Before there was Round America with a Duck, there was Slow Duck Crossing. This may seem like just a simple sign on a dirt road, but it has become so, so much more to me (and, in all honesty, Round America with a Duck would not even be happening if Slow Duck Crossing hadn’t happened first — trust the journey).
I even included it in the FAQ “What’s with the duck?” It’s so close to my heart that one of my last bike rides* before leaving for my cross-country trip was to Slow Duck Crossing yesterday. (Short answer: Inspired by that sign, I wrote a children’s middle-grade novel about a girl who tries to stop the city from paving the road until after the duck nesting season is over. I’ve been swimming in little rubber duckies ever since. Yep, I’m the one who keeps leaving them on the sign.)
I love that book, and yes, there’s a website. I even provide free action steps young people can take to make a difference where they live right now, today. That’s worth a glance and a share, folks. Trust me on this one. There is a youth you know, and maybe even love, whose voice is needed locally.
Perhaps there will be a children’s book companion to my adult creative nonfiction book Round America with a Duck (see route and chapter summaries here) and I’ll secure a two-duck deal. As a popular TikTok sound goes: “It’s called manifesting. Look it up.”
And yes, after riding there yesterday, I can confirm that Slow Duck Crossing still speaks to me in ways I have yet to fully understand. All I know is that I’m not yet done with it.
* Today’s final ride is to REI to drop off the batch of BikeBloom upcycled bike tube earrings shown in the TikTok below — which they want to sell! You can also get BikeBloom earrings (in either single track or two-abreast versions) online or in-store at Wild Oats and Billy Goats in Decatur, Georgia, the only Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community in the State of Georgia!
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 