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*

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Bike Disaster (Day 31)

Today we woke up at 5:00am Our plan was to ride early before the wind started. The wind was predicted to hit 40mph from the south. We packed up our gear and headed to a Mcdonalds for breakfast. There we chilled for a little to post some stuff on the internet and eat some food. Eating at Mcdonalds a lot I have realized that it is one of the most expensive breakfast places out there. We are a lot better going to a local restaurant to get a better deal for breakfast. The great thing about Mcdonalds though is its open early and there is internet.

As we rode that morning we were both in pretty good moods. The wind wasn't bad and the sky was a perfect blue. We were riding on these back roads with little traffic where one could see straight for a couple of miles. Finally, we came to a main road when disaster struck. I was riding up a small hill when all of a sudden something flung off my bike. At first I was thinking what it could possible be! When we turned around to see what it was it was my spoke. My spoke didn't break, but it had ripped straight out of my rim making it impossible to put a new one in. Plus within seconds of the spoke ripping out my rim became so warped that my tire was rubbing on my frame. Quickly we decided that we needed help. I couldn't think of a quick solution to ride my bike to a shop. Plus we knew a small shop wouldn't work for us. The closest small shop was 40 miles away. The bigger ones were 80miles away to Wichita, the biggest city in Kansas. As I tried to work on my bike for a solution Abdiel started to work on hitch hiking. The first person to stop was an elevator serviceman who was heading home to Wichita. His name was John. He said he would give us a lift over there. We were so thankful that John had passed us at the right moment otherwise we might of had a harder time getting over there.

The drive over to Wichita was a good one. We were heading off the bike route again by going southwest to Wichita. John was a very friendly guy. Just before we got to Wichita we watched him service an elevator. After that he took us to the bike shop. At shop I was worried about how much things would cost me. I knew I would most likely have to get a new wheel. The shop named Bicycle Pedaler was extremely helpful to us. Ruth the lady who owns the shop was extremely nice and willing to help. She found me a wheel I could use, and was willing to ship my broken wheel home. My broken wheel is fixable but it would of required a lot of work. So eventually I hope to get it fixed. While they took my bike in to get it fixed Abdiel also asked if they could check his bike out for any problems. While we waited we headed out to lunch. When we got back our bikes were ready to go and working in good condition. My only worry was how much it might all this was going to cost me. Ruth brought us to the register and started trying to give us as many discounts she could possible give us! I was totally shocked and thankful for what she had done. I think she understood how little money we had to spend, and understood what biking across the country took. That is because she had done it herself as a honeymoon. She told us that her and her husband had retired from nursing and decided to open up a bike shop. So once again we are extremely thankful for all that was done for us today!!
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    So, do you have to get a ride back to where it broke and start from there? Or are you just going to start in witchita?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    this time give them a break !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 1, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    For those who are helping Erik and Abdiel as they travel, THANK YOU! Erik's Mom.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jeanne BaileyMay 2, 2011 at 7:52 AM

    Hey Erik and Abdiel, You might want to try the supermarket for your food. I know several people who have spent time biking and they tell me the supermarket work well, less expensive and you can get pretty much anything you want with the salad bar,soups,bagels and even the cooked chickens (which would be a good source of protein) you can use the mcdonalds for internet and bathroom LOL. Good luck keep me posted if you try the markets.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mrs. Knee and the KinderKidsMay 2, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    to mr davt
    icn hia on the mace brs
    i ms you
    we hf a na tesr it is ms marne
    we bn lrna tw cnt tw wanhd

    from kylie

    I can hang on the monkey bars.
    I miss you.
    We have a new teacher. It is Miss Marni.
    We’ve been learning to count to one hundred.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mrs. Knee and the KinderKidsMay 2, 2011 at 6:01 PM

    mr davt,
    plez km tu mi hc wn u km bk.
    max

    Please come to my house when you come back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mrs. Knee and the KinderKidsMay 2, 2011 at 6:05 PM

    h mne fat tir d u hv
    Ben

    How many flat tires did you have?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mrs. Knee and the KinderKidsMay 2, 2011 at 6:09 PM

    misdr davit
    i mis you and i hp you com bac and i hp vat you hv no mor bad das
    i hp vat you hv no mor fat tirs
    janie

    I miss you and I hope you come back and I hope that you have no more bad days. I hope that you have no more flat tires.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Erik DavittMay 6, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    Thanks for the encouragement guys! So far I have had a total of ten flats!! But besides that the ride is going great! I hope all you guys are doing good and having fun at school! I will let you know when I am back in NH Max.

    ReplyDelete

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