Let the Wind Push Us Across

In 1976, Jane Schapiro and her sister bicycled across the country. Carrying their packed bikes over the rocky shore of Seaside, Oregon, they dipped their rear wheels in the Pacific. Eleven weeks and 3500 miles later they arrived at Crescent Beach, Florida, where they dipped their front wheels in the Atlantic. In between, they crossed the Rockies, pedaled into the Texas Panhandle's cold winds, and faced both the warmth and bigotry of the Deep South. The sisters saw an America that few young women witnessed in the 1970's. With no cell phone or Internet, they became fully immersed in the surrounding world. Along the way, people would repeatedly ask them why. Why would two girls take to the road on their bikes? After nearly 40 years, Schapiro offers her answer. Through poems and photographs, she chronicles their trip, evoking both the internal and external landscapes they experienced along the way. Let The Wind Push Us Across captures the spirit of adventure and the exhilaration she felt each morning when unzipping the tent she "leaned into the world."