Welcome to Bike for Haiti By Erik and Abdiel

The idea of this trip began ten years ago on a family road trip. As the sights of the United States passed by me I dreamed of riding my bike across the country. I brought the matter up during our road trip. I remember saying something like “Next time lets do this by bike...” Of course at the time everyone thought I was crazy. Then five years ago on another road trip I discussed my dream with Abdiel, a friend of mine. He thought that a bike trip would be crazy, but also a great experience. Overtime the idea slowly started to develop and take hold.

While this bike trip will be a great learning experience for Abdiel and I we eventually decided to ride for a cause. We not only wanted this adventure to mean something to us, but to serve a purpose for others. This is why we have decided to ride for Partners in Health (PIH), and Haiti. As many of you know it has been about a year since the earthquake devastated Haiti displacing people out of their homes. Even more then a year later people are still living in tented communities. PIH is not only dedicated to continue to help those harmed by the quake, but has existed in Haiti for many years. As a co-founder of PIH, Dr. Paul Farmer has been revolutionizing how medicine is brought to those in need throughout Haiti. The mission statement for PIH states “When a person in Peru, or Siberia, or rural Haiti falls ill, PIH uses all of the means at our disposal to make them well... Whatever it takes. Just as we would do a member of our own family - or we ourselves were – ill.” This means that PIH is very adamant about helping those who fall ill upon their doorstep. (To learn more about what PIH is doing for Haiti visit PIH Stand for Haiti website)

Any donations are greatly appreciated. We hope the links to our blog will help better inform you about PIH and Haiti. A great book to read is “Mountains beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder. You can make a one time donation to our cause and give our ride purpose by going to our PIH Fundraiser Page or if you would like to donate an X amount of money per mile we ride that can be done by going to Pledge per Mile. Remember even the smallest contributions help.

* Your donation can: give a years worth of tuberculosis medication for one person that costs about $10-$20 dollars in poor countries such as Haiti. Antiretrovirals for HIV range from $70-$80 per year, per person. *All donations will go to PIH*

Thursday, June 2, 2011

In the End

One thing I have learned on this trip is how generous the American people are! All throughout our trip we met people willing to go out of their way to give us a helping hand. Sometimes it is easy to fall into the viewpoint that Americans only care about themselves, and are unwilling to give a helping hand. However, during this journey I discovered the opposite! It is easy to fall upon that viewpoint when we do not put our trust in others. There s till are great people out there! They surround us all!

Now that the trip is over I would encourage anybody to try a trip like this. It doesn't matter who you are. With the right mindset, anybody can do it! I hope this blog will be useful to others interested in doing the same or may inspire them to seek an adventure of their own!

Here are some stats from our trip:

We covered two countries (United States and a little part in Canada)
We went through 16 States
Max speed 52-54mph
Steepest Grade was in Ohio
Highest pass was Hoosier Pass in Colorado
Rainiest Weather was in Missouri
Worst riding weather was from Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY
Out of 62 days we only spent 5 days in a motel
We only took five full days off for the entire trip
With days off we averaged 69.3 mi/day
Without the days off calculated in we averaged 75.4mi/day
Our lowest average speed was 8.1mph
Our highest average speed was 13.5mph
Our average total speed was 10.7mph
If we had biked nonstop with no rest or sleep we would have crossed America in 16.5 days
Our highest mileage day was 129mi
Finally, overall the trip was 4297.97mi
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The Last Day! (Day 62)

We left the house by 9:00am to ride almost 100miles to the coast in Seaside, OR. I was excited that our trip would be over and that we were actually going to accomplish what we had set out to do. What amazed me the most as I rode was how fast the time flew by. It feels odd that I have actually ridden my bike so far.

While riding to the coast I kept thinking what our first day was like after leaving the Atlantic Ocean. I thought about how easily we got speed wobbles, and how tired we were after 35 miles of riding. It is amazing how far we have come from those early days. I was ecstatic as I rode my bike that we were about to accomplish such a huge goal, yet a little depressed. It made me a little down to think about what life would bring next. I kept thinking what I could do for another great adventure! I kept trying to search in my mind what the next exciting thing would be in life. As I thought my mind wandered toward medical school... I thought of how maybe medicine was my next adventure! The education I will be able to receive over the next five or six years will be amazing. It will be an adventure discovering the functions of the human body and the complications it brings. Like any adventure going to med school will have its ups and downs, but in the end, I know it will be worth it!

Arriving to the coast was no easy accomplishment today. In fact as we came closer and closer I felt like I did when I ran my first marathon. I kept wondering when the finish would be in sight. It was so mountainous at one point I felt as though I were in a wetter Montana. Eventually we rolled into Seaside next to the monument of Lewis and Clark. There we put on our sandals and walked out to the Pacific! We did it!
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