Almost two months ago I left my home seeking adventure on my bicycle. It’s been a fantastic journey, full of friendships — new and old — and beautiful places. When planning this trip, I wanted to see how sustainable I could make it. I came up with three ways to make it more sustainable than a typical adventure. The first was to see the world without using any fossil fuels, just my own power. The second was to use almost all second hand gear. And the third was to, whenever possible, eat rescued food and avoiding food packaging. I’ve enjoyed exploring northeastern US and Canada (my first time leaving the United States) in this way, and have learned a lot.

Thanks to my good friend, Jima, who joined me for the first month, I was able to help him raise $3,600 for the Ulman Foundation. It was great to be part of a fundraiser again, and bring awareness to a cause. I’ve been on my own for the last two weeks and have started to feel that I’ve been losing touch with my life mission to be of service to others. I also see my expenses approaching $1,000 which feels like a lot of money to have spent on a mostly self-serving endeavor. So, with about one month remaining before I return to my home in Maryland, I’d like to bring more meaning to my miles.

An ultimate goal of this trip was to get a better sense of what I’d like to do with my life. There are many potential paths and I don’t know how I’ll choose the best one for me and the world. Maybe I’ll figure it out over the next 30 days, maybe I won’t. Fortunately, something I know I can do is open another fundraiser :)

It would be an honor to raise $1,000 with your help for Giving What We Can’s Global Health and Wellbeing Fund and Effective Animal Advocacy Fund. It sounds a little ambitious, but just $33 per day will be enough to reach this goal. I know we can do it.

I chose these two funds because alongside the beauty, compassion, generosity, and support that I’ve seen and felt during this trip, I’ve seen serious suffering that has brought me to tears. While these funds may not directly help the homeless populations I saw, or prevent more roadkill, I believe they can do the most good for people and animals across the world. The Global Health and Wellbeing Fund directs funding to highly effective organizations working to improve human wellbeing while The Effective Animal Advocacy Fund directs funding to highly effective organizations working to improve animal welfare, primarily for farmed and wild animals.