08.21 San Francisco, CA

Congrats SUS 07!!!

Sorry for the delay finish, but the past few days have been kind of crazy. So I left off in Napa.

08.15: We rode about 50 miles to Camp Taylor near Point Reyes. I rode with Team Tardy and it was a great day. We had lots of '&' stops, including a goat farm and best of all, a cheese factory where we bought bread, cheese and wine and had a little party on a bridge about .5 mile from our campsite. We also stopped earlier in the day at Starbucks and a drugstore to buy flair for our surprise. Our afternoon was spent decorating a pillowcase cape for each SUS07 rider. We put nicknames on them for everyone and then piled on the flair (stickers, ribbons, etc.) Team Tardy-style. We hid them in our tent because we wanted to give them out at the bridge the next day. That night we all had chores to do...I cleaned/bleaches the coolers which was oh so much fun. We had a campfire, sausages and s'mores that night and all sat around and reminisced about the summer.

08.16 I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach. I could not believe that in a few short hours I would be DONE and be with Evan and my family. The ride was short - only 25 miles and it went by really fast. I rode with Team Tardy again and we were singing and Matthew was telling everyone we passed that we had ridden all the way from Florida. My first view of the bay took my breath away and riding into the Golden Gate vista point to meet everyone blowing my party horn with Team Tardy was beyond words. We stopped and sang the first part of a Shania Twain song,

Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong

Then we gave out the capes one by one and it was picture time etc. At that moment, all the bad parts of the summer were gone and I was just amazed by this awesome group of people who just biked across the country. All the tourists were so funny because they had no idea what was going on. After a little while, we lined up and biked across the bridge wearing our capes. It was pretty spectacular. The bridge is HUGE and we went right into a fog. There were about 50 people awaiting us on the other side with signs and cheers. I was shaking. My mom, dad, Lexi and Evan greeted me with flowers and hugs. We made our way over to the beach where the riders dipped their front wheels into the water and then most of us jumped in. After rounds bike over head photos, we had a great lunch provided by Molly's parents and champagne and toasts (my dad added a corny poem to the toast of course). The Providence to San Francisco Bike and Build trip arrived about an hour after us (we beat them! hehe) and some people went over to say hi. I left with my parents and Evan to drop my bike off at Evan's apartment and then drive to the hotel. We enjoyed the hot tub for a while and I relished the hot shower (and comfy beds). We drove back to the city to Don Ramon's for the Bike and Build dinner. Good food, good talk, presentations, awards, etc.

And now it's OVER. And I'm so happy. It was a great experience...that I will never do again. haha. A new chapter is opening for me. Time for apartment hunting and city exploring. Welcome to San Francisco. :)

08.16 SAN FRANCISCO, CA

I MADE IT TO SAN FRANCISCO!!!!

blog to be updated early next week...

08.14 Napa, CA

So I have just ridden my last century...probably ever! woo-hoo! The ride in today was beautiful through orchards and vineyards, but difficult. It was flat for the first 75 miles...then 20 miles of major hills, although they weren't as bad as expected. After about 18 miles of the hills I was feeling pretty good and hoping to get one more difficult hill...and boy did I get what I wished for. The last hill kicked my butt and I had my official last hissy fit on the road. The descent was pretty scary - very curvy roads with speed limits of 20mph...I got a blister from braking so much. But we all made it in eventually and I got a Jamba Juice to congratulate myself. We are staying at a really nice church with amazing people. They took us to their homes for showers, made us delicious food, and we did a presentation as well as a presentation of a check to their Habitat chapter. It was a great host to end with (we're camping tomorrow night).

We stopped for lunch today in Davis, the town of UC Davis where Molly went to school so it was cool to see her old stomping grounds.

Last night we had a meeting to discuss where our funds will be distributed. We have about $60,000 to donate to Affordable Housing Hurricane Relief. We decided to divide that by 27 and each person gets to decide where his/her money goes (choice of 3 locations).

Okay I'm exhausted right now so I'm going to sign off. Last full day tomorrow to Point Reyes. I'll try to update pictures then. Goodnight :)

08.13 Yuba City, CA

Greetings from Yuba City, CA! We just finished our last build day and it went really well. We only worked on one house so as usual with 25 people (2 are still sick), it was a bit hectic and there were some ‘I have nothing to do’ moments. But we got a lot done, especially for a house that only gets worked on one day a week – usually Saturdays. The house is for Barbara, a single mom and her adopted son. It will hopefully be done around Christmas time. We worked on a bunch of different projects – everything from roofing to pouring the cement front walkway. It’s definitely a great feeling to start with a house that is just a frame and by lunchtime have enough roof on to sit in shade during lunch. Now we’re all scattered doing random errands etc before we get served dinner and take showers.

Our ride in yesterday was alright, pretty uneventful. We went from 3000-something feet in elevation to 60 feet in elevation. That doesn’t mean there weren’t any hills though. We did our share of climbing. We also went over this dam that was just beautiful. The water was turquoise – it looked tropical! We arrived in Yuba City in late afternoon and had a huge (indoor) BBQ with the members of the Baptist Church and also gave our presentation. It was a good night overall and I fell asleep watching ‘Harold and Maude,’ a great movie if you’ve never seen it.

A hard ride into Napa tomorrow. Not sure if I’ll get to update before we get to San Francisco on Thursday but I’ll definitely do a last entry there! Much love.

08.11 Downieville, CA

All I have to say is, Welcome to Paradise. I LOVE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. The first part of our 70 mile ride today out of Tahoe was rough...two hard climbs, lots of little climbs, etc. But I summited Yuba Pass, had some lunch and then the next 20 miles were amazing. All downhill...literally. Some of us stopped at one point to go check out Yuba River which was running along the road all down the mountain. We climbed down the rocks to the water. This water was SO COLD, it was basically last winter's ski season coming down the mountains. We just waded in a little and sat on the sunny rocks. It was amazing and just the thing I needed to ground me and wake me up to the paradise around me. The rest of the ride was just as beautiful - I haven't seen so many pine trees since I used to live in Colorado. The green is overwhelming after the desert of Nevada. We're staying in the backyard of a couple's house who own the campground here. And honestly, I have found the place that I want to live. Their house is gorgeous, with a beautiful backyard, pool, hammocks, 2 golden retrievers...all while being rustic and in the middle of nowhere. They are SO nice, letting us sleep on their lawn, use their showers, kitchen, wireless, etc.

The rest of my day in Tahoe was really nice yesterday. I took the free trolley back to the campsite from the Internet Cafe and joined some people at the beach across the street. Eventually I went to do laundry (my job this week) and wandered around a craft fair and got some delicious fudge tracks ice cream to occupy myself. I grabbed dinner with Josh and Sean afterwards - we had a little wireless internet party.

Oh man, I'm so full right now...on brownies and other delicious treats from everyone's mail drops. Dinner is being cooked so hopefully I'll get my appetite back. I'm not too worried about it :) Only 5 days left of eating whatever I want!

08.10 Lake Tahoe, CALIFORNIA!!!

I MADE IT TO CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!! Okay, I just had to get that out…now I can recap the past few days…

08.07 The rest of my sick day from Eureka, NV to Austin, NV was fairly uneventful. All of us sickies eventually made it to the town hall we stayed at in Austin and we just laid around and ate a little. The one spectacle of the night was Spencer being bet $10 that he couldn’t climb the mountain in 10 minutes…and despite his sickness, he did it. He climbed the mountain/hill across the street to the top of the ‘A’ for Austin (all the towns in Nevada have their first letter at the top of a hill) in about 7 minutes. Crazy crazy boy.

08.08 I actually felt great when I woke up this morning…I was hungry (such a great feeling after being sick) and was excited to get on my bike. We had our longest day ahead of us…a supposed 118 miles to Fallon, NV (an actual city!). We left around 6:30am and it was SO COLD. Some of us had to stop for about half an hour because we literally could not bike. My fingers were freezing off and my body just would not function. It was not a great start to the day and it just got worse from there. The ride was hard, long, hot, boring and just generally miserable. I still didn’t feel wonderful which just added to the delirium of biking in the desert. The last 30 miles after second lunch were the worst because we biked through the literal desert. I’m talking sand for miles, no plants, mirages in the distance. The white stuff on the side of the road is sand: There was an actual sand mountain; I felt like I was in freaking Egypt of something. Thank god for the entertaining people who wrote things with rocks on the ride of the road…I read those for miles and didn’t go completely crazy. The Habitat Bike Challenge who passed through before us left this rock bicycle:

Around mile 102, when I didn’t know if I could make the last 15 miles, the van came around with popsicles and the great news that there were only 8 miles left. We also were passing through the Fallon airforce base and I saw a helicopter practicing rescues with people dangling from wires. This is the area where parts of Top Gun were filmed…you know the scenes where they are practicing flying and it looks like the middle of nowhere? yeah. So it was great to enter a city and see trees and greenness. We stayed at a Methodist church and had wonderful food (burritos).

08.09 Today was 94 miles into California and Lake Tahoe. Just for future reference, I HATE NEVADA. The people are great (besides the motorcyclist who told us to ‘Get off the f’ing road’) but I will never return to this state. The ride to Lake Tahoe was one of our most physically challenging…we climbed a total of 3000 ft and 2300 of those feet were in 10 miles. Climbing up that mountain was ridiculous…the head wind was awful and I have never yelled so loudly at the wind/roads. I still can’t believe I actually made it up. Especially after seeing the ‘Bear X-ing’ sign. Summiting was amazing…and the descent to the lake was indescribable. I was speeding down this mountain road in the forest and all of a sudden, BAM there is this huge, beautiful lake. I teared up I was so happy and it was so beautiful. The last 15 miles into California were just amazing, and honestly, I really feel at home. I think I was meant to be born in Northern California. I really could live at Lake Tahoe forever. I mean maybe I’m just really happy to be here after the week from hell…but seriously it’s awesome. I was the 5^th person to arrive which was unusual and the 5 of us just hung out and ate delicious treats from Molly’s sister and Claude’s girlfriend and set up the tents at Sandy Beach Campground. The night was SO COLD and I unfortunately got stuck in a tent by myself because some people went out to dinner unannounced and never came back. I think they went to Molly’s grandparents’ house but I’m not sure. So my night was chilly but it was nice after the desert. Now I’m in the Java Hut, an awesome coffee shop about 1.5 miles from our campground. I might go parasailing with Bre later…we’ll see what the prices are like. Anyway, check out the pics. Less than a week until San Francisco!!!!!! Much love.

08.07 Eureka/Austin, NV

We have been hit by the plague. It’s 7:30am and only about 10 riders are setting out for the 70 mile day. We are going to have to play some major van and trailer acrobatics to get 17 riders, bikes and bags to Austin, NV today. We have no idea why everyone is sick…it started last night. People, including myself, began to feel nauseated and then everyone started throwing up. I haven’t thrown up that hard in a long time. ick. It didn’t help that we had eaten tuna sandwiches for dinner either. I’ll tell you a little about yesterday which actually was a pretty good day overall.

I was sweep with Delilah yesterday. We had a really good day, though long and hot. The day started with a fabulous breakfast in Ely, NV from the pastor and his wife. I ate 3.5 pancakes, eggs, 3 sausages, and fruit. yummmm. It’s possible that the breakfast is the culprit for our sickness but it was still delicious all the same. The ride was only 80 miles but it was pretty difficult. Around mile 13 Delilah and I had to give some inspiration to Lauren, Emily and John who were just not feeling the ride. We broke out some music and I danced around in my uni-shorts. We did some cartwheels and chalked ‘Lonelyestest Highway’ on the road and took pictures hugging each other. The rest of the morning was alright…Emily had some hip issues so we walked our bikes up the big hill to lunch and pretended we were protesting. After lunch Delilah and I didn’t see anyone but we took our time because it was hot, dusty and WINDY. We had good convos all day so it was entertaining. J It was another day of firsts…my first #2 on the side of the road; I hit 3000 miles; and I reached 39 mph going downhill. Once we reached Eureka, NV we stopped at a little diner for some smoothies and sandwiches (also could be the culprit for sickness because I lot of people ate there). The diner had dollar bills on the wall signed by people passing through so we made a Bike & Build SUS ’07 one. After this, the day started going downhill. We got to the elementary school around 5:30pm and then Delilah, Carly, Emily, and I (all of whom got in really late) had to make dinner for everyone since we’re dinner crew. So we had to make these tuna sandwiches and a three bean salad while everyone who had gotten in early afternoon sat around and napped and watched Seinfeld. It sucked but that’s how chore groups work I guess. Around this time I started feeling really ill. I ate a tuna sandwich thinking maybe I just needed more in my system after such a long day. I lay down around 8:15pm and puked my brains out around 9. I felt soooo much better afterwards and fell right asleep. Overnight lots of people got sick and in the morning we all looked like zombies. My stomach feels okay right now but I’m really weak and achy. Some people who decided to ride really shouldn’t but we can’t force them to stay. It’s funny how we think we’re invincible. Just because I can ride 100 miles when healthy doesn’t mean I can or should ride any distance while sick. And we have two centuries the next two days. So right now all us sickies are hanging out in Eureka, napping, resting, etc while our bikes get taken to Austin and soon we’ll begin the shuttling craziness. I feel bad because all 4 leaders are sick too but they have to drive the van. Keep us in your thoughts today J

08.05 Ely, NV

Yesterday we biked 96 miles and crossed into Nevada. It was an awful day...there was a typical amount of climbing but it was SO HOT. And besides Las Vegas and Reno, there is basically nothing in Nevada. Here were my feelings at the state sign:
Jeff and Andrea spiced things up a little by creating the Nevada Scavenger Hunt but I was concentrating so hard on just getting through the day that I didn't start anything. I did discover one thing that helped me a lot...I clipped my phone to my jersey and played music on it (yay for new phones!). It got me up the hills and put me in an oh so much better mood. Before the last big climb, I stopped at the Panaca Market which has the motto: "Conveniently Located in the Middle of Nowhere." Tells you a little about our day...And just before I turned to go to the next town, there was a sign that said, "Next services, 113 miles." A little preview for the next day. Anyway,I arrived in Pioche, NV around 4...and little did I know that we had switched to Pacific time, so it was really 3pm. Pioche is an old mining town and consists of maybe 400 people and 1 street. I felt like I had stepped into the 19th century. But of all things, they had a Bank of America which I hadn't seen in about 4 states. Yay for cash! I got a root beer float at a little diner with some people and hung around in this random park (green grass = unnatural in NV) until the church was opened for us. We were supposed to hold a bike clinic for little kids at 5 but no one showed up. Pioche was nice but not exactly the most happening town. The pastor and some church ladies served us a delicious meal; Marco helped me fix my brakes; and bedtime it was.

Today we rode 107 miles to Ely, NV (pronounced eelee) and there was literally NOTHING in between Pioche and Ely. This was my longest ride day so far and thankfully it went really fast.

Does the road EVER end?

The roads were great and we had a tailwind, so by 11am I had ridden 80 miles. The scenery was really nice, though it didn't change one bit. At mile 3 I had mountains to my right, left, front and back...and it was the same at mile 95. At mile 80 we hopped on Route 50, which is called the Loneliest Road in America. We'll be on that for the next 4 days...We had a climb from mile 80-86ish and it was one of our most difficult. I averaged about 5 mph and proved Molly's rule wrong that if you go under 5mph you'll tip over. I definitely hit 4mph. I thought the hill would be much longer so at mile 85.5 I had a slight hissy fit/tantrum complaining that I couldn't do this for another hour (remember I was by myself). Then I rounded the bend and I was at the top of the hill. And I felt stupid. But so it goes. On the way down the hill, the wind was ridiculous. When you ride your bike for so long and times get rough, sometimes the only way to feel better and the only thing you can do is yell at inanimate things. I've yelled at the hills before and today I yelled at the wind..."Okay wind, if you keep it up, I can't bike anymore! Seriously...what the *#@^?"

I also used my music again today which helped a lot. Shout out to my Ecuador chicos/chicas...I rocked out to 'Me Vale' Alexa-style on my bike...alone...in the middle of Nevada. Good times :)

Arriving in Ely, I have never been happier to see a McDonalds before in my life. I've also never felt so great after eating McDonalds. I figure biking 107 miles balances out a little McDonalds trans-fat. Now I'm relaxing in the Baptist church with wireless after a wonderful shower at the Ramada Inn down the street (fresh towels...oh the small pleasures in life).

Hope everyone is doing well. I know times are busy but keep me updated on your lives! Much love.

08.03 Cedar City, UT

Wow - what an amazing day! Today was one of those days that reminds me why I am doing Bike & Build. We got off to a slow start (it took us a record 3.5 hours to leave this morning because we had to be shuttled 2 miles on a gravel road from our campsite to the main road). The first 23 miles were very difficult climbing, though the landscape was gorgeous - blue sky, white clouds, green meadows, pine trees, aspen trees...amazing. We reached our highest elevation of 9930 ft today (some people biked an extra 10 miles to reach 10,000 ft and see Cedar Breaks Park but I had absolutely no desire to do that). The last 20 miles was all downhill...we lost 4000 ft in those 20 miles and boy did we go FAST. I hit 37 mph going down the switchback. It's scary but I'm learning to love it. The temperature differences are amazing...I was freezing at the summit and sweating at the bottom. It's funny because it was hard to fully enjoy the views going up the hill because I was working so hard, and it was hard to enjoy the views going down because I was so scared! But the scenery really was spectacular and it was such an amazing feeling to descend that hill. We got in nice and early (around noon) and some of us ate lunch at the Main Street Grill and now we're at the library. This town, Cedar City, is so beautiful. It has a nice suburb feel to it and it's right at the foot of these gorgeous mountains. We're staying at a church finally (5 days of camping = not so fun).

Yesterday we were at Long Valley Junction, UT at Camp Lutherwood (back to my roots! I was born in Long Valley...New Jersey...). It was a similar 45 mile day to today with lots of climbing. Long Valley Junction isn't actually a town...it's literally a junction of two roads and a gas station. There just happens to be a campsite there also. We paid a little extra to sleep in bunks so we got a 'real' bed which was nice. A fabulous change from the night before when it poured and everything got soaked. Some people got a hotel room that night (in Kanab, UT) but thankfully my stuff was pretty dry. Anyway, last night we, dinner crew, made a wonderful concoction for dinner...basically a stew of all stuff we had lying around...potatoes, onions, carrots, spinach, beans, corn, broth, tomato soup...and it was sooooo good. We even had enough potatoes/onions left over to make hash browns this morning.

So overall, I'm in a great mood today and hopefully that will last to psych me up for our 95 mile ride tomorrow into Nevada. Lots of love.

08.01 Kanab, UT

Okay, a quick update while I finally have some wireless internet in Kanab, Utah at an RV park. I left you in Page, AZ after 2 centuries. On 7/29 we rode to Jacob Lake, AZ and it was one of our most difficult days - 80 miles of mostly climbing. We gained about 4000 ft of elevation and experienced all sorts of weather - extreme heat in the valleys, thunderstorms and chilly weather in the mountains. The morning started with some hills and then we descended one of our biggest mesas yet (see the pics). We rode into Marble Canyon which was beautiful and then we went back up with an 11 mile climb. The change of scenery was so drastic; I couldn't get over it. We went from desert valleys to mountain forests. Being greeted by the smell of pine trees and the sound of tiny road-side streams was fabulous after the horrible heat and dryness of the desert below. We were supposed to camp at Jacob Lake (there isn't actually a lake) but we worked our magic to stay at the Inn. There was a restaurant and gift shop and some of us enjoyed what we thought would be our 'Last Dinner' before 4 more nights of camping. Beer, ice cream and pasta never tasted so good. I slept really well that night on a real bed.
Our highest elevation yet...and yes I'm wearing my uni over my jersey for easy access...Bike & Build is not a fashion show :)

On 7/30 we headed 45 miles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our campsite was literally 200 feet from the edge and it was beautiful! We arrived late morning and had the rest of the day to relax and explore. I finished Harry Potter which was amazing and just hung out. Dinner crew made some great burgers and we were all looking forward to our day off. Some of us went to Point Imperial after dinner which is the highest point in all of the Grand Canyon. We couldn't see the sunset or the moonrise but the lightening storms were spectacular. It rained most of the night but thankfully we didn't get too wet in our tents. I did have one of the most terrifying experiences of my life though that night...having to pee during at thunderstorm. It was thundering and lightening but not raining too hard and I really really had to pee. I was too scared to walk all the way to the bathroom in the pitch black so I walked about five steps from our tent and popped a squat. It was the scariest 5 minutes of my life, haha.

7/31 was our day off at the Canyon and I basically did nothing. Some people got up early and hiked all day and I think they are crazy. I slept in until 6:30ish and then some of us did the 1.5 mile 'hike' to the lodge. We had breakfast buffet and ate waaaay too much per usual. Then we just lounged around on the leather couches in the room with huge windows overlooking the canyon. I realized that when you are moving around so much, you really learn to make each place you stay a home. We literally take over the places we go. In normal life, I would never take a nap on a random couch in a tourist location. But there we were, reading, sleeping, chatting amongst all the tourists. And we definitely knew we were around tourists from all the different language we heard. Lunch was again at the lodge. I tried to be sort of healthy and eat a salad. But per my Bike and Build diet, I was still hungry and ended up getting the molten chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert. yuummm. I am going to have to learn how to eat again once I stop exercising so much! After lunch, I headed back by myself (a nice, reflective hike) to clean my bike, shower, and start to make dinner for everyone. My chore group started our week of dinner crew and we made delicious burritos at the campsite, complete with s'mores for dessert. We could see the sunset that night which was beautiful and the stars came out. I star-gazed for a while before turning in.

This morning (August 1st! only 2 weeks left from tomorrow!) we woke up kind of late (6:30ish) and took our sweet time cleaning up the camp site, like normal. We had to ride back the exact same 45 miles to Jacob Lake (so the Grand Canyon was a detour, but totally worth it - although there are rumors that the North Rim isn't actually part of the true Grand Canyon?). We stopped for lunch at Jacob Lake and then rode another 40 miles to Kanab, Utah. The ride was uneventful, kind of sad actually because I hit the Utah sign while I was riding by myself, so I had to use my camera's self timer to take a pic, haha. But so it goes. Having internet is really nice, but stressing me out too. The whole apartment searching thing is way over my head and I'm considering just stopping until I actually get there. Anyway, the rain has finally stopped and the internet is slowing (hopefully I'll get my pics up) and so I'll leave you here. Hope everyone is well :)

07.28 Page, AZ

200 miles in 2 days. I've finally completed two centuries in a row. What an awesome feeling...I told myself that I could ride in the van for the rest of the trip as long as I made it through these two days, haha. And I did it! However, tomorrow we are riding 85 miles of all hills, which is going to be interesting after two 100 mile days. Anyway, let me back track a little. The actual Shiprock in the distance

I left you just before leaving for Shiprock, NM. We didn’t end up leaving Farmington until around 2pm and so the 30 mile ride was nice and hot and a little tougher than anticipated. We got in around 5:30 and by the time everyone was shuttled to showers/dinner/etc. it was late and the pastor still wanted to take us on a tour of Shiprock. We went, of course, and it really was interesting but we didn’t get back until around 9:30pm, way past our bedtime for nights before centuries. He took us around the real poverty housing of the area (which always makes me uncomfortable; I don’t like ‘touring’ impoverished areas) and to the actual Shiprock and told us the stories behind it. Oh, we also got a maildrop and thanks to mom and Evan for awesome packages!Yesterday from Shiprock, NM to Kayenta, AZ (new state!) did not start out as the best of days. I was awakened by a cockroach next to my sleeping bag, the chore of mopping the floors, and getting killed by Alan in our assassin game. Awesome. The route was 100 miles and we had the option of taking a 12 mile detour to the Four Corners. I opted out, as did most people, because I'd heard that the Four Corners is very anti-climatic and not worth 12 miles. I worked my butt off riding though because we had planned a tour of Monument Valley which is one of the Natural Wonders of the World. However, by the time everyone got in and things got organized...rain was looming and people were backing out of the tour because they were tired etc. Plus showers were a mess because the church didn't have any and the only public one in town was $3 per person at the local laundromat. I was pissed because I really wanted to go to Monument Valley, but in the end 11 of us ended up taking the Bike & Build van to see the Valley that night. It was amazing...these random rock formations out of nowhere. And they are enormous. It's something that you can't really describe or even take pictures of. I'm really glad we got to go. Plus I got some good Harry Potter reading in the van ride :)

Today we rode another 100 miles to Page, Arizona which is on the southern shores of Lake Powell (I think Aunt Betty and Uncle Jim are on their houseboat out there somewhere right now). The ride was alright; I rode alone again...actually I've been riding alone now for a while and am really enjoying it. I get really anxious when I have to match the speeds of other people and riding alone lets me pace myself. It's very strange how I don't really think about anything. I'll give myself a topic to think about and never actually get anywhere. haha. Anyway, we're staying at the middle school on the wrestling mats (yay for soft floor, boo to ringworm) and the secretary and her husband bought us all ice cream at a local place (people are so nice!). I'm at the public library where they have free wireless and it'll probably be the last time I have internet for a while because starting tomorrow we're camping for about 5 days. Should be interesting...

Off to search craigslist for apartments in San Francisco...less than 3 weeks! Keep me updated on all your lives. Lots of love.

07.26 Farmington, NM to Shiprock,NM

I'm sitting in Andrea Kristina's Bookstore and Kafe on Main Street in Farmington, NM and it's 9:06am. We're not leaving for our 30 mile ride until after lunch and so of course I found some internet to keep you all updated. I wrote the entry last night - warning: it's a little long, sorry. Here you go:

Hey everyone! What an awesome past few days. I think something is really starting to set in among our group…maybe the fact that we only have 3 weeks left, maybe that we realize we really do all like each other and will miss each other, maybe that the events of the days have just be great…I don’t know. Let’s recap…

Monday night after I posted, we had our famous town hall meetings that everyone hates because we always debate forever about things and nothing ever actually changes (example topics which will sound silly to you: what time to wake up in the mornings, whether to have 2 lunches, what kind of food to buy, etc.). So I was moderator this week and I had been noticing a lot of negative energy lately in the group, especially since everyone was making so much fun of ‘kudos’ (which are like affirmations or compliments for people). So for the end of the meeting, I read everyone a few quotes from a Buddhist writing by Tenzin Gyatso:

From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion…It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of existence. Therefore we need a genuine sense of responsibility and a sincere concern for the welfare of others…So far I have been discussing mainly the mental benefits of compassion, but it contributes to good physical health as well. According to my personal experience, mental stability and physical well-being are directly related. Without question, anger and agitation make us more susceptible to illness. On the other hand, if the mind is tranquil and occupied with positive thoughts, the body will not easily fall prey to disease.

Then I had written a kudos for each person in the group and I put them in the middle of the circle for everyone to read at their own leisure. But they all wanted them read aloud so we had fun with that. And I was surprised that everyone was really receptive to it and I could feel the positive energy around the room. It was funny because people came up to thank me afterwards and told me that I would make a great teacher…but I don’t particularly want to be a teacher! haha…we’ll see where life takes me.

Anyway, the next morning we woke up at 4am and everyone was pumped because we had 100 miles ahead of us. So pumped in fact that we were ready before the sun was risen…which never happens. We left a little after 6am and it was SO COLD. It was the first time that I was thankful for hills because they warmed me up. The first 12 miles went so fast because I was so preoccupied with my frozen body and suddenly we reached the Continental Divide (7380 feet). Supposedly, on the west the water flows to the CO River and on the east to the MS River, but I peed on the line and it flowed both ways so I can’t really say anything about the theory. haha. We reached first lunch (40 miles) by 9am and the worst of our climbing was over. Right after lunch we passed through this valley that I believe had once been a volcanic crater – the rock looked like hardened, smoothed lava. At the second lunch stop, we checked out Angel Peak which was AMAZING. It was basically a mini-Grand Canyon. My pictures definitely don’t do it justice. Photos don’t really do anything on this trip justice; I see so much that I want to capture on film but it’s useless so I just try to remember or at least enjoy the moment. So the ride was really fast and I ended up getting to Farmington, NM around 2pm. You have to understand that I have never gotten in before 6pm on a day over 90 miles, so this was amazing. A bunch of us stopped at Dairy Queen, which is becoming a tradition. And we found a bike store next door and I got some leg warmers for the early mornings and some tweaks done for my bike. We are staying at the Presbyterian Church and they had our first sign: “Welcome Bike & Build!”. We had to walk to a local pool to shower and it was one of the more awkward experiences of my life. We had to shower in those community showers that you are just supposed to rinse off in before you go into the pool. We had to be ‘those naked people’ in the showers. haha. But so it goes and now I’m over that phobia. Dinner was provided potluck style by the members of the church and we gave them our presentation afterwards and it went really really well.

Today we built with ECHO Hope Project, a profit/non-profit started by this awesome guy, Ryan, when he was 23. We were working on some houses in one of his developments. As always with our large group, there wasn’t something to do for everyone at every moment. Some of us started a retaining wall but the ground turned out to be stone and we couldn’t dig far enough. Molly, Whitney, Alf and I put together a metal fence for the building supplies to be stored. We were helped by Glen, one of the older guys who was working with us, and he was just awesome. After a delicious lunch of dinner leftovers and pizza, the afternoon just went crazy. Ryan had some of us building signs for the sites and it turned into a huge nail driving championship, won by Ryan of course, with Laura in close second. We had relay races and contests about everything. We drove around in the back of his pickup and had an awesome time. It was definitely the best build day so far. Afterwards, we got treated to A&W (I had never been to a real one before) and then taken to the Aztec Ruins. The ruins were of the Chaco and Pueblo people (not the Aztecs; the ruins are located in a town called Aztec). We walked around and heard a mini presentation by one of the rangers and it was really interesting. We learned all about kivas and other anthropological stuff. He was a great speaker so despite my exhaustion, he really did hold my attention. Our van is currently in the shop getting fixed, so some of us had to wait over an hour before getting shuttled back. But when we got there, Triple Eagle construction (Ryan’s company) had provided Mexican food for dinner and it was amazing. Tomorrow is going to be awesome too…we get to sleep in until around 7:30, then get breakfast provided by the church at 8. Then we have free time (when I will post this) until 11am. We’ll leave around noon for Shiprock, NM which is only 30 miles away. And it’s a mail drop day! Only one more day in New Mexico. Crazy…

Tidbits:

*We have established that the ‘ampersand (&)’ part of Bike & Build is essential and the most fun. The random, other things we get to do are the best part.

*We saw a dog herding sheeps/goats on the side of the road…

*There are signs all over the place around here about DWI and not driving while drunk. It’s stereotypical but I guess it’s a major problem.

*The highest altitude we’ve reached so far is about 7400. I’m definitely feeling it a little bit, mostly when I go up hills and can’t breathe…

*I’ve decided (well I guess I’ve know for a while but this trip has confirmed it) that I need to live near natural beauty. It really grounds me. Riding through it every day has been amazing.

*All the elderly people we meet along the way have told us that we have restored their hope in our generation. The idea that the older people have no faith in young people is very true. Where do they get such distrust? Is it because the media only shows negative stuff?

Sorry this is so long...I"ll shut up now! Lots of love.

p.s. We'll be camping for the next week or so starting on Saturday I believe...so who knows when I'll get internet again. I can't believe the trip is over 3 weeks from today!

07.23 Cuba, NM

Welcome to Cuba, NM...all 2 square miles of it, elevation 6905 feet. It's actually a pretty hoppin town, excuse me, village, for 2 square miles...I got subway for lunch (first time I've ever had avocado at a Subway, amazing), there's a McDonalds, 2 gas stations, a library and oh so much more on the 1 mile of a main street. The ride in today was short (52 miles) but tough. The roads were bad and slow and there were plenty of hills. I had my max speed as of yet going down a hill...37mph. Its scary but I'm learning to handle going fast (don't worry, it doesn't happen that often). The scenery was again beautiful today; we're so close to the mountains/rock formations that it's hard not to get distracted looking at them. I rode alone today and was in the mood for it. I'm amazed at my new ability to basically think about nothing and everything for hours on end. I'm also amazed at my new ability to accept the fact that I will probably have bike grease under my fingernails from now until eternity. It's a good look for me. Real earthy. haha anyway, I'm rambling; not much else to say. Last night we had a campfire and roasted marshmellows (thanks Ash!). This morning the sunrise was amazing over the plateaus. It's crazy that I've seen the sunrise almost every morning this summer...

No pictures today because I'm at a public library with no wireless, therefore not on my own computer. I have no idea when I will get internet again because we're going to some very small towns in the middle of nowhere and then camping for many nights.

Until next time, much love from a crazy, tired, smiling biker :)

07.22 Evening Addition

Just finished an amazing dinner provided by the Ghost Ranch and a really wonderful, stimulating conversation with Jim and Jerry Kimmel, a fabulous couple staying here, about the Southwest, spirituality, and life in general. Wanted to give them a shout out because they really made my day!

We just heard a pack of coyotes howl like crazy...we really are in the middle of the desert...

07.22 Abiquiu Lake, NM

Another fabulous day. Only 58 miles to ride, gorgeous weather and spectacular views. Today we found the best lunch spot yet and had the best lunch food. Josh's mom gave us a gift certificate to Trader Joe's and we had lunch meat, hummus and sprouts. We stopped at the Maya Art Cafe about 12 miles outside of Abiquiu Lake. Most of us hung out for over an hour enjoying lattes and good company. The climb at the end of the ride was rough but we were going right through huge red rock formations and it was amazing. And the lake and campground are worth it. We jumped right in the lake when we got there, jerseys, spandex and all. It was so fun and refreshing...I didn't even take a shower (we're camping anyway). Right now we're at the Ghost Ranch which was the summer residence of Georgia O'Keefe and I definitely wouldn't mind waking up to these views every morning. Claude's parents have arranged dinner for us here. It's really nice to have time to relax and enjoy each other's company when we're not all dying from difficult rides. These few days have been awesome :) We're uploading some more pictures to the Bike and Build website so if you want to see some shots other than my own, check out www.bikeandbuild.org and look for the Southern US Route photos.

Much love.

07.21 Santa Fe, NM Day Off

Sitting in Starbucks uploading all my blog entries and photos...

"The moment I saw the proud morning sun high above Santa Fe something stirred in my soul."
-DH Lawrence

07.20 Santa Fe, NM

I had the most amazing day today, which was much needed after yesterday (sorry for the depressing blog entry, but such is life). I started off the day determined to finish the ride and have a good day. Thankfully, the ride was fast and not too hilly and the weather and scenery were spectacular. We stopped for lunch at Pecos Historic National Park and saw some great pueblo adobe huts. I worked my butt off after lunch and got into Santa Fe before 2pm…coming to the crest of that hill and seeing the city in the valley surrounded by mountains cannot be described. The afternoon was full of delicious treats thanks to care packages and cards from Ashley, Marie, Katie and Aimee!!! We have a great location in Santa Fe…we walked 4 blocks to a bike shop and Trader Joes and after a fabulous dinner of enchiladas and ice cream sundaes provided by Josh’s mom, a bunch of us walked about 10 blocks to downtown. I had no expectations of Santa Fe and it is more amazing than I could have hoped. Everything is adobe and cultural, and the downtown is a quaint few blocks of shops, bars, and restaurants. Some people went straight to a bar but I explored with Rachel. We saw some great views of the perfect sunset, found an independent bookstore where I reserved a copy of Harry Potter #7 that comes out tomorrow, browsed some amazing art galleries and got into a jazz festival for free. I will never forget this jazz festival. The Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra was playing. Toumani Diabaté is from West Africa and is considered the world’s finest kora player. A kora is a 21 stringed instrument…he plays the bass with one thumb, the melody with the other thumb and uses his index fingers to improvise…it is amazing. He won the 2005 Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album. The 45 minutes of the concert we saw were just a rush. I have never seen so many people over the age of 40 get their groove on…and I’ve never heard so many coyote calls. It is the kind of music that just fills you up so that all you have left is the music itself and your thoughts. If you can relax your mind, your body can just go. Rachel and I danced like I’ve never danced before…you just move to this music…it’s impossible not to. For the encore, we got onto the stage and danced with the musicians and it was so liberating to just let go and move naturally…especially after all that time on a bike! Needless to say, I had a great night, which was made even better by the star-filled sky on the walk home. It’s 10:45pm and I don’t even feel very tired, which is a first for me all summer. Can’t complain…:)

P.S. I hit the 2000 mile mark today. Now, instead of people being surprised that we’re riding all the way to San Francisco, they’re amazed that we’ve ridden all the way from Florida. Feels pretty good.

07.19 Las Vegas, NM

So I’ve had a terrible day and I figure I would write about it now while I’m still in a bad mood…just so you all get the right effect.

Let’s start with yesterday. Dalhart, TX to Mosquero, NM. Texas apparently didn’t want us to leave because the day began with hills and really strong headwinds (which lasted all day). I left with Team Tardy and we were in great moods singing and chatting, but it distracted me and I ran over something sharp and got a flat. Right in front of this ridiculous cattle farm…I now know why people are vegetarians. The landscape just looked like varying shades of brown, but when you looked closer you realized that it was cattle, penned up in ridiculous numbers. The smell was great too. So with the difficult roads and wind, it took us about 4.5 hours to get to first lunch, which was on the New Mexico state line, as well as at the time zone change (yay Mountain Time). The ride was just so rough…it was the first time that it crossed my mind that I wanted to get injured so that I could go home. Not a very good positive attitude. We keep saying that we’re miserable on the road, but we know it isn’t really true. The rides are just getting very difficult and it’s so hot and in the moment you just lose all sense of the awesome thing you are doing. Anyway, just so you all know, there is nothing in New Mexico. The scenery is gorgeous but there are no people. And no cell phone service, unless you have Cingular. After lunch, the route got all messed up and two different things happened. One group of people (the fast bunch) went an extra 20 miles (turning it into a 120 mile day) and my group (the slower bunch) went 12 miles on a loose gravel road (a total of 102 miles). Both situations were obviously not so great, especially since at mile 89 we hit the biggest hill yet. It was basically a plateau of sorts and we climbed switchback for 2 miles and gained 1000 feet. It was ridiculous. I went an average of 5 miles per hour. That’s slow enough that if feels like you could potentially fall over sideways. But the views and the feeling at the top were worth it. I wish I could have stopped and taken more pictures but I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get going again. Anyway, we reached Mosquero, NM (a mile high!) around 8pm (which felt like 9pm for us). We stayed at the Municipal School which was K-12 and had 48 kids (crazy!). Dinner was made by the riders who were unfortunately in the van that day, and grilled cheese and tomato soup has never tasted so good.

Today started out late because we woke up at 5:30am instead of 4:30am and didn’t get on the road until almost 8am. The ride was much easier in the morning but still took forever. We hit a gorgeous downhill around mile 12 that was terrifying to go down. Delilah got a nasty flat at the bottom and we were fixing it for about an hour and due to the heat and hilly roads, again didn’t reach lunch until very late. After lunch went really slow too because it was hot hot hot and we were just exhausted from the day and yesterday. Two centuries (100 miles) in a row is just crazy. After lots of stops (including the only houses in sight to ask for water and bathrooms because it is so desolate), we reached mile 62 and the 4 mile switchback. I literally thought that I would have to walk my bike up the hill because I was so tired. But through some miracle, I made it up the hill at my 5 mph pace and up the 3 more mini hills after that to second lunch. I was in an awesome mood after that and ready for the next 30 miles. Unfortunately it was already 5:30pm by the time we left second lunch and it was doubtful we’d make it in before dark. Around 6:00 the van came around and told us we would probably have to be shuttled farther ahead in order to make dinner at the restaurant at 7pm. I was resigned to the fact that I would have to get picked up and the hills weren’t looking too friendly. So after another huge hill at mile 79, the van came around and I got in with 2 other riders. Other people refused, but I was told that I’d probably miss dinner and laundry if I didn’t get a ride. This however turned out not to be true because everyone else made it in with enough time to eat AND get their laundry done. Needless to say, I’m pissed because I could have ridden the last 15 miles. I know that it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things (what’s 15 miles out of 3600?). But I would rather have ridden in the van if I was sick or injured. So now I officially can’t say that I pedaled every mile, which I didn’t even care about until people started making it such a big deal. But it’s hard not to get emotional when you are this exhausted and on the line. So right now everyone else is in a great mood because they just rode two centuries in a row and I feel like a baby for having taken the van. But I just have to remember that it’s not about comparison and that it was the right decision for me at the time – it was late, I was tired and we still have 70 hard miles to climb tomorrow before Santa Fe and our day off (yay!). So I’m getting over it but I don’t want to talk to anyone right now. This isn’t something I would normally write about in this blog but I figured you would want all the details, however dark and dirty. I’m gonna go to bed and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

07.17 Dalhart, TX

Yesterday we enjoyed a nice day off in Amarillo, TX. The night before a few of us went out with a guy from the YMCA. Unfortunately there isn’t much open on a Sunday night in the middle of Texas, or at least in Amarillo. We ended up at a sketchy pool hall (boy do I appreciated the no smoking inside laws on the East Coast) and just chatted and played a few games of pool for a bit. What a culture shock. A lot of the towns we are going through are a culture shock for me; I’ve only lived in suburbs and we’re riding through the middle of nowhere! The scenery is amazing though and much more appreciated on a bike. Never before have I been to a place so flat and tree-less that you can see the horizon…

On the day off, we all were split up to do different presentations throughout the day. I did one to a group of kids at one of the YMCA branches and we worked a little bike safety in as well. The afternoon consisted of wireless internet, post office/bike store/ice cream, and just general relaxing. The Tour de France is going on right now so lots of people are into that. It’s interesting to watch, especially since I now know what is going on, but tv sports really aren’t my thing.

Today we had an 85 mile ride into Dalhart, TX and it was actually really awesome. We had a nice tail wind for most of it, which is a change, so it was a fast ride and the hills weren’t that bad. We went through some hilly pastureland (still no trees, although we did find one for a lunch spot) and some cropland. I rode with Josh and then Rachel today and we had some good convos which helped the ride along. I’ve really liked riding with different people the past few days. The one-on-one convos are good and it’s easier to pace.

Some people have been asking how I’m doing physically. I’m okay, not great. I have learned that I am not built to be an athlete in any sense of the word. Granted, I know that I’ll make it but it’s been rough and the hardest part is yet to come. Thanks to painkillers, my life is a little easier. Some riders are pumped up by this trip and are planning to run marathons and do triathlons. I have no desire to do anything this physically challenging ever again, haha! I’m excited to be able to exercise like a normal person again. I am also excited to be able to use my bike as a means of transportation in San Francisco. But soon enough…I’ve got 1800 miles left!

07.15 Amarillo, TX

Greetings from Amarillo, TX! For those of you who are Spanish-challenged, ‘Amarillo’ means yellow and the ride into the city proved its name – lots of yellowish fields and nothing else. I had a really good ride today, despite the 90 miles (60 of which were uphill) and the 99 degrees and the fact that we were on the same road for 75 miles straight (our longest stretch on one road at a time). I rode with Emily who I don’t normally ride with and we had some good convo which always speeds the ride up. Plus I’ve starting keeping my cyclometer on the cadence setting instead of the distance setting so I’m not looking down to see how far I’ve gone every 2/10 of a mile. Emily, Christine, Breanna and I stopped at Dairy Queen for some delicious treats before we cruised into the YMCA where we are staying…gym to sleep in, lots of showers, computers, food provided. Tomorrow we have a day off which is amazing. I’m not sure that there’s too much to do in Amarillo but just a day to relax is much needed.

Yesterday, Saturday 7/14 I wrote the group journal:

Hey everyone! Today was the day of fairy tale roads and scenery. We road from Altus, OK back into Texas – 75 miles to Memphis. And there was literally nothing in between these two towns. Our landscape for the day was absolutely beautiful…first there were flat fields and crops and then we began to hit the red clay hills. The colors were what hit me the most. The day was perfect with bright blue skies and white puffy clouds. The gray road and green surrounding crops just added to it all. At one point, there was a yellow crop plane and a red barn to add to the picture. I know this sounds corny but it really was beautiful. It makes the ride so much more enjoyable when there are things to look at…not just angry cars passing by on a boring highway. The other great thing was that I think I only saw about 10 cars today…and they were nice cars who actually passed into the other lane. I rode with Lindsey and Laura for most of the day and we had some great conversation as well as some amazing ice cream at Sonic when we arrived in Memphis. We are staying at the Methodist Church and a big thanks to the parishioners who made us snacks, dinner and dessert!

Friday the 13th from Wichita Falls, TX to Altus, OK was the day of rain. Around mile 6 we hit a terrible storm. I literally felt like I was in the Wizard of Oz. We had to get off the road and some of us went to a random house that had a front porch. We waited it out for about 45 minutes and then had to plug on in the rain. That was at about 8am and the rain didn’t stop until 1pm. Thankfully I rode with Team Tardy and we got through it with the per usual entertainment and frequent stops to places like Whattaburger. Random note: There are a ton of fast food chains down here that don’t exist up north…like Whattaburger and Sonic. Anyway, the ride finally ended in sunshine and Oklahoma didn’t disappoint. Sue, our contact for Habitat and the Catholic Church we stayed in, made us cookies and Gatorade, as well as dinner and lunch for the next day (yumm brisket!). We got to meet a Habitat homeowner who was about to move in to his new house. The house was one of the nicest Habitat houses I’ve seen, with a storm cellar for tornados and all. We were supposed to give a presentation after dinner but Relay For Life (yay for random small towns having this event) was going on that night and most of the town was participating in that. The next morning we got free breakfast at McDonalds (it sat in my stomach surprisingly well, haha).

Side notes:

*On our day out of Dallas, we rode right through the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Isn’t it one of the most traveled airports in the country?

*I’ve sent out some postcards but if you’re a college grad with a random address, you need to send it to me if you want a postcard!!!

*On a more personal note, I made a decision while riding the other day that I need to be more positive. I was getting sick of myself because I was always so negative…always complaining, in a bad mood, assuming the worst, not excited to ride. It wasn’t extreme because most of you know that I don’t ever get extremely down, but it was a definite change. So I’ve decided that I need to refresh the attitude, especially since we’ve got our toughest times ahead (here we come Rockies!).

Much Texas love.

07.12 Wichita Falls, TX

Alive and well, still in TX. This will be short because I'm using Ethernet at the YMCA where we are staying. So a quick update...

*Tuesday we were in Dallas for our build day. Dallas Habitat is actually one of the largest in the country and very well organized. They actually have a shop where they build the walls of the houses and then send them to the sites. So we worked in their workshop all day (a really nice break from the sun) and hammered interior and exterior walls together. I worked with a future homeowner who is a Katrina refugee. He's doing his sweat equity right now and is so skilled in construction that he was able to supervise some of us.

*Wednesday we biked to Decatur, TX and it was definitely the hottest day so far. I don't think I have ever sweat so much before. This is added to the fact that we're starting to hit the flat, unshaded part of Texas. We did have one interesting stop along the way (mostly to get out of the heat for a bit). We stopped at the 'House Moving Museum.' It was literally a warehouse museum of artifacts/articles/photos of the profession of moving houses (like when they literally move an entire building). It was so random but actually really interesting, haha. The lady who showed us around (they only open the building when someone requests...which isn't too often) took our picture and is going to put it in the next copy of Texas House Movers Magazine. yesssss! To top off the day, some of us went to see the new Harry Potter movie and it put me in a fabulous mood.

*Today we biked to Wichita Falls, TX and I was sweep with Lauren (we had to be the last 2 riders). It's nothing new for me because I've officially realized that I am the slowest rider out of all 27 of us. It doesn't bother me beside the fact that I have to ride alone a lot and it's kind of frustrating that I haven't sped up in the past month (today is our one month anniversary). But it's just one of many things I am learning about my body in this crazy journey of mine, haha. I am not built to be Lance Armstrong...and I don't really have any issues with that. :) One sad thing though is that I usually get in pretty late and don't have time to go explore the towns/cities that where we stay. But I guess I get to see enough of the country.

When we got in today, we gave a presentation to the kids at the Y. Well, I talked to them and answered their questions. I really like it and the kids find it pretty cool too. I'm off to go grab some dinner after I load up some pics!

*Shout out to Evan who is currently on a plane to San Francisco!!!!! <3

*Shout out to Melissa Joyce and mom for more delicious treats! And a postcard from Alexa!

07.09 Dallas, TX

Greetings from Dallas! I can't believe I'm here already. We are 1/3 of the way done...1200 miles out of 3600. Crazy. Texas is turning into the Texas I expected - hot and flat. Our ride into Dallas was pretty uneventful besides my flat tire at lunch. We got to ride through downtown Dallas which was cool but busy. Tomorrow we have a build day which will be a nice break.

Yesterday was quite the day. It was our first crazy Texan thunderstorm. About 1 mile after lunch the heavens opened up. A few of us found a shack on the side of the road to take cover in. Unfortunately it was near a radio tower that kept getting hit by the lightening so we had to wait over an hour for the storm to die down. While we were huddled for warmth in this shack, other lucky people had found heated warehouses and friendly retirement homes to wait out the storm. Because of the setback we arrived at our host location in Athens, TX a little late and had to eat dinner and give a presentation in our bike gear. We felt bad because we smelled so awful but the parishioners were so nice and the food was amazing. Not to mention the big screen tv, couches and pool table we got to use.

Randoms:

*We stayed on Lover's Lane last night...it really exists!

*I'm determined to find a street sign named after me somewhere...so far I've seen a gardening store called Caitlin's Cottage (in LA) and in downtown Dallas today I saw Catalina's Cycles for motorcycles. There has got to be a Caitlin Ann Lane somewhere, don't you think?? :)

07.07.07 Carthage, TX

What a welcome we received from Texas today. More like a kick in the butt. Eighty miles of almost 100 degrees, terrible roads and never ending hills. It was one of the most physically challenging days so far. On the bright side, the scenery was gorgeous, the weather really was nice especially after days of rain, and crossing a state line is always exciting. And we’re staying in Paradise, aka the home of a Bike & Build alum’s parents. Air conditioning, limitless food, real towels, a mom and dad, big screen tvs, BEER…all we could ever ask for. Texas is definitely very Texas…fitting the stereotype as much as possible so far. Small town USA where everyone drives a pick up, wears cowboy boots, and has never before seen a biker. It’s going to be a long and interesting 10 days. Off to mess with Texas (and eat beef brisket until I can’t breathe…)

07.06 Mansfield, LA

Last night was made oh so wonderful by a Christian teenage rock band concert at the church we were staying, concluding with a round of Guitar Hero…yes, I got to play. Right now I’m awaiting dinner which is being made by the people at the Baptist church. Here’s what happened today:

WHO: the fearless Bike & Build leaders

WHAT: the ultimate prank on the riders

WHEN: July 6^th, 2007

WHERE: from Natchitoches, LA to Mansfield, LA

WHY: their own entertainment

HOW: Our leaders told us that they had messed up the route and instead of a nice easy 60 miles, it was going to be 91. We were soooooo pissed. Our bodies were tired, sore and not up for that much. We awoke this morning to thunder storms and terrible moods. The ride was slow and rainy and around mile 29 we came to a road on our route that turned out to be a dirt road, so we had to walk our bikes 3 miles to the first lunch spot. As it turns out, the first lunch stop was actually our final destination…our ride was only 33 miles instead of 91. The feeling of discovering that was just so amazing. You have no idea how nice it is to actually have an afternoon to relax and get things done, instead of biking for 10 hours, eating, showering, sleeping, repeat. We got to hang out, play knock-out in the gym, clean our bikes, organize ourselves, nap, etc. Amazing.

07.03-07.05 Lafayette, Alexandria, and Natchitoches, LA

Okay so it’s been a while since we’ve had internet, but I don’t feel like completely recapping the past few days because they weren’t so great. BUT I broke 1000 miles today...I'm over 1/4 done!!! crazy....anyway, here's a little:

Things I’ve Learned So Far on Bike & Build

1. There is a major difference between mental exhaustion and physical exhaustion but I suffer from both every day. Mental exhaustion has more to do with either a long, boring flat road with no end in sight or a crazy busy highway with terrible road surfaces and cars passing 3 inches from you. This kind of being tired only makes the physical difficulty worse. I’ve learned that mental state is everything. If you set out in the morning to do 100 miles, you’ll feel great at mile 80. But if you set out to do an 80 mile ride, you’ll be ready to pass out at mile 80.

2. There is such a thing as a white cow with no black spots. And cows do not like bikers. They run away in herds from us when we pass by…probably because they’ve never seen a biker before. We’re going through some pretty rural areas. Think corn field claustrophobia. Dogs, on the other hand, LOVE bikers, as in they love to eat bikers. Today alone I was chased by dogs 3 different times. It’s amazing how your ‘flight or fight’ instinct kicks in and that speedometer gets really high.

3. When I’m trying to comfort or encourage myself on my bike, I sing. Going up a hill, I tend to sing boy band songs…preferably ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’ by N*SYNC. When I’m just having a rough day, I’ll sing more meaningful songs. We love to have sing-a-longs on the road too. Yesterday for July 4^th we sang every patriotic song we could think of...as well as some Christmas songs.

4. I am dirty. Mom, you thought my dorm room was dirty, you don’t even want to come near us after we’ve biked 100 miles. In a single day, I’ve sweat, been rained on, gone to the bathroom outside and in dirty gas stations, changed flat tires, laid in grass, climbed trees, eaten peanut butter and jelly, and then sat in all this for multiple hours. I’m on laundry duty this week and the smell of our laundry literally makes me nauseated. You have never truly appreciated a hot shower until you’ve biked all day in the rain.

5. Speaking of the rain, it’s fun to bike in for about the first 5 minutes. By then, you are cooled off and you are just drenched. If this happens during the first part of the day, you definitely won’t be dry for a long time.

6. People are amazingly generous. Two nights ago, we stayed at the Catholic Diocese in Lafayette, LA and a random lady who works at the church invited all 27 of us to her barbeque that night for dinner. When we first got there, we thought it was a Christian singles group, but that turned out to be a rumor. Last night in Alexandria, LA, a lady on the board of Habitat and two parishioners whose son in on the Central Bike & Build route right now, made us a wonderful dinner and breakfast this morning.

7. I’ve perfected the art of eating before intense physical activity. No more of this ‘wait 20 minutes before getting back in the pool’ craziness. I can eat powerbars while riding my bike.

8. People down south really like sno cones and anything Cajun.

9. Railroad tracks will always be scary to cross.

10. Helmets really do save lives. Not to scare anyone, but we’ve had two people crack helmets so far. It’s the crazy idiot motorists who think that bikers have no right to the road. I truly hope anyone who is reading this will be much more careful next time you pass a biker on the road. It doesn’t mean you need to pass into the other lane completely, but a few feet of distance would be nice.

11. We crossed the Mississippi River on Tuesday. That’s not something I learned, but whatever.

12. When your back tire is half flat, you can’t go fast. And it’s really frustrating and the world seems like it’s going to end…until you fix the problem and everything is sunny again.

13. We have some hardcore animal activists in our group. Yesterday we passed by two puppies on the side of the road outside someone’s house. At first it was, ‘Oh look at the cute puppies.’ Then it was, ‘Oh my god they are malnourished and mistreated.’ Then it was, ‘We must rescue them.’ I thought it was ridiculous because the puppies probably belonged to the people in the house and yes they looked a little hungry and sad but it was not our business to interfere. They ended up bringing the puppies to some guy who had worked for a vet and was going to call someone. Sketchy…

14. Team Tardy is awesome. We arrived first last night. Maybe time for a name change. Some have suggested Team Timing. We’ll see…

15. Tonight we are staying in Natchitoches, LA (pronounced something like knack-e-jez) which was the first settlement of the Louisiana Purchase so it’s a really cute old town with lots of history and culture. There are a total of 53 bed and breakfasts (!!) and it was rated as one of the best places in the country to retire that you don’t know about. The movie Steel Magnolias was filmed here. Apparently there was some Indian chief who had two sons, Natchitoches and Natchitoc;laksjifn (I don’t know how to spell it but it sounds similar). He told Natchitoches to walk as far East as he wanted and that would be his land and he told the other son to walk as far West as he wanted for his land. So now there are sister cities (or brother cities I guess) in West Texas and Louisiana.

16. In Louisiana, they call counties 'parishes' which was very confusing at first. I just thought there were a ton of churches.

Okay that’s all I have time for. Love ya’ll lots!