Across America Take 4

Photo above:  Cycling up Pennsylvania's Appalachian mountains, we encountered the following sign.  The Pennsylvania peak is named after the mountainous resting place of Noah's arc after the great flood.  Photo below: Mount Ararat itself - a photo I took the following summer in Armenia.  Mount Ararat is one of the most enduring symbols of the Armenian nation, and, ironically, rests just on the other side of the closed border with Turkey.  It is quite symbolic, actually, of Armenian history as one that has been inextricably tied to surrounding powers.  

This is the 4th installment in a series of photos taken from a 2006 bicycle trip across America to raise funds, awareness, and hope in the fight against cancer.  I am riding again this summer.  Each rider has pledged to raise $4000 donated to the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, a free residence for patients receiving cancer treatment in the Baltimore area.  We also donate to the outreach and research divisions of the Sydney Kymmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  

Please consider making a $10 donation.  If you can only afford less, then that is totally cool - EVERY PENNY COUNTS!!  You can make a contribution by clicking the "Donate Here" link on my fundraising page at:

http://sites.google.com/a/4kforcancer.org/rider-fundraising/riderfundraising/raffi-wartanian

Thanks!

Across America take 3

Enormous piper.  Music so good you can't even hear it.  

This is the third in a series of photos from a 2006 cross country bicycle trip to raise money, awareness, and hope in the fight against cancer.  I will ride again this summer, and each rider has pledged to raise $4000.  You can learn more about our organization, the 4k for cancer, by visiting the website - www.4kforcancer.org .  To make a donation, please visit my personal fundraising website at:   http://sites.google.com/a/4kforcancer.org/rider-fundraising/riderfundraising/raffi-wartanian .

Please consider donating.  EVERY PENNY COUNTS AND IS TREMENDOUSLY APPRECIATED!

Across America take 2

This is the second installment in a series of photos from a cross country bicycle trip I took in the summer of 2006. 

Is this a subliminal way of saying that Todd Alexander is the head of Ministries International?  Or does it say that Ministries International provides one-on-one advice for financial solutions?

I will ride once again this summer, pledging to raise $4000 in the fight against cancer.  The funds go to the American Cancer Society's Baltimore Hope Lodge, a free residence for patients receiving cancer treatment in the Baltimore area.  We also donate to the outreach and research programs at the Sideny Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.  

If you like what you see and approve of our mission, the consider making an online donation.  You can visit my personal fundraising page and learn more about the trip by copy/pasting the following URL into your browser:  http://sites.google.com/a/4kforcancer.org/rider-fundraising/riderfundraising/raffi-wartanian .

Every penny counts in the fight against cancer.  Thanks for your support!

Across America take 1

This is the first in a series of photos from a cross country bicycle trip I took in the summer of 2006.  I will ride once again this summer, pledging to raise $4000 in the fight against cancer.  I wanted to share this series of photos to give you, dearest potential donor, a sense of the many quirks and surprises we encountered along the way.

Roadside religious philosophy.  It was reported that twenty people lost their lives in the construction of that sign.  I thank them for their sacrifice.  

If you like what you see and approve of our mission, then consider making a small donation to our cause online.  You can visit my personal fundraising page and learn more about the trip by copy/pasting the following URL into your browser: http://sites.google.com/a/4kforcancer.org/rider-fundraising/riderfundraising/raffi-wartanian

Whatever you can give is tremendously appreciated and is tax-deductable.  Thanks for your support!

I'm riding a bicycle across America and NEED YOUR HELP!

Dear Readers

I am bicycling 4000 miles from Baltimore to San Francisco this summer to raise funds, awareness, and hope in the fight against cancer.  I will be joined by 26 other rides as a part of this year's 4k for Cancer.    

Each rider is responsible for raising $4000 - that's $1 for  every mile we ride.  The funds go to the American Cancer Society's Baltimore Hope Lodge, a free residence for patients receiving cancer treatment in the Baltimore area.  We also donate funds to the research and outreach programs at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital.  

Please support my trip and the 4k for Cancer's objectives by making a donation - EVERY PENNY COUNTS!  Seriously, whatever you can give is TREMENDOUSLY appreciated, and all of it is tax-deductible - just ask me for the form.  You can donate online using your credit/debit card by visit my fundraising page and clicking on the "Donate Here" link.  You can copy-paste the URL into your browser to access my fundraising page.  Here's the link:

http://sites.google.com/a/4kforcancer.org/rider-fundraising/riderfundraising/raffi-wartanian

You can also donate by check.  Please mail your check (payable to "4k for Cancer") to the following address.  And please make sure to put "Raffi Wartanian" in the memo line.  The mailing address:

Raffi Wartanian

4k for Cancer

PO Box 4730

Hamden

Baltimore, MD 21211

Your donation, no matter the amount, is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!  

If you have any questions or stories to share, please do!  Leave a comment, or send me an email to rjw303@yahoo.com. 

I did this ride in 2006 and made a small slide show of images from the Rocky Mountains set to John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High".  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SHqzyOadlQ

Does this guy look like my dad?

My housemate Julian argues that the man I am hugging on the right, ie the big doll in the beetlejuice shirt in the middle of a Barcelona street, resembles my dad.  So I thought I would post this side by side comparison and throw it open to the public.  I think they kind of look alike, but not really.  Some say no resemblance whatsoever, others see a huge resemblance.  Thoughts?  

p.s.  I have a picture of my blog on my blog.  If that isn't a glaring case of blog-narcissism then I don't know what is.