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.

Three seniors — Anne-Lise Cossart, Max Kraft and Carlie Pietsch — will be traveling from Providence, R.I., to San Francisco, Calif., over two and a half months, making several pit stops along the way to work at construction sites for affordable housing. For this challenging trip, they will also be trading the ease of a motor vehicle for bikes."

PS: Update on my fund raising - I am now up to $2500! Thank you all for your support!

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!

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!

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

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

Purchase this Photo

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!

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!

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 organization, 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!