I'm a lifelong resident
of New Orleans. Over the years, I've bicycled tens of thousands
of miles, biking solo & unassisted from Yellowstone to Las Vegas
and cycling in various countries (UK, France, Germany, Belgium,
Canada...). I have a wife & 3 children.
Hurricane Katrina
was a life changing event for me. The hurricane led to a forced
evacuation and 7 month stay in Memphis TN, caused personal property
damage to my home, destroyed the homes of family and friends,
led to the deaths of people I knew, caused family members to
relocate indefinitely, wreaked personal tragedy upon many people
I know and was a powerful reminder of my own personal mortality.
Katrina caused me
to question my life path and gave me the desire to make a positive
contribution that enhances the lives of others. As a result,
I'm doing "45 Great Places To Go Bicycling", a story series
exploring bike trails across North America.
My goals for
this project:
1. Inspire more Americans to go bicycling - for recreation,
commuting, health and a better future.
2. Inspire people to do something "big" with their lives even
in the face of adversity.
3. Maintain national attention on the Hurricane Katrina recovery.
4. Identify great bike trails, bike routes and bike lanes.
5. Create a series of nuts & bolts ride profiles so others can
plan similar tours
(including "If You Go" type info, trail photos, interactive
maps and useful links).
6. Write a book about places I discovered & people I met through
the tour series.
Beginning in August
of 2006 and spanning over the next 36 months, I'm bicycling
no less than 45 bike trails across North America, writing about
my experiences. In the course of the bike tours, I'll continue
to draw awareness across the USA to the on going needs of Katrina
victims as well.
I'll be blogging
from the bike, uploading photos & push pins noting the locations
of interesting sights & experiences on the trails, all posted
in real time from the trail courtesy of web technologies like
the Google Maps API. The tour will be a great field test of
a variety of bike gear and I'm writing about that too.
Stories from my
tour series will be published in places like RideTHISbike.com,
in some newspapers and a few national magazines geared towards
travel, sports and fitness. Additionally, updates from the trail
will be posted in my blog (world-class-bike-trails.blogspot.com)
and other bicycle related blog sites.
Hey there... it's been a while since I wrote a comment... Which was two centuries ago! As you can see, I have added two more centuries under my belt and eager for more (just look at my calendar)... TTYL!!
My gf is from Slidell. Any time you need a place in Norman, OK. you better look me up, pal. I think I should tour with you some time. Sounds very cool.
