“Thistle’s voice is provocative and powerful. With raspy realism, her lyrics paint a picture of life on the road (via bicycle), rage about the killing of the earth and a commitment to fight back.”

–Earth First! Journal

Hi! Thank you for visiting my site. I am a singer/songwriter and bicycle enthusiast living in Madison, Wisconsin. My birth name is Kristine Pettersen but I like to be called “Thistle.”

A return to simpler ways of relating and existing as a creature on the earth is a high priority of mine. Through sharing music and riding bikes to exciting destinations, I experience a return to my core values of social justice, sustainable living, awesome friends and having fun.

On this web site, there is a group mission statement for the Cycles of Uprising Tour I did the Fall of 2006 and information about bike riding and organizing in general. You can hear many of my songs for free if you click on the “music” tab and find out where I am playing next under the “shows” tab.

A little more about me: I  helped  organize a group bike ride to St.Paul with the Grassroutes Caravan for the 2008 Republican National Convention. I also helped to organize a mobile bicycle village to Detroit for the US Social Forum in 2010 and then the Soular Ride to Custer, WI and back in 2011 for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair. This year, the Grassroutes Caravan is planning a ride to Chicago in May of 2012 for the NATO protests.

More about my musical background: I learned how to sing harmony from my Dad when I was growing up. I sang in choirs and musicals in high school and was in my college choir that toured Europe, California and Colorado.  I left Madison, Wisconsin in September of 2003 on my bicycle and rode south to New Orleans with my partner Douglas. We lived outside of a car for five months on our bicycles that Fall and Winter, re-wilding ourselves and getting in touch with Nature.  Biking influences the sound of my music. The steady rhythm of the wheels beneath me as I ride clears my mind of anxiety and the songs just come (except for when a car or truck gets too close for comfort).