Stranded before I even leave

Last night I got an email from ZAP, an electric car company based in Northern California. We've been in touch for months, planning a meeting for April 20th. They were going to pick me up in one of their vehicles after I arrived by train in Martinez, CA. We were going to swing by their offices for a tour and interview before they dropped me off in Vallejo where I'd be getting on a boat to head into Lodi wine country. Well, it seems that something else has come up and ZAP can't meet up anymore. I'm guessing this won't be the only time something like this is going to happen. But I already have a few back-up plans coming together. I was in touch with a guy who owns a fleet of Motorized Rickshaws from India.


We haven't talked for a few months, but he's based in the area and I'm seeing if he can give me a lift. Otherwise, I can take the train all the way down to San Francisco and then take a ferry back to Vallejo. Or I may be able to still get off the train in Martinez and just walk to Vallejo. It looks like it's just over the bridge, although it's always tough to tell how walkable a place is when a Google Map is your only reference.

On the flip side, I finally found a few leads to help me get down the Caloosahatchee River in Florida. Earlier this week I was sending emails to anyone who had any connections to the river, and a few of those emails paid off. Hopefully I'll get some confirmation on that soon.

And in Ellen Degeneres news, I sent an email off to my latest contact there. Maybe this one will actually get back to me. But who needs Ellen when you've got the Mayor of Portland, OR joining you for a leg of your trip. Sam Adams will be meeting up with me Sunday morning as I hit the (un)road. He's a serious bicyclist, and I was hoping we might be able to ride a tandem bike together, but it's not clear whether his schedule will allow for that. Either way, I'm looking forward to meeting him. And it couldn't hurt to ask if he knows Ellen Degeneres.