Molly's Bike and Build Blog

INDEPENDENCE PASS!! .. Aspen, and Silt, Colorado

2009-07-16T17:58:00.005-04:00

WE HAVE CROSSED THE ROCKIES!

A few days a go (7/14) we crossed Independence Pass, rumored to be the highest pass in the nation. We got pumped up at 6:30 in the morning before departing since we needed to be off the peak before the storms hit. It was absolutely amazing! We spent about 20 miles going up, which was a bit difficult but nothing we weren't used to. The first 15 was not too bad, but the end was switch backs and slightly painful. We were going about 4 or 5 miles per hour. BUT we did it!

About the pictures: Picture 1: At the top, you can see snow in the background. It was a bit chilly. We could have had a snowball fight if we wanted to! The other two are about 2 miles from the top of the pass. You can see the road that we road on in the background. It was a bit steep!

After reaching the top, we had a dance party and enjoyed a quick snack before our 20 miles of downhill to reach Aspen.

Aspen is an interesting place. It is VERY biker friendly, which is great, but it also is ridiculously expensive. On our day off, a group of us went to the gas station for a snack because the cheapest places were roughly 8 or 9 dollars for just a sandwich. Most restaurants were $20 a meal! We also visited McD's for lunch to save a bit of money then splurged on dinner at the Hickory House, a recommended restaurant.

For entertainment, we saw Harry Potter 6, which was a very fun movie, and we relaxed in our ski lodge that was so kind to provide us a place to sleep. We rode the buss everywhere because in Aspen the bus is FREE! That was a nice treat.

We left Aspen and enjoyed a day of DOWNHILL! It was great. We were even on a bike path for 40 miles! I averaged about 17.5 for the morning and 16.5 for the day. It was very exciting to relax and enjoy the beauty of Colorado!

We are currently in Silt, which is a town of about 1700 people. They are letting us stay at their community center and the Habitat affiliate is providing us what I am sure will be a delicious dinner. I am very excited!

I will try to write again soon!

Link to facebook album for more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2306653&id=11815505&l=087cfc20f7

(same album as before but with new pictures!)

Leaving Colorado Springs.. Losing a tooth.. Buena Vista

2009-07-13T12:56:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!

So, we finished the house in Colorado Springs! YAY! I will post pictures eventually. We are at a lunch stop right now that was near a library so I thought I would catch up on my blogging.

In Colorado Springs:

I climbed Pike's Peak on foot(20 miles, 13 hrs, 6,000 ft). It was difficult but very rewarding. I made it to the tree lines before the weather was a little too threatening. But there was snow! Crazy!

I hit my face with a hammer on the workday.. and unfortunately lost part of a tooth. Through an amazing dentist who actually drove me to the worksite after putting in my crown, and opened on a day he wasn't open in order to get me a tooth before I left, I am back to normal now. In fact, my smile may look better than before!

We met two amazing home owners: one had a son who was born and weighed 1 pound. In fact, he required so much special equipment she had to send her older son to live with family. She was so excited to have her Habitat house and to be able to have both of her sons live with her again.

The other was a dad who worked all day and just wanted to get ahead. He had a goal to move into the house by new years eve, so some days he would come to the Habitat site at 5 pm after work and stay until midnight working on little details! He moved in on Christmas eve and decorated his sons room with Spiderman stuff because his son loved spiderman. Then, he moved his son there so he woke up on Christmas morning in his own room with all of his favorite things. Apparently, it was an amazing Christmas!

Yesterday:

We left Colorado Springs for Hartsell, CO. A small town. The ride was difficult to say the least. I was sweep (aka required to be the last person to arrive). We climbed up 6,000 ft and we dropped 4,000 for a net gain of 2,000. We had every type of bad weather possible thrown at us. It hailed on us 3 times.. which is insanely painful and scary, but there was no shelter in site so we had to ride on. We had side winds and head winds... and maybe a tail wind. It was definitely a beautiful day to see all of the 14,000 ft mountains in the chain as we went. Last night we slept in an igloo.. All 32 of us fit but it was a tight squeeze to say the least.

Today:

Well we are currently at lunch. So far, we have climbed about 10 miles up and had a nice downhill stretch for the last 15 miles. This afternoon should be difficult. Tomorrow we will be going over Independence pass to get to Aspen. This pass is going to be incredibly difficult since it is about 20 miles of uphill. Luckily, we only have 30 miles total to account for the difficulty.

I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all! Pictures soon.. I promise!

COLORADO SPRINGS!!!

2009-07-04T19:30:00.002-04:00

Well, we have been here for two days now, and we have already built the floor, and framed the house. We went bowling last night. It was 5 dollars for 3 games and shoes! What a deal! It was a lot of fun. There was even a karaoke competition going on.. FUN!

On the build site, things have been good. Tonight we are going to watch fireworks in a park. We wanted to go to the Airforce Academy, but apparently it is too far away :-(

Happy 4th of July! I will update you all later on more info, but I think David may actually want to use his computer :-D Thank you David for your generosity!

The day I had to write the actual journal.. (its a long one!)

2009-07-04T19:28:00.001-04:00

After an evening in Pueblo, we met a cyclist who was also traveling across the country, but he was doing it the hardcore way. In other words, he was pedaling by himself, carrying everything he needed, and camping every night. The pasture allowed him to stay with us, and he was very appreciative of having a shower after many days without one. He seemed really interested in Bike and Build, so maybe we found a future Bike and Builder!

In the morning, the First Presbyterian church cooked us a delicious breakfast including banana walnut pancakes and fresh fruit. It was amazing. It was an especially exciting morning because we were finally on our way to Colorado Springs to build a house and to take a break from our bicycles! Kristin, our MVC for the day, got us pumped up with a dance song and some inspirational words.

Our ride for the day was 52 miles, which we found out had a portion of gravel road. This lead to two options: bike on the interstate for day 3 or take the gravel road. The group split pretty evenly. We started the ride around 7:30 am. It was a warm morning, and we started off on the city streets of Pueblo. Then, some of our group took a 20 mile route on the highway to meet up at lunch, while others took a 20 mile route on a back road. The highway route was very fast due to a wind pushing us. We averaged a pretty good speed and enjoyed the graded hills. The back road or gravel road had several fun tales. Here are a few highlights:

- There were an abnormal amount of bugs on this road. In fact, there were designated bug watchers, mainly Jon Kole. Jon was so nice to point out to the bikers in front of him when they had bugs landing on them so that they could keep them from biting them. However, everyone did not have this luxury and the amount of bug bites on the gravel road group was rather impressive.
- Several riders decided that they would rather fight the bugs without clothes and participated in a “naked mile.”

We met up again and we all biked through the town of Fountain, where we stopped for lunch. After lunch , we all biked up some pretty steep hills, where we realized we weren’t in Charleston, SC anymore since we could feel our new altitude. Right before a large hill, Jessica’s family sat alongside of the route and cheered for the riders as they went by, which was a nice treat.

We arrived at Colorado Springs between 12:30 and 3 pm. We were met by the Habitat affiliate, who let us in to the Sunrise United Methodist Church. The church is amazing. It is really large with lots of couches, which always makes our group smile! The Habitat affiliate even gave us some nice clean t-shirts, which made everyone a little happier. We were also met by a local news representative who interviewed us as we entered Colorado Springs. Matt and Chris decided they had not had enough exercise for the day and went for a jog after arriving at the church

AND! It was Thursday which means many exciting things including new yummy treats from the mail drop. Thank you to the parents and friends who sent the yummy cookies, baked goods, rice krispee treats, brownie bites, candy, toys, and other fun things. We also had a town hall meeting, which gets mixed reviews every week. This week was an especially long one since it managed to last 2 hours, mainly because we have so many options for fun activities this week and only one van. It looks like it is going to be an amazing week, and we are all so excited to have a nice long stay and time to explore!

Walsenburg, Pueblo...

2009-07-04T19:14:00.002-04:00

6/30
we left Trinidad for Walsenburg, CO: a town about the same size as Trinidad. We had two options: take a 38 mile ride directly to Walsenburg on the highway OR take a 84 mile route on the "scenic highway of legends". My butt and I chose the 38 mile route. We arrived in Walsenburg at 9 am, and we basically had a second day off, which was amazing. We spent some time in a cafe eating breakfast, went to the library, read, had some delicious meals, window shopped, and enjoyed ice cream! It was a great day!

7/1 We headed to Pueblo Co.

Pueblo Colorado is a large city, our first large city in Colorado. This was a 54 mile route, and it was all on the highway. One of the funny parts of the day was when Andy and I saw three cows out so we rode to the farmhouse to alert the farmer, which I know is what my family would want done in that situation. It was a pretty easy day. We averaged about 16 mph, which was nice and got there around 12. We spent the day reading, postcard writing, and exploring the river walk. It turns out there were 4 military men who got the medal of honor from Pueblo. Eisenhower had a quote stating "there must be something in the water in Pueblo." I also got to talk to my brother and parents again which was definitely a treat! Congrats on the promotion brother!

Texas.. New Mexico.....COLORADO!!

2009-06-29T11:49:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone from Trinidad, CO!

Before I talk about our ride yesterday, which was amazing. I am going to give you some refreshers about what has happened since the last time I had internet access :--D After a beautiful ride yesterday, we arrived in Colorado.

6/24:
We left Watonga, OK for Arnette, OK (4:30 wakeup): a town with a population of 492 people. It was an 87 mile ride. It was actually a really cute little town. We stayed at a Methodist Church that provided us dinner and breakfast, and we had a bike safety clinic for the community in the park the night we were there. We even watched Shawshank Redemption on a big screen in the church! PS: Oklahoma is not flat, and we saw, if we were lucky, about 1 gas station a day.

6/25:
After Arnette, OK we crossed into Spearman, Texas (4:30 wakeup). Aside from the border, we saw lots of cattle, crops, and an occasional person throughout the day. The ride was 94 miles, and it was hot. VERY hot. We were hitting the high 90's

6/26:
We left Spearman, TX for Dalhart, TX (4:30 wakeup): a 88 mile journey. We went through 2 towns in thie 88 miles: Sunray (a nice quaint town where we ate lunch) and Cactus (they had a really nice gas station!). We arrived to a nice homecooked meal of pasta, veggies, and salad. Delicious!

6/27:

Dalhart, TX to Des Moines, NM (4:30 wakeup)

Unfortunately, I had to ride in the van due to being sick again, but it was still an enjoyable day. This was a 95 mile ride, and the wind was really bad. There have been several days where the wind causes us to not be able to go faster than 8 miles an hour. This was one of them. It was also slightly chilly. Des Moines, NM is a VERY small town, but New Mexico actually had a lot of character to it. We all agreed we preferred it to Texas and Oklahoma because the scenery was just really neat. It was all flat but we would see an occasional mountain off in the distance. OH AND PS! We saw a tumbleweed!

6/28
Des Moines, NM to Trinidad, CO!( 5 am wakeup... we slept in!!!!)
This was by far the best ride we have had yet. In the morning, we went through a mountain pass that was gorgeous and for the first time in a few days we had the wind on our sides. We coasted at above 20 mph without really putting in effort, causing us to be at lunch (over 40 miles in) in about 2 and a half hours (including border pictures when we entered Colorado). Colorado is really beautiful and the ride was just incredibly enjoyable. The ride was a total of 74 miles, and it was fairly easy except for the last 10 to 15 miles where the wind was no longer on our side. We pedaled as hard as we could only to look down and see speeds of 6-8 mph. If we reached 10 mph this was an accomplishment. In fact, going downhill, everyone had to pedal as hard as they could to go about 15 mph. This is usually a normal speed for flat land. We estimated that we were fighting winds of 20 mph, but since we had had such an amazing day there were no complaints. We arrived around 1:30, and we went off to find the showers at the nearby community center. We ate in the city at a delicious pizza place, and we had a very classy desert: a McFlurry.

6/29:

Today is a day off in Trinidad. Some of our group went horse back riding (I decided I would rather give my bum a break), and others have enjoyed some time at a coffee shop. We are hoping to take a free trolly tour at 11. Other than that, we will be relaxing on our day off before a 3 day stretch of biking to get to Colorado Springs: the location of our Blitz Build!! We will be off the bike for 9 days, which everyone is incredibly excited about.

I hope all is well! I cannot upload pictures here, but I will as soon as I can!

Oklahoma!

2009-06-23T15:20:00.011-04:00

WELL...

Here are some updates: Little Rock was great. We had a day off and the United Methodist Church there was really amazing to us. They helped us unload our trailer, did our laundry (which is NOT an easy task!), had a snack for us when we arrived, provided meals for us for 2 days, AND helped shuttle us to downtown! They really were amazing people. In Little Rock, we went to the Clinton Museum/Library, which was really nice and had so much information including his schedules for every day he was in office. Also, there was a space exhibit where I learned I do NOT know how to fly a shuttle.. or land one.

After Little Rock, we headed to Russelville, AR: A journey of about 55 miles. After Russelville, we went to Fort Smith, which was an 80 mile route. Some managed to make it a 105 mile route. You see, the morning of this journey we had an option: to take the planned route (82 miles on a state road) or to go on the adventurous route through a national forest which may or may not be paved. I chose the safe route for the sake of my muscles. Others who chose the forest route found out it was 10 miles of dirt and gravel and ended up with a little bit longer of a day. I was quite happy with my 80 mile route. In fact, we even got to see an Abbey, which was quite neat!

After Fort Smith, we crossed the border into Henryetta, a 105 mile day. This was a very long, hot day. The temperature was about 97 degrees and we were definitely feeling the heat. After Henryetta, we headed to Oklahoma City: a 96 mile route. The weather got even hotter. In fact, it reached over 100 degrees. I was not liking the heat, so I took it very slow with a few friends, but we eventually arrived and enjoyed a delicious meal or vegetarian chili!

In Oklahoma City, we had a build day. It was quite impressive. They are the largest green builder in Oklahoma and quite possibly leading the Habitat statistics for the country for LEAD houses. Last month, one of their houses had an electricity bill of $35 (this is during 90 degree weather). Impressive! It was rediculously hot. I think I drank 2 gallons of water.. (we really do usually drive over a gallon of water a day) It reached 105 degrees. A highlight of the day was when the neighbor's sprinklers came on and we got to run through them! We do this often on our bikes as well. Some have even gone through carwashes.

Today we left Oklahoma City to arrive in Wantonga, only a 65 mile ride :-D. We left very early since it is over 100 degrees again today, but it is nice to be here early. I got to mail some post cards (give me your address so I can send you one!), and write in my very unupdated blog! We really don't have internet often so it is hard to keep this updated.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Arnett, OK, for our last day in Oklahoma... It has been an interesting state. The people here are really nice. In fact, today a random man pulled over to give us bottles of water. What a generous person!

We don't have an Oklahoma saying.. probably because it doesn't rhyme with much, but I will let you know the next one we have!

Miss you All!

Pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2306653&id=11815505&l=087cfc20f7

Arkansas!

2009-06-15T21:28:00.006-04:00

We have entered Arkansas!

After 2 very rainy days in Mississippi, we have crossed the Mississippi River, and we have entered a state I have never been to: Arkansas! We are currently in Stuttgart, AR, which is a pretty small little town. Today we biked about 95 miles to get here. We actually had a police escort across a 3 mile bridge because it wasn't biker friendly. We were actually warned about it by all of the locals who stopped to talk to us. Thus, we found a cop for safety. It was fun to all bike together and get to take over the road for a few miles, though. We only held up about 20 tractor trailors...

The community here has been amazing. We are staying at yet another United Methodist Church (Methodist has hosted us 95 percent of the time). Their Youth Group actually made our visit into a project. They organized a Taco bar for us, made a pool party (WITH A WATER SLIDE!!!) for us, and they shuttled us back and forth! They even provided showers and internet. Very nice people!

Arkansas has nicer roads than Mississippi by a landslide so far. Mississippi had these not so amazing roads that provided a crack every 20 feet, which got old after about 20 miles.. and got painful after 50. The road kill is quite amusing, but it can be quite disgusting. I have seen more snakes and armadillos than anything else, which is very strange to me. The hills have dissappeared which is bitter sweet. It may cause us to be less tired, but it also causes some of us to think we may fall asleep at the pedal. It is deathly boring. Today, we played the alphabet game... except when you dont see a sign for 20 miles .. or a gas station.. it gets a little hard to play. We were in places that had town signs letting you know the population. One town had a population of 104 people. I wonder if that changes when a family moves out of town.. It might be even less these days! We have started to get very excited to see a turn in the near future. This is a highlight to our day.

Tomorrow we have about a 60 mile trek to Little Rock. AND WE HAVE A DAY OFF!!!!! VERY EXCITING! I forsee much sleep and reading in my forecast :-D.

To my Dad: Happy Early Fathers Day, in case I dont get a chance to write again! I love you very much, and have a great time in Italy.. Remember while you are lounging in my dream location that your daughter is sweating to death and as we say about Arkansas.. "Rubbing it raw in Arkansas" (we are starting state slogans to help us get through!)

I have uploaded more photos to the link I used in the last blog. Please look! They are good ones! link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2301374&id=11815505&l=f303f72cad

Georgia.. to Alabama.. to Mississippi

2009-06-13T22:11:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone!

Sorry it has been so long, but we have limited internet access. Here is a quick update!

The day after Norcross we traveled to Heflin, Alabama, a 107 mile ride. It was definitely a long day. In fact, we were so tired that we arrived and were greeted with a delicious meal, but we instantly fell asleep at about 8 pm. (we did wake up at 4:30 am in our defense).

We left Heflin for Birmingham (97 mile ride). I actually was in the first group finished: very strange for me! It felt good and it wasn't too impossible. We had 2 lunches, and we stopped at a church where we originally were supposed to stay, but it would have caused the day before to be a 120 mile ride, which none of us would have liked. I got to meet up with Robert, a friend of mine from senior design, and we drove (IN A CAR!!) around Birmingham. It was a lot of fun. The day rounded out at about 70 miles, which felt like nothing after the days we had been having.

We had a build day in Birmingham with Habitat for Humanity. It was good. I mostly calked the base boards of the house all day. It is a very large affiliate. They build about 40 houses a year.

After Birmingham, we headed to Hamilton, Alabama. This was our third century ride in a row. (96 miles) It was rough, and I really struggled. However, when I arrived to our second lunch, everyone shared a pity party about how sore we were after 300 miles in our last 3 bike days. It was good to see that I was not the only person in pain. It was a great bonding experience :-D

We left Hamilton Alabama for Tupelo, Mississippi on the 12th. This is the birthplace of Elvis, and this was a miraculous day. It was only 59 miles!!! (This to us sounds like an ice cream party announcement at this point.) We had time to explore downtown, and we stayed at a very nice church.

Finally, we left Tupelo for Oxford this morning. I was sweep today (this means I had to be the last person to arrive to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for at all times). It was a nasty day. We hit some thunderstorms and had to take cover, but Oxford is really really nice. We had a delicious dinner at a restaurant owned by one of the rider's cousin. It was amazing. Unlimited pasta and pizza. DELICIOUS! We had a 50 mile ride today, so although it was nasty weather, we got here fairly early. I am also currently on laundry duty, so I spent my afternoon washing everyone's jersey's with my chore team the PO-lice (named since we caused a police appearance after setting off a church alarm system in Charleston..oops). After dinner, we went to a delicious candy shop and a bookstore downtown. We are now at Ole Miss University using the computers in the student union. It is a really pretty campus. I am very impressed. I wish we could spend another day in this great city, but we will be leaving for Clarksdale tomorrow!

I may not have internet again for a while, but I will try to upload pictures the next chance I get. I finally found postcards, so I will be sending some out soon! Miss you all!

Rebuilding Together

2009-06-07T20:24:00.003-04:00

Today we volunteered with Rebuilding Together. It was great! We worked for Mr. Jones, an older man who served in the military for about 16 years in WW2. He has guacoma, so he has severe issues seeing. One of our big assignments was to paint the inside of the house white for function and to lighten up his home and make it easier for him to see. He was very grateful, and it was a great day. We ate dinner at an awesome restaurant downtown and were greeted with yummy Mexican food and a band playing some of our favorite songs.

We will be waking up at 4:30 tomorrow for our 100 mile ride, so it is time to get some sleep! Goodnight everyone!

Norcross, GA

2009-06-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

We biked about 60 miles today and arrived in Norcross Georgia. We are staying at a Boys and Girls club with about 20 computers, pool tables, a gym, and flat screen tvs.. It is pretty exciting! Currently, we are all relaxing before our build day tomorrow with Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit that works to do minor repairs on homes of those in need. It should be exciting!

Our bike ride today was good. It was a bit hilly, but enjoyable none-the-less. Our host last night was amazing. They actually made us a potluck dinner, and they woke up at 6 am to feed us breakfast!! Yum! Today on our bike ride took a lunch break around Bethlehem, a small town in Georgia. It was a cool day and very enjoyable.

Tonight, we ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom, provided by a local church. It was delicious. We have been spoiled lately foodwise!

In just two days we will be having a century day (over 100 miles). It should be challenging, but hopefully doable! Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

GEORGIA!!

2009-06-05T15:44:00.003-04:00

We have internet again! We are now in Athens, Georgia.

Here is some catch up on the past few days:

June 1: We went to Newberry, SC somewhere around 50 miles.

June 2: we biked a staggering 70 miles to arrive in Greenville, SC, an AMAZING city! It is possibly the coolest city I have seen up to now. Please check out the pictures of it. It has an amazing downtown and a beautiful park that would make you think you aren't in the largest city of South Carolina.

June 3: We actually had a day off in Greenville, so we got to explore it a lot. David Rochette even came to visit us from Ashville, NC! We had a lot of fun exploring the city. One of the board members of Bike and Build actually took us all out to eat for dinner at a great pizza place. Afterward, we saw a minor league baseball game (Ashville NC vs Greenville SC), and we even crashed a high school graduation party! It was quite an excting night.

June 4: We left Greenville for Hartwell GA. It was a nice 57 mile ride, and we had a relaxing evening, although some made a trip to the nearby thrift store. New State!! YAYY!!

TODAY:
We are at UGA's town of Athens. It is really nice! Georgia hasn't shown to be the most biker friendly area. Today we biked a short 47 mile ride, but we actually got pulled over by a cop car who seemed to have gotten complaints about bikers being on the road. That was new! Kind of funny to see a cop turn on his sirens behind a biker though! Tonight we will be eating a potluck dinner at the church we are at. Yummy!

Our schedule for the next few days is to bike about 60 miles tomorrow to Norcross, where we will have a build day with Rebuilding Together, another substandard housing organization. We have been biking a lot, and we have now done a total of 383 miles..

Pictures for the last few days are at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2301374&id=11815505&l=f303f72cad

60 and 55 mile rides

2009-05-31T18:02:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was a long day! We rode about 60 miles (it was supposed to be 56, but we got a little lost). Happy belated birthday Mom! It was a decent ride, but some of the roads were rough. I have a new appreciation for new pavement and well managed roads. We camped last night beside a lake in Pineview,sc. We stopped to try boiled peanuts.. yummy!

Today was about a 55 mile ride.. maybe 56 with a little bit of a detour.. It was an overall great day... with lots of hills.. LOTS of sun.. and i have new appreciation for some "butter" or lotion that goes on your shorts.. its amazing! I am starting to feel a bit of pain.. and I did recently fall as well.. but All is well in the neighborhood!

Here is a link to all of my pictures so far:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2299817&id=11815505&l=7c944b769a

Enjoy! Hope to write again soon!

33 mile ride!

2009-05-29T16:15:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone!

We are now in Moncks Corner, SC, 33 miles down the road from Charleston. Here are some pictures! Enjoy!

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The welcome sign to Moncks Corner, SC (It is hard to see but it is there!)

About to leave Charleston, all ready to go!

Everyone was leaving the ocean for 2.5 months!

Bye ocean!

The wolfpack was ready to go!

First Build Day!

2009-05-28T22:38:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone!

I finally got my camera, so expect uploads of photos tomorrow if we have internet after our first biking day. It was great! we actually did deconstruction! When we arrived, there was a house that was built in 1960. This land had been donated to Habitat for Humanity, but they had to tear down the house in order to use the land. Thus, we were there! Using hammers, cat's paws, sledge hammers, we removed the ceilings, walls, and most of the internal components of the house!

Tonight the NCSU crew went out to dinner with Kristin's, my best friend's, family. It was great! We went to California Dreamin, which Will pointed out is what we will be doing all summer (haha). I enjoyed my last nice dinner before the trip really starts. Tomorrow we will be biking 32 miles (a nice short ride). Stay tuned for pictures!

Our first ride as Bike and Builders!

2009-05-27T16:34:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!

Today we went on our first group ride. We are still in Charleston, SC, but we went on a tour of Charleston for about 25 miles today. It was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we will be building in Charleston. So far, everyone is amazing and the food has already been amazing! We are staying the the Trinity United Methodist Church in Charleston. We have been living it up with Subway, who has graciously donated foot longs to each of us for the last few days. (Thank you Subway!) I fell yesterday on my way to our meeting location due to a very mean train track, but I survived. We have gone over safety, and we will be heading out first thing on Friday! I will keep you updated and add pictures soon!

ALSO: If you would like to send me a letter or package, we have designated mail drops. I would love to hear from you :-) To send mail to a Bike & Build cyclist on the South Carolina to Santa Cruz trip, address your letter/package as follows (Read all instructions :-D):

Bike & Build
Attn: CYCLIST NAME
General Delivery
City, State Zip

Use the following list of dates and locations (City, State Zip) to get your letter/package to the location of your choosing:
Thursday, June 04 - Hartwell, GA 30643
Thursday, June 11 - Hamilton, AL 35570
Thursday, June 18 - Russellville, AR 72801
Thursday, June 25 - Spearman, TX 79081
Thursday, July 02 - Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Thursday, July 09 - Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Thursday, July 16 - Silt, CO 81652
Thursday, July 23 - Brigham City, UT 84302
Thursday, July 30 - Ontario, OR 97914
Thursday, August 06 - Old Station, CA 96071
Thursday, August 13 - San Jose, CA 95113

Lastly, in addition to addressing the package correctly and getting it to the post office in time to be picked up, it is also IMPORTANT that the following is written somewhere on the package: "Hold for pickup on DATE." ("DATE" refers to the dates listed above.) This is important because we will have the post office forward any mail received after we have left town; without this note, your package may be held instead of forwarded.

I will be sending postcards when we get on the road eventually :-)

Miss you all!

36 mile ride and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!

2009-05-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I rode 36 miles with Kristin and it was great! That is about what we have to ride on our first day, and it only took us 3 hours!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN! I hope you have a great 22nd birthday in Florida! Miss you!

65 miles down... 4000 to go

2009-05-03T23:51:00.002-04:00

I successfully completed 65 miles this weekend in 5 hours (with stops of course). That is about a 13 mph pace, which is pretty slow, but I was aiming for a 12 mph so I am okay with it.

As of today, I have biked 250 miles overall! I also am preparing to take my last test in college tomorrow morning and graduate this Saturday! Very exciting!

BUT Back to that bike...

My first long ride wasn't too horrible. It was painful at times, but I wasn't in pain afterward, which is a good sign. I am glad I still have more time to train before trekking across the country though!

I realized recently that I have a better way to track my exact location at this link. ( http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/2644 ) However, ignore the current fundraising status. I have actually reached $4,000 when my work from the RBC Center is included. It hasn't been mailed in yet though.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for everyone's continued support as I prepare for one of the most challenging and amazing summers that i will luckily get to participate in! I am so excited. Stay tuned for more posts!

I have reached my Fundraising Goal and Bike 2 Build!

2009-04-30T20:12:00.001-04:00

Thank you everyone for your support! I have now raised over $4,000! I really appreciate all of your donations, and I am very grateful for your help!

This weekend, I will be biking in a tour called Bike 2 Build in South East North Carolina. I will be biking a 100k (about 62 miles). I am really excited! I will let you know how it goes!

Thanks again!

I GOT MY BIKE!!!!

2009-02-21T18:34:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, at approximately 6 pm, I received the bike that I will be riding this summer! It is beautiful. I will upload pictures very soon. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me and supported me on my fundraising and journey. I also got my helmet and a pair of biking shorts.

Fundraising is going well. I am getting very close. I have been working at the RBC Center in Raleigh (the Carolina Hurricane's hockey and NCSU's basketball arena) for donations. I make about 35 dollars per event, and I have worked about 4 events. I am looking forward to finishing my fundraising.

I plan to go on my first road bike trip tomorrow. I will let everyone know how it goes! I also will be building next week in Mississippi for Habitat during Spring Break.

Thank you for your continued support!!

30 miles!

2009-01-14T17:44:00.002-05:00

Today I biked 30 miles! I haven't been biking very often. I still do not have my bike, but I qualify for it so hopefully I will get it soon so I biked at the gym. It took me 2 hours! In general, it wasnt too bad, but I think I will be very sore tomorrow.

Just updates:

December 13 I ran my first half marathon! It was an amazing accomplishment!

My fundraising is going well. I am currently working at the RBC Center (an arena in Raleigh where our basketball team and the Carolina Hurricanes play). We make about $30 a game for about 6 hours of work. All the money made is a donation, and it is fun too.

Thank you so much to all of you who have already supported me or are planning to support me. It means so much to me.

I will keep you updated!

I am biking across the country this summer!

2008-11-30T17:37:00.001-05:00

This May, I will be graduating from North Carolina State University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. I am unsure to exactly what my future holds, but I plan to work for a year and then return to school to get a Masters or PhD. As you may know, I have been very active with Habitat for Humanity during college. I am currently the president of our chapter, and I have spent every break trip in college on a Habitat build site. My experience with Habitat has really been an enormous part of my life over the last four years. I have worked to lead a tutoring program to tutor the children of Habitat families. I have organized a letter writing campaign, lead reflections on break trips, and helped supervise an organization that leads up to 80 volunteers every week.

I look forward to biking across the country because I think it will be a time that I can focus on living in the moment. I cannot wait to start!