Herrington recounts bike trip

Native astronaut encourages students to dream

By Jomay SteenIt wasn't the physical training in preparation for the 16th launch of the space shuttle Endeavour that pushed mission specialist John Herrington to cycle 4,184 miles across the country in 2008.

The former astronaut believes it was the mental aspect of training that helped achieve his goal.

"I kept thinking, 'As hard as it may be, you can do this,'" he said.

Herrington, 50, shared his experiences as a NASA mission specialist and an extreme cyclist with an audience of nearly 100 people on Friday at the Dahl Arts Center as one of the presentations of the Dahl Mountain Culture Festival.A bit more on Herrington and his bike trip:Herrington, a member of the Chicasaw Nation in Oklahoma, backed up his words by finishing a coast-to-coast trip last year that began in Cape Flattery, Wash., and ended at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The 58-day trip took him to a dozen schools on several different reservations, where he talked to students about the wonders of flying in space and the need for them to realize their dreams.Comment:  Too bad Kiowa writer Russell Bates isn't here to tell us that this enrolled Indian isn't an Indian. Oh, well...no big loss.

It's interesting to juxtapose this story with the prom-dress story. You can achieve your dreams if you work hard, says Herrington. Or you can achieve your dreams if you dress like a princess and a prince sweeps you off your feet. Needless to say, the first message is better than the second one.