MISSION
By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard the countless stories of recession woes. We have. Last winter, with our collective state of post-college unemployment at an impressive, um, everybody, we thought it might be time to seek out an adventure. Something to focus our energy towards other than sending resumes out into the ether (apparently BJ’s love of cookies failed to qualify him as cookie store managerial material).
We wanted something really exciting, something challenging, and something we probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to do for a long, long time. The answer came in a phone call in January. “Let’s ride our bikes across the country.”
The plan, a self-contained and self-supported camping bike tour, beginning on the misty coast of Florence, Oregon, on May 1st and ending some 3,500 plus miles later on the Eastern shores of Boston, Massachusetts, in late July. Making the trek are four close friends BJ Kinsey, Aidan Payson, Sam Woolf and Clay Mason.
THE CREW
We first met in Boulder, CO, a couple of years back as part of a larger group of good friends all making our way through college. There, we would quickly find that we shared two major things in common: a joy for life and a lust for adventure. This drive to do things a little different has left us living life a bit outside the status quo, and seeking new and exciting ways to challenge the mind, body, and spirit.
Though no member of the group would venture to call himself an avid cyclist, that has not discouraged us from setting an ambitious touring goal––it’s only a little pedaling, right?
…Maybe a lot of pedaling. And while our personal motivations are sure to carry us at least out of Oregon, we want to also ride for a larger cause. We have partnered with a not-for-profit organization out of San Francisco named KIVA in hopes of paying it forward.
WHAT IS KIVA?
KIVA is the world’s first person-to-person micro lending website, that empowers individuals such as you and me to lend money directly to entrepreneurs throughout the developing world. It is not that these entrepreneurs lack the know-how, resolve, or determination needed to change their lives and the lives around them. They lack the access to capital.
We understand that these tough economic times call for tightening budgets, but if you find any interest or excitement in what we are doing we encourage you to help us make a difference in the lives of others.
GET INVOLVED!
There are multiple ways of getting involved, options that accommodate all budgets. What makes Kiva unique is that when you or I (the lender) provide a loan to an entrepreneur and the term of the loan expires, usually within 6 to 12 months depending on the term agreement, the original amount of the loan (the principle) is returned to the lenders account. From there the lender can choose to withdraw their funds, or reissue a loan or loans and start the cycle over again, helping other individuals striving to make a difference.
This makes Kiva unconventional in the sense that this isn’t a one and done donation. You have control over the allocation of your money, and your money goes further, having the ability to reach many more individuals than traditionally possible. With a nearly 98% repayment rate, the issuing of micro loans through Kiva is truly a sustainable means of poverty alleviation.
UPDATES
We will be updating this site with the stories and pictures of all of the entrepreneurs affected by this lending network we are in the process of creating, a network which has the potential to change hundreds if not thousands of lives.
We will also of course be updating the site with stories, pictures, and video from the road. We hope to show that with a little planning, training, and a positive attitude that no dream is too big, or idea too crazy. Occasionally you wake up in the morning with ideas to do strange things, yet no matter how strange or impossible those ideas may seem, it’s usually those ideas that are the ones really worth pursuing.
