Who Are We?

Here's the two minute drill...

Two friends; one crazy adventure: to raise money for the Search Dog Foundation, SDF (a non-profit that raises and trains search and rescue dogs). How to get attention for this cause? By biking from Maine to Key West in less than two months. Chance of success? Maybe. Crazy? Definitely. Awesome adventure? Undoubtedly.

Or if you're feeling courageous, the full lecture...

Team e2 is the brainchild of a graduating high school senior (Evan Smith) and a graduating master's student (Evan Patronik). Evan Smith and I met about 4 years ago through his older brother and have become close friends, mostly through our similar personalities and tastes of outdoor activities (such as swimming in the Atlantic during early February of last year). On a whim one night, we decided to undertake a "crazy adventure" during the summer of 2008: a bike trip logging nearly 3,000 miles from the tip of Maine to the bottom of the Florida Keys. On its own, this journey would be fulfilling enough for the both of us but we had hoped to gain something more. This led us to idea of using our trip to raise money for a more than worthy cause. We have involved ourselves in a fundraising effort with the "Search Dog Foundation" (SDF), a not-for-profit non-governmental organization based out of California. Their mission is to produce the most highly trained FEMA Advanced Certified Canine Disaster Search Teams in the country. These teams are trained to search for live victims of natural disasters or terrorist attacks. The teams are provided at no cost to fire departments and other emergency service agencies throughout the country and are essential in the post-disaster rescue effort. We are spreading the word of our charity ride to individuals we meet on the ride (which is why you may be at this website) and with companies around the country. Feel free to donate to the cause using the link provided on this page, as well as check out our pictures and blog in order to follow us on this amazing and crazy adventure!!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Day 3: 7/10 - Day of Reckoning

Woke up at 6:15 am. We were a day behind in the itinerary, so we checked out our maps and itinerary and decided it was possible to combine 2 days into 1 and catch up...we'd see how the day would progress. Morning went very well, just flying through the hills and roads, maybe 20 miles in just over an hour. Then Smith got a flat tire, then we stopped at a bike shop to get my handle bar tape replaced (the CP Bikes guys didn't do that part too well. The guy was a character with a mouth, so the stop took an hour and a half (although he did a great job and also found a part of my gearing that could have killed me had I been going fast enough, so that was good). We finally got back on the road and it was HOT. Lunch was pizza in Belfast at Alexia's where the police helped us pick the right road to take on our next leg and we met a guy from Gaithersburg, MD. We made it to Camden at 2:00 pm and stopped off at the public library to hop on the internet. Camden was beautiful, the perfect vacation town (I may actually return there one day). We decided to push on to Waldoboro which could have turned out terribly. Bsmith I were beat, the hills were out of control (one was about a mile and a half long and it's grade was unbelievable), the pavement was boiling (fresh at some points and our tires actually stuck to it). Finally, we pulled into camp at 7:15 pm exhausted, irritable, and starving. The stove wouldn't work again so Esmith sent me on a soliciting hunt. I had met a guy (Frank) on the way in that was trying to get a bat out of the game room and saw him again on my hunt. He got wrangled in to helping me out, and he said he was staying with his father-in-law. He was actually our neighbor so he offered to boil our pasta for us. We talked for awhile and got to know each other pretty well, and the conversation was good. His name was Steve and his wife was Kim and they were great to have as neighbors. While the pasta was cooking, we talked alot about the trip and our travels and found out a little bit about them as well. We ended up getting some pictures with them (check them out in the gallery), Steve gave us a bunch of cheese and peanut butter crackers, and then we hit the sack at 9 pm. It got pretty cold that night....

Highlights: incredible start to the day, great neighbors

Top Speed: 39 mph (ES)
Distance: 73.25 mi
Time: 6.19.53
Av Spd: 11.5 mph
Odometer: 119.9 mi

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