Max Kane sure does. He's bringing awareness of raw milk to the masses via a cross-country bike ride, dubbed Ride for Raw Dairy, Raw milk and other dairy products that have not been pasteurized.
Part of his trip brought him to Midland [Texas] this week where he stayed at Happy Feet Farm where Michele Barnett said they were shipping in raw milk products from Lubbock for him to consume. Barnett said Kane found her through a Web site that lists farms offering a variety of organic or certified natural produce.
Barnett said she's had the farm for three and a half years and she and her family drink as little processed milk as possible. They hope to use milk from a dairy goat that is about to give birth.
A Viroqua, Wis., resident Kane has been on the road since Dec. 17 starting in Rocky Mountain, Va., in the Appalachian Mountains and working his way west to Malibu, Calif.
Next stop is El Paso, but to help him on his way, he laid in some supplies.
Kane's family, including wife Jaclyn, drove him to his starting point in Virginia.
Diagnosed with Crohn's disease -- which can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract -- at age 10, Kane at one point was down to about 100 pounds at 5-foot-10. He began researching alternatives to medication four to five years ago and through some trial and error found raw dairy products helped him regain his health. He now weighs around 200 pounds and has gained muscle weight.
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After discovering what raw dairy did for him, Kane began eating raw meat.
"I do my best to eat the highest quality food," Kane said. He said pasteurization changes milk a lot and those interested in raw products should be aware of how the animals are treated and what pesticides are used.
Prior to starting the bike trip, Kane didn't have much experience riding distances. For the first 10 days, he said, he had pain in his legs and knees because, he "hadn't really trained for this."
Partial to glass containers, at first Kane was carrying about 130 pounds. Since then, he has shipped the product home and is carrying one to one-and- a-half gallons of milk, along with butter, cheese and other dairy products.
"I've been on road since Dec. 17," Kane said. "The days just kind of pass." He added that he would like to get to Malibu by Feb. 1.
If all goes well and funding is available, his family will pick him up in California. If not, he'll make his way back on a bus.
Kane, who sells raw milk products in Chicago, said he and 10-12 people mapped out the bicycle route using Google maps. He also has a GPS unit to help keep him on track. "But as it turns out, once I got on the actual bike ride ... only 50 percent of the roads I have been on have been what we mapped out. Things come into play that you don't think about. Some of the roads were under construction and some were unridable," he said.
During his road trip, Kane said he's met a lot of interesting people.
"One of the main differences I've noticed is the people's diet and their accent. Coming from state to state, everybody talks a little bit different. Other than that, there's not much difference that I've found. I've met a lot of good people out there, really kind-hearted people, especially these farmers that I've stopped at. They've been nothing but supportive," he said.
People have either offered him a room in their home or offered to pay for his stay at a hotel for the night. He has camped out on the side of the road "here and there" and stayed at the Salvation Army in Abilene.
"This ride has been nothing but an adventure," he said.
1 comment:
yay max! I am so excited to hear is he is doing great.
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