San Fran, the wheel dip, and life after Bike and Build...

This past Sunday we rode into San Francisco and it was the most amazing feeling I've ever experienced. We had planned out the day so that we'd have different meeting points throughout the day at which we would wait for the entire group so we wouldn't get too spread out and would cross the bridge together and get to the ocean together as well.

I was riding with Anne and Kristiann in the morning. Kristiann was riding in front, then Anne, then me. At one point I heard Kristiann scream and didn't know why, then I looked up and saw a foggy Golden Gate bridge and soon all three of us were screaming. We were so excited. We stopped at the Vista point right before the bridge to wait for the whole group and then all 32 of us crossed together. It was SO awesome. I couldn't help but get a bit teary-eyed because I was so happy. We'd been thinking about this moment for SO long.

When we crossed the bridge we took a route around some famous parts of the city before we all met again just before the beach. We rode to Ocean Beach together where we were met by our friends and family with signs and cameras and really really really proud faces. Once we reached the sand we all picked up our bikes and carried them across the sand to the water. At the water we all ceremoniously lined up (Just like we did back in Jacksonville, but this time facing the water), and we dipped our front tires in the water.

After this we all had the urge to jump in the ocean, so after a final huddle we all ran in the water. It was cold, but our adrenaline was pumping and nothing at this point was going to keep us from running (and yes, frolicking) in the water. It was definitely a moment I will never forget.

Post Bike and Build

It's really weird writing this because I'm doing it from my bedroom at home, sitting on my bed with sheets and a pillow and I'm not surrounded by 30 other people. I can't remember the last time that life has been like this. Having no privacy and living out of a bag wearing the same 3 t-shirts over and over had become so normal.

There are a lot of things I'm going to miss. One is the carefreeness that I felt this summer. We woke up every morning...and we got to ride bikes. Every day! Who gets to do that? And once we got to our host site...we'd have to find a way to entertain ourselves...so we'd play. Play! It sounds like such a childlike pasttime. And I know I'm not that old, but I still think it'd been a while since I was able to just play without feeling like I should be doing something that will somehow get me further in life. We'd play ultimate frisbee inside of a carpeted gym while wearing roller skates and music was blasting from a sound system. (who does that?) Or we'd play card game after card game because there was nothing else that we had to do.

I'm leaving for school tomorrow and I can't help but feel that I'm not ready. The thought of getting a syllabus on the first day and buying books and all of a sudden having assignments and expectations and deadlines seems like a really scary thought. On top of that the thought of sitting in a classroom all day gets more and more unappealing.

I've driven around a bit since I've been home running various errands. My bike is currently in the bike shop getting maintenance repairs (it was good to me on the road...but after 3600 miles I thought I'd treat it to a check-up). And every time I've driven, I can't help but let my eyes drift over to the shoulder of the road and wish I were on my bike riding on it. I think of distance so differently now. Everything's bikable! Even when I was saying goodbye to one of my Bike and Build friends, Sara, who's from Florida, we were very comforted by the fact that even though we live on opposite sides of the country- at least we know it's bikable!

That brings me to another- and the main- thing that I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss my 31 other fellow Bike and Builders who were my family for these last 9 weeks of craziness! Once we all met each other, we no longer knew life without each other. Really. We didn't. Because we were around each other 24-7. And I have to say that I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to share this summer with. It was a trip of a lifetime for all of us, and we all knew it. We really kept each other going. And although we know that we were helping other people along the way (doing our best working for the affordable housing cause) we couldn't help but be affected too.

Overall, I think I'm still processing everything that happened. And honestly I don't know if I will ever completely process it all. If you were to ask me if I felt like I biked across the entire country I'd probably say no. It really only feels like I got up and rode my bike every day for the past 2 months. The distance doesn't quite sink in.

But nonetheless, it was an amazing summer. An experience I will keep with me the rest of my life. I met people I will know the rest of my life, and I think I discovered a passion for biking that will stay with me. I want the way I felt this summer to carry over and not stop here. I want the carefree feeling and the positive relationships that I have surrounding me not to end. Ever. I think I can work on that. :)

I also feel that in order to repay the hospitality that we were shown on the trip I have a lot of catching up to do. Even though I know we were the ones building houses and raising money and doing this for a cause, I was so humbled by every single person we encountered who provided us a meal or a place to sleep or a shower. Honestly, they have no idea how much that made such a difference. It's a beautiful circle, really. When we were in Yuba City, CA we were working with Habitat on a house for a woman named Barbara whose house has been in progress for over 2 years. Last years' B&B group that came through there also worked on her very same house. She built alongside us that day and was so positive and inspiring and grateful. Very grateful. She gave every single one of us a hug before we left, and said once her house is built we'll always be welcome in her home. That's how I feel about everyone who gave us a meal...if they're ever in my neck of the woods they should come by for dinner. And if they hadn't helped us, Barbara wouldn't be making progress on her house. It's a great domino effect that starts from one spark of giving I guess. Awesome to see.

I could probably go on talking about Bike and Build all day, but I don't want this to get too long. I'd just be repeating over and over how I loved it and it was awesome. If anyone would like to talk to me about it or ask any final questions, please feel free to email me (mhighbaugh@gmail.com). Thanks for reading about my trip and supporting and praying for me along the way. I'm so grateful to all of you that donated. Our route alone (just 32 of us) ended up donating over $70,000 to affordable housing groups in the gulf coast that are dealing with disaster relief in New Orleans and Mississippi. So thank you so much!! $70,000 from 32 people is absolutely amazing. Here's that domino effect again. If it hadn't been for you who helped donate, this trip wouldn't have been possible.

I'd like to leave you with two of my favorite quotes from the summer. Every morning we'd have some sort of inspirational quote on our cue sheets (directions for the day), and these were my favorite.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." -HG Wells

And one more thing! One quirky thing about our group that I don't think I've mentioned yet is our BIKE & BUILD CHOIR! No other group in the history of Bike and Build has had a choir...and ours came into being one day and has been growing in numbers every since. Here's a (quite shaky...in the sense of at times you might think an earthquake is occuring) video of our Bike and Build choir performing at our celebration dinner in San Fran after our wheel dip. The song is called "Happy Ending" by Mika, and it was a favorite among our group. One morning it was playing on a church sound system while we were packing up doing our morning chores- and pretty soon a spontaneous dance party erupted. So go to the link below to see us perform. I hope you enjoy. Peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EONkk_dgj3w

I missed you, California!

Every morning one of our leaders, Rebecca, walks around with her laptop and wakes us up with music. It changes every day and a few days ago we were in Fallon, NV and she walked around playing the song "California" by Phantom Planet, inwhich the lyrics say "California....here we come!". And so we came.

We rode to Lake Tahoe that day, which was absolutely beautiful. We camped there for two nights, and had a day off there yesterday. We spent our day off on the beach of the lake, lazing around and playing in the water and the mud. It was a wonderful day, and then today we left lake Tahoe and rode to Downieville, CA. The ride was tough, but beautiful and I realized how much I missed California! We climbed a lot of the Sierras and the last 15 miles of our ride was a beautiful downhill right along a river. Gorgeous!!!

We're staying at a family's house tonight who are letting us crash in their yard/house. They've been great and are so nice to let us into their home.

It's hard to believe that we're finally in CA. We've only got 4 more biking days until San Fran, and we'll be done! It doesn't really feel like I've ridden my bike all the way from Florida. Taking it a day at a time, it's amazing how far you can make it!

I want to thank everyone who's been reading this and has cared about what I'm doing! I'm hoping to write a couple more times before San Fran, but I never know when we'll have internet. So if this is the last post, I hope to talk to you about my trip when it's over!!

San Fran or bust!

Nevada!

So it's been a while since I last wrote on here. We've been camping a lot more and haven't been in civilaion. We are now in Ely, Nevada. (pronounced Elee) A lot has happened since our ride into Las vegas, New Mexico...and by a lot I mean the entire state of Arizona, Utah, and two days of Nevada. Where do I begin??

Let's start with Arizona. We had some tough days in Arizona. Our hardest being our ride to Jacob Lake which was an 83 mile day. The first 60 miles were extremely hot and windy...and the last 13 miles were uphill...a lot. Our lowest point that day was around 3500 ft, and when we got to Jacob Lake we had reached almost 8000 ft in elevation.

The day after that we rode to the Grand Canyon!! We camped there for two nights, so we had one day off there. On our day off we thought a first we would take it easy...relax by the beautiful views. Hah! That didn' happen. Me and 6 others ended up going on what turned into about a 14 mile hike, which was really awesome. I guess we just don't know how to sit still.

After the Grand Canyon we headed up to Utah, which was gorgeous. We were ony in Utah for 3 days, and on our third day we reached our highest elevation of the trip. We climbed for 25 miles until we reached 9910 ft in elevation. It was an awesome feeling, and the 15 miles of downhill that followed was absolutely amazing.

After Utah we headed into Nevada. Yesterday we rode 94 miles, and today was 108 miles (which is the most we've ridden in one day) to Ely!

Just to tell you a bit about today's ride, I have to first explain a Bike and Build tradition that we've heard about since Florida. The tradition is known as the Naked Mile, which consists of a single mile in our 3600 that you choose to ride naked! Of course you don't have to do it, but it's definitely presented as a milestone that you want to conquer. You get to choose when you want to do your naked mile, so today as I was riding down the straight Nevada road with Anne, Kristiann, and Shap, and we decided that it was now or never. We made sure no cars were in sight, and we waited until we had a stretch of downhill so that it would go by faster. And we did it!

Hopefully nobody's opinion of me is changed by the fact that I rode a mile on my bike naked, haha. Nevada was a great state to do it in given the fact that...there's really not much here. After we finished we signed our names in chalk on the road that we did our mile, which apparently inspired almost the entire group to do their naked mile at some point on today's ride as well. So it was definitely a day of conquering for many of us.

Tomorrow we have a day off here in Ely, and given the fact that there's nothing really here we will probably just laze around all day and eat. I am curently writing this sitting with 3 other people eating a half gallon of ice cream with humongous spoons because it's all we could find in the kitchen. I continue to be amazed at my appetite these days, and don' know how I'm going to adjust back to real life eating habits.

We only have 9 more riding days left, one day off, and one build day. San Francisco is coming up soon and I can't believe it! This trip is flying by, and it's going to be over before we know it. Hopefully we will have internet in the next week so I can keep this more updated. This is going to be a busy couple weeks, and we've all got San Francisco on the brain!! I hope you l are doing well! Hopefully there will be more stories to come!

Flat tires, Mountains, and Vegas

We left Mosquero this morning at 6 am, after the night of Cowboy Camp- which was an amazing get together of cowboys in the area who made us wonderful food and taught us how to lasso and entertained us with cowboy music.

The ride started off uneventful. Pretty flat. Some wind, but not too much. Then all of a sudden we got this amazing dowhill strech with curves down into this beautiful valley. It was such a ruch and absolutely beautiful. At the bottom, however, was when my tire blew out. This was different from the more common flat tires that I usually get- which just puncture the tubes in the tire. My tire literally just blew- and there was a huge hole blown out of the side of it. I always carry extra tubes on me- but not extra tires- so this was a time to call the van for help.

Being that we have been in the middle of nowhere for the past few days- cell phone reception is hard to come by. Luckily enough I was riding with Aylin who has an iPhone and was actually already on the phone with the van trying to lead it to the nearest gas station (which was like 25 miles away). The van came, and I got a stock tire out of the back of it and was back in business.

Nothing too exciting happened until we got to lunch at mile 45- where I realized that the stock tire I just put on was about to blow out as well- so I got another tire out of the van and changed it again, hoping that it would be in better condition.

We rode after lunch among the base of mountains for a while before we came to the point where it was time to actually climb up them. At the base of our first big climb, Aylin and I came across the van and trailer stopped on the side of the road. This usually means it's a lunch or water stop- but in this case it wasn't at the right mile for either. Apparently the trailer had gotten a flat tire as well!

Luckily enough right across the street was a woman's house out in the middle of nowhere who shared her phone and helped us out. After calling neighboring towns (which weren't very neighboring according to our standards), Rebecca (the van driver for the day) was told that no one in any neighboring town would have the size tire that we need. The nearest would be Santa Fe (which is where we're riding tomorrow). That's over 100 miles from where the trailer was stranded. There wasn't a single tire that would fit our trailer in over 100 miles! haha, what should we do?

So our plan turned into trying to get what we would need for the next day out of the trailer into the van. That included all 32 of our individual luggage and anything else (coolers, etc) that we would need. So about 5 of us took out everyone's bag, and SOMEHOW fit them all in the van. It was an amazing packing job that I can't take much credit for, and not only were there 32 large bags in the van, but there were two bikes, 3 large coolers, and two people! I was impressed.

At this point we had done all we could to help and our attention turned to the mountain ahead of us. We made it to the top. And it was amazing. We came so high and it was so amazing to look down once we reached the end of the incline and see such a beautiful landscape.

Overall it was a long day, but a beautiful one. The trailer later ended up getting towed to Las Vegas, NM and we will have to pick up a tire from Santa Fe tomorrow and bring it back to Las Vegas to have our trailer again- but in the meantime I guess it's good to know that we could do without a trailer if we needed to.

It was a 100 mile day, and when we finally arrived after all the tire shenanigans, everyone was leaving for dinner at a hotel. A local hotel provided us with dinner and I just have to say that I ate 3 full plates of spaghetti, salad, and bread- and then I had 3 pieces of cake. And I don't think I really felt full after all of that- which is just insane. I don't think I've felt full this entire trip. The food just gets burnt up right when it enters. It's crazy.

Thanks for reading about my day! I'm going to sleep now. More mountains to come tomorrow! Get excited!

Pictures!

I actually had time to upload photos!

Here's Zach, Erica, Thomas, and Maegan looking over Palo Duro Canyon

Here's me in Palo Duro Canyon State Park outside of Amarillo on our day off

Here's a picture from our most beautiful riding day

Palo Duro Canyon

Anne and I tubing in Athens, TX

Jon, Brad, Roger, Me, and Sara atop the Oklahoma sign

I was really excited to see this sign.

Ever been to nowhere?

So the past couple days of riding have been interesting. And I mean interesting in the sense that I go the entire day without seeing a human being that isn't either on a bike or in the occasional car. And I can count the number of buildings that I see on one hand.

Tonight we're staying in a town called Mosquero in New Mexico. The town has about 150 people total...so by us staying here tonight we're increasing the population by like 20%. We were eating at a little restaurant earlier when we rode in and got invited to come to Cowboy Camp tonight for dinner. I have absolutely no idea what that means...but we were told there would be free food..and I'm assuming there will be cowboys??? I'll let you know.

I realized that a couple blog entries ago I wrote that we would be riding into Armadillo, Texas. That was a typo on my part because we actually wrote into Amarillo...which is quite different. This mistake on my part leads me into an entirely different subject that I have failed to mention so far. This subject is encountered every single day, and it is called: Roadkill!

If you were to ask me what type of animal we find most lying dead on the side of the road, the answer all of us would probably give would be armadillos. We have seen countless dead armadillos, that I'm beginning to think that I will never see a live one. Once we saw a dead baby alligator (that was probably the most unique roadkill). But the worst part about roadkill being on a bicycle is the smell. No matter what animal it is...the smell is the same...and it's awful! The closest I come to feeling nauseous on my bike is from the smell of roadkill. So I think that the reason that I said we were going into Armadillo, TX was because I'm bombarded by the sight of armadillos almost every day.

But that's enough about that. Let's go back to Amarillo, TX. We had a day off there this past weekend, which gave us a chance to go to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which is apparently the second largest canyon (next to the Grand Canyon of course). 15 of us went, and we hiked around, got tired of the marked trails and just tried to get to the highest point we could. It was beautiful and I recommend it to anyone who goes through Amarillo. It was probably one of my favorite things that I've seen on this trip so far. I loved it. And it was nice to do something with our group that's different than biking (although I haven't gotten sick of biking yet).

That's all I've got today. I'll let you know how Cowboy Camp goes, and we start riding the Rocky Mountains tomorrow...so please send me strong thoughts. Tomorrow is a 98 mile day, which is hard enough when it's flat. I'm a bit nervous about the mountains, but am also looking forward to the change of scenery. Santa Fe in two days!

:)

New state. New time zone!

So we're now out of Texas for good and in New Mexico! We rode 70 miles today to Logan, NM from Dalhart, TX and in between the two places I think we passed a total of 4 buildings...and one of them (a post office) was actually open. It was a tough day of riding today with the strong headwind that we faced most of the day. It's funny how different days can be. Yesterday we rode 80 miles, with a slight tailwind and we made it to the host site before 1pm. It was a breeze. And today was less mileage, and it took almost 2 hours more. The wind and road conditions make such a big difference.

We're now in Mountain time! One time zone away from CA! It's hard to believe that exactly a month from today we will be riding in to San Francisco! It's been such an amazing trip so far I can't really imagine it ending at this point. If anyone is interested in coming to our end of the trip bash in San Fran on August 17th please contact me as soon as possible and let me know. Anyone would be welcome. We'll have a lot to celebrate!

Thanks mom for the package that I received today! It totally made my day. That homemade card was the best, everyone was impressed. And the Turkish cookies were amazing too. There's no pressure for anyone to send me mail, but if you are interested I should mention that if you go to the Bike and Build website (bikeandbuild.org) and click on the link for Mail Drops it tells you where and how to address mail. Edible things are always welcome, and cards are great. But preferably nothing that would require me to carry it around the rest of the trip.

We'll be in Santa Fe this weekend, which is really exciting. And we're all thinking about the Rocky Mountains that are looming in our very near future.

Oh yeah, and in two day we'll be in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, New Mexico thoguh, which confused a few people on our trip who thought we were actually going to Vegas. I douibt that the one in New Mexico compares, but we'll know soon enough.

:)

Texas. Then Oklahoma. Then Texas again.

So we switched our route a bit since we were so close to Oklahoma that we figured why not hit up another state! So yesterday we stayed in Altus, OK. In Altus there is a McDonalds that offered us free dinner last night (whatever we wanted) and breakfast this morning. Now, nomally I'm not a big McDonalds eater. I haven't had it in years. But, I was still excited about this. When else will I be able to fill myself with McDonalds and not worry about how bad it is for me since I'll be burning it off anyways!

So we definitely dominated McDonalds yesterday and this morning, and the workers there were so great at making sure we got what we needed. A big thank you to the owner there for being so supportive of our cause!

The ride today was from Altus, OK to Memphis, TX and it wasa the firs time that we've biked the mojority of the day in the rain. It's so weird because yesterday was blazing hot I got to actually get use out of my raincoat and arm and leg warmers. I did look a bit ridiculous, though. I guess I didn't get the memo that everyone else would be getting black arm and leg warmers. I had yellow ones. (and let's just say that every car saw me. safety first people.) It was tough riding in the rain. The morning was when it was really pouring and the rest of the day was on and off sprinkling, which wasn't as bad.

I have to say that as tough as days like this are (whether it be rain or wind or bad roads) it definitely makes normal days seem amazing. If we see the sun tomorrow (even if it is hot) I'm sure we'll all celebrate that it won't be raining and won't mind as much that it's blazing hot.

Tomorrow we're headed to Armadillo, where we'll have a day off the next day!! I'm really excited to sleep in on that day. Or maybe I just won't wake up at all on that day, which would be amazing. :)

Thank you Richard and Janice! And hello Dallas!

This morning Anne and I woke up after an amazing night's sleep. It was the first time in about a month that I slept in a room by myself and had a pillow and a bed. Thank you so much to Richard and Janice and their son Davis from Athens for having us in their home. We had a great time and are so grateful for your hospitality. We loved Athens.

The ride to Dallas today was pretty uneventful but since I'm sitting here at a library in Dallas, I'll do my best to fill you in on other parts of the trip instead of rushing through day's events.

I looked at my odometer today and we've gone about 1300 miles so far. 1300 miles! That just seems ridiculous! (in a good way) I can't believe we're already in Texas and we're just about a month into the trip. It's flying by.

I think what has affected me the most so far hasn't been the biking or the building (although those have both been awesome), but really has been the people that we've met in each place that we've gone. Everyone has been so encouraging and hospitable and giving towards us that it has absolutely blown me away. If we're stopped on the side of the road changing a tire or taking a break, people will stop in their cars and make sure we're ok. People have invited us to their pools, given us food, and given us lots of words of encouragement.

In case any of us were doubting if there were very many nice people in the world, we've all experienced first hand how welcoming and helpful and caring people can be. Lots of people have said that they wish they could have the opportunity to do what we're doing, but I think I've learned so much from their hospitality that I think is just as noteworthy and hope to be like them one day. We wouldn't be able to do this trip without all of these people that have helped us in each city and stop that we make. Biking across the country is a great experience, but I think it's the little things along the way that I will remember even more.

We've got a build day in Dallas tomorrow. I hope we can get a lot done. :)

The hardest day ever. With the best end.

So today was by far the hardest day so far. We biked 98 miles into Athen, TX and it was 98 miles of constant hills. The hills weren't even the worst part, but the road we were on was a type that isn't smooth but is very rocky. So pretty much the entire time our bodies were vibrating and we were slowed down by the road even when we were going dowhill. So hard.

I do have to say thought that I definitely got in touch with an angrier, more manly side of me today though. After our awesome stop at mile 75 at the house of a family of a rider on the Providence to Seattle route (thank you so much for giving us food and a pool!!) there was a stretch of tough hills. I was riding with Anne and Kristiann, and they showed me the positive effects of grunting while going up a hill. We became so loud and vocal that at one point we rounded the bend and a herd of cows were headed in our direction. They'd heard us coming.(I guess we sounded that much like cows...they were headed straight for us.) Luckily there was a fence. But man, those grunts and weird facial expressions got me through the day. ( and of course the laughter that went along with each one)

We arrived in Athens (which was the hardest ride of my life) and were all split up among 12 different homes. Anne and I got put in the same home, and the day totally redeemed itself after this. We're staying with a couple, Richard and Janice, who live on a lake and took us on their boat tubing. If you would have told me as I was climbing those hills today at sometimes 5 mph that I would be tubing on a lake in a couple hours, I'm pretty sure I would have bet a million dollars on that not happening. It was amazing, and despite the extremely tiring and draining day, Anne and I still managed to have a blast on the lake and enjoy the rest of the day. It's amazing being in a house away from the rest of the group. Not that I don't love everyone, but peace and quiet and privacy is great, and I'm excited to sleep in a bed!!

Alligators, watermelon, fireworks, and a campfire!

So yesterday was one f my favorite days. We started in Natchatoches, LA and only had 33 miles to ride to our destination Pelican, LA. (population around 800) Since our mileage was so low we got to sleep in until 8:00. (which is unheard of!) And we also all played a huge game of Knockout with all 32 of us before we left in order to kill time. We weren't suposed to get to the host location before noon.

About 10 miles into the route there was an Alligator Park. Not sure what that is? Well, is was basically a little mini zoo with alligators, other reptiles, goats, emus, birds. (a really random combination of animals, really) There was even a peacock roaming around the park. (Disneyland has people dressed in costumes roaming in their park, this place had a real live peacock) We watched a show that showed a about 20 alligators being fed, which was pretty cool. The thing that got me most about this place was that you spent so muh time looking at alligators and learning about them...then you go to the snack bar and you can buy an alligator kabob...or alligator sausage. hmmm. I had a nibble of someone else's just to say that I tried it...but I couldn't quite get past the pictures of real live alligators all around the restaurant while eating alligator.

About 15 miles later we stopped at a fruit stand where this very nice coulel gave 4 of us a free watermelon. We told them what we were doing, and they were so nice. We could only eat half of the melon, so we chalked the spot for the next group of riders to stop there and finish it. (we all carry chalk with us to chalk confusing turns, or write encouragement to each other on the road) Apparently the next group of us that stopped there not onnly got watermelon, but also a free ride around their farm for a tour. Thank you so much to the Anderson's for their hspitality! They ended up driving boxes of vegetables to our host site later in the evening for us to eat and take with us. The corn was delicious! And we got creative cooking many of the vegetables at our campfire we had last night. If you're interested in going to the Anderson's website for their farm the website is www.produceandplant.com

When we arrived at the host site it was like we were at summer camp. The place was used as a summer camp and was in he middle of the forest, and there was a really pretty little lake with kayaks and paddle boats, which we took for a spin. It was by far my favorite place so far. It felt just like camping. I hiked around the lake a couple times (once with people, and later just on my own). It was so beautiful and really nice to be somewhere completely in the middle of nowhere.

We had all pitched in for fireworks to celebrate the 4th, but had been unable to set them off where we were on the fourth, so we had a fireworks show for ourselves once it got dark. Then, we built a campfire, roasted smores, and sang songs around the fire. (I got the chance to play some guitar. A shout out to my Wyld Life peeps: we totally sang Lean on Me, and I thought of you!)

It was a really great night, and to top it off I decided to sleep outside. There were some picnic tables next to our campfire, so I put my sleeping bag right on top and slept under the stars. It was really awesome. I think my favorite day so far.

We entered Texas today! We'll be here for a while, and I'm getting excited to gt to the west! :)

Happy 4th from Louisiana!

Happy fourth of July everyone!

Today we spent the 4th in Natchatoches, LA! (pronounced Nakatoosh...or something) They had their fireworks show right along a river, which was beautiful. They shot their fireworks from one side of the river and the crowd sat on the other. And other than the couple fireworks that shot horizontally and hit a parked truck...it was a good show. (sounds worse than it actually was think..everyone was ok) It was a great celebration.

The past few days have been great too. I've really been enjoying the different places we've stayed. First of all, I think Louisiana is beautiful. We've rode through more open spaces in the past few days and its been gorgeous. And each church/town that we've stayed has had it's own little special thing about it.

After we left New Orleans we rode to Baton Rouge, where we arrived at the church to about 60 little children having a day camp in the gym we would be sleeping in. They were all having free time playing in the carpeted (yes, carpeted) gym, so some of us joined in. I met some really fun girls who totally kicked my butt at hula hoop and were waaay faster than me when they wanted to race from one side of the gym to the other (multiple times...they didn't seem to care that I'd biked all day)

One thing I've noticed about our group is that even when we have days that we bike say...90 miles or so...we often get to the host location and still find a way to run around more. Whether it's playing ultimate frisbee outside, or knockout, or whatever, we can't stop working up a sweat. It's actually really ridiculous and really amusing when I think about it.

After the kids left the day camp in Baton Rouge, we realized that there was a room full of roller skates, so some of us decided to strap them on and roll around the carpeted gym. (so fun!....especially when we threw the frisbee around at the same time)

After Baton Rouge we went to Lafayette, the home town of one of our riders, Susanna. Thank you to Susanna's parents for the delicious dinner that night it was amazing! We were staying at a church in Lafayette that didn't have showers so we were able to go down the street to the gym that Susanna's parents have a membership to in order to shower. But, not only did this place have showers. They had multiple pools (one with a huge waterslide and a lazy river), there were hot tubs, saunas, a cold plunge (which I tried for the first time ever...I only lasted 15 seconds). Pretty much, this place was amazing, and we were all soooo excited to be able to go between the pool and the hot tub and the sauna and the cold plunge, and back and forth until we wanted to shower. It was so amazing.

So far Louisiana has been great. We'll be in Texas soon and I'm curious what's awaiting us there. The heat is still going strong, but we're getting used to it.

Fact: I ate a foot-long sandwich from subway today an hour and a half before dinner.

Another fact: I still ate dinner.

Another fact: I'm still hungry.

Bottles of sunscreen used: 3!

Lowest gas price I've seen so far: $3.79

That's all I've got for now. Happy Fourth of July!!

New Orleans

We've been in new Orleans now for 5 days. Before getting here we went through 4 states in 4 days, which was crazy. So now we're here and we've had 4 build days so far. We've been building at a house in New Orleans that was still damaged from hurricane Katrina and we've done a lot of work so far. When we started about a third of the house had sheet rock up and we finished all the sheet rock and are on the second coat of mudding. So it looks so different from when we started.

The houses here in New Orleans are typically shotgun style houses, which means that the houses are very narrow in the front and extend straight back. There's no hallways. You just walk from the front door into a room, then keep walking straight into the next room, and the next. The one that we're working on is a double shotgun house, which means that it's two houses connected in this style.

Staying in New Orleans has been quite an experience. It's been great staying in one place for change. We've been learning a lot about hurricane Katrina and have been able to see the state of the city since. It's been really shocking actually. There's a lot about the hurricane that I didn't know. When the Levies broke after the hurricane they flooded the city which caused most of the damage. The Lower Ninth ward was hit the worst and is still not rebuilt. There are still so many people that don't have a place to live and are still living in FEMA trailers- which were not supposed to be a long term solution. Many who lost homes were given money from the government to rebuild their houses, but they often don't know what to do with a check that big and hire a bad contractor who takes advantage of them. It's a big problem right now, and it seems so ridiculous that people still don't have a place to live - 3 years later. It's a big problem and I think it has really inspired everyone on this trip to really take advantage of what we're doing this summer.

We had a day off today, which was our first day off this whole trip. About half of us decided to take advantage of our day off to ride around the French Quarter of New Orleans- which is more of a touristy area of the city- to spread the word about what we're doing and try to get donations. We're not often in such populated areas. We stay in a lot of small towns usually. So we decided to make some noise and atract some attention for our cause. We rode around in our jerseys, starting at Cafe Du Monde- which has AMAZING beignets! The owner came out and gave us coupons for free beignets (thank you!), and we rode around spreading the word. A news station came out too and interviewed us and got footage of a huge line of us riding in the city talking up Bike and Build. So many people had really supportive reactions and overall it was a great day.

We have one more build day tomorrow and after that we'll be getting back on our bikes and heading to Baton Rouge, LA. The building has been great, but a part of me is definitely missing the riding. I kind of never want to drive again. (although that can get difficult in southern california) Anne (a fellow rider) told me today that she wants to make it a point to put more miles on her bike next year than her car. I think that's a great goal. we should all try it. :)

take care everyone!

A day of rest.

Ok, so today we were supposed to spend the day on a Habitat build site in Pensacola, FL. We arrived at the site in the morning, and were doing a lot of hammering in working towards getting the frames of the house done. After being there about an hour, however, the clouds broke and waterfalls fell from the sky. There was some lightning so we were forced to stop what we were doing and find some shelter in one of the houses that already had a roof. We tried to wait it out, but the rain was not stopping so were had to leave the build site.

Honestly this was a big disappointment for me. We bike so hard and far to get to build days- which are only about once a week if that. So it was a bit of a bummer that we couldn't be of more use here in Pensacola for the Habitat people. But in about 5 days we'll be in New Orleans for 5 days so hopefully we will be of great use there.

Since we didn't build today we really only spent the day hanging out in the church we're staying at. Allow me to try to paint you all a picture of this church. We're staying in the youth/children's education building and they've pretty much got everything you could ever hope to entertain yourself with. We're talking ping pong tables, pool table, foosbal (spelling? I don't think I've ever spelled that word before), Nintendo Wii, Guitar Hero, speakers that blast and allow for amazing dance parties, and really comfy couches pointed towards a screen that allow for movie watcing.

So we've been entertained. Honestly I don't think we know what to do with it all. We're so used to entertaining ourselves with playing cards and and empty gym floor and having to come up with games such as who can to the longest handstand or something.

So I'd really like to extend a huge thank you to the Gulf Breeze United Methodist church for sharing their facilities with us. They've provided us with two dinners and allowed us to take over a part of their church for two nights, and let me just say that we've been so happy here.

We've got a long day of biking tomorrow. Originally we were going to bike 70ish miles, but we changed our route for safety reasons and better roads. So now we're doing our first century! 100 miles baby!

I'm a bit terrified.

Should be fun. :)

I'm excited to get to New Orleans and get some productive building in. Let's all pray for clear skies for the next week! (for biking and building's sake)

Southern Hospitality

Ok, so we had our 6th day in a row of biking today and we have a build day tomorrow that will give us some sort of day off. (kinda) At least our butts will get a break from the bike seats and we'll be using different muscles, although it still will be hard work.

The past few days have been really great. A few days ago we were in Monticello, FL. (pronounced Monti-sello) And I was absolutely blown away by the people we met in this town. When we arrived in Montecello some of us went to a buffet place that was right down the street from the church we were staying at. The buffet place was called Country Kitchen and the people who worked in it treated us so nicely and were really great. There were about 5 of us that walked in in our sweaty jerseys and spandex, smelling horribly, and absolutely starving. And man did we eat. The food was great and a little boy named Jaylin who belonged to one of the owners I think came up to us and sang "Hakuna Matata". We satyed there a while, and as we were leaving we walked outside and there was a couple sitting outside. We stand out in our bicycle jerseys so they asked us where we were riding to, so we told them about Bike and Build and what we were doing. They were so amazing that this couple that we JUST MET invited us to their house to go swimming that evening. We told them that there are 30 of us and they went on to say that we were ALL welcome, and they even offered to have a bbq for us. We had to turn down the bbq since dinner was already being provided by the church, but some of us DEFINITELY took the up on their swimming offer.

We biked to their house later and it turned out that Dennis and Terry had 8 kids at their house that we got to play with in the pool. They also had mini horses and one of them had just given birth- so there was a mini mini horse, which was really cool to pet.

We've been going through a lot of places and it's been great seeing places by bike. But it definitely adds a new dimension when you are invited into someone's home and allowed to experience a place in that way. I'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to Dennis and Terry and their family for having us and being so supportive. It's been the people like them on this trip that have really made this meaningful.

I love buffets now. All types.

PB and J is absolutely amazing. Every day.

I miss my pillow.

I've gone through 1.5 bottles of sunscreen so far.

I think I'll bike some more. :)

2 Days of biking down...

So I'm now in Live Oak, FL and have now finished my second day of biking! We started yesterday early in the morning (we woke up at 5AM), we biked to the beach and all lined up on the beach to dip our tires in the Atlantic before we left on our journey. It was really great.

We then biked about 60 miles yesterday and ended in Glen St. Mary, FL aroune 2pm. Then rest of the day was filled with eating, resting, playing card games, basketball, eating some more, and then some more eating. We definitely eat A LOT. LOTS of bagels, and LOTS of pb and j.

Florida has treated us well so far. The rides have been really beautiful for the most part. I hadn't been expecting Florida to be so green. It is humid, though which I'm still not used to.

All the people on our trip are great. It's really cool to see how 30 people have gotten to know each other pretty well in such a short period of time. I'll try to write on here soon!

And HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! I'm sad I can't be there with you in TURKEY, but I'm sure you and mom are having a blast! Enjoy your vacation!

Jacksonville!

This is going to be really short. I'm at a library in Jacksonville, FL. We've been here for 3 days now and we're starting our ride tomorrow!

So far we've had orientation, we've learned 30 peoples' names, we've worked on a build site, and worked on our bikes!

The build day was yesterday and we were split up in two groups, and my group worked with Beaches Habitat here in Jacksonville. It was really amazing! We got there and the house had no yard- just dirt. And we left and we had laid all the sod, planted flowers, and it looked beautiful! The people were so great to us, and we've definitely been taken care of since we've been here.

We've gone to the beach pretty much every day, and it's been the first time I've set foot in the Atlantic. It's SOO warm! I'm definitely in love with it and will be sad to say goodbye, but I guess I'll have to come back soon.

I'm trying to think of what else I can tell you. I have such a short time. I'll try to get back on here in the next few days to explain more, but that will have to wait I think.

I hope everyone is doing well!! SF or Bust!

ps. there was a crab crawling around in the church we're staying at. I thought it was really funny.

One day.

Ok, so I leave for Florida in about 24 hours. (give or take a couple hours) And I really can't believe that it's finally here! I found out I was doing this back in December and ever since then I've had this trip on my mind. When people would ask me what my plans for the summer were I would tell them..."well, I'm biking across the country..." And I'd go into telling them about Bike and Build and what I'm doing and why. And even though it's a really big thing, saying it over and over almost made it feel less real. Up until this point, it's just been the answer to that question. This isn't meant to downplay the great support I've gotten from talking with people and telling them about it. But I have to say that I'm glad the talking about it is over. I'm really ready to actually do it now.

Preparing for this trip has been different than any other trip I've gone on before. It's kind of like this: Imagine that you were offered a dream vacation and in which all you had to do for this vacation is tell everyone you know about this amazing trip that you're going on...oh yeah, and ask them for money. Kind of weird right? Would feel kind of selfish right? That's kind of how this feels! I know that people have been so generous donating to Bike and Build because it really is an awesome organization that makes a difference in bringing attention to the need for affordable housing. But honestly I can't help but feel like I'm gaining a whole lot out of this too. And for that I am forever grateful.

I guess a summer of strenuous activity and a sore butt may not sound like a dream vacation to everyone so they see me as really brave and sacrificing...but honestly I don't think I'm that brave. This strangely enough sounds really fun! (although I'm sure I'll have my moments where I don't think so)

And I have to say that up until this point I can't help but feel like I haven't really done anything. The $4000 didn't come from me, but from countless generous people who have helped me and donated. So I feel like I really can't take credit for this yet. And I'm so blown away by everyone who's been so wonderful and supportive. Honestly EVERYONE. Thank you!

So now it's my turn. The talking about it is now over (thank goodness!). I'm ready to actually do this thing. So let's bring on the waking up at 6AM, the butt cream, the sore muscles, the sleeping on floors, the millions of calories I'll need to eat to stay alive, the new people, the new places, and the memories! It's going to be the most intenst 9 weeks I've ever had, and all I can say is...

I really hope I'm ready.

8 oz bottles.

I decided on 8 oz. bottles.

Hope that helps.

(see below if you're confused)

Guess guess guess!

Ok.

I've gotten a couple submissions for the sunscreen competition. We're guessing how many bottles of sunscreen I will go through in my 68 days of my trip (thanks for counting kara). I'm going to have to set a deadline for when the guesses will be allowed to be submitted, and I've decided that the deadline will be....June 12th. The first day of my trip. It's only fair, right? That way no one has any advantages.

Some have asked me to specify what size bottles I'll be using (some are taking this seriously). And as much as I'd like to give you a size that I will always buy, I'm afraid that I can't promise anything. Some may be larger than average, some may be smaller. Other people have asked if I'm going to use the spray or the regular rub-in cream (again...questions showing that you guys are really thinking about this, I'm impressed). I'm afraid I can't promise on that one either.

I wish I could, but I'm not sure the sunscreen options I'm going to encounter where I'm going, and the decision may depend on what is on sale or cheaper. I'm on a bit of a budget.

So, my answers probably aren't any help. Honestly, I have no idea how many bottles I will use so I have no hints to give.

But I can promise an amazing prize!!!

So please guess! You can make your guess my clicking on the "comments" link after this entry and writing in with your guess. Just leave your name!


There's only 7 more days to guess!!

It's coming together! (and make a guess!)

So, as of yesterday I officially reached the $4000 fundraising mark, and I've been absolutely blown away by eveyone's generosity and I have to extend a HUGE thank you to all of you who have helped me participate in this. I can't thank you enough. I wouldn't have been able to do this on my own. So thank you thank you!

The countdown of when I leave is now 12 days! And after trips to various bike stores, organizing travel supplies, and being on hold with Delta airlines trying to solve the problem of my flight being changed...I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The big thing to do now is to figure out a creative way to make my laundry stand out from everyone else's in a big pile of 30 people's laundry! With some things I've really tried to get bright or original colors...but bike shorts haven't branched out much in the selection that's out there. There's just a whole lot of black. And socks? Can you imagine sorting 30 people's socks? I guess I'll believe it when I see it.

So the things that I've heard the most from people giving me advice when they hear that I'll be biking in the south in the middle of the summer are two things:

1) Drink a lot of water, and
2) Wear a lot of sunscreen.

And trust me, I'll be the first to stress the importance of number two. I think the worst pain I've ever felt in my life has been from some REALLY bad sunburns. Those can make you feel miserable. So, I know that I'm going to be piling on the sunscreen any chance I get and I thought it could be kind of fun to make a little guessing game competition out of this. You all probably remember the jars of jelly beans that your teacher would pass around for the kids to guess the number of how many are in the jar. Well, for this one you can guess how many bottles of sunscreen I will go through spending two and a half months in the sun! (maybe not as cool as the jelly beans, because I can't offer you the jar of candy as your prize...but I can promise that the winner will get something that I will pick up on my trip just for this prize!)

So you can reply to this post with your guess, or you can shoot me an email. Just be sure to put your name if you reply to this post so I know who you are. When I first thought about this I was just curious how many bottles I could possibly go through, and thought it would be fun to involve more people. So guess away!

funnyyy

this was way more fun to watch than write papers.

Go to this link and watch the video at the bottom of the page. :)

http://www.bikeforest.com/cb/cb.php

Lunch with Dean

So I had lunch today with Dean Karnazes. Well, me and about 50 other people, but he was at the table next to me- I didn't actually speak to him personally. He came to a luncheon at Chapman that I was invited to and he was the speaker for the afternoon. For those of you who don't know who he is, Dean wrote a book called "Ultra Marathon Man," and he's an endurance runner who runs Ultra Marathons (which are marathons longer than the average 26.2 milers...they're more like 100) And he's crazy! But in a very good way. This guy's ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. He's ran for three days straight without sleeping before. He just runs. Everywhere. I guess when he finished running the last of his 50 marathons in a row which was in New York (which he did in 3 hours no prob), he had to get home (which was 1300 miles away). So he ran home.

One of my favorite things he talked about was how he eats while he's running. Often he's alone, and he always carries a cell phone and a credit card. If he's not close to any food places, he'll call and order a pizza (not sliced). He'll tell them where he'll be on the road at what time, and they'll deliver it to him. He'll then roll up the pizza and eat it the whole thing kinda like one big log. (Is it weird that I want to try this some time?)

He was telling us today how he doesn't own a car because he just runs everywhere. And to hear him talk about it today was so fun. He wasn't ever bragging or anything. He just likes to run.

I think we always think about how our lives will turn out. Dean talked about how people probably don't think he's very bright because he spends his time doing something so simple and rudimentary- running. He went on to tell us how he was valedictorian in college at Cal Poly SLO. So obviously the guy was smart and was perfectly capable of doing more with his life than running- but why? He found something he loves doing. And he does it! I hope we all find that.

I have to admire the guy. You could just tell he was doing what he loved to do. I want to read his book during my trip this summer. It's going on Mandy's Bike and Build reading list. All of you should join me and we can talk about it later. :)

Yesterday Biking, Today Building (like the real thing!)

So I just got back from spending the day working on a house in Anaheim for Habitat for Humanity. We're required to do 8 hours of work before Bike and Build starts, and I got all eight hours knocked out today! And the best part about it was that I spent the day working on a...let me make sure I get the name right... I've been practicing...a Compound Sliding Miter Saw. Yes! I said it correctly. A Compound Sliding Miter Saw. I want to say it all the time now because I impress myself every time that I do.  My friend Bruce (who wasn't my friend until today) taught me how to use the Compound Sliding Miter Saw. Bruce really believed in me, and I hope I made him proud.  It's funny how with these types of things, what you raise your hand for early in the morning will predict how the REST of your day will go. For example, I raised my hand when they asked who'd be interested in precision and making precise cuts for the tops of these columns things outside the house. Little did I know that for raising my hand for precision, I'd be put in front of this monstrous-looking Compound Sliding Miter Saw! But I was. And it was awesome.

These past two days have given me a taste of how the summer's going to be! I went for a 25 mile bike ride yesterday, which was quite a challenge. There's some hilly areas by Chapman that I've discovered and are great for training. I will hopefully be doing them more often in the coming weeks. There's a link to what I biked yesterday down below. I've discovered this amazing website called mapmyrun.com, and you can use it if you've gone for a run and want to find out how far you went, or they have runs that people in your area have posted if you want to try a recommended run. And what I just found out is that they have recommended bike rides as well, so I'm looking forward to trying some of those out. So the one down below is what I did yesterday. I'd say the first half was great, and beautiful, and the second half wasn't as great (busy streets with no bike lanes), but overall I enjoyed it. 

i'll be keeping you posted!

ps. Compound Sliding Miter Saw. Good. I can still say it. Just checking.

My first blog post ever!

So, I'm hoping that this blog will be a way to keep my friends, family, and fans (hah, I wish) updated on my biking and building news! I've never undertook anything like this so I feel like every new thing is such a huge deal. So, just a warning if I start getting really excited about small things and dedicate a whole blog entry to them...don't be surprised. For example, I feel like I could go on and on about how excited I am about the arm warmers I got in the mail today. Are arm warmers really that exciting?? Normally I would probably reply no. But because of the fact that they are arm warmers that will accompany me on a trip across the country, I feel they deserve an essay to be written about them...or maybe an interpretive dance? Ridiculous I know, especially because they will probably spend most of their time packed away because I can't imagine we will ever be cold in Texas in July. But I guess the impact that the arm warmers had on me today was that they really just got me excited about the whole thing.

Training has been going pretty well. I've been trying to find good places to go on bike rides. One advantage I've got on many of my fellow riders is that I live in Southern California where the weather is perfect ALMOST all the time. The downside about southern california is that it's not really set up for bikers. It's got some nice trails, but I've been trying to bike every opportunity that I can (running errands, buying groceries, etc) and have been faced with an enemy: CARS! They're everywhere down here, and the roads don't leave much room for bikers. I was home over spring break and took my bike home so that I could get some training in. Knowing all the country roads that surround Selma I was looking forward to riding out there, because you don't get many traffic jams amongst all those grape vines. But I soon discovered another enemy that I wasn't expecting: DOGS! I think I got chased by 3 different dogs on three different occasions. It definitely kept me motivated, haha. So dogs or cars? I'm not sure at the moment which I dislike more.

That's all for now. I ordered leg warmers recently too, so those should be here soon. When they get here I may be inspired enough to write a sonnet. :)