Only 21 Days Behind on Blogging!

6/19 - Lawrence, Kansas - 74 miles: Today we were fortunate enough to ride on the Indian Creek Trail for 16 miles. It is always nice to have a little break from the road or mainly cars. From all of the storms recently in Kansas, the trail proved to be a bit of an adventure! Little did we know that there would be even more of an adventure down the road. A few of us wanted to have a quick lunch in an attempt to avoid a big storm. Unfortunately, we made a wrong turn, fortunately, we were able to cut across the grid-like roads over to the gravel road that we were told to follow on our cue sheet. Not long after, we saw big thunder clouds roll in and felt the severe thickness of the Kansas pre-storm air. I was riding with Derrick and Joe through the storm and, well, they don't like big bolts of lightening and loud thunder claps. I thought it was a bit scary but it was SO beautiful and it ended up clearing up. Storms provide good distraction from riding for sure. I rolled in to downtown Lawrence, home of University of Kansas with my St. Louisian friends, Sarah Graham (one of three Sarah's and there are three Jen's and two Will's...crazy!) and Christina. Christina, who goes to KU knew practically everyone in town and took us to a bike/outdoor store called Sunflower. It was awesome and the folks there helped us with our bikes for free! We stayed in a private school and a lot of the group got in the outdoor pool that was there. That night, after getting in to bed late because the temperature was perfect outside and I ended up talking with Sharif and Sarah Crawford for a bit, the alarm at the school went off. I think a door was left open a bit to set it off. I was one of about five of us who actually woke up to the loudest and one of the most obnoxious alarms I have heard. Luckily the guy who was helping us out lived near by and came over to turn it off and I was able to easily go back to sleep. Lawrence ranks on my top 5 for places I have been on this trip and I hope that it will be a place I will visit in the future. Thanks to Andy for these pictures!

6/20 - Manhattan, Kansas - 86 miles: Manhattan, Kansas is yet another college town which always provides for more of a town and place to explore. The picture in the upper right corner is from today! You may not believe me but it really did not rain! Kansas shows us some pretty outstanding skies for sure. It was supposed to be over 90 degrees but it ended up being a bit cooler from the threat of a storm. We still were provided two lunches though with our rule of "if it is 90 miles or 90 degrees or over, we get two lunches." The ride being cooler, being relatively flat with some nice rollers, and the wind holding off, we were able to average close to 18 mph and we were just cruisin'. Other groups were going over 20 mph. After lunch we took a nice nap on the side of the road under a tree which was spectacular. At the prime age of 19 I have finally learned to take naps! The church that we stayed in had three different big buildings with lots of entertainment such as a big ball, big screen tv's, lots of food, and a ping-pong table!

6/21 - Manhattan, Kansas - 1st DAY OFF!: I slept in till eight o'clock! We usually wake up between 5 and 6 on bike days and around 7 for build days so I was genuinely able to sleep in! I had a really rough morning of eating a slow breakfast with a mug of coffee while watching "The Dark Night." At around 11 six massage therapists came (with tables) and we ate Chipoltle burritos which weigh approximately 80 pounds and were absolutely delicious. All of this was made possible by the church and we could not thank them enough. This trip is truly made possible by the people who host us, listen to us, feed us, and continue to encourage us.

After burritos a lot of us went downtown and hung out at a coffee shop where I sent out some post cards that I bought at a local book shop. We later headed back to the church for a fabulous pot luck dinner by the church-goers and then attempted to go to sleep early.

Ketchup, yay!

6/2 - Portsmouth, OH - 59 miles: Within the first mile we were crossing the state border into Ohio and were able to take pictures on the bridge. My first impressions of Ohio were its rolling hills and farmland. As we got into the city though, the roads were in pretty poor condition and we were riding on a busier highway which was a unique experience. Once we were all there, a few of us walked around town and found a quiet Irish pub where people got some food and coffee and we read magazines with each other. At the church we were staying at there was a rummage sale was going on and a few people found some pretty sweet vintage clothing. Our food was provided by the church here as well. I think we have only cooked 3 or 4 times on this trip. We are spoiled and thankful.

6/3 - Georgetown, OH - 64 miles: Kentucky was hardly a mile from Portsmouth, OH so we were able to cross the border and take pictures by the Kentucky state sign (Sarah and Derrick in picture!) I was also very fortunate to speak in British accents and get slightly lost in Portsmouth with Christina and Jen. Ohio seemed to be less flat this day but then there were random huge, steep hills that created some chaos later in the day. Luckily, no one was too, too hurt and are now almost fully healed. It was awesome to see us all work as a team in a situation that could otherwise have gone really poorly.

The church we stayed in provided us snacks and drove us to showers at a fairground. Many of us also went to a local bike shop where the owner helped correct fits and people were able to get some minor tune-ups in. Later the church members gave us a fantastic dinner of lasagna and since there was a ice cream shop across from the church Christina, Sarah G., and I had to have some post-dinner ice cream.

6/4 - Cincinnati, OH - 51 miles: I didn't exactly write down notes for this day but I do remember going to two bike shops on our ways into town where we were able to check out some really sweet bikes and talk to some great people (one shop sold Serotta's!) We also got to meet some group members family and friends which is really awesome because we get to see where people come from! Oh yeah! We also went to a local YMCA to take showers that also happened to have multiple pools. We hung out in outdoor pool for a while and then went inside to a pretty tall water slide! Pools after a bike ride are definitely a hit for our group. Dinner and snacks were provided at the church (for the whole stay.) People are so generous! That night we, once again, found a bar with karaoke and we pretty much took it over. I think in most situations it is best that we are biking for affordable housing instead of singing for affordable housing but we do have some with some great vocal skills.

Second and Last Stop in the Happenin' State of Illinois

Greenville, Illinois - 52 miles: I woke up this morning (our first morning in Illinois) and it was light outside! For two of our riders, Mark and Andy, it is their first time out of the Eastern time zone and for the rest of us it is just a neat change. To top things off, it was the beginning of a new chores week, mine being breakfast/the easiest chore AND the day was deemed Dia de Los Locos (Day of the Crazies.) This included permanent marker tattoos, strange hair styes, fake hair, bathing suits over our kits, make-up, whistles, flotation devices, and nail polish! Each person attempted to carry a different personality throughout the day as well: Sarah Graham (right) fashioned the life guard persona, Christina had already taken off her bikini bottoms at this point and still has her all-natural and colorful eyeshadow, and I had four braids and tat's on my arms!

We, again, experienced the superb flatness of Illinois. I think we could see about 10 miles ahead because the road was so flat and straight. We also had an awesome lunch with great leftovers from the night before. Apparently other B&B trips to not get treated with the food luxury that we have been treated with (knock on wood.)

Here is one side of our trailer! I am borrowing Sarah Graham's pictures! Yay! I need to take pictures of the other two sides.

I am currently writing in a coffee shop about two miles away from the church we are staying in. Greensville is a very quaint, cute town with a small university.

I love everyone. I love bikes. I love summer. I love food. I love coffee.

More Ketchup (and mustard of course.)

Before I play ketchup again I have to inform you of my sandwich that I ate today for lunch: whole wheat pita pockets with hot dog, salad, hummus, mustard, and string cheese. It was delicious.

5/30 - Summersville, WV - 73 miles: We literally rode up and down 5 mountain passes! It was challenging but absolutely beautiful-trees, rivers, mountains, flowers, etc. and biking puts you at the perfect speed to be able to appreciate it. I almost bonked on this day because I assumed lunch would be half-way through but it really ended up being more at mile 42. I learned from in though. If you start to get hungry, go ahead and eat! The beginning of our ride actually began by going up a mountain and then in led up to a scenic highway. I rode up with Noah and we were surrounded with fog and could barely make out the green shadows of trees. The top of the mountain led us to a scenic highway and we met up with all the other members and rode pretty much together which was awesome. We also had a few members of our team do a bit of riding in the nude. That night we stayed at a Christian Academy which was about five miles away from a lake so we got to take advantage of that. Unfortunately, Joe and I lost against Aileen and Derrick in a game of chicken. Again, we had excellent hosts who provided us dinner and then a deluxe breakfast of biscuits and gravy. My smile muscles seem to be getting stronger on this trip.

5/31 - Charleston, WV - 79 miles: Today seemed like an easy day in comparison with the past two days because our mountains were replaced with lots of downhill and smaller hills. Our ride was scenic, yet again, and we were riding mostly alongside a river where we passed by little clumps of houses. It seemed to be a trend to have a bridge leading to your house over the small river as well as having dogs. None of the dogs were too threatening though. After lunch a few of us rode past a lady who was tending to her horses outside and we stopped to chat. She was extremely friendly and offered us water. She also told us all about her horses and how much she appreciated having them. Apparently she was diagnosed with terminal cancer three years ago and she swears that it is her horses that have kept her alive this long. Every day it seems that we meet people that have amazing stories to tell. People are awesome. In Charleston we stayed in an Episcopal church which also acts as the local food kitchen for the area. They serve around 200-300 people breakfast a day! That night, after they served us a delicious dinner, we gave them a presentation and they gave us a presentation on Green Works which is a sustainable housing organization that educates all of the people that deal with the building process (architects, contractors, etc.) Oh yeah! A guy from a WV news station came to do a story on us and I was filmed biking in the parking lot!

6/1 - Huntington, WV - 50 miles: Today was much shorter and flatter still. The quality of road was not too much better though and did not allow for much conversation. It feels strange that any day under 70 miles has now become "easy." On our way out of Charleston we decided to explore a bit and rode down to the Capitol! Charleston is a very neat city and I would love to explore it more. We got in to town pretty early and some of us went to explore town, others went to explore Marshall (the University,) and some just decided to chill out. I went and got some excellent ice coffee with some friends and we ended up talking to 2 different pairs of people at the shop. Meeting new people all the time is awesome and we all love to share what we are doing. Later we were provided with Jimmy John's by a church member and then headed back downtown where we got ice cream and looked in a book store. Another note is that the church we were staying in was five stories with an atrium and big game room. Crazy!

Presently... Terra Haute, Indiana!

My game plan for this blog is to write about today and then catch up later if possible. So today, June 8, in Terra Haute, Indiana. We woke up around 5:30 because the church needed us out early and we were on the road a bit after 7. It took me a bit longer to pack up because my chore group for this week is cooler crew which happened to be quite the jig-saw puzzle because so much food was donated to us yesterday (I am not complaining about having extra amazing food though.) The amount of support that we have had on this trip has been amazing. We are constantly meeting people somehow connected to B&B or just want to help us out. It is very inspiring. Anyways, our bike ride was only 60 miles so we got in to town just after 12 and went to Indiana State University to take showers! The second half of my ride went by super fast because my friend, Sarah Graham, and I had a wonderful heart-to-heart. Currently I am at a local coffee shop called Coffee Grounds with some other folks who are all blogging/catching up on journals/writing thank yous/ just sippin' on coffee. Life is rough...

Ketchup

Hello! So, from lack of internet and computer access as well as sleeping instead of blogging, I have not written since Charlottesville! Now I am in Ohio! Actually, I am almost out of Ohio. I will now attempt catching up (or ketching up, if you prefer.)

5/27 = Charlottesville = 2nd build day: I ended up working at the Restore in Charlottesville which consisted of me labeling a bunch of paint cans and moving stuff. What was most neat about that day was just seeing how much stuff gets donated and bought in a Restore. Reusing household items makes so much sense, economically and environmentally. Also, a majority of the money gets donated to local Habitat projects. That night we went to Gabe's (leading B&B this summer and has done at least one B&B in the past) house for dinner where we had homemade salsa and three hummus's and turkey, normal, and veggie burgers! Also delicious cupcakes and dark chocolate Reese's. We also had our first town meeting which is where we all sit in a circle and share our highs and lows for the trip so far! The picture above is from the next day when we biked 85 miles from Charlottesville to Lexington (Mark is in the picture with me.)

5/28 = Lexington,VA = 85 miles: We biked almost the whole day on the Blue Ridge Parkway which was absolutely breath taking the whole time. Literally and figuratively. It was probably my favorite day of all. Mostly because of the mountains and the company and the conversation and the weather. I was with Mark and Andy as well as Zack for a lot of the time and we all got to know each other a lot better especially because we had to take frequent hug/pee/snack breaks to be able to take in the amazing views. A common phrase by me was, "this is so pretty I want to cry." The road down from the Parkway and into Lexington allowed us to easily hit 40 mph! So much fun. We got to Lexington with much time to spare before the huge storm hit but others were not so fortunate. At least we got a bunch of free pizza.

5/29 = Marlinton, WV = 79 miles: Everyone was a bit sore from the day before but the terrain didn't provide much of a break. Some would argue that it was a harder day. Basically we had three big mountain passes but I personally love those mountains and loved the view even more. My appetite officially kicked up on this day and I was able to eat 5 elephants and 33 carrots. Not actually, but probably close (and I continue to.) Mark was my constant riding partner which was quite excellent and I was also able to talk with some of the other people that we rode with for bits of the trip. We were really set on finding a spot to jump in the river. While we sort of failed on that we did get to see a huge snapper turtle and talk to a man that was in the explosion where 29 coal miners were killed. It is amazing the people we meet and the conversations that we have with them. The dinner in Marlinton was provided to us by about 15 congregation members and consisted of every type of delicious food in the whole world. There was so much of it that there was even left overs, which is a every strange happening for our group. That evening a group of us and the church members played music and all sang together and we did a bit of dancing. Oh yeah! And we went across the WV boarder and everyone still calls me enormous emma!

First Build Day

Yo! So to catch up on memories that should not be lost and that I would love to share...Dilwyn was a very, very small town (only a little bit over 400 people.) Silly Dilwyn. We were staying in this really small church and it was literally too small for us to all fit, even packed in like sardines. So, we set up a tent and then that was so popular so another was set up! Thing is though, one tent was a bit bigger and that tent only had four people in it and our slightly smaller tent had seven people in it. You literally could not turn without being on someone. It was very cozy though and the fresh air/smaller group feel was nice, we even got a little rain. Another note about Dilwyn is that the house from across the church had 12 kids in it. Twelve kids definitely provided great entertainment for our jolly group. We were also able to get a a lot of work done on the trailer that is behind our van. I need to take pictures of it because it is quite amazing.

Dilwyn to Charlottesville ride was our shortest day so far (47 miles.) For some though it was the most challenging because of the elevation change. I loved it! I really have missed the mountains and am glad to be back. The roads looked similar to home and definitely smelled like home. I rode with my new found friends Mark and Jen. Dad, Mark is from Hendersonville. Jen is a JMU grad and our riding abilities align very nicely.

Eventually we all arrived in Charlottesville and it felt nice to know that we were staying in one place for three nights. Also, it turns out that we are staying in Tri-something sorority which is pretty excellent for housing all 32 of us. Basically they have three showers with endless supply of hot water. Last night being our first "free night" we all went to downtown Charlottesville and we were able to look around (I got Heath bar ice cream) as well as see different street artists such as these two brothers that played Irish toons on their fiddles/guitars/voices. Those over 21 also had a great nights and we all ended up at a Mexican restaurant holding a karaoke night. I would say the highlight of that was either Britt and Derrick singing "Touch Myself," Jesse licking the guacamole/salsa bowl, or Dave and Mark successfully rapping Snoop Dogg. Before all that though we were given dinner by the lady who runs "The Haven" in Charlottesville which is a resource center for homeless folks. They have a shower, garden, and computers for the homeless but also just use the shelter as a community center in general. The food that they served us, and that they serve the public, was mostly grown or at least local and consisted of beans and rice, kale and chicken, and fresh salad with lettuce beets and goat cheese!

Ok, so for today. Our first build day! We broke up in to five different groups and I was a group that was working on houses that had already been started but still needed a lot more work. The high today was 92 so it was a bit on the warm side. Basically what I did was dig holes and plant trees! That is tough but fun work for sure. It was fun to use my upper body a bit too. I also put the silt fence back up which involved a mallet, shovel, and staple gun! I really hope that I did not get poison ivy though because I was definitely bush-whacking quite a bit. I attempted to talk to the family that we were building for and I gathered that they were from Somalia, had moved to Kenya, and now are living in Charlottesville. They had beautiful children and were very smiley.

I already feel like this group is a family. It is definitely a new and unpredictable adventure everyday. I love talking to everyone and hearing "their stories." I can't imagine riding as much as I have or as hard as I have without these amazing individuals. I do need to do a better job of keeping up with my blog though. Don't give up on me and please look at Andy's pictures because I am having memory card issues with my camera! As an amazing time that I am having I do miss everyone. Love you all.

Day 3-Blackstone, Virginia

So I have been a bit slack with this whole blog thing but it is only because I have been having an excellent time here on my trip so far. Bike and Build people in a bubble: very happy, nice, talented, smart, have cool accents, helpful, etc. I am only on day 3 and I really feel like I have known all of these wonderful people for so long. I would also like to point out that as I sit here in a common room in the barracks that we are staying in here in Fort Pickett in Blackstone, Va (a real military base) I am surrounded by about 10 others and Will is singing and playing guitar. I also already feel like I have settled in to somewhat a routine which I like. I feel pretty very independent despite being surrounded by all these people. I am also learning a lot about how to take care of my bike which is very fun! Ok, well, I will give you a brief overview of my summer this far. You all may also want to check out this video, it is part of the presentation that we give to hosts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBUT_YmkH24

You can see how far a am going and "track my ride" at http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/route.php?route=CUS&year=2010.

Virginia Beach: The wheel dip, playing in the cold ocean, getting a bug bite on my eye that allowed my whole eye to attractively swell up, learning about what exactly we were doing, bike maintenance, bike safety, and our wheel dip.

Suffolk: On our way to Suffolk, about 10 or so miles away we saw a strawberry farm that we decided to stop at and they were definitely the best strawberries that I have ever eaten. After our ride we had a wonderful round of yoga and were able to watch the movie "Up."

Waverly: We had our first hose off showers and on our way we saw a bunch of trees that literally grew out of some lake/marshes.

Blackstone: Mark and I swept the ride today. What this means is that we rode in the very back and stopped for who ever wanted to stop or helped fix whoever needed to get fixed!

In both Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and Waverly we were fortunate enough to stay in three different churches who all provided us with at least one meal! We all just sort of pile up in different rooms and every morning we wake up, around six or so, to Lady Gaga. Our adventure has just begun...

6 and 1/2 hours remaining.

All packed. Outfitted to the brim with the necessary gear for cycling (I probably have at least 50 bars and gels.) Leaving for the 5 and 1/2 hour drive to Virginia Beach at around 7AM. Yay!!