Update From The Air

...and I'm off!

As I type this, I'm currently on a plane flying somewhere over Colorado on my way to San Jose, CA then to Portland, OR. I've left the East Coast a week early so that I can join my fellow Bike & Build SUS 2014 riders Laura & Dusty at their wedding this weekend in Portland! I can't wait to celebrate with the happy couple!!

Next Friday, our DirtDrift group will start off our trip with the first of two back-to-back build days. Following this, we'll hit the road and disappear into the mountains for our 250-mile ride.

Despite the extensive cumulative experience of our group of Bike & Build alumni, I can't help but be a little nervous about this trip. Contrasted with the long days spent riding on highway and side streets in 2014, we will be out on the wilderness and expect to have little to no communication with the outside world until it is over. This will be a great test of our group dynamics and capability to deal with any incidents and accidents (hopefully not!) completely by ourselves. Nevertheless, I'm still excited!

Stay tuned for more info and pictures!!! A big thank you to everyone who has donated to my trip so far :) I am still taking donations up through the trip, so if you have some spare change please consider supporting this great cause!

Just the beginning...

Hi everyone, welcome to my first-ever blog!  Now that we are on the heels of Thanksgiving, it seemed appropriate for me to take a moment to give thanks for having the opportunity to make a difference by starting a blog about my upcoming adventure.  Over the course of the next year, I will be chronicling an opportunity that will be dominating much of my free thoughts and free time.  I thank you for coming here to take a look and I thank you for joining with me in this great adventure.

It was less than two months ago that I first heard about this particular nonprofit organization called Bike & Build.  Since 2003, this charitable organization has raised money and awareness for affordable housing, totaling over $4 million in contributions and 120,000 hours of service.  This is all made possible through yearly cross-country fundraising cycling trips and the hard work and determination of young adults involved in them.  Over the course of 2-3 months, the trip participants bicycle across the country and spread awareness about affordable housing by talking with locals, giving presentations, and donating time and labor at build sites with local affordable housing groups.

As for my story, once I heard about this organization, I immediately knew that I had to be a part of it!  From not knowing a thing about it, I have since applied and been accepted to be one of the 30 riders covering a route crossing the Southern US (henceforth known as SUS) during the summer of 2014!  I'll be heading out in mid-May from Jacksonville, FL and finishing up in Monterey, CA during the first week of August, completing 4000+ miles of bicycling with only 4 days of rest!

Words cannot quite describe how excited that I am for this trip!  Not only will I get to travel the country by bicycle (a long-term goal of mine), but I'll get to support a very worthy cause along the way!  I'm excited to spend 5 days straight building in New Orleans, where residents are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and (if all goes well) to hike my way up Half Dome in Yosemite National Park!  In order to cover all costs and to provide some worthwhile donations to charity organizations and along the route, very participant is responsible for raising at least $4500 in donations, so I ask wholeheartedly for your help.  Please stay tuned on how you can help!  

Thanks!