Local native bikes, performs over thousands of miles
By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-HeraldArticle Photos
JOHNSTOWN - Musician Rachel VanSlyke, a Johnstown native, achieved success last year when she signed with a record label in Los Angeles and recorded her first compact disc, titled "So I Begin."
VanSlyke, 25, grew up in Johnstown and graduated from Johnstown High School. After living in Los Angeles and Florida for several years, she signed with TSR Records in Los Angeles and recorded her music, which she calls a mix of alternative rock and adult contemporary. She sings and plays guitar on the album.
The next logical step was a tour to promote her music.
Most musicians board beat-up vans or, if they're lucky, posh buses, to go on tour. VanSlyke packed her bags and hopped on her bike.
Since April, she's biked about 3,650 miles from Florida to Maine, up to Quebec and, this weekend, back to her hometown. Along the way, she's played at festivals and coffee houses to promote her music, but the bigger goal, she said, is to promote the reality of sustainability.
"Society instills fear in us, and I want to show that we can help each other," she said. "We live in fear of one another, afraid to look each other in the eye. We're afraid people are going to judge us. This tour has made me not afraid. My faith in humanity has been restored."
VanSlyke said she is often asked if she is afraid when she bikes through "bad
neighborhoods."
"I can honestly say there has never been a time when I was afraid," she said.
VanSlyke is also hoping to raise awareness and show people can rely on themselves for their own survival.
"Everyone gets caught up in the rat race of life, never seeing your own children, worried about having the greenest lawn," she said. "This trip has been so liberating for me."
She bikes 50 to 90 miles a day and takes a break when she has a performance scheduled. Of the roughly 100 days she's been biking, she's slept in hotels twice. Every other night is spent either in her tent or, preferably, under the stars.
"I'm spoiled," she said. "I need that fresh air now."
Usually, she knocks on a person's door and asks to sleep in their back yard. Often, she is offered much more than that, including a hot meal or other amenities.
"People have been so kind to me," she said. "It's really wonderful."
VanSlyke planned the tour by mapping out her route on Google. She set aside days for resting and kept her mileage goals moderate so she could make sure she didn't miss a show. Money from the sale of her CD sustain her as far as food and the occasional piece of gear, she said, but she also relies on virtual strangers who offer help and their own fundraising efforts.
VanSlyke's 110-day trek has not been without its problems. She almost didn't get started because of a drunken driver who hit her while she was biking before the start of her tour, she said.
That crash put her in the hospital for several days, she said, and her injuries still bother her. Biking, however, helps, she said.
"I feel so much better, so much more fit and healthy," she said.
The occasional flat tire doesn't pose a problem, as she can fix them herself. And she rarely, if ever, has a problem finding a place to sleep. By carrying her tent and sleeping bag on her bike, she has a home away from home wherever she goes.
She zig-zagged across the East and played as far west as Asheville, N.C. She went to Quebec to play, then crossed back into the states and went through Vermont and New Hampshire.
While her needs have been reduced to the bare minimum, VanSlyke said she relies on technology to do at least one thing every day: text-message her mom.
"Every single night, I get either a call or a text," said Deborah Bowen, VanSlyke's mother, who lives in Johnstown. "As she got farther along, the texts weren't quite as long, though - something like, 'I'm safe, love Rach.'"
Bowen, who is a musician herself, said she is astonished by her daughter's accomplishments, but also has some motherly worries.
"The mother side of me said, 'Don't expect me not to be worried,'" she said. "I'm extremely proud of her. I just wish I was brave enough to do that when I was younger."
VanSlyke will play in Northville on Saturday during the village's Independence Day festivities.
Her tour will wrap up in Saratoga Springs July 16. She is already thinking about her next album, which she says will reflect the bike tour and be a very "back-to-the-basics, bare-bones" recording.
"Now I feel like I can go anywhere," she said. "Society shows us negative images every day, but I've seen so many amazing things."
For more information, visit www.rachelvanslyke.com.
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morningstar
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07-05-08 10:17 AM
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I wish Rachel the very best. She is an amazing artist who is destined for stardom, all the while is a very sweet and beautiful girl with wonderful intentions.
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EasyEJ
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07-04-08 8:24 AM
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Thank you Rachel! and God Bless You...
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wirlwind
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07-04-08 7:59 AM
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This is a truly inspirational story for Independence Day!
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Music1
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07-04-08 12:10 AM
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God be with you
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