Welcome to my blog--Duff Bikes for Habitat!

My goal for the blog is to document my preparation and experiences with my bike ride of the state of Idaho--from south to north--this summer. I'll start at the ID-UT border on the 25th of June, and expect to be at the Canadian border by July 23rd. Along the way, I'll transit ten Habitat affiliates in ID. While I'm in each affiliate's area, I'll work with them to tell their story and advance their goals to build houses for low-income families. I expect to do interviews with the press, radio, and TV, and just talk with as many people as possible. I'm excited to be getting close to my start date.

I'll be asking people to support my ride by donating to either Skagit Habitat, Habitat International, or the Habitat affiliate in your local area. While money donations give an affiliate the greatest flexibility to take action, you can also help by volunteering at a construction site, or serving on a committee, or donating materials, especially if your affiliate has a ReStore. More on that in a later blog.

My bike ride of Idaho should be about 1100 miles. People have been asking me if I'm riding alone or have a support vehicle along. No, no one else is making the whole ride with me, except my wirehaired dachshund puppy, Max. You may be able to see him in the photo on the blog--I'll post more of him along the way.

I'm excited to finally be getting my new bike tomorrow from Angle Lake Cycle. I'll be riding a Bacchetta Giro 26--that's a recumbent bike and far more comfortable for this old body to ride 5o miles a day. I'll also be pulling a Burley Tail Wagon trailer with my gear in it, plus Max. If the hills get too tough, I may have to hitch him in front to pull for a while. Max will be great company as he loves to be around new people, especially kids. He will increase the "ahh" factor at each visit.

I've been training for the ride since the first of April, and will be ready for the kickoff in late June. I've been on my stationary bike while the weather in Skagit County is iffy, but I've been getting out on my mountain bike, too. I'm up to 22 miles so far, and I'll be adding to that training distance each week.

That's enough for tonight. I'll try to write each day and let you know how things are going. The affiliates in ID have been super supportive, and I'm looking forward to visiting each one. I'll publish here on the blog how you can support Skagit Habitat, your local affiliate, or HFHI--watch for that in the next couple of days. If you do donate $$ or time, please let them know you are supporting Duff Bikes for Habitat. Thanks.