Mountains or Beaches? Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? Walking or biking? Truth or dare?

'This or that' questions can be fun getting-to-know-yous, an icebreaker -but with a degree of seriousness, a real assessment for self discovery.

Most decisions are believed to be made “logically”, but there is no way to live at your best without as much space being given to emotion.

To set out for “one last go”... in our 20s & 30s, leaving jobs and housing, doesn’t seem logical. But somewhere out there is our heart, and we need to find it again.

Safety or Purpose?...

GREETING

Hey y’all, I’m Jay, current Chairperson at The Bad Activist, a registered 501c3, based out of Philadelphia -where I’ve lived for the majority of the last 10 years or so. GO BIRDS!

In addition to who I am, I’m excited to share with y’all the next big adventure.

HISTORY

Following four transnational tours: Walking from Atlantic City, NJ to Los Angeles with my brother, Shannon Sprowal (2013); bicycling Seattle, WA to Miami, FL with Sylvester Williams, Nathaniel Erb & Timothy Sammartino (2014); bicycling Moorehead, MN to San Antonio TX with Sylvester Williams, Jonathan Moore, & Gabriel Fenerty (2015); and then cycling an East Coast and partial PA tour solo (2017) We are now staring down one last go. I, as the road veteran, have been fortunate to collaborate with an especially unique team, to present community like never before.

Elayna Mae Darcy, is a poet, YA author, filmmaker, and podcast producer. A proud Philadelphian and Temple University alum, taken on roles with Write Useful Books LLC, Blue Stoop, Booksweeps, and Plottr, while actively serving as Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) since 2004. Darcy is a co-founder of ElixirVerse Press, and Magic Key Media. Probably the least notable feat is that they’ve managed to stay friends with me for 30 YEARS! (Although, I can imagine there are few people who’d recommend them for an award for just that haha)

Noah Brouse is a Texas native who’s always been a strong supporter of mental health, Dungeon’s & Dragons, and adventure in general. He hosts and edits (and edits) a few different podcasts covering a queer outlook on Supernatural, a magical D&D world, and playoff hockey. He’s constantly ready and willing to talk about the photo album of cats he meets in transit, any and everything Jon Bellion, as well as survivor gameplay tactics.

And Sam Barton! A Philly transplant with big ambitions and strong work ethic. A multitalented artist, and a man looking for adventure.

Since 2017 I’ve contended with the passing of significant family members and friends… we, being the world, navigated the pandemic and global lockdown… I was fortunate to find a career in Bio-One, establishing the NPO, finding a place in the neighborhood we serve.

I appreciate my boss, James McArthur, starting at BIO-ONE PHILLY during the pandemic. And I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to stay at one place, and grateful for the patience of Gary Magnin (our landlord). Both made it possible to recover over the last few years: injuries from an attempted robbery, respiratory complications after an infection, sickness, partial tears in ligaments in both knees in back to back years… while contending with PDD, and a few severe waves of depression.

Through joys and loss, progress and survival, there is a certainty or longing to go home, home being the road, through seasons wavering between ability and willingness.

I said it years ago, but now we have more than just aspirations: we want a building.

For a long time, I didn’t understand what that truly meant. I thought it meant I’d have the space to do whatever I want, and what I want, what this collective wants, is to meet the needs of the community.

Community meals, life essentials -presented with dignity.

Time & spaces reserved for those who need it.

An accessible and available resource directory.

Safe recreational and social areas.

A garden wouldn’t be amiss!

I know, I’m asking a lot -be it that we live in a city, I know. Haha

I want this team that’s come together -with the only commonality being that we see a need and feel purposed to fulfill it, to do so.

The first step was getting well again. I think that’s a Vonnegut quote: “You were sick, but now you’re well again, and there’s work to do.”

And then there’s the approach by Iain Liam Ward, “The King of Chemo” who took a terminal cancer diagnosis and has lived greater and gone further than imaginable.

We’d love for y’all to support him, encourage him, follow his journey.

So, we’re starting over again, with the hearts that we have, the minds that we have, the bodies that carried us this far.

As long as I’m north of switchgrass, I’m going to do everything I can to make this a reality.

PROBLEM

Obviously there are things to be considered.

Initially we had a problem with scaling, and it’s common among those who engage in communities where they provide services -especially for those who just feel it’s their calling. The eyes go big, staring down a disembodied Goliath: the thought is not that we’re taking care of the folks on the 1800 block of Monmouth, or a family evicted from their home… but, mistakenly, we were ending homelessness, and housing insecurity.

We threw feathers at the castle as earnestly as we could.

Passion is not lacking, but our perspective and our performance came from a lack, and a lack of practice, and patience.

Those feathers we slung at strongholds left us without the means to fly ourselves. Even when blessed with remiges and rectrices from many of you, we’d just try.

As I mentioned early on, we’ve got 10+ years of this work… we’re no longer winging it.

Alright, enough with the birds… Haha

One of the reasons we say “thank you” so often, in our communications, social media posts, presentations, interpersonal interactions, is because these were never tasks we could do alone.

And we still cannot. And the hope that we can find the means to go in the generosity of others, coupled with our own efforts is still the only way.

Our means are in our work, I’m the Op Manager at Bio-One Philly, Elayna is an author and executive assistant for the Nursing & Sciences Dean at Community college in Philadelphia, with Noah & Juli coming from the service industry.

We will continue to work on the road, and have already begun taking side hustles with various delivery & transportation apps to hopefully build a reputation before popping in new towns.

That’s another component, it’s rebuilding a reputation. And trying to find ourselves in the momentum we had before.

When the idea was pitched that we record this year, and subsequent tour as a documentary and then screen it as a means of acquiring additional income for the building project/NPO, it was a lot to consider. I’ve never been much for the camera, but, I enjoy a good story, and for years we’ve been telling so many -giving those we’ll sit with along the way would also be a great way to celebrate you, and tell your stories as well.

I’ve missed so many folks. There are kids that we babysat-

-wait, is that the past tense of babysit? Babysat? Babyseated? Haha! I don’t know…

But those kids have graduated school, some are married, some have children -and that blows my mind. I promised I’d come back, and that’s a yet-fulfilled promise for some, but one I intend to follow through on, because I said I would. [hmm laugh]

The problem we are facing isn’t “the unknown” or anything abstract… it’s funding, making certain we have the right documentary equipment, loss of momentum.

So to answer safety or purpose…

We’re going, however it happens, it always happens when we’ve been willing and able. As for everything else…

QUOTE

“Whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do, and if we want to go on a journey, then we must do so and not worry about our condition, even if it's the worst possible condition, because, if it is, we're finished anyway, whether we go on the journey or not, and it's better to die having made the journey we've been longing for than to be stifled by our longing.” ― Thomas Bernhard

THE ASK

Will you help us go on this journey?

NEEDS

Below we’ve included a list of the perfect tour inclusions, expected costs, coverage, as well as the things we’ve already prepared/purchased for ourselves (which we’ll continue to update)

Every dollar over the total, or remaining after purchasing the necessary supplies will go directly to the NPO, and specifically, our goal to raise a building, and care for the community.

GEAR - JAY

*BIKE

1983 SCHWINN TRAVELER

HELMET

LUMOS ULTRA SMART: $114.95

*PANNIERS

ORTLIEB

CARGO RACK + TRUNK BAG

ROCKBROS BIKE CARGO RACK: $43.99

HYDRATION PACK

USWE MOTO HYDRO 3L: $139.99

BIKE ACCESSORIES

TOOL KIT

CYCLIST 27 PIECES BIKE TOOLKIT: $99.89

HEADLIGHT/TAILLIGHT

2024 NEW 6 LED 9500 LUMEN: $47.99

LOCK

FOLDYLOCK/SEATYLOCK: $89.99

MIRROR

COTOUXKER 2PK (HELMET & HANDLEBAR): $9.98

WATER BOTTLE W/ CAGES

SCHWINN BIKE HOLDER W/ BOTTLE 230Z: $11.99

CYCLING CPU/GPS

WAHOO ELEMNT BOLT V2: $279.99

SPARE TUBES

SLIME INNERTUBE W/ PUNCTURE RESISTANT: $14.99 (X6)

SPARE TIRES

CONTINENTAL GATORSKIN/DURASKIN TIRE:$104.30 (X2)

HOUSING (X4)

TENT

COLEMAN SUNDOME: $74.69

SLEEPING PAD

XOXOCOS SLEEP PAD W/ FOOT PUMP: $32.29

SLEEPING BAG

ELCO PRO WARM WEATHER SLEEPING BAG: $30.99

DOCUMENTARY EQUIPMENT

CELL PHONES

*IPHONE 11 MEDIA

SAMSUNG GALAXY G24 ULTRA (PRIMARY): $1,299.99

CELL PHONE DOCUMENTARY KIT

MOVO VLOGGER KIT (1 LIGHTNING, 1 USB-C): $159.99 (X2)

LAPTOP

ASUS TUF GAMING A17 FHP RTX 4060: $1,499.99

EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE

SEAGATE EXPANSION 16TB: $329.99

CAMCORDERS

CANON XA75 PRO CAMCORDER: $2,999.99

ZNIARAKL 4K VIDEO CAMCORDER TOUGH: $549.99 (X2)

CAMERA

CANON EOS 5D MARK IV DIGITAL + KIT: $2,979

OM SYSTEM TOUGH TG-7 CAMERA: $549.99 (X2)

GOPRO

GOPRO HERO12 W/ KIT: $413.99

TOUR EXPENSES

DRIVING: ESTIMATED COSTS FROM NOMADICMATT

~$6,300 FOR 150 DAYS SCALED TO 180 DAYS: $9,848

https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/united-states-travel-costs/

CYCLING: ESTIMATED COSTS FROM ADVENTUREPOSSIBLE

~$5,000 FOR 90 DAYS, SCALED TO 180 DAYS: $10,000

https://adventurepossible.com/bike-across-america-tips/how-much-does-it-cost-to-bike-across-america/

MISCELLANEOUS: $1,000

VISIBILITY VEST, CHAMOIS BUTTER, EYE PROTECTION, SUNSCREEN, WIPES, QUICK DRY TOWEL, GLOVES, JOURNALS, TOILETRIES, BUG REPELLENT, PENS, TOTE BINS, BUNGEE CORD, ETC

TOTAL: $33,704.76

THANK YOU

We will continue to monitor if it’s “Love” or “Thanks” that we express most often, but the two go hand-in-hand. And so many of you are due MORE than we could carry in backpacks or on bikes -and for the new folks, we’re excited to have you join us! Before we see you on the road, we’ll be sure to send you some perks -and celebrate with you in person.

Please reach out through The Bad Activist social media, or via the website if you have any questions -especially if you’d like to meet or take part in our community events!

Again:

Thank you. We love you.

And we’ll see you soon.

BUILDING TOUR 2025 - DOC AND TEAM

Our most ambitious and, maybe, most important, adventure yet.

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