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

Saturday, July 25, 2009

supa on a bike. finally.

So enough talk already... time to start riding. I leave tomorrow morning around 7:30AM and am hoping for a few people to join as well! I'm not really that nervous... I'm just wondering where I am going to stay in Davis tomorrow. There is a campground in Winters near the river about 15 miles from Davis, but that sure makes for a long day 2. Maybe I should just do the campground. It looks great from pictures.

So based on some present stats:
My current weight 158, we'll see how that changes 5 weeks from now... Also, I determined my baggage to round out to be around 50 pounds (not including the trailer. As far as I know, that's pretty good. In the last day or so, I made the decision to bring along my camp stove, so that added a slight bit, but not much. I'll be averaging around 40-50 miles on high elevation days and 80-90 on the flats. It looks like the ride will be the coldest somewhere in CO, (Gunnison, CO, yesterday's low was in the 40s... yikes).

Here are some photos documenting my setup: This first photo on left shows pretty much all of the stuff that I'm bringing.

Here's a list of some of my gear (I'm missing a few things here and there)

And finally there, a nice clean looking setup. This baby will be piling down those Colorado mountain grades like it was nothing.




So until I post again, I hope this message finds you all well and thanks for your messages, supporting words, contributions to the ride! I'll check in when I can and be sure to check on me to make sure I'm actually making some progress: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=00tqrjYQYFhYCWe0hZubTHJe9fdl0T5CQ
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