Loving Durango!

Durango CO is one of my favorite towns so far! I've really been enjoying Colorado and would advise anyone who hasnt been to come! The towns are really neat, theres lots to see and do, very outdoorsy, and the views of course are breathtaking. Since I got in late last night I went on a date with Olivia and got Mexican and gelato. We had a great time! I took a nice shower and slept! I got up at 7am (prbly the earliest of all riders) and took a nice walk through town. Lots of outdoor shops, neato shots, organic things, coffee shops, and I took a walk through the farmers market which was nice and to the post office to mail some things. Meegan and I ventured to find a massage place but ran into a “wellness center” which turned out to be a medical marijuana center. That was an interesting experience. We finally found a nice place that had a hot tub and an cold tub and gave us robes too. It really helped with the soreness and the massage was great too! Unfortunately I missed going waterfall jumping when I misplaced my sunglasses so I went into search mode instead. I found them and went out for a beer at a brewery and then had pad thai at a Thai restaurant which was really good! It’s been a great day and tmrw is a shorter ride so we get to sleep in! woo! Thank you again to everyone that has supported me. 

Durango CO!

For the 4th of July we celebrated at a BBQ in Ridgeway at the hot springs! It was a fun night after a long ride. The springs were interesting and basically 3 pools with different temperatures. Today was the hardest ride we have had yet. An 82 mile ride into Durango with 3 climbs going up to 11,000ft. We biked Million Dollar Highway! Apparently it costs 1 million per mile to build the highway and nobody can pay you 1 million to bike it again. The road was very steep and had little shoulder with a steep drop off. I road towards the middle of the road and braked going downhill. I saw a donkey too! He was so cute and looked just like Kasper! I road in the rear with Diet and Emily. The first climb was 13 miles going about 4mph! The 3 climbs were very tiring! The downhills were as well since I was so concentrated and my hands were in such pain from gripping and braking. While it was the hardest ride, it was for sure one of the prettiest! There were lakes, waterfalls, red top mountains, huge christmas type trees, snow, hail, rain, and huge mountains everywhere! I'll post pictures soon. Going up the mountains was rough and I stopped about every mile for a break. I didnt walk though! I pulled into the church in Durango around 7pm. I had a great shower and went on a date with Olivia or mexican food and gelato in town. Durango is such a nice town. Lots of little shops, outdoor stores, beautiful scenary everywhere, rafting, ziplining, tubing, and lots more! Tmrw I'll be able to explore the town a bit more and maybe see if other riders want to do something adventurous and maybe just relax in town. I'm really sore and ready for bed! Loving Colorado! Can't believe we'll be in San Diego in a little over 2 weeks! It feels like just yesterday we were metting in Nags Head for orientation. All the days seem to blend together and I seem to have no idea what day it is anymore. We have 2 nights at a church in San Diego and then I'm staying 2 extra nights in which we'll prbly all pitch in for a hotel. If you are familiar with San Diego please let me know what is good to do there or see! As always, thanks for reading!
PS: even though I came in late I somehow found a couch to sleep on! Night!

Snow! Monarch Pass! Climbing oh my!

We started off our build day with a great breakfast at the church. There was oatmeal, granola, cranberries, brown sugar, fresh fruit, and muffins! We were staying in Buena Vista but drove to Salida about 30miles away for the build. The site was amazing! The owners will have mountains in their front yard and backyard! We mostly did framing on the house but I did some paintwork with a few others. I’ve learned a lot about construction so far since we’ve been doing various tasks at the different builds. I’m getting better at hammering! I usually stay away from any power tool but was taught how to use the big boy saw in Colorado Spring where I just made a simple cut on a board. Habitat of Salida provided us with some  great snacks too! Different types of chips, cookies, fruit, and nuts! We had a great lunch provided by a local church that had bratwurst, sauerkraut, onions, baked beans, and different toppings. I’m not a fan of sauerkraut but the bratwurst and beans were good! That evening was busy! We got back to the church in Bueno Vista where they were holding a fundraiser for the habitat for humanity. It was a huge pasta dinner and all proceeds would go straight to affordable housing! About 250 people came! The dinner was really yummy too and the folks there were so kind and just kept serving us more and more food and lemonade. I was part of the presentation crew with a few other riders. After everyone ate, we invited anyone interested to listen to our presentation and answer questions about bike and build. It went really well and I was glad to see that folks were interested and asking questions. Afterwards, a few riders were able to go rafting! While I really would have loved to experience rafting there, I opted to go to the bike shop and get my bike tuned up and ready for the mountains. The shop did a nice job and I also got another bright tail light for my bike. A few of us took a walk in the downtown area and then I went straight to beddy!

Today, we road into Gunnison! It was an 83 mile day but it was such an exciting day! We had a big climb up Monarch Pass which seemed like it lasted forever going 4-5mph and having to stop every mile to catch my breathe and drink water. I road with Meegan, Emily, and Emerson mostly and I’m not sure I would have been able to do that ride alone. Having amazing teammates to support you during a hard ride is a must! We finally made it to the top of Monarch Pass! We reached 11,300 ft in elevation which is the highest we will go! It got really cold up there and the air got thin. Once at the visitor center we got sammiches and Abbies mom was so kind and bought us all icecream! I had yummy cappuccino icecream with a turkey sammich. We explored the gift shop and I found some stickers, postcards, and doggie signs for cars! I’ve been collecting different stickers from most states and covering my bike with them! I have mostly NC, Arkansas, and many from Colorado (my favorite!) We were able to go in the cable car up to the very top of the peak where I was able to see snow! It was more so icey snow patches but still snow! We took a nap at the top on some benches for awhile and ended up staying at the visitor center for prbly 2 hours! Biking Monarch Pass was such a great accomplishment and feeling to know just how much more stronger I’ve become since Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s such a different feeling on bike than in a car and means much more to know you’ve reached the top! I layered myself up for the descend and was glad I packed some little mittens to go under my gloves to keep my fingers warmer. I can’t say the descend was great since it was really steep and had many switchbacks. It was nice to go 35mph versus 4mph but I stay pretty concentrated and tense going down and ride my back break a lot before the turns. I was leading the rear of the group and tried staying around 35pmh but jumped to 40 at moments. I took the lane and most cars notice riders going at such a fast pace and respect them with space. We booked it into Gunnison! It was a tiring day but great to get to the host. We are staying at an Ice Rink so its been interesting. We had a great dinner with lots of salads, veggies, and pizza. The local habitat here made us each a nice little brown bag with some snacks. I’ll try to post some pictures soon. I may have to borrow other riders photos too. Its hard to take pictures going uphill and its pretty hard to stop going downhill so I don’t have too many from those parts. Colorado has for sure been my favorite state! It’s so beautiful here and so much to see and do. Lots of outdoors things! Hopefully I’ll be able to come back sometime (with a car) and be able to raft, zipline, hot springs, and do other neat things that we don’t have much time to do while riding. We got mail today! I was so excited to receive about 8 letters! (I had the most mail hehe) Thank you Ginny/Ed, Tomi/Ron, Mom/Pop, Becca/Bryan, Nick, Kendyl, Janet/Hoyle for the nice cards! I really appreciate it! So uplifting to receive letters after a hard day. Happy 4^th of July! We have a long ride tmrw but hopefully we’ll be able to celebrate later! Thank you for reading!  

Today was a long ride into Ridgeway. It was so beautiful though! We were riding through amazing valleys with lakes and many aspen trees I believe they are called. The sights were amazing! We also saw some mountain goats! The ride was a tough one but we got through it. Shout out to all the parents of riders reading! Sarah, Claire, and Olivia mentioned they had family reading and I’m sure there are few others! Sorry I’m short with this blog for today, I’m exhausted and need to be ready for the ride tmrw into Durango! Thanks for reading and check out the pictures!

Rocky Mountains!

Wow! Where to start! What an incredible day biking 100 miles through the Rocky mountains from Colorado Springs into Bueno Vista CO. It was for sure challenging since it was mostly uphill. The views were amazing though and well worth it. Within the first 10 miles I saw 3 huge reindeer with massive antlers! We visited the Garden of the Gods which was really pretty as well as the balanced rock. I've never seen anything like the Rocky Mountains! They do exist! The climbs were gradual and we had a few nice downhill rides. Before first lunch I got caught in some hail! You can also see snow at the mountain peaks. The peaks reach around 14,000ft in elevation and we climbed to about 9,600ft. We got caught in a little rain and it was freezing cold so we stayed at a little visitor center for a bit. The last 12miles were downhill and through such a beautiful area. Words really dont explain the view! I saw a double rainbow and the rainbow ended so close to us! There was no gold though! During the rainy portion of the ride I started having more weird thoughts. After biking mile after mile you have to do something to keep your mind busy. So, I saw this huge dark mountain in the distance that looked like Mordor from Lord of the Rings. Sarumon was cooking up a bad storm over top! Any animals I saw were the Orks! The goal was to get to Mordor and throw the ring in or rather, finish the 100 mile day. This was my thought process for a long while. Haha! I had to keep my mind busy since we couldnt really sing today. I was with Meegan, Emerson, and Emily. As we got higher in elevation the air begain to thin out and I found myself huffing and puffing for air! I reached 40mph coming into town through the beautiful mountains! Today was one of the best days. I was surprised by the mountains for sure! We have a build day tmrw. There are some hot springs 5miles away so I'm hoping we get to visit it. Theres water rafting and ziplining which would be fun too but I wish we had more time! I'll post some pictures from today and maybe videos too. Thanks for reading!

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!

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 :)

"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!