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, April 20, 2011

A Harsh Welcome to Kentucky! (Day 18)

Today was one of the worst days in the trip. We thought that as we headed more south we would be welcomed with warmer weather. However that did not happen. Instead Kentucky welcomed us with strong headwinds, a cold temperature, and hard rain. It was definitely one of the hardest days to push through. We were only able to push fifty miles before nightfall. As we road I kept thinking of how miserable I was. I thought of how people keep telling us how lucky we were to be able to ride, and how they wished they could do the same. In reality at that moment I felt as if nobody understood what we had to actually go through. Even though the day was hard many good things did happen. So instead of dwelling on the negative I will go into the positive.

Kentucky is a beautiful state! As we rode away from the city we came into areas that contained lots of pastures with horses and cows grazing. Everytime we pass a pasture of horses they all stare at us and some will even gallop along with us! It is actually pretty cool! As we kept riding we made it down into the Ohio river valley. The river is huge and reminds me of the Columbia River in Washington state. The water is higher then normal and is muddy from all the runoff. From what the locals tell us the river isn't normally that high during the year.

We kept riding along the river passing one of the biggest steel mills in the United States, and on into Carrollton, KY. Once in Carrollton we decided to stop and eat at a Mexican restaurant. As we ate Abdiel and I were trying to decide where we would sleep. The map showed a state park nearby. As I went outside to unlock the the bikes Abdiel asked the waiter more about the camp stop. It turns out she was totally in shock that we would even think of camping in that weather. She went to talk to the owner of the restaurant and he decided to set us up in an empty store he owned. We were so grateful for what they had done for us. After having a terrible day of riding we had a roof to keep us dry. The floor was concrete, but that didn't matter. People have been so greet to us throughout our trip. In fact earlier in the day we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and the guy in front of decided he to pay for our meals. Even though the weather is out of our control it is great knowing how generous people truly are. I think sometimes I get stuck in the mindset that many Americans are cold and uncaring... I know that is sad, but if it takes a bike trip across America to learn differently then in the end I've learned more then enough.
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1 comment:

  1. bob davittApril 20, 2011 at 5:36 PM

    Great job Erik and Abdiel! The vast majority of people are willing to share and help. Unfortunately the few that are not, are usually the ones that are in the news stories. So one is left with the impression that most people are like the ones in most news stories.
    The journey of life is much like your bike trip ... good days and bad days ... but even in the bad days there is always something good to hang onto. Remember its the 'journey' that matters and is important. Enjoy each day! ... enough philosophy from dad..! Have fun! Watch out for tornado weather! bob davitt rdavitt12@yahoo.com

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