Yesterday was quite an eventful day. First of all, I was riding "sweep". [Everyday two riders are the designated sweep riders, which means that they wear awesome bright yellow sweep capes and they stay in the back, carry med kits and make sure everyone is okay. You ride the whole day with your sweep partner and stop everytime another rider has a flat, does into a diner to eat, stops by a lake to swim, or just tools around in a small town. So it makes for a long, long, but rewarding day because you end up chatting up a storm with your sweep partner].
I had never been to Kansas prior to this trip, but all I heard about it from others was, "oh man, enjoy the midwest (insert sarcasm). It'll be so boring! Corn corn corn".
Well, I say not true. Kansas is one of the best states I've cycled through. Our first stop was Lawrence, KS - the hometown of our of our riders, Meryl. It's a liberal, college town (Kansas University, home of the Jayhawks) and very much like my university town of Ithaca, NY. Who would have thought that NY and KS could be so similar! But it's true and almost uncanny. The phrase about Lawrence is that it's 25 square miles surrounded by Kansas while the phrase about Ithaca is that it's 10 sq miles surounded by reality. Eco-friendly people and a lot of young, vibrant people. Small shops, few chain stores, very friends and with an AWESOME bike shop called Sunflower (KS is the sunflower state). They tuned up all of our bikes better than I've ever tuned mine up... free of charge.
Yes, Kansas has corn and soybean, but after two days of cycling, the landscape totally changed. We had arrived into the Flint Hills (look it up for pictures). Here, there is litigimate rolling hills (false, KS is certainly NOT all flat) where there is only a very thin layer of topsoil, too thin to grow crops. Instead, it's the perfect land to raise pastured cattle. Cattle everywhere. It's not irrigated here, so it contrasts greatly with the vibrant green cropland. Here, it's dry and dusty and I feel like I'm in the Wild Wild West. There are black, wooden cut-outs of cowboys on horses, or mounted Native Americans chasing buffalo. Here, there are no towns for miles and miles and when my sweep parter, Doug, and I arrived at first lunch, we were out of water. The van had already left in search for more liquids and had to drive for over an hour in order to fill up and bring us back water before we could hit the road again.
We mounted our bikes again and headed toward the "geographic center of the USA" located near Lebanon, KS. We had crossed the half-way mile marker. My odometer read 2000 miles. (actually 2500 including 500 miles of training). Onwards to Nebraska. The "Welcome to Nebraska" sign greeted us with bullet holes.... The sign was totally riddled with holes.... and a picture of a cowboy on a rearing horse. Behind the sign was a landscape totally different from what we had been riding through in KS. Prairies. Wild, preserved prairie land with rolling hills, shrubs, grasses, and no cropland. Thank goodness for a tailwind that pushed us home. 113 degrees. Excrushiatingly hot. So hot. I must have dunk over 6 liters of water that day. But soon the 70 miles appeared on my odometer and we rolled into Red Cloud, NE, our home for the night. We passed the public pool, where we found the other 30 riders who simoultaneously cheered, "super sweep!" Everyone had made it in safely. A bit dehydrated, some with not so great feeling stomachs, but all really satisfied with the eventful day.
Question of the day : is there a difference between a prairie and a plain (the great plains) and if so what is it? Everyone seems to have their own definition of the two words... what is yours? Let me know!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Forging the Mississippi River
We rode into the Great Plains, leaving the Northeast, the Appalachains, my home and familiar region behind. Crossing the Mississippi was for sure, one of the most memorable landmarks so far. Good-bye IL, hello MO. We all stopped and put our feet in water and washed our faces in the River (an symbol indicating that we would one day return to the river's bank).
Some interesting observations of the Midwest - a region in which, prior, I had never set foot:
People here are proud of their connection to the great 16th president of the US. KY was the birthplace of Lincoln, Indiana boasts that it's "Lincoln's boyhood home" and Illinois is the "Land of Lincoln". The churches where we stayed likewise were proud that they had some of the wooden shelves bought by the President's nephew's sister's daughter's cousin's best friend.
Why do I feel like I'm in the Midwest when I've never been here?
Of course there's acres and acres of corn, but also an equal acrage of soybean (I feel like everyone always thinks of corn, but there's just as much of the smaller soybean plant).
But overall, I'd say it's the way the sky looks. There is simply so much sky! It's huge and expansive and the colors of the clouds are like nothing else I've ever seen. They are full of color. Purple, gray, dark blue. We see great sunrises and sunsets and the clouds are giant and fluffy. And from this majestic sky, blows a strong strong wind.
Another interesting asepct of biking across the Midwest is that you become very talented at guessing the milage between where you are and the water tower you spy in the very distance. With the other cyclists, we making guessing games on how far the next water tower is. Sometimes the closest one is 5 miles away, sometimes, it's 15. And you can also guess that where ever you see the closest water tower, is where there is the closest town. So make sure you have enough water with you before you start off cycling!
And speaking of water, we must cross over dozens and dozens of rivers. These rivers are highly irrigated and thus their course is heavily altered by the farmers. It looks like the river banks have been dug such that the river follows are particular direction. They are brown and muddy and usually not too wide. Most of the fields that we've passed, however, have been quite flooded. There has been a lot of rain out here this spring and summer so the corn is small (too wet) and the fields are just swamped. That leaves lots of frog, snake and turtle roadkill to swerve around.
Some interesting observations of the Midwest - a region in which, prior, I had never set foot:
People here are proud of their connection to the great 16th president of the US. KY was the birthplace of Lincoln, Indiana boasts that it's "Lincoln's boyhood home" and Illinois is the "Land of Lincoln". The churches where we stayed likewise were proud that they had some of the wooden shelves bought by the President's nephew's sister's daughter's cousin's best friend.
Why do I feel like I'm in the Midwest when I've never been here?
Of course there's acres and acres of corn, but also an equal acrage of soybean (I feel like everyone always thinks of corn, but there's just as much of the smaller soybean plant).
But overall, I'd say it's the way the sky looks. There is simply so much sky! It's huge and expansive and the colors of the clouds are like nothing else I've ever seen. They are full of color. Purple, gray, dark blue. We see great sunrises and sunsets and the clouds are giant and fluffy. And from this majestic sky, blows a strong strong wind.
Another interesting asepct of biking across the Midwest is that you become very talented at guessing the milage between where you are and the water tower you spy in the very distance. With the other cyclists, we making guessing games on how far the next water tower is. Sometimes the closest one is 5 miles away, sometimes, it's 15. And you can also guess that where ever you see the closest water tower, is where there is the closest town. So make sure you have enough water with you before you start off cycling!
And speaking of water, we must cross over dozens and dozens of rivers. These rivers are highly irrigated and thus their course is heavily altered by the farmers. It looks like the river banks have been dug such that the river follows are particular direction. They are brown and muddy and usually not too wide. Most of the fields that we've passed, however, have been quite flooded. There has been a lot of rain out here this spring and summer so the corn is small (too wet) and the fields are just swamped. That leaves lots of frog, snake and turtle roadkill to swerve around.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
1200 miles later
Here we are in the flat, windy, WINDY Midwest, in Springfield, IL. It's been quite a while since I've had free time to blog - my apologies - it's just that we usually only have a counted number of free minutes in our day. (We're on our bikes oftentimes for 12 hours a day, then need to EAT!, stretch, shower, clean our bikes, and do our daily chores to keep the group moving). However, one person of our group of 32 riders writes a journal entry every day and they are all posted on the Bike & Build website along with lots of photos. So if you're interested in following us more closely, check it out here.
Here are some brief highlights. So far, my favorite states have been West Virginia and Kentucky. We took all back roads (and often times quite gravely) and really saw into the heart of WV. The hills were wonderfully forgiving especially after the hills of CT (which I never knew existed) and the steep mountains of NY and PA. By contrast, WV just kept you continuously shifting gears and enjoying the ups and downs of the terrain.
We crossed over the Ohio River into Kentucky at 6:30 am on a misty, cool morning. It was an eerie sort of feeling along the winding roads that opened up to vast farms and open landscape. The ride from Paris to Louisville KY was covered in brown wooden fences surrounding hundreds of thoroughbreds and hay field after hay field.
Now we're in Illinois and the Gulf Stream is blowing with all it's might against us (we're heading East to West). I am calculating that the winds are around 25 mph - so strong that when I'm going downhill, I need to be in my lowest gear possible just to keep going - (and to give you a reference, I pedal in my lowest gear while biking up a 12% grade up a mountain in PA, and here I'm biking downhill but still need it!) And as you can imagine, we're passing corn field after corn field, with interspersed soybean fields.
The next couple of days will bring an important landmark - the Might Mississippi River - into the Great Plains we come!
Here are some brief highlights. So far, my favorite states have been West Virginia and Kentucky. We took all back roads (and often times quite gravely) and really saw into the heart of WV. The hills were wonderfully forgiving especially after the hills of CT (which I never knew existed) and the steep mountains of NY and PA. By contrast, WV just kept you continuously shifting gears and enjoying the ups and downs of the terrain.
We crossed over the Ohio River into Kentucky at 6:30 am on a misty, cool morning. It was an eerie sort of feeling along the winding roads that opened up to vast farms and open landscape. The ride from Paris to Louisville KY was covered in brown wooden fences surrounding hundreds of thoroughbreds and hay field after hay field.
Now we're in Illinois and the Gulf Stream is blowing with all it's might against us (we're heading East to West). I am calculating that the winds are around 25 mph - so strong that when I'm going downhill, I need to be in my lowest gear possible just to keep going - (and to give you a reference, I pedal in my lowest gear while biking up a 12% grade up a mountain in PA, and here I'm biking downhill but still need it!) And as you can imagine, we're passing corn field after corn field, with interspersed soybean fields.
The next couple of days will bring an important landmark - the Might Mississippi River - into the Great Plains we come!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
And we're off!
June 6. Departure day. Cool morning, light mist. 32 riders outfitted in matching blue and red jerseys cycled excitedly from our host church to the (slippery) Providence dock. Dipping Ceremony. On the count of 3 we all dipped our back tires in the lapping waves of the Atlantic. Now, theres just one direction - West! - Riding towards Pacific.
The streets of Providence were full of potholes and interesting obstacles. As our group of 32 riders snaked along the city's main streets (in snazzy blue spandex), you could hear phrases passed along to from one rider to the rider behind him/her such as "Pothole! " "Slowing!" and frequent jubilant cries of "P2SF!!" [i.e. Providence to San Francisco].
After 10 miles of city streets, we climbed a sloping hill and emerged surrounded by farm fields and old style New England houses. 23 miles later, we caught up with the van + trailer (painted with our mural of bikes and houses and a big map of our route across the U.S.A.) and stopped for lunch. St. Martin's church (our host during our 3 days of Orientation) had cooked us a fabulous departure breakfast of quiche, omelets, and muffins and we were delighted to see that our lunch was comprised of the delicious leftovers supplemented by the standard PPJ.
At the CT welcome sign of course we stopped to shoot about a hundred pictures with all of us riders elated next to the sign. Then, we had a couple of fantastic downhills (where one rider reached 45 mph) which opened up to a valley of quaint houses and stone walls with a landscape dotted with a few cows.
On the day, we cycled 37 miles and spent the afternoon resting at a church in Plainfield, CT - another quaint, New England town. We finished up painting the trailer this afternoon - and man, do we have some artists or what in our group! It looks really sweet. (I'll have to take some pictures to show you). And from what I hear, we have a pretty spectacular dinner awaiting us prepared by the congregation of St. Paul's.
The streets of Providence were full of potholes and interesting obstacles. As our group of 32 riders snaked along the city's main streets (in snazzy blue spandex), you could hear phrases passed along to from one rider to the rider behind him/her such as "Pothole! " "Slowing!" and frequent jubilant cries of "P2SF!!" [i.e. Providence to San Francisco].
After 10 miles of city streets, we climbed a sloping hill and emerged surrounded by farm fields and old style New England houses. 23 miles later, we caught up with the van + trailer (painted with our mural of bikes and houses and a big map of our route across the U.S.A.) and stopped for lunch. St. Martin's church (our host during our 3 days of Orientation) had cooked us a fabulous departure breakfast of quiche, omelets, and muffins and we were delighted to see that our lunch was comprised of the delicious leftovers supplemented by the standard PPJ.
At the CT welcome sign of course we stopped to shoot about a hundred pictures with all of us riders elated next to the sign. Then, we had a couple of fantastic downhills (where one rider reached 45 mph) which opened up to a valley of quaint houses and stone walls with a landscape dotted with a few cows.
On the day, we cycled 37 miles and spent the afternoon resting at a church in Plainfield, CT - another quaint, New England town. We finished up painting the trailer this afternoon - and man, do we have some artists or what in our group! It looks really sweet. (I'll have to take some pictures to show you). And from what I hear, we have a pretty spectacular dinner awaiting us prepared by the congregation of St. Paul's.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thank you for helping me surpass my fund rasing goal of $4000 for affordable housing!
So I made it! Thanks to the the 71 people who sponsored, I have raised (to date) $4125 to benefit affordable housing organizations across the United States.
We are still looking for sponsorships! The more money we raise, the more we can help people desperate for an affordable home! Because each rider must raise a minimum of $4000 in order to participate on the ride, I would ask that instead of sponsoring me, please sponsor my good friend Maxwell Kraft (who is responsible for introducing me to road biking to begin with!) who is a bit short of his $4K goal.
Please visit bikeandbuild.org/donate and click on Kraft, Maxwell to donate and grant him eligibility on this ride of a lifetime!
Thank you again for your continued support.
We are still looking for sponsorships! The more money we raise, the more we can help people desperate for an affordable home! Because each rider must raise a minimum of $4000 in order to participate on the ride, I would ask that instead of sponsoring me, please sponsor my good friend Maxwell Kraft (who is responsible for introducing me to road biking to begin with!) who is a bit short of his $4K goal.
Please visit bikeandbuild.org/donate and click on Kraft, Maxwell to donate and grant him eligibility on this ride of a lifetime!
Thank you again for your continued support.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Here's to my Giant road bike
And here she is! My Giant road bike steed which carry me across the United States. I have been training almost every day now and have introduced her to these NYS hills. America, here I come!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ghana Bike Project: loading day!
Check out these pictures of the hundreds of bikes we collected from the Ithaca area to send to Ghana to be used in rural development initiatives.
Ghana Pics For Blog
View more OpenOffice presentations from guest01b298.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The road for affordable housing : I've hit the $3000 milestone
Thanks everyone for your support! With your help, I have currently raised $3145 to be used for affordable housing project across the U.S.A.
The sponsor of the day: The Blue Rooster Bakery.
The Blue Rooster hosted Jennifer Johnson (fiddler, dancer, singer) to play on March 15th and entertain guests. Proceeds of the event went in part to sponsor my ride. Thank you Karen Finigan (owner) for your support!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ghana Bikes Project in the Cornell Chronicle!
Publicity just keeps coming our way. My dear friend and housemate Jill McCoy wrote a lovely article about Liz and my "Scrap Metal to Ghana Pedal" Project.
Check it out here.
"Old, rusty bikes sitting in the garage after years of disrepair or disuse are often sent to the junkyard, drifting into oblivion or piling up into scrap metal. But Cornell students Anne-Lise Cossart '09 and Liz Bageant '10 are shifting this paradigm by collecting and shipping used bikes to Ghana.
Check it out here.
"Old, rusty bikes sitting in the garage after years of disrepair or disuse are often sent to the junkyard, drifting into oblivion or piling up into scrap metal. But Cornell students Anne-Lise Cossart '09 and Liz Bageant '10 are shifting this paradigm by collecting and shipping used bikes to Ghana.
 Jill McCoy |
| Anne-Lise Cossart '09, standing, and Liz Bageant '10 prepare bikes they have collected to be shipped to Ghana. |
Once in Accra, Ghana's capital, the bikes will be refurbished and sold at low prices to African villagers.
"We look at these bikes and think they are rusty or dirty, but [in Ghana] they definitely get used," said Bageant, a development sociology major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences..."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
We are in the Cornell Daily Sun newspaper for Bike & Build!
Check out the article in the "Red Letter Daze" section of the Cornell Daily Sun. My good friend, Michelle Pascucci wrote a terrific article talking about our upcoming trip! Since we are three Cornellians on the Providence to San Francisco Bike & Build trip, it made for a great story! Here is an excerpt:
"With graduation looming, seniors are finally preparing for their departures from the ivory tower. While some are scrambling to find a job in an increasingly frightening economy or hoping to leap back into school, others will be celebrating commencement with adventures such as elaborate trips across the world. PS: Update on my fund raising - I am now up to $2500! Thank you all for your support!
Friday, March 13, 2009
About the Bike & Build ride
Thirty college-aged students ride on each of the eight routes Bike & Build offers. I will be be departing from Providence, RI on June 3rd, 2009 and will arrive in San Francisco, CA, 4071 miles and 72 days later [track my route]. I chose to ride with Bike & Build because it will allow me to see the landscape unfold in front of me and feel the hills and valleys beneath my legs. It's one thing to see pictures of America or take that seemingly forever-long car trip across the expansive highway system. But it's quite another experience to be able to watch the corn grow as we pass it day after day, and see the mesa way in front in the distance, climb it, and then take pictures of it at sunset behind you. By biking across America, we will be able to stop at that small-town ice cream parlor and chat with the local residents and learn about what's important to them, what joys and challenges they experience in their lives. By biking across America, I hope to bring inspiration to those I meet and enkindle inner strength within me.
I think that the best part about Bike & Build is that we will meet the faces that make up America.
We will talk with all those we encounter, spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America. Every evening, the local residents of our day's destination will welcome us and together, we will cook a potluck dinner and share stories. Then, our group will give a presentation about affordable housing, highlighting different aspects of the issue. [see our daily destinations]
Once a week, we will trade our bikes for hammers and work on affordable housing build site (often a Habitat for Humanity house), doing anything from framing to painting. [see our build day stops]
In order to gain experience working on a build site, I will be doing sweat equity hours helping the local Ithaca Habitat for Humanity chapter this semester (prior to the trip).
I love hearing people's stories, learning about different cultures, different tradition, and working together for something greater than ourselves. To me Bike & Build is the best way to spend my summer after graduating from Cornell - I have learned so much at the University and now it's time to see America in action. Ride on!
I think that the best part about Bike & Build is that we will meet the faces that make up America.
We will talk with all those we encounter, spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America. Every evening, the local residents of our day's destination will welcome us and together, we will cook a potluck dinner and share stories. Then, our group will give a presentation about affordable housing, highlighting different aspects of the issue. [see our daily destinations]
Once a week, we will trade our bikes for hammers and work on affordable housing build site (often a Habitat for Humanity house), doing anything from framing to painting. [see our build day stops]
In order to gain experience working on a build site, I will be doing sweat equity hours helping the local Ithaca Habitat for Humanity chapter this semester (prior to the trip).
I love hearing people's stories, learning about different cultures, different tradition, and working together for something greater than ourselves. To me Bike & Build is the best way to spend my summer after graduating from Cornell - I have learned so much at the University and now it's time to see America in action. Ride on!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
My senior spring break: Working with a community of Mayan Indians in rural Guatemala
Here are some pictures from my spring break trip last year to San Lucas Toliman, in the highlands of Guatemala. With a group of ~15 students from Cornell University, this year (like last year) we will work with the rural Mayan Indians to build stoves in their homes. Most of the indigenous people currently cook on open fire pits, which, because of the smoke, often leads to blindness and respiratory diseases. Therefore, a stove has a huge impact on these families' health and cooking ability, and also reduces the amount of firewood needed (which in turn reduces deforestation).
Most of the villagers speak both their native language (Kachikel) and Spanish. The most amazing part for me to travel to this small town, is to spend time with and learn from the indigenous traditions and way of life. Just seeing the beautiful smiles of the children and playing with them, was a life-changing experience. I am excited to return and continue on my learning journey with people of another culture.
Entonces, hasta pronto, Guatemala!
I surpassed the $2000 mark!!
Thank you to all my sponsors who have helped me reach and surpass the 50% benchmark of $2000 for affordable housing! I have now raised $2100 out of the targeted $4000.
$4000 for 4000 miles!
During these difficult economic times, it is important more than ever to help families build a safe home and foster a nurturing community.
Donate now and help better the affordable housing crisis!
$4000 for 4000 miles!
During these difficult economic times, it is important more than ever to help families build a safe home and foster a nurturing community.
Donate now and help better the affordable housing crisis!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sponsor of the Day!
Thanks so much to the Bicycle Rack, in my hometown of Hightstown, NJ, who donated $100 to my ride across America for affordable housing today! Thanks so much to Van Delfino (the owner) for his support and contribution to help revitalize homes and build communities through the Bicycle Rack's support for my service trip.
Interested in sponsoring my ride across the U.S. for affordable housing? Click here to donate! Through your donation and my ride, together we can make a difference in the lives of so many people across America.
"home is where the heart is" ... "home sweet home"
...just think of how important your home is to you and help someone else grow up in a safe environment and a supportive community.
Bike&Build
Interested in sponsoring my ride across the U.S. for affordable housing? Click here to donate! Through your donation and my ride, together we can make a difference in the lives of so many people across America.
"home is where the heart is" ... "home sweet home"
...just think of how important your home is to you and help someone else grow up in a safe environment and a supportive community.
Bike&Build
My hometown cafe will host music event to sponsor my ride across America
(Click on image to enlarge)The Blue Rooster Cafe, owned by a Cornell alum and his wife, is located on Main Street in Cranbury, NJ, right in my hometown. On Sunday, March 15th at 2pm, the Blue Rooster will be hosting a fiddler/dancer/singer, Jennifer Johnson, to entertain guests as they enjoy the Cafe's delicious French-style food. (The bread is especially good and is baked fresh on site!) Proceeds will help support my ride across America for affordable housing. Donations welcome, $5 cover.
When I first called up Karen Finnigan, the owner, she was so excited about my ride and was instantly interested in supporting me. Thanks so much Karen for your support!
Interested in sponsoring my 4071-mile ride across America for affordable housing? Click here to donate! To date, friends have donated $1705 and my goal is to reach $2000 by April 3rd. Thanks for your support!
"Scrap Metal to Ghana Pedal" in the Ithaca Journal!
Kate Hill, from the Ithaca Journal, came by Saturday during our bike collection day to interview Liz and I about our project and take pictures of bikes! Check out the front page of the Ithaca Journal online and look at the picture of my basement full of over 250 bikes!
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090309/NEWS01/903090310&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
Cornell students Anne-Lise Cossart and Liz Bageant, hope to collect 500 bikes by April 4 to send to Ghana through the Village Bicycle Project, an organization that provides reasonably priced bikes, maintenance lessons and tools to villagers in Africa.
"Taking something that most people would see as garbage or scrap metal and sending it to someone who is going to cherish it is amazing," said Cossart, a senior biology major..."
And of course, I'm getting excited about my upcoming bike trip across America for affordable housing! A quick update on my fund raising : I'm now up to $1705 (42.55%)! My goal is to raise $2000 by April 3rd and the entire $4000 by my departure day on June 3rd. Want to sponsor my ride? Click here to donate!
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090309/NEWS01/903090310&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
Anne-Lise Cossart moves donated bikes into the basement of her apartment Saturday at 708 E. Seneca Street. Cossart and schoolmate Liz Bageant received a grant from the Cornell Community Partnership Board to send 500 recycled bicycles to Ghana. Once in Ghana, the Village Bicycle Project will reassemble and distribute them. Cossart and Bageant have received around 125 bikes and are still in need of mountain bikes and road bikes in reasonable condition. Anyone interested in donating can do so any time between now and April 4 at Recycle Ithaca Bicycles, 530 W. Buffalo St., or at 708 E. Seneca St. (ERICA THUM / Staff Photo)
To donate, volunteer
* What: Bicycles and parts; no trailers or children's tricycles.
* Where: Recycle Ithaca's Bicycles, 530 West Buffalo St., Ithaca or 708 East Seneca St. (between Eddy and Stewart), Ithaca
* When: By April 4.
* Contact: Liz Bageant, 216-5341 or Anne-Lise Cossart, (609) 571-7235
* On the Net:
www.ghanabikes.org/
"ITHACA — A tangled pile of bikes in varying degrees of disrepair sits outside Recycle Ithaca Bicycles on a mild Saturday. Some without tires or missing a brake line, these bikes will get refurbished and make the life of a rural African villager just a little bit easier.Cornell students Anne-Lise Cossart and Liz Bageant, hope to collect 500 bikes by April 4 to send to Ghana through the Village Bicycle Project, an organization that provides reasonably priced bikes, maintenance lessons and tools to villagers in Africa.
"Taking something that most people would see as garbage or scrap metal and sending it to someone who is going to cherish it is amazing," said Cossart, a senior biology major..."
And of course, I'm getting excited about my upcoming bike trip across America for affordable housing! A quick update on my fund raising : I'm now up to $1705 (42.55%)! My goal is to raise $2000 by April 3rd and the entire $4000 by my departure day on June 3rd. Want to sponsor my ride? Click here to donate!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Ghana Bike Donation Project
Through the rain, a group of 10 of us met down at Recycle Ithaca's Bicycles (better known as RIBS) and depedaled and turned down handlebars of another 150 unwanted bikes. We had quite a lot of people come by and drop off their old (sometimes ancient!) bikes. Some of them were dated back a few decades - but it was pretty amazing to see my bike guru friends oooo and ahh over a dusty and rusty looking bike and point how cool and antique some of the bike components were. Some people can really see something beautiful and useful in something that looks so dilapidated.
That made me think of the whole point of this project. We're sending otherwise unwanted/un-used bikes that people here view as "scrap metal" buried in the barn or garage. But once they travel the ocean and get fixed up by the Ghanaian bike mechanics, the bikes will be transformed into a coveted object - a symbol of status and a cherished means of transportation.
Hence the name of our project, "Scrap Metal to Ghana Pedal".
We're now up to 250 out of the targeted 500 bikes. (Just image my Collegetown apartment basement, jammed full with bikes!)
I'm organizing this project with a friend, Liz Bageant, and she's been to Ghana several times to work directly with the Village Bicycle Project. Just looking at the pictures, you can see how much a bike means to them and how something as simple as a bike can transform a rural Ghanaian's life.
A quick update on my Bike & Build trip : I bought a sweet pair of bike shorts and with this nice warm Ithaca weather, I'm ready to try them out on a training ride!
I'm looking for friends to sponsor my ride across America for affordable housing. Want to sponsor me? Click here to donate!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Eat, sleep, dream, bikes - I'm (also) organizing a project to send used bikes to Africa.
I'm biking across America this summer, but who who says I have to wait until then to get my hands working with bikes?
A Cornell friend and I wrote a grant to send used (and otherwise unwanted) bikes from the Ithaca-area to Ghana, where they will be repaired and distributed to rural communities or sold at affordable prices. Our project is called "Scrap Metal to Ghana Pedal" and I've been working on publicizing our project, writing press releases, hanging up flyers, and interviewing with local Ithaca area papers to get the word out that we're collecting bikes for Africa!
We are collaborating with the Village Bicycle Project, a not-for-project or
ganization, which will take care of the trans-Atlantic shipping and work with local Ghanaians to repair bikes and teach courses on bike safety and simple maintenance to community members receiving these bikes.Bicycles can dramatically transform the daily lives of people who have little access to other means of transportation by opening access to new markets, enabling people greater access to sell their goods, and helping the area to develop into a more environmentally and socially sustainable society. Bikes are especially empowering to women who are otherwise generally restricted to walking as a means of transport.
Everybody loves their bike! I'm especially excited about my upcoming Bike & Build trip across America for affordable housing. Interested in sponsoring my ride? So friends have contributed $1500 out of the targeted $4000 to distribute to affordable housing projects. Click here to sponsor my ride and support affordable housing!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Fund raising (click on image below)
Fund raising $4000 is no easy task. But it is certainly an incredible learning experience.
I have been carrying around a piece of paper, folded in my back pocket and a pen in my ear for the past two months now. And every time I think of another friend, I whip out my paper and scribble down his/her name. Then in the coming days, I send out an email or a letter, cautiously pressing "send" and hoping to hear a response. Often, I don't hear back from them so I just think of more friends and send out more letters. But sometimes, I do hear a response. And it’s an amazing feeling to get an email back from an acquaintance - my brother’s friend’s mother – who writes back all excited about my trip, how amazing of an experience it will be, and that she takes inspiration from my journey and dedication.
Such a response and accompanying generous donation is exactly what Bike & Build is about. It’s about raising funds – funds that will enable us to actually work building houses across the country. It’s about raising awareness to the folks I meet as I ride across America. And it’s about raising awareness right in my own town and circle of friends. Growing up, I never really heard much about “affordable housing”. A lot of people ask me, what does affordable housing even mean? And that’s a perfectly legitimate question because our communities are relatively homogenous and we do not have the chance to interact with people who cannot pay their rent. Oh yea, there’s Habitat for Humanity, I know that exists, but most of my hometown friends have never worked on a build site let alone know someone who lives in one of Habitat’s affordable houses.
It’s an amazing experience for me to talk about the issue, share my story and the stories I will hear from those I will meet, and it’s an amazing feeling know that my dedication will inspire others. This is exactly what my ride is about.
That’s why I am asking for your help. Through your donation, you will enable my hands to build, my legs to bike, and my heart to be changed by the people I will meet.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Training? During the Ithaca winter?! Yup, it's possible
So I am to ride 4000 miles this summer? Okay, so I've ridden twice around Cayuga Lake, which for non-Ithacans reading this, is one of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY, with a circumference of 100 miles composed of hill upon hill. Sounds like the perfect training ride? You bet.
But considering there is still snow outside, riding is a bit tricky during the winter. So for the past couple of weeks I've been practicing my new-found sport of cross-country skiing ( quite the cardio workout and the best way to enjoy the stillness and beauty of the forests around here). I recommend going at night - 10pm, early by college-standards, and slipping out to the golf course, skiing by moonlight and turning on your headlamp when you get freaked out from the eerie noises of the night. Then ski back to campus, leaving perfectly sliced tracks across the Arts Quads and then proceeding to ski downhill down The Slope [a downhill skiier myself, I get really excited when gravity is working with me, but without ankle support, I'm definitely on the border of out of control and ¿¿how can I stop??]. Hot tea upon my return and then the best feeling - waking up the next day, totally wiped out with that feeling of I don't want to move! Soooo satisfying.
I love spring and I love the warmth of this recent warm weather episode, but I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my cross-country skiing training workout quite yet!
But considering there is still snow outside, riding is a bit tricky during the winter. So for the past couple of weeks I've been practicing my new-found sport of cross-country skiing ( quite the cardio workout and the best way to enjoy the stillness and beauty of the forests around here). I recommend going at night - 10pm, early by college-standards, and slipping out to the golf course, skiing by moonlight and turning on your headlamp when you get freaked out from the eerie noises of the night. Then ski back to campus, leaving perfectly sliced tracks across the Arts Quads and then proceeding to ski downhill down The Slope [a downhill skiier myself, I get really excited when gravity is working with me, but without ankle support, I'm definitely on the border of out of control and ¿¿how can I stop??]. Hot tea upon my return and then the best feeling - waking up the next day, totally wiped out with that feeling of I don't want to move! Soooo satisfying.
I love spring and I love the warmth of this recent warm weather episode, but I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my cross-country skiing training workout quite yet!
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