NORTHAMPTON — A group of cyclists completed their journey from the Pioneer Valley to Washington, D.C. on Friday, just in time for the People’s Climate March.
The 10 cyclists, who varied in age and occupation, departed from Northampton amid rainy skies on April 21. Seven members completed all or most of the trek, said Thomas Crowe, one of the cyclists.
There were no injuries, and the departures were due to personal obligations not related to the stress of the journey, he said.
The group pedaled south through Connecticut, through the New York City metro area, down through New Jersey, Philadelphia, Maryland, and, finally, the nation’s capital.
They spent some nights sleeping on church floors. They rode through rain and in the heat. And they biked next to zooming motor vehicles.
The point, of course, was for the bikers to get to Washington, D.C. without fossil fuels — or, as they said, “on our own steam.” Besides the support of one rental van, which some bikers rode in for stints, the group achieved their goal.
Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, Interfaith Fellow for Climate Justice at the Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, said the group spotted the Capitol in the distance late Friday afternoon.
“We biked right up to the steps of the Capitol,” she said. “We just started screaming and yelling, ‘We did it! We did it! We did it!’”
The most rewarding experience of the journey, Crowe said, was the night before they made it to Washington, when the cyclists talked to a Cub Scout pack in Maryland.
“It was extremely affirming and inspring to them, and I think the goal of activating others was reached that night,” Crowe said.
The protests drew tens of thousands of people to Washington, D.C. amid sweltering temepatures. There were 300 sister marches across the country, including those in Boston, Springfield and Greenfield.
Besides Ayvazian and Crowe, Dan Cottle, Dineen O’Rourke, Peter Ives, Ed Lennihan, Alex Risley Schroeder, John Risley, Sara Weinberger and Chia Collins also participated.
Ayvazian arrived back in Northampton Saturday night after a late-night train ride to Springfield.
“I’m kind of a tired gal, but I’m a happy gal,” she said.
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.