At the Pond: Biking along the ‘big pond’

I am at the pond, our big pond — our Pacific Ocean, for the next 45 days. I say “our pond” because it is part of our watershed, the final destination for each toilet flush. Along with 14 strangers, soon to be new friends, I will be cycling 2,000 miles along the Pacific Coast from Canada to Mexico. We will be camping out and sharing cooking along the way.

Back to that watershed/toilet flush. Did you ever think of the path of our wastewater? Perhaps it’s worthwhile to consider our connectedness to the larger world. From the Davis wastewater treatment plant, that flush goes to the Yolo Bypass, then to the joined Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers in the delta, on into the San Francisco Bay and finally into the ocean.

Given the importance of water, the prevailing thought is that it is best to look at a watershed approach to dealing with our water resources. A watershed approach is one in which all people who share a common waterway acknowledge how our individual actions can affect it and thus work together.

Do you think this concept is being considered as we decide the thorny answers to our town water management? We are not only connected with the people along the path going out to the Pacific Ocean, but when you consider that 13 percent of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, we realize a much greater connectedness. Parts of China, Russia, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, all of Japan and parts of Australia and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide plus western Central America and South America west of the Andes — all drain into the common basin, the Pacific Ocean.

I am not sure of how to connect the dots, but there are no doubt dots to be connected. I know we are concerned about air pollution, which is now traceable, coming from China — as if we don’t have enough of it of our own making. And I know we are concerned about radioactive contamination from the Japanese Fukushima disaster — in the fish we eat and the objects from the disaster washing up on our shores.

I will have lots of time to think about the Pacific Ocean as I bike from Canada to Mexico. On Tuesday, I will leave a campground near Bellingham, Wash., ride to the Peace Arch International Park at the Canadian border and back to the campground, a distance of 68 miles. Then we will head south. We are from Canada, the United States, Norway and England. It is an Adventure Cycle organized trip.

I am using the ride to call attention to multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that my brother Roger and two friends have. There is no cure for multiple myeloma. New drugs are helping people live longer. I am raising funds for research. I welcome your online donations at http://tinyurl.com/Jeans-ride or you can donate by check. Please write Jean Jackman in memo and send to MMRF Endurance Events, 383 Main Ave, Fifth Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851, attention Alicia O’Neill.

I pay for my own ride. All funds raised go to MMRF, a four-star charity.

I am enjoying a new bike that fits me like a glove, made by Davis frame maker Kimo Tanaka. It is an Inner Light bike that comes apart and fits in a suitcase on wheels so that I can take it traveling. Now, thanks to Kimo’s patient instructions, I can take the bike apart and put it together. The frame is in two pieces, put together with a Ritchey Coupler. Ritchey Breakaway bike assembly and disassembly videos are on YouTube. Only my bike is an Inner Light, put together by Myke at Velo City in Winters on the frame made by Kimo.

It may be a stretch to think about water problems given the beauty of our Pacific Coast. I’ve biked parts of the coast before and in one 24-hour period saw whales close into shore accompanied by dolphins, several condors perched below a rest stop and thousands of elephant seals. The ocean and plants smells are great since the ocean breezes sweep away automobile exhaust odors.

We’ll be experiencing many habitats — lush forests, salt and fresh water wetlands, beaches, dunes and deserts. We are prepared for rain, wind and hot and cold temperatures. And September and October are the busy times of the year for migration. We can expect to see interesting birds in all habitats.

You, too, can combine biking and birding when the Yolo Basin Foundation and California Department of Fish and Game hold their first bicycle open house at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers will meet participants at Parking Lot A with maps and suggestions for routes.

I am amazed at the number of longtime residents in Davis who have never visited the Wildlife Area. Usually, bicycles are not allowed, and though I am an avid cyclist, I enjoy that area in a car. It is my experience that I scare up the birds more on a bicycle than I do in a car. The car hides my legs, so I don’t look like a predator. I often drive the Wildlife Area with windows open, big lens in hand, and shoot photos from the car.

Listen. It is time for the sandhill cranes to return with their distinctive hkaarrr rattling call. Visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/delta/cranetour/ to schedule a tour to the Woodbridge Area to see them. Listen and watch for the many species of warblers (especially along Putah Creek) and other species passing through. Go wherever birds find food, water and protection. Get outside and experience the great migration. And kiss each day.

— Jean Jackman is a Davis resident; her column is published monthly. Got a story, photo, comment, question, correction? Contact her at JeanJackman@gmail.com