PARTY! ride, eat, ride, eat, sleep, ride, build, ride...

Poster courtesy Vance Carlisle, good friend, advice-giver, and marketing coordinator at the Grey Eagle in Asheville.

With only a brief respite to graduate on May 16th, I leave for Nags Head, NC on May 12th to become oriented to life as a Bike & Builder; we begin cycling on May 17th, with a police escort out of the tiny beach town.

As a final fundraiser and graduation celebration, I'll be gettin down at The French Broad Brewery on May 3rd from 5-9pm. It's located behind the old polar bar at 101 Fairview Road. I'll be joined by musicians Ian Thomas, and Cary Fridley & the Down South. (Check out their websites in the previous post.) We're also holding a silent auction including such items as tickets to the Biltmore Estate and a gift certificate for a massage. I'm charging a $15 minimum donation to enter; this along with the proceeds from the silent auction will all benefit affordable housing organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, and Asheville's very own Mountain Housing Opportunities (to name a few!)

If you're in town and are able to join in the celebration, this will be a fantastic chance to see these musicians in a very intimate setting while drinking the best beer in the mountains, and with an incredibly supportive community of friends. Any last words of advice would also be greatly appreciated. With only 21 days till the start of the trip, I'm beginning to realize that I may just be in over my head. :)

Here's the upcoming timeline:
Thursday, April 30 -- my last day of classes
Sunday, May 3 -- PARTY!
Tuesday, May 12 -- to Nags Head for orientation
Friday, May 15, day -- meet all of the riders!
Friday, May 15, night -- drive 7.5 hours back to Asheville NC for graduation
Saturday, May 16, day -- graduate, the culmination of 18 years of formal education
Saturday, May 16, night -- drive 7.5 hours back to Nags Head, say goodbye to family and friends
Sunday, May 17 -- ride, eat, ride, eat, sleep, ride, build, ride...

Yeehaw!

May 3rd, GREAT music & beer, all for a GREAT cause!

Super excited today! 

1: it's Friday, my day off 

2: 2 bands confirmed for my 'hail mary' fundraising event at the French Broad Brewery (see below)

3: I uploaded pictures from 'training day,' which came out great! 

May 3rd, French Broad Brewery: 

Ian Thomas

Cary Fridley & the Down South

cover charge at the door, all to benefit affordable housing via my B&B trip this summer

raffle/silent auction, so far: massage, movie tix to the fine arts theater + a cheesecake, tix to a local music venue: the grey eagle

free t-shirt screen-printed with my upcoming 'handlebars to hammers' logo to supporters donating $25 (includes cover)

The French Broad Brewery is an awesome awesome spot; it's going to be a really intimate showcase of these two artists. Ian Thomas is a singer/songwriter and here's a fantastic article about his art: http://cdbaby.com/cd/ianthomas2

Cary Fridley is amazing! Her voice has an indescribable depth and energy. 

I hope everyone will come show love and support for Bike & Build, while enjoying great music, such good beer and perhaps enjoying some of the prizes! 

Are you generating electricity??

Picture it: Easter weekend, downtown Asheville, NC (population 80,000), me in spandex on a trainer.
My two favorite comments of the weekend:
"Are you generating electricity??!"
"You know you're not going anywhere!"

I rode my bike on a trainer downtown for 3 hours on Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday. For the hardcore cyclists out there, these were not training rides, but fundraising rides -- rides intended to get people curious. And, I think I accomplished this mission.
I made a little over $100, which is that much closer to my $4,000 goal.
I also met some crazy, wonderful, kind and unique (to say the least) people. Some people were truly inspirational, and I am so happy to have met them; a few others were a bit confused. Despite Asheville's reputation as a bike town, there are still scores of people who don't understand cycling or spandex, especially when these involve a woman. That being said, or left unsaid, I met many many individuals this weekend who showed a lot of support for Bike & Build and really encouraged me to continue on this path. We were also graced with a beautiful Easter Sunday and it was fantastic to be outside on a bike; I just hope to someday get somewhere on it. :)

In other news, I'm working a fundraising event at the French Broad Brewery on May 3rd. So, locals, look out for news on that in the upcoming weeks!

Hello!

My name's Amy and I'm here to record memories and promote a coast to coast, east to west summer-long bike trip in support of affordable housing issues. With an organization known as Bike & Build, myself and 33 of my soon-to-be best friends, will ride our bikes 3,500 miles from Nags Head, North Carolina to San Diego, California. Along the way, we will give community presentations about affordable housing and bike clinics for kids, provide grants with the money we raise, ranging from $100 to $10,000, and garner media attention for our cause. There are 7 other trips this year, too, with a total of 240 riders! Last year Bike & Build riders raised nearly .5 million for affordable housing organizations across the country!!

I discovered B&B (Bike & Build) just before Christmas this past year and have not looked back. My father is a cyclist who began riding in the late 70's, before the days of spandex, if you can believe that. His love of the sport had always been endearing, but until I got my own bike I had no idea. That's mine up there, in the picture on the right; a sleek, steel, old & still purrin' Italian beauty of a bike.

My interest in affordable housing came about during a trip to St. Bernard's Parish in New Orleans, LA with a week-long Habitat for Humanity build with my college, the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The building was hard; my group set to work putting up siding. On our breaks, we took to walking around the neighborhood, talking to people in their yards who were rebuilding their own homes. It was truly profound; despite their significant losses and hidden from the world by lack of awareness, coverage, care, they were happy. The people we talked with were happy to have what little they had, a blood orange tree or a section of their home that had survived the flooding. And, they were amazed that we were there. It taught me about being grateful and how, by allowing one's sense of entitlement to fall away, every little thing becomes a gift. On our last day, a neighbor, who had quickly become our friend, brought us a trashbag full of the most delicious blood oranges.

I hope that you will consider making a donation in support of my cause. All people deserve an opportunity for fair, adequate, equitable and affordable housing; it is not a privilege, it is a right.
If you would like to make a donation, please check out our website: http://www.bikeandbuild.org, click on the 'Donate' link on the left, and select my name, 'Amy Saunders.' It's 100% tax-deductible and guaranteed to make at least two people very happy, myself and the recipient. :)

Cheers!