I'm Back!

Hi friends, welcome back!! I ask that you please take the time to eventually read this whole post, but if time is short or if you want to know why now, 4 years later, I am creating a new post on this blog, go ahead and skip to the end. As always, thank you for your friendship and support!

Just over 4 years ago, I joined an amazing group of individuals on a 4220-mile trip from Jacksonville, FL to Monterey, CA. This trip was the 2014 Bike & Build Southern US (SUS) trip and it opened my eyes not only to the wonders of our great country but to the needs of those within it. All across this country, there is a significant need for decent, affordable housing. Many families lack the funds and support to have a place of their own, something which many of us take for granted. Supporting affordable housing is about helping others to fulfill the basic human need for shelter and giving them the chance to improve their own well-being.

 

On SUS 2014, our group of cyclists met many people along the way that were positively supported by affordable housing. From veterans to single-parent families, those that we met were the kindest, most gracious and welcoming people that I have ever been in contact with. I have been very fortunate to be a part of this and see firsthand the benefits that an organization like Bike & Build and its affordable housing partners can bring to the less-fortunate all across the country. 

My OTHER Ride (Rocky Mountain Trailhead 29er)

Wait, what happened to my road bike??  Well, friends, I am pleased to announce that this summer, I will be joining Bike & Build for another ride, but this time it will be on a less-paved course very far from any ocean. On September 14th, I join the  Bike & Build DirtDrift leaving out of (& returning to) Boise, Idaho!

This ride will be the first test of a future off-road Bike & Build trip and although we won't stray outside of Idaho, we are still following the same organizational goals of my 2014 trip. These include earning our 'sweat hours' on at least two affordable housing build days and raising funds for affordable housing projects. I am extremely excited to be joining Bike & Build once again on this shakedown ride and paving the way (though not literally)  for future generations of service-minded young adults to continue supporting the affordable housing cause. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for your support as I tackle this new trip!

Please feel free to follow me here for updates on the ride. Given the nature of the ride itself, I may not be able to post every day during the week-long ride (or at all), but I will have some amazing pictures after it has wrapped up. I am responsible for fundraising $700 towards this trip, so if you wish to help support me financially, please see my fundraising page at https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/1521309. Thank you once again!!

More information about this Bike & Build trip is available at https://www.classy.org/event/bike-and-build-dirtdrift/e188238.

Training For The Trip (Plainfield, NH)

An Open Letter to Webbies of All Ages

As I've been planning out how to raise awareness for my Bike & Build trip, I've contacted a lot of different people and talked to a number of different groups and organizations about my trip. Going out on a limb, I sent an email to the webmaster of Webb Institute, my Alma Mater, to see if Webb would be interested in joining with me in raising awareness for my trip by featuring me in one of their "Alumni Spotlights." Lo and behold, they agreed!  To be featured in an alumni spotlight, I needed to write an article of no more than 250 words, which would be linked to on the home page of Webb's website after garnering the appropriate approval.

As I sat down to diligently write my article for the website, I quickly found that I could not write just 250 words.  In fact, I went far beyond my 250-word limit.  Well, I took that long article, chopped it down, tweaked it a bit, and that is now viewable HERE.  Thankfully, I still held on to that original article and now I shall post it as an open letter right here on my blog.  While many of the things said in the article are duplicated elsewhere on this website, I thought that some people might like to read the original.  Here it is, for everyone to see:

"

It hasn’t even been 4 years since I left Webb and took my place with DRS Technologies as a Junior NA, but I’ve already been faced with another decision almost as life-changing as saying “yes” to Steven Ostendorff in 2006, regarding my acceptance to Webb.  A year ago, I was wondering how I’d be able to run my second-ever 5K after a long winter’s rest, but now I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to manage riding a bicycle across the US.

I’ve been active since Webb in volunteering on a small scale, such as working with a local theater and miscellaneous small events, but I’ve yet to do something that will take me away from my job and everything comfortable in my life for any significant amount of time, not to mention a few months.  That was until last October, when I first heard about this charitable organization dedicated to the need for affordable housing in the US by raising funds and awareness through yearly cross-country bicycle trips.  This organization is called Bike & Build, and the prospect of riding in one of their trips took hold in my brain and festered for only a couple weeks before I finally decided to commit 100% to it.

I will not be alone on my upcoming cross-country trip.  Every summer, Bike & Build arranges for 8 different groups of up to 34 cyclists (each) to cross this country from east to west in support of affordable housing.  As part of the Bike & Build Southern US (SUS) route, I will be riding across the US on bicycle from Jacksonville, FL to Monterey, CA (approx. 4060 miles).  During this trip, we will be not only be spreading awareness of the affordable housing crisis in every town that we come to and continuing to raise money for the cause, but we’ll also be stopping to volunteer our time at 12 separate affordable housing build sites along the way.  Over the course of the summer, I look forward to spending a total of 17 days building and 56 days riding from town to town (an average of 72 miles per day).  Along the way, I will be writing journal entries and posting pictures on my blog at http://crosscountrydan.blogspot.com, so please stay tuned for stories from the road!

I’ve been reading about student volunteer work in the WebbNews and I think that it’s a wonderful thing!  I’ve had the chance to help out at a few events during my time at Webb, but in retrospect, I could’ve done much more.  I highly encourage all Webbies, past and present, to get involved in your local communities and become aware of the world issues around you.  It is not only important that we stay on top of the big social issues now, but that we continue to do so throughout our lives.  I don’t know if one person alone can make a difference in the world, but if we all embrace the task of change on a personal level and do our best with what we have, I believe we might just make a collective difference.  I challenge everyone to consider this and to make the decision to start making that change from the inside out.  Find out what needs to change in you, then when you make those needed changes, you’ll be able to see more clearly about the true change needed in the world around you and how you can help.

Yours Truly,

Daniel Snyder (’10) 

"

Giving 110%

How much do you have to give?

We learned back in grade school that the most that you can have of anything is 100%.  If I had 10 marbles and you gave me 5, I now have 150% of what I had, but I would still only have 100%.  As a result of this continued logic, the term "giving 110%" (in sports, work, etc.) seems to have fallen out of favor in recent years, but I believe that there might still be a place for it.

I believe that giving 110% is how we grow as humans.  If we always did what we felt comfortable with (our 100%), then how would we stress our bodies to become smarter, stronger, more capable people?  This summer, I'm going to be giving 110% to affordable housing through my trip with Bike & Build.  That means that every day, I'm going to try to give at least 10% more than I thought that I could the previous day.  I'm going to work harder, build better, bike faster, and do my best to make more of a difference than I ever considered that I could or would.

Finally, I wanted to share with you that beyond the abstract idea of 110%, I'm also literally giving 110% towards my trip with Bike & Build.  In addition to the 100% of my time on the road and the potential income that I am giving up to go on this trip, I am also matching 10% of every donation given by my generous donors to this trip.  I believe in the cause and only feel right that I give equally as well too, so I have already made my starting $450 donation to the cause, trusting and knowing that we can reach a minimum of $4500 together.

PS - For a hockey player's take on "110%", take a look at http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2012/05/30/110/.

Words From A Past Rider

"Bike & Build reminds me of the importance of being human – the importance of living, feeling and embracing the human condition while pushing the context and the boundaries of how we see and perceive ourselves and our fellow man. It not only reminds us to keep our feet (or wheels) planted firmly on the ground, but also encourages us to reach skyward with our hearts and our heads, spurring personal growth and redefinition so that we may help others. Leading our lives with honesty and truth and being conscientious of those in need contributes to the energy that betters our world.

~ Derrick Thiel, Bike & Build CUS 2010

Happy New Year!!!

Source: http://newtownbike.com/

Welcome to 2014!!!  I hope that everyone had a fun and wonderful holiday season!  I wish you and yours a safe, successful, and most wonderful 2014!

When I started this blog, I had said that I would probably have some trouble keeping up with making posts, which is apparently the case! So, in the interest of keeping up a blog, I have updated my resolutions list:

New Years Resolutions:

1 - Transition from writing 2013 (accidentally) to 2014 in 20 days or less.

2 - Read at least 12 books this year.

(Edit) 3 -  Update this blog at least bi-weekly pre-trip.

...Hopefully these resolutions will last longer than most peoples' "exercise more" resolutions!

As you know, this summer I will be bicycling across the country and will be stopping along the way to help build houses with affordable housing organizations. While the time spent building houses is significant, that's not all that the trip is about.  Here's an excerpt from the Bike & Build website:

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Creating a Connection
From the moment that you sign up for one of our trips to when you reach your final destination, our organization strives to create a connection between the two aspects of our program: biking and building. As you ride you'll find that the two roles compliment and reinforce each other.

 

By virtue of completing a long-distance bike tour, you will assist and enable affordable housing efforts throughout the nation. As you travel you'll stop to talk with people about your summer, our program, and the housing landscape. You'll take breaks to work on construction sites and give town-hall style presentations to people throughout the country. You'll review, evaluate, and choose to fund grant proposals our organization receives. You'll find that traveling by bicycle - especially on a trip of this magnitude - is a great way to promote the housing cause, and you'll receive publicity and attention that you would not have seen off of your bikes.

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Yes, we could have fundraisers to donate straight to affordable housing, but that's not what this trip is about.  This trip is about spreading the word about what we're doing and why we're doing it.  This trip is about talking to people along the way and letting everyone know about the challenges faced by affordable housing groups in the US.  This trip is (for me) about being thankful for what I have and intentionally giving that up for a few months to make a difference.