Hi folks,

I've heard some people say that the best way to live life is to find something you love and spend as much time doing it as possible. The luckiest of us get paid for it. Over the last few months, I've steadily come to realize that of the things I love, none of them will generate the income necessary for me to buy the flying car with the built-in-dashboard pizza maker that I want.

To figure something out, I've decided to quit my job to spend a few weeks doing something I love to do -- through September and October, I'm going to be riding my bike every day, all day long. On 9/11, I'm leaving for Seattle and 5 weeks later, I should find myself looking at the Border Patrol into Tijuana, having reached there by bicycle. I'm not doing this with any other cyclists, so it'll be a lot of alone time in the saddle to figure things out.

But I thought it was a bit selfish to do this just to sort out my head. I guess I know people. I know you. And I know that there are people around the world who struggle to make a living everyday, whose lives and communities would be made thousands of times better if they had bikes to help them. I should ride for those people, too.

jole rider is the organization for which I am riding.

for further education and information:
info on the impact of bikes
project rwanda
more bikes in action

So I'm asking you to dig deep and please help them. I'm also asking you to help me help them -- I'll need money for food and operational costs. I'll be hunkering down for the afternoon at Loreley beer garden in Manhattan on 9/8, and there'll be a bucket there. Money that goes in the bucket keeps my legs moving. If you can't make that, contact me directly about giving to that aspect of the ride. Really, though, most of your money should go towards getting bikes under kids. Every dollar (or pound) helps, it doesn't need to be much.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by, for reading, and most of all, for giving. Together we can prove that bikes really can help save the world.

Keep the rubber side down,
Eric E.