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

Monday, July 27, 2009

Days 1 and 2 (Davis, CA and Shingle Springs, CA







So days one and two have been tough slogs through heat and some elevation, but I would say have been a success so far. Day one started with a meetup at the house around 8AM where a few wonderful souls showed up to send me off and ride with me for a while as I began the journey across country. Rebecca, Ian, and Stefanie came along until El Cerrito del Norte BART while Joel made it with me all the way to Winters, CA. By the way, so I totally forgot that what weather in the central valley is like. When I say that, I really mean that I forgot temperatures above 100 degrees even existed in Northern California. So as my blog post stated yesterday, it was nearly 102 or something in Winters, which made the last 10 miles to Davis rather hellacious. However, upon arriving in Davis, I was informed that my host (through couchsurfing) would be enjoying the spectacle of beer kickball and I was asked if I would like to join. So when I rolled up at 7:30pm in my bike spandex, I joined, but I didn't necessarily look like I fit the part.


But my hosts (andrew and julia) were awesome and could not be more hospitable. They lived in an apartment in Davis and took me out for the best burger in town and a drink. I hope that they'll have a chance to visit San Francisco again so I can return the favor.

Day 2:
Did I mention it was hot? This time, I didn't have the benefit of starting in the cool fogs of San Francisco, but instead started with the sweltering heat of the Sacaramento marshland. However, it wasn't so bad at 8:30AM, and I made it to visit Arnie at the Capitol Bldg by noon. (sorry, I'll rotate this eventually).. but the ride from Sacramento to Folsom via the American River Parkway was beautifl and carefree without traffic.

So if you were following me via SPOT, you might be able to tell I took a few wrong turns here or there, but largely the navigation went well. I made it into Folsom around 1ish and took a quick ride through Historic Folsom (which was devoid of people or any activity)... but was very charming and pretty to look at. I GPSed the nearest grocery store to have my afternoon graze for which I enjoyed for at least an hour.

After lunch, came the afternoon slide... meaning, my energy levels slowly slide into the basement with the sweltering heat and the climbs into the lower Sierras. Even though where I'm at now is roughly at 1400', it felt so much worse than that number leads on.

Luckily, my host tonight is Tom and he was generous enough to give me a lift from the main road to his really nice place in Shingle Springs. Tom has done quite a bit of traveling in the past few months so we were swapping stories about that and spending time with his two dogs Elvis and Turbo. He also made a pretty stellar dinner which hit the spot after today's long ride.


Here's Tom and Turbo (Elvis was being scolded for getting burrs in his fur)

Well here' to day one and two. Days 3-5 will be rough, lots of climbing, not alot of civilization, and tired legs. I'll be sure to post via my phone and again when I hit Carson City, NV.

Paul
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1 comment:

  1. JoelJuly 28, 2009 at 8:55 PM

    i mapped the route we took from berkeley to winters, and we climbed 2,900 feet! congrats on making it through the valley, and hope you enjoy the mountains! it was great to ride with you on sunday!

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