Meet Pattie Baker | Author and advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pattie Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pattie, how do you think about risk?
“Aren’t you scared?” was the third most frequent question people asked me when they heard I was heading out via bikes, buses, trains, and volunteering on organic farms across the USA and Ireland as a woman alone. As women, we commonly walk with keys in between our fingers in the mall parking lot — how was I going to survive changing buses in the middle of the night in unfamiliar cities, sleeping next to strangers on overnight bus and train rides (and living with them on farms), and navigating an entirely different country? What’s more, bike riding has a reputation in the United States as being dangerous, and rightly so — thousands of drivers kill people on bikes every single year. But I had recently survived a driver hitting me on my bike just one mile from my home. I realized I was no safer doing the things that keep me connected to my humanity while staying near home. Besides, staying home on the couch (if I avoided known and perceived risks out there in the world) could increase the risks for preventable diseases relating to a sedentary lifestyle. What’s more, I have a family history of cancer, so that might be coming for me anyway. Who knows how many healthy years I have left? Might as well go! Research, pilot testing, and an agility for pivoting when there are barriers to progress are all traits I have continually developed during both Round America with a Duck and Round Ireland with a Duck (my adventure travel memoirs about the two journeys).

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I write from my heart. I’m honest. I’m kind. I think those are the most valuable things I have to offer, and art provides me a way to share them, especially when I am shining a light on others. I have been able to use my artistic skills of writing and design in a bunch of ways. As a hands-on experiential journalist/communications professional (both on staff and through my freelance studio) and independent author for many years, I specialized in triple-bottom-line sustainability (with particular passions for regenerative agriculture and multimodal transportation, especially bikes and trains). I have written and project-managed creative projects for global corporations, nonprofit organizations, local companies, and magazines in addition to writing and creative-directing the production of my four published books. Some of my favorite projects (beside my books) included doing a photo essay of seasonal workers harvesting cork (one of the most sustainable agriculture products in the world) in Portugal, and climbing up on a roof to write a story about a chicken coop there (remember Manuel’s Tavern’s chicken coop? Yep. That article was published nationwide in Chickens Magazine). As a member of Mensa, I am a quick learner with a sharp eye for details and a commitment to making even the most complicated stories accessible and interesting. Confession: I find almost everything interesting.

Hmm, lessons. Find your distinct, unique voice, and find a way to get paid to use it. If and when you don’t get paid in money, realize the value of your life experiences. Dance in the rain. Sing to cows. And, of course, my motto, my mantra, and the tattoo on the back of my arm — trust the journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would do a bike tour of Metro Atlanta. I actually created the original Sustainability Tour of Atlanta for Bicycle Tours of Atlanta, so I would take them on my personal version of that (but I also highly recommend Bicycle Tours of Atlanta’s excellent offerings). It’s a fabulous 10-mile loop (almost entirely on protected and separated bike infrastructure — bravo to The City of Atlanta and Propel ATL for that). It takes in the Atlanta Beltline, the Freedom Parkway Path, Georgia Tech’s Kendida Building (one of very few Living Building regenerative buildings in the world), Piedmont Park’s fruit orchard and so much free public fruit throughout the city, the Old Fourth Ward Park’s flood mitigation brilliance, and more. Bonus points if it’s an Atlanta Streets Alive day! We’d toss in the Museum of Design Atlanta, the High Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the ever-changing graffiti in the Krog Street Tunnel (plus murals on Wylie and throughout Atlanta). Did someone say vegan donuts at Revolution Donuts on Edgewood? We’re there.

Another day we’re riding out to the Decatur (the only silver-level Bicycle Friendly City in the State of Georgia — although Atlanta deserves it as well) and onward to Clarkston — have you seen the great bike infrastructure things happening in that little tiny city? My friend would also get the full tour of several refugee gardens there — Jolly Avenue, Global Growers — plus see the first Tiny Home community in Georgia (I believe). Of course we’d stop at Refuge Coffee and some of the other locally-owned places for food.

Gosh, I could go on and on (and often do on my blog TravelingAtTheSpeedOfBike.com). Each day we could ride buses and trains to other cities to check out their sustainability attributes. We might even pop onto Greyhound with our folding bikes and shoot down to Macon for the day. Ride the trail. Pay respect to the Native burial mounds. Attend a BikeWalkMacon event. Amazing things are happening there — and if the cherry blossoms are blooming, we’d do some beautiful photo shoots.

Okay, maybe most people would not think this is fun, but it’s important and necessary and my friend would want to be a part of it — attending a city council meeting to advocate for safer access for all in our shared public space. We could do this in any of the Metro Atlanta cities because they all are working on improvements. They need to hear more from people who have rubber-hits-the-road expertise. Small changes can save lives.

Did I mention helping out at a food pantry? The one where I tend a garden each week — Malachi’s Storehouse in Dunwoody — has the most fun, kind volunteers you can imagine. I also love chatting with the clients and their children when they harvest peppers, okra and more. Someone always has a question about some growing technique, and I try to model growing practices that cost little to no money and are easily replicable. Plus, planting a seed is an act of faith in the future — and maybe we need that now more than ever.

Oh, we’d also go to the Dunwoody Nature Center and the Chattahoochee River, both fabulous local treasures. Regarding food, we’d probably cook from my garden and pack picnics. I’m a sucker for a picnic, plus I usually have a hammock in my bike basket so afternoon hangs with good books are a must during this week with my friend. Buy from local bookstores when you can! I especially like Scholar and Scribe in Trilith. Consider buying my books, Round America with a Duck and Round Ireland with a Duck. Ask your local bookstore to carry them if they don’t already. I’m an indie author and your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you to Shout Out Atlanta for this opportunity to share my life traveling at the speed of bike with you. I look forward to crossing paths with all of you other small business owners, artists and creators! I’m the one with the duck on my handlebars 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family, of course, who are always, as they say, “the wind beneath my wings.” And I’d also like to mention WWOOF USA and WWOOF Ireland! These organizations (and their counterparts in more than 100 countries around the world) do inspiring and important work to help keep small, local farms, ranches, eco-spirituality centers, educational centers and more going through volunteer farm support (while training an upcoming generation in regenerative, organic practices). They connected me with the 11 farms where I bartered my hands-on labor for 25-30 hours per weeks in exchange for accommodations, food, experiences and education that money cannot buy. I loved working with llamas, lavender, thoroughbreds, alpacas, chickens, goats, cows, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables while meeting wonderful hosts and fellow volunteers from around the world. I not only learned first hand about innovative solutions to climate impacts in very differing places, but I got to share my lived experience as well.

Website: https://RoundAmericaWithADuck.com

Other: TikTok at SpeedOfBike. Other websites/blogs: TravelingAtTheSpeedOfBike.com and FoodForMyDaughters.wordpress.com