So the time has come once again...

stickboy

to embark on another adventure
THIS time tho, I want to do it not just for me but for a cause. Been going thru a lot of shit lately and tonite it just hit me. Im kinda at a breaking point so I realized when I was on the road back in december for 6 days, just me and the road I felt really good. Well I sat and thought about which chairty I would like to help and the "whos your hero" thread made me think of 2 people. Mike McCready and George Martin former NY Giant who walked across Ameroca to raise money for our troops.
So I just hit up the CCFA and sent them this letter:

Hi my name is Eli and have been a big Pearl jam fan since the beggining and even a bigger Mike McCready fan who has been known to battle this disease. I have contributed before but want to contribute even more and dont have the financial means to do so. Now last yr as a test to myself and in preparation for a future challenge to raise money for this cause I rode my mountain bike from South Miami to Savannah Georgia almost 500 miles (bout 488 ro be exact). It took me about 6 days at my own pace. Well I feel like I can do even more than that and was wondering how I can put that into maybe raising some money for the CCFA. I know I have the support of other pearl jam fans and might even have some interested in joining me in this. I didn;t know who else to ask so I came to the website and figured I'd ask you guys. I would like to maybe start around September and head down south thru the Panhandle cut west and try to finish either in California or Seattle. I'm a proud fan of the band and the man himself who I have met and is one of the most amazing human beings. It pains me to see people like Mike and others who are close friends of mine (another one is Theo Fleury a former hockey player and family friend.) suffer thru this so I want them to be just as proud of me helping them fight this. Any info would be truly appreciated. I will be bringing this up to more people and see how may would be willing to get involved and not everyone has to go as far as I'm willing just as long as they help is all that matters. Even if I do this on my own, I would have no problem. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hope you guys can help me make a huge impact.
Eli

P.S. I have had the blue Got Guts wristband on for the past 3-4 yrs and have no intentions of ever taking it off as a constant reminder.


anyone who wants to get involved wether it be if they know how to get the sponsors, want to join me somwhere along the way for a few miles or people like sennin and jamainiac who are involved with this, maybe get a website like George Martin did to keep track or whateverwill be really appreciated.
Thanx guys

KosmicJelli

Dude alot of cycle enthusiast up here, your welcome to say with me for a few days... Im sure there would be others whom might like to join you... I know a girl whom is on the WI women's mountain bike team and we hold our annual Bike Race - Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, here where I live... The folks whom run this are very socially minded! They may give you some help here is their web address:

http://www.cheqfattire.com/

If you want to raise money I'm sure you can be part of the race and get good press up here! Its a great time to cycle the northwood this weekend. The weather historically is quite nice plus is all part of our fall color tour....

stickboy

KosmicJelli wrote:

Dude alot of cycle enthusiast up here, your welcome to say with me for a few days... Im sure there would be others whom might like to join you... I know a girl whom is on the WI women's mountain bike team and we hold our annual Bike Race - Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, here where I live... The folks whom run this are very socially minded! They may give you some help here is their web address:

http://www.cheqfattire.com/

If you want to raise money I'm sure you can be part of the race and get good press up here! Its a great time to cycle the northwood this weekend. The weather historically is quite nice plus is all part of our fall color tour....

wow, very cool! thanx! Well, obviously not really looking for press but sure if it raises awareness, why not. Mostly want to feel good about making an impact, seeing new places, staying fit, etc and most of all raise some money for the CCFA.
Thing is WI is north and if I go the southern route it'll be tought to get up that way..maybe on the return? Im gonna start doing my homework and research and plan it out in the next few days/weeks.

JordyWordy

fair play, im not in the US or able to give any advice on the biking front, but i think its very cool. also great if it helps you get out of a rut.
good luck with the research!

kcherub

Good for you, Eli!!!!!!!!!!

stickboy

JordyWordy wrote:

fair play, im not in the US or able to give any advice on the biking front, but i think its very cool. also great if it helps you get out of a rut.
good luck with the research!

dude you serious?? you moved to fucking IRELAND???
damn! we got some catching up to do...
good for you tho bro

JordyWordy

stickboy wrote:

dude you serious?? you moved to fucking IRELAND???
damn! we got some catching up to do...
good for you tho bro

eh, ....i think you're confusing me with someone else ....ive always lived in Ireland! (sorry).....

whoever it is you're thinking of probably hasnt moved to Ireland!

stickboy

JordyWordy wrote:

eh, ....i think you're confusing me with someone else ....ive always lived in Ireland! (sorry).....

whoever it is you're thinking of probably hasnt moved to Ireland!

shit! lol
my bad..thought you were pjtapers bro ..i forgot his name on here lol
oh well
thanx tho

stickboy

well I just got this email from them:

Thank you for contacting the Information Resource Center (IRC) at the
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Our Specialists have received your
request and are working to respond with the most up to date information.
For immediate inquiries please contact our toll free number
888.MY.GUT.PAIN.



Thanks again.



Information Resource Center



so, let's see what happens

chiquimonkey

wow what a wonderful thing to do! i hope it works out that you can do this eli, keep us all updated!

sennin

WOW E!

That would be a fucking amazing ride!

Hey....I JUST got a new bike too!

stickboy

sennin wrote:

WOW E!

That would be a fucking amazing ride!

Hey....I JUST got a new bike too!

well no word yet from them so I'll wait a bit longer and if not then Im just gonna pack up and do it

LONGRD

That's awesome and sweet for a good cause, man.

Plus, cyclists and bikers are good people in my book! Best of luck! We need more 2-wheel riders around.

stickboy

WHOA! I was bout to go to sleep and checked my mail and BOOM!:
:D:D

Hi Eli,



We could set up a webpage for you, through which supporters could donate directly to CCFA. Please let me know if this would be something you’d be interested in.



Thanks,

Oona



Oona Farrell

Donor Services Associate

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America

386 Park Avenue South, 17th Floor

New York, NY 10016

T. (646) 943-7473

F. (212) 779-4098

E. ofarrell@ccfa.org




ok now I'm AMPED!

LONGRD

Awesome mate! Give us update stories on your trip.
I remember reading about your Into The Wild thread.

stickboy

LongRd. wrote:

Awesome mate! Give us update stories on your trip.
I remember reading about your Into The Wild thread.

DEF! 1st thing when I get up is get this ball rolling
not to mention I was just reading this article on nhl.com and got me motivated too :

http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379814

Despite being born with Cerebral Palsy, Ducks staffer Bonner Paddock will attempt a climb to the summit of Mt. KilimanjaroAug 18, 2008, 6:22 PM EDT
Paddock climbed to the top of Mt. Whitney in July.

At the beginning of September, Ducks Senior Manager of Corporate Partnerships Bonner Paddock will attempt a monumental feat: climbing to the 20,000-foot summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the largest free-standing mountain in the world.

The challenge is demanding for any human, notably for Paddock, who has battled with cerebral palsy his entire life. During birth, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and as a result he suffered damage to the portion of his brain that controls his equilibrium.

Climb Without Limits website
Video of Paddock's climb up Mt. Whitney
Paddock, who climbed Mt. Whitney last month and ran a marathon in January of last year, has never been one to let his disability hold him back. “I know it may sound outright crazy, but I believe in trying to make a difference and showing what one person can accomplish,” he says. “Even if, like me, they weren’t given all the functions a normal person is born with.”

Paddock says his climb of Kilimanjaro was inspired by charitable efforts by Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli and is a fundraising endeavor of its own. His is currently raising money for the expedition through his website at http://kili.ucp-oc.org. All of the money raised will go directly to the UCP-OC Early Care and Education Center, where kids with different disabilities (Cerebral Palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, spinal bifida, etc.) will go to receive proper medical care, therapy and childcare. The center will debut the first truly inclusive childcare/preschool in Orange County, a comprehensive therapy center, after-school care, and will provide art and recreation opportunities for children with disabilities.

As of Aug. 18, Paddock has raised $166,000 of the $250,000 goal. Last year he was honored with the Life Without Limits Award from United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County. The award recognizes an individual who “embodies and champions UCP-OC's vision of Life without Limits in a way that dramatically makes a difference in the lives of children in our community.”


“I believe in trying to make a difference and showing what one person can accomplish,” says Paddock (right). “Even if, like me, they weren’t given ‘all the functions a normal person is born with.’”
The expedition – which has been named Climb Without Limits – includes 10 climbers who are close friends of Paddock’s, all of which will pay their own way to Africa. The expedition team’s gear, head to toe, has been donated by Oakley. The trip and climb will be the subject of an upcoming documentary.

Statistically, of those who attempt to make the entire climb, only 40 percent reach the summit.

“I do this for two reasons,” Paddock says. “Showing kids with disabilities that you can accomplish more in life by continuing to push yourself and to climb on behalf of all the kids that won't ever be able to do ‘normal’ things.”

TrixieCat

That is great news!
Best of luck with it.

stickboy

TrixieCat wrote:

That is great news!
Best of luck with it.

thanx beb...just emailed them back so waiting to see whats up now. I really have no idea on how to go about starting a webpage for this kinda thing but apparently they look lke theyre gonna take care of it as well as the whole sponsor thing

I feel really good about this and cant wait to just be....nomadic again for a while and just see shit. Is gonna hit me soon as it starts and if and when it does raise money for this cause.
SO PEOPLE if you see me in your neighborhodds make sure you wave and say hello!

stickboy

hartamh wrote:

I will help in anyway I can .. That's an awesome thing to do .. Keep me posted

hell yea! talking about it with the fams right now and they (sis and bro in law) are into the Autism cause and were trying to see if they maybe wanna get involved kinda like a joint effort like the hockey guy for the ducks did. http://kili.ucp-oc.org/

schmoff

good luck bro, sounds like a wonderful thing your gonna do

The Champ

What happened to your goal of getting a job? Eeeh, that's for suckers anyway ..good luck..

stickboy

The Champ wrote:

What happened to your goal of getting a job? Eeeh, that's for suckers anyway ..good luck..

yea fuck a job, lol
I was about to call it an early retirement and go hang with the parents in Greece for a few yrs. Aside from the job shit, just too much was going on and with the passing of my bro, I just started thinking of other things so...here I am. I mean I got a legit lil hustle going on that provides me with some funds and worse comes to worse I'll pick up a few days with the bro in law demo'ing a house so its all good
never was really about the money with me

shmoff thanx man...

sennin

What's your plan? What kind of equipment you bringing? Micky D's? Hotels? Campgrounds?

Touchofgray16

Sticky ! I'm impressed. I'll be watching for the website and contributing. Not only are you embarking on a vision quest, but helping others along the way. Good for you.

stickboy

sennin wrote:

What's your plan? What kind of equipment you bringing? Micky D's? Hotels? Campgrounds?

just basics bro
sleeping bag, very lil clothes (lite-like wifebeaters and shorts and just do laundry every few days)
well the 1st time I lived on mickey D's dollar menu every day which was economical. NOW my sis got me a lil bit bigger than palm size pots and pans thing that compacts into each other so if need be at a campsite I can cook up some rice, beans, chicken..u know..putting my chef skills to use
no hotels, no car and wasting gas and the plan?
well Im gonna start mapping out routes and stuff like that real soon..route 66 sounds kinda cool

sennin

stickboy wrote:

just basics bro
sleeping bag, very lil clothes (lite-like wifebeaters and shorts and just do laundry every few days)
well the 1st time I lived on mickey D's dollar menu every day which was economical. NOW my sis got me a lil bit bigger than palm size pots and pans thing that compacts into each other so if need be at a campsite I can cook up some rice, beans, chicken..u know..putting my chef skills to use
no hotels, no car and wasting gas and the plan?
well Im gonna start mapping out routes and stuff like that real soon..route 66 sounds kinda cool

Backpack or saddle bags? Sleep where you can? You should get Best Western to sponsor you!

stickboy

Touchofgray16 wrote:

Sticky ! I'm impressed. I'll be watching for the website and contributing. Not only are you embarking on a vision quest, but helping others along the way. Good for you.

thanx! Its what its about..like the other nite saw one of my buddies in Penn station on the way home and he works down there, so he hands me like 5 croissants for my subway ride home on the house. Kept one, turned around and started handing the rest out to the homeless people down there..fuck it
I have food..they dont

stickboy

They called me last night and left a message! I gotta call back today and get this shit started...this is it!
Wow...

stickboy

update on my upcoming trip. They called me back and said theyre working on my webpage and have to call them back and finalize some info and details. I gotta start planning out my routes and agenda and all that. Think Im gonna be going thru Philly, Baltimore, Wash, etc for starters and maybe see if I can also squeeze in some last minute baseball games in diff. stadiums as well. Def wanna make this trip memorable every which way possible. Thinking about notifying the teams as well that I'll be coming thru maybe they would want to donate to the CCFA as well

oh yea also gotta set a goal of how much I think I can raise. Its awesome to hear how excited they are. And I think once I reach west coast I might take a break and do it all over again this time for Autism since my sis and hubby are involved with that.

sennin

Any updates?

stickboy

sennin wrote:

Any updates?

still waiting...I called today and theyre supposed to get back to me tomorrow with an update on my webpage. I'm itching to hit the road already!