Reunited, And it Feels Soo Good!

For those of you who have ever been riding with me, you know that when the weather is nice and I am going for a long ride, I dust off Giuseppe and head out for a ride.  He can be super temperamental, and switching gears by hand can take some time to get used to again, but he rides like a dream.  Sadly when I  moved to PGH, I did not have the storage space for a second bike, so Alex said that he would take good care of my bike for me (pictured below). 

On Saturday, the dynamic duo headed out my first training ride (we have to complete AT LEAST 500 before we head out).  Alex had never been to the Big Chair so we decided to head across the river and check out what was going on in Anacostia. 

This 19.5 foot tall chair , 400 pound solid mahogany was originally dedicated July 11, 1959.  It was created as a promotional stunt by the Bassett Furniture company; they were hoping to draw crowds from all over to see the chair and stop in their show room.  A year later Rebecca Kirby decided to spend 42 days living in a 10x10 foot box placed on the chair's seat.  After she earned $1,500 from newspapers and radio ads, she decided to return to life on earth. 

 

 In 2005 the chair was taken down for restoration (one of the back legs had started to rot).  It was replaced the next year with an aluminum dublicate.

20 miles down, a whole bunch more to go!

Affordable Housing Stat #2

There is a severe shortage of housing for extremely low-income renters 

(under 30 percent of AMI*)

• In 2001, there were only 78 units affordable for every 100 extremely low-income renters. 
• However, many of the 6.7 million units “affordable” to households at 30 percent of AMI were occupied by higher income renters. 
• Because of this, there were only 42 units both affordable and available for every 100 extremely low- income renters. This represents a deficit of 4.9 million units nationwide.

* AMI or Area Median Income

Citant Vélo de la Semaine #2

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.  

~Albert Einstein

Great Biking Statistic

For Christmas, my super amazing sister remembered a shirt I saw a while back when I went to visit her in Burlington, VT.  We had gone to brunch at Magnolia Bistro, VT's first certified green restaurant and I saw a great t-shirt.  Well she remembered, and the back has a great statistic:

Just think of how green we will be as we trek across the country!

Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine!

Affordable Housing Stat #1

In 2008, the number of households spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing rose by one third, or 16 percent, to 18.6 million households. That’s 44.2 million Americans.

If the homeless and those living in severely substandard conditions are included, roughly one in six Americans are in need of a decent, affordable place to live. (JCHS 2010).

Citant Vélo de la Semaine #1

This picture is from a ghost bike left locked on a street in the UK.

21 Weeks Away

So we have about 21 weeks (give or take) until I pack up my things in PGH and hit the wide open road.  To keep things spicy, and to keep you coming back over the next few weeks I will be implementing a few things:

• Citant Vélo de la Semaine (bike quote of the week if my French has not let me down)
• Affordable Housing Stat of the Week
• Fundraising Updates
• Training Rides
• Fun stories, pictures and videos

If you have Google Reader, put me in baby for some free entertainment during your dreary work week.

The Route Has Been Planned

I decided to plot where exactly I will be this summer on a map.  The trip will include:

• 11 States:  Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California
• 78 days on the road (7 weeks)
• 16 Build Days, including 5 in NOLA
• 4 days off to explore and take a breather

Want to check out all of the stops we will be making (and pick a location for your postcard)? 
Chick here for the link to the map.

Bike and Build: Be the Change

While poking around today, doing some research for the blog and my ride, I came across this video. It does a great job introducing the Bike and Build program, as well as give you an idea of lives that are touched on the road and what riders will see along the way.  The video was put together by two past participants, Ashley Berkman and Jacki Paolella, who did the same ride I am doing this summer. 

And So It Begins!

So most of you know that on my 30 Before 30 List, one the biggest challenges I have is to bike across the United States.  Well, I come here today people to tell you duirng the summer of 2012 I will be able to cross that off my list!!!

I have been accepted to Bike and Build, a fantastic organization who raises money and awareness for affordable hosuing.  Over the last eight seasons, this organization has been able to contribute $3.4 million to housing groups to fund projects planned by young adults.  As participatns bike across the country, they stop every few days to help build homes, talk with locals and bring awareness to the affordable housing movement.

My big adventure starts May 13th (give or take a few days) May 17, and we will be reaching the West Coast during the first week of August!  Below is a picture of all the trips - I am on the yellow one.  For a detailed list of stops, bike/build days click here.  Over the course of the trip we are hitting 11 states!!

What I am super excited a bout is that I will get to spend 6 days in New Orleans.  The last time I was there was with a GW Alternative Spring Break Project.  We worked with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.  While there I will definitely be stopping by Cafe du Monde for some chicory coffee and beignets.

To complete the trip I am responsible for raising $4500 so stay tuned for how to help!!