Sarah Graham
Florissant, MO
Truman State University

Last 5 blog entries: It's over... Colorado Clay Center The Little Apple First Century

Show latest update from from Sarah's blog It's over... Well. I failed at blogging for the entire last month of the trip. Cannon Beach (the final destination) was the greatest thing in the entire world. I've never felt more emotions at one time in my entire life. I ran around the beach yelli.ng about how confused I was. Reaching the beach was a strange mixture of excited, elated, sad, antsy, unbelieving, and a whole range of other things. I was yelling throughout the entire bike ride through the town of Cannon Beach and then started hyperventilating and semi-crying when we got there, and then it was just a huge celebration. Everyone lined up next to the lifeguard station and we counted up to the sprint to the ocean! It was crazy. Everyone was screaming and people were crying and everyone was hugging. The water was so cold that I literally went numb from the waist down, but my adrenaline was so strong that it didn't feel cold until I got back to the beach. We all circled up and remembered Paige before we got into the Haka. Nothing felt better than being in that circle of family and not being able to comprehend the fact that, yes, we had just bicycled across the entirety of the continent. Wow. The entire trip was nothing but one blessing after the other. Things that would normally keep us down brought us closer together. When people talk to me about giving up my summer I know that I can safely say that I didn't lose anything, but rather I gained 30 brothers and sisters, a renewed view of humanity, and an experience that has left me stronger both physically and mentally. I love my Bike and Build family and I miss them everyday, however I am slowly realizing that it's finished and so I need to take what I've done this summer and apply it back to what we all call "real life." Before I started this trip I was reading a previous CUS-ers blog and he said that he gave the entire experience a 98 on a scale of 100. I can't give it 100 for the sole reason that it would be ridiculous and nothing is perfect; however I would definitely give it at least a 98.5/100. I have only happy memories from the whole thing despite heat, mountains, saddle sores, and centuries. Oh how I do love biking. To wrap it all up for now, I can't thank everyone who supported me throughout this adventure enough for their thoughts, prayers, notes of encouragement, money, etc. Despite the fact that it may seem as though my now sculpted legs got me across this country I know that this trip was 80%, if not more, mental...so thank you SO much for getting me coast to coast! Lots of Bike and Build love, Sarah

Sarah's photos  Photos of Sarah

Sarah's bio: Hello!  My name is Sarah Graham I am a sophomore at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO and am majoring in English.  I am from St. Louis- the North side- and while I miss "city living" I have immensely enjoyed the pleasures of living in the small town where my college is located.  Aside from just going to school and doing immense amounts of reading I also enjoy the extracurricular activities which I am involved in.  I am on the Student Activities Board at Truman, and while this takes up a huge chunk of my free time the experiences and knowledge that I am gaining from every minute of this organization is a life-long lesson.  I have learned about working through frustrations, being flexible, and the all-important lesson of time management.   My best friend and I began talking about Bike & Build over the summer after we heard about it from a mutual acquaintance.  We bounced around the idea of actually endeavoring to make the trip, but we never really thought it would go anywhere.  Well, a few months later those far-off dreams are coming to fruition.  Never in my life could I have imagined spending two and a half months of my life biking across America for the cause of low-income housing, but now that I've begun the process there is nothing that can stand in my way.  I have always been the "determined" one of my siblings, and now with a new goal in my sight I will do whatever it takes to raise the funds to support this great cause.  It will not be easy; in fact I am 86.82% sure this will be one of the most difficult things I have ever attempted to do, but being a part of something so much bigger then myself makes the entire process worthwhile.  When it comes to biking I have only done it in a purely recreational way.  I ride a bike to class and around town, but that’s about it.  In high school I ran track and cross country and because of those experiences I am confident in my ability to work up to the 75 mile per day average which B&B recommends.  Goal setting and achieving is something that I have been honing since I was young and therefore I am beyond confident in my ability to bike across the country. I can’t wait for May to roll around so this adventure can commence.  I look forward to learning about myself, the needs of others, and what it takes to overcome gigantic obstacles.

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