Sponsorship Options

Have you been reading my blog and wondering how you can help me make my transcontinental cycling dream a reality? Probably not. But on the off chance that you have superfluous funds with no ideas on how to spend said funds, there are some opportunities for you to donate your money here at Blog-By-Bike.

Mileage Sponsorship
Sponsor any leg of the 3,629-mile transcontinental bike ride
for $1 per mile
Donate Here

Day Sponsorship
Sponsor 24 hours or more of the 50-day journey for $137 per day
[e.g. sponsor Day 30: 102 miles from Mankato to Rochester, MN]
Choose Your Day(s) and Donate Here

Segment Sponsorship
Sponsor a segment or more for $1141 per segment (six route segments = rest day to rest day)
[e.g. sponsor Segment 2: 704 miles from Boise, ID, to Casper, WY]
Choose Your Segment(s) and Donate Here

Coast-to-Coast Sponsorship
Sponsor my entire cycling tour from Oregon to New Hampshire for just $6850
[i.e. sponsor 3,692 miles from Astoria, OR to Portsmouth, NH]
Donate Here and I'll Love You Forever

Miscellaneous Contributions
Specify donated amounts toward any item or aspect of the estimated budget and Donate Here

Cycling Gift Registry
Not likely "coming soon", but was still a fun idea

• Mileage Sponsorship package includes sponsor's name and the number of sponsored miles noted under the List of Sponsors on Blog-By-Bike.
  
• Day or Segment Sponsorship package includes sponsor's name and number of sponsored days or segments (along with choice of specific day(s)/segment(s) to sponsor along the route) noted under the List of Sponsors and a special blog post with a sponsor bio and photo (optional) on the sponsored day or segment of the trip.
• Coast-to-Coast Sponsorship package includes a personalized postcard sent from every state along the tour route, the renaming of "Blog-By-Bike" in your honor, your haloed photo across the blog's main header, an ode to you in every blog post, and my first born child*.
  
• All sponsorship packages can be purchased by individuals or groups.
• A special thanks to my friend Cassie, who sparked these sponsorship ideas while we were shopping for her wedding dress in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week.
• And thank you to anyone who continues to read this blog - even if your personal financial situation, a variety of current economic factors, or a sensible lack of inclination to contribute monetarily to a frivolous cause will never enable you to donate here. Your readership and emotional support is worth its weight in cro-moly steel bicycle frames (as opposed to the lighter aluminum or carbon fiber).
  

America By Bicycle tour costs:
$6850 for the 50-day, six-segment cycling tour from Astoria, OR, to Portsmouth, NH 
Sponsorship Breakdown:
Sponsor $137 per day, $1141 per segment, or donate in smaller increments of $1 per mile

*Coast-to-Coast sponsorship package subject to change if anyone is actually crazy enough to give me nearly seven grand ... and apparently (I was lucky enough that) someone was.

Mileage Sponsorship

Become a "Miles for Dollars" Sponsor and sponsor any leg of the 3,629-mile transcontinental bike ride for $1 per mile

More Sponsorship Options

Day Sponsorship

Sponsor 24 hours or more of the 50-day journey for $137 per day
[e.g. sponsor Day 30: 102 miles from Mankato to Rochester, MN]

Choose Your Day(s)
More Sponsorship Options 

Segment Sponsorship

Sponsor a segment or more for $1141 per segment (six route segments = rest day to rest day)
[e.g. sponsor Segment 2: 704 miles from Boise, ID, to Casper, WY]

Choose Your Segment(s)
More Sponsorship Options

Coast-to-Coast Sponsorship

Sponsor my entire cycling tour from Oregon to New Hampshire for just $6850
[i.e. sponsor 3,692 miles from Astoria, OR to Portsmouth, NH]

See the Entire Route
More Sponsorship Options

Miscellaneous Contributions

Specify donated amounts toward any item or aspect of the estimated budget

More Sponsorship Options

Find a Part-Time Job ✔

Well, a short-term goal on my timeline was to begin looking for a second job after my boyfriend left his home in Atlanta on August 24 for another 10-month contract with the bj-league. My deadline was to have a part time job to supplement my primary income no later than September 30.

Done.

I interviewed last night for a part-time cocktail serving position at a chic lounge in Midtown ... I start training on September 1 and will begin picking up weekend shifts shortly thereafter.

In an effort to find something relatively close to my apartment in Hell's Kitchen, I actively began my job search last Monday by googling "best lounges in Midtown Manhattan" and I found this list. So I started at the top of the "Choose Your Bar" list with Aspen Social Club, looked for a human resources or general inquiries contact on each lounge's website and either emailed my resume (with my casino beverage serving and fine dining wait staff experience reinserted from where it had been removed in the corporate version) directly to an HR representative, applied for positions online if there was an option, or sent messages requesting the appropriate employment contact. I went through the whole list down to World Bar within an hour, and within the day, I began receiving responses.

Less than five days later, I am now a member of the double-income community ... again. Three years after swearing I'd never again work more than one job (having worked 2-3 jobs for a year to save enough money to move to New York City from North Carolina). Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

So whenever you're having drinks in a posh Midtown lounge, tip your cocktail server well. You never know. It could be me. Serving your drinks and saving your dollars so that I can cycle across North America in 2010.

Let the Savings Begin ✔

I opened a money market account with USAA and transferred $500 from my checking account to begin "Katie's Cycle Across North America Fund". It's not a huge amount, considering that I need to find a way to earn and save an extra $1500 a month between now and June 2010 (without being evicted from my tiny Manhattan apartment), but $500 is a starting point.

In order to get a snapshot of what my estimated expenses will be in the summer of 2010, I outlined an approximate budget for my tour, including personal needs outside of the $6,750 AbyB tour costs. I hope to have a more accurate budget within the next few months.

Approximate Budget
Cost estimates for The Cross America North Tour hosted by America By Bicycle (AbyB) June 20 - August 9, 2010:
1. AbyB Registration Deposit - $250
2. AbyB 3-Occupany Tour Rate* - $6,750 (less the $250 deposit)
3. Access America Travel Insurance - TBD
4. Medical insurance if my company does not approve me for unpaid leave and I ultimately decide to resign - TBD
5. June rent* - $1150
6. July rent** - $1150
7. August rent - $1150
8. One-way airfare from NYC to Astoria, OR - <$500
9. One-way airfare from Portsmouth, NH, to NYC - <$500
10. Standard, diamond frame Touring/Racing bicycle - $600-1,500 according to AbyB
11. Bicycle shipping costs from NYC to Astoria, OR - TBD
12. Bicycle shipping costs from Portsmouth, NH, to NYC - TBD
13. Cycling gear (e.g. helmet, attire, small cycling back pack, miscellaneous equipment) - TBD
14. Athletic undergarments and socks - $50
15. Daily allowance ($15/day)*** - $750
16. Wireless cellphone plan with reliable nationwide service (with unlimited out-of-network texts for all my tweets!) - Cost of new phone, activation fee, and $75-100/month
*Assuming our rent doesn't increase when we renew our lease on June 1.
**My portion of the monthly rent for the two-bedroom Hell's Kitchen apartment I share with two girls - just in case I cannot find a suitable renter to sublet my bedroom from June 20 - August 9, 2010.
***Overnight accommodations, breakfast, dinner and SAG stops are provided daily (minus rest days) throughout the 50-day tour

Total Estimated Costs: $15,000.00
TBD estimates will be updated as they are determined

If I can get my estimated costs down or earn some extra money, I hope to add the price of a 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro to my budget so that I can blog my way across North America in style! And maybe an Apple iPhone for tweeting my way across the United States! I really just want an excuse to finally spend the money on an iPhone - despite my high rate of cell phone droppage and distructionage!

If you feel like sliding your hard-earned cash my way instead of making your housing or car payment this month or want to sacrifice those extra martinis at happy hour in my honor, I will gladly accept your dollars, ekwele, pounds, yen, etc. via the "Donate" button in the right-hand margin of my blog.

I understand we're in a recession so I won't be holding my breath (need to stay alive over the next year in order to cycle) for donors who wish to contribute to a non-charitable, non-tax-deductible, personal initiative, but your visit to my blog and your [continued] readership is valued and appreciated. I hope you'll still be with me next summer as I blog and tweet across North America!

Thank You

A year from today, on August 10, 2010, I hope I will be basking in the thrill of completing a 50-day, 3,629-mile cycling journey across North America. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to pay for it.

I'd like to express endless gratitude to those, who have already generously contributed in financial support of my goal.

And thank you in advance to anyone else who can offer me a hand-up, whether it be financially here or with your emotion support through readership of my blog and your thoughtful, encouraging and inspirational comments.