OK! After consulting family and friends, I have decided that I will set a specific date for the start of my ride across America and back. The new start date is Sunday, May 3, 2009. This will enable me to give extra time to training, planning and fund raising as well as have better chances of warmer weather in the Colorado Rockies.
In the next few days I will be posting a proposed itinerary of townships and mileages, along the way, to give you an idea of the route I will be taking. As with any trip of this nature, sticking to a firm itinerary is next to impossible it is mainly for planning of the route. Dates and daily mileages will probably change occasionally but the overall route will stay pretty close. So far my proposed route to Washington, DC is about 3,100 miles. I haven't fully plotted the Northern return route completely as yet, and have a few tweaks to make to my south central route.
Thanks again for your cooperation and generosity so far and in the future.
Challenged Athletes Foundation
Donations to "ride expense" can be made through PayPal: marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net or send check to 22997 Hampton Ct, Grand Terrace, CA 92313
Russ
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Donation Drive Officially Underway
The donation drives are officially underway! There are two drives.
The first and main fundraiser is for "Challenged Athletes Foundation." As stated before, I am hoping to raise $70,000.00. That's not a misprint!!! Together we can do it if we all work to pass on the information about my ride for charity and make others aware! We can make this a national experience! Donations to this charity are tax deductible!!
The second fundraiser is to help me with the cost of the trip. I expect it to cost me around $3,000.00 to do the ride. I now have $200.00 toward that amount and growing. I don't have a lot of time to raise it and plan on leaving on April 19th, 2009 if I have at least 50% of that raised by then. Sorry, but donations to help with the expense of the ride are not tax deductible. You can send donations to Russell Barber, 22997 Hampton Ct., Grand Terrace, CA 92313 or If you have a Paypal account you can donate by using my email address, marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net.
There is a certain amount of psychology to fund raising! Many people have a hard time being the first to donate, but as they see donations being made they find it easier to donate themselves. I guess it all boils down to wanting to be a winner, or on the winning side. Don't put off your donations it is easy to forget when you put it off. Remember, that if you can only donate to one fundraiser please pick "Challenged Athletes Foundation."
If you know of a good location to put a collection box for old cell phone and ink cartridge donations please let me know. Good places are your place of employment, churches, schools, stores.
Please become a follower of this blog and let others know about it!
Thanks for your help!
The first and main fundraiser is for "Challenged Athletes Foundation." As stated before, I am hoping to raise $70,000.00. That's not a misprint!!! Together we can do it if we all work to pass on the information about my ride for charity and make others aware! We can make this a national experience! Donations to this charity are tax deductible!!
The second fundraiser is to help me with the cost of the trip. I expect it to cost me around $3,000.00 to do the ride. I now have $200.00 toward that amount and growing. I don't have a lot of time to raise it and plan on leaving on April 19th, 2009 if I have at least 50% of that raised by then. Sorry, but donations to help with the expense of the ride are not tax deductible. You can send donations to Russell Barber, 22997 Hampton Ct., Grand Terrace, CA 92313 or If you have a Paypal account you can donate by using my email address, marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net.
There is a certain amount of psychology to fund raising! Many people have a hard time being the first to donate, but as they see donations being made they find it easier to donate themselves. I guess it all boils down to wanting to be a winner, or on the winning side. Don't put off your donations it is easy to forget when you put it off. Remember, that if you can only donate to one fundraiser please pick "Challenged Athletes Foundation."
If you know of a good location to put a collection box for old cell phone and ink cartridge donations please let me know. Good places are your place of employment, churches, schools, stores.
Please become a follower of this blog and let others know about it!
Thanks for your help!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Beginning
Well this is my first post and I am a little apprehensive. I am stepping out of the box and beginning a new adventure in more ways than one. First, I am planning on riding a bicycle across the good old USA and back again in about 120 days. Somewhere between 6,500 and 7,000 total miles. Second, I hope to finance part of the trip by getting my friends and family to help me with a fundraiser. The fundraiser will raise funds by getting folks to donate their old "cell phones" and "ink cartridges." I have found a company that will pay money for working cell phones of almost any age, as long as they still turn on and are not damaged badly, and ink cartridges that have not already been refilled. I am also asking for personal cash donations which can be mailed to: Russell Barber 22997 Hampton Ct., Grand Terrace, CA 92313 or sent via PayPal to marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net. Third, after raising the money for the trip itself, which I figure will cost about $2,500.00 - $3,000.00, I will set out to accomplish my goal. During the trip I hope to raise $10.00 for every mile that I pedal for a possible total of $70,000.00 or more. The charity that I will be raising money for is the "Challenged Athletes Foundation" which helps people with disabilities get the prosthetics they need in order to have more productive lives, and also be able to compete athletically. This enables those with disabilities to live fuller, richer lives and helps them with the confidence they need to succeed in life.
This is all going to be a new experience for me and a work in progress. I will be setting up a website from which donations can be made to both the financing of the trip itself and of course the "Challenged Athletes Foundation."
Why am I doing this! Well I have two main objectives. The first objective is to accomplish a life long dream of riding a bicycle across the USA by myself from coast to coast to coast. The second is to somehow "Pass it forward" by raising money for a worthy cause. I have been privileged to have a very good life with a wonderful wife and two children who have now grown into adulthood. I have been blessed by God and many wonderful friends and feel compelled to do something more. To just accomplish the ride would be wonderful for me but to be able to do good for others in the process would be wonderful for others.
I hope you will follow me in this endeavor and give generously to the "Challenged Athletes Foundation." Thank you, in advance for your generous help with this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Russ Barber
This is all going to be a new experience for me and a work in progress. I will be setting up a website from which donations can be made to both the financing of the trip itself and of course the "Challenged Athletes Foundation."
Why am I doing this! Well I have two main objectives. The first objective is to accomplish a life long dream of riding a bicycle across the USA by myself from coast to coast to coast. The second is to somehow "Pass it forward" by raising money for a worthy cause. I have been privileged to have a very good life with a wonderful wife and two children who have now grown into adulthood. I have been blessed by God and many wonderful friends and feel compelled to do something more. To just accomplish the ride would be wonderful for me but to be able to do good for others in the process would be wonderful for others.
I hope you will follow me in this endeavor and give generously to the "Challenged Athletes Foundation." Thank you, in advance for your generous help with this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Russ Barber
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