Waynesville

Theres a few things I forgot to add in my last blog since its been a few days since I've had internet. I'm sure the more west I get and into smaller towns the less likely it is for me to have internet but I will do my best to continue updating. Last night in Ashville I went to a local icecream place that had really great salted caramel icecream! Then a few of us watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie that was pretty good. In Waynesville, Zaxbys donated dinner to us all! Very nice of them. It's amazing to see just how generous people are. A small health food place here also gave us a bunch of cereal, rice milk, brown rice, protein powder and cookies as well as a Thai Spice for the great meal that we split between 5 people! I'm about to hit the hay for some sleep on a couch! We just got mail, thank you Ginny&Ed for the sweet card, mom&pop for the nice card and tubes (hopefully no more flats!), and Janet and Hoyle for the kind postcard! I loved getting mail today from everyone, it made my evening great and love all the support. I'm really in need of anything as of now, cards and postcards are simply great though! I'll be stopping in a grocery store soon for more sunscreen, toothbrush, and paste! Thank you again to everyone that has been reading and sending me messages. I really appreciate all the support. It really motivates me to keep pushing!

Mountains!

In Forest City we woke to fruit salad, meaty gravy with biscuits, and sausage! It was about a 60mile ride to Ashville into the mountains. I did the second half today and my achilles are feeling so much better actually. There were some really pretty views! We passed the continental divide too! Ashville is a very neat town. We are staying on the west side and biked by the Biltmore, largest home! We tried getting in free on our bikes but got a little discount that still would have made a simple bike through $40 -__- So we continued on through the town to our host. Once there we walked through a little farmers market with lots of veggies, eggs, flowers and all sorts of interesting things. Showers were at the YMCA and way too fast! I’ve learned to take 5 minute showers! Ashville is a rather interesting town. Its very earthy, natural, hippie, and rather organic place. There’s lots of art and music as well. After a yummy earth fare pizza and salad, we went to a bar that looked like a movie theatre where there was a blue grass concert going on! It was actually pretty neat and many people were there! The group I like most had a acoustic, banjo, mandolin, stand up base, and fiddler. They were really good! Today (Wednesday) we had a build day in Ashville where a group worked with Ashville Habitat and another group (that I was in) worked with Mountain Housing. I mostly primed the ceilings and walls the entire day and we had a great Jasons Deli lunch! They even gave us all t-shirts! Afterwards, we met up with the other half of our group for a wall raising ceremony. This was actually pretty neat and gave me and others I believe a better understanding of what we are actually doing when we prime, nail, and build. The family that will soon live in the house was present and various sponsors and volunteers to watch and partake in the first wall being raised. We then took showers and now I’m blogging with no internet once again so I will post these as soon as I can. Tmrw we go into Waynesville which is about 30miles.

Finally have internet! In Waynesville NC now! Its a very nice town! Wish we had more time here, it seems like a peaceful little cute town to walk around. The ride today was nice and right in the mountains! The climbs are pretty rough but the downhills I fly on. I hit 37mph at my fastest I believe and slowest was about 4-5mph going uphill. We just got done with showers and now are getting ready for dinner! I'll try to post pictures later tonight. Tmrw will be a tough ride for sure!

Build day in Charlotte

Today we woke up to a great breakfest consisting of waffles, pancakes, bacon, and grits! We got to sleep in till 6:30am and were at the build site by 8am. Today was interesting, we got to basically start on the house. We put up walls, lots of nailing, caulking walls, and putting up installation. After the build we had showers, made a grocery store run, and then had a nice Memorial Day bbq at the Charlotte habitat offices. We had all kinda of burgers, weenie dogs, potatoe salad, bean salads, watermelon, chips, and brownies! We are doing some laundry now and hitting the hay for bed. We have about 70 miles tmrw into Forest City and then about 85miles to Ashville. I've been icing, elevating, and taking ibprofin for my achillies. Hopefully they get better soon. I am posting a few pictures now! :) Thanks for reading and the comments!

87 miles to Charlotte NC

Today was a rough day but I made it into Charlotte! The first 15miles started off great from Winston with no breaks. It was actually pretty chilly this morning when we left around 7am so I wore my leg and arm warmers for the first time. Then my achillies started acting up till about mile 40 when they finally got lose. After our 82 miles yesterday everyone was really feeling it today. So it was pretty rough the entire day but really pretty out! I have a few pictures I'll post later. Theres so many wheat farms here and strawberry farms! Lots of cows and goats again and some horses. I also saw way too much roadkill today including about 5 snakes. I had to take many breaks today. My ass was hurting as well as achillies. My legs are doing pretty well and I can feel them getting stronger! My quads and hamstrings are for sure gaining muscle but not sure if I've lost weight yet. We eat ALOT and so far I understand the need for lots of food an snacks for rides like this. The ride into Charlotte was great. I rode with Emerson and she was very supportive and kept me going the whole way through! Once we saw the Charlotte skyline we knew we were getting close to the church. Surprisingly, the last 10miles or so was pretty downhill or flat. For once, I didnt come in last! I arrived around 5pm or so but three of our top riders took a wrong turn and it made for a 26mile detour for them extra. They did about 114 miles today! Once we pulled into the church a nice family that was hosting us had snacks and drinks layed out and the littly girl (about 4years old) was telling me about her bike ride today! I think the family did about 12 miles today and she was telling me that she kept going in front of her dad haha it was cute. After showers, which included a great mersa shower gel to protect us, we had a nice salad with avocado, cranberries, carrots, cucumbers, and other veggies along with pizza including chicken/pinapple pizza that was pretty good. Many riders ventured downtown for some nascar party going on. I'm pretty worn out and icing my achillies. Trying to ice, elevate, and get some heel inserts tmrw to try to take stress off the achillies so the tendonitis doesnt get worse. Other than the achillies, I'm pretty sore overall but feeling great. Tmrw we do a build here in Charlotte and I think we get to sleep in till about 630am! This adventure is for sure a test of will power and determination. I try comparing this adventure to my past sports such as volleyball and rowing but cycling is for sure on its own. I start at 7am and go till about 5pm each day. Its interesting to think about how I'm solely dedicating an entire summer to just biking and building. With volleyball and rowing it was simply a few hours of practice then race. I've learned that bike&build is not a race, its marathon and I'm in it to simply finish. I can't say today was easy, and there were many times when I pulled over, sat down, and asked myself what the hell I was doing in the middle of nowhere biking! But its a great feeling to bike into the host with a crowd of fellow riders and hosts cheering you on and there with food and water. Thank you to all that have been reading, commenting, and calling! I really appreciate all the support and love hearing from everyone! Thanks for the comments Ginny&Ed Becca and Mom&Pop for reading!

82 miles- Winston Salem NC

Today we left Chapel Hill for a windy, hilly, chilly ride to Winston Salem NC. It was absolutely beautiful out today! More pictures to come but I posted a few. We woke at 5am and set off around 6:30am. I got 2 flats about 20 miles in and finally figured out what was causing them. I had a spoke going through the rim tape so one of the sweeps, Ryan helped me out and put new tape on and now no flats hopefully for awhile! I will try to patch the tubes up later and use them again. The two sweeps, Ryan and Daniell really helped me out today with the flats, rim taping, and just being really supportive on the up hills and teaching me new things about cycling. The ride started off pretty rough. I strained both achillies tendons so they are pretty painful mostly when I walk downstairs. But once I got on the bike they stretched out and felt good. Still icing them! I lowered my seat a notch and screwed my cleats more back on the bottom of my shoes to help. My body is still getting used to the excessive exercise and eating alot. Today was pretty rough on my stomach but I made it through after many gas station visits! haha! At lunch there was a strawberry farm that some riders went to and picked a batch for everyone! The views today were the best so far. So much green, pretty sky, lots of animals, lots of nice folks that pulled over to make sure we were okay when we stopped to rest. Oddly enough, on such a ride, I guess you start to have weird thoughts, or at least I do. I recognized just how much more we utilize our senses on bikes. The ride today was smelling so fresh with trees, flowers, and well cow shit too. I keep my eyes opened to the road ahead and tire in front alllll the time and glance around when I can while listening for cars behind. My hands are pretty sore from gripping the handles too tight when I get nervous going down hill or grip on when going up. All riders seem to be safe! We had one minor crash with 3 riders today. All of the them are well, just buises and scrapes and their bikes are being repaired. We rolled in to the church around 6:15pm (pretty late!) and then had a nice taco bar the church made for us. Showers were at the local YMCA and really nice! It had a hot tub in the womens locker room too! Many riders went out to a local brewery in town after dinner. I sat back and decided to blog, stretch, and bed soon. Tmrw is another big ride over 80 miles! Thanks for reading and all the comments! I appreciate all the support from everyone! Night!

Build days in Chapel Hill

Our first build days in Chapel Hill went great! The first day I worked on a project for an elderly lady with a few riders. We cleaned and painted her shed as well as her porch. She was such a nice lady! Her house backed up to the woods where there was lots of poison ivy so we asked to use her restroom. I will post a picture soon, but her toilet was basically a throne. It had a giant cushion on it and was pretty awkward. The next build day I painted on a different house for a few hours. Tonight we are on our own for dinner so I think we might be going to some good burger place in Chapel Hill. Its a really pretty town and UNC is such a nice campus! Tmrw we set off for over 80miles followed by another 80+ miles! I just posted some new pictures in the picture tab so check them out! Thanks for reading!

Chapel Hill - 39

Today was the best day yet! We had a great breakfast with eggs/spinach/tomatoes, bagels/cream cheese, bacon, cereal, and fruit. I'm so sore!!!!! We set off today and ran into more up and down hills. At times I was going 5mph and others 35mph. I got my first flat that I had to change all by myself and in less than 10minutes! I also fell a few times because I was unable to clip out while stopped. But I'm good! For lunch a group stopped  near Duke University. I worked my first DM (donation magic) and got us free firehouse subs! We also got a medical kit donated from CVS. I'm now in Chapel Hill and its nice here! I havent really explored yet though. We got in, showered, and ate a yummy dinner at a reallyyyyy pretty church that we are staying at! I will posts pics tmrw. Many riders went out to local bars and different places around town but I stayed back with a few riders and had my bike worked on by a nice knowledgable bike mechanic at the church. Hopefully tmrw after our first build day we will be able to go out and explore. Bed time now! I will update about the build day tmrw and add pics when I have more time. Night Night!