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*

Friday, April 15, 2011

Our Longest Day (Day 16)

Today we woke up early and wanted to make it to Kettering. It was a long day, but we made it! The conditions were perfect. The sun was shining and the whole day we had a strong tailwind. It made the 98 miles we rode a lot easier on us. At different points during the ride we would be cruising a long at 20mph and not even have to work hard. Overall we averaged about 13mph which has been our fastest average. I also think we have been improving in strength. We are now able to go up hills a lot faster then before. Abdiel has improved a lot! When we first started he would go about 4mph up a hill but now he can cruise at about 6 to 7mph.

There were no major problems today. The only think that was a little freaky was that we almost got hit by a car. I don't know if the older gentlemen didn't see us or if we were moving faster then he thought. However, we were riding along the rode and crossed over a driveway to a golf course. As we were crossing the driveway the man turned right almost straight into us. It was a little freaky, and I am still not sure why he did not see us.

After the near mishap we were off again. We rode by the Wright-Peterson Air Force base and also the National Museum United States Air Force. There we were able to get some photos next to some big planes that were outside the Museum.
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