Biking to Bulgaria

Okay, maybe the title is stretching things a bit, but I really did consider doing a fundraiser where I bike all the way to Bulgaria.  (No, not literally.  I know there's a bit of water between here and there.)  I finally decided that I didn't have enough "good years" left in me for that, and I certainly didn't have time to use it as a fundraiser before the kids get here.

So, here's my compromise.  To keep the numbers simple, we'll say it took us 15 hours to get to Bulgaria earlier this month.  (It was actually a little longer.)  Now, let's figure it's another 15 hours back home.  If you take that 30-hour trip and multiply by 2 trips, you have a 60-hour journey from start to finish.  That means my newest hair-brained brilliant fundraising idea is to see how many of you are willing to sponsor me on my 60-hour bike ride to Bulgaria.

I have created a special Mii (on our Wii, of course) named BGBiker.  (That's Bulgarian Biker.)  Wanna meet him?

I know.  It's not a great picture, but that's what happens when you take a picture of your TV screen.  I'm hoping that I don't have to do this alone.  I want the kids to each take a turn and help me progress faster than I can alone.  If you want to drop by and go for a spin, I'm open to that, too!  I'm using him ONLY for biking in Wii Fit Plus where it will keep track of the total time I have biked.

I actually started this on Monday, and I hope to provide visual updates like these....

And from Wednesday.... 

You can sponsor me for any amount you like, but here's an example.  If you sponsor me for $1 per hour, then at the end of this, you would send in $60.  Pretty simple.  I figure it will take us at least a couple of months to do this -- maybe 3 or 4.  So you can consider that when you pledge.  If it takes 2 months, that's only $30 for each month.  If it takes 4 months, that was only a $15 a month pledge for 4 months.

What do you think?  Will you sponsor my unrealistic virtual ride to Bulgaria?  I'll try to post my visual updates about once a week.

Let me leave you with a recap of our current fundraisers.

• Biking to Bulgaria
• Team Up (Forming a team with friends to send in $100 together)
• Adoption bracelets ($5.00 and I can mail them.)
• Puzzle Piece Sponsor ($3 per piece or $2.50 per piece if purchasing 10 or more)
• Order coffee through our Just Love Coffee store (see link on the right)
• Order anything through our store at Olive Tree Promise (see link on the right)
• Out-of-the-blue donations are always welcome.  Checks are preferred, but PayPal may be easier for you.  Just click the DONATE button on the right.

Finally, you may notice a change in the fundraising thermometer.  We came up short on the last push, and we  have already had to raise the expected total for the final trip.  So putting all of that together, I'm setting our new goal at $25,000.  This is the amount I would LOVE to raise by September but at least before we travel...whenever that may be.  The amount raised so far will reflect any money that we have received starting with May.

Thanks to all of you who followed the blog during our trip.  I've really been encouraged by all of the positive comments.  Please stay with me and keep reading.  Hopefully we will travel again soon, and then I'll be able to post those long-awaited pictures.