Why I'm riding
From September 12–18, I'm going to try to ride my little bicycle 326 miles across Ohio, from the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland to the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati.
If I can try to ride across the longest paved trail crossing any American state, can you support me and organizations that are building a more progressive and inclusive Ohio?
In 2008, I knocked on doors for Obama and was part of making my native Ohio sit on the left side of the political spectrum. The years since have been harder to watch. I was working at the University of Cincinnati last year when the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 1, making Ohio a place where DEI offices and scholarships at every public university in the state are illegal, faculty are barred from striking, and schools are prohibited from taking positions on “controversial” topics — a list that names immigration and climate policy outright.
This year, I joined the Ohio Giving Collective, a group of Ohioans across the state looking for people anywhere who want to make Ohio more progressive through the year-round, county-level, foundational organizing that builds durable power. Not one candidate. Not one campaign. Not one election. We'll be distributing no-strings-attached funding so that the next generation can see the hope I saw in 2008 — but built from the ground up this time, so it doesn't leave when a campaign does.
Chip in for the ride
The goal is $3,260 — $10 for every mile I ride. Ten people pledging a dollar a mile gets us the whole way. Any amount helps, and you can give once or pledge by the mile.
You can read more about what the Collective funds at ohiogivingcollective.com.
Stay in touch
If you donated, let me know here — including roughly how much — so I can keep you posted on where the money goes and what the Collective is funding.
And if you want to follow along on the ride itself, ask for a password below. I'll send you a link to a live tracker: where I am on the map, how far I've gone, photos from the trail, and a board where you can leave me something to read at lunch. You don't need to donate to get a password. They're two separate things.
The tracker shows my location in real time, so passwords are unique to each person and I'd ask you not to pass yours on. 4 people are following along so far.