Or, better yet, the next 14,000 miles
Following is a partial list compiled by the new!west agency and the AHA. We can't find them all!
On the Radio
April 12, 2005 – 1080, KSCO-AM, Monterey Bay, CA
May 16, 2005 - 98. 1, WBUL-FM, Lexington- morning show, 9:15 am
May 16, 2005 - 99.7, WDJX, Louisville
July 15, 2005 - 98.1, WBUL-FM, Lexington- morning show, 8:30 am
July 15, 2005 - 590, WVLK-AM, Lexington- Kruser and Krew, 3:15 pm
September 6, 2005 - Flagstaff, Arizona – trying to confirm with Bowen which station conducted the interview
December 4, 2005 – 89.3, WFPL-FM, Louisville
Spring 2005 Interview- Inside Appalachia, West Virginia Public Radio, National Public Radio, numerous stations
Fall 2005 Interview- Inside Appalachia, West Virginia Public Radio, National Public Radio, numerous stations
Spring 2006 Interview- Inside Appalachia, West Virginia Public Radio, National Public Radio, numerous stations
National Publications
AARP Bulletin, July-August 2005
Teacher Magazine, November 2005
League of American Bicyclists, Fall 2004
Adventure Cyclist Magazine, July 2005
American Bicyclist, summer 2005
American Way Magazine, January, 2006
Cyclist, 11/24/05
USA Today 6/19/06
Regional Publications
Kentucky Living Magazine, March 2006
M-Magazine, Summer 2005
The Lane Report- Deanna Mascle, 10/05
On Television
March 22, 2005 WAVE – Louisville, Kentucky
April, 2005 WKYT and WYMT
July 1, 2005 KEVN – Rapid City, South Dakota
July 1, 2005 KNBN – Rapid City, South Dakota
October 20, 2005 – KATV – Little Rock, Arkansas
May 2006 Moline, Illinois
May, 2006 Springfield, Illinois
June, 2006 Lexington, KY WKYT
June, 2006 Louisville, KY
On the Web
KY Commerce Cabinet- Billy Reed, 4/21, 4/28, 5/9, 5/19, 6/6, 6/23/05
June 29, 2005 League of American Cyclist, www.bikeleague.org
Mississippi River Review – Minneapolis, MN, www.mrcusa.com
Smoky Mountain Wheelmen's Fall Century, www.smwbike.org
March 24, 2005Southern Indiana Wheelman, www.siwheelmen.org
March 11, 2005 and September 3, 2005 Biking Bis, www.bikingbis.com
January 15, 2006 American Way www.americanwaymag.com
numerous blog sites across the country
Newspaper Coverage
Recycled America: Joe Bowen pedals all over the country - again. Illinois Times, Springfield, IL May 18, 2006
Spencer Magnet, Taylorsville, KY March 2006
67’ trip recreated as teaching tool Paducah Sun, Paducah, KY – February 28, 2005
Joe Bowen to bike 14,000 miles as Kentucky looks on Cincinnati Enquirer, OH - Mar 23, 2005
Cyclist sharing trip with students Louisville Courier-Journal, KY - Mar 23, 2005
Powell cyclist awarded first ‘Unbridled Spirit’ Award Union County Advocate, Morganfield, KY– March 30, 2005
Joe Bowen receives first ‘Kentucky Unbridled Spirit’ Award Clay City Times, Stanton, KY – March 31, 2005
Bikers begin 14,000 mile journey Lompoc Record, CA - Apr 7, 2005
14,000 Miles to His Home Again San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA – April 11, 2005
Revisiting the past to offer a future Santa Barbara News-Press, CA - Apr 9, 2005
Pacifica 4/15/05
The Bowen Island Under Current (Canada)- 4-22-05
Kentucky Commerce Cabinet News Releases- Billy Reed- 4/21/05, 4/28/05, 5/9/05, 5/19/05, 6/6/05, 6/23/05
Bicyclist in BF on cross-country tour Bonners Ferry Herald, Bonners Ferry, Idaho– May 26, 2005
Cyclist makes his way through Moorcroft during 14,000-mile bike ride home to Kentucky Moorcroft Leader, Moorcroft, Wyoming – 6/30/05
America from seat of a bike The Daily Reporter Herald, Loveleand, Colorado - July 21, 2005
America from Seat of Bicycle Front Range, Colorado - July 21, 2005
More people, less water on bike trip redux The Courier-Journal – Byron Crawford, July 22, 2005
Bowen continues trek across the United States The Spencer Magnet, Taylorsville, KY– July 28, 2005
K.C. DenDooven Press 9/20/05
Kentuckian gives send-off for cross-country bike trip The Reporting Times, Sioux Falls, South Dakota – March 23, 2005
Bowen Doesn't Always Travel by Conventional Means Arizona Silver Star, September 27, 2005
Decades later, cyclist returns to Claremore to remember the past, relish the present Claremore Daily Progress, Claremore, OK – September 2005
Eastern Ky. bicycle rider reaches 6,000-mile mark Wolfe County News, October 7, 2005
Joe Bowen inspires kids, grownups on his ride Lexington Herald Leader – Lexington, KY – December 3, 2005
Bike rider relives trip across U.S. Arkansas Democrat Gazette – October 25, 2005
Claremore Progress- Claremore, OK, 11/01/05
KY Dept of Tourism, 12/01/05
Kentuckian has bicycled more than 10,000 miles across the country Greene County, Greenville, IN – March 25, 2006
Bowen is back on bike and touting state Spencer Magnet – Taylorsville, KY – March 29, 2006
Joe Rides into Red River Elementary Wolfe County News, 02/10/06
Louisville Bicycle Club Jan-Feb 2005
Louisville Courier Journal and Cincinnati Inquirer by Byron Crawford 1/9/05
Winchester Sun staff and wire reports 2/28/05
Bike Bis - 3/11/05
Greenville Sun, Greenville, TN 3/25/06
Grand Rapids Press, Holland, MI April 25, 2006
Bicyclist is On the Road Again The Truth, Elkhart, IN April 29, 2006 Moline, IL May 10
Kankakee Daily Journal, Kankakee, IL May 3, 2006
Ottawa Times, Ottawa, IL May 8. 2006
Moline News, Moline, IL 5/10/06
Cass County Star Gazette- Beardstown Weekly News, Beardstown, IL, 5/17/06
Dayton Daily News, Dayton, OH 5/31/06
Richmond Register, Richmond, KY 6/14/06
Star Beacon, Ahtabula, OH
Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, TX
Clay City Times, Clay City, KY 6/1/06, 6/15/06, 6/22/06
KY Department of Tourism, Frankfort, KY 6/8/06
Louisville Courier Journal, Louisville, KY- Byron Crawford, 6/7/06
Winchester Sun, Winchester, KY 6/19/06
Lexington Herald Leader, Lexington, KY 6/19/06
Following are a couple of articles:
Lompoc Record, Lompoc, California – April 7, 2005
Bikers begin 14,000 mile journey
By Mark Baylis - Staff Writer
Before there was Forrest Gump running across the country, there was Joe Bowen biking.
When Joe Bowen sets his bike tire to the pavement of West Ocean Avenue in Lompoc Friday he will begin a year-long, 14,000-mile winding journey across the country.
Bowen, 62, will retrace the original journey he started near that corner exactly 38 years ago to the hour when he left Vandenberg Air Force Base and Lompoc on a bike with $43 in his pocket.
This time Bowen will carry a laptop computer and teach an on-line class to elementary students of his home state, Kentucky, and other participating states while proving retirement doesn't mean settling down.
The odyssey will take the former construction worker to 24 states and into Canada. Bowen will pedal north along the coast into British Columbia, then dip southeast into Nebraska; make several curly-cues southwest before shooting off directly east from New Mexico. He'll dip into Florida before winding back into Kentucky in May or June 2006.
Unlike some cross-country bikers, Bowen won't have a "sag wagon," or a car that accompanies him carrying his supplies. It will be him, 35 pounds of gear, a cell phone and a laptop for approximately 60 miles a day, five days a week.
For Bowen, who is sponsored by Kentucky's Appalachian Heritage Alliance, the trip is threefold: He wants to promote his home state, particularly eastern Kentucky, which is plagued with poverty and ill-reputation; use his trip as an education tool for school children; and enjoy the pure adventure.
"Since I left Lompoc 38 years ago, somewhere I came to the agreement with myself that I had to do this again," Bowen said with his bike in tow, having pulled into Lompoc Wednesday morning.
Bowen has tackled equally monstrous tasks before. He strapped stilts to his legs in 1980 and teetered 3,000 miles across America, raising over $100,000 for muscular dystrophy. He also stilt-walked in five European countries to raise money for philanthropic purposes. According to Guinness Book of World Records, he holds the world record for the longest stilt-walk.
Bowen will get a proper ship-off Friday from Mayor Dick DeWees, County Supervisor Joni Gray, a group of Lompoc fourth- and fifth-grade students and a local pastor. The bon voyage will take place from 8 to 9 a.m. Friday at the parking lot at West Ocean Avenue and South I Street.
Bowen will be accompanied by a friend, Cliff Cantrell, until Seattle, who will teach him how to upload blogs, images and statistics onto a classroom Web page. Over a thousand students in Kentucky, and others in Phoenix and Seattle will follow Bowen's journey.
Students will use Bowen as a mathematical tool to calculate speeds and distances; to predict weather patterns, with Bowen reporting back on their accuracy; and in geological, historical and cultural lessons. For example, Bowen will be filing information on Lompoc's flower history and on the significance of William Randolph Hearst as he rides past Hearst Castle in San Simeon.
On his original trip, Bowen had to stop occasionally and pick up work wherever he could. He cleaned an entire truck stop outside Helena, Montana, and split firewood in Sacramento. He'll be stopping back at about a dozen homes of people who originally offered him work or a bed, including a couple in Sacramento, now in their late 80s.
"They're just tickled pink about all this," Bowen said, with his Appalachian drawl and signature grin. "I want to see if the American people will treat an old man as well as they treated a young man before."
The occasional aches, hunger pangs and loneliness won't bother him, Bowen says. His bike is a people magnet, and he loves meeting people. He expects his grandkids to catch up with him briefly in Wyoming, where they'll all have their bikes.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky media are eating up Bowen's trek, as well as the local luminaries. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher gave Bowen the first "Unbridled Spirit" award in March. Both the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives recognized Bowen in February for his contributions to the state. He brought his bicycle onto each floor.
Staff Writer Mark Baylis can be reached by e-mail at mbaylis@pulitzer.net
Press Release from Governor Fletcher's Office Mar 22, 2005
"Ride, Joe, Ride!" Powell Cyclist Awarded First "Unbridled Spirit" Award
FRANKFORT, KY - Governor Ernie Fletcher today presented Powell County cyclist Joe Bowen with the state's first "Kentucky Unbridled Spirit" award.
The 62-year-old Bowen is finalizing plans for his 14,000-mile bike trip of the United States, called the "Kentucky Unbridled Spirit Rediscover Bicycle America Tour." During his trip, which begins April 8, he will encourage more visitors to vacation in the Commonwealth. He also will serve as a traveling teacher.
Bowen will retrace a trip he made 38 years ago. During this trip, he will carry a laptop computer and teach an on-line class to the elementary students of Kentucky- and beyond. One thousand students in Eastern Kentucky are scheduled to participate, with other students expected join as the trip progresses. Kentuckians will soon be able to follow Bowen's progress by logging onto his Web site, www.RideJoeRide.org.
“Joe Bowen exemplifies the "Unbridled Spirit" Kentuckians have for their home state and he will serve as a wonderful ambassador who will tell our story throughout the country,” said Governor Fletcher. "He is the ideal person to receive our first Unbridled Spirit award, which we will give periodically to Kentuckians who exemplify that winning attitude."
While in Frankfort, Bowen made a ceremonial ride around the Kentucky State Capitol, cheered on by hundreds of school students from Menifee, Powell and Wolfe counties, who shouted "Ride Joe, Ride!" as he pedaled away. Officials from all three counties also showed their support.
"I'm so proud of Kentucky, and especially the people of Appalachia. I want to demonstrate that pride to the rest of the United States," said Bowen. "As I've traveled across the Commonwealth, I've discovered that their Unbridled Spirit perfectly describes what makes our people special."
In 1967, when he finished his tour with the Air Force, Bowen rode his bicycle from California to Eastern Kentucky. Rather than taking the direct route, he decided to discover America. His 14,000-mile odyssey earned him many friends, much publicity, and the legacy as the first person recognized to extensively tour the United States by bicycle. Recently, Bowen prepared for the trip by completing a 16-day, 750-mile bicycle trip across Kentucky from Paducah to the Red River Gorge.
The Appalachian Heritage Alliance (AHA) is coordinating Bowen's educational trip, with assistance from the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Berea College Department of Education, Kentucky Education Cabinet, and Kentucky Department of Tourism. AHA Education Director David Musser says, "Bowen's on-line class will allow the students to use technology in a hands-on educational application. The structure and format of the class is designed by the fourth and fifth grade classroom teachers from Menifee, Powell and Wolfe Counties to meet their specific curriculum goals."
Musser added that, "Schools from California, Washington and Arizona have already expressed interest in this on-line educational adventure and we fully expect participation from schools in other states along Joe's route as well as international attention."
The Appalachian Heritage Alliance is coordinating the logistics for the trip. For more information on the Alliance, go to www.AppalachianHeritageAlliance.org.
Press Release March 8, 2005
Come Ride the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway with Joe Bowen
Mr. Joe Bowen began his “Across Kentucky Warm-Up” bicycle ride in Paducah two weeks ago and will complete the final leg on Saturday, March 12. Joe invites all of Eastern Kentucky to join him on Saturday, March 12, to ride or drive the Red River Gorge National Scenic Byway. The ride begins at 10:00 AM at the parking lot of Stantec, Inc located on Elkins Street in Stanton, KY and ends in Zachariah.
Two bicycles will be given away to area students. Registration for the bicycles is from 9:00 to 10:00 at Stantec, Inc. The drawing for the bicycles will be at the reception at 12:30 at the Gladie Creek Cultural Environmental Learning Center located on Rt. 715 in the Red River Gorge. Students do not have to be present to win.
Commerce Secretary Jim Host will present Mr. Bowen with an official “Unbridled Spirit” riding jacket at 9:30 at Stantec, Inc.
Governor Ernie Fletcher will give Mr. Bowen an “Official Kentucky Unbridled Spirit Send-Off” from the Capital steps in Frankfort on Wednesday, March 23 at 9:45. This will mark the beginning of Joe’s 14,000 mile bicycle tour of the United States. This journey is a re-creation of Mr. Bowen’s historic bicycle trip in 1967 that earned him the legacy of the first person recognized to extensively tour the United States by bicycle. On this trip, Mr. Bowen will take a laptop computer and teach an online class to the elementary students of Eastern Kentucky.
For more information and a complete itinerary contact David Musser at the Appalachian Heritage Alliance on the web at www.AppalachianHeritageAlliance.org.
Press Release Feb 25, 2005
Bicycle Rider Begins US Trip with a Ride Across Kentucky
Paducah, KY- February 25, 2005
Joe Bowen, 62, of Powell County, KY, began his sixteen-day bicycle trip across Kentucky from the Paducah City Hall on February 25 at 9:00 AM. Mr. Bowen will travel across the western and central part of the commonwealth before heading to northern Kentucky and finally ending at the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky on March 12. This trip is a “Warm-Up Ride” to promote Mr. Bowen’s up-coming “Rediscover Bicycle America” ride across the United States and to invite all Kentuckians to join him on March 12 to tour the Red River Gorge by either bicycle or automobile.
In 1967, Joe Bowen, fresh out of the Air Force and with $43 dollars in his pocket, rode his bicycle from California home to Eastern Kentucky. Rather than taking the direct route, he decided to discover America. His 14,000-mile odyssey earned him many friends, much publicity, and the legacy as the first person recognized to extensively tour the United States by bicycle.
On April 8, 2005, exactly 38 years later, Mr. Bowen is going to retrace his original 14,000-mile bicycle ride. This time, he will carry a laptop computer and teach an on-line class to the elementary students of Kentucky- and beyond.
The Appalachian Heritage Alliance (AHA), with assistance from the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Berea College Department of Education, is coordinating Mr. Bowen’s trip. AHA Education Director David Musser states, “Teachers are very proficient in teaching their students how to use the Internet as an information-gathering tool. Mr. Bowen’s on-line class will allow the students to use technology in a hands-on educational application. The structure and format of the on-line class is designed by the fourth and fifth grade classroom teachers from Menifee, Powell and Wolfe Counties to meet their specific curriculum goals. The school’s tech personnel are determining the necessary technology skills the students need for this project.”
Kelly Marcum, Technology Integration Specialist for Powell County, said, “Technology truly offers a way for our rural communities to compete in the world market. Our students have to learn the essential skills. With Joe’s program, the students will use their technology skills to accomplish specific tasks within a real-world learning environment.”
There are approximately one thousand students from eastern Kentucky ready to participate in the on-line class. “However,” Musser says, “we are receiving inquiries from schools across the state and even from as far away as Seattle, Washington. We fully expect national and even international interest in this project.”
Mr. Bowen’s “Unbridled Spirit Rediscover Bicycle America” trip begins with an Official Send-Off by Governor Fletcher from the Capitol steps in Frankfort at 9:45 AM, March 23. Joe will be honored as a true Kentucky “Unbridled Spirit” as he rides 14,000 miles across America and back home to the Red River Gorge to promote the Commonwealth and teach the students of Kentucky.
On Wednesday, February 23, 2005, both the Kentucky Senate and the House of Representatives recognized Joe Bowen for his contributions to the state. He took his bicycle onto each floor.
In 1980, Joe Bowen walked 3,000 miles across the United States on stilts to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy research. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he holds the world record for the longest stilt-walk. He also stilt-walked in five European countries to raise money for philanthropic purposes.
Joe was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, has twice carried the Olympic torch, and was featured twice in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.” In his travels he met with five governors and many celebrities including Jerry Lewis, Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Muhammad Ali, Joe DiMaggio, Elvis Presley, and many others.
The Appalachian Heritage Alliance is also coordinating the logistics, contacts, and publicity for Mr. Bowen's trips. For more information or to follow Joe’s bicycle trip, go to www.AppalachianHeritageAlliance.org. or www.ridejoeride.org
Joe's itinerary is listed on this web under KY Warm-Up Ride . If you want to interview Joe as he comes through your town, call David Musser at 606 725-4860 or e-mail press@AppalachianHeritageAlliance.org.