycling long distances on very hilly terrain while deep breathing over a bird cage. The porous nature of the bird cage allowed our bird to deposit liquid droppings through its enclosure.

Our parrot, Dixie, a red and green parrot about the size of a ketchup bottle.

I’d bicycle this route again, But, I wouldn’t feel compelled to take a pet. It was a really interesting few weeks. I had plenty of time to think about and observe our bird’s feet, diet, feathers, predators, color and comfort.

Read the full article

Here is a link to the full article in PDF format below.

Photo of the first page of the magazine article.
Click to read the full article.

Rick and I, Before Kids

This article harkens back to a time before we had children. It has nothing to do with sailing but everything to do with our love of the outdoors and spirit of adventure. We still have our touring bikes and panniers in storage.

3 comments

    • I have heard of the cruising chicken! I bet you haven’t heard of “Chicken Man” – he was a character in a decidedly Canadian comedy show called “Kids in the Hall” – strange hybrid chicken/person…..

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