B4P 2010 Rider Bios

Scott Thomson

Since 2004 Scott has been an active member of the Board at Bikes Not Bombs, served as Clerk from 2007-2009 and became board Chair in 2009. He also taught Earn-A-Bike there in 2006. When he is not at Bikes Not Bombs he works at the Unitarian Universalist Association as a Systems Administrator, brews beer, rides bikes and reads. He lives in Jamaica Plain with his partner Amy, their cat and four bikes.

As far as food goes I'm mostly vegetarian, I do eat local meat and sustainable fish, but I can also be flexible when needed. If there are other vegetarians it's probably easier to group me in with them.
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Cynthia McKinney

In the fight against bigotry, we stand together, and we must. In the fight against injustice, we stand together, and we must. In the fight against intimidation, we stand together, and we must. After all, a regime that would steal an election right before our very eyes will do anything to all of us."

Cynthia McKinney has made a career of speaking her mind and challenging authority. She began on day one of her political life and hasn’t looked back. With her opinions, actions, and even her sense of style, McKinney has inspired both admiration and controversy.

In 1992, McKinney won a Democratic seat in the US House of Representatives in the newly created 11th district, drawn from Atlanta to Savannah. She was the first African-American woman to represent Georgia in the US Congress. Her gold tennis shoes and braided hairstyle became her trademark, and effectively gave her a higher profile on the predominantly white, male House floor. Though a Democrat during President Clinton’s tenure, she did not simply follow the Party line, as when she voted against NAFTA.

During her second term, her district was re-drawn and re-numbered the 4th district. McKinney protested the new boundaries, but was still re-elected to the seat. She was a supporter of a Palestinian State in Israel-occupied territory, and sparked controversy by criticizing American policy in the Middle East. After 9/11, McKinney suggested the President had received warnings. The criticism she received as a result combined with being targeted by the pro-Israel lobby contributed to her defeat in the 2002 election; however, she ran for the seat again and was re-elected in 2004.

McKinney was a vocal critic of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. When Nancy Pelosi encouraged a boycott of a Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate Hurricane Katrina, Cynthia chose instead to participate and submitted her own report. She continued her criticism of the Bush administration and introduced legislation to release the documents related to the murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tupac Shakur. She was the first Member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against George Bush and voted against every war funding bill put before her.

Cynthia McKinney has never been afraid to speak her mind, and stand up for what she believes in. Late in 2007, she left the Democratic Party to take her energy and ideas to the whole country by becoming a Green Party Presidential Candidate.

More information about Cynthia can be found at www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com (currently under reconstruction).
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Vernon Huffman

2010 will be Vernon's third bicycle ride across the continent for peace and sustainability. After supporting Ron, Jesse, and Jeff on the first ride in 2005, he rode along on the northern route in 2006 on a tandem stoked by Ananda Portal. In 2007 Vernon joined Michele Darr, her twelve year old daughter, Tala, and two year old twins, Grace & Willow, for a 4500 mile bicycle trek. After traversing the west coast, crossing the south, and hauling up the Mississippi, they rode to DC to meet Ron Toppi and the Bike4Peace crew from the northern crossing. All tolled, Vernon has bicycled over 10,000 miles through 28 states and commuted another 10,000. 15 years of his adult life have been spent without owning a car.

On or off his bicycle, Vernon is a political activist. At 17, he was a full-time citizen lobbyist in the Montana Legislature. At 28, he took time out of his life as a performer to be a Democratic nominee for the Washington Legislature. At 50, he was an international observer of the elections for the Palestinian Legislature. Vernon served as a medic on the International March for Peace & Justice in Central America, and later traveled alone to Africa to learn how people were living there. He has helped many non-profit organizations, including the new Corvallis Bike Co-op.

I'm not allergic to anything, but I have a strong preference for local organically grown raw vegan food. I love to facilitate, enjoy conflict peacefully resolved, and want to sing, dance, and laugh at the slightest provocation.
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Yaney MacIver

This will be Yaney's first cross country bike ride, although she did hitchhike from SF to Long Island once. An activist since she was 15, she held a two and half year stint as Oregon PeaceWorks Program Director (2003-2005), restarted the Linn Benton Chapter of the Pacific Green Party in 2002, and has served a a NOW Chapter President. She enjoys music and dance; owns three saxophones (tenor-Keith Anne, alto-Mick Angela, and soprano-Charlie Louise); and is still working on a volume of poetry called Passionata Et Materna. She works as the Office Administrator at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Corvallis, Oregon--a wonderful place to work--and only two and a half miles from her home at the Pi in the Sky Ranch on Dimple Hill. For her blog of random thoughts please visit Slices of Pi from the Pi in the Sky Ranch.

To rephrase Canned Heat a bit:

I'm going cross country, babe don't you wanna go
I'm going cross country, babe don't you wanna go
I'm going to some place where I've never been before" Like DC. Please join us.

Her birthday is 9/11. Yaney will be turning 55 on the ride.
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YEYO~

A little about me: not much to really. I am currently attending
Antioch University Seattle focusing on Psych and Law with emphasis on
Environmental Justice. I plan on creating a personal "blog" during the
tour. And I create, and enjoy specific types of electronic music. I
mostly read books from the environmentalist persona and BIKES!
yea. And I own a very small music distro. with my best bud.
www.pleasureboatrecords.com


check out my blog i just started:
http://yanomasoil.blogspot.com/
music:
http://soundcloud.com/bonkers
www.myspace.com/beetseeka

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Annie Ebiner

Cycling across America has been a lifelong dream for me. To do it with a solid group motivated by purpose is that much more amazing.

I'm a 31 year old nurse practitioner living in wine country. My partner is an assistant winemaker, but I prefer margaritas to wine. I do travel down to Los Angeles fairly frequently to visit my 14 siblings and 35 nieces and nephews. I ended up in the healthcare field after my 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, where I wished every single day that I had something concrete to offer; after going back to school, and several years as an oncology RN, I'm now working in a family practice clinic in Ukiah.

Other than attending a Camp Courage in Sacramento, I haven't been involved in much local politics, but I am a complete political junkie and love learning about the issues.

I always have been more of a runner than a cyclist, though I did bike/hike (the hiking was on the some of the longer uphills!) down the California coast in the summer of 2008. That was tough but great!

I am really looking forward to this adventure... the challenge, the growth, the beauty, the learning, and the relationships. Can't wait to start:)

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Tyler Boudreau

Tyler Boudreau is a former marine infantryman and a veteran of the war in Iraq. He has spoken to audiences (and stood in vigils) around the country relaying his experiences in the military and discussing veterans’ issues. He is author of the book Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine and many articles, which have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, The Progressive, Truthout, International Herald Tribune and others. In 2008, Tyler traveled to Amman Jordan with a media team to investigate and raise awareness about the on-going Iraq Refugee Crisis. Over the summer of 2009, Boudreau rode his bicycle unsupported across the country from Seattle, WA to Northampton, MA, where he now resides, as an effort to reacquaint himself with the land, reintegrate with his community and family, and to positively reinvest his strength in America. (It was the first time he’d ever ridden a bike more than ten miles!) Along the way, he stopped to join community discussions about the wars of our time. Tyler divides his time now between family, writing, a bit of gardening, and now obsessive cycling. He will join the Bike 4 Peace ride in Eli, Nevada and sadly depart in Everton, Missouri.

More details about Tyler Boudreau’s life and work can be found on his website: www.tylerboudreau.com