In other news, The Family Center received two generous donations from my Grandpa and Odell Brewing! Thanks!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
The Rig!
In other news, The Family Center received two generous donations from my Grandpa and Odell Brewing! Thanks!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
SHOUT OUTS and updates!
Thanks to everyone who has donated to The Family Center/La Familia on my behalf. My papa and step-mom, my mom, my old roomie Paul, Odell Brewing, my dad's old co-worker Sheree and an anonymous donation made through First Giving. Although my CrowdRise page is at $500 I have actually raised $850 to date!
So what does $850 look like in practice? Well, it looks like the price of books for an entire ESL semester for around 20 students and their volunteer tutors! Amazing, huh?
Now on to some bike updates:
Due to the unseasonable weather, or better put the freakish spring blizzard that Fort Collins had the pleasure of experiencing, the delivery of my BOB trailer was delayed. I will be picking it up tonight and riding it around my block like a kid on Christmas.
Not necessarily a bike part, but an important component of my trip arrived as a one year anniversary present: a SteriPen. I have heard about these for years through friends and am excited to actually own one of my own. The SteriPen is a small battery powered stick that emits UV rays and sanitizes drinking water in a matter of seconds. It is apparently more effective than pumps, but doesn't remove solids. I figure old stockings work just find for that. If you haven't heard of this gadget, please check it out HERE.
Also, I am currently trying to figure out my handle-bar bag. A good friend Garrett is the designer of some rad bike tube/up-cycled material bags and we are attempting to adapt one of his purse designs into a handlebar apparatus.
My father also fueled his Sierra Trading Post addiction and got me an awesome two-person Mountain Hardware tent. Originally, I was leaning towards a one-person or a bivvy sack set up, but think that having the extra room to store stuff on rainy days will be ideal. Thanks Dad!
As always, please let me know if anyone has general advice about bike touring or any handy-dandy tricks up there sleeves. I am a self-proclaimed novice and would love any suggestions.
So what does $850 look like in practice? Well, it looks like the price of books for an entire ESL semester for around 20 students and their volunteer tutors! Amazing, huh?
Now on to some bike updates:
Due to the unseasonable weather, or better put the freakish spring blizzard that Fort Collins had the pleasure of experiencing, the delivery of my BOB trailer was delayed. I will be picking it up tonight and riding it around my block like a kid on Christmas.
Not necessarily a bike part, but an important component of my trip arrived as a one year anniversary present: a SteriPen. I have heard about these for years through friends and am excited to actually own one of my own. The SteriPen is a small battery powered stick that emits UV rays and sanitizes drinking water in a matter of seconds. It is apparently more effective than pumps, but doesn't remove solids. I figure old stockings work just find for that. If you haven't heard of this gadget, please check it out HERE.
Also, I am currently trying to figure out my handle-bar bag. A good friend Garrett is the designer of some rad bike tube/up-cycled material bags and we are attempting to adapt one of his purse designs into a handlebar apparatus.
My father also fueled his Sierra Trading Post addiction and got me an awesome two-person Mountain Hardware tent. Originally, I was leaning towards a one-person or a bivvy sack set up, but think that having the extra room to store stuff on rainy days will be ideal. Thanks Dad!
As always, please let me know if anyone has general advice about bike touring or any handy-dandy tricks up there sleeves. I am a self-proclaimed novice and would love any suggestions.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Starting Line
Hi everyone,
So for anyone who's not in the loop, here's the deal: I am biking to Chicago from Fort Collins, CO in June to raise money for The Family Center/La Familia (get info on their programs HERE). The route I've chosen is around 1,200 miles and will be crossing the midwest by way of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and finally Illinois. This is a big deal for me; I've never attempted a solo trip of this length. This is also a huge deal for the ESL program at The Family Center/La Familia. Don't believe me? Ask this lil' guy:
So if you are interested in donating, you can do that! Just click the word "awesome"....AWESOME
As I am coming to find out prepping for a bike tour is an expensive and painstaking process. I have solicited the advice of a few friends (shout out here to Brian, Rafael, Evan and Claire!). The highlight of my week was the four hours I spent trying to put on the sweet (but uber-stiff) Continental Touring Plus tires. I eventually threw up my arms and went to Crankenstein, a local Fort Collins bike shop/bar/coffee shop for a cappuccino and some assistance. I got to go out in this weather:
Well, I pick up my BOB trailer on Saturday and will update with more pictures and info. Stay warm if you're in the area, and if not stay up on your allergy meds.
-Jessie
So for anyone who's not in the loop, here's the deal: I am biking to Chicago from Fort Collins, CO in June to raise money for The Family Center/La Familia (get info on their programs HERE). The route I've chosen is around 1,200 miles and will be crossing the midwest by way of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and finally Illinois. This is a big deal for me; I've never attempted a solo trip of this length. This is also a huge deal for the ESL program at The Family Center/La Familia. Don't believe me? Ask this lil' guy:
So if you are interested in donating, you can do that! Just click the word "awesome"....AWESOME
As I am coming to find out prepping for a bike tour is an expensive and painstaking process. I have solicited the advice of a few friends (shout out here to Brian, Rafael, Evan and Claire!). The highlight of my week was the four hours I spent trying to put on the sweet (but uber-stiff) Continental Touring Plus tires. I eventually threw up my arms and went to Crankenstein, a local Fort Collins bike shop/bar/coffee shop for a cappuccino and some assistance. I got to go out in this weather:
What are you doing April?
Well, I pick up my BOB trailer on Saturday and will update with more pictures and info. Stay warm if you're in the area, and if not stay up on your allergy meds.
-Jessie
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