So you all know by now I'm biking 3,700 miles form San Diego to Washington D.C., but there is way more that I'm doing than pretending to be a jock and logging miles on my bike day in and day out. Some people not interested or passionate about individual, domestic, and international health might not enjoy this post but for those of you who are interested, this post shares my passion and work to improve global health care. I might have gotten in a little over my head but I am very excited to be a part of the 8th annual Ride for World Health, especially since this is the 1st year they will be including Oklahoma in the route. Myself and one other fellow Oklahoman are participating in the entire ride this year and as proud citizens of this amazing state we have taken it upon ourselves to ensure the best part of the ride is in our home state. This includes mapping out a route, finding activities and places to host us at then end of each day, and planning 2 big event days in Norman and Tulsa. This is on top of the bike training, fundraising for 2 amazing international health organizations, 20+ hours of Global Health modules from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), writing a 10 page research paper, and creating lectures to use while on the ride.
Planning our time in Oklahoma has been my favorite part of this experience so far. We started by creating a route that I encourage anyone to join us on anywhere across the nation. We are still accepting portion riders to ride with us for any extent. I've also been working on host sites consisting of YMCA's, churches, personal houses, camp sites, etc to provide us with warm showers, food, and places to rest at the end of each day. That's not all, after riding every day I'm booking places were we are stopping in to help with after school programs as well as meeting with youth groups, college students, bike shops, and professionals to share our vision and goals for international and domestic health care. Finally, our 2 BIG EVENT DAYS in Norman on April 10th and Tulsa on April 13th has taken a lot of planning but I know it will pay off. The support we have and will receive from these 2 communities will place Oklahoma as the best state on the route and become a staple in the route for years to come. These days' main event will be a community bike ride that I hope any of you can join in on to show your support. I've been extremely busy creating routes, finding local, corporate sponsors, and places to host the pre and post ride festivities. More details on these events in the next month as we finalize the details.
My work doesn't stop there. Most of the riders are in medical school and in order to receive credit we have quite a list of activities to complete. Currently I spend an hour or more a day completing certificate programs discussing global health systems and how we as a nation are helping spread quality health care throughout the world. I promise you, you should be proud of the work and look into supporting organizations that are promoting and taking action in this regard. I'm also narrowing done my list for my research paper and presentations for the ride. I'm looking into practical applications that we can do everyday that many people don't thing about. I'm wanting to focus on all the benefits that can be received through a few simple adjustments and especially the research behind it that companies might hide because most of the changes are inexpensive, easy, and eliminates all the "Fad" money making diets. More to come on this as I finish my work over the next 2 months.
Finally, the individual fundraising is a critical part to making this ride a success. We are raising money for 2 organizations I referred to earlier as game changers in the international health world, Empower and Advance and Village Health Network. Individually we each have a goal to raise $2,700 and combine our individual and corporate sponsors to total $150,000, the highest amount set in the past 8 years. Now if you have read this entire post I know you must really like me or the more likely alternative, you really care about the cause of this ride as much as I do. I know this is a dry post, but I wanted to show you what all I am putting into this and that it isn't just a fun-filled, easy going, mark it off the bucket list type of adventure. I am extremely passionate about health and even more so passionate about sharing what I know with others. (Feel free to ask me questions anytime and I will tell you what I know or research it to find out.)With all that said, I am in need of help, as I am still lacking a good portion of my individual goal with just over 1 month left. Please consider donating not only to myself but to these world health changing organizations by clicking here or contacting myself. We all would be beyond grateful for your partnership. Finally, if anything else in this blog interested you, you have any other resources that could benefit the ride, or want to help in anyway setting up host spots, helping with the event days, becoming a portion rider, or wanting us to visit your local business or group along the route please contact me! Thank you for reading and I promise there will be more interesting blogs you can apply to your life coming soon.
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