Who is Kent Johnson And Why Is He Crossing The Country By Bike

I am l6 years old, a sophomore at The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California and this summer, over a period of 10 weeks, I am biking 3600 miles across the United States from Seattle, Washington to Washington, DC. Yep --- that's 3600 miles of putting my feet to the pedals and the tires to the road! In fact, my bicycle wheels must rotate approximately 2,781,658 times to carry me across the country!! You probably think I'm crazy, especially since I've never ridden more than 50 miles in a day so far. Well, so did my Mom and Dad at first --- but not any more!
 
 

The idea all began when I was attending 5th grade at Greenwich Country Day School, in Greenwich, Connecticut. A former student delivered a speech about an incredible bike trip that she took all across the country. Her words so inispired me that I have been dreaming of making the trip ever since and now, 5 years later, I am actually going to do it! In June I will don my helmet and gloves, hop on my Raleigh R-600 road bike, clip my shoes into my Speedplay pedals and begin riding. The 10 week adventure will take me across the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains, down into Yellowstone National Park and over the Bear Tooth Mountain Pass (a 12-mile up-hill climb where even the cars look weary), across the Big-Sky state of Montana, through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and finally into Washington,DC. (I must admit, that even I sometimes think I must be a little crazy!)
 
 

I, along with about 20 other cyclists, will be joining a student-based, non-profit organization called the Overseas Development Network (ODN) in their annual fundraising event called BIKE-AID. This event raises money that is used to benefit environmental causes and service projects around the world. Along the way we will camp, stay in churches, community centers or private homes, cook many of our own meals, meet with community leaders and become acquainted with the challenges that face grassroots America. Every 5 or 6 days we will stop for a day of "rest". Well, maybe I shouldn't call it rest -- it's really a day when we become actively involved in community-service projects like painting a church, planting a communtity garden or possibly painting lines to indicate bike lanes. At the end of the ride, in Washington, DC, we will meet members of Congress to discuss grassroots issues from the heartland of America.

In order to participate in the BIKE-AID adventure, it is my responsibility to raise $3600 in pledges -- that is $1 per mile. All costs for food and shelter while crossing the country are borne by the cyclists so that means that 100% of the pledge money goes for grassroots development programs around the world. Here are a few examples of the types of projects ODN and BIKE-AID have done in the past:

Funding of more than 200 grassroots development projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa such as: purchasing 35 bicycles to provide rehabilitated Afghanistani amputees with a means of transportation; paying for solar panels in a Caribbean medical clinic thus making the clinic functional during the evening.

 Funding of more than 50 community development projects in the United States such as support of the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club in Wisconsin; sponsoring campus seminars to educate students to global environmental issues.
 

In addition to my commitment to BIKE-AID I am also raising money on a dollar-per-mile basis, for The AMERICARES FOUNDATION. AMERICARES, based in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a not-for profit charitable organization that provides emergency medical and disaster-relief aid to areas throughout the world. In recent months AMERICARES has provided the following services:

1000,000 pounds of emergency medical and humanitarian supplies to El Nino victims in Equador and Peru

65,000 pounds of batteries, starter logs, paper products, soup and blankets to victims of the recent Northeastern ice storm

76,000 pounds of supplies to the California flood victims 

free primary healthcare for the uninsured in Norwalk and Danbury, Connecticut

free summer camps for children who are chronically or terminally ill
 

For more information about BIKE-AID/ODN or THE AMERICARES FOUNDATION please visit their web sites listed below.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DONATION TO EITHER BIKE-AID AND/OR AMERICARES PLEASE CLICK HERE AND FILL OUT THE FORM/S. SEND IT, ALONG WITH YOUR CHECK/S (made out to BIKE-AID/ODN or The AmeriCares Foundation) TO:

IF YOU PREFER, YOU CAN SEND YOUR DONATIONS DIRECTLY TO THE BIKE-AID OR AMERICARES (please be sure to make the checks out to BIKE-AID/ODN or The AmeriCares Foundation and include my name on the bottom of the check so the organizations know you're making the donation in support of my bike ride):