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*

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Mt. Hood (Day 60)

The wind never let up once while we slept during the the night. The strong wind continued through the night and into the morning. After that much wind I started to realize why the Columbia River Gorge is one of the best places for windsurfing in the world... It just never stops! Not only did the wind wake us up that morning but others in the campground. Around 6:00am we heard kids yelling and riding their bikes right next to our tent. This camping spot was a new experience for us because normally we have been the only ones. In fact we were pretty lucky that we had found a place to set our tent up it was so crowded.

With getting up early we packed our gear and were off into the wind. The wind died a little throughout the day but not much. We rode on the Washington side of the river for the larger part of the day, crossing back into Oregon at Biggs. Once we crossed that spot we would never cross another state line again. When I was first planning the trip I didn't feel like it would be a good idea to ride on the Oregon side because we would have to ride a lot on 84 which is an interstate. However, after talking with a few people I found out that you only need to ride about ten miles on 84. The rest of the stretch contains back roads and bike paths to go on.

As we crossed into Oregon and came around a corner we were able to see Mt. Hood. That was pretty exciting for me to see! One thing I have always enjoyed about the northwest are the volcanic mountains. They appear so massive standing by themselves. Hood was the only one I have ever climbed, and the last time I climbed it I had brought my friend Nate along. Nate was a good friend of mine from Walla Walla. He was from Maine, and I think we both connected pretty good because of our roots in New England. I am glad the year he went to Walla Walla I was able to bring him climbing on Hood. The reason I remember that time so well is because two years later he died in a motorcycle accident. Climbing Hood with Nate is an experience I will always remember.

That night we rode till we found some house to ask somebody if we could camp in their yard. It wasn't long before we had a good camping spot for the night. It is amazing how trusting and generous people have been on this trip.
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