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Biking for Change Welcome and thanks for visiting bikeforobama.com. We are two Minneapolis residents, who are concerned with the global and American present state. As you may know, the Republican Convention is being held in St. Paul, MN on Sept 1-4. We support Barack Obama in his new and natural campaign for change, and feel strongly enough about the situation to bike to Denver, CO, where the Democratic Convention is being held. It is a symbolic effort to help raise money and awareness for green energy sources, midwest flood relief, and a new way to run America. There are two of us biking thus far. Yet we welcome all individuals who fear another republican president in these most turbulent times to join or support our journey. Come mid August we plan on biking across the midwest to Colorado to reach the Democratic Convention, which is held on August 25-28. The trip is approximately 1000 miles in length so we plan on leaving on 08.14.2008 giving us about two weeks to complete the ride. Our primary goal is to create a ‘buzz’ around the bike trip and its cause because that in itself is worth it to us. It is our hope that through our ride people will be inspired and take an active role this fall by voting. During the ride we plan on continuously updating our news feed with pictures, video and words to share our journey with our supporters and nation. We feel this journey is a peaceful expression as to what direction we think our country needs to move towards. After all action speaks louder than words. We know we can’t do this alone so please voice your support by signing our petition, donating money or supplies, and helping spread the word of our cause; to help heal the nation we all know and love.
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News Feed 9.09.2008 - RNC Now that the RNC is over I have started my little documentary. It should be done in a week or two. It was quite amazing to see the difference between the two cities, the protests and the two extremely different ways law enforcement was used. 8.26.2008 - What a Trip! Well, Ben & I were just in Denver for the first day of the DNC. We never really got a chance to upload pics and video along the way because we didn't bring a laptop, and we camped every night until we got into Colorado (besides the first night in Mankato) Below is a summary of our trip. We will be adding a short film to the site once I finish editing it. Day 1: Our trip started on Aug 14th. I biked from Minneapolis, to the site of the RNC in St. Paul. From there I biked through the southern suburbs and made it to Mankato for the night. We stayed with my friend Amy and we did a little bit of partying that night. Day 2: Our goal was to bike to Lake Benton, a little town just on the western edge of Minnesota. We biked until about 8pm, but because of our late start I ended up packing my bike up and driving the last 20 miles wil Ben to the campsite we planned to stay at. Day 3: We woke up early to get a full day of riding in. Crossed the MN-SD border and biked through Brookings into Huron for the night. We camped at a park on the James River right of HWY 14. Met some cool people at the campsite that night, Joe, Sue and Richard who were taking a break for the weekend from their road construction gig. Day 4: After biking 80+ miles a day the first three days my legs were getting a little tired. We had a 90 mile trip to Pierre. I biked only about half those miles this day and drove with Ben the rest of the way. The highway was riddled with road construction between Huron and Pierre too, so that added some difficulty for me. Day 5: After feeling bad for not riding much the day before I busted out and over 120 mile ride today. I rode from Pierre to Wall, SD where the Badlands are. It took me 10 hours with breaks to bike that distance which was shorter than I expected. It was nice though because we were able to go check out the Badlands before dark. Day 6: From the Badlands I biked an easy ride compared to yesterday into Rapid City and the Black Hills. We got into the hills at about 4pm and did some site seeing. Saw Mnt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monuments but didn't see them up close because we did not have the money to spend getting into those 'attractions.' We camped in the hills near Lake Sylvan. Day 7: Did some more biking and site seeing in the Black Hills, in Custer State Park and saw some buffalo and stuff. After spending half the day again in the Black Hills Ben and I decided to drive through Wyoming because when I got there it was in the high 90's and we were already running low on funds for gas, food, and camping. At this point we only had about $250 left and needed $150 of that to drive back to MN. Day 8: I biked in Boulder today, which is where we stayed for the next couple of days until the convention started. It was Thursday so we spent most the day being lazy and resting my legs from all the biking. Days 9 & 10: Both these days we were in Boulder hanging out with some of my friends from college. I biked around the area to make up for some of the miles I rode in the car (about 250) because I had time to spare in Boulder over the weekend while waiting fro Monday and the start of the DNC. I showed Ben around the city, showed him some sites in the Mountains and took him to Pearl Street and through CU's campus. We met some pretty cool people in town and had a good time. Day 11: We hung out in Boulder during the day, and then met up with people Ben knew in Erie for the night. They were having a little party with some neighbors and we met some cool people this night. Day 12: Biked into Denver and checked out the scene at the DNC. It was pretty interesting and was more spread out across the city than I would have imagined. We went to Invesco Field were Obama will be giving his speech on Thursday the 28th as well as checked out downtown near the Capitol. We got some good footage today of protesters, supporters and the VP nominee Joe Biden! Day 13: Finally got on a computer and added some updates to our site! Again check back for info on our short film and such. Thanks so much to everyone who helped ups out! 8.14.2008 - AND WE ARE OFF THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! WE ARE LEAVING NOW. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES! PEACE 8.12.2008 - Two Days Away! We head out in less that 48 hours! We are so excited to get on the road :) We are busy getting everything ready to go for our 2 week journey. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with us in the days to come. -Ben & Sean 8.05.2008 - Tomorrow There is a Bike for Obama Fundraiser & Voter Registration Party tomorrow that Ben and I are throwing. Everyone and anyone is invited. Send us a volunteer message for directions. 8.02.2008 - Less than 2 weeks away! Our trip is starting in less than 2 weeks! We are so excited to get it started. Thanks for all of your support! We are still about $400 short of our goal to help pay for the trip & have a donation to make when we arrive at the DNC so if you can help out please donate! 7.26.2008 - Voter Registration Party There will be a party on Weds August 6th at 6pm to encourage people to vote and support our cause. We are putting it together in collaboration with my local Obama Campaign Office. Please let us know if you are planing on coming. We cab give you directions if you email us 7.25.2008 - Donation system functional Last night we finally got our donation page up and running correctly. You can now donate online via credit card or paypal. 7.24.2008 - Site almost done! Hello supporters! Thanks for all of your kind words and support. We are finishing up our site in the next few days. There will be some new features up and running including a list of volunteer & supply needs for the trip. We will also be hosting voter registration parties in the Twin Cities as well as in cities on the way down to Colorado. We are working together with our local Obama campaign office to set up the events so check back soon for updates on when and where they will be! Thanks again for your support. Our donation function will be up and running asap for all of you who have inquired about donating to help support our ride. 7.17.2008 - Myspace Help! Is anyone interested in managing our myspace page? Since it is rainy today I started inviting people to become friends, but there are so many people on myspace we could reach out to I just do not have time as I am working on talking with possible contributers & training for the long ride ahead! Message us from the volunteer section to help. Facebook, Flickr, & Linkedin help would be appreciated too! Ben and I can not do it ourselves help us help Obama and our country :) |
"Change We Can Believe In"
"Change We Can Feel" 
The route we are taking to Denver will take us across 4 states and many cities of all sizes. If we are biking through your state or town and would like to support our efforts please visit the Volunteer section of the site. |