Bike for Haiti: March 2011

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*

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

First Day 3/12

Our official leave date is not till April 1st, however over the last couple of weekends Abdiel and I have been plugging away at some of the millage close to home. For our first day we road from Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to my house in Deerfield. It was about a 36 mile ride. The weather was good and it was pretty exciting to feel we were somewhat starting our trip.

When we arrived at the ocean I was really excited! It was sunny, windy, and cool. However, that didn't stop me from wanting to take my shoes off so that I could wade into the water with my bike over my head. The water was FREEZING causing my feet to go numb in about 10 seconds. However it wouldn't be a real ride from coast to coast if I didn't dip my feet in.

Once we were on our bikes we settled down and averaged about 10mph. The ride was great except for the fact my trailer was a little top heavy... this didn't help with descending. Every time I hit about 25mph I would get pretty bad speed wobbles. It was impossible to ride a straight line.

It won't be long before we are off on the real adventure away from home. I can't wait to be off yet I will miss home and the kindergartners that I have been working with all year. I will always remember each and everyone. I hope that I will be able to stay in touch as I ride!

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