Biking for Obama » media

Watch out for those damn Somali Pirates!!! (Must-see video)

ryan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:33:35 +0000

Here’s a video that everyone should see. Its clear that the international media has a bent towards the US and Europe, and the recent explosion of the dastardly Somali pirates in the news is no break from the norm.

Check out this video interview of K’naan, a Somalian hip hop artist (his album the dusty foot philosopher is dope), as he sheds a little clarity on the larger situation @ hand.

Neither BFO–nor does he–condone the actions of the pirates. However, the issues he brings up merit some further inspection: dumping of Nuclear waste in Somali waters, illegal fishing and other abuses.

Definitely a fresh twist on what the news is bringing you nowadays.

Media Frenzy

ryan — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:15:59 +0000

Here’s a summary of the last two months of media coverage received. Its astounding to see how many places and people heard about my journey. They’ve been writing about me from Switzerland to Qatar (I didnt even know that was a country!) and everywhere in between.

There’s definitely more news to come, and possibly a few ‘doin’s a brewin’!

PRESS RECEIVED as of January 28, 2009

January 28, 2009
Climate Justice Now “Biking for Obama” article by Ariana de Leña

January 22, 2009
Oprah and Friends: Dr. Robin Smith

January 21, 2009
ABC News 20/20
The (Long) Road to the Inauguration

Los Angeles Times
“Celebrating, working, struggling on the big day” article by Peter H. King

Star News, Wilmington N.C.,
“Inspired by Obama, cyclist riding from L.A. to D.C.” article by David Reynolds

BikePortland.org “Blumenauer lends a hand to Obama bikers” Blog Post by Jonathan Maus (Editor)

January 20, 2009

El Universo (Ecuador)
Multitudes se encuentran en Washington con fe en un cambio

Univision
“A la asunción en bicicleta: Ryan Bowen atravesó EU para ver a Obama”

La Mañana Neuquén (Colombia)
“Desde Los Angeles, en bicicleta”

The Peninsula, Qatar
“Biker for Obama braves winter tour across continent” Source DPA

January 19, 2009
Les Quotidiennes (Switzerland)
“Il pédale 5000 km pour assister à la cérémonie d’investiture de Barack Obama”

El Pais (Uruguay)
Una imagen renovada para la Casa Blanca

La Prensa (Honduras)
“La esperanza comienza hoy”

El Deber (Bolivia)
Obama asume cargado de desafíos en EEUU

Samanyolu Haber (Turkey)
“Obama’yı için 5 bin kilometre pedal”

Zaman (Turkey)
“Obama yemin ediyor, ABD’de yeni dönem”

The Oregonian (Newspaper) “Mixing a little public good with the inauguration’s excess”

article by Charles Pope

20minutes.fr
“Il «roule» pour Obama” article by Laura Desjardins

The Earth Times
Biker for Obama braves winter tour across continent – Feature

eYugoslavia.com, Serbia
“Biker for Obama braves winter tour across continent” article By Vasilije Gallak

January 18, 2009
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
“Cycling cross-country for Obama” article by Olivia Hampton

Los Angeles Times
“‘Hurting and hoping’ across the land” Article by Peter King

BikeRadar.com
“Cyclist completes Obama-inspired cross-country trek” by AFP

January 13
Huffington Post
“One Cyclist’s Inauguration Journey a Wonderful Sign of the Times“ article Graham Hill

January 7
Lake City Reporter (Lake City, FL)
“Mayor gives adventurer key to city” Article by Jeff M. Hardison

AFP: Cyclists prepare for Obama inauguration

January 5, 2009

Public Radio International: Phone Interview on “The Takeaway”

December 23, 2008

National Public Radio: Phone Interview on “Talk of the Nation” with Neil Conan
Who’s Coming To Washington For The Inauguration?

Superill.net
Biking for Obama: This is ILL!

January 5, 2009
WBUR.org Boston’s NPR News Source
Interview on “Here and Now”

December 25, 2008
Boston Globe
“Inauguration-bound on 2 wheels and a lot of hope” Obama inspires 4,000-mile trek. Article by Peter H. King

December 22, 2008
Public Radio International: “Inauguration or bust: From Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. by bike”

Phone Interview on “The Takeaway”

December 21, 2008
Fox Cable News Phone Interview on “Fox and Friends”

December 13, 2008
Los Angeles Times Article by Peter King “Headed to the inauguration on two wheels, a hope and a prayer”

December 2, 2008
NBC 4 Los Angeles News Feature Biking for Obama

What’s next???

ryan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:50:58 +0000

The phone has stopped its constant ringing for a few days now, and I finally have the chance to get back to writing after a week long of traveling around the DC area and New York City. It seems like the opportunity to reflect on the moment that was last Tuesday January 20th has been fleeting. I find myself a week later still unsure of what happened on the 20th.

Maybe its because I’ve been “on-the-go” for two months now, but my intuition tells me that slowing down is not going to be easy. In fact, it might not even have to happen at all. In the interviews and conversations I had in the days leading up to the inauguration everyone seemed to pop the question, “What are you going to do next?” Well, since I’m all the way on the opposite coast, the easy answer- “I’m goin to Disneyland!”- didnt really work.

So what do I do from here on out?

I’ve crossed an entire continent on my bicycle; received international media attention for what I’ve done, met countless amazing individuals along my journey; been welcomed into DC by Congressmen; got the hottest ticket of 2009 (a SEATED one at that!). It would seem like everything I could have dreamed came true. I must say that this entire endeavor–accidents, frustrations, and pain aside– was quite possibly the most positive thing I have ever been involved in. To cap it off, I was able to sit with everyday people involved in the campaign way up near the front of the crowd. (I could see Obama’s shoulder for most of his speech-the media tower obstructed the rest of him).

My frenzied travel schedule made it difficult to maintain the level of lucidity that I had intended to provide with this blog. Now that I have had a few days of rest, and haven’t ridden much in over a week—this NYC winter is proving to be a little too bitter for my SoCal style—I actually have some time to really think about what went on these past two months, and let you in on the experience as well.

While the future is uncertain at the moment I’ll let you in on a couple developments in my, as well as my team members here at Biking for Obama.

On Sunday Josh and Albert and me all met with Sven Melkers, of Helmers and Melkers an entertainment and sports media agency. He’s interested in promoting our gang in Europe, and seeing where the bicycle touring can take us. I’m pretty excited about the prospect, and while I’m not getting my hopes up too high, I have strong feelings that something advantageous can work out for all of us.

As for an update on where we’re at today: We are sleeping in an editing studio. Literally. Josh Apter of the Manhattan Edit Workshop , has set us up in order to start the post production process of our documentary. I really couldn’t have asked for a better situation (well maybe having showers, but I don’t stink so much now that I’m not cycling 6 hours a day). Josh is an awesome guy, he heard about my story in early January and sent a cinematographer to film my last week in Virginia.

Anyway, I’ll be keeping everyone more updated with details on future projects as this week progresses. Gotta get back to work!

Ryan in the Media

admin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:01:05 +0000

Ryan has been featured in quite a number of media sites recently it has been hard keeping up with all of them. But after making a quick Google News search I found a few links you may find quite interesting.

Blumenauer goes Biking for Obama (Congressman Earl Blumenauer )
Cycling cross-country for Obama (AFP)
Hurting and hoping’ across the land (LA Times)
Inspired by Obama, cyclist riding from LA to DC (Star News)

If you have any other links please share in the comment box or send us a message.

1.20.2009

ryan — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:58:00 +0000

I guess it has all the charms of a fairy tale ending. I made it to DC in time to attend the inauguration, and even got a ticket (a seated one at that!).

I not only secured tickets for myself, but was able to give away 6 more tickets to members of the Biking for Obama team. Josh, Eleni, Albert, Julian, Kenjus and Jamie all reaped the benefits of the hard work they dedicated to helping film, coordinate logistics and support me ever since I came up with this idea. It was great to be able to pay-it-forward and get them tickets to experience yesterday’s historic events. (Its too bad we hadn’t gotten them earlier, they coulda paid off all my college loans!)

Anyways, my thoughts are fairly sporadic at this time, I haven’t had a chance to put it all together or even sit and be satisfied that I made it to DC. The hoopla and media blitz that has gone on this week really tired me out (so much that I was too tired to get up @ 4:30AM on Tuesday to make it to a live interview on the mall–sorry “Fox & Friends”).

Getting into the inauguration was an amazing experience. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d have to say: People. There were people for miles and miles. Riding the metro was like joining an enormous mosh pit, and walking two blocks around the mall took me an hour and a half!

Well, I’ll be sure to get on in the next day and update everyone with more of the experience, but for now enjoy the photos from this weekend in DC.

Revised Route

ryan — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:09:18 +0000

Attention all cyclists joining today’s ride:

Meet @ 11:30 at Gravelly Point next to Reagan Nat’l
Cross the Memorial Bridge
12:15 meet with Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Ride through city
1:30 finish @ Haines Point. (East Potomac Park)

Homestretch

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:59:27 +0000

Ryan was featured again on Fox News! Unfortunately we weren’t able to upload the video but you can still see it on Fox’s website by clicking here.

Here and Now with Ryan

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:45:03 +0000

Ryan was just featured on National Public Radio’s “Here and Now!” on WBUR in Boston. Click here to listen to the interview.

(Please note that you will need the Real Audio Player in order to listen to the interview.)

Ryan featured on La Opinión

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:43:28 +0000

Ryan was recently featured on the La Opinion online newspaper. The article is written in Spanish. Click here to view the article.

Ryan on the Take Away

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:33:47 +0000

Ryan Bowen was featured on the Takeaway co produced by “PRI (Public Radio International) and WNYC Radio in collaboration with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston.” Click here to read the article and or listen to the audio interview. This time Ryan had a bit of more time to explain his goal and inspiration for embarking on this journey. Go check it out.