Karen's mileage tracker

Karen's ride for Malawi

Saturday, September 8, 2012

HALF WAY TRHOUGH!!

So...I have been riding for 4 days now and have riden 219 miles...at this rate I would have a total of about 438 miles...out of 500.  I have fallen behind in my blog due to lack of access to internet, so don't kmow if I will be able to accurately document my travels. 

The ride from Kittery to Freeport was a long one, 69 miles, but I rode it in about 5 hours and 40 minutes.  It was a mostly flat ride and not very scenic, actually.  I was so happy to be riding that day because it had looked like it would be raining for a lot of the day, and I made it without much rain at all!

So, I have realized that the internet is not cooperating again, still, at this location...photos take a very long time to upload, so I may not add as many as I would like at this time.  The above photo is our first night's campground in Freeport.  Very comfortable and wooded...next to the lake.  There was a lot of wildlife around there; the campground was connected to a Farm that had lambs...I think different than sheep?  There was a section of it that had community gardens...which was cool.  At our tent site there was a chipmunk that ran around the picnic table and on it and he was very cute.  Stephen saw a bird of some kind down by the water and he startled it when he came upon it.  We were sitting on the rocks looking at the water and out in the distance I saw something come to the surface...it was a seal!!  The fish were jumping like crazy and we even saw one that was swimming along the surface of the water...kind of like a shark; we could see his tail fin and dorsal fins sticking out of the water as it swam.

 





I did not sleep very well that night; it was due to a combination of things.  I was excited that I rode to far on the first day, anxious about what the next day would hold and slightly uncomfortable sleeping in the tent.  I realized by the next night that it was helpful for me to close the flap on the 'door' so that my face wasn't right next to the outdoors and the dirt and whatever lurks out there.  Yes, I am a little bit of a sissy while camping...but I did it!  I did not sleep great that night but we were awake relatively early and on the rode about 7:15! 

We headed for Camden, where we had another speaking event, and decided that I would ride as far as I could by noon, then we would have to stop and check in at the next site and get ready and get to the library.  I rode 55 miles out of 67 that day...I was a little disappointed in that.  One thing was that there were more hills that day, plus my chain and gears did not seem to be shifting great, so I did not use the lower gears so I really had to push myself getting up some of those hills!  The scenery was much more appealing, thankfully, and we were not on as many main roads.  Stephen was getting a little excited because he was seeing more wildlife...he saw some deer in the field and some turkeys in another field!  We are still waiting for the Big Moose!!!


I rode across this really scary bridge...I think I posted it on facebook but it was like the singing bridge back home...it was kind of long and really bumpy...grated!  So we both took pictures of it; Stephen took one of me taking a picture of it.  Stephen has taken a couple of pictures of me riding up hills toward the car!  So...Stephen and I were just talking and trying to remember what day was what!!  We have all these fabulous pictures and cannot remember what we saw on which day!!!  The pictures above were taken on the second day of riding...from Freeport to Camden...

So, I have spent about 2 hours now...adding these pictures and typing these very few paragraphs, and Blogger keeps freezing, so I must stop for now!  If anyone has any suggestions for using Blogger, I would love to hear them...I would love to be able to update this more and share more via the Blog...I will now try Facebook and see if that works any better!  

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Kittery to Freeport, Day 1



So, we have very limited access to internet, so it took all my time to load these pics (plus I posted some on fb).  I was surprised that the rain slowed way down about 8:30 this morning, and I decided to take a chance to ride the planned route.  I rode 69 miles between Kittery and Freeport and including stops did it all in 5 hours and 45 minutes including Snickers Stops!  Not a bad first day!  We have a long day ahead for tomorrow, 77 miles from here to Camden.  Hopefully we will have better access to internet and can write and post more!  Thanks for the support and for following!  Zikomo!

I WILL ride today!!!

So, Stephen and I have been watching the weather for the last few days, but closely for the last couple of hours this morning.  Had the weather been nicer, I would already be on my bike...but the hurricane remnants are hitting us now, and it's a bit too wet I think to ride.

However, after looking at maps, watching news and praying hard, I think I will be on my bike in the next few hours!  Outside the window here now it looks do-able...really light rain...but they are calling for it to slow down by later today and clear by late afternoon.

We have a reservation at a campground in Freeport...it's about 70 miles from here.  I figure if I ride half of that, then I will only have a little bit to 'make up' to reach my numbers!

Last night we were greeted at the Rice Public Library by a group of elementary school students from the Shapleigh School here in Kittery.  They had done fundraising for another person who was doing work in Malawi, but they lost touch with that person, and then saw the article in the paper that we would be speaking at the Kittery Library and that I was going to be riding to fundraise for Malawi! 
The children came to the library and we all talked about Malawi a bit and their 'Make a Difference' club and I honestly don't know who was more impressed with whom...(is that correct grammar?) They were 5 5th grade girls who one day, while hanging out in their bedroom, were kind of bored and started talking about something they could do. This is what they came up with, the 'Make a Difference' Club at school. They met every week for about an hour or so and talked about how they could make a difference and what they would do, and then they implemented their plans. They held bake sales, made jewelry to sell and held a change-a-thon (where each classroom collected change). They raised the money and then were unable to donate it to the cause they had chosen, Malawi, so donated some to other local agencies with various needs. They held onto some of it and then saw our story.


We had a fun hour and a half together and talked about the possibility of them participating in a pen pal exchange this year!  We were all very excited about this.  Betty (above left) was very outgoing and outspoken and seems to have a strong spirit of initiative within her and the ability to lead others; she was instrumental in beginning this club.

One of the moms suggested we have a picture of them donating the check...this was the result.  It looks like we are playing tug of war, but...well, it had intended to be showing extreme excitement over the gesture of the donation.  We had fun!

Today holds another significance I realized when we were eating breakfast.  5 years ago today, I was in Malawi for the first time.  We left JFK on Sept. 3, 2007 and arrived and stayed overnight in Johnnesburg, and then the next day flew to Malawi, which I think was the 5th! 

I WILL RIDE TODAY!

More later tonight with updates about the day's events....oh, and did you notice the fundraising thermometer???!!!  So close to my goal!!!  Whoo Hoo...I gotta ride with all that support behind me!

ZIKOMO!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

GOING TO KITTERY!

So, this is my bike with a bunch of stuff surrounding it!  Stephen and I have been packing for the last couple of days and here it is Tuesday morning and we are ready to go...I think!

I have been watching the weather and it is looking like riding tomorrow may be very difficult!  I may not get to ride due to the remains from the hurricane...they are calling for 80-90% chance of rain with 1-2 inches of rainfall...I did buy some rain gear, but don't know how safe it will be!  So stay tuned!

On a really, really positive note, I am so very close to my $3,000 goal I cannot believe it!  I will be putting out my final pleas for donations so that I do reach that goal.  For those who might read this who did donate, yet another Thank you to you...which does not even come close to the gratitude I feel for those donations...but I appreciate each and every one!

This afternoon Stephen and I will be speaking at the Kittery Library and have received an email from a woman whose child attends an elementary school up there.  Their school started a service club, and they are planning on meeting us at the library and they want to donate money to Karen's ride!  I was so thrilled (again, beyond words) to hear that news from them....it seemed to come from out of the blue!  But, these are the kinds of things I have experienced since beginning Educate Malawi.  We have met so many wonderful people and have encountered such generosity from people wanting to help us and Malawi.  It inspires me to keep going and doing what we are doing.

Well, time to eat some breakfast and get this day moving!  More to come...probably even later today after we speak at the library!

Zikomo!

Karen