Wednesday, March 7, 2012

New Adventure, New Job!

It was the end of a long day. While sweeping the floor of the storefront, Adam was remembering the conversations he had with the numerous customers he met at Trailblazer. One man was on his way to Uganda. Another to Chili. After a year-long dream adventure on a bike, Adam was restless and thrived on the stories he heard while working part time at our local outdoor retailer in between photography jobs.

But while he swept, his cell phone rang, waking him from his daydream. On the line was Sarah from Bikes Belong, the bike advocacy organization that we had recently applied to for the position of Events Manager Team. Sarah told Adam that they wanted to fly us out to Boulder, CO to meet with them!



I can only imagine what Adam must have felt while sweeping the floor at his part time job and all of a sudden getting a call from an organization that wanted to actually pay for us to fly out to Boulder, CO of all places! What a high! And within a few days, we were on a plane.

Boulder was a whirlwind, almost literally. The winds were crazy strong and the planes were unpredictable, delaying our flights in and out of Denver. And we thought headwinds only hurt while biking!! But knowing that travel is full of unexpected turns, we made the best of the situation and an unexpected 3 hour layover in Atlanta gave us one last chance to read more about Bikes Belong, their peopleforbikes.org campaign, and many of the other Bikes Belong initiatives. We felt completely prepared for our final interview.


Throughout the day, we met with most of the staff at Bikes Belong including Tim Blumenthal, the president, and Bruno Maier, the VP. They explained a little more about the job, telling us we'd be traveling in a new Jetta TDI to events located in the eastern part of the United States in order to tell as many people as possible about the importance of bikes.

A little about Bikes Belong and their People for Bikes campaign:

The goal of Bikes Belong is simply to get more people on bikes more often.

The goal for the peopleforbikes.org campaign is to unite one million voices in support of bike riding in order to lobby for continued funding for better infrastructure and programs.

Our goal? To get as many people as possible to sign the peoepleforbikes.org pledge, saying they are in support of bike riding (shouldn't be that hard, right? I mean, I know you've just clicked on the link and signed the pledge- that's one more closer to the goal). We signed the pledge over a year ago before the start of our Give a Bike tour and now we'd be traveling the country in search of more people to sign. This was a dream job for us and our smiles just kept getting bigger and bigger throughout the day.

At lunch, we were offered the job.



Funny enough, throughout the meetings with the Bikes Belong staff, what was brought to our attention the most wasn't the different programs they ran and funded (there'd be time enough later for all of that), but the flexibility we'd need while traveling with each other throughout the United States while sitting next to each other in a Volkswagen. Basically, they want to make sure that we could adapt to deal with the un-expected. If we hadn't already passed that test last year, riding our bikes through all 50 States, we were lucky enough to be put to the test once more on our flights in and out of Boulder.

On the way home, an unexpected overnight in Charlotte allowed us to reflect on the exciting day we had.



Today, we fly out again to Boulder for the start of our new job- (and to pick up our new car!!). You all kept telling us that our challenge of riding through all 50 states would open up doors for us in the future. We're just blown away that the doors have opened so quickly with a job that fits us so well.

Can't wait!



20 comments:

  1. Volkswagen!!!! a great car company!!! They are totally for the people! I can't wait to see the blogs,vlogs, and photography from this next expedition. You two were great to follow!! Such an inspiration.

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  2. Congratulation! A well deserved opportunity and placement. I wish you continued success in all of your future adventures!

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  3. Truly wonderful ! No two people deserve this more than you two. You have contributed so much... I think you are going to do great things or should I say GREATER things! Bless you both and keep on rolling :)
    cousin Susan Civitelli

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  4. Congratulations you two!! How long before you can transfer to the "West" Coast? Just know you will always do well........Jane says Hi and way to go!

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  5. AMAZING guys! You two are perfect for this job. Now, if you are driving up and down the eastern side of the US, we might run into you a few more times on our tour :)

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  6. Yes yes yes! So happy. Let the adventure (of life) continue!
    Mark Hoag

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  7. Very Very cool!! Bikes Belong is lucky to have such great Bike Ambassadors! I have signed the pledge and posted on FB. I look forward to following (and supporting) your next adventure. Pedal on....

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  8. Soooo awesome you two! Congratulations!!!!!! Perfect match for you and Bikes Belong.
    Does this mean we can get a video of the end of your trip now that you are moving on? I don't think I am the only one waiting :) Love you both! Aunt Sue

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  9. Congratulations Adam and Christy. You deserve it and will do a great job. It would have been insane NOT to hire you! Looking forward to meeting you guys. Please be sure to post your schedule.

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  10. Congrats great Job. "One door closes while another one opens" . Enjoy what you do educating people about biking.

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  11. Adam and Christy, I am so happy for you that your life together is continuing with another thrilling adventure. This opportunity is clearly a testament to your love for life and each other, hard work, and good karma that you deserve. I look forward to living your adventure through your blog and photos.
    - Courtney

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  12. Adam and Christy,

    It appears that you two will be able to "Keep on Truckin!"

    Good for you,

    Rich

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  13. Congratulations and welcome to The Front Range! (Although it sounds like you will be back east a lot). Don't worry, it's not always that windy here. I look forward to following your new adventures!

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  14. Congratulations on the baby, the job, and the car. Welcome to Colorado! You will love it here! I look forward to following your adventures with baby-in-tow and the wonderful photography you will undoubtedly be taking.

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