Like most people I began riding bikes at a very early age. The feeling of joy while on a bike has never dulled in my lifetime. With the recent atmosphere of change in this world, bicycles have become a staple to sustainability. Even with this new acceptance of bicycles it is still looked at as a form of rebellion. If you don't drive to work, you must not be normal.

Well in no form am I normal.

After being vegetarian for many years I wised up and became vegan in 1991. In the late '80's and '90's veganism was looked upon as a cult. We drank "milk" from a box which we had to cut the corner off of to open. We vegans searched for hours in grocery aisle reading labels and trying to figure out just what is RED #40. With all the stereo types vegans we labeled with, we felt good about our choices and ourselves.

Learning is the most important part of life, and I feel nothing can truly be learned unless it is experienced. My early days in the music scene were filled with far away friends and the joy of meeting new people at shows. These friends and people were not always of the same opinion as myself, but we were friends none the less. Before the internet we waited for letters and packages to come to us through the mail. Zines were our blogs, writings letters were our text messages, and physically going to a show would be our chat room. We had no buddy list then, just real friends.

Now add those aspects; Bicycles, Veganism and learning through experience you have Exercise Compassion.

Veganism is first and foremost in my life. Each day I want to do more, learn more, teach more about what we can and should be doing for the life we share Earth with. A change in diet is a huge step for most of us, but when that change gives us a life long insight it is more than just a step, it becomes who you are. As vegans we often get the rhetorical questions and the tasteless jokes. For us we must learn to be the greatest vegan debate team and give everyone the facts that we were all hidden from.

Life for most of us has become a redundant cycle of doing what we have always done. We put the high octane, more expensive, fuel in our over priced and too fast for the highway sports car so it will last longer and operate better. We then go to the drive thru and buy the cheapest unknown mixture of so called food to fill a craving of hunger. We live our lives by appearance and not by emotion. We nee to change our views, our lifestyles and give more than take for the better of all life.

Too often we look at what we can obtain to better ourselves, when we should be looking at what we can sacrifice. We buy a bike and new lightbulbs to lower our "carbon footprint. But are we willing to turn the light off? Are we willing to leave some food off our plates? Can we learn to live with a little less so others can simply live?

All the questions we throw at so called enviromental experts are not going to give us the answers, untill we look at ourselves and do something. Technology will not solve this problem that we have created, sacrifice will.

So on this trip I hope to learn and educate others that a vegan lifestyle is simple, healthy and can make real change in our daily lives, our environment and the lives of others.

It is difficult at times to make our lives as complete as we would like. Operating a business can make our lifestyle choices even more difficult.

I will be traveling the United States by bicycle to learn, teach, volunteer, and assist in whatever way I am capable. Here are a few examples of the things I have experience in;

I am a photographer by profession. For years I felt guilty using film, but now I am all vegan, using the latest digital technology. I have photographed for many Bed and Breakfast Inns, Sports and entertainment including Vans, Airwalk, Alternative Press, and many record labels and magazines. My largest photography client was The United States Coast Guard. The US Coast Guard sent me on a wet and wild tour of the coastal United States all the while photographing all aspects of military lifestyle.

I am experienced in mechanics and construction. When not riding a bike I drive a Biodiesel Volkswagen which I maintain and repair myself. I also have quite a bit of construction experience. I have owned several homes and have completely rewired and run plumbing myself. I worked my way through college with a contractor who taught me every aspect of constructing homes. From drawing plans to final clean up, I have done it all. Woodworking is another trade I can handle. For over 8 years I have been working with furniture grade woodworking, from cutting sanding to finishing, I have experienced many challenges that I quickly learned solutions to.

Also while attending college I volunteered on a Hare Krishna farm. My search for something higher in our daily lives lead me to the International Society of Cow Protection (ISCOWP). Here I was more in search of self sufficiency and learning why people look to others as a higher power. I learned quite a bit about farming, the animals, and life in general from Bill Dove and his family while volunteering at ISCOWP. The farm, the animals, the people created a long lasting harmony in my being that I tend to carry out in my everyday life.

Bicycling has been a part of my life since a very young age. I learned to do all repairs to my bike in order to fix things while on the road. At age 13 I began to ride my bike 6 miles to and from school. Recently I attended Basic and advanced mechanics classes at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon. While at United Bicycle Institute I studied TIG welding under Mike DeSalvo. I also have some welding experience in Ship building and auto body.

In the business world I worked my way up from a sales position to manager very quickly. I have successfully managed several businesses including photography sales, photography labs and communication sales. These businesses taught me how to appreciate people in difficult times and how to assist people in order to achieve harmony not only with each other but with the company and the customer.

In my recent life I have searched for more ways to help animals other than just changing my diet. I ride my bike and volunteer with bike advocacy groups. During Hurricane Katrina, I went to New Orleans in order to help the animals that were left abandoned by the storm. While there I experienced people in a new light. Many were angry that we were there to help animals and not people. The Wal Marts refused to sell us dog food so we had to make our own from what Wal-Mart would let us buy. I have attended the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) classes which is provided by United Animal Nations. I am also an Emergency First Responder (for humans and animals) and can give manual CPR as well as CPR with the use of AEDs. At a young age I was certified as a PADI open water diver, so if needed I can jump in feet first and help out in that respect as well.