Holy Lack-of-blogging, Batman!

Folks, I have to start off with an apology for dropping the blogging-ball. Life has been a whirl-wind for the past 2 months and blogging took a backseat. Let me fill you in.

In April I began taking a spring course in preparation for my Education After-degree I'll be beginning in the fall. Although life was pretty busy already with working at IMCF (Indian Metis Christian Fellowship) full-time and training for the tour, I - in all of my wisdom - decided one more thing couldn't be that difficult. Well, shows how smart I am. This class has been really interesting and has taught me a lot, but it has required a lot of my attention. As a result, biking and blogging took a bit of a backseat to work and school. To free up my time to finish this class and get ready for the trip, I took this last week off of work. Although I'll be sad to leave everyone, the extra time is very necessary and welcomed. However, my thoughtful co-workers and friends at IMCF threw me a "see you later", or as some put it "get outa-here already" party complete with pizza, cheese cake, and a gift. It was wonderful!

My wonderful, hand-crafted "see you later" gift from my
co-workers at IMCF. 

Another wonderful thing is fundraising! Our steak Night dinner at Bushwakker Brewpub on the 4th of June was a huge success, raising over $2000.00! A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support the event, helped sell tickets, or donated silent auction items. We also held a few more bottle drives to help bring in some extra money for the purchase of snazzy-looking gear.

All in the Family: Helping to sort bottles collected
from the various bottle drives we held around our
 town over the last 2 months. 

 

Not only have we been able to reach the goal of $10,000.00, but we have exceeded it! Also, individual donations directly to me have helped to pay for my flights, some gear, and a bit of spare change for when I'm on the road. I can't believe how quickly the money came in, but I'm so thankful that it did. To everyone who donated, HUGE thanks! Especially for that last $20.00 to bring the online goal to exactly $10,000 :)

BUT the time has come. 1 week from today I will be dipping my tires into the Pacific Ocean! The time passed by so quickly and I can't believe that in 5 days I'll be on a flight to L.A.! This last week of getting ready will be busy - finishing up my class, packing, buying, and training will be hectic, so hopefully I don't forget to pack something important, or leave my passport at home. Prayers as this week continues on are welcomed and appreciated. As for now, i should get back to my homework :) I'll do my best to blog each week with the promise of some fun details, photos and maybe a video or two! Stay tuned!!