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 29, 2011

The Ozarks (Day 26)

Today was one of our toughest days, yet it was one of the most interesting days. Wanting to get a good start in the morning to beat any severe thunderstorms in the afternoon we left early. We started our day by waking up around 5:30am, packing up, and then grabbing a bite to eat at McDonalds. At McDonalds we met some interesting locals who told us to watch out for wild hogs and the black bears. They were shocked to find out that we didn't carry a gun with us. While some locals tell us tornadoes are not common in this area others say they are. One guy from Mcdonalds told us that on his farm his grandfather's house was destroyed by a tornado, his dad's house, and four of his sheds.

As we started to ride in the morning we were lucky to have no rain. However, around eleven our luck changed. Off in the distance the clouds started to darken and we could hear the low rumble of thunder. Finally it started to spit rain and within ten minutes lighting was all around us with rain coming down in sheets of water. Luckily a gas station was near by and we were able to take cover. Although, the two minutes we were in the rain we were completely soaked. After the stormed passed it rained on and off the whole entire day.

Most of the day we were riding in the Ozarks. While the mountains are small they still hold a lot of beauty. Being small mountains today was the hilliest we have ever had. We didn't hit anything as steep as in Ohio, but the hills were long and held their own in steepness. I am certain by the time I wake up my legs will be sore. In fact Abdiel was talking to a policeman, and he said that most bikers coming through say the Ozarks are the harder then anything found in the west. Even harder then riding in the Rockies.

With the steepness and the grade of the hills Abdiel and I both hit our all time max speeds for the trip. I was maxed out at 47mph. Even though we didn't finish the ride till 8:00pm, and were soaked at the finish we were lucky that we only had one thunderstorm to deal with. It has been raining a lot here. In fact the last three days have brought 12 inches or rain to Missouri. Most the rivers are flooded and by this Wednesday the locals say another 10 inches of rain is possible. They say it has been the worst flooding since 1967. So like always, our plan is to keep heading west to get out!
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