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 9, 2011

Rain, Sleet, and Snow (Day 7)

After a poor nights sleep in Syracuse we awoke to a cold, wet rain... I now as I walked out into the rain my spirits were low. Although with rain predicted each day of the week I felt we just had to keep moving. My thought was that maybe by moving we would get out of the rain faster than if we had decided to wait it out. That morning in Syracuse we packed up all our stuff that was left to dry, and did some bike maintenance.

As we were working on our bikes it couldn't of gotten any worse... it started to snow, and started to snow hard. Although the snowed de3layed us it appeared to be more of a good thing then bad. This is because while I was working on my bike I realized that my rear cassette was loose. This allowed us to swing by the bike shop and get a spacer that was missing. Abdiel also forgot his toiletry kit at the place we slept. (We slept in a different house then where our bikes were stored). So Abdiel was also able to get his things back.

With the snow, and maintenance issues we didn't leave till almost twelve. However, we were only biking to a house in Seneca Falls which was only 55 miles away. We took route 5 which over by syracuse was a four lane highway... it wasn't super busy but I still wonder if there was a simpler way to get around it. As 5 narrowed back down to a two lane road it got very busy. We had to ride through many crowded areas only seeing strip malls. However, eventually we came out of the more congested areas and were back into the farmlands of New York.

As we road through the farmlands the wind became very strong. At one point I was ricing along and was blown off the road. This trailers seem to be wind magnets. Whenever there is a strong gust/crosswind the bike actually moves about one to two feet to the side. The great part about the trip was that far off in the sky we could see a blue patch. As the patch came closer it got brighter and brighter. So bright that I could hardly see without my sunglasses. It felt as if I hadn't seen the sun for weeks. With the sun coming in and out and though sleet and snow squalls we made it to our destination as the sun tucked below the horizon to the west.
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