|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 2 |
 |
Blodgett bikes for Smiles
NATALIE CRAVEN
STAFF WRITER
Choosing to start his summer with a challenge, Christopher Houston Blodgett '06 spent his first month away from Bowdoin on a 2,200 mile bike ride down the East Coast. Blodgett completed the ride in order to raise money for Operation Smiles, a nonprofit organization that provides reconstructive facial surgery for underprivileged children from around the world.
 |
| Christopher Blodgett '06 biked 2,200 miles this summer to raise money for Operation Smile. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
The trip began on May 20 at Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor, Maine, the spot where the sun first hits the east coast of the United States. It ended 25 days later, June 23, at South Beach in Miami, Florida, with some scheduled rest days in between. "New England was the worst part by far since it rained the entire time," Blodgett recalled. "It was cold, and I was spending eight hours a day in spandex in the pouring rain." He did pass through campus on his third day. "It was miserable weather and campus was deserted, but it was still a welcome sight."
The ride presented a variety of obstacles including falls, detours, and vehicles on the roads. "The first time I wiped out was in Massachusetts," Blodgett explained. "I hit a pothole, popped my front tire, lost control of the bike, and went off the shoulder. The bike flipped over, and I got a huge bruise on my thigh from the handlebars." He also received a traffic ticket for biking on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a limited access road. "I snuck around the tollbooths, but someone saw me and called the cops," Blodgett said.
Blodgett continued, "The whole trip was incredible. I would definitely do it again. Maybe not the exact same route, but I would like to do another trip." He recalls biking around the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, as one of the most interesting points in the trip. "I must admit I was a little awed, sitting there on my 20-pound bike and watching the heavily armed soldiers pass by."
Blodgett and Jordan's route took them around most major cities; however, they still had some cars come too close for comfort. "We had a lot of close calls with logging trucks," Blodgett remembers. "Of all the vehicles on the road, logging trucks are by far the worst." They biked around New York City, which is notorious for its drivers and ran into the worst traffic at the end of the trip. "Florida drivers are horrible," Blodgett recalled.
Blodgett began work with Operation Smile two years ago doing volunteer
work. Two summers ago, he helped to organize a student conference sponsored
by the organization. He planned to go on a mission to China in fall 2001,
but it fell through because the group was scheduled to depart shortly
after September 11. Disappointed at the trip's cancellation, he decided
that he "wanted to do something significant. [Organizing this ride]
was my way of contributing to this cause." Operation Smile has chapters
in 19 different countries and employs trained surgeons from across the
globe to operate on children from those locations.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |