Photo Shoot!

Dave and I took some time the other day to shoot some photos of us with our bikes for promotional opportunities. This is the one that came out best. I've since chopped off my hair, but Dave is still as dashing as ever. We took this at Memorial Court, the iconic entrance to Stanford. For all my friends back east, note the palm trees and be jealous.

The Ride Looms

I'm currently procrastinating on not one but two papers, so I thought it was about time for a blog update. As we come up on the month-and-a-half to go mark, Dave and I are starting to shift the focus of our efforts. While we will will maintain our push for fundraising, some logistical questions begin to present themselves and need to be addressed. 

The most pressing of these issues is lodging. While we have been gifted with a large support vehicle, the thought of curling up every night in there isn't too appealing. Thus, we are starting to contact people along the route who might be willing to put us up for a night. Family, friends, friends of friends, supporters, and well wishers are all on our list. If we are coming through your town (the route will be posted shortly) and are willing to host two bikers and one driver for a night, please contact us as rideagainstaids2009@gmail.com

The other major question we are dealing with at the moment is setting up speaking arrangements. We are dedicated to make this ride about both fundraising AND education. By spreading the message of Face AIDS, we think there will be a far greater impact on various communities than two guys raising some money. So, in the coming weeks we will contact Rotary clubs, churches, high schools, and camps (really anyone who will listen to us!) about speaking opportunities. If you have any suggestions, please let us know! We are grateful for any and all tips.

Well, that's all over here. I've got to get back to essays on the outbreak of WWI and Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Check back soon!

San Diego Crew Classic- JV8

I couldn't resist posting a rowing picture. Last weekend we raced at the San Diego Crew Classic and Sport Graphics was there snapping some photos. I'm stroking and Dave is seven (the two guys on the left side of the photo for all the non-rowers out there) and this was taken during the Men's Collegiate Second Varsity Grand Final. We got 4th behind Cal, Washington, and Harvard.

Fundraising

Hey everybody! This is Austin here, just wanting to test out the blog and give a quick update. I can't believe how fast the year is going. The middle of April is upon us and the 15th of the month will mark the 2 month countdown to the start of the ride. Yikes! The 4,500 miles Dave and I are going to be biking this summer are becoming a little more real with each day. I should probably be on the road training instead of blogging, but oh well.

With the start of the ride looming, Dave and I are working very hard at fundraising. Our initial letter writing campaign was successful, and we are prepping another round of letters to go out real soon. Next weekend we are going to set up a booth at Redwood Shores for the Washington, Oregon St., and Wisconsin races. If you are in the area come watch us race and then learn about our ride! Not only will we drop some knowledge on you, but you'll also get to see some of the best crews in the country throwing down mano-a-mano!

We've got some other projects in the works, but I'll leave that for a later post. Thanks for checking up and please leave any comments or suggestions. We really appreciate it!