29 August 2012

Thank Yous and Tears, Memories and Beers

The bus ride to Vegas was, for many of us, a real highlight
of the trip.
As we convene here in Santa Paula for our second-to-last dinner together, the conversation is hardly different from a typical Bike & Build evening. All of us are aware that our trip is ending tomorrow, but we seem to be burying our wistfulness and nostalgia under excitement, hunger, and anticipation. Tomorrow's farewells will be especially poignant and even tonight we all seem to be teetering on the brink of accepting the fact that our summer is drawing to a close.

Personally, I am feeling overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with three wonderful, responsible, and passionate co-leaders and to ride with 29 energetic and courageous riders. I am thankful that our trip has been safe and free of major incidents and I am thankful for all of the amazingly generous hosts, family, and friends that have supported us on the way from Portland.

Although it would be impossible to individually thank everyone who helped me our trip such a success, here is a partial list of ME2SB's treasured friends.

Thank you to...

-All of my generous donors and well-wishers.  Your support made this trip possible for me and enabled my Bike & Build trip to donate over $80,000 to the cause of affordable housing.

-All of my friends and family who visited my trip along the way - Mom, Jesse, Michael, Hoops, Ali, Harry, Brie, and Kyle.

-The lady in Tulsa who bought us all root beer floats from Weber's Root Beer

-Ed from Berwick, who joined us in song and showed us his Air Force uniform

-"Corn Robber" from Cordell, OK, who offered Perrier and encouragement to Holland, Cathy, and Nick W.

-Megan from Pie Town, who rocked out at our prom and baked us pies

-The Food Bank in Carrizozo, NM, who offered us two glorious meals

-Jennifer and the Cinnamon Twists of Payson, AZ, who performed for us, gave us CDs, and put together our build day at the Women's Shelter

-Melissa from Stroud, OK, who gave me 23 scoops of ice cream for $5

-The limo drivers who brought us all to the Big Texan Steakhouse for free!

-Jim Minor and friends, who cooked us a meal in Columbus, OH simply because the granddaughter of an old friend was on our route

-Mike the Mobile Bike Mechanic, who brought his truck to our lunch stop on the way to Columbus and fixed all our bikes for free

-The people of Half Moon Farms, who gave us a second lunch of homemade sausage, chicken salad, raspberry shrub, and anything else we could have asked for on the way to State College, PA

-Sue from Trader Joe's in Santa Clarita, CA for giving us lunch.

-Louise Simons, for sending Amy (and us) the best mail drops.

-Debby Zawalich, for sending us chapstick, maps, and iTunes giftcards.

-Mr. Winters for giving Will and Adam cookies at the top of Prescott Hill on the way to Northampton, MA

-KMOG-AM Radio in Payson, AZ for interviewing Tim and Holland and making them famous

-Bob from Yukon, OK, who showed us his wooden bike, rode with us, and gave us chocolate milk

-Bike One of Yukon, OK, who stayed with us all night to work on all our bike issues

-Taco Box Tom for feeding all of us in Portales, NM when we had no kitchen to cook for ourselves

-Maria from Taco Bell in Andover, MA, who donated tacos to us on a very difficult, very hot day

-Bob Reinke of Reinke Repairs in Worthington, MA, who diagnosed our trailer problems for free

-And finally our Program Director Natalie, for returning some of our phone calls and spending 18 hours with us in California

Because of all your help Maine to Santa Barbara 2012 was made possible, our contribution to affordable housing are more significant, and 33 young adults are more inspired, more fit, and more in awe of our amazing country.

-Scott

1 comment:

  1. Scott and all your fellow riders - you're an amazing bunch of people. Congrats for this unbelievable thing you've managed to do, you deserve all our respect. Get back home safely! Best wishes from Austria
    Ulli

    ReplyDelete