Up in the sky, it's a bird...it's a plane...it's, well...okay, that's a plane. And, over there, that's a bird. Look down to the ground and that's where you'll see this group of SuperHeroes working--masks, capes, and all the gear they need for a month-long bicycle trip of inspiring deeds around Texas.

These Bicycle SuperHeroes don't fight villains or make the papers for rescuing cats. They reach out to citizens who help themselves by living lives free of chemicals, pollution, and needless consumption. They help people who are striving to make their communities more local, less dependent on wasteful products, and more concerned about solving resource problems than increasing tax revenue.

The SuperHeroes came from all over--Carlsbad, Boulder, St. Louis--to begin their journey around Texas. They left Austin Monday morning and arrived at the Hundred Acre Wood with warm smiles and glowing eyes, capes flapping in the breeze, 18 Heroes ready for anything. They set up camp and quickly got to work.

With the SHIRE folk helping to direct their energy, the SuperHeroes worked tirelessly for three days. They cleared trails and sites for camping, taking out deadwood and invasive yaupon hollies, cut used vinyl tents into canvasses to decorate the stage pavillion, repurposed old fence posts to finish the lakehouse, dug post holes and leveled the ground for a storage shed, and built an octagonal tree bench out of old lumber. One Hero in particular, Night Shade, even rewired our breaker box so that we would have more power for the shop.

The Heroes shared so much with us. We shared meals and were privy to their Great Eyeball ritual. They included us in their Thankful circles.

They told us fantastic stories. They even inducted Nick Moser into the group, anointing his bike with holy water and bringing his SuperHero persona to life for the next leg of their journey to Elgin, where they'll be working with Wayne Lundgren on his organic farm. Captain Shiny!

Stardust is their informal leader because she called the ride. She explained that the first Bicycle SuperHero ride was in 2000. Since then, anyone who's ever been on a ride can call their own, reaching out to old friends and new Heroes. They call ahead, finding places to stay and work, looking for people who are working to live cleaner, healthier lives outside of the economic raceway. Some of Heroes have 9 to 5 jobs, others live off the grid in intentional communities, working with other activists and seekers. They may look like ordinary citizens, but that's just a costume.

The Bicycle SuperHeroes have no website, no formal organization, but their coordination is impeccable. They have teams to perform all their cooking and comfort tasks. They left the Wood with a bright polish of superpower.

Their goodbye supernova embrace filled me with tears and left me feeling inspired, knowing that there are Heroes hiding in plane sight.

And off they went. Riding on to more adventures, performing the tough work that's needed to make every community sustainable and nurturing.

Last update: December 12, 2010
10:02 pm

Published in : Articles, Sustainable Philosophy

Keywords : Bicycle SuperHeroes, Heroes, SuperHeroes, SHIRE, Nick Moser, Stardust, Night Shade

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