Why am I doing this?


credits to Justin Bond of Star Talent Events for the audio.


Thanks for stopping in! This summer, I'll be biking 2500 miles from San Francisco to Gibson City, IL to raise $4000 for the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and the Ford County Youth Soccer Club. My route map.

Why?
There are so many reasons. As a youngster growing up in central Illinois, playing soccer, as rare as it was for the area, was an activity that really shaped me into the person I am today. Not only combining the importance of fitness and teamwork, but also leadership and discipline. I have always wanted to have the opportunity to give back to this organization (FCYSC), and I feel that this is my chance.

Living just outside of Gibson City causes every child to be an avid cyclist to survive that stretch of Route 9 to make it into town. As I've progressed into my current career as an urban planner, I realize how much of an impact cycling can make in certain parts of the United States, in reducing our dependence on vehicles, increasing our health, among other benefits. Atlanta is the place that re-energized my spirit for transportation planning and I hope to be able to return some gratitude to the ABC, a cause that I still feel has an uphill battle in that town.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at supawanich@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Havana, Cuba, and Little America & Tshirts




First! T-shirts will be made once I get back to Gibson, if you happen to be interested in them, please be sure to let us know! The design and link to the order form can be found on this previous blog post.

So today's ride was a bit shorter from Galesburg, IL to Havana, IL ~ 63 Miles. It was a nice ride via some country roads and some unpredicted gravel roads. A pretty quick day relatively speaking and I was in Havana around 3pm. The roads were pretty narrow, but there is nothing like the good fun in having a truck drive past you at 60mph and getting sucked into it's wake. (this isn't scary as it sounds, when it drives past you, it kinda gives you a good pull).





But the trip today was filled with plenty of small towns, some of which had fantastic names such as Little America (which in fact was very little), Cuba, IL (I waited out lunch so I could go visit Cuba in hopes that some enterpreneural spirit would be selling Cuban sandwiches there. Unfortuntaely, there were no Cuban sandwiches. But there was a BP selling my favorite... peanut butter crackers.

So eventually after Cuba, I eventually landed in Havana (I couldn't find Pyongyang, IL), I got in a bit early so I thought it would be nice to go around and explore this little town which is about the same size as Gibson City. Nice little town with a bustling downtown and a riverfront park.

So I've been needing a haircut for about the past 3 weeks (of this 5 week trip) and I found my opportunity today downtown when I saw the local barber pole. I walked in and explained my situation and told the guy what I usually got. I proceeded to let me know "Oh yeah, don't worry buddy, I know exactly what you mean" Hah, famous last words that my former hair heard.

At any rate, I think I could pass for a military cadet, but I guess it's easier to lose a few ounces of hair than it is to try to lose any weight off of my trailer/bike. You know it's bad when your hear someone say "don't worry, it will grow back fast".

So tomorrow will be a shorter day again from Havana to Heyworth. I'll probably avoid US 136 due to traffic and that the back roads are typically just more pleasant. I'll be staying with my old high school friends Matt and Shawna who just purchased their first house in Heyworth! Also, looking forward to seeing some old high school friends for dinner tonight.


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