Bike & Build: Prom Edition

Hello from Bemidji, Minnesota! Cannot believe we're just two days away from the great plains of North Dakota. I'm going to dedicate this blog post to all te magic that has been happening over the last few days.

Since anyone who has been through North Dakota knows, not a whole lot to see and do whilst riding on Hwy 2. So, in the spirit of making the best of our surroundings, we've decided to have our own PROM: Llama Proma: A Day on the Farm. The name comes from the fact that we've seen many a llama on our rides.

About a week ago, I purchased my prom dress from a thrift store: a button up, sleeveless denim dress. Something my mom might have considered wearing in 1992 (not knocking your style, mom). Additionally, I purchased a metallic orange belt, a woven sun hat, and some flamboyant, hot pink earrings. I can't wait to look like a stunning beauty queen come August 1st.


While the apparel of the trip will be a definite highlight, it's the way we all got asked to prom that has been so, so, so amazing! All of the boys, and one girl had to draw names out of a hat to select their date. Then, all of our dates were required to come up with the most creative ways to ask their dates.

So far, we've had dates asked out on real, live horses, jumping out of mail boxes, love letters, chalk poems on the side of the road, scavenger hunts, and well, I'll go into a little more detail about the way I got asked out this morning at breakfast. John, you've got some fierce competition, just FYI.

While eating breakfast this morning, I was blissfully unaware of the scheming that had been going on between some of the men on the trip the night before. I sat down with a hot plate of delicious eggs made by the Zion Lutheran Church of Grand Rapids, and was about to take my first bite when my face was brushed with a bouquet of the most beautiful, fluorescent dyed flowers I had ever seen.  I looked up and saw my leader Kyle Gamsby and instantly thought he might be my date. But! Seconds later, Mark Broz sauntered up to my side with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, and like a 5-star restaurant, I was poured a bottle of the finest sparkling beverage. Now, at the prospect of Mark being my date, I was terrified, mainly because Mark's girlfriend, Kira, caught wind of what was going on and was standing at the table shooting me dagger eyes. Best not to be the homewrecker.

And then the moment happened. The song "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" came on over the speakers, and out came Steven, doing the most ridiculously seductive dance toward me. I think I lost it when Steven kicked his shoes off and began pointing at me. Absolutely hilarious. Shortly after making his way to my table, Steven realized he no longer knew all of the words to the song and desperately tried to get Kyle to cut the music so that he could ask me to prom officially. Since Kyle wasn't paying attention, all Steven could do was sing "BABY!" every 10 words or so. As soon as the song ended, Steven was down on one knee and asked me to prom. Best prom date ever!!!

Unfortunately, now the bar has been set very high for any future suitors of any of the NUS ladies. I honestly believe some of these prom proposals have been better and more creative than wedding proposals. LJ, you're going to have to start singing to me every time you want to take me out to dinner.

Well, it's 9 pm and I have a 5 am wakeup call tomorrow for a 90 mile day into Crookston, Minnesota. As always, it's great to be staying at an incredibly gracious host this evening, Bethel Lutheran, in the home of Paul Bunyan.

Day off in Duluth

Buckets of rain. Buckets of tears. Got all them buckets coming out of my ears. --Bob Dylan

And it's a rainy day off in Duluth, Minnesota - the birthplace of Bob Dylan. Buckets of Rain is a natural song for the day.

Yesterday, we biked from the small town of Sandstone, Minnesota to the moderately (okay, a lot) larger city of Duluth. Dubbed the San Francisco of the North, it's been a nice place to have a day off in.

We spent 65 of our 73 miles on a bike path yesterday. Given the limited stops and flat terrain, I was able to cruise into Duluth with an average speed of 16.7 mph. Crazy that 12 mph used to be my comfortable speed. Our lunch stop yesterday was amazing! The picture below was taken at our stop - specifically at a wonderful oasis known as TJ's Country Store. Tony was able to score some donation magic in the form of the best nectarines I've ever had, and presumably some of the best sausage (kind of falls outside my veggie diet) in the midwest area. Thank you Tom for making our stop so much more enjoyable! If I could eat those nectarines every day for the rest of my life, I think I'd be a pretty happy camper.

I arrived into Duluth around 1:45 yesterday afternoon - which gave me an opportunity to take a much needed nap. We are staying in our first Jewish Temple of the trip. We had a lovely dinner of fresh vegetables and little pasta accompanied by some great speakers who came on behalf of Duluth's Habitat for Humanity and the city land trust. I love learning more about the affordable housing cause from those who spend their careers in an effort to alleviate the problem. It serves as a reminder of how important Bike & Build is to them - an opportunity to raise awareness for this cause with far-reaching impacts in many facets of society.

After dinner, an unexpected highlight of the trip occurred. Two members of the temple offered to show us their sanctuary and the Jewish biblical text - the Torah. None of us on this specific trip identify as Jews, and many of us only have a small understanding of Judaism. It was absolutely fascinating to learn about the Jewish faith and to learn about the principles and history of the religion - and how those principles are similar to and different from Christianity. It really piqued my curiosity in theology.

Later in the evening, a large group of us walked over to a nearby popular hangout called Burrito Union. They brew their own beer there, so many of us enjoyed a delicious pint and a great atmosphere. Despite no curfew last night, I was beat by 10:30 and headed back to the temple, but not first without walking down to look at the full moon shining over Lake Superior with Leisl, Jess, and Gramelly. The moon lit up the sky and the lake was glowing. It was kind of a magical feeling standing beside a lake so big.

This morning was an opportunity to sleep in, which I fully took advantage of. I woke up at 8:44, thinking it was only 6 am, and arrived to breakfast 15 minutes late. However, breakfast was still hot and plenty. After getting myself together, and realizing it was going to be a rainy day in Duluth, I was itching to get to a coffee shop to write in my journal and write some letters. After strolling down the Superior shoreline, I found a cozy coffee shop called Jitters and plopped myself down with a hot cup of joe and a brain full of experiences and thoughts to fill a good few hours with  journal writing. It's nice to keep an online blog to keep track of the trip's events and a journal to write down personal feelings about the trip. Hopefully, someday, I'll be able to look back at both and remind myself on two different levels on what an experience this really has been.

With continuing rain, about half the group decided to walk down to the harbor to catch a movie. We all decided on the popular flick, Inception. 2.5 hours later, my brain hurt with confusion. Still not sure exactly how I feel about the movie, but it was entertaining nonetheless. As we left, it occurred to all of us that we had not eaten since breakfast. Feeling famished and soaking wet, we cabbed it over to a popular restaurant and filled up on some grub.

Now, I am enjoying being dry and comfortable back at the Temple. I tried to upload some photos yesterday, but my patience with photo uploading is slim at best, and it's starting to look like photos might just have to be a project post-trip, which is crazy to think that that's only a month away. Where does the time go!?

I'll see how much time I have later tonight for photo uploading. But! It's time for a Town Hall meeting, so I must depart. Back on the bike and into Grand Rapids, MN tomorrow.

Somewhere between Sandstone and Duluth, Minnesota.

Vegetarians.

Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile [and bike]

Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am... the only Bike & Build trip in St. Paul, Minnesota.


The last week has been incredible. It was the week I was looking forward to all trip, and it really exceeded everything I hoped it would be.


We arrived into Janesville on Friday afternoon around 1:45 pm. And by "we", I mean myself, Kate Terry, and Andrew Corcoran. We were the only ones who forfeited an amazing  three-hour game of sand volleyball at lunch in southeastern Wisconsin to face headwinds on our way into town. Our ride into Janesville started in Grayslake, Illinois and was 75 miles of wind and hills. I had no idea Wisconsin is as hilly as it is until we crossed that stateline. While the ride itself wasn't the best I've had, the sheer excitement to see my parents, Kate's family, my roommates, and my boyfriend made the miles much more tolerable. To think I had just biked my way from the east coast to my hometown is still something I haven't totally grasped yet.


That night, the team stayed at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Janesville, while I enjoyed the more plush accommodations of my own bed. My parents were anxious to meet the whole team and offered up our backyard for a great evening of s'mores, fire, and mosquito bites. Then, to my embarrassment, and the whole team's amazement, my father decided to perform the Maori "Haka". See this video if you're unsure what that is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y.


The next day, we had a much anticipated build day. It was such a tremendous experience for all of us, and it felt really good to be doing something positive in the place that I grew up. The Janesville Gazette showed up to the site and took pictures and decided to make Bike & Build their front page cover story! I feel like a celebrity now :) Link to story: http://gazettextra.com/news/2010/jul/18/janesville-women-enjoying-cross-country-volunteer-/ 


That night, my parents and Kate's parents, put together the most wonderful party in Kate's father's backyard. It was titled "NO PASTA ZONE!" which was amazing, because we sure do eat A LOT of pasta on this trip. Kate's dad and stepmom printed up NUS2010 tshirts and stationery for all of us and we had an absolute blast. We've all been wearing those shirts nonstop - an excellent addition to the minimal wardrobe we all have.The food couldn't be beat and many familiar faces showed up to cheer us on. My roommates from Madison also made an appearance! Thanks to everyone who made that night so, so, so special! 


After the party, it was early to bed and early to rise for a shorter (46 mile) bike ride into Madison. My mom wanted to make sure the ride was scenic, fun, and the least bit bumpy, so she contacted Janesville's local bike team and secured a great route for us to take into Madison. It was an awesome ride, especially because I got to ride alongside my boyfriend, John, and Kate got to enjoy a ride up with what seemed like her entire family. The more the merrier!


Madison was a whirlwind. I was so excited for the whole team to experience the place I've called home for the last five years. Many had never been to Madison, let alone the state of Wisconsin, so I was excited for them to get to see the terrace and roam around State Street. 


As soon as I got to Madison, I headed straight for my old apartment to enjoy a lovely evening cookout with my roommates and some of my best friends. It was so nice to sit on our wonderful porch and relax to good music and not think about biking for a moment. Thanks Megan, Rhysa, Gerri, and Alison for putting on such a lovely spread :) and Matt, Mike, and John for the great company. 


Later in the evening, I met back up with the whole Bike & Build crew who were enjoying the eve of our first day off at a Madison favorite: the Great Dane. The night was so much fun and it was so nice to not be in bed by 10 pm! 


Monday marked our first official day off. After sleeping in until 10:30 (remember, that's 4.5-5.5 hours past B&B normal wakeup time) , I enjoyed a nice brunch with John at Monty's Blue Plate Diner followed by a relaxing lunch with Megan at the terrace. Then, I strolled on over to my research lab where I will be returning for work in the fall to see my mouse colony. Ha, just kidding. No mice, but a lovely ice cream social with all the members of the Dove Lab. It was great to share my experience with them and know that they had all been reading my blog! 


Then! While others were at the terrace, John (who became my chauffeur for the weekend) drove me to visit my grandparents in Morrisonville. I was looking so forward to seeing them and my uncle and I spent a lovely afternoon relaxing on their porch drinking root beer floats.  I certainly know how to fill up an afternoon. 


Within the blink of an eye, my much anticipated long weekend in Janesville and Madison was coming to a close. After getting some delicious takeout, I went to bed around 9:30 so I would be well rested for our 2nd official century ride into Gays Mill, Wisconsin.


That ride was one of the best I've ever had. I had NO IDEA Wisconsin had such a beautiful Western side, full of rolling hills and verdant farmlands. The miles just flew by and before I knew it, we were in Gays Mills, Wisconsin.


The next two days, we had shorter mileage (63 & 65, respectively) into Onalaska and Pepin, Wisconsin (birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder!). As always, the food we had at our hosts was AMAZING and I stuffed myself to the brim. Furthermore, the scenery did not cease to disappoint and I got my fair share of riding with a variety of members of the team. Surprisingly, more are interested in my nerdy topics of interest, e.g. genetics and physics. Even though yesterday poured rain on us all day, it was actually nice to ride in cooler weather.


Today, we crossed another stateline into Minnesota. I'm a little sad to be leaving the lovely hills of Wisconsin, but I am also fond of Minnesota, so it's not a bad tradeoff. North Dakota will be a different story. Today was an 80 mile day and because of the hills, it took us most of the day to get to St. Paul. Additionally, during our lunch break, we decided to attack our sweeps today (Beth and Kelly) sniper style with water balloons. Quite the success, and boy were they drenched. We are all staying at homestays tonight, so I am writing this from the lovely Hansen home.


Tomorrow is another Build Day for us! I can't wait to have a day off the bike again - my knees are really starting to bother me. We will be working at two separate projects in the St. Paul area. When I'm not there, I'm hoping to see some of my relatives who all live near or in St. Paul. Should be a great weekend. Sorry for the lack of updates over the last week.

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I love my life. I can't stop saying it. This trip is amazing and I cannot believe how far we've come! 

Today, we were riding our bikes through Highland Park, IL and I kept thinking we were still in New York or somewhere far away from home. Then it would hit me - I am less than an hour and half's drive from home. Crazy!! 

Yesterday was our team's first official century. Overall it was a great day. We got up bright and early from our hosts in South Bend and I was feeling great. Legs were feeling loose and I was excited for another stateline crossover. The first 40 miles flew by. I literally couldn't believe we arrived at lunch in about 2 hours, even with Kate suffering her first flat on the side of a pretty busy highway. I biked with Angela Parrotta (Momgela), Kate, and Liz and we played funny "would you rather" games. A great way to pass the time. 

After first lunch, we were well on our way to Chicago and soon to enter Gary, Indiana. Of course, at lunch I spoke too soon saying that the roads were just incredible and that we'd probably be at our next lunch stop (mile 80) in 20 minutes, give or take. Well, after stopping at a gas station en route and having an impromptu dance party in the front parking lot (did I not mention we're known for this?!), we definitely not expecting the terrain Gary, Indiana would throw at us. WORST ROADS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never been so angry at an inanimate object/state/state government as I was when I hit Gary. Pothole after pothole. I literally felt like my bike was getting a physical beating from the road. As a safety precaution, we always call out loud holes, gravel, or any other possible obstruction that could cause damage and/or an accident. Once we hit Gary, we basically had to give up on that because the whole 33 mile stretch of road we were on was a disaster. So, Gary, Indiana, if you're reading this, invest some money into your roads! 

My back has been bothering me a bit, especially when we bike over 50 or 60 miles. Part of the problem, I suspect, is that the base model for our bikes is a men's frame. Given that I am a woman, and not a very big one at that, the width of my handlebars causes me to overextend my arms causing upper back pain. To help alleviate this problem, I adjusted my handlebars up and it seemed to be helping during the day. However, after I hit probably my millionth pothole on US HWY 12 in Gary, I took a huge jolt to my bike, causing my entire handlebars to completely shift position. I was super worried that I had done major damage to my bike, but fortunately I only had to readjust them to finish up the ride. I wasn't as comfortable given all the shock my shoulders were absorbing, and by the end of the trip I was pretty uncomfortable. 

However, the after we made it through Gary, the ride once again redeemed itself. We got to bike into Chicago on the Lakeshore path for the last 10 miles and it was absolutely beautiful! We took many a pit stop to get out, dance, and take pictures all along the shore of Lake Michigan. We arrived at our destination: St. Paul's United Church in downtown Chicago. It was located in a wonderful part of Chicago. As I was grabbing my tote, who else but Roger Ebert drove by (or rather, was chauffeured) down the ally I was standing in. Two thumbs up for celebrity sitings!

Jamey Gaston's mother happened to be in Chicago visiting her family and cooked us a delicious meal! We all gobbled it up in record time, as usual, and headed out for a night on the town. A few of us went and hung out and a nearby pub and got the delight of meeting Kate Terry's aunt Peggy! We all had a blast and had the privilege of an extended curfew: midnight! We definitely lived it up and were excited to know that we were allowed to sleep in until 9 am, given that we had a shorter mileage day today, only 46 miles into Grayslake, IL.

I was assigned sweep today with Andrew Corcoran. Because yesterday's 105 mile ride went so well, and quick!, I anticipated we'd arrive, even being sweep, in little time. Since the mileage was short, we collectively decided to skip an official lunch and load up on Clif bars until we arrived at our host. Bad idea, at least for me. 

We hit the road at 11 am, approximately 4ish hours later than our normal departure time. To begin with, one of our riders took a wrong turn within one mile of leaving and went four miles out of the way, leaving us waiting a half an hour for him to get back on track. I definitely didn't mind, because Chicago's not a bad place to hang out, but the humidity was pretty bad, and I was anxious to get to our host - basically because I feel the same way a child does on Christmas Eve, except instead of looking forward to presents, I can't wait to see Janesville!!!!!

We were lucky to run into not one, but two lemonade stands on our way. The first one was being run by a group of siblings. As we were quenching our thirst, the grandmother of the children stopped over and took pictures, names, and found out about our organization. She was so excited about all of us stopping that she was going to call the newspaper. Love it! 

After many stops, a little hillier terrain, this 46 mile ride was a five hour adventure. On only two Clif bars, I'm pretty sure I was near bonking during the last five miles. It doesn't help to also lack the ability to sweat in 95 degree weather. Thanks for those genes, Mom! 

The trip ended on a great note, though. We arrived in Grayslake and we were delighted to find amazing, amazing food on a beautiful lake provided by Mark Broz's family. Honestly, the family contributions on this trip are insane!!!! I gobbled up a delicious Italian vegi sandwich and dipped into the lake. Then, only an hour later, it was dinner time hosted by Wildwood Presbyterian Church. It's air conditioned and they've provided us with sleeping mats! Deluxe!!! 

Anyway, I'm going to hit the hay early tonight so that I'll be refreshed for a 72 mile day into Janesville. I plan to get in before 3, get showered up, whisk myself over to a massage at 5:30 (I'm so lucky), and get picked up by my boyfriend shortly after! I can't wait!!! It's going to be a great next couple of days!!

I love the midwest!

Hi all!

Quick little update post as I am waiting for the van to pick me up and take me to a build site in South Bend, IN today. We had a wonderful day yesterday. Our mileage was supposed to be 92 for the day from Camden, Michigan to South Bend. However, due to a deep and lengthy conversation with my friend Abby and little attention to our cue sheets, we missed a turn and made it our first century day! 100.5 miles to be exact - and it felt great! Century days are a big deal amongst our group - a real sense of accomplishment. This ride went so well because we were fed so well along the way. One of our teammate's family - Beth Morris - provided both lunches for us! The first lunch was an absolute smörgåsbord of delicious food at mile 40. At mile 75 we were delighted to have another lunch along with some AMAZING root beer floats! We all enjoyed them immensely and have been so thankful for the families that have been providing us such great food along the way.

We are staying in a wonderful Mennonite church right outside of the Notre Dame campus. It's huge and beautiful! It was a great ride into South Bend yesterday, and most of us detoured through the campus and got to take a picture with Touchdown Jesus. Like I've been promising, pictures will be going up, but I have decided to wait until I get some time in Janesville to upload photos, as it is a very time-consuming and space-consuming process and it's difficult when you don't have your own computer.

Last night, we got to "take the night off" and had a wonderful, wonderful dinner at a local South Bend pool. Nolan's cousin Kim from South Bend and uncle Jim from Chesterton (we really liked saying that over and over again) organized the whole thing with the help of Kim's church and it was honestly one of the best dinners I've had so far! Very vegetarian friendly :)

After swimming and eating, dinner crew (of which I am a part this week) put on a presentation about Bike & Build and many of the swimmers in the pool came over to watch. I love speaking to big groups, especially about such a worthwhile cause!

Around 9, we returned to the church and I was beat. Some of the team took taxis to a nearby pub, but I decided to stay back and journal. I've been neglecting that activity quite a bit lately. Anyway, we all slept in until 6:30 this morning - can you believe that that is sleeping in for us!? We've just eaten breakfast and are all excited for a full day of work at a build site in South Bend.

Tonight will be an early to bed night, as we have our first "official" century day into Chicago - 102 miles to be specific. I can't wait to be back in central standard time zone and that much closer to seeing everyone in Wisconsin. Kate and I are both so, so, so excited!

Alright, van is here - must head out!

I just biked 1,000 miles

Hello from Camden, Michigan!

We had a lovely  77 mile ride from Bowling Green, Ohio into Michigan this afternoon. Hard to believe we've crossed five state lines in as many days. I'm also happy to report that we have biked 1,022 miles! Strangely, that's a small dent in the mileage we'll have pedaled when this trip is all said and done, but for the moment, I'm enjoying this accomplishment.

Tonight, we are staying at the Camden United Methodist Church. We had a wonderful dinner provided by our gracious hosts! Filled to the brim! Tomorrow, we have another 92 mile day into South Bend, Indiana! I can't believe how much distance we're covering in so little time! Lately, all I've been thinking about is my arrival into Janesville!

I am pretty sure that the adrenaline rush I'll have will get me from Gray's Lake to Janesville in record-breaking time. I can't wait to see my parents, friends, roommates, and LJ!

Tomorrow, we have a 5am wake up time so I'm kind of risking a bad day tomorrow by staying up till 10 pm! Nolan Wildfire's uncle Jim and cousin Kim will be hosting us for a swim party and what is sure to be a fantastic time! I can't wait!

We have another Build Day on Tuesday in South Bend and I am excited to have another day off the bike and promoting affordable housing. We've been putting on our presentation about affordable housing a lot lately, and no matter how many times I see our video that we show, it provides me with an extra boost of energy for the next ride I take on.

Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBUT_YmkH24

Okay, well beauty sleep (errrr...) is needed for this girl!

Greetings from Avon Lake, Ohio.

Hi all! Apologies for the lack of bloggage over the last week. A lot has happened, but there hasn't been a lot of internet available, and thus, I haven't been able to share about my experiences. I'll try to do my best to hit the highlights and not ramble on. 

After my last post, I got hit with a super bad cold. I knew I was getting sick, but I didn't anticipate feeling like every last drop of energy would be sucked out of me, but that is essentially what happened. Unfortunately, this lead me, and my friend Jamey (also sick), to have to be 'vanned', which is about the worst thing that could happen to a B&B'er (also, another goal I had was never to be vanned - no more goals). Jamey and I spent a day in the van as we rode 90 miles into Rochester, NY where we could recuperate on the RIT campus. It wasn't the worst timing for a sickly like me, as our intended Build Day the following day turned into a day off when we were unable to make connections with affordable housing projects in Rochester.Therefore, I was able to use my day off of the bike to get back into riding condition. 

After Rochester, we biked into Lockport, NY, home of the Erie Canal. The group enjoyed a nice tour of the Lockport Cave with some interesting town history. Later that night, we enjoyed one of the best 4th of July's any of us could have hoped for. Local fireworks were taking place about a half hour walk from the church we were staying at. All 32 of us walked to the park and took it by storm... seriously. 

Once we arrived, we made sure our presence was known. That's not hard with 32 people, but within minutes of arriving we were dancing to some of our team favorite songs, chanting, and just having an overall blast. The fireworks were amazing! 

The next day, we got lucky and only had a 20 mile day into Niagara Falls, New York. The temperatures have been ridiculously hot over the last week, so once we arrived, we were down to our underwear spraying ourselves with the hose. I don't even think I know what modesty is anymore! :) 

I have been on trailer crew (each of us was assigned to a 'crew' when we got to orientation, and those crews switch jobs every week) for the last week, and one of our jobs is laundry. That is a huge job when you have 32 stinky cyclist's laundry to do. While everyone else hurried over to the falls, the Humpless Camel is a Horse (our team name) crew laid out a giant tarp and collected over 10 huge loads of laundry and drove it over the nearby laundromat. 

After we finished up, we walked over to Niagara Falls with passports in hand to check out the falls. Everyone was anxious to ride on the Maid of the Mist and get a close-up view of the amazing falls. Even though everybody else had already been at the falls for a few hours before us, it made my day to find out that they had all waited for us to arrive so we could do the boat ride together. That's just another great example of how much respect this team has for one another. Knowing they were waiting for us just over the Canadian border put an extra bounce in all of our steps as we made our way over to the falls in nearly 100 degree weather. 

After a fun-filled day of hanging out in Canada, we returned to the wonderful church we were staying at. Lucky me, I was able to meet up with my uncle Eric (who lives in Buffalo) and his wife Susan for ice cream. It was a great way to end a great time in Niagara Falls. 

I went to bed satisfied, but was nervous for the 85 mile day we had ahead of us. Temperatures were predicted to be in the mid-90s. I don't usually like being outside and sedentary in that temperature, so you can imagine how much I was looking forward to physically exercising in that temperature for eight hours. But! Things couldn't have gone any better! 

The miles flew by. We got our first experience of urban cycling as we pedaled through the heart of Buffalo. Before I knew it, we were already 35 miles in and at our first lunch conveniently located right on Lake Erie and also next to an ice cream stand. 32 root beer floats were demolished in record time. 

Bike & Build adheres to the the 90/90 rule. If the temps are above 90 or the mileage is above 90, we get two lunches. Lunches are great ways to break up the days, and since this day happened to be a scorcher, we were set to have another lunch 30 miles down the road. I couldn't have anticipated how fun that lunch would be. We arrived at John and Kathy Berner's beautiful home right on Lake Erie. As soon as we arrived, we were given amazing food and a great view of Lake Erie right from their backyard. All of five minutes later, we were submerging ourselves in the warm lake water. Sometimes, I feel like I'm living an 8-year-old's summer, it's that good. After an hour of swimming and eating, we just relaxed in their yard. It was wonderful - thank you John and Kathy! We finished off the day with 15 miles left and arrived in Westfield, New York - our final destination in the great state of New York. 

The next day, we would bike just 75 miles (strange how that now seems like no big deal to me, when only a few months ago, 25 miles seemed like a long ride) and cross two state-lines. Again, we had two lunches that were top notch. One of our teammate's, Nolan Wildfire, brought us all the fixings for chicken fajitas. Having fresh vegetables is a godsend these days, so I ate and ate and ate just because I was that excited to have such wonderful food. By the end of the day, we were in Ohio. This is the first time where I actually feel like we're finally making progress on the trip. I felt like we were on the east coast forever! 

Yesterday, we had another build day in Ashtabula, Ohio. I worked at two different sites. In the morning, a crew of us worked at a Habitat for Humanity build site pulling roots out of the ground so the building could commence. After lunch, we traveled to the Community Action building in Ashtabula and painted a fence. The temperature was still high, but we were lucky enough to have members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church bring us to their homes for showers. 

Today was supposed to be an 80 mile day through Cleveland and into Avon Lake. We awoke at 5 am to thunder and lightning. After 3 hours of waiting out the storm, the leaders made an executive decision to shuttle us to Avon Lake instead of biking. Bummer! Another day in the van, but we still had fun and we're safe. 

Now, I'm just one week from Janesville and I am SO SO SO SO SO excited! 

Okay, promise never to write a blog post this long ever again, but I also do this for my memory down the road, so I fear leaving out details. 

I am still alive!

So much to write about, so little time (literally, the library is kicking me off in 3 minutes). Having a great time still! Will update soon!

We climbed those mountains, yes we did.

Hello from Palermo, NY!

I've just arrived to the Palermo United Methodist Church after a 67 mile ride from Boonville, NY. We've been doing a ton of mileage over the last five days, with one long day of 87 miles to go before we have another Build Day in Rochester. Unfortunately, I've got the group illness, and have feeling pretty lousy as of late. I am super congested and pretty tired, and that makes the rides seem a lot longer.

On the bright side, we have finally made it through the Adirondacks! Boy, were those a tough obstacle, but I am so proud of all of us for making it. I've mentally come to terms with hills, right as I am exiting them, and am now dealing with our next obstacle: wind!

Two days ago was probably one of our most difficult days. It was a 57 mile day and we were facing headwinds for most of it. At around mile 47, one of the leaders and some other girls started an impromptu Bike & Build Dance Party on the side of the road. The Northern group is known for this and I love it! Given that we were "so close" to our destination, we gave that dance party our all. I still don't regret it, but the mileage to come after that dance party was intense. The hills never ended and the wind just kept on blowing. However, what I've learned thus far is that it's amazing what the body can endure; it's the mental aspect that can be the most challenging. As soon as I thought I had reached the top of a hill, I'd only discover another one just as I crested. This seemed to happen over and over again! What's worse, is when you add wind to this equation, even the descents require pedaling.

Literally within two minutes of arriving at the Indian Lake church we were staying at, I fell asleep.I managed to wake up for a meal, but I was pretty much out of commission. I couldn't even picture what it's be like to be getting on a bike the next morning. That's kind of the routine of this trip. We get up early, we pedal our hearts out, have a great time, arrive, shower, nap, eat, sleep. All in all, we've covered 440 miles over the last six days. Yep, you read that right. I had six months to get in 500 training miles (and I thought that was a challenge) and now I've done nearly that mileage in six days.

This accomplishment has been achieved with much ease because everyone on the trip is amazing and so unique! I couldn't have possibly anticipated this trip being so fun. I kind of thought this would be an experience where I'd look back and say, "wow, what an accomplishment." However, even in this moment, I realize this is the experience of a lifetime. Not one day goes by where I am not surprised by something wonderful. For example, we have been written about in three different newspapers in the last two days! We've had random dance parties on the side of the road where we sing and dance and laugh. We've experienced the power of generosity and community provided by the churches and other places that have housed us each night. And! We are such a compatible group - everyone gets along and we're all learning so much about each other. Every morning, our beloved teammate Jamey puts on his iPod and we start the morning off with a great tune and some dancing. The conversations during our rides are mind-opening and cross every topic imaginable. I've said it before, and I'll say it a million times more: I am so blessed to have this opportunity and it's only possible because of all the generosity of those who have donated to affordable housing in my name. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

On a completely different subject, we all measured the circumference of our thighs so that we can watch them grow into energy legs by the end of the trip. My chicken legs measured in at a mere 19 inches around. I'll update that circumference in the somewhat near future. Goal: 21 inches. As for the rest of my body, no observable changes. However, my arms and their lack of musculature have prevented me from successfully keeping my arm warmers up, which has been a real pain. The temperatures here over the last two days have only been in the 50s.

Okay, time to let someone else use the computer. I promise a picture blog will soon arrive. Soon.