Sunday, June 30, 2013

Build days in Colorado Springs

The past two days we have been building with the local habitat in Colorado Springs on a house for Karen and Scott. It has been such a great experience working with the homeowners and habitat volunteers. They were very focused on safety and provided us with hardhats, gloves, and safety glasses. We had a safety talk every morning as well. There were a few different homeowners working with us. As part of the process, they must put forth a certain amount of hours each week with the habitat on their house and others. We were able to donate our volunteer hours to them to help Karen and Scott. They were such a sweet grateful couple and we really just enjoyed working with them and talking to them. They were so excited to have 27 positive volunteers help them build! We did the first wall raising of their house and they were overwhelmed with emotions. I did lots of nailing and some gardening for a elderly lady in the neighborhood. Most of the nighborhood was built by habitat which was pretty neat. There are lots of dogs in the neighborhood too including Pixie! She was such a sweet little girl that loved her belly rubbed. I've noticed that there are alot of rabbits running around like squirrels in Florida. The dogs were chasing them! It reminded me of how Kasper used to chase lizards and play with them. Last night I was able to go out with a few riders to the downtown area and explore some local bars. There are some interesting characters in Colorado Springs! But it was a fun night! Tmrw we have a long ride into the rockies! Thanks for reading!

Friday, June 28, 2013

ROCKY MOUNTAINS!

I'm in Colorado Springs now! The past two days were hot and tough! Yesterday We biked 80 miles into nowhere land. Literally. It was about 105 degrees out, no clouds, no trees, and a drought! There was about 10miles worth of gravel and sand that I ended up walking some because the back tire would fish out. We ended up running out of water and the van was getting low on gas. It was a rather scary situation considering we were in the middle of eastern colorado desert plains. Everything ended up working out and a nice couple offered us water and we got through. We stayed at Chico Basin Ranch. The ride into the ranch was on rumble strip sand and pretty rough. Everything jiggled everywhere! We got to the ranch late only to find horse/cow crap everywhere and this abandoned house. I showered under a freezing cold spigot for the evening and went to bed in a tent. I didnt sleep too well since it was really hot and then got cold suddenly. And to make matters a bit more interesting, it started to rain about 1am! Meegan, Sean, and I left the tent for the abandoned! All riders were headed to the creepy house and we ended up sleeping hip to hip. The sunset and sunrise were so pretty! The ride into Colorado Springs was nice but tough again. We are high in elevation! Colorado Springs is so pretty. The population is around 400,000. We are right up against the mountains and boy is it a sight! It got pretty hilly coming into the host. I went to Jimmy Johns with Sam, Sarah, Amelia, and Emily and it was yummy! The showers here...oh the showers were AMAZING! The workout center is so incredible. There were individual glass door showers with wooden floors and a rain type shower pouring from the ceiling. They also had really nice orange mandarin type shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. And fresh towels! There was also mouth wash, spray deoderant, and qtips! I guess I can say I have a new appreciation for showers these days. We are now doing a professional photo shoot! So maybe I'll get some nice pictures if they get my good side! I'll be posting pictures soon! thanks for reading :)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

"He rode a blazing saddle He wore a shining star"

As we entered Rocky Ford I felt like I was in the movie "Blazing Saddles". The terrain resembled that of the movie and well, the movie did take place in Rock Ledge! We had to pay a dime to pass through the town and I thought I saw mongo passing through! (not really) Today we had a nice 66mile ride into Rocky Ford Colorado! We left from Lamar and had breakfest at a local community center at 7am. It was "bike to work day" and for everyone that biked to the community center they got a nice breakfest consisting of eggs, sausage, pancakes, and fruit! I road with Olivia and Emerson today and we had such a great ride going between 14mph-20mph for most of the day! The terrain was mostly flat with dessert plains mostly. We stopped in a little town called Las Animas at a little mom/pop lunch place and had a great lunch! I has some fresh gazpocha (spelling?) with home made herb/parmesean bread turkey sammich. It was delicious! When we got into town we all went swimming at a local pool which was fun. We played marco polo and jumped off the diving board! It brought me back to the days when I used to be on the swim team when I was younger. Except, I'm sure back then I was a bit graceful versus my flop off the board today! haha Three churches got together in the small town and provided a wonderful dinner for us. We had chicken alfredo, a few different pasta salads with garbonzo beans, different salami meats, veggies, a few different fruit salads, green beans, and brownies! I ate dinner with a lady named Diane (aka Mrs. Piggy). A few of the girls and I were sitting with her and we had asked what brought her here to Rocky Ford. Diane answered simply, "A man." haha Diane was a sweet older lady who told us about her love story. Basically, she met her husband dressed in a mrs. piggy outfit for halloween at a lunch spot where they were both just eating lunch alone (didnt know eachother) and he asked her out for a drink after they spotted eachother at lunch and have been together since. She told us girls that you never know where you will meet your man! What a character she was and we really enjoyed chatting with her and appreciated the work they put into feeding us for dinner.

We have a few builds coming up! I shall explain where most of the money that was raised goes. Each rider has raised $4500 and in total our route has raised about $150,000. We have a grant program that affordable housing organizations can apply for. As a group, we will soon go over these applications to give out some bigger grants. Each night we have a different church host us. These hosts have $100 to give to an affordable housing organizatin of their choice. Each rider also will give out a $500 grant to an org of their choice. While on the road we have some expenses that some of the money goes towards but the less money we use on the trip the more we can give to affordable housing. This is why when we grocery shop we try to get day old breads, veggies, fruits, or anything grocery stores donate. We also buy off brands that cost less to save and keep track of the food we have so we dont waste. Usually churches or YMCAs host us so we have a place to stay for the night and we are able to shower either at the church or local highschools allow us to use their facilities. Many times some of these hosts have laundry machines we can use every three days or we have to go to a local laundrymat. We also have a few other expenses such as gas for the support van. If you have more questions feel free to ask! I'm becoming more knowledgable about the affordable housing cause while on the trip!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

We are finally in Colorado! Dodge City was neat but I  don't have too much to say about Kansas. We rode by cow feed farms and it wasnt to pleasant. Garden City had such a horrible smell in the air but we stayed at a YMCA and it was nice having a pool, spa, and smoothies! I didnt find the yellow brick road in Kansas or the wicked witch! We crossed into Colorado today and are staying in Lamar. We also changed time zones so we are 2 hours earlier now. We have a few more tough rides in the heat and wind but will have some build days soon and day off! I'm looking forward to rockies and colorado springs! It's been a long day but we were welcomed with a potato bar that was rather tasty at the church! I'll be taking lots of pictures when we get to the pretty areas of Colorado soon! Thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

"Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high"


In Ponca City the hosts were great! They provided chocolate milk and strawberries! I love chocolate milk! The ride started off with a few of us taking a wrong turn that turned into a 6 mile detour. Oklahoma is pretty! The pretty open grassy plains pleasantly surprise me. There are so many cows too and horses! The ride today was about 81 miles and pretty rough. There was a cross wind, rough road, and many semi trucks for harvest season. For lunch, our amazing leaders set up a half way party! We each got slap bracelets, popsicles, and took a shot of half and half! We all made it safely to the host and were welcomed with some snacks and water. For dinner, we had some yummy brisket, corn, cheesy potatoes, salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs (my favorite!), and some delicious desserts!

From Cherokee we headed to Coldwater Kansas! It was a 92 mile ride through heat, crosswinds, hills, and nothing much to look at. I road sweep with Max and had a great time! Although it was a rough ride, we made it to town around 6:30pm and had root beer floats at a local ice cream place and Dollar Tree before meeting the team at a campground on Coldwater Lake! I jumped in the lake and it was rather refreshing! The showers on site were hand pump style but warm. I enjoyed camping out for a night to change it up. Some slept in hammocks, some in tents, and others just found a spot outside. Of course I slept in a tent! I got a new razor too so now I have smooth leggies and I painted my nails! As a group we had a arm wrestling tournament! Girls had a bracket as did the guys and we circled around a picnic table and battled it out! We each had our own wrestler names! I am “Lo Brohemian Rapsady”! The riders call me Lo Bro! I made it to round 2 but in the end Emerson took the trophy! After a long day I passed out and woke up to another 82 mile ride into Dodge City Kansas! It was another hot, long, cross wind type of day. Plus everyone seemed to be pretty sore and worn out since the past few days have been hard. But, we did it! I rode mostly with Meeg Dog (Meegan) and Emerson. We stopped at mile 30 for lunch at a little sammich shop and had yummy wraps! The last 30miles had a nice tailwind as we headed north for a bit. I was starting to think that nobody lived in Kansas. There was literally nothing for miles upon miles. After rider for so long I found that you start to see things and have weird thoughts. I started to imagine the Wicked Witch of the West (from OZ) coming out of nowhere and blocking the road with her broom. I also started to think that the miles of golden wheat was the yellow brick road. I didn’t find Toto today but perhaps tmrw (last day in Kansas) I’ll find him! At the host we had sammiches and chips and then I ventured to a local western shop. It’s a neat western town here and nice to see that people do live in Kansas. I must say though, I’m pretty excited to enter Colorado soon! Everything is going well with the team. My legs are super sore and my hands hurt from having a tight grip with all the winds. One more night in Kansas and then CO!!! Thanks for reading!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Whoa we're halfway there!

I'm finding it hard to believe that we are already half way cross country! Time flys when youre having fun! Today was a 70mile ride to Ponca City. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see real pretty sites in Oklahoma. We had mostly rolling hills today but you could see just green plains for miles. Also many oil rigs, cows, and horses. I also saw some kind of mountain lion or coyote on the side of the road (dead). It had to have been about 30lbs and had big teeth! I also saw a rattlesnake on the side of the road! I really wanted to stop and take a picture but couldnt tell if it was still alive. It appeared pretty healthy looking or freshly killed but was pretty big! It didnt feel like 70 miles today at all. It was so pleasant and I road with many different people. I started with Meegan then joined with Daniele, Diet, Ryan, and Sam. A bunch of us stopped at Sonic where they were they gave us all free meals! I road with Ryan for a bit, then Daniele, and then Sean for awhile. There was a big hill getting into the host. There always seems to be a hill right before each host. I didnt stop much today so I was the first female in! While resting as the host Scott took a trip to the grocery store and came back surprising me with chocolate milk since he knew I was hunting for some! Thanks Scott! For dinner we had pasta/sauce with salad and cookies! It was a great dinner but not too sure how much more pasta/sauce I can handle.

We have town hall every Thursday evening where we go around in a circle and talk about our highs and lows for the week. Everyone seems positive so that was great! We also switch chore groups for the week. There is dinner crew, breakfest crew, trailor/laundry crew, cleanup crew, and cooler crew.

Tmrw we set out for Cherokee OK which is about 80miles I think. Each rider was assigned towns to research and give information to the group every morning. This is my town! The population is 1,500 and theres 40 federally recognized tribes including Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creek, and Seminoles. In a few nights we have our first camping night so that will be interesting. Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Bartlesville Building!

I have really enjoyed building in Bartlesville! I learned about trusses yesterday and today I working on siding and chaulking. I had some really great chats with Harry. He is celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife in August! And he's been in all 50 states now with his recent being N Dakota. Alot of work got done in Bartlesville and Harry and the other Habitat guys working with us seemed happy. This was one of my favorite builds so far! Lunch was incredible! Provided by Daniels family! We had some yummy wraps, hummus, fresh berrys, homemade chips, many different salads, and cookies! Bartlesville habitat gave us cool habitat hats too! For dinner the church provided a nice picnic with many of the community members. There was a big cookout with burgers, weenies, and beans! We head out tmrw riding again and for the next week or so we have some longer rides. It's really hard to watch what I eat when theres so much great foods to try. My endurance is picking up and my metabolism is getting faster which is good. I'm building muscle in my legs but the rest of my body needs work. I think eating less and more healthy would help so hopefully when I come back I'll continue with endurance training (more cycling, spin classes, elliptical) and eat better/less. I'm looking into completing a full triathlon in August when my endurance is at its top. Perhaps joining the tri-knights might be good for me too as I enter my senior year at UCF!

This is a good time to explain the game "My Cow". I don't play too much but some of the guys get pretty competative. While biking cross country, we see MANY cows. While riding, if you see a cow/cows you must yell "my cow" and you now own that number of cows. If there is a cemetery and you call "my cemetery" you can subract another riders cows. Basically you just call my cow when you see cows. Theres more rules but I'm not as involved in the game. Playing my cow and singing various songs seem pretty popular as we bike long miles!

It's still hard for me to believe that we are about half way cross country. 5 weeks! The days go by way too fast and the rides/builds start to blend together. I'm trying to enjoy each day and look forward to the next. About bed time for me, thanks for reading!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

When it rains, the sun will shine!

Yesterday we road from Grove Oklahoma to Bartlesville which was about 75miles. However, it turned out to be a rather different day. When we woke up it was raining out and well, the rain just continued throughout the day. There was no lightening and it was safe but I'm not a fan of the rain. Wet shoes, shorts, and wet brakes arent the best feeling. I was mainly with Meegan, Emerson, Emily, and Marge about 28miles out when the rain picked up and visibility became rough so we pulled into a Braum's. Braums is pretty popular around here and has icecream and burgers mostly. Theres also many Herds and Freds grocery stores. We ended up staying at Braums for about 2 hours! They were kind enough to give us a bag of burgers to share and a few other riders ended up joining us after being caught in rain. We continued to bike when it slowed and slit into two groups. Sarah and I both got flats and Meegan, Lo, and Amelia stayed with us. I ended up getting 2 more flats and learning that a rock that looked like a shark tooth was lodged in my front tire causing the flats. Since we were so far behind the van ended up having to come pick us up at around mile 33. My bike is working well I just need to get my back tire true and prbly get a new front tire. The Church of Christ is treating us so well. Three local churches have come together to feed us dinner for the three nights we are staying here to build. When we got in yesterday they gave us snacks and lemonade! For dinner there was lentil salad, beans, lasagna, and yummy pies! I've learned that once we get to the host to seek out a place to sleep. I first look for couches and then move to a quiet room (carpet prefered). I spotted a couch all by its lonesome that wouldve been great but I decided against it since it was kinda creepy by itself and surrounded by all windows. The churches are really nice but honestly some are eerie with ghosts everywhere! In the living area there are a few couches and recliner chairs so I picked an open recliner and we watched Twister in the evening. Perfect movie for Oklahoma I suppose. I also learned more about tornadoes while here. To conclude my search for a sleep spot, I assumed this wonderful couch near me was claimed so I stayed on my recliner. However, after 15minutes of no movement towards the couch I made a move and well, slept very nicely last night on that couch! Great story about the hunt for a sleep spot right!

Today we built in Bartlesville! It was a hot day! We split the group up so half worked on a house while the other half (where i was) worked on building a warehouse for the habitat for humanity here. I learned how to put us trusses (roof). The habitat here doesnt have a restore exactly like most habitats. A restore is similar to a goodwill or a used/donated Home Depot. You can get pretty decent construction items (hammers, paints, furniture, books...) from these Restores for cheap. The Bartlesville habitat uses a warehouse to store donated items. Mostly toilets, sinks, mirrors, doors, and so forth. The store these items and every once in awhile have pretty much a large garage sale. They usually make about 25k a year from the warehouse sales which goes towards building the houses. I wasnt too knowledgable about various construction on houses but after every build I learn something new. I'm getting better at hammering too! Harry was one of the gentlemen we worked with. He's worked on every Habitat house in Bartlesville since they began in the 80's! After lunch Harry took myself, Meg, and Sarah to the local thrift shop where he volunteers every Tuesday. He introduced us to all his friends and shared with them what we were doing. He also gave us a little tour of the neighborhood that was basically served those in need. There was a thrift store, daycare for low income, mental disabilities clinic, and a girls club that helps tutor and teach young girls. While walking around the thrift shop a lady by the name of Gale was chatting with me about what we were doing. I found a weird sleep type dress for bike and build prom (i'll explain more once we have the event in July), cool silk bandana, and postcards while the other girls found some items too. We were in line when Gale approached me and handed me about $8 and asked that we used it to pay for our items at the thrift store and thanked us for our service in Bartlesville. I first refused to take the money and thanked her but she insisted. We used the cash to purchase our items and gave the rest to the thrift store. It's experiences like these that makes me think a bit differently about humanity. I've said it plenty of times, but watching the news really brings out the worst in the world and while on Bike&Build I've seen so much more good. We had another wonderful dinner provided by another church. We build again in Bartlesville tmrw!


Sunday, June 16, 2013

3 states 1 day!


I finally got my bike fixed! I was in the van for the last two days with a broken derailer/hanger. It got pretty frustrating and draining so I’m glad its fixed. Riding in the van with Ryan was great though. When we got into Fayettville Ryan took myself and Emily who also had a broken derailer to a bike shop. Lewis and Clark Outfitters gave me a free derailer! ($35!) They were awesome and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately they didn’t have the hanger that I needed so we went to another bike store. Emily had a hanger and thought her derailer could get fixed. At the 2nd shop Emily got her bike fixed and ended up having to buy a new derailer. This shop wasn’t the nicest and charged her $100 to fix her derailer. The guy working on my bike was pretty rude and didn’t seem too knowledgeable about what needed to be done. When he asked me if I had money for a new bike I asked if he was asking a serious question. When he replied stating that my bike was done for and that I needed a new bike I asked for my bike back and left. He charged me $5 for one new chain link. -_- We went back to the church where someone said they had seen a hanger in the trailer. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack but I found the derailer hanger! Ryan was such an amazing leader! He took me back to Lewis and Clark (the great store that gave me the derailer) at 8pm to get my bike fixed before they closed at 9pm. The guys working on my bike were awesome and made sure everything was working. They only charged me $10 for working on my bike for an hour! Anyways, glad it got fixed and I was on the bike today! We went 73miles to Grove Oklahoma! It was a really nice ride today! I biked with Emily, Emerson, Marge, and Meeg dog. We passed through Missouri and then into Oklahoma. At one point I stood in all 3 states! There was a nice lunch spot at this creek where some riders went swimming. Or rather skinny dipping as to not get their shorts wet. It seems like everyone had a pretty good day! I’m happy to be out of Arkansas. I wasn’t a big fan of the state. Nothing much to see or do! I hear many parents are reading so thank you to all the parents of riders reading! I’m happy to share my experience through this blog and I’ll report that all riders on NCtoSD are healthy, safe, and having fun! Happy fathers day to all the Pops out there! And happy Pops day to my Pop! Happy 1 year anniversary Winks! Glad to have you in the family! Almost time for dinner! 

Friday, June 14, 2013

Colours of the Wind!

A fellow rider, Sam, from Casper Wyoming was a guest blogger yesterday! Thanks Sam! Today started off great with a 4am wakeup and 100miles ahead of us. I ate well and felt mentally prepared. I hit 41mph going down a hill (my fastest!) and then proceeded to go up "Big Dam Bridge" across the Arkansas River at mile 4 but when I shifted my derailer snapped. Long story short, after a short burst of frustration, 5 other riders helped take turns carrying my bike across the bridge to the van. They were such a great support team and nice to be surrounded by such a great team when I was feeling pretty down about not having a working bike for the entire day. Life in the van for the day wasnt the most exciting. I helped set up lunch and was a cheerleader out the window for riders driving by. Sometimes I dozed off and on too. Thanks Nick for helping me look up bike shops to get my bike fixed up. I will be going into Fayetteville Arkansas tmrw to get it fixed. On a side note, as my title states, I had Colours of the Wind stuck in my head after biking in head winds, mountains, flat ground, building, and talking with such generous folks. "Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind...The heron and the otter are my friends"! We sing alot on bikes to pass the time and for entertainment. I've gained a bigger appreciation for small things in life. Watching donkeys and baby donkeys run across a field was so pleasant and crossing the Big Dam Bridge was a beautiful site. Generous folks handing us gatorades, cookies, or cooking us dinner. Folks pulling over on the side asking us if we need assistance when we are fixing a flat or on a water break. Just simple things I notice more brings faith back to humanity. Perhaps being away from negative news that is always on television has also added to the peace on this adventure. I couldnt have asked for a better experience so far. The only things I'm not a fan of is the rushed feeling. We bike through towns but dont have the time to adventure to as many places as I would like simply because we have to keep moving. I also dont enjoy the killer dogs that chase us down the streets. Otherwise, Bike&Build has been such an incredible journey cross country so far! I'm excited to be venturing into new states and headed west for the first time. The team is doing well and we have some great leaders! Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Like a cat on a hot tin roof...

Today was AWESOME!!!

After riding over 100 miles yesterday it was a huge relief today to not have to ride our bikes. We traded our bikes for hammers and were quickly put in charge of reroofing a house in North Littlerock. There was not enough work/room for the entire bike and build crew to be working all at once so we worked in half hour shifts. Luckily for us, these half hour shifts were live savers because the temperature easily reached 100 degrees. Through out the day we drank over 124 bottles water and over 60 bottles of gatoraid! At the end of our work day we had completely finished 1/2 of the roof and had the other side ready for shingles. We had a delicious dinner of lasanga and ended the night with a town hall meeting. Lastly, today I had the realization the Sam Murdawg is da bomb. -Sam

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Wind, Heat, and 103 miles!

I BIKED 103 MILES TODAY!!!! My first century ride! Last night in Forest City the Priest gave me a tour of the sanctuary which was beautiful and then did some yoga with a few of us. We woke at 4am and left by 6am for the 103 mile ride today into Little Rock. It was great starting early and I hope we wake up at 3am next time we have a long ride. It got really hot towards the late morning and afternoon! And was super windy! I started off the morning with a great mindset and kept that throughout the day. I knew it would be a mental ride today. Its all in the head. I started the morning with 2 goals: get to Little Rock safe with no injuries/falls and simple complete my first century ride. I accomplished both! We were on the same road for a the longest time and had some strong gusts of wind with sun beating down on us. I just kept telling myself that it was all in my head and stayed positive throughout the day. We had two lunch breaks! I got chased by a killer dog around mile 20. It looked like a polar bear dog! We made many stops under shade trees mostly. At one point we were resting under a tree and a nice lady approached us with a bunch of gatorades for the 6 girls I was with and I. So sweet! Also, we stopped in a parking lot that had Kingdom Bakery, the owner came out and offered us water and two bags of yummy baked goods for us to share! I'm at the host now and its wonderful! They are so organized with dinner items, snacks, and breakfast all set up for us. We had burgers, mushrooms, icecream, and potato salad for dinner! I found myself a couch here for the next two nights since we have a build day tmrw. My whole body is pretty sore and I'm simply worn out from the ride today. Sleep time! I really enjoyed rolling into the host to dinner and all the mail! Thank you to everyone who sent cards and packages! Ginny&Ed, Tommi&Ron, Mom&Pop, Becca&Bryan, Kasper! I really appreciate all the cards! They really made my day after riding over 100 miles today! Plus, I had the most mail! Kasper sent a picture of himself with a piece of his hair just for me! I got new gloves, peanut m&ms, sunscreen, aleve, and a new toothbrush/paste! I have just about everything I need. I have one of the biggest bags on the team, but I like to just say that I'm very prepared. I'm having such an incredible time biking cross country! Looking forward to the build day tmrw! I started sending out postcards so let me know if you start receiving them! I have most addresses from the link where donations were made, so if you donated online you should be recieving a postcard soon! I hope they make it out, I put them in a little drop box I found biking today. Email me your address if I may have missed you please! Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Arkansas!

I'm now in Arkansas! We crossed the Mississippi today into Arkansas for about a 58mile ride. It was a rather uncomfortable ride at first since we had to cross the bridge on the interstate. We stayed together as a large group and walked across the bridge but I still wish we had a police escort. Once in Arkansas, we took a road that was gravel and rock. I ended up walking alot on that road since I didnt want to risk a fall or damage to my tires. That road ended up being flooded so we had to turn around back to the interstate where the van took 3 trips to transport riders across the interstate to the next safe road to continue. It was a rather rough day today I must admit. It was 97degrees out and about 58 miles of headwind with nothing really to look at. Plus, the roads in Arkansas are pretty crappy. I went about 10mph through the sun and wind and finally arrived in Forest City Arkansas around 5pm. Everyone is pretty worn out from such a long hectic day. I stopped in the dollar general for chocolate milk and trail mix! The church provided a great dinner consisting of salad, lasagna, garlic bread, green beans, and carrot cake! Tmrw we ride over 100miles into Little Rock! We wake up at 4am so I will be in bed by 9pm at the latest. I'll try to post more pictures soon!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Walking in Memphis!


The ride into Memphis was pretty nice. At about mile 5 we got caught in a rain storm but it slowed up. We ended up biking the rest of the way with wet shoes which wasn’t the greatest. I rode the first 40 miles with Aaron and it was so nice and pleasant. I really got to know him better and the great chats made the miles pass. The terrain was relatively flat with a few hills. After lunch I rode with Meegan and Olivia into Memphis. It went fast since there were so many turns and the town was nice to ride through. For dinner we had the best bbq in Memphis at Marges house! Her parents organized a nice dinner for us all including ribs, pulled pork, chicken, salad, baked beans, cole slaw, mac n cheese, and cookies! We have an off day in Memphis so we will prbly explore some and tonight we are all going to a baseball game so that will be fun! We’re staying at the oldest Catholic Church in Memphis and it honestly look like an old castle. I find it rather creepy and eerie sometimes to sleep in the churches next to huge paintings of popes and large crosses in my face. Haha but I slept in till about 6:30am on my day off! The day off in Memphis was nice but not my favorite town for sure. An alumni rider provided a nice breakfast of fresh fruit and chick-fila for us! I walked to the Arcade which is the oldest café in Memphis and ranked on the food network channel. I didn’t eat since I had a great free breakfast so I left with another rider to walk. Andrew (who just graduated high school wooo!) and I walked around the civil rights museum and went to where Martin Luther King was assassinated in front of room 306 of the motel. We then met a few other riders at The Peabody Hotel where there’s a famous duck show that tourists must see. I posted a video, but it honestly it was pretty dumb so we left and went to a cotton museum. So much cotton! We walked to the Mississippi River which unfortunately looked very polluted. After a walk we had lunch at Westys which turned out to be really good. I had a Chicken Cordon Bleu that was mighty tasty! We strolled back to the church for a break and I wrote some postcards out then took another stroll onto Beale Street for dinner. Beale street was very lit up and tourist trap for sure. Lots of jazzy music, booze, and craziness going on there. I can’t say I was a fan but I suppose it was a must see to complete my experience in Memphis. We had dinner at some burger place that wasn’t too great but the root beer float I had was great! We then met up with most of the team at the baseball game. The alumni and her family were so kind and got us tickets to the Memphis Redbirds game! I’m not the biggest baseball fan but it was fun and the stadium was huge! Glad I ate beforehand, food was so pricey. Why would someone pay $8 for a coke? I stayed for about half and came back to the church to get ready for the ride in the morning. We cross into Arkansas tmrw! I will now enter states that I have not yet been to! Woo! Thank you to everyone who has been reading! I appreciate it! We have mail day tmrw too and that’s always fun! Night! 

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Pizza Hut all day everyday


Pulaski was an amazing host! We had fun in the evening and woke up to a great breakfest! The ride started out great with Lo as we had nice chats and then had to fix 2 flats. It was sprinkling out but the weather started to clear. Today was a 95 mile day to Adamsville. We have gone over 1000miles now! However, at mile 25 I was behind Lo and we went over a small ledge where the concrete was uneven and I hit a bad angle and ended up having my first real accident. I was going about 12mph into the gas station and just lost it when I hit the ledge and skid  to the left first hitting my arm on the ground and then head. It was like slow motion watching myself skid across the concrete and then lose my glasses. After I stopped moving my first instinct was to touch my teeth and make sure those were there and to grab my glasses and make sure they were good too. I suppose because I take pride in my teeth and the glasses were pricey and well I wear them everyday on the bike to see so they are important. I then sat up immediately and took a few seconds to fully understand that I had an accident. I then started moving my arm since it took a good beating. Lo quickly came over and a few people at the gas station who witnessed made sure I was okay. We got out of the street and went into the gas station where we had to call the van. It’s policy to be vanned after an accident where you hit your head plus I needed a new helmet since I clinked the ground. Lo was so great in helping me! I was pretty shaken up afterwards mostly just in shock. She held me down and put alcohol on the cuts on my elbow and knee and we put antibac and bandaged it all up. I like to say that I gracefully fell since I came out with just minor scrapes and some gnarly bruises on my elbow and inner thigh. My chain came off the bike but that was easily fixed. The ride in the van for the rest of the day wasn’t bad either. It ended up being a great day and I was surprisingly pretty positive after the little accident. Great news too…I got a nice new helmet for $10!!!! It was on the clearance rack! My elbow is pretty swollen up but I should be good to go for the 38mile ride tmrw morning! Also, sorry for such a long blog entry I felt the need to explain my first accident! To bring better light on the accident for everyone reading, WEAR YOUR HELMET! Short ride, long ride, wear a helmet. Things happen quickly on a bike and its just better to be safe and buy a helmet ($10 for the win!) than be sorry later that you didn’t. Accident will happen and I knew that; however, doing what you can to prepare and be safe is priority. Anyways, thank you for reading!

We rode into Bolivar today which was about 39miles. It was a simple ride mostly flat with some rolling hills. Its another small town and I still don’t have cell service but tmrw we head into Memphis TN so hopefully I’ll have service and be able to get postcards! I rode mostly with Olivia, Diet, and Tim today which was nice and had some great chats. In Bolivar the fire department allowed us to use their showers! I took a little walk with a few others to “Freds Super Dollar Store” where I got a dollar bandana to wear! Haha hopefully it’ll help with sweat blinding me while biking. Pizza Hut has been great with supporting us. In Adamsville last night they donated a whole bunch of different pizzas, pastas, and cinnamon/chocolate sticks! And guess what??? …Pizza Hut donated again in Bolivar for the second night in a row! Mmmm pizza all the time! I found a quiet room here at the First Baptist Church so hopefully I’ll be able to go to bed early! Lights out is 11pm so if we only have a big gym to sleep in people are still up, but when there are little rooms I hide away and sleep better! Plus I get away from the snorers! Welp, into Memphis we come! 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Pulaski TN! Best town!

We are in Pulaski TN now! It was a 76 mile ride through rolling hills and head winds! Today was pretty rough I have to admit. It was simply a mind game though which I still have to overcome. The ride was on mostly the same road all day which made for little change in scenary. I started feeling every pain, singing, talking to myself, and counting each time I would pedal up a hill to 40 and then start back over till I got to the top. Everything seemed to hurt today especially lower back, knees, and my left shoulder for some reason. I'm finding that its mind over matter for sure. It's not easy biking cross country but after three weeks it has become more manageable and my self-determination and will to finish each day with every mile by bike has become greater. Pulling into the host today was the greatest feeling. Another day complete, 76 miles down, and another big day tmrw. Pulaski is an interesting town. Small but pretty neat with little shops and the folks here are really nice. Pulaski is where the KKK first developed. Oh, and Cleveland TN is where the Trail of Tears started. When I pulled into the host at Martin Methodist College I was greeted by a few riders that took our bikes, cleaned them, and had them worked on by a mechanic. I had some trouble changing gears (they were clanky) so hopefully that is fixed. The folks also provided awesome snacks including multiple dips (spinish dip, hummus, bean dip) with chips/bread, those spiral turkey deli rolls that are yummy, fresh fruit, and of course deserts. We are staying in dorm rooms at the college which is fun and nice that we each get beds and a quiet room. For dinner....this was the best!!! We had a shrimp broil with potatoes, carrots, sausage, green beans, chicken, pulled pork bbq, corn, salad, and other sides! One of my favorite dinners so far! We were then invited to a local bar with the hosts where they paid for our beers too. I only had one but honestly didnt really want one considering we have a 95 mile ride tmrw but hey got to carb up! The hosts here were pretty amazing! I'm headed to bed now its about 10pm and too late! I finally was able to post some videos up so check them out on the video page! You can mail me by checking out the mail drop listing too! I'm still on the hunt for postcards, they are harder to find than I thought. I'm sweeping tmrw and not too excited about it unfortunately. I will be in the back! Today I came into the host 3rd! I'm getting better! Other riders are so supportive and keep telling me I'm getting better! Tmrw is going to be a really long day! Thanks for reading and the comments!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Mountains, dogs, storms oh my!


Last night in Cleveland we had lots of Olive Garden that was donated! It was delicious! I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating for at least two people each day. It’s necessary to keep eating with the amount of riding we are doing; however, with all the free food we eat way more than needed! After dinner the church has many couches and a big tv we watched Independence Day on followed by a group meeting about safety and chores. Unfortunately, we had a rider take a fall the other day and after a visit to the hospital found out he broke his wrist in a few places and headed home today.  After the meeting I found myself stationed up on a couch and Avatar was playing. The ride today was a nice 61 miles rolling hills and a mountain climb up the Cumberlin Gap. It was so steep! Going down the mountain was a bit more scary to me rather than enjoyable. There were many sharp twists/turns and it was again very steep downhill. I was breaking the entire way and still going about 30mph. My hands are so sore! A few of us stopped in at Wendys before lunch and got some chicken sammiches and in Dunlap (where we are staying) we got some 6inch subs from Subway! We are staying in the Tennessee National Guard Armory! Apparently we are sleeping on cots tonight and we just showered here in the group shower. There was a leftover bar of soap in the shower that nobody wanted to use and we figured somebody had just dropped it! (haha get it? Don’t drop the soap!) I’m not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight. I hear its family dinner tonight which means we are probably making pasta, beans, and rice perhaps but we shall see. Oh! We changed time zones today! We are an hour behind now in Dunlap TN so that means we gained an hour of sleeping! I can for sure see myself getting stronger now. My legs (quads, hammies, calves) are feeling rock hard! It’ll be interesting to see where I’ll be at the end of July. My legs will for sure be fit, but not sure about everything else with all this eating! While biking, it sure gives plenty of time for lots of thinking. I need to continue cycling when I come back for sure and perhaps join the UCF Cycle club or Tri-Knights. I’ve learned that this summer is not the time to be a picky eater, so I eat everything that is in front of me in order to make it through the day. When I come back it will be a challenge to eat less and healthier. I’m enjoying this adventure so far and the thought of applying to be a trip leader next summer crossed my mind. It’s such a whole different world biking cross country. Anyways, I’ve been writing long blog entries lately and will try to shorten some of them. I haven’t had internet lately and currently don’t have cell service but I will post the blogs when I can!

We biked into Swanee today about 47miles up a mountain and got caught in a storm. Most of us had to walk up the most of the mountain which was at a 12% gradient. At about mile 25 a storm pulled in fast and most of us were a little spread out but within site of each other or within a mile of two. I ended up pulling into an empty church that had steps and a little balcony covering. On my way in I slid out on the wet gravel and my bike and self are great my hip is a little bruised up now. I ended up waiting under the covering for about 2 hours while the van came around and was picking people up from the front first. A nice guy pulled over in the rain and handed me a rain coat and a cold Gatorade. Some people are just so generous, its absolutely incredible to see first hand just how kind people can be. I continued on when it cleared and met up with others and rode in.  Sewanee and such a small town! It basically only has a college here. Oh and today we got chased by at least 10 dogs. It provided motivation to go faster! We’re staying at our first Catholic Church called St. Marys Sewanee. It’s old and pretty yet I find it rather eerie and creepy. There are small rooms we are staying in with twin sized beds which is nice. Theres old paintings and  walls are pretty scratched up. It reminds me of the book “The Yellow Wallpaper” that I read back in high school. The view from the church is amazing! It’s a nice overlook on a valley that just keeps going on and on! I’m posting pictures tonight too! Thanks for reading!

Mountains, dogs, storms oh my!


Last night in Cleveland we had lots of Olive Garden that was donated! It was delicious! I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating for at least two people each day. It’s necessary to keep eating with the amount of riding we are doing; however, with all the free food we eat way more than needed! After dinner the church has many couches and a big tv we watched Independence Day on followed by a group meeting about safety and chores. Unfortunately, we had a rider take a fall the other day and after a visit to the hospital found out he broke his wrist in a few places and headed home today.  After the meeting I found myself stationed up on a couch and Avatar was playing. The ride today was a nice 61 miles rolling hills and a mountain climb up the Cumberlin Gap. It was so steep! Going down the mountain was a bit more scary to me rather than enjoyable. There were many sharp twists/turns and it was again very steep downhill. I was breaking the entire way and still going about 30mph. My hands are so sore! A few of us stopped in at Wendys before lunch and got some chicken sammiches and in Dunlap (where we are staying) we got some 6inch subs from Subway! We are staying in the Tennessee National Guard Armory! Apparently we are sleeping on cots tonight and we just showered here in the group shower. There was a leftover bar of soap in the shower that nobody wanted to use and we figured somebody had just dropped it! (haha get it? Don’t drop the soap!) I’m not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight. I hear its family dinner tonight which means we are probably making pasta, beans, and rice perhaps but we shall see. Oh! We changed time zones today! We are an hour behind now in Dunlap TN so that means we gained an hour of sleeping! I can for sure see myself getting stronger now. My legs (quads, hammies, calves) are feeling rock hard! It’ll be interesting to see where I’ll be at the end of July. My legs will for sure be fit, but not sure about everything else with all this eating! While biking, it sure gives plenty of time for lots of thinking. I need to continue cycling when I come back for sure and perhaps join the UCF Cycle club or Tri-Knights. I’ve learned that this summer is not the time to be a picky eater, so I eat everything that is in front of me in order to make it through the day. When I come back it will be a challenge to eat less and healthier. I’m enjoying this adventure so far and the thought of applying to be a trip leader next summer crossed my mind. It’s such a whole different world biking cross country. Anyways, I’ve been writing long blog entries lately and will try to shorten some of them. I haven’t had internet lately and currently don’t have cell service but I will post the blogs when I can!

We biked into Swanee today about 47miles up a mountain and got caught in a storm. Most of us had to walk up the most of the mountain which was at a 12% gradient. At about mile 25 a storm pulled in fast and most of us were a little spread out but within site of each other or within a mile of two. I ended up pulling into an empty church that had steps and a little balcony covering. On my way in I slid out on the wet gravel and my bike and self are great my hip is a little bruised up now. I ended up waiting under the covering for about 2 hours while the van came around and was picking people up from the front first. A nice guy pulled over in the rain and handed me a rain coat and a cold Gatorade. Some people are just so generous, its absolutely incredible to see first hand just how kind people can be. I continued on when it cleared and met up with others and rode in.  Sewanee and such a small town! It basically only has a college here. Oh and today we got chased by at least 10 dogs. It provided motivation to go faster! We’re staying at our first Catholic Church called St. Marys Sewanee. It’s old and pretty yet I find it rather eerie and creepy. There are small rooms we are staying in with twin sized beds which is nice. Theres old paintings and  walls are pretty scratched up. It reminds me of the book “The Yellow Wallpaper” that I read back in high school. The view from the church is amazing! It’s a nice overlook on a valley that just keeps going on and on! I’m posting pictures tonight too! Thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Mountains oh my!


I’m not even sure where to start! The past two days have been amazing! The ride to  Gatlinburg  TN was a rough one but a great one in my opinion. We biked up the Blue Ridge Parkway! It was  mostly uphill and I was going about 4-5mph most of the time. We even walked a little! Haha! It took so many hours to get to the top! I will post pictures soon and I took some videos so check out those too! The views were absolutely incredible! The mountains that went on forever looked like a painting. The ride down was crazy! I was going about 30mph and top speed was 38mph. There were also dark tunnels that was kinda interesting and reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when they go through the tunnel in the boat and everything pretty much spins and goes by fast. It was such an incredible experience to have biked the blue ridge parkway. So surreal! It even got a little chilly at the top. I learned that little bags of fruit snacks and small bags of peanut m&m’s helped me through it with little spurts of sugar. We had lunch at the bottom which was around mile 40. I had a great talk with leader ryan about the ride up and down blue ridge and I learned we’d basically be riding it again but into Gatlinburg. It was suppose to be a 73 mile ride. We got a few miles out and a car had pulled over in front of me and started reversing so I panicked and took a little tumble at about 5mph on my gear side. Everything was fine but I was a bit surprised the car never stopped. We continued on and another rider was having trouble so we had to pull over. We didn’t have cell phone service so another rider biked up to call the van. It was an interesting 3 hour wait for the support van. We flagged down a trooper to get a responder to contact but the van showed up around 7pm. We then rode into Gatlinburg and picked up other riders because it was getting dark. Our fastest riders made it to the host at about 6pm and were super spent. It was such a tough ride! We stayed at Crazy Horse Campground and slept in an arcade room. Once we had showered we had to drive into town to get dinner. It was so late and we got to bed around 11pm. Sleeping in the arcade room was rather weird and kinda creepy with all the lights and weird noises. We ended up unplugging then and sleeping. I didn’t have time that night to blog so I’m currently in Maryville TN now. Today was such an amazing day! I was happier than ever today. We left Gatlinburg, (thankfully, I wasn’t fond of the town. The mountains were beautiful but the town was simply a junky tourist town in my opinion) and rode 53 miles to Maryville. About 13miles in we stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts and got iced latte with a crispy crème doughnuts! We continued on and I rode mainly with Lo and Meegan. We had a rough climb at first but then we ran in Laurel Falls and locked our bikes up. We hiked about 1.3miles to the falls and it was so nice! We took some pictures too! From then (mile 20) on it was mostly downhill and flat. I was averaging about 21mph for a long stretch. We were biking along Little River and it was super pretty! So many folks were swimming, tubing, and kayaking. We decided to stop at a swim stop and lock our bikes up. The three of us jumped from this big rock straight into the water! It was freezing but felt great. Then, surprise surprise Simon Carbone was in Gatlinburg! He’s a great friend I met in highschool! We hungout a bit there and took a picture! Its such a small world and was great seeing you Simon! We continued on and 2 other riders caught up with us and we ran into a rope swing! It was so great! We stopped of course, and each climbed this tree with wooden steps and to a swing at it into the water! This was my first time on a rope swing! It was a bit nerve-wrecking for me. I was literally hugging the tree at the top and scared to let go! But with the help of the others I took of and basically belly flopped! Haha! Finally, we biked on and were close but we found some locals jumping from a bridge into the water. It looked absolutely crazy and is illegal! After talking to the folks we had such a jolly time and decided to park our bikes on the side of the bridge and jump! I jumped off a bridge for my first and last time ever! It was super scary but so thrilling! The water was super cold and all the folks were nice and fun. Then, we biked to a bike shop where our bikes were cleaned and tuned up. I bought batteries for my head light and rummaged through the clearance and found the last pair of nice Hincapie socks for $3!!! What a deal! We are staying at a Boys & Girls club tonight. We showered in a portable shower trailer. It was pretty neat actually! It had 5 showers! Now we are getting ready for dinner now! This blog post is super long and I might be my longest! These past two days have just been absolutely incredible. I tried to explain everything that happened but honestly, its simply an experience that is hard to put into words. I’m having such a great time! Thank you again to everything that has supported me. I’m learning so much, having the time of my life, and simply thankful and blessed to be having this adventure. J

The night in Maryville was pretty nice. We had a good wraps with pasta and fruit salad donated to us but we were all still hungry. So we went to this Mexican restaurant last night and I split a combo with 2 others and just had a small burrito with a frozen peach margarita. When we finished a group went back out in the town to go listen so some karaoke music and then a group of us went back to sleep. It was pouring rain and we had over half a mile to walk! So we used plastic bags for phones and wallets and danced back to the host in the rain. I brushed my teeth and passed out really fast in what is called the “quiet room” for those that sleep earlier. This room was freezing cold! I slept till about 6:30am and we went to the build site. However, it was still pouring down rain so Habitat called and told us they were calling off the build. So we went to Starbucks where they gave us all (15 of us) free coffees and a bunch of different coffee cakes and breads to share! We then did some grocery shopping at Krogers and Target and they gave us day old breads and fruits which was nice! We also got a pot and some rice/beans so we can cook some and I just bought some extra sunscreen. I’m getting a gradual farmers tan so I’m doing pretty well with reapplying! Now we are back at the host for some free time, laundry, then affordable housing presentation and more free time. I’m posting many pictures and videos so check them out! I will try to start getting postcards, writing, and mailing them out!