When You Run On Fumes...

A place to sleep: free

Clif bars, energy drinks, and other carbs, proteins, sugars: $20 

Tubes, lube, and chamois butter: $45 

Being able to bike 276 miles in three days: Priceless

I'm running on Clif shot bloks, Nutella, and perpetually sore muscles at this point. We are, when looking at a map, halfway across the country, (currently in Springfield, MO) but we still have a little over 2,000 miles left to cycle in the next month and a half. A lot of good things have happened since our last day off, which was around my last post. 

I didn't realize my lack of free time until the trip actually started. We bike about 5-8 hours a day, depending on mileage, shower (yet the stench never fully washes away), eat (always ridiculous mountains of food), and get ready for the next day. It's a monotonous cycle that allows for spontaneity and joy in who you ride with, what you see, where you bike, and what you do with your time. It's a beautiful mutiny on my body. 

We had some awesome build days in Columbus where we got to put up the first walls of a house, help start the second floor on another, and build garage walls. Supervisors like Bill, Dave, Dan, and Tim really make build days worth it; who wouldn't want to be on the A-Team?! We're like a swarm of locusts that come through, but instead of devastating everything we get so much work done. It's incredible to see what we can accomplish in one day. One of our commandments for the summer is "biking is the perk, building is the reason" and each time we work with Habitat it's another reminder of that. It gets me excited for the fall when I'll be joining Habitat KC as a Volunteer Coordinator. 

Building has it's ups and downs, although that couldn't be truer for ride days. The Midwest, and Missouri (or Misery as my teammates...okay sometimes myself included...call it) in particular, has surprised us with how challenging it can be. The Midwest is NOT FLAT. Brutal finding that out. To get through MO, we biked through the Ozarks and it was hilly-steep, long, and constantly rolling-rivaling the mountains of western PA we hit a couple weeks ago. 

Everyone is sore, tired, and excited to get out of the Show-Me state. We have a little more showing to do, but I think we have done pretty darn well considering the circumstances with terrain, increased heat and humidity, and overall morale. It's strange to know we only have a month and a half left. We still have half our build days, the desert of NM, AZ and CA, and the Pacific Ocean to look forward to. I may be tired, but this has by far shown me how tough I can be, how much it means to have solid support, and how beautiful our country really is, not just the landscape, but more importantly, the people. 

From the most epic Bike and Build ride day ever...hehe 

Nuff said. 

My first legit century ride from STL to Belle, MO.