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!

07.02 Baton Rouge, LA

Today we began our direction change from just heading west to heading northwest. We’ll be in Louisiana for a few days and then begins our tour of Texas. It was a difficult day. After five days of no biking, my body didn’t appreciate the 85 miles in the awful heat and humidity (it hit 99 degrees…it was already 96 around 7:30am). The roads were horrible, so bumpy and uneven with lots of traffic and roadkill and bugs. Thankfully I didn’t get any flats or have any setbacks today, and Team Tardy actually arrived at the church second. It will be a day that will go down in history. Good thing we did too or Marco would have had to present Bike and Build to 100 little kids all by himself. Instead, I got the job, haha. It was fun though. The church we are staying at in Baton Rouge has a summer day camp and we talked to the elementary school kids about what we’re doing (photo explained). Basically, I explained the program in the simplest form possible and then they just went crazy asking questions. Have you seen any snakes on the road? What do you eat for lunch? Yesterday was my birthday. Did you ride on my street? They also made me lift a bike in the air over my head, because some kid said only boys could do it. It was entertaining all around. Dinner was provided by the church and was awesome…salad, bbq pulled pork, green beans, lasagna, corn muffins and peach and apple cobbler. Tomorrow we get to ‘sleep in’ until 5:45am…yesssss!

Randoms:

*I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet that my bike is named Ella. No particular reason; I just like it.

*Belated shout outs for the mail drop from last Thursday: Mom for the card/candy and Tansey/McF for the certificate of awesomeness. Totally made my day J

*Aunt Cathy – Saw a Cathy Street today!

*Shout out to the Koski family who sponsored my ride through Baton Rouge. I couldn’t find a postcard here but you’ll get one, I promise!

06.29-07.01 New Orleans, LA

It's our last night in New Orleans and I am definitely sad to leave though I am excited to get back on my bike. Stange...I never thought I would actually be excited to get back in the saddle but when you are used to being on the move, sometimes staying in one place for too long gets tiring. But this stay was definitely worth it. Let's recap...

Friday was our third build day and I went back to the same house as I did on Thursday to finish painting. There actually wasn't much for us to do because we had the wrong kind of paint/not enough ladders etc so we had to sit around a lot which made the day that much longer. Plus Evan arrived at 10am and I was anxious to go see him. We finally finished around 3pm and I jumped in the shower and caught a cab to Evan's hotel in the French Quarter. He stayed at the French Market Inn on Decatur street. Only $50 a night for a really nice room. Not bad. We walked around the Quarter for a while, had beignets at Cafe du Monde and eventually ate dinner. I was insistent on having famous New Orleans Po-boys (basically sandwiches with fried fish) which turned out to not be such a good idea because we both felt pretty ill afterwards. Doughnuts...fried pickles...fried fish...not so great. But we felt good enough to go exploring later that night. We walked to Frenchmen Street to check out the Spotted Cat. A band was just finishing so we left to Bourbon Street and sat for some real jazz (check out the photos/video). On Saturday, Evan was supposed to work with us, but the Po-Boys really hit him hard and he had to take the day to...get it all out of his system. ick. I felt so bad, especially because it ended up being my favorite work day. We went to paint and prime the interior of a house and the family was there helping out and chatting with us. They were so nice and helpful and even bought us lunch! Shrimp scampi, caesar salad, chips and cookies from Semma Lee's (???). It was just an all around awesome day, especially because we felt so productive. We primed the whole house, two coats (almost). And the family was going to continue working that weekend. Saturday night was great too. Evan and I met up with my cousins Tracy and Paul who drove in from Hattiesburg, MS. We had dinner on Bourbon Street (I had alligator soup! It really does taste like chicken) and then headed to Pat O'Brien's, which is a famous 'irish' bar. There was a dueling piano bar and a great outdoor patio and I experienced my first 'hurricane' which is an intense mixed drink. Delicious but dangerous. Afterwards Evan and I headed back to the Spotted Cat to meet up with some Bike and Builders. We of course had to hit the dance floor a bit and it was so much fun :) I actually do not have any pictures from Saturday...funny how the best days usually only get recorded in our minds.

Today we got to sleep in finally! First time that I have slept past 6:45am in almost a month. Evan and I got a delicious breakfast (I eat sooo much nowadays) and then headed to the Aquarium to meet Tracy and Paul and their two boys, Collin and Alex. We enjoyed the fish (I will never be too old for aquariums) and Evan and I saw a showing of the Imax movie called Hurricane on the Bayou about the wetland loss because of humans and hurricanes. We had a great dinner and then I had to get back to the Bike and Build house for a group meeting. It was so great having Evan here this weekend. A bit of familiarity is comforting and it was awesome having someone to explore the city with. He leaves tomorrow morning...way after I do because we're waking up at 4:30am...Baton Rouge here we come!

So the most anticipated part of our trip is coming to an end. Now I realize how much biking I have ahead of me...about 3000 miles. And deserts...and mountains...and San Francisco! The hardest part is yet to come...Texas in July. But I'm psyched and I know we'll get through it.

Happy July! Much love.

06.28 New Orleans Build Day 2

Today was a good day all around. It started out pretty rough because we got lost getting to our work site and were in the van for 2 hours. I think we listened to almost every song on Lindsey’s ipod but at least we can entertain ourselves. Our work today (well for 12 of us) was to paint the interior of a house fun. I really like painting, especially fun colors. One room was painted almost the exact shade of blue that I painted my room in Sandy Hook so I was happy to work on that room. We had about 20 people working in this house and now it’s basically done except for a few second coats and trim work. It took about an hour to get back to our house because we had to pick up people from another site and we cannot go anywhere without getting at least a little lost. But we were actually the first ones back so showers/snacks/internet are at our disposal. Tonight we have our group ‘affordable housing’ meeting where we teach each other about what we researched and then a bunch of us are going to get some Indian food on Magazine street and hopefully some gelato as well.

One thing I’ve noticed about New Orleans is that the houses are very diverse in terms of income level. I mean that it seems as if a variety of social classes live in the same neighborhoods which I think is awesome. I think it’s a great way to grow up. I saw that today the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to use race as a factor in determining what schools kids can go to (in 2 districts I believe). I’m not sure what I think about this yet, I need to read more about it. Any thoughts?

Much love.

6.27 New Orleans Day 2

Today was our first work day in New Orleans. We’re working with the Episcopal Diocese of New Orleans and the Louisiana Disaster Relief. We all split off to do different jobs and it took a while to transport 27 people to 4 different sites in a 15 passenger van. I finally arrived at my site around 10am and Alf, John and I helped gut a house. The elderly lady who lives there almost didn’t flee the hurricane. She was just going to go next door to her neighbor’s second story. But it’s a good thing she did leave last minute because the 6 foot wall of water came into the neighborhood so fast that she wouldn’t even have had time to get next door. Crazy…So she’s asked for her house to be gutted and she’ll probably end up selling it because she doesn’t feel like redesigning it at her age and I don’t blame her. The gutting was started yesterday and by today there were no walls or floors. We took down the ceiling today and had to clean it all up. It was hot and dusty and the face masks we had to wear were awful. I give major props to those volunteers who gut houses all day everyday for long periods of time. I was covered in fiber glass hairs at the end of the day and had to take a cold shower so that it didn’t irritate my skin. I’m really glad I had the experience though. We worked with some great people from Seattle and I felt like we accomplished a lot. I am surprised however at the neighborhood we worked in today because the houses were really nice and didn't seem too damaged. I know there are parts of the city that were completely destroyed so I hope that I get to help out there as well.

For dinner tonight, Whitney's mom and friend provided us with turkey burgers, salad, corn, baked potatoes, watermelon and ice cream. It was amazing and for my dinner crew duties of the week I was grill master tonight. Forty burgers in about 20 minutes on a hardcore kitchen grill...not bad...I had to stand on a stool to reach over the burgers...

This evening I walked with some girls to the waterfront and then over to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. It was amazing and I absolutely love this city. It really has so much culture and charm I can't really explain it. I'm just so excited that we'll be here for another few days. Our taxi driver on the way home completely made my night. We told him about what we're doing with Bike and Build and he was so excited for us. He told us in his sweet Pakistani accent to remember that his love is with us all during our journey. I love meeting people like that.

I've updated pictures so check it out. Much love.

6.26 New Orleans, LA!!!

photo: some left over mardi gras awesomeness

Yay for internet in New Orleans! Here’s yesterday (I write these each night on my computer and just upload them when I get the chance):

There were a few thunderstorms while we were in Biloxi and they were very cool to experience in the warehouse style building because the rain was so loud. This morning because of the recent rain and the coming sun, there was a huge, perfectly arched rainbow in the sky. A nice way to start the day. Unfortunately, the day did not continue to go so well. We left Biloxi around 7:30am and the first 45 miles until lunch were actually awesome. Team Tardy (except for Meghan because she was sweep with Alan) arrived at lunch second which was a first. Lunch was great with donated cookies and snack packs in addition to the traditional PB & J. After lunch, everything went downhill. Lindsey got 2 flats and wanted to quit Bike and Build, Matthew crashed and broke a few spokes which took an hour to fix, the route had to be changed because of an unfriendly bridge, and I got some pretty bad sunburn. Our 85 mile ride took 10.5 hours…ick. However, we did get to ride through some interesting parts of New Orleans. We came in through the 9^th Ward and rode through the French Quarter into the Garden District where we are staying. It was pretty unbelievable. In the 9^th Ward it was empty. The houses were still standing but most were pretty badly damaged and boarded up. Most houses had the red Xs still on them from FEMA coming through. The roads were horrible to bike on because they were basically one big pot hole. The areas we went through were mainly hurt by flood damage caused by the hurricane, not the storm itself. The French Quarter looks amazing and I can’t wait to walk around there. We’re staying in a house provided by Trinity Church, and we’re making do with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 27 people. Thankfully Breanna’s family from the area made us dinner (especially awesome because I’m on dinner crew this week). We had a nice Southern meal…rice, red beans and sausage, bread and salad. And some amazing chocolate cinnamon cake for dessert. After dinner we all went out to various places. I walked a few blocks with a bunch of people to the Bridge Lounge. It was a cute little bar that allowed dogs. Sitting and having a beer felt amazing. We don’t get much time to just hang out and talk while we’re all clean and happy, haha.

6.25 Biloxi, MS

Happy Birthday Kat Saylor!!! 6 months till Christmas :)

Today we worked with Hands On at a variety of different job sites. My group went across the street to Our Lady Fatima Church to an 'English Camp' where about 20 Spanish speaking kids were learning English. Apparently in the local school system, you cannot fail a kid who is learning English as a second language. So these kids are being passed on to the next grades with almost no language skills. I volunteered to work with the preschoolers because of my passion for early childhood education...which maybe wasn't such a great idea. It was basically like babysitting for 8 crazy four year olds with no communication skills. Granted I could speak Spanish to them, but that obviously wasn't the point of the camp. It was a long and frustrating day...just picture Matthew and I standing in the middle of a classroom singing 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes' while kids run wildly around us paying no attention. It reminded me oh so much why I do not want to be a classroom teacher. But at the same time, there are those moments that make it all worthwhile. When Juan Carlos who has basically zero language of any kind said 'Choo choo' when he saw a train on the video after we had played choo choo train earlier that day...when the kids were so proud to show us their slightly abstract caterpillars they created...when a random game actually gets all their attentions. It makes me remember that each kid really does have a sweet inner child...it's just masked by a raging, scared, confused brat on the outside sometimes. And it is in no way their fault.

Anyway, after a long day that exhausted me as much as a 60 mile bike ride (but thankfully I got a break from the heat), a trip to Walmart was just what I needed. How is it that I can spend $100 at Walmart? But I finally got a new duffel bag so that all my stuff will fit and I re-supplied food/toiletries etc. Not that you really cared about any of that.

After a fabulous dinner provided by Hands On, we heard a presentation by one of the AmeriCorps members about Biloxi and the devastation of Katrina. I realized that I do not know as much as I should about Katrina and the effects. I was in Ecuador when it happened and I just haven't been as informed as I should...and neither has most of the country probably. Biloxi was hit terribly by the storm but people just don't hear about it because of all the talk about New Orleans. Biloxi has always been a big casino area but since the hurricane it may turn into a mini-Las Vegas because people are selling their devastated land for over-market prices offered by the casinos. It's a controversial issue. The pictures we saw were just horrifying and the thought that people are still paying mortgages for houses that do not exist anymore is just awful.

It's amazing seeing all of the volunteers in the area. Yet it brings up the old long-term vs. short-term help issue for me again. I feel bad only coming here for one day when there are people here who came right after the hurricane and have been volunteering unpaid since then. The better way for anything to be fixed is by long-term commitment and consistency (esp with kids). It's not just about rebuilding houses, but about rebuilding communities and changing policies and ways of doing things. So I feel bad stopping for one day...but I know they wouldn't be able to do anything without the support of short-term volunteers. But it still makes me question my life choices. Yes I am choosing to do AmeriCorps next year. But I will be in my comfort zone. I will be in a fun, exciting city, living in a nice apartment in a nice area and working for a good company...with no actual direct service. This is what I want to do, what I'm good at and what I feel comfortable doing. But am I really helping anyone? Making a difference? Serving others? I guess so. But can things really change without everyone getting their hands dirty?

Sorry that was a long, personal rant but just a train of thought I wanted to remember.

Off to New Orleans tomorrow and we'll be there until Monday morning. I don't know if I'll get any internet while I'm there so sit tight and call or text if you really need me :) Much love.