How to Prevent Kettlebell Calluses

The 2016 riders are training!  We have a great group of 10 riders — 8 going all the way through to Washington.   You’ll get to know them as their roll out on our blog.

Click through to r check Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for #paiplonbikes.  Get a sense of the bike trip, PA IPL’s work, and in the 2015 pre-sendoff remarks.

 to learn more or get involved in 2016.  Live near the route and want to join in for part of one leg, or help organize (or attend) an event with the riders?  !   Want to create a more accessible local ride to learn about climate solutions (weekends possible) or head to the district office of one of your state or federal legislators? !

• 2016 
• see the of Religion and Ethics Newsweekly featuring the 2013 riders.
• learn more about
• connect on  and Instagram—rider posts are tagged with #paiplonbikes
• After April 29, you’ll be able to follow the riders’ blog posts (RIGHT NOW  you can browse past years’ posts , , , and if you go back to our old blog click…the first trip in )
• Scroll down below our sponsors to find out how to help out and connect.

2016 SILVER sponsors:

   

2016 BRONZE sponsor: 

How could you participate?

• in honor of the pedal-ers — help them reach their $10,000 fundraising goal!
• be an engaged host for a meal, a meeting, a talk, a sing-a-long, or an overnight en route.
• be a media maven: reach out to your local media with a story or a press release.  En route or not, connect YOUR local events to the bike to DC, or write a Letter to the Editor in support of the cyclists’ visit to your congressman on May 6.
• visit (and THANK) the trip .
• ride along for a portion of the route. (Check out Google Maps Bike Directions to plan your in-and-out.)
• in State College
• call the DC offices of your and Senator Toomey (202.224.4254) and Senator Casey (202.224.6324) to let them know that you support the PA IPL bicycle riders who are coming to speak to their staff on May 4, and you’re looking forward to hearing about the conversation.  These calls make an ENORMOUS difference to the level of engagement of the Capitol Hill staff.  Feel free to use the answering machines after hours if that works better for you.
• collect postcards and messages of support in your congregation, and get them to us at 243 S.Allen St. #337 State College, PA 16801 BEFORE APRIL 29 to deliver during the meetings.
•  JOIN IN SPIRIT by planning a get-out-the-bike event at your congregation or community during this weekend: (and be sure to share it with us, so we can share it at paip.org — before and/or after with photos and stories)  possibilities include:  a blessing of the bicycles a how-to workshop on spring cleaning and basic bike maintenance and repair install or dedicate a bike rack (You have a bike rack already?  Does it need a coat of paint, a shelter, or more slots? How about other climate-stewardship options: a bus bench or shelter, or marked priority parking spots for every-seat-taken carpool folks?) a community ride before, during, or after the PA-to-DC ride.  There are so many possibilities for this: ride, a sustainable features “scavenger hunt” or solar tour, a multi-point, multi-congregation 5K pleasure ride to Creation care picnic, a “they speak for me” visit to lawmakers’ district offices—call 814.876.2597 to brainstorm with us and connect with existing resources. May is   Bike toWork day is May 20.  Schedule Bike to Worship day! Planning guides available .

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Want to hear more about these trips?  We will work to get riders to your congregation (like arranged by cyclists Dorothy Blair) or gathering of interested people.   Get a glimpse of the riders from the 2013 trip on this nationally-televised segment from April 19, 2013. Most of the folks climbing the stairs and walking through the halls at the beginning are PA IPL cyclists.  Some of them are introduced later in the segment — on their bikes.  [NOTE: the video works best on the Chrome browser]

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2016 trip

Friday, April 29, 4 p.m., State College (State College Presbyterian Church) Join us with or without your bike for a blessing of the riders promptly at 4:00, ride-off by 4:20.  There will be singing, and maybe even cupcakes. Community Riders are welcome to join in for the first mile, or all 21 miles to:

6:30 p.m. Plowshare Produce in McAlevy’s Fort. Pot luck dinner () Our favorite farmers, Bethany and Micah Spicher-Schonberg, welcome one and all to a pot luck dinner – hopefully outside on the lawn. is one of several CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in the State College Area. Buying locally sourced food can be a great way to cut down on carbon emissions, and Micah and Bethany run an exemplary outfit. Cyclists will stay nearby overnight, leaving the next morning for:

Saturday, April 30, Huntingdon Last year’s event was a community pot luck and conversation “Let’s Talk Transportation”   All the county commissioner candidates have been invited to join in. We never miss a chance to stop in for coffee afterwards (State College folks: this is the roaster that provides sustainably-grown coffee to the n —YUM.) heading out of town about 3 p.m. for:

6 p.m. Dinner followed by an overnight at the This will be the fifth year that the Orbisonia UMC has hosted the cyclists overnight at their Outreach Center, an all-around community center that is the heart of this small town. Pastor Ed Seeley and his wife Lisa have embraced our traveling band with warmth and hospitality. We will attend services on Sunday morning, heading south to:

Sunday, May 1, about 3 p.m. meet up with folks at the . This is a new event, where we will have a chance to hear about sustainability and justice efforts at the Academy.  We will continue on to:

6 p.m. Christ’s Reformed United Church of Christ, Hagerstown, MD Bucking the trend, Pastor Gregg Meserole and have expanded their church in downtown Hagerstown, taking over an abandoned shoe factory. We stay in the homeless shelter portion –  normally closed by April – and are grateful for the cots and hot showers. After breakfast with members of the congregation, we head along the C&O canal to:

Monday, May 2, 6 p.m. Dinner in Poolesville, MD Our bike trip wouldn’t be the same without the enthusiastic support of Joyce and her husband Dave Yaney, members of in Gaithersburg.  Joyce and Dave always feed and house the cyclists well, and create reception opportunities with community members.  In 2014 that included Montgomery County Council member, who has been a champion of local environmental legislation, including a county-wide carbon tax. The riders got to hear that story and also see the new the next morning.  Plans are in the works for this year.   We’ll add details as they are finalized.

Tuesday, May 3 – ride into DC The last day of the trip is always exciting as we complete our journey to the nation’s capital. We’re hoping for a repeat of the tour of two congregations that are leading the way in responding to climate change: and  was a huge highlight.   2016 details to come.   We end our trip at:

4 p.m. Gallaudet University is holding its national conference on the campus of Gallaudet University. In past years we’ve had a “heroes’ welcome” as we’ve pedaled into the conference hall. We’ll connect with Cricket and other PA IPL members, separate for the night, and then return, all scrubbed up and dressed for business on

Wednesday, May 5, bright and early to Capitol Hill to visit with our congressional representatives.  Please pray for receptive ears that day, and for creative, courageous leadership in the days and weeks to follow.  Lend a hand!  Mark your calendar to call your and   to let them know that you are with their PA IPL office visitors in spirit!  We know from experience that calls like these really take the level of engagement by the Capitol Hill staff to a new level.  Feel free to call before office hours — the offices all have answering machines!

So, that’s our trip! It’s a lot of work, but it’s absolutely worthwhile. We couldn’t do it without a great deal of support, so thank you to our as well as to all who will help train, house, and feed us (body and spirit), and to those who have created programs and gatherings for us to join when we’re off the road.

MANY THANKS to our 2016 silver sponsors , and , to our 2016 bronze sponsor the , and the for their support! for their support! ()

MANY THANKS to our 2015 silver sponsors  and , and bronze sponsors  about sponsoring PA IPL. .

   

      

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Past Rides

Browse past years’ posts , , , and if you go back to our old blog click…the first trip in

 —including elevation changes—on our old blog.   from the 2013 ride.  [CAUTION: not for navigation — there are a few changes year to year, most notably that the group now goes through Rothrock on forest roads instead of over the mountain at Pine Grove Mills at rush hour]

In 2013 then-12-year-old Hannah Ballenger joined the ride on a tandem with her father, Jesse. Read and Hannah collected well over 100 , drawings and well-wishes from children all over central PA. Joining them were Jon Brockopp, Andy Hayes, Dave Hunter and Ray Najjar.

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