Two Wheel Tango

Here are some pics of David Grant and I in front of Two Wheel Tango bike shop in Ann Arbor this past weekend (sporting our Bike and Build t-shirts). It was a fun day as we had just attended David's graduation ceremony from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). We also met a rider from Bike and Build's Providence to Seattle 2006 ride (small world), who works at the bike shop.

Thanks Alla, Darin and Gabrielle

Thanks to Alla, Darin and Gabrielle (but not scratchy and annabelle) for their generous donation and offer to let me stay at their place for the week that I am still in Columbus without a place to stay. I believe the converstation went like this:

Alla: Where are you staying that last week?

Scott: Not sure. I figure I'll worry about it next week.

Alla: Let me see if Darin minds if you stay here.

Scott: I appreciate it. I am hoping not to inconvenience you. Maybe I should just plan on going out to the bar every night and just finding someone to go home with each night.

More family you can count on

I would like to thank my mom and brother for coming down to Columbus to help me move all of my stuff to storage (well, most of it. The rest is still waiting to be packed and moved before the end of the month). They drove down with my truck and trailer from Michigan, moved everything and then drove back up late at night the same day. I think Brian had a little too much fun driving the truck, as he drove over the curb and lawn to turn around. I am sure my neighbors didn't mind. We did get a little wet as mother nature was not fully cooperating, but it did stop raining once we were done move everything. I will be preparing for the trip, spending the next week and a half sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag.

Here is a picture of my truck, sporting the fashionable yet functional shelving unit that Brian and I constructed to haul flowers for landscaping. Its building skills like this that I hope to utilize on the trip.

Family you can count on

Saturday night we attended the 1st night's sedar at my cousin Susan's house, which was fun family bonding time. I even was able to get my younger cousin Josh (age 4) a little riled up. Since his twin sister Hannah is not very physical, it is up to the Shapiro Bros. to toughen him up. Don't worry Randi, we won't leave any permanent injuries.

It was Saturday night where I was able to once again experience the generosity of my family. I would like to thank Susan for dinner and her donation, Elissa for giving me a 2nd check (after the post office returned half of her initial check after it was torn in 2 in the mail sorting machine), and Robert and Linda, who insisted that I stop by their house after dinner to ensure that I got the donation. Its times like this that you are able to see the generosity in others and who you can truely depend on.

Thank you Keyana

A big thank you to Keyana Milton for her generous donation. I had the pleasure of helping out Keyana with her landscaping and also offering her some suggestions (because I don't always keep my opinions to myself). Perhaps most impressive was while I was working, Keyana got the urge to landscape as well and started weeding (To Keyana's mother: It's true. I witnessed it with my own eyes and she made sure to get the roots). Now the challenge to Keyana is to keep it up all summer. I'll stop in after the trip and I hope to not see any weeds.

Riding to work on my bicycle...

So today the weather in Columbus was amazing and it only made sense to ride to work instead of drive. I thru in a change of clothes in my back-pack, and since my white back-pack would not be highly visible to drivers, I put a bright yellow reflective vest over top (safety first). The 12 mile ride was not bad at all and I made the trip in about 45 minutes. As Paul would tell me later - I was wondering who the hell would be going to LimitedBrands on a bike - It was me! I did get some looks walking into the building with my spandex bike shorts and bike. Oh well, some people just don't know fashion (even if I do work for a fashion company). I think I am going to swing by the bike store and get some non-spandex bike shorts. I didn't feel like riding back home after work, but I had no other option to get home and I was not going to spend the night. After 2 minutes on the bike my energy came back and the ride was a breeze. I think I should do it more often.

26 miles with Van Shuff and crew

Today as I exited work, getting ready to head to spinning class, Van Shuff yelled out to me that he and some buddies were going riding today and that I should join them. It was a tough decision - riding outdoors with the awesome weather or spinning at the gym with the awesome sights. In the end, it made sense to get some time on the bike out on the road. We finished with Red Bank, which is a fairly good climb. Last year, I did this climb on my 2nd group ride and barely made it to the top. Today was much easier and I even passed a couple of riders. Of course the hill still pales in comparison to what we will be seeing in North Carolina and Colorado. Thinking of even riding my bike in to work tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll bring extra deodorant.

Here is a link to a website that summarizes our ride (Not sure how we ended with a net 60 ft elevation decrease as we started and finished at the same location):

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5417454#

Here is a funny cartoon that I think you'll enjoy, and is hopefully not me on this trip: I plan on using a gallon of sun screen. Even if I return as pale as when I start, it beats being as red as a lobster.

Thanks Glicks

Thanks to the Glick family for their donation. Several years ago, my brother Eric had to do a physics project with his partner, Molly. After hours of analyzing the best way to build the project, I knew that they were going to start dating - the chemistry was there. Of course, they did not know the size of the doorway in the basement, as they build their project too big. Since Eric had asked me to deliver the project to school, I solved the problem fairly easily: I just took a circular saw and cut off the unnecessary parts. Several years later they are still dating. No word on where the physics project is.

I'm smiling because you're my brother. I'm laughing because there is nothing you can do about it!

From Left: Brian Shapiro, David Grant, Scott Shapiro

I would like to thank Brian Leroy Shapiro IV, also known as Crew Chief for his generous donation. Brian has always been known for his warm heart and compassion...just like me! We may have fought occasionally in the past (or every second if you ask my mom), but we get along well. I tell him what to do and he listens. Last summer, Brian, David (who is also going on the bike trip) and I traveled to Israel together. It was not as bad as you would expect. We were pretty well behaved, and many on the trip could not figure out from the 3 of us who were brothers (I refer to David as the 4th Shapiro Brother, since he is basically my brother). Although Brian was not able to get the time off to go on the bike trip, he will be with us in spirit. I am sure that he will also be busy with all of the landscaping this year, as I will not be there to help out. Brian has also helped David with his fundraising for the bike trip, because that is the type of guy he is.

Bike Maintenance 101

Today I went over to Roll, a local bike shop to learn some basic bike maintenance. Nothing too fancy, just how to change a flat tire adjust the cables for the gears and brakes and chain maintenace. While I hope to never have to use this knowldege, I probably will have to a couple of times throughtout the trip. Now I just need to sign up for a first-aid class.

I knew today was going to be a bad day...

When I woke up at 6am from hunger pains. This after eating a half pound of pasta the night before and a milk shake. On the bright side (if you can call it that), since I was up earlier, I got into work earlier and was able to get more accomplished. Then I get a call from David Grant, who is also doing the bike trip. See conversation below:

David: You'll never believe what I did.
Scott: You totaled your truck.
David: Worse.
Scott: You got arrested again.
David: Worse.
Scott: No Idea.
David: I broke my foot and the cast comes off the first day we start biking.

I think I know who will be spending some quality time in the chase van the first couple of weeks. He will also be able to help out with all of the logistics.

Thanks Linda

I would like to thank Linda Benner for her donation tonight. I met Linda while coaching Breast Cancer Survivors and she is truly an athlete, learning to row and competing in several regattas.

Some random notes:

Got a call from my brother Eric notifying me of an article of interest in Michigan State's daily paper. Check out the link to the article profiling 2 students participating on the Southern trip:

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2008/04/wheels_of_change

Got in a good workout today at the spinning class. Also had a good time talking with Jess Medors (Providence to San Francisco trip) and trading barbs with Pam. Luckily we both have a good sense of humor and are more than a little sarcastic. Remember, sarcasm: it beats killing people.

Hopefully we will continue to have good weather in Columbus (doubtful) and get a couple more days of sunshine. This will allow me to finish the landscaping job for the Prices.

30. That is the number of days until May 9th and I begin my 3 month sabbatical. (42 days until the biking begins). Hopefully I will start cross-training at work so that it will allow for a smooth transition although no one can truly fill my shoes.

32 Miles with Columbus Outdoor Pursuits

Today I was able to finally get out on my bike and ride (which I figure I should since the bike trip starts in 43 days). I left work right at 5pm to take advantage of the good weather (chance of snow on Sunday) and picked up my bike from the bike shop and headed over to ride with Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. The first couple of miles were a little rough in that I had to get comfortable being on a bike again. After that, it was like riding a bike. I was able to keep up without any issues (spinning classes pay off) but need to work on sharpening my bike handling skills: riding in a pace line, balancing, signaling, looking for cars, keeping speed on turns. Hopefully I can get some rides in next week. I hope all of the riders are getting in group rides as the dynamics are different from riding alone.

The Houhanisans

Thank you Linda and Frank for your generous donation. My parents have known the Houhanisans since before I was born, when my mom taught at AGBU (and where she learned to cook some awesome cherog (Armenian bread)). Frank has hooked us up with several Oldsmobiles, and its a shame that the line has been discontinued. Linda is quite an athlete herself, have completed several marathons. Linda, any interest in biking across the country???

Leader Retreat

I spent the past weekend at the Bike and Build leader retreat at the Banderman's house in NJ (shout out to Ken and Judy for their hospitality and wonderful cooking). I got to meet my fellow leaders (Angela, Ben, Dan) for the first time face to face. I knew before that we had an awesome leadership team, and this weekend confirmed that. A ton of information was thrown at us and hopefully I absorbed most of it. One of the main points, which applies in many instances is the more preparation you can do before-hand, the better. We'll find out over the next couple months :-) As a bonus to the weekend, I also got to see Kaley Bell (P2SF - 2007) who is the one who got me into Bike and Build.

Here is a picture of all of the 2008 Bike and Build Trip leaders. I am proudly wearing my Wisconsin Cow Tipping t-shirt (courtesy of Mindy)

Oh Mr. Belvedere

Thank you to Joe, Jen, Anthony, Grace, Maria, Katherine, Dominik and Rosey Belvedere. I first met Joe when he hired me out of college to work for him at Goodyear Tires. 2 years later, he hired me to work for him at LimitedBrands (evidently he did not learn from the first adventure :-). Joe is a great boss to work for and always willing to help others. He has a wonderful family and they are always welcoming.

I want to be like Mike!

A big thank you to Mike Holderbaum for the very generous donation. Mike is a consultant for Henri Bendel and I give him a lot of credit for putting up w/ Jen Waller. Just kidding, I like to give Jen a hard time. Mike is always ready for a good quip and I like his sense of humor.