Will Bike For Money

Here's the deal: I'm going to DC for to stay with my Pink Friends the last week of May.   My train ticket cost a little over $250 (not counting carbon offsets!) and they ask for a 150-300 dollar donation to offset the DC house costs (plus 10-20 bucks for food).  I am a mere adjunct professor living beyond his means, so I'm once again asking the community for some help.

I do this stuff--the blogging, podcasting and pinking--because I feel compelled to.  Yet I hope some of it has value to people, and if you feel like you can throw some coin my way to defray the costs I voluntarily incur to do my thing I'd really appreciate it.  To sweeten the pot a little this time around I'd like to make the effort a Bikeathon of sorts.  I'll need to be in good shape to keep up with Des, Liz, et al, so it's good for my health along with generating a little revenue while you get to watch my progress on the road.

It is 560 miles from Fletcher, VT, to Washington, DC.  There's no way I could possibly bike that much this early in the season, but I've got a goal of 280 miles before I leave on May 23.  I think that's totally doable because I have just over 85 miles under my belt already and maybe 8 riding opportunities in the intervening time (E found me a bike rental place and some trails in PDX for when I'm there next week)--I just need to average 25 miles a ride and I did a 30-miler today with no problems.

What I'd like to see from people is public pledges (or if you prefer, private ones e-mailed to bikeathon@pritsky.net) in that per-mile vein.  You know, pledge a penny a mile I ride before I leave.  Or a dime.  Or a dollar.  Or just pledge a flat amount.  Or whatever.

Assume I'll hit 280 miles, but I'm hopeful I can go over that.  Then either send me the money now via PayPal or other means (happy to provide a snail mail addy), or wait until I actually hit the goal--I'll also do another 280 mile pledge drive afterward to make up the whole distance to DC.

Can you help?

ntodd