Final X-USA Thoughts

Well, in just 8 hours I begin a new school year. So, from Bryn Mawr, I wanted to leave you with some lasting thoughts.

First off, thank you again to all my supporters, friends and family, for making this journey of a lifetime a reality. 

To view just a glimpse of this experience take a look at my completed album:




Worst Day
Climbing over 25 miles up Thompson Pass in the freezing rain to cross the Cascades from Idaho into Montana. It was our first large climb of the trip and as we ascended the temperature got colder and the rain got harder. I was drenched and shivering when I reached the top, so I got into the van with many other riders and proceeded to strip almost every layer I was wearing to just take in the heat. I said to myself at that moment, I hope this marks the worst day of our trip. Luckily, it did AND the day only got better from there. A few of us decided to ride down. The storm let up and the sun came out. There were even parts of the road that appeared to be dry. As Tsvi and I rolled towards the bottom of the mountain we were excited by a large sign that read: Pizza. We were pleasantly surprised to enter the Wild Coyote and end the day in great merriment!

BEST DAY!
Interestingly, while there was no way of knowing this at the time, the best and worst days juxtaposed one another back-to-back. The day before we climbed Thompson Pass, we entered the panhandle of Idaho on the Coeur d'Alene Trail. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon and it began with a 3 mile downhill after many days of climbing. This trail is flat and newly paved, which made for excellent riding conditions. It cuts through the center of Lake Coeur d'Alene and the surrounding marshes, which contain spectacular flora and fauna, including the bald eagle I saw, pictured in the above album. That day was simply a pleasant and beautiful ride that I will always remember.

Greatest Challenge

1. Headwinds
2. Living with the same people in "close quarters" for 10 weeks

The Take Away

• Surprisingly, no day was boring. 
• Long-term pluralism is hard, if not impossible.
• This country is COMPLEX. We, on the coasts, compartmentalize the U.S. into money and academics and then everything in the middle. But, "middle America" has a lot to offer.
• Farmers are not stupid. They are smart business people and scientists. They know what they are doing and also have political opinions. Try talking to a farmer. 
• The rest of America matters. You'd be surprised how many liberal people are out there. All you have to do is engage them in conversation. 
• The issues we discuss on a daily basis, be it food, environmental, healthcare, religion, etc, have many more aspects than we often think. Only a ride across the country and hundreds of conversations will teach you this.
• Your body is stronger and more capable than you think.
• I highly encourage EVERYONE to ride their bike across the country at some point. You'll understand when you're done! 

THANKS AGAIN AND SEE YOU ON MY NEXT ADVENTURE!

~Adi

From Hazon Cross USA Ride

HOME!

At 9:52pm on August 16, 2012 I finally returned home after this AMAZING 10-week journey!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT and see you on the next ADVENTURE!

Adi

HELLO MR. PRESIDENT!

WE MADE IT!!!!

PHOTOS TO COME...

Final Day!!!

TOMORROW WE ENTER WASHINGTON D.C. AND COMPLETE OUR RIDE!

JOIN US @ THE WHITE HOUSE OR FOR SOME OF OUR OTHER FESTIVITIES...

FOR MORE INFO VISIT OUR D.C. EVENTS PAGE.

Final STATE of the Ride

Welcome to Maryland!

Last Shabbat

SHABBAT SHALOM FROM PENNSYLVANIA!

It's so great to have Dad and Danielle here!!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone very soon...

State #11

Beautiful Pittsburgh!

TODA RABBA TO RABBI BARRY KATZ FOR SPONSORING HIS HOME STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA!

P.s. I'm very excited to see my dad tomorrow as he joins the ride for the last week!

O-HIO!

Just had delicious ice cream at Jenny's in Columbus.

THANK YOU TO THE BERSHAD FAMILY FOR SPONSORING MY RIDE THROUGH THIS WONDERFUL STATE!

EDT

Today around lunch time we entered EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME! All of a sudden I feel much more comfortable ;)
Tonight we have been graciously hosted by Temple Israel in West Lafayette, IN. They have provided a delicious dinner from the Purdue Hillel and comfy homes for sleeping. Thank you for your warm hospitality.

Indy tomorrow! 

The official sponsors of Illinois

As we enter our last day in this state, I want to thank my wonderful family and gracious hosts, Aunt Deena and Uncle Sam Fraint, who have generously sponsored my riding in ILLINOIS. It was great spending time with you and sorry it was too short. Thank you for allowing me to re-energize at your house, welcoming Danielle, and feeding us DELICIOUS food as always!

Next up...Indiana!

THA TAKES CHICAGO

FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO SEE ALL OF OUR CHICAGO EXPLORATIONS...

Adventures @ THE BEAN

Hazon Cross USA Photos

HAPPY TISHA B'AV!

DANIELLE HAS ARRIVED!!!

After 7 long weeks we have finally reunited! The highlight of my trip thus far!



We are going into the city today for some sightseeing and friends. Next, we'll spend a relaxing Shabbat with Aunt Deena and Uncle Sam in Deerfield. Then, I can't wait for Danielle to actually join the group as we enter 3 AMAZING weeks of cycling together (she's a real champ for doing this)!

SHABBAT SHALOM!

CHICAGO!

We made it to Chicago! 

@ Lake Michigan in front of North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, IL.

With Pam from Green Bay Cycles

I'm enjoying some time off with the Fraints. It's great to be back!

CAN'T WAIT FOR DANIELLE TO ARRIVE TOMORROW!!!!

Aquaponics

Sweet Water Organics in Milwaukee, WI. Indoor urban agriculture.

The fish feed the plants and the plants feed us. Then we eat the fish. And the cycle continues.
Urban Ag at its best (maybe)!

I love camp!

Spent the night at OUSRUI. It's a pretty great place! Just a few hours there made me miss camp. But, I really enjoyed the visit.

P.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL FATHER! WE LOVE YOU!

SOLAR CAR!

This is true alternative transportation!

We ran into the MIT Solar Car Racing Team on our way into Madison.

State #7!

America the Beautiful

Goat's Prairie, Great Bluffs, MN

Raw Milk

Just drank DELICIOUS, RAW, UNPASTURIZED MILK @ the Nelson Family Organic Farm in Altura, MN! (They are providers for Organic Valley.)
Highly recommended...

Our TV Debut

We were interviewed on NBC KARE 11 this morning in Minnesota!
Check it out: http://www.kare11.com/news/article/982936/16/Riding-across-America-for-sustainable-food


"You're going across the country in the convective season..."
-Sven The Weatherman (and...he's Jewish)

HALFWAY!

As we cross the Mississippi River into St. Paul, we have officially reached our halfway point!

State #6

On Monday we entered our 6th state!

From Hazon Cross USA Ride

Free Brunch

Today has been great!
Lovely weather and no winds.
Howard and I stopped at Tyler's in Britton, SD for coffee and ended up getting a free buffet brunch! The people sitting behind us secretly paid for our meal.
Then, I searched every store in town for postcards, but no one sells them. However, when I asked at the Northern Lights Inn, our last ditch effort on the way out of town, they responded: "We don't sell them, but I can give you as many as you need."
It's a super Sunday!

A snack from the CIA

Dennis, the owner and chef, has three degrees from the Culinary Institute of America. He decided to set up shop in Roscoe, SD and has the corner on the market!

My First Rodeo!

Independent Speed

In honor of July 4th Eric Altman and I rode 96 miles (with stops) in under 6 hours!

Headwinds

Today was one of our most difficult days. Short distance but 25mph headwinds the whole way. Tomorrow breakfast is at 4:45am. We are riding 96 miles to Mobridge, SD (short for Missouri River Bridge) and then celebrating our independence with a BBQ, rodeo and fireworks!

HAPPY JULY FOURTH!

South Dakota

5th STATE!

Street Blogging

Bowman, ND

NORTH DAKOTA

Just entered our fourth state! Today's ride is sponsored by STU & LINDA SAPOSH. Thank you for your support!

Long Days

Again, I would post tonight, but we did 105 miles yesterday with headwinds in 100 degree weather. Today we rode 80 miles in the middle of the desert heat. And, tomorrow we are starting at 5:15am.
I have uploaded more photos, so check out the album for updates. By the way, I love Montana homes! Here's  where I slept last night, generously hosted by the Bozeman Jewish community.

P.s. I'm keeping a journal (which I just received with my new glasses in Helena, sent from my amazing parents), so I will provide more stories and details soon...

Another Century

No time to write another post. Lovely Shabbat in Helena, MT. Getting up very early tomorrow for another century to Bozeman, MT. But, check out some updated pics for now:

Over the top!

WE JUST CROSSED THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE!

East coast here we come....

FIRST CENTURY OF RIDE COMPLETE!

THOMSON FALLS TO MISSOULA!

IDAHO!

THANK YOU TO THE MOST AMAZING DANIELLE SCHINDLER FOR SPONSORING MY RIDE THROUGH THIS STATE!!!

Gravel, and Tunnels, and Resorts, OH MY!

Shavua tov!

***NEW BLOG FEATURE: Track my every move with Google Latitude! Look on the right sidebar for details. 

One week down and 9 to go...

I wanted to write a much longer update, but that will have to wait until later this week after we complete 85 miles tomorrow, 60 the next day, and 106 MILES on Tuesday!

We are coming off of a very exciting first week that included: 

• A beautiful launch ceremony in Seattle
• Lots of (unexpected) gravel paths
• Passing through the Cascades in the country's longest pedestrian/bike tunnel, which is unlit
• Many more uphills...for some reason every uphill in Washington plateaus, just to climb another one, and then once a day you get a nice long downhill
• A couple sightings of Mt. Rainier!
• Touring inside a wind turbine
• Camping with 35mph winds...nearly impossible
• Ghost towns
• HUGE Rolling wheat farms
• Losing my glasses already :( Hence my funny looking spectacles in some of the recent pics. But, thanks to my AMAZING mother, a new pair is already in the mail.
• A couple nights at "Resorts"

We were able to rest this Shabbat in Spokane, hosted by some great families from Temple Beth Shalom. Thank you to them for their wonderful hospitality.

Just as a reminder:

• For constant, on the road updates follow: http://hazoncrossusa.tumblr.com/
• My web album (right) has new pictures more often than I post on the blog. Captions for recent pictures coming soon.

Here is what we did on Friday:

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to one and all!

Dad, I can't wait for you to join us in Pittsburgh, so we can share this journey together!

We start this week by leaving WA and entering Idaho halfway through Sunday's long ride.

More to come soon...

AYS

P.S. The picture at the top of the post is from our small coverage in the Ellensburg Daily Record:

http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/hazon-bike-ride/image_e2a7829c-b56d-11e1-a700-0019bb2963f4.html   

Pre-Departure Post

In normal Adi fashion, I did not have time to write before I left home, because I was packing until 2AM (which was early in my book, thanks to Danielle’s expeditious help) and had to be up by 5:45 this morning. Thus, I began writing this post at 35,000 feet above our beautiful country. There is A LOT of farmland out there, and so perfectly shaped as well. We encountered some turbulence over Gillette, WY, but had smooth sailing after that.   

I am now somewhat settled at Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA, about 30 mins northeast of Seattle. Although the weather has been a bit dreary it is a beautiful campus. I have met my core group for the next TEN WEEKS and all is well. Everyone seems to be in very high spirits and excited to hit the road. There are only 12 of us, so let’s hope for the best. While the interesting mix of people - from college student, to post-college, to young doctor, to CFO, to retiree – could lead to slight trepidation, I am actually feeling quite positive about the group after spending the day with them. I am sure certain dynamics will develop as we get to know each other and as the Ride progresses. For now, I will withhold further comments about the group and various personalities.

Before I set out I would like to thank:

• All of my donors who have made this ride possible. 
• My parents who have provided additional funds, without which I would have half as much gear. More importantly, their unconditional love and support for me and all of my endeavors have allowed me to ACTUALLY do this. (Can’t wait to see Dad in Pittsburgh for the home stretch.)
•  My sibs, grandmothers, and the rest of the family for always cheering me on!
• Danielle. Enough said. But really… for her endless support and love. And yes, she too is crazy enough to do a third of this trip. I can’t wait until we reunite in Chicago!

There are two people without whom I would not have a bike:

• Former Rosh Al Hagova and semi-professional cyclist, Josh Friedman. He spent HOURS with me on the phone, video chat, and e-mailing until we selected the best bike for me on this journey. We took a lot of factors into consideration (price, terrain, amount of “cargo,” etc.) and decided that a properly outfitted Cannondale CAAD8 Tiagra was the best choice. This is the third Cannondale in my growing collection! Thank you, Josh!
  
• Sal Lilienthal is THE MAN!
  
  He provided Danielle and me with our bikes at a price you can’t beat. Sal didn’t just order and build the bikes. He added the best components and gave us all the time in the world to ensure that we will be SAFE and comfortable on this Ride. In honor of his great service, we have named our bikes Sal and Sally, respectively. I HIGHLY recommended Sal and The Bicycle Tour Company for all your cycling needs. The ride to Kent, CT is both beautiful and completely worth it.  

I am excited, nervous, and scared. This trip is a dream come true! Every day is going to be a new, amazing adventure as I physically move myself across the country. The people I meet, the sights I see, and the random things I do and learn will undoubtedly (and positively) shape who I am. Yet, cycling is inherently dangerous. I have promised my parents I am committed to not just returning in the same condition, but in better shape than I left. I promise all of you that I will exercise every caution and ride with due regard. While FUN, adventure, and traversing the country are the goals; SAFETY is the top priority. As a wise man once taught me and as I have passed on to the next generation, we must always live by the 7 P’s: Proper Prior Planning, Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Thank you again for all your support and I look forward to keeping you posted along the way!

With much love and excitement,

Adi

P.S. For constant updates follow us at hazoncrossusa.tumblr.com/

P.P.S. If you would still like to support my ride, please visit: http://hazon.kintera.org/2012usa/adi

Befuddlements to come…

T-2 Days and Counting

WE ARE IN OUR FINAL COUNTDOWN...

On Sunday Danielle and I rode to the Legman Family BBQ!
This was one of Danielle's longer rides in a while. She's a real champ!
Take a look:

1 WEEK 'TILL LIFTOFF!

Things are heating up around here.
Thanks to everyone who has supported my ride so far. It's still not too late to donate:
http://hazon.kintera.org/2012usa/adi

• We have our bikes:
  
• My baby has been shipped and is on his way to Washington:
  

Here's a map of our training ride from yesterday:

• I got a haircut today.
• Heading out for a ride now.

In one week I will be in Seattle with my group. We better like each other, because we're about to spend the next three months together :) Looking forward to the great adventures...

Shabbat Shalom!

Adi

CYCLING ACROSS AMERICA

SUPPORT MY RIDE

In less than 10 weeks I will set out on the journey of a lifetime! I will be traversing the country with the Hazon Cross-USA Ride! With your help, I will be cycling some 3,600 MILES from Washington State to Washington, D.C.

I have taken on this challenge to help raise environmental awareness, and to add the Jewish community's voice to calls for environmental responsibility. The money raised from this Ride will be used to support Hazon’s year-round work promoting sustainable food in the Jewish community. The funds are also distributed to support innovative environmental projects across the country. Your support will make these goals a reality. I have pledged to raise $1 for every mile I pedal. Please join me on this journey. Click here to sponsor me.

Here are some fun ways to sponsor me:

• A dollar a day ($70+) – I will send you a postcard from a special location on the Ride.
• $10 per State ($130+) – I will send you a postcard from every state I pass through.
• Sponsor a State – I will dedicate the state to you on my blog and send you a souvenir.
  More than one sponsor is welcome for each state. Feel free to split a state with a friend:
  -- Washington: $342
  --Idaho: $81
  --Montana: $850 (Half of Montana = $425)
  --North Dakota: $71
  --South Dakota: $342
  --Minnesota: $446
  -- Wisconsin: $272
  --Illinois: $163
  --Indiana: $265
  --Ohio: $226
  --West Virginia: $94
  --Pennsylvania: $155
  --Maryland: $200
  --D.C: $63

Every penny counts! I hope you will support my Ride.

CLICK HERE TO PLEDGE NOW.

THANK YOU!