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.