A Reflection on the Significance of Affordable Housing Presentations

Before our trip began, as we scrambled to raise funds and meet training mileage requirements, we were paired up, given a topic, and tasked with collaborating on a presentation. For most of us, this was the first time we directly talked to someone else on the route, besides our leaders of course, and it was a good chance to get to know another rider before the trip began. The topics divvied out all had to do with some aspect of affordable housing. They vary greatly, from HUD housing to living a greener, and hence more affordable, lifestyle.

Two presentations are scheduled weekly, and the 33 of us gather on the floor like tired schoolchildren after a long day of biking and listen intently, being pulled out of the fast paced, physical biking world and pushed into a more intellectual, contemplative realm. The weekly schedule of presentations, intermixed with Habitat build days, keeps the focus of our trip from becoming too dominated by the adventurous biking aspect, as it easily and understandably does.

Going into this trip, my knowledge of housing issues, though very personal, was limited to my younger years and reflection upon them. I grew up in a household with a single parent and experienced what it was like to be forced from residence to residence due to lack of funds for rent. Before 2nd grade, I attended close to 10 different schools. I lived with a variety of family members, close friends of my mother, and families in similar situations. At the time this was normal, it was only upon signing up for Bike & Build and thinking more critically about my past did I realize how much of an impact the affordable housing issue had on my life.

Though full of information, most presentations only begin to scratch the surface of the issues they discuss. This is not due to some poor work ethic of the preparer, but rather the immense scope and depth of the topics. We are bombarded with terms and definitions, examples, anecdotes, and the occasional intelligent discussion based on either personal experience or someone playing devil’s advocate, rousing the group to new levels of participation. The fact that only a broad view of each topic gets presented is not a hindrance to our understanding, but instead acts as a catalyst. Not every issue is particularly engaging to every rider, but I would hazard to guess that each of us was affected on a deeper level by at least one presentation. Our curiosities were struck, and we were moved to discover on our own more about the given topic. In this way, we are opened up to an idea, given a taste, and put in an environment where we are encouraged to learn more and share with the group.

We started the day out of Missoula with little idea as to what the terrain would be like. The first stretch on the highway was a little treacherous—thick smoggy air and big trucks. Alex got a flat, putting us last before sweep, and Erin surprised us all with her closet repertoire of military terminology (announcing that, as four ladies in formation, we were running “squad deep” and inspiring the theme for the rest of our ride). Luckily, we turned off that road and onto a rural winding bike path, on which Renée had chalked memories from our first handful of rides. Memory lane : ). The road turned into gravel and we saw a sign for the Siegel Mountain Pass—20 miles. Well let me tell you—we’ve climbed mountain passes and survived our fair share of gravel, but a gravel mountain pass—now that’s another fish to fry! [pardon mixed idiom DPL]. That being said, the 20 miles to the top of the pass were some of my favorites of the whole trip! Something about the dirt road made an already remote landscape (zero cars on the whole ride) seem even more private. The funny part of the whole thing was that all the while as we were climbing the mountain and huffing and puffing and stopping and singing to keep spirits up and trying to engage in some morale-boosting mileage shoutouts, we didn’t actually know if we had started the climb up the mountain or not. (we didn’t know if the mileage marker for a mountain pass referred to the summit or the base). “Ok ladies! Only 16 more miles till the end…or beginning?” “We’re almost at the summit…or maybe the base!” Luckily we kept good spirits about it and when we finally reached the majestic top, all we could do was laugh. It turned out that the downhill was rocky and unadvisable to descend, so we all waited at the top for Renée to shuttle us. We realized it would take a while for the shuttle to load and ferry twenty-some riders (some took the risk and rode it) and their bikes in shifts a cautious 12 miles down and 12 miles back up rocky switchbacks, so a group of us decided to climb one of the mountains while we waited for the van to get back. Ron, part mountain goat, had already bounded up a good portion of the mountain, and as we were heading up, he was leaping back down, sweating and bleeding (?!?). He announced that he had just come across bear poop and big paw prints and a large matted patch of grass, and after a moment of hesitancy, we decided to see for ourselves. Without any trail to speak of we made our way up through brush and brambles and wildflowers and scorched tree trunks and wild blueberries and raspberries and what I think must have been huckleberries till we could see clear to the valley on the other side of the ridge. Altogether lovely.

The site (when we finally got there) was lovely as well. Situated under some fruit trees in the yard of a Christian retreat center, our camp was half-rugged, half-pampered. Impressive craggy mountains rose sheer up from the valley where we were, and a river cut through parallel. Some climbed the mountain, some hung bike trees from the plumb trees while they cleaned and lubed them, some basked in their mail drop loot, some played ultimate frisbee, and some lay down early to sleep under the stars. Hot dinner, hot showers, and a hot breakfast. A great day, a great night.

Missoula Build Day

We awoke bright and early, enjoyed a delicious hot breakfast and headed to the build site ready for a fun and productive day. Upon arriving, we could immediately tell that the Missoula Habitat chapter would be one of the most organized chapters that many of us would ever work with. We had a nice safety meeting before we got started and we were then divided into teams where we had clear goals to work towards accomplishing throughout the day. It was a real treat for us to know that everyone had a task and that each team would have a productive, safe, and well organized build day. The various teams did jobs such as installing windows, cutting wood, painting, putting in dry wall, and putting up fascia boards.

I got assigned to a team with the task of painting baseboards along with Erin and Danielle. We got paiting tips for Dave who used to be a professional painter and set off to get all of the baseboards painted with two coats by the end of the day. It was a nice and relaxing task and we were able to have really deep conversations as we got our work done. Even though I have already spent tons of time getting to know Erin and Danielle, I found that we were still able to go even further past the surface as I listened to them discuss their faith journeys in Judaism and Catholicism. It was really interesting to hear them describe the ups and downs in their journeys, and it was very evident that they both had very meaningful ways of expressing their relationship with God that brings a lot of joy in life. It was very refreshing to hear both of them talk about things that they are so passionate about. We were able to accomplish our goal of painting all of the baseboards, and it was really nice to see a task get completed from start to finish through the course of a build day. After we finished, we were able to walk around and see all of the progress that the rest of our team members had made throughout the day. It was so nice to be able to see that we had had a very productive build day and know that we had made a lot of progress on a future homeowner’s new house.

We had a great time exploring Missoula and we really appreciated the hospitality of St. Anthony’s as well as the hard work that Frankie put in to set up our build with Missoula Habitat. It was a build day that we will not forget, and we were very impressed with Missoula Habitat as an organization. Good, productive build days like this one help to remind us that Bike and Build is making a difference in the affordable housing crisis throughout their expansive national footprint.

As the morning rays poked through the trees and over the mountains, so another day began for us Bike and Builders. Instead of waking up on a church floor, however, we woke up in a cathedral of trees. Camping is a breath of fresh air (no pun intended) from the nightly ritual of sleeping in buildings. Feeling the cool morning air helped us all get ready just a little bit faster than normal, and soon enough we were all huddled around a morning fire to help us warm up while we gulped down bagels, cereal, and granola bars for breakfast. After our morning feeding, the usual route meeting discussing the day’s travels was concluded with a not so usual announcement…a scavenger hunt was afoot.

The scavenger hunt was a challenge given to assigned teams in order to make use of our last couple weeks together. This scavenger hunt had a Bike and Build twist to it though. For starters, it was a photo scavenger hunt and required that the teams have at least two team members and a team object in the picture. My particular team (team pink) was composed of Alfred, Erin, Collyn, Ellan, and myself and our mystery object was a sticky pink hand. The items that we were challenged to take pictures of ranged from, “Riding a farm animal” to “Get a stranger to try on your chamois.” Many of these options were quite feasible, so from the get-go the challenge was on.

Riding from Lincoln to Missoula was a crisp 80 mile day, but due to the stopping and picture taking it took a little longer than normal. Also contributing to our long day were flats in the tires of Erin, Collyn, and myself. Instantly my mind turned to thoughts of trickery and who could be the saboteur from the other teams. The real saboteurs, however, were pieces of glass and metal. I guess the other teams are clean and fair, although I don’t like to admit it.

Missoula, Montana could be described in the words of Alfred as, “A paradise matched only in beauty by a close personal friend named Joshua Rasmussen.” Right he is. Missoula was easily one of the best towns that we have been in and for many reasons. The river running through it was gorgeous, there were amazing bike paths running to and fro around town, fun shops with names like Rocking Rudy’s and The Big Dipper, and a nightlife unmatched by any towns that we had biked into. The church made us feel like heroes with a great super, nice sleeping quarters, and amazing showers. These accommodations capped off an amazing day filled with adventure, mystery and intrigue.

This ended another day in our Bike and Build summer. Sadly, this meant one more day closer to the end. However, the end of one thing is just the beginning of another. At this point, we are all trying to squeeze every single ounce out of every single hour together. Mother Teresa once said, “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” For us Bike and Builders, the moments that we’ve shared, and will share in our final days, won’t seem nearly enough, but they will sure make us happy.

We had an AMAZING ride today! Stayed the night at a family resort/campground, with a river passing through one side of the area. We packed up our tents and had a great hot breakfast provided for us, and then I began my ride with Matt, Erin, and Natalie. We rode along the gorgeous river at the start of the day, and followed the road which winded up our first mountain pass of the day. It was a tough ascent, and felt somewhat like the hills of the East, but it was a fun challenge and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We were one of the front groups, were making fast progress, and really got into the ride. Other groups that passed by behind us saw a moose and a few bears, which I’m sad I missed but they took a lot of pictures. It’s evident how strong we’ve all become—the four of us were truckin’ up the pass without too much struggle, while still able to hold conversation. Before we knew it we were at the top, and enjoyed a fast & exciting descent, and when we reached the bottom, it was about mile 30 and time for first lunch! Peanut butter and jelly, along with a bunch of snack food since our mail drop had been the day before. Also, since I am determined to make it across the country on one set of tires, I patched my back tire with a one dollar bill and electrical tape after my slow leak the night before.
Following first lunch, we our second mountain pass of the day. It was a less steep climb, so not as much of a challenge. However, the downhill was the best part of the day for me.

After resting at the top, we found the bike path which would take us down the pass and then eventually into Pinehurst. I’ve missed riding off road, and got my fill on this descent—the trail was made for mountain bikes and snowmobiles, so mainly gravel and dirt. I took the downhill quickly, and enjoyed the switchbacks and added challenge. Again, second lunch was waiting around mile 75 at the bottom of the descent, where we had more peanut butter and jelly along with a Bike and Build dance party. The day ended with a well paved bike path all the way into town, where we passed by lots of other bikers and an accordion festival. When we arrived in Pinehurst, we got shakes at a local store and settled into a church for dinner, affordable housing, and then bed.

August 8th, 2011 – Journal

This morning, we awoke to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, bacon, fruit salad, COFFEE, and a mix of other goodies, all graciously prepared by our hosts at St. Peter’s Cathedral; thanks! After that, we made our way out of Helena, sadly whisking past two Starbuck’s along the way. I had a relaxing morning with Shim and Ellann before climbing Flesher Pass, where we crossed the Continental Divide once again. Also, Mr. George would like to note that Montana is home to “motivational flies”—black little flies that either draft off you or buzz in your ear and are so annoying that you are instantly motivated to pedal faster, no matter how steep the grade. As for myself, my motivation came from the quote of the day: “Sometimes you just need to take the bridle off, throw the skillet away, and let the panther scream (A Cowgirl’s Guide to Life, pg. 82).” The rest of the ride was mostly uphill, but a brief reprieve presented itself in the form of a nearby stream! Upon arriving in Lincoln, we made a quick run to the post office before walking to a nearby high school to take showers. Aside from getting us clean, these particular showers—which featured not only a decent amount of water pressure but hot water (yay!)—served as the perfect backdrop for our rendition of various songs from Moulin Rouge. Later on, dinner crew prepared a delicious spread of spaghetti and meat, which was supplemented with a hearty and delicious pasta salad (donated by a local steakhouse). A bit later, we had our weekly family meeting, where it was announced that the epic P2S scavenger hunt will ensue tomorrow morning (GO TEAM LIGHT BLUE!). Right now, we’re loading our bins into Hermann (our trailer) to keep them safe from critters; so far, we’ve seen ferret-like animals that burrow into the ground, a couple deer, and about 2,000 mosquitoes. Well, time for bed; first, though, a BIG shout-out to the Prendergast Tag Team, and to everyone else’s families and friends who have made this little adventure of ours possible. Thanks again, and goodnight!

Love,
Kelly Prendergast

Journal – Helena, MT – Matthew Nanes

Today’s theme: It’s all part of the epic adventure.

I woke up this morning excited and nervous. I was eager to get back on the road after a fantastic ride into Bozeman yesterday. However, I was also a little apprehensive about today’s ride. I had heard from one of last year’s P2S riders that the ride into Helena was one of their toughest days. I rolled out of Bozeman refreshed but unsure of what to expect from the road ahead.

Riding with Ron, Kevin, and Dan, the first 40 miles were fairly uneventful. We avoided I-90, opting instead to take side streets and county roads. Some riders stopped to reminisce when we passed the first corn field we had seen since South Dakota, but otherwise nothing of note occurred. “First lunch” was in the parking lot of a small-town coffee shop. After devouring the delicious donated deli meats, pasta casseroles, and fresh bread that we picked up in Helena, many of us recharged by buying ourselves coffee. If only we had known just how important that caffeine boost would prove to be…

Almost immediately after lunch, we turned onto our first gravel road of the day. The goal was to avoid the busy interstates and highways as much as possible so we weren’t overly concerned about a few extra bumps. We briefly returned to smooth pavement for miles 45-55, then the gravel picked up again.

At first, the road was well-packed and made for easy riding. We passed a heard of goats wandering loose in the road but there was no other traffic. Soon, however, things took a turn for the worse. Thick gravel and hill grades up to 24% caused trouble for both the bikes and our van. Perhaps street names like “Muddy Lane” and “Old Woman’s Grave” should have tipped us off. In any event, my group was forced to turn around and backtrack about 6 extra miles to US 12. The crisp, cool morning had long since turned into a warm afternoon and the gravel caused at least a dozen flat tires.

Unfortunately, we weren’t out of the woods yet. Almost immediately after getting on the highway, we hit a 5 mile patch of road construction. Some riders turned around and attempted to detour on a side street that turned out to be gravel, while others of us attempted to ride through the construction. After about a quarter of a mile, it became painfully obvious that we couldn’t bike all the way through the road work. Kevin and I flagged down a family in a pickup truck and hitchhiked until the road was safe to ride on. It was my first hitchhiking experience. Although I would have preferred to ride, it was definitely the most logical way to get through the rough patch.

After “second lunch,” Kevin and I, now riding alone, encountered a long uphill and a stiff headwind. We made very slow progress for about an hour.

Family Vacation to Yellowstone

By Andrew Morgenthaler

Pre trip check list:
-sandwiches in individually labeled zip lock bags
-snacks on snacks
-wheat thins
-brownies made by Lorita Morgenthaler
-grapes
-chips and salsa
-teddy grams
-diapers for Duncan and Erin
-air freshener
-7 person mini van rental car
-Momma Irene (driver/mother)
-Papa Andrew (father/navigator)
-Eldest son Tim
-Eldest daughter Natalie
-middle child Lauren
-Twins Duncan and Erin

Itinerary:
7:00am wake up
7:30am Egg and ‘tater breakfast made by Sous Chef Eliza
8:00am depart for West entrance of Yellowstone
(Note: have Timmy read the Yellowstone paper to the family to provide for family bonding and education)
9:00am First stop at random thermal pools. DO NOT LET CHILDREN JUMP IN POOLS. REMIND CHILDREN THEY ARE NOT SWIMMING POOLS.
9:15am bathroom break
9:20am depart thermal pools drive to Old Faithful
10:00am reach Old Faithful just in time for eruption. Enjoy the reaction of tourists nearly as much as Old Faithful itself. Have Duncan record the eruption with a lame narration provided by Duncan.
10:30am Bathroom break (check Duncan’s diaper) and snack break
10:45am leave Old Faithful, drive to West Thumb
11:30am arrive at West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, make sure everyone looks appropriate for family photo
11:40am have stranger under the age of 12 taken two family photos (just incase the first wasn’t good) and immediately post on family twitter
11:45am take leisure walk around West Thumb; compare strength of butts, take photos of tourists taking photos of eachother
12:00pm depart West Thumb to find lunch spot at Yellowstone Lake
1:00pm sit at ice cream shoppe overlooking Yellowstone Lake; order hot coco if the children have behaved; eat lunch; check Duncan’s diaper
1:45pm depart for Grand Canyon of Yellowstone; allow for car naps if necessary
2:30pm arrive at Grand Canyon; prepare for short hike down to falls; bring cameras in order to GTS
3:00pm demonstrate science by performing experiment of throwing floating stick in the river and watching its projection over the waterfall
3:30pm depart Grand Canyon leave for Hot Springs
4:00pm get caught in traffic jam of n00b tourists who stop in order to taker a picture of buffalo
4:30pm arrive at Hot Springs; game time decision whether or not to see whole thing due to time restraint of returning rental car by 7pm
4:45pm walk short loop of hot springs. Propose different theories about the “penis of the earth”
5:00pm FINAL BATHROOM STOP (remind Duncan twice)
5:10pm depart for home
6:00pm stop in traffic due to n00b tourists taking picture of brown bear
6:30pm arrive at home
6:40pm depart for family dinner at Kiwiz restaurant (ORDER BUFFALO BURGER WITH BEETS AND FRIED EGG – also get the “chips” with psycho sauce)
9:00pm PJ’s on and in bed
11:00pm lights out

Epilogue Haiku by Tim Cupp:

Went to Yellowstone
Saw Old Faithful and Hot Springs
‘Twas a great day off

Title: this one time when we were in Idaho

It was my first time waking up in idaho. Naturally, I expected to rise
to a sleeping bag full of potatoes and then I would eat them when they
turned into hash browns for breakfast. But apparently there is less
potatoes here than i thought. Another lesson learned about this great
country.

Rolling out of the church, I felt the Tetons grasp around my thighs
but eventually shook that off in time for the first view of the Mesa
lowerfalls. The rocky mountains were quite small in the horizon and it
was amazing to think that 24 hours ago we were on the other side of
them.

After spiraling down a road to detour to the upperfalls we got a close
up view of another waterfall. And there was rainbows. Feeling very
satisfied with picturesqueness this morning we climbed out of the
waterfall road and onwards towards montana.

The first 30 miles were beautiful shared with good friends and
agreeable weather.

Lunch was on a lake in where many of us enjoyed a nice swim and a lay
in the sun. Something that I imagine normal people do in the summer.
'twas a treat for us P2Sers.

The next miles led us gradually upward to 7,000 ft elevation on the
continental divide. We said hi montana and started to roll down
towards w yellowstone. Obstacles for this afternoon were an invisible
rumble strip and horse flies capable of catching our draft at 18 mph
and then biting us.

At the end, we found ourselves at the geyser grill enjoying a local
microbrew and sandwiches.

Then, a walk the host church, a hose shower (see footnote A) and
hooray... Day off!

A. A hose shower is when you go in the back of the church with your
friends and pour cold water on yourself while yelling then start
spraying your friends so they can yell too. Once everyone is yelling
and running around around like wet hamsters you put the soap on
yourself. Then you take the hose and twirl it like a snake and run
around like hamsters again. It ends when you turn off the hose.

The Day We Conquered Teton Pass!!

For most of us, our day began with breathing in crisp air as we awoke in our six person tents. But some lucky riders woke up to being “rollie pollied,” which is when one person rolls over everyone in their tent. Thankfully, I didn’t wake up to this fun gesture, but I sure did hear others moans and groans from friends as they were being squashed. Camping is intense!

After packing up the tents and eating a great breakfast outside, we rode out nervously because we all anticipated the intense 5 mile climb up the Teton Pass. As Robin and I biked out to the main road into Jackson, we saw some buffalo on the side of the road. As we approached them, they moved closer and closer. Robin and I started to slow down because we didn’t want to get to close to them. Eventually we stopped because the buffalo were right in front of us and we weren’t sure of what to do. Do we bike past them and risk them chasing us? Or do we stop and wait until the move? Robin started to freak out while we’re waiting for them to move and I couldn’t do much to calm her because when I get nervous I laugh so I was bent over my handle bars clutching my stitching stomach. Then one of the buffalo made some sort of noise, I guess you could call it a grunt, and then that buffalo started to RUN right past us. Then all of the others followed and before you know it, there was a stampede. Let’s just say Robin and I got on our bikes at that point and got the heck out of that situation.

Robin and I watched the mountain pass approach as we left Jackson and it finally dawned on us what we were about to do. To encourage each other from not taking too many breaks, we decided that every time we took a break, we would take off a piece of clothing i.e. an arm warmer or a sock. Sure, we looked fumy when at one time we were biking with only one leg warmer but hey, it’s Bike and Build. Anything goes.

Climbing the mountain wasn’t that hard, believe it or not. I took it really slow and eventually we were at the peak! Most of the riders took the bike path up the mountain, but Robin, Andrew, Tim, Shim, Irene, and Ellann and I went up the main road. Riders were waiting for our arrival and cheered us as we biked in. Then it was our turn to cheer the rest of our gang. We got some awesome pictures at the top and then down the mountain we went! Tim got a top speed of 53.3 mph but the rest of us were not so ambitious. I was too terrified to even look down at my speedometer! But then the sense of accomplishment set in as we reached the Idaho state line. The rest of the afternoon passed by with some rolling hills and beautiful scenery. Everyone enjoyed the ride and now we can all say we climbed a mountain,; therefore, anything is possible!

Lander to Dubois, Wyoming
August 1, 2011

Contrary to our normal wake up of bright fluorescent lights and the sound of 33 people shuffling through their bags, today Caley, Danielle, Kaitlin, and I woke up to the sweet scent of freshly baked blueberry muffins and the sound of sizzling bacon. The group suffered mild separation anxiety as we were divided into several local homes for the night but the hospitality and generosity that we experienced, especially with the Newquists was delightful. The whole team joined together again at 7 am for route meeting and headed off towards Dubois, Wyoming. The first 10 miles were relatively flat, which provided our legs for a nice warm up. Sacajawea’s burial site was a 2 mile detour from our main road and several people went to see the historical site but the moment a dog started chasing Colin, Caley, and Elise, I made a quick U-turn and pedaled as fast as I could to get away. Sadly I missed the site but I did hear that it was quite interesting.

I rode solo for a while, but soon enough a young British lad rolled up with his touring bike and panniers and asked me what Bike and Build was. I gave him the standard speech and then found out that he and his sister Iona were biking from Denver to Missoula. I rode with Aiken and Iona from lunch all the way into Dubois through the wind and rain. The rain felt like needles piercing our faces so we sped through most of Shoshone National Forest. As we rolled into Dubois, the rain cleared up and we were greeted by some friendly members at St. Thomas’ Church. Later on, I wandered around some gift shops and ended up buying a game called Carcassonne. Spaghetti dinner was served by some of the youth in the church and it was delicious.

Since we were going to climb to our highest elevation the next day, many people cleaned their bikes (this was the first time since the beginning of the trip for some), and others went to sleep early in preparation for the next day’s ride. Overall, today was a nice ride to celebrate the beginning of August and the 21 day countdown till we arrive in Seattle.

Dubois to Jackson

Today we woke at 5:00 AM. It was one of those mornings that you just don’t want to pry yourself from your sleeping bag. Many people tried to steal a few extra minutes of sleep in the confusion of the morning rush, only to be foiled by the dozens of feet tramping all around them. I begrudgingly woke up and jammed everything into my box and then dragged it outside to the van. I was barefoot with just my jersey and chamois on. As soon as I stepped outside the cold mountain air rushed over me in both a refreshing and breathtaking blast. I could tell that I was not alone in my shock as I heard many others draw sharp breaths. It was our coldest day yet! I quickly donned my socks, shoes, and wool pullover and proceeded to pack the trailer with my chore group, team thunder and lightning. Breakfast was interesting because we were running low on supplies but we made it work, as bike and build usually does.

After everyone was fed and bundled up appropriately, we departed from the lovely town of Dubois. It was a cold first few miles as everyone needed some time to warm up their muscles, but the view of the mountains as the cold mist dissipated in the light of the rising sun was absolutely amazing. Although I have to say, the snow caps were really quite intimidating. We had been promised a 20 mile climb at a low grade. We were all anxious to begin ascending but it seemed like all we did for the first ten miles was climb and descend hills but the infamous climb to our max altitude continued to be elusive. I began the ride with Josh and Alfred and was excited for this awesome combo. To make it even better we ended up riding with Aiken and his sister Iona, the two Englanders that had shared our host that night. They were really friendly and had really fun accents. We naturally had a competition to see which one of us had the best fake British accent. Alfred won, I came in second and Josh, by default, came in third but his was pretty rough. A few miles out Josh said he had to stop and check something but wanted us to keep going. After we had already moved on he realized he had a flat so he didn’t get a chance to catch up. But Alfred and I met up with among the hills. We were blown away by the beauty of the mountains the entire way from the hilly approach to the climb to the summit and once we even stopped to look for some bears that some chalk said were by the road side. We were excited when we saw two grizzly bears out in the water trying to catch some breakfast. After we had taken pictures and watched them for about ten minutes we were slightly abashed to admit that they were just stumps and the true bears had moved on.

To be continued...

Casper, WY

Much to my disbelief and continued awe, the farther west we pedal the more beautiful the landscapes become. This morning we were greeted by vast prairie, mist rising in the air and the sun breaking through the clouds. As we turned the corner out of town a small storm was visible in the distance.

Luckily we were well ahead. Our journey into Casper was rather short, only 60 miles, though it presented us with a few challenging climbs. These were welcome, and the descents stood as a reward for our hard work. Some of us are feeling the altitude, which presents itself in shortness of breath and burning quads, but we’ve been staying hydrated and well fed.

My favorite moments of today occurred as we crested a hill only to find a horizon full of wind turbines. While I might be a bit of a nerd, and its highly possible I know far too much about wind energy from a sustainability class, these machines never fail to amaze me. Once we began pedaling up a hill alongside these giants, I found myself pausing just to listen to their woosh and feel myself in the moment. There I was, there we were, riding through rural Wyoming alongside such breathtaking scenery and technology.

Chubaca (spelling?) directed us to lunch, where we were surprised to find hot dogs and a slip and slide. I love Bike and Build.

Tonight the moment we had all been waiting for finally arrived. The Bike and Build wedding! Together we gathered at a local park for Erin and Duncan’s a beautiful sunset ceremony. This evening marked the couple’s journey into marriage, as their actual ceremony will take place one year from now. To say the night was perfect is an understatement, but for the sake of this blog I’ll say it was. The team was clad in thrift store finds- gents in chamois and button downs, ladies in jerseys and skirts. The Bride and Groom were stunning in their wedding attire, and the park was tastefully decorated with Bike and Build flare. Music was provided by the B & B band, multicultural readings were presented, various ethnic dances performed, and P2S’ own Collin Penney officiated the ceremony. Duncan and Erin, we love you..

The ride from Lusk to Douglas was no less amazing than any other day. We began our day with the welcoming smell of breakfast burritos. The last time we were served such gourmet breakfast was in Granby, CT, a name and place that reminds us how far we’ve come. After our routine meeting after packing the trailer, we set off for another day of great adventure. The ride was pretty much as expected: rough roads with somewhat narrow shoulders, monstrous trucks that whooshed by us, and gorgeous scenery on all sides and front and back.

What was most mind-blowing and unforgettable about Douglas was not the actual ride itself, but what we encountered at the host site. The site was a church just a hop, skip and a jump away from the bustling part of Douglas city, and some of the faster riders had already claimed their pews in the sanctuary and had gone out to explore the town. The showers were at the middle school locker rooms not too far from the church—it was obvious that, as 33 dusty riders waltzed through the school hallways toward the showers, the staff members and the locals couldn’t make sense of the spectacle.
For dinner, we were invited to the Lusk host’s Pastor’s home (it turns out that our host church at Lusk from day before was led by our dinner providers in Douglas). It took two shuttles on Herman (a.k.a. our 15-passenger van) to get all of our team to a ranch a few miles outside of the city. When we took an unpaved, dusty exit to an off-road path, we were greeted by hundreds of acres of Wyoming desert full of hills, rocks, and desert shrubbery. We had to off-road some more for about a mile before we arrived at the house.

Before our dinner, we were able to not only feed and pet the horses but we also rode two of the horses with the host family’s assistance. Collyn was probably most excited since she had 16 years of horse riding experience—she helped tie down the saddles on the horses, and our team took turns wiggling up the saddles and acting like cowboys and cowgirls.

The dinner was fantastic, as always. We were served bottomless pot of lemonade to tame our hunger until we had hot dogs and burgers. We were able to mingle with the host’s families and their countless dogs (literally, countless) during dinner in their cozy living room, and by the time we were stuffed, some of us were already passing out form food coma. That’s when a few of the family members invited us to follow them to shoot guns.

At first, a few of our team members were a bit taken aback by the invitation. We were aware that this part of the country was quite adamant about the freedom to possess firearms at home, but to receive an invitation to shoot off a few rounds in their backyard was something else. While not everyone took up the invite, about half of the team came along. The shoot range turned out to be a two mile ride within the same ranch, and the shooting target was an abandoned truck mangled with bullet holes. We were somewhat excited and more or less nervous—but when they came out with four different kinds of rifles and two pistols, our jaws dropped to the ground.

One by one, we tried the guns. From AK-47 semi-auto rifle to a 12-gauge shotgun, the feeling of guns in our hands and squeezing the trigger one round by one round was quite exhilarating. Such experiences, in spite of individual beliefs and opinions about guns, are just what Bike and Build trip is about; throwing ourselves outside of our everyday, mundane lives to situations that we would otherwise not witness and experience. Although the ringing in our ears never quite left us until the next day, the adventures at Douglas will probably live on for quite some time.

We made it to Wyoming today! When I saw the Wyoming state sign with the Tetons towering in the back, I was suddenly struck with the realization of how far we have come. . . I also realized I am heading “home” to the mountains and it gave me such peace.

Shortly after crossing State line, the winds picked up and Nature began to have its way. I felt the wind cool my cheeks and soon the rain drops began to fall. Rather than resent the elements, I embraced them. The rain felt good upon my skin and the fresh scent in the air, made my breathing calm.

When we made it to Lusk we settled at the local Baptist church and ate the most delicious pasta salad. I walked through the small town after dinner and watched the sunset from a nearby bridge. The sky was glorious. . .the heavens stretched to the earth and waves of pink and orange crested the mountains in the distance. In the moments I watched the sunset, I thought how much I have to be thankful for. I am so thankful for good health to bike each day, for friends to cheer me on, for my family, and for the generous souls along the way.

The Good Life

This is the motto of Nebraska, our most recent state crossing. It is also the undertone that pervades this entire Bike and Build trip (minus the 4:30-5:00 wakeups). Today, after a 94-mile journey from Martin, SD, we are in Chadron, Nebraska and with a population of over 5,000 is essentially a megalopolis compared to the towns we have been to. Towns like Carter, SD and Dallas, SD each had a population of 100, and the only things that compromised a town center would be a church and a bar. Chadron has a town center, and is full of friendly people who are curious about our journey. It is clear that in this part of the country people generally live the simple life. With the simple life come simple directions. To get to Chadron from Martin, we traveled 18 miles on SD-73 from Martin, and then 76 miles on US-20 and took a left on Chadron Avenue.

I thank Pastor Russ from the First Congregationalist Church in Chadron for allowing us to use his church. His excitement about our trip and our mission means a lot and gives us the courage to go on. I would like to also take this moment to thank all those who have housed and feed us throughout the trip. They are the most touching moments of this trip. To see people wait in excitement to see you, to see them get up at 4:00 in the morning just to feed you breakfast, to shuttle you to showers or open their own houses for showering, or to have labored for hours to prepare a sumptuous dinner or even do your laundry are sights fare more majestic and incredulous sight than any mountain, valley, river of scene we will ever come across. On behalf of Bike and Build, we are forever grateful, and are humbled by the constant reminder that our legs are not the only things getting us across the country.

Regarding Nebraska, the word ‘butte’ has been added to my lexicon, replacing the onerous ‘grassy-mound hill’ I would have used just yesterday to describe them. They are common all over this part of Nebraska and this part of the country. Nebraska seems to have the same sky that South Dakota does, and when one goes down the road it feels as if the sky is endless; as if the world is endless. It is indeed windy here, but as long as it is behind me I will not complain.

Sometimes it seems as if the landscape hasn’t changed in hundreds of years and remains untouched and the only thing that is new is the road that cuts through it. I’ve started thinking to myself what it must have been like to be the ones laying the road in this area and how magnificent yet tragic it must have been the one bringing modernity in the form of the road, but at the same time spoiling it pure natural form.

Now soon we will be back in the mountains and starts the beginning of the end. To all those who have not been, I would like to dispel the myth that South Dakota and Nebraska are flat; they are indeed hilly and are keeping us on our toes for the Rockies and Tetons that lay ahead. I often remember a saying in Russian “Glaza boyatsya, ruki delayut” i.e. “the eyes are afraid, but the hands do.” It is extremely relevant when taking on some of the hills in the past, and for the climbs that lay ahead. Wish us luck as we pass through!

Our Day Off in Chadron, NE

Let me start by saying that I have been dreaming of Chadron, NE since November when I was assigned to P2S. I had such high hopes because Chadron would be the host site for my 21st birthday and, naturally, I had high expectations. Chadron’s motto, as seen displayed on banners as we rode in, is “the magical city” and it did not disappoint.

Andrew and I ended the ride right with delicious fruit smoothies from McDonalds. We have learned to judge the cities in South Dakota and Nebraska based on whether there is enough of a civilization to warrant a McDonalds. Chadron passed our first test. Shortly thereafter, the festivities started to unfold. Duncan magically appeared with boxes of free Chinese food, and Renee secured 2 rooms at the motel 6. Eliza’s brother came from Boulder and hooked us up with instruments and assorted delicacies. Keegan found a nativity golden star costume that functioned as my outfit for the night, and a good time was had by all.

The next day, everyone had some much needed r and r. A lot of people worked on their bikes and enjoyed some retail therapy at the local Wal-Mart. A group fellow bike and builders and I enjoyed a quality breakfasts at Helen’s Steak and Pancake House. I’m not sure I’ve ever ordered so much food and been able to eat it all. Thanks Tim for the b-day breakfast!

After dinner a bunch of us went to see Captain America (the only show playing at the local theatre). Most of us walked away with a similar underwhelmed opinion of the super hero flick. As a whole, P2S gave Captain America 1.5 stars.

All in all, everyone thoroughly enjoyed our day off and is excited to enter the wild wild west also known as the great state of Wyoming tomorrow!

One would think that after biking 108 miles in over 100 degree heat, any other ride would be a piece of a cake. However, every ride is different. They all offer various obstacles and tasks to overcome, and today's ride presented its own. We faced a harsh combination of headwinds and long rolling hills. There were points of low visibility today, due to some rainy weather conditions. However, we rode with high visibility jackets and flashing lights until the sun eventually shown through the clouds. The terrain and winds were no match for killer calves and powerful quads. We powered through today's century and were rewarded with scenic landscapes of South Dakota along the way.

There were numerous memorable sights we rode through today. One sight was the overcast sky we viewed in the morning before our first lunch. The heavy gray clouds hung low in the sky, comparable to a winter sky just before a storm. As we continued, we could look across the landscape for miles and miles, admiring buttes and rolling hills in the distance. My fellow rider, Duncan, describe the thick foggy sight as "hauntingly beautiful". Finally, we were able to admire some of the wildlife of Western South Dakota, including prairie dogs and some rather unlucky flattened snakes.

We arrived in Martin, South Dakota and are staying at the Martin Volunteer Fire House. It was also a great experience because now we all know what it feels like to shower with an actual fire hose! We finished an hour early thanks to a change in time zones. It gave us some extra time to rest and prepare for our crossing into Nebraska tomorrow!

July 22, 2011
Lake Andes, SD -> Winner, SD
Tim Cupp

With Yankton behind us and Winner just ahead, the night in Lake Andes was the perfect time to begin our Winning ways. After dinner and a meeting, we met up with the Andes Central High School girls’ volleyball team for an epic duel of bumping, setting, and spiking. The competition was stiff. Only one team could Win all the glory. After “letting” the ladies Win the first match, we were able to rally and Win the second. The third set was set to determine the overall Winner. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite able to handle the high schoolers who could probably Win a match over Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Although we couldn’t Win it all for the pride of Bike and Build, I think we all had oodles of fun…and that what counts in the end (right Mr. King and Ms. Mason? [shout out: elementary school phys ed teachers]).

After our grueling volleyball endeavor and subsequent Loss, we were afforded the opportunity to sleep in until 6:00!!!

The ride from Lake Andes to Winner was nothing short of beautiful. The wide (and flooding) Missouri River carved a gorgeous river valley that we all enjoyed. The day’s was absolutely ideal: temperatures down in the 80s, clear blue skies for miles, little traffic, and some serious tailwinds from the southeast which so graciously pushed us all the way across the south-central section South Dakota to our destination. Many mentioned that today was one their strongest in the saddle. Today, everone was a Winner whilst travelling to Winner.

Now the day is *win*ding down, just like this blog post. Several people went off to see the rodeo and several others are hitting the hay early in preparation for our 103 mile trek tomorrow. We can only hope for more of the same beautiful weather and terrain.

Usage of “Win” in honor of Winner, SD: 14 words Usage of the antonym: 1 …Winner wins one again.

Journey to Lake Andes, South Dakota

“Legend has it, that in certain parts of South Dakota you can stand on two soda cans and look west then you can see your own butt!” – Pastor at First United Methodist in Yaknton, SD. We started the journey at 6:30am. The lead group (Natalie, Tim, Erin, Lauren, Alex R, Colin, Kevin and Keegsters) took a minor detour due to not being able to read the tiny street sign on the left side of the street, but ended up only detouring 4 miles total; which caused us to drop towards the back of the team. Tim, Keegan and Kevin broke away from us once we all found our way. After a few games of 20 questions our group came up on Tim standing alone on the roadside changing his tire. Our group decided to wait for him, so we grew by one. The theme for the day was “Photo shoot Thursday”, so we stopped at a giant stack on hay bales to take some sweet shots! We all climbed up and had a dance party on top of the hay bales. The dance party ended with laughs when one of Lauren’s legs slipped through one of the cracks, but thankfully we got it on film and she made it out with no injuries. We carried on with the ride and Tim got another flat, dubbing our team name for the day to be, (in Colin’s words), Team waiting for an infinite amount of time for Tim to change yet another flat. We found out he had a bad tire, so we called Nick to bring a new tire in the van. While waiting Lauren, Erin and myself enjoyed some country tunes, courtesy of Lauren’s smart phone. Guess what happened next? YUP! DANCE PARTY with Erin to Josh Turner’s - Would you go with me! Never a dull moment in bike and build land! In time Nick arrived with a new tire and we were once again on our journey to reach our 2,000 mile mark (half way to Seattle) where we had another dance party! TWO IN ONE DAY!!! Erin purposed to Duncan in chalk on Highway 50 about 8 miles out form Lake Andes and when he arrived he walked up to her and graciously accepted her proposal! ☺ The ride into Lake Andes was flat with tail winds accompanying us for the majority of the ride. The views during the ride were filled with open beautiful green fields that went on for miles and a gorgeous lake view while rolling into Lake Andes. The afternoon was spent cleaning coolers, doing laundry, donation magicing dinner (thank you Duncan and Company), and writing journals.

Three of our riders, Danielle, Alfred and Lily attended a ceremonial tree cutting at an Indian reservation that we passed along the way to Lake Andes. From the portion of the story that I heard they actually participated in the ceremony. Be sure to read their blogs for full details.

The night is ending with some of the team (Logan, Tim, Andrew, Keegan, Lauren, Josh, Duncan, Matthew, Kevin and various others playing volleyball against the local High School team here in Lake Andes. The other members of the team are listening to the full details of the Indian Reservation story, cleaning their bicycles, planning our route for tomorrow or making phone calls home!

Well this is our summer! YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!

Sioux City Build Day 7-19
Alex Campbell

We woke up in Sioux City to the staggeringly hot day that had been promised us. As a method of coping with the temperatures we began our build day around 7am, eliciting a 5:30 wake up.

Following breakfast, we dispersed to three different build sites (all of them rehabilitation projects) part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program that Habitat for Humanity has recently implemented nationwide. One site was in charge of demolition, one in charge of painting a neighboring house, and the last group was responsible for hanging sheet rock in a gutted turn of the century home.

Almost immediately excitement ensued. The group in charge of demolition was privileged to experience the full brunt of Sioux City’s police force. A concerned neighbor called 911 to explain that there was a gang, clad in blue t-shirts, that was destroying their neighbor’s porch. Imagine their surprise when it was not the Crypts demolishing the house, but instead some well-meaning volunteer bikers.

The heat crept up into the 90s very early and by noon we had retreated back to the community center for a fantastic lunch provided by Famous Dave’s, courtesy of the Sioux City Habitat for Humanity chapter. It was very nice to have such a substantial lunch when, as you all know, we are fairly accustomed to eating peanut butter and jelly for this meal.

We had the afternoon to ourselves, many people taking advantage of this time to read, nap, journal, or visit the local movie theater to sit in the air conditioning. Dinner was likewise provided by the local Habitat chapter and we fell into bed, sated, ready to wake up the next morning and begin another day on Bike and Build.

July 18, 2011 Carroll -> Sioux City, Iowa
Keegan Byrnes

For those of you keeping score at home, our troupe scored the first double triple of the summer: triple digits in mileage and in heat index. I would even argue that we scored the triple triple, taking into account the morning headwinds, but the “meteorologists” said those were only around 15 mph.
Our morning started before the Sun’s did, with riders leaving before Apollo pulled his chariot above the horizon. The morning’s miles entertained us with stiff winds which changed direction whenever we changed our own. After 40 miles of headwinds presumably coming from all directions, we took our first lunch stop in Arthur, IA.

The next 15 miles afforded little opportunity to enjoy the countryside and chat, given the road conditions. Though I didn’t gain an appreciation for the sights and sounds of western Iowa during that stretch, I did gain a new familiarity with Logan’s backside, upon which I had my gaze fixed for just about an hour. Fortunately, things got better as we started to roll into the second lunch. Though the hills became more pronounced, the roads were traffic-free and the conversations were good. Most people rolled into second lunch as the heat began to spike.

The spike in temperature on top of the mountainous Midwest terrain made the last 30 miles pretty tough. After several water breaks and shade-sits, we were able to crawl (figurative crawling) into the host site. With such a grueling day behind us, I think we’re all very appreciative that tomorrow is a build day (If we build it, they will come… Get it? Iowa? Field of Dreams, anybody?), affording us the opportunity to step off the saddle for a day and giving the kiesters a much deserved rest.

Most people are hitting the hay now (8:19 p.m. Central Time), but I think there will be plenty of opportunity to enjoy the city tomorrow afternoon. Sioux City seems pretty Sioux-weet.

Logan Atiram
July 17th, 2011

5:00 am. Had I known that this early wakeup was the beginning to one of the most grueling days yet, I probably would have put up more of a fight getting out of my sleeping bag. Sadly, I had no clue.
The day started off like any other day, early wake up followed by the normal morning routine of: getting dressed, packing my sleeping bag, brushing my teeth, packing my duffle, filling my bottles and Camelbak, and eating breakfast. I should have recognized the early wake as a precursor, but I was too preoccupied with chores and such. The first signs of the day to come appeared at the route meeting, with the announcement of a 90 mile day accompanied by what would feel like 110 degree weather. Well there was no going back now. Soon after, I buckled my helmet, mounted my saddle and took off.

The morning portion was nice, filled with pleasant bike paths and breezy conversations. I began the day’s journey with Tim, Josh, Andrew, and Keegan (good company all around). The ride climaxed early in the morning, about mile 20 or so, when the bike path we were following, lead to a 13 story high bridge that crossed over the Des Moines river. The view was pretty frickin’ cool and we got some sweet jump, group, and railing photos. After the bridge, we biked some more and got to first lunch.

It was about half way through the ride, that the biking got tough, and when I say tough I mean tough. For me, it was a combination of the sun beating down and the persistent headwinds that sucked every bit of energy out of me. Also, the endless miles of corn fields, with no civilization and no shade, didn’t help the feeling that I was never going to reach the host site. The worst was a 14 mile road, surrounded by corn, with one tree about every 5 miles. It got so hot at one point that my group had to pull over by an abandoned shed and stand in a 3 foot wide strip of shade to cool down. Today was one of the few days that I wish I had bonked so that I would have had a legitimate excuse for riding in the van. I thought about just throwing myself off my bike, but I didn’t have the will power to go through with it.

Second lunch came at just the right time. It was refreshing on a level that I can’t even describe. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a cardboard cutout of Chewy. The after lunch ride consisted of roughly 15 smooth miles (9 of which had tailwinds) and about 7 miles of hazardous sand and gravel roads. After forging through what felt like a mixture of quicksand and earthquakes, I reached the host site at about 3:30/4 pm.

However, despite the sucky ride, the host location more than made up for it with the local aquatic park. The giant water slides, high diving boards, and games of Marco Polo and Sharks and Minnows made the park the perfect ending to a tough, hot, exhausting day. But, the best part of today, was knowing that we have to do it all over again tomorrow, but with more mileage. Can’t wait.

A Midsummer Day in Ames

The author, Bill Bryson, in his book I’m a Stranger Here Myself stated that there were no hills in Iowa. Wrongo! You might think that this sounds like bad news for us cyclists, but I must say that I don’t mind at all. Since crossing the Mississippi, we have seen our landscape change subtly from flatter, straighter roads to rolling stretches that meander through pastures, cornfields, and tracts that lie fallow for next year’s crops. This morning as we left Marshalltown, IA, the humidity in the air hung above the horizon, softening the edges of things further off. I never imagined that Iowa would be so lovely. I have been noticing it a little bit at a time, today especially. I stopped for a drink of water and watched a long freight train snake through a neighboring cornfield. The boxcars were all different colors, some tinged with rust, and just visible above the top of the corn. I looked out to where the fields dipped between hills, and in the unplanted areas were sprays of wildflowers; road lilies, hollyhocks, and queen anne’s lace.

Our lunch stop was in front of a diner only 20 miles from our destination. There were more county roads leading into Ames, IA, and before we knew it we had arrived at the First Christian Church. Most of the team went to Skunk River Cycles, the local bike shop, where we were given free tune-ups and labor from Wade and his generous staff. Gratitude for such a substantial gift of time and effort is something we will not forget. I am always astonished at the kindness of strangers toward our team, and it makes us even more aware that our team is much larger than 33 people. Special thanks to the First Christian Church, the members of the community who made us such a delicious dinner, Wade, and the staff of Skunk River Cycles.

Now it is time to hydrate, because tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher!

Thursday July 14th

Today started off with a 5am wake up to the song Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. The first thing I heard when I woke up, besides Miley singing, was someone yelling “PROM”! And I was quickly reminded that we had an exciting day ahead, our first century and our Bike and Build prom to follow. Not to mention a maildrop and day off waiting for us in Marshalltown, Iowa.

We all began to get ready, our chore groups had switched and I was now on breakfast crew. So my crew and I put out the breakfast of cereal and donated pastries and also made the Gatorade for the day. After breakfast we headed out for our route meeting and were on the road by 6:30am.

I rode with Colin, Duncan, and Collyn. Collyn and I were excited to ride together because we were prom dates and we still had to plan our coordinating outfits. Colin, one of our leaders, drove the van yesterday so his legs were feeling pretty strong in the morning and he lead the group at what felt like lightning speed. Around 10 miles we came into Cedar Springs, a cute little city. We met up with the lead group who explained we were going to need to reroute. So we made some changes to the directions and were on our way again.

As we got out of the city we had some rolling hills in the midst of beautiful Iowa farms. Before it was even 9:30am we had made it to first lunch and gone 37 miles. I had a delicious spaghetti sandwich, which I never expected I would eat before going on bike and build.

After first lunch, we began to notice the devastation from a 100mph wind storm that had come through the area on Monday. They sky was overcast, and set the tone for the sights that we began to see. We saw barn roofs caved in and blown over, trees blown over, and grain mills collapsed. Every farm we came upon seemed to have been hit by the wind storm and it was so sad to see what the wind had done to the farms. We also saw a farm that was really torn up and there was dead livestock too. Jesse had parked second lunch at a house that had actually been moved from its foundation. The devastation continued for the rest of the trip. We got to a little neighborhood where workers were busy taking care of trees and the debris from the trees in the yard.

As we got closer to our destination, we had some bigger hills but they were a nice conclusion to our long day. We got to Marshalltown and headed to the YMCA for showers. After showers my prom date and I headed to K-mart for our coordinating outfits. Each couple had to have a coordinating outfit and we decided to be Greek goddesses and wear togas. Once we got back to the church we were excited to find the mail had arrived! It is always really fun to get a nice care package and see what fun stuff other riders got, and more importantly are willing to share. The host provided an amazing dinner and we had grilled chicken and corn, which is one of my favorite summer dishes.

After dinner, everybody was busy with their dates getting ready for prom. We had a lot of fun getting dressed up and taking prom pictures before heading to our venue. At the venue, Josh and Lauren introduced all the couples and their coordinating outfits. Lauren and Josh went as zombie prom dates and some other fun themes were Jasmine and Aladdin, John Smith and Pocahontas, Dorothy and the Tin Man, Cowboy and Cowgirl, Batman and Catwoman, and Safe-T-Rex. Two of the most entertaining couples were Judy and Dick, an American couple on a cruise, played by Lily and Andrew who stayed in character for most of the night. And a Grandmother and Grandpa played by Shim and Eliza. They not only had great costumes, both couples were in character and entertaining us all night. We had an awesome time dancing and enjoying the free night.

P2S July 11, 2011 – Dan Tanner

Thank you Bloomington-Normal, Illinois! Staying at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington was a new stop for the Providence to Seattle Bike and Build route, and hopefully one that will be repeated in the future. We had some of the best food of the trip, a well-organized build day putting up siding, and even an opportunity to wander through an art festival. Saturday night kicked off the start of prom week, with secret dates given to half the riders for the p2s prom this coming Thursday. Jesse broke the ice with a markered mustache message for Ron. Invites are ongoing, but I have to give a big shout out to Renee for making a totally awesome set of rhyming clues for me, complete with buttons, flowers, and silly trinkets.

Monday started off with a confused identity. Originally, Mustache Monday was the event to start each week of riding, but for some today was Magic Monday, celebrated with body glitter. I’ll stick with the mustaches, though since shaving I actually have to draw it on now. I am trying to ride with the few people I have yet to spend an entire day with, so I jumped in a group with Alex C, Josh, and Alfred.

Today was an earlier start than usual due to a predicted heat index of 105, so by 8:30am we were 20 miles into our ride with a tailwind urging us on. Unfortunately the sky was promising to storm so we took preemptive refuge in a nearby garage/barn with an adjacent group of riders. As Eliza and Alex C played with some excessively cute farm kittens, the residents pulled in to be greeted by seven sweaty cyclists lounging by their barn in spandex. Josh worked some of his Nebraskan charm and we were quickly enjoying the generous Midwestern hospitality of Dick and Cathy. Thanks so much for the cookies. They were delicious! The storm blew over and on we went, to our best lunch of the trip. Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, down from Wisconsin to visit Ellann, provided cold cuts, cheese, fresh tomatoes, GUACAMOLE!!!!, and drinks for some bomber sandwiches next to a cemetery. On any normal day, the sandwich I made would have been awesome. After biking 40 miles and eating PB&J for lunch for a month, I was in heaven. Thanks so much!

The post lunch ride for me was quick and mostly unremarkable, but the prom shenanigans continued. Colin made the first proposal of the day, skipping the route meeting to hang a painted bed sheet from a foot bridge along the route and invite Caley. Fantastic. More invites followed as we rode, from messages painted on bare backs to requests taped to the side of Herman, our trusty support van. Most of us are transitioning into costume mode this evening as we search through thrift store racks and hit up dollar stores to accessorize. Renee and I have our eyes set on prom king and queen. In that order. I can’t wait.

-Dan Tanner

July 9th Journal

We had a great stay in Gilman, IL, and woke up bright and early to an amazing breakfast provided for us by the church. As we headed out, I took pictures with Grace, a church member I had eaten dinner with the night before who had woken up early on her summer break to say bye to us all. After taking a group picture by the van, we headed out and I started my ride with Alfred, Colin, and Nick. I’m definitely enjoying the flat landscape as opposed to the mountains and hills in the East—the corn and soybean scenery doesn’t change much, but the county roads make it much easier to ride and talk to friends at the same time.

Not long into our ride we found an old barn on the side of the road, and took pictures in and around it. Definitely a cool scene: big two-storied white barn in the middle of a field. Shortly after, since the road was straight without any traffic, we had a no-handlebar competition, with Colin lasting almost two miles. We pedaled on, made it through a few gravel roads, and came to a town with an auction going on. Alfred took a video of the auctioneer, but due to my inability to understand anything he was saying or trying to sell, I looked around at everything instead—a lot of clothes and furniture I couldn’t fit on my bike.

Our group made to lunch about ten miles later, and ate with a cyclist that taught at the college we’d be staying at in Bloomington, who rode in with us for some of the way. Typical lunch of peanut butter and jelly, with the addition of a fresh watermelon that had been donated—Robin was quick to cut it open and start work on it.

After lunch, I caught up with Ron, Alex, and Caley, and heard some of the life stories, which passed the time quickly as it started to get hot and we wanted to get to the host and off our bikes. We rode on bike paths for a while when we got into Bloomington, which is always awesome, and got to sleep in real beds since we were staying in dorms! I explored town with some friends, and later that night, half of our group got prom invites, and each would have to find a creative way to invite the person they were paired with. From then on, the prom excitement began.

Corn soybeans corn soybeans. The long-awaited expanse of flatland has finally reached us.
This comes after a week of false claims (“you’ll have pretty much one more big hill and then
it’s all flat till the Rockies”) that has irreparably damaged our faith in “local knowledge.”
We started our morning out in Lafayette on the diamond-encrusted red carpet laid out for
us by Pastor Glen and the rest of the Alex Rouse fan club at First Church--laundry done for
us! Homemade pancakes! Coffee service at the breakfast table! At route meeting, it was
announced that this was “French Friday”—a refined version of our normal “foreign Friday,”
so for the first 10-ish miles (before we all tired of each others’ hideously botched accent
grab-bags) we all babbled away about nonsensical things that only foreign accents seem to
bring out. At about mile 25 we came upon a wind farm—miles and miles of towering white
windmills in both directions. It was mentioned how strangely calming they are despite
being cookie-cut man-made monstrosities with the wing spans of a semi. Mile 40 into the
ride we hit our first gravel road, and oh boy was that a hazardous and unhappy four miles!
We stopped two miles in to take pictures at the most desolate crossroads—four white
dusty roads steam-rolled as far as we could see out from a god-forsaken barn. Somehow
we all survived the four mile treachery and found at the end that someone had chalked the
Illinois/Indiana border, which we commemorated by splaying ourselves out on the tar-
bubbling roads for pictures. By the time our group got to the lunch trailer almost everyone
else had left. We climbed down a bank (into what we later learned was an irrigation canal)
and slashed around in what was probably a coctail of Monsanto biproducts. The second
half of the day was one of our hottest yet, although luckily there was a breeze. We stopped
seven miles from the host by a field of soybeans to rest and tell stories, at which point a
farmer stopped to maker sure we weren’t just “dead by the side of the road.” Rode into
Gilman—wonderful Pastor, welcoming hosts, knock-out desserts, pillows!

Group thoughts on the Midwest:

1. The roads are unpopulated enough that we can ride side by side and talk to one
another! Life stories have begun
2. Endlessly repeating landscape is sometimes beautiful and sometimes appressively
monotonous
3. The rare shade tree along the road is an apportunity for a group nap+head
stroking+appropriately mellow indie muskc
4. Tan-lines are coming into their own
5. Casseroles. Lots and lots of casseroles.

Ernest Hemingway once said, “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” These words greeted me as I rubbed my weary eyes at 5:30 a.m. (yes, in the morning). While an extra thirty minutes may seem like an inconsequential amount of time, within the sleep community this amount is extremely precious. However, they were gladly conceded due to the fact we were getting up early in order to eat an amazing breakfast and get a police escort out of Dayton. After filling our stomachs with mini-quiche and a smattering of bagels, we were all more than ready to be escorted out of Dayton. Somehow Andrew, a couple of others, and I managed to miss this amazing flotilla of bicycles and didn’t get to go straight through any red lights or get any stargazed looks from people on the sidewalk. Oh well, I’ll get plenty of those when I’m President.

After the escort the group lined up to have our picture taken while crossing a river on a bike path. During this time of intense concentration, which is always needed when smiling for the camera, Keegan got a flat while trying to do a sweet downhill move on a concrete embankment. Of course, Alfred had yelled out, “Don’t get a flat!” not ten seconds before. This caused a huge ruckus among the group, resulting in even bigger and better smiles for the camera (as if they weren’t dazzling enough already).

Soon enough we were all on our way to Hartford City, Indiana. This was the start of our longest day to date, 94.9 miles of pure bliss on a bicycle. Luckily, many events helped this 90 mile day pass like a leaf on a breeze. I started off biking with Andrew and Tim, a dynamic duo if ever there was one. While it seems most of the time we keep the chit-chat light, today took an interesting development and the conversation turned towards a deeper subject matter…life. The miles flew by as quickly as the words out of our mouths. Much of what was mentioned dealt with our personal philosophies on how life should be lived. I’ll leave that for another journal entry as it would take more than a few pages to get into the mysteries of our minds.

One of the best parts about longer days is that fact that we get to have two lunches. The first of which came around mile 36, and it was graciously provided by Alex Rouse’s Mother and Aunt. After Subway sandwiches, fresh fruit, rice-krispies with chocolate on top, and other such goodies we were about ready to go. A quick trip to the bathroom was required, so Ron and I went on a search for one. It was found, but unfortunately the light switch was not to be found so our bathroom stop was made in the dark. A challenge can always be found if you look hard enough!

Once on the road, the miles were quickly dissipating like water in a desert and Andrew, Keegan, Tim and I found ourselves flying down the road. This was quickly interrupted by a yapping beast of a dog weighing in around 10 pounds. We all avoided it…except Tim. From behind we hear him exclaim, “I hit the dog! I hit the dog!”* After a brief check in with the owner it was discovered the dog was ok, which we were thankful for. Let this be a reminder to always train your dog not to chase anything but sticks. Tim’s shoe, however, was not ok. The dog had ended up pooping on Tim’s shoe while getting run over. This is a feat that will probably never be repeated.

Onward we pushed, setting our sights back on our destination. Second lunch came somewhere near mile 70 and was greatly appreciated. This lunch stop was not nearly as long as the first, nor as fulfilling, and it seemed all too quickly we were back on our bikes. A short 20-some mile ride later and we were at home sweet home Hartford City, IN. Thanks to an amazing meal at St. John’s Riedman Memorial School we were all able to recuperate successfully and get ready for a new day.

Overall, another day on the road and more memories made. We are all truly blessed to be here and doing what we do. Life is meant to be lived, and adventure is there for the taking, that’s for sure. Just like Mr. Hemingway said, the sweat we poured, the laughs we shared, and the adventures we undertook while riding our bicycles would not have been possible if we had been riding in a vehicle.

*No dogs were injured during the undertaking of this adventure.

July 5th – Dayton, Ohio!!
Howdy, guys!

Well, it’s been a pretty fine day in Dayton. Our hosts have been so generous, from fixing us a whopping breakfast of sausage, muffins, eggs and (most importantly) COFFEE to coming up with a list of things for us to do downtown; thanks, Lizz! Also, a big thanks to Tim, Melody and the rest of Montgomery County’s Habitat for Humanity chapter for shuttling us around, making lunch and having the patience to give us a nail-driving clinic. We appreciate it! The Skilsaw is officially my tool of choice, followed closely by the hammer (classic.) Montgomery County Habitat even gave us hats to commemorate the build, which was sweet of them. After safely arriving back at our host site, we made a run to the post office to mail off some gifts (shout-out to the Prendergast Tag Team/ P Pit Tree!!) before prepping for dinner, which smells down-right amazing (thanks to the Major Taylor Cycling Club.) I’m guessing we’ll all be sleeping well tonight in anticipation of our first “century” tomorrow! Thanks again to all of our donors for making this ride possible, to our local Habitat chapters for their unwavering support, and to our family and friends back home!

Love ya’ll,

Kelly Prendergast

July 3rd 2011 Bike & Build P2S by Alfred

Today on the western reaching roads of Ohio, a big tree was cut down [see exhibit A below], and old tractor sat to be sold [exhibit B] and a field of corn continued its slow growing [exhibit C].
Perceval, the T-Rex squeak dinosaur on my bike [exhibit D], woke up grouch realizing he had to ride again after 80 rollercoaster miles that took the best of him the day before. Even the unlimited bacon at Kenyon college (Hogwarts) couldn’t lift his spirits. At some point in the morning I had to tell him to shush it up. We’re heading to Columbus, Ohio, a city symbolizing the discovery of the United States. You’re riding across the country Perceval! Get a hold of yourself and smell the America.

Luckily enough for Perceval, the 54 mile day was daisied with bike paths and as flat as pancake. For one female rider who shall remain anonymous, there was a minor incident involving riding into a pole to get the attention of a well groomed corn fed paramedic at the end of the block. This proved to be a successful venture for said anonymous person.

Besides the hiccup, rolling into Columbus was a breeze and we landed into the church with burritos waiting to be eaten up.

Some people went to a minor league baseball game. Me and Perceval went for a city riding good time and café patio sitting in German Village. Erin and Duncan found me there sitting outside and we had a good sit for two hours. Duncan was thoroughly amused by the birds sipping out of the dog bowl. “I just think the bird has a lot of character” Duncan proclaimed. They did indeed have a lot of character. And so did the block. We met and pet 3 sets of dogs total and got a taste for the slow summer life. Following this I stumbled into the park and caught the last act of a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

It’s been real Columbus.

P.S. Alex R and Natalie

July 4th – Dayton, OH
Happy 4th of July!

The church floor was especially comfortable this morning and it took every ounce of willpower I had to get myself up this morning. We were greeted by a Panera Bread donation for breakfast, which provided a welcome change from our usual cold cereal and 79 cent loaves of white bread. After breakfast, we assembled in the parking lot for our route meeting. Soon enough we were off!

We were expecting another hot sunny day, but the cloud cover stuck around and we had nearly perfect cycling weather. We turned onto a bike path around mile 20 and it took us the rest of the 80 miles into Dayton. I spent most of the day riding near the front with David, Kelly, Colin, and Natalie. Most other riders ended up being part of the 4th of July parade in London, OH. The lunch stop was a picturesque train station just off the bike trail where Leader Jesse was waiting for us with more Panera deliciousness, and of course our usual five jars of peanut butter.

White we were eating lunch, we met Ken, a lifelong Dayton resident who was out cycling by himself. He ended up riding the last 40 miles into Dayton with us and guided us through the rather confusing intersections leading into downtown Dayton. Some of us might still be riding the streets of Ohio if Ken hadn’t been with us. Even with Ken, five riders took a wrong turn and added an extra 20 miles to their route!

The host tonight is the police academy at Sinclair Community College. They are nice enough to provide us with a padded gym floor to sleep on, A/C, and clean showers. The local Habitat chapter is providing several meals for us while we’re in town, and rumor has it we may get a police escort out of the city on Wednesday morning! I’m looking forward to a day full of building tomorrow and then the long ride to Indiana.

Saturday July 2nd By: Danielle Morse

Longest ride of the trip yet! The 81 miles we traversed today from Akron, OH to Gambier, OH were full rolling hills, some bumpy roads, and horse and buggies (we’re in Amish country now!). In addition to it being the longest ride of our trip, it was also the longest ride ever for almost half of our group. Both mentally and physically we’re all growing stronger by the day.

We woke up to a delicious breakfast complete with bagels and cream cheese at the Bethany Reform Church in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. After a short rain storm passed over us, we stocked up on water and snacks for the day and headed out. There were a few short smatterings of rain that befell us later in the day, but mostly it was just humid and warm. Around mile 40 we stopped in the parking lot of the Wooster DMV for lunch and a good stretching break.

Our route continued past cornfields, streams, and a fox sighting all the way up to Kenyon College in Gambier. According to one of the guys who helped us with our lodgings, Kenyon was recently named by Forbes magazine as America’s most beautiful college campus. I can’t say that I’ve visited that many college campuses, but the small bit that I saw of Kenyon definitely lived up to the claim in my eyes. As a runner, I’ve enjoyed checking out a few different tracks that have been near our host sites, and Kenyon’s athletic facility was one of the nicest I’ve seen.

For dinner this evening we had a donation from a nearby grocery store of 10 lbs of ground beef. With this donation and a few things we had in the trailer, dinner crew crafted a sumptuous vat of chili (and left some without meat for the vegetarians). Some people headed straight to sleep after dinner, while others explored the campus a bit.

Another highlight of the day – we’re staying in a dorm meaning we get to sleep in beds! I know we’re all looking forward to that; it’s been almost 3 weeks since the last time we slept on real mattresses. On that note I’m going to climb into bed myself and enjoy a few zzz’s… Night!

a screenplay by Andrew Morgenthaler

Authors note: please read the following passage as if watching an episode of the hit TV show 24. Some events of this day have been dramatized for cinematic purposes.

6:00am
Shots of people sleeping curled up on their Thermarests and sleeping bags. Cue music by Cee-Lo Green as an alarm. People begin to rustle in their bags and start to rise slowly one by one. Enter Renee (age 28, team leader, fit female) who proceeds to kick Andrew (age 21, tall, strikingly handsome) to rouse him from his bag. Andrew emits a dramatic moan and turns over in his bag.

Renee: Andrew. Get up. Seriously.

Andrew: Ugh. Hate chu.

Andrew finally gets out of his bag ready to take on the challenges of the day’s passage to Akron, OH. He proceeds to put on his typical bike gear and pack his bag. Little did he know the adventures that would ensue in the following 12 hours.

Enter Lauren (age 20, highly anticipating her 21st on July 25th, blonde, wears a fanny pack).

Lauren: FIBER PILL SUCCESS!

7:15am
Shots of riders assembled outside the church standing next to their bikes. Some may be tweaking components on their bike. All apprehensive for the ride. Sunny and blue skies.

Enter Nick (age 24, tall, team leader, n00b, unpronounceable last name, self-proclaimed “catch”) standing in front of the group.

Nick: You all must make it to Akron, OH today. There will be challenges along the way. People will try to honk at you. You will encounter a roundabout along the route. Don’t let these obstacles block you from your final goal of conquering Akron, OH.

Enter Kaitlin (age 22, blonde, rider) holding an apple core.

Kaitlin: APPLE CORE!

Enter Alex (age 22, from Montana, wears cool green glasses, rider).

Alex: BALTIMORE!

Kaitlin: Who’s your friend?

Alex: ANDREW!

Just as Kaitlin turns to Andrew to throw the apple core at him cut to the clock to flash 7:17am and turn to a commercial break.
Return from commercial break flashing the time 7:18am with shots of Andrew preparing to defend from Kaitlin’s apple core attack.
Andrew, with reflexes like a cat, wastes no time to grab his bike to defend the oncoming attack. Kaitlyn fakes a throw up but Andrew is not fooled and stands his ground behind his bike. Kaitlyn then launches an apple core attack directly at him but misses the mark and the apple core flies by his left side. Enemy defeated.

Andrew proceeds to flee on his bike to Akron along with Tim (age 20, goofy face, hairy butt), Jesse (age 23, team leader, sweet tye-dye glasses), and Natalie (age 22, Michigan accent, cool orange reflector glasses) and Josh (age 24, from Nebraska, wears bandanas every day).

8:45am

Shots of Andrew, Tim, Natalie, and Jesse riding on the shoulder of a road alongside cornfields and hay bails. They are conversing about their life stories.

Jesse: …well I took the SAT’s when I was in 7th grade. It’s nbd really. Everyone did it. Right?

Andrew: Guys there is someone behind us!

Natalie, Andrew, Jesse, and Tim all turned around to see another group of riders fast approaching. Cut to commercial break.

8:47am. Return from commercial break. Ominous shots of group of riders approaching Andrew, Natalie, Jesse, and Tim from behind.

Andrew: (the following is said very loundly and intensely) Quickly form a pace line! We can’t let this group take our spot on the podium.
Who knows they may have apple cores on them! Tim – get in the front to set the pace and break wind. Natalie – draft behind me! Jesse – pull up the rear! Slice their tires if you must!

As the group of riders approaches from behind the pace lines moves side to side to avoid the pass. Without warning, a pack for 5 riders ride by squirting Gatorade into the eyes of Andrew, Natalie, Jesse, and Tim causing temporary blindness, forcing them to pull over to the side of the road.

Andrew: (shout expletives)

12:07pm

The riders are approaching the final mile of the ride into Akron. Keegan (age 25, curly haired, famous for holding the all-time record for single season penalty minutes in NCAA DI roller hockey) had already received the podium finish alongside Josh. The group of 5 opposing riders is just in front of Andrew, Natalie, Jesse, and Tim. Cue intense shot of sweat dripping from the brow of Andrew’s forehead.

Andrew: Must… get… podium… finish…

Shot of Andrew bolting by the pack of riders triumphantly as they pass into the parking lot of the church. Andrew pumps his fists in the air in celebration.

12:11pm

Podium shot of Keegan, Josh, and Andrew.

Andrew: No better way to end the day than on the podium. Now off to the music festival on the river. Akron will never forget the name
“Andrew Morgenthaler!”

THE END.

“Why am I sleeping on a duck?” was my first thought this morning. After a moment, I realized it was not an actual duck quaking at me but an iPhone that I had rolled over. It turned out Nick had set a back up alarm and I had the pleasure of turning it off at 6am. What a great start to my day!

Today was awesome because it was the first day I got back on my bike since Ithaca. In case you don’t know, I split my thumb open in a bike shop while taking off my handle bar tape. Six stitches later and five and a half days in the van, I was really eager to get back in the saddle and today was an amazing day to do that! We biked 50 miles from Franklin, PA to Youngstown, OH and we had great weather for it! We also had the most spectacular lunch at a former Bike and Builder’s friend’s house. Thanks to Lisle for the best turkey sandwich ever! Everyone enjoyed the fresh fruit, donuts, and kool aid drinks that Lisle prepared for us! Some of us even enjoyed a nice nap at lunchtime in the shade. Overall, it was a relaxing time.

After lunch, I biked into Youngstown with Robin and Alfred. They were great riding partners because they pointed out all the holes and bumps for me so I was prepared for my stitched-up hand. Along the way to town we stopped and talked to a local named Richard who was selling his “powered parachute” for $4,500. He was nice to talk to and we learned about flying.

Tomorrow is our third build day and everyone is excited to be off their bikes for a day. I’m sure we will all work hard and get even more building experience! That’s all for now!
Yours till Niagara Falls,

-Caley

So today we awoke to the melodies music of the Village People’s YMCA song, which was especially amusing because we stayed the night at a YMCA. I of course immediately looked over at our route leader Renee and exchanged a look of approval for her pun. Then I proceeded to go about my zombie-like morning routine; packing my box, stuffing my sleeping bag into a compression sack, and tightly rolling up my Therm-a-rest. Last, but my favorite part of the morning exercises, I woke my fiancé Erin Yuhas (she always sleeps through the wake up tunes).
Now this week I am on trailer crew so I then proceeded to pack all the bags into the trailer with the trailer-packing king and resident Tetris master Ron Wheaton. We do this quickly because only after the trailer is packed does the Bike & Build crew get to eat our scrumptious breakfast. After breakfast Renee and I hit the dirty dishes hard with some serious washing and drying teamwork and some Palmolive, because, you know, it is tough on grease and soft on hands. Then we had a quick route meeting and we were off on our 60 mile jaunt to Franklin, PA.
It was a very pleasant day even though the terrain was not the best. I was riding with Erin, Dan, Lauren, and various others throughout the day who dropped in for a couple of miles here and there. I lead for the majority of the ride. There was some resistance from the wind but luckily I don’t really mind the wind that much so it made sense for me to block the wind for the others. They were very happy for this and in fact I think it is the only time I have been thanked for breaking wind! The first 35 miles to lunch were pretty enjoyable. Our group was moving pretty quickly and we were chatting it up casually which always makes it fun.
Lunch was very eventful because we got to meet Nick’s mother, father, sister, and dog, buddy. They were all very nice and happy to meet the Bike & Build family. We were also able to get some donation magic pizza from the shop who’s parking lot we were lunching in. It was a delicious break from the typical pb&j sandwiches we load up on during lunch.
After lunch we hit the back 25 miles. It started off with a detour, which are always fun puzzles to solve. As we approached the last section of the route, which was a rails and trails bike trail, the roads got a little hairy and we had to detour again but we eventually found the trail. It seemed like it was going to be a great final 7 miles but shortly after we got on the trail it changed from pavement to large gravel chunks. That kind of terrain is very difficult to ride on with the narrow tires of a road bike. But that stretch turned out to be short and we were able to get moving again. At the end of the trail we were only a mile from the host. Soooooo close! So we get a little further down the road and I hear the dreaded hiss of air leaving the tube of Lauren’s tire. We quickly hoped off our bikes and changed the tube. And in only four minutes!
When we arrived at the host a couple minutes later we hit the showers and dinner and were off to explore the town. Erin and I wandered around the town of Franklin with Lily, Ron, Alex R., and Alex C. We were immediately attracted by some sweet live music in the center of town. We danced to the music as a group and after the music was over some of the listeners approached us and said it was nice see us dancing like they did when they were young. On the way back Lily, Ron, and Alex R. went to hang out with some other B&Bers that were out on the town. Erin and I and Alex C. met up with David Kim to head back to the host church for the night. On the way back we were delighted to find hundreds of lightning bugs floating up from the ground. It made for a picturesque end to the evening. We were also shocked to find out that Alex C. had never seen lightning bugs before. So naturally we stood and watched them for a while before retreating for a quick viewing of The Princess Bride to top off the night. Over all it was a beautiful day to ride with a slight headwind to keep us from getting too hot, some music to keep our dancing legs from getting rusty, and of course an awesome movie to watch as a family before bed. Anyway that’s all for today folks! Don’t forget to stretch before and after your ride!

--Duncan Leech

Six AM.

Yet again, Nick’s (or maybe Colin’s?) raging “Waving Flag” song along with the blinding ceiling lights in
the Annex wake us all from much needed slumber. A few of us (including myself) wish we could reach
out from underneath the covers and tap the snooze button and fall back asleep. Yet, the whooshing
sound of air flushing out from everyone’s deflating ThermaRest brings back the reality that we’re in
Bike & Build and that we have thirty-nine minutes left to brush our teeth, wash our faces, slather some
Chamois Butt’r, put on the BnB jersey, and pack our trailer.

When the rustle of the morning has settled and the trailer has been somewhat hastily packed with our
bags, breakfast is served. Today’s menu is… everything left over. From last night’s Subway sandwiches
to oatmeal-cereals, the overflowing plastic bins are ravaged mercilessly by 33 starved riders. In the life
of a Bike&Builder, healthy and calculated diet comes second to high calorie diet—everything is lathered
with peanut butter. Banana with peanut butter. Chips with peanut butter. Pretzels with peanut butter.
Apples with peanut butter. While such savagery may seem a total chaos to some, we were very blessed
today with an unexpected treat that reminded us of civilized times—coffee! Of course, it was the Maxim
brand ground coffee, but we weren’t complaining, especially not Erin!

After the route meeting, our team breaks into several groups of riders. Not surprisingly, a handful of
riders stick close to Duncan to witness his Donation Magic in action (e.g. yesterday, Duncan landed us
6 boxes of free pizza, 6 free giant Subway subs, a $25 grocery gift card, and countless bicycle goodies
from a local bike shop). Today’s destination is Coudersport, PA, about 50 miles west of Wellsboro. While
today’s host site did not promise as much excitement as Wellsboro, we were all looking forward to
visiting the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. According to one local, it was only a seven mile detour from
our original route.

So, the ride began just as any other day: sore butts, screaming leg muscles, climbing the hills,
descending the hills, repeat, and shuffle-repeat.

At around mile 9, we take a left to be greeted by a wall of mountains—the entrance to Grand Canyon of
Pennsylvania. With only one road heading into the uncertain forest, we fearlessly ride into the thickness
of the arbor line. The climb up to the overlook isn’t hard at all; rather, with two weeks of hardcore
Appalachian climbing under our belt, it proves to be a great warm-up ride. After parking our bikes,
we hike to the overlook area. The sight at the top of the hill is quite astounding. Of course, it holds
no competition to the real thing in the west, but the series of triangular mountains that form perfect
pyramids let us know that we don’t have to travel far to find the nature’s true wonders of the world.

When we come back to our bikes, we are treated with a three-mile downhill descent to our original
route. We would later find out that Dan’s bike went rogue on that very descent, and his skinned left
leg stands proof of his 30mph-fall. We would also find out at lunch that Alex R. faceplanted in the grass
coming down that hill—thankfully, she is okay except for her bruised lip. But, despite the fact that no
one is safe from such a harsh fall, these downhill descents allow us to forget all physical pain and muscle
strains accumulated. However impossible the climb seems, the forethought of speeding down the other
side of the hill puts a smile on each of our faces, and we’re able to keep on pedaling. Keep on pedaling
to our lunch site at mile 35. Keep on pedaling over the Denton summit (2424 feet), followed by the
much deserved five mile descent to Coudersport, PA, where hot showers at the school and fulfilling
dinner awaited for our team.

Day 8: Ithaca to Savona
Lauren Kaplan
Today was one of my favorite days so far! Let’s see… to start the day off, there were 3 different news crews filming us on our way out of Ithaca. Ithaca will never forget P2S11. It was a hilly ascent out of town since the only way out was up. We ate lunch in a park at the base of the next finger lake, Lake Seneca. Highlights from lunch included biking in the skate park (where we quickly found out that being clipped in makes things interesting lol Nick  ) and balancing on a teeter totter.
After lunch, the real fun began.

1st Pit Stop : Trudy’s Second Hand Treasures.
The group I was riding with for the day rolled up just in time to see Andrew riding around in the front lawn on the Jazzy electric wheel chair. I too experienced the Jazzy chair and found it to be a very smooth ride with a surprising amount of horse power. Trudy tried to sell it to us for $500. Although we didn’t purchase the Jazzy chair, we did however leave the second hand treasure cove with a pointy purchase. A pair of horns for our van Herman! (Our van is named Herman and the trailer is PeeWee) Tim graciously volunteered to strap the horns to his backpack and transport them to the host site in Savona. Both Tim and the horns arrived unscathed. We are currently in the process of securing some sort of mechanism to attach them to Herman’s grill. We’re hoping the horns will accompany us all the way to Seattle.

2nd Pit Stop: Ice Cream and Mini Golf
After 15 miles of combating wind we were all excited to see this beacon in the dark – Cream of the Crop. The ice cream was delicious. I opted for a homemade ice cream sandwich. Then a group of 8 of us played a riveting round of putt putt. The big winners were Dan and me with a low score of 49. To sum up the experience: “emotions were running high and the gallery was electric.”

Although the village of Savona doesn’t offer many points of interest, our host site is one of the better ones we’ve been too. The have ping-pong, foos ball and a pool table, every bike and builder’s dream.

BUT WAIT!! THERE’S MORE!!!! P2S11 is now on Twitter!! For all you fans and parents out there, feel free to follow us @P2S11. We’ll try our best to tweet cool pics and funny things as we live tweet across the US of A!

Today we left Sidney, NY and biked towards Ithaca, NY a 65 mile journey. I’m truly grateful for the hospitality we received, as I have been at every stop so far. Sidney is a small town, but it amazes me how places that have little in terms of resources have only so much to give. Not only were we doted upon by the people at the churchwe were invited to roller skate as the rink was open for two hours so we could have a little fun. I was a little apprehensive at first but eventually I found this to be such an amazing experience of the simple joys of going fast and reliving childhood.

The funny thing about being on the Bike and Build trip is any aberration from the routine of biking, eating and sleeping evokes some sort of collective, primordial joy. The roller-skating yesterday brought out the inner child in all of us, and the N-SYNC poster and arcade games harkened back to the pre-teen world of the 90s. As always, the food prepared was absolutely delicious and the people who prepared it, selfless with endless amounts of kindness.

Our departure was delayed due to the severe thunderstorm that passed over Sidney. We took the extra 30 minutes to move into full consciousness, and have our yoga master Eliza do some stretches (all of which made riding bearable today).

Today (around mile 10) we found this driving range on the side of the road near Bainsbridge, NY with a golf bag full of clubs, several buckets full of golf balls, and five knee sized partitions, each with a green and tee and a wide open expanse of green, all of which seemed unattended and worked on an honor system. The majority of us took this opportunity to take our minds off the 55 miles ahead of us and we dropped some money into this unattended box and hit some balls (whether this business model works in the long run remains to be seen). To my surprise I was actually hitting some excellent shots and was practicing a swing form that I never seemed to master before. It reaffirmed the fact that there are indeed things I seem to excel at.

The journey itself was hilly (the rolling hills description that was mentioned was a bit misleading) although there were long expanses of smooth stretches and the drenched surroundings provided a relaxing cool, and an overpowering presence of lush green. There were signs of better times for the area, with abandoned houses on occasion (in one instance one is inclined to believe that there was an abandoned treehouse on the side of the road; the presence of indoor plumbing was the only thing that led people to believe otherwise). Generally the scene was a pastoral and with a good smooth road for the early bit of the day, it seemed as if one we were riding a cyclist’s fantasy dream.

Conditions changed and the weather went from cool to muggy, to a full on monsoon. More steep hills, one after another, especially after Greene, NY made for a challenging ride (or a simple ride depending on who you ask). I continue to battle saddle problems that started with a bolt breaking in half while riding, compounded with a generally uncomfortable saddle and improper fit. Tomorrow, I’ll go to a bike shop and fix these lingering problems. We also get a break from cycling, and tomorrow we shall be buiding a house here in Ithaca. Overall, I’m happy to be pushing onward, and I picked up on the subtle changes in my body as I get stronger everyday.

Today we left Sidney, NY and biked towards Ithaca, NY a 65 mile journey. I’m truly grateful for the hospitality we received, as I have been at every stop so far. Sidney is a small town, but it amazes me how places that have little in terms of resources have only so much to give. Not only were we doted upon by the people at the churchwe were invited to roller skate as the rink was open for two hours so we could have a little fun. I was a little apprehensive at first but eventually I found this to be such an amazing experience of the simple joys of going fast and reliving childhood.

The funny thing about being on the Bike and Build trip is any aberration from the routine of biking, eating and sleeping evokes some sort of collective, primordial joy. The roller-skating yesterday brought out the inner child in all of us, and the N-SYNC poster and arcade games harkened back to the pre-teen world of the 90s. As always, the food prepared was absolutely delicious and the people who prepared it, selfless with endless amounts of kindness.

Our departure was delayed due to the severe thunderstorm that passed over Sidney. We took the extra 30 minutes to move into full consciousness, and have our yoga master Eliza do some stretches (all of which made riding bearable today).

Today (around mile 10) we found this driving range on the side of the road near Bainsbridge, NY with a golf bag full of clubs, several buckets full of golf balls, and five knee sized partitions, each with a green and tee and a wide open expanse of green, all of which seemed unattended and worked on an honor system. The majority of us took this opportunity to take our minds off the 55 miles ahead of us and we dropped some money into this unattended box and hit some balls (whether this business model works in the long run remains to be seen). To my surprise I was actually hitting some excellent shots and was practicing a swing form that I never seemed to master before. It reaffirmed the fact that there are indeed things I seem to excel at.

The journey itself was hilly (the rolling hills description that was mentioned was a bit misleading) although there were long expanses of smooth stretches and the drenched surroundings provided a relaxing cool, and an overpowering presence of lush green. There were signs of better times for the area, with abandoned houses on occasion (in one instance one is inclined to believe that there was an abandoned treehouse on the side of the road; the presence of indoor plumbing was the only thing that led people to believe otherwise). Generally the scene was a pastoral and with a good smooth road for the early bit of the day, it seemed as if one we were riding a cyclist’s fantasy dream.

Conditions changed and the weather went from cool to muggy, to a full on monsoon. More steep hills, one after another, especially after Greene, NY made for a challenging ride (or a simple ride depending on who you ask). I continue to battle saddle problems that started with a bolt breaking in half while riding, compounded with a generally uncomfortable saddle and improper fit. Tomorrow, I’ll go to a bike shop and fix these lingering problems. We also get a break from cycling, and tomorrow we shall be buiding a house here in Ithaca. Overall, I’m happy to be pushing onward, and I picked up on the subtle changes in my body as I get stronger everyday.

June 21st, 2011

After riding in the van due to a strain in my knee, it was exhilarating to get
back onto my bike today. We left from Roscoe, NY and arrived in Sydney, NY in the
early afternoon. Even though it was one of our shorter days (about 44 miles), it
consisted of a few decent climbs and descents. One of the climbs brought us to the
top of the Downsville Dam in Delaware County. Going down was just as much fun as
climbing it. We stopped at a beautiful swimming hole in Walton, NY for lunch and it
was nice to be able to relax by the water with all of the other wonderful riders.

After arriving at the Circle Alliance Church in Sydney, we unpacked our
bags and some of the generous residents allowed us to use their showers to clean
up. Once we had gotten our laundry together, Tracy Chapman, the owner of the
Hillcrest Roller Rink, invited us to have our own private roller-skating session.
We got to have a lot of fun skating around, and even witnessed some of Tracy’s
excellent moves. It was a great way to unwind after climbing about 3000 feet today.
Tomorrow we move on to Ithaca and everybody is excited for it. Good night! –Kevin
Gaylord, P2S 2011

Bike and Build
Journal Entry: Monday, June 20, 2011
Tim Cupp

We woke up this morning and noticed that Shim had gotten a haircut. Where did
Shim get a haircut?

We had been hearing it from day one: Roscoe, NY would be the hardest day of the
entire trip. Today was our first mountain stage as we cycled across and away from the
Hudson River, albeit after getting detoured due to some serious road excavation. The
construction workers didn’t dig that we were trying to ride though their work site. After
finally getting on the right track, we had an entire day full of friends, fun, tomfoolery, and
seventy miles of Catskill Mountains ahead.

Forty miles and countless switchbacks later, we had reached lunch at last, which
overlooked the “Former site of Lackawack.” Probably a little bit whack and lacking a strong
economy, the beautiful town of Lackawack is now under a beautiful body of water. The 40
miles of ascent were enough to make PB,J,&H(oney) taste as good as Grandma Cupp’s
pumpkin pie (slight exaggeration).

The second half of the trip so graciously offered us some sweet downhills where
some people hit over 40 mph (just kidding, Mom. I never go over 25). Unfortunately, what
goes down must come up, meaning the second half also had a lot of uphills. After a full day
of pedaling over a thousand feet upwards, we all arrived in Roscoe, NY – Trout Town, USA.

Overall, hard day, but great day. Tan lines are beginning to show, which, I think we
can all agree, is the best part of Bike & Build (slight exaggeration). We’re heading west
tomorrow, so that will be something new to look forward to.

Andrew, Natalie, Lauren (obligatory blog mentions).

Bike and Build
Journal Entry: Monday, June 20, 2011
Tim Cupp

We woke up this morning and noticed that Shim had gotten a haircut. Where did Shim get a haircut?

We had been hearing it from day one: Roscoe, NY would be the hardest day of the entire trip. Today was our first mountain stage as we cycled across and away from the Hudson River, albeit after getting detoured due to some serious road excavation. The construction workers didn’t dig that we were trying to ride though their work site. After finally getting on the right track, we had an entire day full of friends, fun, tomfoolery, and seventy miles of Catskill Mountains ahead.

Forty miles and countless switchbacks later, we had reached lunch at last, which overlooked the “Former site of Lackawack.” Probably a little bit whack and lacking a strong economy, the beautiful town of Lackawack is now under a beautiful body of water. The 40 miles of ascent were enough to make PB,J,&H(oney) taste as good as Grandma Cupp’s pumpkin pie (slight exaggeration).

The second half of the trip so graciously offered us some sweet downhills where some people hit over 40 mph (just kidding, Mom. I never go over 25). Unfortunately, what goes down must come up, meaning the second half also had a lot of uphills. After a full day of pedaling over a thousand feet upwards, we all arrived in Roscoe, NY – Trout Town, USA.

Overall, hard day, but great day. Tan lines are beginning to show, which, I think we can all agree, is the best part of Bike & Build (slight exaggeration). We’re heading west tomorrow, so that will be something new to look forward to.

Andrew, Natalie, Lauren (obligatory blog mentions).

Bike and Build
Journal Entry: Monday, June 20, 2011
Tim Cupp

We woke up this morning and noticed that Shim had gotten a haircut. Where did Shim get a haircut?

We had been hearing it from day one: Roscoe, NY would be the hardest day of the entire trip. Today was our first mountain stage as we cycled across and away from the Hudson River, albeit after getting detoured due to some serious road excavation. The construction workers didn’t dig that we were trying to ride though their work site. After finally getting on the right track, we had an entire day full of friends, fun, tomfoolery, and seventy miles of Catskill Mountains ahead.

Forty miles and countless switchbacks later, we had reached lunch at last, which overlooked the “Former site of Lackawack.” Probably a little bit whack and lacking a strong economy, the beautiful town of Lackawack is now under a beautiful body of water. The 40 miles of ascent were enough to make PB,J,&H(oney) taste as good as Grandma Cupp’s pumpkin pie (slight exaggeration).

The second half of the trip so graciously offered us some sweet downhills where some people hit over 40 mph (just kidding, Mom. I never go over 25). Unfortunately, what goes down must come up, meaning the second half also had a lot of uphills. After a full day of pedaling over a thousand feet upwards, we all arrived in Roscoe, NY – Trout Town, USA.

Overall, hard day, but great day. Tan lines are beginning to show, which, I think we can all agree, is the best part of Bike & Build (slight exaggeration). We’re heading west tomorrow, so that will be something new to look forward to.

Andrew, Natalie, Lauren (obligatory blog mentions).

The Short Day to Poughkeepsie, NY 2011

Today began at 6 am! Everyone woke up and packed up their things and enjoyed
breakfast consisting of cereal with SILK!!! The ride began right after the trailer was
all packed up. It was a bit chilly to start the morning and the directions were just a
little off…instead of a left on bridge road we should have taken a right. We ended up
flying down a giant hill only to find that we had turned the wrong way and needed
to climb back up that hill! When we did turn the right way we found a beautiful river
with very strong rapids. During the ride we crossed into New York, but none of us
were exactly sure where the state line was, so each group decided to chalk their own
state line and there ended up being 3 different state line crossings. The ride was
only 30 miles, so everyone took their time to smell the roses and we were able to
stop at the top of all of the oversized hills to wait for each member of the group to
get a little break before cycling again. Although the ride was short it was filled with
several hills, one coming right after the other. During the ride at the tops of the
mountains we had gorgeous views of surrounding area and when we swooped
down the winding hills we were deep in the valleys; which also had beautiful views
of the surrounding land. Today everyone switched up their riding groups; which
was nice because once again our group avoided a clique fest! One of the teams
became team ScallyWag and ended up setting a theme for the rest of the day for the
whole group. Everywhere you turned people seemed to make some sort of pirate
noise. Renee had a crew with her in the van of our injured riders who stayed
positive and upbeat the whole day to support us through the terrain that many of us
were not used to. Andrew and Logan rocked the sweep for the crew because they
not only helped load the bike of an injured rider, but they went as far as searching
for an item in the first aid kit that would clear up some tears! When we reached our
destination at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, NY, we all devoured our
lunch of peanut butter and jelly with fresh vegetables and fruit that Jesse’s parents
brought for us. Since we reached our host site at 12:30 in the afternoon, we all had a
lot of time to relax and get our bikes ready for the trek to Roscoe, NY tomorrow.
During that time our hosts prepared a very southern dinner for us consisting of 3
different macaroni and cheese dishes, jambalaya and several other delicious dishes.
The group followed up dinner with a presentation about Bike and Build to the local
community members where Tim decided to change up his jokes a little bit. The day
ended with a mellow night of everyone fixing up their bikes for tomorrow’s ride,
playing catch phrase and hydrating for our big day. Also we are anxiously awaiting
the surprise that Jesse and Ron have for us tomorrow morning at the route meeting.
We were told that it will boost morale, so until the morning. Good Night! –Bike and
Builders 2011

B&B Journal Entry
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Waterfalls and Amazing Descents by Ellann Cohen

Today was amazing. We started out with a delicious meal of breakfast burritos from our hosts in Granby. So, shout out to First Congregational Church of Granby. Your delicious meal fueled us for the first 35ish miles of the day. Despite a chance of showers during the day, the weather could not have been better - blue skies with scatter fluffy clouds all day. We started early in the morning anticipating afternoon storms which meant much of our ride was in the cool morning and was just lovely. The ride started with a long steady climb followed by the most amazing downhill I've ever experienced.

Every single one of us was exuberated by the time we got to bottom, which was a very picturesque and beautiful resevoir. The day continured with lots more climbs and fabulous descents. Each were long enough that we able to get in the groove and knock them out.

After lunch, I switched back to riding with the sweeps (the riders that are supposed to stay at the back of the pack all day). We had a lovely ride the rest of the way to Kent. This included two stops: one at a small dairy where we were given some fresh milk and one at waterfall where we went for a quick swim to cool off. Both of these were amazing places to take a break. We rolled into our host at 4pm, changed to go for a swim in the river across the street, showered, and then ate a great meal of hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, fruit, and lots of deserts provided by the local Habitat for Humanity. Tonight we are sleeping at Kent School in a gynasium where we will have plenty of room to spread out and get a good nights rest for our shorter ride tomorrow to New York. Woohoo!

Greetings to all of you at home following our progress. Day two of riding brought new challenges and opportunities for the group. If you would like an idea of what our morning felt like we have a simple “how to” for you all: first dress in full bike riding regalia, then grab your stationary bike or bike trainer. Bring this into your shower and set the water pressure as high as you can get it. Turn on the cold water only and start biking. Continue this for hours. If you can inject a whole lot of dirt into this scenario you will be spot on.

The ride from Pomfret, CT to Granby, CT consisted of a number of hills of various sizes and grades. Climbing up and down these was a lesson in patience and perseverance. The weather and the terrain combined to create a situation that felt nearly insurmountable, but like any good sports story we were able to overcome all odds and take the day. Though our thighs were burning, our bodies dripping, and our bike chains grinding we finally pulled into our host location at the First Congregational Church after 57 miles (or more for many of us because of wrong turns).

Once at our host location we enjoyed a perfectly choreographed shower which involved a shuttle bus especially for us that ran between the church and the local Y every half hour. Individual shower stalls were a welcome surprise and it was very nice to enjoy a full ten minutes of warm water and solitude while we worked in vain to get all of the road grime off of any part of our bodies exposed to the elements.

Dinner was fantastic with three entire tables full of entrees, salads, and an ice cream sundae bar for desert. Though we ate until we were nearly bursting many of us took part in the yoga class offered shortly after. Stretching around full bellies was hilarious at times but working out our sore legs and backs made it all worth it. Many thanks to the women at Granby Yoga for the free instruction.
We are all enthusiastically awaiting a good night’s sleep at our fantastic host sight, followed by a sunny day tomorrow complete with clean clothes and hopefully not too many hills. We thank all of you at home for your support, both financially and emotionally, and as always with the Bike and Build crew, we invite you to join us for a ride. Roll on!

In the late fall, or the winter for some, when we all found out that we had been selected for this journey, we began to prepare in our own ways for all the things that this summer would hold. We began raising money, spreading information about our ambitious new dedication, and training. Some of us knew alumni of Bike and Build rides, and had a rough idea of what to expect, but it was not yet real.

Today we began our journey in Providence, RI, about 30 miles from where I was raised as a child. Family and friends of many riders came to watch as we dipped our back wheels into the Narragansett Bay and began riding west. As we rode through the streets of providence, past the church that had been our home for the past three days, past Brown University, the statehouse and the neighborhood where we had helped to build a home the day before, our work and mission became real.

Soon we were out of the city, on roads through Glocester. Around the 18th mile, we stopped together as a group and swam in a pond by the side of the road. Some of the group members went back the way we had come in search of a fabled amusement park that had since been abandoned. Others, myself included, went on in search of a farm with a 600 pound pig. Since our mileage today was relatively slight, at only 40, we were able to play a bit in our surroundings.

We stopped for lunch in the afternoon, and continued. Soon, we crossed our first state line as a group, the first of many. Arriving safely in Pomfret, CT, in the mid afternoon, we enjoyed a delicious meal provided by the First Presbyterian Church of Pomfret. We are so grateful to our lovely hosts this evening for all the thoughtful preparation, and care that they have so generously given.

On to Granby!

The 29 P2S Riders are here and now have a sense for what the summer will bring. Bikes are rebuilt, tires are pumped, and riders are eager to head west. Yesterday’s orientation included a presentation on bike safety followed by practicing drills with Richard Durishin, the executive director of US Open Cycling. We’re now experts in unclipping, breaking, signaling, and communicating on our bikes.

Another theme of the summer is already beginning to unfold – a new appreciation for food. Breakfast was generously donated by Louis restaurant on Brooke Street, where we were treated to kingly portions of our favorite breakfast foods (Erin’s blueberry pancakes looked like the best choice). Mid-way through our shake down ride, the local ice cream shack gave B&B a discount on soft serve – we’re already good at replenishing those calories (even after just a few miles). And last but not least was a wonderful lasagna feast provided by the members of Protestant Presbyterian church. Bike & Build riders enjoyed talking with church members while enjoying lasagna. chili-mac, fresh salad, and an abundance of desserts.

In summary, yesterday we got safe, we biked, and we ate. We dip our wheels in the Narragansett Bay on Thursday morning at the Narragansett Boat House. Seattle here we come!

P2S 2011 is underway (well, at least for us leaders). We can't get enough of organizing bins, sorting gear, and setting up for a stellar three days of rider orientation.

Highlights from our day include watching P2C get underway with a tire dipping ceremony at the Narragansett Boat House and a mid-day shake down ride along the railroad tracks and waterways of Providence.

Our hosts at Central Congregational Church invited us to join in for a lovely Sunday lunch and we enjoyed chatting with the church members about Bike & Build and embarking on our journey.

We are super excited to finally get face time with the riders tomorrow and to start heading West on Thursday morning.

Today was our last true ride day of Providence to Seattle, 2010. Leaving the Cascades and our campsite behind us, we traveled the majority of the day southwards through a valley towards Everett, WA, a mere 40 miles outside of Seattle. It’s difficult to describe the exact emotion we’re all feeling right now. It’s a strange mixture of excitement and fear, anxiety and anticipation. None of us are quite sure what to expect of life after Bike & Build, but we all know that it’s going to take some serious adjustment. What we can be sure of, however, is that we’re all incredibly excited to reach the Pacific Coast and dip our wheels; we’re all prepared to complete this incredible and impacting journey and celebrate our accomplishment. As we came into the host today, we were faced with obligations such as cleaning out the van (finally) and taking end-of-trip inventory, tasks that felt strange, almost like giving away some prized possession or saying goodbye to a childhood friend. These things, after all, have followed us for this entire journey. Though perhaps our red plastic plates and glow-in-the-dark cups aren’t exactly as personal as our bikes, they still helped us across the country just the same. So we’re passing along our plateware, our tents, our van and our trailer to the next group of Bike & Builders with an air of sadness, but a guarantee that they’ll serve them as well as they served us. On a grander scale, we’re passing along our route as well, giving the next year’s riders the chance to make new memories, have new experiences, and learn new things. Upon the completion of this trip, we will all become a part of the Bike & Build extended family; there is a chance some of us will return for another ride, but even if we don’t we will always hold dear the people we’ve met, the places we’ve been, and the experiences we’ve had on Bike & Build.

WOW, What a day! Today was by far the most beautiful day of all. We began the day with a 15 miles climb up Washington Pass. The climb started shortly after leaving camp. Along the climb were waterfalls which were helpful in cooling off from the heat. Once at top we enjoyed the lookout which directly overlooked the road we climbed. It was an amazing site and proved how hardcore we totally are. Then from there we had a short decent followed by another mountain climb. While climbing mile after mile I could not stop myself from thinking about how these were the last mountains to climb before reaching the west coast. It seems like yesterday we were dreaming of these climbs and now today they became real. The sweet down hills afterwards gave way to amazing views. Around mile 50 the mountains opened up to the bluish lake I have ever seen. It was the great Diablo Lake. Many of us took advantage of the cold fresh mountain water and went for a swim, which was nice to cool off from the hot sun. The rest of the ride was mostly down hill will some rolling hills. The heat and the wind seemed to be the greatest challenge in the late afternoon. But once we arrived at the host we were able to relax and cool off in the cold frigid river. It does take a little bit to get use to but after warming up in the sun we realize how amazing it truly feels. To end an amazing day we were blessed with a fresh meal provided by Momma Kent. We even had hummus, which makes any Bike & Builder’s day.

Hailey

Today was an awesome ride to Early Winters, which I think is just the name of the campground rather than an actual town (it was in the middle of a national forest). We started the day climbing Loup Loup Pass, a fairly gradual climb that enabled lots of great conversations with my riding buddy, Brittany, most of which were about how much we loved everyone on Bike & Build. At the top of the pass, everyone waited to cheer each other on, and we had one of our much-beloved mountaintop dance parties. We then discovered that there was a webcam at the top, so we spelled out “P2S” for the world to see. After a speedy descent, we eventually reached the town of Winthrop. Since this was the only town we would see for the rest of the day, we all decided to stop and hang out for a while. I played a great round of mini-golf with Kristian, Brittany, Brian, and Liz, after which we got burgers and milkshakes. Our ride days have been getting more and more relaxed and it’s been a lot of fun to take our time and hang out as a group. When we eventually rolled into the campground, we were greeted by a beautiful river – a welcome sight on such a hot day. Turns out the river was absolutely freezing cold – so cold it literally took my breath away! We all jumped in and swam across, though, because how could we not? A few brave souls (myself included) even decided to bathe in the river (using biodegradable soap), because there were no showers at the campsite. Tonight we have Bike & Build Prom, which involves everyone getting dressed up in ridiculous outfits acquired at thrift stores. I tell you, we have built a network of thrift stores across the nation. Bike & Thrift Stores.

The eastern part of Washington has probably been the most surprising state for me, at least in terms of scenery. Before this trip, I hadn’t realized how dry and hot this part of the state could be during the summer. Most of the morning was through wheat fields – I have never seen anything like it. Brett, Sarah and I rode sweep, and we had lots of photo opportunities. The first town we saw was Grand Coulee. We had an amazing descent into the valley, and an incredible view of the lake and the Grand Coulee Dam below.

After lunch, we had a surprise mountain to climb. It was a 2400-foot climb over 10 miles, which wasn’t too bad, but it got pretty hot during the afternoon. We were happy to finish in Omak. We had wonderful hosts with a great meal, and Kristian was there to meet us for the last few days of our trip.

We arrived on the perfect day, just in time for the main event of the local rodeo that evening – Omak’s famous “Suicide Stampede.” The stampede was a horse race that starts at the top of a crazy steep hill. After the hill, they cross a river and finish in the rodeo stadium. The rodeo itself was fun too – we saw some steer wrestling, bucking horses, bull riding, and some intense cattle lassoing. We had a lot of fun wearing our cowboy hats, and taking tons of pictures.

Under the assumption that Washington was filled with plenty of rain and pine trees, I was amazed to see that we were biking through miles of wheat fields for the majority of the day. Coming out of Spokane we encountered a small climb, only a small sign that the next few days would be filled with climbs on our approach to the Cascades. Luckily the rest of the ride was mostly rolling hills with a generous tailwind.

The ride into lunch seemed effortless as the 20 mile an hour tailwind pushed our speeds anywhere from 20-25 m.p.h. Lunch came pretty quickly and it happened to be at the Wild Bear Motel. The inside of the motel shop was filled with Eastern Washington memorabilia, including snake skins and traditional Native-American clothing. We gobbled down some hummus and pita and got back on the road after a short break.

The second half of the ride was not as tailwind-filled as the first, but was more than manageable. We pulled into Wilbur, a town of about 700, and headed to the campsite to set up for the night. After staking our claim to the back half of the campground many of us hung around and cleaned our bikes. New to the trip has been the board game Settlers of Catan, which has offered countless hours of fun, or in the case of this afternoon’s game frustration. Dinner crew was in charge of cooking up a feast for the gang and did a wonderful job preparing a dinner of alfredo pasta with a few salads.

Unfortunately the area was under a burn ban, so we were unable to set up a campfire and roast some smores. That didn’t stop us from gathering around on our Thermarests and enjoy the beautiful night sky. With the lack of light we were privileged to one of the finest night skies I have ever seen. The Milky Way was in full view and every few minutes shooting stars whizzed by. The stargazing didn’t end when we went to bed as many of us set up our sleeping bags outside and gazed up as we drifted up to sleep.

Tomorrow to Omak, and the Stampede Rodeo!!

We built in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We started the morning off with delicious homemade breakfast crepes which energized everyone! We divided up into three different teams that went to restoration stores and thrift stores. I was with the group that went to a restoration store near Gonzaga University in Washington. I had a blast! It was my first visit to a restoration store and to top it off I was tasked with destroying old furniture for recycling. I’m sure it was a comical sight as Vidya, Kaitlin, and I kicked furniture to pieces but we had a blast.

Once we returned to the host, we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and took in the sunset. It was a perfect beach summer day. I think I took 15 pictures of the sunset! Everyone seemed to enjoy a day out of the saddle. As an added bonus we sat down to fresh home- cooked meal of freshly picked salad, ginger lime chicken/tofu, and steamed rice. I think it was a perfect ending to a perfect day which is just all part of bike and build.

Today we had a short 40 mile day into Spokane. It was a perfect opportunity to have a full day scavenger hunt. Kaitlin Sobeke and Brittany Maslowsky were the judges and chose the objects and activities to find. Teams were assigned randomly yet two teams had obvious powerhouses. My team, Xenos’ Spawns, came in third place. Our team broke a social norm by showering in an outdoor fountain, created an interpretive dance to Backstreet Boy’s “I Want It That Way”, and took photos of miscellaneous items such as a moose or bear, rocks shaped like animals or other random objects. Besides the scavenger hunt, we crossed into our final state Washington! It was a great feeling knowing we biked all the way from Providence. Usually when people find we are biking across the country they figured we are travelling towards the west coast, but as we get closer, we have to tell people that our trip is coming to an end. Our trip is almost over and people are excited, worried, anxious and other random emotions that we will only truly grasp at trips end.

After many failed attempts at finding Pierce Brosnan in Wallace “Dante’s Peak” Idaho, we began peddling our broken hearts to Coeur D’Alene. Our frowns were quickly turned upside down after the ride proved to be short (50 miles), fun (temporary tattoos at lunch), and refreshing (THE LAKE!). As we rolled into St. Lukes Episcopal Church, we were greeted by a friendly Pastor Pat who provided us with maps of the town, fresh fruit, and information about the local bike shops. He then gave us directions to the beach downtown. Being an east coast girl, I jumped for joy at the sound of the word “beach” but quickly remembered that we were in Idaho and Idaho does not touch an ocean. Nevertheless, Pastor Pat sparked my curiousity. I had to explore this “beach” he spoke of.
I was not disappointed.
The lake provided P2S with some much needed fun and relaxation time. A couple of us rented giant water bikes (naturally), many of us charged the water decked out in our chamois and bibs, and all of us soaked up the sun. After the lake, we explored the town, ate some food, and bought some souvenirs.
P2S ended the day by finishing the last 4 affordable housing presentations, kicking off our grant process. Just another day in the lives of Bike & Builders…
-Mallory

After careful consideration, the leaders decided it would be best for us not to bike today. It was supposed to be a 50 mile ride through the mountains to Wallace, but the only viable road was the interstate. It’s one thing to be on the interstate for a few miles, but something else entirely to have trucks zooming by you for several hours as you slowly make your way up a mountain. Everyone was happy with the decision and glad to avoid what would have been a very nerve wracking ride. We shuttled to Wallace in two groups, so some of us had more time to explore Wallace while others were able to spend time at Superior Elementary catching up on email and sleep. The movie “Dante’s Peak” was filmed in Wallace back in 1996 and many of us recognized the Main Street immediately. Sadly, although the town is surrounded by mountains on all sides, there were no real life volcanoes to be found. The church gave us a wonderful dinner and instead of our usual presentation, we all went around and shared our favorite story from the summer. It was a lot of fun to think back on all of the experiences we’ve had on the road. After two more affordable housing presentations, we paid homage to our host town by watching “Dante’s Peak” for the third time that day.

-Rebecca Theise

Today we had a really nice ride into Lincoln, MT where the Unabomber was caught (this is Lincoln’s claim to fame). There was considerably less traffic than we have been having the past few days and more importantly fewer trucks. We even had a special guest appearance by three leaders (Alyson, Aileen, and Sharif) and one rider (Joe) from the Central route who are on the way back to the East Coast with their van and trailer. Our route included a very gradual climb up a mountain starting about 20 miles in that left me almost wishing it had been steeper and shorter so it would have been over with faster and a very nice decent into Lincoln. I rode much of the day with Alyson, which was cool to get to know someone from another trip. It was fun to compare her experiences with my own and how very similar but also different they were. There are just certain things that seem to be universal on Bike & Build. We had lunch at the top of the mountain which included cupcakes to celebrate Brittany’s birthday. There were also many pictures taken because we were at the Continental Divide, again. We played some four square and Twister, ate a lot of junk food, had a few dance parties, and cheered everyone up the last stretch of the mountain. We greeted sweep with a special mass mooning as they reached the top. The ride down the mountain and into Lincoln was relatively uneventful other than a bee flying into my jersey and stinging me, which lead to me pulling over and frantically trying to undress. Lincoln is our first night of the trip where we camp so we set up our tents and picked sleeping spots. I ended up in the new tent that came complete with a little overhang by the entrance and a mat below. Others were jealous of the new tent, but I was jealous of the tents with doggie doors. After some nice hot showers at the local school we had dinner provided by Brett’s parents at Shake ‘N’ Burger. After dinner we got a camp fire going and roasted marshmallows for s’mores.

Liz

Today’s ride was brutal. It was our longest planned day at 114 miles across the upper plains of Montana. The first 40 miles of the ride were fairly uneventful until me and another rider Sam Kent got lost. We accidentally got onto interstate 90. Going East. Not the best idea a bike and builder ever came up with. However, outside of that brief detour we managed to find our way past road construction and gravel roads to discover lunch at highway 287. Lunch would be the beginning of what would become an extremely difficult ride. We headed straight towards Helena and the remainder of the ride involved constant traffic, 15 mph headwinds, and 90 degree heat. With no wind, many of us can ride at about 18-20mph very comfortably; however, with the consistent headwinds we were struggling to maintain 12mph. Lunch at mile 80 was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert. The group in the van made us guacamole as a pick me up snack and everyone was being extra supportive due to the high mileage. After our second lunch the day only seemed to get more difficult. The headwinds continued to batter all of us and the thought of having to go another 30 miles was weighing on our confidence.
Once we all arrived in Helena, church members drove us to the YMCA to take showers and there were plenty of snacks and drinks to sustain us until what was one of the best burrito dinners I have ever had. I would like to personally extend a very special thank you to our hosts that night as they were so hospitable and understanding of our long day. This is our last planned century ride and certainly one that we can all check off as a great accomplishment that we can remember for sometime.

-Spencer Smitherman

Day 4 back on the bike brought us from West Yellowstone to Bozeman, Montana. Yesterday was an awesome fun filled day touring Yellowstone park and searching for Yogi Bear (not yet found), meaning that today’s 5am wakeup was sooner than preferred. However, several alarms later we roused amidst the hissing of deflating therma-rests and some blasting Jimmy Hendrix.

I walked in on Brian putting plastic bags over his toes, mumbling something about how it would prevent numbness. I didn’t really put together what that meant until I walked outside to find it a startling 39 degrees. After the usual morning routine of packing the trailer, cleaning the host site, and eating breakfast, we bundled as best we could and set out to brave the 90 mile ride. The first 2 hours or so were pretty brutally cold, but by 9am the sun crept over the mountains at our sides and quickly warmed the air. Being at about 7000 feet, the clouds burned off quickly and the close sunlight felt wonderful. Toes would regain feeling at about 10am.

The first 10 or so miles of the day brought us into a portion of Yellowstone Park and up maybe a few hundred feet in elevation, making the air noticeably harder to breathe. Then, in an unexpected but delightful turn of events, the next 70 miles or so happened to be down hill. It turns out that Bozeman is sitting at about 4700ft (it should be noted that all of my numbers are wild guesses), so we had an ever so slight, but noticeable, downhill for pretty much the remainder of the day.

The biking was easy and the views were breathe-taking. Getting into Bozeman, many of us went to check out the town and ended up at a pizza shop. This coming weekend is the Sweet Pea festival here in Bozeman, so all the storefronts have chalked the sidewalks with some awesome and colorful sketches. I learned from a local about something called a “tater-pig” which is a baked potato with a sausage cooked inside, covered in sour cream and chives. I wish I could be around to witness a tater-pig at the Sweet Pea festival, but I’m glad it at least crossed my path. Tater-Pig. Ha.

Kristian left last night to take care of all the other corporate obligations he has, but will be returning to finish our trip with us in about 2 weeks. It was great having him around so I think we’re all pretty excited that we get to ride with him again soon.

Corporate (our affectionate term for the Philadelphia office) has also graciously provided us with a grief counselor (Tim) here in Bozeman. There’s no doubt it’s been a hard road and there are many more trials to come. The inherent dangers of biking have become infinitely more real to us, but we’ve formed the strongest of bonds and I know that we’ll make it through together.

Today we had a day off in West Yellowstone, MT. Most of our group was pretty set on visiting Yellowstone. I have never been inside the park, so I was pretty excited to check it out. A few groups rented cars to travel through the park. One group of 8 or so rented a yellow bus, and some people took our van. I decided to spend the day with Maddy and her aunt and uncle who live in the area. They are both pretty involved in the park and in natural causes in general, so it sounded like a great opportunity. Thanks so much to Lyle and Mary for one of the most amazing days of the trip!

We started off the day with a great breakfast in a park near our host site. We had sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit, etc. We decided, based on expert recommendations, that we would start off with a hike around Mt. Jefferson and then enter Yellowstone after traffic eased up a little. The drive up to the hike spot was really spectacular. Millions of wildflowers were in bloom, and our tour guides knew the names of most of them. We hiked towards Mt. Jefferson for an hour or so and then came back, taking plenty of detours to climb up rocks and stare at the Tetons and other amazing view.

After the hike, we hit a wildlife viewing area and had a snack in some beautiful weather. We packed up, and headed for Yellowstone. Once in the park, I really wanted to see some painted pots, which are land areas colored by sulfur and other minerals over geothermal sites. The park had platforms that made them easy to walk around and view. I have never seen such incredible colors! Yellow and bright turquoise ponds and steaming craters were unreal.

After the painted pots, we headed over to Old Faithful to see the 6:30 pm eruption. As we were driving up to the lodge next to the geyser, a huge buffalo came right up to the car in the parking lot! It was pretty exciting to see one so close. We explored the lodge, a beautiful wooden building, and then headed over to see the eruption. The geyser was also pretty spectacular. After teasing us for a few minutes with small bursts of water, its stream shot up over 100 feet in the air for a few minutes; definitely a must-see.

We decided to grab dinner and then head back to the host. On our way out of the park, we spotted some elk by a river and saw some more buffalo. We had a delicious dinner of pizza, and then headed home. I am so thankful to Maddy and her relatives for a great day! We got to see the best of the park and some of the beautiful surroundings. I definitely plan on returning someday!

“When I go biking I repeat a mantra of the day’s sensation: blue skies, bright sun, warm breezes, blue jay’s call, ice melting and so on. This helps me transcend the traffic, ignore the clamorings of work, leave all the mind theatres behind and focus on my matter. I must abide by the rules of the road, of gravity, of biking, but I am not mentally far away from civilization. The world is breaking someone else’s heart.” – Diane Ackerman
Today was the day of days. We climbed the Grand Tetons. 8,431 feet. 12% grade. Ugh. I had some wonderful company however; Noam and Spencer were on sweep with me and we just had the most wonderful day, full of laughs, encouragement, and some sweet down hills. So we began our day, going up a bike path with several switchbacks and a very steep grade. We took a lot of breaks, like one break every 100 yards. It took about 2 hours to climb 6 miles. Wow. But the real high of the day came once we got to the summit. Coming in as the last riders, we were greeted with every rider cheering, screaming and dancing. Some riders hid in the bushes then leaped out and ran along next to us. Then a lot of the riders made a tunnel with their arms and we rode through them while they cheered. Maddy even shaved her head into a Mohawk at the top of the mountain she was so high of the endorphins. By far, the coolest thing ever. Then we continued welcoming random cyclists to the top of the mountain with cheering and yelling. So after an epic dance party, a lot of picture taking, and some serious bear hugs we got back on our bikes and flew down the other side of the mountain. The rest of the day we put our bikes on cruise control and hammered into Ashton, Idaho. It was truly one of my favorite days. Leaving Jackson and the Tetons behind you could look behind you and see the four peaks, the snowcaps, the clouds, and all I could think about was “wow we were just at the top of that.” It amazing we have come this far. We are definitely at the point were people are more impressed that we are coming from Rhode Island than that we are going Seattle. It makes me feel so nostalgic about the past two months. It makes me think of every hard day, every mountain, and most of all every laugh and good time I’ve shared with every person.

Today was our first ride day back on the road; although we went on a short shake-down ride yesterday, many of us were still nervous about today’s trek. To help us focus instead on how amazingly fun our ride would be, our cue sheet included a fabulous photo scavenger hunt that included such items as “a cloud in the shape of a living thing,” “a pile of manure,” and “a jackalope (worth 1000 points).” Unbeknownst to the scavenger hunt creator (Bri Bri), lurking just at the edge of Dubois was a giant jackalope, which Hailey, Olivia, Sarah, Liz, and I were quick to mount for a sweet photo opportunity.

Soon after we started our ride, we learned about the absolute beauty that is Wyoming – a beauty that we followed all the way to, up, and over the Togwotee Pass. We had been told by a local construction worker that there was road work about 5 miles up the mountain and, true to his word, we had to ride in the back of a pick-up truck to get up the soon-to-be-road-but-currently-dirt-path that ended just a ways from the top. It was here that we found a hidden emerald lake of glory, framed by pine trees and set against a backdrop of mountains. Rejuvenated by its magic, we coasted down the other side of the pass and into Shoshone National Park.

Kristian greeted us with lunch and pin-on Smokey the Bear wings, which added to our ever-increasing Camelbak flair. After lunch, we saw a bison on the side of the road (On The Side of the Road!!!) before encountering the breathtaking sight of the snow-tipped Teton Mountains, which we were fortunate enough to ride beside all the way into Jackson.

Once in town, some riders went to find dinner, and came back with great success! Mountain High Pizza Pie was kind enough to donate six pizzas, and Teton Steakhouse donated two SUPER LARGE salads. To top off our meal, Kristian and Hassan retrieved the ingredients to Mrs. Sekse’s WORLD FAMOUS fettuccini. It was truly delicious – and it had peas!! Seriously, this dinner was SOOOO GOOOOD. To end the night, we snuggled up in our sleeping bags and watched Friday Night Lights until we fell asleep.

On Monday, July 20th, we lost our incredible, fearless leader, Paige Hicks. If you would like to read the letters sent out by the Bike & Build staff describing what happened, click here ). When you climb, explore, and grow with a group of 30, they really become your family, and we have lost a family member. Paige was an incredible person and everything we could want in a leader. We are all going to miss her ability to read our emotions and know exactly what to say or do, her joy for every second of life, and her excitement, energy, patience, and compassion every day. It has been an exceptionally hard time for our group and we really appreciate the support from parents, friends, the other Bike & Build routes, and of course our families.

We had no schedule or routine on Tuesday. We were allowed to wake up whenever we liked, and once the group had a little food, we were shuttled to our next host location in Chadron, NE. Kristian, one of Bike & Build’s Program Directors, met us that evening in Chadron. Our group was unsure of many things, but we knew only that we wanted to get to St. Louis and attend the memorial service for Paige.

The group decided we wanted to travel together, and so B&B chartered a 55 person coach bus (hey we needed to spread out) to drive us all to St. Louis. A driver for the coach wasn’t available until Saturday morning, which left us with Thursday and Friday in Chadron. Thursday was spent relaxing in town - some went to the pool, some went for a run, etc.

Thursday night a huge storm passed through Chadron. The town locals said it was one of the worst cases of hail and wind they had seen in 10 years. There was broken glass all over downtown, and two trailer homes were completely destroyed. Friday morning we put out an announcement on the radio that said we have 30 pairs of hands who are willing to help the clean-up effort. We boarded up a lot of windows, cleared branches, cleaned out gutters, and ended up helping 35 families. It was really nice to be busy, especially in a town that had been so supportive of our group.

Despite a daunting 15-hour one way trek to St. Louis that began early Saturday morning, in true B&B style we came up with ways to pass the time. A few brave riders volunteered to step up as “Cruise Directors” each day. They were basically given free reign to think of fun stops, games, food challenges, and movies to keep us entertained. We stopped at Carhenge, which is a replica of Stonehenge made of old cars. Anthony D. ate an entire can of spam in a food-eating competition. We watched about 8 episodes of “Friday Night Lights,” and about 5 movies, including “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”. It was on sale at Walmart. Don't judge. One day, we played an extremely competitive game of Bike & Build Jeopardy. It ended up being a really fun time. Did you know that Marc Bush’s middle name is Daniel? And that his favorite color is blue?

We were all really thankful to be able to attend the memorial service. We were able to talk to Paige’s friends and family, and honor her memory. It was amazing to see how many people she has touched. We returned to Chadron (where our incredible host had allowed us to leave our bikes) and were bussed to Dubois, WY to continue our trip. To regain confidence on the bike, we rode a few miles in Dubois when we got in. It was pretty hard for a lot of us to get back on the bike, but we have an incredible support system in our team, and everyone is set on pushing on. Thanks again to everyone who has supported us through this, and we’ll see you in Seattle!

-The Prov to Seattle Team

Mt. Vernon, Iowa

We are approximately one month into our epic journey across the U.S and our team now functions like a well lubed bicycle. When we wake with the sun, we all move rhythmically with the morning beat through out routines and on to chores. I personally have a very difficult time waking up in the mornings but I know my reward is only an hour away. Once I am on the bike with the crisp morning air hitting my face and a picturesque scene even Van Gogh couldn’t illustrate is surrounding me, I enter into a state of quiet happiness. Sometimes I even get chills thinking about how incredible our journey has been or what it will become. It is these early morning reflections that keep me motivated on a daily basis, not to mention our team.

Today also happens to be our fearless leader, Gabriel Ofiesh’s birthday. In honor of this day we drew mustaches on our faces with eye liner in attempts to recreate Gabe’s facial hair. It quite the scene, this morning with 30 riders running round with painted faces!!
Unfortunately, most of our mustaches got washed off in the rain that hit us towards the end of the ride. However, I think most of us are becoming true cyclists because everyone seemed to enjoy the rain storm! We have come very far as a team and as individuals. We are becoming family through time spent together on and off the road. I can only imagine how close we will be after another month.

-Justine Avila

Today was a 95 mile ride from Peru, IL to Clinton, IA. We began the day with the most amazing breakfast buffet we’ve had thus far and a “give me an M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I” cheer. Paige’s Mom rode with us today and gave some of our faster riders a run for their money. Today we actually hit some rolling hills, which gave us a nice break from the headwinds. At mile 92 we crossed over the Mississippi River and into the state of Iowa. Upon arriving in Clinton, several of us stopped in at That Ice Cream Shoppe for milkshakes while others headed to the municipal dock to dip their feet in the very dirty Mississippi and experience a day in the life of Huckleberry Finn. Some riders stopped to give Amy, who missed our orientation wheel-dip, her first wheel-dip ceremony of the trip. Once we got to the YMCA and realized that we only needed to ride circles around the parking lot for 15 minutes to get our speedometers to read 100, we did just that and patted ourselves on the back for another completed century ride. After a wonderful BBQ cooked by the members of the YMCA Teen Club, we took them on in a game of dodgeball and discovered that dodging road kill, dogs, and wild bears is easier than dodging playground balls.

-Rebecca Theise

Hey guys! So today was the ride from Pontiac, Illinois to Peru, Illinois – about 65 miles. I was sweep today, meaning that me and my sweep partner, Brett, leave the host location after everyone else and make sure that everyone on our ride is doing alright. We carry an extra tire in addition to all of the normal bike repair parts, and ride at the back to make sure that no one gets left behind. Because we can’t pass any riders, no matter what speed they are, we get to take a lot of breaks that we probably wouldn’t. Let’s admit it, rural Illinois is probably not the most exciting ride, so I will instead talk about all of our breaks.

Break 1: 100 yards out of host. Leaned our bikes together to make a camera tripod and took pictures in front of the Rt. 66 mural in Pontiac.

Break 2: 400 yards out of host. Bathroom break at the supermarket.

Break 3: Two miles out of host, Brett gets a call from another rider informing us that the road up ahead is really bad, and that we are taking a detour to a parallel road, and that the turns have been chalked for us – this adds about two miles to the ride.

Break 4: Five miles out. Brett hydrates some cornfields.

Break 5: Fifteen miles out. Brett buys a snack – snickers bar – and I eat some energy bar and we talk to a local at the gas station about BnB.

Break 6: Twenty-five miles out. My knee is really hurting so we stop to stretch, but we wanted to stop in the shade, so we stopped under some trees in front of a house, but the house had a dog chained to it, and the dog was very angry – stressful.

Break 7: Thirty miles out. We catch up to some other riders, so we have to stop at the gas station that they’re at. Another bathroom/snack break.

Break 8: Thirty-one miles out – still close to other riders so we nap by the side of the road for fifteen minutes in a wonderful shady area. It is THE BEST break.

Break 9: Forty miles out. LUNCH YAY we meet up with a bunch of other riders and the van and trailer at our lunch stop in an elementary school parking lot. Mini-nap.

Break 10: Forty-five miles out. A really little Cessna-looking plane is flying low over the fields and really close to us, so Brett tries to take pictures while riding, but he drops his camera and it pretty much explodes. We stop and he puts it back together and it miraculously turns on and we get a bunch of pictures!

Break 11: Sixty-three miles out. We run over some glass on the way onto US-6, Brett gets a flat. While changing it (and slipping a business card between his tire and his tube so that the tube does not go through the ripped tire) we notice that one of his spokes came off, so I screw it back in.

Break 12: Sixty-five miles out YAYAYAYAYAY WE GET INTO HOST! Actually today (due to the incredibly leisurely pace that sweep allows/requires) the ride was pretty easy and fun (except for bad morning headwind) so getting into host is nice, but not terrific or anything.

Yay showers were at the host site (this is the best. You can just walk there and shower and it’s awesome and there’s no need to walk in your gross incubating spandex through the humid sweaty air and get lost on the way to showers that are wayyy too long of a walk (like, ¾ of a mile counts as this when it’s right after a ride) away, and then get sweaty and lost again on the way back. So I LOVE on-site showers). And I learned a lot about Pontiac, Illinois when talking to locals in the host kitchen, and I iced my knees, and people napped/hung out, and we went to a local bike store but they did not give us a discount, but then Dairy Queen gave us free cones and Home Depot donated chalkboard paint, so that was cool.

Story of Pontiac: There were once upon a time a lot of glaciers. They made the Illinois river and also the Mississippi. These rivers have changed their course through time but still go along glacial paths. Some Native American tribe enacts a siege on another Native American tribe on top of some rock, and one of the tribes starves to death. Irish immigrants dug the canal in 1835, that (the Illinois-Michigan canal) and the Illinois river carried products of the town to the rest of the world. The town had a lot of coal in mines under it and used it (two tons of coal to one ton of Zinc) to smelt zinc, and also to make clocks, and some other stuff. Illinois creates Starved Rock State Park. A hosting couple moved to Pontiac after previously living at the intersection of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, where there is a continental divide that runs along the inter-Dakota border, and splits rainfall that then either goes into the Hudson Bay, or the Mississippi. Pontiac runs out of coal in the 1960s, but then transitions to using the Illinois river for a lot of electric power, making electricity in the city really cheap and encouraging companies such as a steel-coating mill and Caterpillar plants to come. Bike and Build comes to Pontiac! I lose ALL of my biking socks in the group laundry because they are all in a mesh bag that gets lost. Paige’s mom visits from St. Louis and brings us butter-cake (delicious). I go to sleep at 8 pm, yay!

Today we rode from Gilman, Il. to Pontiac, Il it was more corn corn and more corn it was so much fun the scenary was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The most eventful thing we saw on the ride today was two wings to a windmill. So instead of telling you about the glorious sights of corn I¡¦m going to tell you a little about my fellow riders.

Justine Avila- while riding Justine has a sway known as the ¡§gangsta sway¡¨ you can see it from a mile away, and that¡¦s her signature pedaling style.

Cameron Blake- Cameron also known as ¡§Cammy-Cakes¡¨ is often a riding partner of mine because he so dreamy with his sweet aero bars on his bike.

Jake Bloom- Jake is a human gas dispenser, and is always one to supply a funny joke.

Adrienne Carey- Adrienne has amazing yellow and blue army bar tape. She had the best 4th of July decorations thanks to a mail drop package.

Sarah Cocuzzo - Sarah is our resident sex education teacher on our trip. Next year she will be doing AmeriCorps and teaching sex ed. in NYC

Hailey Dady - Hailey is one of our four fearless leaders. She is an amazing dancer and gives great back rubs to wake us up in the mornings.

Anthony Derrick - Is our resident speed demon and is always the leader of our pack and often finds himself lost when he ahead of himself.

Chaz Firestone - He is a very good commencement speaker: he was the speaker at our honorary graduation ceremony for Anthony L.

Katie Getsie - Also known as "Getsie-Face" she is also known to have a stain on her Thermarest from A and D Baby Cream Ointment.

Vidya - Vidya is known to take a walk on the wild side, she has a bit of a gambling problem. Her current debt is that she has to eat 100 chicken nuggets within an hour and the date is TBD¡K. Check back for updates.

Benjamin Gronowski - Ben was the first person to pee off his bike while riding, VERY impressive!!!

Paige Hicks - Paige is our resident Harry Potter NERD!!! She also just recently (just now) got a sweet tattoo that says "born to ride" smack dab in the middle of her forehead.

Brian Hochman - Bri-Bri is one of our fearless leaders on our trip. He drives like a grandma when he drives in the van. His best van experience to date was when the trailer accidentally became unhitched from the van while he was driving.

Chris Hughes - Chris is our tallest rider standing at 6'4", riding a giant Giant- XXL

Sam Kent - Sam is obsessed with thrift store shopping. If there is one in a town he is there. He's got a wicked cool tattoo on his chest of a skull and cross bones done with a sharpie, since the temporary tattoos were starting to run up his budget from the dollar general.

Amy Labar ¡V also known as Yamy has the best wisdom teeth scars on this trip. She¡¦s also the only rider on our trip that was happy to see Ghana beat the US in the world cup.

Anthony Lazarus - Is our sweet little English baby, he is known for his quick witted one liners. He often uses confusing British slang: for example, due to his influence, push-ups are known as ¡§press ups¡¨ on our trip.

Brett Major - Also known as ¡§The City¡¨ because of a temporary tattoo purchase that declared "Welcome to The City" Brett is known to love children of all ages and will jump at any chance to run the bike clinics

Brittany - she goes to UPenn and is a fellow Grad student. she is such a sweetheart her smile glistens in the sun.

Olivia Matheson - Olivia is a superhero in disguise, due to her star cape that bellows in the wind.

Gabe Ofiesh - One word can describe Gabe and that is his Moustache. It can always be discovered on the second floor of the Xenos church.

Noam Rosenthal - Also known as the garden gnome; is known for riding into mailboxes and falling into ponds.

Hassan Shalla - Best story teller ever and is famous for his guest appearance in Aladdin.

Spencer Smitherman - Also known as Spency, he spends his budget on sunscreen (5 bottles used and counting).

Elizabeth Snow - Easily has the most bruises from riding and then proceeding to fall down¡K..while going up hill.

Mary Stevens - her current nickname is ¡§buttrock¡¨ for her choice in musical genres and can always be found playing cribbage.

Maddy Sturm - our resident rugby player and our donation magic queen.

Rebecca Theise - rides an extra small bike one of two extra smalls on the trip and has the most flats to date.

Mallory Wood - Meowallry is the best! and is our resident cheerleader providing encouragement on the road.

Continue reading and stay tuned for more interesting facts along our route!

Hello all! Today we travelled from West Lafayette, Indiana to Gilman, Illinois, so we had not only a state line to cross but a time zone change. We all got to relive an hour of our lives or just got an extra hour in our day depending on how you look at it. After waking up at 5:00 for a third day in a row and an awesome breakfast we headed out for our 80 mile ride. The first part of the ride was slightly hilly. Certainly it was nothing compared to what we’ve seen earlier in every other state we’ve been through, but by Indiana standards I’m sure it was hilly. We entered central time at some point between West Lafayette and the boarder and then got to the boarder around mile 30. Brittany and I road to the border together and played 20 questions the Bike & Build way meaning one person thinks of something and everyone else asks as many questions as necessary to figure out what it is, so it turns into 100 questions. We had a good time and I thought of many Bike & Build themed things including Gabe’s mustache. At the boarder we took some pictures and then road the rest of the way to lunch with Chaz and Theise and sang songs. Lunch was the usual PB&J and potato chips. After lunch we had a sweet tail wind for about 20 miles while we were going north on route 1. We were all going 20 miles per hour with minimal effort. With about 15 miles left to go we turned west again and were met with a head wind. Our pace slowed to about 11 mph. After rolling through the town before Gilman, which was about 10 miles away, we were able to see the Gilman water tower. This begins the part of the trip in which I will judge my closeness to the next town based on how far away the water tower is. After finally arriving in Gilman we headed to shower at the high school just down the street from our host the Gilman United Methodist Church. Some people went and checked out the town in the afternoon and others including myself napped. We had a delicious dinner provided by members of the church and had a presentation afterwards. We did a bike clinic after dinner with a few children. They were pretty good on their bikes and after some initial shyness seemed to warm up to us. We had another round of affordable housing presentations that we all had to prepare beforehand. Anthony D. and Sarah did a couple case studies and Chaz and Katy did a presentation on homelessness. Both were very good. Now things are winding down for the night with some spontaneous dancing including one very special dance from Sam and Spencer. Tomorrow we head to Pontiac, IL.

Liz Snow

Today the Bike and Builders rode from Hartford City, Indiana to West Lafayette, Indiana. The ride was a total of 86 miles, 80 of which were on highway 26. The terrain was mostly flat with the occasional hill which made riding relatively easy. However, with a heavy head wind in our face the conditions were not conducive to fast cycling. Another element that made today’s ride particularly hard on everyone was the heat. The temperature was in the low 90’s with the heat index climbing into the high 90’s from the high humidity.

Because of these conditions all of us were eager to get on the road as early as possible and ride hard to get most of the miles of the day out of the way before the heat of the day arrived. Some groups formed pacelines to help crank through the miles, but after about 20 miles most of us stopped due to the stress that it puts on everyone’s body. Pacelines, although effective for short periods of time, will cause many riders lower back pain and stiffness since the style of riding is so rigid.

We had our first lunch at about mile 40 and we had a water and snack break with the local habitat director at about mile 75 at his home. To break up the long day, many of us stopped under trees to take naps and our route leader Brian got three dollars worth of donation magic at a CVS.

Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day by Bike and Build standards, but everyone managed to crank out the long hot mileage despite having just completed our first century ride yesterday. Tomorrow we have a 5am wake up and 75 miles to ride, but a state line to look forward to. Illinois here we come!

Spencer Smitherman

Lucky me, I’ve been assigned a particularly meaningful journal day! Today marked quite a few defining moments in our trip. After a 5am wakeup, we packed our gear into the trailer, ate a wonderful breakfast provided by our hosts at Sinclair Community College, and got out the door by 6:30am. We had the wonderful privilege of being given a police escort out of the city of Dayton, so officers Watkins, Tipton, Hamby, and Wolfrod led us safely though the city streets and blocked traffic for the first 10 miles of our ride. I like to think we were the very first parade on this 4th of July in the whole country.

We stopped for a rousing chorus of the national anthem, and once again got on our way to what would ultimately end up being a 103 mile day. It was the first century (100 mile ride) of our trip! Today also marked the day that we passed the 1000 mile mark, as well as the day we rode into Indiana. We’re staying this evening at St John’s Riedman Memorial School in Hartford City IN, and the hosts were kind enough to take time our of their 4th of July schedule to provide us with a delicious BBQ meal and topped it off with ice cream Sundays. It’s really incredible to see the generosity we’re being shown along the way and how much our trip means to people.

The ride today was particularly hot but the flat landscape has been giving us a bit of a break. The traffic has seemed to have lessened also, so it’s been much better for conversation along the ride. We’ve figured out that a few good stories can really make the miles fly by. We stopped at mile 40 for lunch and mile 75 for second lunch. As our fore fathers said, the only thing better than lunch is 2nd lunch! We got into Hartford city and finished our day off right with showers from a hose. We have air conditioning for sleeping tonight as well. Truly a memorable 4th of July!

-Hassan Shalla

Dayton, Ohio Build Day

This morning we got to sleep in until 6:45, which was really exciting! We had an amazing breakfast, thanks to Dayton Habitat (shout outs to Rick Willis, Frieda, Melanie, and everyone else who made our stay in Dayton unbelievably comfortable and enjoyable). After breakfast we were shuttled to our build site Stratsburg St. in Eaton. Stratsburg Street had several habitat houses that Bike and Build trips from previous years had worked on, so we got to see what the final product would look like. At our house, our job for the day was to put up drywall, which we haven’t done before.

We jumped right into the job, starting with ceilings and working our way down on the walls. Drywall is used for fireproofing, insulation, and soundproofing. We split into groups and each took a room to drywall. We also had one group cutting the drywall into specific sizes. The ceiling is the hardest part because it requires two people to stand on a bench and hold the drywall up while one more person drills it in place. Walls were easier because we didn’t have to hold them up as high. We were working with Habitat workers who really knew what they were doing, and they were very helpful in teaching us how to be efficient and exact.

We took a lunch break in the middle of the day and had some delicious pasta and salad. We also had a few people (Anthony D, Jake, and a few others) interviewed by the local news channel in Dayton. We got to see the segment later, and everyone did a great job explaining our cause and our trip.

We did the same job after lunch, but it never got monotonous because each piece of drywall was an adventure that required creativity and ingenuity. Some pieces needed to be cut around light or electric sockets using box knives and compass knives, which cut perfect circles. Some pieces went over windows, so we had to saw out around the window after installation. At the end of the day, most of the house was completely covered in drywall, which was awesome!

-Noam Rosenthal

Hi Family and Friends!! July 1st, 2010
Today was indeed a great day for almost everyone. 40 miles, sunny skies, bike paths, good friends, aaaannnnnndddd FREE CHIPOTLE!!! We rode from Gambier, OH into Columbus, OH. Days like today allow you, well really more like give you the time to sit back and look at the life we are living. Sometimes it still hits me, the idea that we are bicycling across the country. I mean who does that?
On the personal side of things, I spent the day with Anthony Derrick talking about so many topics. I think we could have written a book together if we tried. We covered so many topics like politics, religion, civil rights, war, and other very smart sounding subjects. And the conversation made the 40 miles fly by. I had a great time and finally spent time to truly get to know Anthony, the wayward soul (for always getting lost, not actually for being a wayward soul). I mean if you want to get to know an interesting person, talk to Anthony. But the neat thought is that as wonderful as a time I had with Anthony, I have 28 more people to get to know, to laugh with, and to have long daydreamy conversations with. It is a truly irreplaceable bond that I will have with every single rider on this trip. And every person here will get to know people in a set of circumstances that no one will ever know them in again. I mean have you ever spent 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with complete strangers in some of the most challenging moments of your life? It’s an unusual set of circumstances to say the least. I am so excited for the bike dates ahead, for the cheerleading up hills, for the bizarre conversations down hills, and the great food.
On a lighter note and less sappy note, today was mail drop!! I went with Brian, Mary, Sam, Spencer, and Maddie to go get the mail which was an adventure. We got lost but once we found it we were so overwhelmed with just how much there was! I mean the attendant just kept bringing more and more out and we left with a van full of love. That being said thank you SOOO much for taking the time to send those packages and letters. I think I can speak for many when I say that nothing is quite like a box or a letter from the people that believe in you the most. It’s one of the most encouraging moments I’ve discovered so far on this trip.
We are spending the night in Xenos Church which has an awesome sound system and resulted in a lot of us singing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs. Overall, an A+ day. Tomorrow, Dayton!!

-Olivia Matheson

Gambier, OH

Ohio is a tricky state – think you’ve finally hit the flats after all those East Coast Mountains, and *BOO!* a surprise mini-mountain around the corner!

I can’t believe we were in Akron/Tallmadge just this morning. Today was an 86 mile day...a bit flatter than our last 80+ mile day, but still a challenge.

Bike and Build would be so much harder if it weren’t for all the great people both on the trip and along the way. Case in point, today we stopped to have lunch at the 40ish mile marker in the parking lot of Wooster Fire Division Headquarters Station No. 1. Assistant Chief Frank Kuntz and a friendly fellow cyclist and firefighter named Rody were happy to not just loan us some space, but set up cones to reserve it for us. They also provided us access to unlimited ice and water, as well as ever-important restrooms.

But wait! It gets even better! Rody pulled out a fire truck for us to explore and take pictures in front of, much like most of us did at some point or another on elementary school field trips. Paige and Mary even got to sport some sweet firefighting attire, and those who missed the photo op received Junior Firefighter badges.

Unlike the first half of the day, the second half provided a good challenge, but it was easily overcome with the help of Hassan’s riddles and Katy and Adrienne’s stories. We even managed to “donation magic” some free soft serve ice cream from the generous folks at Shreve’s Dari-Bar.

Tonight we’re staying at Kenyon College in ACTUAL DORM ROOMS! It’s such an exciting treat to sleep on real mattresses with sheets. It seems like everyone might turn in early tonight just to revel in this luxury, especially because we are all full and content after the delicious chili (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) that dinner crew prepared for the group. A special shout-out to the folks at Village Market for their generous donation of beef, spices, and garlic, which made tonight’s dinner possible.

-Brittany Maslowsky

Today was an eventful day. Everywhere we’ve traveled we met some truly kind and hospitable people. Today was no exception. Our ride was a short 41 miles into Akron, OH. Thankfully, the hills and mountains have flattened so we made it to town before noon. We got a few recommendations from some locals to head to Fred’s Diner for lunch. About 20 of us ended up there and enjoyed some incredible food. As we went up to pay our bills we were told that the owner had taken care of our bills and the meal was free. We cannot thank Fred’s Diner enough for their hospitality. If I ever end up in Akron again I will definitely be making a stop at Fred’s.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting showered up, napping outside and enjoying the weather. We had a wonderful dinner provided to us by the First Church of God. It is people like these who nourish our bodies and enable us to complete this journey. Thanks again!

Anthony, a rider on our trip recently graduated from graduate school in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is from Leicester, England and missed his own graduation to ride across the US for affordable housing. Tonight we threw together a graduation ceremony for him complete with the UK national anthem, a homemade diploma, confetti, and a graduation gown. Chaz was our keynote speaker. It was hilarious and a lot of fun. I think most of us enjoyed it more than our own graduations.

Wake up at 5 AM tomorrow so we’re off to bed. Thanks to everyone for all your support!

Brett Major

The description of how the events of our second build day unfolded is delivered in a style that is crafted in the UK. In keeping with tradition, the usual conversation starter used in the UK, is also the first thing that I have to write about today – the weather. It was sunny, it rained, sun, rain.

The second build day fell in Youngstown, and the Bike and Builders were transported a short van journey away from our host at St. John’s Episcopal Church to work on another Habitat for Humanity house. Unfortunately the prospective homeowner could not join us on the build day (each homeowner has to fulfill a required amount of ‘sweat equity’ in the construction of the house) as they were at work.

Fortunately, most of bike and builders were placed inside the second Habitat home and so kept out of the heat and the rain showers, as the house began to near completion. The day, led by Monica from Habitat, was spent applying the finishing touches. This included fitting trim, filling in any gaps to ensure a smooth finish, and then painting the various frames around doors, windows etc…

Whilst construction of a house can be perceived as a mere assembly of parts, this build day saw the transformation of parts into somebody’s home. In a similar fashion to taking our bike out of its cardboard packaging, in fitting lights, locks and plastering it with stickers; the house was preparing to be unboxed.

The evening was spent back at St. John’s, where we watched the ‘movie’ “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” followed by a great meal provided by our host. After this, Bike & Build fell asleep under the comfort of the air conditioner. Sleepy smiles.

- Anthony Lazarus

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Today, we biked about 50 miles from Franklin, PA to Youngstown, OH – crossing our 4th state line, where we stopped for both lunch and the requisite pictures with our bikes in hand.

In the first half of the ride, almost all of the riders encountered a very steep hill at around the same time. After a brief pause for some of us at the bottom, we all began our assault on the mountain. With a few starts, stops, and tumbles, we conquered the mountain and decided that we had reached the highest point in the US, the Mt. McKinley of Ohio.

For dinner, we enjoyed an awesome barbecue from the Newman Catholic Ministry of Youngstown State University, or YSU, as we have seen all over town. Their mascot is a penguin all wrapped up in a scarf and a hat – definitely ready for the cold weather. Between the burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, salad and pies, they managed to have more food than even we could eat, and believe me, 30 twenty-somethings can eat an astounding amount after biking all day!

We’re currently all laying on our Thermarests (air mattresses that Bike & Build provides which we are all very attached to – I even had a dream a few nights ago that someone stole mine), eating ice cream, watching Boondock Saints, and sharing the jokes on our popsicle sticks. While it is only 9:15 pm and we get to sleep in a bit tomorrow because we are not riding, we are all starting to fall asleep. It has been a good day, and I am certainly excited for the build day tomorrow!

-Amy Labar

What a great day of biking! Wide shoulders and bike trails, everything you need to spark some quality biking conversations. Hassan, Adrienne, Mary, and I joined Hailey in a new biking diet - stopping every hour for some chow time. Let me tell you, the ‘eat lots and eat often’ diet works just fine in my book. After a mighty tasty pb & j….. and chips and cookie and lord knows what else sandwich, we headed out again. Right after lunch there was a brutal hill, it seemed to me at least a 90 degree grade best fit for rock climbers and not us simple biking folk. However, after a herculean struggle, salvation was found in the form of a flat bike path. Never has cement looked so darn good to me. Sarah has just informed me that this is delightfully cheesy, hmmmm…. Anyhow, when we got in town everyone went to the Celtic Cafe to watch the Ghana vs U.S. soccer game (fyi we lost). Showers and pizza ensued. Mary, Mallory, and I went to get some pre-dinner dinner at one of the local eateries… no such thing as too much food! Everyone bummed out for a bit watching the Matrix then headed over to the Celtic Cafe for some good ol’ time out on the town (apparently this is not a phrase in common usage). Spencie, Mary and I also moseyed around the park, which had a fantastic fountain. The Celtic Cafe gave everyone shirts for free. Needless to say, the next day everyone was marching around wearing uniform green Celtic Cafe t-shirts. Huge shout out to Karn Produce for their nectarines and Celtic Cafe for the shirts and the good times.

Over and out,
Sammy Kent

Today was another good day for the bike and builders. Compared to previous days the roads have been comparatively clear and it was a good day for riding. The shoulders of the road were wide enough to accommodate two riders for some conversations and we avoided the few road hazards that did come our way. The one hazard we couldn’t avoid was a pterodactyl in the form of Gabe, who snuck up behind unsuspecting riders who weren’t looking over their shoulders enough and scared them with loud noises.

Later on in the ride we saw some great lake views and some riders got to swim in the reservoir that the road went alongside near our final destination. We rode into Warren, PA to our host, which was the Warren YMCA. We have showers on site, which is great, and a delicious meal cooked by the assigned dinner crew for the night. The YMCA also has computers with internet which is a rare luxury on Bike & Build.

This afternoon was also our family meeting, which is an opportunity for all of us to get together and talk about how the ride is going for us. It always makes me happy to hear the nice things people have to say about their fellow riders and their experiences. Even when people talk about things that went wrong they have a positive attitude about it. We joke about our less pleasant experiences and focus on our good experiences. Spencer made a good point today when he pointed out that nobody has complained at all on the trip so far. Even with all of the inconvenient things that happen to people they know that complaining doesn’t help anybody feel better. I’m so happy to be on Bike & Build with all these great people! See you down the road…..

Chris Hughes

Wysox, PA to Wellsboro, PA

After a group snuggle session the night before while watching Tina Fey’s Baby Mama, P2Sers awoke the next morning to a fog-laden valley. We pack up and hit the road in a rapid manner, fueled by breakfast and the promise of a pool in Wellsboro. Brian drives the van while Noam and Brittany tail the pack as sweep. A bad bear pun decorates today’s cue sheet: “Is someone bearing down on you?”

We hit two different main streets today, but the bulk of our time is spent on US 6, heading west. Only 56 miles on the day and the road is enjoyable, but slightly hilly. We have become accustomed to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, which are preferable to the mountains of New York. I rolled into the Wellsboro United Methodist Church with Liz a little after 1 in the afternoon and we quickly found the community pool across the street. Thankfully, there was a diving board. Some talented Bike & Builders showed up the group of middle schoolers chilling in the shade. In the words of Cameron, “this must be where the cool kids all hang out”.
After a nice swim and a chilly shower, we hit the streets to see what downtown Wellsboro has to offer. The answer: a lot! We found a bike shop, called Country Ski & Shop right down the block from the UMC. Everyone working there was incredibly nice and Anthony Derrick worked some donation magic to get our group a new bike pump, a crucial piece of equipment we had been lacking. People restocked on cliff bars and handlebar tape.

Dinner was provided by the UMC, a delicious meal of lasagna and various pasta-stuffs. We filled up and explored the night life of the town, with many people sprinting to make a 7 o’clock showing of The A Team at the movie theater down the street. Others hit up the Gas Light Bar & Grill, playing some shuffle board and watching the College World Series of Baseball. We head back to the host and hit the thermarest, getting pumped up for 45 miles into Coudersport, PA the next day.

-Paige Hicks

June 22nd

This morning began with what has more or less become our morning routine. We woke up around 6, packed our bags, cleaned up our host site, ate breakfast, and said our goodbyes and thank you’s to our friends in Binghamton at High Street Methodist Church. We were on the road by 8 and pedaling hard. Even though we had only been off our bikes for a day, we were all excited to be on the road again. On the smooth, flat roads outside Binghamton, we were able to make it to the Pennsylvania state border by around 10:30. We stopped, ate lunch here, and took group photos on each others shoulders with the “Welcome to Pennsylvania” sign. We hopped back on the road after lunch, and were able to make it to our host site, the Standing Stone Community Vesper Church of Wysox, Pennsylvania, by about 1 in the afternoon.

Easily the earliest we have arrived at our host site so far, we were a little surprised by how much free time we had. Most of us used this time to relax, read, journal, play Frisbee, and nap. Our hosts were kind enough to take us over to the showers at the YMCA, where we got cleaned up from our day of riding. After the group had showered, we ate the awesome dinner our hosts had prepared for us, which included salad, macaroni, beans, coleslaw, potato salad, sandwiches, and all kinds of desert. Over dinner, we found out that a few riders had seen a bear on the ride today! It followed a cat across the street right in front of them while they were riding, and they stopped and watched it for a bit. We are convinced this is the same bear that Theise saw in New York, and that the bear is following us on our trip to Seattle. This lead to many bear related jokes over dinner. It’s still pretty early, so we’ll probably use the rest of the evening to clean our bikes, watch a movie, and rest up for what’s rumored to be a hilly day tomorrow.

-Ben Gronowski

Monday, June 21st

After a couple of hard days of biking, Monday was a welcome break from the saddle in Binghamton, NY. Previously scheduled as a build day, we actually ended up having a day off. Our entire crew broke up into a few groups for a variety of activities. Many people were lured to Ithaca, NY to swim in the gorges, especially the Cornell students! Others of us ended up going to Toy Story 3, which got some rave reviews, especially from Brian who spearheaded the Toy Store Love movement.

The rest of us walked around Binghamton and ate at a number of restaurants with each meal punctuated by a visit to the Family Dollar, a dollar store that Mallory was unimpressed to discover contains many items more expensive than a dollar! We ate at a Greek restaurant, played cards at a local tavern- which introduced us to “spedies,” some sort of local chicken sandwich maybe and then went to a diner. The diner had a signed copy of a picture of the red headed guy from Happy Days, which prompted the Happy Days tune to be stuck in the head of many of us. Overall, the day off in Binghamton was a blast in a city unlike any other I’ve been to!

-Vidya Gopinath

Sunday June 20, 2010

Hello everyone! Extra early wake up today, 5 am. I thought waking up that early was going to be horrible but it was actually wonderful because it meant we got to ride when it was cooler out and with very few cars on the road. We biked from Roscoe, NY to Binghamton, NY today for a total of 82 miles. Which marks the farthest I’ve ever biked in one day! The length of the day meant we got DOUBLE LUNCH! Nothing is quite as wonderful as seeing our lovely painted trailer around the bend and having a chance to fill up on orange slices and Gatorade before hitting the road again.

Some highlights from the ride today:
The scenery in the morning. The fog in the mountains was beautiful. Lots of lakes and ponds to look at.
A really fantastic descent where I hit 49 miles an hour!!
Being chased by a 5 pound fluff ball of a dog who had no chance of ever catching up.
The head groups chalked some sweet designs on the road for us!

Also today, we had a real dog encounter. A Labrador retriever chased Anthony down on his bike. Anthony thought that he had gotten away as the dog had slowed down but apparently it hadn’t quite given up and decided to come back around. Luckily by this time He had his water bottle out and was able to squirt the dog right on the nose with a hefty dose of Gatorade and the dog slowed up. Summary: Anthony – 1 Dog – 0 Awesome!

Tomorrow is our wonderful and much needed day off here in Binghamton. There are talks of carousel rides, maybe a trip to the local pool, and of course lots of sleeping. Thanks to everyone for their support. See you soon.

-Katy Getsie

Day 5: 72 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY to Roscoe, NY

Not even the bountiful breakfast buffet provided by the St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Poughkeepsie could prepare us for what was easily the most difficult riding day of our trip thus far. Just over 70 mountainous miles stood between us and our host location, Roscoe Central School in Roscoe, NY, a hilly town with under 600 residents. (Our arrival increased the town's population by 5%). And added to our highest mileage and steepest terrain so far were temperatures approaching 90 degrees, another trip record.

But of course that couldn't stop the P2S Bike & Builders, even if it slowed many of us down. The last riders arrived to the host after 6pm, capping a 10-hour ride with many ups and downs. The main action of the morning was a short jaunt across a bridge overlooking the Hudson River, followed by a beautiful but tiring climb up a nicely paved mountain trail, which ended with a gorgeous view of the region we've been riding through. After a lot of photos, we had a nice descent to lunch, which was a little quicker than usual because of the anticipated terrain ahead. Sure enough, the remaining 30 miles were packed with climbs, including one particular short but unforgivingly steep incline that had us all standing in our saddles, wishing for easier gears. Like many of the climbs on the trip, this one had a brief flat stretch halfway up that deceived us into thinking we had reached the summit, only to discover more impossibily steep pavement just a few yards later.

Still, we all made it up, which has become a familiar story here. Each impossible climb turns out not to be, and each rider reaches the top, even if helped by multiple breaks along the way. Though nearly each ride has been more difficult than the last, each arrival continues to convince that we really can make it all the way to Seattle.

Of course, riding wasn't all we did today. One rider found herself in the presence of a black bear nonchalantly crossing the road in front of her, and another, Liz Snow, celebrated her 21st birthday wearing the now-customary pink tutu bestowed upon aging riders. Once we arrived in Roscoe, we also hosted a bike safety and maintenance clinic for some of the local children, who turned out to have mastered many of the maneuvers already and needed little help from us. We're sure Molly, Libby, Eric and Desmond will make wonderful Bike & Builders one day. The final event was dinner -- a delicious selection of various homemade lasagnas (with brownies and cookies for dessert) -- because the exhausting day put our heads on our pillows by 8:30pm, and because wakeup tomorrow is at 5am on account of 85 expected miles of riding through similar terrain. As one rider likes to say at the peaks of his climbs, Hoo-rah.

-- Chaz Firestone

As the sun rose over Connecticut, all we intrepid Bike & Builders enjoyed an extra hour of sleep in the blue and grey gymnasium of the Kent School. We awoke to a breakfast of cereal and bananas, provided by Kent’s local Habitat chapter, Northwestern Connecticut Habitat for Humanity. Today’s weather was spectacular for biking—it was eighty degrees and sunny, providing a welcome change to the last few days’ clouds and rain. The route today crossed into New York from Connecticut, putting us into the third state of our agenda. It’s pretty hard to believe that we’ve already biked all the way across Connecticut, but the miles don’t lie. This trip, at times, seems like such an insurmountable task—to bike across the country and to spread the word of affordable housing both are incredibly daunting prospects—but when we ride our bikes, it is like nothing in the world can hold us back.
And it is a good thing that that feeling accompanies our time in the saddle because, though it was only a 30 mile day, today was fraught with wrong turns and missed directions, and was the day that we all went over our very first mountain. From the start, the group I was riding in took a series of wrong turns. We were all certain that we were on cue sheet as we were about to turn onto NY-22, when we got a call from one of our leaders asking us if we’d seen the covered bridge. We, of course, had not. Instead of backtracking however, we decided that a simple reroute could get us back on track, and so we charged on ahead to find our own way to NY-55. Thankfully, nobody in the group (Cameron, Jake, Anthony, Brittany, Maddie, and I) was too deterred by our missed directions. As it happens, Anthony and I have managed to get lost some seven times between the two of us, so we were quite experienced being found, as well. As we were coming down 22, we saw a fleet of riders coming back at us from the opposite direction. They all had managed to get lost, as well! Gabe was sitting at the junction, funneling us all into Co. Rd. 6 in last-ditch (and thankfully successful) attempt to get us all going back in the right direction.
The foothills of New York are truly incredible scenery to bike through, so I don’t anticipate that any of the people who took wrong turns were too frustrated by their respective detours—even if it added roughly 10-15 miles to their route. Where those detours did come back with a vengeance, however, was shortly after getting onto route Co. Rd. 21, where we entered into a 1,000-ft climb over only three miles of road. The asphalt pitched skyward in front of us as we ground our gears and prayed to our respective higher powers to get us to the top of the mountain. Unsurprisingly, some of us take hills better than others, so those of us who could passed those of us who were struggling and made sure to offer them ample words of encouragement along the way. Of course, that which goes up must come down; on the other side of this beastly hill, we found a descent to match. Flying down the side of a mountain at 40+ miles per hour really makes you sit back and take stock of your life. All of those hours on the couch come back to you; all of the times you forewent some experience for safety and comfort; all of the moments you spent not feeling the wind whipping past your face. For every grinding climb that you can’t imagine ever finishing, there is a near-euphoric descent that reminds you why you put up with all the pain.
Tonight we’re staying at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Mansion Street in Poughkeepsie, NY. The congregation provided us with a wonderful hot dinner, complete with pizza, lasagna, some truly delicious corn chowder, and even ice cream sundaes. Though it may become routine, it is no less incredible that each and every time we stop in a town for the night, there are men and women who take time out of their own schedules to make us feel welcome, to feed and house us, and to make sure we are well prepared to tackle another day’s ride. We could never do it without them, and all we can hope is that they truly understand the depths of our gratitude.

Anthony Derrick

Today was a day for hills. Coming from Nebraska my definition of hills in quite different and what we rode today would be considered mountains. I know before long I will learn truly what a mountain is like to climb. But today was a learning day and within the first 5 miles Mallory, Mary, Kaitlin, and I were already taking a nap on the side of the road. The rest of the day we tackled the hills together, got chanced by a pit bull, and dreamed of lunch. After finally 36 miles and hours of climbing hills we finally made it to our lunch stop where our fearless leader Brian was waiting with lunch. Because of our amazing hosts we were able to have more then just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our lunch stop. Now that our stomachs were stuffed with food we headed back to the road. Lucky for us we had finally climbed to the top of the hill and no more hills could be seen above us. From there we were hopeful for at least a little down hill and we were blessed with more then that. The remaining 14 miles were mostly down hill. At the end of the day it is always great to coast into town with the high of a down hill. It really makes you forget about the pain of the up hills. By the end of the day we were lying back and relaxing in the valley which surrounded us. A couple of us started to play Frisbee and I finally learned how to throw one correctly. In all it was an amazing start of a journey which none of us can even imagine how it will end. I’m excited about this journey and of course learning from each of the riders on the ride.

Hailey Dady
(Fearless Leader)

6/16/10

Today we rode 60 miles from Pomfret to Granby, CT. After a phenomenal hot breakfast provided by First Congregational Church of Pomfret, we set off through the rolling hills of Connecticut. This leg of the trip was particularly fun for me, as I grew up in the area and we even briefly rode through my hometown! When I say rolling hills, though, I really mean it – seemingly endless uphills followed by long, speedy coasts downhill. We had fun seeing how fast we could go on the downhills (I got up to 36 mph), and then slowly chugged back up again (at least I was taking the slow and steady tactic), over and over. The scenery was gorgeous and we came across a few surprises along the way, including a farm with sheep and a llama. The weather was lovely in the morning, but rainclouds threatened us in the afternoon. Luckily it never amounted to more than a light drizzle. Now we’re safe and sound at the First Congregational Church of Granby (yep, we’ve got a lot of First Congregational Churches in New England). Our hosts have been amazing and the potluck dinner they provided was delicious. They even had a yoga instructor lead us in some stretches and poses – I can’t even tell that my body just biked 60 miles today, it feels so relaxed.

My day of biking was fairly uneventful, but Spencer, Anthony D., Anthony L., and Chris had a pretty exciting adventure that they wanted to make sure I shared. Here’s Spencer with the story and the shout-outs:

“Anthony x2 and I got lost, but ended up finding our way to a house in Broad Brook to ask for directions from a woman named Michele, her son Rhys, and the postman, Lee. Michele went inside, got out an atlas, and started trying to figure out where they needed to go. Halfway through the conversation, Chris showed up, having been separated from his group. Not only did they help with directions, but they also directed us to a great pizza place called Elaine’s, since we had missed the lunch stop. We headed over to the restaurant, where we struck up a conversation with the bartender, Karie, and one of the patrons, Tom. They were super friendly and we ended up ordering the house supreme pizza along with garlic bread, which was delicious. After talking to Tom for a while, he gave a $20 donation to Bike and Build and Karie gave us $5 off of the AWESOME meal. Essentially, Elaine’s fed four hungry riders for $13. Thanks, Elaine’s!!”

- Sarah Cocuzzo

First day on the road! We got up at 6 AM, packed, ate breakfast, and geared up for our first ride of the summer. After a quick route meeting, we headed out to the Providence dock for our wheel dip ceremony. After dipping our wheels in the Atlantic, we started our ride in small groups out of Providence. On our way out, we stopped and took pictures overlooking the city, and one group even managed to taste test some vanilla ice cream on the way out. We couldn’t have asked for better weather – it was sunny the whole way. And the route was beautiful, lots of rolling green hills. We stopped for a peanut butter sandwich lunch at the trailer, and then continued on to mile 30 where we crossed our first state border into Connecticut. We were sure to stop and take lots of pictures. We ended our 40 mile ride in Pomfret, where we were welcomed by wonderful hosts. They prepared an incredible dinner of pasta, fruit, veggies, and of course, yummy desserts.

After our ride, we relaxed, cleaned our bikes, played some games, and painted our trailer. We played lots of Egyptian War and Jungle Speed (two crazy card games). Our trailer looks awesome, thanks to all the riders who helped design and paint it. On one side we painted the map of the U.S., with our route outlined. On the other side, we have a cyclist with Providence and Seattle in the background.

All in all, it was a great first ride of the summer.
-Adrienne Carey

Day two of Bike and Build is in the books and boy is this summer going to be amazing! After a little confusion over the wake up time we all biked over to a Habitat build site in Providence located on Jefferson Ave. We were met by Herman, our Dutch accented Habitat executive director, who promptly put us to work. Splitting into five groups we each took a separate floor in the duplex and got to work. We were off to a fast start working on ‘cutting’ the intersection of the ceiling and wall throughout the duplex, as well and putting a second coat on most of the walls. Throughout the day we kept motivated by coming up with lyrics to a song in honor of our cohort Amy, who has yet to join us on our trip. We were greeted at noon with an unbelievable lunch sponsored by a local BBQ joint. Ribs, chicken, slaw, and cornbread quickly met our ravenous mouths, there was no chance there would be leftovers. Back to work for the second half of the day we put the finishing touches on the trim and played a couple of guessing games. What is dead but still grows? The answer is clearly Gabe’s moustache. As the day came to an end Herman hollered to us announcing that ice cream was on the side of the house. Thinking he had picked up a couple of cartons of the ‘good stuff’ we were all surprised to see (and hear) an ice cream truck parked on the side of the house! After helping ourselves to firecracker pops, ninja turtles, Batman, and shaved ice we completed cleanup at the site. After snapping a few group pictures we rode back to Hillel for some afternoon errands. The excitement is high back at base camp as we prep for our first pre-ride sleep. More updates to come as we will officially begin the biking portion of our trip tomorrow! Wheel dipping ceremony at 8:15!!

-Jake Bloom

6/12/10

Hi All

Day 1 at orientation was AWESOME! I met people from all over the country. I think our group is going to be great. Everyone seems really excited and passionate about the trip. I was a little nervous when I first arrived and found a pile of bikes, bags, and gear spread all over Brown University’s Hillel. But a few ice breakers later and I feel like I have known everyone for 10 years.

I am excited to get out on the road and see all of the sites, but most importantly make a difference in the affordable housing cause!!!! It is an indescribable feeling to be part of a group that will change the world. On another note, I learned how to change my tires tonight. When I first got my bike, I didn’t know the difference between the spoke and the saddle. I feel like a bike professional. Lance ain’t got nothing on this crew!

We rounded off the night with some delicious pizza and homemade cookies. I think food will be a big bonding piece for our group. Apparently, we as cyclists will consume inordinate amounts of food. Some people have even talked about entering food competitions. What ever our personal goal for the summer, we all in this trip together!

Peace. Love. Biking across America
Justine

Today was our last State Line Day. Crossing into Washington was surreal, sad, and exciting all at the same time. But first, let's start at the beginning of the day.

We only had to ride about 30 miles today. It was going to be an easy day, with no climbing at all and we were going to be on a bike path the entire time. The typical Bike & Builders that we have become decided to spend a little extra time in Coeur d'Alene. A small group of us decided to go for a second breakfast and a coffee at a small shop downtown. We enjoyed bagels, pastries and chai tea over a game of cards.

After second breakfast we decided to extend our stay in Coeur d'Alene by renting some sailboats and hanging out on the lake. We spent two hours zipping around Lake Coeur d'Alene on a pair of Hobies – the wind was variable, so we occupied ourselves by jumping from boat to boat, capsizing, and various other pirate activities. At one point, Peter left Eileen, the rookie sailor, to fend for herself on one of the boats. Luckily, she had figured out how to use the mainsheet and tiller to tack the boat and move back in the right direction (and she's proud of being able to use three new words in one sentence!). Meanwhile, Shawn successfully capsized his and Peter's boat and swam to Eileen's boat, leaving Peter to upright the boat himself. Peter learned that it was not nice to be ditching rookie sailors. Bad Peter. Bad. We suggested that he put on a few pounds so that next time he tries to upright a capsized boat he can do it by himself.

It was about 1:30 when we decided to finally get on our bikes and head for Spokane. The wind had picked up by then and we were wishing we were still out on the boats. Instead we had to battle the headwinds for a few hours. We crossed the state line around mile 14. By the time we arrived there, the entire group had been through. As the day had gone by each person added a bit of chalking to the bike path. The chalking spanned over a tenth of a mile, each part a distinct joke, symbol, theme, or story from the trip. There were bikes, dinosaurs, bears, words, song lyrics, a hard cast, and love left along the path. For the sweepers, it was definitely an emotional experience to be the final Bike & Build witnesses of the chalking. Then we realized it was 2:30, we had only ridden 14 miles since the group departed from the host site at 9:00 AM and we still had about 20 miles to ride for the day. We got back on our bikes, slightly disheartened, but full of pride because we pedaled as far as we did. The rest of the ride took us along a beautiful river and into Spokane.

-Eileen and Shawn

Our day began in the old mining town of Wallace, Idaho (where Dante’s Peak was filmed—bet you didn’t know that). Church members cooked us a fantastic breakfast of sourdough pancakes with local huckleberry syrup, sausage, and perfect cantaloupe. The first 22 miles of the day were happily on a manicured bike path, which meant smooth sailing for the First Annual Bike and Build Time Trial. Sweep team was split up around mile 5 where Beth, Ariela and Lauren enjoyed the horticultural wonders of David and Barbara Smith’s side-of-the-bike-path garden. We then discovered a bountiful raspberry bush that just begged for some berry pickers. We were happy to oblige. Justin continued to the time trial, where he snagged the coveted spot of 3rd place, trailing just 9 seconds behind the gold medal winner.

Once reunited, sweep team lounged at Kellogg center, only to follow this early nap with a gondola ride up Silver Mountain. Claiming to be the longest gondola in the world, this attraction also is the new place of employment for a former pastor of Wallace’s United Congregational Church where we stayed the night before. Well, fancy that.

Post-gondola ride, sweep team needed food to replace the energy already expended in the first 12 miles of the day. Bike and Build lunch was far away at mile 35, so we decided to sample local cuisine. Humdinger’s, a drive-in burger joint, became the site of a drawn-out bingefest that delayed us until 2:30pm. All told, sweep team spent about 5 hours in Kellogg. Good town.

The bike path continued along the Coeur d’Alene River, the waters of which were incredibly clear. Despite the pressures of time and distance, sweep team again stopped to enjoy the scenic river...which developed into a two hour sojourn from reality (aka long slumber). Back on the road again, the heavenly bike path ended and we returned once again to Interstate 90. The Fourth of July Pass awaited, marking the gateway to the Coeur d’Alene valley. Passing the appointed lunch spot at approximately 6 PM, sweep team thanked themselves for being smart and getting lunch in Kellogg. The descent began well, but was tainted by Justin’s second flat of the whole trip. However, things always even out, and any stress that was caused by a flat on the interstate was quickly assuaged by the idyllic scenery along Lake Coeur d’Alene. Riding in on the Centennial Trail, we arrived late—but intact—to our host site, where we caught the kitchen right before it closed. And what an amazing dinner! A satisfying end to a luxurious day.

Love to family and friends,
Justin and Beth

Hi folks,

Today was a much shorter ride than yesterday's century. Even though we faced a three-thousand foot climb over the continental divide (once again), the descent was long and the day's total mileage a mere 57. We (Jonathan and Elizabeth) were sweep for the day and we only encountered one problem during the entire ride: Kyle's knee. About 20 miles into the ride, it was clear that his knee wasn't going to hold out for the day, and in the absence of cell phone coverage, we rode ahead to mile 30 (the lunch stop) to arrange a van pick-up for him. After all this riding, the only thing you can do to prevent further injury is to...stop riding. So Kyle's knee got a good rest.

And on we proceeded, one by one, to Lincoln, MT, where we would camp for the evening. The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce graciously provided us with a scrumptious cheeseburger dinner and we even met an awesome guy--Dr. Nick, a chiropractor from Helena with a two-day-a-week practice in Lincoln--who so kindly offered his services to a great number of us. Thanks, Nick! His website can be found at http://www.activelifemt.com.

All in all, a good day, and onto our next build day in Missoula.

Jonathan and Elizabeth

Bozeman to Helena was our last century of the trip. The first 80 miles of the trip were uneventful except for a couple of flat tires. We spent the first 27 miles on highway 205, which had no shoulder and many many cars. This made for a stressful morning. When we turned onto Route 12 there was a wide shoulder and less traffic, but the wide picked in our face and we could only go around 7 mph. It was a hot day and the smog from forest fires in Canada made the hills hazy. We passed huge wheat and alfalfa fields, and climbed low hills covered in brown grass and sagebush.

The two main events of the day were a succession of flat tires, and meeting up with the central van. Before we even left the church in the morning Ashley got a flat tire. During the ride Natalie got two, and Lauren got one. We spent half an hour sitting in the shade eating a quart of ice cream while Lauren fixed her tire. She even invented a new kind of flat, the tire lever flat. She managed to rip her tube with the tire lever before she had even pumped it up. We gave Lauren a new tube and tire to avoid any further troubles and hit the road again.

Ten miles from Helena the van drove past heading back toward Bozeman and we had a double take until we realized that it was the Central leaders driving their van back to Philly. The turned around and stopped to share stories and ice cream with us. Central leader and 2008 P2S rider Barbara was driving the van back with help from last years P2S leader Jo. The joined us for dinner at the church in Helena.

Sweep was on the road for over 11 hour and we are glad this was the last century of the trip. Ashley road with us and we passed the miles by playing word games. Meeting up with Barbara and Jo lifted our spirits for the final push into town and the last miles flew by until Peter got a slow leak two miles from the church. We came walking in at 7:00, tired but not defeated.

Maso and Peter

After a delicious breakfast at the Presbyterian church in Jackson, we departed for yet another state line. We had already climbed the continental divide at a whopping 9600 ft and were ready for anything the Rockies could throw at us. Today it would be the famous Teton Pass. We headed out of town, stopping only to take pictures in front of a sign saying “Steep incline ahead. 10% grades.” What we didn’t know was that the grades would actually be steeper in places because we were taking the now closed to traffic “Old Pass.”

The road wound its way through switchback after switchback, with rough patches and beautiful mountain lakes alongside. The first of our group were lucky enough to come upon undisturbed wildlife, some were lucky enough to see a moose. Scott and I would periodically come up on some of our riders optimistically playing a game entitled “Don’t go too far or I’ll kill you.” During these breaks, the sweepers practiced macro shots on the abundant wildflowers. The day was absolutely beautiful and the view breathtaking.

Eventually we all reached the summit and saw those of our group who had already made it there cheering us on. The enthusiastic receiving line applauded and cheered us on as we finally reached our highest climb of the day. Once everyone was in, there were photo shoots and a conga line even though we were only 12 or so miles toward our final destination.

The scariest part was probably the descent from the pass. Keeping the bike under 40 mph required heavy and consistent pressure on the brakes (some did not opt for this method, achieving speeds in excess of 50 mph). A grassy park provided a place for us to eat lunch and lounge in the sun or shade.

The end of the day couldn’t possibly compare to the morning’s epic climb but offered beautiful rolling hills and higher than expected climbs as we entered Idaho for the first time on the trip (and the first time ever for many of us). Ashton is a small town with kind people who graciously hosted us and provided good natured-conversation and spirits.

-Scott and Chris

The day started out well – Jake and I were sweep and the mileage (according to Hard Cast’s cue sheet) was only 39 miles. A short day within a stretch of 6 riding days is always a relief for those of us who suffer from knee pain, saddle sores, or magnetism to thrift stores and cafés. Before we hit the 10 mile mark we met up with the rest of riders to bike through a 5 mile construction zone that required an escort. A truck guided us, while Danny and the van followed behind. We were told to ride 3 in a row, and average about 15 mph. Gravel ruined the 3 in a row idea, but we did manage to keep moving at a pretty quick pace. After the construction zone there were 3 flats, but it was still a fast ride. As we got closer to Lander, I began to notice the mileage signs for Lander were 10 miles further than our cue sheets. It wasn’t until we were at about mile 36, when we met up with a small group at a café, that we found out the cue sheets were 10 miles off. So I decided to sit around with the group and enjoy a warm meal. Jake headed on, so the café group became my new sweep friends for the rest of the ride. During lunch Lauren revealed her newest 25 cent machine purchases - jewelry that changes colors in the sun! (Side note:Lauren and I collect quarters so that we are always prepared to buy tattoos, rings, necklaces, etc from 25 cent machines). There was a small storm brewing outside, so our lunch break lasted a bit longer than expected. A little while down the road, Jake was taking a nap after getting caught in the storm. We were fixing to be in Lander, when the storm picked up again, so we took shelter in a large garage just off the side of the road. Caroline and Lauren attempted to make a deck of playing cards out of business cards. Meanwhile Raj managed to get a little sprint workout in – when Jake passed us after his nap, he didn’t see where we were taking shelter, so Raj begins yelling to him and without hesitation takes off in a fullout spring . Needless to say, it was a lost cause. Oh shelter breaks, they never fail to entertain. After a few more miles of biking against killer headwinds, we made it to Lander, Wyoming. Although we made it into town a few hours after the rest of the group, it still ended up being a great day. We even had enough time to shop for Prom dresses at the thrift store before dinner. To top it off, we all stayed in actual homes for the night.

Sweep day, always a good day, almost as good as bib day.

-Erika

Today was a glorious day of beautiful sights, exploration and procrastination. No more than ten miles after lunch we came across one of the most amazing natural landscapes we had ever seen. Hidden just off the edge of the road was an enormous canyon called “Hells Half Acre”. The canyon had been sculpted by erosion into many jagged, irregular formations. At the edge of the canyon, some of us had the opportunity to see a rattlesnake that, unfortunately, did not seem so happy to see us. The thought of these venomous reptiles did not stop us from exploring the canyon. Maggie, Chris, Suzanna Bee and Scott scrambled down through the treacherous geologic formations only to find caves and other natural treasures. After exploring the depths of the canyon fully the four musketeers ventured up the canyon walls back into civilization. Somewhere between the bottom of Hells Half Acre and real life Maggie decided to ditch her road cleats and explore barefoot. Not the best idea she’s ever had...Two hours later we arrived at the top and continued with our ride. We proceeded (quite quickly!) to second lunch where we were pleased to see a green cooler. One might wonder why Suzanne and Lauren would want to carry an abandoned green cooler 13 miles. Well, the answer to that question should be directed Raj…us here at Bike and Build really like to have a place to put our dirty dishes during lunch. Good work Lauren and Suzanne!! Post second lunch we flew into our host site and was greeted in Shoshoni with a delicious malt and milkshake establishment. ‘Twas a great day.

-Scott & Maggie

P.S. Hells Half Acre was actually 320 acres. False Advertisement.

After stopping at the post office, we began our 61 mile ride from Douglas, WY to Casper, WY. Early on, we passed by a marker for the Oregon Trail—very exciting! We then turned onto the interstate and climbed gradual hills. After about 10 miles, we took a detour to Ayres Natural Bridge. We rode over a very hilly 5 miles to the bridge. It was completely worth it!!!!! The bridge was awesome—a rock arch with a river flowing underneath it. There was gorgeous red rock in the hills—something we have not yet seen. We dipped our toes in the freezing water and then took a leisurely nap under a shade tree. When we awoke from our nap, we struck a conversation with a group of RVers who were following the Oregon Trail.

We were a little bit scared for the upcoming ride because the sun was getting intense and there was talk of hills. However, it turned out to be a wonderful ride…either we’re getting in really good shape or we’re just plain lucky. At this point, we had formed a QUADFECTA troupe of sweeps—Peter, Ariela, Allie Red, and Lauren (yay redheads!). We rode to a delicious lunch that we enjoyed in peaceful company. Shortly after lunch, our good luck was tested when Lauren got a flat but thankfully we were stopped right next to a produce stand in a camper van where a generous woman gave us the most delicious peaches in the world as we pumped up with the Road Morph. Her 12 year old daughter talked us up and we got to pet her wonderful dog Merle (they also have a dog named Pearl). At that point, an intense windstorm had picked up. Caroline commented that it was like being in the Wizard of Oz—intense winds with tumbleweeds flying all around. We road into Casper, enjoying the sight of gorgeous purple blue mountains in the distance. We also enjoyed the sight of our host for the night—THE BEST WESTERN!!!! Oh the joys of hot showers and feathery beds… (we are so grateful to the Casper Habitat for Humanity for organizing this treat for us)

Until next time,

Lauren Kent and Ariela Borkan
Allie Kilts and Peter Jenkins

Preparing to leave the city of Lusk on a modest 50-something mile ride towards Douglas, the sweepers eagerly waited for everyone to depart. It was a slightly chilly morning but we knew better than to expect anything less than a sweltering day. After helping to hitch the trailer and loading last minute items into said trailer. After triple checking the church for forgotten articles (because anything left behind will probably never be seen again) we set off towards our destination of Douglas.

After a few deft maneuvers out of town, we started up a long series of construction-ridden slopes that seemed just a little too steep and had us looking down to double check that we weren’t in fact riding on flats. With uncertain shoulders, construction workers, and heavy machines weaving in and out of rough lanes, the situation was precarious at best, but spotting no stranded cyclists, sweep continued on. By around 8 miles however, an ambulance zoomed past us followed a few miles later by our van and trailer and that sinking feeling began to set in. Our worst fears were realized as we approached a small intersection and saw these two vehicles and many of our cyclists standing around.

As we approached…
“What happened?!?”
“He’s going to be ok…”
“WHO??”
“Shawn.”

Yes, unfortunately Shawn had been involved in an altercation with an automobile. He was conscious at the scene as was reported to be smiling and making jokes. As a precaution, he was strapped to a gurney and loaded into the ambulance and taken back to a facility in Lusk. His trusty steed, Corduroy, was a casualty of the accident, bent severely in several places, missing its saddle, and clearly not in any condition to be ridden again. The rest of us were at a loss for exactly what to do, some of us in shock but genuinely glad that Shawn seemed ok. As the emergency vehicles departed, the lingering members of our group reluctantly began to resume their trek. Some went to the local diner to get some food for thought.

It was fortunate to have had such a short day to accommodate for all the delays. By the time we rolled into lunch, Beth excitedly informed us that not only was Shawn completely OK (save for some bruising and expected soreness), but he had already been released. Apparently the Earth’s yellow sun had given his Kryptonian bones and muscles super strength, allowing him to deflect cars and bullets alike (You should’ve seen the damage he did to the car). Breathing a sigh of relief, we set out for the relatively short distance to the end.

Rolling into the Douglas city limits, we were craving ice cream (naturally) and decided to give the local Safeway a stopover. What started out as a relatively mundane pit stop turned into a conversation with an employee and eventually with the notion of going in to ask for donations. After all, “Donation Magic” is one of the things that keeps Bike & Build going and keeps out costs down, allowing us to donate more to the affordable housing cause.

So after waiting for a certain manager to descend from the roof so we could ask him for donations, he referred us to a woman in the back of the store named Sherry who we were told could help us out. Sherry ended up being very nice and what started out as a perusal of damaged goods for donations ended up in a shopping cart heaping with loaves of bread, organic cereals, milk, juice, and just about every staple food we crave and consume voraciously on a daily basis. It was an extremely nice gesture that helped restore the somber mood that had been set earlier in the day.

It was great to arrive in Douglas and see Shawn and let everyone know about our donation success.

-Chris

Well once again desperate times called for desperate measures. The all-star sweep team of Tino Chow and Kyle Gamsby was called to the fore-front to ensure victory on this day of days. As per usual when the days get tough and the miles get long we are there to ensure the safety of all the riders and sweep them all in. The day started out with Tino and I sitting outside the post office waiting for them to open so Tino could mail a package. After allowing the rest of the team to get a 45 minute head start on us, we departed Chadron. Along the route about 30 to 40 minutes worth of phone calls with Sram took place so Tino can get his new parts for his bike. We blazed through the first 20 miles in about and hour so we could catch the tail end of the group. We caught them at mile 21. Soon after that we came into the town of Fort Robinson, which was a very interesting town with many sights and sounds. We found much of our team here looking at the museums. Tino and I made up a sweet hand shake for sweep, and than promptly moved everyone along so we could make our deadline. Right outside of town we had our first big climb since the Lake Andes day. At the top of the hill was a fantastic view, which allowed us to see us for miles. It was something that cannot be described something that you have to witness first hand. After a lunch once again donated by Subway we legged out the rest of the ride with Sammy-cakes and Jonathan. We stopped to play with some roadside kittens than made our final few miles into Lusk once again emerging victorious. One Miss Erika Jane Dietz was the all star of the day and was the first place winner. Well until next time this is Tino and Kyle Good Night and Good Luck.

Today we rode from Martin, South Dakota to Chadron, Nebraska. We started the day under stormy skies that turned into stormier skies which then became AN ACTUAL STORM! Lucky for us there was a kind gentleman who allowed us to hang out in his barn and play Mafia until the storm passed. Natalie and Justin were out to get us all, but Natalie got caught at the last minute. After all of this drama in the barn, we hit the road again. This time we were behind a spunky red chariot. We “chariot chasers” decided to take our time and find a beautiful sunflower field where we took really interesting pictures. We also took a few pictures at the Nebraska state sign—yay a new state!!!!! We dropped off our chariotess, Natalie, at lunch and re-fueled. The stretch between first lunch and second lunch was incredible—filled with tailwinds, long downhills, and beautiful scenery. We met some friendly horses in a town along the way, so friendly that they came over and kissed our noses. Ashley joined us after that. She sadly had a flat, but we were very happy for her to accompany us. We were expecting a long, leisurely second lunch but, as storm clouds began to loom above, Eileen crammed three pieces of ham and an ice cream sandwich in her mouth, Ashley showered herself in Captain Crunch, and we were off in a flash. Speaking of flashes, lightening was seen in the distance shortly after we left our stop. Jonathon had joined us at that point and together we all sought shelter for the second time...this attempt was a little bit less successful. We knocked on the door of a woman with three barns and many cats. She told us that she didn’t have any shelter for us and that we should go back to town, riding in the storm, because there might be shelter there. Thankfully, during all of this, the storm became less of a threat and we decided to speed on towards Chadron. We formed a very, very fast and intense paceline that got us there in no time. We were then ready for shower and food, the two most beautiful things in the world. At the showers, we were all entertained by watching Natalie attempting to put on jeans in a steamy locker room with one hand. We also enjoyed finding a piece of Captain Crunch on the locker room floor, I wonder who the culprit was... Dinner consisted of delicious stew and endless trays of cake with chocolate frosting. What a good day.!

-Eileen and Lauren

Most everybody you ask on the P2S team would agree that our 105-mile day from Winner to Martin, SD was one of the toughest days we’ve had thus far. We had a few casualties along the way (people who had to take the van) due to the intense heat and lack of water across southern South Dakota, but most everybody was satisfied with another century in the books (our 3rd of the trip).

The day started off with a few stops and starts. About 20 of us ventured to Winner’s drive-in movie theater to see the most recent Harry Potter installment. Many of us were quite excited to see the movie, and some of us had never even seen a movie in a drive-in. However, because the movie started at dark, it didn’t get done until after midnight. Most of us didn’t get to sleep until 1 AM, and with a 5 AM wake-up, we had some walking zombies the next morning. That set the tone for a long but in the end fruitful day.

At 17.5 miles into the ride, we ran into Lauren and Caroline who were on the side of the road with a flat tire. Apparently Lauren had been riding on the tire for 15 miles, before realizing it was flat. So we changed the tube by patching it. The patch didn’t hold and we ended up changing the tire twice before using one of Justin’s. This was just one of many roadside problems we encountered throughout the day.

As we hit the afternoon stretch between first and second lunch, the heat started to affect most of us. Despite filling our water and lunch and in Mission, SD, there was a 30-mile stretch devoid of gas stations, shops, and basic human life. Speeds slowed for the entire group as we struggled through the stretch. To pass the time, Maso and Justin began counting the grasshoppers they ran over with their bike (Maso won, 11-8). However, there were many great picture opportunities as the impressive scenery surprised many riders, most of whom assumed South Dakota would be flat and boring.

The group also gained over 1500 feet in elevation throughout the day, adding to the day’s challenge. The rolling hills, although not steep slowly zapped our energy. To avoid dehydration we found ourselves stopping at a bar in vetal for water and ice. The stop not only provided refreshingly ice cold water, but also a chance to meet some of the locals. In the bar we met 6 out of the 11 townspeople (yes, 11) including the mayor. One man suggested that his granddaughter get her pony, Suzie Q out of her trailer and hide along side us. To Maso’s disappointment this didn’t happen.

We used the downhill to coast into town, which was rewarding after a day of hills and sun. When we arrived we were greeted by hose showers and dinner at the local restaurant provided by Alli’s parents. The food was AMAZING! Although the day was long finishing it was rewarding. Looking back on our time in South Dakota we remember the hospitality and senic rides, once again impressed by everyone we met. NEXT: NEBRASKA!

The day started off with a trip to the Fort Randall dam on the Missouri River. Natalie, recovering from her broken wrist and unable to ride, arrived to the dam in style. Beth pulled a child’s trailer behind her bike with Natalie in tow. It worked really well (despite the 100lb weight limit of the trailer) except for the hills where Isabel had to get off her bike to run behind and push. They made it all the way to lunch at mile 33 and then called it quits.

Lunch was in Bonesteel. Due to a low supply of donated food a bunch of us decided to eat at the local eatery, the Tee Pee Diner. Supposedly the morning crew got some delicious breakfast food but by the time we got there it was past the breakfast hours. Tino ordered a new helmet to replace the one he donated to Walmart by accident.

We saw a sign in the middle of nowhere (no towns for miles) that said “Kids helping kids kick tobacco”.

To while the hours away Suzanne and Ashley (plus the wannabe sweeps Alie, Tino and Chong) played a game where we would guess the population sizes of the next town. We went through Bonesteel, Burke, Gregory, Dallas, Colome and Winner. The closest anyone got all day was Maggie with a guess of 332 and an actual population size of 340. Besides that everyone was drastically off.

Speaking of Maggie, she had quite a day. She rode really fast at the beginning of the day but started getting passed after lunch and finally decided she needed a nap. She chalked the road: “Sweeps, wake me up plez”. It worked. She joined the wannabe sweeps for the last twenty miles.

The biggest excitement of the day had to be Dallas, SD (not to be confused with the better known Dallas, TX). Dallas, SD has a population of 144. The sweeps joined Alie, Tino, Chong, and Sam at the local bar “Frank Days” for a cold root beer courtesy of the owner, Shellie Days. Shellie turned on the old juke box for us and played us a song we were supposed to remember once we hit Seattle. As she sang a few of us got up and danced. She also later showed us the bar’s cowboy boot and hat collection. Good times were had by all.

After a delicious dinner a few of us ventured over to the local drive thru theater for a complimentary viewing of Harry Potter. The rest of us enjoyed their beauty sleep.

That’s it for now! Until next time…

Ashley and Suzanne

On a brisk and sunny morning, our extended sweep family set off for the 72 mile ride to Lake Andes, SD. Now by “extended sweep family,” we mean the dynamic trio of Beth, Shawn, and our esteemed comrade, Kyle. An admirable social butterfly, Kyle has set the goal of riding with every other rider on the trip at least once. Up until this glorious morning, Shawn had eluded Kyle’s conversational tentacles. Today was the day.

First we headed to the local bike shop, embedded in the neighborhood Ace Hardware Store. It was strange. BUT we did check out the child tagalong carriages for our injured Natalie. Too expensive here, but we were getting closer...

The day was beautiful with clear skies, and quiet roads. It wasn’t long before Kyle and Shawn stumbled upon a strong vein of commonality: food. Not just any food, but the gourmet vittles that get your saliva flowing. Beth had the torturous (and happy) role of listening to this delicious 50 miles of engulfing chit-chat. That’s not an exaggeration.

About mile 30ish—while knee-deep in pasta sauce—we came upon Ali whose derailler had sadly decided to jump ship and desert her bike. Waving goodbye to the van with Ali inside, we continued, moving on to the finer details of sauce tomato cultivars and basil varieties.

As we cleared the topics of craft beers and the proper accompanying bar seating arrangements, Shawn chatted with a curious motorist, who ended up being an as-of-yet unidentified servant of the great state of South Dakota. This gentleman was headed north of our final destination of the day for some fine pheasant hunting with his chums. Who knew that the Lake Andes area hosted some of the finest pheasant hunting in the United States?

Beth’s day was highlighted by frequent trips to the cookie jar in her Camelback. Ginger cookies are never as good as Mom’s homemade recipe. Lunch was full of fresh produce and the goodies sent to us in the mail drop the previous day from loved ones and family. The raking light of afternoon flushed the crisp morning air through the valley as we descended the last hill into Lake Andes. Our sweep crew – ten of us, at least – bounced over the last few cheery hills and pulled into our host site around 5:00. We were greeted by Natalie’s new buggy, assembled and optimistically attached to Trevor’s bike.

-Beth and Shawn

The day started off with bang…literally! A thunderstorm kept us in Sioux City for an hour longer than we had expected – people used that time to cuddle in piles on the floor (Cuddlefest Midwest). After the weather improved around 8:30 am we left the community center and headed over to a bike shop. At the bike shop we restocked on gloves, chains, and even a derailer for Tino. This was an amazing moment: a backroom search unearthed a 10-year old derailer piece made by Cannondale which they have not carried for ten years. We finally got started at 10:30 but not before a small meal for sweep. We soon came to some beautiful rolling hills and some pristine after-shower weather. Again, Tino entered the picture. Knee pain meant lots more fun for us sweep, and we all rode together, joining Beth, Kyle, Jonathan and Trevor after an unexpected 15 mile detour followed by delicious burgers and ice-cream.
South Dakota! Bright moment of the morning- the land of “great faces, great places” welcomed us with strong headwinds and we posed to recreate the Mount Rushmore look before continuing on.
On a somewhat boring stretch of highway we found a great distraction: historic markers! We stopped to learn about the first electrical co-op in South Dakota, a church founded by Norwegians, some novelist who wrote books…all kinds of fancy information.
It was getting late, we were having fun, but once again, hungry. Huge thanks Casey’s—free pizza for all of us riders! Afterwards, Ariela felt terrible and cursed the pizza, and Raj followed his pizza with a whole other sandwich. It was already 6:30, but instead of being in Yankton and showering, we were eating. We ate up, but not before meeting an incredible individual named Jonathan Jordan. Jonathan is also biking across the country, but he is doing it solo, with his gear on his bike. Talk about hardcore: no clipless pedals, no biking experience since middle school, no camelback…. We could not help noticing the commonalities Beth and he shared: both played Rugby at universities in Boston, both are EMT’s, both climb mountains… both biking cross-country..!
It was a crazy day, and getting late. We raced a train carrying coal and totally passed it, and eight miles before Yankton, we once more met up with John Jordan, who we brought to the church with us for a delicious dinner and MAIL DROP.
That night, after biking until 8:20 we slept like puppies.
Love,
Ariela and Raj

Today we rode from Carroll, Iowa to Sioux City—108 miles. This was our second longest ride so far after the ride from Dayton, OH to Hartford City, IN. However, today was more challenging than our first century for several reasons. Soon after leaving Carroll, a stretch of wet gravel slowed us down to less than 5 mph. The severe thunderstorm the night before made the gravel road pretty soggy and we worked extra hard to get through on our narrow road tires. In addition to the soft gravel, we encountered blustering winds from the front and side on a long stretch of highway that nearly blew us off the road. Eventually, the wind shifted direction as our road curved towards the northwest, and we were able to paceline more effectively, thus giving us more distance per effort spent. When we arrived in the little town of Ida Grove (after pushing through the winds for about 20 miles), we were delighted to encounter an opportunity for free ice cream which the earlier riders had set up for everyone…what a treat! The ice cream was perfectly timed, because although the winds died down after our stop, they were replaced by hill after rolling hill, pretty much all the way into Sioux City, our final destination for the day. It was a very long day, as the final group arrived at our host location (the Midtown Community Center) around 8 PM. All in all, a good day, but our sleeping bags never felt more comfortable when we finally crawled inside them.

Jonathan and Peter

The day started off great with a later than usual wake-up time and a delicious breakfast at the church. We were shuttled to the build site and began work on the house. This Habitat for Humanity house is of particular interest to the citizens of Carroll because of the family that is moving in. The Eghimy’s had three children, but lost their 16 year-old daughter in a fire that consumed their rented apartment on January 19, 2009. The community is very supportive of this family and is working to get their new home finished quickly.

A large part of the day was spent putting up siding on the one story house. Beth, Ariela, and I had the privilege of working with the Habitat crew to pour concrete for the garage floor. It was really exciting to be in knee-high rubber boots standing in cement while it was being poured out of the truck. Using shovels, long boards, and hand trowels, we laid and smoothed out the floor in about an hour. One other project that was in the works that day was building a shed for the back yard.

Our lunch was provided at the build site, which included freshly grilled hamburgers and chicken. There were also lots of homemade desserts, fresh fruit, and salads. After a productive day, we went back to the church and were treated to yet more food. After riding past corn fields for hundreds of miles, we finally got to eat corn on the cob. Dinner also consisted of “walking tacos,” which was a first for many of us. It consists of a small bag of Doritos that is cut open on one side and then loaded up with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Before bed that night, we were treated to a spectacular lightning show. We sat outside and watched the entire sky light up; absolutely amazing!

~ Elizabeth

The day Maggie and Isabel saved the world and rode sweep-

The day started in Ames, IA at 0600. Normal morning activities were followed by almost everyone. Pretty standard. The first 8 miles of our ride were lead by a few locals who worked at a bike shop that serviced our bikes the previous day. We passed Iowa State University which was very exciting to some people, mostly Justin and Kyle. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was spectacular. Thanks Iowa! Everyone was flying along-average speed no less than 16mph. Corn fields galore-but also some wild flowers and natural prairie habitat. We’re starting to get into the west! The group stuck close together and most people arrived at lunch around the same time. We rode 40 easy shmeasy miles before lunch and got ready to do it again after our bellies were full of delicious subs donated from a local deli.

Just after leaving lunch, Natalie was attacked not by a bear, but by a dog, resulting in a bit of a tumble and a broken wrist. Beth whipped out her EMT skills and took care of her until Kristie/the van carted her off to the hospital, where she received an adorable little cast and some pain killers to melt the blues away. She is now spritely as ever, although her attitude towards the junction between canines and bicycles has become less enthusiastic.

Beth joined us afterwards, and we bumbled along the rest of the day, running into some other friends along the way. At one point, both Isabel and Jon were out of water, so we stopped to sit under a shade tree over yonder by house, fixin’ to fill up our water bottles when the family who lived there returned. And return they did! A dream come true. Water bottles filled, we trucked into town, learning about a spot where we could have gotten free ice cream, but only after we were several miles beyond it. Boo.

The afternoon was spent cleaning bicycles, showering, eating, and causing shenanigans of all sorts. The evening was fairly calm and laid back, as we were in very rural Iowa. Early bedtime, getting ready for a rockin’ build day.

After many long rides over the past few days, the group was very excited about today’s 40-mile ride. In anticipation, a few riders put together a scavenger hunt the night before. Our group (Trevor, Ali, Tino, and Caroline) got a bit of a late start because a few of our members attended the service at the church in Marshalltown that morning. After the service ended, our epic adventure to attain all 55 items began. Here are some highlights of our scavenger hunt:

-Videotape a stranger performing a 1 minute song/dance in a public place: As we were preparing to leave the church, we noticed a very outgoing 11-year-old who immediately struck us as someone who might be interested in helping us with this particular item of the scavenger hunt. When we explained the task, she was very enthusiastic about performing her favorite song/dance, “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical. She performed the COMPLETE song and dance in front of the slightly confused church congregation as Tino recorded her on his flip camera. We alerted her when one minute was up but she was very intent on completing the performance and continued for almost 3 full minutes.

-Purchase and use adult diapers: Our next stop after the church was the local Wal-Mart. After convincing the staff to allow us to bring our bikes with us around the store, we found began our search for adult diapers. We quickly found a man stocking the shelves and asked him if they would be willing to make a donation of adult diapers to our cause. Slightly confused by the request, he hesitantly agreed. Great success.

-Write a love letter from one bike and builder to another: Later in the day, we stopped at a local diner to sit down for milkshakes and to get busy writing our epic love letter. While in the diner, we were approached by a woman who asked us what we were doing. We spoke and she listened, she was stunned and excited. She looked into her purse and whipped out a hundred dollars! Great success, two times!

We arrived in Ames in adult diapers and handcuffs, just in time for dinner.

Mt. Vernon to Marshalltown- 93 miles

There are hills in Iowa. Did you know that? Nothing compared to Connecticut, but hills nonetheless. Saskia and Alie (your narrators for this journal entry) were sweep on this long drawn out day. Our goal was to make as many stops as possible and go as slow as possible, yet still make it in at a reasonable time.

First stop, Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. We followed the sound of hokey music to an adorable bakery called The Bohemian. After picking out or Kolaches (Czech pastries) we spoke to the waitress about the floods from last summer. She pointed to the light fixtures on the wall to show how high the water had been. The floods hit the area pretty hard, causing few businesses to come back to the area. They used the flood as an excuse to essentially “makeover” their business and change it from an antique shop to a restaurant.

Back on the road, we decided the pass the time by singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. At beer 78, we hit not just gravel roads, but hilly gravel roads. Now, we couldn’t stop singing the song since we were in the middle, so we kept going; despite being out of breath and tired. When we finally pulled off the gravel road for a shade tree (Southern word of the day) and a snack, thinking we were alone in the middle of cornfields, we heard a deep rumble. One hundred and fifty motorcycles zoomed by taking about 5 minutes from beginning to end. We were happy to watch and wave as the motorcyclists passed, relieved were off the road at the time.

When we stopped for lunch around mile 39, we met up with Raj, Chris and Susanna. Sadly, every place that is an ideal lunch spot (shade trees and cool) is also a favorite spot for flies. Several flies met an unfortunate end by getting stuck to the honey or trapped in a cooler.

Some miles later, we saw chalking that read “3 B&Bers – DOORS!” Slightly confused, we eventually figured out the riders had been excited about the fake swinging saloon doors of the Elberon General Store. Scanning all two blocks of Elberon (population 200) and seeing no bikes, we assumed the enthusiastic riders had forgotten to chalk that they had moved on. We were ready for a break, however, and escaped to the air-conditioned “general store,” which turned out to be a bar and diner. Enjoying the atmosphere of a small town bar with a group of men having a few cold beers on a hot Saturday afternoon, we decided to stay and order our favorite drink – a mint chocolate chip milkshake (we aren’t allowed to drink when biking). We were shocked when a group of four B&Bers wandered into the diner. Natalie, Maggie, Jonathan, and Beth had stopped to explore the town earlier, and had accidentally fallen asleep in the local park for an hour. After filling our Camelbaks, we set out on the road once again.

At this point the hills really started to hit us. And though we were going through the same stuff we had seen for the past week (corn), it was a nice change in scenery with the rolling hills and winding roads. We powered through the last 30 miles with a brief detour at a winery (to use the bathroom, of course) and arrived at the church just in time to miss showers. BUT fortunately, the pastor’s wife invited us to her house to use the shower. Another hose shower avoided.

Successful day.

-Saskia & Alie, sweepers extraordinaire

After a nice night of sleeping out on the grass, despite some storm and tornado warnings, we awoke to a cloudy morning but still prepared to ride. Soon after that the rain started falling, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Due to this inclement weather we had to postpone our departure time. After a few hours of playing games, eating brownies, watching the tour de France and napping, the storm clouds cleared and we were ready to hit the road.

Though the forecast called for more thunderstorms there was a BRAVE bunch of us who decided to venture off on the road. Those who decided not to ride were shuttled over on a bus driven by the YMCA director, Josh.

Shortly after the biking crew started riding we found out that our ride would come to a halting end. The group of around 15 of us rode about 20 miles before the weather started up again and the road we were riding on seemed to lead directly into the heart of the storm. So, just after the fearless fifteen had asked a local farmer if we could stay in her barn and wait out the storm, the bus pulled up and told us our day was over. With some creative bike packing and with most of us sitting 3 abreast we were safely shuttled directly to Mt Vernon on a big yellow school bus. We did, however, have to make one pit stop because Jonathan had to go potty and just couldn’t hold it anymore.

And thank goodness for Josh. Without his help it would have been a major logistical and safety nightmare to get all of us to our destination. He completely reworked his schedule to help us out and, in addition to his good spirits, gave us another example of the unbelievable kindness of our hosts. Above and beyond.

Because we arrived so early, we were able to see a lot of the city and experience the Heritage Festival that was going that weekend. After we finished our presentation- which the mayor of Mt Vernon and several other prominent community members attended- we finished the day enjoying the live music and carnival like atmosphere of the Festival.

-Trevor and Ali Mae

Thursday, July 9th 2009/ Peru Illinois, to Clinton Iowa/ 90 miles

Let me first say that we awoke at 5:00 am this morning, and prepared for our ninety mile day. The “Moose Whisperers” declared a day of wandering on our way to Iowa. Erika and I were assigned “sweep” crew. Maggie and Kyle decided to tag along to make a day out of it, and it turned out to be quite the day indeed.

We started out with a pee break about one minute into the trip at a gas station, followed by a pee break a block down....at a gas station. Five miles in, we encountered Raj and Chris repairing a flat tire. No tire change will be boring and monotonous when the Moose Whisperers are there to bring a dance party and lighten the mood. Let’s keep in mind that this occurred at approximately 7:45 am. Rise and shine!! About three miles later we discovered that Raj unfortunately had another flat. I decided to take action to speed things along and changed out his tire quickly and we hit the road again. At one point Kyle and Maggie decided it would be a good idea to exchange bikes. Keep in mind that Maggie’s legs are about the height of Kyle’s shoulders. It was quite the sight watching Kyle rock side to side as hit tried to extend each leg to push the pedals. Maggie was riding like a clown, with her knees out at her sides. A half mile later they decided it wasn’t going to work out, but was fun while it lasted. As we wandered our way to lunch, chatting away we were flagged down by a journalist for a local newspaper. She asked us some questions and snapped a few photos. Now at this point we were two hours in and had only made it about twenty miles or so. We still had twenty more miles to go, before lunch. We proceeded without distraction, arrived at the lunch site. We spent less than a half hour at lunch to make up for lost time.

We departed from lunch and twenty miles later we pulled over for a ten minute, power nap. We stopped at a small store to fill our water bottles, where we met the sweetest old lady. She had worked at that store for over sixty-five years, and owned a “Coca-Cola” freezer box that was three years older than Chris’ father. We found this pretty interesting. Next checkpoint in route was the Mississippi River, which was another twenty miles. When we arrived we entered the river without hesitation, after being swarmed in thousands of weird flies in the saw grass. We had fun tackling each other in the water, and taking photos. I unfortunately cut my foot on an unknown sharp object in the water which was quite unpleasant, but well worth the experience. Kyle was well prepared with his first-aid kit, so I cleaned my cut, bandaged it and headed for the host location. Thank you Kyle, you’re a great fellow Moose Whisperer.

At 5:15 pm the Moose Whisperers arrived at the YMCA host location. I was very pleased to see a table full of chips, nachos, veggies, other snacks and cold beverages. Hot dogs and Bratwursts were on the grill, and the sloppy Joes were sloppy and ready. During dinner I had a nice talk with a couple local counselors for a local school. They were very interested in Bike & Build and could possibly apply for next summer! I enjoyed talking with them, and they later took our names and email addresses for support if they decide to sign up.

Today was great, and we all had good time. Kyle has been talking with a British accent for about 48 hours and is right now, as he cleans his bicycle. Pip pip and a Cheerio!!

-Written By,
Scott Gerhart & The Moose Whisperers

Pontiac to Peru was a day for the ages. It was the day after our day off, where most the group went in to Chicago, and the 11 remaining BandB'ers had free reign of both of Pontiac's 5 star diners. It was a 62 mile day, and we got wet.

Eventually, us sweepers came upon lunch. We hung out under a tree and a gazebo top with some kids who were just enjoying a rainy day in summer. Being a short day, much of the leading edge of the peloton had left lunch by the time we had arrived, and in the drizzle, the trailing edge of our pack decided to get some soup at a local diner. Ariela, both Al(l)i(e)'s, Lauren, Maso, Caroline, Elizabeth, Suzanne, and Chris, and Raj bought Jake a hot chocolate. The diner stop parlayed into a dollar store excursion, and the dollar store excursion parlayed into a missed left turn, which led us to a series of enticing road signs for a certain 'Historic Weber House'.

Upon Jake's insistence, Raj, Maso, Lauren, and Chris hit up the Weber house which was a storybook house and rather expansive surprisingly spacious home garden. The owner of the house, Ted Weber, greeted us. By fortune, we arrived at the same time the local rotary club was receiving a tour, and we hopped on that train for free. Raj at one point demonstrated his limitless wit and unsurpassed tact with the quick comment, "What sir, you don't recognize a fellow rotarian!?" This gentleman, Raj's interlocutor, later spontaneously donated a slick $50 to us before we left! The gardens were sweet, and Ted is apparently a famous radio man who knew Eleanor Roosevelt, and whom everyone knows.

A lot of people finished the rather short day in record time, but by the time us sweeps got around it had started to rain legit. Pontiac was a small town focused around a late 19th century courthouse, surrounded by square streets of quaint shops, second hand shops, and historic murals. As we pulled into Peru, we entered a Catholic town with a little bit of a more suburban flair. A nice place, great hospitality at the church, and arguably the best breakfast the next morning. We arrived after some searching for the church and found everyone playing basketball, snuggling in napping piles, and eating three musketeers, with us sweep riders a distant memory in their foggy minds. The End.

-Chris and Jake

Team Chicago:

Today was our first day off! We found out that there was a train from Pontiac to Chicago, so a bunch of us took advantage of the time off and went to the city.

I was on the group that took an early train to the city. We walked around downtown and found an awesome farmer's market. We bought some fresh blueberries and cheese that was delicious! We also went to the water front. Because I grew up going to the beach, it was hard for me to fathom such a large body of water that was not salt water. It felt like a beach down, with a fleet of sailboats in the marina. They even had a large pier with rides and games on it called Navy Pier. It felt just like Ocean City or Atlantic City in New Jersey, which is where I grew up.

A bunch of us were able to meet up with friends during the day. I met up with two friends from Lehigh who live in the city. After lunch I spent time wandering around Millenium Park, checking out "the bean" which is a huge bean-like sculpture that is reflective. It was conducive to taking some really cool and funky pictures.

I visited The Art Institute of Chicago with Shawn and Ariela. It was a really cool museum with some great art in it. I was a bit tired from the day and the night before, so I didn't get to enjoy as much of the museum as I wanted to, but it was still fun.

The train ride home was a little bit stressful. Several people barely made it and two actually missed the train due to a confusion with a reservation number. Thankfully the two that missed the train were able to contact some friends and make it back to Pontiac that night.

Chicago was an awesome city and I definitely want to go back and check it out again!

-Eileen

Team Pontiac:

Some of us were feeling a little too cool for Chi-town and so decided to spend the day cruising around Pontiac and get some small town lovin. Kristie and I woke up around 8:00 and five minutes into recapping the previous night’s events were approached by a reporter from The Daily Leader. Holy morning breath, were we not prepared for that. But we chatted, mentioned the trifecta, and even let her take a picture of us in front of the trailer. And hooray for us because we actually didn’t sound or look that bad. Fearless leaders indeed.

With 10 other people in tow, we headed to the Apple Tree for breakfast and then slowly started to explore. We hit some thrift and food stores along the way, but the highlights were definitely the Route 66 Museum and the 17 large outdoor murals scattered around town. Some fairly heavy rain sent us back to the church and while Kristie started working on her cue sheets, I managed to squeeze in the first of my four mini power naps.

All four leaders decided to stay in Pontiac and so we went out for some much needed leader hang out time at Delongs- a place a few of us had visited earlier in the day for their frozen custard. In addition to being asked for our autograph (the Daily Leader is an afternoon paper, so our article was out around 2), we were given free custard cones- a lovely nightcap to a great city with a great soul.

-Natalie

The ride from West Lafayette to Gilman was beautiful and flat, through fields and fields of cornfields sprinkled with the occasional home or abandoned barn. The route was 70 miles (except for those of us on team 15-mile detour…yay team!). The day was so warm that some people rode with unzipped jerseys flapping behind them. It also proved to be an ideal day to practice riding with hands off of the handlebars and singing loudly into the slight breeze… A big highlight of the day was riding past a wind farm. The enormous wind turbines were majestic as they turned—it was incredible seeing them so up close. At one point during the ride Chong stopped, looked around, and said, “Guys, its so quiet here.” We took a moment because it was really quiet, like silent, and that was weird and nice. The long miles on corn-laden farmland also allowed for a lot of time to talk and play games like the “what will people be like in the future?” game. It was decided that Maso would coach crew on the side and that Justin would vacuum the entire house and pack lunches before the wife and kids even woke up. A couple of gravel roads left our bikes with some fun mud and dust, so we had a nice cleaning job to do by the time we got to the church. All in all, another wonderful day on the road!

-Lauren and Chong

July 4, the day of celebration for all, especially for our fearless leader Kristie, who began her exciting day riding around with her balloon-covered-bicycle. We set her off to a treasure hunt along our 90 mile route, where we planted little gems all along the way from Hartford City to West Lafayette, Indiana. We had the honor to ride with the birthday gal for most part of our day before she left us in the dust. It was quite delightful to stop and act surprised.

The day was filled shock and awe, each cornfield brought a new sense of discovery. As Kyle, Sam cakes and myself push through the miles, mother nature turned on us and unleashed her fury, a rainstorm that we will never forget. After lunch we stopped at a rest stop, a Comfort Inn, it was comfortable. I took a nap and it was marvelous. After the nap we proceeded to second lunch which was setup by a bunch of injured riders. They setup a tarp in an attempt to keep us dry, it failed. Then being the best sweep team in history, we quickly caught up with the last group of riders and swept them into West Lafayette, the home of the Purdue Boiler Makers!

Just another successful day on the road with Kyle and Tino, until next time…

Dearest Family, Friends, and Faithful Followers (the 4 Fs),

We are pleased to announce that we successfully completed our first century. (For those non-cyclist inclined folk, that means we surpassed the 100 mile mark.) The following is our first-hand account of this epic adventure.

After an excellent breakfast provided by Habitat, we assembled outside Sinclair Community College to begin our supposedly 98.2 mile day. False. It was 118. Anyway, we began our day with the usual gusto – a police escort out of Dayton, OH. Two police squad cars and bicycle policeman escorted us the 8.5 miles out of the city limits to the bike path. We greatly enjoyed our newfound power on the road – the ability to run red lights at will and to take over an entire car lane. It was also enjoyable to watch the cars pull over in disbelief as 32 cyclists stormed out of Dayton. We also particularly enjoyed watching the well-rehearsed, precisely-timed squad car hand off at every intersection. (The primary car would block the intersection for the majority of the group then the back car would accelerate and take the intersection duties as the primary car accelerated away. Quite dramatic.)

Here lies the rest of the ride:

-8 miles on the bike path. Glorious. Pace lining never looked so good.

-10 miles in the wrong direction. Not our finest moment.

-10 miles to return to the route with heavy headwinds. Painful struggle.

-Various detours to second-hand stores en route to procure birthday trinkets for Kristie. Brilliant.

-Lunch at the 55 miles mark. Much needed. (Donated pizza eased the pain. Sort of.)

-Attempting to maintain a 12 mph speed against EXTERME headwinds. Hardcore.

-Snacks and Nutella at the discount muffler store at mile 85. Delicious.

-Realizing at 5 pm that we had to re-route the final 30 miles due to unanticipated gravel roads. Unfortunate.

-Ariela and Saskia leading the singing brigade through the next 15 miles. Grammy-worthy.

-Raj and Susanna tearing it up at the century dance party. Awe-inspiring.

-Everyone successfully arriving at the host location before 9 pm. Great Success.

-Hose showers in driveways of Hartford City residents because we arrived too late for the YMCA. Priceless.

Until Next Time,

Your Faithful and Honorable Sweeps,

Suzanne and Caroline

Today was a bit of a challenge early on, as rain met us leaving Columbus. However, most people were in high spirits after a luxurious rest stay at the Athletic Club of Columbus. Many people especially enjoyed drinking the cucumber water offered by the ACC; Shawn put some in his water bottle for the day. Their breakfast was just as impressive. Combined with a great dinner the night before, they clearly take pride in feeding their guests well. We greatly enjoyed their hospitality.

We ran into some difficulty about 8 miles in when Lauren's tire caught an impressive slash, leading to a 10-mile adventure spanning several tubes and multiple stops. Ultimately, Shawn, Justin, Caroline, Maso, and Lauren conquered the issue (thanks to spectacular teamwork!). We rode together for the remainder of the day, enjoying long stretches of bike paths on old railways, called the Ohio Rail Trail. It is remarkable how well-kept these trails are despite their relatively little traffic. Along the way, we passed the time with various slumber party games, like "Life Stories" and "Contact," a word-guessing game. At lunch, we ate the last remaining burritos donated from Chipotle, monstrous wraps that took up an entire cooler and filled the belly. Donation magic at its finest!

The rest of the group arrived at Sinclair Community College in Dayton well ahead of "the caboose" (we decided to rename Sweep), so when we arrived dinner was already served. Afterwards, we held a lively discussion with the SCC provost and some Dayton Habitat for Humanity board members about the recent economy's effect on the city and Habitat's role in it. This prepared us for the build day on Saturday with the affiliate. Overall, another great day!

Shawn and Justin

Tuesday June 30th. Gambier OH to Columbus OH. 62 miles. A Spectacular Day Had by All; Especially Beth and Isabel.

Today, Kristy, a friend of ours from studying abroad in Africa rode with us. Isabel started off the day with a flat tire due to a broken valve. Hoorah! Flat number one of the day. We had breakfast over at Kenyon College’s dining hall, which was absolutely fantastic. The best part about it was how confused everybody else seemed.

We rode off, happily anticipating a shorter, flatter day compared to yesterday’s unforgiving ride. Luckily, at exactly mile 16.3 (Our favorite snack/stretch stop) Isabel got a second flat thanks to a small piece of glass. A tire patch later (plus the second spare tube) and we were on our way. The ride was easy and generally ballin, minus a cloud of thick yellow smog that was sitting over the road next to a tar plant of some sort. Yuck.

We have been running low on food donations lately, so at lunch, we ate approximately 1,000,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and/or PB&J derivatives. The second half of the day was heavily laden with bike paths that were somewhat difficult to follow because they kept splitting and we had to guess which direction to go. Finally, we found the Santa Maria (Columbus Ohio? Figures they would have one of those there, doesn’t it) and rolled into Columbus’ Athletic Club, which was MUCH classier than anybody had expected. It was basically like living in a palace for a night. We got to use real towels, we had a delicious dinner.

We were joined by Scott, a bike and build leader from last year, who came out with us to walk around town after dinner. Bike and Build 4eva. The evening was filled with various activities such as bowling, ice cream, and corn hole. A Spectacular Day Had by All.

We started the day off with berry picking (black raspberries, cherries and mulberries). For those of you who do not know, Ariela has a mild obsession with berries. Her dream of the day was to eat them with fresh yogurt from a dairy farm. She spent the day asking locals if there was a dairy nearby. The closest she got to fresh yogurt was a mini-mart in a Mobil gas station.

Today’s ride was a whopping 80 miles, and quite a bit hillier than we expected. We thought the Midwest was going to be flat but we were sadly mistaken. The good news was it was a beautiful day and the farms and scenery was truly breathtaking. Some of the crops we noticed growing on the sides of the road were potatoes, corn, wheat and other green things.

We happened upon the town of Nashville where we’re told there is a budding country music scene, this thanks to some new residents from its famous Tennessee counterpart.

We saw an “Amish Buggy X-ing” sign and some of our fellow Bike and Builders stopped to speak to local Amish residents at a farm stand. Jonathan explained the experience as a moment of awe on both sides, him staring at a buggy-driven lawn mower while its driver, a young Amish boy, stared at Jonathan’s bike (and spandex outfit) in wonder.

Other notable stops included an antique iron oil machinery outdoor museum. Alie and Ariela took turns climbing up onto a random metal three-tiered bicentennial birthday cake for Ohio (part of the exhibit) and pretended to jump out of the cake. A real piece of history.

The day was long and the headwinds were harsh. The three of us, Ariela, Ashley and Alie (three A’s!) began to realize that the 4 pm expected arrival in Gambier was not going to happen. We were ecstatic to finally enter the bike path to Gambier, which meant only 8 miles to go. To survive, we sang all the songs we could think of at the top of our lungs. This gave us a much-needed boost of energy at the end of a ten-hour day. It was magical and by far one of the best moments in our week.

Arriving at Kenyon College at 6:40 pm we were enthusiastically greeted by our cheering teammates. Accommodations were impressive: dorm room beds= a joy.

-Ashley

Today was a short day, only about 50 miles from Youngstown to Akron. We were sad to be leaving Youngstown because we had such a great Build Day there the day before. We were all moving a little bit slow in the morning because most of the group had gone out the night before to watch ourselves on the news. We were in luck though, because Sunday morning is definitely the best time to be pulling out of a city. Youngstown felt like a ghost town at 9:00 AM when the last riders were pulling out of the church.

The morning ride was pleasant and slow. Eileen, Scott and Maggie were riding sweep and met up with a few riders at a gas station about 10 miles from lunch. While at the gas station, Scott struck up a conversation with a man who happened to be the owner of the Subway down there street. The Subway owner offered to donate some sandwiches for us for lunch. It was excellent. Eileen, Scott and Maggie all went down to the Subway and were given several pounds of ham, turkey, salami, cheeses, tomatoes, onions and even cucumbers! It made a fantastic lunch. Subway has been incredibly generous to us in the last few weeks. We can pretty much assume that if we go into a Subway, we will not walk away empty handed. Thank you Subway!

The day had started off pretty nice and dry, but the rains came around lunch time. A significant portion of the second half of the day consisted of a heavy rain. It was the first time we had ridden in a lot of rain since the epic ride to Roscoe. It was not as fun this time, primarily because the roads were so torn up and rough.

The sun did eventually appear again though, just as sweep met up with a group of riders. The whole crew rode together for the rest of the day. They did make one really great pit stop. Scott spotted a large turkey in someone’s driveway and stopped to take a picture. That of course turned into all of us getting off of our bikes to check out the turkey and small dog that was running around. The owner of the house came out and was incredibly welcoming. She told us all about the property that consisted of a large, beautiful house and a big barn next to it. The house used to belong to Rutherford B. Hayes, a former U.S. President. He used it as a summer home. We were able to check out the barn. The upstairs had a bowling alley in it! Eileen threw a strike! The owner told us about how she had bought the house and the land and even straightened the crooked barn! It was a great little pit stop!

The rest of the day was bright and sunny and the sweep crew arrived at the First Church of God in Tallemadge, OH, just outside of Akron right around 3 PM. Over all, the day was another great one on the road!

-Eileen

While a day working on a house for eight hours in the blazing sun might seem arduous to the ordinary person, we Bike & Builders love Build Days. The mere mention of a Build Day is cause for celebration.

Build days mean a few things: We don’t have to wake up at 6am to deflate our Thermarests and put on spandex; we don’t have to top off our tires with the air pump in between bites of breakfast; and we have the luxury of a day off our saddles, gripping a hammer instead of a handlebar for eight hours.

Our breakfast included Natalie’s magical procurement of an entire week’s worth of donated bakery breads, muffins, danishes and desserts for breakfast.

We worked with the Youngstown Habitat for Humanity on restoring a worn Habitat Home to be resold. This single-family home stood in a town where the rate of crime was among the highest in the nation. The roof was tattered and leaking. The inside was gutted. The lawn could not be seen through the overgrown weeds and bushes. Even the neighbor’s home-another Habitat project-had both doors broken beyond repair, from criminal activity.

Enter 32 Bike & Builders. Matching blue shirts. Closed-toed shoes. The worst farmer’s tans in the history of tan-lines. The smell of SPF 50 on our arms and faces. We were ready to be put to work.

Three hours later, the roof was halfway re-shingled and half of us were ready for our Master Weeders certificates (we’re sure they exist somewhere.) Next door, the neighbor’s broken doors had been removed and new ones were ready to be installed. We had trimmed shrubs and bushes and hand-trimmed the edges of the lawn. The generous neighbors even brought out snacks and cold beverages.

Three lovely women from the First Presbyterian Church in Youngstown came to provide a delicious lunch of sloppy joes, watermelon, blueberries and homemade cookies for us. A dance party of historic proportions with the church ladies ensued. Then it was back to work. More shingles, more weeding, more whacking, more cleaning, and the installation of a front and back door. Riders also found two children’s bikes belonging to the family of the neighboring Habitat home that needed to be fixed.

Three different news crews showed up with various reporters-the local news, a photographer from the local newspaper, and later on, a news reporter from another news station.

Local Ohio News station-channel 21 clip on Bike & Build

http://www.wkbn.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=10506@wkbn.dayport.com&navCatId=10

http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/jun/28/cyclists-pedal-around-to-aid-building-crews/?newswatch

At the end of the day, this house had one of the best lawns on the block (personal opinion), and the roof had new shingles. Next door, the family finally had a working front and back door that did not have to be held closed by their washing machine, and their children’s bikes were back in riding condition. More people from the church came to bring us ice cream. We could not have been more appreciative for the ice cream, and they could not have been more appreciative for our work that day.

The Build Day ended after we loaded up the tools and took off our work gloves. After three van trips back to the beautiful St. Paul’s Church, a dinner of donated Olive Garden food, and group laundry, we met at the Buffalo Wild Wings down the street to celebrate the end of the day and watch ourselves on the local 11:00 news on the big screen!

-Susanna Bee

Franklin, PA a Youngstown, OH (62 miles)

We slipped on our arm and leg warmers on another chilly, overcast morning for our last ride day of the week. After Raj and Saskia accepted the honor of being sweep, Pastor Sam at First Presbyterian Church led the crew out of Franklin, PA, on what we hear was a wonderful, scenic detour away from the morning rush hour traffic on Route 8. Unfortunately, in our effort to be the perfect sweep team by leaving last and giving everyone space, we missed the detour and found ourselves going up a long hill on a very busy highway. We were only upset for a moment, however, because we stumbled across one of the greatest combo businesses ever seen – a motorcycle parts store and barber shop, sharing the same roof (and floor, and cash register).

After an exhilarating race down a steep, wet road with gravel ((chance of death) > (caffeine) for waking up), we ran into Scott and Kyle changing a flat tire. We offered to help, but we clearly weren’t needed because Scott can change a tube in less than two minutes. Scott and Kyle had conveniently stopped in front of the only diner within 5 miles, so Saskia and Raj took a hot cocoa break at The Country Kitchen.

The weather stayed cool all morning, which was a relief because of the number of hills we had to climb. Around mile 15, one of our lovely leaders hid granola bars in a clump of grass at the top of a hill. For sweep, the chalking leading to the food was almost more exciting than the snack break because it assured us we were still on the right road. At mile 25, we rejoined the group for lunch (we hadn’t lost anyone yet!).

The afternoon was filled with more hills and several gopher sightings. At the first steep downhill, sweep took a photo with the “9% grade” sign, excited to race down. The hills quickly lost their appeal, however, when we realized every down was followed by a steeper up. The hill after our photo was followed by a 10% grade ascent, and the next descent was followed by a THIRTEEN PERCENT grade climb. The congratulatory chalking at the crest of the 13% grade hill was appreciated, as was the “DANCE BREAK!” command.

We entered our fifth state of the trip around mile 45. A dozen wonderful riders waited at the state sign so that sweep could be part of the photo with the “Welcome to Ohio” sign. It was nice to officially be out of the Northeast – we really are moving west! During the afternoon ride, we enjoyed watching the steep hills of Pennsylvania flatten out into gentler rolling hills and expansive fields in eastern Ohio. The roads also straightened out, allowing us to see for miles.

We arrived in Youngstown at 4:30 after surviving three miles of potholes on roads that seemed to be a patchwork of all asphalt types. When sweep entered St. John’s Episcopal Church, the place was silent. Riders were sprawled out on every couch and carpeted area. Though the ride had been relatively short, the warm weather in the afternoon and the long week of riding had caught up to everyone. A few hours later, we managed to get up for the three block trek to the YMCA to shower and returned for a delicious dinner provided by Olive Garden (donation magic!). Saskia’s high for the day was doing dishes with Justin and Ashley after dinner (yeah dinner crew!). Maybe it was because of the heat, or our exhaustion, but doing dishes somehow devolved into blowing soap suds at each other and dropping ice cubes down shirts. Don’t worry – all of the dishes were clean and dry by the end of our kitchen fun.

In the evening, two groups of riders gave presentations. Ariela and Tino shared information on the organization Rebuilding Together (we’re still waiting on the song and dance version of the presentation we were promised), and Eileen and Maso presented case studies that highlighted projects completed by two affordable housing organizations. Those who had not already fallen asleep in the dark room during the presentations moved out to search the church for places to sleep. By 11 we were all settled for the night, spread out over three floors, resting up for our build day in Youngstown, OH!

-Saskia

Goodbye Warren, HEllllOO Franklin. Franklin, or Fa Fa Fa Frankie Pennsylvania is a great small town that grew from the oil refining industry but with the departure of Penzoil and Quaker State from the area comes the decline of jobs and most importantly people from Franklin.

Though the small town is lacking in industrial jobs that made it once flourish it is home one of the nicest hosts we have stayed with thus far. Pastor Sam housed us, fed us and was even kind enough to share his home brewed beer with us, which really helped take the edge off of this hard and long day of riding.

In order to ensure all riders safety it was necessary that two very special riders, Chong and Trevor, end their almost two week long hiatus and act as the groups sweep riders. The Chong and Trevor Faction – as they are now known - have not been together since they left their dorm room at Brown University June 14th. Their day was one filled with naps on the thruway, long climbs, naps at lunch and a couple of flats.

The ride from Warren, PA to Franklin, PA consisted of many hills, gravel covered roads and for most of us, ended with a fast pace expressway ride. Though the day was long and exhausting having such a nice, generous and caring host in Pastor Sam, we stayed motivated to get back on the bike and ride another day.

Trevor wants to give a special shout out to all of those following him on his journey across America, you know who you are. Thank You so much for your support and keep it coming!!

Addition from Suzanne and Ariela:

We had a pretty fantastic detour day and wanted to share.

First, we decided to visit Pithole, PA. We had been with a group of six, but only the two of us decided to attempt to make it. The roads became incredible steep, indeed steeper than any climb of the day so far, and as we headed down the first hill at around 27 miles/hour, Ariela came face to face with a huge black bear. Suzanne saw it too and was excited, Ariela, far ahead, screamed, did a quick u-turn and headed back up the hill. This was not the end of our safari adventure- we saw some deer and groundhogs later on as well. Pithole is now home to only one year-long family who was glad to fill up our camelbaks and give us cold water just as we had run out...glorious beyond words.

Two miles on this small steep road, and we finally made it. Pithole was a small farm that in 1865 oil was found on. 15,000 people rushed in, building over 50 hotels, banks, saloons, even a “house of ill-repute” that we failed to find. By 1868, the oil had dried out, the houses sold as wood and Pithole abandoned. All over we signs with “Pithole: A Demise” and “Vanishing Pithole”. The city is now just a beautiful open filed, and the lawn was mowed along street lines. We walked some of them, passing the past site of the many homes and businesses. It was pretty incredible. We also picked black raspberries to get back at the bear that wanted to eat us.

Five miles from our final destination, joined by Maso, Suzanne and I noticed a large stone gate to the left of the river and bike route. A sign told us that it once belonged to a former oil baron who was then considered as a presidential and vice-presidential candidate in the early 20th century. We hid our bikes and entered into the fields—beautiful lavender-colored flowers across the rolling hills, an old bell tower that once housed a 12,000 pound bell...it was incredibly pictures and beautiful. We began exploring, discovering the 3 storied barn that once held hundreds of animals and their feed for a year, and met the man who runs the oil pumps on the land (since the 100-acre property is now used only for its oil). He brought us as a handbook with photos of the farm back in its glory, which included all kinds of bizarre animals and huge pigs. He proceeded to pull out his cell phone and show us photos of the bald eagles that nest on the property, and tell us that he had shot a groundhog and gutted it to hide his camera inside it—revealing his secret to those wonderful close-up shots. We wanted to go see the castle, so we followed him up a steep hill (he was on an ATV), realizing that our strengthening biking muscles did not help us at all on the climb.

By this time, Lauren and Erika had joined the three of us for the exploration.

The castle was intense. Beautiful stone steps and lush garden, a large swing to sit in, even a fish pond. We walked around admiring, until we realized the castle (now a Christian school) was open. We found no one inside, but greatly enjoyed viewing the many incredible rooms and décor, noting that this would be a most wonderful Bike and Build host site (dormitories!). It was fantastic. The sun was setting, the rolling hills were glorious and the river view breathtaking, we headed back down the hill and rode the last 5 miles entering Franklin with the first raindrops and thunder. Such absurd timing to a magical day!

Today I was sweep. It's exactly how it sounds. I stay behind with my partner, Jake and made sure all the people in the group were in front of me. Essentially, sweeping them up. And because we were sweep, we took our sweet time. We stopped at the Wellsboro Diner and enjoyed a delicious egg muffin sandwich, sat at lunch for two and half hours and went up the hills at about 5 mph. Luxury. I could probably do sweep everyday, but I would also loose all endurance and biking ability. Not so good.

The weather was once again amazing. Not too hot, but sunny the whole way. A nice and easy day, 46 miles. Trevor, another fellow Bike and Builder decided to be sweep as well, or maybe he was just being lazy. We played 20 questions (he totally didn't know who Hermione Granger was) and at one point switched our bikes around. Jake had mine, he had Jake's, and I had Trevor's bike. After riding it for about 5 miles, I had to get off due to his sliver of a seat. I just don't understand men's butts.

Once again, another amazing host provided a filling meal and great conversation. The sun was out bringing everyone to the massive church field. Some were playing volleyball, others were lying in the grass getting a surprise from the fire ants. I'm surrounded by people on computers right now (it is a rare occasion to find internet out in the middle of nowhere aka all the towns we stop in). Every couple of minutes I get a a Facebook notification from Kristie as she tags me in yet another picture. The group as a whole is starting to get much closer. You know these things when you can share your chaffing stories with anyone (guy or girl), enjoy taking group showers, and every couple of minutes someone looks over my shoulder and reads this post. Tomorrow we are off to Warren, PA, listed as 80 miles but possible 70 if we can take a shortcut.

-Alie

June 22, 2009

Dear family and friends, if you didn’t already know, today is International Mustache Day.

This morning we woke up early at the Standing Stone Vesper Church in Wysox, PA. We packed up, ate breakfast, and then began celebrating by marking our faces with a wide range of staches—from handlebars to fu man chus.

We set off for our 59 mile ride to Wellsboro, PA. We were told to expect many hills and this prediction was not wrong. It was a warm day (our warmest yet at around 80 degrees) and the ride was beautiful—going through the Pennsylvania countryside. The whole ride was over rolling hills past farms, forests, and small towns. As for those hills, encouraging chalk messages on the pavement got us to the top. This day was also made incredible by dance parties (celebratory ones at the tops of hills and spontaneous ones outside of post offices). For Isabel, a highlight was getting to play with puppies at a house with a LABS FOR SALE sign (she really needed this as earlier in the day she had a near-miss run in with a house on wheels).

Around lunchtime we made a very generous and jovial friend, Joey. He was chatting up some of our group outside of an ice cream store and decided to donate to our cause. He also offered to pull us up the hill behind his truck (we sadly had to decline) and he agreed to take a picture with our entire group, with a mustache painted on his face. What a wonderful man!

This was not our only instance of “donation magic.” When Jake arrived in Wellsboro, he started talking with some motorcyclists. They took him to a bar, talked up Bike and Build, and he left with $50 in donations. These were the same bikers who earlier had entertained the group by pretending to be pedaling on their motorcycles (while whizzing by).

We all pulled into the church in Wellsboro around 4:00. We were all happy to hear that Jonathon had secured us a free swim at the nearby pool. We had a tan lines contest and Maggie won with flying colors (mostly because she was wearing her beautiful biking bib in the pool). Good thing that we got wet in the pool because shortly afterwards water balloons mysteriously came pounding against our backs (procured by Peter at a Ben Franklins).

All in all it was a wonderful day, finished off by wandering around the main street of Wellsboro and then sharing our experiences, concerns, and happy moments in a “town hall meeting.” Now we are ready to snuggle up with our group romance novel that Saskia procured from a local bookshop. We can’t wait for tomorrow—it will surely be another great day!

Truly yours,
Peter and Lauren

Isabel and Ali’s Magical Adventure

Today the group rode from Binghamton, NY to Wysox, PA. It was the first legitimately beautiful, sunny day and an easier ride as well…even though it was still 60 miles.

Before taking off from the United Church of Christ in Binghamton, our gracious host Amy and her husband prepared breakfast for everyone. While we were busy packing and cleaning bikes, Amy’s daughter Abby (she was about 5) took random group members through a “secret portal” of hers upstairs to help slay dragons. It was hilarious and oh so cute.

Once everybody took off Isabel and I kept a nice pace and made a few stops along the way. Our first stop was at a flower shop on the NY/PA border where a group of us all stopped and posed on a wooden boat replica and played on it for a while. We even went so far as to make a rendition of “I’m on a Boat” by Andy Sandberg. Our next notable stop was in Nichols, NY where we saw a fountain in the town center that had been filled with soap bubbles and traffic cones. That was funny.
About 31 miles in we saw the infamous Walter by the side of the road so we knew it was time for lunch. We ate quickly and then continued on over the border about five minutes later. The rest of the ride was pretty easygoing. At about mile 45 Ariela joined us and we helped her keep a lookout for her dad, Jeff Borkin, who was driving to meet us and bike a little for a Father’s Day bike ride. While we were stalling on the roadside we came upon an old fire truck made by Vigilante Truck Co. in Rome, PA. After a few pictures we took off again and soon met up with Ariela’s dad for the last leg of our journey.

Everybody arrived at Standing Stone Vesper Church before 3:00 PM. We spent the afternoon playing ball and painting our trailer. Some of us attended a church service while others played outside. And now we’re all crammed into a small, carpeted room vying for floor space. Good night.

Today our P2S group had the distinct privilege of rising an hour later than usual. We were scheduled for a two day stop-over in Binghamton, NY with the First Congregational Church as our base of operations. Being a Saturday and being that we are an affordable-housing-oriented group, we were all set to put in some sweat equity at a local Habitat for Humanity build site. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we were forced to put our skilled labor to use in other, perhaps unconventional ways.

Under gray, looming clouds we arrived in several shuttle vehicles at the Ross Park Zoo around 10 am. We were ushered in, divided up, and sent to various parts of the zoo to help with cleaning different habitats. As the rain began to fall, we set about finishing our respective assignments. Some of us shoveled rocks out of a penguin habitat, others got to vacuum the carpet in a viewing area, and a select few of us were blessed enough to load dozens of huge wet logs into a pickup truck and then unload them in a different spot. It was an eye opening experience for all of us that will continue to be a source of perspective for months to come. Some of us were so thrilled with the experience that our mud-caked faces wept with tears of joy.

At around 1 pm, we were told we had done enough and were encouraged to ride the carousel which ran for nearly a whole minute! The music no longer worked so some of us jovially provided our own. Throughout the rest of the day the rain continued to fall in buckets. Those of us who needed to make a trip to the bike shop, to the library, or the YMCA were punished with gallons of water for being responsible. The highlight of the day for most of us was seeing Raj take a “shower” in the parking lot, complete with a full lather and shampoo session.

We have enjoyed the hospitality of the church immensely. The organizers and staff have been immensely pleasant and helpful but I think we are all looking forward to a wonderful day of biking in the rain again tomorrow!

-Chris Biggs

Hello folks,

Waking up today, we were a bit more optimistic about riding to Binghamton than we were about our trip to Roscoe (the good folks at the United Church of Roscoe told us the route would include less hills than the day before). The morning leg of the ride was great, as we mostly followed a river down through a valley in the Catskills. First lunch was a little further ahead than we thought, but thankfully we weren’t completely burnt out by the time we got there. After a quick refill on multiple PB and Js, sheet cake, and bananas, we were off for the second leg of our journey. We hit a HUGE downhill which led us into a picturesque valley full of New York City reservoirs. The road wound in and out of these reservoirs for quite a while before we eventually caught up with an official bike route—old route 17. Route 17 took us all the way into Binghamton (with, of course, huge hills testing our endurance the entire way). The total mileage was in the mid 80s. When we arrived in Binghamton, the entire group went to a dedication ceremony for Broome County Habitat for Humanity’s 23rd house. The homeowner was extremely thankful for the opportunity provided to her by Habitat. All in all, a good day, albeit long, and everyone was super excited for a Build Day on Saturday.

Jonathan and Chong

Ahhh biking in the rain… there are some things you need to know about biking in the rain for 75ish miles from Poughkeepsie to Roscoe, NY. I am going to share the story of Maggie and Kristie. You should pretty much do the opposite of everything we did.

The day started out great: spirits were high, host was amazing, bellies were full. The 20ish mile ride to New Paltz was fast and when Natalie and Chris passed me in the van screaming that hot chocolate would be waiting at the top of the climb, spirits got higher.

Raining.

The climb wasn’t bad. It was long, but gradual with lots of switch backs. Hot chocolate was waiting as promised, compliments of Burger King. This is where Maggie and I began riding together. We realized about 15 miles later that the van with lunch might not meet our rumbling bellies in time. So after an amazing/scary downhill we find “the Pizza place”. We order food. Maggie: the most gigantic Calzone I have ever seen (pictures to come), Kristie: Chicken parm sub… both delicious. After digesting we realize we are still soaking wet and freezing. The owner graciously lets us warm our bums by the pizza oven. We then slowly begin to put our socks and shoes back on and do not want to go outside again. One hour later we are back on the road. Ugg.

Still raining.

We stop again. mile 50? 4pm? 25 miles to go? This time we are at a deli, with more hot chocolate, shoes off, many puddles on the floor, we see Scott (he is sweep today) I run outside to catch Sam (also sweep) and now there are 4. We are all pretty crazy at this point. There is lots of giggling and Scott downs a piece of lasagna that could feed four. I heart rainy days.

Rain? Oh yes.

We are back on the road and in about 9 more miles the wall slams into us all. We still have about 20ish miles and it is almost 5:30. We find a diner. Shoes off, puddles on the floor and massive cups of hot coffee, we call our savior, Natalie. She picks our frozen and delirious bodies up and gives us Oreos and the giggling resumes. My tears dry and I am happy.

More rain.

In Roscoe we find smiling faces and delicious food. The rest of the group is tired but in a great mood. We have carpets to sleep on and 3 people get a bed (yes 3, in one bed). On a scale of 1 to 10 I believe everyone would give it a 10, best day so far. Weird.

- Kristie & Maggie

PS. Joe, an amazing leader from last years P2S trip joined us for part of the day. Thanks for all the encouragement and trip advice! Did you like the rain?

After munching down on cereal, granola bars, and chocolate, the group headed out from Kent School. Erika and I (Suzanne), leisurely rode down Macedonia Street and turned off onto Kent Road/ CT 7. It was a beautiful day in Kent – the Housatonic River was flowing along, the sun was shining, and there wasn’t too much traffic on the road. It was really fun to cross through Bull Bridge, a covered bridge a few miles out.

Jonathan, Kyle, Chong, Erika, Sam, and I crossed the New York border, which was only distinguishable by the change in pavement! Since there wasn’t a state border sign, we took a photo of the group of us lying on the pavement line forming the letters NY with our bodies. After, we sat down for a second breakfast at the Buttonwood Café in Wingdale, NY. The egg sandwiches were delicious and the homefries were scrumptious!

We then hit a big, rather steep hill. I’ll be glad when we get to more gradual climbs than the nightmarish steep sprints. Fortunately, we all made it up and the ride down was quite rewarding!

The rest of the ride went without a hitch. We strolled into Poughkeepsie at 3 PM, and promptly headed to a local spa to swim and take showers. They were gracious enough to let us all use their facilities! The St. Paul’s church in Poughkeepsie provided us with some great burgers and dogs. After doing presentations, we sketched out the design for our trailer. Unfortunately, the rainy forecast delayed the actual paint job. We’ll hopefully paint it up soon so drivers will learn a bit about Bike and Build while driving on the road!

Off to Roscoe, NY next!

Hello family, friends, hosts, donors, and other interested parties!

We are currently visiting the campus of Kent School in Kent, CT (the alma mater of bikers Suzanne and Johnathan!). We’ve had refreshments, we’ve showered, we’ve discussed the current health care debate, we’ve had more refreshments, we’ve played soccer against the children from the town and lost, and then we ate dinner (if anybody out there is worried that we are not getting delicious food, please call Chris and ask him about the pancakes/spinach pie/breakfast burritos/ice cream/ lasagna/ congo bars).

The party began way before we arrived at Kent. The group went on a remarkably hard journey through the hills and valleys of the state of Connecticut where the hills seem to “raise the roof” of the horizon. – I didn’t know there was enough space in Connecticut for all these very, very big hills. To be sure, Kyle recorded a speed of 54 mph coming down a hill – we were all worried he’d get a ticket.

Many members of the group stopped to play Phaserball at a small place they came across somewhere between the hill #9834 and the picnic spot/bicycle shop parking lot where we had lunch. We now know who has the best aim. We also know how to get stuff for free using our spandex.

Perhaps the most interesting part of our trip came in the form of 3 humongous waterfalls, all of which were crying out “Bike and Build – we dare you to come in the water”. We obliged, and ended up wet and lying around the water as if we were seals of some sort.

Also, one of our fastest riders who shall remain nameless but enjoys playing the bass and has the last name Cole went on a 32 mile detour (OMG!). When we asked him what happened he said “I don’t know where I got lost, but it was a beautiful ride. I only realized it when I saw a sign for Massachusetts – approaching in 5 miles.” He still made it back before I did.

Evidently, today’s food was more than enough to keep our spirits high, because as I write this there are about 4 people sleeping around me with the widest grins I have ever seen.

To Kyle’s family – please note, Kyle is a great “Sweeper”.

Mom and Dad, Abhijeet and Neelam, Tara, Nandini and Ami, if you’re reading this, I love you guys and please send some vegan brownies.

-Raj Bhandari

This morning the group got off to a bit of a late start (Sweep left at 9:30 AM), but that was due to a great breakfast from our hosts at the First Congregational Church in Pomfret and an appearance by three of our riders (Susanna, Susanne, and Natalie) on a local radio show. The weather was cloudy and it started drizzling only a few miles in. Sweeps were both a little concerned that the storm would grow, but it held off and eventually gave way to a mostly overcast day (with an exception of a small patch of “EXTREME SUN!!!”) There some problems about 13 miles in, however, when Sweep came up to a large group waiting for the van to return to pick up one of our riders. Sam had problems with her front derailleur, and Caroline, having struggled with her derailleur as well, was told by the whip-crackingly, slash-our-tires strict Danny McGee that she should probably take her bike to the shop as well.

Throughout the rest of the morning, the group enjoyed some massive downhills (the one part that Caroline missed; she’s not bitter at all); Scott reached 43 mph and Chong hit 41 (much faster than his walking pace uphill, haha). However, some road construction slowed the group coming into Suffolk and left some hands and butts quite sore (grooved pavement). As the group’s reward, they enjoyed some fantastic local ice cream, their first in a day of two ice cream sessions.

Justin and Caroline didn’t hook up again until lunch, after Scott fixed her bike. They made some strong progress through the rest of the day, enjoying rides through some small CT towns. There was one precarious crossing of a 50 mph highway bridge over the Connecticut River with cars whizzing by, but riding three-abreast, the crew made it across with only one honked horn. Danny actually stopped out of fear of death to wait for the Sweep Heroes to hold his hand across the bridge.

The remainder of the day was relatively uneventful for most of the group, save for Maggie, Beth, and Ashley missing a slight turn and having everyone pass them without noticing (including Sweep). Oops! This caused severe panic among the group when they were nowhere to be found at the host site, particularly as lightning bore down on the group. However, as they triumphantly rode in with lightning cackling in the background, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Success! All have made it!

The remainder of the night was spent with a fantastic potluck dinner and a very relaxing session of yoga (during which many riders fell asleep). Overall, spirits are high and everyone is excited to see Kent, CT. Thanks to our sponsors at both churches that we’ve come across today!

-Caroline Godfrey and Justin Villere, Sweeps Extraordinaire

And we’re on our way! Upon arrival at the Brown Boathouse, we were greeted by smiling family members and supporters. After a long dip in our little branch of the Atlantic Ocean, we said our farewells and pedaled away through the streets of Providence.

Thankful that the early morning rain had cleared, we breached into the countryside of Rhode Island, where we were greeted by rolling hills, quiet fields, and blue skies. The morning was punctuated by multiple side-of-the-road delights and there is a 90% chance we, and everyone else, were talking about how awesome the day was 90% of the time.

Holiday Acres was our first stop and provided an unexpected, random, and casually creepy time for us and the riders that followed. Seemingly, every item on this small patch of land wedged between forest and farmland, barely visible from the two lane interstate we were riding on, was composed of items purchased at a defunct theme park garage sale. Yet, it’s hard to imagine something that will top the hilarity that ensued. Highlights: six caged bunnies, an oversized wooden rocker thats seat was about six feet off the ground, a fire truck, a small house, a very diverse kayak that featured a dragon and an Indian wood carving, miniature functioning windmills, and a putt putt course. But, the pièce de résistance was a pond at the rear that featured four eight feet long paddle boats shaped like hippos. The yellow, pink, and green hippos were all a bit out of paddling shape, but the blue hippo appeared pond worthy. And so, we ignored the well established, large cobwebs, the water and leaves up to our ankles and set sail. Destination? The rhinosaurus in the middle of the pond with water shooting up from its horn. Elegance personified. Long story short- Beth pretended to paddle, Natalie paddled, we made it to the rhino, water fight ensued, rhino was mounted, water fight part deux ensued, back to shore. A video exists; and it rules.

A few miles up the road we were greeted by some lovely gents and ladies that work at and own Bonniedale Farm. We were allowed to pet and take pictures with all their animals including llamas, goats, turkeys, ducks, horses, and some massive, massive, pigs. Massive. We weren’t able to sample their trail rides, riding lessons, or have any of our animals shaved, but it was a fun little farm. Unfortunately, however, this gem may close due to a banking error. So, if you ever happen to be cruising down Snake Hill Rd in North Scituate, Rhode Island you should stop at 1007 and get a healthy sampling of country fun and great people. You know you want to. (Except on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. They’re closed.)

We then stopped for the soon to be classic pb and j lunch, played a little knockout (Natalie: 1, Beth: 0) and continued West. A few miles down, some of our fellow B&Bers had stopped at a rope swing and were just leaving as we arrived. Great timing. Oddly, this was both Beth and my first time on a rope swing (Unbelievable? Believe it), so we took a few swings, had a nice dip in the surprisingly refreshing water and kept going.

The ride ended with a slow climb up a huge hill, a magnitude of which we did not realize existed in Connecticut. What a fun time for a realization. Natalie bonked due to minimal caloric consumption and an all nighter. Beth gave her a Cliff Bar (Natalie: 1, Beth: 1)

The evening wound down with the trailer finally being white washed in preperation for its new P2S 2009 paint job, a massage circle, some night LED Frisbee time, and a viewing of the aforementioned video.

If we had been asked to imagine our first day of Bike & Build, there is no way we would have envisioned all the above (and more) could occur in an eight hour period, but it did. Day 1 is in the books, it was legendary, and there are 68 more to come. Crazy.

Of course, we must mention our kind hosts at the First Congregational Church of Pomfret. They had fruit waiting for us when we arrived, fed us very well, and were charming hosts.

Don’t stop till Seattle,

Beth and Natalie

The ride into Wallace, ID was pretty intense. We substituted a mountain pass for I-90 in order to avoid construction in the morning. It was several miles of climbing and a sweet downhill, but there were hardly any cars, and many riders agreed it was beautiful. Unfortunately, the next mountain pass we did that day was on I-90. The shoulder was full of broken shards of glass, the asphalt was a mess, and there were cars roaring past us at awful speeds. Not everyone thought Lookout pass was all that bad, but I sure did.


Some of us got some respite from I-90 near the end though. There was a bike path paralleling the highway, so we went off the cue sheet. It followed a clear stream of water, and it was in a steep mountain valley covered with pine trees.


Wallace, ID is a town that began as a silver mining town. There were many quirky antique shops to explore, as well as a diner that served huckleberry milkshakes. Apparently the day we rode in was 50’s day, so many of the shop keepers were dressed in poodle skirts and there was fifties music playing. They were also really friendly and easy to converse with. Many of them asked about us and what we were doing in town, and they seemed to be actually interested.


The dinner was spectacular that night. They provided a mixed greens salad that included avocado (a rare treat) and pears, as well as delicious burritos as the main course. The cake they brought had bikes drawn on it, and it made us feel especially welcome.

After a great day off in Missoula, the ride to Superior was pretty lax. It was only 62 miles, most of which was downhill following a beautiful river. We all felt very fresh and enjoyed taking our time at lunch while enjoying yummy pastries from a grocery store donation. In the afternoon, a group stopped at the river and went for a swim. It was a bit chilly but felt great!!!! This seems to be a regular weekly occurrence for some that adds to the excitement/enjoyment of the trip.


Our dinner totally rocked in Superior too and was a great change of pace. There was a fair going on in the city and the church cooked us up some delicious ribs that literally had the best seasoning to them. While eating, we got to enjoy a live band and watch some rodeo roping.

Despite all the fun, none of us are quite ready for tomorrow to come for a couple reasons: 1) We leave the state of Montana which most of us have absolutely loved and 2) that means August 1st which just seems way too darn close to the end of this amazing adventure. Until tomorrow…

Well, it’s been quite a few time zones since my last journal entry but I can safely say that today’s ride from Caspar to Shoshoni WY was one of the best so far. As I’m sure everyone can attest, Wyoming is infinitely better to ride through than Nebraska was, what with it’s lack of wind and the abundance of beautiful scenery. What stands out most, however, is the geological disparity of the state as a whole. Every region of Wyoming has been unique and distinctly different from the one before it. When we first entered, we were greeted with rolling hills and beautiful rocky buttes; now Wyoming seems a lot more like the southwest. In a single day you can see plains, pine covered mountains, and red rock canyons. Today we got to see one of Wyoming’s most interesting geological structures, Hell’s Half Acre.


The short and skinny of Hell’s Half Acre is that it’s a really gnarly canyon. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching Starship Troopers, then you’ve seen Hell’s Half Acre. It literally looks like another planet. Needless to say, we were all ecstatic that the canyon was situated right next to our first lunch stop, some forty miles down the road. A combination of tailwinds and high energy brought us all into first lunch relatively quickly, a fact that many of us relished. Most of us spent our lunch break looking out over the canyon with sandwich in hand. Myself, I spent part of it changing a flat tire; my first in fact.


The remainder of the ride between first and second lunch was spent, as many of my rides are, singing songs with other riders. My usual repertoire of Beatles, Queen, Van Halen and Weezer was expanded with a number of Brooke and Willa originals. My personal favorite was their rap, “Riding Across America”. While riding with Willa, I was able to learn that this part of Wyoming looks remarkably similar to New Mexico. I also learned that Wyoming could still be windy as heck. By the time we reached second lunch, some eighty miles from the start, most of us were in considerable pain. Our solution? Cruise on into town with the Sweeps after a long lunch.


Riding into Shoshoni was absolutely beautiful, looking something like the desert after a bloom. Unfortunately, the last three or so miles were spent crawling at ten miles an hour through a wicked headwind. It’s moments like that where cycling becomes much more a mental labor than a physical one, when you know full and well that you’re a mere mile from your destination, but also know it’ll take you way longer than it should to reach it. Fortunately, we were able to take a breather right inside town at a renowned malt shop and enjoy some cool treats and water. Really takes the sting out of what was essentially a hundred mile day.


Tomorrow we head through the Wind River Indian Reservation, a place where the locals have jokingly warned us we will encounter unleashed dogs. I think we’re ready at this point, we’ve seen a lot of dogs by now. It’s been real folks, I hope you enjoyed reading the blog. Mark out.

We biked closely by the perimeter of Yellowstone on Route 191. I found it to be very scenic, though not enough in the wilderness that we saw grizzlies or bison.


We followed the river for most of the ride; the gentle downhill helped us keep biking briskly in spite of the intermittent wind.



We took two lunch stops: the first by the side of the highway where one B&Ber found the bone of some unidentified being, the second by the side of the river where a bunch of intrepid souls maneuvering through the only slightly white white-H20.


We biked through the town Big Sky, where we spotted some cowboys riding their horses on some ranch whose entry exhibited the skull of an elk or deer. To prevent boredom, we discussed numerous "would-you-ruthers" (like whether we would kill a puppy or one well-nigh extinct species) to comic effect.




I found the church/ministry that hosted us, Christus Collegium, to be luxurious by Bike & Build's criterions: roomy, showers onsite, the interior lightly-scented, plus a set of 88 ivories to tickle with my music deprived fingers. Furthermore for dinner they presented us with delicious fried chicken for and brownie bites for dessert.

I know we have many friends and family members coming out to our 'beach landing' in Seattle. I'm sure you would all like to know the itinerary of how these two days are going to go, so you can make your own plans. I've been working on it, and at the request of several parents, am putting up all dates and times I know at the moment. August 10th and 11th will go as follows:


August 10th:


MORNING:
- We have a 40 mile ride (short for us) from Everett, WA into Seattle. We're riding into Alki Beach, in West Seattle, closest to the intersection of 59th st and Alki Ave. Here's a map: http://tinyurl.com/5ppddp (so just northeast of the Alki Bathhouse).

- We'll aim to hit the water/beach around 11 a.m.-12 noon. But you will want to get there a little early, maybe by 30 mins. Seattle will be hard and slow to bike through, but we will make our route know at least a couple days out, in case people want to watch us ride in.
- Hana Kawai's (a rider on our trip) parents will be providing lunch. If you want to provide food, please keep reading...

- We will most likely be staying at a church about 4 blocks from the beach. Unfortunately, only riders are able to stay there.


AFTERNOON:
- The afternoon of the 10th will be free time for the riders and families. We have a bunch of last minute errands to do, including packing and shipping off bikes for those who need it, and primarily preparing dinner for that night.


EVENING (an important part to read):

- We will be hosting a banquet for the riders and their family/friends this night. It'll be held on Alki Beach, around 6 p.m., in picnic area #1, which we have reserved. There is a grill. Please WRITE A COMMENT BELOW if you plan on attending, with the number of family and friends that will be representing your rider. It's very important to get this number down.
- Riders often buy, prepare, and serve this dinner. However, we would love to make this more of a potluck-like dinner, with parents also bringing along/preparing/grilling food. This will take alot of the cost and dinner-prep-stress off the riders. If you are interested in providing a dish, please ADD WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BRING to your comment. Hopefully, we can round out the meal by filling in the gaps as people post below.


Monday the 11th:

MORNING TO AFTERNOON
- We will be working with Rebuilding Together on a house site south of Alki Beach in West Seattle. It'll be from about 8-4 or so, and only riders are able to build- thirty riders on a housing site is already alot, the addition of more will be overkill.


EVENING

- The riders will have our last meal together as a group. Afterwards, we will likely have a campfire on the beach. However, riders are welcome to split off from the group, if they wish, to hang out with the 'rents.


Tuesday, the 12th:
- Riders will begin to leave, and generally, Bike & Build is officially over. Riders will have one additional day to stay overnight if needed.


This is what I've got to the best of my knowledge. The plan is about 90% complete right now; I'll be working hard to get a solid plan down asap.


Jake Stangel

Nestled snugly into a log-cabin church in a picturesque town at the foot of the Rockies, we are all full of ribs, chicken, and anticipation. Today was an exciting day! Scattered throughout Lander and its environs we woke up this morning in beds and real homes and had real breakfasts (all thanks to our super-generous homestay hosts in lovely Lander). It was an auspicious start to an exciting day, 70 miles of steady climbing with snow covered peaks poking out from behind buttes and hillsides to the west all day. Some lovely views of the mountainous rides ahead kept the drudgery of chugging up steady inclines into a headwind all day from becoming discouraging--my personal favorite was emerging from a canyon only to see flat fields of golden-brown grass stretching off in the distance to the Rockies (technically the "Wind River Mountains" as the particular range was called.) The ride got even more beautiful (and not quite so tedious) after lunch, in the tiny outpost of Crowheart. Towards the end of the day we biked upstream along the wind river into Dubois, and at one point followed it through a beautiful gorge with deep red bluffs overhanging the road. A few of us stopped, slipped under the ubiquitous roadside barbed wire, and took a quick dunk in the frigid and surging waters of the river (we found a quiet eddy by the bank, it was TOTALLY safe, we promise). Upon arrival in Dubois we were tired but energized--the local drugstore sold truly fantastic milkshakes, and the snow covered peaks now looming tantalizingly nearby promised a day tomorrow unlike anything we've done before. We can't wait!!!

We woke up at 5am today and had mixed feelings about going another 80-plus miles today after our century yesterday. A few people decided to hit up a gas station for a customary coffee stop, while others went straight into tackling some unexpected hills. The route flattened out as the day went on. The temperature, however, hovered in the high 80’s / low 90’s for most of the day. We stopped for lunch at a local eatery/ice cream stand, but arrived 10 minutes before it opened. When they finally opened at 11, we promptly inundated them with several orders including onion rings, waffle cones, and fruit smoothies. The day’s route was originally planned to divert from US 20 for a few miles, but at the supposed branch-off point our alternate route never materialized. We decided instead to follow US 20 the rest of the way into Plainview. We were worried the road would be too much like a highway, but it turned out to be alright. There were the typical potholes and cracks, but also the slightly-less-typical shrubbery growing out of said cracks. For the most part, however, the road was adequate to ride on. There was a large shoulder for most of the way, and the traffic was relatively light for such a road. We arrived in Plainview and were welcomed for the night by the United Methodist Church. After showering, a few of us checked out the free-to-all Plainview “Klown Doll Museum.” I only looked in the window after it had closed, but the name was relatively self-explanatory. There were a few small rooms with plenty of clown dolls on shelves, hanging from the ceiling, and on a carousel in the middle of one of the rooms. Dinner was a tasty mix of different lasagna’s accompanied by a variety of veggies. We capped off the night with our weekly affordable housing meeting and decided to get some rest. We are definitely getting as much sleep as we can these days; 180 miles the last two days and 80 again tomorrow as we pedal to Stuart, Nebraska.
Marty Meterko

Today many of our riders rode their first century, or 100+ mile ride.
We rose at 4:30—a new trip record—and were on the road by 6:40.

Thanks to the 90/90 rule (over 90 miles/over 90 degrees) we had two
lunches, around miles 45 and 80. By the time we crossed over the

Missouri River on US-20, our mileages ranged from 102-115 (though most
of us were around 103). Our accommodations for the night were at a

YMCA on the riverfront—in Nebraska, but right on the border. The
terrain proved difficult as we journeyed over hill after hill, yet we

all persevered and managed to avoid riding in the van. By the time we
finished (4:00 for most riders) we were jubilant and group pictures

and celebration ensued. Needless to say, we were exhausted and, after
a great dinner that was provided, we were off to bed quickly. Our

group affordable housing presentations were supposed to be at night,
but given the state of our group (mostly asleep) we decided to

postpone them until the next night.


All in all, everyone did a great job. Marita made a great route that
avoided many of the busy roads in Iowa which we've previously

experienced. We all rode over 100 miles despite high heat and big
elevation changes. It was a wonderful experience and one that we'll

not soon forget.
Today many of our riders rode their first century, or 100+ mile ride.

We rose at 4:30—a new trip record—and were on the road by 6:40.
Thanks to the 90/90 rule (over 90 miles/over 90 degrees) we had two

lunches, around miles 45 and 80. By the time we crossed over the
Missouri River on US-20, our mileages ranged from 102-115 (though most

of us were around 103). Our accommodations for the night were at a
YMCA on the riverfront—in Nebraska, but right on the border. The

terrain proved difficult as we journeyed over hill after hill, yet we
all persevered and managed to avoid riding in the van. By the time we

finished (4:00 for most riders) we were jubilant and group pictures
and celebration ensued. Needless to say, we were exhausted and, after

a great dinner that was provided, we were off to bed quickly. Our
group affordable housing presentations were supposed to be at night,

but given the state of our group (mostly asleep) we decided to
postpone them until the next night.


All in all, everyone did a great job. Marita made a great route that

avoided many of the busy roads in Iowa which we've previously
experienced. We all rode over 100 miles despite high heat and big

elevation changes. It was a wonderful experience and one that we'll

not soon forget.

Marshalltown, IA July 4th


Today we woke up in the Mount Vernon Community High School gymnasium at 5:00 a.m. with thoughts of patriotism, need for food, need for more sleep, and Will Smith saving the world on our mind (we watched Independence Day last night). After going through our daily morning routine we gathered outside on a chilly but sunny morning for our route meeting to prepare for the 88 mile ride ahead of us. We went over the directions for the day’s ride ahead of us while some riders decorated their bikes with red white and blue. We read a daily quote for laughter, awarded a rider with the pin-wheel (in recognition of motivating other riders), awarded a rider with “Gilbert” a monkey who goes to the rider who spreads the most laughter, and listened to an awesome 4th of July pump-up speech from Michael.





Spirits were high when we left; however, cycling through the flood damaged Czech Village of downtown Cedar Rapids was really demoralizing. All of us rode in silence as we gazed at the mountains of debris along the streets with mud lines near the roofs of houses from the waters, which reached 11 ft above the highest previous flood. As sad as the sight was, it made all of us recognize just how important the affordable housing cause really is.





A much needed lunch stop in the countryside with perfect weather outside helped improve moral. Several riders napped under the shade of a tree before riding the remaining 40 miles of rolling hills to Marshalltown. This was some of the most enjoyable riding we’ve had, with the exception of being on highway 30 for part of the ride, which was really intimidating because of numerous semis, pot-holes, and small shoulders. We reached Hope United Methodist in the early afternoon, and because it was the 4th with most places closed, we were with “community showers” in the truest meaning – a hose outside the church. After cleaning up, we had a typical American cook-out with burgers, bratwursts (thanks Eric), and watermelon while listening to Paul Simon. Finally, we were shuttled into the park in downtown Marshalltown, and listened to a live band while we waited for fireworks to start. Because we stayed up late for then awesome display of fireworks, we were informed we could sleep in to 7 a.m.!! with a short ride to Ames tomorrow.





That pretty much sums up the day. Thank you to all Bike and Build supporters. Happy 4th of July. -Chad

Our ride out of Pontiac, IL into Peru, IL was shrouded in excitement, particularly for the two CUS 07’ alums (Shira and myself). Adam Bohr- rider from CUS 07’, native Illinois resident, and all around Amazing American Hero- had arranged to join us for the second half of our superfast ride into Peru, AND had organized a pool party for us (with the help of Kayla, his girlfriend, as well as Kayla’s mom) at the house of his girlfriend’s grandparents, who live in Peru.


This delicious treat of a pool party, which lay at the end of our ride, made us all ride extra fast to get straight to the goods. I rode the entire day with our Texan speedster, Eric Rowell, as well as our corn-fed Iowan champion, Chad Olson. Our three-rider team met up with Adam about 20 miles out of Peru, and the four of us proceeded to hold a 20-22 mph average the entire way into town. It was great to catch up with Adam after a year of email-based communication, and it was also funny to see that he’s stayed in such ridiculously good muscular shape that he could easily be placed in a Giorgio Armani underwear ad, sans double-take.


After we rolled into St. John’s Parish in Peru, to an array of excellent snacks set out by our wonderful hosts, we quickly shuttled everyone to Kayla’s grandparent’s house. Her grandparents, Nana and Grandpa, had put out an amazing spread of pool party snacks as well as burgers, all set next to their perfectly sized pool. After a number of hard days from the past week, the pool party was the perfect way to chill out and give our bodies some rest. We swam and tanned the day away, all with intermitted reading, eating, and socializing mixed in. Again, thank you so much to Adam, Kayla, and her family for an amazing day that we are all still talking about.


As mentioned, St. John’s Parish was an amazing host, and we returned to the church that night to easily devour a second dinner. I believe the events of breakfast in the morning with them will fall on the next journal writer, but, just in case it is omitted, the breakfast was unbelievably amazing. Egg bakes, kiwis, strawberries, and fresh muffins were all topped off with hands-down, the BEST blueberry French toast known to peoplekind. I’m drooling just thinking about it. As most of our hosts know, food is the way to our rider’s hearts, and we can’t thank the hospitable folks at St. John’s enough for their support and good wishes.


Ride on…
Jake Stangel

On our day off, many of us took the opportunity to sleep in and eat a leisurely brunch at a local breakfast place. Later in the day, we did normal day off type activities, such as watching movies. "Wall-E" was really cute, albeit very leftist and slightly disturbing at times. There was a really nice nature trail that was also accompanied by many hungry bugs, and the Route 66 Museum. The grocery store was conveniently located within walking distance, allowing us to pick up little necessities, and they were also kind enough to donate some of their day old produce and bread (including some tasty bright yellow peppers). Many of us also caught up on bike maintenance.


The fireflies lit up the evening. All in all, we had a very relaxing day off.

Only 50 miles to Pontiac!!!!


I’m pretty sure that all of our bodies were starting to wear down after 3 consecutive days of 90 miles, so it was great to give it a rest and enjoy a 50 mile ride with less of a head wind than the last couple days. There was definitely some pace-lining going on but it wasn’t unbearable to feel like you could ride abreast and have a conversation without either yelling at the top of your lungs or running out of breath because of the strong winds.
Eight of us stopped this morning about 12 miles out of Gilman to attend St. Peters Catholic mass. Because we were pretty early, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at a diner in town even though we had our first breakfast an hour earlier. These small town diners are turning out to be such highlights on our trip. Anyways, during the service the priest gave us a couple shout outs which was great and we had quite a few people asking us questions about our journey once the mass ended. For some, it was good to go to church again and for others, it was a good experience.

The other more exciting part of the day of course deals with food…go figure!!! We all got to enjoy loads of left over food during our lunch break from the wonderful ethnic (Korean) meal that Sophia’s parents cooked us last night. Its inevitable that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were still made, but most of us took advantage of delicious steak ribs, marinated tofu, cooked veggies, and more.
So now we are in Pontiac staying at United Methodist Church for the next couple nights because tomorrow we have our first real day off. In addition to enjoying some family and friends that have come into town, sleeping in or at least attempting to sleep in is the only other item on the agenda. Thanks for Reading!!!

After a classic evening of good ole American baseball and a feast on the stadium goodies, we were sad to leave Dayton. The hosts were fantastic and working with the Ohio H4H was so fun! Then on top of all that, the Dayton police escorted us out of town this morning! Police squads flickered their lights and sounded their alarms to guide us through intersections and we were legally allowed to run red lights! We are lowriders and "in" with the law...BB is so hardcore!
It was another long day in the plains of Ohio. 95 miles, two delicious lunches and of course, a thunderstorm The looming darkness was clearly ahead on our route and it looked scary! This was not going to be a passing storm and all of our people took cover with the locals. Anything from a covered barn to a family den to a small town pub...the locals all sympathized with our drenched riders and gave us shelter from the storm...hmmmm...I think that's a christina aguilera song...

Of course, we are all here in Hartford City, well-fed and gloating over care packages we have received from our mail drops. Even if you are not my family or friends, thank you for the goods! We will all certainly enjoy them!

We close the day gazing at another glorious rainbow over this little town. The storm has cleared and we are ready for a new day. Oooo I feel so good!

A Constructive Day


And it certainly was, as well as a very memorable day. Our forth build day found us in Dayton, OH staying at St. Paul’s Global Ministry. It began with a delicious egg casserole breakfast provided by Dayton Habitat Family Selection Committee. Happy to be wearing shorts and t-shirts for the day, we walked the few blocks to the build site. There we met Shawn and Brock, the site managers in charge of the five-lot construction site. Although not complete, three houses already stood in place, while two were waiting for foundations to be poured.


Following a short introduction into the tasks that we would be doing during the day, we gathered outside one of the homes that we would be working on for a brief ceremony with Dayton Chief of Police, Richard Biehl. With local reporters and TV cameras rolling, Ashley and Michael represented our group as they shared the stage, the front porch, with Dayton Habitat Director, Diana Graham and Police Chief Biehl. They shared a few words about Bike & Build, our trip in particular, and our mission. Diana contributed some words about Habitat’s efforts in Dayton and introduced the Chief of Police who shared his thoughts on community involvement. Following the ceremony a number of other riders participated in TV interviews with the reporters. The cameras stayed around as we began work at our various tasks for the day. It was certainly an exciting way to start the build day.


The rest of the afternoon we worked in groups on a variety of tasks which included: mudding sheetrock walls, building a decorative stonewall, clearing the sidewalk of accumulated construction debris and dirt, and pouring footers for two new foundations. While the day was hot, riders could rotate into the shade of the house to mud when they needed a break from the sun. Those that were pouring footers where enjoying their first cement experience so much they even worked through the pizza lunch, in order to keep up with the steady flow of cement trucks. It was a very rewarding feeling to see the accomplishments of the day and especially to see the foundation that we had started for the two houses.


For the evening meal and entertainment, Dayton Habitat treated us to slice of Americana, a Dayton Dragons Minor League baseball team. Timing with the weather was perfect. It rained while we showered at the YMCA leaving us with an amazing sunset to add to the ballgame atmosphere, free baseball cap, and nice new stadium. A highlight for many was the sampling of fried cookie dough. The ballgame was a special way to end a productive and constructive day.

We woke up this morning feeling extra refreshed thanks to Kenyon College putting us up in the dorms last night. Beds with sheets and pillows were a special treat, and then this morning we were lucky enough to get an all you can eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Its funny how even the simplest things have become special treats to us over the last few weeks. At our route meeting I passed the Pinwheel (given daily to an especially encouraging or motivating person) on to Lisa for being an awesome riding buddy for 93 miles yesterday.


With our bellies still full we hit the road on a 52 mile trek to Columbus, home of “the” Ohio State University. Hannah Wagley and I rode at the front of the group for most of the morning before stopping to stretch and wait for company. 10 or 12 of us rode into lunch together where we waited on the van for a few minutes. Chad and I rode together after lunch at a pretty fast pace, fighting the strong winds most of the way. We got a little turned around at one point, but with some help from a local we were quickly back on track. The ride was pretty nice, but most of us were pretty sore from the long day yesterday.


The group reached Columbus pretty early, and we’re staying at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus tonight. The afternoon has been spent hanging out, running errands, and relaxing. The pool was definitely the highlight of the day. Most of the group went swimming, and we were able to show off our awesome tan lines. We played on the slides for a while, and then Lindsey, Hanna D. and I got in trouble when we all went down the slides at the same time. Hilarity ensued when we decided to play “Marco Polo,” but “Bike Build” was used instead. After showers we relaxed, a group headed off to the bike shop, and a few of the girls took a taxi to the mall. The local Pizza Hut is donating pizza for dinner tonight, and the bike shop group should be back with it soon.


48 days to Seattle.


-Eric

6.20.08 : Brooke Jarrett
Youngstown, OH to Akron, OH


With one last look at the stone church, towering three stories high, I clipped my shoes into my bike and took off with Jake Curtis and the sweeps by my side. My knees and my quads were quiet, compliant and they worked the first twenty miles without complaint. Since I was expecting the day to be a long 80 (which is approximately 85+ versus the short 80 which is 80-85), I clutched to my sleeping bag as long as possible this morning. I needed to wring as much sleep from it as possible with the miles we were facing. Fortunately, Joe announced at the route meeting this morning that our trip would be a mere 41.6- including a few extra miles to account for us getting lost. Smiles spread through the group quickly, and we all inhaled our breakfast which was courtesy of the Dubansky clan.


Back on the road, we pushed through a detour and over cracks in Mahoning Avenue. The bumps and unevenness in the street made everything hurt twice as much, and we suddenly found ourselves riding through wet, sticky asphalt.


“Is that truck filling in pot holes in the road?”

“What are they doing? Seriously? That’s fresh asphalt that they’re dumping up there.”


Construction workers pulling black grits from a truck were “smoothing” out the cracks by splattering it on like icing to cake and shaping with a fine rake. Youngstown’s street maintenance is not exactly extraordinary; in fact, it’s the worst roads we’ve seen since we started riding. The county line is remarkably well defined because as soon as you roll out of town, you can feel and see the difference just by the lack of maintenance. I wondered how much money the government pays for the roads here.


Anyways, throw in a wholesome McDonald’s second breakfast (the double sausage McMuffin plus hashbrowns and coffee meal), a short-lived game of bike tag, and a failed search for a beach to lounge on in the hot weather… You’ve pretty much summarized the first part of the ride. Lunchtime came complete with a bag of donuts, and then we flew towards Akron along a highway under construction. With the fumes and dust that the truck expelled, it made me wonder how many particulates we inhale and exhale each breath we take. With our proximity to the traffic, I can’t even imagine the build up. I guess it beats the indoors any old day.


With 90% of the average person’s time spent indoors, bike and builders are blowing the statistics away. Being on bikes or outside for 8-10 hours a day, we probably are indoors a mere 60% of the time. The Church of God in Tallmadge, OH was a great relief to find. Since we’re working with Rebuilding Together tomorrow, we’re all pretty psyched to sleep in especially since the space we’re staying has a basketball court and foursquare court.


Paul of Rebuilding Together gave a great welcoming speech. People are dropping like flies into naps, and dinner is beginning to waft through the building. Tonight at Town Hall, we’ll all meet and discuss any concerns or suggestions about the trip so we can make things better/more efficient.


Take care.
And if any one has any idea about the comparative concentrations between open air and being nearby traffic… or even a resource for truss strain in bicycles and why they’re built the way they’re built… or where the name A-1 steak sauce came from…

You know, let me know. I’ve been wondering on my bike.


Over and out!

Greetings from Youngstown, Ohio! We're here, safe if a little road-weary, glad for the first time in three days not to pull into the host location soggy and cold. This whole biking thing is actually starting to feel routine — today was a 50-miler from Franklin, PA. It began there with waffles (waffles!!!) and fresh fruit (fresh fruit!!!) provided by our fantastic host/cycling guru Pastor Sam. Then it was off, over the rolling hills of westernmost Pennsylvania. The open space is slowly but surely beginning to open up along our routes—the hillside pastures are getting larger, the vistas a little longer, but we were disappointed to find that officially reaching the Midwest (we crossed the Ohio border after lunch) did not mean all those hills just instantly disappear. That said, we all have really sexy, high-functioning quads at this point, and what would have felt like a tough ride a week and a half ago now feels like a breather. The last of us arrived at St. John's Episcopal Church by 3:00, and that was including a 20-minute roadside siesta on someone's lawn a little ways past lunch. (The church we are staying in tonight is a particularly beautiful one, by the way, conveniently located between our showers on the campus of Youngstown State University—go Penguins!—and the public library, where I'm typing this entry.)
It's about 5:30 right now, and two massive tarps of sweaty, stinky spandex (extra this cycle because of the cold and rain pressing our warm gear into its first use) and assorted undies are at the Laundromat with this week's intrepid laundry crew. Many of the rest of us are napping today—must be that it's cloudy, lots of people have been drowsy post-ride. In about an hour we will all shuttle over to Hannah Dubansky's cousin's house for a delicious barbeque. In fact, I better run. If I make the first vanload I bet I can get first pick of the burgers!

18 June 2008, Wednesday



Today we biked from the city of Warren to the city of Franklin, both in Pennsylvania. Although it is often said that it is “always sunny in Philadelphia,” the saying is obviously not true for other cities in the state. Occasional showers throughout the duration of the ride ensured that brakes stayed squeaky and socks stayed wet, except for my (Jeff Hunt’s) socks, because once they got wet I took them off. This did not exactly make my feet dry, but once the weather got nicer, my feet did feel a whole lot warmer, and if it had been sunny, I would not have gotten a sock tan line.

With that said, despite the poor weather spirits where high, as everyone in general seemed to have a great ride. Being as it was the second day in a row of rain, people had learned how to bundle up properly, and so they were able to enjoy the ride from the shelter of their rain jackets and leg warmers. The route itself was not just on roads, but bike paths as well, which was a nice change from the regular traffic-dodging routine. The paths themselves followed various rivers, and the scenery was beautiful; the trees were green, ferns glistened with water, and wildlife ran amuck -- so amuck in fact that a chipmunk actually ran in front of Lindsey Perria’s tire and unfortunately met its demise.
After the accidental chipmunk-cide we came to a stop at the First Presbyterian church of Franklin, after which nearly everyone went directly to the nearby YMCA to enjoy hot showers and a sauna room. After that, everyone walked over to Subway, where delicious meals were served by the inch, thanks to the generosity of Pastor Sam. It was a good day, and upon arriving back at the church we discovered a 62 inch TV with cable, and Hannah Dubaski discovered “So You Think You Can Dance?” was about to begin. While some people groaned, she declared it was the best day ever, and it certainly may have been, but not because of the television programming.

We left the town of Coudersport for Warren this morning, meaning we left some of the softest, warmest couches that I’ve ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. To add injury to insult, we left them for storm clouds. Today we had our first rainy day, the first of many I’d imagine, and it was cold to boot. Although all of us knew it was coming, I don’t think anyone was prepared for just how cold and uncomfortable today’s ride would be. There’s an old cycling adage that states: if you’re warm in the first fifteen minutes of riding, you’re wearing too much. We started our ride the way that seasoned cyclists would say we were supposed to… freezing. Still, despite bad weather this was probably my favorite ride of the trip so far.


To begin, the route was absolutely beautiful. After climbing through the Catskills in New York, and before that powering up the foothills of Connecticut, Pennsylvania’s rolling hills didn’t feel all that bad. Honestly, they felt pretty easy, and I’m happy to say that I finally enjoy climbing. It only took riding through three states. But as I was saying, the route we took brought us through some of the prettiest forestland that the Northeast has to offer. We climbed one thousand feet through Alleghany National Forest before a four mile descent to the Kinzua Dam, which sported some of the best views we’ve seen. For the first time, I saw exactly what I’d imagined I’d see on a cross country bike trip. It’s also very likely I went the fastest I ever have on the trip today.


I like to describe myself as a “middler”. Before I continue my story, let me tell you a little bit about our group dynamic. There’s a fairly broad range among us, in terms of relative fitness and cycling ability. A handful of riders are on cyclist teams, or are Bike and Build alums or tri-athletes. They all have the capacity to cream the majority of us on the road, and usually do unless they are feeling generous or lazy. A large majority of us are middlemen, characterized by moderate cycling ability and average or above average athleticism. The last group… well just try to imagine the average joe who embarked on a cross country bike trip after having their bike for a few weeks or less. This group always amazes me with their sheer determination to finish every ride, usually not far behind the middle group.


Like I said before, I’m comfortably in the middle usually, but today I flew up those hills. There’s nothing more satisfying than biking really fast and realizing just how much stronger you’ve become because you’ve biked something like six hundred miles in the last week. The only thing better is jumping into a sauna after a cold day of riding in the rain, a ritual that I’ve become addicted to over the last few days, thanks to the efforts of Jake-Staz-Stangle. Thankfully, the YMCA that we’re staying at tonight provided us with saunas, showers, and a heated therapeutic pool. Life is good.


Thanks for reading this incredibly long journal, I was just tired of seeing a paragraph long journal entry just telling you about how much we ate and rode and ate again. You’ll be getting more of the same in a few weeks when I write the journal again. Until then,
Mark Smiley-Out.

There’s a beautiful park in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, where we collapsed in the grass under trees this afternoon. It’s diagonally across from the church we’re staying at tonight, so a collection of us came back after dinner to lounge a little longer and wish our dads a happy Father’s Day over the phone. The sun’s going down. This morning in Towanda, we woke up to a cloudy sky, but it soon cleared into a perfect biking day, warm and sunny enough to reveal the green green green all around us. We had sixty miles of rolling hills. Some of the inclines were long and I climbed them slowly, but I felt strong the whole day. Willa told me that it helps to look at the white line as you go up hills instead of craning your neck to see the top. It feels better to take the hills a few feet at a time.
Jake wants me to mention that he bought a three-scoop ice cream cone for $2.25 today. I ordered a peach smoothie, and we sat at a picnic table putting off the next thirteen miles for a few more minutes. Once I got back on my bike, I thought about how much I love seeing highway signs with the word “west,” reminding me of our constant forward motion. Earlier this evening, we ate cheeseburgers and berry crisp at the Wellsboro diner. Soon, we’ll curl up on our green Thermarests on the church basement floor. Tomorrow, we’ll eat cereal and drink orange juice, fill our Camelbaks, then reset our odometers and ride away again.

Today we left for Towanda, planning on a 50 mile ride, but it ended up being about 75 miles in the end, due to some confusion with directions. It was a relatively flat, easy ride for the most part which made for many happy riders. Some of us stopped in a local bookstore, and then at a family-run strawberry patch before lunch. We ended up getting free strawberries in addition to a generous donation. It has been amazing to continue to see how much individuals and communities reach out to us once they are informed of what we are doing. We had lunch at a park about thirty miles into the ride. Some of us waited there for a thunderstorm to pass, but others biked ahead and were stuck in the rain. After lunch we climbed a few gradual hills and experienced some amazing views of rivers and vast expanses of farm land. The directions were relatively simple aside from some confusion at the end- apparently the church we stayed in was not in Towanda, so we had an additional 9 mile bike to get there. The sleeping conditions were snug, but there was a beautiful sanctuary and many of us enjoyed a mosaic inside the church as it was too rainy to sit outside. Ending with about 75 miles, the day was longer than expected but concluded with a beautiful sunset and much needed sleep.

6/13/08 - David Tuck


Various descriptive terms were employed in, perhaps feable, attempts at describing this trip before it began. "No problem," "no sweat," and the ever-prescient "easy" weren't any of them. Having spent the entirety of the first week with a busted hip flexor causing searing-hot daggers of pain to shoot up my spine, accompanied with a vague semblance of feeling sorry for myself, I now have a more thorough understanding as to why specific vocabulary was avoided.
Nonetheless, my complaints are few and of little consequence. Having now spent over a week on the road, I can assert with confidence that this is an exceedingly impactful (and difficult!) experience. Certain aspects of our world don a different context from the seat of a bicycle; tarnished brass antiques of yesteryear granted new splendor. Powering through the crest of a rural Pennsylvanian hill, countryside exploding in ferocious grandeur, existing for you and you alone in those few, immaculate moments; words are no substitute for these experiences, molding the whole reason any of us are here to begin with into an easily-accessible form.

If the allegorical philosophy is a little heavy-handed, muh' bad. For the sake of all involved's interest levels, how about what we did on Friday the 13th of June? Ominous! I'm currently sitting in a park in breathtaking Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, which apparently has free, public WiFi (hint: rest of America, catch up), and this blog entry is unfortunately a couple days overdue. I blame a number of non-directed and nebulous factors. Regardless, last Friday was the date of our first build day on the road in Binghamton, New York. Amy, our host and director of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, was more than gracious and I for one can only hope that our endless graditude was expressed accordingly. The build itself was uneventful, at least in comparison to biking days, but it was certainly productive. Our task of the morning was to spread 80 tons of topsoil across the front- and backyards of a house intended for a family of seven. Imagine thirty-one, sweaty, twenty-somethings and college students shoveling, spreading, and wheelbarrowing dirt for four hours and that's exactly what happened. Or, perhaps a more accurate number would be thirty. I spent most of the build limping around with a busted hip flexor and the daggers and the feeling sorry and you get it. I did my best, perhaps to the frustration of others, but it was an amazing day wherein which some amazing things occurred. What we're doing is important, and for me, this was one of the first times that it really hit me.
The evening was filled with showering, laundry, and exploring the city in a brief, fleeting moment where bicycles took a second seat. The ride out of Binghamton was fantastic, but that's a job for another blogger. Keep fresh, readers.


~dzt

Roscoe to Binghamton:
Today started with an amazing breakfast of pancakes and eggs at the Bait and Tackle restaurant in Roscoe, NY. The ROscoe community was extremely hospitable and we were all well rested after sleeping in beds and airconditioned rooms. We rode along the river for a while, and the ride was pleasantly not too hilly or challenging. The day became increasingly exciting when we had a police escort for a few miles down the interstate. A faster group ended up going straight over a Catskill by accident and had biked about 60 miles before lunch, but most of us stopped for lunch after about 40 miles. At lunch Frannie received an interesting donation to B&B- hair scrunchies. Sweep spend a fair amount of time on the side of the road with Emily and her record of six flats, but it was fun to take it slow. After lunch the ride was relatively smooth except for one steep hill which most of us conquered despite how daunting it looked. The end of the ride was along a big road into BInghamton- after passing many churches we finally found the one we were staying in and we were welcomed warmly by Amy and the members of the First Congressional Church. We got in around 6pm, showered at the Binghamton YMCA, and enjoyed fried chicken for dinner. Most of us were extremely excited and grateful that the following day would be a build day, because our legs were starting to wear down after six consecutive days of biking. All in all, it was another good day with a mix of highs and lows.

My friends told me that cycling across America would give me buns of steel. Days like today make me wonder when exactly this transformation is going to take place. Apparently not this soon. Today, day five, was by far the hardest and best day of the trip. We left the town of Poughkeepsie, NY and planed on riding the 73 miles to Roscoe, NY. 85 miles later we made it to Roscoe. You might say we got lost but I prefer to call it an unplanned scenic detour that was a bit painful. Many of us have quickly learned that getting lost is just part of the Bike and Build challenge and it tends to add just a little more excitement (and pain) to the trip. This ride was the toughest for most everyone in the group because: 1.) it was the longest many of us have ever done 2.) it was mostly up a mountain with a 1000 ft elevation gain. 3.) we got lost. This day was also one of the most amazing for me as well as rest of the group. This is mainly due to the sense of achievement we all felt after climbing that high and possibly the loopyness that came with being that exhausted. Counting lunch breaks and ride breaks I biked a total of 11 hours. But it was so much fun! After about mile 62 miles me and the people I was with couldn’t stop laughing. In tough situations like that, that’s all you can do. The highlight came when we arrived at the great town of Roscoe. The hosts went way above and beyond. We had an absolutely amazing meal at The United Church. I’m pretty sure our group of 31 can eat enough to feed 100 normal people. Then the top 10 best surprise of my life came afterwards. We are used to sleeping on the floor at gyms and churches (which are great!) but this time we were handed keys to a resort! You might think that the bus ride to the resort after an exhausting day like this might be filled with silence. But it was just the opposite. Everyone was so amazed at what we accomplished and at the awesome beds to come that I’m sure the bus driver wanted to throw us out. This was the perfect end to the perfect day.


# of miles we were lost: 11
# of times people complained about this: 0

# of people just a little loopy at the end of the ride due to exhaustion and disbelief: 31
# of graveyards passed since start of trip: 21

Fastest speed down the mountain (for me): 42ish
Fastest speed up a mountain: Ha!

Today we left Kent, Connecticut and set out for Poughkeepsie, New York. We were expecting a pretty easy ride today, only just 30 miles. We didn’t know that it would be straight uphill! All joking aside, we climbed about 800 feet right after we entered New York. We were all exhausted because the climb was steep, but we all made it! The climb was worth it when we saw the scenery at the top, and racing back down. We made it to Poughkeepsie around noon, and after the van got un-lost we had lunch at the host site. We were all glad to get inside to some A/C after being out in 90-degree heat. The St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie provided dinner. They put out a huge spread for us; hamburgers, meatballs, sausage, pasta, salad, corn pudding, beans, and more. For dessert there was apple pie, pumpkin pie, angel food cake, cookies, and ice cream. It was more than we could handle, but we all needed to eat up if we’re going to make it 70 miles tomorrow! After dinner we gave a presentation to a few members of the church. Tonight was our first night of affordable housing presentations. The first group to go was Willa, Jake Curtis, Hanna, and Peter. Now we’re all getting ready to go to sleep early. Goodnight!

Kent Journal, June 9th


Hey Bike and Build followers!


As hot as today was while biking, it turned out to be an awesome ride! We had a 55 mile ride filled with some nice climbs, but even nicer down hills. Then about ten miles after lunch a bike and build alum, Andy, met us with chilled Gatorade and water. The best part though was he told us there was a waterfall about ten miles away. Appropriately, I chugged my Gatorade and hopped on my bike, pedaling my heart out to get to the waterfall.


The waterfall was AMAZING!! The ice cold water felt great after spending the majority of the morning sweating probably the equivalent of five buckets out. This also was a great photo op. for some sweet pictures.


Once we got to Kent, CT we unloaded our stuff into the gymnasium of The Kent School. Later on they made us a delicious bbq, and good food makes Bike and Builders happy ! After dinner, Ashley, Frannie, Dave, and Hana gave a solid presentation about Bike and Build.


Overall, it was a great day, but I’m hoping the weather cools off. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this summer brings. I hope everyone is having a great summer. I’m gonna also have to give a special shout out to my Fleet Feet gang, friends, family, and CUS buddies (I hope you’re stalking me).


-Shira

We left Woodstock early this morning and headed to Granby on a longer than anticipated 56 mile ride. The group is just starting to establish a routine, so we left a little late this morning in getting out on the road. The group is divided in to chore groups (all with team names from 80s hair bands) and we all have various responsibilities- breakfast, cleanup, coolers, laundry, etc. We're still working the kinks out, but we all work hard as a team to prepare us for the day.





Our route today took us through incredibly hilly countryside, filled with mostly gradual yet extensive ascents and screamingly fast descents that wove through pine and mixed forests, marshes, farmland, lakes, and the occaisional quaint New England town. For many of us, it was one of the first experiences of such tough elevation changes so we really had workout today. The day's average speed ranged from barely 4mph to over 40mph on the steepest hills. Seriously, we were actually breaking the speed limit at times.


The heat was a big issue with the temperatures ranging into the mid 90s (98º according to a local bank thermometer) so we all took care to pack our Camelbaks with ice and bring extra fluids. I stopped frequently to soak up the scenery, take hold of good photo ops, and see the sites in the towns we pass through. A lot of riders stopped in West Granby for a country fair where we listened to a live big band, ate a bunch of fair food and took photos of a local oddity- painted statues of turkeys


Even with the difficult route, hot temperatures and the occasional mechanical problem, we're coming together as a team and really supporting one another. It only day two but I feel like I've been traveling with this wonderful group of people for weeks and I can't wait for the bigger challenges that lay ahead.


Now on to the New York border!



Jake Curtis

Greetings from Providence! We've been staying in Brown University's dorms which are extremely nice and it's been a blast so far getting to know everyone over the past two and a half days. We've come from all over the country and are all getting anxious to hit the road tomorrow.


We've been busy getting to know one another, getting oriented, and getting last minute items before the real riding begins. Yesterday we went on our "shakedown" ride which was a quick 20 mile ride around Providence, courtesy of some members of a local cycling club. Finally in possession of our jerseys, we were a formidable sight, 31 of us clad in spandex and stylish tops. The group managed to stick together for the most part, and riding together was a blast.


Last night we heard from the director of Providence Habitat, who filled us in on what our hard-earned fundraising efforts were contributing to: a whole new Habitat house (1/2 from us, 1/2 from he other Providence trip). We got filled in on the state of Habitat Providence as well as what our contributions were sure to provide for in the future.


Today we had our first build day with Habitat for Humanity Providence.
We finished up the good work that Providence to San Fransisco started just a few days before us (although they made it on local news instead of us), finishing all of the wall prefabrication for a new duplex. We split up into 6 teams in a warehouse, each constructing different parts of the frame. We ended up building 13 sections between all of us. Later on we are going to paint our trailer for the rest of the trip and, after some more free time, listen to a B+B alumnus share his thoughts with us.


Tomorrow we dip our tires into the Atlantic and set off on our journey. It should be a fairly short day and the weather is supposed to get a bit warmer in our favor. For now, I think we're all quite excited to get on our way!


Peter Bailis

I am writing to you from the top of the lost and found pile. Brianne organized all our unclaimed objects in what appeared to be a huge tag sale. This was after the trailer and van were both completely emptied of everything from harlequin romance novels (Pat was an aficionado of these) to aloe for our sunburn to a Wyoming trailer license plate. All the debris at the end of our trip is evidence of the ridiculous things we?_Tve been through.


Yesterday we left Everett as late as possible and rolled through 23 miles to Seattle. The energy was overflowing. We?_Td scream and hoot at random, feeding off each other?_Ts energy. We all met at the corner of 15th Ave and 85th NW in a small parking lot. Riding into Golden Garden Park together was amazing. We were met by our friends and family, cheering and cameras flashing. Every Bike and Builder rushed by all this wonderful love, dropped our camelbacks and ran over the sand to the water. Rejoicing with everyone in the salty Sound and our close ones there to celebrate with us was the perfect way to finish our last ride together. However, the trip itself was not over.


Today we awoke at 4:30 am, threw our belongings together, raced out of St. George?_Ts (who is welcoming us back tomorrow night, thank goodness) and waited at the ferry terminal for the second van load (shuttling 30 people across Seattle takes a while). Traffic nearly prevented the second shift and van from being on time, but they made it ?_" just barely. Mount Rainier was beautiful, the clouds were hiding and people bought coffee to try to break the intense sleepiness. Debbie and Margaret from Vashon Household met us at the dock and we proceeded to our build site.


Our build day was wonderful. The whole site is 19 houses and we had people working in at least 6 maybe 7 of them. Today was different because we had riders as well as friends and family building with us. We worked alongside several people who are receiving houses, got to learn from them, talk with them and get a lot done. Most exciting of all ?_" we are going back tomorrow. All the jobs that weren?_Tt quite done at 4 pm today we will finish tomorrow. Then we?_Tll do more.


I spent all day framing and then raising walls with John O?_TBrien, Nate?_Ts dad as well as Katie, A J (who is getting a house), Carrie, and several others who floated in and out. It was pretty satisfying to be working hard all day. At lunch we sang happy birthday to Candace and chowed down on cake. She is now 19 as well as much older and wiser than she was before the trip. Shortly after cake, Bronwyn was the first to leave. It took a while because hugs and tears can?_Tt and shouldn?_Tt be hurried.


The Church of the Holy Spirit in Vashon is putting us up for the night. We had a fantastic dinner and then a second informal award ceremony. Each rider was recognized for something characteristic as pointed out by Win, Bridget and Derrick (makers of the awards). Make sure to check out our spoke cards ?_" courtesy of Tommy. Finally Marie and Lauren headed up Sunshine for a Hard Ride which are sheets of observations and comments for every rider from everyone else. Those two lovely ladies as well as several others read the full Sunshine for each leader and also awarded up a piece of wood from the build site today, signed by everyone, bordered by a tube, with a picture from the dock in Providence on the front. Tomorrow we?_Tll build, go back to Seattle and head out one by one.


This has been the best summer I?_Tve had and I?_Tm sad to see everyone go, but I?_Tm glad to have done this with you all.


~Emily

Today we awoke at 4 am. Yes, that's right, the day after arriving in Seattle we woke up at 4 to catch a ferry to Vashon Island for our penultimate day of building. The Vashon build is going great-we have three houses to frame, four roofs to deck, and siding on several more houses. This is a great way to finish our trip. I don't really feel like writing more, so here's the speech I gave to the riders and families at our final dinner. *and thanks again to all our hosts and donors!*


I am very proud of this group.
We have ridden our bikes across the country, raised over $125,000 for affordable housing groups, built in several different states affecting families and communities in ways that we don't even know, and we have spread the news of our mission from coast to coast. All of this is great, but there is something about this group that is great than that. Over the summer I have spent time with each and every rider of p2s and I have come to realize that they are some of the most caring, genuine, and conscientious your adults that I have ever known. Everyday there would be examples of a rider reaching out to another, helping with something they didn't have to, engaging strangers in conversation. I've come to realize that this is who these people are-they are passionate about the world and people around them and they want to play an active role in it. This summer they did that and I am proud of this group.

I in hopeful of this group.
I used to be cynical about our generation. I say used to. These riders are full of life, are sometimes too crazy, and are all well versed in the art of laughing. Several will be serving their communities this year with Americorps, others are exploring it as a future option. One will spend the next year working with inner city youths, still others will be teaching. Most will be back in school and I venture to say that all will be volunteering in several different capacities. All have the option, if they choose, of being beacons in their communities, leading others in action. It may not always be easy for them, but I have hope in this group.

I am challenging these riders.
We have had a summer that we will never forget. I challenge you to remember the families and mission we have served and the people who we worked with along the way. I challenge you to go further, to take what you have gained this summer and build upon it. Find a cause that you are passionate about and pursue it. If there is a cause that you are passionate about but there are no outlets for you to follow, create them. You are young and there is power in youth. Here are your examples-Wendy Kopp created Teach for America while she was an undergraduate at Princeton. Michael Brown and Alan Kjazei started City Year while they were students at Havard Law. Gandhis' radicalization began when he was thrown off a South African train for refusing to downgrade his seat when he was 24. Decades later Martin Luther King saw a need and started the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at age 28. There is a raw power in passionate youth and I am challenging you to use it! Set your goals high and then set them even higher. Work towards these goals and bring others with you. I am challenging you to challenge other people, young and old, to work and make this world a better place.

I am challenging you.
I believe in this group.

On Saturday we climbed Washington and Rainy Pass, both over the north Cascades. It was a day that we all, with some anxiety, knew was coming. Two days prior to it a rider turned to me and said, "we're ready. If there is anyone ready to climb these passes, it's us." He was right. And if there is anyone who is ready to go out and make their marks on the world, it's you. I believe that you will never loose your positive attitudes. I believe that you will always laugh when going down a mountain and that you will run towards the person in need instead of walking in the other direction. I believe that you are ready to be challenged.
I believe in all of you.


------------------------

godspeed ya'll!

prof ta'daigle

I have the daunting task of describing August 13, 2007 to you. Many of our days over the course of this summer have felt indescribable. The scenery is too foreign, the changes in lanscape so abrupt, the conversations so silly or so meaningful, the feelings so pure. But today seems especially out of the reach of words. That's why I'm so grateful that my parents and so many other riders' family and friends were able to make it to Golden Gardens Park in Seattle to see us all ride in (literally) to Puget Sound. At least they got one day's glimpse into what our lives have been like this entire summer. They saw it all come pouring out of us as we rounded that last corner, steep and downhill, onto the beach, into the water, screaming, jumping, squirting champagne, chanting, hugging, crying, laughing, embracing, rejoicing, splashing and living right in that moment. They know as well as possible just how indescribable the moment was.


I had been thinking about this task of writing about our last ride together and in doing so, remembered a moment we all shared on our very first day back in Providence. Bowman, a P2SF alum, started us off by passing on a tradition from her trip. We all went around in a circle and said two words for that moment. I thought it might be appropriate to ask the same 30 for two more words on our last day. Here are the responses I got, exactly how they were written:


Marie - FO' EVA EVA LOVE
Katya - Keep Riding

Evan - loves hills!
Win - SHAZAAAAAM!

Logan - KNEE, BENDS?
Patrick - Okay, okay. That's disgusting.

Lauren - ABOUT TIME (YO)
Chantel - Pacific Ocean (Puget Sound)

Bridget - Bitter Sweet
Derrick - so close

Courtney - I'm alive!
Nate - DOUBLE SPAN!

Brianne - FINALLY HOME!
Candace - Corn fields

Carrie - Mom?! Dad?!
Emily - It's over?

Bronwyn - meaningful struggles
Eric - Just beginning

Katie - final stretch
Elle - Truely Grateful

Sam - My family!
Kyle - Piece of cake!

Amelia - In it
Tommy - Let's !@#$%^& go!

Jackie - I love you Bike & Build!
Greg - quivering MANticipation

Whitney - love you all
Me - Keep going

Sarah and Anne seem to have found themselves speechless (understandable).


After the indescribable, we were all showered with hugs and welcomes from family and friends and prepared an amazing feast organized by Shelby Rhyne. Most of us were just slightly less than freezing to death because we were all wet from the ocean water and sitting still in the shade and breeze, but that didn't seem to matter too much. The adrenaline and company kept us warm as we ate and mingled and packed up our bikes. (Special thanks to Erin Kinneen of P2S04 for arranging for bike storage and shuttling all our bikes!)


Later in the evening we all gathered at the Lake City church for an informal ceremony where we ate hors d'oeuvrs. Patrick, Sarah, Emily and Tommy all prepared a little to say about each of the riders, attempting again to describe a bit of the indescribable to all those in attendance. They did a really great job and everyone appreciated their thoughfulness.


The next two days will be spent on Vashon Island building with Vashon Household, a local affordable housing organization. Since we have that to look forward to, we don't have to leave each other yet, but the thought of not biking with everyone again at least for a long while is a bit strange. Personally, I will be heading down south to San Francisco with my pannier-laden bicycle. A bunch of others are off to school, flying home, moving to new cities, or exploring jobs around the country. Thank you all for the memories, I'll have them close in mind as fuel to keep going and looking forward to that San Francisco skyline.

Omak-->Early Winters


I?_Tve come to enjoy it when locals tell us that passes are going to be impossible. Today, we heard from numerous locals in Omak, Washington that Loup Loup Pass would be ?_oquite a big deal.?__ A bystander in one of the ubiquitous Northwest espresso shacks told me that it was ?_o10 miles up, 10 miles down; a real truck-killer!?__ I?_Tve come to appreciate phrases like that.


Loup Loup Pass wasn?_Tt a ?_otruck-killer,?__ but it sure caught some of us by surprise. We climbed out of Omak along scrubby, desert-y brush and into towering pines. The grade stayed constant, and the trees blocked any potential views. Riders were left alone with their thoughts, their sweat, and the constantly changing light, filtered through fir and spruce.


Fellow riders have spoken of hills as ?_opersonal,?__ a solo trek that?_Tll show you who you ?_oreally are.?__ I agree with that, I think?_"I started out with a group, but felt my body telling me to go faster, so I listened. Tommy caught me and passed me, as he does everybody (apparently, when you ride your bike every day, all day, for a job, you become ridiculously good at biking) and I pushed past a few riders myself. Every time my greeting was echoed with flushed enthusiasm. We all worked our way up that pass with the knowledge that it was one of our very last true tests, and we?_Td gone over countless like it before. Passes can be brutal, can be ?_obike-breakers,?__ but this one was a labor of love. We loved that pass, loved what it stood for, and loved getting to the top.


Just past the summit, a road led away from the highway, 1.5 miles further up into the pines. At a break in the trees sat the Cascades, waiting, their stony spires snow-capped and still. Bronwyn and I broke into giddy, improvised song, to the tune of ?_oMy Bonny Lies Over the Ocean.?__


See-attle lies over those mountains,
See-attle lies down by the sea.

See-attle lies over those mountains,
Oh, bike to Seattle with me?_?


The rest of the day was spent approaching ?_othose mountains,?__ through towns with names like Twisp, Winthrop, and Mazama (which prompted another cover, to the melody of ?_oShe?_Ts a Bad Mama-Jama," called ?_oLet?_Ts All Go to Mazama?__) along the Methow (Met-How) Valley.


In Mazama, we found three storefronts: a real-estate office, a general store/coffee shop, and D-Tour Bike Shop, which was arguably one of the coolest bike shops we?_Tve come across in our far-flung travels. Dave, the owner, has had the shop for about 8 years and got to ride with Lance and Team Livestrong this year in RAGBRAI. He gave us free stickers, instantly winning a place in our sticker-loving hearts.


After Mazama, we pressed on to Early Winters Campground, where we were treated to snowmelt riverbed ?_oshowers,?__ a bear-safety lesson from Park Ranger Pat, and a cracklin?_T campfire, courtesy of Lumberjack Logan. And then we all went into hibernation before our Cascades crossing.


More to come later. ?_oSee-attle lies over those mountains?_?__


-Sam

http://sandbb.blogspot.com

I?_Tve discovered that most of our days follow a similar pattern. For my final entry, I?_Tve taken our typical day and left spaces for you to fill it in similar to a MadLib story. The actual fill-ins are provided at the end. Enjoy!


I woke up in the small town of (1. place) in a (2. noun) at 6am. The usual crew stopped for (3. noun) to start off our (4. number) mile day. The beginning of the day started off a bit (5. adjective) and the wheat fields reminded me of (6. noun). The day?_Ts first attraction was chalked by (7. person) and directed some riders to the nearby (8. noun). The landscape transformed into a (9. noun)and led us downhill to the famous (10. noun). After crossing the dam, we climbed up through an (11. place) where our trailer and lunch were stopped. For lunch, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and were attacked by (12. noun). Many found respite at the local gas station and Candice even found a childhood classic: (13. noun). We were warned about a small hill following lunch that turned out to be a 15-mile climb finishing at Desautos pass. Fortunately it was downhill from there all the way to Omak except that the (14. plural noun) made even that part pretty challenging. Upon arriving in town, Whitney, Katya, and I made our daily end-of-the-day visit to a (15. place) for some sodas (noun) and snacks. Only to be followed by another stop into Omak?_Ts organic food store, which had exceptional granola. We didn?_Tt have much time to shower, so I quickly walked over to the high school to wash off in their (16. place). The taco dinner prepared by the church was superb and I especially enjoyed the (17. adjective) bread. Some riders grabbed their laptops and postcards to correspond with friends and family. A few went out to see the rodeo, which concluded with a (18. event) where horses are raced down a hill and across a river at breaking pace. It?_Ts a tradition in the area and only lasts (19. number) seconds. I stayed at the church and cleaned my (20. noun) with Derrick and Jackie and eventually called a quits and went to sleep on a (21. noun).


What actually happened:
1) Wilbur 2) tent 3) coffee 4) 70 5) hilly 6) Nebraska 7) Patrick Farmer 8) crop circles 9) dessert 10) Coolie Dam 11) Indian reservation 12) bees 13) warheads 14) cross winds 15) gas station 16) locker rooms 17) fried 18) ?_osuicide race?__ 19) ten 20) bike 21) pew


Katie B

If the simply divine state of Montana was a flashy 5-star hotel, and I was asked to fill out a guest satisfaction survey and drop it in one of those fancy little "suggestion boxes," I think for most of us it would go sometime like the following:


1. Length of Stay:
One Week

2. Reason for visiting:
To Save the World--affordable housing style

3. Room Type:
Montana would be two double beds, with a mini-fridge, jet-tube, two-head shower, heavy down

covers

Day Off in Missoula, Montana!


Wow. I think that can pretty much sum up our day off in Missoula, for all of us riders. We love Missoula. For me, it just seems like a nice place to live, with a lot of character, life, and energy. Friendly people and cute dress shops and soooo close to crystal-clear rivers and soft green mountains. A city center filled with lots of things to do and see, lots of festivals and commotion going on. And there are BIKE LANES!! We fall head over heels for bike lanes. Missoula is, as the sign for its Carousel proclaims, a place "where dreams are followed and promises are kept, and where people believe in making a life as well as making a living."


So, this magical city offered us a plethora of experiences. Carrie, Katya, and I went to the carousel in the morning, this beautiful wonder of childhood dreams that was built and maintained mostly by local volunteers. Each horse is painted in a different theme and has an individual name, and all are exquisite. I rode on Cannonball, and we tried to grab the plastic rings from the dragon head (which I didn't even know that they had anymore) as we whizzed by at speeds of 11 mph. None of us grabbed the gold ring for a free ride, but one was enough for a nice flashback into memory lane.


Then, there was the Children's Festival by the river, where Katya got a pink bicycle painted on her cheek to match her pink T-shirt, and we bought random Missoula "Kids in Action" T-shirts for a dollar. We met up with Derrick, Whitney, and Katie, and went to lunch at a Thai food place that some lady recommended to us while walking by on the street, when she'd stopped to chat a little bit because she'd overheard some loud, pitchy comment that I (of course) had made. =)


We then popped by for a visit to the Adventure Cycling Headquarters here in grand ole' Missoula (another reason to love the city), and helped ourselves to free ice cream, internet, and tons of cycling pictures and info. They're a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging bicycle travel, and have info and maps on travelling by bike all over the US. For me, what caught my eye was a poster that showcased mountain biking the Continental Divide, from Montana to New Mexico. It sounded amazing - remote locations, stunning views, and over 200,000 feet of elevation gain. Yikes! B&B reunion, anyone?


On our way back to the Church, we bumped into Marie and Logan, who informed us of...cliff jumping plans! Well, we threw on our swimsuits, packed 15 of us in the van, chaperoned by our equally crazy and fearless leader Sarah, and drove to the river a few miles out of the city to go cliff jumping! Cliff jumping is exactly what it sounds - you stand on a big rock cropping out over the river, and you jump off. In our case, the rock was an estimated 25 feet high. Notable cliff jumpers:
Bridget: "I just want to jump and get this over with so I can go back to sitting on the sand."

Greg: oh boy...
Courtney: double back flip, twist, tuck, into the water...am I missing anything here?

Emily: "It helps if you scream."
Me: in somebody else's words, "took 30 seconds to go the first time, and 2 hours to go the second time."

Anne: who just took 2 hours to go, period. =)
Sarah: cliff jumper extraordinaire and awesome pep-talker for those who took 2 hours to go.

It was awesome. It was beautiful. I now remember every rock and tree and creature along that stretch of river because I was up on that freakin' rock for so long.


So after getting in our adrenaline rushes for the day, we shuttled back to the Church, where we were treated to a delightful dinner. We paid our mandatory visit to the Big Dipper Ice Cream Shop for ice cream, sundaes, floats, and more, and then, it was time for bed to prepare for our next day of adventures!


PS.
On a side note, Laundry Crew did laundry yesterday at Sparkle Laundry, and a bunch of us all got awesome T-shirts from there. It seems we've been purchasing rather similar stuff along the way (not unusual when you do essentially the same exact thing with 29 other people day in and day out). But to celebrate this (and because we love lists), I've collected a list of matching or similarly matching items bought or owned by people on this trip. Though we may be far away in the future, may you think of each other when wearing (or otherwise using) these valuables:


Sparkle Laundry T-Shirts: Katya, Katie, Win, Brianne, Jackie, someone else..?

Bicycle parts bracelet from bike shop outside of Kellogg, ID: Katya, Katie, Carrie
Moccasins in Wyoming: Carrie, Katya, Whitney, Jackie

Cedar Rapids, IA Farmer's Market earrings: Katya, Jackie
Dress from Target: Katie, Elle

Dress from Walmart: Katya, Jackie
Dress from Betty's Divine, Missoula: Marie, Bronwyn

Cowboy hats: Bridget, Whitney, Courtney
Antler earrings from...somewhere in Pennsylvania???: Marie, Lauren

Bicycle license plates from Pennsylvania: Courtney, Emily
Streamers off the handlebars: Marie, Lauren, Katya

Coeur d'Alene, ID Street Market skirt: Amelia, Jackie
Full-body ski suit complete with bright red stripe: bought for Logan, worn by Sam through the Cascades

Cycling caps: TOO MANY TO COUNT!!!


I'll miss you all,

Jackie

July 29th ?_" West Yellowstone, MT to Bozeman, MT


The day was too beautiful to describe straight out, so I?_Tll just tell you the questions that ran through my mind, as I rode through Yellowstone and the Gallatin National Forest along the gorgeous Gallatin River.


When do bears wake up in the morning?


Do the mountains feel naked, when the sun removes their dressing gowns?


Is a walk through the forest worth the wet socks?


Are there tics in this grass?


Why am I hungry already at mile eleven?


What war are the soldier-stacked pine trees preparing for?


Who blessed us with eighty miles of downhill?


Why is peanut butter still so good?


If I nap by the river, will they leave me behind?


We won?_Tt have to climb out of this canyon, will we?


When will Bridget finish Harry Potter?


Who would pick me up if I floated downstream on a log?


Is the fisherman I met yesterday wondering what I?_Tm doing, too?


Have I ever felt this good for this long?


All my love to all of you,
Amelia

After a brief but beautiful dip into Idaho, we entered the Big Sky state today. The first half of our ride was incredibly scenic- as we climbed, we were able to see the formidable Tetons behind us. It seemed slightly strange to be moving away from, rather than towards, them and to know that only yesterday, the thirty of us had traversed them by bike. Also exciting, our route took us by two magnificent waterfalls, complete with rainbows and all.


Lunch was had in the parking lot of a gas station, which of course was very exciting because it meant that soda was near! It is amazing how cycling can make you crave refined sugar... After a particularly long lunch break, we set off only to find ourselves heading towards a rather ominous looking sky. Feeling optimistic, Derrick and I thought that we could maybe continue on our way, but we quickly found ourselves soaked, freezing, and unable to see. So, after another stop at a gas station to let the hail and lighting pass, we once again hit the road, this time slightly soggy.


We were greeted by a rather brutal head wind as we neared Montana, a head wind coupled with a slight climb as we crossed the continental divide for the second time. But shortly after reaching the Montana border, we were in West Yellowstone. Though we had originially intended on camping in the park, plans fell through as we discovered that rather than the $75 it was supposed to cost, we would have to pay about $460 for the evening. So thanks to Tommy, Candace, and a very generous pastor, we ended up staying in a beautiful church and saving a whole lot of money.


All in all, it was another great day filled with amazing scenery and awesome people.

hello to all of our families and friends-


we wanted to give everyone an update of plans for the end of the trip. so, as of now, here it is:


on august 13th, p2s will be arriving at the golden gardens park in seattle. it will be a short ride for us, so we will hopefully be there be there sometime between 10 and 11. we have a shelter and grills reserved, so we'll have lunch with all of our friends. it'll be swell.
we will be staying at st. georges episcopal church in north seattle. as of now (we hope this will stick) we are planning on having a banquet on the evening of the 13th at st. georges. we are currently contacting local restraunts and trying to secure donations. any suggestions are welcome.

there will be two build days with vashon household, a non-profit, affordable housing group on the island. please let us know if you are planning on working on site with us.
shelby rhyne, mother of rider logan (the kid) rhyne, will be helping with coordination of donations, so please let me know if you can help out and we will all work together.

as always, please email me at tdaigle@bikeandbuild.org if you have any questions!


professor Ta'Daigle


ps- i just learned how to link things.

Today we had a build day with the Habitat affiliate in Jackson, which is somewhat ironic because there seems to be no affordable housing anywhere in this city. Apparently the median house price here is nearly $1.2 million. It?_Ts hard to imagine, but I?_Tve heard from several people that millionaires are moving out of Jackson so that the billionaires can move in. Thus, the housing here really isn?_Tt affordable, but it is great that Habitat is still trying to make it so for certain families.


We all had a great time at the build site, especially since everywhere in Jackson has unbelievable views of the mountains. Two houses were being built, so there was plenty of work to do. One of the houses was actually a ?_owomen?_Ts build,?__, so anyone with a Y chromosome wasn?_Tt allowed to work there. This was rather unfortunate for us guys since some of the genes on the double X chromosomes of the AmeriCorps team we worked with were very attractive. Anyways, people were painting, cutting boards, putting up walls, moving dirt, etc. My job for the day was preparing the driveway so that cement could be poured. Basically Pat, Evan, Greg, Sam, and I were digging holes in the cobblestone with a pickaxe and shovel all day. Hard labor.


One aspect that I really enjoyed about the build day was that we worked with an AmeriCorps VISTA team spending their summer in Jackson. This meant a lot to me because I?_Tm starting a 10 month AmeriCorps program in October, and it was great to talk to the team members to learn about their experiences with AmeriCorps so far.


After finishing at the build site, we returned to the church, which apparently is not terribly fond of us since they had us stay in one room downstairs and would not allow us to use their kitchen. Thus, my dinner crew team had to cook on the camp stove outside. Of course, once we got rolling it started to rain. The hostel across the street allowed us to set up under their parking lot overhang, which was much appreciated until the owner drove up and rudely kicked us out. As with many things Bike & Build, tonight?_Ts dinner didn?_Tt go perfectly smoothly but still turned out great.


Nate

Casper, WY to Shoshoni. WY


Today was a long, hot ride. As we were told by the Habitat people in Casper, ?_oFlat and hot.?__ They were pretty much right. It wasn?_Tt entirely flat; we climbed the first half of the day, reaching an elevation of 6000 feet then descended the second half down to 4820 feet. All of this was very gradual however. Essentially flat.
Anyway, I was worried that this day would be boring and I would have nothing to write about. I should have known better. No day with Bike and Build is ever boring. The first 45 miles I rode by myself and I was losing hope. ?_oI?_Tm going to have to write about herds of antelope and prairie dog towns,?__ I thought.

What I did learn in those miles was that the people in Wyoming are very friendly (with a couple exceptions who almost ran me off the road). I stopped a couple times to stretch and/or have a snack and each time someone pulled over to make sure I was alright. Brianne also discovered the friendly Wyomingers when a whole car full waved to her. In fact, all afternoon, there were friendly honks and waves. That wasn?_Tt the impression I got when we first entered Wyoming, so perhaps they?_Tre all tourists on their way to and from Yellowstone. Either way, it made the ride more pleasant.
First lunch came unbearably late. I had been really excited in the morning when Pat told us first lunch would be at Hell?_Ts Half Acre. Sounded pretty exciting. But as I rode, I began to ask myself, ?_oReally, is there a reason we have to eat at Hell?_Ts Half Acre??__ I resented Pat?_Ts clear determination that we should eat there, at mile 46.

But Pat knew what he was doing, as usual... With the restaurant closed, all that was left at Hell?_Ts Half Acre was a most spectacular view. Red, orange, purple stone jags rising inexplicably out of the ground. According to a blurb in the rest stop a couple miles down the road: ?_oThe fantastic colors and shapes are a result of erosion. Caps of red and brown sandstone protect certain spots resulting in spires and odd formations.?__
Another interesting tidbit: The movie Starship Troopers was filmed there. The landscape does feel of another world. ?_oIt looks like a layered jello mold,?__ Eric observed.

So that on its own was exciting enough for the whole day.
After lunch I caught up with Katie and Jackie at a rest stop and we rode the rest of the way together, through incredible landscape and blisteringly hot headwinds. Our second lunch stop was in Moneta, a non-existent town. Patrick was off to Shoshoni to get water because the water in Moneta is not potable.

From there we rode to Shoshoni with one thought. ?_oWorld renowned?__ malts and shakes from the Yellowstone Pharmacy were waiting for us. And they were fabulous. I had a boysenberry shake. They had so many flavors people wanted to go back later to have another. Alas, they closed early because of "lack of inventory". Very sad indeed.
Best of all was the cold glass of water that I drank first. Arriving in town, my throat was parched. My legs were coated in salt from sweat that barely even left my body before it evaporated away. The camelbak on my back was almost empty despite the fact that the tea water in there was not satisfying at all.

We were all in before 4 pm, sweeps included. It?_Ts incredible how we can all travel the same stretch of road but have entirely different experiences. While we came in through hot headwinds, the sweeps were pushed in by cool tailwinds from the storm brewing behind them.
We had an exciting home for the night- the Shoshoni Volunteer Fire Department. They had a room that was blissfully air-conditioned. Most people knocked out right away.

After a 100 miles in the heat, it?_Ts pretty much all you want to do.
~Katya

I woke up this morning alone, in a cool bed with white linen. My host, Scott, was cooking what would be one of the best breakfasts I?_Tve had on this trip. The other rider was already preparing for our ride into Dubois, leaving the room completely, and blissfully, silent. I can?_Tt think of too many things that I?_Tve missed since starting this trip (besides my extremely comfortable bed) except for the privilege of morning solitude.
Scott hears me as I walk into the living room and gives me the best surprise possible. I had commented on his CD collection, specifically his Pete Yorn albums, the night before. The song ?_olife on a chain?__, escapes my head and fills the room ?_" he had put on my favorite album to accompany breakfast. After filling up with blueberries, grapes, pancakes and scrambled egg, Amelia and I rode out the park where we had dinner the other night to meet the rest of the riders.

Leaving the town, we passed Crowheart Butte. Legend has it that a Shoshone chief, Washakie, and a Crow warrior fought at the location to settle once and for all which tribe would control the valley. The two warriors disappeared into a haze of smoke to battle; eventually, Washakie emerged victorious holding his opponent's heart and eating it to honor the man's courage. The Shoshone still reside in the Wind River Reservation (the site of Crowheart). Ironically, they share the reservation with the Arapaho, the historical enemy of the Shoshone due to the government?_Ts allocation of land.
The ride from Lander to Dubois marked our first day of riding in the Rockies. Contrary to the traditional Douglas Fir ?_" clad mountains, this area was a rainbow of sandstone. It felt like riding through my childhood ?_" the red, black and maroon formations reminded me of Moab, Goblin Valley, Escalante or Bryce Canyon. We stopped by a creek for lunch. Across the highway was an old log shack that reminded me of the prospector era. It was a beautiful rest area, but I began to feel pressure from the clock.

Besides our first day in the Rockies, today was also the last day of summer courses. I have been taking an online class throughout this ride, and the final was scheduled for four at the Dubois library. I left lunch alone, nervously considering the possibility of hills, headwinds or other factors that would make me late for the exam. The red rock dropped into a canyon followed by a creek. It was one of the most beautiful rides of this trip; I wish I could have ridden through it more leisurely; conversely, the rush added a fun element to the ride.
I breezed into Dubois, which looked like an old western town ?_" all aged wood and cabin style. When I left the post office (where I had made arrangements to mail my exam), it had just finished raining. Apparently, several of the other riders had been caught in the storm. With a little over an hour left on the clock, I arrived at the library for some last minute studying. I learned something interesting today: it?_Ts harder to turn the crank arm of a bike once after three hours of sitting between a 75 mile bike ride than it is to complete the 75 miles itself.

Buzz-crunch! Buzz-crunch! Buzz-crunch! The screw guns are singing as square foot by square foot, we give this nearly finished house a floor. It's a catchy tune, this mounting melody, and soon our own harmonious voices join the racket. Our site supervisor, Dean, has music in his soul, so as far as he's concerned we're not working if we're not crooning like a band of Bike and Build Bing Crosbys. Lucky for us, Bridget knows enough oldies to keep us and Dean going all day.


Spending so much time scuttling around the floor, I can't help thinking of the lives that will be built on this foundation. See the feet that will tiptoe across the threshold on that first move-in day, struggling to believe that this new world is real. See the two pairs of shoes that will dance after everyone has left, perfectly in love with each other and their life together. See the little baby toes that will run and run through the years into love-knit booties and school-time saddle shoes and basketball sneakers and maybe one day even polished wing-tips. See them standing tall, straight as these beams we've pulled up into walls, and daring perhaps for the first time to believe that they can walk themselves anywhere.


I hope those future home-owners know that each board of this floor has been screwed into place with a wish for their success and a song to lead them there.


~ Pat

I really enjoyed the views today as the buttes rose out of the horizon; we could feel the approach of the Rockies! The wind was kind and the sun gently hid behind spotty clouds. I felt good enough to eat a 1/2 typical B&B breakfast (equal to about half a day's worth of cereal and banana for the average person), which served me well for the first half of the ride. However, I bonked hard up the only hill (very mild grade, but 3 miles long) because my core had no energy from not eating much yesterday. (I had been feeling queasy for a few days prior.) So I took it easy the rest of the ride. We played some word games to make the ride more enjoyable.


Having been slightly sick recently, it makes me more aware of how well everything else works. I become far more appreciative of not suffering severe knee problems, numb hands, or prohibitive saddle sores. Slight injuries are a great reminder that larger injuries have been dodged. On that note, we all are so grateful for the delicious meals, friendly folk, and sleeping quarters every night.


I didn't have my cyclocomputer in a spot where I could see it, so I rode the whole day not knowing how fast or how far I was going. Usually, I'm pretty unconsiously obsessive about this data under the guise that I need it to make the right turns according to our cue sheet. However, since our route was to take 81.5 miles on Route 20 westbound, I figured I could go without for a day. I enjoyed letting my body tell me how fast or slow to go, instead of my spedometer. I also found that I relaxed about "the miles left to go" before it gets hot, because all I could do was ride the same pace, anyway. I think I'll try this again while the route is a straight-shot, as a way to focus more in the moment.


Oh, did we mention we did 566 miles last week, but who's counting?


Upon reaching our destination I promptly downed a Gatorade and took a siesta. This has become my enjoyable post-ride practice, as of late. I further enjoyed a ridiculously cold popsicle (which clung to my lips so surprisingly well I lost some skin to it) and a trip to the local library. While waiting for dinner, in a lethargic state, I slid into a teeny room packed with couches to watch a few episodes of "the Office". Us being used to close quarters, weren't phased one bit as the room filled quickly past the typical occupancy, threefold.


Dinner was delicious! We had a great pasta dish with veggies and chicken, plus a rice-salad-esque mix with fruit, and so much more! Oh, did I mention Snickerdoodles! Delicious!


During dinner I had the pleasure of talking with Loydaine (I hope I spelled your name right!) and learned some crazy stuff about the Wyoming weather. Apparently, it could snow any month of the year in these parts, and still be 50A? on Christmas! 50-60 mph winds aren't uncommon, and consequentially, the weather can change drastically with short notice. Loydaine and Tom have been fantastically helpful in coordinating our stay and just wait to hear what they set up for us tomorrow night....


Evan

Our day off. Almost The Fur Trade Days in Chadron, NE?_? but not quite. Our schedule just misses local events over and over. This time we got to see all the detritus from what was apparently a rousing celebration of local history. Still, I enjoyed getting to know the town. I?_Tm learning about the infrastructure that makes a town self-sufficient. When we roll in, we ask for a church or YMCA, a public library (internet access), grocery store, gas station, post office, drug store, medical clinic (our aches and pains have gotten worse as we move West) and then local sights and possibly a restaurant. Most days, we don?_Tt get to do the normal life maintenance that keeps you going. I don?_Tt check my email more than once, possibly twice a week, so I jumped on the chance the library?_Ts internet gave me to catch up. These ?_olife maintenance?__ activities like buying bath soap or mailing a letter are obviously necessary for everyone outside Bike and Build as well, so the towns we visit generally have one of everything. I had never considered the logistics of how a town works, so seeing them during a normal time rather than a special event makes me reflect differently than I would have.
The other thing that is interesting about our collective obsession with seemingly simple, but staple, elements of a town is that we take over. I couldn?_Tt go 5 minutes without seeing another Bike and Builder. Katie and I crossed the street going opposite directions, and then I walked into the post office and ran into Pat and Carrie. Both Pat and I needed tooth-cleaning tools, so off to the drugstore we went. Parting ways with Pat, I caught up with a gaggle of riders at the library. We seem to be everywhere at once because 30 people can be a lot in a downtown 3 streets wide and 8 blocks long. Courtney commented to me that it was nice to have a day with nothing to do, but it was totally the opposite. It was nice to have a day in which to do everything!
After sleeping soundly in nice air conditioning, our breakfast crew made delicious pancakes, coffee, set out fruit and juice and we devoured it all. By 11 am most people had dispersed to check out all those places that are important to us. The exact location of a coffee shop, for example, is passed on by word of mouth or simply following someone. Frequently one person knows the first direction and someone else knows the second and by traveling in groups we piece together the actual route to somewhere. A lot of our knowledge is communal in this way. Sometimes it seems magical how things get passed along ?_" I think there is no possible way that Bridget knows where the host is, but she ran into someone who described the building to her and she already knew where the street was, so she can lead other people there. Or just pass on what she knows. Stories (and sometimes gossip) buzz through the group at an amazing speed. The dynamic of how we live and work with each other is very bizarre. We have no secrets and we share all our knowledge. Well, problems arise because we don?_Tt share all our knowledge, but eventually people find what they need.

Thanks guys, I love the wierdnesses of how we are living. I get to be a part of this small community, visit larger ones and hopefully give something back to an even larger group.

Emily

That's what was written on the glass I drank from at Grandma's Playhouse and Ice Cream Shop around mile 60 of today's 85 mile ride. I did not love today; today did not love me. But still I found it around me.


Fortunately, I've avoided the bug that's been going around our group (knock on wood). Instead, I seem to have caught a cold - sore throat, stuffy head, achy body. A few others have various symptoms of the flu and/or this cold, but as we've all come to expect, we've persevered.


The ride today started out in Stuart where we were served a plentiful and varied breakfast (always appreciated). After rolling out, I stopped at the little grocery store that was entirely unmarked to pick up some cough drops in hopes of improving my ability to swallow and drink water. An hour, two hours into the ride, it was great. Logan had caught up with me and rode alongside despite my groggy legs and body holding a mere 13 mph. I couldn't really hold a conversation because my throat was so dry, but it was good to have someone to pace me. With cough drops in my mouth, Logan beside me, and Marie's cold and sinus medicine in my belly, things were looking pretty good.


The road up to lunch was essentially entirely flat. We acquired a good group of riders eventually and talked about Bastille Day and Patrick's French family friends. After a stretch/pee break, groups got shifted up again and I talked a while with Eric about our future plans (or lack thereof). We thought about how this trip has shown us how America works -- the bread on your plate, the popcorn in your microwave, the tofu in your Thai food -- it all comes from the wheat, corn, and soybeans out here and there are actual real-life hard-working farmers out here in the fields farming it everyday (who'd a thunk?). We drew parallels to how our group, our little community of thirty, works. Everyday, the coolers get brought in from the van. The ice packs get into the freezer, the water replenished, the gatorade remixed, dinner and breakfast made/eaten and cleaned up. None of us does everything everyday, but we all do something everyday, and in that sense we are really much like America, in a small scale. We work.


Sometime after those revelations, we arrived at lunch. Johnstown, NE was a very welcomed site about 48 miles into the ride. We found a picnic table under an awning for a nice break from the sun. The temperature was creeping up into the 90s and by that point we had entered the sandhills of Nebraska making for a very desert-like ride (hot, dry, and dusty). Some of us saught refuge in the L-Bow Room Saloon. The waitress (yes, there was only one) behind the bar offered us ice and water for our Camelbacks. She told me that of the 53 people in their dusty town, 45 of them were over 70 years old. She usually serves around 18-22 lunches and dinners a day, mostly to field workers who would otherwise need to drive 50 miles to get a meal. She said, "I'll tell you what: people who live out here ain't gon' git rich. People out here earn what they got." It's true - after biking through these conditions I certainly agree that these people earn everything.


The 35 miles after lunch were rough. It was hot. I mean, HOT. And dry. And dusty. And at times, really windy. Something about today made me feel like we had finally entered the West. The sound of our bikes working, the gears turning, the tires on the pavement, it was almost like horses pulling pioneers westward. Luckily, we're not the pioneers and there are actually people out here (though, few of them). Ten miles from lunch we took a break at the aforementioned Grandma's Playhouse for ice water, sherbet, and snow cones.


At that point, 25 miles left to go seemed daunting, but again, we had a little pack to keep each other going. I was thinking I should just go 25 and get this over with. Resist the urge to stop and just get there. But 25 miles at 13-15 mph takes a decent amount of time. Just when I was about ready for a break, I pulled up my chin to look forward and make sure the 3 miles I could see in front of me were still, in fact, flat, and that there was no roadkill in my way, I saw a peculiar looking van parked on the opposite side of the road. It was covered in flags and stickers and lots of flair. Amelia, Bronwyn, Sam and I pulled over to find a sinewy little man inside. The license plate was from Vermont and it read "PUSHUPS." We had found the famous Wild Bill (www.mrbillydf.com). Bill left Hartford, CT on April 5th and started walking cross-country backwards. BACKWARDS. He is raising money for a children's charity called YDF so we had a good time talking with him. He has already gone through 18 pairs of shoes. He's worried about roadkill and potholes because he can't see them coming (remember, he's walking backwards). He has set numerous records in the Guinness World Book, including 78 two-finger pushups in one minute. He rattled off too many statistics for me to remember, but I'm pretty sure he's in that book between 5 and 10 times. Maybe you'll hear about him on TV.


The rest of the ride was, again, slow and steady, hot, dusty, and dry, but at the end we were welcomed by a nice downhill overlooking a really neat bridge (there is water out here after all!). Just across the bridge we found Valentine, our destination for the night. I couldn't make it one more mile without stopping for Root Beer, a craving I had been thinking about for the preceding 10 miles. So, in we went to Sinclair's gas station and I picked up a bottle of Sioux City Root Beer and poured it over a nice big glass of ice. A little bit of love at the end of a long day.


Best,

-Terra

I was really excited to have the journal assignment for this day because in the morning meeting it felt like we were being prepared for a middle school field trip. We are usually left to fledge our host site independently and without too much guidance (other than route directions, of course). But, today we had an actual agenda involving bowling, fossil beds, and a cowboy trail bike path! After morning cleanup we walked across the street to a bowling alley for some cheap breakfast and bowling. I guess it was a tradition for Bike and Builders to visit this bowling alley...and its bar. The bartenders were quite enthused to have us there and most of us escaped their persistent pressure to start our daily ride with some additional "spirits." The alley masters even turned off the lights so that people could bowl with the disco lights.
After enough bowling alley/bar excitement, Terra, Candace, Sam, and I started our actual bike trek of the day. Due to the decreasing roadside trees and bushes we stopped to pee at a gas station 20 miles down the road in Royal, NE. When I requested the restroom the guy behind the counter said, "Yep, Habitat for Humanity riders. You guys came through here last year." Then, he said it was a tradition to give us candy bars made in Sioux City called "Palmer's King Bing Nutty Chocolately Cherry Treat." The outside reminded me of an almond rocha, the inside was unnaturally pink and weird, but the overall effect was rather tasty. It's been fun to pass through small towns lately where lots of people remember B&B passing through from previous years. I think we've doubled the populations of some towns along the road, so I guess we might be hard to forget.

The next detour we took was only a few more miles away at the Ashfall Fossil Beds. We saw many thrilling things such as a fossilized watering hole with rhinos, horses, and many other interesting fossilized objects...such as dog poop (thanks for pointing that one out, Sam). The landscape changed when we biked to the fossil beds so that we really felt that we were entering the WEST. Even the wildflowers started to show up in different colors. While admiring these flowers I almost stepped on a big fat toad (another deserty dweller that marked the West for me) that then decided to try to scare me away with its projectile urine. Luckily, it missed.

After the fossil beds, the most exciting thing that happened was my 2nd badger sighting in 2 days (roadkill). I WAS looking forward to the Cowboy Trail bike path, but we quickly discovered it was not suitable for road bikes and stayed on Hwy 20 all the way to Stuart. The day was long and hot, but the detours were worth it and we filled the fairly bland miles with songs...and as always, great conversation. Thanks for keeping up with us and being patient with our continually delayed postings! They will all be posted eventually... Peace, Folks, Bronwyn

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, was a day that will go down in many a P2S07er?_Ts memory as a day of toil and reward, drudgery and joy. It would be easy enough to convey the experience in traditional prose, as seen in other entries. But I think an exploration of a few different writing styles will be the most fitting way to communicate our ride. And yes, I was an English major.


Enjoy. And hang on to your saddles.


1. Statistics


Mileage: 100-103 miles, depending on detours
Vertical feet of climbing: 7,200

Elevation change: -140 feet
Calories burned: 8-10,000

Lunches consumed: 2 by each person (except Pat, who unknowingly blew by second lunch); one at mile 45, another at mile 68
Number of people in van with stomach flu: 2 (Tommy/Derrick)

Number of people in van with possible early carpal tunnel syndrome: 1 (Katie)
Number of people in van, driving: 1 (Sarah)

Miles run by Katie at second lunch, because she felt like it: 14
Miles ridden by Candace after severe cookie-tossing: 30

Pat?_Ts arrival time: 3:45 pm
Arrival time of sweeps: 8:30 pm

Exhilarated, exhausted, extremely full riders at day?_Ts end: 30
Earliest bedtime (Bridget): 7:25 pm

Latest bedtime (Emily): 10:30 pm


2. Superlatives


Most miles ridden to date
Most vertical feet to date

Most on-bike hours to date
Most chamois cream used to date


3. Haiku


One more day awake

To five a.m. shoulder pokes
And bitter coffee.


On to the bikes now,

With jaws set determinedly
And some well-lubed butts.


Lunch came late that day?_"

Abuzz with expectation
We wanted our food.


Kittens at first lunch

Were friendly, mewling, waifish
And climbed in baskets.


More hill-climbing now,

And so many hills later.
But fields from Ireland.


4. Limerick


There once was a ride towards Nebraska

It may as well have been Alaska
We went over the hills

And had just one spill,
But everyone felt better afta.


5. Free verse


These roads look like a rolling, rumpled ribbon

Draped across a twisting quilt
By some punitive, sadistic toddler. In Vermont

The roads are routed ?_~round the mountains, but in Iowa
Civil engineers seem to enjoy straight lines. I say

Put ?_~em on a bike and let them ride those roads. They?_Tll think
Different next time.


Raps and songs and primal screams were the plan of attack,

Exhaustion caught us all off-guard and threw us all on track.
Harry Potter fans cast spells against the wind

And curses on last night?_Ts midnight showing.


Cresting a hill we saw a fertile valley, awash in afternoon light,
Verdant, deep, and, crucially,

flat.
Upon descent, the road pulled right, the headwind died,

And then we saw a hill.
And then the road went over it.


Why, Iowa?

Why.
Why, oh why.

Why-o-wa?
My thoughts, over those last 13 miles.


6. Food


Burgers

Pizza: Pineapple, Pepperoni, Plain
Salad

Crudites
Beef Stroganoff

Soy-meat Stroganoff
Black-bean salsa

Chips: Tortilla, Potato (plain/BBQ), Sun (multi-grain/cheddar)
Watermelon

Honeydew
Cantelope

Brownies
M&M Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies


7. One more haiku


We sleep thoroughly,
Afloat on our Thermarests.

The day's marks will fade.



Good night!


-Sam




ps-- sorry for gaps in blog entries; internet spots have been few and far between. all will be remedied shortly...

This morning began at 6am when everyone began the slow chore of packing their bags and moving them into the trailer. Members of the church woke up early a second day in a row to cook us up another delicious, casserole breakfast! We dutifully filled our stomachs, reviewed the cue sheet directing us to Carroll, and readied our bikes. About ten of our riders are avid coffee drinkers and paid their last respects to Cafe Diem, while the remainder of the group headed out of Ames to get moving on the 80-mile day. The morning ride was relatively flat and I decided to try out my new arm braces. The braces seemed to be doing more harm than good, but I became more obsessed with the birds overhead. I had already been pecked once by Iowa?_Ts popular Red Wing Black Bird and have since become paranoid about it. The trouble is that these birds are infamous for being territorial. They sit on the power lines and fly across the road marking their area. Thus, I ended up focusing on their ominous shadows and sprinted any time their silhouette inched close to my own. This occurred at least once a mile. By lunch I was worn out and relieved to no longer have to face the birds. The lunch spot itself was in a very small town, named Dana. It also provided endless photo opportunities for our rider, Evan Dana. Lunch was the usual peanut butter inventions including some donated bagels and to my delight: cold pizza. I also decided at this point that the braces on my arms were doing nothing to alleviate the numbness in my hands and I joined Tommy in the van for the second half of the day. We listened to some music by an Ames native, Leslie Hall, and passed the rest of our group as they battled highway 30. Unfortunately we couldn?_Tt re-route the group, and everyone was forced to face wind and traffic without the safety of a shoulder. Elle took a break during this windstorm and met a local driving his tractor who invited her into his home. He was quite friendly and even gave her a mug made entirely from corn (plastic corn)! Tommy and I were the first to arrive at our destination and were happily greeted by the church members. It seemed like the riders came in two by two until dinner was served. We ate pasta with special sauce, an array of delicious cookies, and awesome saltine layered caramel treats. Pat may have had too many desserts and been on a sugar high, but he certainly kept the some kids entertained for the remainder of the night was his pterodactyl moves. Eventually the lights went dim and we all settled around to listen to another round of our affordable housing presentations. I found the batch quite informative because it discussed a topic I knew little about: public housing projects. Logan discussed public housing projects thru the years. Whitney focused on Project 8 and Amelia ended with Hope VI. I was quite exhausted at this point and found myself a spot to sleep. Others went to bed with the intention of only napping just to squeeze in some snooze before hitting up the Harry Potter 5 movie premiere beginning just after midnight. Just about ten riders woke up for it despite the century scheduled for tomorrow - impressive.


Katie B

What are you reading?


Candace Blas The Fountainhead
Gregory Hunter Catch 22

Katie Bolin The Emperor?_Ts Children
Sarah Walsh Atlas Shrugged

Tommy Daigle Franny and Zooey, The New York Times
Anne Dreyfuss Siddhartha(still)

Logan Rhyme Farenheit 451
Emily Dallmeyer Amazing Grace

Bridget Sheehan ?_oI brought Nickel and Dimed but I?_Tm not reading it?__
Courtney Whitehurst Travels with Charley

Win Chesson Afterlife
Marie Schacht Cradle to Cradle

Terra Curtis The Red Tent
Jackie Soo A Hundred Years of Solitude (in progress?_?)

Elle Flood Social Ethics/ A Million Little Pieces/ Witch Baby
Eric Siegel Teaching a Stone to Talk

Derrick Thiel ?_onot reading anything?__
Caroline Schepker ?_oCue sheets/ your mind?__

Evan Dana Bobke 2
Patrick Farmer ?_othe landscape?__

Katya Jarrell Danny the Champion of the World
Chantel Taylo Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Whitney Roper Mountains Beyond Mountains
NathanO?_TBrien ?_oilliterate?__

Bronwyn Corry The Jungle
Sam Carmichael Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Kyle Keepers Golden Compass
Lauren Desimone The Giver

Amelia Rosenman The God of Small Things
Brianne Downing Cross Country


Candace

Marshalltown, IA - Ames, IA


So, we had a short day today, 50 miles or so, which we were all excited about after the gusts of headwinds and gravelly roads yesterday. I started off with Nate, Courtney, and Katya - the scenery was, as it has been, beautiful, peaceful, and green. We rolled up hills, then we rolled down hills, then we stopped to pet horses by the side of the road. When I think about what I'm doing a little too closely, this is what sticks out as most bizarre - when in my life did I ever think I would be stopped on some "unnamed" back road in IOWA, petting horses in between the prickles of a barbed-wire fence?! These are the moments that I love the most. Anyway, Courtney wanted to hop the fence, prickles and all, to ride the horses, but we decided that might be a bad idea, given that feeding time was probably soon, for the horses and for us!


Lunch was the usual peanut butter and jelly fare, spent crammed in the shade of the trailer (for lack of other available options) and filled with discussions of new Bike & Build dreams. After lunch, I rode with Amelia and Chantel, enjoying the scenery and the sunshine.


We rolled into Ames early, and had plenty of time to explore! I walked around town with Katie and Amelia - we walked down Main Street, and it was really cute. I don't know if other Bike & Builders have mentioned this already, but seeing towns like this has definitely given me a new appreciation for the term "Main Street." Lots of small, quirky stores lining the street, and a bike shop! Too bad it was Sunday, and everything was closed, but we did find a coffee shop with excellent chocolate-covered strawberry smoothies and large, comfy couches that we ALL converged on, in typical Bike & Build style. After talking to us, the coffee shop also gave us free cookies! I'd originally put mine in my bag to save for later...yeah, that lasted all of ten seconds. Then the cookie was gone in five seconds.


After journalling/napping/crossword-puzzling for a bit, we all headed back to the First Christian Church of Ames for a scrumptious dinner of spaghetti, salads, and the best finger-licking lentil balls west of the Mississippi (and we ARE west of the Mississippi now...). And, to top it all off, after dinner they brought out tubs of chocolate-ripple and strawberry-ripple ice cream, and proceeded to serve us themselves, thereby ensuring that we were as packed full of ice cream as we could possibly be. Thank you all for the wonderful meal!


Now. I should mention that I have somewhat of a reputation for being happy on this trip, but I have to say that tonight, my happiness ended after the strawberry-ripple. I felt really nauseous and immediately fatigued. But it was like 7:30, 8:00! Hardcore Bike & Builders don't go to bed at 8:00!! So I tried shaking it off, chatting with Kyle and Tommy, listening to Tommy's hip-hop and loving his head-bopping mechanisms, sharing Tommy's earphones and giving him the plague...whoops. Still, nothing worked. I went outside for fresh air, found Logan and Derrick painting the trailer, and had a nice bonding moment with Derrick while trying supremely hard not to throw up all over him.


Finally, I declared it bed time, went to sleep, and...the plague exploded. =) Suffice it to say that throwing up and pacing the kitchen in the dark sipping on water were involved. All I have to say is, I'd never been so happy to wake up the next morning and see daylight again!!! Thank goodness it was just a 24-hour bug, but I have to say, my aversion to ice cream from then on lasted all about....five days. =)


Cheers,

Jackie

I started singing "Marshalltown, oh Marshalltown" to the tune of "O Christmas Tree" but that's as far as I've gotten in the lyric-writing. This is why I'm in theatre school and not... lyric writing school... hmm...


Anyway, much to my chagrin throughout this trip, my knees have been giving me problems. Since sophomore year of college I've had trouble with the left one (to be fair, there is an upside to my bum left knee-- it hurts when it's going to rain! I'm my own Weather Channel) but, just for funsies, my right knee decided to get in on the stiff-and-painful action. Short of investing in bionic knees, resting has been the most effective policy. I'm not above resting to ensure that my knees continue to function past this trip. And that is how I found myself accompanying Patrick Lord Farmer in the van from Cedar Rapids to Marshalltown.


Marshalltown had been a particular worry for me since I had been cursedly unable to find us somewhere to stay. It seemed every church in Marshalltown had a wedding or some other function that would work best if thirty smelly bikers, complete with bikes, gigantic bags, and lots of food didn't crash the party. Personally, I think that thirty sweaty bikers is essential for any successful celebration, but nobody asked me.


In a last ditch effort to avoid having to use the Marshalltown campground, I asked all my hosts for the week if they had any suggestions or connections that we could chase down. Salem United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Jan Hutchison, and Pastor Linda Bibb absolutely saved the day; they contacted one of the Methodist churches in Marshalltown and next thing you know-- we're set for some place to sleep.


So, worries about suitable sleeping arrangements put aside and content to rest my knee and take in the scenery, Pat and I struck out onto the open road. We were advised strongly, and more than once, to avoid US Highway 30. So we planned a nice route along smaller, far less traveled roads. We've become accustomed on this trip to double-checking every detail the computer gives us with paper maps, or locals, or anything that might verify or contradict what the computer is saying. Today, however, all our usual fail-safes... well... failed. Apparently in some parts of Iowa "two lane paved road" is code for "gravel." Who knew.


Long and repetitive story still relatively long and repetitive, after many a cell phone conversation, much grumbled, under the breath cursing, and a whole lot of chalk (some correct, some not so much), everyone would indeed make it to Marshalltown in one piece.


When Pat and I arrived, Speed Racer Rhyne had already been at the church for quite a while. Long enough, in fact, to make friends with the grandfather of the groom in the wedding that was going on when he rolled in. The very kind gentleman told us that their left-over pizza in the fridge was ours, recommended a great pizza place in town, and told us that if there was any food left after the reception, he'd give us a call and we could have it. I think we should work that into the Bike & Build mission statement somewhere. Sure we ride across the country and raise money for affordable housing initiatives... but we also make great receptacles for unwanted food. I think it's a great selling point.


The only snag on the day, and I use the word "snag" loosely, was showers. Since the arrangements with the church came pretty last minute, we didn't have anywhere to shower. Pat and I scoped out the campground (only two showers- it would've taken days for all 30 of us to shower. Not to mention the fact that we were NOT actually staying at the campground), the YMCA (3$ per person to shower?? Seriously?), and the local high school (we called the principal, athletic director, and two vice-principals... apparently nobody wanted to talk to us. It was Saturday though, so I guess they're off the hook) and when it seemed that all hope was lost, Pastor Lothe of the Methodist Church let us use the hose in the parking lot of the Church. Cold though it may have been, it sure got the job done.


Fun tidbit of the day- the Church was absolutely frigid. It felt like they had the greatest air conditioning ever. However, as Pastor Lothe would tell us, the building was geothermic- no air conditioner involved. There is an underground river that chills the air and it's forced up the pipes into the Church. Amazing.


And thus ended our packed but not overly stressful day into Marshalltown. Gravel, geothermics, and other g-words. What more can you ask from a day?


Keep on keepin' on, folks! ~Sarah

My Very First Century Ride.


Clinton to Cedar Rapids


The Cue sheet read 95 miles but everyone was determined to bike a more notable distance. 100 miles sounded daunting and altogether unimaginable. I?_Tve traveled well 100 miles in a car, but to do so unaided by the internal combustion of dead dinosaurs in my car?_Ts engine seemed whacky. This trip the only CO2 I?_Td produce would be from my own cellular respiration. WOO-HOO!
We started the trip in Clinton where the night before we had been walloped by YMCA campers in fierce dodge ball battles. Despite my preconceived notions of terrain between the Appalachians and Rockies being as flat as the 97 pieces of road kill we found in Indiana (rules for counting road kill follow), I quickly learned that Iowa is not flat. Iowa is also beautiful. The rolling hills and crisp piercing sunlight illuminated our track, but the day?_Ts conversation didn?_Tt parallel the roads beauty. Marie, Terra and my immaturity quickly emerged. We chose random people from our group to make out (figuratively) and sang to the tune of ?_oShe?_Tll be coming round the mountain.?__ For instance: ?_oBridget and Win?_Tll be making out round the mountain when they come.?__ Some of the proposed make out partners don?_Tt bear repeating.

Several long climbs and 10 hours later we arrived in Cedar Rapids. I finished the century by riding around for five miles with Whitney. I took a picture of my trip odometer reading 100.4 miles. Dinner was delicious and the post dinner activity was also a treat. We were bussed to one of Cedar Rapids Habitat housing sites where we met Momodou and Saffi, political refugees from Sierra Leone. They told us their story (escaping war for safety and opportunity), about what it meant to own a home, and the dignity that the responsibility manifests. It was a moving experience and that gave our cause affirmation. After the trip it was off to Dairy Queen for a mint Oreo blizzard and then bedtime. It was an awesome day.


Rules for counting road kill:
1. Only the remains of animals found on your side of the road (the right side) are to be counted. Those that overlap the dividing lines are also counted. Those on the opposite side of the road, although visible, do not count.

2. In order for the road kill to be counted, a carcass (or some parts thereof) must be visible. Just smelling (and trust me you can smell it), or seeing pools of blood, but no physical body parts, are not recorded in the tally.
3. If a body part has become fractioned into more than one chunk of animal, the count only increases by the total number of animals presumed deceased. For instance ?_" if a raccoon tail and butt are separated by 5 feet from head and torso of the a raccoon with blood linking both body parts, it can be assumed that only one raccoon has been killed. The tally increases by one, not two. Use your best discretion.

4. Birds count
5. Insects/butterflies do not.

6. Animals off the road, on your side of course, that have clearly been hit by an automobile do count.
These rules were established by Whitney Roper and Derrick Thiel, if ambiguity remains (no pun intended) please feel free to contact them for clarification.

amibuityremains@gmail.com

After an amazing and fun-filled forth of July in Illinois, I wasn?_Tt sure what waking up at 5 am would feel like. However, it reminded me of getting my lollipop taken away as a child. I went to bed that night assuming I was a ?_osmart cookie?__ for sleeping in the air-conditioned kitchen versus the stuffy gym. Sadly, placing my sleeping bad directly in front of the kitchen door was not the best location. I was told that I slept through all of the sweet church ladies tripping over my lifeless body as they walked into the kitchen at 4am to prepare our breakfast. I definitely moaned and groaned a bit as the ladies smiled at my struggling attempt to roll my sleeping bag up but I managed to pull through, hold a decent conversation throughout breakfast, and not pass out before getting on my bike at 7am.
Contrary to popular belief, an 86-mile ride in 90-degree weather isn?_Tt actually as pleasurable as it may seem. This ride was the first one we had experienced with a massive headwind. Before this day I thought hills were all I had to worry about, but with wind added to the mix it was pure insanity! I met up with Sarah at the first lunch and we trekked on to the second lunch with two half-hour naps in the shade during the process. Along the way, we were stopped by a reporter for a republican newspaper who took our photos and documented out adventure for the next issue. It is definitely a treat to see how interested and appreciative people are of our work towards the cause. As if that wasn?_Tt unexpected enough, a ways up the road a woman parked across the street stopped us and handed us a donation. She had apparently spoken to a rider ahead of us and was touched by what we were trying to accomplish. Those moments are truly the most special to me because it?_Ts just another example of how generous people are in this country.

So, a ways down the road at the second lunch, we were both exhausted and disinterested by the thought of another PB & J sandwich. So, we rolled down the street and talked our way into receiving a foot-long sub each from Subway. Nothing beats that feeling you get when you first taste the sweet satisfaction of a free, delicious sandwich after a soul-draining ride in the heat.
Due to knee problems, Sarah left me and I was forced to ride the next 20 miles in solitude. I definitely had a few choice words directed towards the wind that I can?_Tt repeat in this entry, but I made it though unscathed and grateful that I?_Td completely the ride. I even mastered the self-timer so I could have a picture of myself with the Iowa sign. Yes, Iowa! We crossed the Mississippi River, which wasn?_Tt as impressive as I had hoped for, and rolled into the YMCA in Clinton.

After dinner, you?_Td think we?_Td all go straight to bed, but somehow we were peer pressured by the local youth group into an intense game of dodgeball. I made the silly mistake of accidentally getting the youngest guy on the team out. So, he had his older brother and the rest of the team target me for the rest of the game. When I was finally pegged in the stomach by the ball, the game and my body both went down.
The rest of my night consisted of sorting laundry and trying to recuperate from a rough day. However, we?_Tve always got a myriad of rough days to look forward to that make the last look easy. Surprisingly, that aspect of our trip is one of the beauties riding across the country: no matter how difficult it may seem, we succeed in the end and are only better prepared to handle the even mightier challenges that await us. So, take that Rockies because I can already feel the waves of the Pacific crashing into my front wheel.



~Chantel Taylor

Happy 4th of July! I woke up this morning and realized that I didn?_Tt have any fourth of July apparel. Riding across the country definitely calls for some patriotism, especially on the 4th. As Emily put it, I remind her of a crab that picks up things on the sea floor and sticks them on to its shell to blend in to the environment (we can?_Tt think of the exact creature ?_" if you know, fill us in). As we?_Tve traveled, I?_Tve slowly accumulated more and more decorations for my helmet, bike, and camelpak. I guess my multitude of flair has begun to get exhorbitant, but I really wanted some red, white and blue. However, we were in small town America, and I quickly realized that the whole town was closed.
Nate and Brianne were the sweeps, and I decided to stay and get coffee with them, kind of becoming the extra third sweep. We managed to find one open restaurant and settled down with our morning drinks (which I have really begun to enjoy starting the day off right ?_" nice and slow and relaxed). When we got our bill, we were amazed to see that the waitress had written out each of our drinks and next to it, written zero for the price. We were amazed and grateful for the generosity and then still probably tipped her even more because we were so excited. She also had an amazing USA shirt that blinked and she filled me in that they had apparel at the grocery store across the street.

Well, we have to wear our jerseys, so I couldn?_Tt get the shirt, but what I did find were some awesome balloons, skickers and American flags. So Nate, Brianne and I each got a balloon and tied it to our camelpaks. We tied them relatively close, but Nate decided to have some extra slack in his line. We began riding and quickly realized that the wind had already picked up quite substantially. Before I knew it, I was trying to ride as close as I could behind Nate to shield the wind, and getting battered in the head with the balloon. Yet, we kept riding like this because the wind was just worse.
Before our lunch, we also stopped at a church member?_Ts farm to check out the hogs and combine. He showed us some wheat before it was ground, and also let us climb into the tractors. It?_Ts amazing that he and his son farm all of their 1200 acres without much other help. It was really nice to meet his family and see the farm.

After lunch, I said goodbye to the sweeps and joined Win and Marie for riding. We came upon the town of Ottawa where we saw some people dressed up in old timey clothes. It turns out that they worked for the tourist office and I learned that Wild Bill came through Ottawa regularly and the Lincoln-Douglas debates were also held there. That?_Ts one of those useless trivia facts that I?_Tll always remember now.
We came to a bike trail that was supposed to take us the rest of the way to Peru. However, we soon learned that the bike trail was not paved and the rain from the night before had made some really nice mud patches. We still took the trail and our off-roading experience was actually pretty exciting. The trail followed a canal and I was just happy for the change in scenery with nice shade! About half-way down, we also ran into about ten other riders who had stopped and jumped into a lake. It didn?_Tt take me ten seconds before I was off my bike and running towards the water, clothes shedding as I went! It was so much fun!

I really don?_Tt stop this much all the time, but after leaving the trail, we all stopped for some delicious ice cream and then trekked the last 5 miles to Peru. Now, I really wanted to see fireworks and was going to buy some until I realized that I?_Tve been spending way too much money. Of course, Peru had their fireworks on July 3rd?_? who does that? So fifteen of us jumped into the van and drove back to Ottawa where we just made it in time for the show. Which I have to give them credit. They had the most awesome finale I?_Tve ever seen! So that was my 4th of July! It was a fun-filled awesome day!


Courtney

It?_Ts very interesting how the evolution of miles on this trip has progressed. I remember during my ?_otraining days?__ when I rode 15 miles and that was enough for a week. Nowadays when we ride 50 miles we call it a ?_oshort day.?__ Well the ride to Gilman was just that, a ?_oshort day.?__ I believe it was a 60 mile ride and we quickly brushed through the first 40 miles before even stopping for lunch. Lunch on this particular day was awesome because our food came from so many different places! Our bread was donated from Panerea bread, all 40 loaves! Our meat and cheese was donated from subway. We claimed that during one of our pee breaks. Subway quickly packaged it up for us and we rode the rest of the miles to lunch with meat and cheese on our backs.


While on the ride we met a guy who is riding cross country from Washington to Maine, but he is doing it all alone! His wife is driving his SAG wagon (aka their mini van) and he has only taken one day off. He left on may 28th so by the time we saw him he was pretty much almost there. He said he was going to take about 17 more days to get to his final destination. Wow. The discoloration in his skin did scare me a bit and encourage more personal sunscreen application.


Once we arrived in Gilman we held a bike clinic for the little kiddies in town. They loved this. There was one boy who was particularly adorable, his name is Dakota. He stayed with us the whole night, throughout dinner and our presentation. He even made it to breakfast the very next morning to send us off. Since we left Gilman, Dakota and his mom have been keeping up with us through these journals. In case you missed her message, here's what she had to say:


HAPPY 4th of JULY!!
All of you were wonderful to Cody (Dakota) and all of us! He is so tickled with his "Bike and Build" shirt and water bottle. I'm sure as soon as it's washed he will have it on again. Please pass on to Evan that Cody gets on his bike all by himself by tilting it way over to the side and adjusting the pedal like he taught him. His bike helmet is on its way from his Mom and Dad in San Antonio, Texas. He said as soon as you were all gone "I'm going to miss all of them." Thanks for being part of our lives even for such a short time. I gave my phone numbers to one of your leaders--you are ALL welcome to call if ever though this area again even not on a bike.




The people in this country are amazing!!!!


Bridget

CORN. Our friendly, little, yellow kernel covered vegetable, responsible for producing one of my beloved snack foods (popcorn) grows in oceans of green in what most Americans refer to as the ?_~Midwest?_T region. I must say, over the past few days, CORN and I have developed a freshly budding relationship, beyond it providing snack foods, a delectable dinner side, and the ?_~corn on the cob with butter lathered all over it.?_T Ask any of the bikers on this little gallop across the United States and they will shock you with a new fact about CORN, as we?_Tve had about two-hundred miles so far to ponder the meaning of CORN in our lives?_"I am grateful for this opportunity. I won?_Tt bore you by listing all the new CORN facts, but share only one:


CORN is the perfect roadside bathroom.


It delights me each time to climb off my bike, lay it gently on the shoulder, walk roughly three or four rows back, completely covered, surrounded by corn leaves, and satisfy natures call. (It?_Ts good motivation to stay well hydrated too) The simple thrills in life. Don?_Tt worry?_"you?_Tre not going to be eating corn that has been fertilized by any of the thirty bikers on our trip?_"I can assure you. We?_Tve confirmed the CORN which has been keeping us company (and it is great company) in the flat mid-section of this country goes strictly to animal feed. I am slightly biased of course towards CORN versus the soybeans (which accompany the CORN out here in the Midwest) since they don?_Tt provide much coverage for roadside stops. I must commend them, however, because they are more enjoyable to frolic across when trying to reach the Illinois State sign. Either way, I have a new appreciation of farmers, seas of green (be it corn or soybeans), and the term ?_~flat.?_T Aside from the CORN and the flatness, the Mid-west brings incredibly friendly people, delicious food, and more time to enjoy fellow riders. I should mention the development of our newly invented sport of granny gear racing designed for the flattest terrain EVER. Definition: to put ones bike in the easiest possible gear and then pedal as fast as you can against your opponent. Result: ridiculous bobbing of the body, fast moving legs, and slow speeds even though it makes my heart rate accelerate more than climbing a huge hill. It looks like you are stuck in fast forward--I just want to assure you we're having a good time.


LOVE FROM THE MIDWEST <3 <3 <3 <3

Marie

Troy, OH to Hartford City, IN


I knew the day was destined to be great when, upon waking, I discovered the sounds I had taken to be rocketing raindrops came instead from the First Presbyterian?_Ts kitchen sink, where two angels of women were already fixing us breakfast. The fruit-filled crepes delighted our tongues and proved a fitting send-off from Troy, host of the world-famed Strawberry Festival. Thanks a million to the Church and the generous women who served us!


Today?_Ts ride was FLAT.


Now, some of you might be under the impression that FLAT is a relative term, much like SUNNY, or GREEN. But while I can name many degrees of sunny and several shades of green (all of which featured prominently in our day), I have learned that FLAT is an absolute and unwavering term best defined by the land between Troy, Ohio and Hartford City, Indiana. I don?_Tt think anyone in the group would deny that the day?_Ts most mountainous terrain could be found on my shin, where my three-day-old scrape formed craters and gullies of dinosaur-skin quality.


FLAT proved to be a less joyful but still painfully apt word for the three riders who together grossed five flat tires today. Luckily, Emily, Sam and Elle put their fix-it skills to good work, and the sight of the St. John the Evangelist Church at the end of the ride turned their flattened expressions into shining grins.


Despite the evenness of the land, there were many high-points of the day, including but not limited to:
-Warming our bellies with hot cocoa at Broadway Joe?_Ts in Greenville, OH ?_" home of the one and only Annie Oakley. The toilets flushed by chain-pulley. We flushed a lot.

-Passing several seemingly familiar towns, including Trenton, Portland, and Hartford.
-Learning from a librarian that Union City, which bridges the OH-IN border, has two police departments, two fire departments, two school districts with three schools each, and two sets of municipal laws. While Indiana residents may lend from the single library free of charge, those on the Ohio side of town must pay a fee. And up until last year the two sides of the city fell under different time zones! Talk about a split personal(c)ity.

-Scarfing down delicious corn, chicken and noodles, lasagna and more at the church in Hartford City ?_" THANK YOU!
-Learning from our in-house presentations about the numbers that describe homelessness, the reality behind those numbers, and the state of the nation?_Ts housing today. Great job Elle, Greg, Katya and Candace.


As I write, our bikes all lean in two straight lines along the hall.

In two straight lines, they?_Tll ease their brakes, and rest their wheels against the wall.
And all of us, in less straight lines, will lay our bags and sleep as well.

Goodnight all! -Amelia

Columbus, OH - Troy, OH


Another long but wonderful day. After a productive Build Day in Columbus, we left the city and made our way to Troy, Ohio, which, in case you were wondering, is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being home to the largest strawberry shortcake ever! Our bellies full from a delicious breakfast, thanks to a very generous donation from Au Bon Pain, we had a welcomed break from the beautiful countryside and were able to experience a little bit of urban riding.


Lunch, about half way through the ride, is always sure to bring some interesting concotions, and today was no different. We've quickly learned to be very creative in our sandwich making. Today, I watched with curiosity as a peanut butter, oreo, and whipped cream sandwich was devoured. Shortly thereafter, I saw a triple decker peanut butter, whipped cream, and brownie sandwich being made. Sun chips with peanut butter, peanut butter mixed with milk and cereal, peanut butter and craisins are also favorites... I've come to realize that peanut butter can be eaten with pretty much anything.


After 72 relatively flat miles and some heavy rain that felt a little bit like hail at times, I was very happy to see the painted strawberries on the road that welcomed us into Troy. The First Presbyterian Church very graciously hosted us, and as with prior hosts, the members' incredible generosity and hospitality stunned me. The snacks, dinner, and breakfast spread that they put out for us was delicious - Pete's famous meat sauce definitely lived up to its name. So a great big, heartfelt thanks to our wonderful hosts!


love you all,

whitney

Greetings from Columbus, OH! As many of you know, Columbus is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, losers of both the football and the basketball national championship games this year to my school?_Ts team, the Florida Gators. Anyways, today was quite an eventful day.


Our ride today was a relatively easy 50 miles from Gambier to Columbus with a brief respite at Logan?_Ts house around mile 40. Trying to come up with things to write about for the online journal, I kept thinking about the various names I?_Tve heard for the trip. Of course, Bike & Build is the official name. However, if you look at the titles of some of the riders?_T blogs, there are several plays on the Bike & Build name that humorously maintain the same alliteration and structure. I think everyone on the trip can come up with a name that applies to them. For example, Derrick, you could call it Bike & Break Your Pelvis. Win, you might choose Bike & Butt Butter for all of the time you spend lathering up with the crA"me de chamois each morning with an audience. For me, I would call the trip Bike & Bleed, for it seems that each day I get bit by the teeth of my chain ring. I?_Tm not really sure why this keeps happening, but I would recommend that you keep your bikes away from me if you wish to keep your derailleurs intact. In addition, I got hit by a car today, but more on that later.


Thus, I think each rider can find a unique word or expression beginning with B to append to "Bike &" that personalizes his or her Bike & Build experience. Nevertheless, some of the modifications I?_Tve heard apply to the group as a whole. I?_Tm happy to say that Bike & Beer and Bike & Bone have not reflected our group dynamics, but I would say that Bike & Binge is particularly fitting. Just look at today?_Ts culinary delights. This morning we had an all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Kenyon College cafeteria, which had pretty much anything you could imagine. Scrambled eggs, French toast, hash rounds, non-Wonder bread, bagels, cereal bar, pastries?_? They even offered apple butter and organic milk dispensers for the cereal. Since usually our choices include oatmeal, bananas, and Cheerios, this was a pretty big improvement and induced for most of us a post-breakfast food coma. Then about 3 hours later we had another feast at Logan?_Ts house (thank you Mr. and Mrs. Rhyne for the amazing food and fun!). Fried chicken, barbecue sandwiches, pasta, mac ?_Tn?_T cheese, fruit, cornbread, salad?_? Then dessert. For normal people a sampler plate consists of small pieces of each item; however, for Bike & Builders it means a full slice of chocolate cake, a full slice of cheesecake, some pound cake, and a few cookies. I initially couldn?_Tt comprehend that it could be possible to gain weight while biking 70 miles a day, but now I get it, especially since today?_Ts level of food consumption really wasn?_Tt that much different from usual (just a bit higher in quality).


I also got hit by a car today, which was an interesting experience. I guess this trip really is Bike & Bleed for me. It was somewhat ironic that earlier in the morning I told Courtney (fellow UF alum) that I wouldn?_Tt wear my blue and orange Gator socks since I didn?_Tt want to get run off the road by some crazed, bitter Buckeye fan. She was confident enough to wear her socks, but I got hit by the car. Go figure. Anyways, I wasn?_Tt seriously injured or anything. I was in front of a few other riders about a quarter of a mile away from the JCC destination on a two-lane residential road when some 17 year old girl decides to pull into her driveway with me passing by it. I was a bit surprised, to say the least, and had no time to even reach for the brakes. I have to admit that it was quite a graceful fall. My left shoulder hit the car before I somehow ended up in the grass. Apparently the girl was trying to go around us and then saw another car coming in the other direction. Rather than hit the car, she chose to take out the cyclist while pulling into a driveway, which just so happened to be hers (something doesn?_Tt quite add up). Apparently you have to be brilliant to put your right foot on the brake. Fortunately I just scraped up my knee and tweaked my shoulder a bit. Nothing serious. I was more worried about my bike. The front wheel looked like a taco, but at least I?_Tm not the one paying for it.


Perfect day for me to be the writer of the journal today, huh? On a more serious note, it was great to have so many good friends around to support me. I?_Tm fairly strong mentally and would have been perfectly fine on my own with this, but it was comforting to have concerned friends around to help me. Plus it was reassuring to hear that I wasn?_Tt the one who caused the accident.


Share the road,

Nathan

Dover (New Philadelphia), OH to Gambier, OH: Last night we saw the heroic return of our very own Derrick Thiel. Derrick, the daring and intrepid fellow who broke his pelvis during a bad spill on the third day of riding, was advised by his doctor that apparently a pelvis isn't that important for bicycling across America. Go figure. Today, his peloton consisted of close friends who shielded his still-frail body. With the sheer force of will and tolerance for pain witnessed only in the grittiest of grizzled mountain men, our resident 6'6" beast finished out the day, only stopping to cry from pain but once or twice (though he'll never admit it).


But I've showered enough accolades over Mr. Thiel. Here are some games that our delightfully creative and educated team has devised over the previous weeks:


1. Granny Gear Racing: Two parties shift into what the cycling elite call 'granny gear,' or the smallest front chain-ring, coupled with the largest gear in the cassette. This is the smallest gear-ratio, and therefore requires the least effort to use. However, because of the low gear-ratio, the two riders on flat ground will require a tremendous cadence (number of pedal strokes/minute) to keep going. Rather than being based on general riding ability, the outcome of these races is determined by the rider who can most furiously pump his/her legs. This race was invented, not to test who amongst us is the best cyclist, but rather to see two people look absolutely ridiculous while racing each other across the parking lot.


2. What Would Yolanda Do: This game involves a person giving a ridiculous situation and the other riders speculating on what our good (imaginary) friend Yolanda would do in said situation. For example: Yolanda is nearing the end of a 90 mile ride when she passes by a dense forest. From the forest she hears Whitney yelling for help. If Yolanda sets her bike down to rescue Whitney from the forest, an 18-wheeler would smash her bike. To further complicate the situation, she sees ahead the road diverging: one path can be taken by our Trek-1000 bikes and is a nice gradual downhill leading into the town, while the other is a steep, treacherous, uphill (20% grade), gravel road that can only be ridden on by a dinky, children's bike lying on the side of the road. Were she to rescue our poor, despondent Whitney, Yolanda's Trek-1000 would be crushed and the children's bike (with flat tires, mind you) would be the only option available, and she would have to finish out the day on the uphill. What would Yolanda do?


3. Yolanda's Story Time: This game is best played in small groups (3-4 riders). One person starts the game off by telling a few sentences of a story involving our good friend Yolanda, after which another person takes up the reigns and adds their own contribution to the story. The story, if told by an imaginitive and cooperative group, can last for many miles, taking our minds off the sweltering heat and biting headwinds. Even more fun is ruminating after the story ends on how the story would have been completely different had a particular plot twist not been added early on.


4. Historically Bad Ideas: Another game for a small group, this one involves starting with the letter 'A' and each person coming up with a historically bad idea starting with that letter, then moving on to the next letter. For example: 'Atkin's diet and A-Bomb', then 'Building on a bad foundation and Biting the hand that feeds you' then 'Chalking an arrow in the wrong direction and Cooking with spattering grease while not wearing a shirt,' etc.


These are but a few of the games we've devised to spend our time when not discussing international politics or economic theory. Unfortunately, my time on the internet is short, and my memory of this day even shorter, so I must bid you, dear reader, adieu. Until next time, this is Kyle with "B&B Time Wasters."

Youngstown, OH to Dover, PA

*An english teacher once told me I was very good at being concise. Ironic.*

This morning we left our gracious hosts, Jody and Jennifer, at the Uniterian Universalist church in Youngsville. Riding out of bigger cities early on a Sunday morning is really the ideal time- no traffic! Granted, given the current state of Youngstown, I?_Tm not sure how much traffic there would be on a daily basis. It is quite an abandoned town. When the steel industry left, the city emptied with it.
We headed out on some bumpy roads but they eventually turned to nice country roads. I did get yelled at by a grumpy driver which was not pleasant. I was introduced to a new concept this morning: drive-thru beer and cigarette stores. Making vices more convenient.
As Whitney and I pedaled along, I was drawn to turn off the path by a sign for a cheese factory. I love cheese. But this turned out to be pretty dead looking. BUT, if you went around to the back of the building, there was a HUGE cow! I don?_Tt know if it?_Ts the biggest cow in the world (I should clarify- cow sculpture) but its leg was taller than I am (I?_Tm 5?_T8?__ on a good day).
Whoever told me that Ohio was flat was wrong. That?_Ts not to say it?_Ts anything like Pennsylvania. I would call Ohio ?_otextured?__. And it?_Ts a very pleasant texture. Enough up and down to keep you entertained, but not enough to have mountains as a backdrop.
My favorite road was the lovely Fitchburg Rd. Basically, it was a glorified gravel road... with the worst hill of the day on it. The gravel didn?_Tt slide around and move under you but you wish it would so it would get out from under your tire. My hands were slightly numb as we turned onto Route 30. One thing I will say for Ohio- it is very well signed. In the northeast it was somewhat up in the air whether we could count on roads going by their numbers or their names. Sometimes they went by ?_othe road next to that restaurant.?__ Ohio has all their county roads well labeled so you can?_Tt miss them.
Logan and Elle were up ahead of me by not too much but when we rolled up to the trailer parked by the side of the road, they weren?_Tt there. They missed lunch. So sad! But don?_Tt worry, they were well fed. ?_oBy the Way CafAc?__ featuring some home-style cooking. Customer (Logan) review: ?_oAWESOME! I got 3 meals for $10!?__ Whether Logan was exaggerating or not, I don?_Tt know (I don?_Tt think he was...) but reports say he had a mushroom+onion hamburger, a three-egg omelette with four pieces of toast and ?_othe biggest pancake [he?_Ts] ever seen?__. Elle, with her dainty appetite, only had a chicken dinner (think potatoes, veggies, stuffed chicken breast, etc) and a monster pancake with strawberries and whipped cream. I?_Tm impressed that the two were able to cycle after their feast.
As for lunch back at the trailer, it?_Ts getting more and more creative everyday. Anne has always found ways to avoid pb+j (example: one day early in the trip she had a bowl with peanut butter, raisin bran, banana, and frosted mini wheats), but now we are all tapping into our creativity at lunch time. Eric?_Ts basil from the Franklin farmers?_T market yesterday made an appearance today in a tortilla with grapes and pasta.
Leaving lunch with Whitney, I saw a groundhog sitting by the side of the road. A live one! I?_Tve seen plenty of roadkill groundhogs so it was nice to see one munching grass for once. For the rest of the afternoon it was just Whitney and me.
We pedaled on enjoying the scenery and digesting our lunch. We passed a grain field (I don?_Tt know what kind) but while all the other fields were green, this one was a deep honey gold. It was equisite!
When we got to Waynesburg, a place called ?_oFluppy?_Ts?__ caught Whitney?_Ts eye. There was a bloodhound head on the sign and she has a bloodhound. While she went to check out the ice cream menu (first ice cream in Ohio!), I went into the convenience store next door to get money from the ATM. I was charged $1.75 fee which wouldn?_Tt normally bother me that much except that here that could buy a very ample medium-sized ice cream! It?_Ts amazing to me coming from the Boston-area where a small sized ice cream ( a much smaller than you get here) costs twice that.
When I returned to Fluppy?_Ts Whitney was sitting down with Larry who was giving us a short-cut! ?_oThe others passed about 10 minutes ago,?__ he said. ?_oI?_Tll give you a short cut and you?_Tll get there 45 minutes before the rest of them.?__ We were okay with that. He drew out a beautifully detailed map (which I still have) before we realized he was giving us directions to go the wrong direction. Oh well... We chatted with him for a while. He just came back from Spokane with a new crane. Seems that he followed a very similar path as we will to get there. We shall certainly think of Larry when we ride into Spokane. He bought us ice cream which we enjoyed thoroughly. I couldn?_Tt help laughing when I saw the girl serving me weigh my ice cream on a scale. ?_oIs this two ounces??__
We took a picture with Larry in front of the sign. Whitney said the bloodhound had caught her eye, so Larry introduced us to Maggie. She was moping because her two friends, including Fluppy the namesake, have recently passed away but she still managed a smile when we came in to say hi. She posed very beautifully for our pictures.
Whitney and I rode away very content and impressed by the graciousness of Larry and Fluppy?_Ts Drive In. We pedaled on through some beautiful countryside towns. We were along a river for much of it. I was a bit startled to see a raccoon sitting out in someone?_Ts lawn at 3 pm. On the opposite side of the house was the man working in his garden. I do hope that raccoon didn?_Tt have rabies. I have noticed that there is less roadkill in Ohio. That?_Ts always nice. As we pedaled along, ?_oI <3 KAT?__ was spray painted onto the side of an overpass. I smiled and pretended that it was intended for me to see it. Randomly in the middle of Ohio...
We turned left onto 416 or Seven Mile Road to hit the other significant climb of the day. As we came down, we made what was to be near to the last turn of the day only to find that the road was blocked off for the American Soapbox Derby. I didn?_Tt think those actually happened. I had only ever heard of them in childrens books and childhood TV shows (Michelle Tanner of Full House, anyone remember that episode?). Such a random thing to stumble upon...
Katie, Anne, and Jackie were already there chatting with the men at the bottom of the course who were loading cars onto trucks to return to the top. They gave directions to get around the blocked off road then offered us a race. Jackie and Whitney jumped at the opportunity. When else could they race in a soapbox derby? They rode around to the top of the course while I sat waiting with Jackie?_Ts camera. They announced Jackie and Whitney over the loudspeaker. Great publicity for Bike and Build.  ?_oNew Jersey?__ (aka Whitney) won. From the bottom, it seemed as though there was some confusion around the start. Either way, a very exciting experience! I couldn?_Tt stop laughing. All the people we talked with were very excited about what we were doing and so friendly.
We rode on to the Dover YMCA bursting with energy and excitement from a great day. Pulling up to the YMCA, I was so excited to be the one writing the journal entry for the day. I had such a wonderful, fun day. I met lots of nice people.
But the excitement had barely begun. We rolled in and waiting there was a super surprise: Derrick!!!
Whitney?_Ts first instinct was to tackle him. Maybe not the best way to greet a guy with a broken pelvis, but he?_Ts tough and she was so excited. He recovered very quickly from that.
He?_Ts back for the remainder of the trip!! He is one amazing guy. How many people do you know who would come back 12 days after breaking their pelvis to finish riding across the country?!? He may go slower, but he?_Ts going. I do hope it turns out well for him.
So, with Patrick back from his jaunt to his cousin?_Ts wedding and Derrick back in action, we are a full 30 again.
The only sad thing about this day was that I didn?_Tt have my camera with me all day. But that?_Ts where it becomes very handy to travel with 29 (and we?_Tre a full 30 now!!) other people- you can share pictures. I was very relieved to find that I had in fact packed my camera in my big bag this morning. This is the last time I try to be ?_oefficient?__ in my morning pack-up. ?_oEfficient?__ really means that I don?_Tt end up with everything I need and/or I have things I don?_Tt need.
I moved my stuff inside (found my camera in the process), showered, scrubbed ridiculous amounts of dirt out of my jersey, and was contemplating eating some granola when the sweep, Lauren, and Amelia came in. Amelia had a gash on her leg. She had been bitten by a dog. I thought back to the raccoon I had seen and I thought, ?_oOh dear, she?_Ts gonna need rabies shots!?__ Lauren, the victor of the day, had kicked the dog to get it to go away.
Turns out, she was just pulling our legs. She had fallen on a set of train tracks. She was one of three to do that today actually. We crossed a couple sets. I keep thinking back to the crash I saw during a Tour de France race one year that was caused by railroad tracks. Parents, don?_Tt worry. Everyone is okay.

Dinner time quickly falling upon us, we needed to go shopping. I went along, although it?_Ts not my chore group, because I have a love for grocery stores and most things cuisine related (in case you couldn?_Tt tell from the focus in my journal entry). It?_Ts kind of fun shopping on a tight budget. You pick and choose your luxuries all the while remembering that every cent we save goes to those in need.
I was personally feeling the ?_oI?_Tm so hungry I just can?_Tt wait?__ pangs, as were a couple others so we opted out of group-prepared dinner (grilled cheese and soup). A group headed over to the pizza place across the street, but Katie, Jackie, and I headed towards the grocery store again. On the way there, we ran across a Quiznos. Immediate satisfaction could not be passed up. A big thanks to the Quiznos on Bowers Ave in New Philadelphia, OH for first the discount on our meal and then the $5 gift cards. The guy who served us was incredibly sweet.
If there?_Ts one thing this trip has given me thus far, it?_Ts a greater love of people. Every day I am impressed by the nice people I meet in the most random places.
After a trip to the grocery store to pick up a little dessert, we headed back to the Y for the evening?_Ts end: journaling for some, a little bike maintenance for others (Tommy fixed my derailleurs, yet again!) all to the sound of Sam strumming his guitar. There?_Ts a certain comfort to the routine we?_Tve fallen into.
And so, two weeks of riding is complete, we are back to our full 30, and we must rest to prepare for the week ahead.

-Katya

Today?_Ts march took us through the last of the land where Liberty came to be, whereupon we crossed the border into the realm of the Buckeye.


Though the troops are weary, I am constantly inspired by their unwavering will to continue the mission. Despite seemingly impossible odds, it seems that we have grown accustomed to the drab rations, with some individuals even forging new recipes out of the most unorthodox of ingredients. Somehow, our bodies have evolved to extract the needed nutrients from what little supplies we are able to carry, with the result being nothing short of extraordinary. What is more, this private was given a surprise visit from some not-so-long-lost relatives, whose gifts of Krispy and Kreamy sweets helped to fulfill the peak of our all but forgotten food pyramid.


Alas, our survival cannot be solely credited to the delicious combination of one cup determination with a pinch of luck, as those friendly faces along the way have left visible impressions on both my, and my compatriot?_Ts composure. True to form, those who reached out a hand of helpfulness to our woe stricken crew in this great land of Youngstown, have eclipsed our expectations and left us well fed, clean shaven, and ready to continue.


Tragically, but without surprise, I must end this transmission short, as the alarm bell has sounded once more. The time has come to press on.


Pvt. Hunter, out.

We reversed our roles today as we turned our hammers on end and proceeded to gut a three story house in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Originally, we had planned to help build in Youngstown, Ohio, but Pastor Sam?_Ts church offered more work for the thirty of us. Fellow riders crawled out of the attic painted like army troopers from the black soot; walls were chiseled and sealed with spackle until it overran the underlying paint. It was like we were looting the house, hauling away trash bags of roof tiles, linoleum, carpet and treasures buried under the various layers of flooring.
Pastor Sam had mentioned that the house belonged to a divorcee who could no longer afford the mortgage but still lived in town. I thought about her history in the house, what she thought about us gutting her former home. When we finished clearing the attic, it looked like a cage of two-by-fours or some skeleton, picked clean and cleared of any memories. It made me think of my former home; was my hand print from 1995 still in my hiding spot, or had its foundation been ripped out and sealed away in some heavy duty trash bag?

My sentiments of the attic weren?_Tt all nostalgic. Though some memories faded, the house was being prepared for exciting new ones, and I hope that if the former owner herself still lived in town, something of her legacy would be preserved.
After a delicious lunch of Subway Pastor Sam sandwiches (an amazing 1 foot behemoth of a vegetarian sandwich), the workload began to taper. Shortly after returning to the church, I found Pastor Sam having a conversation with one of the other riders on the steps of a side entrance. For about two hours, we discussed religion and cycling. His stories gave me the sense that he had found some sort of religion of his own riding. Later that evening, a small group of riders and I joined him for a quick ride by the river.

Candance, Chantel, Katya, Courtney, Pastor Sam and I rode about 10 miles down the rail trail to a wooden bridge overlooking the river. The highlight of the ride was Pastor Sam?_Ts Led Zeppelin excerpt. We rode through a massive tunnel at the mid-point of the ride. When entering it, light was visible from the other end; however, as we rode through it, darkness swallowed us, and the only visible things were the reflective ground markers and backs of our shoes. Pastor Sam?_Ts voice suddenly bounced backed and forth on the walls, eerily echoing ?_oWOMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!?__
By the time that we arrived back at the church, it was still light, but I knew we had to knock off for the night. I don?_Tt remember too many of the specifics of the last hour of the day, but I?_Tm pretty sure it wasn?_Tt anything exciting.

At each of our Bike and Build presentations, a rider gives a brief overview of a day in the life of a Bike and Builder. The reality is that this Bike and Build experience is so subjective, that there is no real way to pair it down into a simple ?_oday in the life?__. I?_Tm sure that this entry doesn?_Tt do justice to the 29 other experiences of the day, and it will be completely dissimilar to any other day on this trip. Regardless, the unique experience is exactly what has made this trip so special. It is anything but the menial ?_oday in the life?__. I think in retrospect, this trip will seem more like a dream than memory precisely because of the uniqueness of each and every of the seventy days.

Each morning I wake up excited to ride, but a little nervous too. After all, every twist and turn of these mountainous Allegheny roads is preceded by increasingly grueling inclines that provide ample opportunity for meditation on any and every surprise that could possibly be waiting around the bend. What if the pavement has been covered for the next three miles to display the local's world-famous barbed wire collection? What if the forest families of the gazillion dead woodchucks we've passed have finally banded together to avenge their roadkill relatives? What if the warranty on our bikes has expired and every one of them has suddenly and simultaneously fallen to pieces? Sometimes I tell myself that it's my responsibility as a leader to think about these things, but late at night in the darkness of the fragrant gymnasiums where we sleep on wrestling mats and wonder if a person can get ringworm through a sleeping bag, it's then that I think maybe I'm just a bit of a worrier.


Today, however, was full or surprises that even I couldn't have imagined. The fun started on the first big climb of the day, when I huffed and puffed around a steep bend into nettles of nasty language. Five concerned bike and builders and one very unhappy leader stood circled around our support van and trailer, which had slipped off the road and become mired in a soggy swamp. Smiles had been left at the bottom of the hill, and nobody was making any moves to go back and get them. I had apparently wondered into a brief vocabulary lesson, during which Professor Daigle introduced all of us to elements of the English language not typically encountered on a daily basis. Then, our minds enlightened or at least enlivened, we did something about it. Without a word of complaint, the seven of us emptied the trailer, pushed it out of the muddy shoulder, and loaded all our gear back into it again. There were hugs all around, and just like that we were back on the bikes and on our way.


When I got into the YMCA where we were staying the night, I couldn't wait to tell the story. To my surprise, every rider had something to share. People had gotten lost and been led back on track. People had run into a bear and helped each other make an escape. Bikes had busted, helmets had cracked, roadkill had wiggled threateningly, and everybody had made it back ok.


Tonight, I'm getting ready to settle down into my sleeping bag on the gym floor without my usual worries and fears. Sure, tomorrow is probably full of more misadventures, but I know that we'll face them together and somehow that gives me new confidence. At the end of the day, we're looking out for each other, learning to work together. Even as a leader, I'm learning from the riders to trust, to look beyond myself, and ultimately to relax and have a little fun. Today I unzipped my jersey halfway. Now it's off to bed, sweet dreams, and excitingly endless possibilities of tomorrow. I can't wait!


Ride on,

Pat

?_oRide across America, stopping in every Podunk burg along the way. Rely graciously upon the generosity of strangers. Never ever race across America.?__ ?_"Bobke II by Bob Roll


?_oThe days and nights were short, every hour passed quickly like a sail on the sea, beneath the sail of a ship of treasures, full of joy.?__ ?_"Siddhartha


Both of these quotes have been on my mind in the past few days. They both embody so much of what Bike and Build is about. But really, nothing can capture all that is Bike and Build. So as I write this journal entry, tempted to try to get all of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions I?_Tve had in the past 2 weeks into one body of text, I must remind myself to slow down, and focus on one small element of this crazy picture I?_Tm living. So let?_Ts start with one day.


The ride to Franklin, PA started with getting lost, finding our way, and taking Route 62 through rolling hills and down the Allegheny River. Along the way we got free subs from the very generous people at Subway and enjoyed 65 miles of great conversation.


About 10 miles from our destination, Courtney, Candace and I decided to check out Oil City. It had started to drizzle as we were approaching, which provided a very fitting backdrop to the Gotham like architecture of the city. Our picturesque movie scene suddenly turned into an action flick when without warning, the rain started to pour as we crossed the bridge. In retrospect, it was probably pretty funny that Courtney, Candace and I were all calculating in our minds how we would manage to unclip out of our pedals if we were tossed into the choppy waters below. Luckily though, we all made it safely across the bridge and found refuge below the welcoming golden arches of McDonalds. I got ice cream, Courtney got French Fries, and we peacefully watched the rain fall from shelter. Soon the summer storm had passed and we were back on our way to Franklin.


The final few miles were enjoyed on a beautiful bike path that connects Oil City to Franklin. We all took full advantage to the wide open path and lack of automotives. Needless to say, it was a very relaxed and refreshing end to such an exciting day. Outside of the Franklin town limits Courtney, Candace, and I met up with Sam, Nate, and Lauren at a fresh fruit stand. We bought some strawberries, cherries, and plums and biked into town.


When we got to Franklin we met up with most of the crew outside an ice cream place that had been recommended by a local. I got ice cream for the second time of the day (not an uncommon occurrence) and we all swapped stories on the adventures of the ride.


Later on in the evening I received a text message, which read, ?_o(My Dad?_Ts Birthplace) Did you bike through Oil City, Pa? Check your map. My dad was born there. Dad?__ Overall, a magical ending to another dream-like day in the world of Bike and Build.


<3 Anne Dreyfuss

If this trip were some reality show, titled "Bike & Build Extreme Challenge" or something, I'd probably have been voted off by now, if only because I usually end up at the back of the pack, struggling to maintain my 4.6 mph on uphills.


Earlier last week, I think (the days blend together and it's difficult to even remember in which town I woke up), I would have gotten an immunity idol or other such token as a reward for hauling it into town at a faster than normal rate; mostly, though, I'm always in danger of being tailed by the sweeps.


I've seen other riders pairing up and having a great time conversing while they ride and I feel slightly envious of the amount of bonding time I'm missing out on. See, when I ride, it takes me SO LONG to get up hills, but when I get to the top, I want to fly down that sucker! My max speed is now 49.8 mph, but don't worry, Mum and Dad! I'm now using my brakes on a more consistent basis!


Today, though, I had the pleasure of riding with Emily. She and I were supposed to ride with Marie, but we lost her on the way to some coffee shop in Wellsboro. (I usually only have the chance to ride with Marie when she and I are on overnight clean-up or we have a short day. Otherwise, she takes off like a bat in the night once we have our cue sheets.)


Emily was really great to ride with, and I didn't feel like I was holding her back on the hills. We stopped at the Call of the North (?) gift shop in Potter County, and while we were there, Marie caught up to us. I got more postcards, Courtney got a rockin' license plate (so did Emily) and belt buckle to outfit her helmet, Emily also picked up a folding comb that flips out like a knife and Marie bought two pairs of amazing sunglasses.


Emily and I also stopped at the Lumber Museum just outside of Galeton (?) on the way to Coudersport. Learning about the Civilian Conservation Corps, in which my grandfather was a baker back in the day, was awesome, and we had a really fun time. We picked up a few postcards and were on our way.


There are two prominent things I've noticed so far about Pennsylvania:


I've seen more roadkill here than in any other state I've been to, combined.


The hills seem to be endless. So endless, in fact, that Pennsylvanians named a part of them The Endless Mountains. And that is not very funny to see on a sign near the end of a long day!


Before I head to bed, I just want to give a shoutout to all of the people that helped make this trip happen for me, from the awesome support of my friends and family, to the hosts that have housed and fed us and for gracious places along the way that donate food (Subway!) and give us very generous discounts!


Dad, Happy Birthday, and Happy Father's Day! I think of you and Mum every day as I struggle up those hills. You keep me going!


Good night, and here's hoping it gets a little cooler around here.

Brianne

In the past 24 hours I?_Tve learned, said, or thought about the following:


1. Poison ivy is not fun (So look before you squat)


2. Days off are blessings that do the body good. They are morale boosters to the extreme power and should happen more frequently. (YEAH!??!!)


3. ?__Oh what a beautiful morning
Oh what a beautiful day

I?_Tve got a wonderful feeling
Everything?_Ts going my way?__


Thanks to Candace, I sing this little doodad of a song over and over and over and over again as I pedal my legs through their morning burrrrrrrrrn. Even if everything doesn?_Tt go my way, it?_Ts nice to start the day with a little hope.


4. 92 degree afternoons with the blazing sun on Highway 6 ?_~crost Pennsylvania equals heat rash, sun burn, and dehydration like whoa. Never in my entire life have I had so much admiration and respect for camels.


5. I?_Tve named my thighs Sally and Cliff and I talk to them when the going gets rough


6. Anne has a phenomenal ability to recycle last night?_Ts side dishes into today?_Ts lunch sandwiches (I?_Tm saying it looks ?_oew gross?__ but tastes ?_oAnne, that?_Ts amazing?__)


7. Sweat


8. Sam and Sarah have a way with the strings of a guitar


9. Massage trains


10. Check the DVD cases for the DVDs you paid $8 to rent but never watched before you return them to Blockbuster (WHOOPS!)

(FYI Mailing a DVD/CD shaped-object to Clarks Summit, PA costs about $4.60)


12. As of today, Courtney rides with a radio, an adorable little bike license plate, a Harley Davidson belt buckle whose adage boasts ?_oLive to Ride,?__ and the remnants of a bachelorette?_Ts ?_oLast Night Out?__ (Oh the things we find?_?.)


13. Road kill is a reality


14. We still have not painted the trailer! Derrick, whatever shall we do without your art direction? We miss you and hope you LOVE our card  GET WELL SOON!!!!!! COME TO SEATTLE!!!!



So all of the abovementioned have been on my mind most recently, but most importantly, I want it to be known really how amazing this experience is. In every town that we ride through, no matter the size, there is someone who offers unyielding praise and reverence upon learning our mission. We are 30 bikers (Derrick, you and Kandi are with us 4 LYFE) and builders traveling close to 4,000 miles so that people much like and much different than ourselves may have the chance to call some place ?_ohome.?__ Though this summer we?_Tre learning that home is not necessarily so much a permanent residence as much as it is the company you?_Tre with, every human being should have the opportunity to have a safe, clean, dependable place to call home.


Thank you to our friends and families, all of our hosts, and everyone in between. We would not have even made it to Providence if we didn?_Tt have your support.


We?_Tre almost two weeks in with the whole summer to go and I?_Tm TOTALLY ready for 230492834 miles of flat land and gargantuous hay bales (if such exists in the Midwest?). I like pools, too -- if you wanna send one of those to a mail drop I?_Tm all for it. And about the mail drops, we all LOVE mail. Especially if it?_Ts perfumed.


Alright it?_Ts a lot of minutes past ?_obedtime?__ and I have to ride sweep tomorrow with Eric (!!!!!). I believe it will be our longest day yet (about 80-85 miles?); fortunately Coudersport, PA had itself a few rumbles in the sky so an evening of rain got the valley cooled down and dirty for a more bearable ride tomorrow.




Godspeed --

Lauren

78 miles from Clark?_Ts Summit (near Scranton) to Standing Stone (not Towanda)


Once upon our daylight waking,
While we sought food and early packing

Before many and many miles of spinning our wheels,


When we were ready, nearly departing,
Our travels were blessed by the local father, Bob Martin,

Wishing us well and with moving stories, hope imparting.


Ah, distinctly, I remember,
It was the day after a late slumber,

And our legs were freshly recovered from the first few hundred miles.


As a pack we traveled, more than half our group together,
We pedaled down PA roads, approaching the lunch shelter,

Our van with trailer provided several pb?_Ts and filled our water bottles.


With chalk on the roads, and determination in our shoes,
We sped onward by the views, absorbing the greens and blues,

To Towanda we spun, 78 miles in the heat almost done!


Our directions weren?_Tt so complete,
Another town we were supposed to meet,

But not knowing where to go, we saddled down our two-wheeled steeds.


There under a tree we waited,
Chowed down on a tub of cookies donated,

A reporter stopped by to take our story, before some river splashing glory.


Happily, the van did pick us up,
To the showers and then to sup?_T,

In a small church by a gorgeous hill, hay bales strewn about.


With the piano playfully tapping,
We laid down our bags for a night of deep napping,

I?_Tm proud of our journey, and look forward to the morrow!


Upon some reflection these things I have learned:
Peanut butter in cereal with bananas is far from absurd,

And I?_Tve found 30 friends who share my appetite for cycling and food.


-Evan

Every day we spend riding feels more like two or three days, they are that full and busy. So while I prefer being on my bike, a second day in the same town was a bit of a relief because we didn?_Tt have to spend so much brain power to get to the next place (I like exerting the leg power).


We stayed in Clarks Summit which is a small suburb of Scranton, PA. The youth group at our church, Our Lady of the Snows, does a trip with Habitat for Humanity to West Virginia every year and they needed some help with a car wash to fundraise for their trip. The Habitat affiliate in Scranton didn?_Tt have any work for us, so we put our 29 pairs of hands to work for the youth group.


We had a pretty good time flagging down cars along the main drag and by 9:30 am we had a steady stream of cars, and at a minimum donation of $5 we thought we?_Td do pretty well. The total surpassed the youth group?_Ts record to reach $848. The money plus the soapy water fights made for a successful first half to our day.


After sending off the laundry chore group to do a ridiculous amount of laundry and the shopping group to get some good stuff for dinner, everyone split off to do their own personal errands. A lot of those errands were simply exploring Clarks Summit a bit.


I chose to do some catch up on Bike and Build paperwork. Tommy, one of the other leaders had been working on our routes for the next few days, which is pretty time consuming work ?_" comparing paper maps, to local advice, to last year?_Ts cue sheets, to the software that we have to help. There are a surprising number of details that feel unrelated to the actual days of the trip (keeping track of the budget or filling out host evaluations). It was nice to have a few extra hours in which to take care of those types of details.


Logan and I also had time to make a trip to Home Depot. Every morning the riders all pack up the trailer ?_" camping gear at the back, personal bags on top, lunch stuff closest to the door so we can eat easily. Every morning when we close it up it looks pristine, neat and organized. Then lunchtime rolls around and we have been lugging the trailer up and down, up and down and everything has tumbled down into a big mess. So Logan and I brainstormed a possible solution strapping larger items to the walls of the trailer with bungees that hook into screw eyes. We bought our supplies and haven?_Tt had a chance yet to implement the first stage of the experiment, but I?_Tm hoping that it might minimize our avalanches.


People bought energy bars, and drank coffee, found some personal space, took naps, laughed together and generally enjoyed the afternoon off. I got the chance to chat with people that I hadn?_Tt really chatted with before and almost everyone stayed up right until we had to turn the lights out ?_" 11 pm before a ride day.


Some extra time was nice, but it will be good to get back on my bike.


Emily Dallmeyer

Today, Amelia and I rode sweep which means we both strapped rather large brooms to the backs of our bikes and cleaned up the streets as we pedaled from White Lake, NY to Clark Summit, PA because Bike and Build not only cares about affordable housing, but also about the cleanliness of the streets over which we pass.


Just kidding. I mean, we do care about those things, but we didn't really carry brooms. Riding sweep means that we bring up the rear of the pack to make sure everyone gets in to the destination safely. It was an enjoyable ride for me. It made for a long day of biking (9am to about 7pm), but the day and the scenery were beautiful.


Amelia and I left our White Lake temporary residence around 9am, letting everyone get ahead of us for about 45 minutes. The route to Pennsylvania covered about 70 miles of big rolling hills. I hear if you're from Pennsylvania, the saying goes, "if you're not going down hill, you're going up." We seem to have found good evidence to support that. But even though the terrain provided for a strenuous ride, everyone made it in unscathed and ready for a much deserved day off from biking.


I wish I could write so much more, because each day is full of so much worth writing. But because of that, not much time is allocated to writing about it all and thinking about was has already passed. Which brings me to the first major theme I've noticed from this trip: it forces you to live in the moment and enjoy each pedal stroke, each river you pass over, each summit, each decent, each day, each minute, and each other.


Thanks for reading.
Peace,

-Terra

(this journal is for the day of june the 14th, Poughkeepsie to White Lake. It would have been posted earlier but it's hard to find the interweebs out in the mountians).


I had written a journal about today but decided that it was worthless, so like Dvorak with his early symphonies, I have destroyed it. Yes, I did just compare my original entry to works from a master composer that no doubt would have been part of the musical cannon. That?_Ts the way we roll here at P2S.
I love riding bikes. There is a freedom and awareness that one realizes after many self-propelled miles lost in your own thoughts. There is an awakening when you realize that the pain from a climb is cleansing, a spirituality discovered by the equilibrium at the crest of a hill, and a rush from the scenery as the descent begins. There?_Ts a childlike giddiness when you?_Tre just out playing on the road and fire in you when you?_Tre determined to spend every last bit of strength you have. We had all of these today.

I felt the pain and the fire as I sprinted up a four mile climb trying to find Eric and Elle who may have been lost (they were lost but there really was no need to push so hard up the mountain. They found their way back). I felt the equilibrium as the top neared and I realized how clear my mind was and how sharp my thoughts had become with the turning of my cranks. I felt the rush as I stood with my friends and looked out over the valley at the forests and mountains in the distance. We?_Tll ride them later. We?_Tll take this whole land. The rush only got stronger on the descent where a slight lean around a turn will make gravity even more efficient. I regained the awareness and freedom after lunch when I pushed solo for 13 miles over rolling hills, passing other riders because sometimes being alone on your bike is all you need. I felt the childlike giddiness when I caught Terra and Sam and decided that I had been alone enough. We rode fast and we rode slow. We stopped to sit by a lake and Carrie caught us making our trio a quartet. We talked, laughed, yelled over the wind to each other, and rode without a care in the world. The late afternoon was approaching quick and we were little kids.
Shout outs (ha!) to Pastor Dave and all at the White Lake Reformed Presbyterian Church, everyone who gives us donations on the road (especially donations of food. We?_Tre hungry), Maureen Dowd who pulled me out of a difficult evening when she used the phrase ?_ojejune Junior,?__ all the bike shops who have given us discounts and donations, those who?_Tve sent us mail (um, yeah, I didn?_Tt get any), whoever it was who invented chamois cream, everyone who is standing behind us with support, donations, and prayers, the Hudson River for being so bad, Derrick Theil for being the man and breaking his pelvis, and to my friend Chris Webber, whom all rides this summer are dedicated to.


Enjoy the ride

tommy

Hello family, friends, and fans!
Sorry for the delay on journal postings...we've had less internet access than expected and have had to improvise a bit along our way (I just asked some random woman at this library to use her card so I could actually go online).

June 13th: New York Day!

I think one of the best reasons to start this trip on the East coast is the fact that we pass through so many states so quickly. It's a pretty cool feeling to already be in our 4th state after so few days. Today we had a great breakfast at the Kent School and then leisurely left for our 30 mile day to Poughkeepsie, NY. The Kent school was kind enough to supply us with sandwich fixings for our lunch so we could have a peanut butter and jelly alternative. Some people stopped at the local coffee shop to indulge in goodies and caffeine since 30 miles seemed like a cake walk compared to our previous day's 70+ mile ride. I had my first (minor) crash while multitasking and balancing with a foot still clipped into my pedal. Don't worry mom, I just have a cool pattern of cuts on my angle and a funny story to tell. The ride today was short and sweet, with great views, rolling hills, and pleasantly cool weather. Since we arrived at our destination so quickly, a group of us decided to explore the Vassar College campus with Sam as our tour guide (his sister goes to Vassar). We were thrilled to use the computers in the beautiful library and eventually ate a second lunch at the Dutch Country House (?) restaurant. Finally, we made our way to St. Paul's Episcopal church, where several industrious women were already busy cooking our dinner. We were shuttled over to the YMCA for showers in shifts before enjoying our massive feast and nightly group presentation. A family friend of mine joined our group for dinner and brought loads of fresh salad greens and strawberry vinaigrette from her local farm. Thanks Kathryn for the organic greens! After a relaxed day and too much sugar, Win and I had our own dance party around sleeping riders and worked off some extra energy. The trip keeps getting better, and moments like the sugar-high dance fest are making the experience all the more meaningful. Later Alligators, Bronwyn

June 12, 2007


Day 3 ?_" a poem by Win Chesson


At 6AM our tent covered in dew
We packed our sleeping bags and went to poo


The Farmer fam?_Ts delicious spread

Lured us from our cozy bed


We packed our bags and shammied our bums
Loaded our gear and cleaned up our crumbs


With tires topped and chains all greased

We thanked our hosts and then we peaced


As we left from Agawam
We thought to ourselves ?_oDamn, we da bomb!?__


The Q sheet placed Kent at mile 65

But like both days before, it was a (major) lie


I blew a flat at mile three
Which sucked because I had to pee


I examined my tire to find a screw

Suddenly I realized I don?_Tt know what to do


With a hole through tire, tube, and rim
My prospects for completing the day became quite grim


We pedaled our way up three massive hills

While doing our best to minimize spills


All day my tire did deflate
Which made me very very late


Down a dirt road Derrick took a major tumble

At 33 mph his helmet cracked and pelvis crumbled


Sadly to home he had to depart
Yet he still rides with us in our heart


From 8 to 7 we rode our Bikes

All morning, day, and into the night


Past dams, castles, and a park that amuses
I made it to Kent with five purple bruises


Our gracious hosts had prepared a feast

Which I gobbled down like a ravenous beast


We mingled and chatted and presented our cause
Of hammering nails and working the saws


In a kid?_Ts bike clinic we taught them to maintain

A sparkling bike and a well lubed chain


By 9PM we were totally cashed

So we hopped in our bags and immediately crashed

Well, it's been two days and 89 miles, and we've reached Agawam, Massachusetts. We're staying this evening at Pat's house. Well... in the yard of Pat's house, in 6-person (aka 8-person) tents. I have far too much to say about recent days-- the dread of approaching hills, the joy of conquering them, the 10-feet-ahead rule for absurd inclines (pick a spot, ride to it, then pick another spot and ride to that, then pick another...). I rode from Providence to Connecticut-- it's relatively amazing to say that, even though the distance isn't actually that great. I also found out that the highest point in Rhode Island is 812 feet. And that Chamois cream (butt-butter, which promotes friction-free riding in the crotchular region) is one of, if not the exclusive, best idea(s) ever. And that, after 42 miles of riding, I can eat a triple cheeseburger and large fries, and then 2 hours after that have a half chicken, potato salad, and 8 watermelon slices. And that an inch of Thermarest is like 8 inches of goose-down when you're beat.


Tomorrow Nate and I are riding "sweep," which means we get to bring up the rear, ensuring that no rider goes unaccounted for. It's a 67-mile day into the Appalachian mountains, so the slow pace will be a welcome respite from the last two days. There are a lotta fit people on this trip, so I've been pushed hard, and I like it. That said, Nate and I are psyched for a long, slow ride through Western Mass.


I hit 42.3 mph today. And averaged 14.4 over the course of the day. And had the juiciest pb 'n j of my life. And an apple, covered in peanut butter, covered in potato chips. Which was delectable.


Riding over the Connecticut river today, I grew intensely exhilarated, nearly to the point of tears. That doesn't happen easily. I think it was my association of the Connecticut with my hometown Brattleboro, VT, and the knowledge that the same water had passed home earlier that day. It's such a broad, beautiful expanse, and crossing it was... perfect. My body felt right (sore and tight, but well-aligned and solidly worked), I was a few miles from our stopping point, and my belly was full of banana, apple, Vitamin Water, and peanut-butter glue. Even though it was exhilarating, I think I'm homesick. A week in Vermont wasn't enough. But that will pass.


That's all for today. I'm kinda beat at the moment, and excited to start a fire in the Farmer's backyard and camp out, even if it's misting out there. Love and gratitude to all, especially our hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Farmer.


-Sam

The weather today was gorgeous and perfect for our first official day of riding. It began at 6am and took just over an hour for everyone to get dressed, load their bag into the trailer, enjoy leftover pastries from au bon pain, race over to Dunkin?_T Donuts for coffee, apply suntan lotion to their bodies and lube to their bikes. Once we were geared up and assembled, the day?_Ts cue sheet (listing the directions for the day?_Ts route) was distributed. The route was marked as stretching just 30.5 miles, but the directions themselves were lengthy. Many memorized the initial directions and made their way to our first stop: the Brown boathouse. By the dock, our family and friends awaited our arrival and stood fully prepared to photograph our ?_owater dipping?__ ceremony. It played out just like it sounds: we all lined up with our bikes at the edge of the dock allowing it to sink just enough to wet our rear tires. It marked our official start (that will also be officially concluded in Seattle where we will dip our front wheels in the west coast waters). Then Bike and Build alum, Bowman, gave us a brief pep talk and asked us each to share two words describing how we were feeling. In short, some phrases chosen were: ?_orock on?__, ?_olet?_Ts get ?_~em?__, ?_oalready bleeding?__, ?_owoot woot?__, ?_oholding pee?__, and concluded with ?_oLET?_TS GO?__. From there, we raced off escaping through the streets of Providence. Once beyond the cities borders, we entered a very hilly and scenic part of Rhode Island. Some riders could not resist stopping along the way to explore the surroundings a little further. At one point, Pat, Sarah, Emily, Jackie, and I stopped to explore a cemetery slightly hidden within a tall patch of grass. It appeared that the cemetery belonged to the Randall family and traced back to 18th century. But don?_Tt be confused, this journey was not all photo ops and water breaks. The hills were around every corner and I struggled maneuvering with the gears as I went. Of course, this physical battle was not without its mishaps specifically my four falls throughout the day. Most of these tumbles were caused by my lack of ability to actually get on or off of the bike, which was something I really should have learned before venturing across country. But the palm of my hand was the only thing that took a beating, Marie quadruple flatted. I also believe three of those flats were made in one fail swoop. Tommy came to her rescue, and by lunch, Marie and Tommy were each wearing the punctured rubber tubes with pride about their waist and neck. After my bagel and peanut butter lunch, I became fully concerned about arriving at our destination (Woodstock, CT) by the deadline time: 4pm. It became my goal to just avoid being picked up by the van. Thus, the remainder of my afternoon was spent alongside the sweeps (the two riders assigned to hold up the rear for the day) focusing on surviving the up hills and taking advantage of the down hills. In fact, I didn?_Tt even stop to take a picture as I passed the Connecticut border because I did not want to lose any time. But don?_Tt worry, many other riders certainly made time to stop at gas stations for snack food, at the Rhode Island?_Ts highest peak, and at Carvel for discounted ice cream. The worst part of the ride that most everyone remembers was a hill in Pomfret just miles from the First Congregational Church where we were staying. Our host there, Debbi, was very hospitable and even helped me find the church while I was en route. Our group was overwhelmed by the church?_Ts generosity as they made us an incredible delicious dinner, offered us DVDs to watch, and offered to bring our dirty laundry home to wash. This helped us to settle in, and we then gave a short presentation about Bike and Build to the community members. Following this, many riders focused on filling in their journal or blog. Others including Derrick and Marie returned to painting the trailer, and I sought some bike lessons from Evan. He taught me how to get on and off my bike. The mosquitoes eventually called an end to my practice session. But hopefully tomorrow will be smoother making the all the bug bites worth it.


-Katie B

Hi Friends and Family,
What a wonderful group of individuals! I have had an amazing time so far getting to know my Bike and Build family. This summer promises to bring many lasting friendships, which will inspire and help make us into the people we will be for the rest of our lives. I already feel an encompassing sense of support from the group and know that our newly formed bonds will only strengthen.

Today we had our first build day and got to see a different side of the uptown Providence where we had previously spent the first two days of our orientation. We hopped in our vans and drove to the build site, leaving behind Brown University and entering the neighborhood where Bike and Build's third house in Providence was in construction. We helped with building the second floor of the house, spreading topsoil, wrapping the house in building paper, and any other odd jobs where we were needed. It only took a few minutes before we were working efficiently together and having a lot of fun. I got to talk with some possible future home owners and build with them as well. I was overjoyed to witness everyone working together in complete harmony and creating a visible difference. By lunch, we were soaked from the continuous drizzle, but had accomplished $1,500 worth in our construction efforts with smiles on our faces.
I just got back to my dorm room from our first "town meeting", where all the hopes and expectations of the group were shared. In general, everyone is looking forward to meeting people along the road and sharing in stimulating and life altering conversations. There was a collective excitement in the meeting to conquer America and help improve the state of our nation's poverty housing.

As we prepare to dip our tires in the Pacific tomorrow morning there are numerous last minute bike repairs to make and packing to be done. We are all at different stages in our lives, but brought together for a single cause and journey. I can't wait to watch the next nine weeks unfold.
Keep in touch,

Candace Blas

Dear Bike & Build Community,


Our P2S trip will begin their journey across the country on June 10th, leaving from Providence. They will be posting journal entries to this site throughout their two month journey. Please be sure to check back with this page and hear their stories from the road. Feel free to post a comment to share with our riders!


We look forward to sharing our summer with you.


Amelia Hanley and Branden Newman

I have to be honest: I?_Tve been dreading writing this entry. It?_Ts not just the pressure of writing both the opening and closing words to a journal tracking a trip that has been impossible to accurately describe in words. It?_Ts also, quite simply, that I knew that the day I wrote this would signal the end of our journey.


Our tires encountered the waters of the Pacific in a far more disorderly fashion than when they were neatly dipped into the Atlantic. Bikes were strewn on the beach with little regard for the harm that could be incurred due to salt, sand, or the rising tide of seaweed-laden water. We all ran in, and the resulting outbursts were ones that only a group of thirty-one exhausted, ecstatic cross-country bikers could create upon reaching The Other Shore. Splashes, hugs, shouts, yells, laughter, and tears?_? often all at the same time, in one confusing mess of emotion. I say thirty-one riders, but our thirty-second was there in spirit: Jamie did not neglect to throw Jay?_Ts autographed Economist into the water, and we all raised champagne glasses to him soon afterwards. Other notable toasts included one to peanut butter and jelly, chalk, Teton Pass, chore groups?_?


I think it?_Ts safe to say that the reception at Genevieve?_Ts house that night surpassed all of our expectations?_"the beautiful home, the food, the band playing East African music, but most especially the camaraderie, as we danced, slid down the zip line, received commemorative trophies and jars of peanut butter, and basked in the glory of our accomplishment.


What accomplishment? When all you do is ride your bike every day, it?_Ts easy to lose track of the big picture, to forget how momentous this trip really was, and how far we came on two wheels. I still harbor secret thoughts that I am not really in Seattle, that it is all either a dream or a cleverly-constructed optical illusion. But reality has a tendency to settle in with time. I think we?_Tll all realize what we?_Tve done only gradually, and that everything we?_Tve learned from this trip will seep into our lives slowly, imperceptibly. In that sense, I can reassure myself with the knowledge that this trip isn?_Tt entirely over. I think Finn put it well when he told me, on the day we swept together, that he saw Bike and Build as the gateway to the rest of his awesome life.


In closing, here are some (anonymous) quotes from P2S-ers, about any aspect of this adventure that we?_Tve all had together. Thank you for your support, and thanks for reading.


Rouke


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?_oI never thought I could do anything like this.?__


?_oI can bike up mountains!?__


?_oI love life!?__


?_oOh my God, my bike got run over.?__


?_oThis trip has made me love America.?__


?_oMy legs are huge!?__


?_oUnbelievable.?__


?_oIf peaceful coexistence can be achieved between thirty-two cross-country bikers, so can it be for the world.?__


?_oYou?_Tre never as close to someone as when you suffer together.?__


?_oMountains I?_Tll never forget, deserts I?_Tll never miss, oceans I?_Tll always yearn for, and friends I?_Tll always cherish.?__


?_oI?_Tm just really wondering why there hasn?_Tt been any road kill out here in the western U.S.?__


?_oIn Pinedale we met a guy named Dave whom we followed up a mountain and watched him feed chipmunks tortilla chips while taking in the view of a glacier lake from 12,000 feet.?__


?_oNo, seriously, are we REALLY there yet??__


?_oBombardment!?__


?_oBiking in the middle of the street?_? bad idea. I love you guys.?__


?_oGod is awesome.?__


?_oNudity is great.?__


?_oI?_Tve decided that I?_Tm a really awesome person, and from now on people should wish they were me.?__


?_oSometimes a living room is a mess, sometimes the grocery shopping never gets done, and sometimes dinner doesn?_Tt feed everyone, but you just have to let it go. Welcome to communal living.?__


?_oI never knew I could have so many ?_~best days ever?_T!?__


?_oBike and Build is like a well-stirred jar of peanut butter; so good, you remember it forever.?__


?_oWhen I look at a map and look at where Rhode Island is, and look at where Washington is, I?_Tm still in shock that we all made it on our bicycles.?__


?_oP2S ?_T06 is way cool, just like Jesus.?__


?_oI think I?_Tve said this has been the best day ever on no fewer than one third of our days?_?is that warm and fuzzy enough??__


?_oGrow up, chill out, relax, and have fun.?__


?_oIt?_Ts a great day when my only job is to ride my bicycle.?__


?_oI never had any doubts that we would complete this trip. Actually completing it, however, is an experience that has no equivalent in my experience, one that I will never match.?__

The day started an immediate climb. We?_Tve anticipated this climb for a long time. Sure, it won?_Tt be as bad as the Tetons, but it will be our last serious climb of the trip. The topo didn?_Tt look easy, with our climb ending at mile 20. The climb was steady and our bonds of riding with friends for close to the last ride of the trip quickly broke into, ?_oI gotta get up this hill anyway I can, see ya.?__ Luckily for me Jess Myers?_T knees started hurting, so I had a friend who met my pace and we climbed the Cascades together! About half way through the first section we could see a large switchback in the distance. For a bit it only seemed to be a crack in the rock, until we saw cars driving up it. We just stared at it saying, ?_oI can?_Tt believe we have to climb that.?__ We could only hope it wasn?_Tt going to be as hard as it looked. Once we got to the dreaded section we both said, ?_oThis isn?_Tt as hard as it looked!!!?__ From the top you could watch the other rides climb the switchbacks. Not only was it a beautiful view, but it was great to be able to see and cheer for the other riders.


The rest of the day was downhill, but only topographically! We had lunch at a beautiful turnout with an amazing view of Ross Lake and Jack and Little Jack Mts. There were motorcyclists stopped at the turnout also, and Jaime thought it might be appropriate to recommend to them that they get some ?_~real?_T bikes.


After lunch the downhill switchbacks were an exciting challenge. We?_Tre going down at at least 30 mph, with sharp curves that were challenging in themselves, then the severe crosswinds hit. It was so fun, but pretty intense and scary, It was difficult to meet the request of the wind and curve, which were pulling you in different directions. At the bottom of these switch backs was Diablo Lake. This lake was the bluest lake you could ever imagine seeing. I mean like crayon teal. It was crazy. Katie Joyce asked a local about its?_T color. He?_Td said there were tiny rock shavings left from the glaciers that were very reflective, so the lake shot an amazing reflection of the also amazing blue sky.
Shortly before our campsite, many of us stopped to eat in Marblemount, to escape the camp dinner.


Once, at camp we had a very laid back, peaceful evening! People sang, people walked down by the river, people ate. Sam blessed us with his recipe for peanut sauce and Finn then cooked us all Corn pone..? Well it was wonderful, especially when I woke up the next morning to him giving me another one.


Alana Yerman

I was told in Spokane that Washington contains every type of terrain we had covered previously, that we would be reliving the lush greenness of the New England, the endless corn and wheat fields of Illinois, the sagebrush desert of eastern Wyoming and, of course, the monstrosities sometimes referred to as the Rocky Mountains. After conquering Teton Pass (affectionately referred to as la Pass de Teton) many of us thought that our days of intense climbing were over. That was just false.


While Teton Pass (said with scary ghost voice) took us to 8431 ft, we started the climb at 6160 ft, meaning we only climbed 2,000 some odd feet. The descent into Omak, while awesome, brought us to a local minimum elevation of 850 feet. After fueling up on an awesome breakfast provided by the church we began the climb over Loup Loup Pass (Loup Loup is the scientific name for a lynx apparently). Over the next twenty miles or so we ascended to 4,020 feet. The scenery was reminiscent of the mountains of southwest Montana: dry, brown and clad in pine trees. This time, however, the mountain was engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke coming from a 30,000 acre forest fire, which was burning many miles away.


Jeff/Chip/The Poo(h) and I started in the back of the pack, but we are both relatively strong climbers (Jeff actually goes up hills faster than he goes down them). As we caught up to people (also called ?_oclimbing the ladder?__) we would put a hand on the small of their backs and push them for a few meters while offering words of encouragement. Apparently, Dan ?_oBest Sunglasses Tan Ever?__ Olson had been delivering sermons to struggling climbers: ?_oSister Tayka, though your legs burn with fire and brimstone you will raise up from this mortal toil and ascend to the lofty heights of Loup Loup Pass.?__


About two thirds of the way up the pass, I pulled away from Jeff and took off up the mountain, loudly accusing the pass, as I went, of being meager and declaring my intention to conquer it. I caught up to Jared and Sam, who had dropped me at the beginning of the climb, passed them, and proceeded to make good on my threat.


As happens at the top of passes, there was a cluster of Bike & Builders buzzing around the elevation sign taking pictures, catching their breath and basking in anticipation of the descent. Many were fumigated by the rising smoke and took off after a short pause. I took a rather long break, as I am want to do, and waited for Jeff and the third member of team Tricycle, the outspoken Robin ?_oGranny Knees?__ Averbeck, to arrive at the top.


Hannah ?_oMy Tango Partner?__ Mellion rocked Loup Loup Pass like a new born kitten. She informed us at the top that after struggling with Teton Pass she had redeemed herself by biking up the entirety of Loup Loup Pass without stopping.


Team tricycle (thus named for its affinity for lollygagging) along with the infamous Will Chen, slayer of thorn bushes, took full advantage of our high potential energy. The boys alternated tucking and shooting past one another, while the more mature Robin took a sane approach to descending.


Lunch took place behind a chic cafAc, where many of us bought food to supplement our beloved PB&J. Donated hummus + good bread from the church + purchased avocado and goat cheese = best lunch ever. Team tricycle along with sweep enjoyed a lovely siesta after stuffing our faces.


We stopped again in Wilson, and old western looking touristy town, to look for stickers for our bicycles and refreshments. The waiter at the cafAc warned us about the two passes we had waiting for us the following day.


After making a 75 miler take all day, we arrived at Early Winters campground just in time to enjoy the delicious curry that Robin had prepared the night before in an effort to prove to Bike & Builders that good food can be made sans animal products. A quick cat bath in a frigid snowmelt-stream and it was time to sleep in preparation for the North Cascades.


Jamie Trowbridge

This morning is a perfect example of the magnitude by which our staggering efficiency and organizational skills have deteriorated as our arrival in Seattle draws near. We were shamefully woken around 5:30 a.m. by the manager of the YMCA, who told us that (a) an aerobics class would be held in one of our more crowded sleeping rooms in a half an hour, and (b) children would be arriving for day-camps in about 45 minutes. In essence, we had to evacuate ASAP. Duffels were jammed full, broken zippers were bungee-corded shut, surfaces were cleaned, and trash was taken out. We ate breakfast out of a cooler on the lawn, as the morning chill reduced many to quivering masses of spandex.


However, not even the morning could bring us down today, for it was the birthday of one of our beloved riders, Monica, and no one can be bummed on a birthday. So the funk of the morning did not last, and the day was salvaged.


We were told in Coeur d?_TAlene that Washington would be kind of a Cliffs Notes version of our trip in its entirety: mountains, deserts, farms, ranches, prairies, and finally the coast. It was funny to see how that unfolded today as we rode. The rolling hills were reminiscent of Iowa, the fields hinting of Indiana, and the cold cold weather of Rhode Island and Connecticut (since all cold weather now reminds me of that Land of Hypothermia).


After a personally uneventful but enjoyable ride with Jare-Bear (Jared Bieniek), we arrived in Wilbur, WA. The town was fairly small, with just one real main drag of mostly closed-down shops and boarded-up windows. We hunkered down in an RV park, where we set up camp and prepared ourselves for the napping and lazing about which we had in store for the afternoon.


Sam Tai

Truthfully, I was a little disappointed when I found out I was assigned to today?_Ts journal?_"our last day off which took place in Spokane. I thought about this odd feeling and realized the contrast of staying in one place for a whole day provides no where near as much adventure as the constant motion we are used to. This revelation, I feel, represents my enthusiasm for each and every day of this trip and thus was pretty exciting.


Nonetheless, today was still really exciting and Spokane is a pretty cool city. It is supposebly the biggest city between Seattle and Minneapolis, and thus provided many outlets to explore and find our own adventures. The YMCA which we stayed at was in the prime location, with Riverfront Park literally as our front yard. The park is beautiful, with a big fountain in the front, metal sculptures, a Japanese Garden and a river flowing through the center. We also managed to time our arrival perfectly with the Royal Fire Works Festival and Concert. The schedule for the day consisted of such medieval events as Baroque ballet, mystic gypsy dancers, quarter-time combat and concluding the night with the Royal band and fire work display.


Most of us woke up to our biological alarms before 9 o?_Tclock, disappointed that days off don?_Tt provide more of a catch-up on sleep. On the other hand, this gives us a chance to scope out the coffee shops and breakfast places in each city. I roamed randomly around the main streets of the city, but unfortunately, because it was Sunday, many of the stores weren?_Tt open yet. It seemed like a viable option to see a movie, considering it was still early. I was a little hesitant and didn?_Tt know if my body could handle 2 hours straight of pure laziness. I am proud to report that with discipline and tenacity I managed to make it through all of Scoop; my first (and probably last) movie on Bike and build was as success.


After walking out of the theatre, we were ferociously engulfed by Nordstrom?_Ts. There was no escaping so we figured we?_Td make the most of out kidnapping and do some shopping. Okay, so maybe we couldn?_Tt resist an opportunity to shop at a store that wasn?_Tt a Thrift store, but what?_Ts wrong with that? We completed our typical teenage afternoon with lunch in the food court. We freed ourselves from the mall to explore more of the city, which had livened up a bit.


Later that afternoon we showed off our talent in thrift store shopping. Many of us thought it would be fun to dress in crazy attire during the ride from the ocean to Seattle. A sparkly red leotard seemed to hit the spot in the category of ridiculous outfits. Since the weather was absolutely beautiful and I had been inside today as long as the past two months combined, I took my journal and music outside for some time with nature. Others organized their bags to fit in newly purchased clothing and souvenirs.


Most of us concluded the night at the park for a wonderful display of fireworks. We gathered a good portion of our group in a nice cozy section of the grass and watched awe-struck at a show even more impressive than that of 4th of July. We meandered back to the ?_~Y,?_T reminiscing about our exciting day off and of course anticipating our soon arrival in Seattle
Carly Sieff

So, today turns out to be the day that Hannah actually had the journal. So, part 2 is coming sooner than we thought. We are currently doing laundry in Couer d?_TAlene and decided to bring the computer along and reflect back on our day. Again our days differed considerably from each others. Ericc will start us off again.


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For the first time since we started the trip, our wake up call was 30 minutes before breakfast. Were the leaders feeling alright? Was that a mistake? It surely was unheard of! We ALWAYS wake up an hour before breakfast to make sure that all of our stuff is packed and we are ready to leave after breakfast. Perhaps this was the start of a brand new way of life?_?only time will tell.


Still hungry? Not possible! The breakfast we had this morning was fit for kings We were spoiled with French toast, scrambled eggs, strawberries, grapes, apples, bananas, various cereals, milk, orange juice, coffee, and water. This was a hearty, healthy breakfast that gave us all of the energy we needed. Now all of our families, keep this in mind. We will be expecting this kind of royal treatment when we get home.


Woo! We got to ride on more of the Trail of the Coeur d?_TAlene?_Ts path. Bike & Build on a bike path, what? This was a rare occurrence, so we enjoyed it while it lasted. We took the path into Wallace yesterday and took it most of the way to Coeur d?_TAlene today. With more trees surrounding us today, we cruised down the path with little wind slowing us down. And the water simply beautified our surroundings. No worrying about debris, fast cars, loud horns, rumble strips, or staying in the breakdown lane. Ah, what a life!


Mile 11: World?_Ts Longest Gondola. Why is such a cool phenomenon in Idaho? Well, Rouke, Jeff, Aaron, and I rode past it, wondering if we should stop. We turned around did not stay long because of the $15 fee. Back on the road wed went, until catching up with Thane headed back towards the Gondola. He wanted to take the ride, so we turned around and went with him to try to get a discount. Whatever Thane did worked, because he came out with 25 free passes!


We waited on the bike path for other riders to come and ended up with between 15 and 20 riders total. Riding to the top was a great experience. The views were spectacular and it was really cool to be able to see so far out into the distance. Will thought you could see for 50 miles. The 3.1 miles we traveled in the little cart suspended above the ground was well worth it. But the top was not really the top.


?_oYou guys should see Lookout Tower,?__ one ski-lift operator said. Sounded like a good idea to us. We could not find it because it was up another side of the mountain. From where we were, one ski lift would take us down the back side of a smaller mountain, and a longer ski lift would take us up to the top as high as we could go.. Elevation: 6,400 feet. That was 4,000 feet higher than where we started on the bike path. Wow!


Everyone except for me was getting hungry, so there was talk of eating at a restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. I was the only one who just wanted to get going because we still had 40 miles to go and by this point it was around 12 noon. I was also concerned about the temperature getting warmer and the winds picking up. Since I was not hungry, I took off for Coeur d?_TAlene, the town with the cool name, to see what made this town so special that it was listed on signs on I-90 for hundreds of miles. It had to be a decent sized town.


I missed the chalked turn off that told us to cross I-90 and hop over the railing to get to Coeur d?_TAlene Lake Drive, which was the road the cue sheet had us take along the water As I was biking, I thought I saw the road, but did not want to guess and have to get back on the highway. I figured, ?_oIf I miss the road, I will just take the highway into downtown. Not to worry.?__ That is exactly what I did. With a population of about 34,000, it was a great town to spend time in, see the water, meet people, shop, dine, and have fun. And I spent some time seeing the sights, walking and biking around the area, and visiting the Lake with Hannah and Monica. It was a great day.


I had a fantastic day, but the latter part of the day for me was not very interesting. Here is Hannah with the scoop about the rest of the day. .


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A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?A?After our late wake up call and wonderful breakfast, I headed out on the beautiful bike path to ride into Coeur d?_TAlene. I must have passed the Gondolas while Thane and the rest were inside asking about prices, because Monica got a call when a group of us were about 8 miles away from them. We all decided that we didn?_Tt want to add 16 miles to our route, so we continued on. We climbed another pass today, called 4th of July, but it was small and fairly easy and I made it up without much problem. There was no lunch at the top today, but I smiled the whole way down. By then we were back on I-90, but soon crossed over to a beautiful trail that went right along the water and took us into the city.


I?_Td have to say that Coeur d?_TAlene is high up on my list of favorite cities this summer and it is definitely a placed I want to visit again. Right on a beautiful lake, the city had a beach-town feeling that was very pleasant. I heard that Coeur d?_TAlene is busy all four seasons, and is not just a summer-winter tourist spot. After riding down Sherman, the main street, and taking some turns I arrived at an adorable white church with bright blue doors. It was definitely one of the nicest receptions we?_Tve had, and I was met with a huge spread of snacks (including gummy bears!), a map of town, a menu for dinner and breakfast and incredibly nice people who were eager to help us find whatever we wanted. We wanted to find some thrift stores, and were directed to a street that containing almost half a dozen thrift and some neighborhoods that contrasted with the fancier stores on Sherman street that perhaps give a better picture of how Couer d?_TAlene?_Ts permanent residents live. Since I hadn?_Tt taken the gondolas, I arrived around 1 pm and had the rest of the day to explore. Monica, Ericc and I headed down to the water and found a small beach. While the two left to explore the rest of the town, I decided to hop in the water and floated around for a bit before drying out on the sand. I then walked around town a bit, exploring some cute shops before heading back to the church to shower.


When I got back, much of the gondola gang was just returning, in time for a fabulous dinner provided by our hosts. We gave a presentation than I headed out with Ericc to do laundry for the group, and we were warmly received when we returned, for clean bike jerseys and chamois are a wonderful thing.


A final reflection: Idaho has surprised me. I don?_Tt know what I thought it would be like, but its nothing like I expected. I?_Tve come to love the Idaho countryside and the cities we?_Tve seen in it, and am sad to leave Idaho tomorrow but incredibly excited to enter Washington ?_" our last state.


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A?We hope you?_Tve enjoyed our second and final joint entry. We realize they are much longer than normal, but we both tend to have a lot to say, so they get very long. We hope they?_Tve given you a glimpse into our daily adventure and show the diversity of daily experiences for each rider. Each day brings with it so many stories, but only few can be shared in this space. These are ours for now.


Hannah Mellion and Ericc Powell

So, last night Jose told Ericc that he was writing today?_Ts journal. This morning, the cue sheet said it was Hannah?_Ts turn to write the journal. The solution? We?_Tve decided to combine forces and write two joint journal entries, giving two different perspectives on two different days. This will be a chance to show just how different each riders?_T experiences are on a daily basis. So ?_" here is the first, detailing our journey from small Superior, Montana across the border into wonderful Wallace, Idaho ?_" where we also crossed into our third and final time zone: Pacific Standard Time.


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While Hannah slept in the quiet hall way and got a few extra minutes of sleep, I was awoken in a foreign language at 6:00 a.m. That was certainly unexpected. I heard Miho and Tayka talking in Japanese. What on earth is going on, I thought? Is this real, or am I dreaming? It was real because I soon heard the familiar voice of Jose telling us what they said. I don?_Tt think that he knows Japanese?_?I believe they just told him what they said. It was definitely a twist to the start of the morning.


The ?_oMethodist Men,?__ as they call themselves, cooked us a wonderful breakfast this morning. The church we ate at for dinner last night was the same location for breakfast this morning?_"a mile away. Let?_Ts go for a little bike ride! Breakfast was surely done right, with golden and fluffy pancakes, juicy and tender sausage, and scrambled eggs that made you want to go back for thirds. The cake we had for dessert last night was also a breakfast fixing. I had to stop myself from eating too much because, if I remember right, we are biking across the country and have to get on our two-wheel self-powered machines today in route to Wallace, ID, so I better not over fill my tank.


For the third day in a row, I set sail with Marc and Sam. It started by us just happening to be ready to leave at the same time, and we made a good trio. We had a lot of fun. As we passed a group of girls, we thought of a song to sing and sang loudly while we passed. They enjoyed it, and it was a great way to be enthusiastic on the road. This trend continued for two days. However, because of my flat tire today less than a mile out of town, we were delayed in reaching the girls and ended up passing them while they were resting on the side of the road. (I heard a pop and thought it was Jamie?_Ts tire, only to find out my tube had been pinched for the last 60 miles and ruptured. Now I had a fairly moderate air leak. And many riders today had flat tires.) At that point, our trio had separated into three singles, so we could not do the song anyways. March sped up and reached them first, I came trailing behind, and Sam had stopped to help repair flat tires. No song today.


Interstate 90 runs clear across the country. I jokingly said that we could take it from the Atlantic to the Pacific, not actually knowing that we would be riding on it. And apparently it is not illegal to ride on it in Idaho because it is the only road that goes through some areas. Besides biking on a road with a speed limit of 75, debris in the shoulder, rumble strips causing us pain, and no areas of shade, it was a nice ride. At times, Frontage Road paralleled the interstate, but it was easier and flatter to stay on the I-90. Instead of the rumble strip being the one long strip next to the white line, there were sections of rumble strips every twenty feet in the shoulder that spanned the entire breakdown lane. The only way to avoid them was basically to ride in the slow highway lane. And for about a mile, the rumble strips consisted of five thicker grooves in the road that really made your body vibrate and hurt a lot! I am so glad the whole ride was not like that.


Another mountain pass today! Only this time it was a gradual climb because we were on the interstate. Most of the day we spent climbing until mile 46 where we had lunch on top of Lookout Pass. At least we were not cycling at five miles per hour but it was difficult to maintain anything above 14. Even though it was gradual climb and was not like any of the other steeper mountain passes we climbed, it was still a great feat to get to the top at Lookout Pass (elevation 4680) and see a sign that read ?_oTruckers: Steep grades next 5 miles, 6% maximum. Check brakes.?__ Uh oh! More climbing? At 6%? It really confused some riders and worried them, making them believe that we still had quite a distance to ride until we reached the top. After thinking about the words ?_ocheck brakes,?__ they realized it meant downhill. ?_oAwesome!?__ And lunch was at the top of Lookout Pass, where we ate above the highway?_"at the perfect angle for riders at lunch to toss water balloons down below at riders who were nearing the top. I narrowly missed one! It was a great lunch spot because the rest of the ride would be all downhill, and we had a great view. It was also right before the welcome to Idaho sign (our second time seeing it on this trip) and the sign alerting passersby that they are entering the Pacific Time Zone. It was practically one-stop shopping because we took pictures at all three spots (all were within a half-mile of each others). And what extra hour of sleep? There is no such thing! Some kind of way it seems to work out that it does not help us at all. Shucks.


What a beautiful home stretch! The last seven miles were beautiful. The trail is known as ?_oTrailhead?__ or the ?_oTrail of the Couer d?_TAlene?_Ts?__ and is an old paved-over railroad. That would explain the slight bumps that made me think my tire was losing air. For the most part it was very smooth and fast as it was slightly downhill. Pedaling with virtually no effort, we were maintaining upwards of 20 mph. It was nice!


-------------------------


While Ericc?_Ts morning was quiet eventful, mine passed rather quickly and without incident. Once I hit mile 20, miles 21-42 seemed to melt together, like the pages of a good often do. Besides the rather annoying rumble strips in the middle of the road every 10 feet, the ride was quiet pleasant. However I was anxious about the upcoming pass, as all past passes have been rather challenging for me. I soon discovered that I had no need to fear this pass and I slowly and steadily made my way up the 5 miles of the pass without difficulty. I unlike Ericc, was going about 5 miles per hour and was one of the people who was very worried when I saw the sign. Luckily I saw the lunch van ahead and realized that the 6% grade for 5 miles would be our downhill! Now that sounded much better. Lunches on top of mountain passes are some of my favorite times and proudest personal moments. Today I felt such a sense of peace, calm and accomplishment as I sat along the edge of the highway overpass and looked at the scene below me. Life is nothing but good on top of a mountain, I was rather reluctant to leave my peaceful spot.


Like the rest of Ericc?_Ts ride, mine also passed quickly and enjoyably along the beautiful bike path. Before I knew it we have arrived in the adorable, old mining town of Wallace, Idaho. Pulling in with Kristine, Miho and Carly, we locked up our bikes and set off to explore the town?_Ts many antique, art and gift shops. Everywhere we went we talked to shop owners about our trip and people were really excited to hear about our journey. After a few shops the four of us split up and Kristine and I headed over to a small restaurant for burgers and fries. A few minutes later Ericc and Marc walked in for milkshakes. After looking over the menu, the two decided on getting chocolate over huckleberry, a regional specialty. I have seen huckleberry candy, flavored chocolate, ice cream, soda and even margaritas. However, none of us are big huckleberry fans. The four of us hung out for a while before splitting up to explore town a bit more and eventually head back to the church for showers, mail drops and a little downtime before dinner.


Dinner at the Wallace United Church of Christ was excellent and the community gave us a very warm welcome. They were very interested in meeting all of us, and we went around sharing where we were from, where we went to school and what our majors were. Then, all of the community members shared with us their college majors! This church community was also very active in their local Habitat affiliate, who was just finishing their 14th house this year.


While the last time I wrote, everyone?_Ts bodies were injured, now it seems that it is our bikes that are falling apart. In the past two days, we?_Tve have a dozen or more flats ?_" many on I-90. Many people have had multiple flats on one day, I think Robin wins with her record number of 7 flats yesterday morning. However with only 9 more riding days, I think we will all be able to make it into Seattle in one piece.


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We are both looking forward to the bike path tomorrow on our way to Coeur d?_TAlene, as it means we do not have to worry about traffic, debris, or boring scenery. In fact, tomorrow?_Ts ride is supposed to be much more beautiful than today?_Ts ?_" and there is even going to be a lake we can swim in. We?_Tve hope you?_Tve enjoyed this joint entry, and look forward to another one coming up in the next few days!


Hannah Mellion and Ericc Powell

After 7 A? weeks on the road, I have learned that many factors affect the quality of the ride. Most people might assume that distance, weather and hills would determine the difficulty of the ride, but what only a true cyclist would know is that the quality of the shoulder can actually make or break a ride. Is there a wide shoulder (good)? A narrow or non-existent shoulder (bad)? Does it start and stop (frustrating)? Are there rumble strips (annoying)?


Today, we rode 62 miles from Missoula, MT to Superior, MT, and there was a wide shoulder (great), but it was full of junk (bad). Our route put us on I-90. We generally avoid interstates whenever possible, and some people did look for alternate routes, however those weren?_Tt very successful today. One group of riders ended up on a gravel road, and Jess Krug fell and had to get three stitches in her arm. Another group ended up on a road that came to a dead end, and they had to ride a bunch of extra miles. Some others were forced to climb fences to get back on I-90 when the road they were on suddenly ended.


I opted to spend my morning on I-90 and ride on the wide, but glass and tire tread filled shoulder. A few miles into the ride, I passed Robin and the crew she was riding with changing a flat tire. It was her first of six flats that she got that day. A little ways later the group I was riding with had to stop because April got a flat. While we were changing her tire, Jared passed us and told us that he too had gotten a flat. By the end of the day, about half of the group got at least one flat on I-90, thanks to all the junk in the large, but unpleasant shoulder.


Us bikers were not the only people battling flat tires today. Matt was riding along and saw a car with a middle-aged woman and her elderly mother pulled over in the shoulder with a flat tire. He stopped to ask if they were okay and helped them change the tire, which ended up being a lot more work than he originally expected since the jack they had in the car didn?_Tt really work. After he got their tire fixed, the elderly lady got out of the car, asked Matt to take his glove off, and placed a ring on his finger as a token of her appreciation. He tried to refuse it, but she insisted that he take it and wear it. He wore it the rest of the day, and plans on wearing it for at least the rest of the trip.


After lunch, I decided to ride on the frontage road that paralleled the interstate, because we heard that it actually went through to Superior. And it did. Miho, Carly, April, Cara, Tayka and I were even able to ride critical mass style since there were so few cars on the road (it didn?_Tt matter that there was no shoulder). We spent the afternoon riding by a river, and because we were making excellent time and it was so hot, we stopped to take a swim.


Once we arrived in Superior, we hung out at the high school where we were spending the night, and then had an awesome potluck dinner at the church in town. We did a presentation for the church community, which was so welcoming and excited to have us there. Dinner was so good that it made us forget any issues with I-90 and its terrible shoulder.


Molly Phillips

The time that I spend on the road is something pretty special. Someone recently asked me what I do to pass the time while I?_Tm on the bike.


First, I have the opportunity to spend hours a day with people who started as complete strangers, and now they seem like my brothers. With all the time and shared experiences, it becomes easy to talk to the people you ride with on a daily basis. Essentially, riding with others is a sort of therapy.


There is also a lot of time spent in silence. For me, as I?_Tm assuming for most, this is the time for reflection. A lot of us are at points in our lives where paths diverge. We?_Tre choosing our majors in college, or trying to decide what we?_Tve done with the major that we chose. The time in the saddle is time that I spend thinking about where I am in life, where I intend to go, and what?_Ts next.


Lastly, there?_Ts a portion of the ride that is spent not really knowing that you?_Tre on the bike. It may be a little difficult to explain, but basically, it?_Ts a sort of meditation. The legs are perpetually in motion, but the brain neglects that fact. The next thing you know, you?_Tve covered 30 miles and the scenery is changing. The meditation is in the motion.


Missoula offered us a great place to stay at St. Paul?_Ts. Dinner was cooked by yours truly, a meal any good Midwestern football fan knows well; Chili and Corn bread. I fell asleep the way I would like to fall asleep every night of my life; happy and full.


--Dan--

We awoke in St Peter?_Ts Episcopal church to one of my favorite things in the world: the smell of breakfast cooking. A few folks from the church made sausage and pancakes for us before we departed on our route which would take us over Flesher Pass (6131 ft.). It seemed like it would be a great day, it was a cool morning, not too much mileage, but for some reason my once ferociously strapping leg muscles just felt like lead. The only thing which kept me and my two comrades going was the second leg of Le Tour De Bike and Build which Dan Olsen put together. It was the continuation of the scavenger hunt from the day before and it lead us down some interesting roads. Getting to the pass was dreadful, the hills rolled out before us but for some reason the downhills did not feel so sweet and so ?_orolling?__ turned into ?_ogradual uphill with no real reward after the top.?__ Reaching the pass was a blessing in disguise. The continuous uphill put my mind and body into the ?_oI have to climb a mountain?__ mentality. This was easier because I didn?_Tt expect any downhills and I could get my legs into a rhythm. The van awaited us at the top where we put on some music and cut open a pineapple which we had gotten in Bozeman. About 30 minutes later we said goodbye to lunch and cruised down the pass and away from our last continental divide crossing.


Just before we got to Lincoln we saw a sign for a taxidermy a mile off the road. After consulting the Scavenger Hunt list (find a grizzly bear: alive or stuffed) we decided to chance it and check out. We parked our bikes outside a nice log home and before I had finished opening the door I saw the body of a Grizzly right in front of me. Lucky! The guy let us take a picture and then showed us around his studio while explaining what being a taxidermist involved. It was really interesting, but it got better when he offered us tow elk tenderloins which we gladly accepted.


The rest of the five miles into Lincoln were uneventful. After showering and settling into the United Methodist Church I learned that we had met another cyclist on the road who was cycling from Ithica, NY to Portland, OR. He dined with us on some excellent stew made by Finn and his dinner crew before I fell asleep under a night sky so clear I could see the Milky Way without a problem. Hard morning, good climb, great day.


Thane Richard

100 miles in 100 degree heat ?_" what a treat! This morning we left Bozeman after a great day off for the capital ?_" Helena, MT. It was a particularly exciting day for all of us because it was our last century of our trip!


Thirty miles or so into the ride we all made a stop at a delicious bakery to eat huge cinnamon roll, croissants, cookies & sandwiches. The pastries were amazing, and a really nice sugar boost to get through the morning. After this trip I will definitely miss being able to eat disgusting amounts of baked goods with a guilt free conscience!


A couple miles before lunch we hit an interesting construction zone where the road was being redone. Unfortunately, they had decided to tear the road down to dirt and gravel, so we had a slow 4 miles though the road work. But we all made it through safely, if a little sweaty from the very warm sun & slightly stressful conditions.


Our lunch stop was creatively placed by Jose in just about the only shady spot for miles ?_" a ditch on the side of the road. Even though many of us were still a bit full from the pastries an hour or so earlier, we had a fun lunch stop, with most of the group overlapping for at least a little while. Plus, amazing as it seems this far into the trip, peanut butter still seems to be rather appealing whenever we roll into lunch!


The rest of the afternoon was a definitely very hot, and a bit long, but not bad for a century. At the end of one long, gradual climb (around 7 miles) a bunch of us took shelter under only trees we had been staring at for those last 7 miles, which were unfortunately not that comfortable, and across a rocky ditch. But desperate times call for desperate measures! The shade was much needed, and revived many of us for the last push into town.


At the church in Helena we were given a great lasagna dinner (including specially made vegan lasagna!), gave a presentation & worked out the design for our trip t-shirt. It?_Ts hard for me to believe we?_Tve been riding hundred mile days, much less that we?_Tre now done with all of them for the trip! But, it was a great day and a great century to end on!


April Nilsen

Today was our long awaited day off in Bozeman. After sleeping in as late as noon, we all awakened to clean laundry. Thank you to the laundry group for being on point even on an off day! After quick runs to the local sandwich spot and bike shop, we all piled into three vans to go tubing.


Forty-five minutes later we were all floating down the river laid back in tubes. For the most part we all managed to float together by linking arms and feet. We were only torn apart a few times by various obstacles ?_" bridges, rocks ?_" the usual. After a couple hours of floating we reached our destination and climbed back in the vans to shuttle back to the church to shower up.


Later dinner was at Thane?_Ts friends?_T house. We were privy to fine dining on a beautiful patio looking out over the mountains for an evening. The food was great and, as usual, the company fantastic. At 10:00 all 32 of us sleepy riders returned to the church to catch some sleep before returning to the road for our last century ride the next day?_?if only every day could be a day off.


Jessica Myers

Our first complete day of cycling in Montana began with a wonderful pancake breakfast and pitcher after pitcher of coffee, generously provided by Thane Richard?_Ts uncle, Brad. It was difficult for us to leave the shores of Hebgen Lake that morning. The indigo water peacefully reflected the noble, pine-dotted mountain peaks rising from the lake shore in such an inviting fashion, and the crisp morning air nipped through our arm warmers as soon as we set foot outside. I enjoyed a fourth and final cup of coffee on the porch before lathering up with sun block and clipping into my pedals.


During the morning, I rode through some of the most striking scenery of our trip with Sam, April, Molly, Jared, Monica. We stopped at a lake created by a massive earthquake in the late 1950s which changed the area?_Ts water table and flooded a valley?_"dead pine trees bleached to a bone-white color protruded from the water?_Ts surface as evidence of this drowned forest. Rock cliffs of orange, purple, green and brown hues played with the shadows of the early morning sunlight and created a panorama of colors and shadow for us to enjoy as we pedaled between the mountains. Calls from eagles and hawks punctuated the background noise of rushing winds and river rapids in the valley. By the time we got to lunch, we were all convinced that Montana was the most beautiful state in the union. Invigorated by the scenery, I asked Thane if the afternoon ride would be as fantastic as the morning. I received a one-word answer: ?_oNo.?__


The second thing we learned about Montana, as a group, is how varied its terrain can be within such a short distance. The lush mountains and streams did not follow us very far into our afternoon ride?_"the scenery changed to barren hillsides, fading from green to brown in color, and the mercury skyrocketed. Headwinds kicked in. It seemed as if I was plopped back into the sand hills of Nebraska. After climbing a ?_osurprise?__ mountain pass and helping Genevieve and Katie J with flats along the way, I rode solo into Norris and onto a winding road through a canyon carved by the Madison River. I wanted to stop to take pictures, but feared for my life if I did, because trucks and cars zipped by me at over 60 miles per hour and less than a foot away from my bike. A group of riders cleverly hitchhiked through this part of the route (I omit names for the safety of those involved&#61514 and probably enjoyed the view as much as I did, minus the adrenaline rush I had of biking to save my rear end from decorating the grill of a 4x4 off-road diesel pickup truck. Eventually the road widened, and the rock cliffs around the river faded into rolling grass hills. I ran into Thane and Jared near the end of the route?_"despite numerous flats and a couple more big hills, we made it into Bozeman at around 3:00PM. My odometer read 107.5 miles, the longest distance I?_Tve ever biked in my entire life, and the longest day, mileage-wise, on our trip.


However, the day was far from over. Our group trickled in, parched and exhausted but thrilled to be done biking for two days. Thane?_Ts mother?_Ts enthusiasm and the excitement on the faces of other members of Thane?_Ts family (his grandfather, his aunt, and many others) and friends ticked us all, and was one of my favorite moments of the entire day. We all sucked vitamin waters and crunched on bananas, cliff bars and Oreos together in a park until a motorcycle cop escorted us into town in grand style. Upon arriving at the MSU Campus Collegium, a grad student at Montana State University named Cody had already cooked us hamburgers, cheeseburgers, corn on the cob and all the other trimmings of a great post-ride feast. Many of us enjoyed a Shakespeare play at the University. Others checked out the night life of the town. Two riders in particular were still trucking into town.


I found the story of the day?_Ts sweep team, Carly and Kristine Kovaks (KK), to be one of the most inspiring tales of the whole trip. The normal trials of being sweep were compounded for them by the fact that the route was over a hundred miles long; on top of this, Carly got a flat before lunch that required extra effort and time to fix. By the time many of us were trailing the motorcycle cop into Bozeman, they were climbing the ?_osurprise?__ mountain pass at the absolute hottest hour of the day. When they stumbled into the church** shortly before nine in the evening, they were all giggles and smiles! Whether this was out of delirium or overdose on excitement or ingestion of the dust blowing around in the afternoon, I couldn?_Tt tell; when I offered to park Carly?_Ts bike for her outside, she half-laughed, half-yelled, ?_oMy bike, my bike, no touchee, no touchee, hehehahaheheahaha!!?__ I admire these two women for their ability to bike over a hundred miles, spending more than 14 hours on the road, and to remain in high spirits at the end. Whenever hard days greet me in the future, I?_Tll remember how Carly and KK barreled through this marathon day for a pick-me-up.


Many thanks to the whole ?_ocrew of 32?__ for another great day on the road.


--Marc Mayes

Today we biked from Ashton, ID to Thane?_Ts Uncle?_Ts house on Hebgen Lake. The day was quite eventful. It was decided the night before that the first 15 people to West Yellowstone would get a van ride into the park therefore avoiding the park entrance fee and not having to ride a very long scenic detour. Alana and I got up at 4am and using the early morning alertness gained from rowing we set off for West Yellowstone at 5am.


The morning was freezing and we were riding along the highway in the dark. No worries though the shoulder was wide and Alana had a headlamp. About 5 miles out of town we got our wakeup call in the form of a 5 mile climb. We reached the top in time for the sunrise and flew down the descent. At the bottom we were both frozen and tired. We agreed that the next place we found we?_Td stop for coffee and a warm up break. Well we biked into a small town called Island Park at roughly 7am. Nothing was open, but a woman pointed in the direction of the Angler?_Ts Lodge. Alana and I quickly biked over there and sat at the bar awaiting coffee. We glanced at the menu and decided to stay for wild blueberry pancakes. We each had a huge plateful and about 3 cups of coffee. One memorable taxidermist?_Ts masterpiece we noticed was a raccoon holding an American flag. Around 7:30am we got back on the road and booked it to Yellowstone not knowing if anyone had passed us. We hit the Wyoming Montana border and took a quick photo opportunity. Then we flew down a mountain pass into West Yellowstone. About 5 miles out Alana yells road kill and I not having enough time to react run straight into a huge dead animal. My bike went airborne and I landed with my front tire perpendicular to the road in the rumble strips. Somehow I straightened out my bike and narrowly avoided disaster.


We rolled into West Yellowstone and found Jared lounging under a tree. We joined him and waited for the van. It was about 9am. About 15 people made it in by 11am and we loaded the van for the park. The drive in was beautiful. We blasted the music and rode through the park in true Bike and Build fashion. The tourists were crazy and I don?_Tt think any of us were used to seeing that many people crammed into one place in quite some time. We drove along the Madison River and saw a bull elk ford the river. No bears though. We drove up to the volcanic activity area and had to fight for a parking spot for the van. A tourist dad in a car parked in a bus spot and Thane stepped it up and got our spot with a useful phrase now burned into my vocabulary. ?_oUmm so I?_Tm going to need that?__ while looking at the parking spot. The guy turns and moves his car. It was priceless. We saw all the geothermal activity hot spots and took lots of photos. We then headed for the Madison River?_Ts Firehole Canyon Swimming Hole. We headed down into the canyon and jumped in the river. We fought the current and clawed our way on the rock sides upstream. We then played a few games of King of the Hill. We jumped into the rapids upstream and it spit you out below them and allowed you to float through the canyon in the current. It was one of the most beautiful and entertaining spots I?_Tve ever experienced. The van drove us back out of Yellowstone.


In West Yellowstone Alana, Jared, Mark, Matt, Aaron, RoukAc , and I headed to DQ for some ice cream to revive ourselves. The sun and rapids wore us out quite a bit. We rode the last 15 miles in a headwind to Hebgen Lake. About 5 miles away we were stopped at a curve in the road for an accident, thankfully it was not a biker. Brad?_Ts house was great. I jumped in the lake in lieu of a shower and it was most refreshing. I went out on the boat and watched Reynolds and Thane try and stay on the inner tube in the massive whitecaps. Dinner was a delicious barbecue of burgers and potato salad. I sat on the deck and watched the lake for a long time. The sunset was great and after the bugs died down I sprayed myself with bug spray and slept under the stars.


Jessica Krug

?_oGood morning Bike and Build! It?_Ts Teton Pass day!?__ Those words from Jose immediately woke me up from my restless sleep, and the butterflies began. The day that we had been talking about since the first day of orientation had finally arrived?_"we were climbing Teton Pass! Everyone was buzzing with questions about how long the climb would be, with answers ranging anywhere from 5 miles to 60 miles. I was feeling the nerves bouncing around in my stomach and could barely force myself to eat, but I knew that soon enough I?_Td be needing the energy.


I left the church in Jackson, WY (bound for Ashton, ID!) very early, and the temperature was a much-appreciated 60 degrees. I only saw Jay for those first miles as we made our way towards the pass. As soon as I saw the sign for 22, I began to feel the butterflies in my stomach intensify. I kept riding until I saw the sign that declared ?_oTeton Pass,?__ along with a scary statement: ?_o10% Grade?_"Caution: Steep Incline.?__ At that point, I said my prayers and continued to ride towards the infamous mountain pass. All of a sudden, the incline steepened and my bike slowed down and I reached my cruising speed of 3.3 mph. As I climbed and climbed, I both passed and was passed by riders. The best thing about the entire climb was the encouragement I received the entire ride up. The shouts, ranging from ?_oYou?_Tve got this Kristine!?__ to ?_oYou own this hill!?__ kept me going when I felt as though my legs couldn?_Tt take me any further. At one point on the climb, I looked up to the mountain ahead of me, and I noticed two incredible things. One was that there was a patch of snow on the peak of the mountain that I was climbing, which I noticed to my amusement. The other was that there was a road on the next mountain ahead of me that was about 700 feet above where I was, and I knew that somehow, someway, I would be riding on that road before the day was over.


I rode by myself for most of the ride, which allowed me to take the climb at my own pace. However, it also gave me time to concentrate on the pain that I was feeling throughout my body. It was a major test of willpower and mental toughness that got me through the day, along with all of the support I received from everyone else riding. Thoughts running through my mind ranged anywhere from ?_oThis is impossible,?__ to ?_oI can make it! Think of the downhill!?__


We had been told at the beginning of the day that the climb would be from miles 5 to 15, so I didn?_Tt think anything of it when I heard strains of music coming from around the next turn at mile 12. However, as I passed the next curve in the road and looked up towards where the road would be taking me, I thought I saw the colors orange and black?_"colors painted on one side of the Bike and Build trailer. When I came into full view of the next major climb, I saw quite a few beautiful sights. One was the trailer, waiting at the top of the mountain for people to arrive. Another was a bright yellow sign, with a truck pictured going downhill, and the writing announcing ?_o10% Grade Next 3 Miles?_"Use Lower Gear.?__ And lastly, I saw not only Genevieve (who was driving the van that day) waiting for my arrival, but a stream of riders crossing the road at the top of the pass to cheer me up the final climb. I read the chalk marks on the road that were encouraging me up to the ?_ofinish?__ to the sound of my friends and fellow riders cheering, shouting, and whistling in their excitement for me. The music that I?_Td heard was actually Marc playing his saxophone to keep the mood up and give us something to have fun with. As I finally reached the top, I was given high-fives by almost every member of the P2S ride and congratulations for making it all the way to the top?_"2400 feet in 5A? miles!


Throughout the next few minutes, I was in shock from a mix of the adrenaline rush of having reached my goal along with an amazing feeling of togetherness that has yet to be rivaled any time in my life. We were a group of people that had only known each other for about 6 weeks, and yet the support that everyone gave and the feeling of joy we had for everyone that completed the climb was overwhelming. It was at that moment?_"on the top of a gorgeous mountain pass?_"that I truly felt that we were all joined by a bond that will never be forgotten and will never be challenged in whatever we face later on in life.


Our antics at the top of Teton Pass were not what would be expected of people that had just accomplished an amazingly tiring feat. We were dancing to the music of Marc?_Ts sax, taking tons of pictures with the downhill sign and with the gorgeous backdrop, and shouting and laughing while telling anecdotes from all of our personal rides up the pass. While the van had to leave to reach lunch before the first group arrived there, and some riders had left to continue the day?_Ts ride, some riders (including me) chose to stay behind and wait for Molly and April, who were sweep for the day and were going to be the final riders arriving. As they approached, I was able to take part in the cheering and shouting that I had so loved, and with the final two riders up the pass, we celebrated in the fact that every single person had made it up the pass.


Now the fun part began?_"the 3 mile, 10% grade downhill! With all of the switchbacks, everyone took the turns carefully (or at least most people did) and made it down without a scratch. I enjoyed the ride without pedaling, and admired the scenery that I was at times too exhausted to on the way up. At the bottom of the downhill, it still felt as though the road was sloping downwards, and the pedaling was easy and the pace quick as I made my way towards the Idaho state sign. I arrived at the sign with a large group of people and we took our customary pictures before continuing on our way. The rest of the way to lunch, I rode with Carly and we were able to catch up on everything that had happened throughout the trip, including the morning?_Ts ride, while still keeping a swift pace of about 20 mph to mile 45 (lunch). We encountered a bike path for about 10 miles, which was wonderful so that we did not have to worry about cars from behind, or rough roads with almost no shoulders. Once we departed from the path, it was only about 5 miles until lunch, where we were greeted with golden oldies playing from the van and smiles all around from the riders already there.


Leaving lunch, there were only about 25 miles to go, and Carly, Miho, and I left together with an abundant amount of energy. However, about 10 miles in, I dropped back and decided to take the afternoon a little slower due to the test I had put my legs through in the morning. 5 miles later, I came upon Carly?_Ts bike on the side of the road, but I didn?_Tt see Carly herself. All of a sudden, out of the fields of green wheat, her head poked up and she yelled at me to stay and play with her! I stayed for only a few minutes, and was on my way again. I encountered Miho only a few miles later, and we stayed together for the last 15 miles of the day, reminiscing about the trip?_"the morning in particular?_"and thinking about how soon the end is coming and what ?_oreal life?__ will be like after this experience.


We arrived at the church, took our showers at the local fire department (while playing dress-up with the firemen?_Ts clothing!), and went to the local pharmacy for amazing ice cream that cost only 75A?! Dinner at the church was amazing, and we were regaled with stories by the pastor?_Ts husband about his experiences with Habitat for Humanity in different parts of the world. Finally exhausted, we all went to bed with plans for waking up early to enjoy exploring Yellowstone National Park.


-Kristine Kovacs

Today was our first day off since West-Layfayette, IN and all of us were very excited to have some free time to explore Jackson Hole. The town of Jackson is full of tourists and pricey boutiques, but the area surrounding the town is unbelievably beautiful.
A lot of us slept in late and enjoyed waking up on our own for the first time in awhile. Some of our more dedicated riders; Marc, Eric, Katie Reynolds, and Genevieve; woke up early and went out to work with Habitat for Humanity for a few hours. They helped to reorganize the supply truck and watched as other volunteers laid a concrete foundation for a new house.


When they returned from work, Reynolds took us to a river that she knew about where we could jump off a 25 foot cliff into the deep part of the river. The ride out to the river was beautiful, the Grand Tetons faced us on our side and plenty of bison grazed in the fields around us. At the cliffs, some people jumped off right away, but it took me a good half an hour to work up the guts to go! Some of us scaled the face of the cliff to jump again. The rest of crossed through the currents to get back to the other side. After relaxing by the river, we returned to Jackson.


Matt went on a fishing trip along a river. He caught a lot of fish and saw different wildlife from the area including a moose! He showed us his pictures when he got back.

Finn?_Ts parents and his little brother drove up from New Mexico and generously cooked us a delicious dinner of lamb burritos at the base of a mountain. The food they brought came from their organic farm and it tasted delicious. We all appreciated the meal and went to bed early with our belies full, ready to wake up early in the morning to climb through Teton Pass.


Katie Joyce

I think many would agree that today?_Ts ride from Pinedale into Jackson was the most scenic yet. (Even as I sit in Montana writing this entry unforgivably late, and having biked over Teton Pass, behind the Tetons, up through West Yellowstone, Bozeman and Missoula, I would argue that the ride into Jackson still takes the cake.) We awoke at 4 to maximize our time in Jackson despite a 76 mile ride. The need for arm warmers in the early morning reminded us of our approach into the mountains, and our steadily gaining elevation. As the sun completed rising, and we biked around the last of the Wind River Range, I waited in anticipation for the Tetons to pop up just around the next corner. The waiting lasted all day; it wasn?_Tt until we pulled into Jackson itself that the peaks of Middle and Grand poked above the traffic lights only for a moment. On the way in we biked though a gorgeous canyon with steep walls covered in greenery that we hadn?_Tt seen during our trek through desert-like eastern Wyoming. We followed the Hoback River for much of the day, and towards the end pick up the Snake River.


Once in Jackson, many of us took advantage of the fine culinary experiences the town offers. Teton Thai, The Bunnery, Snake River Brew Pub, and Peal Street Bagels were a few favorites. We stayed at Saint John?_Ts Episcopal Church, attached to Browse n Buy, its own thrift store, which was quite exciting for many in our group. Most of us hit up tee shirt, coffee, and ice cream shops in the afternoon, followed by dinner donated by Mountain High Pizza Pie.


Katie Reynolds

Today?_Ts ride from Farson to Pinedale was a nice mellow cruise through the high desert of Wyoming. Most of the group got an early start from the park in Farson and some motivation from the cold morning air to get on the bikes and start pedaling for warmth. Myself and a few others decided to wait for the sun to get a little higher while enjoying a cup of hot coffee at the gas station. After about 45 miles we stopped for a quick lunch in the small town of Boulder by some nice shady trees which have been generally hard to find during the last week or so in the more desolate regions of Wyoming. The shorter ?_osecond half?__ of the ride was warmly welcomed after dealing with lots of heavy winds in the previous afternoon rides in Nebraska and Wyoming.


With the shorter easier ride everybody got in to town relatively early allowing plenty of afternoon free time. Pinedale had a nice little downtown area for everyone to explore and take care of errands for groceries as well as bike and western gear. Much to our surprise the hosting church treated us to burgers donated from a local restaurant complete with fries and fixin?_Ts. After dinner some of us, acting on a tip from the locals, took a trip up to the near by mountain lakes for a swim and some amazing sight-seeing. Our personal ?_oguide?__ was a friendly local named Dave who was so enthralled with our trip and our cause that he led us way up over 10,000 feet to view the lakes above Pinedale just before sunset. BEAUTIFUL!!! Dave also brought some cake and other snacks back to the church for everyone to enjoy while we all watched a movie before bed. After the movie and laundry collecting, everyone shuffled off to bed hastily in anticipation of an early wake up and amazing ride to our most anticipated stop of the trip, the infamous Jackson, Wyoming. (So much anticipated in fact that I just barely managed to book a fly fishing float trip on the Snake River for our day off on Tuesday. I can?_Tt wait!!!)


By Matt Joy

So we woke up this morning in the fire station/community hall of Lander, WY. Some people came to cook us wonderful pancakes which we later enjoyed for lunch later on (with PBJ, honey, and marshmallow fluff sent by Molly?_Ts mom! We called them Mile High Pancakes?_? you?_Tll see why later, YUM!). Anyhow we had an awesome ride today.


In fact we climbed 3100 feet in 30 miles! The view was absolutely amazing, red dirt in the ridge of the canyon and mountains just rolling off into the distance. It was really hard getting up but doing it was incredible and at one point I thought to myself ?_oI am so extreme?__. Yes, we did it! Lunch was a little earlier because we climbed so much so hard and it was delicious. We were promised downhill riding from after lunch and were so pleased we could sit back and relax for the rest of the ride. WRONG. While it may have been downhill, the headwind was so in our faces that we seemed to be working harder that we did to get UP the mountain. Yes it was awful and took forever, stupid wind! The wind is officially my new worst enemy and I?_Tm sure I am also speaking for others with that statement.


Finally we arrived in our destination of Farson, WY but I wish we went a little farther to be honest. It was the first night that showers weren?_Tt provided, we had to delay doing laundry for a day because there were no facilities, we had to cook our own dinner (wasn?_Tt that great, but thanks dinner crew for making it anyhow! Gotta eat something?_?), and we slept outside. Sleeping outside was fun after all the misquitoes went away and then but later on it got so freezing I had to get up at like 3am to get extra clothes. Fortunately, Miho was also doing the same thing and I asked her if she would cuddle next to me to keep warm. She said ?_oyes!?__ as she pulled on her rain jacket and got in her bag and at least we were a bit warmer for the next two hours we got to sleep.


All in all, the first half of the day was hard but incredible and the second half kind of sucked. But the first half really was incredible!!!


T. Hesselgrave

Today we rode from Shoshoni to Lander. It was a whopping 46 mile ride to the base of the Wind River Mountains which we will begin climbing tomorrow. Since we all got into Lander between 10 AM and noon, we had lots of time to do some exploring, catching up on sleep, and relaxing. The painting of the trailer was finally completed today in just a shade under 6 weeks. Lander has been on of the more interesting towns we have visited in the recent days, and is a nice stop before our hard core camping days begin in the mountains. Most people spent the day checking email at the library, getting supplies at the grocery store, or doing shopping around the town. Dinner was not provided tonight by our host location, which by the way is a fire station, so Will Chen through some dumplings together which were a huge hit. They took some time to prep, but we had a lot of people helping fold them together. We just finished another one of our affordable housing talks, and the group seems to be gaining more of an interest and concern for the issue. Sorry for the unexciting journal, but today was kind of a down day as far as events go. I did want to say a personal thank you to Mr. Yarbrough for the cigars. They were a great way to wind down after the rough 102 mile day yesterday. Oh yea and since I get to do this tonight and probably will not be able to call tomorrow, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Sorry I can?_Tt be there on your day, but we will have a big party for you me and dad when I get back in town. Love you and see you soon.


Jay Forester

Today was our second century day. The ride from Casper to Shoshoni was 105 miles. We woke up at five and were out the door by six-thirty. We got off to a slow start while trying to find Route 20, but once we found it, we were on it for about 103 more miles. The road was fairly flat with a few gradual hills, and it wasn?_Tt too hot in the morning. We passed through Powder River, which was where we were originally supposed to stay for the night, and we were really glad we weren?_Tt because it was ridiculously small and had no drinkable tap water. There was nothing to look at all morning, until suddenly we passed a place called Hell?_Ts Half Acre, which was an amazing canyon in the middle of nowhere. We sat at its edge and contemplated life.


In the afternoon we had a very strong headwind which made it really frusturating. We met two other groups who were also biking across the country. They were both going from west to east, and thus had a tailwind. We had friendly conversations with them, then shook our fists at them as they rode away from us with great ease at 20 miles an hour. We also met an older man who was biking from Florida to Oregon.


Many people ran out of water in the afternoon and were hoping the van would pass as soon as possible to refill their water bottles. However, some of us (Jay, Sam) got in before 2:30 and the van never had a chance to pass them. They were okay, but a lot of other people were getting dehydrated as the day wore on. Two people had to get in the van because of dehydration, but it wasn?_Tt too serious. Everyone was incredibly tired and there were many tears at the end of the day at around 6:30. Most of us went to the milkshake place immediately upon entering Shoshoni and had the best milkshakes ever created by human hands?_"and that is what made it all worth it.


Cara FitzGibbon

After 10 straight days of biking, we were all excited to trade in our bikes for hammers for the day. The Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Casper was currently working on two houses that they had acquired from a group called Youth Build. Because these houses were above the standard for a Habitat home, once the construction is complete, they will be put on the real estate market and the profit will go to Habitat. At the site, we joined a group of volunteers from the Family Motor Coach Association, who had been working on the houses for the week. These volunteers are part of an organization that travel around the United States in RV?_Ts and work at various Habitat sites throughout the country. There were plenty of projects for us all to partake in. I started the day by putting on a rock climbing harness and climbed out the second floor window onto the top of the roof to finish nailing in the roof boards before the shingles were put down. People worked on various projects throughout the day: nailing down floorboards on the second floor, siding one side of the house, roofing, and covering a shed with felt before the siding was put on. With 32 of us, the FMCA volunteers, and volunteers from Habitat, we were able to accomplish so much and they were hoping we would be able to stick around for another day. Unfortunately for them, our riding must continue and we will head out on the road tomorrow to conquer the Rocky Mountains. The day concluded with a great picnic provided by Habitat and a few of us were fortunate enough to get a tour of some of the volunteers RV?_Ts.


All in all, it was an incredibly well organized very productive build day!


Christine Culver

This morning Finn made hole toast (or egg in a hole) for breakfast as a break from our usual oatmeal and cold cereal. We left the church early to beat the afternoon heat and eager to enjoy Casper after a shorter day of riding. Several of us missed the turn off for the road we were supposed to take early on. We found ourselves on I-25 enjoying the widest shoulder we?_Td seen and noticed a sign cutting off about 15 of our day?_Ts 65 miles. Though it wasn?_Tt the most scenic route, we couldn?_Tt resist the prospect of shaving off so much of the day. We followed the interstate all day and got to Casper much before everyone who actually stuck to the cue sheet.


After getting really lost in Casper (but also getting really excited about the nine story ranch wear store I passed) I finally found Christine and Finn napping on the lawn outside the clubhouse where we were staying, and immediately joined them. Our peaceful nap in the shade was short lived and soon interrupted by the sprinklers turning on.
We were staying at the Izaac Walton clubhouse in a campground and RV park near the county fairgrounds. The main room was decorated with stuffed game of all kinds ?_" mounted heads, standing on four legs, and in the form of coat racks. The first people to arrive waited in anticipation of Robin?_Ts (one of our group?_Ts vegans) reaction to the decor.

We spent much of the late afternoon calling local restaurants and asking for dinner donations. After calling almost every place in town and getting really sick of giving the ?_oBike and Build non-profit schpeal?__ we got sandwiches donated from subway and pizzas from Old Chicago.


Katie Reynolds hopped on the mohawk train today upping the group count to 4. A highlight of the evening was about thirteen of us spooning and giggling on the grass as the sun set. Most of us fell asleep outside in perfect temperature, under clear skies with a wonderful breeze.


By Genevieve Hale-Case

This morning began like ever other day, I had found a nice secluded spot hidden in the back corner of the church and despite my attempts to hide I was discovered at six o?_Tclock and awoken.


The church made an excellent pancake breakfast for us and we headed on our way. The morning began with a long steady ascent which I decided would be a great time to bike fast. Sometime around midmorning we ran into the town of Lost Springs. The sign on the way into town proclaimed the population of Lost Springs was one. However the man who ran the post office and eclectic (1) store in town informed us that there were in fact two other people that lived in town. The man?_Ts brother and the lady who ran the bar were also residents, but they won?_Tt change the sign until the next census. Unfortunately the bar was closed.


Our ride today was only 55 miles (2) and as such there was no lunch stop on the road. But the rest of the ride was absolutely breathtaking. I think that we are all falling in love with the scenery of Wyoming. Today was the first time that we could see any mountains, or maybe just large foothills that after the Great Plains look a lot like mountains. Regardless, we are officially in ?_oThe West?__ and even Marc Mayes spent as much time taking pictures as he did biking. (3)


When we did get into Douglas (4) Thane had managed to talk to a local water park and they let us swim for free in the afternoon. (5) After the water park we headed back to the church to sit around for a while and play a few rounds of Bible Pictionary before we went to visit the ranch the ranch that was owned by the pastor from the previous night. The Pastor has a very close knit family with five daughters. Two of the daughters live on the Ranch and three live in town. They all come together for large gatherings such as our visit and they fed us a great meal of home-raised beef ground for burritos. While on the ranch I lassoed targets shaped like steers, climbed on large towers of hay bales, wrestled lambs with the grandkids, and learned how to divan for water.


That?_Ts about it. We got back to the church and collapsed from exhaustion. Another uneventful day on bike and build.


Jeffrey Cohen


---------------


(1) Old, dusty, forgotten


(2) Every time I say that a ride is only 55 miles I feel that I have become psychotic.


(3) Marc has a tendency of biking really fast and only stops on occasion or at historical monuments.


(4)Which appeared to us to be a booming metropolis


(5)The Water Park had two rather large slides and a pool. The yellow slide was practically vertical and allowed a few of us to slide for 20 feet on the top of the water, the orange slide was very curvaceous and if you rode down only allowing your heels and shoulder blades to touch the surface of the slide, not only did you burn the back of your heel, but you also flew down the slide at an incredible speed.

Today was an 80ish mile ride into Lusk, Wyoming. I rode mostly by myself, but when I passed a gas station about 20 miles in I had to stop to have the luxury of using toilet paper. I found Hannah inside talking to a local. He warned us that a ?_obig a** hill?__ was coming up down the road.


The ride went by pretty fast (despite the hill) and we were greeted by the welcome to Wyoming sign near the end of the ride. The town of Lusk is very small and we all collapsed shortly after arriving.


Dinner was awesome (chicken pasta?_?delicious!) and we were invited to their church service where we could give our presentation. We sung old church hymns (I enjoyed sitting behind Katie J. as she got pretty into the songs) and my chore group gave the presentation.


The lack of sleep has caught up with me?_?.I?_Tm going to run off to bed now. Goodnight!


Monica Cicciarelli

Greetings. Yes, it is my turn again to write the journal. I apologize for the delay in journal postings, but here it is!!


Destination: Chadron, NE


So, today I had the pleasure of Monica?_Ts company. I rode with her the entire day and we had loads of fun along the way. Today was a short day, so we took our time and enjoyed it. First off, I need to say that the previous night, some local church members informed us of a certain Fur Trade Festival held in Chadron this weekend. We were just in time for it. We were all so excited about it, and could hardly wait.


The day started out relaxing. On the way, we saw some roadkill on the side of the road so we decided to stop and take pictures of it. Monica picked some flowers to ?_odecorate?__ it and make it more photogenic?_? it was hilarious and I bet it came out pretty sweet too. Ya?_Tll jus might see ?_~em.


Then we had to stop at a gas station for a pee break. Out here, if you see a gas station, (which is a rare find, believe it or not) you stop. So, we went in and relieved ourselves. So, as I came out of the men?_Ts room, Monica was holding this really unique looking ashtray that was just sitting there previously. She was so intrigued by it that she wanted to attempt to buy it off the gas station owner. In the end, the owner ended up gifting the ashtray to Monica, and she glowed.


We hoped back on our bikes and continued riding. To make it short, along the road we saved a bird, took pictures on hay barrels stacks, picked some really beautiful flowers?_? as we got closer to town, there was a Fur Trade Museum which we naturally visited. There we met a couple that was from the area and told us all about the festival. Take into account that by this time it was about noon, a.k.a. lunch time. We were getting pretty hungry from all the biking, and this couple mentioned that there was a barbeque at the festival and there was also something called a ?_oBuffalo burger?__. As soon as we heard that, we looked at each other and said, lets go?_?


Eventually, we got there, and satisfied our craving for nourishment. I ended up hanging out for the rest of the day and missed laundry. Consequently, I had to hand wash my own clothes.


At night, after dinner, we had our affordable housing discussion in which we talked about its issues and what we can do to better the situation, what we thought about it, how to remedy, so on so forth?_?


Finally, now its time for us to go to zzzzzzzzzz?_? to get ready for WY. Yeah!!! Here we come.


Will Chen


Ps: Tayka?_Ts mom came to visit and brought us SUSHI!!! =D Thank you.

My morning packing ritual complete, I walked into the kitchen and saw only bare counters. In my confusion, I soon found out that the local Holiday Inn Express in Valentine was inviting us to enjoy their continental breakfast, A short jaunt on my bike to the hotel and I was enjoying the Omaha paper and eating cereal and toast. Dragging myself from civilization, I headed west on 20 on my trusty Raleigh.


The day felt like a scene from an old western: sand dunes covering the horizon, small cacti amidst the grass, and even tumbleweeds blowing in the wind (hitting a few unsuspecting riders throughout the day). The wind which hounded us yesterday was back again today and it brought its friend, heat. For our 95 mile day, we had temperatures around 95A?F.


Headwinds have been the hardest part of the trip personally. When you conquer a mountain, you can look back at the world below you and realize what you have done. After riding ten miles into the wind, though, when you look back, all you see is flat asphalt. Then a gust of wind blows you over; wind has that type of humiliating effect on cyclists (minus the rare and much coveted tailwind, of course).


Many other cyclists also suffered from the wind because it kept them out in the sun longer today. In the small town of Gordon, riders were all coming in exhausted, like me. Three of the riders really struggled with the heat and came in dehydrated. Thankfully, the trio was much better once their fluids were restored. They could benefit from listening to Chester, the young ranch boy from Eli who came out with his sisters Sandra and Martha to give us cold water. In his wise departing words, ?_oStay hydrated!?__


While today may have been a mental and physical struggle across a near-desert landscape, one new milestone was reached. Today, P2S crossed into Rocky Mountain Time. Some riders had the privilege of relieving themselves an hour into the past.


Following a quick shower at the local pool in Gordon, we were served a tremendous meal by some of the women of the First Presbyterian Church. And now I find myself growing tired. A day in the sun at the beach can drain you, but a day in the Nebraska summer sun and wind, riding almost 100 miles can really drain you. With that note, I say adieu and goodnight.


Jared Bieniek

We woke up in Stuart, NE fairly scattered about. Some of us chose to sleep on the church lawn, alongside our unlocked bikes, but most of us opted to sleep in the meeting hall and sanctuary. Breakfast was great- a few of the congregation members woke up early to cook us a delightful pancake breakfast. The congregation of the Stuart Community Church really impressed me with their dedication- when Bike and Build passed through three years ago they left a $100 donation for a local affordable housing cause of the church?_Ts choice, but the congregation members found that there wasn?_Tt a local Habitat chapter to which they could make the donation. What I found so inspiring was the fact that they took the initiative to start a Habitat for Humanity chapter that covered not only Stuart but the entirety of Central Nebraska. Three years later they?_Tve completed two houses- all because a few bikers passed through a small town a few years ago.


The morning ride was little short of brutal. The sand hills of Nebraska are very, very windy, and we had the misfortune of going against the wind for most of the morning. I rode sweep with Hannah this morning, and Jeff rode with us for most of the day because he was having some stomach issues. We passed the time by playing ghost- a word game where you say (in our case, shout over the wind) letters until someone makes a word. The goal is to not be forced to create a word. There was a brief stop at a Subway, where we had sandwiches, but beyond that the morning was uneventful.


The afternoon, however, was wonderful. It?_Ts ironic, considering the morning, that this day is referred to as ?_othe day with the tail wind.?__ The afternoon passed quickly, helped along by a wonderfully gusty tailwind- although sometimes a bit too gusty, as I was blown off the road about ten miles before we reached town when a truck passed at the same moment as the wind gusted. I didn?_Tt actually fall, however, and we spent a while tossing grass and flowers into the wind to see how far they?_Td be carried- some flew as much as twenty feet. There was a wonderfully scenic railroad bridge a few miles before town, and when we finally arrived I was glad to take a shower and collapse. On the way to the showers, however, I ended up stepping on prickly pears growing among the grass in the high school lawn- something I didn?_Tt expect at all. A more pleasant surprise, however, was stumbling upon the pastor?_Ts office while searching for a room in which to nap- we had a wonderful talk about academics and his doctoral dissertation on church revival in North America and Europe.


Altogether it was an eventfully uneventful day.


Aaron Becker

Today was truly like no other. We started off the day at the D&K bowling ally, where we met Renee and Kim. Kim, the owner, cooked us our breakfasts, while Renee entertained us with her impressive husband screaming ability (for which she holds the Iowa state title).


The majority of the Bike and Builders bowled while eating breakfast, and although the final results were not tallied, Christine reported a personal best of 137. I am not really sure what this means (because I know nothing about bowling except that one throws balls at pins?_?preferably all of the same size), but I think it is a good thing that we are on a biking tour instead of a bowling tour.


We finally rolled out of Plainview around 9:30 a.m., but not until Renee and Kim sent the over 21 crowd off. We were not allowed to leave until we did the Plainview cheer with Renee, which mostly involves grunting and thrusting one?_Ts arms and sometimes hips. I have never seen anything quite like it before, but then again Kim and Renee are not women one meets everyday. After the cheers, we left Plainview with hopeful promises of seeing Renee and Kim at our lunch stop.


The majority of us took a short detour to the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park where we saw fossils of rhinos and other animals. Apparently a volcanic ash layer covered the area about 12 million years ago, and the skeletons of the animals remained amazingly well-preserved. It was a nice learning experience to complement our morning at the bowling alley. My personal favorite fact from the park was learning that 2 million years ago there were beavers that weighed over 200 pounds in Nebraska.


After the Ashfall Fossil Beds Park, the excitement only continued. As promised, Kim and Renee met us at lunch. Jamie and Renee exchanged sunglasses after Jamie?_Ts flashy pink glasses finally broke. Now Jamie will carry a piece of Plainview, NE, and the D&K with him on our journey to Seattle.


After all this, we made it into Stuart at some point and were welcomed by the church with a home cooked meal. Lastly and probably most importantly, today was a special day because it was Jay?_Ts birthday. He turned 23 and reports having a wonderful day. Alana gave him a special treat by making him puppy chow and some man bought him lunch (two personal highs: note how they both involve food?_?it seems to be a common theme on this trip). Anyway, I will sign off on the note of wishing a happy birthday to one of our very favorite friends and riders. Jay, this ride wouldn?_Tt be nearly as fun without you.


Robin Averbeck

I?_Tve been considering the amount of time we?_Tve all been spending together on this trip. I hardly think about it, but whenever I have a rare moment alone, I realize that I have been surrounded by the same 31 people for a month, eating, biking, and sleeping, to name the essentials. One of the interesting results of this is that we?_Tve all started rubbing off on each other. I find myself?_"consciously or not?_"slipping into different accents or adopting other people?_Ts mannerisms, such as Genevieve?_Ts habit of prefacing every sentence with ?_oUm?_?__, Monica?_Ts way of drawing out words, Katie J.?_Ts laughter, or Jamie?_Ts greeting of ?_oHello, friend?__.


Also, we all seem to be developing a new vocabulary, consisting not only of words pertaining to bike-mechanics, but also of all of the names of products which seem to be holding us together, so to speak?_?Chamois Butter, Bag Balm, Vaseline, Gold Bond, Desitin, Ace Bandages, Advil, Motrin?_?the list goes on. Often times these names will be casually converted to verbs or adjectives. I believe I even once heard April use ?_ofood?__ as a verb, after a long day of riding, when we were too tired to bother with proper grammar.


Today had us leave the much-beloved state of Iowa and cross into Nebraska, a state which, to be honest, I never thought I would set foot in. The state sign was at the beginning of the four-lane bridge crossing the Missouri, and because safety is our top priority, we thought it would be a great idea if we all stood in an entire lane of the road under the sign to take a picture.


Despite its small size, the town of Plainview boasts being the Clown Capital of the country. Or maybe the state. I forget. The point here is that I find it highly amusing when these little towns get delusions of grandeur and declare themselves capital of some esoteric thing or other. Because it?_Ts the fourth of July, we went to see fireworks at a nearby country club, and played with some of our own outside the church, which was, in my opinion, far more fun. And by fun I also mean loud, sparkly, weird, and all of the other things that fireworks should be.


That?_Ts about it for now. Goodnight.


Rouke

Today was our first official 100 mile ride. We pedaled from Carroll to Sioux City. There had been much anticipation for this challenge, in forms of dread and excitement. I suppose I was one of the excited ones, until the ride actually started that is. There?_Ts something about beginning a ride knowing you have 100 miles to go that weighs heavy in your quadriceps. I may not be speaking for everyone on the trip, but I?_Tm pretty sure the general consensus was semi-brutal.


The scenery was quite beautiful, if the sight of corn doesn?_Tt induce fatigue, pain and dehydration hallucinations already. The corn is growing tall and has maintained it?_Ts illusion as a never ending ocean awaiting the harvest. Some points of the ride brought back memories of the east coast. The hills have returned, and with them knee pain and the granny gear. They?_Tre quite small in relation to those in PA, but relatively large considering the terrain we?_Tve been riding through for the past week. The other difference between IA and PA hills is the lack of shade in IA. Some hovering leaves can really make a difference trucking up gravel hills in the midday. This brings to mind the many differences between IA and PA, for example population. Smaller population means fewer gas stations, eateries and other comfortable places to rest and refuel. This also means fewer random people to share our stories with throughout the day. I?_Tm sure the cows have gotten tired of our spiel.


Some special events for the day include:
Jess Krug?_Ts miraculous return to the road, despite fractured bones.

The Phantom of the Opera tan line appearing on Christine?_Ts face.
Jared?_Ts ability to convince young men in bike shops to build him new parts on the spot for free.

The unfamiliarity of two-for-one margarita deals at the local Chili?_Ts.
Jay and Finn?_Ts excess mileage as they ventured off the cue sheet.


Through the pain of fiery skin peeling from our noses and the burning saddle sores in our shorts, we still have adequate sensation to miss you all, friends and family.


Alana Yerman

The morning got off to an exciting if not auspicious beginning when we awoke at about 2:00 AM to a raging thunderstorm. We reacted to this information in various ways, but the best by far was Genevieve, who lay awake thrilled in bed listening to the thunder with her characteristically infectious enthusiasm that has made our mornings so exciting. By the time the rest of us had summoned enough of our own enthusiasm sufficient to rouse ourselves, the storm had abated, but the scintillating scent of rain remained to see us out of Ames on a cheery note. Some mechanics from Skunk River Cycles came over to guide us on a better route out of town than the rather convoluted one we had previously planned. This was a relief to many of us, especially those who have encountered Topo?_Ts dyslexic difficulty with rights and lefts. ?_oTopo?__ is the computer mapping program that we use to plan our routes and cue sheets for the day, and fills the position of the crotchety old uncle that doesn?_Tt work any more but always hangs around because you need him for something important and he won?_Tt see a doctor or go to a home. The trailer and the van also fill these positions. It would be more accurate to say that the three compete aggressively for the coveted spot.


We rode in two large packs for the first twenty miles before breaking up into our more customary riding groups. The front-most group beat the van to the lunch spot and decided to continue without it. As a result, the ice-cream parlor that we spotted at mile seventy called out especially seductively to our parched, calorie-starved bodies. It seemed that it had something to represent each of us, from a giant roadside fiberglass rooster full of bullet-holes for Dan to a painted sign that, through a minor but catastrophic semantic error, read ?_oFresh, Tender Loins.?__ We decided that this should be for Jose.


The day would have been accident-free, but for two unfortunate exceptions. We soon encountered Jared, who had ridden ahead, stopped on the side of the road nursing his bicycle. The rear derailer had become hopelessly bent during a cross-shifting mishap, and when he tried to bend it back, Jared snapped the hanger, destroying the means by which it is attached to the bicycle frame. Luckily, the better half of team MacGuyver had already kicked into action by the time we arrived. Jared removed ten links of his chain and set the proper gear ratio to bypass the detached part, thereby creating a single-speed. He then borrowed Eric?_Ts handy electrical tape to fix down the loose cable and attach the dreailer to his frame out of the way. This went fairly well, except that the chain was still a bit too loose, so that every half-mile or so, it would shift up of its own accord and become too tight to pedal. When this happened, Jared stopped and moved the chain back. In this fashion, he limped his way the remaining twelve miles into Carroll.


Responsible for the second accident was Katie Reynolds, who lost her balance and fell over on some gravel. She was stationary at the time.


We all ended up in our destination to kick off the opening ceremony for the ?_oTour de Bike and Build,?__ a multi-staged sporting event organized by Dan and judged ?_oarbitrarily and unfairly.?__ Our first event was a dress-up bike race and saltine-eating contest, featuring such participants as The Pink Princess, The Jolly Green Giant, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, and The Yermanator, among others. The yellow jersey went to The Pink Princess from team High Maintenance (Christine ?_oCoach?__ Culver) and the green went to Thane who painted his chest with an American flag and almost beat Reynolds. She was convicted of cracker doping and had to withdraw.


The festivities drained us of all excess energy we may have had left over, and we collapsed into our sleeping bags like?_?bandits, maybe, who are really exhausted after a day filled with community service.


Finn Yarbrough

Normally, waking up on a Saturday morning at 7 o?_Tclock with the intention of building houses for 6 hours would not constitute a day off for me. However, for Bike & Builders build days are days, on which we get to sleep in and do not have to spend extended periods of time sitting in our saddles. Thus, I imagine that the Habitat chapters that we build for rarely have such eager, cheery and awake volunteers as when B&B rolls through town. In fact, with 32 bright-eyed volunteers all showing up on one day, we tend to overwhelm the local housing projects as we did today.


Once again they divided us into groups. One group left to do roofing at another house. Carly, my shingling partner from Troy, OH, informs me that she put her new-found roofing skills to good use. The rest of us stuck around at a house that was mostly finished: raking the yard, tacking on the last of the siding, mixing and pouring cement for a walkway and piling dirt against the base of the house. After telling myself that I would get experience doing something other than shingling or landscaping, I of course found myself helping to dig a three foot deep ditch for electrical wires. Memories of my summer as a landscaping grunt kicked in, and I soon found myself much dirtier and sweatier than everyone around me.


Apparently, construction on this house was way ahead of schedule, and consequently there was a dearth of work to be done. A lot of people were sitting around towards the end of the day, and during this time I was able to chat with the homeowner, Amy, who was at the site. She is a single mother with two children, of whom she is admittedly a tad overprotective. She had attended but never finished her degree at Iowa State University, which is located in Ames, and was an assistant manager at Aldi (a German-based grocery store). As a 22 year old who recently emerged from his post-graduation existential crisis, and who thus far has resisted most attempts at giving any kind of direction to his life, I am hardly in a position to pass judgment, but Amy seemed to really have a good handle on her life, she had already made friends with her future neighbor, who was helping to build her house, and she had a very positive outlook on things.


After the build Jeff(ie Poo II) and I strolled down Main St., which is a couple blocks from the church where we stayed. We bought hand-made silver jewelry for various women in our lives at a cute little shop, and then schmoozed with some college-students working at the Hyvee drug store. I informed them that I have found mid-westerners to be extraordinarily normal if not a tad bit nicer than average, and inquired if there wasn?_Tt some dark underbelly that I was missing, if, perhaps, mid-westerners were all eager to please but had difficulty expressing their more arcane emotions. They informed me that this was not the case and that I would do well to reevaluate my stereotypes.


Dinner came in the form of a barbeque hosted by the Ames Habitat chapter. We got to hang out, play volleyball with and meet the families the people we?_Td been working with earlier in the day. The barbeque was delicious, as most non-peanut butter based foods are to Bike & Builders, and came complete with clearly marked coolers of Ames, IA H20 (apparently Ames is nationally recognized for its delicious tap water). After dinner we were shuttled out into to a farm where the owner raises Clydesdales with his wife and their gaggle of corn-haired sons. One of the mares had recently given birth to a 180 lbs. foal. Apparently the placenta and the amniotic fluid weigh a comparable amount, so a female Clydesdale gains upwards of 300 lbs. during pregnancy! We took a hay ride in a cart pulled by four such horsemonsters, and the owner showed us what Iowa looked like before the white-man started cutting it up into squares: a sun-browned prairie with copses of trees lining the streams and other low-lying areas. Fireflies appeared in quantities as I have never seen before as lightning from a remote storm lit up the darkening sky in intervals. The storm caught up with us about three minutes before we?_Td arrived back at the barn, and had all of us soaked through and shivering by time we got there. We dried off in the barn and then warmed ourselves and toasted marshmallows around a fire in a water trough. We all passed out in our respective shuttles on the ride home and dreamt of the beautiful, rolling hills of Iowa and the omelets that awaited us for breakfast.


Jamie Trowbridge

In contrast to the very grueling and confusing ride into Marshalltown, the ride out of it was fairly painless. The route was elegant, the wind was on our backs, the mileage was low, and rider spirits were higher than I have seen them for some time.


The cue sheet called for us to take Route E29, an Iowa county road that heads due west. Some local cyclists, who were kind enough to lead us out of town and ride with us for a substantial distance, suggested taking a superior alternate route: the local bicycle trail to the old Lincoln Highway. As the ride was only 42 miles that day, we figured that any detour that would improve the route would be most welcome. The majority of the riders ended up taking the Lincoln Highway, which ended up shaving three miles (!) off of our route.


At mile 18 of our ride, Jamie, Dan, and me caught sight of the tail end of a train stopped on the tracks. After conjecturing about the length of said train, the three of us continued to accelerate until we were in an all out sprint. With the wind on our backs, high speeds were easy to reach.


After Dan dropped out, Jamie and I continued to sprint toward no particular reward, in hope of no particular prize (aside from pride, or its mortal nemesis, shame).We sprinted past each other, drafted each other, and went quite fast (~30 MPH). By the time our legs gave out, we had reached the front of the aforementioned train, some two or three miles later.


All of this high speed horseplay resulted in us getting into town by 11 AM ?_" giving us plenty of time to explore the wonderful town of Ames, IA, home of Iowa State University. I went to the local bicycle shops for service, and appreciated the long afternoon, and the wonderful supper ?_" complete with fresh Iowa sweet corn! If you ever find yourself in Ames, please give your kindest regards to Dave Digby at the Christian Church on Clark and 6th.


Until next time?_?


Jose Soltren

Even though each day on this trip is different from the rest?_"either in routes, states, or sights?_"today was extremely different because it was the first day that most of us got lost.


We woke up in Cedar Rapids from our luxurious mattresses, ready to face an ?_oeasy?__ 75 mile day. April, Carly, Molly, Tayka, Will, Hannah, and I rode smoothly for about 15 miles until a red Jeep approached us from behind. The next thing we heard were a string of obscenities yelled by an apparently angry driver. We laughed at how random that was and wondered what he would yell at the group ahead. Already the morning was not as good as we had hoped for, but it got worse. We arrived at the next road, which turned out to be 20 miles of gravel! With the recent accidents caused by gravel, most of us weren?_Tt comfortable so we decided to take a 10 mile detour on a paved road. All was well until April got a call from Aaron saying that the gravel road was the wrong road, and that the right road was actually a block past the wrong road and was beautifully paved. Being 6 miles into the detour, and with the fear of getting off of the cue sheet, we decided to go back onto the correct road. We looped back to find the correct road, but it was no where to be found. We asked around the locals, and finally a group of men led us and even gave us a map of Iowa. Before this, we were all a little exhausted, but this raised our spirits and we continued on our way to lunch, following the chalk marks that the previous riders left for us. However, we later discovered that one of these chalkings was wrong. We had to either backtrack, or find some other way to get to lunch. The map of Iowa inspired us and we decided to take an adventure and make our own route. With this decision, we called the van and told Jose that we would take a different way to Marshalltown and that we would be skipping lunch.


Looking at the map we decided that Vining sounded like a good place to stop for lunch. With that goal, we pedaled on. At a town before Vining, Elderon, we met some girls who gave each of us a cup of Kool-Aid. We talked to them for a bit and one girl told us that one of our bikers had stopped here before. When asked who it was, they all answered ?_oIt was Marc. He stayed here for like an hour!?__


We finally arrived at Vining at around 3 PM?_"it was a very tiny town, and we all wondered if there would even be a place for us to eat! Finally a man pointed us to ?_odowntown?__ which was simply a road with about 4 stores. We entered this convenience store/ restaurant which turned out to be a great lunch spot because it had great cheese balls and fried mushrooms.


After all of us were rested and happy, we biked along?_"the goal now being Marshalltown. It was so much fun just being able to talk and to play games without worrying if the sweep was behind us. At around mile 70, we all felt exhausted so we decided cool down on someone?_Ts lawn. Before we even knew it, the homeowner, Barb, came out with wet towels in her hands and offered them to us. She talked to us about how she traveled to Srilanka with Habitat. I realized it was meeting people like Barb and seeing her kindness as well as care for total strangers that made this trip so worthwhile.


Leaving Barb?_Ts shady lawn, we got up once more to go to Marshalltown. At around 7:30 PM, we finally arrived at the YMCA exhausted at riding 98 miles, but at the same time satisfied with our experience of being lost. As it turned out that almost everyone got lost one way or another


I guess the quote that best fits the day is ?_oAll is well that ends well.?__ We started off the day in a rut, but our little group made it through the day together and in the end somehow managed to make the most of the day than we had ever done. Sometimes it is better to take an unchalked road than a chalked one.


Miho Tomimasu

An obligatory anecdotal introduction: When I began my training and fundraising for Bike and Build 2006, in addition to the plethora of positive and encouraging reactions, there were several comments that I heard over and over again. (1) ?_oYou?_Tre going the wrong way.?__ Everyone seemed to know something I didn?_Tt about this whole prevailing wind nonsense. (2) ?_oIt will be flat after Pennsylvania.?__ That got me anxious about seeing only corn and roadkill for 3000 miles. And (3) ?_oThis wind is what Iowa will be like.?__ So I put two and two together. I began thinking that, based on the other two statements, Iowa would be like Illinois: flat, windy, and very corn/roadkill-y, but not too bad.


Wrong! DEAD WRONG! Iowa windy AND monstrously hilly!


Today we began making our way through Iowa. The significance of yesterday was going to be hard to top, and we all began the morning apprehensive of the longest day yet; TOPO was informing us of a ~90 mile ride. We tried to do the solar time system again, but true to form we again left the Clinton YMCA no earlier than 7:50am.


As far as the majority of the ride went, I can?_Tt honestly tell you, faithful readers. I was pretty hypoglycemic and dehydrated for the majority of the trip. I do remember moving at roughly 6 mph for a really, really long time, more hills than I?_Tve seen in my life, beautiful vistas of sprawling, rolling corn and soybean fields, and skies unlike any I?_Td ever seen before. There were also these birds that would chase us and dive bomb our heads, which was funny when it wasn?_Tt happening to you, at which point it became very not okay.


Around lunchtime we met up with another bicycle-bound activist named Justin. He and at least one of his cohorts dined with us at our lunch stop, where we were told about what they were doing. They are college students cycling from Washington to Maine while fundraising for a charity which helps Nepalese women and children who are at risk for or currently involved in prostitution. They also gave us their website, http://www.spokebiketrip.com. They seemed quite nice and equally interested in our cause, and were more than happy to get some free PB&J sandwiches and dried fruit. Also along the route, a woman was incredibly kind and gave many of us a bit of respite. She lent her front yard and shady trees to just about every rider, and was eager to give us bananas, water, and bathroom privileges.


In Cedar Rapids, although the trickle of riders continued long into the evening, we were wonderfully received by the congregation of the Salem Methodist Church. They had printed out each of our biographies and journal entries and placed them around the room, and we were all excited to see the number of people there and the enthusiasm of the audience. The church also had enough mattresses for all of us, so we were surprised and delighted to get a wonderful night?_Ts sleep.


Note (7/1/06): Contrary to how it might sound, I officially think Iowa rocks.


Sam Tai

Today marks several milestones in our trip. It was our longest distance day?_"almost 90 miles. We also crossed the Mississippi River meaning an official departure from the eastern US. In addition, we entered Iowa, our eighth state. A slightly less fortunate achievement is that we have switched to solar time. This means we wake up in accordance with the sunrise. This morning that meant approximately a 5:24 wake up call. I made the mistake of sleeping in the room adjacent to the kitchen unaware that the ladies preparing breakfast for us would arrive at a prompt time of 4:30 am. I suppose with the amazing and scrumptious breakfast casseroles, french toast/ cream cheese creations, and danishes I should have expected no less.


After filling up on a spectacular breakfast and profusely thanking the wonderful sewing club of the church who hosted us, we posed for a group picture in front of the trailer. The first 50 miles of our ride before lunch were rather uneventful aside from a minor accident. Jess took a little spill as her wheel slipped off the shoulder of the road. She fractured her collarbone, but is okay and expects to be back on the road soon.


At lunch was everyone?_Ts favorite treat of Nutella. I discovered that this smooth chocolaty spread is almost as versatile as peanut butter, and works well with anything from bananas to bagels to crackers. We took shelter in the shade provided by the corn. It seems as though we continue to discover new uses for the acres of surrounding cornfields?_"a labyrinth for games, a photo opt., a pee spot and now a shady picnic location.


About 40 miles remained after lunch. The group I was with spent about 20 of them playing a celebrity name game up and down our paceline. This definitely helped pass the time as the route retained its monotony of corn and soy plants. We took a break under a nice shady tree for a rest and some snacks. When we began again, we noticed a threatening thunderstorm cloud in the distance. It seemed as though we weren?_Tt in danger and could beat the storm to Clinton. However, our situation 10 minutes later proved otherwise. We saw some lightening and immediately pulled into the nearest building, where some other riders had also taken refuge. This happened to be the Department of Agriculture, where they were happy to shelter us until the storm passed.


As we began once again I realized how amazing the post-storm weather conditions were. The sight of dark luminous clouds behind us and blue skies ahead felt both literally and symbolically enlightening. There was even a distinct odor following the storm, providing a nice change from the smell of roadkill and manure. These conditions persisted as we made our way to Fulton, Illinois?_"the town bordering both Iowa and the Mississippi River. We made a short detour to a famous windmill which sits at the bank of the Mississippi River. It was constructed in the Netherlands and is now operated by volunteers who allow the mill to grind wheat, rue, buckwheat and corn.


We were finally ready to cross the much anticipated Mississippi River which coincided with the Iowa border?_"both picture worthy moments. It was exciting crossing the sight of such a renowned and historical place. We arrived at the YMCA pretty exhausted, hungry and yet satisfied from a productive and interesting day of traveling. I soon found out there was a pool available to us and didn?_Tt waste a moment to put on my bathing suit and float around in the cool and refreshing water. An impressive dinner of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread was cooked by a group of stark contrast to the sewing club form the prior night.


A troop of about 15 middle school aged kids at the Y put together an awesome meal, but only in exchange for a game of dodgeball. Our first reaction was that this wouldn?_Tt be too difficult of a task. Afterall, we were about twice the size of most of the group and after biking across half the country there was nothing we couldn?_Tt do. This state of mid was alterred as we entered a gym filled with 13 year olds pegging the padded walls and swiftly moving around the room. In the first round, we found all of our players out within 4 minutes of the whistle. We slowly lengthened our game time, but round after round were beaten by the troop of adolescents. It was a slightly deflating experience but a realization that perhaps our skills beyond cycling are lacking.


After some intense rounds of dodgeball, we were all pretty wiped. Aside from a game of Clue and some journal writing, it was a quiet night. We slept in close quarters on the mats of Tae Kwon Do room to recharge for another exciting day on the road.


Carly Sieff

Greetings from Peru! Peru, Illinois that is, where we are staying in the gym of St. Joseph?_Ts Parish. Today was another packed day, which included one of my favorite Bike and Build activities ?_" visiting the homes and learning about the lives of local people along our route. After a wonderful breakfast by the United Methodist Church in Pontiac, we pedaled 10 miles through farms and cornfields along Route 26 to the home of Gene Lyons, a member of the church. Over 75 years old, he was an animated storyteller, describing life his 12,000 acre farm, where he and his sons grew corn and soybeans. He gave us a tour of the shed where the farm equipment was stored and taught us how to tell if the wheat was ready by chewing on the wheat berries. He and his son told us about how farming has changed recently, with the arrival of GMOs and rich folks from Chicago buying the farms and forcing farmers to rent the land back, making farming more competitive and less profitable for farmers. Gene also told us stories about the days when he and his children were champion canoe racers, with tales of the time he and his daughter won the ?_oFather-Son?__ competition and when his son made the 1980 US Olympic paddling team. I was quite sad to leave his farm and stories of a life so different from my own growing up on the East Coast.


The morning was spent riding through massive corn fields, where all you could see in every direction was corn. We stopped for lunch around mile 40 in the small town of Leonore, Illinois where the sign declared a population of 110. As we ate our lunch in the patio of a local restaurant, I realized that we increased the size of the town by almost one-third! After lunch we only have a little over 20 miles left to go, so about 8 of us decided to stop at Starved Rock State Park, where we watched a short video about the history of the park, visited the gift shop and climbed rather steep steps to see the view from the rock.


About 10 miles from Peru, the terrain changed from the flat lands we become accustomed to over the past week to gentle hills. Although two weeks ago I would have barely noticed the hills, they provided quiet a challenge for me and I fell behind the group I was riding with. When I arrived at the top I found Sam and Molly waiting for me and Sam let me draft off him for the next few miles to make my ride a bit easier. This example of teamwork and support is just one of the many signs of care, concern and encouragement that I see daily within our group. Over the past few days the number of injured riders has grown steadily, and I see everyone taking the time to check on and help each other out. I?_Tve experienced this first hand after I fell and bruised my arm two days ago. Every day, numerous people ask me about my arm, and I show off my rather impressive bruise that looks worse than it feels.


We arrived last night in Peru, where we were greeted with snacks and later were served a wonderful dinner by the sewing ladies of the church. We were also pleasantly surprised by and thankful for the presence of 5 showers in the church bathrooms. After our presentation, laundry was done and a few people watched a movie before we all headed to bed a half hour earlier than normal to make the transition into solar time and rest up before our 90 miles ride tomorrow. It was another full day for P2S, and I look forward to the many more that will follow.


Hannah Mellion

?_oGood morning, Bike & Build,?__ coming from the familiar voice of Jose. Ahhh, classic. I love that wake-up call. Breakfast at 7:00 a.m. as usual, and it was egg-celent! There were egg, cheese, and sausage casseroles, mini blueberry muffins, and fruit. Once full, it was time to hit the road.


A short 42-mile ride today. It is funny that we think of 42 miles as a piece of cake, but after doing several 80+ mile days, anything less than 70 miles is nothing. Beautiful sunny day, warm, and delightful?_?what more could we ask for?


Oh, I love biking on gravel?_"the unpredictability of your bike, the sound of rocks moving, and the white coating it gives your tires. Today was another day of biking on rocky terrain. There seemed to be fewer flats today, but there was a spill. Ouch.


On the route we took coming from Gilman, IL to Pontiac, IL, the only thing of interest was corn and wheat. Short, tall, lots of it! It was everywhere! Some of us wanted to have a little fun, so we went into the wheat field and took pictures holding our bikes upside down above our heads. Rouke, Jeff, and I played a game of Marco Polo in corn that was slightly taller than us. It was fun, but I am sure that farmers would not think of it is amusing. Good thing none saw us. I really wanted to pull some corn out of the ground, but did not think I should nor did I have anywhere to put it or anything to do with it. I gave it a little tug for the fun of it and it did not budge. Shucks! (Slight pun intended)


We all arrived into Pontiac early because of the short day. Since it is Sunday, most places were closed. As we walked around town, we noticed that the only places open were an Italian restaurant and the alleged 24-hour grocery store. We went grocery shopping for small items like bread to feed 32 hungry bicyclists at lunch. Not too exciting.


Afterwards, various activities took place. Some people napped while others showered at the Pontiac Recreation Center. Some people walked to town while others read books, and some people called friends and family while others played board games and wrote in their journals. So, even though it was a short day, it was a long day that seemed to go on forever because we had so much free time and limited things to do.


The pot luck dinner was phenomenal and the presentation was good as well. For some reason, the bike clinic did not happen. I, along with others, was looking forward to it because we really enjoyed the last one. Oh well, there will be more.


From now on, we will be waking up with the sunrise?_"earlier than our usual 6:00 a.m. time slot. Now that we are in the central time zone, the sun rises earlier, so we must get up when it gets up to start our day and get on the road before it gets too hot. The theory makes sense, but we heard some complaints about waking up a half-an-hour earlier. We will all understand the reasoning behind it when we begin biking in the extreme sun.


It was a great, relaxing, and stress-free day. Yeah, P2S ?_T06!


Ericc Powell

After a day off in Lafayette, Indiana spent relaxing, fixing our bikes, sleeping and dancing at the Indiana Fiddler?_Ts Gathering, we got back on our bikes and rode 81 miles to Gilman, Illinois, crossing into our 7th state of the trip. The morning passed by quickly and fairly uneventfully. Most of us pass the time on our bikes singing songs in our heads or out loud and talking to the people biking around us if the roads aren?_Tt too busy. However today I learned that Monica and Will (our resident math major and biomedical engineer major) pass their time by solving math problems they create for one another. The only true excitement of the morning came when we were able to convince Subway to donate sandwiches to us for lunch.


The afternoon, however, was quite the adventure. At about mile 43, we turned off the more major road we were riding on, to a small gravel road. We weren?_Tt sure if it was the correct road, but then we saw the van with lunch, and learned that we were in fact taking our road bikes down this road. About a mile down the road, I was riding with April, when a woman walked out of her house, took a picture of us, laughed and called out, ?_oWhy you chose to ride your bikes down this road? I?_Tll never know.?__ After a few miles of gravel, the road turned into a paved road, but unfortunately it wasn?_Tt much better for riding on. Reynolds described it as ?_othe poorest excuse for a paved road she?_Td ever seen.?__ And she was right. There were tufts of grass and even bushes growing out of the massive cracks that completely covered the sidewalk-like road. At least it kept us alert while riding through the endless fields of corn. The corn in Indiana and Illinois seemingly goes on forever. Tayka described the fields as oceans of corn; you look out to the horizon and all you see is corn. According to a Gilman local, if the corn is knee-high by the 4th of July, it?_Ts going to be a good crop. Based on what we saw today, there is definitely going to be a lot of good corn this season. As a city girl, I am amazed at just how much corn and open space there is out here.


I spent the afternoon riding through the cornfields with April and Jared. We took advantage of the emptiness of the roads by riding three across. April and I even practiced holding hands while riding. Other people practiced riding with no hands.


Tonight the people of Gilman fed us a delicious potluck dinner and the presentation group did a powerpoint presentation for the church members who came to dinner. The people here have been incredible. They shuttled us to and from the showers which were a few miles away, cooked a huge meal for us, and brought us ice cream, pizza and popcorn in case anyone got hungry later. It has truly amazed me how nice people have been to a group of 32 smelly college aged kids covered in bike grease who they?_Tve never met.


Molly Phillips

Our first day off on the trip was received with open but weary arms. Doug Taylor, Director of the Habiatat for Humanity of Lafayette invited up to fifteen people to come and spend the morning clearing a lot for a future habitat build. Seven of us woke up at 8:30 to follow two dumptrucks to the site where a six foot tall pile of cinderblocks awaited us. We spent 3 A? hours throwing the blocks into a dump truc, removing and piling weeds, and cutting brush. The highlight of the morning was when I asked to drive the Bobcat and Doug allowed us each take some time behind the driver?_Ts seat. We definitely broke an intense sweat, but it was really satisfying to see the large pile of blocks gone when we drove away at 12:30 with our free T-shirts we got for our work. Upon our return I learned that others had tried to hitch-hike to a Target but mostly people had gone downtown to the bike shop for a free tune up. At 7pm we gathered back at the church center to eat dinner (shredded BBQ Beef burgers) and drive to the Indiana Fiddler?_Ts Gathering in Battleground, IN. This was amazing! It was a large get-together featuring bluegrass bands from all over the country playing on a field which was covered in the tents of performers and listeners. The bands were great and watching people spontaneously strike up a tune outside their tents was fun to watch. At 11pm we got back in the van and drove back to catch the little sleep we get before we truck it in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to Illinois!


Thane Richard

Life here on the trip has assumed a sense of normalcy, as strange as that sounds. I get up every morning, eat, ride, eat, ride, sleep, eat, sleep, chores, eat, etc?_? you get the picture. There is almost a sense of meditation through mundane action. It becomes easy to look only as far ahead as necessary. ?_oToday I must ride 70 miles.?__ It also becomes easy to neglect the journey as a whole.


Every so often, I have to take a moment and realize the magnitude of what we?_Tre accomplishing. Indiana is our 6th state. Some people don?_Tt visit that many states in a lifetime. What we?_Tre doing is incredible.


Today started with that same sense of normalcy. The church in Hartford City provided us with an amazing breakfast, and we got on our bikes heading west. For those of you who have been through North-Central Indiana on a bicycle, you understand that this journal entry could be a little difficult to write. There?_Ts just not much out there. However, what Indiana did have to offer us was weather. Bad, stormy weather.


My dear readers, the sky grew angry that afternoon. The wind began to howl, twisting stop-lights and downing trees. In nearby towns, windows were shattered by golf ball sized hail. Wind gusts crested 70 miles per hour. Man versus Mother Nature. Man versus an angry world.


Our weary band of travelers sought shelter wherever they could, many in the small town of Russiaville. The same town that was forever scarred by the ?_obig tornado of 1965,?__ that tore through the center of town. Photographs and newspaper clippings still hang on the walls of Martin?_Ts Hardware, our refuge from the weather. The locals told us stories of the ?_obig storm,?__ and nervously glanced towards the windows. Once the storm started, there was nothing to do but wait until the tirade died out.


Like a small child, whose tempertantrum eventually tires them to sleep, our storm rolled on. We left our small haven of Russiaville, and finished the day basking in sunshine and delighting in the scent of fresh rain.


Normal is a funny concept. Sleeping on the floor, sore muscles, and smelling bad have all become completely normal. Even the unpredictability of the weather fits perfectly into our Bike and Build routine.


Dan Olson

Today started out quite royally as we had a police escort out of the town of Troy, OH for about 3.5 miles. Though it wasn?_Tt a particularly busy town or a busy morning, we all felt very safe and really cool, especially when we got to run red lights!


We had a good ride ?_" it?_Ts nice to be in the flat Midwest, except for the headwind that seems to be ever-present & slowing us down. We all got some great photos with the Indiana state sign, and passed some awesome birthday messages left in chalk for Molly, who is now 20! She spent the whole day riding with a birthday tiara attached to her helmet, which was quite a sight to see!


In the afternoon, a bunch of us stopped in the town of Portland, IN to take a break and get some root beer floats & lemonade at the Corner CafAc. A reporter from the local newspaper stopped by to talk to us about our trip and what we?_Tre doing, which was very cool, especially considering that we weren?_Tt even staying in the town!


After the 82 mile ride into Hartford City, IN, most of us biked over to the YMCA for some (much needed!) showers before the great potluck dinner they made us at St. John?_Ts School. After dinner, we ate some awesome homemade pudding pies (care of Sam) for more celebrations for the birthday girl. All in all, it was a great day!


April Nilsen

For our second build day we worked with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter in Troy, OH. After arriving at the Re-Store and meeting with the director we split up into two groups. A smaller group of us went to a recently finished home to put in the front lawn and finish the shed roof in the back yard. The rest of the group stayed at the re-store to organize the warehouse and build more sheds for future Habitat homes in the area.


The best part of working at the finished home was meeting the family living there. They had just moved in and were still getting settled, but it was clear that the mother and her five boys were excited to have their new house with more space for themselves and their stuff (including a dog, two cats, and a guinea pig).


The group at the restore also put in a hard days work roofing one shed, building two shed floors, and organizing a warehouse full of recently donated building materials. Despite the heat and humidity we all had a great time getting our hands dirty and breaking a sweat without ever touching our bikes.


Jessica Myers

Here on P2S we run on a train system: we have the lunch train, the leisure train, the express train, the SoulTrain, the coffee train, and the list goes on. We have a train for just about anything. I often find myself hitching a ride on the leisure train; chatting and taking in countryside. Attempts to ditch my competitive side include futile efforts not to look at my speedometer, foregoing the bike computer with cadence, and losing my watch in Providence. Today I found myself hitched to the express train. From this experience I was able to appreciate the positive aspects of both the leisure and express trains. Namely, on the express train one can avoid the worst of hand, toe and butt numbness because the hours spent in the saddle are fewer. There is also something soothing about watching nothing other than that place where the wheel in front of you hits the pavement. Not surprisingly, there is more to be seen and experienced from the leisure train rather than focusing intently tires and tarmac. Whichever trains each of us may have been on today, I don?_Tt think many of us were sad to leave the busy cites of Youngstown and Columbus behind. In the middle of the wheat fields, that were surprisingly gold, our Ohio expert, Dan, announced: ?_owelcome to the real Ohio.?__ So here we are, in The Real Ohio. At the end of seventy-four miles, we were welcomed to the quaint town of Troy by the First Presbyterian Church, where we were fed an excellent dinner of lasagna, salad, and brownie sundaes. We will be relaxing here for two nights with ping pong, air hockey, foosball, and Jenga. We?_Tre all looking forward to a build day tomorrow, where we will have an opportunity to hop on the construction train as opposed to the organization train we were on for our last build day in Scranton. Other items on the agenda to look forward to tomorrow: love for the van and trailer.


Katie Quinntard Reynolds

While waking up today at the sound of punk rock rattling from Jose?_Ts laptop?_Ts speakers, I realized that it could have been a Wednesday, Tuesday, or even Friday morning. A day on the road is a day on the road. Two weeks into our journey, I remember the days through the novel experiences they bring me and the people to whom they introduce me. For example, ?_othat day?__ when I stopped at a hilltop farm in Pennsylvania with Dan and Finn to taste homemade chocolate-covered maple candy was a few days after the day I went to an gospel concert in Wellsboro, PA with Aaron and Karly, where the three of us were the only people under 60 in the audience.


Now for the novelties of Sunday, 18 June. The only parallel today shared with a ?_oregular?__ Sunday morning was our breakfast. We devoured platefuls of eggs, bacon, French toast, fruit and all of the other goodies the Kenyon College cafeteria graciously provided for us. Our start time of 8:45AM (45 minutes later than our ?_otarget?__ departure time of 8:00AM) testifies to how much we enjoyed the meal. We all joke about getting ?_olunch legs?__, the feeling of having one?_Ts legs turn to solid cast iron posts after eating too much for too long in the middle of a ride?_"today, the ?_olunch legs?__ started growing about three hours early. However, it was a small price to pay for such a delicious breakfast.


Our route to Columbus began on the Kokosing Gap trail, a former railroad track (paved over, of course) which wove through a hardwood forest. Five miles of riding under a leafy green canopy was a pleasant warm-up for a day of pedaling on the Ohio state roads. Euphemistically, the pock-marked roads in this state have been like powerful massage chairs without an off-switch and have quickly hardened our posteriors. Once I hit the ?_omassaging?__ Ohio route 13, I ran into Ericc, Rouke and Jose and rode the ?_oSoul Train?__ (the name we give any pace line of which Jose Soltren, one of our leaders and a phenomenally fast cyclist) into Centerburg, an aptly named town at the geographic center point of Ohio. With my bladder having exceeded its capacity I jumped off the Soul Train to visit the Centerburg CITGO station. Two older men wearing dirty overalls and relaxing on plastic lawn chairs outside one of the garages gave me curious looks as I tapped up to them in my road shoes and asked them if I could use their restroom?_"but I am getting used to receiving odd looks in small towns. After all, I am wearing spandex shorts that look like they have a built-in diaper. I talked with them about Bike and Build after my bathroom stop, and they were excited to have a ?_obikin?_T race?__ to watch for part of the morning. I bought a Twix candy bar (wonderful cycling fuel), and bid them a good morning.


Ten blocks of pedaling put me outside of Centerburg, Ohio, and into the middle of a corn and soybean field. I caught up with Katie J and a few other riders in the first ten miles, and our orientation to riding into plains?_T headwinds began a couple of miles outside of our lunch stop. Our pace line of six riders braved the winds, rough roads and a second onset of ?_olunch legs?__ into Columbus in good, if increasingly tired spirits. Our loose interpretation of the directions allowed us to explore almost all of downtown; with almost no traffic on the four-lane streets and many of the stores closed, we could hear our laughter echoing against the buildings. We made our way to the JCC in due time, finding a coffee and sandwich shop that would come in handy for dinner in the evening. The J generously allowed us to use their pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and commercial washers and driers, and the curfew of 8:00PM combined with the scheduled laundry night inspired us to have a dance party while we washed clothes?_"it was probably the most fun I?_Tve ever had doing laundry.


The laundry/dance party exemplifies what I think is the best part about this trip: the creativity and spontaneity of my fellow riders. I?_Tve heard this sentiment bouncing around the group; as one person put it, ?_oTo ride across the country, you have to be at a certain level of ?_~coolness?_T to begin with, and we?_Tre all way above that level.?__ No matter where we are, I am learning new things from everyone and laughing at the comments and antics that I am sharing with them. The greatest novelty of this Sunday, and every day thus far, has been the opportunity to spend time cycling and doing good works with my new friends.




Marc Mayes

Today we rode from Dover, OH to Gambier, OH. It was about 61 miles of rolling hills and farms. The sunrise at the Dover fairgrounds was a great way to wake up. Sleeping outside under the stars was a refreshing change. The ride took us through Amish country. I stopped at an Amish flea market and had to resist the urge to buy lots of fun stuff.


Lunch was a treat everyone bought cheese, fruit, and smoked sausage from an Amish cheese factory a few miles back. It was all delicious. Also the snacks from the mail drop were greatly appreciated. At mile 47 it was rumored that dogs were chasing us, but by the time I hit that stretch they must have gotten tired of chasing bike and builders. The last nine miles were on a bike trail. It was a peaceful change from the bumpy Ohio roads with traffic. The weather was hot and very sunny. Everyone?_Ts spandex and glove tans are getting quite defined.


We stayed at Kenyon College in the dorms. As part to of the dinner group I got to take a trip to Walmart to buy dinner. For dinner we had burgers, salad, and fruit. The evening was fun. We relaxed outside and some of the guys had a game of volleyball going for awhile. We watched the US vs. Italy game on TV. After a relaxing night it was great to sleep in real beds!


Jess Krug

Our first full day in Ohio was actually one of the more interesting ones. We began the longest riding day of our trip (80 miles) without a clue as to which city we would be arriving in, let alone where we would be sleeping. Our instructions consisted only of telling the leading riders to arrive in either the Dover or New Philadelphia town center and hang around in the town square until the van arrived with directions. Luckily, by the time we arrived at lunch, tentative sleeping arrangements had been made and we were on our way to Dover.


The roads in Ohio may be flatter than we?_Tre used to (as compared to Philadelphia and New York), but the quality is definitely worse than we would like. Many times, we were not even able to ride close to the shoulder of the road because of the cracks and bumps in the road that made our hands vibrate from absorbing the shocks.


Halfway to lunch, there was a chalk mark on the side of the road that indicated a ?_orock out?__ stop for P2S-ers. A man and his wife invited the riders into his home to show them his restored Schwinn bike. He?_Td been working on restoring bikes for only 4 years, and before had been working on restoring furniture. He gave the riders cookies and iced tea while he told stories about his work and gave the riders a rest from the impending heat.


Lunch was just over 40 miles into the ride, and when I arrived after having ridden by myself for most of the morning, I was ready for some entertaining news that would wake me up a bit. Apparently, when Genevieve arrived with the trailer at the lunch spot, she wanted to park in a ?_oshady?__ spot. However, that entailed running the van (with trailer in tow) into a ditch that she was then unable to get out of. She waited for the first 6 riders to arrive at lunch, and then put them to work (as if biking 40 miles just to get lunch wasn?_Tt enough) unloading the entire trailer?_"which includes all of our food, coolers, and duffel bags?_"onto the grass, pushing the trailer out of the ditch, and then loading everything back in. After they finished their task and other riders began to arrive, no one knew that anything out of the ordinary had happened other than by word of mouth.


At lunch, Jamie sang a song he had composed about Ohio and the quality of the roads that we were riding on:


?_oOhio has such stupid roads
Oh why oh won?_Tt they fill those holes?

O h my they really make me loathe
M y hands and butt and back and toes


Ohio has such stupid roads

Oh fie on you, you damn wide loads
That truck almost knocked me out cold

Ohio has such stupid roads


But at least they?_Tre flat?__


Arriving in Dover entailed following chalk marks on the road written by earlier riders. Jess Krug and I followed the marks to the Dover town square, where we encountered a small, grassy hill with bicycles piled on top of it. We were then instructed, along with the few other bikers that remained with the bikes, to go to the Dover Fairgrounds, which is apparently where we would be sleeping for the night. However last-minute our sleeping arrangements were, we were still able to procure showers for the night, along with a good dinner of rare (for us) lunch meats, fresh condiments, and an XL donated pizza from Papa Johns..


We camped out on a grassy spot of the fairgrounds, with most people opting to sleep under the stars than in the one tent we set up in case of an emergency downpour. All in all, although the day was long, it was a relaxing and enjoyable ride.


Kristine Kovacs

Today we crossed the state border and traveled 57 miles from Franklin, PA to Youngstown, OH. We left Franklin after finishing a delicious breakfast of banana bread and donut holes provided by the church. Many of us waved the American flags that we got at the Flag Day parade last night from our saddle bags and camelbacks.


I saw my first Amish family traveling in a horse and buggy in the opposite direction as us. They waved enthusiastically when they saw us all on our bicycles. I also saw a drive-thru liquor store, which I didn?_Tt know existed. We remembered to stay hydrated in the increasingly hot weather. Two people got flat tires at lunch just from leaving their bikes in the sun and letting it shine on the black tires. Monica got three flat tires over the course of the day!


Some of us stopped to go to the bathroom at a landscaping company and the owner was so impressed by our trip that she invited us to go for a swim in their pool next door. We spent a relaxing hour cooling off in the pool and enjoying popsicles with her nieces.


When we entered Ohio, we were disappointed by the welcome sign because it was very small and on the side of a busy street. We stopped to take a lot of pictures anyway.
We arrived at St. John?_Ts Episcopal Church in Youngstown to find our mail waiting for us! We were all so excited to get packages filled with homemade cookies, trail mix, candy and cards from our families and friends. It felt like Christmas as we all sat on the floor ripping open our boxes, comparing our treats, and exchanging food. It is great to know that so many people at home are thinking of us.


Our hosts at the church were very welcoming and generous. They treated us to a big dinner, complete with strawberry shortcake made with strawberries that one of the women from the church hand picked earlier this morning. After diner we explored Youngstown and Youngstown State University. Because we are at the western edge of the Eastern Standard Time Zone, it stays light later than it does in Providence, so we had plenty of time to see the city. We are going to bed tonight looking forward to a full day of riding in Ohio tomorrow!



Katie Joyce

Arguably the best day yet, today?_Ts route took us along the scenic Allegheny River from Warren, PA to Franklin, PA. The weather was perfect: partly cloudy, high around 75, and just a slight breeze to keep us cool. Riding along the river was great since there is relatively little elevation change making for an easier or faster trip. Another big plus was that about ten miles of the road along the river had just been paved with fresh asphalt. . . there?_Ts nothing like smoooooooth riding through the rolling hills of northern Pennsylvania!!! Anyone from the northeast probably knows how rough some of those state highways can get, especially on the shoulder where we ride, so these conditions were greatly appreciated by all.


Just when I thought the day couldn?_Tt possibly get any better we arrived at our host location, the First Presbyterian Church of Franklin, PA. Our gracious hosts lead us right into the huge church and showed us around. After seeing the couches and big screen TV in the lounge along with the thick padded carpets in the nursery and parlor rooms we knew this would be a great night?_Ts sleep. Next a short walk (literally ten steps across the street) to the Franklin YMCA provided a lap pool, hot tub, sauna, and hot showers for our aching muscles.


Clean and rested we gathered in the church basement for a massive pizza buffet dinner (I?_Tm sure some pics of that will go on the web as well) followed by a trip to Main St. to watch the local Flag Day Parade. Well fed and entertained the group trickled back to the church setting up sleeping bags and reading until lights out just after 11pm.


As a side note, I think I ate more food today than any other day so far. As a group we have jokingly and lovingly come to know this trip as ?_oBike and Binge?__ and for good reason.


Breakfast: 1 LARGE bowl cereal w/ whole milk, 1 large banana, coffee, and OJ


Lunch (around mile 30): 1 pb and j sandwich, 1 tuna sandwich, 1 large banana, water, and Gatorade


2nd Lunch (about 2pm/mile 50): Double cheeseburger, fries, and a coke at burger king (my favorite fast food)


Dinner: 4-6 slices of pizza, 1 large bowl of salad, water, soda, coffee


I have no idea how many calories that is but if someone wants to do the math I would love to know! Next stop Youngstown, OH!


Matt Joy

So we woke up this morning at 6am as always, or maybe it was 5:59, it always seems too early anyhow! I slept okay, but sleeping in a room full of people on thermarest on a concrete floor is never that comfy ?_" especially when the coke machine in the gym is glowing all night long?_? ANYHOW, the pastor at the church brought us muffins (thank goodness for some of us because we ran out of cereal) and showed us the sanctuary which was in the process of being finished. The room was huge and we could all see that it was going to be amazing, seating about 1500! He wished us well and we were off, once again, back on the hated small hard black leather things called our bike seats.



The ride was supposed to be 65 miles long but after missing a turn semi-early on it turned into the longest day so far finishing off at 75 miles! It was really long but we all made it with only a few mishaps. One of our riders, Katie J, had an even longer day if you can believe it?_? she rode 110 miles! She got lost somewhere along the way but kept going, eventually she realized she was lost when she was something like 25 miles out of the way, and also realized her digital camera was missing. She decided to turn around and look for it and fortunately found it. She still wasn?_Tt back after the rest of us had finished dinner so the van went and picked her up. She said she still had fun, and I believe her, Katie is like that?_? she even went swimming at some point in her lost adventure! As for other riders, Ericc nearly turned himself into roadkill I hear when he turned slowly and fell into oncoming traffic! Thankfully he was okay as the cars all avoided him. Aaron also threw himself off the bike when he was riding the SoulTrain and the riders ahead of him stopped suddenly. He was okay too, phew. The SoulTrain is a nickname that we have for Jose Soltren, one of our trip leaders, who is the most hardcore biker among us and very intense about his cycling. He is also reallllly fast and his last name sounds like SoulTrain so he got the name. In fact he bought a whistle yesterday at a gift shop we all stopped at and whistles it as he passes us, encouraging us to step up our peddling and ?_~hop-on?_T his pace line. Lastly on the uh-oh list is Finn who?_Ts rear wheel just popped off today! Fortunately he had already arrived in the town and was starting from stand-still when it happened. If the wheel had decided to come off in the middle of one of the awesome long down-hills today who knows where Finn would have ended up! We?_Tve been really lucky with some of our accidents and I hope it stays that way!




My ride was a good one, the sun was out for nearly the whole day and we were all very excited for that finally after the rainy days we?_Tve had. I rode with many people today, first just in a spaced out line of all of us and then with Hannah, Molly, Will, and April ?_" met some people at lunch, left with Carly, Jared, Dan, Christine, Cara, and Sam then after falling behind them stopped on a bridge over a beautiful reservoir and then Jaime and Robin caught up with me and we rode into town. We had some rushed, but greatly desired and enjoyed, showers at the local YMCA before eating. The church we are staying in tonight in Warren, PA served us from their local soup kitchen and it was excellent. We all eat so much now, I can?_Tt believe myself when I go back for thirds! The people here were surprised to hear we intended to go all the way to Seattle, but impressed and excited for us too. Its so fun to see people?_Ts reaction when we answer ?_oSeattle?__ when they ask us where we?_Tre going!



The final thing to report is that our trailer has finally been painted by our crew and it looks AWESOME ?_" not to mention super hardcore. Cara and Sam designed it and many of us helped paint it ?_" I did a little outlining with Rouke and Miho myself (still have paint on my hands). The idea is that one side will be hardcore and one side happy. The hardcore side, which is pretty much done now, says: BIKE AND BUILD in gothic Harley-Davidson style and the ?_~and?_T made up the teeth of skeleton between the ?_~bike?_T and the ?_~build?_T. The background is black and the letters are white with red outlining and there is fire coming from the skull! It looks rad?_? Jeff and Katie R agreed that they feel like the trailer is more hardcore than us. I said well we?_Tll be really hardcore by the time we get in Seattle?_? and it?_Ts true! Exciting?_? still thousands of miles away, but exciting none-the-less.




- T. Hesselgrave

Today was a great day with added mileage to see the amazing Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. We got a late start this morning, but you could tell that summer was coming soon enough, as it was almost 50A? when we woke up. The Grand Canyon was great, but I think most enjoyed the gift shop at Animaland much better, with some people spending upwards of $50 on various trinkets and wooden postcards. A large group of people beat the van to lunch today which was new, so we got to make the lunch stop where we wanted which was nice. We had a few special treats today at lunch to mix with the staple PB&J; apple butter (courtesy of Animaland), maple cream, deer sticks, and nilla wafers which made for a great combo on the sandwiches. Will was not interested in any of the good stuff though as he was responsible for downing the leftover macaroni from dinner last night concluding his feasting with an awesome macaroni sandwich. After lunch we had a pretty sweet head wind as we rode into Coudersport, which was much more difficult than our Hertz Neverlost aka Q Sheet led us to believe. We all eventually arrived, with sweep coming in around 5:15. Dinner was early tonight (5:00) and the church provided pizza and chicken wings which were gone in about 2 minutes, so the dinner chore group made chili, and pasta to try and satisfy the starving. The laundry group just got back with our clean clothes and they got mad because there was too much laundry, and they don?_Tt want to do that much laundry anymore. The group of us sitting here now does agree and think the scolding we received was unwarranted and uncalled for. As for the rest of the night we are all cleaning our bikes, writing letters, and getting ready for another great ride tomorrow into Warren, PA. The design team is also formulating the motif for the trailer which we have still not painted, but plan on doing any day now. Thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and thoughts as we make our journey. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for us all and we are all so grateful and appreciative to have your support. All of your packages are happily received and enjoyed, for those of you who send us food. Keep the food coming!


Jay Forester

Today was absolutely beautiful. We had a very scenic ride down Route 6, with rolling green hills on either side of us at all times. The weather was perfect, with a high of about 70 degrees. Subway gave us free sandwiches for lunch, and they were delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I didn?_Tt even mind when I ran over a dead animal on the side of the road and was splashed with its intestinal juices.


The afternoon wasn?_Tt too hot, but the sun was shining strongly and many people were sunburned, especially pale people and people who didn?_Tt wear sunscreen because they want to get cancer. Biker?_Ts tans will soon run rampant among us.


We got to Wellsboro in the afternoon, riding up Main Street, which is a beautiful road with boutiques, a movie theater, cheap ice cream, and American flags all over the place. Some people bought squirt guns and plan to sabotage other people while riding to Coudersport tomorrow.


Cara FitzGibbon

After a break from the saddle yesterday, we were all rejuvenated and ready to tackle the hills of Pennsylvania everyone has warned us about. Apparently spending two nights in Scranton was not long enough for us though as we proceeded to do circles throughout the streets of Scranton. Jared, Dan, and I had broken away from the group and at one point had asked three people for directions out of the city, only to receive three different responses. After all being dispersed throughout the city, the group managed to meet up again and close to ten miles later we were on our way to Towanda.


Shortly after leaving Scranton we were greeted with the largest hill of the day. Not only was today one of the hilliest rides so far, we also had our first experience dealing with the wind. Jamie, Jeff, Robin, and I had some good pace lining going that helped us get through the head wind, but at times it was like you were stuck in a tornado of wind?_?.coming at you from all directions.


Over 40 miles of today?_Ts ride was spent on Route 6, which is rated as one of the top 10 scenic highways in the United Stated. One of the highlights of today, besides it being treat day at lunch (spicing up the peanut butter and jelly with Nutella!), was climbing to the top of our last hill to find a gorgeous scenic outlook overlooking the Susquehana river, farmland, and rolling Pennsylvania mountains in the distance. This view was even more appreciated because the sun finally decided to shine (something this group has not experienced much of since we departed a week ago). Hopefully the sunshine that brought us in to Towanda will follow us out tomorrow.


Christine Culver

On our first build day of the summer we shuttled riders about 30 minutes to our build site in Nanticoke, PA. Jose, Katie J, and Ericc helped us avoid a third trip in the van and rode their bikes to our build site. Our original build project had fallen through at the last minute so we spent the day working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore where the organization sells lightly used building materials. We helped organize recently received inventory of vinyl siding, and we helped pick up donated roofing shingles from a modular homes dealer, among other things.


Today was also our first birthday of the trip ?_" Jeff turned 20! The staff of the Habitat ReStore bought him a cake which we enjoyed into the evening as we watched ?_oThe Producers?__ projected on the living room wall of the house we were staying in.


A few hours of free time in the afternoon allowed people to get some much needed rest, write, read, and do massive amounts of laundry. Other highlights of the day were getting our first mail drop (thanks to everyone who sent us mail!) and the treats that the staff of the Habitat ReStore brought us later in the afternoon.


Although I wasn?_Tt there, I was told that the Thai restaurant where Jeff and several other riders ate dinner put on a lively ?_oHappy Birthday?__ show complete with disco ball and dancing waitresses.


I think we all enjoyed a day off the bikes, and the spacious Victorian Manse house at Covenant Presbyterian was a wonderful place to call home for two days. We?_Tre looking forward to getting back on our bikes and conquering the hills of Pennsylvania.


Genevieve Hale-Case

This morning things were a little slow getting started, but eventually we did get our trailer packed and ready a little later than usual and then it was down to a really nice breakfast. We got on the road and started our trek into Pennsylvania. Once we left New York we met the long rolling hills that we?_Tll find all through Pennsylvania. Mostly the day was spent climbing hills. There was a 20 % hill at the end with cobblestones at top that only two people conquered. Jose awarded Dan Olsen and Jared Bieniek the Roubaix award of core hardness for making it up the hill (1).


There were a few confusing turns along the route and Jamie and Marc went off 10 miles on 191 north , and got reeled back in to the lunch stop by the van. Aaron took a wrong turn and accidentally went down a different mountain.


In Scranton we settled into this amazing house that the covenant Presbyterian Church of Scranton owns (2). After we ate dinner (3) we had a long town hall meeting, where we went over highs and lows of the trip, and then went into great depth as to how to make our presentations better. I think we made some progress, but really we?_Tll have to wait until the next presentations to see if we made any progress.


After the meeting a few people went out to play in Scranton, However I was exhausted and went to bed, it was lovely.



Jeffrey


1 Mark Mayes, Jamie Trowbridge and I got honorable mentions. I fell over about twenty feet from the top.

2 The house has three floors like large carpeted rooms without beds, four bathrooms. Basically it a huge Victorian ?_oManse?__:
3 Pasta

At 6am, we were all awoken by Queen?_Ts ?_oI want to ride my bicycle?__. If we had only known what the 65 miles ahead of us would bring, I?_Tm not sure that is the phrase you would have heard out of our mouths.


The rain came on early and began to pour so hard that even alternating squinting my eyes didn?_Tt help much to see ahead. We continued on and stopped around mile 28 to huddle in a convenience store to warm up and eat lunch.


The rain never stopped and we all became drenched rats (no offense to rats; I own two.) As the hours rolled on everyone became colder and colder since our bodies, especially our feet, never dried.


Jose happened to be passing me a few miles away from our final destination. He could tell that I was struggling to keep going, so he helped to ride me in. The surroundings around me slowly started to fade away as did my pace on my bike. Jose helped me pull over and hand fed me a clif bar, helped to keep me mentally above the situation, and rubbed my back as I threw up some of the clif bar on the last mile.


The day was long and rough, but we were met with some really friendly people, an awesome dinner, and an awesome surprise. We were only a few miles away from the original place of Woodstock! We drove over and stood amazed as we tried to picture long hair, flared pants and loud music. Jamie and Tayka ran out to where we imagined a stage to be and pretended to rock out and Thane ran to the totem pole (is that what that thing was?) in the middle of the field. In about 1 minute and 40 seconds security showed up to get them out of the field.


Going to sleep was one of the best parts of the day?_?we got to sleep in beds! The girls in my cabin tried to stay awake until Gen and Reynolds returned so we could have girl talk, but we all fell asleep. When they came in at 11pm, I thought it was already 6am to get up since the lights were on. I asked someone what time it was and rejoiced when I found out it wasn?_Tt the morning.


Monica Cicciarelli

All right, my turn to write the journal!! I?_Tm so excited to be able to share my exciting experiences so far with you!


Day four. As always, we got up at 6 am in the morning, had a huge breakfast at Kent school cafeteria. The first thing I thought to myself was, ?_owow, this is a high school??__ Despite the fact that it is a boarding school, their campus is actually larger than your average university campus. I was really amazed by that.


Anyways, after breakfast, we all got this really cool gift package. They gave us snack bags!! for the road. We were so excited, impressed, happy and full. So, we then parted for our destination today which is Poughkeepsie, NY. A short 32 mile ride. However, I personally had the time of my life.


Today I experienced an accident first hand. Actually, I was the one in it. Here is my story. There was this really big hill we had to climb today, it was more like a mountain. So, climbing up was a blast (with sarcastic tone). But the ride down was really exciting and fun; and the tragedy starts here. So, we were going down the hill really fast lets just say (because my parents are actually going to read this entry and I don?_Tt want to worry them) and once I started to see bottom of the hill which was quite a distance away, I decided to start breaking. Low and behold, because of the past few rainy days, my breaks were eaten away. Therefore, I couldn?_Tt stop properly. At the bottom of the hill there was an island in the middle of the road, so I naturally tied to avoid it, but I was going too fast. I squeezed and squeezed the breaks, but still not good enough. Here is the best part, I crashed and flipped, did a somersault over my bike and landed in a thorn bush. I am very happy to inform you that I am doing great, sitting here writing this journal entry. No broken bones or anything like that. Thanks to God?_Ts mercy and blessing, I walked out of the incident with minor bruises and a few scrapes from the thorns and branches, and that is all. God was definitely watching over me.


Concluding, so far this has been the healthiest lifestyle I?_Tve lived in a really long time. Sleeping early, getting up early, eating right, and working out all day. What can I say, I really needed to come on this trip and I am really glad that I did. Nevertheless, the real reason behind this trip is to promote awareness for affordable housing, and I?_Tve learned so much more in the past 5 days than what I learned in the 3 months prior to the trip starting. Every time we have a presentation for our hosts and the community we go to, I feel so moved and refreshed. It reminds me why I signed up for this crazy adventure once again. This was one of the best decisions I?_Tve made in a while.


So, we will keep you posted, and keep reading and supporting us!!!


William Chen


Ps: Yesterday I saw a cemetery that was established in 1771. Can you believe that? That?_Ts even before the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Wow.

Ride day three came to a close under a sunset on the hills of Kent, Connecticut. The day began, however, with a beautiful breakfast at the First Congregational Church of Granby. Scents of Fran?_Ts breakfast fajitas punctuated the air as we packed our bags and prepared the trailer for departure. Before leaving, we tried to express our gratitude to the families who housed us, fed us, and cared for us, but they?_Tll never know how much it truly meant to us after a long dreary day on the road (please see 6.4.06 journal entry for reference).


A short way beyond the Granby city limits, we made a scenic detour to the local reservoir. A large shimmering body of blue water played out before us, with a stone tower emanating from the shore. Poses were struck and flashbulbs flashed before moving on. Wooded roads constituted most of the ride today, shading the warm and welcomed sun.


Shortly before lunch, Marc, Dan, and I took a short break at the Connecticut Valley Winery, the rows of grape vines out front drawing us in. Though closed for the day, the owners welcomed us in and allowed us to explore their fermenting and bottling facilities.


Lunch was a pleasant surprise of peanut butter and jelly with the always-welcomed, potassium-potent banana. Electrolytes were replenished with a good filling of Gatorade.


The post-lunch ride was cut short by several road-side attractions. First we had to stop at a local 116-acre game park to see some of the animals. We truly weren?_Tt expecting to top a hill and see bison and reindeer.


Another stop was made at the renowned Kent Falls near the end of the day?_Ts mileage. Walking across a covered bridge, you look up ahead to see over a hundred vertical feet of waterfalls streaming down towards you. A few yards of orange construction fencing were not going to keep us from getting a closer view of the falls and a few pictures. The natural wonder made me feel particularly small, a feeling I often have when contemplating the mass of miles that still lie ahead of us. But if we can conquer Rhode Island, how tough can the rest of the United States really be?


The end of the road was marked by a ?_oBike + Build?__ sign in front of the Kent School. We rode up to the athletic facilities and placed our gear in the gymnasium. Following a quick shower in the locker rooms, a vanful of B&Bers made our way into Kent, a beautiful little town of old shops and houses. I tried a red chai tea while others dabbled in the sweeter chocolates.


Upon our return to Kent School, we departed for the Headmaster?_Ts house where an End of the Year faculty barbecue was occurring. We sat, ate, chatted, and played in a large yard with the Connecticut hills overlooking us. As our stomachs filled and the crowd grew tired, we walked back to the school. Some bike maintenance and a phone call later, you find me here, typing this entry, and just about ready to walk the thirty feet to my inviting sleeping bag. So with that note, I say adieu and goodnight.


Jared Bieniek

Day two was the ray of light to day one?_Ts stormy weather. I left Christ Church in Pomfret slightly shaken by yesterday?_Ts mishaps and a little daunted by our planned 58-mile route. I finished the day gladdened by the beauty of the rolling Connecticut countryside and the warm welcome we received at the UCC in Granby. The weather also improved substantially; the sun even came out, although briefly. If day one made me wonder what I was getting myself into, day two reminded me exactly why I decided to do this.


I spent most of the day biking with two other riders, Cara and Monica. The fact that we split up a lot more on the second day made the ride more comfortable; it feels good to be in a large group, but it can be hard to stay together and differences in ability also make it more or less difficult for some people. Central Connecticut is very hilly, and crawling up a steep incline at 6 miles an hour isn?_Tt pleasant. Luckily, the climbs have already begun to fade from my memory. The downhills are what stand out, and what made the day truly wonderful. There are few things more exhilarating than flying down a hill at 38 miles an hour.


The roads we traveled winded through miles of quiet forest, with passing cars a marked rarity at times. We passed a number of old cemeteries, the most visible remains of farming towns that have long since been abandoned and overgrown. I couldn?_Tt resist the urge to stop at one along the route; walking along the aisles, Monica and I came upon a few monuments from the 1790s. It is truly amazing to consider that we were biking on roads that were in use over two hundred years ago.


Rolling terrain is great on a bicycle because it?_Ts possible to coast up and down hills as though they don?_Tt even exist. After about a dozen miles of easy terrain, we finally ended up at the Granby United Church of Christ. The welcome we received was well worth the journey. We were hardly the first to arrive, but were pleasantly surprised to find the pastor waiting to greet us- and offer us cookies, which were incredible after a day of riding.


Dinner that night was an experience in and of itself- after meeting many wonderfully kind congregation members, we were treated to a potluck feast which was a welcome sight for my famished eyes. After dinner were heard a presentation from Don, the director of Habitat for Humanity?_Ts Hartford chapter, before giving a presentation of our own.


In summary, day two was everything I?_Td ever hoped Bike and Build would be- a chance to meet incredibly nice people, travel with a great group of people, see incredible countryside, and spread awareness of affordable housing issues.


By Aaron Becker

Today was our first day of the 6am wake up call. Tired but excited, we awoke to an exceptionally rainy day even in the rainy city of Providence. Departing at 10 am there was a quick repreive in the downpour for photo ops and our departure from the Main Green of Brown University. Following from Brown's Main Green, we made our way to India Point Park for the traditional Bike and Build baptism of our bikes in the waters of the East Coast. At around 11am we left the city of Providence thirty-two strong and managed four flat tires before exiting the city limits (probably a new record). Our ride measured 35 miles to Pomfret, CT, and the rain was relentless the entire way. One of the riders was forced to enter the hospital due to hypothermia from the rain but was okay and able to return before the night's end. Although cold from the rain and concerned about our fellow rider, the group remained in high spirits. A group of P2S alums came to cheer us up with stories of past Bike and Build adventures and possibly even more importantly, brought us some amazing ice cream. With our stomachs full and bodies finally dry, we went to bed with hopes of sunnier skies in the days to come.


Robin Averbeck

So this is to be the first entry in the P2S trip's online journal, and it seems the task has fallen upon me. Where to begin? To be honest, writing in this journal was not at the top of my priority list today. Amidst the blur that orientation has been, I'd completely overlooked the fact that not only did we have to live this summer's experience, but we were also going to be sharing it with many other people. And I am not only referring to friends and family who will be keeping track of us through journal, but am also thinking about all the people we will meet and talk to along the way.


The past day and a half have been in some ways similar to the beginning of other significant group events I've taken part in: summer camp, college, etc. This translates into a lot of sitting around in circles and playing ice-breaker games, and most significantly, learning what seems like an endless number of names. But in my experience, and Bike & Build's orientation is no exception, people get to know each other best in informal settings, i.e, exploring this pretty sweet church we've been staying in, playing in the playroom in the basement, comparing gear items, communal showering (my favorite), and initiating a conversation with a bewildered sentence about what it is we will be doing in the next two months.


We're biking across the country. No matter how many times I hear it, I don't really believe it yet. It's all way too abstract. My mind, which is preoccupied for the moment with mundane worries over gear, chores (oh yes, chores) and other logistics, really can't be bothered to figure out what this all means.("What? Me? Riding a bike from coast to coast? Psh. Please. Now leave me alone while I pump my tires.")It's not the easiest thing to imagine while standing around in an dimly-lit parking garage wolfing down peanut butter and jelly after a discussion about affordable housing. Somewhere along the way, though, it'll hit me. Reality tends to set in with time.


In any case, tomorrow is the big day. We'll be off regardless of how conscious we are of what we're embarking upon, and no matter how cranky we might be about having been woken up at the ungodly hour of 6 am. It's going to be a blast. We're getting to know our bikes, and we're getting to know each other. Now all we need is that road.


Until next time, dear readers.


Rouke

To the riders, and everyone who is so diligently following the progress of our ride;


It is hard to believe that the ride will depart so shortly. The other leaders and I have really gone the extra mile to get everything together. Everyone on the ride has put forth an extraordinary amount of time and effort to make all of this possible.


Bike and Build, Providence to Seattle 2006 will begin on Thursday 1 June 2006 at 2:00 PM EDT at the Brown College Green at Brown University, Providence, RI. It looks like the weather will cooperate.


In just a few short days, this weblog will be full of information and stories from the road. Stay tuned!


Jose Hiram Soltren

Dear Bike & Build Community --


We're gearing up for the start of our P2S trip in a few weeks, and are in the process of finalizing our online journal.


Please be sure to check back with this page starting on June 3rd to read dispatches from our group while on the road. In the meantime, we welcome you to read through journal entries and look at photos from our 2005 programs, which you could access through the links on the left.


We look forward to sharing our summer with you.


Amelia Hanley and Chris Webber

We woke up to a freezing morning today. After trying to get dressed in our warmest clothes while still in our sleeping bags, we eventually packed the trailer and had some breakfast and got on the road. No one really knew what to expect from the ride, considering we were climbing two mountain passes and biking 85 total miles. Some thought it would be the most difficult ride to date (which would be nearly impossible, considering the hellish ride into Farson), while others thought it would be a bit of a joke. Anyway, we started climbing first thing out of the campsite. The terrain varied between almost flat uphills and slightly challenging grades for the first ten miles. A steep switchback appeared as Alyssa and I rounded a corner, so naturally we thought the hard part of the climb up Washington Pass was about to start.
This is when my day got interesting, for a couple of reasons. You probably already know that Alyssa and I have been riding a tandem bicycle since she broke her wrist and elbow in Indiana. In this way, she can still ride but the steering, braking, shifting, and other activities requiring hands are left to me. Riding the tandem has been a lot of fun, but there are some drawbacks. Due to our combined weight, we are faster than the riders on the ?_ohalf bikes?__ down the hills, but much slower going uphill. It can get tedious. Also, we were already pretty tired of going up the endless switchbacks that mountain passes tend to have. These factors combined and resulted in us coming up with the brilliant plan to hike straight up the mountain instead of biking around the A_ mile switchback. It was theoretically a much shorter distance, so it sounded like a great idea. Vaughn decided to come to, so we gave our Camelbaks to Alyssa, tossed our bikes over our shoulders, and started climbing up the extremely steep, rocky quarter-mile to the road above us. Unfortunately for me, the tandem weighs approximate forty pounds and is rather unwieldy. It probably wasn?_Tt the easiest thing I?_Tve ever done, but I managed to climb all the way to the top. In the meantime, 15 other riders who decided to climb the mountain in the traditional fashion passed us, but we were joined by Dasha, Shay, Seema, Todd, and High School Nate. It turned out that carrying our bikes up that cliff was much slower than biking around the switchback, and about fifty times more tiring. So much for great ideas.

We recovered for a few minutes, then set out on the climb. Interestingly enough, the climb turned out to be only another half mile long. We all thought the sign was joking when it said ?_oWashington Pass,?__ but in fact we had already ascended about 3,700 feet to the elevation of 5,477 feet. Sweet! I guess we?_Tre just really awesome. We met a certain Richard Nicholson at the top, who was having a great day and flew up the pass at an astounding speed. The downhill was short but sweet (Dasha and Shay had a great time, I think), and then the climb up the next pass began. The road up the pass had been spotted with gravel patches because of some construction project that no one was actually working on, and I inadvertently hit one and popped the front tire at about 30 miles per hour. Shortly after we came across the sign for Rainy Pass (4,855 feet) and a really cool lady with a pickup truck. We talked to the lady because she had a tandem bicycling shirt on. She was the mother in a cycling family, who were in the beginning of a 1,000 mile ride around Washington to raise awareness about Celiacs disease. We met the father and daughter a little way down the hill and talked to them for a while about our cause and theirs. They were actually on the same exact bike as we were, except theirs was red! They were awesome, and I?_Tm really glad to have talked to them. The rest of the descent was a 20 miles long and amazingly beautiful. I won?_Tt mention any names, but one of the riders on the back of my bike may have shed a couple tears while cruising down our last big hill on our way to the Pacific.
There was another cycling group climbing up the other side of the mountain, mostly consisting of older people riding half-bikes, several small-wheeled scooter bikes, and six more tandems! We yelled to all of them, receiving lots of smiles and a couple glares in return. We managed to keep it above 40 miles per hour most of the time, which was nice. Breezing into lunch a few minutes ahead of the sweeps, we grabbed a quick bite and jumped back on the bike. The downhills continued as the rode wound above some shockingly blue lakes. Everyone should definitely check out the pictures from the ride today, even though I?_Tm sure it won?_Tt do it justice. Much to the dismay of my stoker (Alyssa), we cruised down my favorite kind of steep and windy hill at an extremely high speed and hit our maximum speed of the day at 54.6 miles per hour (sorry Mom). I was hoping to go faster, but we caught some cars and I decided we didn?_Tt have the horsepower necessary to execute any sweet passing maneuvers.

We reached Diablo Lake and hung out for a while. Going down another hill, I was met with a disaster in the form of a flying, poisonous panther. It hit me in the chest with the force of a thousand sledgehammers and flew down my jersey. I grabbed at it, but it was too fast and it bit me on the side of my ribcage. At this point, I was clutching at my shirt and wound with one hand while trying to stop the bike with the other, yelling and screaming for mercy. The stupid thing bit me again near my waist before I could rip my shirt off, and in the end I couldn?_Tt even kill it. It flew away, happy as could be, ready to attack more helpless bikers. I was left with two swollen, half-dollar size welts. I popped some Advil. I suppose I don?_Tt have to wait very much longer before I can determine if the poison is fatal to humans. Unfortunately, this particular type of monster insect doesn?_Tt have any natural predators due to its size and ferocity, but perhaps I?_Tll return to Washington Pass someday with an elephant gun for a little sport hunting.
There were several other interesting sites in the mountains. We passed a site of a forest fire that was still burning, but apparently they fire crew ?_owas just mopping it up?__ when we passed. Next came the site of a rockslide, which covered half the road in enormous boulders. It was pretty cool to see so many natural disasters up close and personal. Right after that, we went through a pitch-black tunnel. I didn?_Tt have time to take off my sunglasses, so it actually was extremely dark. We were going downhill at the time, and I could see the end of the tunnel, so I figured we could just zoom through it. I did, and only afterwards did Alyssa tell me that we passed Victor while in the tunnel, unbeknownst to me. I guess we missed him by about a foot. I had a good time, but I bet Alyssa and Vic probably didn?_Tt.

After finishing the huge downhill, the rest of the ride was mostly flat with a couple rolling hills. The road followed a river right through a valley, so the wind was hitting us straight on. Another fun fact about riding on a tandem: Direct headwinds are great because it only hits me on the front of the bike, leaving us with half the wind resistance but twice the power of a normal bike. Any amount of crosswind, however, hits both of us and is just terrible. Anyway, the conditions were very favorable for tandem riding and we had a great ride the rest of the way. It was marked by scenery that made today?_Ts ride rival the beauty of the ride into Jackson, and some extremely tasty and well-deserved ice cream. We reached the Rockport National Forest campground, jumped in a nearby river to cool down, and opened some awesome packages that we got at our mail drop (thanks Jamie and Meredith!). Today marks the last hard ride of the trip, since we have no more mountains left! We plan on celebrating with some delicious dinner and an awards presentation, so we?_Tll see how that goes. Until tomorrow, faithful readers!


Sincerely,
Mark

The going was tough as we climbed, climbed, climbed. But with views of gorgeous Lake Roosevelt, gigantic Coulee Dam, and beautiful Disautel Pass (its absurd to think that a pass can exist at only 3252 feet after all the other towering ranges we have crossed), the ride was well worth it.
Starting out from Wilbur with a hearty breakfast in our stomachs (made by our fantastic hosts), we began climbing almost immediately, and continued to for over twenty miles. The land lacked trees, consisting mostly of wheat, which reminded me eerily of Nebraska (wormhole?), and there was a stiff headwind, though not as bad as South Pass. This caused many a rider to stop and examine his/her bike for problems. The going was so slow. Then, the downhill hit.

I can?_Tt really describe how great the downhill felt. It was like entering paradise after a long trek through Hell. We descended upon Lake Roosevelt, and everything was green! This resort area certainly made me feel more upbeat.
Unfortunately, Grand Coulee Dam, from which the lake owes its formation, came all too soon, and then climbing began again. Here is where difficulties began. When looking at a map before the ride, we noticed that the road followed the river after the dam. People naturally believed that the road would be low and flat. However, at dinner the night before, I had talked to a local who knew the lay of the land, and he warned me of the steep hills and pass that followed the dam. Well, needless to say, people ignored my warnings. If only they had listened.

At lunch, about five miles before the pass, there was a red pickup truck that pestered us. Driving back and forth, the driver and passenger would yell at us at every pass. Mark insists that they did this to him for several miles before the lunch stop, but luckily I didn?_Tt have that experience.
When entering Omak, it felt like we were falling from the sky. We had been gaining altitude all day (as I?_Tm sure Nate?_Ts watch can tell us), and now we had to return to river level. The first thought that I had was that of a plane coming in for landing.

Of course, thoughts like that have been occurring more regularly with all of us as we near our destination. The exhaustion in the group is obvious, and many of us are complaining about getting up in the mornings (more than usual, that is). Of course, it will be great to finally end, although it will be so sad to leave everyone. But we still have four more days, and we?_Tre going to make the best of it.
PS-A non-sequitur?_"We received a big stuffed bear in Jackson (you?_Tve seen it in the picture gallery) from the Central trip. Now, where we cross paths with the Northern trip in Omak, we are leaving the bear with them, albeit with a few changes. Check the upcoming photos for more.

--Zach

I have to admit I was skeptical when a Providence to Seattle alumna, ?_oMiss Erin,?__ told us that she ?_ofell in love?__ with today?_Ts route. She apparently enjoyed the ride so much that she decided to find summer employment at a dude ranch outside of Pinedale. Pinedale was nice, yes; the scenery was beautiful and the atmosphere rustic, but nevertheless?_? how and why would anyone decide to move to Wyoming after a bike ride?


Our day begins with an early awakening at 5 AM, the idea being to get to Jackson as soon as possible. The effort is somewhat thwarted by complications resulting from a lack of functioning toilets (Bathrooms: 3, Bike and Build: 0). We line up outside a gas station and shiver in the early morning, waiting rather impatiently.


I am always glad when it?_Ts cold enough to wear my arm and leg warmers, since I hate putting on sunscreen. Nevertheless, I have never been so cold before. Despite my two sets of arm warmers and ?_oeconomy mittens?__ (socks I forgot to pack), I feel the wind crawling under my skin. I decide to stop at the first gas station along the way to find something warm?_"soup, coffee, anything. A sign with a green dinosaur?_"salvation in the form of a Sinclair. Awesome. Gas stations with deer heads adorning the walls usually unnerve me, but today I am so glad to be in the warmth that I don?_Tt care. No soup or coffee, but I get hot chocolate and mozzarella sticks. Mistakenly, I ask for a marinara sauce and am received with a blank stare. I?_Tll just have ranch dressing, I suppose. So strange, but we are in Wyoming?_?


I leave the gas station and start climbing a hill. Another hill. Argh. As I pedal along, I feel the mozzarella sticks wreaking havoc on my stomach. Do I have any antacids? A quick stop to pick up a license plate (Colorado, the second Colorado plate found in Wyoming) and the truth is revealed: no more Tums. Nooo. On this trip I have gone through so much ibuprofen (one bottle), antacids (one hundred tablets or so), sunscreen (five bottles) and sudafeds (two boxes). I will have to bear the pain until lunch.


My favorite road sign suddenly appears, the one with the truck angled down the incline. And I plunge through the trees, only to find an amazing view of the mountains in the distance. There are other members of our group stopped here, so I pause for pictures and take off.


Road Work Ahead. How I loathe that sign. Normally road work is just a nuisance, a little fix here and there. This, however, cannot compare to any road work we?_Tve seen before. The entire road is torn up and I am riding on muddy gravel. People are planning to rent mountain bikes tomorrow, but I?_Tll pass; I?_Tm having enough mountain biking now. I hope I don?_Tt break a spoke; I have no idea how to fix that. Cars pass me, but I am still cruising through the road work at a solid pace. It?_Ts incredibly surreal: we?_Tre surrounded entirely by mountains, in a quaint little town, on a thrashed-up road. What is going on here?


At lunch, Miss Erin greets us with watermelon she grew. So delicious. I wolf down a few wedges and enjoy a nice veggie sub, as well as leftover pumpkin pie (I had my first slice ever last night). This is the best lunch we?_Tve had in ages. Then I find my grail, the antacid bottle in the first aid kit. Problem solved. Time to remove the ?_oeconomy mittens?__ and a pair of the arm warmers. It?_Ts such a beautiful day; there are hardly any clouds in the sky.


I leave lunch and eventually catch up to Laura. We are riding through such a dramatically different landscape than anything I?_Tve ever seen before. I can?_Tt help but to marvel at the beauty: we are following a river through a canyon of sorts and there is lush forest everywhere. It?_Ts so much different, so much better than anything else we?_Tve seen in Wyoming before. As much as I hate to take pictures, I stop to attempt to capture an image of the mountains. I watch as people wade in the river and float on rafts.


Suddenly I am bombarded by tons of clichAc revelations. What am I doing here? Have we really biked this far? I can?_Tt believe I?_Tve made it to Wyoming. Me, the kid who couldn?_Tt even handle volleyball in gym (I definitely ran into the wall a few times). If I can ride all the way here, anyone can certainly do it. This is so incredible. I am strangely glad to have spent days riding through desolation, because it makes this ride all the more beautiful and contrasting. I am beginning to see what Miss Erin was thinking after all.


Riding into Jackson is a bit confusing; I turn onto South Park Loop too early and end up riding several extra miles because I get lost in a subdevelopment ?_oOur?__ church is incredible: it has the rustic, wide-open feel of a ski lodge (or, at least, what I think one should look like, as I?_Tve never been skiing before). A quick shower (warm water, imagine that!) and we are off to see the town of Jackson.


We wander around the town for a while, stopping for ice cream. I am so glad there?_Ts a day off tomorrow; Jackson looks like it has a lot to offer. I certainly need the rest. Things to do include hitting up the library, thrift store, used book store, ice cream place, post office, bike store, etc.


Alright. Enough for now.



Stuart SchA?ssel

Last year, I celebrated my eighteenth birthday at home with my parents and a number of friends. That night, my friend Jacob took me out dancing till 3 AM. I handed the bouncer my driver?_Ts license?_"the ?_oUNDER 18?__ bold letters no longer applicable.


Today, though, I spent a lot of time reflecting on how my eighteenth and nineteenth birthdays line up. Climbing through the Rockies?_T South Pass of Wyoming and battling 30+ MPH headwinds over a span of 45 miles are certainly far cries from eating my mom?_Ts sautAced chicken and mashed potatoes, followed by the latest remix of Beyonce?_Ts ?_oCrazy In Love.?__


As I left our accommodations this morning, I told Laura 1) that I think I started riding on a flat tire (damn the cattle control grates!) and 2) there?_Ts no other way that I could want to be spending my nineteenth. Little did I know that 80 miles and 8-11 hours later most of us would look back on the day with disdain?_"possibly the worst day of the trip so far with regard to the riding conditions. The climbs were exhilarating, at least for me, as I powered through each hill with a ton of new music that my friend Brian FedExed to Powder River and Dasha Pony Expressed to our campsite this past Thursday.


Manda ditched the trailer at the 35-mile mark because she ran out of gas in the van, and an early lunch was had. Traversing South Pass became increasingly rough as winds (and rough, rough gusts) threw the group from side to side, off the shoulder, into the travel lanes. AP, myself, Austin, Eytan (who, EVERY single time he saw me today wished me happy birthday), Matt, and hot-pants Nate, played tag through these barren, unrelenting hills of no mercy and arrived in Farson after seven saddle hours. Single-digit speeds became the norm today. Riders continued to trickle in after Team Tag-a-lot, and we waited for our fearless leaders to return from the 80-mile grocery store trek (there?_Ts friggin?_T nothing here, it?_Ts simultaneously ridiculous and refreshing) with food in abundance.


In the meantime, I became intimately acquainted with the local Shell station?_Ts grungy payphone and gave the rents a buzz to wish them a happy birthday. I told them that it had been the roughest day of the trip yet. But the whole day served as a reminder that I?_Tm so alive, so strong, and so determined. Ultimately, that?_Ts what the day of birth must be all about.


For without vitality and passion, what do we truly have?


As always, no regrets-
Patrick



Edit: Congratulations to Todd Johnson and Sara DeCotis, who are now engaged! Todd proposed to Sara at the Continental Divide, which we crossed at South Pass.

You?_Td think with only 30 miles to bike, life would be ?_ojust peachy,?__ as the Brits say. But, here is the story of a BAD day. All we tell you is how great life is on the road. We?_Tre sorry, but we kindly omit the truth for overprotective parents. Some days you bike so slowly and pathetically, swerving all over the shoulder, that cars actually stop to ask if you need a lift. Today was such a day. After our epic 116 mile day, the leaders stupidly or kindly (depending on who you ask) decided to let us sleep in; letting people wake up whenever they wanted. It was awesome getting some sleep; but it wrecked havoc. Disorderly bike and builders criminally devoured breakfast before packing the trailer or even attempting to look as if they were getting ready for a day of biking. Lounging around, we fought over the sugary cereals and fixed our bikes. Luckily, the 10 o?_Tclock check out time forced us to haphazardly pack everything and mount our bikes in time to ride out into the blazing, hot desert sun.


My ride went rotten straight from the start. Having gotten a new seat just two days ago, my behind was seriously hurting. You?_Td think that for the money I had paid for my fancy seat, it would be specially designed to compliment my butt and give it a massage while riding. No! Instead, every mile or so I had to readjust till sweep, Shay and Quinnen, caught up. Shay, one of our local bike experts, explained to me the art of adjusting a seat. Still a bit numb, but not feeling my pelvic bones grinding to death, I went on. As soon as one problem settled, another one rose up in challenge. The HEAT. It was hot and I couldn?_Tt find the road we had to turn onto. My feet refused to move and spaced out, I rolled into a gas station to ask for directions. Of course I was told to turn around and look for the road somewhere behind. I never found the road, but I found the van on the side of the road, helping Laura fix 4 flats and change a tire. Deciding I needed a companion to help me through, I waited for her and together we set off. We crawled up a few hills and then I had to pee for the fifth time. Laura passed me and two became one. The scenery was awesome! We were riding straight into the Rocky Mountains and could see their snow-capped tops as they loomed in front of us. Alongside me were red limestone cliffs and barren desert dunes, covered with yellow prairie grass, tumbleweed and meandering cattle and horses. If wasn?_Tt for the scenery, a.k.a. if we were still in Illinois, I might have never made it. I pushed on and on till I saw the road we had to turn on. Very confused because it was going perpendicular to the direction we needed to go in, I first passed it, then went back the mile to the junction. Riding onto the road, I finally had the sense to stop a car and ask for directions. Telling me that there were Indian reservations in my path that I needed to avoid at all costs (poor white girl will definitely get mauled by fierce Native Americans was his small minded thought), he told me to go back onto the highway. So I did, though secretly I wanted to continue on, just to show him. I found a town along the highway where I went into a deserted laundrymat to get some iron-ladened water to fight off the heat and dehydration that had set in since we reached elevation 5000 feet and desert climate. Forcing water inside my esophagus, I wanted to get off and just sit by the side of the road and wait for help to magically arrive. Instead, I pedaled on, very, very, very slowly. Listening to ?_oStairway to Heaven?__ to get by, the miles multiplied, growing longer and slower till Lander arrived like some kind of oasis. Little did I know that 8 more miles of roads awaited me that I would bike so slowly that a granny would pass me on a heavy mountain bike. It was then that cars started asking me if I needed a life. Too proud to say yes, I made it on a bike. Two hours after my arrival everyone returned from their van trip to town and we decided to enjoy a river carrying freezing mountain water. Jess and I intrepidly crossed it, managing to succumb to the fierce current and get soaked. Significantly cooler we lounged around till now. Dinner time has arrived and food has created the usual frenzy. It?_Ts calling me and I think my night is about to look up, especially if we do go to the Midnight Harry Potter Party.


Dasha


PS. It took me 5 hours to bike 38 miles and the whole time I kept imagining flat tires to excuse my slowness.

Ahhh finally the 116 mile day has come. The anticipation and fear of the ride from Casper to Riverton has been brewing for weeks now. Ever since the East Coast this day of riding had developed into a full out Bike and Build race. It would prove which rider had the speed, endurance, and self-control to pedal past the lunch stop only to survive on water and powerbars.
On the eve of this day, everyone was preparing themselves. Many packed their bags, others cleaned their bikes, some drank camelback after camelback of water, while others strategized. In order to truly capture the atmosphere I interviewed many of the riders on tape?_? here are some of my favorite quotes..


?_oI?_Tm freaking out to be honest with you.?__- Patrick


?_oYa know it going to be interesting cause mile 100, you?_Tll be like ?_oI did 100 miles, and I have alot more left, and you?_Tre going to want to kill yourself?__ It?_Ts just a matter of pushing through it and finding that Granny Gear of your mind and body.?__- Oyen


?_oSure I?_Tm bringing my camera with me, I?_Tm going to take a picture every mile so that I can have 115 pictures. Tomorrow is going to be interesting, there?_Ts a field to your left, and there?_Ts a field to your right.?__ ?_" Eytan


?_oI think that I have a 50% chance of having mechanical issues tomorrow?__ ?_" Nate A.


?_oI want to come into camp with a ripped jersey, a branch coming out of my helmet, a rash of poisin ivy, spokes broken, using my last breath to say ?_oI Made IT!?__ Only to pass out and wake up the next morning.?__ ?_" Oyen, AP, Nate A.


?_oI?_Tm going to pretend that it is the worse day of my entire life. If it is I?_Tll be expecting it, if not I?_Tll be happy.?__ ?_" Todd


?_oIt?_Ts going to be awesome?__ ?_" Austin


?_oTodd?!?!? You?_Tre putting money on Todd?!?!?! (five minutes later) hahah you can win Todd?__ ?_" Jessica


?_oRich I think that you?_Tre going to win because other people have incredible hubris and the Gods are going to come down and punish them?__ ?_" Laura


?_oRich is going to win because he hasn?_Tt eaten in 4 days?__ ?_" Sara


?_oIf Harry Potter was in Riverton I would win.?__ ?_" Rich


?_oZZZZzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz?__ ?_" Big Stu


After a night of tossing and turning we all stumbled out of our sleeping bags at 4 am and made it on the road by 5:30 am. The race started with only a grand total of 4 participants. The last time I saw them was at mile 3, when they were pace-lining up a small hill.

As for us non-racers the ride itself was a great time. The weather was in our favor, cool with a light breeze in the morning and continued into the afternoon. There was an occasional tailwind that is always welcome, but especially today. At about mile 35 I noticed something in the shoulder coming towards me, slithering?_? a rattlesnake! I swallowed, freaked out a little, and pedaled a little faster. At the lunch stop I noticed the van was piled high with packages and letters from home. This became another incentive to keep the pace up and ride into to Riverton as fast as I could.
After lunch I cruised Route 20 with Patrick. As he pedaled to the music to Sharika, I cursed out the mile markers that were slowly counting up to Shoshoni, WY. Shoshoni was at mile marker 100, and our campsite was 15 miles past the 100 mile marker. Although we were going 19-24 mph for miles, I felt like the mile markers were taunting and laughing at us. (I have only felt this way once before in my life. It was when I traveled along the New Jersey Turnpike for the first time, I thought I could never hate mile markers as much as I did that day?_? but now that has all changed) At about mile 75, when I was trying to find something else to look at, I noticed white stuff in the distance. I initially thought that it was clouds but then I realized that it was the snow on top of the Rockies!!! A very intimidating and exciting sight!!

At mile marker 97 I could see Shoshoni in the distance, at mile marker 98 I got a back tire flat. I thought that I could make it into town on the flat tire, it was only 2 miles, but that thought lasted about 1000 ft. I changed the tire on the skinny shoulder because I was afraid of more rattlesnakes in the sand and grass. I think it might have been the fastest tire change I?_Tve ever completed.
Finally we made it into Shoshoni and found a shop that sold ?_oWorld Famous Malts and Shakes.?__ They had 57 different flavors. They were awesome, but I still wonder how they became ?_oworld famous?__ since this shop is in the middle of nowhere. At this stop, one group spoke with 6 army men who had seen us on the road and witnessed some of our riders putting on their clothes, and told us that we were CrAzY. Another women in the shop had seen us on Route 20, and were counting how many riders she passed.

The camp was only more 15 more miles, but after a malt, some food, and pounding out 100 miles it didn?_Tt seem like much. We passed through Boyden state park. There was a great view of a lake, plateaus, and the Rockies in the mountain all at once. I suggest that Wyoming use this area for a postcard picture.
So who won the race? Well all 4 racers decided to paceline together until Riverton, where they then picked up their bikes and walked into the campsite together, so that no one won. {cue the ?_oawwwwww?__s} The 116 mile day was definitely not as scary as it seemed, we all made it, and in great time too. We celebrated by opening our mail, taking showers, taking naps, and having a Barbeque.

I miss everyone back in CT and all the NYUers. I hope that all is well. I have to say ?_ohi?__ to Katie, Matt, and Nicole. See you soon!!!


-AP aka ?_oA-pizzle?__

Mekanikron Strikes!


And with a mighty kick to the gonads, Nebraska saw Austin, Amanda P, Matt, and myself to her borders. Today was our last day in the state, and we were scheduled to hit Wyoming after a 2000-foot climb which stretched out over 83 miles. After carefully committing the directions for the next accommodation to memory?_"?_oRide west on route 20 for 83 miles. The church is on the corner.?__?_"me and Oyen took off down the road. The day?_Ts first disaster?_"and my first inclination that Nebraska was a cruel mistress who didn?_Tt want us to leave her cow-filled corridors?_"happened about 7 miles into the ride. Amanda P had gotten a flat tire, and amidst her colorful swearing and the hissing of the escaping air, I heard a little voice in my head say ?_oJust ride on by. She?_Ts not in your riding group today.?__ As I got closer, Amanda?_Ts swearing raised in volume to rival that of the drunkest sailor in the Caribbean, but somehow I managed to hear an even fainter voice in my head protest ?_oYou should probably wait so she has someone to ride with.?__


Being the good Samaritans that we are, Oyen and I stopped to watch Amanda fix her flat, and then we assimilated her into our riding group, though I had to cover Matt?_Ts tender ears until the swearing died down. So we?_Tve had our mechanical troubles for the day, right? Now it?_Ts just smooth sailing through the sand hills of Nebraska into Wyoming. Oh no, my friend, it gets worse. After Amanda?_Ts flat, my bike decided to get into the action and blew a spoke?_"of course, on the cassette side of the rear wheel, where we couldn?_Tt get at without the cassette tool. Oh, and we lost the cassette tool the other day. I flagged down the van and switched my rear wheel with Hunter?_Ts rear wheel that he wasn?_Tt using, and we were on our way. Finally, a little peaceful riding. Then Amanda blew a spoke! At this point, any rational group of people would be looking for the nearest high-caliber rifle to put down their bikes, Ol?_T Yeller style. We all took a deep breath, bottled up our anger, I trued Amanda?_Ts wheel, and we got back on the saddle. Oh, then Austin?_Ts chain broke. It did not fall apart, it broke in half. At this point, we?_Tre about seven miles away from lunch. After a two-link amputation and a very suspect field repair, we limped into the lunch stop, where we pondered our fate.


The only rational explanation, we decided, was that there is an evil god of all that is mechanical, named Mekanikron. He roams the earth, searching for hapless humans to smite with his fiery wrenches of vengeance. We assumed that we needed to cover our naked bodies in chain lube and sacrifice a goat inside a flaming pentagram or something to appease this being who is becoming such a terrible blight on our trip. Either that or Specialized has a line of novelty bikes designed to hilariously fall apart when you ride them, and we bought those instead.


Whatever the cause, our mechanical issues have become symbolic of the ride as a whole. There will be daily struggles, and challenges where you least expect or want them. There will be times when you would rather disassemble your bike into small parts and throw them into a river than get on and ride, but you always end up riding, and you always end up feeling better for doing so. But nothing worth doing comes easily, and the promise of a hard-earned ride into Seattle is what gets everyone up every morning at six?_? but I still might try to figure out some sort of ritualistic wrench-dance to appease Mekanikron. Oh, and we finally did make it to Wyoming. Not much here.

Learning what it?_Ts all about, 2000 miles later


Lately, I?_Tve been spending a lot of time reflecting on what the Bike & Build experience really is. No answer yet, but I?_Tm finally starting to learn. After having crossed half of the continent, the time has come, at least for me, to extinguish any remaining preconceptions of what Bike & Build should be, and to begin making Bike & Build what I want it to be.


We ride bicycles and we build houses with gusto. The name says such, and that much I already knew upon dipping my rear tire into the Providence River. The state of mind that Nebraska has brought to me has caused a number of changes in the way that I see myself, others on the trip, and the mission of the trip itself. Maybe it was the imposing pro-life, anti-gay drivel painted in big red letters on a trailer?_"in the name of Jesus and George W. Bush, of course (Toto, I don?_Tt think we?_Tre in New England anymore). Maybe it?_Ts the change in time zones. Or maybe, just maybe, it was some special ingredient in the $1 glass of Bud Light I had in Stuart?_Ts bar yesterday. But whatever ?_oit?__ is, I?_Tm finding myself beginning to focus on what truly makes the Bike & Build experience important to me. It?_Ts not something I?_Tm doing?_"it?_Ts something I?_Tm becoming.


Yesterday, Austin and I sat down for a good 40 minutes to call Cari Mailloux (P2S ?_~04/Brown junior), currently residing in a mud hut in Ghana. Her voice and her memories of her own Bike & Build experience served to rejuvenate me?_"the Rockies, she assured me, were surely on the horizon, as well as memory upon memory to be had. Her excitement made my heart jump, for I, too, would soon become a greater party to her passion.


Our lunch stop today offered a surprise. Johnstown, NE, a town of 53 people, welcomed us with a couple of picnic tables and a small shelter surrounded by chicken wire. Inside of a wooden box outside the shelter was a tattered notebook, inviting visitors to leave their mark on the town. Leafing through, to our surprise, we came across the Providence to Seattle 2004 entry. One year had passed, but at that moment, time seemed non-existent. I?_Tve felt so close to the ?_T04 trip since I talked to Cari yesterday, and that connection has helped me realize that members of future trips will be looking for traces of the 2005 trek. I then faced the question: What is P2S ?_T05? Where do I fit in?


My answer came within the following three hours after lunch. As Eytan and I pedaled along, the Nebraskan sandhills embraced me. The Great Plains are indeed great?_"like nothing I?_Tve known before. I told Eytan I wanted to get off my bike and run over the hills and through the fields, as far as my eyes could see. I wanted to run through the wind and roll in the tall grasses that would surely protect me as they did the unbelievable lands that we crossed. With this freedom I opened my heart?_"to my surroundings, to Eytan, to myself, and I was free.


I leaned back on my bike, took my hands off my handlebars, and yelled to Eytan to look!, look at me!, for this was the first time I had ever dared surrender control of my bicycle. He took pictures, many pictures, that I will send to my mom as soon as I can because I know she can use a good jumpstart of nervousness once in a while.


So what is this? Riding my bicycle in excess of 45 miles per hour in the true heartland of the nation with someone who I could only be so lucky to meet on an adventure as wild as this? This is my Bike & Build experience. This is the real beginning of why I am here. And I am so, so happy.


Never regret.


Patrick

It would be sufficient to say that Nebraska has only marginally been like what I?_Td expected. Who would have thought, for instance, that yesterday we would meet a family pedaling across the country in the opposite direction? (Brief addendum to yesterday: the father of this family gave us an incredibly informative lecture on leadership?_"who knew that one could study such a subject, let alone define it so precisely?) And who could have predicted that today?_Ts journey would begin with a bowling excursion? That?_Ts right. I don?_Tt think we?_Tve ever moved so quickly in the morning. I fly through the cursed morning routine of stuffing my sleeping bag, throwing on my biking clothing and packing everything else. Out of the door by 6:30. Oh yeah.
So at the bowling lane, Quinnen, AP, Sara and I take a lane, bowling as Gilbert, Towanda, Jesus and Condoleeza Rice respectively. Usually I am a horrible bowler, but today is an exception: 118. Perhaps it is the eight or so cups of coffee I had whilst waiting for my pancakes (as one of the last people to order, I am taunted by watching others receive their plates). Maybe it is the take-no-crap spirit of my pseudonym. Maybe the scoring machine is a little generous and gives me a few strikes when I only knocked down nine pins. Hmm. Curious, curious.

Taking off from the bowling alley is a little disheartening. While I can?_Tt speak for everyone involved, at this moment I am more than happy to drop the ?_oBike?__ part of ?_oBike and Build?__ in favor of ?_oBowl.?__ I waste time for a few minutes, applying my sunscreen slower than usual, then have a ninth cup of coffee and am off. Back onto Route 20, an unusually congenial highway (a good thing, too; we?_Tre going to be following Route 20 until we die?_"or reach Wyoming?_"whichever comes first).
Royal, population eighty-one, turns out to have two car dealerships (both selling used cars and located on opposite sides of Route 20) but no open gas stations or convenience stores. My mid-morning snack stop is delayed. Curses. It?_Ts another twelve miles to Orchard, but that?_Ts alright. I am listening to bad German techno on my iPod (a band called ?_oSilly?__ should never be trusted), until suddenly the damned thing stops working. Forgot to charge it. Oops.

In Orchard, I find an open gas station. Score. Trying to find some gummy candy, I am instead greeted by walls of ?_oHuskers?__ paraphernalia: t-shirts, hats, temporary tattoos, banners, etc. A heavy-set woman points to the bathroom and says ?_oright over there.?__ I can tell that others have been here before me.
Soon thereafter I catch up to Laura. We ride together, climbing up hills at a very leisurely pace. It?_Ts such a pleasant change to ride with someone; ordinarily I am on my own. Conversation replaces my usual means of amusement (I typically play lots of mental math games, staring at my odometer and figuring out what numbers divide the reading?_? ok, I?_Tll stop here).

Where is lunch? We?_Tve gone forty-five miles already. Incredible. Today is passing by so quickly. Chalking! Lunch is?_? not for another five miles. Argh. Soon we start seeing signs for a Mexican restaurant. Screw this peanut butter and jelly shit. We?_Tre going to get burritos.
We?_Tve been seeing signs for O?_TNeill since we left Sioux City yesterday; suddenly the 115-mile distance has passed. Where is this mythical Mexican restaurant? O?_TNeill is much smaller than I?_Td expected, and yet it?_Ts a large town by Nebraska standards. Bizarre. Laura spots the van. Argh. No burritos today. We are eating in a pavilion by a public pool. The children?_Ts playground is surrounded in crime scene tape. Hmm. I slather peanut butter on a slice of bread and take a bite. Unsatisfying, as usual, but food is food, and I fear my bank account runs too low for Mexican food anyway. Another time, perhaps.

I help Hunter and the sweeps clean up lunch; Laura takes off, but I expect I?_Tll be able to catch her. Damn you, iPod, work. I pass beautiful fields, with bales of hay. A gentle breeze blows. It?_Ts a wonderful day. A billboard, in the middle of an otherwise-empty field: ?_oIt?_Ts fun to live in Nebraska!?__ No cars in sight.
I don?_Tt feel like pedaling too quickly; clearly I am not going to catch up to Laura. Oh well. I amuse myself in the usual manner. Roadkill tally: three birds, two cats, two raccoons, eight frogs/toads. I find a license plate, the sixteenth thus far. ?_oMobl Home?__ is flanked by the license number. Excellent.

As I am tying the license plate onto my backpack, a police car stops. This doesn?_Tt look suspicious. The officer asks me if I need help. No, I was just, um, stopping for some water. Really, I?_Tm quite alright. Thank you for stopping, though. Yes, really, I?_Tm fine. Then, a Nebraska Department of Roads car. Yes, I?_Tm fine; no, I don?_Tt need anything. Really.
I arrive in Stuart, population 625. This calls for a picture, Stuart in Stuart. Stuart amounts to a few blocks. A realization: there are fewer people in this town than there were in my dorm last year (650-ish). Wow. Another sign, ?_oStuart City Limits.?__ Oh, where did I put my wrench, and why is it broad daylight? I have a crime awaiting me. No luck. Curses.

Arriving at the church, I find that the townspeople condense the name into a single syllable. After a shower, though, I roam the streets in search of a store selling t-shirts. This needs commemoration. Success. Then I stop in at the library to pick up a card (I?_Tve been trying to collect library cards, with only minor success, but in Stuart, people are friendly). Yay.
Bike and Build heads to Stuart?_Ts bar, creatively named ?_oBar,?__ to watch the Tour de France. No Tour de France. Oh well. The creativity missing from naming the establishment has clearly been channeled into the menu: one can order a ?_obreaded boob?__ (chicken sandwich). I?_Tll pass. Cattle brands of local ranchers adorn the walls, as well as signs advertising stock car racing and rodeos. Wow. We are out of my native Northeast, that?_Ts for sure.

Dinner is spectacular, delicious vegetarian lasagna. So good. I watch as the blue group delivers their presentation, then attempt to make phone calls, only to find that my phone has decided to join my iPod in my ever-growing list of broken electronic devices. Oh well.
I play on the swings in the yard of the church, until a father tells me I?_Tm scaring his children. Perhaps it?_Ts time for bed. It?_Ts so late, 9:30?_?

Tomorrow we head to Valentine. I predict garish hearts painted everywhere?_?
Until next time, dear readers.

Stuart SchA?ssel

Today I woke up to my alarm and wanted to drop dead; most of us felt the same. Instead we got up to face another day of biking; how original! But it turned out great; after some biking on a fishy business 20 with obnoxious drivers, we crossed the Missouri River and entered Nebraska! Unsure of where to go, we stopped at a gas station where a cyclist disguised in a business suit directed us to the right road. I was riding in back and got a beautiful view of about 20 of us fanning out on the road, following its curves. Of course, it turned hilly. But unlike yesterday, these were ?_oU?__ type hills, not the horrendous ?_oV?__ ones that always make me feel as if I am about to plunge to death. Downhills are definitely my weakness. I get sweats, shakes, knots in the stomach when I go down fast (I can?_Tt define fast in terms of miles per hour since my bike computer succumbed on our first morning of torrential rain). However, today I was surprised to go down some really long and steep ones without even breaking; even though I was going at such a high speed that my legs were spinning despite being on the hardest gear position--the biggest gear in the middle and the smallest gear in the back. Of course I was scared; but I remembered the tips of three riders on this trip. Way back on the East coast, Zach, upon seeing me walk down hills in CT, had guided me down several hills, teaching me hand positions. Austin had advised me on the position of my behind on the seat. And Mark told me that the easiest way to go down was to keep pedaling and to remember that after a certain velocity, the only thing that changes is the loudness of the wind rushing by. I?_Tve always remembered the advice when I go down hills; but today it was particularly potent and I rocked those downhills! When Gibbs passed me; her mere speed both up and down inspired me to go faster and not to break. I rode into lunch feeling quite accomplished and happy. It was an exciting first 45 miles. Only 38 were left.



After lunch, the usual after-lunch delirium set in, when my mind wants to explode and my body bikes by its own will. It?_Ts hot; the blood wants to digest food not feed oxygen to my poor starving quads. The hills were gone; replaced by flats and some pathetic dune-like roads. Somewhere along the route construction workers were paving a new lane. This meant that the two-lane highway suddenly became one, with traffic still needing to go both ways. In my oblivion; I drove past the bright orange cones, straight onto the wet cement; leaving a tire imprint behind. The supervisor stopped me and rightly scolded me. I felt quite guilty, but couldn?_Tt sum up more than ?_oI?_Tm sorry, I didn?_Tt want to go down a one-lane road and get killed.?__ Nothing more eventful happened till Plainview; a leisurely ride during which I amused myself with the simplest thoughts. Of course, I got lost in town; missing the church that was clearly standing right by the highway as the directions read. I drove around in circles till a boy asked me if I had lost my ?_oherd?__. I was taken aback; so he rephrased himself and asked if I had lost my ?_ofamily.?__ He guided me to the church and I was here. The outstanding attraction of this town is a ?_oKlown Museum?__ housing 106 clowns and looking much like and upscale toy store in NYC.




In precisely 1 hrs and 45 minutes we will be fed, a glorious time for us all. Guys, it?_Ts awesome. We are in Nebraska and have gotten so strong since the first 40 mile day when we collapsed in shock-induced comas for several hours after the ride. Now an 80 mile day is short. The people continue to be great; everyone passes me and continues to encourage me. Todd, for one, made up a great song about being Russian and using cornfields multiple times. Everyone is amazing and we all have improve tremendously and continue to have fun despite the miles. Bike and Build is so entrenched in system that even at night I dream about biking and the people on this trip. They tend to be a bit bizarre and involve hills. Sadly, I can?_Tt ever remember them or else you?_Td be quite entertained.
Dasha

Somewhere along the line in Eastern Illinois, someone in this rowdy group of hoodlums decided to lump two days?_T worth of riding together to give us a day off. Given the wild heat we?_Tve had to endure since western Ohio (I?_Tve seen signs flashing 104A?F), biking 100 miles yesterday was well worth a day off today. Currently, I?_Tm sitting in the air-conditioned ?_ogeneral store?__ at a KOA Kampground (ahhh! the visual alliteration!) where some of us have been basking beside the world-class, Olympic-sized pool and enjoying a steady flow of dirty martinis and Cosmopolitans.


OK, maybe not. But hanging out here for the day definitely has beaten a 6 AM wakeup to ride the scheduled 50 miles on the country roads of Illinois?_"roads that, by the way, possibly exceed the roughness of Ohio?_Ts. From the reports I got last night, most crotches were seriously assaulted by yesterday?_Ts century. In any case, we shuttled the group to the glorious Pine Cone Restaurant off I-80 this morning for a breakfast that, most would agree, was a more than welcome change from the rushed cereal, PB&J, or fruit that we cram down our throats every morning. Me? I ordered a breakfast burrito that got consumed rather quickly. But Eytan probably wins the prize for most food ordered?_"that kid eats like a horse when he feels like it.


After breakfast, the group broke up. Some took off for the nearby bike shop (a fruitless journey, apparently. Lots of things here are closed on Mondays.) and Wal-Mart where Laura found her long-anticipated green skirt. Seema found a shirt that smells like chocolate, too (probably not for long; after the next communal laundry day, it?_Tll probably smell somethin?_T fierce). Others hit the pool, read, slept, ate?_"all the stuff we can?_Tt do in the saddle. Days off (especially unplanned ones) seem to be rather beneficial to help our bodies recreate some sort of internal equilibrium that we?_Tre constantly throwing off?_"biking or otherwise?_?


Keep your fingers crossed that we won?_Tt be profusely sweating as we try to get to sleep on our last night in Illinois. But I have the feeling that the heat?_Ts just beginning. Boo to Rhode Island for making me forget my hot and humid North Carolinian origins.


On to Iowa tomorrow-
Patrick



PS, in case I don?_Tt write a journal entry for a while: The future mail drops are extremely important to all of us as we move further from the East Coast. Keep all the words of encouragement (and food?_?) coming. Days are getting significantly longer, hotter, and rougher. Thanks for everyone?_Ts support.

Today we had our second build day. Yahoo! Our group was too big, so we had to split up into three smaller crews to fulfill the needs of the local Habitat office. While some of us battled steep slopes and the blazing sun (roofing, not riding), others fought off blistering heat to repaint the Habitat for Humanity building and clean up a recently repossessed house (sadly, the Habitat family living there could no longer pay their bills, and they were evicted).
Last night we had air conditioned rooms to sleep in, which is definitely a luxury on these one hundred degree days. I have to admit that I am used to more humidity than this (80% as opposed to 40% or so), so my mouth and throat are dry almost every day, and I can down a camelback in only a few hours. Fortunately, not all of us seem to be suffering from the dry air. Austin comes to mind, the kid who grew up in Nevada, with 1% humidity at most. Poor guy probably feels like he is drowning.

On our ride into Lafayette, we passed through the hometown of James Dean. Although the town was small, the gift shop owner was incredibly well informed about the singer, and now we all know more than ever about this Rebel without a Cause.
Also, on our ride into Lafayette we were greeted by Doug, the local Habitat leader, who took us to his house for watermelon, cookies, and Gatorade.

Unfortunately, two people could not finish this day of riding. One was High School Nate, who felt ill at the beginning of the day and decided to get vanned. A poor choice this ended up being, as it meant that he waited at lunch for many hours until the van returned to pick him up. In fact, he actually repacked the trailer and dragged it to the next town so that he could wait at a gas station instead of in a corn field (actually, he flagged down a pickup truck to tow it for him, but the dragging sounds a bit more impressive, so we tell that story instead). And where, you may ask, was the van during High School Nate?_Ts feat of strength? Why, taking Alyssa to the hospital. Alas, while in a paceline, a rider ahead of Ms. Ricker fell down, causing a pileup which resulted in the fracture of a small wrist bone. And when the medics arrived to help her, one ended up kicking her! Thankfully, where he kicked there was no injury. And luckily nobody else was seriously injured in the crash. Still, Alyssa remained incredibly hardcore during the accident, and hopefully she will ride again soon.
On a more positive note, let me just say that this part of the country is amazingly pretty. My impressions of the Indiana area were that it would by flat and featureless. In a way it is, as it consists almost entirely of corn, wheat, and soy fields. But it is the people who make this trip interesting. In all the small towns that we pass, we meet soooo many people who bend head over heals to help us out, either with directions (which happens all too often), or with food and water. And everyone has been interested in our cause, which is grrrreat (this trip does not endorse Frosted Flakes).

Our many thanks go out to Doug and the rest of the Habitat group for providing us with tons of food for this epic day. Although our first dinner wasn?_Tt the food we were originally supposed to eat (which was eaten for lunch by the group of Habitat workers at the house) the replacement meal couldn?_Tt be beat. And then tonight we had a delicious stew with corn, pork, chicken, and tortilla chips, onions, and much more. WOW! Compared with peanut butter and jelly lunches and spaghetti dinners, this was a feast fit for kings.

Zach

Greetings from the suburbs of Hartford City, Indiana! Yes, we?_Tve successfully crossed into the intriguing state of Indiana. This state is apparently termed ?_othe crossroads of America,?__ as indicated by that big blue ?_oWelcome to Indiana?__ sign that we were so eager to see shortly after rolling out of lunch today.


The conclusion of today?_Ts ride was exciting, but for once the start was just as thrilling. We left Troy, Ohio in such style that all the townspeople found themselves stopping their cars to watch us go by. Much to the satisfaction of us fame-hungry riders, we were escorted out of the city by two police cars, which is probably a pretty nice percentage of the entire Troy Police fleet. And although we don?_Tt normally stop at red lights while biking, it was particularly fun to run the lights with the approval of those noise-making, light-flashing, and thus attention-drawing police cars. Go us.


We were totally pampered in Troy, Ohio. Krissy, the Chief Operating Officer (also known as the Program Director) of the First Presbyterian Church, is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Bike and Build out there. The amount of work she put into our stay is overwhelming. In addition to the filling dinner and breakfast that she and her helpers served, she was constantly at the church, ready to jump at our any request. She even had her husband drive all over town the night before our arrival, so she could prepare a map of the town with all the stores we might find useful. What a gal!


As I?_Tve said, the beginning and end of our ride were the sure highlights of the day. Needless to say, the middle 80 miles were a bit dull. I mean no offense to the countless cornfields that we rode past, but being surrounded by the same half-grown crop for an entire day is rather tedious. The corn could at least be ripe, so we could get off our bikes every now and then to steal an ear or two. We also rode with a steady headwind all day, but it turned out to be no match for our cleverly arranged pace lines, ranging from two people to twenty-seven people long.


On an ordinary day, each one of us clocks the very mileage we are told that we will be riding for that day. But today, only half of us clocked the anticipated 85 miles. About halfway to lunch, we found the road we were taking to be closed for construction. Because we were all spread out at this point, each group had its own way of handling the situation. Half of us politely asked to ride through the construction zone, and were thus spared from riding the detour. But a lucky 10 members of the group decided that they would just follow the detour signs, and rejoin the outlined route a bit down the road. Unfortunately, though, the detour turned out to be a good ten miles out of the way, and those select few riders ended up clocking a trip frighteningly close to a century.


Never a dull moment for Bike and Build?_"even in Indiana.


Your fabulous Jewish connoisseur,

Eytan

Columbus was a good city to us. Last night, after a group salsa dancing lesson, we got a good night's sleep and left with a good, donated breakfast in our bellies from the Broad Street United Methodist Church. The road out of town was not too busy, and luckily so; Columbus actually extends for a very long way before the sidewalks of the city give way to the various crops grown on Ohio farms. We got to our first turn of the day, onto Route 29 South, after 17 miles of city riding.


It's at this point that I should mention how hugely important one's mental state is while cycling. Most people are physically capable of doing what we do every day; given the chance, they could ride a bike 50, 60, maybe 70 miles and go to sleep that night without a serious injury. Maybe some sore muscles, but no harm done. However, without the right mindset, doing that is nearly impossible. When you're riding, almost everything starts to hurt. Your butt hurts, your legs burn, your neck and back ache, your wrists tighten up due to all the pressure on your arms (the bumpy Ohio roads don't make any of this better, incidentally). In his biography, Lance Armstrong called cycling a "suffer fest". But sitting in the Troy library today, I don't feel bad at all; I'm really quite happy, and don't look back badly on my ride. I'll try to describe how I got there.


I wouldn't have said the ride was easy when we made our turn onto Route 29. After about 5 miles of riding out of the church, I managed to convince myself that I had a flat tire, even though there was no evidence of such. I just thought I was working way too hard considering the speed I was going. When I stopped to check, I was somewhat disappointed to find that the worst thing on my bike was a brake rubbing on my front tire... annoying, but quickly fixed, and not really a big deal. It was all in my head.


So, still feeling unreasonably tired, I rejoined Rich, Mark, Alyssa, Emily, Justin, and Nate A on 29. We have been looking forward to the flat areas of the US for a while; it's a sort of promised land. Every hill in NY/PA/CT that just didn't seem to end left lots of us saying, "Soon it will be flat." Now it's flat, and we're missing those hills. The road goes straight for a very long way, the wind comes straight down it, and riding involves no resting. Instead, to get where you're going, you have to pedal hard for two solid hours. We never climbed a hill for two hours.


With about 40 miles left in the ride, I felt terrible. The headwind was killing my legs/breaking my will, and I wasn't even pulling; the person at the front of the paceline does by far the most work, while everyone else behind (including me) gets a break from the wind. Riding close behind someone is a lot easier than riding by yourself. When thinking about how far I had left to go, I couldn't really understand it well. I mostly had the impression that wherever it was I was going to end up was a really, really long way away. That's kind of how a rider feels from when the day starts until lunch.


After a solid lunch, Troy didn't seem so far away. It was a place that I would be in a little while, but in the meantime I was hurting bad. I took off from lunch with only one other person, Nate, and he heroically pulled for something like 15 miles while I took advantage of the huge hole he put in the air and took it easy. Even with the advantage of being in back, I was having trouble keeping up. I eventually pulled for about five miles, a couple miles an hour slower than Nate had been, to give both of us a break.


Then, I noticed Troy was only about ten miles away. My mind went from thinking Troy was off in the distance to imagining it right next door. Every mile was a mile closer to the church now, instead of just another painful mile ridden. I started to look around more, and the farms didn't seem so monotonous. Finally feeling good, I pulled into Troy and found the church with Nate at 3:00. Somewhere in the last ten miles I figured out I have a cold, as I've started to cough up all kinds of nasty stuff. I don't really care though, as I'm going to eat in twenty minutes, and I'll take some more Ibuprofen and sack out early tonight (early as in 8:30 - 9:00... strange for a college kid, believe me). With your mind in the right place, none of the challenges we Bike and Builders face is very hard. It's getting your mind there that's the tough part.
Peace

Austin

Day 16: Gambier, OH to Columbus, OH
Sunday, June 19 (Father?_Ts day)

59 miles


Today I encountered the most inspiring person I?_Tve met thus far on the road. Here?_Ts the story:


Seven miles from our destination in Columbus, Stuart, Quinnen and I stopped to help Laura, who was pulled over with a flat tire. Although we didn?_Tt realize it right away, we were right across from a local Habitat for Humanity warehouse.


While we worked a man pulled over and stopped his car to talk to us. His name was Robert and he said he saw us congregated on the side of the road and thought he?_Td give us his last flyer for an event he?_Ts putting on in the community. He?_Ts heavily involved with his church and together they?_Tre putting on an urban awareness program where people talk about real issues affecting people in Columbus. We told him about our program and what we?_Tre doing through Bike and Build, and he said he?_Ts a recipient of a Habitat for Humanity home.


Only six months ago, he and his wife attained the house after living homeless for seven years. He told us of the tribulations of living without a home and how he and his wife struggled for so long. Sixteen other families in the Columbus Habitat program had rejected the lot where their house was built. He still can?_Tt figure out why they passed it up. But because so many others had refused the land, he and his wife were given the house after only 6 months in the program. It was God?_Ts work, he assured us.


The healing process, he said, has been more than difficult for both of them. After six months of adjusting, they finally feel comfortable enough in their new life to branch back out into the community and volunteer their time.


He was so moved by our presence and our enthusiasm that he hugged each of us warmly and insisted that God had brought us together. ?_oIf you don?_Tt remember my name,?__ he said, ?_oremember this place.?__ He opened his arms wide and breathed in the air around us while he spoke. Tears soaked his eyes. ?_oIf you?_Tre suffering, if there is sickness in your family, if you?_Tre in trouble, God will take care of you all. God will take care of you.?__


*


We may each define or choose not to define ?_oGod?__ as we please. But as I recite Robert?_Ts words I think of my cousin resting quietly in a hospital in upstate New York. I ride for affordable housing, and I ride for his safe recovery.


Sara

I chose to dedicate today?_Ts journal entry to the aspect of our life on the road which is second in importance only to biking: FOOD. Nothing anyone told me before this trip would prepare me for the change in the way I think and feel about food. I have always appreciated a good meal and had a hearty appetite, but putting your body through four to five hours of intense calorie burning everyday overhauls your hunger sensory mechanisms and turns you into an impulse-driven eating machine. In fact, some have suggested changing the name of our organization from ?_oBike and Build?__ to ?_oBike and Binge.?__ Allow me to explain. Firstly, no matter how much you eat or how full you get, you are hungry again in under twenty minutes. Snacking an hour before dinner is always a great idea, and by snacking I mean downing two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Secondly, it often feels good to eat healthy things like vegetables, but what it comes down to is that the only important thing about food is energy content. If you can consume 500 calories in 10 minutes by eating two chocolate bars, more power to you. Thirdly, you are constantly trying to eat even though you might not be consciously thinking about food. In the fifteen minutes that I have been sitting writing this journal entry I have witnessed at least seven different people casually rummaging through the coolers as they pass by with that dazed look on their faces that lets you know they are not really aware of what they are doing. And, lastly, you don?_Tt care what it looks like or where it?_Ts been, if it?_Ts food it?_Ts okay to put in your mouth. People eat things they?_Tve dropped in the dirt, things that probably should have been refrigerated, things that don?_Tt traditionally mix well together (like spaghetti and baked beans). In short, you take what you can get and, more importantly, as much as you can get.


My experience riding today is a very appropriate example of the role that food plays in the day of your average Bike and Builder. Our group in general got off to a rather late start as we headed from Dover to Gambier right through the heart of Ohio?_Ts Amish Country. I rode with Laura and high-school Nate, and within the first ten miles we had decided to stop at a little Amish shop to take a look around. We justified our decision by their advertisement of ?_oSnacks?__ for sale. We each bought a bag of goodies and shared the wealth. Right as we were leaving I received a call from a one Mark Glennon alerting us that there was something up the road that we could not miss. Heini?_Ts Cheese Chalet. A mile north of Berlin on Route 62. Free samples of al least 40 different varieties of Amish-made cheese and fudge. We each must have eaten at least a pound of free cheese, possibly more. I was so exited that I called my sister just so I could tell someone. Right across the street was Der?_Ts Bakery at which Shay and Amanda P. picked up some excellent rhubarb pie and cream-filled gingersnaps. Laura played anthropologist, striking up several conversations with Amish kids here and there and picking up all kinds of nifty information about them.


Laura, Nate, and I were the last ones to pass through the Cheese Chalet, and we spent so long there that our sweep riders passed us. We were already running a bit late to lunch so we picked up the pace a bit and made it about ten more miles before we were distracted once again by a fruit stand on the side of the road and indulged in tasty kiwis and dirt cheap apricots?_?and talked to more Amish people. It was at that point, realizing that we had stopped to eat three times before lunch, that we dubbed ourselves ?_oTeam Stop-and-Eat.?__ We actually had another name for ourselves which is a bit too vulgar to mention in a journal entry, but suffice to say that it loosely translates to ?_oTeam Lard-butt.?__ (By the way, to drive home my point from before, in the time that I have been writing the rest of this entry, another ten or so people have eaten from the coolers and somewhere along the line I started eating a chocolate Easter bunny that was lying around.)


Anyway, we finally made it to lunch where Austin and the sweep riders were waiting for us, hung out there briefly, ate some more, then went on our way. A while down the road we ran into Rich, Oyen, Todd, and the other Nate who apparently had been stranded on the side of the road for upwards of three hours waiting for us get to lunch so that Austin could take the van and trailer to help them fix up Todd?_Ts tire. For about 60 seconds I felt sincerely guilty for my gluttony and the inconvenience it caused other people. But I got over it rather quickly.


This is the story of Todd?_Ts tire as told to my by Richard Nicholson. Sometime after lunch Todd got what seemed to be a routine flat. He changed the tube and got on his way, but not a half a mile later, the tube popped again, and Todd, et.al. realized that his tire was thoroughly busted. They called the van (which was stuck at lunch waiting for us) for a repair, but upon realizing that they might be waiting all afternoon, decided try the organic approach to bike maintenance. So they filled the tire with packed-down grass. Todd managed to ride like that for a mile or so before the grass started spewing from his tire onto the road and getting stuck in his brakes and spokes. I wasn?_Tt there for it, but I could imagine that it was ridiculous to the point of hilarity.


Our ride ended on a bike path that was flat and wide and wonderful. Here it was that happened the perfect story to top off the day. Rich got hit by a deer. He says, ?_oThe dumb deer just ran right into me.?__ It was a very low impact accident with no resultant injury to Rich or to the deer, but just the concept of hitting a deer on a bike is pretty noteworthy?_?and worth a good laugh.


The night came to a close at the Kenyon College dormitories where we got to eat really good lasagna and sleep in BEDS!


Thanks for sticking through a long entry. It?_Ts been wonderful.
Best,

Emily

Today was awesome; 75 miles, the longest day yet. Anyhow, its amazing, especially the people. By now, everyone knows that I am terrified of down-hills and still they haven?_Tt voted me off. Instead, they keep supporting me?_"everyday they help me out to face my fear and in general are GREAT. I don?_Tt think anyone could make it through the hot, humid, 90+ F weather or the hail or the storms or the miles, mountains and hills without having the awesome support group that is Bike and Build. For example, I got a flat and a gang of about six bikes stopped and collectively we fixed the flat. Today was a pretty good day for all; cloud cover the whole way and a few showers to lube the roads and clean us off. And the hills weren?_Tt too steep and were entertaining at times. Plus, Pennsylvania is beautiful; sometimes the gorgeous scenery is the only thing that pulls me up the hills. It?_Ts very picturesque. When we got here, to Franklin, PA, we were met with more incredibly hospitable people from the church. They let us, dirty, stinky and wet bikers take over a huge and very comfty church with an amazing TV and several floors of carpeted rooms just right for sleeping. Best of all the local YMCA had not only showers, but also a Jacuzzi, a sauna and a pool. WOW! And then we had food, so much pizza and cake. And since it was Alyssa?_Ts birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) we had more cake, ice cream cake to be precise. Then we presented to a bunch of youth who were part of a program to reform non-violent crime offenders and they were awesome; had tons of good questions to ask about our biking and Habitat for Humanity and were generally a very receptive bunch. Now it?_Ts past bedtime; which has become 9 pm or 10 pm since we get up at 6 am. And tomorrow, it?_Ts back on our bikes. I am continually amazed that we get up at 6 am and no matter how bad or tired we feel; we get on our bikes and bike up every hill, even sometimes having to bike up several consecutive hills for several miles for several hours till we see our church, school, campgroup--whatever place that lets us get off our bikes and crash. We are a tough bunch and I love them all. Go Bike and Build!!!!!!!!!!!!


Dasha

At the 6:00AM wake-up call, camp Bike and Build looks like a Civil War battlefield. When the ceiling lights get flicked on, all you can see is a mass of bodies spread out on the floor groaning and rolling around, and we’ve even got a few cuts, scrapes, and assorted other battle wounds in our ranks to complete the effect. We’ve been biking about a week, and most people are beginning to feel a little creaky when we wake up.
This morning we took off from Wellsboro, PA and headed down route 6 West towards Coudersport (pronounced COW-der-sport). I rode with young Austin and the ever bold Matthew G. Oyen. We left the church early this morning and for one reason or another decided to ride fast. I think we averaged 17MPH over the rolling green Pennsylvania hills, and we made the lunch stop in good time. After a hastily prepared and nutritionally ill-advised lunch of graham crackers, chocolate chips, and V8 juice, we were back on our merry way. We cruised for a while, until we hit Denton Hill (elevation at the top was 2424 feet if I remember correctly). The hill was pretty steep, pretty long, and it had a ferocious headwind the whole way up. Austin took the lead up this monster, but withered pretty quickly under the headwind. Then I moved to the head of the pack and broke the wind for the other two until I too crumbled under Denton Hill’s never-ending grade. We cruised behind Matt for the last section of the uphill, took triumphant pictures in front of the elevation sign, and then cried/prayed that we would be in better shape for the Rockies once we got out west.

Today’s ride was a short one—I think it came out just shy of 50 miles, but I’m not sure because the cable fell out of my bike computer after about 3 miles. Our trio got into Coudersport at about 11:00AM, found the church, and stowed our bikes. The church we’re staying at today is a Catholic one, and Matt was excited to be among other good Catholics. A lot of the churches we’ve been staying at have been Presbyterian, so this is a change.
Right now I’m sitting in the Coudersport public library typing this out, and I smell sort of like some of the festering roadkill we passed on the side of the road today, so I should probably take a shower at some point. Until next time, faithful readers.


-Nate

Hey everyone!
It’s June 12th, and we just made it into Wellsboro, PA. It ended up being about a 55-mile ride, and in the afternoon the sun was beating down on us. Today we had a “guest” rider--Zach’s dad. He cruised the Pennsylvania countryside with us. We also were blessed with an awesome lunch provided by Zach’s mom. The grinders, fruit, and snacks were a pleasant surprise. The second half of the ride was hot and hilly.

The best part of the ride was at the end. I turned down Wellsboro’s Main Street-- which was lined with American flags--and there were people in lawn chairs waiting for something. I waved to a few of the residents, and they told me that a parade was coming in ten minutes. It was disappointing that they weren’t there for us but AWWW SWIZNEET, PARIZNADEZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I managed to grab a prime parade-watching spot with Patrick, Mark, Eytan and Nate, just in time before the parade. The parade was full of the town’s pets dressed up in costumes, the middle school band, and local kids on decorated bikes. There were a ton of dogs and cats, but there were also dressed up lambs, turtles, and rabbits. The parade ended on the town green, where the animals were then judged and awarded prizes. We later found out that this parade was the beginning to a week of festivities for “Laurel Week” (the Pennsylvania state flower).
As everyone trickled into town we began exploring Wellsboro. There were great little shops and restaurants, the only thing was that it was Sunday and most things were closed. Many of us went to see another movie for $5. It was definitely one of my favorite towns so far.

Also… HEY LYNN, JOSH, ZEIGH, AND ZETA!!! MOM AND DAD!!!! Hey TERI WHOOP WHOOP!! I miss all you guys… see you all soon!!!


-AP!!!



p.s. mail drops are the best ever… wink wink.

All right, here?_Ts the deal. I specifically requested to do the journal entry accounting our travels to Towanda because, quite frankly, the town?_Ts name is way too cool for its own good. I mean, ?_oTowanda.?__ Come on. I don?_Tt know any Wandas, but when I think of the name, I sense some sort of down-home comfort and motherliness. Whatever, I?_Tm weird. Most folks on this trek already know that anyway.


It was time to bid farewell the Scranton. Mr. Eytan, one of my fellow rising sophomore Brownies, and I sped out of the Covenant Presbyterian parking lot ahead of most folks in the group. Everybody was immediately challenged with a rather nasty incline on Route 307?_"but honestly, I?_Tll take that any day over the surprise routing on the Scranton Expressway (take a look at Rich?_Ts journal entry from White Lake, NY to Scranton. Yikes!) Winding our way through the mountains, Eytan and I found our fearless leader Nate and snagged some lunch before hitting the road again after a short respite.


The two of us had the luck of encountering a fellow cyclist a few miles later. He happened to be from North Carolina, and, like always, I lit up and rambled on with this guy. It?_Ts always a pleasure to meet a fellow southerner in these foreign lands of the Mid-Atlantic. For some reason, this guy had ended up in rural Pennsylvania, but he knew his roads, to be sure. After showing him Austin?_Ts directions, he redirected us on new roads, as he did for Jessica and Sara a few miles back. According to her, this guy actually pulled over to give her a hand with a flat tire. Apparently Eytan and I left a good impression.


Here comes the GREAT part, I promise. And the great part is actually a great person who absolutely made our stay in Towanda outstanding. Her name is Ashley, and she?_Ts a recent graduate of Binghamton University in New York State. Home for the summer, Ashley is working and helping out around the campground, our abode for the evening on the Susquehanna River. Our early arrival to the campground prompted none other than pure hospitality on the part of Ashley and her mom, Carla. I?_Tm seriously considering whether or not we will encounter people as welcoming as the two of them. They opened their home to our ENTIRE group for the afternoon and threw a full-fledged barbeque on the spot. Ashley drove Eytan and me into Wysox and Towanda, hitting the local Kmart, the grocery store, and a natural foods store (I almost died of excitement, it was a glorious experience). She gave us a full-fledged tour of the river valley around Towanda, and, on top of everything, somehow worked her local connections to get us into the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith for dirt-cheap. I think we all needed a night of air-conditioned debauchery accompanied by Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie. Yow.


As a whole, our time in Towanda was an escape from the grueling routine that we had been developing on the road. A GI-NORMOUS ?_oOh my God, you?_Tre FABULOUS?__ goes out to Ashley and her mom for everything that they did for us. It?_Ts people like them that makes the road rash, dehydration, and sore muscles worth it. Hill after hill, mile after mile, a hearty thanks to everyone who has made our lives so much happier over the past week. Life?_Ts great.


Cheers,

Patrick

Hello bikeandbuild.org readers! Today our band of motley adventurers traveled from the First Presbyterian Church in White Lake, NY to the First Presbyterian Church in Scranton, PA. This day definitely proved to be the toughest, most eventful, and gratifying experience of Bike and Build so far. Some of our faster riders ended up with mileages of about 75 to 80 but, I, a lucky sweep rider with the benefit of directions called in from the van, went only about 64 miles. After exchanging war stories with everyone in the gorgeous house we are staying at in Scranton, I?_Tve realized there are too many funny and exciting things to write, so for the sake of brevity I will keep it to what personally happened to me. The first mishap of the day happened not more than 5 miles into our ride. Nearly everyone missed our first turn because it came up sooner than we had written in the directions. The bad thing was that the turn was at the top of a two huge hills so everyone bombed down them only to be informed by Austin in the van that they had to climb back up. Justin, my fellow sweep rider, and I were cruising along past our turn just about to head down the hill when we were greeted by Zach and Hunter traveling up the hill. They yelled for us to stop, and told us that the turn was about 50 yards behind us. So, since everyone went down the hills, Justin and I had to wait for everyone to pass us so we would be in the back of the pack again. We took of most of out bike gear and stood on the side of the road cheering on our fellow bike and builders who were slowly and unhappily riding past us. Once everyone was on their not so merry way Justin and I decided to practice riding with no hands and generally goofed off at the back of the pack so everyone could put some distance on us. I don?_Tt want you to get the impression my day was not as tiring as that of the riders in front. After about 20 miles Justin decided to start fooling around with his bike right at the welcome to Pennsylvania sign because he heard rubbing noises. While I was waiting a nice gentleman in a pick-up truck pulled over and told us that two of our riders had gone about 7 miles the wrong way and were behind us. When Justin heard this he brought his bike back into the town we had just passed and tried to fix his bike. Let?_Ts just say Justin is not a trained bike mechanic and we were lucky to have the second and third gear on his bike functioning by the time we finished ?_orepairing?__ it. After the hour we spend getting bike grease all over ourselves, our lost riders passed us and were long gone. For those of you not familiar with bikes, what Justin and I had done to his bike was disable his ?_ogranny?__ gear, or the first gear, which is used on hills to take pressure off the legs. What this meant for Justin and I was that we had to go as fast as we could so Justin could hit hills at higher speeds so he could get up them. It was hot and hilly, so lets just say it was not walk in the park. Eventually, after some real hard riding, a brief lunch stop, and some scattered thunderstorms, Justin and I caught Victor, one of the earlier lost riders. Justin and I were faster riders than Vic, so we decided to take a break and eat some cookies, while he got ahead of us. Not a minute after Justin and I found some shade and Vic turned the corner, a monsoon decided to rear its ugly head. After waiting out the rain and dealing with the guilt of sending Vic into it, we rode to go catch up with him. We found him and Dasha, another rider, just before a very fast and tough split in the road we were traveling on. Both of them were nervous about the road ahead so Justin and I decided to help them maneuver through the traffic onto the Scranton Expressway. It turned out that people on bikes were not supposed to ride on this road, and for good reason, it was a legitimate highway. After some nervous moments, which our parents would not like to hear about, we made it to the church where 20 delicious pizzas awaited us. To throw in my two cents, the great thing about today was that although everything was conspiring against us, and moments of doubt crept into our minds, every single one of us finished the route. I don?_Tt know what lies ahead of us and how difficult our trip may end up being, but I after today I?_Tm ready for it.

Best, Rich.

Dear Diary,
As a reasonably educated diary, o diary, you should be well informed of the fact that Rhode Island can be covered by the head of a pin on a map of the world. It is a state remarkable for many things, but all of them pale in importance to the outsider in light of the extraordinary smallness of the state. Providence, where the trip begins, lies slightly northeast of center. From there, it should take practically no time to exit this shriveled state, right?

Right?_??
It is with this untested assumption that my first day of cycling across the country begins.

Certain members of the Bike and Build Providence to Seattle ?_~05 trip awake at the casual time of 6:00. Others, at the more casual time of 6:15. Nevertheless, we are ready to set off by 8:00, having fortified ourselves with a genuine Bike and Build breakfast, featuring a full contingent cereal and a couple drops of milk.
We head to India point park to dip our tires in the Atlantic Ocean. It is an emotional celebration for all. So far, I haven?_Tt forgotten about my ?_oclip-less?__ pedals and forgotten to unclip. Parents snap pictures, we wobble around trying to figure out the bikes that we may or may not have been training on. Tires get dipped. Some choose to dip only the back one, saving the front for the pacific. I dipped both. If I make it across the country, it won?_Tt be by riding wheelies the whole way. Both tires deserve some love.

Our first task is to ride to the Habitat House set up by last year?_Ts Bike and Build?_Ts sweat and money. It is about 3 months away from completion, and the future inhabiting family looks proud. This is what we ride for. More pictures.
The first step of our journey begins with all of us riding in tight formation. Thirty-seven miles shouldn?_Tt be so hard. After about 7 miles, we begin to stratify. The faster, more experienced riders shoot out ahead (now it looks like there are four of them) as everyone finds their pace. I enter this strange biking zone, where I stop paying attention to anything. On the left, some kids are playing in a little league game, and it slips lazily through the weird fog of my cycling zone. Beautiful. I race past a sign that says ?_oGeorge Washington Campground,?__ and lots of cars are making noise. It?_Ts hot. Someone?_Ts yelling my name. I turn around to find Jackson, an experienced bike mechanic from last year?_Ts trip sprinting after me. I guess I shot right past lunch. How could I have done that? I?_Tm hungrier than I?_Tve been since Yom Kippur. I bike back to the campground with Jackson. Peanut butter and jelly sounds great and tastes better.

Seven or Eight miles later, we encounter Connecticut. It?_Ts pretty much the same color as Rhode Island. I?_Tve been warned about something called ?_oPomfret Hill,?__ lying at the end of the route. Every hill I go over I think: ?_owas that Pomfret Hill? It wasn?_Tt so bad?_?__ But none of them turned out to be Pomfret Hill, and I?_Tm getting a little tired. Pedaling slow makes my legs feel like fire: strong but really painful. Pedaling fast makes my legs feel like water: weak and wanting to roll down hill. Well, eventually this unobtrusive little rise shows up. It?_Ts tough to judge the height because the road vanishes around a bend. I start up it. I push my way around the bend, staying in a high gear and ignoring the fire in my legs, hoping that the road will flatten out in the part I can?_Tt see. As I mash drunkenly around the bend, it keeps getting higher. I take a deep breath and decide that this is probably Pomfret hill, resigning to force myself up. My gears start grinding strangely, and my legs are burning something awful. I attempt to downshift, but my chain slips off and I take a good spill with a strange feeling that it was bound to happen, and land gracefully into the grassy shoulder, both feet still clipped into my ?_oclip-less?__ pedals. After I have succeeded in getting covered completely in grease, I?_Tve gotten the chain satisfactorily into a situation where I?_Tm reasonably sure that it won?_Tt fall off again. As I stand up to get back on my bike, both my quads simultaneously cramp up, causing me hit the deck and flop around like a suffocating fish with cramps in both fish-quads. Everyone bikes by. Are you alright? Yeah, keep going.
Five minutes later, my legs are still made of magma, but I force myself onto my treacherous bike and book it to the top of the hill. Tomorrow, I?_Tll stay hydrated. Finally thinking I?_Tve reached the top, I allow myself to relax. Bad call. The hill continues after a brief straightaway. Why didn?_Tt anyone warn me? Easiest gear. Up I go. 35.5 miles. I should pretty much be there. I continue, an exhausted, hungry, beaten young man. 38 miles. Where is this damn church? Another hill. I make it over only with the aid of two breaks. 40 miles. I?_Tm lost. After a nice downhill, I ask directions, and it turns out that I missed my turn. That downhill isn?_Tt so nice anymore. Back I go.

Finally, I arrive in the church, drenched in sweat after a 42 mile ride. Rhode Island handed me a solid beating. I eat a loaf of bread and fall asleep. It?_Ts 2:30 P.M.
Love,

Justin Fabrikant

Dear Riders, Parents, & Friends:


Welcome to Bike & Build?_Ts 2005 online journal! In just a few days you will be able to start posting and reading stories from the road. Someone from every trip will post a journal entry each day- so check back frequently and don?_Tt forget to participate.


For archived photos and journal entries from this year or the previous two years, please follow the links on the left of this page.


A sincere thanks goes out to all Bike & Build trip leaders who have made these trips possible and for preparing the way for the rest of the Bike & Build participants. Additionally, the tech team- Joseph Godsey and Adam Lillienthal- are equally culpable for Bike & Build?_Ts success. Your hard work and dedication is appreciated by all.


Good luck and enjoy Keeping in Touch!


Best Wishes,


Shaunna Thomas

Interim Director

My Bike & Build,


It is 3am in blustery Ann Arbor, and I am thinking of you. I?_Tve been watching the website the past couple of weeks, wondering if someone would post about our grand Seattle-coming. It seems a shame to let a day so full of hardcore falls, blackberries and champagne go unreported. So, promises against sentimentality aside, here is my August 7th.


There are a few moments in your life when it is hard to breathe because you are laughing so hard. Ever since The Prank, various schemes had circulated among Bike & Builders as to how Mel (and maybe Laura) might be repaid. Presents of a slimy nature in their sleeping bags? A few-hour scavenger hunt that would lead them to their bikes, ablaze? Brilliant and practical ideas, all, but not quite as clever as what our ever-true mechanic had in mind.


On Friday evening, Jackson quietly reconfigured Mel?_Ts pedals so that, instead of being 180 degrees apart ?_" the arrangement which allows one to ride a bike without the rest of Bike & Build rolling on the pavement in laughter -- they were next to each other at the same angle on either side of the front derailleur.


I can hardly describe the immense pleasure of watching Mel thoroughly and obliviously working on her bike. Both on Friday night and on Saturday morning she sat calmly next to it, grabbing hold of the pedals to check the shifting, asking Jackson to check a noise she?_Td been hearing.


Finally, in an effort to get all of Bike & Build to get on our butts to Seattle instead of waiting to watch Mel?_Ts discovery, Neale challenged her to a granny gear race in the parking lot. Oh, man. The confusion on Mel?_Ts face mixed with the gleam from ours is enough to make me laugh just sitting at this far-away computer. We got you, Mel, and the only thing funnier than watching you try to pedal that morning was watching as Jackson DID ride your bike around the lot, looking even more like a wind-up toy than Andy can usually pull off. Sheesh. Forget Barfuddi?_Ts ab workouts. That laugh has lasted me weeks.


The ride into Seattle was along quiet country roads and a bustling bike path. I began the ride with a huge group, feeling like I was in the peloton, giddily singing various fun biking songs. After some light showers and a?_? cough?_? delightful mooning from the D Pat/MT/Hip Hop crew, I spotted a farmer?_Ts market and pulled off for a browse. I had been thinking that morning that I would like to ride into Seattle with something fun ?_? several people had donned celebratory decorations that morning, but I had yet to find mine. Yet here it was, sitting at a flower stand in a farmer?_Ts market: the largest sunflower I have ever seen. I paid my dollar, tied it into my Camelbak straps, and continued on my way.


A side note: if you?_Tve never biked with a sunflower as big as your head down a busy bike path, you should. It?_Ts kind of like walking through a college campus with a puppy. Friends are easy to find.


Another side note: One of the best things in the world is being able to pick huge Washington blackberries at the side of the bike path at the same rate that you?_Tre able to consume them, at gulps from your water bottle, as you ride.


About 15 miles from the end of our ride, the fabulous Backus family had strung up a banner across the bike path and had snacks waiting for us in the small green in front of their house. After that stop, the group met up a couple of miles from the water so that we could all ride in together.


And so we did. I, on a flat front tire with a sunflower in my teeth; two others on flats; Cari, pulling a Tyler Hamilton with an as-yet-undiagnosed collarbone fracture she got that morning; Angie, pedaling only with her non-bruised side; Jackson, having taken Angie?_Ts wheel with a bent axle, popping a wheelie for most of the last few miles. We all rode in, somehow. And, after passing the throngs of cheering parents and friends, we may or may not have thrown bikes, sunflowers, each other, and Marc Bush into the salt water.


After arrival and pictures, we settled down to a veritable feast. The Backus family pulled through once again, and that afternoon?_Ts barbeque was the most magnificent I?_Tve ever had. Most of us sat down to plate after plate of food. Others felt the need to contact all family members and friends and announce to them drunkenly (did I mention our bottle of champagne each?) that they had biked across the country. In our own odd ways, we celebrated and then dispersed until the evening.


After a ferry ride across Puget Sound, I found my Bike & Build at our pier. Almost didn?_Tt recognize some of them, to be honest. I suspect they may have showered. The evening passed quickly: Russ, Amy, Josh and I gave a final presentation, we sang the Bike & Build song (a little tune you might have recognized) one last time, and various awards and presents were given out to the deserving. Bike & Build, I dedicate this last entry to the best memories I have of you, from that (not) sandy beach in Provy all the way to the Pacific:


To Erin, for challenging a cowboy to a game of pool for his hat;
To Reid, for the look on your face when you won the granny gear race;

To Maweee, for psyching us up for communal showers;
To Josh, for pulling me gloriously and victoriously over Pennsylvania mountains;

To Angie, for your bedonk and riding sweep with you;
To Madeline, for an intimate moment when blood was gushing down your face;

To Mel, for heat and sleet;
To Justin, for Scharffen-Berger during a thunderstorm in the Washington wilderness;

To Ren, for the cow song;
To Sarah, for the charge up Washington Pass;

To Keri, for all our pacelining;
To Robby, for the initiation of an important award;

To Thurbs, for Thurbs;
To Katie O, for my postcard;

To Spiker, for doing everyone?_Ts chores;
To Ratner, for the Cari dance;

To Aussenburg, for August 6th trumping our spring trip to Boston on I-95;
To Andy, for the whale joke and your songs;

To Dave, for team Butterball;
To Jackson, for the day you rode 120 when most of us were sweating about 85;

To Maya, for Christmas carols belted out down Washington Pass;
To Ben, of course, for your harmonica;

To Laura, for showing me how body can teach mind;
To Neale, for Yellowstone;

To Vinay, for pushing me up the hills out of Marshalltown;
To Chris, for blueberries and ice cream outside the library;

To Parish, for the day we kept 24 into Lafayette;
To Cari, for constantly and selflessly supporting, and for the day I ran you over up the mountain and we couldn?_Tt stop laughing;

To Margaret, for 8 hours watching the Reagan funeral in a hospital waiting room;
To Gavin, for finally unplugging; and

To Russ, of course, for Barfschnapupi.


I already miss you, Bike & Build. Keep in touch.


Love,

Lorin Fries and her little bike, Bruno

The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful part of the country, really. The Cascades are rather awe-inspiring and I've never seen anywhere so lush and verdant -- but it rains too much here.


At about 6 this morning the drops began to fall. Several of us had left our clothes out to dry the night before, taking a gamble with the weather. Well, we lost. So much was soaked in that first shower of the morning, making packing today a bit tougher. Another funny thing about the rain here is that it starts and stops so often that you can't really tell if you're ever going to be in the clear. The rain had stopped by the time that we were ready to leave, but a few miles later the rain returned and the cold was beginning to seep in.


While riding with Maya, Angie-lou, I tried to distract myself from the cold by looking for snow-capped volcanic peaks -- as you might expect a geology major to do -- but unfortunately they were all shrouded in clouds. The wind and rain were making mostly everyone (myself included) pretty miserable. Even with our multiple layers of spandex and tights, and our rainjackets, we were shivering nonstop. Several of us had pulled over to warm up either under trees or in gas stations. It seemed as if this side of the Cascades was making up for all the hot and sunny days that we had for most of the trip.


Somewhere past the town of Darrington, Maya, Angie, and I saw Laura, Mel, and Jackson stopped on top of an incline. Up on the side of the road were wild blackberries. Furthermore, Mr. and Mrs. Barkin surprised us at the same location with pita bread and humus for us drenched, shivering bikers. We lost no time in getting off our bikes, but we lost lots of time eating. The Death Cavern Boys had caught up with us, ate, and passed us and soon Laura, Mel, and Jackson had left too. At this rate, we mused that we wouldn't have to chalk the berry stop for sweep because we'd still be here. But sweep didn't catch up to us in that time, and it was too wet to chalk the roads, so after eating our fill of berries we ploughed on.


When we arrived at lunch, we were informed that something terrible had happened -- KERMIT HAD BEEN STOLEN. He was on the side of the road to mark the turn off to lunch, and I suppose someone driving by (probably accompanied by a bratty and greedy little child) saw him, stopped, and picked him up. Either that or Kermit had decided that he was going to strike out across this country on his own and hopped on to his own destiny without us. Kermit was last seen wearing Neale's helmet and glasses, as well as Josh's retro Bike & Build jersey. If anyone has any information about this stuffed animal's whereabouts, please call the Arlington, WA area police. A reward for an undisclosed amount shall be rewarded with anyone who helps reunite Kermit with team Bike and Build.


The skies began to clear in the afternoon, and soon it was warm again. Those of us in the back of the pack got lost a few times trying to find a way out of Arlington, but after a good amount of time we did it. A good number of us ended up finding alternative routes to our destination, which was good for them, considering what happened next.


While we were enjoying the sun, we could see that more rain clouds were moving in. As we neared Everett, the sky turned black again and it poured. Torrents of rain pelted down on us with such force that made the skin sting, and once more we were bitterly cold. Our glasses, which normally keep out kickup and debris, could hardly be looked through anymore. Furthermore, part of our route turned onto a highway with busy, rushing traffic going by while the whole road was covered in ankle-deep water. The constant onslaught of rain and deep water made going any further dangerous, even though we were just two miles from our destination. Maya, Angie, and I were quite relieved to see Erin, Jackson, Gavin, Dave, both Steves, Ben, and Amy pulled over onto an emergency vehicle turnaround out of harms way. There, we considered our options. The nearest exits were over narrow bridges and considering that cars could hit us in these road conditions, we decided to stay put. Steve Ratner had considered climbing under a nearby bridge to find a way out and we actually saw him climb over the railing. All the time, we were shouting at him, ?_oDon?_Tt do it!?__ He made it down and back, telling us that down there was only mud, so we crossed that option off our list. Next, we decided that maybe we should try to hitchhike out of our situation and Dave and Amy tried to hail down a pick-up truck that could take our bikes and us to safety. But to no avail. In those road conditions it was unlikely that any car would pull over to stop.


More and more riders behind us on the route had also realized the dangerous fix we were in and pulled over to where we were in the torrential downpour. Cari and Katie O?_TMalley joined us, and more would soon follow. Erin finally managed to get Reid, who had reached the church, on the phone and organize a rescue operation. The trailer would be unloaded for our bikes even though there were only four people at the church at the time, and then the van with the trailer would come to where we were. As we waited and commiserated about our precarious predicament, lightning still flashed and thunder still rolled over us. In ironic contrast, just a few miles distant the sky was perfectly clear.


The last part of our pack, Lorin, Chris, Sarah, and Russ, pulled into our turnout just in time for the van, with Josh and Neale, to arrive and pick us up. We loaded our bikes into the trailer and had a few harrowing close calls with the traffic on the slick roads, but most importantly we all piled into the van safe, ready to be warmed up, and shuttled to the church. Josh told us that if it would make us feel any better that we could make up the extra two miles we lost today in the morning, but a good number of us have had sufficient detours throughout the past two months that such an action probably won?_Tt be necessary.


As the sun broke through the clouds over Everett, we were thankful to make through the day safe and sound, ready to relax, get cleaned up, enjoy dinner, and unfrazzle our nerves from the day?_Ts adventure and a half. In my book, today tops Port Jervis as our most challenging day hands down. It sure was, as Lorin put it, ?_oa fitting climax to the end of our trip.?__ We?_Tll be in Seattle within a few hours and hopefully the excitement of how we reach the Pacific will be of a different sort. Tomorrow will be a bittersweet ending for these past nine weeks of living on the road together. But let?_Ts not say our goodbyes just yet. We still have tomorrow to get all disgustingly sentimental.


Ren-Horng Wang

We woke up to a chilly morning and the sound of rain falling on our tents. We did our best to keep our stuff dry as we packed up camp and got ready for the big climb. We knew from Homey that our day was going to start with a 17-mile ,3500 foot climb that got steeper as you go.


We started off with rain gear and arm and leg warmers to combat the weather. Homey did not lie, the climb started the second we turned out of the campground. It warmed us up quickly and almost everyone stopped in the first few miles to take off layers. I stopped to take off my raincoat and promised myself I would not stop again until I reached the top of the pass. Bad idea. I should have added a clause that allowed me to put the raincoat back on.


The first few miles were not too bad, not too steep and there were even a few flat sections that allowed for some recovery. For better or worse there was a lot of fog which blocked our view of the mountains around us. Every so often the fog would clear and we would see huge snowcapped peaks right next to us. They were fabulous, but also a little scary because at the time they were much higher than we were and we needed to get to the other side.


Not too far into the ride the rain returned again and this time it was a bit stronger. Most of us stopped to put our raincoats back on -- I of course could not by my own rules, and got soaked. As we got closer to the top the road became significantly steeper. At times we were in the middle of a cloud and could hardly see 100 feet. But then it would suddenly clear and we would see that we were nearly at the level of the snow on the surrounding mountains.


At one point I was riding and I heard the familiar, "Go Bike & Build... you're doin it!" At the time I had no idea where it came from and wondered if the clouds knew we were comming. Later I learned it was Keri and Madeline calling from the switchback above me. Either way it was very inspirational as I headed up the steepest part of the climb. At about mile 15 there was a sharp turn and I was prepared to see another steep stretch ahead but to my great joy I saw Chris Burns (in his yellow rain suit), Kermit, and many othes cheering at the top of Washington Pass.


We all rode a little further to the lookout where Josh had set up a snack stop and left the trailer so we could change into warm dry clothes. At first the views off the lookout ledge were less than spectacular, it was only a close up view of the clouds...very white, reminded me of the famous polar bear in a snow storm painting. We all decided to wait for sweep so we could take a group picture and while we waited the clouds dispersed slowly revealing the mountains around us as well as a fabulous view of the road we had just climbed.


We could see sweep making their way up the road and tried our best to cheer them on. They seemed so far away that we didn't really think they could hear us which is why Mel thought it was okay to shout that we had run out of peanut butter. (Later we learned this caused Dave Paterson to throw a temper tantrum.)


After the picture it was time to go down the mountain. Now you would think we would be excited. We were crying. The rain, our new companion it seemed, was back again and it was about 55 degrees. As I went down the hill the rain felt more like hail and for a while I was sure I was going to get frost bite. I have never been so happy to see an uphill as when we reached the aptly named Rainy Pass.


Soon our luck changed and the rain left for the last time. The rest of the ride down the mountain was very enjoyable. There was a 5-mile section in which I did not pedal at all, helping my goal to coast accross America as much as possible. On the way down we saw spectacular views of Ross Lake, a beautiful turquoise glacier lake. We had lunch around mile 60 in New H which was little more than a general store.


At lunch, we were met by 2 members of Team Backus - Ned Backus and Peter Seitel who were kind enough to buy us all ice cream. I rode with them in the afternoon and greatly enjoyed getting a free ride from Peter's pulling. We were in a valley along a river nearly the whole way.


Since we were a little early getting into camp we checked out the first few miles of tomorrow's route, or we got a little lost, all depends how you look at it. But we all made it to the right campground eventually. We were all very excited that it had showers. At first we were a little disapointed that it cost 50 cents for 3 minutes of hot water, but the girls decided to make it shower time trials and had a jolly good time. Today was also a maildrop which is always very exciting. Thanks to everyone who sent stuff, we all really appreciate it.


We spent part of the evening cleaning up our group gear in preparation for Seattle. Although I hope it gets cleaned again because I'm not sure how clean things get with cold water and minimal soap... Then we built a campfire and reminised about the last 2 months. It's so hard to believe its almost over.


Amy Thurber

Waking up with our bellies still full of homemade apple crisp (thanks to Miss Erin's amazing ability to find us large amounts of free food donations from local farmer's markets), we got our things together and left Omak, the largest town we would see for days (and let me tell you, it really wasn't that large).


The ride started out with a significant climb up Loup Loup Pass (elev. 4020 ft.). It was my favorite sort of day - a big climb in the morning and downhill for the rest of the day. We reached the top of the pass only 23 miles into the ride and celebrated with an early lunch.


Even though we were still warm from the morning climb, we dug out some extra clothes for the downhill and headed off for the afternoon (sweat dries pretty quickly when you're flying downhill at 40 mph...). Just a few hundred feet past the top of the pass, I flew by my absolute favorite type of sign: a picture of a truck going down a ramp with a sign underneath that said: 6% downhill grade, next 8 miles. 8 miles, woo hoo!


We lowered ourselves down to the drop bars, stuck our butts in the air and pedaled as hard as we could until our pedaling became useless and we had to let gravity take over. It was awesome.


Going down the other side of Loup Loup Pass was certainly a lot faster than going up the eastern side, and before long, we entered the charming little touristy town of Winthrup, WA where we found a deli and lots of homemade ice cream (and someone, who shall remain nameless, skipped the sandwiches and went straight for 3 servings of ice cream for lunch...). Bellies full (again), we had to force ourselves onward to the campground, which was about 15 miles past Winthrup.


At the campground, we met one of the coolest characters of the trip - a man from London named Homie who is taking 3 years to bike around the world (and he only goes to mountainous areas). He humbled and inspired us by telling us stories about biking up 17% grade mountains in New Zealand and biking 300 miles in one day - 24 hours nonstop! (Maybe next summer, Homie...)


Fortunately, we had dinner made and the tents set up just in time before the rain started. Little did we know , it would be quite a while until the rain ended.


Laura Stevens

Please join Bike & Build's P2S group upon their arrival in Seattle on Saturday, August 7.


Golden Gardens Park - Arrival and BBQ - 12:00 PM
Team P2S will arrive at Golden Gardens Park (web site | map) at approximately 12:30 pm. Please be at the park by noon, where a Bike & Build representative will be on hand to point out the exact arrival location. The Bike & Build representative will be located at the patio outside the Park Services building. (See Meeting Point below.)


A Pacific Northwest BBQ will be provided at approximately 1:00 pm.


Driving directions to Golden Gardens Park from downtown Seattle:

From Aurora Avenue / RT 99:
- North on Aurora over Lake Union

- Take 45th Street Exit
- L on N 46th Street

- Becomes Market Street
- See below


From I-5

- Take 45th St. exit.
- West on 45th (left, if coming from downtown; right, if coming from the north)

- Becomes Market
- See below


From Fremont Bridge:

- Follow Leary Way west (becomes Ballard Ave) to Market Street.
- Left on Market

- See below


From 15th Avenue Bridge:
- Continue on 15th to Market Street

- L on Market Street
- See below


ALL ROUTES:

- Follow Market Street through Ballard
- Bear left (follow the main arterial) on NW 54th Street

- Becomes Seaview Avenue NW
- Proceed to park entrance


Free parking is available at the park.





Bay Pavillion - Team P2S Reception - 8:00 PM

We welcome all supporters to an evening reception at the Bay Pavillion (web site | map), on Pier 57 in downtown Seattle, for a buffet dinner and presentation.


The cost of the evening event is $35 per person. Casual attire is suggested; a cash bar will be available. Reservations are required. If you have not yet paid for the event, please bring cash or a check payable to 'Bike & Build' on Saturday.


The Bay Pavillion is conveniently located on Pier 57 near downtown. Privately operated parking lots are available nearby. When you arrive, please go into Pier 57 on Alaskan Way and follow the signs for our event.


Team P2S Accommodations in Seattle
While in Seattle, Team P2S will be staying at St. John the Baptist Church in West Seattle. St. John's is located at 3050 California Avenue (map).


Bike & Build provides this information for your convenience and planning -- please direct all inquiries to Bike & Build; do not contact St. John's church.


Please call 201-755-2519 with any questions.



Marc Bush

After waking up, taking down the tents and packing up the trailer we headed over to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars a few blocks away. We were fed a breakfast of eggs, biscuits, and sausage, which provided a wonderful change to the usual bagels or oatmeal.


From VFW, we began the journey to Omak. We started the morning by passing through fields of golden wheat, but this terrain quickly changed into dry mountains. After a series of hills and a rocket downhill, we passed by the Grand Coulee Dam.


Feeling the relentless sun beating down, Justin and I were determined to push through the morning so we could get as many miles done before the afternoon heat swallowed us alive. However, this plan quickly changed. Ten miles past where we had stopped, signs for a fresh fruit market tempted us. Although we were planning on going by without stopping, we saw tons of Cannondales parked outside and Keri yelled about how amazing the fruit was. We gave in and went to join everyone. While eating a peach, the people from the fruit stand told us of an alternate, scenic route that would get us to Omak all the while avoiding much of the climbing that was still left for the day. About half of the group opted for this route while the others chose to tackle to stay on the planned route.


The afternoon ride was gorgeous. We rode through rolling hills along the Columbia River and had the road almost completely to ourselves. Later on in the afternoon, We rode above Omak Lake, a giant pool of pristine blue water that I thought only existed on exotic beaches far from here. Cari, Justin, and I saw a road splitting off from the road we were on leading to a cove where many people were boating and swimming. We stopped to decide if we could make it down the steep, mile-long gravel road, swim, make it up, and ride the remaining 7 miles within an hour and a half. We decided we would try to ride it, but that failed, so we walked back and locked our bikes to a cattle guard and bummed a ride from a very nice lady that was heading down the hill. After a quick and refreshing swim, we went on our merry way and made it to the church sans directions (mine were dissolved in the lake as I forgot to take them out of my shorts), all with a minute to spare.


Other people seemed to experience adventures as well. O?_TMallster was very surprised to find herself in bear country (once again) when she saw a ?_ofuzzy?__ bear picking berries a mere three feet away from her as climbed a mountain pass. Needless to say, she sped up the rest of that hill. Her afternoon was also spiced up by a stop by the police to be told not to swerve so much. The DCB (Death Cavern Boys?_"see Marshalltown) and others were chased by a dog for more than a mile. Thurbs almost ran into an innocent Bambi deer, but she avoided disaster by clenching her brakes so hard that they actually smoked.


Conveniently, there was a farmers market in the park right by the church. Erin worked her magic and convinced many of the venders to give their unsold items at the end of the day to us. People used many of the fresh apples to make apple crisp, which is being devoured as I write.


Peace, and see you in Seattle!
Margaret Heidrick

Today, we spent our final day off in Spokane (pronounced SPO-CAN, in case you didn't get the memo). You may be looking at the original schedule and be a bit confused since it says we have a build day today, so give me a moment to explain. From what I understand there seems to have been a little scheduling goof and a build day was planned for a sunday, which Habitat generally does not do. So, we rode as fast as our bikes would take us yesterday, and got to the build site in the late morning after a very roundabout and confusing time in Spokane trying to find the place.


Anyway, I am today's journal, so I shall fulfill my duties in informing you about today's happenings in a timely manner. Well, for most of us the day started out with a much later than usual wake up as there was nothing planned for the day. Some took the initiative in cooking a gormet eggs, bacon, and biscuit breakfast, while I and others opted out in favor of laying siege on the second franchise restaurant of the week. You may have heard of the mess we left at the Pizza Hut buffet in two locations in Missoula, and today, we set out for Subway to catch them off guard on a Sunday.


When about fifteen members of our biker gang rolled up to the tiny establishment, the employee behind the counter rushed to the phone to call for reinforcements. Despite her frantic calls only one was able to come to the rescue, but within an hour the chaos had subsided and we set out to attack a larger venue, the mall movie theater downtown.


I viewed Michael Moore's documentary Farenheit 9/11, an interesting flick I would recommend for all people regardless of there political tilt.


Other than that the day was pretty relaxed. I strolled around the beautiful downtown area, toured Gonzaga University's campus (yes, Gonzaga is here in Spokane), and watched the St. Louis Cardinals beat up on yet another sorry excuse for an opponent, the Giants.


But I would have to say, as a soda lover, the most exciting thing about today was the soda machine here at the community center. This machine offers twelve-ounce cans of either Coke or Pepsi or many other flavors for the very reasonable price of 50 cents. You don't see a non-partisan soda machine like that too often, but it gets even better.


The soda machine did not stop with the amazing selection there, it offered a "Grab Bag" option. If you are not familiar with the term - which I was not - let me fill you in. You pay only 30 cents and the machine will dish you out a mystery flavor soda; you don't know what you get until it's dispensed. I mean really, does it get any better than that?


If you are a gambling man, which I definitely am, you can't help but play. At first I started out hot with an orange-mango soda, but eventually, the house won out as it dished me out two lemon-lime sodas and a Sprite (not what I had hoped for). Needless to say, it was worth the money for the surprise. I felt like it was Christmas in the summer time.


Anyway, I think that pretty much sums up the day right there. Tomorrow we will get back on the road, and we don't plan to hit the breaks until Seattle. See you there.


Ciao,
Steve Ratner

a.k.a. Slinger

So the day started off well as only 53 miles separated us from Wallace and the second of only two stops in Idaho. (Easiest state ever) We were also informed that three different fairs were happening in Coeur d'Alene, so the excitement to get today's riding overwith and check out the town was double-fold.
Ten miles into the days route, the world's largest gondola lured some of us off the trail for investigations. After finding out the price of said gondola, yours truly decided that biking was more important than sightseeing. A seemingly foolhardy decision, but oh will you see. After a relatively easy 4th of July mountain pass, the approach to Coeur d'Alene surprised us with a few unwelcome road signs. The first of which informed us that our next turn appeared to be after the actual arrival spot. The second warned us that there was no shoulder for the next mile or so. Chris Burns and I were quickly suspicious. When we turned and decided to find another route, we were helped out by a trusty member of Idaho dept of transportation (IDOT). He instructed us to take the old highway, which was also more scenic as a little bonus. Little did he mention it included two very challenging climbs and over a mile of downhill on gravel. Thanks a lot, IDOT. That's the price you pay for safety I guess. After a nice and lazy lunch in which the day's shenanigans were reported (apparently Cari Mailloux and Gavin fell victim to a water balloon attack, effected by the ever-villainous Death Cavern Boys...see Marshalltown). At lunch we also found out that apparently that world's longest gondola actually turned out to be the world's longest gondola, as it was a 3 hour extravaganza of Idaho countryside. I hear the view was smoky and breathtaking but I doubt it was worth losing that much time. Best decision I made all day.

The afternoon turned out to be little more than lounging on the beach for this cyclist (who knew that Coeur d'Alene would be one of the most beautiful beach towns in the entire northwest?). Some others and I missed out on all those fairs in town, but I did happen to catch some of the "Taste of Coeur d'Alene" and find that everything was way out of the non-for-profit price range. Wonderful burgers with all the fixins greeted us for dinner at the United Methodist Church, anyway, so it was no big loss. After dinner a meeting about how to improve bike and build for next year was both long and arduous, but we definitely came out of it with some concrete improvements for next year's cyclists. The meeting was followed by some very raucous kickball in which the team captained by this kickball all-star failed to deliver on the offensive side of the ball, falling 7-0 to a dirty team of cheaters. In the end, the lessons of the day for this rider are that if it costs money, it probably isn't worth it and that Steve Ratner is probably one of the dirtiest kickball players to ever step on the field. Peace and prosperity,


Dave Patterson

Volumes E and F have been added to our online photo album. Please click here to view the photos.


As a last reminder, if you are planning to attend Team P2S's arrival in Seattle, please email seattle@bikeandbuild.org to make a reservation at our welcome BBQ and/or evening reception. In your email, please include which event(s) you'll be attending, the number in your party, and the name of the Bike & Build team member whom you know.


Marc Bush

Oh what a day?_?we rode nearly 100 miles climbing over 11,000 feet(two mountain passes) with blazing heat and from time to time golf ball size hail falling hard onto our helmets. Wait?_?no no?_? That?_Ts what Mel and Laura wanted us to think?_?Let me start from the beginning?_?


Last night, Laura and Mel informed us that our accommodations were moved from Wallace, Idaho to Prichard, Idaho by the pastor at the church. Prichard was supposedly 20 miles north of Wallace, including a rather large clumb, therefore driving mileage up as well as elevation. So, we all went to sleep last night terrified of today?_Ts ride. We awoke this morning at 5:30. The sun had not risen quite yet, so those who chose to sleep outside awoke to a cold morning. We gathered ourselves together and made our way from the high school to the church where the men of the United Methodist church had made us pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee and orange juice. Our tummies filled, we received our fake route, which included a fake profile of the ride from Mel. We set out for what we all thought would be the day from hell.


Today?_Ts ride would be on and off I-90, taking frontage roads whenever possible. There was construction going on for nearly our entire ride today, allowing us open lanes. Some riders, who apparently don?_Tt ride in the shoulder, chose to stay on the interstate rather than use the construction lanes. This caused sweep (Margaret and Justin) to be pulled over by the highway patrol. He told them that some drivers were complaining that the bikers were weaving in and out of the shoulder. Oops!


The first 30 miles went relatively fast, with only a small head wind. Since before Superior, we had seen signs for the ?_o10,000 Silver $?__, which was a full service center (casino, restaurant, store, gas station, etc), I just had to stop and see what it was about. At around 30 miles, we finally reached the ?_oSilver $?__ where Dave and I stopped for a quick Snickers (yes it was only 9:30) and our hand at video poker. We started off with a few good hands of poker, winning 25-50 cents, but it started to go down hill when we began betting 75 cents. After losing the entire dollar we bet, we decided to depart from the ?_oworld famous 10,000 Silver $?__ for what we thought would be our first climb of the day, Lookout Pass.


The wind began to pick up as we began out climb. The climb was not nearly as long or as bad as I had expected. Chris was able to easily climb the pass with Kermit the frog (given to us by the Central trip) tied to his back and Lauren went flying up with her ?_oPeace?__ cape. At the top were not only a sign welcoming us to Lookout Pass, but also a sign greeting us to the wonderful state of Idaho and into Pacific Standard time! With a 5 mile decent, everyone zoomed down the hill making the climb well worth it. At the bottom of the hill, chalk had us get off the highway at the town of Mullan. Just off the highway lay the water cooler, some leftover baked goods from yesterday?_Ts mail drop as well as a short note from Mel telling us that she went to look at the route and will come back with lunch and the new route soon. However, after some people waiting nearly 2 hours, the van was a no show. Some began getting very frustrated and upset at Mel for taking so long as well as not just leaving the trailer. Some riders were even making plans to go straight to Coeur d?_TAlene, so they wouldn?_Tt have to ride the extra 20 miles to Prichard. Laura just sat there, pretending that she had no idea where Mel was. After everyone had arrived, Mel comes driving up the road without the trailer. Laura comes running to the van, a quick conversation occurs, and the next thing we know Mel is driving away. Laura mumbles something about the trailer being stuck. A couple minutes later, Laura announces that we will be riding into the nearby town. As we grumpily get on our bikes and follow Laura, we see Mel standing next to the post offices sans van and trailer looking rather distressed. Some people, including myself, feel sorry for Mel, or at least for a brief moment. Laura jumps off her bike and takes a folded paper from her pocket. She clears her voice and says she wrote a little poem for us. She reads,


Oh Bike & Build, My Bike &Build, your arduous trip is done,
You heard there was another pass, but that was all in fun.

You may hate me, you may hate Mel, for pulling such a prank,
After all, for this stunt, you?_Tve just the two of us to thank.


But Laura, Mel, How could you?

You may still whine and groan,
I guess you never thought

We could be such big wishbones.


Oh Bike & Build, My Bike & Build, we feared you may be pissed
Some of you because we lied, others for opportunities missed.

Because, by now, your legs are strong, you know you?_Tve got the MT,
So climbing another 10% grade mountain pass is relatively easy


So go on to Prichard if you want,

Though I?_Tm afraid no one is there
We?_Tre all back here in Wallace

Eating Ice Cream and drinking root beer.


Oh Bike & Build, My Bike & Build, it?_Ts been an uphill battle.
Who would have thought that by next week we?_Tll actually make it to Seattle

Back on June 5th, I had my doubts. Many a day, I feared I?_Td die.
But it turned out, thanks to you, I spent most days laughing ?_~till I cried.


Exult o shores and ring O bells

But I with a heavy heart
Will end this trip and leave these friends

And Mourn the day we part.


As Laura read this poem, helmets, gloves and water bottles were thrown at Mel and Laura for pulling this prank on us. They got all of us including the other three leaders.


With a super lunch, full of deli meat, chips, rye bread, ice cream and pop, we enjoyed a picnic in the park. With only 6 miles to go to Wallace, rather than the expected 26, some hung around at lunch for some time, while others left for Wallace, our home for the evening. Once we arrived, some were still bitter over the prank pulled by Laura and Mel, some bought baby pools and other used the afternoon to catch up on e-mail. After showering and fixing our bikes, we had a wonderful potluck dinner. An intense game of four square was played with the normal bickering and fighting followed by a wonderful game of Aru-bong. With a day filled with tears and laughter, our tired bodies head off to bed. Seattle-here we come!


-Katie O?_TMalley

Today ?_" as has been the case with many of our days on the road ?_" was simply another reminder to always expect the unexpected, and that things will never be as bad or as good as you imagine they will be. Just as it?_Ts true that the days that you expect to be horrific usually leave you pleasantly surprised at the end, it?_Ts also always the days that you expect to be a breeze that come back to bite you in the bum. Certainly, such was the case today?_?


Up as usual at the crack of dawn, the crew scarfed a quick breakfast and got ready to hit the road. After several days of biking into an often gusting headwind, we were all shocked and psyched to find that today the wind was finally at our backs. Robby and I exchanged quick high-fives, celebrating the knowledge that today?_Ts short, downhill mileage would likely be some of the quickest and easiest that we had seen. Because of this anticipated speed, Ren, the third constant companion in our McBrat-Pack, decided that he would stick around Missoula for a bit to have a relaxing early morning coffee. This, as we would soon find out, would be Ren?_Ts most valuable decision of the day.
For not even nine miles down the road, I heard a tentative voice behind me, ?_oUmmmm, Sarah?? I think I need to stop.?__ So, I came to a halt on the side of the Interstate 90, and turned to find an exasperated Robby staring down at his undeniably flat tire. So much for the new Armadillos, huh? I quickly whipped out my pump and tools, and we made quick work of removing the tire, tossing the old tube, putting in a new one, and getting it all back on the wheel-rim. The final step of pumping it up, however, was an entirely different story, for no matter how hard we tried, it just didn?_Tt seem to want to fill with air. Suspecting the worst, I hesitantly removed the pump from the valve, and sure enough, the valve was irreparably broken. Robby and I exchanged exasperated glances, and grudgingly began the process all over again.

About 10 miles later, as our sprits were lifting and our pedals were finally beginning to fly, we heard a dreaded sound?_? POP, hisssssssss. ?_oWHAT was that??__ Robby shouted back to me, already knowing the answer to his question. A wailing ?_oNOOOOO!!?__ was my only response. So we pulled over for the second time, cars and semis whizzing by, and looked with disdain at the significant hole in my rear tire, which had been finally worn through by the more than three thousand miles it had covered. A lucky break it was for us that Laura and our Technicolor-dream trailer happened to be passing by only moments later. We celebrated her arrival, installed on my bike a new tire and tube, pumped all four of our tires up with air, and made sure to grab another spare tube, since we had already destroyed three on this disastrous morning.
Meanwhile, in the forty or so minutes that we had spent on the side of the road, the best of our tailwind, as well as Ren and many other B&B riders, had been passing us by. Hoping for a quick catch-up, or at least hoping that we wouldn?_Tt be entirely left behind, Robby and I pedaled hard, ignoring lunch when we passed it, knowing that Superior was only approximately 12 short miles away. And then?_? ?_oARGH! Sarah, guess what? Stopping!!!?__ As we both glared at Robby?_Ts bike, I contemplated tossing it into oncoming traffic, although I knew full well that this would not help to fix our fourth flat of the day, which was now staring us in the face. Instead, we mustered what little patience we still possessed, and worked once more to repair the damage that some debris in the road had done.




The saving grace of this perpetually frustrating day, however, was the extraordinary reception that we received upon arrival in Superior. The wholehearted smiles and genuine interest of the people there would truly have made even a day with twice as many flats seem well worth the trip. Hot showers and a floor to sleep on make any town wonderful to us, but locations were people are just as excited to host us as we are to be there, always leaves us feeling rejuvenated and energized ?_" not an easy task after 8 weeks on the road. And just as the boundless enthusiasm fueled our spirits, the unbelievable food recharged our bodies! The incredible assortment of tasty potluck dishes even included corn on the cob - something that we had certainly seen enough of while traveling the roads of Iowa - but had not yet had the opportunity to eat. I can only hope that the people of Superior enjoyed our visit at least half as much as we loved being there.



Thanks so much to all?_?




Sarah McBratney

Oh how I love our days off. We go through so many amazing towns that we see from afar, speed through, and hope to one day return, but exploring Missoula was a rockin' day off. Such a cool town! Fun coffee shops! $4 Tuesdays at the independent theatre! awesome views! awesome little shops and boutiques! and lots of sports and bike stores. Missoula is a great town.


Our day off started how most days off start off: sleeping in. 8am. sooooooooo nice. funny how during the school year I would be fighting, and desperatly losing, to get up for an 8am'er. in comparison to those 5:30 days however... i woke up happy, rejuvenated, and rearing to go.


I started off the morning with some reading. I'm totally getting into Lance's autobiograpgy "It's not about the Bike," which I would highly recommend to all you Bike and Build fans out there. Especially after following him on the tour and his tremendous 6th victory, it's cool to know a bit more about where he's from and his incredible triumph over testicular cancer, brain surgery, and getting back in competion. i'm a bit embarrassed that my best going down hills with a tailwind can't even match his worst in the alps... lol... but i definitly have a far greater appreciation for lance and cycling as a sport.


and onto lunch!!! Pizza Hut!!! OHHHHHHHHH Pizza Hut. Habitat Providence had sent us some gift certificates for Pizza Hut to use along the way, and we decided that it would be put to best use at the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. so, for lunch, we divided and conquered, spitting into two groups and taking PH by storm in Missoula. buffets are one thing........ but buffets for 32 bike and builders is quite another matter. they made no profit on us whatsover!!! breaksticks galore!!! salad galore!!! pudding and cini stix! and pizza!!!! a bikers heaven. we ate till it hurt and had a blast. Thanks so much to Providence Habitat for the certificates! Your support means so much!!! and you made 32 bikers very happy!


After lunch we went our separate ways. Many of us rented inner tubes at the army navy store and spent a leisurly afternoon floating down the blackfoot, some opted for some swimming and cliff diving at another spot on the river, many took advantage of the $4 deal at the independent theatre and saw either "Supersize Me" or "Farenheit 9-11". There was also a minor league baseball game in town, the Ospreys. Good times, lots of sleep, and good food had by all.


An awesome day off, which we finshed off by watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" and eating pizza bagels for dinner. can't get enough of the pizza. but it was a delightful change from pasta, at the suggestion of chef Sarah McBratney.


crazy to think that we'll be in Idaho in two days, and Washington shortly there after. SEATTLE OR BUST. almost there. with a few conquerable mountains in the way.... but nothing that we can't handle.


thanks so much to all our fans!!! we've made it this far! back on the bikes tomorrow!

Caroline Mailloux

?_oHave you told them yet what the road to Lincoln is like??__ The Habitat lady where we were having dinner in Helena asked Pastor Guy, our host in Lincoln who happened to be in Helena that evening. ?_oUp, up, up,?__ she continued, her voice getting a pitch higher with each ?_oup?__ even as she gestured the incline with her right hand, laughing at something she knew all too well and knew we had no idea about.
?_oYes, but it?_Ts lovely at the top,?__ offered Pastor Guy ?_owith a nice downhill after that.?__

?_~T was indeed a nice downhill, but I?_Tm getting ahead of myself.


Our journey out of Helena began with a rescue mission unlike any other. As our very own Ms. Erin Kineen tells it, she was riding along the winding road when she heard the distinct sound of cowbells ringing. When she looked to see where the sound was coming from, she saw ?_" much to her alarm ?_" a cow in distress. The foolish cow, perhaps thinking the grass greener on the other side of the fence, got his head stuck under the gate, but in his struggle to free himself now had his kicking hooves tangled in barbed wire. Ms. Erin tried to alert the owners, but no one was home, save the dutiful rottweiler guarding the compound. Thinking quickly, she called 911, who forwarded her call to the next county over, for whatever reason. After calling the local sheriff and waiting for what seemed an eternity, Ms. Erin decided it was best to act much quickly if the poor cow was going to have a fighting chance. She flagged down a man in a truck and another passer-by. By the time the sheriff arrived, Ms. Erin and the passers-by had freed the cow from his unfortunate struggle. After ascertaining the cow would live, Ms. Erin continued on her way to join many of us who had no idea of her heroic efforts.
The nice thing about biking east to west, some of us have decided, is the scenery which sometimes manages to distract us long enough from the gradual (sometimes improbably steep a la Teton Pass), long climbs we?_Tve had to do. But only sometimes. Today wasn?_Tt our hardest or longest day by any means, but it happened to be the day after our last century and a 90mile day the day before. Predictably, ?_owe find our pedals still turn?__ as we make our way up Flesher Pass, ever anticipating that 3 mile 2000ft climb between mile 44 and 47 where lunch awaits us before our promised long descent. At mile 37, coming around one of many switchbacks, pacing myself for what I believe lies ahead, I spy our van. ?_oThe transmission must be shot again,?__ I think to myself. When I notice the bright orange of what looks like a construction worker obscured by the undergrowth of trees, I?_Tm certain the problem must be even worse for there to be a road-works guy putting up a sign. As I continue huffing and puffing my way up, trying to figure out what could be going on, the Olympic anthem suddenly blares as if from a jukebox hidden in the hills as the bright orange object rises gracefully on a tree branch away from the undergrowth and another figure is yelling something I cannot understand. Then it all comes together as I round the switchback for a clearer view. Neale, driving the van today, is running across the road, silently smiling, waving a bikeandbuild t-shirt looped through a tree branch above his head, on his shirtless back ?_oP2S?__ finger-written with bike grease. As the anthem continues to play, I?_Tm barely managing to stay upright on my bike because I?_Tm laughing so hard but trying to keep pedaling and keep breathing when I recognize the other running ?_ofigure?__ as none other than Cari, yelling ?_oOnly one more mile to lunch. You?_Tre doing it Bike and Build,?__ as she sprays water from a water bottle. I?_Tm now chocking on laughter and lack of air, Neale is still running back and forth with the makeshift flag, when Cari decides to squirt the bottle?_Ts remaining contents right into my ear. Not only does the force of the squirt in my ear render me instantly deaf, but it also knocks me right into the opposite lane, momentarily blinding me in one eye and I?_Tm not laughing anymore but earnestly trying not to fall over. I manage to work my way to the right side of the road without falling. Lorin, I hear, wasn?_Tt so successful. Still, we were all too happy to re-enact the entire event at the top, which also happened to be our fourth (for others a fifth) crossing of the continental divide.

The downhill was as nice as promised, though we met with a headwind as we neared the bottom, which stayed with us all the way into Lincoln. But no matter. The entire town of Lincoln was awaiting our arrival (there were signs everywhere) and welcomed us warmly to showers, food, and a place to sleep. There?_Ts nothing better after a tough day than a warm welcome to these three things.
We set out for Missoula tomorrow where we will spend our day off. It?_Ts safe to say our countdown to Seattle will begin in earnest then.



-angie

Today, we celebrated our last century day for the trip. Although one may think that some bikers would feel a bit upset realizing that they may never bike at least 100 miles in a single day, all the bikers were extremely thrilled to finally arrive in Montana?_Ts state capital since there was a strong headwind and the terrain was mountainous.


While biking, there were half-dozen flat tires. When Champ pulled up to help Lorin fix her first flat tire for the trip, he forgot to realize the reduction in speed, and was promptly pulled over by the police. Champ sat in the van biting his nails as the policewoman walked slowly to his window. Champ took a deep, long breath so that he would appear calm and collected in front of the cop, and explained that he is driving in the van to make sure that the 31 cross-country cyclists are safe while pedaling. Initially, the policewoman was going to give him a ticket, but then he gave her his lovable smile and she decided to give him only a warning.


The highlight of the day was definitely our dinner, as we biked over to the Helena Habitat for Humanity office. We were greeted with amazing punch, chocolate chip and M & M cookies, and pizza. Over the past 15 years, the Helena Habitat has built more than 22 houses ?_" a remarkable feat considering that Helena?_Ts population is around 35,000.


It seems surreal to think that we are so close to Seattle; when we first began the trip, states such as Montana and Idaho seemed like a far-away concept. Now, with about two weeks left, what once appeared to be unattainable is finally within our grasp.


Robby Klaber

This morning we awoke to a delicious oatmeal breakfast as we headed on our way back to Wyoming. We ventured briefly through Yellowstone National Park, accompanied by a group called Cycle America. Sharing the road with groups such as Cycle America and the Tour of Wyoming has been incredible! The drivers are actually honking at us because they are excited to see us, rather than because they we are in their way. After the 20 mile climb in the morning, the ride was almost entirely downhill. We were making incredible time, until we hit crosswinds about 10 miles out of Bozeman at the Gallatain Gateway. The struggle against the wind was definitely worth it! Bozeman is an absolutely gorgeous city, with mountain views on all sides, excellent sales, and incredible bike shops. Pastor Joel and the Christus Collegium welcomed us with an incredible grilled dinner and Bozeman cookies.


-Erin Kinneen

Because Yellowstone National Park decided to be a big jerk and not allow Bike & Build as an organization to bike through their park, we were forced to re-route around the park. This little detour took us west of Wyoming into Idaho for an evening, and then northeast into West Yellowstone, in Montana (a small tourist-trap-of-a-town that specializes in charging people the ridiculous rate of $2 for 6 minutes of showering ?_" who would even think of sacrificing what could be a half-bottle of Gold Bond Lotion or 36 Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies for a stinking shower? Judging by the pleasant smell at the Community Protestant Church that night, no one in our group). What I?_Tm trying to set-up here is the rather odd beginning to our day: after getting up at 5 am, with the plan of cranking through the short ride (read: 60 miles that included a mountain pass) into West Yellowstone so we could spend the afternoon exploring the park, and then packing and getting out in an uber-efficient hour and a half, we hopped on our bikes, read our cue sheets and turned left onto Idaho route 47.


But something was wrong, a tad disconcerting. As a group that?_Ts already biked 2/3 of the way across the United States in a westerly direction, we?_Tre well aware by now what the sun feels like on our backs, and this felt quite different. In fact, it felt a lot like the sun was right in our faces, and in reality, it was. Some idiot (read: me) had routed the group due east for about 5 miles. And while I knew that it was necessary to get to West Yellowstone, it still felt so weird to be getting on a road labeled ?_oEast?__ to seemingly negate our previous days efforts.


Anyway, it turned out that the aforementioned idiot was actually somewhat more like a genius: the first twenty miles of our trip were incredibly scenic. As we rode upon a secluded scenic byway, through towering mountains and bottomless chasms, past charming overlooks and loquacious historical markers, and by a spectacular and awe-inspiring waterfall (Mesa Falls), I knew that people would be singing my praises. I didn?_Tt think it was too much to ask for some sort of parade into West Yellowstone, after discovering this scenic byway. Well, it turned out that didn?_Tt happen and actually it was a lot more like a burning at the stake later that afternoon. In the way that leaders often get blamed for things that are completely beyond their control, weather, wind, slashing riders?_T tires, etc, as soon as we turned onto Rt. 20 and a stiff head wind, I could hear complaints drifting back in the wind towards me.


The wind wasn?_Tt that bad, though. Especially because we happened to be following the same route as a commercial cycle tour, Cycle America. Which meant that were plenty of riders (read: 60 year olds) to draft off of. There?_Ts a certain bike etiquette that requires that you may only draft off of someone as much as they can draft off of you. On days like today, I chose to ignore the second half of that. So it turned out to be a fun ride. Don?_Tt worry, I?_Tm shameless. Rolled into lunch well before noon, huddled in the van for awhile eating the ice cream Katie bought the night before, ate a mountain pass for an afternoon snack, and finally rolled into West Yellowstone at about a quarter to 1.


As soon as everyone else arrived, we hopped in the van and drove the 2 miles into Yellowstone (except Vinay and Marie who actually said, no joke, ?_oI?_Tll go to Yellowstone when I?_Tm retired?__ and ?_oIf it blows [Old Faithful], take a video on your camera or something.?__).


I don?_Tt think there?_Ts much to say about Yellowstone, except that it?_Ts completely fantastic, in the best sense of the word. For most of the things that are there, it?_Ts hard to believe that you?_Tre not in an artificial world created by Disney or on the set of a movie like Jurassic Park. We saw bald eagles, herds of bison, and bull elk grazing 20 feet from the road. We saw unbelievable geysers, hot springs, mud pots and other incredible thermal activities (Old Faithful, by the way, is a surreal experience. You?_Tre driving down a fairly traffic-less road, and you see exit signs for Old Faithful, turn onto an off-ramp, and emerge into a parking lot larger than that of most amusement parks.). Yellowstone Lake is the largest mountain lake in the West (I think). Plus, there?_Ts a gorgeous, 1000 ft. deep ?_oGrand Canyon?__ (our third ?_ogrand canyon?__ of the trip). I don?_Tt know who decided to build it all, but they did a fantastic job.


Our day finished with ubiquitous dinner of spaghetti and sauce and a ubiquitous stage win in the Tour by Lance. All in all, a good day.


Reid Hopkins

Teton Pass. There will be a hill 7 miles out of town today. You may have heard of it. We had a small group leaving the church today. Josh Champ left earlier in the morning to get over the pass. Why did he leave us to go bike the pass by himself?


I start out the morning on my own. I am quite excited and getting more and more nervous about this upcoming hill. Some of our best riders biked up in the past couple days and said simply, ?_oIt was hard. It was long.?__ This, coming from some of the best in the group, made me a bit intimidated, but looking forward to the challenge. We had the choice to take a bike path, or stay on the road up the mountain. I ran into Laura where the bike path started. We exchanged ?_ogood lucks?__ as Laura turned off for the path and I continued up the road. I was on my own.


'Allez Bike and Build!!' Papa Champ comes through again. He left early so he could stop and spray paint the road for us, Tour de France style. Gotta love him. I?_Tm pumped up. I?_Tm feeling great. I love our group.


After a little while I see a biker ahead of me in the distance. Is it Thurbs? Maybe I will catch up with him/her and find out. Maybe. As it turned out Thurbs was the next Bike & Builder in front of me, but she is not who I came up to first. I ran into an older woman plugging away. We shared a few pleasantries and I told her I would see her again at the top. I ran into a number of other cyclists along the way. Later that morning I learned it was a group called Cycle America. They were doing a 9-day loop around some of the national parks in the area. We would be biking with them for the next few days, all the way into Bozeman.





I continue plugging up that hill and am feeling pretty good about it. I see a biker coming down the mountain. Champ? You have got to be kidding me. I guess one ride up wasn?_Tt enough for him.


Everybody waited at the top of the pass for a group picture and individual pictures with Kermit (our newest group member left for us by the Central U.S. Group). We all bundled up for the ride down the other side. Shortly after we came upon the Wyoming/Idaho state line and took some pictures. I-da-Ho!!


The rest of the ride into Ashton was really nice, a few rolling hills and great views. The first restaurant we came upon in town had OLN and was showing the Tour. We all watched and enjoyed some food and drinks. Since we had a much smaller group today we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner ?_" brown rice, chicken, tofu, veggies, fresh bread, fruit salad. It was great. Some nice person decided to treat the group to some Breyer?_Ts ice cream while we watched Stage 12 of the Tour that Marc had sent us. Ahh, a quiet evening of ice cream and TV while lounging on the couch ?_" what more could you ask for?


Katie Spiker

After the breathtaking ride in from Pinedale, the group was ready to get outdoors in Jackson and do some exploring...but not before we got to sleep in just a little bit. As people roused from their sleeping bags one by one there was a contagious excitement in the air, and for good reason too. Thanks to a few very generous guides at Jackson Hole Whitewater, the group was pumped and ready to some serious whitewater rafting down the Snake River, although a few more daring types chose to strike out on the town on their own. After crowding everyone into the van and one other car (I still don't know how we did it) we set off from the church to the launch site on the Snake, known as West Table. Before we knew it, the group had shed all cotton apparel and lathered up in sunblock, ready to bare it all (or most of it) and get charred under the grueling sun. we quickly split up into two rafts, one led by Ty and the other led by Crystal, and launched into the river. the few first couple miles were deceivingly calm, and everyone was able to get comfy in the rafts and soak in some amazing scenery. The overall attitude pulled a quick 180 however when we hit the first set of rapids. both sides of my raft raft united as they paddled in unison while those sitting in the middle of the raft with nothing better to do chose to motivate and yell "row! row!" at the top of their lungs. once we sailed clear of a section of rapids into more quiet stretches, many of us opted for a quick dip along side the raft, while some who did not ended up in the water anyway. It's all love here at Bike & Build. Halfway through the trip were the two largest rapids, called Big Kahuna and Lunch Counter. As none of the earlier rapids gave us much trouble, we were pretty confident in our rafting skills (which was probably more a testament to the guides having total control over the raft than us dipping our little paddles in the water, but hey, that just doesn't sound as cool). So, as we approached Big Kahuna, Keri Backus was riding the bull on our raft (which means she was sitting on the very front end of the raft). All of a sudden, we were drenched in freezing cold water and were being tossed around in the raft. I fell back and looked up just in time to see Keri bounce forward over the front of the raft and then she was gone. Not to worry though. Keri was underneath the raft at one point, but she was ok and after a few seconds we saw her bobbing up and down along the river right behind us smiling as wide as ever, and we pulled her back in. After a few more people got dumped on the following rapids, we came to the end our our ride, soaked and content. The rest of the day was filled with trips to the library and local bike shops, not to mention just staring up in awe at the mountains surrounding us, soaking in this one-of-a-kind place.




Gavin Gregory

Bike & Build is seeking the assistance of a small number of volunteers to help coordinate our group's arrival in Seattle on August 7. We are in need of volunteers to help the afternoon of August 6 and the morning of August 7.


If you will be in Seattle and are willing to help, please email seattle@bikeandbuild.org; be sure to include a phone number where we can reach you.


Thanks!


Marc Bush

Please join Bike & Build's P2S group upon their arrival in Seattle on Saturday, August 7.


Team P2S will arrive at approximately 12:30 pm at Golden Gardens Park (web site | map) on the Puget Sound, north of dowtown Seattle. The exact arrival point will be posted on this journal shortly before August 7. A Pacific Northwest BBQ will be provided following our group's arrival.


At 8:00 pm, we welcome all supporters to an evening reception at the Bay Pavillion (web site | map), on Pier 57 in downtown Seattle for a buffet dinner and presentation. The cost of the evening event is $35 per person. Casual attire is suggested; a cash bar will be available.


Those planning to attend either event are asked to RSVP to seattle@bikeandbuild.org by July 30. Please indicate which event(s) you will attend (the afternoon BBQ, evening reception, or both), the number in your party, and the member of Bike & Build whom you know. Those attending the evening reception will have an option to bring a check payable to "Bike & Build" to the event, or to pay online via a credit card (a link will be provided upon receipt of your RSVP).


Please email seattle@bikeandbuild.org or call 212-663-2040 with any questions. We look forward to seeing you there.


Marc Bush

After a quick day into Pinedale yesterday, many of the bikers were excited to start of their day early and head into the famed Jackson area to enjoy our well deserved 3rd day off. After our ten-day stretch through the Midwest, a build day in Casper, and the first leg of our Rocky Road experience we were all looking forward to some quality ?_~vegging?_T around.


Well ?_? not everyone. Some of us, myself included, felt that biking across the country did not satisfy our appetites for chafage and overall bum discomfort and so decided to go mountain biking after our 80-mile bike ride into town! Instead of waking up with the rest of the group, who got to sleep in until 5:30am, we woke up 15 min earlier and left ASAP. For most, mountain biking was a foreign experience altogether, kinda like clipless pedals on the first day or for some biking period. As a result many of us approached the upcoming afternoon with apprehension as well as excitement. After determining people?_Ts skill levels from ?_~lots of falls?__ to ?_~little to no falls?_T we split up into groups and headed off. Once we arrived into Jackson we went straight to the shop where Champ was able to score us great deals on some bikes.


Now for those who do not know, a mountain bike is a completely different species of transportation when compared to the Cannondales that we normally ride. Imagine trading in a super light Ferrari for your neighborhood garbage truck. Yeah you might not feel the road?_Ts bumps as much, but good luck trying to lift this bike over your head for the photo ops. Regardless, we all hit the trails full speed ?_" only to find out that the trails hit back a little harder.


For me it seemed that the times when I most felt like I was getting the hang of the whole idea of mountain biking were immediately before my bike hit a huge rock forcing me to reacquaint myself with the not so always welcoming ground. With a couple scrapes and tumbles behind me, however, I quickly began to appreciate why mountain bikers rarely ever appear on paved roads. The exhilaration of charging through the trails cannot be met by even the steepest down hills on the more traveled roads.


It was not long that I realized that I had neared another century in total miles for a day, and decided to finally succumb to my humanness and return back to the church for a shower and meal.


Upon arrival, I was greeted with the great news that the dinner was grilled cheese and tomato soup ?_" a welcome change from the ever-present pasta with red sauce! After dinner, the activities of the day and the excitement of rafting the next day proved too much for my consciousness and I quickly passed out for the night.



Vinay Ganti

P2S

Okay, okay. So it?_Ts taken me a week to write the journal entry about one of the most incredible days of the trip. You try biking through these gorgeous mountains, being hosted by fantastic folks who cook us barbeques, and having optional rafting, mountain biking, and national park exploring trips. Not so easy to plop down in front of a computer. Eh, excuses excuses. Here you go.


The ride into Jackson was as beautiful as they come. The day before, the Rockies had been unassuming: a blue panorama of humongous rock candy plucked down in the distance. Into Jackson, the mountains enveloped us. The early morning was an uphill and upwind push ?_" a ride made enjoyable by chats and pacelines with friendly Tour de Wyoming folks. After a mid-morning break and an in-action photo shoot by John, our ubiquitous newspaper photographer, Erin and I pulled into the wind again. An ironic riding pair, we: lean and mean Erin who eats uphills for breakfast, ripped thighs A? la Triplets of Belleville; smallish and compact me on my small and compact bike ?_" a combination I have found works well for plummeting ... cough ... coasting downhill. So we approach a descent, and I yell to Erin, ?_oI?_Tll wait for you at the bottom!?__ Thinking, 2 miles, most. Wait. Maybe ... 5. Okay. See Erin in 25 miles, after glorious downhill and perilous 3-inch shoulders. Erin pulled into lunch and almost fell off her bike, she was so excited about the mountains.


From lunch we followed the Hoback as it twisted through the valleys. Now, I had some secret insider knowledge about a bike path that leads into Jackson, bypassing some of the busy, touristy, RV-infested highway. Triumphantly, I turned onto said path, psyched about the view of the Rockies that spread out before me. Bike paths are really great for a couple of things. One: they?_Tre flat. Two: they?_Tre paved. This was neither. Hmmm. Well, after a sign professed ?_oDEAD END?__ very threateningly and I almost bit the dust around some gravelly turns, I did indeed find my path, which led me scenically to our church. Promptly upon arriving, crazy Chris and MT Mahoney tackled Teton Pass, the infamous 11 percent grade, 5-mile mountain that looms over Jackson. Promptly upon arriving, I collapsed in a chair.


The funny thing about a trip like this is that you don?_Tt always know what you miss until you find it again. Sitting with wonderful Maya in an organic health food store, I remembered that good fruit, Birkenstocks, and Fair Trade coffee exist in this world. Oh! And: another great thing about this insane pedaling extravaganza is that you find people around the country you never knew were your relatives. So, I call up my grandmother the other day, and she informs me that I have fantastic, ?_oreally, very outdoorsy, dear?__ relatives in Jackson. And she insists that I call them up. No persuasion needed. My newly acquired (or, I suppose, newly discovered) family, Annie, Jon, and Perron, took me out for fish and risotto (to die for) and brought me to their comfy home for a night of long and needed slumber.


What a day. And what a week. If you haven?_Tt heard from us, we are either: 1. climbing Teton Pass, still; 2. eaten by a buffalo in Yellowstone; 3. still waiting for one of the dormant geysers to erupt; 4. still underneath the raft in the Snake River white water; or 5. just taking the time this West deserves to watch the sunsets, wake before the sunrises, and bike and bike to Seattle.


With love,
Lorin and Bike and Build

The South Pass


Today was the day. Anticipated for so long ?_" crossing our first range of the Rocky Mountains. The South Pass of the Wind River Mountains.


The day started with a 6 AM wakeup. Waking up usually consists of hearing someone?_Ts alarm go off, then waiting for a second and third to make sure it?_Ts the right wakeup time. But not today, today was special ?_" confirmation came in the form of the Lander Community Center fire alarm ?_" thanks to someone?_Ts craving for pancakes. We got serenaded by the alarms most of the way through breakfast before someone finally came and turned it off.


After heading out of Lander the climbing soon began. The first steep climb was perilous, though not because of how steep it was; the spectacular view of the Red Canyon caused at least one distracted cyclist to wipe out.


After pictures and a water break, we continued to climb and climb, slowly working our way up the South Pass. We found ourselves over the top and at lunch earlier than expected, since we were waiting for the continental divide sign which didn?_Tt end up occurring till well beyond the highest point of the pass. The South Pass, besides taking us across the continental divide, put us on the same exact route taken by settlers traveling to much of the West, from Oregon to California and Utah. Crossing the divide was also reassuring because if we get tired we know we can just jump in any river and eventually make it to the Pacific, though right now we would end up in Mexico rather than Washington.


After a nice downhill on the other side, the rest of the day was pretty flat, though it felt like a test of our abilities to ride in a straight line because the rumblestrip had no breaks in it (not even for the gravel crossroads) and took up more and more of the shoulder as we went along.


Farson, our final destination, also happened to be the first town we saw all day. We stayed in the Community Hall, across from the gas station and the world famous ice cream shop. That was pretty much the town. No showers were to be had in Farson. We cooked ourselves another fine spaghetti dinner, had a ?_~town meeting?_T to discuss the finer details of packing the coolers and laundry etiquette, and called it a day.


Seattlebound,
justin

So we arrive in Lander today after a fairly long ride ?_" ok, the longest scheduled ride for the entire trip?_? What was planned to be a 106 mile day became about 112 for most of us. In order to beat the sweltering heat, our wakeup time was set at 5:00 AM, a time most of us are still not used to getting up to. Our 60 mile ride to lunch was relatively flat but it was still longer than some of our other days. It seemed like forever to get to Shoshini, our lunch destination. Shoshini was a small town but many of us enjoyed malts and milkshakes at a popular shop. We arrived into Lander at the Community Center. After our showers at the local pool, we ran into another group of bikers riding across country. For them, they get the Gulf Stream giving them a tail wind as they go from the West Coast to the East Coast. We got the chance to give our presentation back at the Community Center. We were able to have a special guest in attendance at the presentation ?_" the mayor of Lander. He commended our efforts and accepted our donation to the local affordable housing group.


Although today was a long day, it was a pleasurable one. The roads were pretty flat and paved evenly. The mid 90 degree heat didn?_Tt feel too bad. Most importantly, everyone was in great spirits even after our record setting 10 flats in one day.


For now I go to bed in preparation for tomorrow?_Ts 4,000 ft climb through the South Pass. I am very excited as I?_Tve never had such a challenge yet I am also a bit timid as I am mentally psyched out for it. This is my second and, unfortunately, my last post for my journey across the country. I wish to thank everyone for following us as we trek our way across the country to spread awareness about the affordable housing crisis as well as for your enduring support. We would not have made it this far without it!!


THANKS!!!


Jackson Chang

Bike & Build is pleased to make available our 2004 Team Jersey and signature logo hooded sweatshirt. A limited number of 2003 Team Jerseys are available in size L only.


Prices and size availability are listed below. Please add $3 for shipping to the first item, and $1 for each additional item. All prices include sales tax.


Inquiries may be sent to apparel@bikeandbuild.org. To order, please send a check payable to "Bike & Build" to:


Bike & Build
Attn: Apparel Order

967 Columbus Avenue - Suite 7
New York, NY 10025




Bike & Build 2004 Team Jersey - $60.00, S-XL

Bike & Build 2003 Team Jersey - $40.00, L only






Bike & Build Hooded Sweatshirt - $30, S-XL, please specify blue or gray

After a long, hot workday in Casper, the 40 miles into Powder River looked nearly like a day off. Lorin, Parrish and I took a restful morning, opting to relax in a cafAc rather than slide on our bike shorts and hit the road. After eating a baguette and a half, I?_Td had my fill. We soon checked out a bookshop before heading west amidst light raindrops.


Slicing a line through headwind and a section of Route 20 littered with glass and shredded truck tires, the early afternoon was a little bit more tiring than we?_Td expected. The three of us worked as a team though, up the hills and through the flats. At the top of one hill, our situation turned on a dime. The burdensome headwind turned into a helpful tailwind, the rain stopped, and the road turned flat. The road opened up ahead of us. We soon arrived at our overnight location, a five-student school in Powder River. Bigger than we?_Td expected, the school had a basketball court and a bunch of computers, though no potable water.


Today was mail day, so we opened letters and packages on the gym floor, then shared the cookies, dried fruit, and other treats that friends and family sent. We love that stuff! After dinner I had the most of fun of the day. Dave Patterson organized a killer game of kickball, the star player of which was Cody, a fifth grade all-star who lives nextdoor to the school. After two fun and fiery games, we retired for the evening, preparing for a century ride tomorrow. Watching a train rumble under a bridge with Parrish was a nice way to wind down from the day.


As I head for bed, I?_Tm thinking about the mountains. We?_Tve chased them for nearly a week, getting peeks at the top of some hills. The flats have taken a toll mentally ?_" the days seem like they should be easy and quick, but some are arduous. I?_Tm ready for a challenge I can see and conquer.

Howdy! Greetings from Casper, WY. Today our intrepid group enjoyed a day of building at 3 different Habitat homes in the greater Casper area. Once again we had the opportunity to make a concrete difference in affordable housing crisis while also keeping our forearms from disappearing entirely. My group (Margaret, Gavin, Spiker and Thurber) spent the majority of the day removing weeds from a future Habitat lawn. Despite having numerous tools,(shovel, hoe, weed hacker and a yo-yo) the task was made difficult by the 100 degree heat. The home's overhang did a fine job of providing shade which we were encouraged to find every 20min. Despite the heat my group proved equal to the task and beat back the weeds. Later we enjoyed a wonderful barbecue thanks to the Casper Habitat for Humanity. Among the many amazing people we met was a youth group that had traveled from Wisconsin to work in Casper. After the barbecue the group discussed the final plans for Seattle. This meeting was not without discourse as the group was divided on the specifics of our celebration plans. For my part I have never seen a smarter and more committed group in my life so I feel this dilemma will resolve itself. I feel that any kind of celebration with the entire group will be nothing short of incredible. With 3 weeks left to journey over the Rockies and on to the Pacific I feel so honored to be riding with such an extraordinary group. Sitting here in the shadow of the Rockies I feel that we will charge over them not unlike US Postal charged over the field several days ago in The Tour de France. Mountain what??? See you in Seattle. Chris

The morning started out typically in Douglas -- groan and roll out of bed bleary-eyed, and try to get your bag packed up to get to breakfast as quickly as possible. But while we all sat outside eating our bagels, we got a pleasant surprise. Angie's mom came running from the parking lot and began enthusiatically dispensing hugs to everyone. She brought greetings from everywhere she had passed through on the drive from Atlanta to Wyoming: "Hello from Kentucky! Hello from Tennessee! Hugs for everyone!" It was the most excitement I'd ever seen on a bike & build morning.


Whereas typically we all ride the same route, today there were two options. The pastor from the church where we stayed in Lusk had invited us to his ranch, but visiting it entailed riding 15 miles on a very bust highway. Some riders went to the ranch and played with the horses and learned to use a lasso. I opted to stick with the original route, and it was the emptiest forty-mile stretch we've had yet. We saw almost nothing and no one all morning. We passed through a town with a gas station and there were a few windmills and sheds near the highway, but otherwise it was nothing but rolling hills. For a city person like me, it's amazing and beautiful to see so much untouched land.


We arrived in Casper that afternoon, which is apparently the second largest city in Wyoming, with about 30 or 40 thousand people. The campground where we stayed was, conveniently, right next to the fairgrounds where the central Wyoming fair and rodeo was being held. Many of us went to the rodeo that night. It was a bit of a shocking experience for me, a rather soft-hearted animal-lover and vegetarian, to see the cowboys wrestling and tying up cows and making the bucking broncos and bulls so mad. I was sure someone was going to get trampled or kicked in the face, but no one did while I was there. The whole experience was made more exciting by the massive thunderstorm going on throughout, and the floodlights cutting out and leaving us in total darkness right in the middle of the steer-wrestling.


We all enjoyed the luxury of staying up late, because we get to sleep in till 8 am for our casper build day. We're all lookinf forward to a day off our bikes tomorrow =)


--Maya Bruhns

Now don't get me wrong folks, us cowboys don't live the easy life here on the prairie. We have our fair share of wrastlin', fightin' and gunslingin', but every now and then the bad guys take a day off and we get a chance to soak in all that a Wyoming summer's day has to offer. Today was just one of those days. Slinger and I sniffed out the scene for trouble, making sure thatTravis Brower and his Marshalltown cohorts weren't within spittin' distance, and with our assurance of safety, the group set out for Douglas. As we trotted our way down the trail, the sun was bearin' down, and we were plowing our way through the heat. The canteens were runnin' dry faster than you could say "Those Death Cavern Boys are darn good-looking", and heck, even my six-shooter was sweating, but compared to bike thieves and cattle rustlers the heat wasn't nothing fret about.


A day on the old pony with no trouble in sight doesn't make for much exciting reading, and since I'm not one for embellishment, I apologize for not havin' too darn much to keep y'all on the edge of your saddles. The head wind through the first eleven miles had me holding on to the reins like no other, and I was more than happy to stop for a spell at 3 Sisters' Truck Stop in Mansville for a quick bite to ease the mid-morning hankering. A couple sunnyside-ups and biscuits sure did the trick. Thanks to a little good fortune coming our way, when we kicked our spurs back to the trail the wind had pulled the ol' flip-around and started pushing our ponies from the backside, making for an easy trot to lunch, and then on to Douglas. All along the trail the mountains keep inching their way closer, and soon we'll be kissing the hills and prairie goodbye and making our way up the side of the Rockies.


Upon arrival, many of us chose to peruse the streets of Douglas to see if we couldn't stir up some trouble, unfortunately to no avail. From town, we crossed the infamous North Platte River and dismounted at the local middle school for the night. After dinner we enjoyed a raucous game of kickball, complete with lame bunts, monstrous homers, and horrible horrible calls on the part of the other team. After coming very close to a bench-clearin' brawl in the bottom of the last inning, we let the other team enjoy their false victory, since my partner, Slinger, was quite close to tears, and I know he gets sour in the mornin' if he cries himself to sleep (but we'll just keep that between me an' you, ok?).


Well anyway folks, this ol' cowpuncher needs his shuteye just like franks need beans, so I'll just have to tip my hat and see you on the other side of the range.


Until next time, your fearless hero,
Eagle Eye

BB

Today we rode through the type of land that inspired the landscapes that my brothers used to build around their model train sets. Think terraced sandy hillsides, rocky buttes, and shrubbery scattered across the hills carved by years of wind and rain. We didn?_Tt cross into Wyoming until mile 60 of 85, so the awesome morning ride completely negated everything I?_Td been told about Nebraska?_Ts landscape being monotonous.


A lot of us began the morning a little groggy since we didn?_Tt get back from our Mt. Rushmore and Badlands side trip until late last night. In our continuing attempt to somehow replace the sleep that we as students always seem to deny ourselves, Katie Spiker and I set out with the intention of stopping for coffee in the first town we got to. So, in Crawford, we found a diner that looked like it might sufficiently caffeinate us. After making friends with almost everyone in the room, we had one lady promising us that our lives would always be exciting, a waitress assuring us that she could never climb the hill that we would get to in about 4 miles, and a customer paying for our breakfast. Dennis, an older gentleman who owned the grocery store that had pointed us to this restaurant, had evidently met some other P2S riders last night in Chadron and asked the waitress if he could pick up our tab. We consented gratefully, made our goodbyes, and continued on our way to enjoy the rest of this spectacular ride.


We rode 85 miles today, which closed out a long stretch of really long days. I think a lot of us have been surprised by what our bodies can do, and as we near the hills on the horizon that may be the long-anticipated Rockies three days away or some much smaller hills that we?_Tll climb tomorrow, we?_Tre eager to see what else we can bring.


Parrish Bergquist

After a breakfast of mini-bagels (only 150 calories, aaaah), everyone went in search of a diner for a little extra snack. Today was the day of "Team Estrogen." We had a girls gossip ride with Madeline, Parrish, Cari, Margaret, Katie Spiker and myself. It's awesome how fast the miles go by when you're gossiping. We failed on the food mission until we made it to Cody, Nebraska, where there was a nice gas station to hang out at. The only other town before Cody had 7 people. It's really amazing how rural this part of the country is. We made friends with the owner and it turned out that her sun is going to Boston University next year AND works in a grain silo in the next town, about 30 miles away. The girls kept gossiping til lunch, a stop under the only tree for miles. There the rest of the mail arrived, so we all gorged on magic bars and cookies and melted peppermint patties, really one giant patty. "Team Estrogen" biked onwards at digesting speed and shortly after lunch made it to the grain silo. We just strolled up to this grain silo in our spandex, looking completely out of place, and asked a guy if he was Andrew. Sure enough, he was Andrew. He gave us an extensive talk on grain quality. After this agriculture lesson, the girls biked in to Gordon, finishing a very hot 95 mile day. In Gordon, we all got to swim in the public pool, enjoying a brief 20 minutes of peace during "Adult Swim," before the kids mobbed us again. The church had Aladin and Finding Nemo on video, so a whole bunch of us happily zoned out for a few hours in front of the TV. That evening the church grilled for all of us. What a great changed from the usual pasta. There was an awesome thunder and lightning storm to cap off the day.


Keri Backus

Starting as a cold, foggy, drizzly morning, the weather slowly changed until we found ourselves in a long, unbearably hot day (the first in a series with this delightful combination.) However, that didn?_Tt stop us from having a few great adventures between point A and B. The 95-mile ride from Stuart, Nebraska to Valentine, NE taught us both about the wide expanse of ?_oThe West?__ and the homespun hospitality found here. I?_Tm so surprised with the beauty of Nebraska (lush rolling hills have replaced cornfields in a welcome respite) and every time we get off our bikes long enough to chat with someone, the locals are warm, helpful and long-winded.


I?_Tve been spending hours thinking about what this trip was like for Lewis and Clark and the families who had covered wagons instead of Cannondales. I keep thinking about the game ?_oOregon Trail,?__ which I played on our Apple IIe when I was 8 and learned about the trials and tribulations of what this cross-country voyage once was. When compared to cholera, snake bites, fording rivers, running out of food rations, and hunting for 2-pound squirrels, our flat tires, rear-end chafing, sunburns, and endless spaghetti dinners don?_Tt seem so bad.


I was riding sweep with Russell Baruffi. (In case no one else has explained this, every day two people volunteer to ride at the back of the entire group in case anything goes wrong and also just to help keep track of everyone.) Since it was such a long day, I was really dreading this responsibility. It would mean that I couldn?_Tt ride without Russell for the entire day (just kidding, I love riding with this kid) and we would have to stop and wait anytime any other rider needed a break.


In the morning we were coming up close behind the riders at the back of the group so Russ and I elected to stop for a real breakfast in ?_othe next town we see.?__ This would have the double-benefit of giving the slower riders that day a little extra breathing room, and we could enjoy a cup of coffee, fresh eggs and our choice of breakfast meat. After our diner stop we climbed back on our bikes and I tried to ignore the low-quality sausage churning in my stomach.


When we arrived at the lunch spot, it became obvious that no one was interested in pushing to ride hard on this particular day. Another group had stopped at a second diner, some people were sleeping in the grass next to the picnic table and a large group was inside the saloon across the street. ?_oThe L-Bow Room?__ was the quintessential Old West saloon with cattle brands on the walls, a space for country music concerts, and the buxom, bubbly owner, Ruth, shuttling baskets of free French fries to the eager cyclists seated at her bar. She explained ?_oRocky Mountain Oysters?__ (which I didn?_Tt taste until two days later) and talked about her life growing up on a Nebraska ranch. It was a wonderful lunch stop and I was sad to leave.


We arrived in Valentine, NE in the afternoon and the excess of spray-painted hearts on the streets, street signs, restaurants, motels, stores, etc. made me realize how hard it must be to attract tourists to rural Nebraska. But everybody?_Ts gotta find a gimmick, right?
After a dinner of corn-fed Nebraska beef in the best steakhouse in town, I went to sleep happy. Another 95 miles under our belts.


Melissa Barkin

75 miles. When did a 75 mile day become an easy day? Answer: today.


Well, ?_oeasy?__ is relative, of course, but the general consensus about the ride today is that only some minor hills in the morning plus a flat ride featuring a tail-wind for many (minus a crazy downpour during lunch) equals a quite enjoyable jaunt on a bicycle for all.


When we left the campsite in Plainview, I must say, I wasn?_Tt too sure about how the day would turn out. It was cold. But I had donned my trusty arm warmers and polypropylene tights and crossed the street to get a cup of hot chocolate at the gas station before I left, so I was ready. I decided to start the morning at a somewhat accelerated pace to warm up a little faster.


By about mile 20, I hit Orchard, NE, and I thought I might pick up a few Nebraska post cards at the local convenience store. Instead I ended up talking to a friendly older local gentleman by the name of Ernie Kohls. It turns out we Bike & Builders aren?_Tt the first to pedal through this area, and he was even telling me about someone who apparently rode a bicycle through every state of the Union. And I thought we were hard-core cyclists.


I got to lunch on the early side, with only Lorin, Madeline, and Cari ahead of me. Mel had selected a choice lunch spot by some trees about 4 miles outside of the town of O?_TNeil. I had enough time to grab a pair of PBJ sandwiches and an apple before the rain started to creep in on us. Mel decided to move lunch into town where there would be more cover from the rain, but since I had already eaten I decided to just keep on truckin?_T through town, with the hopes of beating out the worst of the rain. It was not meant to be, though, and by the time I was about a mile out of town, it started to come down in buckets. I could hardly see anything, so I decided to head back into town for some shelter at the closest gas station, where I found Andy waiting out the rain as well.


After a good 15 minutes of downpour, it started to let up a bit, so Andy and I thanked the store clerk and headed into the weather. Since it was only noon by that point, and we only had about 30 miles left to ride, I decided to keep up my pace from the morning and got into Stuart around 1:30 without stopping. Lorin, Madeline, and Cari had also decided to press on after the lunch spot move and through most of the rain, so they had been there for quite some time already. We decided to unload the trailer while waiting for others to arrive, and once we had a critical mass, we headed over to the local park to grab some much-needed showers. Everyone else gradually rolled in, and by 3pm or so, impressively, everyone had arrived at the church in quite high spirits ?_" despite the rain. All in all it was a great day of riding.


Dinner for the group was burritos ?_" refried beans, pinto beans, and rice in a tortilla ?_" prepared by the dinner chore group, but Margaret, Katie O., and I weren?_Tt so much in the mood for the musical fruit, so we decided to scope out the local dining scene. (Local dining scene = the ?_oDrive-In?__ restaurant next to the auto mechanic shop out on Highway 20.) After an order of burgers and curly fries all around, my cyclist?_Ts appetite was not quite satiated. I was tempted to order a second round, but Katie wanted to stop by the convenience store across the street, which advertised ?_opizza and sandwiches?__ on the awning, so I thought I might mix up my menu a bit there, and we headed over.


Quite a mistake, I must say. Although Katie grabbed a package of Oreos, I was rather disappointed at the selection of ?_opizza and sandwiches,?__ and I made an executive decision to head back across the street to the Drive-In. As we walked through the doors, the teenage burger-flipper/ice-cream servers recognized us immediately. I walked up to the counter and told the girl behind the counter, ?_oI?_Tll have the usual.?__ She was quite amused, as were Katie and Margaret. We even sat in our ?_ousual?__ seats. (It?_Ts the second booth from the door on the right.)


When we got back to the church, it was time for the weekly ?_otown-hall?__ meeting. Mr. Dave Patterson led an effective gathering, where we decided to draft new chore groups by picking 7 captains and having them pick us out like we were in high school gym class. I was the last draft choice of Ms. Erin?_Ts group ?_" but I won?_Tt hold it against her. After that, we celebrated Cari Mailloux?_Ts birthday with a Cookie Monster-esque piA?ata (supplied by Margaret) and a few good wacks with a broomstick.


And now, to sleep, only to do it all again in the morning. Well, not all of it - oh, Stuart Drive-In, how I will miss thee!


Steve Aussenberg

Today was quite an interesting day. We started out exhausted this morning after biking over 100 miles yesterday in the rain. After just a couple miles, we crossed the border into Nebraska over a busy bridge. Hard to believe that we're in our 9th state already. Right after crossing the border, Nebraska gave us a windy welcome. The first 40 miles of the route were by far some of the toughest we've biked this whole trip. Just imagine the frustration of looking down at your odometer and seeing that you're going 11.5 mph downhill!! Luckily, we turned this nice little bend in the road and saw a gas station. Pretty much everyone sat down and rested for awhile. We had some nice subs and hot chocolate, and then got back on our bikes and pedaled on. The rest of the ride was nice, but the highlight was definitely riding towards this big group of people sprawled out at a park. I hear "Bike and Build!!!!!" and I'm completely confused because we're supposed to have another 17 miles or so. Luckily, we had found a campground in the town where we were originally supposed to stay so we could get off our bikes and relax the rest of the day. We camped out, had the usual pasta and red sauce, and swapped some fantastic jokes. All in all, it was a frustrating morning, but it was so fantastic to get off my bike and have a laugh with everyone in the afternoon. Oh, and did I mention that we were across the street from an amazing clown museum? It was a bit too creepy for me but apparently some people thoroughly enjoyed it. (And on a personal note, I was thinking of you guys when I came into Nebraska. I was declaring shenanigans left and right on the wind.)


-Marie Audett

After a number of accidental century days, today was our first official one. To celebrate, Madeline broke out her bright magenta shorts that she had saved for this momentous occasion. I don?_Tt know if you can truly appreciate the intense magenta (magentality?) of Madeline?_Ts shorts without actually seeing them, but trust me, they were hot.


The first part of today?_Ts journey started on a bike path that led out of Carroll. At this time we were in a big pack, so in the time that I got off my bike to chalk the turn onto the path and got back on, I moved from the front middle of the pack to being in the way back -- where sweep was waiting for me. Just in front of me were Madeline and Reid, so I caught up and stuck with them. Now, Madeline and Reid are two of the fastest riders in our group of 32. As for me, some days I go fast and some days I go slow. I?_Tm not exactly why I decided to take the first official century day as a fast day ?_" maybe it was the magenta shorts and some kind of obligation I felt to stick with them in order to properly celebrate our century day.


Halfway through the bike path the pavement ended, so we had the option of going down the unpaved trail or onto the main roads. By this time Madeline, Reid, and I had caught up with the rest of the pack and this was my chance to decide if I wanted to go at a leisurely pace with the rest of the pack, or book it with Madeline and Reid. Since they turned onto the main road and I didn?_Tt feel like striking out on my own, I just followed them. On the way to Breda, where the trail meets up with the main road, we caught up with Justin and Chris caught up with us. Going through Breda, the five of us weren?_Tt sure if we were either in the very front of the pack or at the very end. No one else was in sight despite the fact that we could see for several miles ahead and back. Then we saw that our first major turn had been chalked. We couldn?_Tt be in the way, way, back, could we? Again, no one else was in sight. We came to the conclusion that Laura, driving in the support van, had chalked it, and that we were in front. When Keri and Andy passed us later as we took a break in the town of Schleswig, we were proven right.


We then made another turn that led to a large downhill. Reid and I were ahead when we heard Madeline call that Chris?_T chain had fell off and that he had to put it back on. So, we stopped and waited for Chris to catch up ?_" though I have a snagging suspicion that Chris really stopped to chalk the turn. I?_Tll have to admit that the chalk there did seem a bit faded.


Farther along, Justin asked me, ?_oSo, how does it feel to be in the front of the pack??__


That realization seemed strange to me. At the beginning of the trip I was a very inexperienced and slow rider who was stalling while going up hills. Now, I was blowing down hills in excess of 30 miles per hour with the fast kids and *everyone* else behind me. How did this happen? Chris also recalled the first day, saying, ?_oI was thinking, is this kid *really* going to make it to Seattle? But you proved me wrong.?__ Well, we still have a few more weeks on the road. Hopefully nothing unexpected happens that would really keep me from getting there. And I shouldn't say anything to jinx myself, either.


Random tidbits: the same beer truck passed us twice ?_" reminiscent of the dAcjA? vu glitch in The Matrix. That and the fact that we didn?_Tt see anyone else around us gave us a feeling that was similar to being in the Twilight Zone. Also, ?_oflat Iowa?__ is a myth. We encountered several hills today. Some rolling, some with long inclines and massive drops. Something that we haven?_Tt seen since Pennsylvania/Western Ohio.


And it rained. After lunch it came down ?_" not heavy, but still a decent amount. I was a bit worried that the bike wouldn?_Tt react very well once water was added, considering that?_Ts how I wiped out just outside of Scranton. But nothing bad happened, thankfully.


At mile 80 the Barkins (Mel?_Ts dad and uncle) set up a snack stop and provided watermelon. Breaking up these long days really helps, making it mentally easier. Then it?_Ts just another 20-mile ride until the end. By this point Neale and Lorin had also taken off ahead of us. We were no longer at the very front, but still at the head of the pack.


Upon entering the Sioux City area, a number of us were really surprised at the number of short and really steep hills all over and the downhills that went into intersections. The same thought was probably going through our minds ?_" these roads were not made for biking. But we reached the YMCA safely. Apparently some riders got lost along the way because of missed turns, around Sioux City and long before. One group went an extra 15 miles ?_" compared to the full 106 miles that were slated for today, I guess 15 doesn?_Tt seem so bad. Either way, we were all beat. It?_Ts a good thing that the Y provided dinner for us because a good number of us were so tired that we went right to sleep afterwards.


Well, here?_Ts to a first century day that was meant to be 100+ miles, not just ending up that way because of getting lost.


Ren-Horng Wang

90 miles, no gas stations. Where are we?


As we begin week 4 we like to think of ourselves as experienced cyclists, however a couple 0 MPH falls this morning brought back memories of our first few days. No worries no one was hurt, but Josh is working on a discount on training wheels at the nearest bike shop.

After the falls most everyone had a fairly uneventful morning riding through more of Iowa?_Ts beautiful rolling hills. Mia, however, had a more frustrating morning dealing with two flats that ended with two broken pumps. She and sweep spent the rest of the day trying to catch up to the rest of the group. All say they ?_oenjoyed the experience.?__
After lunch there were a few more hills and a little more wind making the day a little more challenging than perhaps we wanted given that we have a 105 mile day tomorrow. Everyone gathered at the church and then biked a couple miles to meet a few of the local Habitat board members at their current build site. We had a great time meeting with them and exploring their nearly finished house. Hearing the board members talk about the family who is about to move in gave us much needed inspiration as the days continue to get longer.

We took quick showers and then enjoyed a delicious spaghetti dinner complete with homemade sauce made by the pastor. It was so good we may have set a new record for the amount of spaghetti we can consume (we?_Tre nearing 10 pounds uncooked).
Many people chose to go to bed early hoping to get extra sleep before the 5 AM wake up. But a few of us could not let the 4th pass without a little more celebration. We drove to a small town fair in nearby Brita. We tried our luck at a few games but bingo was clearly the favorite. While Slinger took the game quite seriously it was Dave who got the win. The locals were a little mystified by our loud celebration over winning 5 dollars. What can we say, the slight delirium caused by 90 miles makes a lot of things exciting.


I would like to add a few things to Lorin?_Ts list of things we have learned:

-Unclipping will always be easy to forget
-Even though you can?_Tt see the cows, they still smell at night

-pavement is faster than gravel and has less potential to lead to chafe city
-new fundraisers should include playing bingo and possibly other betting games




-Amy Thurber