Pedaling for Progress

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2006-08-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Well folks,

This is it! Pedaling for Progress, our largest and by far most successful fundraiser to date, has come to a close as of today. With full and most gracious hearts, we are thrilled to announce that through the generous donations of many family members, friends, former volunteers& donors, businesses, new acquaintances and many others, we were able to successfully raise an impressive $16,892!

Of course, we don't need to explain to anyone how far this money will go in Guatemala... considering that the entire budget of Primeros Pasos has averaged around $24,000 per year, we've obviously gone a very long way towards keeping the clinic running and making real, measurable progress in improving the lives of our dear Guatemalan friends. To our friends here in the US, an enormous GRACIAS!!! for so much continued support. As we watch the world unfolding around us in often dramatically tragic ways, we hope that you have the satisfaction of knowing that you have participated in one fantastically simple, yet powerfully effective project.

Thanks are quite in order on this concluding occasion! In no particular order and with a special "hope we catch everyone," MIL GRACIAS to...

* Our families! It was a wonderful send-off in Boston with all of you at our sides. Thank you for your unwavering support and growth of confidence. We told you we could do it (and secretly, we know you believed us even through the name-calling period at the beginning)! Your generosity expanded through your overwhelming contributions and your advertisements to friends far and wide (and even in the local newspapers – thank you, GB). GRACIAS!

* Our friends... who helped us in so many ways! Labeling stuff sack bags for the trip (scrub-a-dub, snacks, etc), making note cards to hand out along the journey, accompanying us along the ride, generously giving donations... GRACIAS!

* To the many, many hospitable new friends we've made along the way, we can't thank you enough for renewing our trust in the unknown. In fact, it seems like our new friends renewed confidence in the kindness of strangers for just about everyone – like Mandy’s Dad says, “this makes you believe in humanity again.” It’s true, we were supported and encouraged by ‘stranger’s’ generosity, confidence, surprise and yes, even wacky comments ("Have you taken an IQ test?"). From our occasional hotel cleaning staff to gas station attendants to bar owners to church go-ers, thank you all for your directions, advice, weather-information-giving, discounted prices, your food, your water taps, your hugs, your cheerleading. Just today we found out that we were even featured in the Wrightstown Post Gazette, a newspaper from a town where we stopped for a good rest & dinner one day in Wisconsin! It makes us want to forgive you, Wisconsin, for the headwinds and hot temperatures :) To all of you out there, thank you so much. (GRACIAS! )

* And of course, a hearty THANK YOU! to all of you who have generously contributed to the work in Guatemala through the Inter-American Health Alliance. Children, of course, are the primary beneficiaries of these funds, who so deserve the world’s faithful attention. Thank you all for your commitment to improving the lives of these families, families that are not so different from your own!

Bueno! We’ve enjoyed your company and solidarity on this adventure… perhaps on the journey from Fargo to Seattle (someday!) we’ll continue Pedaling for Progress!

With many thanks,

See you on the road!
Mandy & Mike

Home sweet home...

2006-07-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

After several days of train rides, short visits with family and friends and a long drive back down the east coast, we are back home in Carrboro, North Carolina! We arrived late Friday night and spent the weekend relaxing and getting things ready for the start of work and school.

The last few days of riding were a great finale due to pleasant rolling hills, light winds, several encounters with other friendly bicycle tourers on the road, and a welcome array of food as we cruised into the city of Fargo, North Dakota. In fact, the beautiful lakes region of Minnesota marked by incredible scenery and friendly people rivaled the Adirondack region of New York for our favorite place. After an absolutely amazing celebratory dinner at Monte's Downtown restaurant, we sat still for a change and watched not one, but two movies at the local theatre...An Inconvenient Truth was a great film- everyone should see it. It might make you think seriously about, well, bicycling.

Finally,we headed to the train station to take apart our bicycles to be boxed and shipped as checked baggage. For any other tourers out there who are pondering how in the world to take apart your bicycle and get it into the box required for air/train travel, think about going to Fargo's Island Park Bicycle Shop. It was there that we encountered the friendliest of all bike mechanics, Pete. When we showed up at the shop on Friday afternoon (naively believing we wouldn't really need much assistance), Pete explained what needed to be done...He must have been able to tell by the look on our faces that we were a bit lost and so generously offered to come to the train station at Midnight! to take our bicycles apart for us - refusing any payment and using old boxes and stuffings to pack the bikes. Afterward, around 2 AM that is, Pete showed us to a little diner where we wolfed down some tasty breakfast food and prepared to settle in for the journey home. We gave Pete a gift certificate to Monte's restaurant and hope that he enjoys it as thoroughly as we did. Thank you Pete!

We're still tallying up the total for our fundraising drive. If you would like to have your donation counted toward the Pedaling for Progress fundraiser, but haven't had a chance to send it in yet, please do so today! All donations postmarked or submitted online by Monday, August 7th will be counted in our total. As our name change is still in progress, all checks should be made out to "Proyecto Salud Integral" and mailed to PO Box 1611 Carrboro, NC 27510. Also feel free to donate online with a credit card or Paypal account by visiting us at www.psiGuatemala.org and clicking on the "Make a Donation" button. Thank you for your support, encouragement and donations! They powered us through every step of the journey. Check back on August 10th to see the final tally!

Signing off from Carrboro, North Carolina! Check back soon for more photos too!

Mandy and Mike

Phew! from Fargo, North Dakota

2006-07-22T12:27:00.000-05:00
Greetings from Fargo, North Dakota, where we've just finished our bicycle trip, rolling in at 2,040 miles!

We'll be hopping the train tonight to head back home. No time to recount the last few days of our adventure right now (we're writing from the public hospital in Fargo - they kindly allowed us to use the patient computers since the library is under construction). We'll be sure to write more as soon as we return to the eastern seaboard and meander our way back to North Carolina in the coming days.

Here are a few shots from the last few days. Sorry we have to run - we have to disassemble the bicycles in a certain way (and somehow get them into boxes) before our train takes off this evening.

More soon,
Mandy & Mike

Cornell, WI to Little Falls, MN

2006-07-18T11:35:00.000-05:00
Saludos from Little Falls, Minnesota, where we are just a few blocks away from the Mississippi River. Actually, we crossed it yesterday earlier in the day but didn't even notice until we took the detour north to stay in Little Falls last night and boom! A big sign and big river told us just where we were. In fact, this trip has made us feel a just a little bit like Huck Finn in Mark Twain's classic novel. Adventure abounds..Did you know that Little Falls is the boyhood home of Charles Lindberg? He became the first person to fly across the Atlantic on May 20, 1927 when he flew solo from New York City to Paris!

We don't have much time on the internet at this library, but briefly:

* We survived Polk County in western Wisconsin (thanks for the warnings, Mary & Noel). Truth be told, the worse part of the county (which was terribly paved and seemingly never repaired) was County Route F - something like bicycling up and down stairs the entire way. Absorbing the shock of the roads were our trusty knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists, which were pretty sore the next day. And even though Mike said, "That is the most pathetic ski mountain I've ever seen," about the mountains around us, they were skiing mountains, which can tell you something about the terrain. Beware, other cyclists, though in truth we can't tell you much to do about it - there wasn't a good 2nd option.

* We passed into Minnesota early Saturday morning and bicycled a long day to Springvale, MN. In the middle of the hot hot hot day (102 degrees) we had a long, lingering lunch in Harris at Kaffe Stuga's Cafe (great cod and banana cream pie) and then head to Fish Lake for a swimming break. Happily we made great friends at Fish Lake - a gregarious man who makes charastmatic sculptures from tree knots and his lovely wife and also the park ranger (who may do this trip himself one day!). Our artist friend gifted us one of his poems and is sending us another entitled "Do I mind," and if anyone out there is able perhaps we can help him with some website design to promote his artwork. Dan? The park ranger chatted it up with us and even donated a tip that he had received earlier in the day for helping someone to jump start their car. Thank you!

* After leaving the lake we were stopped for a breather on the side of the road when we were invited to a high school graduation party by a family whose house we had stopped in front of - we didn't give them the blog address, but in any case a cosmic "Thanks!" for ice water when we really needed it.

* Pedaling on to Springvale, another 20 miles down the road, we found the best campsite yet: for $3, we were welcomed by owner Sandy to stay in her son's air-conditioned cabin! The pool was lovely, laundry even better, and it was so luxurious in fact that we decided to take Sunday off. We met a lovely family (Kris, Stan, Gordy, Vonnie and kids) who very generously welcomed us for coffee and later for a spagetti dinner! Thank you again and again - it was the first time we've had a family meal our whole trip. It was great to meet you!

* Monday morning we took off at 5:30 under rain clouds and biked our longest day yet - 89.2 miles - to Little Falls. It was mildly less-hot than previous days at a balmy 95 degrees and with strong headwinds, but we toughed it out.

* This morning we have a light day ahead because Mike had to do a Spanish-language assessment for entrance into a program for UNC medical students. We'll be headed to Long Prairie, MN, and just a few days left until we reach Fargo where we'll end our trip and take a train home. Fargo will put us just over our mileage goal of 2,000 miles - by the time we arrive there, we will have bicycled about 2,025 miles or so!

Sorry no photos today - we have just a few minutes left here at the library!

Signing off at 1,850 miles,

Mandy & Mike

Wait for me!

2006-07-13T14:16:00.000-05:00
The way that things are going today, Mandy should be at camp in about 45 minutes with me trailing behind another hour or so. Maybe there was a little something extra in Mandy's dinner last night, or maybe she was up late quietly installing a motor on her bike, but today I've taken to calling her Lance. Just a yellow blur in the distance, a wavy mirage on the horizon, maybe there is soft serve vanilla ice cream waiting for her on the finish line but I'm just hanging on for dear life.

Mike

Shawano, WI to Cornell, WI

2006-07-13T12:58:00.000-05:00
Good afternoon from Cornell, Wisconsin, where we've just consumed the largest-yet lunch including milkshake and dessert. Yes, you should be jealous of the way we are eating, and no, don't try this at home. It could certainly lead to very poor health indeed, unless of course you are doing what we're doing (which we may not suggest)!

It is a blazer out there today, as it was yesterday, and it's expected to be even worse through the weekend. We pedaled a long day from Shawano to Wausau (77 miles) on County Routes and then yesterday we got a late start but still made it to Medford, despite the soaring temperatures. This morning we got smarter and woke up at 5:00 am to start cycling early and beat the heat, and so far we're over 45 miles with just about 15 to go to our campground. It's a shame we can't go farther today because of the heat, because this just could have been our first century - cyclist's term for a 100 miles ridden in a day. But alas, lunch still isn't settled and the sun has risen high in the sky, so we'll settle in tonight at a campground near Bloomer, Wisconsin.

We hope to be back on Adventure Cycling maps as of Amery, Wisconsin and head into Minnessota late tomorrow or early on Saturday morning.

By the way, those of you who are avid fans of Mary Johnson's music (like we are) might remember a certain song that speaks of Highway 64? We will be on Highway 64 for at least another, say, 64 miles or so. We're singing your song, Mary.

Signing off from the best-library-yet in Cornell, WI (love the George Winston piano CD in the background),

Mandy
photos to follow

p.s., Thank you, Mary & Noel (tandem recumbant riders we mentioned previously - http://www.nnh.com/blog/?m=200607) for the advice about Polk County - looks like we are headed that way, unfortunately, and we'll try to re-route ourselves around it. Ski slope-like routes and horrible pavement? Maple St. sounds like a nightmare. We'll do our very best to avoid it! Poo poo on Polk County. Why would Adventure Cycling have chosen it?!

A strike by Mike on our day off in Shawano

Pretty farmland

Lop-sided Mandy riding

Hamburg: small-town Wisconsin

Our friends the cows (these friendly ladies came running - er, trotting? - to see us)

The constant shadow

In Gilman, former movie theater, now a church

Friendly pup

Old, old barn

Photos!

2006-07-10T18:06:00.000-05:00
At long last, a computer that has drivers for a USB, software for photos and yes, believe it folks, no restrictions. YAHOO! These shots are from Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Wheat in Ontario (so pretty, what a nice sound it makes)

Chapel Hill that way?!

We've seen more than a few of these along the way...

Asking directions... this friendly man offered us a cup of coffee

Made it to 1,000! Somewhere in Michigan...

New friends who fed us well... thank you Theresa et al

This train took 10 minutes to pass us...

On the ferry

Pretty sunset from the ferry

Yahoo! Our 7th state (counting Ontario)!

Delirious in 90+ degrees of heat

Chilling with the maps

For some reason all the roads in Wisconsin seem to be labelled with letters, which is ok, but really...when County Route DD and DDD intersected, we had to laugh - couldn't take a photo because it was raining at the time

Dinner time last night at Shawano Lake

That's all for now!
Saludos from the road ~ Mandy & Mike

Windy Wisconsin ~ over 2/3 there!

2006-07-10T14:15:00.000-05:00

Hello from Shawano, Wisconsin!
Since we last wrote, we have crossed Lake Michigan on a 4-hour ferry ride from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin on the SS Badger (see photo). The ferry ride was a fantastic break from pedaling and the sunset beautiful, though we almost missed it: we pulled out our sleeping bags from the bikes before boarding and almost instantaneously fell fast asleep on the bow atop cozy lounge chairs. We briefly chatted with an Amish family who had just bought cherries to sell in their home state of Iowa, watched the sun fade away into the water, and promptly plunked out. It was the most restful part of the journey so far, and being in normal clothes (no spandex in sight) felt amazing.

We awoke with a start at midnight, upon entering Manitowoc. We gathered ourselves (& bicycles) together and took off for a hotel for the night.. another luxury. Mike found a great little budget hotel that not only did our laundry, but also ran us out to the store in the middle of the night for snacks! (Thank you Heritage Inn staff, we adore you!)

We loaded up on some Farmer's Market fruits & veggies and set out to battle the fiercest headwinds yet. Sixty miles later and with the sun setting, we came to Wrightstown where we walked into a bar - the only place around selling food - and met some very friendly folks who were so surprised by our story of bicycling that they actually took their photo with us! We are regular celebrities, what can we say? They must have recognized us by the super-hero spandex clothes and that smell-from-10-miles-away dirty/sweaty stench. The owner of the bar even gave us a very charitable donation! Unfortunately we left your card at the campground (which is 5 miles away), but no fear - we will write to you and we so appreciate your generosity. If anyone is ever in Wrightstown, WI, do stop in. It's the bar on the far corner when you enter town from the east. Very tasty Cajun Chicken Sandwich, and we loved the mushrooms.

From Wrightstown, we biked a tough day to Shawano, Wisconsin, where we are today as we take our first day off since Niagara Falls. We've found Wisconsin to be unexpectedly hilly, fairly free of roadkill (compared to Michigan - beware, racoons and squirrels) and very unpopulated. New crops have turned up, and Land O'Lakes seems to have swept the region: most dairy farms we have ridden by on the backroads deem the company's sign.

We seem to be off the more-travelled routes than previously (we're on a new set of Adventure Cycling maps now), and people we've met are more surprised than in the last few weeks. After we receive packages from our mothers (thank you!!) in Mattoon, WI, we'll be routing ourselves acoss the rest of the state. Fortunatly we hear that the dairy industry has demanded quality roads throughout the state, so we hope it's appropriate to anticipate smoothly paved roads. The roads of Michigan were certainly not either of these things much of the time, so we're hoping for luck as we go.

So we come to the stats. First though, the motto of Wiscosin is "Forward," which is just where we're headed.

Total miles: 1,415
Days off: 3
Number of nights camped for free: 7 (Thank you to Bill & Tammy, who let us camp for free on their land just east of Luther, MI for a night last week)
Total number of nights camped: 22
Number of bars devoured: Too many to count (Jody's bars from Whole Foods win for taste)
Number of falls: 2 each
Donations: far more than we could have anticipated - over $14,000 now!

Thank you! We both so appreciate all of the support from family, friends, strangers-now-friends.

Mike & Mandy

Some tidbits

2006-07-06T15:37:00.000-05:00
Hello from LeRoy, MI, where we have just a brief period on the internet at the library here before we head off to Luther for the evening. Michigan suddenly became hilly and reminds us of the Adirondacks, yack! Good for our slack muscles that have been sleeping since NY, right?

A few more tidbits that we thought of overnight:

* So sorry for the mis-spelling of Niagara yesterday (and thanks to Mandy's parents for fixing it)... Linda emailed us to remind us that Niagara is not spelled like Viagra. Thanks, Mom.

* A few nay-sayers have scolded us for not thinking ahead a bit more and riding, say, WITH the prevailing winds (west to east) rather than against them. Well, to that we will quote what our new bike mechanic friend in Midland said: "Going east to west has advantages. 1) You can bike in the morning without the sun in your eyes. 2) Cars behind you in the morning don't have the sun in their eyes, so they can see you better. 3) That's the way the west was "settled," so why would we try to go backwards?" Okay, we like reasons 1) and 2). And it's not always headwinds, though mostly. Today the wind is coming from the north-west.

* By the way, nay-sayers, we recall your comments ("You're not in shape!," "Why don't you have a bake sale instead?" "Morons..." "Get a job!"), we would like to say ha! We are very proud of our pedaling, and to be certain are so overwhelmed and grateful for the outpouring of support that has led us to such success with this fundraiser. We dare you to get out there and bike too! Most folks we meet who are cycling cross-country are retirement age... anyone can do it!

* We would just like to let you know that while your socks may be eaten by the dryer and never seen again, your gloves and mittens are predictably in one place if they go missing: on the road. Everyday we see lots of gloves and mittens (often matching, just a few miles apart) in the road. Why? We don't know. If you have any guesses let us know.

* The state motto of Michigan is a long one: "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice." "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you." The motto of Canada, as far as we can tell, is "eh?" Just kidding: it's "Sea to sea," and Ontario's motto (just in case you're dying to know) is "Loyal she began, loyal she remains." A little stuffy sounding to me, but it's ok.

* Lastly, we have had our first bike mishaps. One flat tire, followed by another punctured tube and Mandy had a bent headset due to a minor fall, but all are taken care of with a little help from friends at REI and Bicycle HQ in Midland. Thanks!

Okay, signing off at 1,210 miles,

Mandy & Scuba-Mike

Long time no update ~ 1/2 way there

2006-07-05T18:06:00.000-05:00
Greetings from Clare, Michigan!

Sorry for the long delay in updating our blog - small town library hours, holidays (both Canada Day and July 4th) and the weekend foiled each opportunity we would have had at internet access since Niagara.

Since last writing, we've biked from Niagara, NY into Ontario, Canada and along the northern side of Lake Erie in entirety, re-entered the US in Michigan at Marine City and since have been slowly trekking our way through the wheat, corn and dry bean fields all the way to this point in Clare. Currently, we are about two days' bike ride from a ferry that will take us across Lake Michigan and into Wisconsin. We'll probably leave from Ludington, MI on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.

In Ontario the beauty, simplicity and slow pace of the communities surrounding the lake were lovely, Canadians ever-friendly and jolly, and the riding flat as could be. Our favorite stop in Ontario was in Port Stanley, where despite map readings of no campground in site, we were greeted by friendly new campground hosts Chuck, Gail, Penny and Jerry who let us camp for free! They even made us coffee bright and early in the morning and invited us to sit at their campfire and chat until the 'skeeters got too bad.

In Michigan we enjoyed a hearty brunch with friendly 80 year old couple Donna and Raymond who were just beginning their meal when we walked in and they invited us to their table. They welcomed us like grandchildren, told us all about their community of Brown City, MI, and insisted on paying for our breakfast. Thank you!

Outside North Branch, MI, we nearly passed out in our tent from exhaustion before friendly Theresa & crew insisted that we join them for evening veggies and campfire talk...before we left for bed they packed us a bag of food that lasted us two days! Thank you so, so much Theresa et al... it was great meeting you.

We wouldn't be complete if we didn't tell the story of Mary and Noel, a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary by cycling cross-country, whom we have crossed paths with many times over the past week. By now, Mary and Noel certainly have finally surpassed us with their superior speed (and experience) on their tandem recumbant bicycle, but we still hear people talking about them on the trail! "Today we saw a couple on a sit-down bike for two!" We could sing the woes of our slowness and share our long list of excuses of why we can't keep up with Mary and Noel, but they are just fantastically speedy and efficient! It was great meeting you both, and best of luck on your journey. May the winds be at your back!

Okay, one more story. Yesterday came our favorite comment yet from folks we meet 'on the trail...' We were in a Rite Aid burning photos onto a CD when this discussion took place:

Mike: "These are photos from our bike trip - we've been bicycling since Boston."
Women processing photos: "Oh really?"
~a few minutes pass...~
WPP: "Um, have you scuba dived?"
Mike: "Yes, I have, some time ago. Why?"
WPP: "Well, your shirt... I thought maybe you were a scuba diver."
~pause~
Mike: "Um, this is a bicycling shirt."

Fantastic! We're thinking about telling the next person who asks such a question that indeed, we are under-water scuba-diving bicyclists :)

And finally, here are the stats:
* 1150 miles total
* Speed averages between 9 and 12 MPH
* Longest day: 82 miles
* Average day: 60 miles
*Mike thinks that we have raised about $14,000 for the clinic.
* Onions: headwinds (noon onward), roadkill, sunblock in eyes, sore butts, racoons, falling (only a few times), wheat/corn boredom, mean dogs
* Orchids: tailwinds (occasional), friendly bike shop folks (Jon in Midland - thanks), meeting generous & kind people on the road, pelican in the cornfields, flat land, making up songs about wheat & corn, spraying mean dogs with water bottles (works great, doesn't hurt offending puppy)

Until next time, signing off...Thanks to all of our friends and supporters!

Mandy & Birthday-kid Mike (28 today!)

P.S.- sorry we have no photos this time - we'll try again at the next library!

1/3 of the way!

2006-06-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Niagara Falls, NY!
We're happily taking the day off from biking as we celebrate 1/3 of our miles (and weeks) completed on our bike trip! Yes, true that Mapquest may tell you that from Boston to Niagara Falls is a mere 467 miles, but the back roads made our trip almost 200 miles longer... putting our total mileage as of today at 665 miles! Our overall goal, recall, is 2,000 miles, so we are quite pleased with ourselves and feel justified taking the day off to gingerly walk (sore legs) around the city of Niagra Falls.

Niagara Falls is beautiful, though rumored to be better viewed from the Canadian side...we'll have to see and report back after we cross over. The most beautiful thing? Showers, long hours of sleep, a kitchen to cook in (so good to make our own food)! We're walking around Niagra as if we're battered and bruised, even though we're not of course... still, our legs are pretty sore and we're glad to go at a slower pace for one day.

You might wonder if we are cooking up another adventure? Though on the hills when Mandy is miserable Mike says, 'Yes, the next crazy trip is of your design,' he later wonders outloud about kayaking from Alaska to Seattle, about tromping through the Amazon and other such madness. Mandy says New Zealand. Just be certain that today, while peering over the falls here at Niagara, we aren't dreaming up anything like Annie Taylor did in this photo. (Annie Taylor was the first person to survive a "fall" over the Falls in a barrel that had been pumped with air from a bicycle pump!) In all likelihood the next adventure will bring us back to Guatemala, where we will be looking to find a new partner organization to work with on health issues there.

So, the barking (and chasing) dogs of New York behind us, we'll be crossing into Canada tomorrow on the Rainbow Bridge and will be going across the northern side of Lake Erie, after a few days re-entering the US into Michigan.

~ Mandy & Mike

Some quotes from the road

2006-06-24T09:27:00.000-05:00
Some quotes from the road:

"You are living my childhood dream."

"I'd love to do that [bike across country] but my girlfriend/wife won't let me/join me."

"You'll have legs like tree trunks by the time you finish."

"WOW! I love your green bags!"

"Yeah, it's flat from here to..." (We have found this to universally NOT be accurate!)

"You're going WHERE?!"

"Are you biking back?" Answer? NO! We only go backward (aka: east) for ice cream, and only if it's flat. We'll probably be taking the train back.

"You're going the wrong way!" (We don't like to hear this...sometimes it is just necessary to go north or south to get west, you see!)

"Good luck!"

~ Mandy

p.s., Those girlfriends/wives who won't accompany you crazy men out there have a lot of good sense! This is definitly one of the hardest things I've ever done and I do ask myself pretty much everyday what in the WORLD I'm doing!! Fortunately it's beautiful, there is always a downhill after an uphill, and Mike is good company :) Have confidence, ladies, you can do it too!!

Updates from New York

2006-06-24T08:09:00.000-05:00
Greetings from Pittsford, NY! So far we've made it about 560 miles, over 1/4 of our 2000 mile goal! The last few days travelling from Old Forge have been good but unexpectedly hilly. We were told in Old Forge that it was flat from there to Niagara Falls....if by flat you mean nothing but hills....then yes.

On Wednesday, we travelled 60+ miles from Old Forge to Redfield, NY passing through some beautiful landscapes and meeting some interesting characters. We came around a corner through a small town park in Booneville, NY to run into a very friendly gentleman riding a big red tricycle....he rode alongside us for about 1/4 mile laughing and smiling and honking his horn. A moment in and of itself...only to have another very nice guy by the name of Handley Jackson come riding up on a homemade recumbant bicycle. He was a school bus driver who had passed us on the rode and ran home to get his bicycle and had been riding around town looking for us! He rode with us for a bit telling us all about the bikes that he had built from scrap bicycle and snowmobile parts. It was quite the show with the four of us riding along, horns honking, bells dinging...

Wednesday night found us in the town of Redfield, NY where we found free camping along the town resevoir. A chilly dip in the lake, a big plate of spagetti and a cold beer in town made for a very pleasant night.

Thursday we got up and travelled another 60+ miles to Fair Haven, NY where we camped for the night at the Fair Haven Beach State Park. A big, but beautiful campground that sits right on Lake Ontario. Beautiful views, good neighbors and a good night's sleep.

Yesterday came our longest day yet as we biked 72 miles from Fair Haven to Pittsford, NY to be welcomed by the warm hospitality of Mary Susan Pagan, a friend of Mandy's family. We are grateful to have spent a night with good company, comfortable beds and a chance to move onward with clean bodies and clothes....Thank you!

Today we head onward toward Niagara Falls...should be there tomorrow and will probably take a day off to relax before crossing into Canada for a few days and then into Michigan!

We'll try to get some more photos on soon. Thanks to everyone for their support and well wishes!

Mike and Mandy

more photos

2006-06-20T13:03:00.000-05:00
Hello from Old Forge, NY, where Mike and I are taking a needed day off to do laundry, sleep long hours, take real (warm) showers and eat some fresh veggies! We're crossing our fingers that the rumors that have told us that the mountains pretty much are past us now, but we'll still be getting early starts the next few days so that we can beat the heat of the mid-day sun. A thank you to both of our fathers who warned us of thunderstorms yesterday afternoon, which were big indeed (though short-lived) and which we narrowly escaped by making it to our hotel just in time. Good for us for waking up at 5:00 am to start up Blue Mountain!

By the way, if anywone is interested in a vacation in this area, Blue Mountain Lake and was beautiful and worth a stop, though beware of the biting black flies. I just read that apparently the black flies are only out for a few weeks a year, and we just happened to coincide with that time: we're covered head to toe in swollen bites! Luckily for us though, we were still able to enjoy the lovely view from the speedy fly-by velocity of our bikes (too quick for the little suckers, haha) and from the safety of our tent (thanks, Jack!). Do come up this way someday... truly amazing countryside. The lakes are endless and so peaceful and the mountains fantastic.

A question we pondered through Vermont was finally answered yesterday: Why is the University of Vermont called UVM if the initials for Vermont are VT? The answer? Apparently the University of Vermont is UVM because it is Latin for 'University of the Green Mountains' (Universitas Virdis Montis). Aha...

And another question: the motto of New York? "Excelsior" (or "ever-upward," how appropriate given the circumstance!). Thanks, Dad.

Okay... enough catch up. Here are some photos of the trip so far.

The photos should be in roughly chronological order: from the ceremonial "dip" in the Boston Harbor, through parts of MA, NH, VT and finally here in NY.
Here we go,

Mandy & Mike

photos!

2006-06-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

Here we go... trying to downloand photos while we have a little more time here...

These are probably in reverse order of the way we took them, and we'll organize them a bit better when we're able!

VT to NY

2006-06-18T15:03:00.000-05:00
Gravity! Our friend one minute (downhill), our foe the next (back up hill).

Hello from Long Lake, NY, where Mike and I are sweating our way through a very hot day as we push through the Adirondack Mountains. We've met more friendly folks along the way, though far fewer people... we are really in the middle of nowhere! We've been still averaging about 10 miles an hour, but the mountains are pretty hard on us so we've had lower mileage (as to be expected).

Vermont passed with a hard day on the trek to Ticonderoga (62 miles that day!) and some rain yesterday morning that made us leave late. Last night we stayed in Blue Ridge Falls, and we've gone almost 40 miles today in hot hot sun.

We're writing from a pricey internet cafe, so we'll write more (and download those photos) once we get to a free library. We do finally have the cable (yeah!) and so we'll do that as soon as we can, though it may be a few days... we haven't seen a stop light or sign for a few days, much less a library!

Reports from today's call home tell me about lots of supporters thinking of us on our climbs. Thank you so much! We can both feel your well-wishes as our legs burn burn burn.

An update on the caterpillars: they seem to have all turned into butterflies since the Vermont border!

Finally, the stats:

320 miles as of today (lots more to go)
~10 miles per hour
many bugs in my mouth, eyes, ears
too many bites, scratches to count
0 bike incidents
many friendly people
too many hills (more to come)

~Signing off,
Mandy

p.s. Don't know what the state motto of NY is!

NH to VT

2006-06-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

Hello from Charlestown, NH!

Climb, climb, climb...

NH to me is: uphills. Okay and a few other things: catepillars right in front of my bike tires (sorry little dudes), smoking chimneys (why this time of year?), rain clouds and raindrops and most importantly, many very friendly people. It was lovely meeting Gloria in Alstead (who waved us down to talk - thank you for your well-wishes) and the folks who saved us last night at the Marlow gas station - thanks for great burgers. It was very interesting learning about the flood last Oct in Alstead, for anyone who has never heard of it: looked like the photos of New Orleans after Katrina, though folks certainly are recovering.

Yesterday someone told us that after Stoddard, NH, it was downhill all the way to Vermont. Now to be honest let's not say that it's downhill ALL the way... we certainly felt every one of those big hills since Stoddard. But true we have had a few good downhills today, and are happily crossing into Vermont in just a few miles to stay in Springfield for the night.

Sorry for no photos yet! We seem to lack the correct cord to download them onto a computer, but will try our hardest to find one this afternoon in Springfield. Radio Shack in Boston was plumb out!

Signing off from cloudy Vermont - "Freedom & Unity" (now doesn't that have a nicer ring than NH's motto?!"

Keep your fingers crossed for no rain ahead...

~ Mandy & Mike

MA to NH

2006-06-13T11:29:00.000-05:00
Yahoo! We've completed our first long day with no mishaps, and the gentle hills of Mass behind us. Today we're headed for the VT border, which we may or may not make depending on those storm clouds and one gigantic hill (read: mountain) in the way. We're both doing great and other than sore butts have no complaints. Thanks to family for all of your support the last few days! And to all our contributors out there... we're inching towards $11,000.

Back to the road!

Signing off from NH - "Live Free or Die" (yikes!)

~ Mandy

And... we're off!

2006-06-11T20:21:00.000-05:00
What a beautiful, windy day in Boston for the first day of our adventure! Our families saw us off as we dipped our bicycles into the ocean and we took off down Beacon St., Mike's glowing yellow shirt leading the way. Hopefully my bike won't continue to be a target for bird-poo (said to be lucky, right?), but at least it was the bike and not me!

We're staying in Newton tonight with Mike's family, so we only rode 10 miles today, but hopefully now the last kinks are worked out with our bikes and equipment. Now we're ready for tomorrow, the first long day, when we'll ride to Amherst, NH on a route we've mapped ourselves.

Thanks to the many generous contributors - as of yesterday, we've raised over $10,000 towards the work in Guatemala! I continue to be amazed by overwhelming kindness from friends, families, coworkers. Thank you!!!

1/240th of the ride completed as of today!

Signing out,
Mandy

Just 2 weeks until we leave!

2006-05-27T14:58:00.000-05:00
Just 2 weeks to go before we hit the road! We are getting things wrapped up with our normal lives, packing our bags, going over our route and getting out for long warm-up rides whenever we can. So far, we've reached just over 10% of our $25,000 goal, having received $2,550. Thank you to all of those who have already sent in their donations or pledges. Send your donation in today and help us reach 50% of our goal before we leave!

By the way, in case anyone is also relatively new to cycling and has chosen to purchase clipless pedals where you are attached to the bike...remember to unclip before you come to a stop. I forgot once last week and had a little run in with a bush out in front of the local post office...

Mike

Mike in training

2006-05-06T17:33:00.000-05:00
Here is a picture of Mike training for the bike trip! Alas, I am stuck inside writing a paper... but not for long - tomorrow I'll be out there too! Obviously he didn't want his picture taken - he rode away from me as soon as he saw the camera come out! Come on, who doesn't want their picture taken in biking shorts?!
~ Mandy

P4P Route

2006-05-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

This is our proposed route!

Welcome to Pedaling for Progress!

2006-04-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new blog! This is a site where you'll be able to check our progress this summer as we venture from Boston, MA as far west as our legs (and butts) will carry us. Starting June 11th, we will be biking about 2000 miles across the country to raise money for the Inter-American Health Alliance, formerly known as Proyecto Salud Integral, which supports Primeros Pasos (First Steps), a medical and health education project in the highlands of Guatemala.

Primeros Pasos operates a small clinic and Healthy Schools program in the Palajunoj valley located in the western highlands of Guatemala, just outside the second largest city in the country called Quetzaltenango (or Xela). The founding model of project was a school-based approach in which medical care and health education were delivered using the infrastructure present in the school system. The clinic worked in collaboration with local schools to bring students from throughout the valley into the clinic for check-ups with a doctor, testing and treatment for parasitic infections and nutrition and hygiene education. Additional links were made with local daycare centers to extend services to children in the pre-school years.

Since the project’s founding in 2002, Primeros Pasos has dramatically expanded the breadth, magnitude and quality of its services, built stronger relationships within the community and continued to stand as the only reliable source of primary healthcare in the area. The clinic is now able to offer basic medical and dental care and expanded laboratory testing for children and adults throughout the community. This year, they have continued to expand and now offer basic gynecological exams and prenatal care for local women. The education program has also grown dramatically in response to demand from the community and provides sessions both at the clinic and in the schools. At the request of local teachers, school directors and daycare managers, Primeros Pasos staff have taught sessions on; hygiene, nutrition, puberty, the environment, drugs & alcohol, domestic violence, conjunctivitis, self-esteem and diarrhea & dehydration.

Primeros Pasos has reached out within and beyond its immediate community by building relationships with community groups and also founding strong connections with the local University of San Carlos medical school. In 2005, the clinic served almost 4,500 patients in its catchment area. It is all the more astounding when one considers that they did it on a budget of less than $24,000, just over $5 per patient . The main focus of the project remains steadfast on meeting the health needs of its community but has also grown to serve multiple functions. It is a place where local medical students are trained, new physicians work, and international volunteers come to serve and learn in an extremely resource poor part of the world. Volunteers have come from around the world to work as clinical staff, medical assistants, health educators and public health professionals.

The project was originally started by two American medical students in collaboration with a local doctor in the spring of 2002. Our involvement with the project began in January 2003 when Mike began volunteering as a health educator and later took over as the director in August. Mandy joined the leadership team later in the fall. In our time there, we worked hard to build a foundation for the project within the community and to develop and expand the services provided by the clinic. Leaving in the summer of 2004 to attend school, we transitioned control of the project to a local professional. In partnership with Brent Savoie (one of the original medical students), we co-founded the Inter-American Health Alliance as a US-based nonprofit organization in April of 2004. Our mission is to provide resources to local organizations that work to improve access to quality medical care and health education among underserved communities in Guatemala. Primeros Pasos is our first sponsored project.

Hence, Pedaling for Progress was born! We plan to bike as far as possible and raise as much money as possible to ensure that we can continue to provide the financial resources underpinning the continued success of Primeros Pasos. As we will be paying for all of our own trip expenses, 100% of all money donated will go to supporting the work ongoing in Guatemala.

We hope that you will support our mission by sponsoring our ride! Make a difference…Pledge today!

Please note: We have recently changed our name from “Proyecto Salud Integral” to the “Inter-American Health Alliance.” At this time, all donations must still be submitted in the name of Proyecto Salud Integral. Thank You!

By Check or Money Order**

Donations by check should be made out to “Proyecto Salud Integral” and mailed to:

Inter-American Health Alliance
P.O. Box 1611
Carrboro, NC 27510

Please note “Pedaling for Progress” on the memo line of your check.

**In order to avoid PayPal transaction fees, we recommend that donations be made by check or money order.

By Credit Card

Donations made by credit card may be submitted online via the safe and secure PayPal payment system. Visit our website at www.psiGuatemala.org and click on the “Make a donation to PSI-Guatemala” link for further instructions. Please note “Pedaling for Progress” on the line that reads “Payment For.”

By Online PayPal Payment

To donate from your PayPal account to ours, payments may be directed to info@psiGuatemala.org.

Please write “Pedaling for Progress” in the Notes section.

Thank you in advance for your support! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. For more info about our organization and the project, please visit our website at www.psiGuatemala.org.

Mike Brown & Mandy Koch
Pedaling For Progress

mikedbrown78@hotmail.com
amandamarykay@yahoo.com