Interestingly, the most surprising revelations experienced by Robert Cousineau, as he rode 1,500 miles along the Underground Railroad last summer, were the packs of dogs that chased his bicycle and the amount of Native American history he encountered while tracing the story of African American slavery.
Cousineau, a social studies teacher in the Southern York County (Pa.) School District, shares these and other stories of unexpected instances, unique occurrences and eye-opening realizations when he visits Elizabethtown College’s Bowers Writers House at 8 p.m. Monday, April 14. His presentation, “Biking the Underground Railroad,” is a peek into the story of the iconic route that brought African Americans from slavery and how this educator turned his trip into a learning experience for students in his school.
“Robert Cousineau is an innovator of education in that he makes use of his personal experiences exploring the Underground Railroad in his middle school social studies classrooms,” noted Jesse Waters, director of Bowers Writers House, which is hosting the event.
Though I had to stay to the roads and couldn’t go along the terrain that they did, it was interesting following in the footsteps of the slaves.”
This wasn’t the first history-chasing pedal Cousineau undertook. He checked off two shorter treks in past years as he explored the Erie Canalway Trail, riding 500 miles in eight days from Buffalo to Albany, N.Y., and the C&O Towpath, riding from York, Pa., to Washington, D.C., and then to Cumberland, Md., over five days. The C&O took Cousineau through important Civil War towns: Leesburg, Va.; Harpers Ferry, W.Va.; and Sharpsburg, Md., where the Battle of Antietam took place. “The battleground is very interesting,” he said. “I studied it even more than Gettysburg. The loss, there, was higher than other battles in the U.S.”
Both pathways follow rivers that employed locks to move boats from one elevation on the river to the next. “I found the locks to be really interesting. You can take a boat in Albany, for instance, and take that boat all the way through the canal,” Cousineau said. “At one area there are five locks in a row. They are a marvel.” He noted that every 10 or 12 miles riders can stop and take in the towns. “People lived around the locks. Their businesses were based on where the locks were located.”
Before leaving for that trip the educator read about the miter-v gates on the locks, discovering that they actually were invented in the mid-1400s by Leonardo DaVinci.
After completing those two rides Cousineau, a 2007 graduate of Millersville University, wanted to try something more challenging. Because of the subjects he teaches, he wanted the rides to have meaning. His personal interest in the history of slavery—it was his concentration when he was studying for his master’s degree—drew him to a ride along the Underground Railroad, a mostly-road route that led from one safe house to another. The houses were used as resting points by black American slaves as they escaped to freedom.
Cousineau’s tour began in New Orleans, La., just after school ended on June 8, and finished 21 days later in Pittsburgh, Pa. Cousineau spent an average of 80 miles on his bike each day, with just one rest day. “I had to be back for my first wedding anniversary,” which was taking place June 30, he said, chuckling. “Knowing that I had that deadline made it a little more challenging.”
Along the way, the educator stayed in camp sites; Warm Showers sites—homes of hosts who welcome touring cyclists; and “with random people about half the time.” Staying in the homes of community members gave the teacher the opportunity to talk to locals and eat home-cooked meals. Along his journey Cousineau was able to visit historical sites, museums and some safe houses that are being preserved.
In addition to the history lesson and stories he shared with students through daily online blogging, Cousineau also used the trip as a money-raising venture. “The school raises money each year through a dance marathon for the for kids with cancer,” he said.
Before the trip, while students danced for seven hours, raising $18,000, Cousineau stayed on his bike pedaling for cancer research. He also brought in funds from cycling sponsorships. “On past trips people asked if I was raising money for something. I wasn’t but thought this would be a good opportunity to do so.” His goal of $5,000 was reached and exceeded. “The students really got into the fundraising.”
Planning the trip—which he admits he probably over-packed and over-planned—took patience as Cousineau learned how he would need to survive with just the equipment he could carry on his bike. “I had to plan where to stay, who to stay with, and the heat was a concern in June in the Deep South,” he said. “The heat was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s at a whole other level.”
Keeping enough water on the bike was a challenge. A few days he ran short. “That was not good,” he said. “It got a little dangerous until I hit a town.”
As he set out he wondered what the Deep South would be like, out “in the middle of nowhere, being submersed in that, taking my time, traveling at 11 miles an hour, taking in the terrain, the culture and the people—cotton plantations, Cajun country, swamps, terrain and heat.”
Referring to his other trips, it’s hard to get lost on trails, he said, and the terrain is mostly flat; however on the road it’s a different story. “It’s a network of safe houses,” he said of the route. “You don’t just follow a single path.” The slaves stayed along rivers to help them find their way to the north. Also, it was less populated in those areas and the water gave food and liquid for the slaves’ survival. “Though I had to stay to the roads and couldn’t go along the terrain that they did, it was interesting following in the footsteps of the slaves,” he said.
Rain also posed an especially trying problem for Cousineau, he said. “The lightning storms and weather were horrible.”
Worst, however, were the dog pack that had the cyclist continually on guard. “I was attacked 20 to 30 times,” he said. “In Tennessee they don’t lock up their dogs. They run free and pack.” He took, semiseriously, a warning from another cyclist until he encountered the first group. “I couldn’t believe it. I learned to stop pedaling. If you stay calm; they stay calm.” One pack was wild and didn’t want to back down. “I kicked; I sprayed. Luckily a truck came around the bend and they scattered.”
A pleasurable surprise was the amount of Native American history he learned along the way. “I am part Cherokee so there is a personal interest,” he said, noting that part of his journey connected him with the Natchez Trace, a highway through Mississippi and Tennessee that originally was used by natives. He also encountered the Trail of Tears region where 2,500 natives died as their tribes were relocated from their homes to “Indian Territory” in the 1800s. “All of this was Native American land that was taken from them.”
For a future trek, Cousineau is considering a closer look at the Trail of Tears or heading west to the Lewis & Clark Trail National Historic Trail, which follows the pathway first tread by the Corps of Discovery, a small group in search of a water route to the Pacific Ocean. He’s also considering a ride through the Canadian Rockies, “with no history involved,” he said chuckling.