{"66330":{"#nid":"66330","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Man, a Midlife Crisis and the Mississippi","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile some guys buy Porsches to remedy their midlife crises, Fletcher Moore prefers to flirt with the chance of getting sunstroke while cycling along the length of the Mississippi in July.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMost of the time, I like to have a couple of large-scale projects on my radar to give me a sense of purpose beyond the quotidian grind,\u201d said Moore, a senior web developer in Communications and Marketing at Tech. \u201cMost of these are cerebral, and as I\u2019m naturally inclined to sloth, I felt it was time to challenge my body as well.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe BikeTwain project, as Moore is calling his 30-day, 1,800-plus-mile bike ride, following the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana, will be a greenlined, documentary-making trip, meaning that sustainability will be key. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoore will be regularly updating his website and living day-to-day life with whatever fits in a small trailer attached to the bike and using solar energy to power a bike-mounted generator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith help from a Kodak camera, a laptop, an iPhone and wireless technology, Moore will stock his website with interviews, photos, minidocumentaries, essays and the occasional rant.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitially, Moore toyed with the idea of riding cross-country \u2014 until he realized how long it would take. Then, it dawned on him that there was more than one way to cross the country. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Mississippi has all of these marvelous resonances in American life. It flows through our history and culture, just as it flows through our geography,\u201d he said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter settling on the route, the project name fell into place. Mark Twain is the quintessential American writer and his connection to the river is so natural, Moore said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think of him as the patron saint of the project, and his magnificent book, \u201cLife on the Mississippi,\u201d is a text for the video documentary I\u2019ll be creating,\u201d he added. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStarting on July 1, Moore will bike an average of 60 miles per day \u2014 slightly more than the eight he usually does biking to work each day. He has \u201cfaith\u201d that his body will respond. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEspecially if I have no choice, and I don\u2019t, because I\u2019m already burning up all of the vacation time I\u2019ve hoarded,\u201d Moore said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u2019ll pass the days listening to music and a few audiobooks, thanks to a small crank-up radio and 3G access, letting each day\u2019s plan develop organically as he meanders along the river. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBut there are certain places that I don\u2019t want to miss, such as Hannibal, Mo., and Vicksburg, Miss., and I\u2019d like to visit at least one minor league baseball park,\u201d Moore said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost nights, he will rely on his trusty tent for shelter, although Moore is hopeful that he might enjoy the comfort of the occasional bed. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn terms of food, I\u2019ll be carrying plenty of ramen noodles, just in case, but generally, a little grocery store or greasy spoon should always be within 20 miles of wherever I am,\u201d he said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd as for company on the ride, Moore will be joined by his father, who is also a bit of an adventurer \u2014 one of the oldest finishers of the last several Colorado River 100-mile Marathon Canoe Races, for a few days during the Tennessee stretch, but the bulk of the ride will be solo.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the end, it would be great to know that through this trip I\u2019d inspired someone to say, ride a bike to the corner store instead of driving,\u201d he said. \u201cOr, maybe I can educate a few people who are interested in getting into solar energy.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019d like to learn more about the project or follow along as the trip along the Mississippi unfolds, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/biketwain.com\u0022\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile some guys buy Porsches to remedy their midlife crises, Fletcher \nMoore prefers to flirt with the chance of getting sunstroke while \ncycling along the length of the Mississippi in July.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"While some guys buy Porsches to remedy their midlife crises, Fletcher Moore prefers to flirt with the chance of getting sunstroke while cycling along the length of the Mississippi in July."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-05-31 13:22:08","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:49","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-05-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-05-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"66331":{"id":"66331","type":"image","title":"Fletcher Moore","body":null,"created":"1449176931","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:51","changed":"1475894589","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:09","alt":"Fletcher Moore","file":{"fid":"193301","name":"fletch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fletch.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fletch.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3976989,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fletch.jpg?itok=9qt_GkSi"}}},"media_ids":["66331"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/biketwain.com\/","title":"BikeTwain"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13295","name":"BikeTwain project"},{"id":"7841","name":"Communications \u0026 Marketing"},{"id":"13294","name":"Fletcher Moore"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}