Cycling, Soccer, and Service

Jerry Kopack [00:00:02]: Welcome to Bike Life, a podcast from the Warmshowers Foundation. Here we celebrate our global community of touring cyclists and hosts who make life on the road unforgettable. Through stories, insights, and shared experiences, we explore the connections that fuel every journey. Whether you're pedaling across countries or welcoming travelers into your home, you're part of a movement rooted in generosity and adventure. Discover more and join the community@warmshowers.org now let's hit the road together. Hey, everyone. This is Jerry Kopeck, the host of Bike Life, coming to you from the Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. How do you combine a passion for charitable work, professional soccer, and bike touring? Well, Jess Lawrence is a lifelong cyclist who named her most recent adventure Pedal to the Pitch. Jerry Kopack [00:00:55]: It blends her love of all three as she rode from Connecticut all the way to San Diego while attending professional soccer matches along the way. Hey, Jess. Welcome to Bike Life. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:01:05]: Thanks so much for having me. Jerry Kopack [00:01:06]: So I definitely want to talk about this most recent trip, but first, I kind of want to roll it back to where it all started. So you've been bike touring and biking in general for a while. So tell me about that first trip. Sort of, how old were you and what got you started and this passion of exploration. Yeah. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:01:25]: So When I was 8 years old, my parents, we moved only a few miles up the road, but out of a neighborhood where I had a lot of friends, right. Where I could just walk to their homes or bike over to their house. And so all of a sudden, I found myself a couple of miles from my friends. And so biking was a way that I could still bike a couple of miles at 9, 10 years old on my own and go back to that neighborhood and see friends. So for me, biking always represented independence. And so that was a really big part of. And I still feel it. I still feel when I'm on a bike, I feel like a kid. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:02:03]: So that's a piece of it. And then as a teenager, I had the fortunate opportunity to spend, I think it was about four to six weeks in Europe with other 15 year olds on a bike tour. And so as a result of that experience, I remember coming home and telling my parents that someday I would bike across the United States. Jerry Kopack [00:02:24]: What? I have so many questions. So I'm trying to think, what was I doing when I was 15? It was definitely not that. I grew up in this sort of small, rural town in Michigan, and I had absolutely no awareness of anything outside of that little nook. How did you. How did this happen? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:02:44]: I think My parents knew that I just loved cycling. And there is a company called, I think it's student hosteling program. And I think they still do the exact same trip that I did that started in Amsterdam and ended in London for 15 year olds. And we had gone to camp as a kid and we looked into it, it looked interesting. I think there were, you know, 12 to 13 other youth, teenagers on the trip, two or three counselors, and some of these people I've actually kept in touch with through social media, which is kind of fun. And we camped and we biked through those countries and carried all our gear. And that's where my love for touring began as an, as a teenager. Jerry Kopack [00:03:28]: Holy cow. So, I mean, that must have just set your life on this completely different trajectory. Like, what were, what were your classmates doing? They probably weren't doing this kind of stuff, right? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:03:39]: Yeah. 15, probably working or hanging with friends. My best friend Gabby in high school kind of hated me every summer because I was leaving her. But both my brother and I got to do some, some cool summer things and explore. And it's changed our lives, that's for sure. Jerry Kopack [00:03:57]: Yeah, I think I was bagging groceries or mowing lawns in summers. Like, I wasn't traveling to Europe. Like, what an amazing experience. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:04:05]: It was an amazing experience. Amazing experience. Very fortunate to have had it. Jerry Kopack [00:04:10]: Have you ever, as an adult, looked back and say, I'd like to go retrace that route or go revisit some. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:04:16]: Places I have revisited. I have cycled in Netherlands recently, which was great, and it would be interesting to retrace that route. Actually. I have the maps, the maps that we used back then. I'm 50, so quite a while ago, but it might be on the next bucket list. Jerry Kopack [00:04:39]: So you probably remember this because it was a few years ago, but do you remember while you were doing this, did you think, like, this is terrible or this is hard or I hate this, or were you just like, in awe the entire time? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:04:52]: We had a really good group with us, so there was, you know, the group of teenagers was. We really bonded. Our counselors were also really fun. So I just remember sitting in the train station in Amsterdam when we first got there on these big duffel bags, you know, kind of packing our panniers. And just from the moment I got there, having just such a great time. I remember rain, you know, and weather. But, you know, one of the things that I think about in my life and cycling across the United States twice, solo and unsupported, you experience a lot of hardship. You really Do. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:05:35]: Right. And whether it's weather or mechanical issues or loneliness or thirst or hunger and. Or safety issues. And when I think about the grit and determination for people, that bike tour and bike pack, I got mine from some of my childhood memories or travels. And I think that when my brother and I were backpacking in 1999 through Bolivia and Peru, we didn't have a toilet seat for six weeks. We didn't have a hot shower for six weeks. We were probably, you know, $4 a day. And it was hard. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:06:15]: It was hard travel physically and mentally. But I think that set me up to do these trips, you know, at 38 years old and 50 years old alone. Because when you do have a really rough situation or time, it kind of puts it into perspective. Jerry Kopack [00:06:34]: Yeah. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:06:35]: To be able to have that determination to get through. Jerry Kopack [00:06:38]: That's. You're right. I mean just the perseverance. Because when you're out there by yourself, I think to myself, when times when I travel alone and again as a, as a 51 year old male, it's a different experience than say a 50 year old female. But there's still that sort of realization like, okay, I'm out here, no one's going to come and pick me up or save me. Like you kind of have to grit your teeth and find your way through it. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:07:02]: And I find that now that I'm completed the second trip a couple months ago, a month and a half ago, you spend so much of your time, of your day when you're on a, when you're touring on a bicycle, decision making constantly, you know, is my skin protected? Do I have enough water? Where am I going next? How do I feel? Where am I staying? And it's like day to day moment, decision making, do I want to listen to music? Is it safe to listen to music? You know, everything and it's when you finish. I feel like I have so much mental space because I know where I'm sleeping tonight. I know that I'm going to get a meal and I know that I have enough water access. Right. And so it's, it's, it's an interesting kind of mental mode to be in when you're touring. Jerry Kopack [00:07:55]: Yeah. And for me, I find it in some ways can also be relaxing because I also know that my only job today is to ride my bike, find a place to eat and sleep and that's it. I don't have to worry about anything else. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:08:08]: Be safe. Jerry Kopack [00:08:09]: Whatever's happening back at home, like it doesn't matter. Like my only job is this. And So I can see where, like, there may be times where it could be stressful, like, ah, where am I going to sleep tonight? Or geez, there's no place around to get food. But. But I think once you have those two basic necessities sort of satisfied, like, okay, well, all I could do is push pedals, right? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:08:28]: Correct. Feel the same way. Jerry Kopack [00:08:30]: So I want to flash forward from age of what, 15, I think. You did another big trip. You did Transamerica, was it back in 2013. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:08:38]: I did. Jerry Kopack [00:08:39]: What inspired that ride? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:08:41]: Well, I had, you know, committed at 15 to my parents, you know, that I would be riding. I always thought it would be at retirement. And in 2011, I got a divorce. I had the opportunity to take some time off. I was, I had started my consulting work that I do in school health nationally, but I took some time off and I had the opportunity to take a summer and do the Transamerica. And I was 38 at the time, so I had a lot of friends that I was living in Portland, Oregon. So I know a lot of people that would bike tour or do something like this, but most of them had children and kind of young children and couldn't take that time, you know, three months over a summer. And so I thought, well, I'm just going to go myself. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:09:23]: I'm going to do this. And so I did the Transamerica, Oregon to Virginia and then Atlantic coast up to Rhode island and finished on the beach that my parents have a place where I learned how to walk and swim as a child. And it was absolutely amazing. It was an amazing experience. Jerry Kopack [00:09:44]: Yeah. Any Warmshowers experiences along that route? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:09:48]: A lot of Warmshowers experiences. I, I don't remember how many Warmshowers experiences I took. I did more than I did this recent trip. I think this recent trip was six. Jerry Kopack [00:10:00]: Okay. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:10:01]: I think the last time was probably 15 to 20 Warmshowers experiences, which was amazing. I had amazing experiences. I hadn't hosted at that time. I was just touring and signed up and stayed with wonderful people all across the United States. It was probably one of my favorite things about the trip. And then when I came home, I've been hosting and so that's been really, really amazing. And most recently about a year ago, I hosted a touring cyclist here in the US who is still touring, named Jeff. And we kept in touch and on this past trip, we, we connected in Colorado and rode together for I think three or four days. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:10:52]: And that was really awesome. So Warmshowers, you know, I'm hosting and then I'm touring and then we're Meeting up, which is really neat, and we keep in touch, so had great experiences. Warmshowers. And funny enough, my parents, who are not cyclists and live in Rhode island, have recently signed up because they love hosting people, they love traveling. They're close to 80 years old, and they're like, we would love to host people in Rhode Island. They did not get called this summer. To my mom's degree. She was so bummed. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:11:20]: But I'm really happy that they signed up and hopefully they'll have the inexperience to host at some point, maybe next season. But, yeah, Warmshowers during my Road to Road, which was my first tour on the Transamerica, was amazing. Jerry Kopack [00:11:40]: So I'm guessing there's a play on words there. Road to R A D to R H O D E. Right? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:11:46]: Yep. I finished in Rhode Island. Jerry Kopack [00:11:48]: I like it. So I just want to give your parents a plug. What. What town are they in in Rhode Island? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:11:54]: They're in Charlestown, Rhode island, on Route 1. And they have a great home on. On, like, a salt pond behind the beach. So they're not there. They just got back to Florida. They're in Fort Lauderdale for the winter, but they're there for, you know, five months or so over the summer. Jerry Kopack [00:12:13]: All right, so if you're on. If you're on Route 1, go see Jess's parents. It'll be a great time. Good. Hope. Hopefully you're not too shy about us kind of putting. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:12:22]: Oh, they will love it. They will absolutely love it. Yeah. Jerry Kopack [00:12:25]: So let's. Let's go. Current state. Pedal to the Pitch. Tell me about that one. It feels like there's a play on words there, too. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:12:33]: Yeah. So pedal to the pitch. So I had a wonderful experience on Road To Road, of course, and absolutely loved it and didn't think that I would get to go again until I was retired. And leading up to my 50th birthday about a year ago, I thought, what do I envision my 50th year on this earth looking like? I'm very fortunate to be healthy and free of pain and, you know, what does this look like? You know, is there going to be a music experience during this year? Am I going to learn how to salsa? Like, what, you know, like, what am I going to do that's going to kind of push me but also have some adventure? And I just kept going back to, I want to be on my bike again. You know, I want that experience again. And so I do run a business in education. So I went to my team and I said, do you Think you can, you know, handle me being gone and just kind of checking in once a week? And they said, sure. On the flip side, I am a volunteer board of board of directors on the Lucidian Racing foundation, which is the charitable arm of our two professional soccer teams here in Kentucky. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:13:47]: So we have an NWSL women's team Racing Lou, which is the highest league in the US and we have a men's USL team called Lucity. And I've been on the board of directors of that charitable arm which ensures that all youth have access to play soccer. So that could be transportation or equipment or programming or a mini pitch in their neighborhood. And so I'm pretty passionate about that work. It does intersect with the work that I do nationally, my professional life. And so when I thought about doing this trip again, I went to the board and I said I'd love to raise money for the foundation. And I think that my route is going to potentially intersect with games. And so that's why we created kind of pedal to the pitch pitch being the term of a field in the United States. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:14:40]: And I went to eight games along my route for Lucidian Racing, so. Jerry Kopack [00:14:45]: So cool. Wow. I was just thinking, I've had the opportunity to travel in foreign countries and it seems like every time I would come across a field, whether it be kids playing, for example, I was in India years ago, and every time I would see kids playing in India, I would get off my bike and go play with them because I grew up playing soccer as well. And there's just something so unifying, so collaborative, so freeing as soccer, because for the most part, it's a very low barrier to entry sport. Like, you don't need a whole bunch of equipment. You need a ball in a field. And so did you grow up playing soccer? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:15:25]: It's so funny. Everyone asked me. I played for one year. My dad played, he coached. So I am not actually a player, a soccer player. I did other sports, but I am a huge spectator. We grew up going to University of Connecticut soccer games. My parents have been very involved with college soccer, and so I think my love for it started there. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:15:47]: And I am a season. I was a season ticket holder for Portland Thorns and Timbers when I lived in Portland and then moving to Louisville, wanted to be a season ticket holder for both the teams here. Jerry Kopack [00:15:59]: So how did that look as far as raising funds for your organization? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:16:04]: Yeah, so it was different each tour that I've taken because I did raise funds for alliance for Healthier Generation, for Road to Road, which works on kind of Obesity prevention, mental health for youth. So that was a little bit more hands off. It was 13 years ago. It was a little different. Social media was a little different. But really the organization kind of took it on for this trip. It was a really big partnership with the foundation. So the foundation, Blue City Racing foundation, is run by George Davis iv. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:16:38]: He is a former player, soccer player, professional soccer player. And we met and his staff, Carla and Adam, to really talk about what this looked like and a goal. And so we worked with both the foundation, charitable side and Soccer holdings, which is the for profit side that owns the teams because they have the capacity. They did a promo video at the stadium with me and they, you know, made sure that during games, that video was playing on the screen during halftime and, you know, talking about my trip or maybe where I was. And so we needed that partnership to kind of leverage the voice of what I was doing. And so that partnership was, was, was absolutely amazing. And we, my ex husband, who's really still a good friend, did all the graphic design. He designed bike jerseys for us and we sold those. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:17:38]: So there was just a lot of partnerships that came together. And we also partnered with a local startup called Moolathon that's run by Mac Wilkinson, he's a former professional basketball player. And Moolathon is a fundraising app. People that are cycling or running. And what I like about the app is that people make pledges per mile. So people could. We just did a dollar per mile. There are different ways to do it. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:18:07]: And so people could pledge me, you know, 25 miles to 3,600 miles or 3,000 miles. And they're, they weren't charged unless I, like got those miles from the day that they pledged. So that was kind of cool and fun. So just a lot of partnerships came together for this. And we have ownership owners of the soccer teams that donated. And it was a lot of work. But I think in the end, personally, what it did for me was provide an enormous community of support. On any given day that I was riding, I received a text message, an Instagram message from one of the professional soccer players on our men and women's team to one of their parents. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:18:57]: Because I met them at a game, now that I'm friends with them, they hosted me at Amadou Dia's mom. I went to their French restaurant in Denver just to owners that were super supportive. One of the owners, our board chair and George flew out to Colorado Springs to meet me for the game. Colorado Springs Switchbacks played Blue City on fourth of July. I'm there. I bike in. They all flew out to support me. We did a round of golf at the Broadmoor. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:19:32]: It's like, unbelievable. Jerry Kopack [00:19:34]: These are all in my backyard. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:19:35]: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And another friend from here who started West Louisville Soccer Club for kids in West Louisville flew to Portland. So I had a lot of intersections and I felt kind of the love and the support because I was raising money for a community foundation. And so I don't know that everyone who bike tours attaches it to, you know, a charity. And I'm not saying you have to or you should. I just felt like it was worth it because in the end, I'm fairly new to Louisville and now when I walk around that stadium, you're the cyclist. And it's just like that kind of community feeling of connection. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:20:15]: And if I were to explain my trip in one word, it was connectivity or connection. Like, that is what it did for me, just, you know, meeting people and then feeling so connected back home even though I'm on the ride. And that. That was really important to me. Jerry Kopack [00:20:32]: Yes. Today's episode is brought to you by bikeflights.com Bikeflights delivers everything you need to ship your bike, whether you're riding a bucket list tour, selling your bike online, or moving across the country. Bikeflights easy to pack bike boxes, carbon neutral shipping and pickup to delivery monitoring. Make it simple and save you up to 40%. Visit bikeflights.com warmshowers today to book a shipment for a limited time. Enter promo code warmshowers for 10% off your first shipment with bike flights. Now back to the show. And I talk about this a lot on the show over the past year or so. Jerry Kopack [00:21:14]: Cycling has a way of sort of providing those connections because it'd be so easy to take a plane from Kentucky to Colorado and still arrive in Colorado Springs and still meet those people. But look at the people you met along the way and look at sort of the exposure that gave you and those connections. That's amazing. So I'm curious, when people do these sort of long distance bike touring races or bike packing races, they call it sort of dot watching, where they have a dot on you and it shows your progress along the route. Did. Did you have any people sort of dot watching you and like, hey, Jess is going to be here in two days. Are we people looking forward to when you show up? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:21:52]: Yeah, for safety reasons. So it depended. So there were some people that had my location with Mulathon because it connects with Strava and it updates your miles every day. I Would delay a day or two to kind of open up the app. There are different things that I did for safety reasons in certain places. Once I got to the West Coast, I was with. I met people, I was cycling people I was staying with, people I knew or family. I felt very safe, but I did not want to post exactly where I was. Jerry Kopack [00:22:25]: So. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:22:27]: You know, that kind of wasn't my experience. But I pretty much knew my route based on where the games were going to be, so. And then what I did is I. I love Adventure Cycling association, right? So I purchased 14 maps that kind of strung together routes. Right. And downloaded the GPX files and had paper maps of theirs that I love to figure out what my route was going to look like because I was, you know, literally going from a gate. I'm looking at my map right now, but, like, the cities that I needed to get to at certain times. So people overall knew I was going to be in Kansas City on a certain day. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:23:10]: They knew I was going to be Colorado Springs, you know, so that was. That was kind of how I tracked my route. Jerry Kopack [00:23:17]: Were there. Were there times where you had a hustle, like, you had a flat tire, and I need to get a. I need to get going because the game is in two days, and I'm not going to make it there? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:23:27]: Yeah. So this trip, personally, was more emotionally challenging and mentally challenging for me for a variety of reasons. I think. You know, I'm 12 years older. You know, it's like I need more rest and, like, all of those things. But when I did the Trans Am, I maybe took a ride one day through snow. I. I never really. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:23:48]: I took a. I literally cycled. You know, I took 10 days off, but I cycled all the days. I didn't take rides. I didn't rent a car. It was 4,200 miles in 90 days with 10 layover days. This trip, I rented a car two or three times. I took a ride to Kansas City from here, but I knew that was going to happen. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:24:14]: We took one of the Wrapped Racing Louisville FC vehicles. Someone drove one of the staff. Carla drove me to get to the game because I was home for a week around my 50th birthday, so I knew I was doing that. But there were a couple of times where I kind of had to leapfrog. I also had to leapfrog in Colorado Springs, which was emotionally, really hard for me. I was going to do southern Colorado, southern Utah, and then probably drive Nevada, because I'm not going to, like, bike through the desert in August. But I didn't. I. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:24:45]: It was so hot in Kansas and Nebraska that I decided ahead of time when I was in Colorado that I would rent a car in Colorado Springs and drive to Bellingham, Washington and do the entire coast down. And it was the best decision. But it took two or three days of a lot of tears because I felt like I was changing my route or letting myself down or driving a car. Is that cheating? And I think just one of the lessons learned is you've got to make this your own trip. And, you know, like, no one cares. Yeah, like no one really cares that you're doing something either for safety or for heat or whatever. But that was hard for me. I had kind of set a goal and I changed it, and that was hard. Jerry Kopack [00:25:34]: Well, think about that sort of that decision process between 38 year old Jess and 50 year old Jess. Like 38 year old Jess might have been like, ah, there's no way I'm doing this. And 50 year old Jess is like, you know what? This is my trip. It's my birthday. I'm gonna do what I want to do. I'm gonna. So there's a. There's a quote from Ben and Jerry's, the ice cream makers in Vermont. Jerry Kopack [00:25:56]: And I love this quote because I think it's from Ben Cohen, one of the founders. And it's simple. It says, if it's not fun, why do it? And I try to live my life by that as much as possible. And you kind of made that decision like, you know what? I don't want to ride through the desert and it's 120 degrees, so heck, I'm going to. I'm going to modify my route and do something that's going to be more enjoyable for myself. So I love that. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:26:18]: Yeah, it was hard, though. And I really had to process and journal about why it was hard. Okay. And I think it was hard because I knew I could do it, but I also knew that it was kind of dangerous and it wouldn't have been fun. And I've Never, on my 90th, my trip of 90 days, and this trip was 98 with like 30 something layover days, or when I didn't ride out of all of those days cycling, never did I say, I want to quit. Never. There were days that I said, this isn't fun. Pennsylvania was so rainy and cold this past May. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:26:58]: It was so rainy and cold every day for like two weeks, you know, and so there were days that were like, this isn't fun, or this is dangerous. But never would I, you know, did I say I quit? So I never got to that point. But I think, yeah, I think being a little bit older or maybe wiser and saying it's not going to be safe, you know, through this section, it's not going to be fun and the coast is going to be a blast. It's going to be cooler. I lived in Oregon, I'm going to go back to Portland. And I think when you make those decisions and you're angry or you have a mechanical issue and you're stalled and you're so stressed, but what comes out of it is always something, always a blessing. There's always something that comes out of it that teaches you a lesson around giving yourself grace and having patience because you're on this insanely amazing trip that most people can't do. Like what? Like why am I complaining that I had to change this route when I'm a 50 year old woman who's able to go on this amazing trip because I'm healthy, free of pain and have the resources to do so. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:28:07]: And so it just puts everything into perspective. And the people that you meet along the way as a result of that change, even how hard it was, is the blessing in it. And that's, that's, it's cool to kind of look back and see that, oh. Jerry Kopack [00:28:22]: Man, you're giving me goosebumps. That is exactly the whole mindset, the passion, the mentality of bicycle touring because the people you meet along the way, the experiences and yeah, just realizing that this is a gift. I get to do this. No one's making me do this. Like this is a choice and I'm going to lean in. I'm going to love it. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:28:44]: It's funny because one of the Lucity Men players texted me at one point or Instagram messaged me and he said he's one of our star players. And he said to me, on your hardest days, what is your self talk? And These players are 22 to 35 years old, so they're much younger. I said to him, I think our mindset's a little different because you're getting paid to do this. You're a professional athlete where, you know, but for me, on the days that it's really hard, my self talk includes I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm safe, you know, even on a hard day, like I'm safe. I did not get hit. And I chose this. This is my decision. This is totally my decision. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:29:31]: No one forced me to do this. This is on me. And I think that self talk plays such a huge role in this because physically a lot more people can do this trick than people like, than people who think they can. Like you can, like a lot of people can do this. I mean, I did think about if I had medication that needed to be refrigerated, if I had arthritis in my hands, if I had horrible allergies, if I had a lot of food restrictions, like I couldn't do this trip, you know, but I can sleep anywhere and I can, you know, so I, there's, you know, I'm very fortunate in that way. But I think that, you know, just continuing to say I chose this and it's on me, yeah, it's empowering. Jerry Kopack [00:30:14]: And at the end of the day, to your point, I think we're capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. So I had the opportunity over the last year to interview a couple of cyclists. One of them had type 1 diabetes, other had type 2 diabetes. And they had both talked about different trips and how they had to plan the route based on being able to get medication to carry, medication to carry medication to keep it chilled. And it just goes to show, like there is a will, there's a way, like if you set your mind to it, you can do it. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:30:48]: And when I ended my first trip, I just thought of the word extraordinary. And so when I got back, I received an award from the alliance for a Healthier Generation in Little Rock. And they asked me to speak and so I called it do something extraordinary, which ended up kind of turning into a keynote, which I did for many years. And I'm relaunching that to do something extraordinary again. But the, it really is a call to action, to people to do something extraordinary. And everyone's extraordinary is different. So you know, yours could be learning how to fold a fitted sheet. Jerry Kopack [00:31:18]: I still can't do that by the way. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:31:20]: I can't either. So it's absolutely ridiculous. You know, everyone's extraordinary is not to bike across the United States. Like that's not what I'm saying. But what can you do to your, with your life? It could be to read Moby Dick, right? But like what can you do to kind of put yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone or a lot. And what do you, how do you grow from that? Because I mean on this trip, the connectivity, the patience, like I'm a 50 year old woman who's child free by choice and embracing being single, you know, and I, for the first time in my life blogged about being child free by Choice and what that means to me and how single is not a waiting room and, like, I will be companioned again, but, like, how do we embrace single singleness in a culture that. And so I just felt so empowered cycling that I was able to blog about things completely unrelated to cycling and say, this is who I am. And, like, I'm not embarrassed about it. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:32:18]: I'm going to embrace it and I'm going to share it with the world because I know there are other people out there that feel the same way. Jerry Kopack [00:32:24]: Yeah. And I know us having this conversation today, people who are listening are going to hear this and going to be inspired to go off and do their own version of extraordinary. To your point, like. Like, maybe it's not riding across the country, maybe it's not folding a fitted sheet, but it's something, right? Yeah. So I have a question. So looking back on all your rides from the time you were a kid riding out of your front door to 15 riding across Europe to crossing 50 across the US at age 50, like, what do you think cycling has taught you most? About community or connection or about yourself? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:33:06]: About myself. I have, like, I just hug myself and I'm just, like, I'm proud of you. Like, it's cheesy, it's cliche, but, like, Body can do it. I do a lot of work with the Dove Self Esteem Project and some of their work around Body Confidence sport with Nike. And I'm really proud to have a body that I'm proud of when there's a lot of pressures and appearance ideals. Right. So for women especially. And so I think that's just something that feels good, is that if I'm free of pain and healthy, like, no matter what my body looks like, I should feel very, very fortunate that I'm in this body. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:33:51]: So that's number one. I also think that from a community perspective, you know, those of us that Bike Tour have a million stories of the people that you intersect with. I had one negative experience on this past trip with a human. It was super random. It was outside of Malibu. I'm at a restaurant. There's a porch. There's only a few seats outside. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:34:14]: I put my handlebar bag and my helmet on a seat to kind of hold it while I go in and order at, you know, at the. At the front, and I see two men sit down at my seat, and they're like, early 20s. And I went out and I just said, I'm sitting here. Oh, oh, okay. And they leave, and they're fine. And I'm like, that's strange. Like, I kind of claimed the table, and I don't see signs that say order first, you know, so I'm kind of confused, but I want to keep an eye on my bike. And so I go back in, and while I'm in line ordering, like, fish and chips, I see another gentleman sit down. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:34:50]: Like, this is so weird, but I order my food. I out and I say, hi, you know, my stuff's here. I was hoping to sit here. And he says, well, I didn't see anyone here. And I said, yeah, I understand. You know, I'm bike touring, and I'd really love to keep an eye on my bike. And so I put my stuff here, and he called me a few cuss words and got up and walked away. And I just was so amazed. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:35:18]: It was like a weird experience. And I'm telling you the story because two tables from me, a man who I came to know, Dave heard and saw what was happening. Now, the second man, gentleman that sat down, Dave did not realize that he wasn't with me, so he didn't say anything. But he did see the. You know, the first. The couple of boys leave. So Dave comes over to me and says, I saw that interaction. I don't know exactly what he said to you. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:35:45]: Are you okay? I'm like, I'm fine. I just. Weird energy. Like, I've just. I've been on this tour since Hartford, and this is just strange. Turns out Dave owns, like, a race car company. You know, he's on a motorcycle that day and has toured on his motorcycle. And we just sat and talked for an hour and a half, and he completely changed the energy of that day for me, you know, and it's just, you know, things like that that are just, you know, happen. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:36:14]: I'm. I'm climbing Leggett Hill, so if people have done the Pacific Coast Trail, they know Leggett Hill in California. It's a beast. I love climbing, but it's a good one. And two men are kind of inching up behind me. They don't have gear. Turns out they have a SAG vehicle, but they're eight, maybe eight years older than me. They're on nice bikes. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:36:34]: They are touring. We stop, we take a photo, we exchange information. We end up leapfrogging quite a bit that day. They're amazed that I'm keeping up with them. I have 70 pounds of. But I'm like, well, I've been going since May. We end up. They're like, well, will you get to Fort Bragg today? Yeah, Round two. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:36:52]: We're meeting friends for lunch. Do you want to join us? Here's the address. I show up at their friend's place and their friends had made like a seven course Indian meal. Like we just spend the afternoon together. We exchanged information. They work in the Bay Area. A week later I'm in the Bay Area visiting family. Are you still here, Jess? We're big donors to San Francisco Giants Cloud Club. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:37:19]: Would you like to be our guest and come to the baseball game? Like yes. You know, so I just think that that's the kind of community, whether it's other cyclists you meet. The Warmshowers hosts I've stayed with have been amazing. I had one Warmshowers host I stayed with in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Jack. And he and his family weren't really going to be home exactly the hours I was going to get there. But I had mentioned in Pennsylvania it was rain after rain of rain. So I'd been dumped on all that day. He said, listen, I work kind of night shift. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:37:52]: I'm not back till 2am, my wife's not back till 9, but my daughter will be at the house. She's like in high school, I think. And she let me in, she said, I'm working. So you're here alone until my mom gets here, probably five hours. Here's the Internet, here's the laundry, here's the shower. Bring your bike in, it's drenched, but just bring it in. And my dad got you a frozen pizza and eat whatever you want to eat. And I'm sitting in this house all alone for hours. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:38:24]: I was, you know, catching up on blog or whatever with like a daughter that I had met but the host I had not met. And you know, then Jack and I, he cooks me breakfast the next day and just kind of that conversation about the community and how of course he's not worried for a stranger to come into his house because it's through Warmshowers and it's an amazing community. And what am I going to steal a TV and put it on my bike? You know, it was just, it was, you know, those are the stories that are worth it in a time where people feel so disconnected in so many ways, whether it's being on screen time or politically. I just feel like to just put away all of that and be vulnerable and be willing to be a guest and say, yes, I need to do my laundry at your house. It's the stinkiest laundry ever. Feels really great. And yeah, those are the stories about kind of what I've learned personally. And then the sense of community that you feel when you're on a bike. Jerry Kopack [00:39:30]: I love it and I think that is a perfect way to end our conversation today. I want to thank you so much for making time for me today and sharing these stories. Jess, how can our listeners find out more what you're up to these days? Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:39:44]: Yeah, so I'm on Instagram and my handle is Jessica Sarah with an H law as in Lawrence. So L A W and pedaltothepitch.com is still the website. It's up. Feel free to read the blogs but can contact me through that as well. Jerry Kopack [00:40:01]: I love it. And if you make your way through Colorado again, there's a Warmshowers facility. Jessica Sarah Lawrence [00:40:09]: I'm feeling all bike in Colorado again and if people are coming through Louisville, Kentucky, I'm hosting so would love to meet people. Jerry Kopack [00:40:17]: Excellent. Well, thanks everyone for tuning in to my conversation today with Jess Lawrence. Stories like these hopefully will inspire you to set off on your own bicycle adventure and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller, one pedal stroke at a time. Until then, keep the wheels rolling and the story's coming. Thanks for joining us on Bike Life. I'm Jerry Kopak and I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. Please leave us a rating and review or just tell your friends. This helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. Jerry Kopack [00:40:49]: To learn more or become part of this amazing community, Visit us@warmshowers.org or follow us on Instagram at warmshower underscore. Org. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a question you'd like us to explore, email us@podcastarmshowers.org.