Sunday, January 14, 2007

Working Towards Summer

I've started spreading the word about Bike and Build, my first set of fundraising letters has gone out, and I did an interview with the Arvada Press early last week (look for that article in the January 18th issue, www.milehighnews.com). My first set of fundraising letters have gone out and I would like to say thank you to those of you who have already given. A big thank you to Elden aka Fatty for supporting me in Bike and Build even though he has never met me. I can only hope that changes once I get to Utah this summer. The outpouring of support has surprised me and is getting me even more excited for the coming summer.

As part of my preparation I attended the Bill Woodull mechanic camp put on by USA Cycling in Colorado Springs over the past 4 days. Although it was oriented more towards being a race mechanic, it allowed me to form some valuable connections with people in the bike industry, get to know a bunch of mechanics, and honed my road safety skills and knowledge on everything cycling from track to mountain bike. The group of students and instructors was one of the friendliest bunch of people I have met and happy to share their knowledge about everything cycling related. Each time I meet a new cyclist I am pleasantly surprised by the instant bond cyclists seem to have with each other, whether it be just meeting up on a ride and slowing down to make sure a person with a flat is okay or if the connection goes deeper and leads to a lasting relationship. I know that Bike & Build will have this as a basis for our camaraderie along with our service, but the connection will go deeper as we live, ride, and build together working towards solving the affordable housing crisis, and moving steadily toward the goal that is San Fran.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Vacation and skiing has been getting the better of my training, but my fundraising efforts are starting to ramp up. My first batch of letters should be out by the end of the week, and I am doing an interview with the Arvada Press this afternoon for an article. I know a lot of you will have questions about my actual route so I'm including a map from the Bike & Build site of the Providence to San Francisco (P2SF) route.



A key for every major trip on bikes with friends are bicycle songs for your iPod, so if you have any great suggestions for cycling related songs or good songs to psych you up in the morning to get riding let me know.