Quincy, FL

Today was so much better than yesterday, at least for me. We started the morning off great by getting breakfast made for us in Montecello – egg bake (some people had never had this before...they were obviously not really living...yay for Porter family holiday staple), bagels, fresh fruit, juice. Definitely beat our daily routine of bagels/cereal/water. Today was a day of many firsts…our first awesome breakfast, the first day of HILLS, the first alligator sighting (I have pictures!), the first time I reached 32 mph (downhill of course), and our first media coverage (a reporter from the local newspaper interviewed us!). We had a short day of only about 45 miles and finished most of it by lunch. But we didn’t know where we were staying until about 2pm so lunch turned into about a 3 hour break. Poor Lindsey and Matthew both had pretty rough days with flats/bad directions but they made it through. I think Lindsey’s about ready to burn her bike though, haha. We’re staying in East Gadsen High School in a beautiful, air conditioned gym. Right now there’s a basketball camp going on but we’re just chillin until we figure out dinner (donation…cooking…etc.). I am surprised that my body hasn’t shut down by now. 240 miles in 4 days. My legs didn’t seem to work too well for our last few miles but I made it. And so it goes. Till tomorrow.

6/17 Montecello, FL

Here's the journal entry that I wrote for our trip journal yesterday:

So I’m not gonna lie…today was rough. At least for me. haha. We rode about 60 miles today, which is the same as the past 2 days, but today was HOT. It was upwards of 100 degrees with humidity to match. And there was no shade in sight on 90West. But our periodic rest stops definitely helped. We stopped at Suwanee River State Park and apparently Florida State Parks are the Real Florida. Other rest stops were less exciting but a nice break from the sun. The first group arrived at the high school around 1:45pm and my group arrived around 3:30pm. Cutting it a little close to the 4:00pm deadline but we did it! We’re staying at Montecello High School, “Home of the Fighting Tigers” in the old gym. No AC and sketchy showers but a place to sleep! Despite some anticipated rough times, the jokes and bonding make it all better. This town, Montecello is pronounced like ‘sello’ not ‘cello’ – and we all got a kick out of that for some reason. Shout out to all the fathers – Happy Father’s Day! Another shout out to Mark from Pizza Hut for the donated pizzas we ate for dinner; thank you so much! Although, Laura didn’t need to eat any pizza because she won a bet by eating 3 foot long subs from Subway. I believe she won 2 massages a day for a week. Rock on. Hope friends/family are doing well – keep those care packages coming! Actually we haven’t gotten any yet because we haven’t reached a mail drop yet but we have high expectations :)
Much love,
Caitlin

Live Oaks, FL

Right now I am sitting in a beautiful, air conditioned library just 5 minutes from the church we are staying at in Live Oak, FL. We rode 54 miles today in 89 degrees. I won’t say it wasn’t difficult or that my butt wasn’t ready to fall off, but the days pass surprisingly fast. We stopped for lunch in Lake City, FL at this cute town green where they were having a little carnival celebration for Father’s Day. It’s the first time in my life that I have seen a carousel with live ponies. We also stopped in a Consignment shop where the first shirt I saw was one that side ‘I’d rather be riding.’ So I had to buy it of course.

Our ride today was literally on all the same road, 90West. 54 miles on one road is not so fun…we had to stop many times, not only for our butts but also for some enjoyment. At one point we had an extended sing-a-long but we soon ran out of breath, haha. We really are out in the boonies here…it was excitement to see buildings. But the town we’re staying in now seems pretty hoppin. We’ll see how it goes. The library closes in 15 minutes so I’m going to try to update my pictures; check it out! Oh, is anyone reading this? Make some comments or send me some emails and update me on your lives! much love :)

Days 3 & 4

I just finished our first ride day - a 60 mile ride…the longest that I’ve ever ridden on a bicycle. It wasn’t too bad. Yes my butt killed at one point but I've learned that rest stops are key. I think everyone else downplayed their training because I got passed by just about everyone within the first 10 minutes. But Matthew, Meghan and I formed the caboose and it was fabulous. Actually I was literally the caboose because I was good for watching for cars coming from behind and Matthew was in front because he had the directions. Meghan was the ‘penultimum’ or however you say it. I burned 2600 calories which is pretty ridiculous…we’re supposed to consume upwards of 6000 calories a day – probably not going to be an issue. So today we went from Jacksonville, FL to Glen St. Mary’s, FL and we are staying in the gym of a Baptist church tonight. The floor is a little hard but the showers are on premises which is amazing. We’re kind of in the boonies so postcards are hard to come by, but I promise I’ll start them as soon as I can.

Yesterday we built with Jacksonville Habitat. We worked on a few different homes because we are such a big group, but my group worked on a roof. When we got there at 8am there was only the frame of a house and when we left at 4pm, there was a wooden roof (no shingles yet…we’re not that good). I am convinced that I will get injured only off of my bicycle because yesterday I smashed my thumb with a hammer…the same thumb that was sore from putting new tires on my bike. It feels a lot better now and didn’t impede my bike riding at all, obviously. But so it goes. Anyway, we worked with Paul, who volunteered with Habitat for 12 years and then has been working full time for them for the past 4. He’s put his sweat and tears into all 160 houses that the Jacksonville Habitat has built…pretty awesome.

Off to snack and chat until dinner...

Shakedown Ride

So here's a photo of me and Alf at the Atlantic Ocean...I swear the bike didn't fall right after this photo was taken...This was on our 'shakedown' ride, our 12 mile practice ride. It was beautiful out, thankfully, because it's thunderstorming now. Check out a few more pics with the link to the right.

Remember how I got a flat tire spontaneously yesterday? Well today I found out that I had a hole in my tire as well (not just the tube)...so I had to buy new tires and install them which was a second work-out and I can barely feel my thumbs right now as I'm typing.

We're off now to showers and then a pool party/bbq at the Testa's house :) Tomorrow we build!

Arrived in Jacksonville!

Hey everyone!

So I am officially safe and sound in Jacksonville, FL! I arrived around noon today (been up since 4:30am...but I better get used to that) and since then it's been a crazy string of airport van rides, meeting people, putting my bike back together, icebreakers, pizza, bike safety, and Bike & Build policies. Some highlights from the day:

*My bike spontaneously got a flat tire while it was sitting alone by itself in a corner....so I got my first flat tire changing lesson.
*I got my first war wound...from the staples on my bike box.
*When we got picked up from the airport, a can of paint spilled out of our trailer and so needless to say we've left our mark on Jacksonville...

It's the imperfections that makes this so much fun :)

Love you all...pray for my butt...

Mail Drops

Here are the addresses that you all can send me letters and packages if you so wish and the dates that they have to arrive by:

Note: Make sure "Please hold for pick up on {DATE}" is marked on the package

Jun 21st Milton FL

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
5111 Dogwood DR
Milton, FL 32570-9998

Jun 28th New Orleans LA

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
610 S Maestri PL
New Orleans, LA 70130-3429

Jul 5th Natchitoches LA

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
240 Saint Denis ST
Natchitoches, LA 71457-9998

Jul 12th Wichita Falls TX

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
1000 Lamar ST
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-9995

Jul 19th Las Vegas NM

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
1900 Hot Springs Blvd
Las Vegas, NM 87701-9997

Jul 26th Ship Rock NM

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
91 Highway 491 S
Shiprock, NM 87420-9998

Aug 2nd Orderville UT

Bike and Build
Attn: Caitlin Graboski
General Delivery
Orderville, UT 84758

Aug 9th Lake Tahoe CA

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
7005 N Lake Blvd
Tahoe Vista, CA 96148-9800

Aug 16th San Francisco CA

General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Caitlin Graboski
450 Golden Gate AVE
San Francisco, CA 94102-366