The Wok Shop

My Uncle Jeff Jarvie took me to the Wok Shop to purchase a Wok for my journey.The wok has been a preferred method to make delicious food of all types for 3000 years! The employees of the shop were very helpful in finding the perfect lightweight steel wok for the bike tour. The Wok Shop is located in SF's Chinatown. They were very generous and threw in a complimentary pair of the longest chopsticks I have ever seen! I recommend stopping at this shop if you are in need of a wok.

The wok will be perfect to use on an open fire and my Dragonfly MSR stove my brother James Dickenson gave me. Here I am displaying my new favorite cooking implement, and I didn't waste any time seasoning it. Beautiful patina!


We tested it with sukiyaki. You might be wondering "Sukiyaki?"
How do I make that? It is very easy! Invite your friends over and whatever they bring over to throw in the wok turns into your Sukiyaki! It is constantly changing, make it tonight and celebrate friendship it will turn out amazing.!

Earth Day

NASA has a wealth of wonderful information on changing ecosystems. They aren't just looking deep into space.
Climate study effects
It is interesting to read about how climate changes are directly effecting animals, plants, and Crustaceans, fungi.... And how quickly it is all happening.

This is linked to the fact that a major part of the earth's carbon has been harvested and burned as fuel into our atmosphere in the last two centuries.

I like to imagine how wonderful and untamed, untainted the country had been for Lewis and Clark's journey to the Pacific. They had earth day picnics all the time.

I am going to a seed bomb workshop tonight at Franklin and Market at the school house.

ALLIDA

Paul Stamets Awesome Plan!

I found this article via the permaculture website!
Paul Stamets is a fungi expert who has a great plan to control the radiation around the failed Fukushima nuclear plants.
He also started a company called Fungi Perfecti that generously donated a case of Cordyceps capsules to the Pleasant Revolution 2011 tour!
Paul's awesome 8 step plan


ALLIDA

Links to eco-kosher movement article and sustainable table

http://www.sustainabletable.org/home.php

Follow the link, and read the red box 10 Reasons to learn sustainable home cooking. pdf
The site is a very good introductory guide to sustainability and what it means.

This Ecocentric blog has an interesting article about the eco-kosher movement.
http://www.ecocentricblog.org/2011/04/19/eco-kosher-and-the-evolution-of-tradition/

T minus two weeks

How exciting! My journey starts in two weeks! I can't wait! Luckily time flies whether you want it to or not.

I realized I had seen and been influenced by the Pleasant Revolution long before even knowing who they were. I saw them play in Olympia a couple years ago. In 2007 my little sister Effie showed me a video of Cellojoeperforming "fancy cars".

Kippy introduced me to Justin Ancheta and Louis "FluLou" Alexander at glen park Bart station. They were all excited about the European tour and telling us about it. I was thinking to myself, I would really love to do something like that!

And here I am with less than two weeks till I get to go on a grand adventure!

If anyone wants to help me great ready by donating some money so I can buy some gear it would be greatly appreciated!

I need kitchen gear, bicycle shorts, a comfortable bicycle seat, a rain jacket, and some misc. things.


Mucho Gracias! To Cynthia Delaney who sent me an encouraging letter, a good luck charm and a check for my kitchen gear!

Follow the Pleasant Revolution!
www.pleasantrevolution.net

Follow the Pleasant Revolution!
www.pleasantrevolution.net

Location:Benton Ave,San Francisco,United States

Tsunami

Got into a spat with a loved one about sustainability. We argued about what are
apparently just "drops in the bucket."


But what I wasn't able to impart was that another drop from everyone, who thinks "their drop don't count",
... creates a tsunami.

Much love to those called names when touting their ideals!

ALLIDA

Follow the Pleasant Revolution!
www.pleasantrevolution.net

Follow the Pleasant Revolution!
www.pleasantrevolution.net

Location:24th St,San Francisco,United States

Yesterday's Radish

I will be sad to leave my garden behind when I go on this tour. Luckily it will be in very good hands. Everything is planted and growing! And I will be back in time to plant the late summer crop before we get back on the road. These radishes I pulled out during a thinning were amazingly delicious! Food tastes better when it is grown with care, organically, locally and most especially in your own backyard.

What my kitchen needs!

A big lightweight bamboo cutting board
A nice pairing knife
A big steel bowl
A wok
Two highly reflective aluminum cookie sheets
Hand and cleaning towels
A brush to wash dishes
Very long tongs
Clothespins
Re usable shopping bags
One all purpose measuring spoon
One all purpose measuring cup
Lightweight unbreakable big plate
Big spoons wooden or otherwise
Spatula
Big lightweight pan for boiling water, soups, rice could also be a pressure cooker
A bamboo sushi rolling mat
Fuel for my stove
Sustainable natural Firesarters
Refillable lighter
Spices!

I wish I could take a cast iron pan but that would be so heavy!

I am going to need some help coming up with these items. The tour starts soon and all I have is a sauce pan, a wooden spoon and a big knife!

Email me jenniedickenson@gmail.com
Or call me
(415) 297-0433
If you want to donate an item or funds to further my progress on this adventure!

ALLIDA

Location:Justin Dr,San Francisco,United States

Cellojoe plays with Fiddlebox

Last night I went to see Cellojoe at the makeout rooom. Cellojoe will be riding with the Pleasant Revolution on the upcoming tour.

He was playing there with a new project called FIDDLEBOX! It was a seamless meld of beatboxing and old timey string music. The fiddle, cello, and banjo went with the devil to Georgia and met some beatboxers and they broke it down together.

Play this for your anti hip hop grandparents!

The video of the performance on YouTube, FIDDLEBOX

ALLIDA

Follow the Pleasant Revolution!
www.pleasantrevolution.net

Location:24th St,San Francisco,United States

Green Pan

I am a lucky girl! At my sister in law Tammie's coupon/ Philadelphia cream cheese product party I won the raffle!

A green pan! What is special about my new pan is it is made PTFE free! You know those Teflon covered pans? Well if they flake they send toxic bits that look like pepper into your food, into your body! Well this bad ass pan has a ceramic covering and can resist temperatures of 745• fahrenheit!

So due to luck, the hungry pedalers can rest easy knowing they won't be poisoned!

Also, I read an article about belief in luck. Apparently there really is none but a belief in it makes you optimistic, more likely to take chances, and therefore happier! So I believe in luck because I am lucky!

So check out GREEN PAN!

ALLIDA

The Keeper!

I have known about this wonderful invention for awhile now and can say it has made my life heaven for a period.

The Keeper is medical grade natural rubber, or silicone in another variety. It is a device to be inserted, instead of a tampon, rather than soaking up your menstrual blood and drying out your cooch it collects it to be dumped out. Also who wants to end up with Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)? Check out the link for more details. This reduces an amazing ton of waste every month for women. The packaging, the cotton, whatever weird crap they make tampons or pads out of. Seriously the blue stuff in the pads I have seen freaks me out a bit, what exactly is that highly absorbent?

*Although most women think pads and tampons have been sterilized, they have not. In fact, no feminine hygiene product has been sterilized.

*FDA does not require that the ingredients in tampons and pads be listed anywhere in or on the package.

Rather than subject myself to the costs of buying, unwrapping, carrying around all that "jazz."
I have been using the keeper cup size B, which is the size for those who haven't given vaginal birth. They make a size A is for women having given birth, though the size difference looks negligible it probably doesn't feel that way. I almost wish they made a size for the slightly virginal, as it can take a bit to get used to it. Of course if you are actually and entirely virginal there are always Gladrags, fitted cloth pads.

Slightly uncomfortable topic? YES but I wanted to let you all know that there is a better way to deal every month with mother nature. And she will probably be more kind to you if you protect her with your choice to use reusable feminine hygiene products.

According to the Center for Marine Conservation, over 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along U.S. coastal areas between 1998 and 1999. Who wants to go to the beach!?

BPA!

Bisphenol A is a terrible plastics compound that is used in canned goods, plastics, and many other everyday objects. It is an estrogenic compound that has been linked with, ovary/ breast/ prostate cancer, sexual dysfunction, messing with endocrine systems, and terrible neurological hazards.
This compound was found to be hazardous yet hasn't been eliminated off the shelves! Do you occasionally microwave some water in a bottle to warm it for your infant? Then you are probably suffering from too much BPA in your brain and it has covered your neurons in a hard plastic covering, making you callous. Your child will have a lessened potential to reproduce later in life, behavior issues, and a greatly increased risk of cancer.
With the prevalence of this compound in the last 50 years, researchers had an AHA moment. They linked this compound to the dramatic increase of breast cancer. What are you doing to decrease or eliminate your consumption of Bisephonal A? Wikipedia gives a full run down, read it!

For a great alternatives to plastic and great info on plastic dangers visit this blog/ online store!
Life without plastic! Save yourself!






ALLIDA

What I need to get for the bike tour.

What I will need for the bike tour!

Of course I need A whole bunch of cooking equipment but I will out line that in a bit.
The bike stuff I am just lost with. Everything highlighted is what I already have.

I am hoping my clothes work out. They are worn out I know but we can work it out!
This bike equipment is going to be expensive!

• recommend either front suspension or fat tires (e।g. >2.2
• fancy tires: schwalbe marathon or big apple
  
• nice saddle. a really cool one is the brooks, but others will do. a lot depends on your butt! best is to try a saddle for awhile before taking it on a 1000 mile tour (Whether or not your bike is sponsored, everyone is responsible for getting their own comfy saddle.)
  
• *less fancy tires that still rock and are way cheaper and probably easier to find: serfas drifter
• most of us use upright handlebars (cruiser bars). Mountain bikes never come with this style bar. You have to buy it separate and install it yourself if you want it. Generally makes for more comfortable riding, and we're not going too fast so wind resistance isn't too much of an issue.
• deore or better rear derailleur
• prefer 36 spoke rear wheel. but wheels are most often 32 spoke. so just make sure it's a high quality wheel in either case.
• *patch kit
• *pump
• 2 extra tubes
  
• *multi tool (not a leatherman, a multi bike tool)
• *rear blinky light
• *optional: front handlebar bag
• disc brakes are the bomb. mechanical discs are preferred over hydraulic. the preferred model is *Avid BB7. If you're buying a bike and have the option, get disc-ready wheels so that you can at least add discs at some point even if the bike doesn't have them now.
• KickBack kickstand
  

• *2 drybags. NRS Xtracycle makes the perfect one. If you buy another brand, look for a duffel style and avoid PVC.
  
• 1 person (or two if you have a tent partner) Tent. Lightweight with rainfly that covers the whole tent; all quality tents have this; walmart style often don't. Great 2-person tent: MSR hubba hubba they also make a one person. You don't have to spend this much for a good tent, though. Aim for a tent that's less than 3 pounds/person if possible. This will cost extra.
  
• Sleeping bag. prefer down sleeping bag for lightness and extreme stuffability. anything in the 10-30 degree range, depending on whether you're a warm or cold sleeper.
• Blow up mat to put under the sleeping bag, eg Thermarest or similar.
  
• Toiletries (tooth brush, Etc.).
  
• optional: towel (packtowel is a lightweight alternative)
  
• *flipflops and Shoes 1 pair each
• *sun glasses
• *Sun screen (but! make sure it's not going to give you skin cancer...) and Lip balm
• Warm jacket
• 2 shirts that double as riding and dressup
• 2 pants that double as riding and dressup dress up!? how fancy?
  
• lightweight rain jacket and pants
  
• 3 pairs this wool socks
  
• beanie
  
• 1 pair shorts
  
• 2-3 t-shirts
• 1 pair of padded riding shorts
• 1 set of long underwear, wool's the best!
• 1 sunhat
• *1-2 bike water bottles depending on how much you drink, and 1 larger 32-40 oz bottle (prefer Klean Kanteens)
• *Headlamp
  
• *plate, bowl, or combo plate/storage container (I haven't tried this one. Obviously a tupperware is cheaper and easier to find if you don't mind plastic)

Metal, wood and plastic bowls and plates are easy to find at thriftstores!

• *spork
  

* Don't go rushing out to get it just yet—may be available as sponsored item

The Grand Adventure!

Dear Friends,

In early May I will be joining 12 inspired and enthusiastic artist/revolutionaries on an 8-month North American rock and roll bicycle journey from May 2011—January 2012. I am excited to be a part of the ultra-green sustainable lifestyle movement called the "Pleasant Revolution." Imagining what it will be like to tour for 8 months on this Rock and Roll odyssey is akin to imagining a dream come true. The idea is to help change the world--through music, on bicycle, and to really enjoy yourself in the process, thus the Pleasant Revolution!


The Pleasant Revolution demonstrates that bands can tour independently, without automobile support, carrying our own equipment and gear to put on stunning, participatory musical events at existing mainstream festivals as well as our own series of Bicycle Music and Film Festivals in 20 West Coast Cities. At each show, audience members pedal our Xtracycle cargo bicycles to make the electricity for our 1200W pedal-powered sound system. The following day, audiences pedal to project the Wild and Scenic Film Festival।


Our partnership with The Wild and Scenic Film Festival will offer a whole new dynamic to the tour. Considered the largest film festival of its kind, the films combine stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography and first-rate storytelling to inform, inspire and ignite solutions and possibilities to restore the earth and human communities while creating a positive future for the next generation. The world is changing rapidly and we are on a mission to influence that change for the better! All over the world minds and hearts are being opened to living and participating in a more sustainable lifestyle. And we would like to invite you to participate in making it happen!

Here are links to the tour website, the bands and their music, more info on the bike-powered sound system, tour dates, pictures, and sponsors.


Here are three links to videos of last years European Tour, take 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 10 and have a gander.