Editor's Note: We just received this email from our teammate Susan Loewy. Good Luck Curly Sue and Have Fun!
Dear Friends and Family:
This summer, I'm going to join Bike and Build <http://www.bikeandbuild.org/> , an organization that leads groups of people to ride across the country (east-west) and build affordable housing along the way. I was intrigued for a million reasons, but the biggest one is because of their Katrina specialized route this year. One of the routes they're doing is a one across the South (Florida-San Francisco) that crosses through Mississippi and New Orleans and stops for an extended amount of time to help rebuild the Hurricane Katrina devastated areas. The route even goes right though Lafayette, LA, which is, as you know, my hometown.
I know it's not a small thing to take on. It's more than two months of riding and building houses and I've never built anything before. I wouldn't be able to play my flute much, but I talked to my teacher about that, and he gave me some great suggestions for being able to deal with being a flutist on the road. I feel confident that I can made it work.
And of course, there is the fund-raising. I've committed to raising $4,000 for Bike and Build; the money will go directly into affordable housing costs. To date, I have about $1,000.
In their words:
Bike and Build organizes cross-country bicycle trips which benefit affordable housing groups. Specifically, we fund projects planned and executed by young adults. We have donated $1,144,231 in our past 5 seasons, and have pedaled over 2.2M miles, spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America.
Through pre-arranged gifts, Bike and Build funds affordable housing projects executed by our participants in communities where our events begin. Through our grant program, our organization identifies and supports exciting projects involving young people all throughout the nation. Bike and Build also supports local affordable housing organizations along each route through on the road donations.
Bike and Build garners media and community attention for the affordable housing cause. Bike and Build's expansive national footprint allows our organization to promote the need for and importance of affordable housing in 40 states and hundreds of communities nationwide. Through print and TV media, town-hall style meetings, and informal grassroots interaction, Bike & Build participants bring our organization's message to thousands of people from all walks of life.
Bike and Build fosters leadership and lifelong philanthropic service in our participants. Bike and Build's programming introduces young adults to the affordable housing cause, engages them in a unique and interesting way, and creates a prolonged and intimate connection. By funding building projects involving students and young adults, Bike and Build creates incremental service opportunities among young adults, empowering this crucial demographic.
I know it's a big commitment, but I'm really unbelievably excited about doing something this huge, about raising the money and accomplishing things I have yet to conquer--riding across the country to be sure, but also learning about affordable housing and even how to build a house.
Some of you might remember that I'm already committed to participating in an IronMan triathlon this summer. I was able to arrange it so that I can take a few days off of the Bike and Build trip and am now planning on completing both events. So yes, it's partially crazy to attempt to both do an IronMan and ride across the country in one summer. But, this could be my last summer 'off' since (with any luck) I'll be graduating with my Doctorate next year and hopefully joining the ranks of the employed, but besides that--I just really, wholly want to do it.
Another cool aspect is that I plan on blogging my progress across the country throughout the summer; you'll be able to follow my travel log online!
To any of you who might be surprised that I have any kind of interest at all in building houses, I offer the following anecdote that I wrote about for the application essay...
When I was a little girl, I would look out the window and see my dad building things—a studio for himself, a doghouse, a hammock, a tree house. For the longest time, I thought the grownups just 'knew' how to build things. Because I initially didn't know to be proud, it was a big disappointment when I realized that my dad was special, and I was not going to just magically know how to create houses or even bookshelves when I got older. I do not know if I inherited any kind of building talent, but I am excited to find out. I might be 'just a girl', but I someday hope to be the kind of mother that a kid would look at and say 'I want to be able to do that when I grow up.'
Anything you can contribute would be appreciated (even if it's just forwarding this email on to someone else you think might be interested in helping). To donate securely online, click here <http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,118/> and pick my name from the drop-down list. If you'd rather send a check, the address is as follows (just make sure you print my name in the 'memo' section of the check):
Bike and Build, Inc
20 Jay Street, Suite M08
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Thank you for all of your support, both monetarily and otherwise.
Happy New Year,
Susanna Loewy
--
headswirlingbodytwirling
http://www.susannaloewy.com
http://curlysu.blogspot.com
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It's time for a science moment. My lovely wife, Phamie, didn’t want anything for Christmas. So we decided not to get each other any gifts. We recently bought a used car and a new TV, so we figured those were our gifts. Winter is in full effect and I felt it more than ever on my weekly long run a few days ago. Ice is covering a large layer of snow and the melt-off during the day is turning into even more ice overnight. Needless to say, running outdoors is not an easy task, but with the mental issue I have with treadmills, I am determined to make it work. As a point of clarification for people who have recently found this blog – I write a twice-monthly column for my hometown newspaper, the Monterey County Herald, on the subject of running. Most of the articles are fairly generic advice geared toward novice runners, but occasionally they take a more creative turn, or have a wider application to other sports. In those cases, I republish the articles here on my blog. Funny but true story: I was running with some friends a few years ago. It was one of those long training runs so to help past the time I asked them to help me brainstorm the name of my new book. As I recall we came up with a bunch of silly names like: Don’t TRI this at Home! I’ve made all the mistakes, so you don’t have to. When big boys TRI too hard. And my personal unfavorite: If you don’t succeed, TRI TRI TRI to swim, bike and run. After a while we got a little bored with this topic and began to wonder out loud why one of the guys was struggling so much on the run. He said, “What do you expect…my training starts tomorrow,” and I had the name of my book. And as it turned out I also had the name of my second book as well, "No, Seriously, My Training Starts Tomorrow" comes out at the end of this month. The book takes the best of my writing from this Blog and compiles it into a grammatically correct chronicle of going from Everyman to Ironman. If you would like a signed copy of one of the 50 First Edition Books, you can order it below. I can promise you won't have it for Christmas, but it will ship before the end of the year. If you are looking for that unique present for the Holidays for that tri Buddy in your life, you may want to consider getting a signed copy of my first book by clicking below (This Book will ship immediately for the Holidays): BTW: Click HERE to read the Amazon.com reviews. And finally for you hardcore triathletes, shoppers, and savings seekers you can order both signed books and save about 15 percent by clicking below: The books make a great present as they come inscribed by the author (that would me yours truly) to whoever you want, with whatever saying you want. I'll be happy to inscribe your books so that you'll have a truly fun and unique present for the Holidays. We just got this great email news from teammate Robyn Ferman. And the eBloggy goes to.... Editor's Note: This week we'll be featuring the writing of the Athletes and Bloggers selected as the Top Ten Best Endurance Sports Blog of 2007. |
team raceAthleteWe are just like you. fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, friends, confidants. Together and individually, we will make our way to healthy lifestyle. Archives
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