Bike & Build - David Smith

My name is David Smith. I am 23 years old and live in Garner, North Carolina. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in December of 2008. At school I studied graphic design and sculpture. Since then, I spent six months in Minnesota working for Franconia Sculpture Park as an Intern Artist. There I was able to build three large-scale sculptures that are currently on display at the park. Currently I am working at Wolf Camera at Cameron Village in Raleigh, NC trying to save a little bit of money.

I learned about Bike & Build through a neighbor of mine. I saw that she had just come back from a long bike ride and looked pretty worn out. I started a conversation to her about biking and she said she was preparing for this trip, which left in a week! I was so interested in it from the start. I had always had the idea of biking across the country but could never figure out a safe way to do it (or anyone else to do it with). But this seemed like an amazing way to do it. And on top of just biking, I was very excited to make a step into Habitat for Humanity and other affordable housing organizations.

Years ago I had been involved with a couple of mission trips with my old church where we helped repair houses for those who couldn’t afford it. I haven’t volunteered my time nearly enough since then and decided now was the time. I am definitely excited about using this experience as a starter for a long-term commitment to affordable housing organizations and Habitat for Humanity.

The idea of biking across the country excites me and scares me to death. Just to be able to say “I biked from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific Ocean” is an exciting thought. The main thing is being able to overcome the physical and mental barriers of this task. I feel like I’m going to learn so much about myself on this trip. I am really excited to ride through the desert and the Rocky Mountains. I’ve been stuck around the same landscape most of my life, and I’m excited to just get out and see the rest of this country. But, nothing makes me more excited than to imagine myself biking onto the shores of the Pacific and diving right in!

Aspen, CO to Meeker, CO

Aspen, CO to Rifle, CO: We spent 40 miles on a bike path following the river out of Aspen. It was pretty amazing to not have to worry about cars at all. Preston and I rode a pretty leisurely pace all day. Had lunch at mile 40 in a town called Greenwood Springs (or glenwood, or something, I don't know). Dipped my toes in the river for a bit then headed back on the road. Pretty uneventful the rest of the way. It definitely started to get a lot hotter now that we've descended quite a bit. We are definitely headed towards the desert. We stayed at a firehouse the two nights we were in Rifle. The guys at the fire department were really awesome. They let us spray each other with the fire hose. We also filled up this pool thing. They were just really cool guys.

Build day in Rifle: We did a bunch of random tasks at the build site here. I did a lot of deconstruction with Lizzy, Kim, Sarah and Angela. Just swinging around a big sledge hammer all day. Afterwards, a group of us decided to bike 12 miles out to Rifle Falls. B$, Natalie, Katie R, Sebass, Tyler, Paul, Varun, Beth, Brad and Micheal all headed down that way. It was quite awesome, but sad that we couldn't do any swimming while there.

Rifle, CO to Meeker, CO: The firefighters wanted to get a good group shot of all of us in front of the firetruck before we left so we hung around for a bit. Preston and I got on the road and it was blazing hot pretty early. Only a 40 mile day, but the first half was all climbing. The second half had some crappy roads they were doing construction on, but it was still a decent ride. The church here has been amazing. Great food and great hospitality.

We're leaving Colorado with a bang tomorrow by doing 112 miles into Vernal, Utah. Should be an intense day. Hopefully, better than our last long day.

Henryetta, OK to Aspen, CO