Bikes Not Bombs Bike-A-Thon Huge Success!

Last Sunday, I rode in a 65-mile bike-a-thon, to support Bikes Not Bombs. It was a great success, both for me and for the organization.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated and supported me!

I raised $2,205, making me the fourth-biggest fundraiser.

There were over 458 registered riders who together raised over $125,000. That's huge for an organization whose annual budget is something like $1 million.

I tweeted some comments and pictures as I rode. You can see my tweets here (when twitter is working). Click on the image links to see the pictures.

Here's the route we took:

We started and finished at Bikes Not Bombs in Jamaica Plain, Boston. Marker 1 is where I got a puncture. Marker 3 is rest stop number one, near Walden Pond. Marker 5 is rest stop number two, at the Peace Abbey.

I started out riding strong. I stayed with the lead group until I punctured. Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch up with them again.

The puncture was about as painless as it could have been. Someone stopped to help and keep me company...and then before I knew it, a support car stopped, offered me a floor pump, and took away my punctured tube. Not bad.

It was hot and humid, and a thunderstorm seemed imminent the whole time, but didn't come until a few hours later.

Some musings on the puncture:

The night before the event, I had replaced my training tires with some light-weight, smooth-running race tires. I reused an old tube on the front (this was the one that popped), and used a new one on the back. Changing the tires was a pain in the butt. After changing the tires, I rode a few miles to verify the installation.

I learned that when you change the tire, you should change the tube too. It's worth the $4 to not get a flat tire. And you shouldn't mess with your bike the night before the ride anyway. If I had changed the tires a week before, I would have discovered any tube problems on a training ride rather than on the bike-a-thon.

The end!

Support My Bike-A-Thon!

This coming Sunday, I'll be riding 65 miles to benefit a non-profit called Bikes Not Bombs. I've done this ride twice before, in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 it was 95 degrees out!

Click here to visit my fundraising page.

Here's a picture of me on that very hot day in 2008. Note silly, but appropriate, bike jersey:

 
Bikes Not Bombs is a great organization. From their website:

Bikes Not Bombs promotes bicycle technology as a concrete alternative to war and environmental destruction.

They collect and refurbish used bikes in the US, they involve and empower lower-income Boston residents throughout the process, they sell some of the bikes here, and they use the money they raise to ship off large numbers of bikes to poorer countries where these bikes can truly change people's lives.

As I mentioned, the event is this coming Sunday, so if you're thinking of pledging some money, now is the time!

Click here to visit my fundraising page.

As I said last year, I can relate this to food if pressed:

• One of the things they do is support the conversion of bicycles into human-driven milling machines, grinders, and blenders for grains, cacao, etc.
• More bikes = fewer cars = less pollution, plus less arable land used for ethanol and biodiesel and more used for growing food
• More bikes = easier to transport water = people can grow food (although transporting water is not necessarily sustainable, sigh...)

Here are some further reasons why you should pledge money to support my ride:

• Bicycles have a huge amount of leverage in poor countries. A bicycle for a child can mean the difference between school and no school. It can allow a health worker to serve many more villages. It can help someone transport water and goods.
• Bikes Not Bombs is a small organization, and even a small donation will have a big effect on their work. Your money will make a difference when you give it to BnB. Their total revenues for 2008 were only about $1 million.

Tour de Farms (Bike Tour) Boston 2009

I did this ride two years ago, and it was great. Highly recommended for anyone who likes food and is up for a bike ride. Bike rentals are available if you don't have a suitable bike. Choose the 15-mile loop or the 40-mile loop. Either way, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the urban and suburban farms in your back yard. The 15-mile loop visits The Food Project, City Natives, ReVision Urban Farm, and the Minton Stables Community Garden. The 40-mile loop visits Allandale Farm, Waltham Fields Community Farm, Newton Community Farm, and Brookwood Community Farm. Sponsors include Farm Aid, MassBike, Urban AdvenTours, Boston Natural Areas Network, Bikes Not Bombs, Dot Bikes, and Rozzie Bikes. They're looking for ride marshals, too: contact jen(at)farmaid.org or 617-354-2922. Click here for further details and to register.

Bikes Not Bombs

And now for something completely different… Well, not completely. I'm writing to ask for your support. I am riding my bike in a bike-a-thon to support a Boston-based non-profit called Bikes Not Bombs. It's a fantastic organization. Here's part of what they have to say about themselves: Bikes Not Bombs promotes bicycle technology as a concrete alternative to war and environmental destruction. They do it both in the US and elsewhere. Click here for more info, and to pledge money for my bike-a-thon Last year I raised over $2000 (out of a total of $100,000 raised). The economic times have changed, and things may or may not go as well this year, but every little bit helps. I can make it relate to food if I have to:

• One of the things they do is support the conversion of bicycles into human-driven milling machines, grinders, and blenders for grains, coffee, cacao, etc.
• More bikes = fewer cars = less pollution, plus less arable land used for ethanol and biodiesel and more used for growing food
• More bikes = easier to transport water = possible to grow food

and so on.