The Adventure Starts Here

It's been three and a half weeks since ME2SB14 rode onto the beach in Santa Barbara. The GroupMe keeps everyone together even though I am now thousands of miles apart from my B&B family.
I miss the wind blowing on my face and the feeling of flying as I crouch over Ruby (my bike), the hum of wheels on pavement in my ears as I descend a mountain. I miss the sound of Thermarests being deflated and other bodies groggily moving as we would get ready for a long day of riding. I miss Luscious' outbursts of Broadway tunes and Margaux's puns and KTLee's laugh.

It was hard adjusting back into life at home. I didn't really know what to do with myself most of the time because a lot of my friends don't live here so it was strange going from being around 32 people to being by myself (and I like being by myself; I craved alone time on the trip haha). I'm not saying it isn't hard anymore, but it has gotten easier since starting my AmeriCorps term with Habitat for Humanity Kansas City. It has given me a routine, trips to look forward to (the National Service Leadership Conference in Talladega, AL and Build-A-Thon in New Orleans, LA), new people to work with (I'm the youngest one in the office), and new people to meet every day because it's what I do as a Volunteer Coordinator.

AmeriCorps is kind of a big deal and I didn't realize it until we celebrated its 20th birthday on September 12th when I was sworn in with the rest of the new members. I am part of a new family now, one that is over 900,000 strong, one that is willing to commit a year of their life to serving their country. I never looked at it like that. I was just so excited to have something to do after Bike and Build, especially in the realm of affordable housing, that I didn't really take the time to consider what I signed on for outside of the stuff I had to know.

With time to soak it all up, I'm lucky to be where I am. To work alongside this affiliate as we work to alleviate the AH problem in midtown Kansas City. To be surrounded by my co-workers who love what they do and care more about the neighborhood impact than the money they make. To interact with volunteers who willingly take the time out of their week to come and spend time building someone's home. To see good things happening in my hometown and to see the pride we take in the place we live.

I saw this written: "You will never be completely home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."  I felt this when I got home from studying abroad and I feel it now after Bike and Build. While these experiences are over and I'm left with memories and lifetime friendships, I'm on to another great adventure that, while it might not seem as crazy as the others I've had, will be just, if not more, rewarding. In the cheesiest way possible, I'm #blessed.  

A Whole New World

I'm sitting at my desk...in my room...at home. It's strange. Not just for the fact that my parents did a stellar remodel job to make it look 22 instead of 16, but also that I am in my room...at home. Considering I've been a nomad for the last two and a half months, having a fluffy bed and my computer back are all wonderful and hilariously foreign. This summer was a beautiful journey of limited communication and minimal living; now I'm tasked with the job of cleaning out my closet of unwanted, or more like unneeded, clothes, getting ready for AmeriCorps to start on Tuesday, and plain and simply getting back into a real world routine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked to be starting the next adventure with Habitat. I get to do something I enjoy and really care about every day and so in that, there is something to look forward to. It'll also be hard to wear underwear (with biking shorts you don't), to not have three pockets on my back that I can shove anything in to, to not eat everything I want because I won't be biking 80 miles a day, but mostly it'll be hard to not be surrounded by 32 hilariously witty people 24/7.

The closest thing Bike and Build is akin to is studying abroad, for me anyway, where you get to know people really quickly because the circumstances require it. Yet even so, this was unlike anything I've ever done. My teammates got to know me in ways that even my closest friends haven't experienced, and trust me, we've been through a lot. ME2SB14 lived, ate, biked, and built together all summer and the hard hitting questions were asked very early into the trip (like road trip quick, aka before we even got to Maine) and they saw parts of me that I would have normally never shown anyone, and it was okay because I trusted them and knew they wouldn't judge me at the end of the day, even if I did get gut-busting laughs for it. Plus, we were all going through similar situations down there, if you know what I mean, so it was a relatable issue for all of us.

I am lucky. To have this adventure. To meet the people I met along the way: strangers, hosts, old friends, new friends. To have been a part of a team that cared so deeply about one another. To do something I loved while helping people. To learn about a cause that is in dire need of attention and support. To experience a problem I don't have to deal with every day because of where I was born and the opportunities I've had. To know that even though I set out to help change the lives of others, the life I know that changed the most was my own.

So yeah, I'm a little sad. And that's okay. Because I know too that this family I made over the summer, it won't be the last time I see them. And while the difficulties of acclimating back into daily life in Kansas City will be brutal, I know I will slowly get back into the swing of things and life will go on. That doesn't mean I won't talk about Bike and Build all the time or wish I could be on my bike, but I'm going to try to emulate things the trip taught me, like taking risks and slowing down to actually experience things and taking the time to hear people's stories. 

To my team, you were the best companions a girl could ask for (in Katie Lee vernacular, you're straight fire) and I'm glad you're all as crazy as I am. I love you and I miss you and I'm going to visit. To those on the outside who supported me with care packages and words of encouragement, thank you. It got me through the tough days and reminded me of why I was doing the trip in the first place. And to Bike and Build, this opportunity is like no other and words are inadequate to describe how it helped to open my perspective and see our country in a new light. 

We live in a beautiful place people, so let's appreciate her for all she's worth. And with the parts that are not so good, let's join together to make her whole again. Because only we have the power to do so. 

Times They Are A Changin'

I'm in Payson, Arizona. I got here by pumping and cranking my own two legs over hills, across plains, and through desert land, as well as swinging hammers, sawing wood, and nailing boards.

Seriously?! What is this life?! Most of the time it still doesn't seem real. 

Life is all about perspective and mine has shifted significantly since starting this trip. How could it not? When you spend all your time with 32 like-minded people striving toward a common goal to help a greater purpose, if you don't come out changed you did something wrong. 

It's about seeing the generosity of folks all across the country willing to sacrifice precious resources to help us achieve our goal. It's about small interactions we have with people in gas stations and at host sites where we get to hear their stories and share our own. It's about getting to be part of a family that never stops supporting you and loves you for who you are no matter the circumstance. It's about being part of a once in a lifetime opportunity where you get to experience your homeland in a way not many people are willing to risk. 

Yes, obvious aspects like geography, food, and the physicality of my body change; some of the more important takeaways I've discovered about myself are the fact that I am more mentally strong than I thought; I want to do something with my life that makes me happy and that does good for other people even if I don't make a ton of money; I'm going to be a damn good driver when I get home. 

We as a society spend too much time worrying about where we have to go or what the next thing we have to do is. Slow down! If this trip has taught me anything, it's the joy in taking the time to talk to people, actually seeing the scenery you're passing by, being considerate of other people (drivers, please when you see a cyclist or hiker or whoever, see them as a human and not a nuisance. Too many times have we been passed by assholes who, for no good reason, try to intentionally cause us harm because we try to share the road with them.) 

With only three weeks left, there is still a lot left to see and experience. Like having my first time camping be at the Grand Canyon or seeing Southern California. And doing it all by bike, nonetheless. Every ache, pain, mental breakdown, laugh, and smile has been worth it to get me to this point. Call me crazy, but this is a crazy life and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

We've gotten to ride on historic Route 66 

Mountains in AZ we descended through 

Chris Benson and the mayor of Portales, NM with a proclamation stating that August 2 is Bike and Build day in Portales. 

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. 

The Bike and Build Bubble

Including today, I've been on the road for 23 days now and it's felt like years. But in a good way because our group has gotten close really quickly. I have been surrounded by everything B&B and I've discovered that what they say about the B&B bubble is true, made evident by our day off in Pittsburgh for the Fourth.

• When you put 33 people in substantial isolation together, boundaries go out the window and anything goes (within reason). 

• It's weird to see each other in anything other than the two outfits we wear after each day in the saddle. 

• Spandex is not awkward to wear in public when 32 other people look exactly the same as you do. 

• We go everywhere in packs and we get lots of stares because it's abnormal to travel in groups so big. 

• We eat an ungodly amount of food at any and all meals. Especially cake, cookies, and other junk food. We crave fruits and vegetables. No need to count calories though when you burn thousands of calories every day. 

• Biking 70-85 miles a day isn't out if the ordinary. And 60 mile days feel very short compared to the norm.

• Applying Chamois (pronounced shammy) butter is quite the production every morning. 

• Civilization is a beautiful thing.

Pittsburgh, at the Point 

Biking through PA somewhere 

Since the Last Time

Sorry for the delay folks. The last two weeks have been crazy but so so good! Orientation was a blur of name games, presentations, and getting to know one another. I have to say, this group of people is incredible. Everyone is super cool and funny and really interesting in all our own quirky ways, but we all mesh well. From the very beginning it felt like a family.

Anyway, we've been on the road since Friday (aka 6 days now) and it has been an overload of luscious green trees, winding roads, and most recently, hills (the Midwest failed to train me on that one). We ride in groups of 2-6 and I've had the pleasure of being with different people everyday and it's cool to see how we all ride and the kind of encouragement we need when the times get tough. Three states down: Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and we have been spoiled with the weather and scenery. Beautiful blue skies and bodies of water. Not only that, but we have had fantastic hosts who feed us crazy good food and help us get whatever we need. 

Example: yesterday the hanger on my bike (Ruby is her name; and the hanger is part of the rear derailleur) was bent and Sherry took me to two bike shops around North Hampton, MA to get it fixed. I was late for showers so Karen took me and waited for me while I got clean. That is generosity and selflessness at its finest and I was thankful to be on the receiving end. We had some really good conversations too and it was really nice to get to know them, especially since they were hosting us. 

We are in Pittsfield, MA for tonight and tomorrow while we build. It'll be number three and the other sites have been full of framework, laying flooring, ladders, saws, and hammers. It's slightly overwhelming when 33 willing volunteers show up, but all of the site supervisors have been great to work with, outside of an older volunteer named Bob (we think) who I nicknamed Mr. Grumpypants. It's never boring on a construction site, at least not when Bike and Build is there.  

A trail in western Mass 

On site in Fitchburg, MA 

Yep, This is Real Life

In the last five days I've gone from Kansas City to Chicago to Pittsburgh to Philly to Brooklyn to Boston to Littleton, MA and now I'm en route my final stop: Portland, ME for orientation. Yeah, I feel the same way you do after reading that. It's finally here! Days spent in the car, hours of great music, nine new friends (until tomorrow), a food truck festival, one of the oldest hostels in the Northeast, and half the country covered by car with a few bike rides thrown inbetween.

I can already tell that this is going to be a summer for the books. It already has been and we haven't even officially started Bike and Build yet. With orientation less than 24 hours away, I am super excited about what is to come over the next ten weeks. The little family we've already formed is going to become 33 strong, so watch out America because we are taking you by storm! (Literally beause we bike in the rain.) 

I'm the furthest east I can get and starting Friday I'll be making my way through the time zones. Keep looking out because it's only going to get crazier. 

My new awesome friend Emily! 

Riding into New York City. Clouds- they're cool. 

That's five bikes on that rack. Poster children for Giant as we made our way across the country. 

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

Or in a car named Micky so I can ride my bike named Ruby across the country (I like naming things okay?!). The day has finally come people! I am finally embarking on my Bike and Build trip. I leave tomorrow for Chicago with my good friend Sheeby where I'll head with a few of my teammates to Portland, Maine; from there, the big journey commences as I head west toward Santa Barbara.

I've waited six months for this day to come and now that it has I'm a little anxious, I'm not gonna lie. But who wouldn't be? Am I stoked to meet my B&B family? Hell yes! Am I excited to see the country by bike? You bet I am! Can I wait to help build houses? I can hardly stand it! 

I spent a really awesome day relishing in my hometown, Kansas City, MO. Happy Gillis, Christopher Elbow chocolate, BBQ. Honestly, what day could be better? It'll be hard to leave this behind for 10 weeks, but I know that this is exactly how I should be spending my summer. So as I say my see-you-laters and wave out the back window, I know I'm headed for a grand unknown. And that is awesome. Because as some wise Pixar creator once said in a little movie called UP, "Adventure is out there!" And I fully intend to live that out. 

This is my one duffel and hydration pack for the entire summer. That's right, this girl is going minimalist. 

The Hairy, Scary Monster

The future is hard.

It is messy and unpredictable and scary. It is at the edge of our thoughts and not there at all. I haven't done a very good job of confronting the future. It's kind of like when you were a kid and you asked an adult to tell you a story and at some point you get to the part where they say, "And it was the hairy, scary monster." It didn't fool us as kids, but I'm not so sure now. 

I admit it, I'm afraid of the future. Or I'm afraid to think about the future, at least the parts I don't want to deal with yet. Like the fact that the place I've called home the last four years won't be "home" anymore or the scary reality that I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. That's a lot of pressure to put on a 20-something, society. I know it's not forever, but sometimes it feels that way.

To graduate from Truman, you have to complete a senior portfolio (which I finished about two weeks before the deadline; TTS I know, but if it's any consolation that's about the only thing I've finished early all semester) and you have to submit papers and fill out prompts, but the one thing I truly enjoyed about this process was writing Truman a letter (it was required) of my experience being a Bulldog. There are not enough words to describe the transformation I underwent at Truman, and I won't bore you now with those details, and it was really good, but also hard, thinking about everything that affected me, good or bad, these last four years.

I graduate in 33 days (I never thought this day would come. I always thought I would be stuck in Kirksville forever, like I thought I would be stuck in high school forever...do you see a pattern here? Time creeps up on you! Just when you least expect it.) 
In 71 days, I'll be in Portland, ME at orientation for Bike and Build. And I'm stoked. While the future is big and hairy, it is also forgiving and enthralling. To spend my summer volunteering and spreading the word about affordable housing, I wouldn't want to spend my time any other way. With 32 other adventurous and interesting people, nonetheless! But too, today was a huge wake-up call. The magnitude that I'll be biking across the country hit me. ACROSS. THE. COUNTRY. Yeah, I'll let you soak that in with me. 

Maybe B&B is me pushing off the reality that I need to figure my stuff out. Maybe it's me denying the fact that I'm like Eeyore and the future, for right now, is my own personal rain cloud (although I don't see the future as a downer all the time; I really am excited to graduate and be independent and do anything I want to!) I know I need to pull out my umbrella to fend off the rain, but I can't help but choose to the see the beauty that comes from letting the drops hit my face and fill my shoes. 

Keepin' On Keepin' On

Holy moly! Time flies when you are trying to build up your calf muscles or just get in shape so you don't die on the first day of a cross country bike trip that will eventually come. About three and a half months people, THREE AND A HALF MONTHS (come March)! A lot has been happenin' so let me fill you in. 

Snow. About a foot of it. Rain, about four inches just today accompanied by thunder and lightning (although I did enjoy the sounds, but I've also been inside all day). Ice. Danger, Will Robinson. Sunshine. Makes all aforementioned precipitation slushy and sloshy. Welcome to Northeast Missouri! To combat this, I have been doing a lot of spinning at the Rec Center to get used to being on a bike because we all know that braving a Kirksville winter is quite impossible on a bike. 

I've been hoping for warm weather so I can finally get outside on my bike...which I ordered!!! It is going to be a black and red beauty. And I got my shoes in the mail today too and though we haven't been on a ride together yet, I think it'll be a match made in heaven. So while I daydream about riding outside, I can dress in my new shoes, biking shorts, jersey, and pretend that I get to do the real shebang. (Does that remind you of William Hung's American Idol audition because that's right where my mind went when I wrote that...)

On a semi-serious note, I have fundraised $2,525! I'm over half way there! That is incredible and I have some really awesome donors who love me. All I can say is that I am beyond humbled by having that much already. And so a shout out is in order: to all my donors, THANK YOU. Your generosity and support is overwhelming and I couldn't think of a better cause to be working for. If you want to donate to this affordable housing, check out my profile at http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/7263. 

I'll be checking back in soon. Nasdrave and Ride on. 

And So It Goes...

As my last semester gets underway, I have more than school on the brain. Yes, classes are important (you are talking to a soon-to-be-graduating senior though...), but the prospect of sunshine, biking shorts, and meeting 32 other adventurous people have me somewhat preoccupied. 

With a non-profit called Bike and Build, I am fundraising (Donate here to support me!) and will be raising awareness for affordable housing by biking across the country. Yep, you read that right! 3,993 miles from Maine to Santa Barbara in two and a half months. 

You think I'm crazy?! Well read some of my other posts from my time abroad in Bulgaria and you'll find I am just that, a little crazy, but in the best way possible! I have a bad case of wanderlust and the chance to volunteer for a really good cause. 

A few things I'm looking forward to this summer: 1) getting to see and know the U.S. by using my legs of steel...I'm still working on that. 2) making new friends from all across the U.S. 3) bulking up on my bike knowledge because flat tires and loose chains are inevitable. 4) building houses for really awesome and deserving families! 

Some of you might want to hop in the saddle and ride with me, others are happy to nod and internally think "This girl is nuts." Either is great! You can help me though by dishing out some dough (did you like that little rhyme?)! We fundraise to help the local affordable housing groups we'll be working with, among other things, and so I am asking for your help! Check out the website www.bikeandbuild.org. You won't just be helping me, you'll be an integral part in this trip just as much as I am, I'll just be sweatier and have really bad tan lines. 

And don't forget to tag along with me through my journey of the time zones.