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!!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Day 33: Aug 13 - So close to the space shuttle and no blast offs!! WHY GOD, WHY!?!?!




Alright, I'll start this off with an aside that it's been quite some time since I wrote last and also since Esmith and I ended the trip...so a lot of this is fuzzy as I didn't take as great of notes toward the end of the trip. But I'll do my best and if I leave anyone out or forget a name, you can e-mail me a complaint. I don't foresee this though, so off we go!

The day started as most do: early, drowsy, but ready to bike. Mary took us out for breakfast out a local eating establishment (good old hometown breakfast place, you know the type). Plenty of greasy consumables were eaten, paying no heed to the calories or fat because really, our metabolisms are roaring infernos at this point. We say our goodbyes to our one-day-family and strike out on that lonely road again.

Today's destination was originally supposed to be Mims, but because we had torn asphalt the last few days, we could bump ourselves up a little bit. We ended up deciding on Titusville, a city about 62 miles just down yonder road (oh, wait, it's Route 1 AGAIN!). I was busy trying to line up our sleeping arrangements for most today's ride (if you think talking on a cell phone distracts you while driving, try it while riding a bike), so not much occurred on today's ride that I noticed...except for the amazing Pet Vet Cruiser. It's a bus that drives around, spaying and neutering every poor animal in sight. Actually it's a lot less rampant and out of control than that and serves a great purpose in lowering the animal population...but it was a little humorous seeing a bus that cruises the streets, chopping off and removing the crucial bits and pieces of male and female (respectively) pets everywhere. Amazing that the highlight of the day was a genital removing vehicle.

We were able to stop at a library and negotiate our residence for that evening through Lieutenant Rodney of the Titusville Fire Station. He assured us that they would have a place for us so our destination was secured for the day. It ended up being a pretty short day so we had time to get lost looking for the grocery store which was right down the street from the fire station for about an hour. Great dinner of Caesar salad and chicken I think. Then talking to Bobby (one of the fire fighters) about motorcycles (he had pretty cool modified one) and Olympics. Probably one of the more interesting parts of the evening, as well as one of the most disappointing, was the fact that we were literally just under 10 miles from Cape Canaveral. That's right, where they shoot off the space shuttle!! The guys said that they've seen so many by this point that they aren't even that amazing anymore (cha right!), and seeing one during the day is great, but at night they're even better. You'd swear it was daylight the amount of energy that vehicle puts out in the form of light. So that was the incredible part. Unfortunately, we were not around for any launches. That's the disappointing part. But they did have a gnarly old fire truck, the FIRST one the city ever owned, restored to its original condition. They use it in parades and events. And being the big shot, highfalutin big shots we were, they let us play in it. Well, take pictures with it, but same thing. You should have seen how bells and whistles this baby had!

After the Olympics and some mindnumbing episodes of whatnot on the TV, we hit the hay in preparation for the ensuing day of biking. Thanks for the great hospitality, Titusville FPD, namely Allan, Bobby, and Rodney.

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