Activist's travels form 'peace sign' on map

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan doesn't come around President Bush's ranch any more, but there's a new kid in town trying to get his attention.

Peace activist Alix Bryan, 33, arrived near the ranch here on Saturday afternoon aboard a motor scooter that goes about 55 miles per hour -- on 12-inch wheels.

She drove the scooter from the White House to a home in Crawford dubbed by anti-war activists as the "Peace House," mapping out a circuitous route that formed a peace sign.

Sheehan used to frequent the house.

Bryan bears little resemblance to Sheehan, a California woman who gained national attention as a protest leader after her son Casey was killed fighting in Iraq.

Sheehan's loss prompted her to camp near Bush's home in Crawford throughout August 2005, demanding a meeting with the president to discuss her son. Bush refused to see her, and she abandoned her protests in Texas last year.

Bryan's odyssey took three months. She journeyed more than 11,000 miles braving elements ranging from rain to wind and even one speeding ticket (which she says she talked her way out of). ( Watch Bryan arrive in Crawford »)

"I had my moments actually where I was just exhausted, I mean it's draining," Bryan said upon her arrival in Crawford. "I've ridden in heat from 105 degrees to temperatures (as low as) 40 degrees."

Bryan blogged about the trip on the Web site of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the liberal presidential candidate, and sustained herself with donations to her own site, www.peacescooter.com.

Bryan said she always planned to end her trip in Crawford and hoped to arrive on September 15 after hitting the road from the White House in July. But weather delays and running out of gas once delayed her arrival in Texas until this weekend, when Bush happens to be spending time at his ranch.

While the odds of landing a meeting with the president are remote at best, Bryan said if she had the chance she would like to start a dialogue of peace based on the conversations she had with Americans along the way.

"I would say even those who voted for Bush do not support this war," she said.

But the large crowds of antiwar activists that followed Sheehan around Crawford in the summer of 2005 have long since vanished.

A "rally" at the Peace House to celebrate Bryan's arrival drew just a handful of antiwar activists. Nevertheless, Bryan said she was not defeated.

"Calm seas," she said, "don't make good sailors." E-mail to a friend

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