Please and Thank You

To continue to promote the mission of the
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
and Paul K. Chappell's newest book,
The Art of Waging Peace,
I am on the road once again to conduct Stage II of my Solo Cross-Country Bike Trek
"Pedaling for Peace"!

TOTAL NEEDED to reach SANTA BARBARA, CA: Approximately $2610

First of all, I want to say "Thank You!" again to everyone who supported what turned out to be "Stage I" last year, and there were many, many people. I apologize that I did not have my act together well enough at the time to make sure you each received individual recognition here on-line. As my recent post explains, there has been a great learning process for me around all of this and I continue to try to make improvements along the way.

Overall, my last round of sales in Florida, during March and April, 2013, went pretty well. I'd like to put out another big "Thank You" to Mike and all of the shoppers at the Christ Church Wednesday Bazaar, in Jacksonville, FL and to everyone who has frequented the yard sales at my friend Alisa's house. As of July 2Oth, 2013 I still have a few items to list on Craig's List.

Here is a run-down on some of the money I have raised so far and how it has been spent:

1. Food and toiletries through the end of May: Approximately $625.00 $25 Covered by Back-Pack sale to Faith, c/o her father Tim. Thanks Faith and Tim! The rest covered by work completed for Barbara and Chas.
2. Two more months of phone service (May and June): $52.25 inc. tax.
3. Three months of storage (for May, June, and July): $120.00 (With a small miracle of somehow having squeezed everything into a 5x5 unit by April 28th! Yeah!)
4a. Bus Ticket to Terrell, TX from Jacksonville, FL: $109.50 + $55 for extra baggage fees = $164.50 total. Thanks to My friends, Chas and Sherri from Rockwall for picking me up from Terrell and hosting me for my time in the Dallas area.
4b. Shipping for the last bag that did not make in on the bus: $41.41. Thank You, Alisa for taking care of that.
5. Miscellaneous packing related expenses, boxes, tape: $80.00 - Thanks to Tim Lee for buying my camp stove to cover some of these expenses.
6. Some gas money for Alisa: $40.00 - Thanks to Alisa for being such an amazing host, admin assistant, yard-sale companion, and friend.
7. Clif Shot Electrolyte powder for one (1) month: $30.00 (Still need 3-4 more canisters for the rest of my trip. See link below for details.)
8. Stainless Steel Klean Kanteen: $18.00 (Bought this On-Sale from Native Sun!)
9. Business Cards, other miscellaneous printing: $20.00 - Thanks (again) to Mike Kieffer for helping me with this.
10. Two Tubes of DZ Nuts Bliss Chamois Cream: $52.99. This ended up coming out of my estate sale earnings and my friend Chas helped by making the purchase on-line. Thanks, Chas! (I will still need at least two more tubes. See below for details.)
11. 1 lb of Dulse flakes direct from Maine Coast Sea Vegetables: $25.75 - Again, this was purchased with my earnings from the estate sale and with on-line ordering assistance from Chas.
12. Free One Year Membership from the "Adventure Cycling Association" (A $40 value). Thank You, Amy for all of the correspondence to facilitate that. And Thank You, to Kim back in Santa Barbara for giving me a stable street address for them to mail the magazines to. Guess you could say I'll be doing some "leg-work" for "Adventure Cycling" during my trip as well!
13. Pre-paid Visa card sent to my friend Randy so he could ship the things I left at his house while I was visiting with him in Louisiana last summer: $55.00 Thanks Randy for taking care of my things for me!

I also want to say Thanks to Tina and Kendall for buying my Dritz "My Double" Dress Form, to Cole for buying my old Wheele Trailer, to Maureen for buying my Bike Storage Rack, to Keith Barshinger for buying some hand-made black and white fuzzy zebra striped pillows from me, especially designed to coordinate with his Rock-n-Roll basement den/living room, to Brandon for buying my night stand, to Chris for buying my Yakima Roof Rack, and Thanks to my Fellow Veterans at the Jacksonville VFW for their recent support. Also, Thanks to Sherri for putting me in touch with Barbara and Thanks to Barbara for letting me work as much as I did during the estate sale (and for giving me some Great Deals on a few items I picked up for my "future home" in Santa Barbara). And Thanks to Chas for giving me an opportunity to earn some more money by painting and helping to clean his mother-in-law's house while I was staying there.

Total: Approximately $1355.00

And last but not least (for now), my friend Ilona put together a special "Care Package" for me including a stock of Luna Bars, organic sugar to mix with my Clif Shot Electrolyte Powder, and a new bottle of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap. Thank You Very Much, Ilona.

For future reference, the thought has crossed my mind that I should limit the number of Luna bars with "icing" (like the "Peanut Butter Cookie" and "Chocolate Dipped Coconut") that I carry with me, because it will be very difficult to keep them from melting in the heat.

Consequently, I'm going to adjust the cost estimate on Luna Bars up to the higher end; i.e. $1.25 each, should it be necessary for me to buy these more often along the way, like at road-side convenience stores. If I find that is not high enough to account for the cost, I will be sure and let you know here.

So for now though here's the formula for calculating "Luna Bar Expense":

Amount: 1/day for approximately 30 days x $1.25 = $37.50/month
Total for Trip: 1/day x 120 days (four months) = $150

The following items are going to be stretched over the rest of the trip:

1. Food/Water on the road: $40-50/week, Total: $800

(Does Not include Luna Bars, Cliff Shot Electrolyte Powder, or Dulse.)

2. Miscellaneous Toiletries: $50 (Including lots of Sunscreen and Bug Spray!)

3. Occasional Hotels/Motels/Campsites: $225

4. Other Admin Costs: $150

These include money transfer fees (for instance, if I need my friend Alisa to send me a money-gram or something), or if I need her to ship something to me (or if I need to ship things back to her).

5. Equipment repair and maintenance: $125

(I had to replace my trailer wheels this last time, hoping I won't have to do that again, but that leaves something Else to go wrong!)

6. Other Miscellaneous: $150

The following items will be ongoing needs:

1.DZ Nuts Bliss Women's Chamois Cream: I went through two tubes during the first part of my journey, and then had to switch to a different brand. I probably could have and should have used more. I tried the cheaper kind and it really just Did Not Work as well for me. This is absolutely essential. Furthermore, I have been having trouble finding this particular brand in the stores, so being able to order from the company is kind of critical right now.

Amount: At Least Two Additional Tubes, $48 plus shipping.

2. Dulse: I've got a pound on the way, so I am good for now. However, I would like to get at least one more pound by the mid-point of my trip. I will update this further in the future.

Amount: (Maybe?) 1 (more?) lb, $20-25/lb including shipping. (But I am probably going to be good for the at least the first two months.)

3. Clif Shot Electrolyte Powder: I usually alternate flavors so getting the Cran Razz for May, Lemonade for June, etc. Will need another container approximately one month from the actual start of my trip and every month thereafter.

Amount: 3-4 more containers for whole trip - $90-120


* * * * * * *

Other Expenses

Storage - By squeezing everything into a 5x5 unit and getting a 1/2 off for the first three months deal, I've reduced this cost about as low as I can. I thought I had this covered until I got hit with unexpected baggage charges for my bus trip to Texas. With the estate sale work, and working for Chas, I have earned enough to cover the rent for June and July, but I have spent an extra month in Texas, meaning I may not be settled in Santa Barbara until October. So, for now, I'm thinking I'll need to raise another $150.00 for storage rent to get me through October; i.e. assuming I'll be earning more money with regular work by then.

Phone - My phone is a critical issue as it is important for my survival/safety (during the trip) and being able to be contacted by employers, etc., once I get to Santa Barbara. I know about places to get free food if I have to, so I know I will not go without food there, even if I don't have any money. And I will have my bike for transportation, and people waiting to give me shelter, as well as employment "as soon as possible". Nevertheless, having the phone will continue to be critical until I start generating employment income.

If you would like to help specifically with my phone service, then that expense will be approximately $110.00 for July through October.

So this brings my GRAND TOTAL to: Approximately $2610

Since I figure I'll be doing between 1300 and 1600 miles, that averages out to about $1.55/mile!

This Website offers a "ballpark" figure of "$2500-8600" for going across the U.S. by bicycle. Because I am Riding So Slowly, I'm needing more food along the way, but, otherwise, I'd say I'm doing pretty well "on average" (especially as this is the Second Half of the trip for me). If you apply that dollar/mile average to a maximum of about 2900 miles (because, I'm not really taking the Most Direct route), the total comes out to $4495 which sounds just about right for the amount of money I've had to raise from the beginning.

If after reading this page, you have become motivated to help me with this relatively modest venture, there are several options available:

1. You can Donate via my PayPal Account:

2. You can send Cashier's Checks or Money Orders made out to my Really Great Friend and "Administrative Assistant" in Florida, Alisa Cutcher, with "Lori Bell" in the "For" section. She has already played a crucial role in keeping me going for the first half of my trip, and I'd trust her with my life. You can Mail your Cashier's Checks or Money Orders to: Alisa Cutcher, 7721 Pepper Circle East, Jacksonville, FL 32244. She will make sure the money gets to me as necessary.

3. You can mail pre-paid Visa or Master Card credit cards to Alisa as well. I can make arrangements for her to send them to me as I have clear plans to be at a particular host's home along my route. I may also be able to work directly with you to make those arrangements. However, Alisa's address is going to be the most stable contact point throughout my trip.

4. If there is a particular item you would like to sponsor above, you may purchase it directly from the distributor and, again, use Alisa's Address for the Shipping Address. Or, if you find a good deal in your local area, you can ship directly to her yourself. Again, I would trust her with my life, so I will also trust her to forward me a case of Luna Bars or a canister of Cliff Shot Electrolyte Powder!

So if you ever wondered what it would take for a person to ride their bicycle across the U.S. this is at least One Version of that adventure for you to consider...and Support...if you are so inclined!

If you choose to sponsor a particular item and would like to receive public recognition, please let me know and I will Highlight Your Name alongside your chosen item above.

Thanks again for All of You who have been supporting my journey in so many different ways! I definitely could not be doing this without you!

Yours in Peace!

Lori - AKA: The Peaceful Blue Turtle