Ride for Climate USA
Bill Bradlee and David Kroodsma in midtown Manhattan.
David Kroodsma and Bill Bradlee are 48 days into their bicycle tour across the United States. If such undertakings are not yet commonplace, neither are they rare. What makes this two-wheeled trans-continental traverse distinctive is the cause to which it is devoted.
Ride for Climate USA is dedicated to promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy resources -- along with public awareness that solutions to global warming depend on broad social consensus and commitment to action.
Bradlee and Kroodsma are scheduled to roll into Madison with their message today.
Since departing from Boston on April 21, the duo have been delivering formal presentations to audiences at stops along their route. So far, they've made dozens of appearances across Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Crossing into Wisconsin at the start of the month, they've since delivered their message to audiences in Lake Geneva, Milwaukee and Fort Atkinson. Tonight, they are to appear at 7 p.m. at REI, 7483 West Towne Way. Tomorrow, they hope to be at the Dane County Farmers' Market at the Capitol Square and, if time allows, put in an appearance at the Marquette Waterfront Festival. Then it's on to Minneapolis, across South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to Washington and Oregon, and from there down the California coast to the return leg across the southern U.S. to Florida.
Kroodsma, who holds a Master's degree in earth systems from Stanford, contributed to the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment and has worked for the Carnegie Institution in association with the Stanford Department of Global Ecology, and had logged 16,000 miles during a solo bike tour from California to South America's far southern tip before embarking on this expedition.
Holding a Master's in environmental studies from Evergreen State College, Bradlee has worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists and was most recently the managing director for the Regeneration Project, which endeavors to help people of faith become more energy-efficient.
