Happy Carrot

You know the old psychology idiom about the carrot and the stick?

It's a device I use all the time - not so much the stick, but the carrot, definitely. The idea is to promise yourself a reward for completing a drudgerous task. Ride 20 miles, get a pastry from the local bakery. Finish a writing project, go to a movie downtown. Like a carrot dangling in front of a stubborn mule, a simple pleasure promised to my five-year-old self can usually convince the 26-year-old self to get a move on it.

When I'm working in the garden, the carrot is quite literally a carrot: the gritty, sweet prize plucked from the ground and munched with satisfaction as I head in for the day. So when searching for an image to personify the Food Cycle Bicycle Tour fundraising campaign, the carrot's conveniently cylindrical shape was a clear choice. I snatched this one off of Google Images, so I can't claim credit, but he sure is cute, isn't he?

The carrot started off at around $3,000 full, and around last week, he hit his goal - $5,000! Now, just in time for the imminent launch of our bicycle tour, we're past that goal. So we gave the carrot his carrot and retired him from the sidebar.

Thank you to everyone who helped us along this path and please reward yourself for a job well done. If you didn't plant any winter storage carrots this year, start seed shopping now and make sure you have some ready to plant in spring. Or check out your local farmer's market for some fresh, crunchy goodness.

Putting the Fun in Fundraising, and other updates

Just a quick update on our finances: We're almost there!

A breakdown on the Food Cycles financial plan:
We need $5,000 to do this trip in five months.
That gives us each $100 per week, or $14 a day, for meals, lodging and any supplies we need. The remainder goes to our return train tickets.

Thanks to contributions from many individuals and several businesses, plus our own savings, we're nearly there! We've raised $3,500, which leaves $1,500 to raise in the next month, as you can see by Tuula's fantastic carrot-omometer.

Finances aside, are we ready to do it? Getting there. We're hitting the gym or the bike saddle daily to train. Cynthia (Tuula's bike) is being worked on as we speak to get her road-ready, with new handlebars, rear cassette, brake cables, and lots of new grease. We've hauled carload after carload of stuff to our favorite thrift shops. Lightening the load feels good; eventually, we'll be down to just the 40 pounds of gear and food we'll carry apiece on our bike racks (the rest is going into storage).

Gear-wise, it's a little shakier. We still need one sleeping bag, good seats for our bikes, and cycling shoes. More wool leggings, shirts, hats, etc. wouldn't hurt, either. We're bolstered by Ortlieb's generosity, though, and are confident that between the rest of the companies we've asked for donations, it will all come eventually. Plus, we're generating more and more of a buzz in our community, with upcoming coverage in the Eugene Weekly and Newport News-Times.

Want to help? You can donate using the handy Paypal Donate button on the right side of this page. All of the money goes to us (minus Paypal's 3% fee). Give $10, and we'll send you a handmade postcard from the road! $50 gets you our artistic route map when it's all over. Business sponsors get their logo on this page. (Since we set up this site in August, we've had over 2500 views!)

Meanwhile, the rains have started here in Oregon, so it's officially mushroom season! Good eats may be waiting under every fallen leaf. Keep your eyes open!