Sunday, August 15, 2010
An ode to Glacier National Park: Part II
And I thought yesterday was emotional...boy was I in for a treat! The adventure was just beginning when we GOT TO Glacier, now we have to ride through it! Camping was a less than glamorous experience...it was SUPER cold and raining the whole night and it was pretty difficult to stay warm in our tents. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well so the 4:30am wake up was pretty rough. I woke up cranky, cold and pretty irritable. We had a 78 mile day ahead of us including the tallest climb of our trip - Logan Pass. We had to get up so early so that we could get to the top of the pass and back down again before construction on the road to the sun (the road we were riding on all day) started. I decided to ride with Kelsey and Liz that day because I knew they were having a hard time getting started as well. It was pretty evident in the first few miles of the day that we would be taking our sweet time to take pictures and climb at our own pace so we decided to volunteer to be a 3 man sweep team. Jillian and Diane were really excited that they didn't have to wait on us and happily accepted our offer. Kelsey, Liz and I had the best day EVERRRR!!!! We had so much fun enjoying the AMAZZZZINGness of Glacier and didn't feel rushed at all to climb up the mountain. We got to the top of Logan Pass with smiles on our faces - 6000 some feet up! It was such an accomplishment! We were treated with a 14 mile downhill at a pretty decent grade with winding switchbacks the whole way down!!! It was outstanding (minus the fact that the top was FREEZING and we had to take breaks frequently to make sure we could feel our hands to use our brakes...minor details while biking). At the bottom of the pass there's a lodge, convenient store and a few restaurants. The self proclaimed sweep team treated ourselves to a delicious pizza lunch and some relax time next to the fireplace. It was hard to tear ourselves away to finish out the 30 some miles left in the day. We finished the day in Whitefish, MT (with Kelsey getting the only flat of the day a mile from the host site - what luck we have!) and finished the 11th day in a 11 day straight riding days. It was a day of high highs and low lows and many many accomplishments! I love my life and the people in it right now...I can't believe everything we have done! I've also never been so happy to have a day off the bike (build day in Whitefish!)...my butt needed a break! :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
An ode to Glacier National Park: Part I
WE MADE IT TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS!!!! After so many long days of nothingness we finally reached the mountains and I can't believe it!! We all woke up in Cutbank, MT knowing that we were going to have an epic day reaching the park. What we didn't know was that it was going to be freezing rain when we woke up at 5:00am to start riding - no fun. I would like to take a moment to pause and thank Kyle for giving me some of his warm clothing (because I wasn't entirely prepared...shocker, I know!) without which I don't believe I would be here today. THANKSSS!!! Anywho - so we start riding in the pouring, freezing rain and it takes me about 10 miles to realize I can't feel my feet or hands and that this ride is awful. What was worse was that I felt like I was the only one that was THAT cold...everyone else seemed to be able to overcome the chillyness and still enjoy themselves on the ride (not the case with me and it made me SO jealous!). It was a 72 mile ride from Cutbank to Glacier National Park and when I finally rolled into lunch at mile 40 I knew I couldn't possibly continue the ride. I felt sick, cold and defeated. I rode into lunch, tossed my bike on the ground and announced to Denis (the leader that was driving the van) that I would be joining him in Elvis (the van) for the rest of the day. I think he could tell how frustrated and miserable I was because he immediately comforted me and even offered up a spot in a car for the rest of lunch so I didn't have to stand outside in the pouring rain with everyone else. I sat in the car for a good hour before the last big group of B&Bers arrived. They were cold, but spirits were high and it was absolutely infectious! Liz was in that group and tapped on the car window when she saw what a Debbie downer I was being and our lip reading conversation went a little something like this...
Liz: what are you doing???!
me: I'm vanning...I don't feel good :(
Liz: you can do this! you're going to regret it if you don't ride
me: I don't feel good, I'm cold (while shaking my head)
Liz: (sassy look) it's all mental, you'll regret this!
me: pouting face
Liz: you can do this, we'll ride together :)
Within five minutes a combination of Liz's determination and persisitency, and my extreme FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) made me change my mind and finish out the day! I jumped out of the car just as the clouds broke (only for a minute or two!) and I hopped back on my bike and told Lize we had to go NOW or I wouldn't go at all! I can't thank Liz enough for giving me the final push to get off of my rear and suck it up! The ride into Glacier was cold and wet, but one of the most beautiful things I have EVER seen! I can't explain how happy I am that I didn't ride in the van because I would have never been able to appreciate it in the same way. We did a lot of climbing (which kept us warm! sort of...) and the scenery and downhills made it all worth it! We finished the ride with a long, tough climb that was followed by a 5 mile downhill right into St. Marys (a cute little town right at the entrance of the park and also the home to our campground!). When we got to St. Marys I was crying (because it was beautiful and because I was freezing still) and hungry but also happy as a clam! I was so proud of myself! We all immediately bought winter hats, gloves and hand warmers to shove in our sleeping bags that night and went to the local cafe for hot choclate and warm food! It was a long day, but oh so worth it :)
Liz: what are you doing???!
me: I'm vanning...I don't feel good :(
Liz: you can do this! you're going to regret it if you don't ride
me: I don't feel good, I'm cold (while shaking my head)
Liz: (sassy look) it's all mental, you'll regret this!
me: pouting face
Liz: you can do this, we'll ride together :)
Within five minutes a combination of Liz's determination and persisitency, and my extreme FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) made me change my mind and finish out the day! I jumped out of the car just as the clouds broke (only for a minute or two!) and I hopped back on my bike and told Lize we had to go NOW or I wouldn't go at all! I can't thank Liz enough for giving me the final push to get off of my rear and suck it up! The ride into Glacier was cold and wet, but one of the most beautiful things I have EVER seen! I can't explain how happy I am that I didn't ride in the van because I would have never been able to appreciate it in the same way. We did a lot of climbing (which kept us warm! sort of...) and the scenery and downhills made it all worth it! We finished the ride with a long, tough climb that was followed by a 5 mile downhill right into St. Marys (a cute little town right at the entrance of the park and also the home to our campground!). When we got to St. Marys I was crying (because it was beautiful and because I was freezing still) and hungry but also happy as a clam! I was so proud of myself! We all immediately bought winter hats, gloves and hand warmers to shove in our sleeping bags that night and went to the local cafe for hot choclate and warm food! It was a long day, but oh so worth it :)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Lightning striking the same place twice!
Something happened today that has only occured one other time this summer and I swore it was going to be just about as frequent as Haleys Comet...I was in the first group to arrive at the host site!!!! Now I can't take all (or pretty much any) of the credit - I owe this great accomplishment to Sam and Kyle Gamsby for dragging my sorry tail all the way from lunch to the host through some pretty EXTREME winds! It does however take SOME skill to be able to stay in a paceline with these fast boys, even if they are pulling for 98% of the time :) THANK YOU GUYS I love you!!!
Today we finished day 7 of 11 straight ride days and everyone is starting to feel it. We're all starting to get pretty sore and will be happy to have some time off the saddle in the next few days. My butt is NOT happy with me to say the very least. However, we're all SUPER excited for Glacier National Park and the Highway to the Sun - it's going to be incredible! It's even more exciting now that we can start to see mountains in the distance (no offence Montana, but you've been pretty boring thus far).
The other day we rode into Glassgow, MT and went to a full on real life RODEO! It was SOOOO much fun! We all walked to the fair grounds (which pretty closely resembled the rock county 4-H fair grounds in the ville!) and took a seat in the grand stand. We then enjoyed lots of hooting and hollering, a clown, SEVERAL very upset horses, bucking cowboys, great drinks/food, cowboy boots, hats and BIG belt buckles on spectators of all ages, a botched National Anthem, some pretty ridiculously inappropriate right winged jokes and even a cattle wrestling contest! It finally felt like we were in Montana! :) We all had so much fun and weren't the least bit upset to run back "home" in the rain after the festivities. It was defintely a B+B life moment and I'm soooo glad we went! I can't wait for our next crazy adventure!!!
Today we finished day 7 of 11 straight ride days and everyone is starting to feel it. We're all starting to get pretty sore and will be happy to have some time off the saddle in the next few days. My butt is NOT happy with me to say the very least. However, we're all SUPER excited for Glacier National Park and the Highway to the Sun - it's going to be incredible! It's even more exciting now that we can start to see mountains in the distance (no offence Montana, but you've been pretty boring thus far).
The other day we rode into Glassgow, MT and went to a full on real life RODEO! It was SOOOO much fun! We all walked to the fair grounds (which pretty closely resembled the rock county 4-H fair grounds in the ville!) and took a seat in the grand stand. We then enjoyed lots of hooting and hollering, a clown, SEVERAL very upset horses, bucking cowboys, great drinks/food, cowboy boots, hats and BIG belt buckles on spectators of all ages, a botched National Anthem, some pretty ridiculously inappropriate right winged jokes and even a cattle wrestling contest! It finally felt like we were in Montana! :) We all had so much fun and weren't the least bit upset to run back "home" in the rain after the festivities. It was defintely a B+B life moment and I'm soooo glad we went! I can't wait for our next crazy adventure!!!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
...because east to west would just be TOO easy
Well readers - today I was mere miles away from a full blown Kate Terry breakdown, and it would NOT have been pretty. I generally don't like to blog after a difficult ride, because you all know how much I hate being negative, but I think it's important to share what we accomplished today. Today we rode from Minot, ND to New Town, ND and it was a 73 mile ride. Now, at this point of the trip 73 miles is pretty easy for us. Today that was not the case. We faced super strong headwinds ALL day long and we rode the entire day on Hwy 23. 5 years ago Hwy 23 was a pretty low traveled road but since the discovery of drillable oil there has been a huge incrase of semi traffic. There is also little to no shoulder on this road AND it was pretty hilly (especially for ND), so for cross country cyclists it's a pretty dangerous road. I don't say this to scare anyone (especially my parents!!) and we are all being extra careful, but these conditions plus the extreme wind made for a pretty stressful ride day. Everyone was a little on edge, and I'm embarassed to admit I let the wind get the best of me. Fortunately, the semi trucks were communicating with eachother and knew what Bike&Build is all about so by the end of the day most semis were giving us a lot of room. But even after some 2000 miles of riding, an overloaded semi can still shake me up a bit when it passes at 65 mph on a hill. The last 15 miles were really hard for me, and I DEFINITELY could not have done it without the encouragment and love from Abby, Jess and Leisl - these girls would NOT let me fall behind/ride by myself and were constantly slowing down for me...thank you! I LOVE YOU! :) Much to my enjoyment - as we pulled into New Town we spotted a Tastee Freeze (similar to a DQ but cheaper and maybe even a little more "tastee") right away and treated ourselves to some ice cream and fries. Hours later (and post nap) I'm still more phsycially, mentally and emotionally exhausted than I have been in a long time. I'm glad to be done with today, but I'm really proud that we all finished safely. I know everyone had a hard ride, and we worked through it together. That's what we get for being rockstars and going across the country the wrong way.
Author's Note: I do not have cell reception and haven't had any for a while - so mom and dad, I'll call as soon as I do! It's probably better that I don't...because if I would have called right when I got in today it would have been water works a go go and that's no fun for anyone :)
ANYWHO...hopefully the wind and hills and crazy roads will only get better as we near the Rockys and Montana! Tomorrow we ride to Teddy Roosevelt National Park and we have our first camping experience! I'm really excited and I know we'll have a lot of fun. Tents and smores and stars and Teddy Roosevelt and fire and all other camping delights plus 32 friends...I can't wait :)
Author's Note: I do not have cell reception and haven't had any for a while - so mom and dad, I'll call as soon as I do! It's probably better that I don't...because if I would have called right when I got in today it would have been water works a go go and that's no fun for anyone :)
ANYWHO...hopefully the wind and hills and crazy roads will only get better as we near the Rockys and Montana! Tomorrow we ride to Teddy Roosevelt National Park and we have our first camping experience! I'm really excited and I know we'll have a lot of fun. Tents and smores and stars and Teddy Roosevelt and fire and all other camping delights plus 32 friends...I can't wait :)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Llama Proma 2010: a day on the farm
One of the most memorable nights of my life took place in Rugby, North Dakota this past week. The 2010 NUS team held their prom at Rugby High School, home to the panthers I do believe. The theme was appropriately named "Llama Proma - A day on the farm" due to all of the llamas we have encountered on our ride. Not to mention the enormous amount of farmland we've been riding through for the past month or so. We were all to dress up in appropriate garb, and the boys each drew a lady's name out of a hat to determine his date for the night. The boys were also all required to ask their date to prom in a very creative way. My date, Mr. Jamey Gaston, may have had the best proposal of them all. I'm afraid my future fiancé has a lot to live up to. The story goes a little something like this...
We were all sitting around the host in Grand Rapids, MN getting ready to go to bed after a presentation when suddenly Beth and Nolan start screaming that we all needed to come outside. We all walked out and Nolan started telling a ridiculous story (clearly trying to buy some time for some reason) when I started to see a few funny faces among my teammates. Sarah and Denis started CRACKING up and I had no idea what was going on! All of the sudden, Jamey appears from the distance riding a HORSE!!! I kid you not a real life horse! He gallops over and asks in his booming voice, "Kate Terry - will you go to prom with me!?!?!?". I clearly lost it and was so happy I could hardly contain myself! It was OUTSTANDING :) Thank you again Jamey, you will always be my prince charming :)
Prom was AWESOMEEEE! We had couples pictures, some of the best farm outfits I've ever seen (or farm products - I was dressed as an ear of corn), outstanding dancing, fantastic decorations and out of this world music to top it all off. I literally sweat more dancing that night than I have on the past few ride days. We danced the night away and even crowned a King and Queen of the Llama Proma - CONGRATS KIRA AND STEVEN...you both deserve it :) :) We awarded best dancers, best outfits and the "spirit of the llama" and just had a ball doing it all! I love my group so much and I can't believe how much fun we have together! I feel so lucky! After all of the festivities were done we took group showers to cool down and de-stink ourselves and went to bed! All in a days work for B+Bers :) we win!
We were all sitting around the host in Grand Rapids, MN getting ready to go to bed after a presentation when suddenly Beth and Nolan start screaming that we all needed to come outside. We all walked out and Nolan started telling a ridiculous story (clearly trying to buy some time for some reason) when I started to see a few funny faces among my teammates. Sarah and Denis started CRACKING up and I had no idea what was going on! All of the sudden, Jamey appears from the distance riding a HORSE!!! I kid you not a real life horse! He gallops over and asks in his booming voice, "Kate Terry - will you go to prom with me!?!?!?". I clearly lost it and was so happy I could hardly contain myself! It was OUTSTANDING :) Thank you again Jamey, you will always be my prince charming :)
Prom was AWESOMEEEE! We had couples pictures, some of the best farm outfits I've ever seen (or farm products - I was dressed as an ear of corn), outstanding dancing, fantastic decorations and out of this world music to top it all off. I literally sweat more dancing that night than I have on the past few ride days. We danced the night away and even crowned a King and Queen of the Llama Proma - CONGRATS KIRA AND STEVEN...you both deserve it :) :) We awarded best dancers, best outfits and the "spirit of the llama" and just had a ball doing it all! I love my group so much and I can't believe how much fun we have together! I feel so lucky! After all of the festivities were done we took group showers to cool down and de-stink ourselves and went to bed! All in a days work for B+Bers :) we win!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Remember that time we biked 118 miles in one day? And got attacked by a bird. Yep.
Hello!
So much has happened since I last blogged and I'm not even going to TRY to go back and explain all of the amazingness but trust me - it was great! Minnesota was a treat and it was especially fun getting to ride into St. Paul with Ali Kolste because she is the reason I'm even doing B&B! I had a really great time staying at my college house with my friends and hanging out but I must admit, it was weird being back in the "real world". Per usual, it's nice to sleep in a bed and watch TV but I always miss my B&Bers when we don't sleep in the same room together :) After St. Paul we headed to Sandstone, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Bemidji and Crookston. The highlights included a day off in Duluth (and seeing Inception with a bunch of the team), a lot of bike path riding, some great DM, Paul Bunyon and Babe the blue ox, cliff jumping, staying at an AWESOME Synagogue, being a speed demon one day and arriving at the host FIRST (never to be repeated again), and so so much more I can't even remember. It was fantastic.
The ride from Crookston to Devils Lake was the most epic day of my entire life. We all were super jacked to ride the longest day of the entire trip (which was documented at 116 miles but turned out to be 118). We started out the day with a pre-biking dance party (standard move for us) and then we were off! I started the day with Travis, Beth and Liz and I did NOT feel good at all. We had a 90 mile day into Crookston and I pushed pretty hard so I think my body was revolting. I was considering spending the rest of the day in the van when we hit the North Dakota border but I soon realized that I would regret that decision for the rest of the trip. When else in my life will I bike 116-118 miles in ONE DAY?!??! Never again, that's when! So I decided to tough it out and finish the ride! It turned out to be OUTSTANDING! I felt great once I convinced myself that I was finishing no matter what. We had first lunch at mile 40, second lunch at mile 80, and Liz and I threw a dance party at mile 100 for Jamey and Gramelly (they loved it). Between mile 100 and 118 is where things started getting interesting. By that time it was just Liz and I - and we were tired, hot and hungry. This combination soon turned into a lot of giggling and maybe a little hallucinating. Liz was attacked by a bird (seriously) and was so startled she drove me right off the road and I rode my bike through the brush on the side of the road (not the first or last time I have done this). It was great and I would not have had it any other way! The best part of the day is that once we made it to the church (mile 118) we decided we were so hungry that we were going to get back on our bikes and ride the 2 miles back into town to the local DQ. For the record, this is the ONLY ride thus far that I have willingly gotten back on my bike after a ride day...where's the logic in that? All in all, AMAZZZZING day and I can't believe we all did it :) :) GO US!
PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow cross country biker ABBY CARNEY (Aug 1st)...she and her family just finished their trip! CONGRATS! :) :)
So much has happened since I last blogged and I'm not even going to TRY to go back and explain all of the amazingness but trust me - it was great! Minnesota was a treat and it was especially fun getting to ride into St. Paul with Ali Kolste because she is the reason I'm even doing B&B! I had a really great time staying at my college house with my friends and hanging out but I must admit, it was weird being back in the "real world". Per usual, it's nice to sleep in a bed and watch TV but I always miss my B&Bers when we don't sleep in the same room together :) After St. Paul we headed to Sandstone, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Bemidji and Crookston. The highlights included a day off in Duluth (and seeing Inception with a bunch of the team), a lot of bike path riding, some great DM, Paul Bunyon and Babe the blue ox, cliff jumping, staying at an AWESOME Synagogue, being a speed demon one day and arriving at the host FIRST (never to be repeated again), and so so much more I can't even remember. It was fantastic.
The ride from Crookston to Devils Lake was the most epic day of my entire life. We all were super jacked to ride the longest day of the entire trip (which was documented at 116 miles but turned out to be 118). We started out the day with a pre-biking dance party (standard move for us) and then we were off! I started the day with Travis, Beth and Liz and I did NOT feel good at all. We had a 90 mile day into Crookston and I pushed pretty hard so I think my body was revolting. I was considering spending the rest of the day in the van when we hit the North Dakota border but I soon realized that I would regret that decision for the rest of the trip. When else in my life will I bike 116-118 miles in ONE DAY?!??! Never again, that's when! So I decided to tough it out and finish the ride! It turned out to be OUTSTANDING! I felt great once I convinced myself that I was finishing no matter what. We had first lunch at mile 40, second lunch at mile 80, and Liz and I threw a dance party at mile 100 for Jamey and Gramelly (they loved it). Between mile 100 and 118 is where things started getting interesting. By that time it was just Liz and I - and we were tired, hot and hungry. This combination soon turned into a lot of giggling and maybe a little hallucinating. Liz was attacked by a bird (seriously) and was so startled she drove me right off the road and I rode my bike through the brush on the side of the road (not the first or last time I have done this). It was great and I would not have had it any other way! The best part of the day is that once we made it to the church (mile 118) we decided we were so hungry that we were going to get back on our bikes and ride the 2 miles back into town to the local DQ. For the record, this is the ONLY ride thus far that I have willingly gotten back on my bike after a ride day...where's the logic in that? All in all, AMAZZZZING day and I can't believe we all did it :) :) GO US!
PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow cross country biker ABBY CARNEY (Aug 1st)...she and her family just finished their trip! CONGRATS! :) :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
On Wisconsin!!
Dear Wisconsin,
It is with full confidence and excitement that I say you have officially won over the NUS'10 B+B group! Everyone was pretty tired of hearing me talk about you for the past few weeks, and they didn't have very high expectations. But low and behold - they were amazed with your majestic beauty, never-ending fun/beer/brats, and varying landscape! YAY!! Congrats and I'm so proud of and for you :)
Now I have to be honest...in the beginning, right when we crossed over from Illinois, people were less than impressed. There was construction, heat and unexpected hills - not a great combination. But I told everyone that Janesville didn't come free, they had to work for it...and was it ever worth it! Everything about our time in Janesville was extraordinary! I was so anxious to "come home" that to everyones surprise (including my own AND my mothers) I was one of the first people to arrive in town! Thank you Mr. Andrew Corcoran for helping me ride like the wind...aka blocking all of the wind for me - LOVE YOU! My mom greeted all of the riders (other than me because I'm just too fast to catch) with popsicles on Milton Shopire road, it was awesome and everyone LOVED it! I was sooo happy to be back home and in the company of my family and friends! Extra special thank you to Cullen, Tori and Amy for coming to see me and helping prepare for the party!
On Saturday we had our build day in Janesville and it was great! We worked on a house on Pine street and got to do a lot of work! We had people on the roof, putting in windows and siding and everything in between! After the build day we had what just may be the absolute BEST B+B BBQ of all time! First of all, I cannot say a big enough THANK YOU to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton and EVERYONE ELSE that helped organize/plan this party...it truly was outstanding! The t-shirts, posters, unreal amounts of food, the absence of any and all forms of pasta and exceptional company was enough to put me right over the edge! I could not believe how many people came to see us!!! I was overwhelmed to say the absolute least at how many people were there - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone! I was SO happy to see you all and it makes me soooo happy to know you read my blog and are excited about this adventure I'm on! It means so much to me, and I LOVE that I can share it with all of you :) :)
The next day we rode into Madison and it was extra special because I got to share it with my family! My Aunt Peggy, Aunt Mary, Uncle Bern and cousins Connor, Tom and Beth all decided to ride with me...it was AWESOME! The boys obviously kicked my butt and are clearly future B+Bers...but they were nice enough to stay with me rather than speeding ahead and leaving me in the dust. We had so much fun and I was SO glad they all got to ride. We all made it to Madison, and I have to give a special shout out to my cousin Beth who was a total rockstar and had never rode her bike more than 10miles before this ride...you make this look easy! :)
We had our first day off in Madison and everyone had a great time! Then we were off to Soldiers Grove, La Crosse/Onalaska, and finished off our tour de WI in Pepin. We spent a lot of time on the Great River Road and it was absolutely GORGEOUS!! Long story short...everyone LOVED riding through WI (hills and rain included) and I had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it! I'll miss you and all your glory - but we will be reunited in September and I promise not to fall for another state other than you!
It is with full confidence and excitement that I say you have officially won over the NUS'10 B+B group! Everyone was pretty tired of hearing me talk about you for the past few weeks, and they didn't have very high expectations. But low and behold - they were amazed with your majestic beauty, never-ending fun/beer/brats, and varying landscape! YAY!! Congrats and I'm so proud of and for you :)
Now I have to be honest...in the beginning, right when we crossed over from Illinois, people were less than impressed. There was construction, heat and unexpected hills - not a great combination. But I told everyone that Janesville didn't come free, they had to work for it...and was it ever worth it! Everything about our time in Janesville was extraordinary! I was so anxious to "come home" that to everyones surprise (including my own AND my mothers) I was one of the first people to arrive in town! Thank you Mr. Andrew Corcoran for helping me ride like the wind...aka blocking all of the wind for me - LOVE YOU! My mom greeted all of the riders (other than me because I'm just too fast to catch) with popsicles on Milton Shopire road, it was awesome and everyone LOVED it! I was sooo happy to be back home and in the company of my family and friends! Extra special thank you to Cullen, Tori and Amy for coming to see me and helping prepare for the party!
On Saturday we had our build day in Janesville and it was great! We worked on a house on Pine street and got to do a lot of work! We had people on the roof, putting in windows and siding and everything in between! After the build day we had what just may be the absolute BEST B+B BBQ of all time! First of all, I cannot say a big enough THANK YOU to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton and EVERYONE ELSE that helped organize/plan this party...it truly was outstanding! The t-shirts, posters, unreal amounts of food, the absence of any and all forms of pasta and exceptional company was enough to put me right over the edge! I could not believe how many people came to see us!!! I was overwhelmed to say the absolute least at how many people were there - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone! I was SO happy to see you all and it makes me soooo happy to know you read my blog and are excited about this adventure I'm on! It means so much to me, and I LOVE that I can share it with all of you :) :)
The next day we rode into Madison and it was extra special because I got to share it with my family! My Aunt Peggy, Aunt Mary, Uncle Bern and cousins Connor, Tom and Beth all decided to ride with me...it was AWESOME! The boys obviously kicked my butt and are clearly future B+Bers...but they were nice enough to stay with me rather than speeding ahead and leaving me in the dust. We had so much fun and I was SO glad they all got to ride. We all made it to Madison, and I have to give a special shout out to my cousin Beth who was a total rockstar and had never rode her bike more than 10miles before this ride...you make this look easy! :)
We had our first day off in Madison and everyone had a great time! Then we were off to Soldiers Grove, La Crosse/Onalaska, and finished off our tour de WI in Pepin. We spent a lot of time on the Great River Road and it was absolutely GORGEOUS!! Long story short...everyone LOVED riding through WI (hills and rain included) and I had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it! I'll miss you and all your glory - but we will be reunited in September and I promise not to fall for another state other than you!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Why I love Lake Erie and riding with Paul Northrop
Hello everybody from South Bend, Indiana...I have so much to tell you all! We have had an amazing few days filled with MANY MANY miles AND state lines as well as a pretty awesome build site....RECAP!
Avon Lake (July 9th) turned out to be one of the greatest nights of the trip! We had an AWESOME dinner and got to stay with host families. After dinner we all headed to this amazing lake home (yes in Ohio) with a HUGE dock right on Lake Erie. Just for the record, NEVER in my life did I think I would spend so much time riding around and/or swimming in Lake Erie - kuddos. It was BEAUTIFUL, we got there right at sunset and it was just fantastic! The water was SUPER SUPER SUPER wavy (like waves over the dock wavy) and we all decided to risk our lives and biking legs for a little wavepool Lake Erie style maddness. It was incredible...like a Noah's Ark wavepool on steroids. I've never had so much fun while also thinking I was going to die at the exact same time. Thank you to all of the tall boys on my trip that let me grab them when my 5 foot self got scared :)
After Avon Lake we headed to Bowling Green (home of Bowling Green State University) and had an awesome host-stay. I went to mass with a few people in my group and that was really nice. It was a super small town and I was very tired after a GREAT 91 mile day so I can't say I did much other than sleep, bike and eat (story of my life) but I was still a happy camper. I had a really great ride with Beth and in the last few miles before reaching Bowling Green I finally rode without my hands on my handlebars for more than 5 seconds so that was a definite highlight.
Camden, MI was a fun day because we crossed a state line and we rode through an area with a high Amish population so it was really fun to see all of the horse and buggies! I actually had a pretty terrible ride into Camden and wasn't feeling all that great which sucked after having such a great day the day before...oh well! We had an awesome host who let us shower at their homes and watch the last bit of the World Cup game (GO SPAIN!!!!).
The ride into South Bend was AWESOME! It was our highest mileage yet with 92 miles and I was feeling AWESOME! We had two lunches which were provided by Beths family and they even gave us root beer floats :) They know how to please the Northern riders! Paul Northrop is an ox of a man on my trip with a heart of gold! He is (roughly) 6'3 and a VERY strong man...so if I need someone to ride behind to block the wind I know who to find! Anyway, we were riding together for a while and we came upon a hill. I was already having so much fun because we hadn't spent that much time talking yet so it was really fun hearing more about his life. We started up the hill and I surged ahead (as I very rarely do) and all of the sudden, right when I expect my quads to start hating me I started to SPEED UP...? Go figure, right?!?! I was going faster and faster and faster and getting pretty cocky about my mad biking skills until I realized Paul was right next to me. Not only was he next to me...he was literally PUSHING me up the hill while he was riding. Pushing me SO hard that I was going FASTER than I do on plenty of flat stretches. Long story short, thank you Paul - I LOVE YOUUU! :) I wish I could return the favor but, good joke!
We finished the day on the Notre Dame campus! It was soooo much fun! Fighting Irish football stadium and touchdown Jesus included! :) I had a great ride and an awesome build day today too! We worked at a Habitat site where we laid sod, sort of built a porch, and landscaped/mulched a whole bunch! It was great.
Chicago tomorrow...you know what that means! AUNT PEGGY :) :)!!! I'm so excited to see her! She's going to come see us ride in along Lake Michigan which will be AMAZINGGG!! Then its Janesville and Madison and family and BBQs and all sorts of fun!!! I can't wait! Any and everyone in Janesville that wants to see Bike and Build in the flesh we'll be riding in on Milwaukee Street probably sometime around 2pm...cheer us on! :) :)
I don't expect to blog much in the next few days due to all of the excitement so sorry in advance!
<3 Kate
Avon Lake (July 9th) turned out to be one of the greatest nights of the trip! We had an AWESOME dinner and got to stay with host families. After dinner we all headed to this amazing lake home (yes in Ohio) with a HUGE dock right on Lake Erie. Just for the record, NEVER in my life did I think I would spend so much time riding around and/or swimming in Lake Erie - kuddos. It was BEAUTIFUL, we got there right at sunset and it was just fantastic! The water was SUPER SUPER SUPER wavy (like waves over the dock wavy) and we all decided to risk our lives and biking legs for a little wavepool Lake Erie style maddness. It was incredible...like a Noah's Ark wavepool on steroids. I've never had so much fun while also thinking I was going to die at the exact same time. Thank you to all of the tall boys on my trip that let me grab them when my 5 foot self got scared :)
After Avon Lake we headed to Bowling Green (home of Bowling Green State University) and had an awesome host-stay. I went to mass with a few people in my group and that was really nice. It was a super small town and I was very tired after a GREAT 91 mile day so I can't say I did much other than sleep, bike and eat (story of my life) but I was still a happy camper. I had a really great ride with Beth and in the last few miles before reaching Bowling Green I finally rode without my hands on my handlebars for more than 5 seconds so that was a definite highlight.
Camden, MI was a fun day because we crossed a state line and we rode through an area with a high Amish population so it was really fun to see all of the horse and buggies! I actually had a pretty terrible ride into Camden and wasn't feeling all that great which sucked after having such a great day the day before...oh well! We had an awesome host who let us shower at their homes and watch the last bit of the World Cup game (GO SPAIN!!!!).
The ride into South Bend was AWESOME! It was our highest mileage yet with 92 miles and I was feeling AWESOME! We had two lunches which were provided by Beths family and they even gave us root beer floats :) They know how to please the Northern riders! Paul Northrop is an ox of a man on my trip with a heart of gold! He is (roughly) 6'3 and a VERY strong man...so if I need someone to ride behind to block the wind I know who to find! Anyway, we were riding together for a while and we came upon a hill. I was already having so much fun because we hadn't spent that much time talking yet so it was really fun hearing more about his life. We started up the hill and I surged ahead (as I very rarely do) and all of the sudden, right when I expect my quads to start hating me I started to SPEED UP...? Go figure, right?!?! I was going faster and faster and faster and getting pretty cocky about my mad biking skills until I realized Paul was right next to me. Not only was he next to me...he was literally PUSHING me up the hill while he was riding. Pushing me SO hard that I was going FASTER than I do on plenty of flat stretches. Long story short, thank you Paul - I LOVE YOUUU! :) I wish I could return the favor but, good joke!
We finished the day on the Notre Dame campus! It was soooo much fun! Fighting Irish football stadium and touchdown Jesus included! :) I had a great ride and an awesome build day today too! We worked at a Habitat site where we laid sod, sort of built a porch, and landscaped/mulched a whole bunch! It was great.
Chicago tomorrow...you know what that means! AUNT PEGGY :) :)!!! I'm so excited to see her! She's going to come see us ride in along Lake Michigan which will be AMAZINGGG!! Then its Janesville and Madison and family and BBQs and all sorts of fun!!! I can't wait! Any and everyone in Janesville that wants to see Bike and Build in the flesh we'll be riding in on Milwaukee Street probably sometime around 2pm...cheer us on! :) :)
I don't expect to blog much in the next few days due to all of the excitement so sorry in advance!
<3 Kate
Friday, July 9, 2010
SNOW DAY
Hello all! I'm writing to you from Avon Lake, OH (very very close to Cleveland) and I'm super pumped to be back in the Midwest! It's crazy how much closer to home I feel just because we're in Ohio! :) We've had a crazy couple of days! Here are some of the highlights:
We spent the 4th of July in Lockport, NY (home of the Erie canal and a pretty fantastic "cave" tour) and we had a B&B cookout to celebrate! Being my favorite holiday, I was very happy with everyones American enthusiasm. I decorated my bike and it was AMAZING and everyone loved it. We sang patriotic songs on our ride (my favorite thing in the entire world) and had a great ride. We went to the local firework show and pretty much took over (as a group of 32 crazy B&Bers tend to do).
The next day we rode to Niagara Falls and enjoyed a super duper short ride (20 miles) so we could have the ENTIRE DAY to enjoy the falls! We ventured to Canada for the first time as a group (consider it a warm up for when we go to Vancouver) and had a grand old time. We took over the Maid of the Mist and got soaking wet...which was just fine because it was mid 90's and humid outside. What a great day! :)
On July 7th we had a pretty epic ride day. We started the day in Westfield, NY had lunch in Erie, PA and ended the day in Ashtabula, OH...now if you were counting, yes that is THREE state lines in ONE DAY :) :) It was awesome! It was a super hot day so we had two lunch stops. It was SO much fun and I felt like such a rockstar!
Ashtabula, OH ended up being a very eventful city in my B&B experience. Yesterday, we had a build day and toward the end of the day I was painting a fence in the blistering heat when someone tapped my shoulder and asked if I wanted some help. Of course I said "yes!" and turned around and low and behold there was my UNCLE BERN!!!!!! I was completely shocked!!! Clearly I had a panic attack and started screaming even louder when I turned and saw Aunt Mary and all three of my cousins! I was SO SO SO SO excited! They were coming back from Boston because my oldest cousin, Connor, was doing a college tour at Boston College and they decided to surprise me! They took me out to eat, bought lots of groceries for the rest of the B&Bers (fruit...yum!) and it was just the best day ever! I love you guys...thank you so much!! :)
But that's not all Ashtabula, OH had in store for me...today we woke up at 5:00am only to find after packing our bags and eating breakfast that there was an epic storm rolling in and its path happened to be identical to our bike route. After having a couple hours of "delay" our leaders sadly informed us that we would not be able to ride the 80 miles from Ashtabula to Avon Lake. We were all super bummed, but after the storm hit we were all glad NOT to be on bikes. We had to take three shuttle rides in our 15 passenger van and load up 32 bikes in our trailor...it was quite the team effort. We all had fun being stuck in the church and goofing around - but we'll be glad to be biking again tomorrow! 97 miles to Bowling Green...here we come!!! Janesville in a week - yay!!!!
<3 Kate
PS: My friend Beth has been keeping a really cool video blog that I wanted to share with everyone!! I make a few cameo appearances - but for the most part its just a cool way to share our B&B experience :) ENJOY!!!
www.psychedtobike.blogspot.com
We spent the 4th of July in Lockport, NY (home of the Erie canal and a pretty fantastic "cave" tour) and we had a B&B cookout to celebrate! Being my favorite holiday, I was very happy with everyones American enthusiasm. I decorated my bike and it was AMAZING and everyone loved it. We sang patriotic songs on our ride (my favorite thing in the entire world) and had a great ride. We went to the local firework show and pretty much took over (as a group of 32 crazy B&Bers tend to do).
The next day we rode to Niagara Falls and enjoyed a super duper short ride (20 miles) so we could have the ENTIRE DAY to enjoy the falls! We ventured to Canada for the first time as a group (consider it a warm up for when we go to Vancouver) and had a grand old time. We took over the Maid of the Mist and got soaking wet...which was just fine because it was mid 90's and humid outside. What a great day! :)
On July 7th we had a pretty epic ride day. We started the day in Westfield, NY had lunch in Erie, PA and ended the day in Ashtabula, OH...now if you were counting, yes that is THREE state lines in ONE DAY :) :) It was awesome! It was a super hot day so we had two lunch stops. It was SO much fun and I felt like such a rockstar!
Ashtabula, OH ended up being a very eventful city in my B&B experience. Yesterday, we had a build day and toward the end of the day I was painting a fence in the blistering heat when someone tapped my shoulder and asked if I wanted some help. Of course I said "yes!" and turned around and low and behold there was my UNCLE BERN!!!!!! I was completely shocked!!! Clearly I had a panic attack and started screaming even louder when I turned and saw Aunt Mary and all three of my cousins! I was SO SO SO SO excited! They were coming back from Boston because my oldest cousin, Connor, was doing a college tour at Boston College and they decided to surprise me! They took me out to eat, bought lots of groceries for the rest of the B&Bers (fruit...yum!) and it was just the best day ever! I love you guys...thank you so much!! :)
But that's not all Ashtabula, OH had in store for me...today we woke up at 5:00am only to find after packing our bags and eating breakfast that there was an epic storm rolling in and its path happened to be identical to our bike route. After having a couple hours of "delay" our leaders sadly informed us that we would not be able to ride the 80 miles from Ashtabula to Avon Lake. We were all super bummed, but after the storm hit we were all glad NOT to be on bikes. We had to take three shuttle rides in our 15 passenger van and load up 32 bikes in our trailor...it was quite the team effort. We all had fun being stuck in the church and goofing around - but we'll be glad to be biking again tomorrow! 97 miles to Bowling Green...here we come!!! Janesville in a week - yay!!!!
<3 Kate
PS: My friend Beth has been keeping a really cool video blog that I wanted to share with everyone!! I make a few cameo appearances - but for the most part its just a cool way to share our B&B experience :) ENJOY!!!
www.psychedtobike.blogspot.com
Saturday, July 3, 2010
You know you're on Bike and Build when...
I had the idea for this blog on one of my longer rides because there are so many funny B&B things that happen and I just wanted to have them all written down...(this will be added to periodically)
1. Desitin, Gold bond (extra strength medicated) and biofreeze are on your grocery list
2. You can't remember the last time you wore underwear (my favorite part of B&B)
3. You can't remember the last meal you had without pasta and/or peanut butter
4. Your mother buys you a brand new pair of Nike shorts with built-in underware...and you cut it out in an angry rage on day 2
5. Any ride under 65 miles is "short"
6. You have a water bottle in your hands at ALL times
7. People you met days ago = new best friends
8. You can't tell FOR THE LIFE OF YOU what day of the week/month it is
9. You try to get DM (donation magic) all day everyday
10. You can't remember the last time you went a day without eating at a Dairy Queen/Tastee Freeze etc. (they should really consider changing the trip name to Bike and Build and eat a lot of Dairy Queen)
11. If you're on laundry crew you don't even have to look at the tag to see whose clothes are whose - by this time you can name every single piece of clothing in any B+Bers wardrobe (aka duffle/bin)
B&Bers...suggestions appreciated :)
1. Desitin, Gold bond (extra strength medicated) and biofreeze are on your grocery list
2. You can't remember the last time you wore underwear (my favorite part of B&B)
3. You can't remember the last meal you had without pasta and/or peanut butter
4. Your mother buys you a brand new pair of Nike shorts with built-in underware...and you cut it out in an angry rage on day 2
5. Any ride under 65 miles is "short"
6. You have a water bottle in your hands at ALL times
7. People you met days ago = new best friends
8. You can't tell FOR THE LIFE OF YOU what day of the week/month it is
9. You try to get DM (donation magic) all day everyday
10. You can't remember the last time you went a day without eating at a Dairy Queen/Tastee Freeze etc. (they should really consider changing the trip name to Bike and Build and eat a lot of Dairy Queen)
11. If you're on laundry crew you don't even have to look at the tag to see whose clothes are whose - by this time you can name every single piece of clothing in any B+Bers wardrobe (aka duffle/bin)
B&Bers...suggestions appreciated :)
Who knew I could ride a bike 90 miles in one day?
Hello All!
I'm currently sitting in the dorms of RIT in Rochester, NY enjoying an unexpected "build day" turned "day off"! Yesterday was the longest ride of the trip so far...and I was NERVOUS! I woke up with butterflies in my stomach just thinking about riding 88 miles in one day. I started the day off with a little knee pain, but nothing too bad. We ended eating lunch early (mile 35) and had a FEAST thanks to Kira's mom (THANK YOU THANK YOU the ham sandwiches were DELISH). I tried to eat fast and get on the road early because I knew I had a long day ahead of me...it was really messing with my head that we weren't even halfway done with the day. I started off with Tony, Steven and Chris and was having a SUPER hard time. My knee started to hurt a lot, there were some hills I was NOT expecting and I started to get really frustrated. Needless to say, during miles 35-45 I was wondering what the heck I was thinking doing this darn trip and why in Gods green earth they would schedule such an early lunch on a long day etc...(feel free to replace with some choice words). Eventually I broke away from the boys and started riding on my own for the first time of the trip. I've tried to avoid it because A) I don't really like being alone...like ever B) I was SUPER scared of getting lost C) it's kind of scary riding alone in a rural, unfamiliar setting BUTTT I bucked up and set off on my own!! I was a little nervous at first, but after a few miles I really started enjoying myself! The scenery was beautiful (upstate NY really reminds me of parts of WI) and I was having a great time solo!! I had a lot of time to think, sang a few songs to myself (outloud of course) and enjoyed going through a bunch of cute towns. I must admit I was very proud of myself and it felt great to do something I was a little uneasy about. I finished the ride with a group of other people including two B&Bers from last year! It was awesome! We did get lost though, and 88 miles turned into an even 90 (I know 2 miles doesn't seem like a lot...but it sure felt like a lot then).
One of the things I've learned about B&B is that once you do it, you're in for LIFE! People from different routes get to know eachother really well and share experiences and great stories/games...it is just the coolest thing! It's such a great network and I'm so excited to meet as many other B&Bers as I can! Special shoutout to Xtina and Jenna from B2SB 09 :) Love you girls! Thanks for skittles and BBQ!!
Another special shoutout to the people from Boonsville, NY at the Methodist church, especially Chelsi and family :) They were the nicest people and biggest helpers in the world! I had so much fun spending time from people in the community and getting to know everyone...not to mention they provided some of the most delicious food we've had to date! Thank you thank you!!!
I can't believe how fast the trip is going!! Tommorrow we have a shorter ride (yes, I officially consider less than 60 miles short), then we'll had a super short ride to Niagara Falls!!! :)
ANOTHER special shoutout to my amazing mom for sending me the most outrageously fantastic 4th of July package EVER :) :) I have a history of decorating my bike for the 4th of July (my favorite day of the calendar year) and she sent me all of the essentials to do so....even when I'm across the country!! I can't think of anything more American than riding across the country decked out in red white and blue (with a flag coming out of my backpack)...sooo excited!! Thank you, I love you!!!! Many many pictures will be taken!
I'm currently sitting in the dorms of RIT in Rochester, NY enjoying an unexpected "build day" turned "day off"! Yesterday was the longest ride of the trip so far...and I was NERVOUS! I woke up with butterflies in my stomach just thinking about riding 88 miles in one day. I started the day off with a little knee pain, but nothing too bad. We ended eating lunch early (mile 35) and had a FEAST thanks to Kira's mom (THANK YOU THANK YOU the ham sandwiches were DELISH). I tried to eat fast and get on the road early because I knew I had a long day ahead of me...it was really messing with my head that we weren't even halfway done with the day. I started off with Tony, Steven and Chris and was having a SUPER hard time. My knee started to hurt a lot, there were some hills I was NOT expecting and I started to get really frustrated. Needless to say, during miles 35-45 I was wondering what the heck I was thinking doing this darn trip and why in Gods green earth they would schedule such an early lunch on a long day etc...(feel free to replace with some choice words). Eventually I broke away from the boys and started riding on my own for the first time of the trip. I've tried to avoid it because A) I don't really like being alone...like ever B) I was SUPER scared of getting lost C) it's kind of scary riding alone in a rural, unfamiliar setting BUTTT I bucked up and set off on my own!! I was a little nervous at first, but after a few miles I really started enjoying myself! The scenery was beautiful (upstate NY really reminds me of parts of WI) and I was having a great time solo!! I had a lot of time to think, sang a few songs to myself (outloud of course) and enjoyed going through a bunch of cute towns. I must admit I was very proud of myself and it felt great to do something I was a little uneasy about. I finished the ride with a group of other people including two B&Bers from last year! It was awesome! We did get lost though, and 88 miles turned into an even 90 (I know 2 miles doesn't seem like a lot...but it sure felt like a lot then).
One of the things I've learned about B&B is that once you do it, you're in for LIFE! People from different routes get to know eachother really well and share experiences and great stories/games...it is just the coolest thing! It's such a great network and I'm so excited to meet as many other B&Bers as I can! Special shoutout to Xtina and Jenna from B2SB 09 :) Love you girls! Thanks for skittles and BBQ!!
Another special shoutout to the people from Boonsville, NY at the Methodist church, especially Chelsi and family :) They were the nicest people and biggest helpers in the world! I had so much fun spending time from people in the community and getting to know everyone...not to mention they provided some of the most delicious food we've had to date! Thank you thank you!!!
I can't believe how fast the trip is going!! Tommorrow we have a shorter ride (yes, I officially consider less than 60 miles short), then we'll had a super short ride to Niagara Falls!!! :)
ANOTHER special shoutout to my amazing mom for sending me the most outrageously fantastic 4th of July package EVER :) :) I have a history of decorating my bike for the 4th of July (my favorite day of the calendar year) and she sent me all of the essentials to do so....even when I'm across the country!! I can't think of anything more American than riding across the country decked out in red white and blue (with a flag coming out of my backpack)...sooo excited!! Thank you, I love you!!!! Many many pictures will be taken!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Get me off of New York Hwy 28
Hello all! The past few days I've been in upstate New York without any means of communication whatsoever with the outside world. We haven't had internet for a few days and yesterday we were in Indian Lake which had ZERO cell service for all cell phone providers (instead of Verizon always kicking AT&T butt). I also did not have any cell service because I no longer have a working cell phone due to an outrageous rain storm I encountered while trying to climb a mountain in Vermont...typical.
Here is what's been going on the past couple of days:
1. We have officially started climbing our third mountain range (HOW CRAZY IS THAT? Green, White and Blue ranges of the Adriondacks!)
2. I climbed up Bethel Mountain which is the hardest climb of the East coast...GREAT day!!
3. In Silver Bay, NY we were surprised with a special treat in the form of staying in a YMCA with BEDS for ALL OF US!!! It was an amazing day...we all jumped in the lake and some of us even square danced (including me of course)
4. Today we had our longest ride (and my longest ride individually) with 76 miles into Boonsville, NY - it was VERY hard and my knees are killing me but it was totally worth it and felt SO COOL to complete!!
5. Everyone that thought I would come back from B&B super skinny will be sadly disappointed...I think I'm averaging somewhere around 4000 calories a day which includes daily ice cream/brownies, TOO much pasta, salad and anything else on the side of the highway that claims to be the "worlds best" of something
6. There is a root beer float challenge on my trip...a few of the boys are already up to 6 rootbeer floats in 3 days - I'm impressed
7. I had a few bike problems and one of the guys on my trip (Sam) fixed it for me until I get to a town with a bike shop...THANK YOU SAM I LOVE YOU!!
8. Last night we had a group meeting where we just talked about how the trip has been going...it was amazing and I almost cried like 34043094 times
9. I LOVE MY TRIP!!! We are all falling in love more and more each day :)
10. This blog name comes from the cue sheet we got this morning...it went a little something like this
-turn Left out of church (go .4 miles)
-go South on Hwy 28 (go 65.5 miles) --------- I was VERY sick of that road after a while :)
11. We had our first serious accident of the trip in Silver Bay...two girls on the trip (Jess and Beth) collided and were unable the ride the next day. It was super scary but they're both doing really well now and both rode today! We were all so worried but glad to have them back :) LOVE YOU GIRLS!
12. A B&B prom AND B&B talent show are in the works for the west coast...I'm VERY excited :)
That's all I have for now...I'm hoping to have more internet in the next few days to update with more details!
<3 Kate
Here is what's been going on the past couple of days:
1. We have officially started climbing our third mountain range (HOW CRAZY IS THAT? Green, White and Blue ranges of the Adriondacks!)
2. I climbed up Bethel Mountain which is the hardest climb of the East coast...GREAT day!!
3. In Silver Bay, NY we were surprised with a special treat in the form of staying in a YMCA with BEDS for ALL OF US!!! It was an amazing day...we all jumped in the lake and some of us even square danced (including me of course)
4. Today we had our longest ride (and my longest ride individually) with 76 miles into Boonsville, NY - it was VERY hard and my knees are killing me but it was totally worth it and felt SO COOL to complete!!
5. Everyone that thought I would come back from B&B super skinny will be sadly disappointed...I think I'm averaging somewhere around 4000 calories a day which includes daily ice cream/brownies, TOO much pasta, salad and anything else on the side of the highway that claims to be the "worlds best" of something
6. There is a root beer float challenge on my trip...a few of the boys are already up to 6 rootbeer floats in 3 days - I'm impressed
7. I had a few bike problems and one of the guys on my trip (Sam) fixed it for me until I get to a town with a bike shop...THANK YOU SAM I LOVE YOU!!
8. Last night we had a group meeting where we just talked about how the trip has been going...it was amazing and I almost cried like 34043094 times
9. I LOVE MY TRIP!!! We are all falling in love more and more each day :)
10. This blog name comes from the cue sheet we got this morning...it went a little something like this
-turn Left out of church (go .4 miles)
-go South on Hwy 28 (go 65.5 miles) --------- I was VERY sick of that road after a while :)
11. We had our first serious accident of the trip in Silver Bay...two girls on the trip (Jess and Beth) collided and were unable the ride the next day. It was super scary but they're both doing really well now and both rode today! We were all so worried but glad to have them back :) LOVE YOU GIRLS!
12. A B&B prom AND B&B talent show are in the works for the west coast...I'm VERY excited :)
That's all I have for now...I'm hoping to have more internet in the next few days to update with more details!
<3 Kate
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Getting dirty
Last night was so much fun! All of us headed to the bar after a fantastic dinner and had a couple drinks together to celebrate our late curfew (the night before build days we can stay out until 1:00am). I've noticed its always a production when B&B goes to the bar. I think we cover over 20 states all together and the poor waitresses always have to look up what each states drivers licenses looks like to make sure we're not underage...it's pretty funny :) It also doesn't help that Sarah and I (both being from WI) have different IDs and they generally assume I'm the one trying to pull a fast one. There was live music and we all got out on the dance floor together...it was chaos!! We did "the northern" a couple of times and danced until we couldn't dance anymore! The more I get to know each individual in my group, the more I love all of them. It's awesome!
Today was a build day in Lebonon and I was put into a group that was sent to a house that Habitat is building. Turns out it was actually a duplex that is almost completely finished and a family has already moved into one side. We were there to do landscaping. We moved ten tons (yes that was ten TONS) of dirt to the back yard of the duplex, spread it all evenly, flattened it, and laid grass seed. It was a lot of hard work, but it was really fun to have the family there while we were working! They even cooked us cheeseburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Now, I'm all showered up and I'm planning on going to the bar in town to watch the USA world cup game!! I'm really nervous for tomorrows ride because it's completely uphill and is supposed to be one of the hardest of the trip...so I'll be drinking a LOT of water today and trying to get a good night sleep. I'll let everyone know how it goes! WISH US LUCKK!!
<3 Kate
Today was a build day in Lebonon and I was put into a group that was sent to a house that Habitat is building. Turns out it was actually a duplex that is almost completely finished and a family has already moved into one side. We were there to do landscaping. We moved ten tons (yes that was ten TONS) of dirt to the back yard of the duplex, spread it all evenly, flattened it, and laid grass seed. It was a lot of hard work, but it was really fun to have the family there while we were working! They even cooked us cheeseburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Now, I'm all showered up and I'm planning on going to the bar in town to watch the USA world cup game!! I'm really nervous for tomorrows ride because it's completely uphill and is supposed to be one of the hardest of the trip...so I'll be drinking a LOT of water today and trying to get a good night sleep. I'll let everyone know how it goes! WISH US LUCKK!!
<3 Kate
Friday, June 25, 2010
This is what B&B is all about :)
Hello all! Greetings from Lebonon, New Hampshire! :) I am happy to report that we just finished our third "ride day" in a row and I feel GREAT (my quads are a different story)! Here's whats been going on the past few days:
Wednesday 6/23 60 miles
TIRE DIP WAS AWESOME!!! It was so much fun to get all geared up in our bike and build clothing and ride down to the beach as one big unit. It was a really cool experience dipping all of our back tires together in the Atlantic Ocean (Pacific Ocean - here we come!). The first half of the ride was pretty good! We stopped a few times to take some pictures and I spent most of the day riding with Tony (from Chicago) and Sarah and we were a great team! Side note: Sarah and I now refer to ourselves as "Tony's Angels" The first couple hills hit me pretty hard. For some reason I thought I was pretty well prepared...which was obviously false. I was hurting pretty bad and had a few moments of "oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into!!!!" while trying to hold back a few tears of frustration and exhaustion. When I got to lunch halfway through the day I was happy to get off my bike and EAT. The second half of the day went pretty well...there weren't as many hills and when there were Tony and Sarah were really encouraging! We made it to Concord in one piece and I was so proud of myself for getting there! :) We did have one girl on our trip "bonk" which basically means your body doesn't have enough sugar to function and you can't do much of anything let along bike. It was pretty scary but she's okay now and we all are making sure to eat and drink enough to avoid the bonk as much as possible! Donation magic for the day was organic apple juice...yum! At night we all decided to go to the local tavern downtown and have a beer together! It was so much fun!!
Thursday 6/24 35ish miles
Concord to New London, NH
2nd day riding and my legs were already "feeling the burn" from the day before! I rode with Michael, Tony and Sarah and we had a great ride! However, the first 3ish miles of the ride were COMPLETELY uphill!!! It was sssooo hard but we all did it without walking so it felt AMAZING once we got to the top! It also helped that we got a really nice downhill after where I reached max speeds of 43 mph!!! How cool is that!?!?! All of this is going on while riding through the dense forests of NH - its breathtaking out here! After lunch we had a lot of hills too - we were all happy to get to the church and be done riding for the day. I spent the evening showering and going to a pizza place with some people to watch the world cup games (and eat LOTS of pizza as well!). It was really fun! At night we all really enjoyed spending time together...which included but is not limited to playing euchre, dance parties, shaving TWO girl's heads (yes!!), giving one of our leaders a mo hawk, eating more (obviously), telling stories and reading books! It was a really amazing bonding night for NUS'10!
Today! (Friday 6/25) 35ish miles
We rode from New London to Lebonon, NH and it was a much easier ride than the two days before. We started out (after listening to the theme song from "fresh prince"...Kolste girls approve I'm sure) with 6 straight miles of downhill! It was AWESOME! I got around 40mph and marveled at the beautiful scenery! It was so great to finally enjoy the downhill after two days of climbing :) The best part of today is that about 25 miles into the ride we found ourselves at a gorgeous lake! We all hopped off our bikes (about 20 of us!) and jumped in!!! It was SOOO refreshing! We then decided to take some pictures, crawl up on some strangers dock and begin singing Disney songs. Now, anyone that knows me even a LITTLE bit knows that I was ALL OVER that. I think my trip-mates were pretty impressed with my skills. Once everyone from the trip got to the lake (all 30 of us!) we took some pictures and enjoyed ourselves. Swimming in this beautiful lake with the White mountains in the background with all of these great people (all decked out in our B&B gear) was just ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS! I realized that THIS is what Bike and Build is all about...and I couldn't have been happier! I was literally on cloud 9 the rest of the ride ONLY to find that once we got into town there was a free BBQ going on in the cutest downtown you ever did see! Can this day get ANY better? I had a FANTASTIC "spicy sausage" and chatted with the locals. Liz and I then went over to the local market and asked if they wanted to donate anything to our trip and they gave us a free case of water! Everyone is so eager to help us out...it's so inspiring! I'm so proud to be a part of this!!!
In regards to my last blog, Doing "the Northern" is a pretty fantastic dance move that our entire group does together that can only be described in person or video so I hope I'll get to share it all with you soon! The real kicker is...once ONE person from the trip starts doing it, the rest of us have to follow (including any and all public places). Our outstanding leaders (Kyle, Angela, Kelly and Denis) made it up and I give full credit to them for the Northern's awesomeness. Donation Magic is a B&B word used when random strangers donate any and everything they can to help us and the cause! Its ridiculous how much people are willing to give to help out! Every day, someone has a great "donation magic" story. Because of donation magic, we haven't had to provide or pay for a single meal on the trip so far. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but that means three (or more) meals a day for 32 HUNGRY adults who have been riding their bike all day...it's pretty incredible.
Tonight we're walking downtown together to a local church that is donating dinner for us - it's so great! I hope to be able to blog again soon - tomorrow we have a build day then we have the hardest day of the east coast on Sunday...wish us luck!
Wednesday 6/23 60 miles
TIRE DIP WAS AWESOME!!! It was so much fun to get all geared up in our bike and build clothing and ride down to the beach as one big unit. It was a really cool experience dipping all of our back tires together in the Atlantic Ocean (Pacific Ocean - here we come!). The first half of the ride was pretty good! We stopped a few times to take some pictures and I spent most of the day riding with Tony (from Chicago) and Sarah and we were a great team! Side note: Sarah and I now refer to ourselves as "Tony's Angels" The first couple hills hit me pretty hard. For some reason I thought I was pretty well prepared...which was obviously false. I was hurting pretty bad and had a few moments of "oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into!!!!" while trying to hold back a few tears of frustration and exhaustion. When I got to lunch halfway through the day I was happy to get off my bike and EAT. The second half of the day went pretty well...there weren't as many hills and when there were Tony and Sarah were really encouraging! We made it to Concord in one piece and I was so proud of myself for getting there! :) We did have one girl on our trip "bonk" which basically means your body doesn't have enough sugar to function and you can't do much of anything let along bike. It was pretty scary but she's okay now and we all are making sure to eat and drink enough to avoid the bonk as much as possible! Donation magic for the day was organic apple juice...yum! At night we all decided to go to the local tavern downtown and have a beer together! It was so much fun!!
Thursday 6/24 35ish miles
Concord to New London, NH
2nd day riding and my legs were already "feeling the burn" from the day before! I rode with Michael, Tony and Sarah and we had a great ride! However, the first 3ish miles of the ride were COMPLETELY uphill!!! It was sssooo hard but we all did it without walking so it felt AMAZING once we got to the top! It also helped that we got a really nice downhill after where I reached max speeds of 43 mph!!! How cool is that!?!?! All of this is going on while riding through the dense forests of NH - its breathtaking out here! After lunch we had a lot of hills too - we were all happy to get to the church and be done riding for the day. I spent the evening showering and going to a pizza place with some people to watch the world cup games (and eat LOTS of pizza as well!). It was really fun! At night we all really enjoyed spending time together...which included but is not limited to playing euchre, dance parties, shaving TWO girl's heads (yes!!), giving one of our leaders a mo hawk, eating more (obviously), telling stories and reading books! It was a really amazing bonding night for NUS'10!
Today! (Friday 6/25) 35ish miles
We rode from New London to Lebonon, NH and it was a much easier ride than the two days before. We started out (after listening to the theme song from "fresh prince"...Kolste girls approve I'm sure) with 6 straight miles of downhill! It was AWESOME! I got around 40mph and marveled at the beautiful scenery! It was so great to finally enjoy the downhill after two days of climbing :) The best part of today is that about 25 miles into the ride we found ourselves at a gorgeous lake! We all hopped off our bikes (about 20 of us!) and jumped in!!! It was SOOO refreshing! We then decided to take some pictures, crawl up on some strangers dock and begin singing Disney songs. Now, anyone that knows me even a LITTLE bit knows that I was ALL OVER that. I think my trip-mates were pretty impressed with my skills. Once everyone from the trip got to the lake (all 30 of us!) we took some pictures and enjoyed ourselves. Swimming in this beautiful lake with the White mountains in the background with all of these great people (all decked out in our B&B gear) was just ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS! I realized that THIS is what Bike and Build is all about...and I couldn't have been happier! I was literally on cloud 9 the rest of the ride ONLY to find that once we got into town there was a free BBQ going on in the cutest downtown you ever did see! Can this day get ANY better? I had a FANTASTIC "spicy sausage" and chatted with the locals. Liz and I then went over to the local market and asked if they wanted to donate anything to our trip and they gave us a free case of water! Everyone is so eager to help us out...it's so inspiring! I'm so proud to be a part of this!!!
In regards to my last blog, Doing "the Northern" is a pretty fantastic dance move that our entire group does together that can only be described in person or video so I hope I'll get to share it all with you soon! The real kicker is...once ONE person from the trip starts doing it, the rest of us have to follow (including any and all public places). Our outstanding leaders (Kyle, Angela, Kelly and Denis) made it up and I give full credit to them for the Northern's awesomeness. Donation Magic is a B&B word used when random strangers donate any and everything they can to help us and the cause! Its ridiculous how much people are willing to give to help out! Every day, someone has a great "donation magic" story. Because of donation magic, we haven't had to provide or pay for a single meal on the trip so far. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but that means three (or more) meals a day for 32 HUNGRY adults who have been riding their bike all day...it's pretty incredible.
Tonight we're walking downtown together to a local church that is donating dinner for us - it's so great! I hope to be able to blog again soon - tomorrow we have a build day then we have the hardest day of the east coast on Sunday...wish us luck!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Doin' the Northern...and it feels so good
I cannot BELIEVE how much has happened in the past two days!!! I LOVE every single person in my group so much, they are all amazing people and I'm so excited to spend the ENTIRE summer biking, sleeping, eating and building with them 24/7 :) Here's a quick overview of my last few days!
Patrick, Ali, Tori and I drove to New Hampshire (without stopping for sleep) and it was amazing! We all have way too much fun together, and I love them SO MUCH! THANK YOUU THANK YOU! Francie and Scott Osgood generously opened their home to us for the weekend and even let us participate in their son's birthday party on Saturday (SOOOO much fun!!) We met up with Sarah Hamilton, my dear friend and fellow NUSer, and all spent the day in Boston together on Friday. On Saturday night, I had to say goodbye to Ali, Patrick and Tori (waterworks soon to follow) so that I could be in Boston early Sunday morning to see Max and the rest of the B2SBers dip their tires in the Atlantic! It was the most amazing wonderful miraculous experience EVER and made me SO SO SO excited to do it myself! Sarah and I met up with our group on Sunday afternoon and we have been with them ever since! I don't know how many times throughout this blog I will say - THESE ARE THE MOST AMAZING PEOPLE EVER! We all clicked immediately and two days later I find myself already thinking of these people as friendships that will last a lifetime.
Today we had our first build day (Portsmouth, NH) and it was fantastic! I can't explain how great it feels to know you're helping provide a home to a family in need. And to make it all the more better - for the first time in B&B history the NUS'10 route got to MEET one of the families that Habitat is giving a home to. Not only that...we got to be there when Habitat ANNOUNCED that they were getting the house!!! Needless to say we were all crying instantaneously, family and riders alike :)
Tomorrow we dip our tires into the Atlantic and start our first ride as a group :) :) :) 60 some miles and we are all SO READY TO DO IT! I cannot wait!! As I sit here in the Holy Trinity Church in NH, I'm surrounded by all my new groupmates playing soccer (inside a church? yes), chatting, dancing (obviously), singing, trying to sleep (good joke) and laughing. Anyone that knows me well can imagine how hard it is for me to sit here on a computer and miss out even for a brief 10 minutes (I'm typing very very very fast!) I LOVE IT HERE SO MUCH and Bike and Build is absolutely without a doubt the most fantastic organization I have ever heard of/been a part of. I promise my next blog I will be much less spastic and will describe our first ride in FULL detail :)
RIght now, Michael Kraft would really like to use the computer so I am FINISHING this blog...I'll write sooonnnn!!! Miss you all!!
PS: Next time I will explain what "doing the northern" really is AND a little thing we like to call Donation Magic :) :)
<3 KaTE
Patrick, Ali, Tori and I drove to New Hampshire (without stopping for sleep) and it was amazing! We all have way too much fun together, and I love them SO MUCH! THANK YOUU THANK YOU! Francie and Scott Osgood generously opened their home to us for the weekend and even let us participate in their son's birthday party on Saturday (SOOOO much fun!!) We met up with Sarah Hamilton, my dear friend and fellow NUSer, and all spent the day in Boston together on Friday. On Saturday night, I had to say goodbye to Ali, Patrick and Tori (waterworks soon to follow) so that I could be in Boston early Sunday morning to see Max and the rest of the B2SBers dip their tires in the Atlantic! It was the most amazing wonderful miraculous experience EVER and made me SO SO SO excited to do it myself! Sarah and I met up with our group on Sunday afternoon and we have been with them ever since! I don't know how many times throughout this blog I will say - THESE ARE THE MOST AMAZING PEOPLE EVER! We all clicked immediately and two days later I find myself already thinking of these people as friendships that will last a lifetime.
Today we had our first build day (Portsmouth, NH) and it was fantastic! I can't explain how great it feels to know you're helping provide a home to a family in need. And to make it all the more better - for the first time in B&B history the NUS'10 route got to MEET one of the families that Habitat is giving a home to. Not only that...we got to be there when Habitat ANNOUNCED that they were getting the house!!! Needless to say we were all crying instantaneously, family and riders alike :)
Tomorrow we dip our tires into the Atlantic and start our first ride as a group :) :) :) 60 some miles and we are all SO READY TO DO IT! I cannot wait!! As I sit here in the Holy Trinity Church in NH, I'm surrounded by all my new groupmates playing soccer (inside a church? yes), chatting, dancing (obviously), singing, trying to sleep (good joke) and laughing. Anyone that knows me well can imagine how hard it is for me to sit here on a computer and miss out even for a brief 10 minutes (I'm typing very very very fast!) I LOVE IT HERE SO MUCH and Bike and Build is absolutely without a doubt the most fantastic organization I have ever heard of/been a part of. I promise my next blog I will be much less spastic and will describe our first ride in FULL detail :)
RIght now, Michael Kraft would really like to use the computer so I am FINISHING this blog...I'll write sooonnnn!!! Miss you all!!
PS: Next time I will explain what "doing the northern" really is AND a little thing we like to call Donation Magic :) :)
<3 KaTE
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tomorrow, tomorrow...I love ya tomorrow you're only a DAYYYYYYY AAAWWAYYYYY!!!!!
So, evidently I'm not very good at blogging on a regular basis (here's to hoping that will change over the next few months) so I'm going to update you all via bullet points because so much is happening/has happened I can't even think straight!!!! Shocker, I know! :)
- tomorrow marks the first day of the epic life changing Terry/Kolste sibling road-trip to the east coast (Minneapolis, MN to Portsmouth, NH nonstop...that's right) I'm SOOOO excited for snacks, sweets and treats, many many games, singing, and reading books aloud with three of my most favorite people in the entire world. I can't think of a better way to start my Bike and Build experience! Pic-lines included!!!!!
- I've hit all of the B&B prerequisites for starting a trip...fund-raise $4,000 - check! train over 500 miles - check! and go on at least one 65+ mile ride - CHECK!! which leads me to my next bullet point...
- a few weekends ago my mother and I successfully rode our bikes from Janesville to Milwaukee!!!!! Just under 70 miles :) This was just one of those experiences I'll remember forever. It felt so amazing to accomplish such a difficult task, the ride was absolutely GORGEOUS and quite hilly which made it all the more exciting. I also got to do it with my best friend and we could not have had more fun :) it was awesome - Mom, I LOVE YOU!!! and you are a ROCKSTAR!
- Previous to this ride I had a not so amazing ride with my really good friend Max (B2SB) which involves 90+ degree weather, a noon start, 80 miles (only 30 of which were completed), 2 broken Cateyes, an unexpected (or maybe totally expected?) pick up from Patrick in the middle of rural WI and too much drinking in the days prior. I prefer to not think of this ride and am trying to erase it from my memory but lesson learned: biking on country roads is tough stuff and you probably shouldn't try in the conditions listed earlier.
- I finished packing TONIGHT and let me tell you, I think my bin is extra-amazing. Many thanks to Ali and Deb Kolste for all of their tips and tricks (and visits to Ace Hardware!).
- I went on a 30 mile ride with my Grandpa this past week! It was so much fun and I hope I'm half as strong as him when I'm his age! 75 years old and he can still kick my butt when going into the wind :)
- Terry/Hamilton family Janesville BBQ on JULY 17th at my Dads house (Columbus Circle)....yayyyy!!!!
- My bike has an "I love America" theme and is covered in red, white and blue....I just bought an American flag bandana today - I'm thinking her name will have to be something like "lady liberty"/"freedom" or something equally patriotic....
- My partner Jillian is a complete rockstar and we have the most amazing presentation and I've already called her while having a panic attack in REI - all in all, if the rest of my group is half as cool as her, I'm good to go!
- I think that's it....? Next time I write it will be from the east coast :) :) :) baaaahhhhhhh I can't believe it's finally here! yay yay yay!!!
<3>
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
...is that Pomp and Circumstance I hear?? SURE IS!
I am happy to report that I am now an educated gal with a COLLEGE DEGREE!!! I took my last final exams this past Saturday (and managed to get uber sunburned while "studying" outside in between) and proceeded to celebrate into the wee hours of the morning! :) I walked in the CLA commencement ceremony on Sunday afternoon, and even got to sit next to a bunch of my friends and roomies! Vittoria, Kristin, Tess, and Katie...all of you girls absolutely rock my socks and I'm SSOO glad we got to experience graduation together!! My parents, brothers and Aunt Peggy were there too...I was actually the happiest girl in the world. One of the best parts of graduation is that now it's entirely appropriate for me to think about Bike and Build 24/7!
Minneapolis has been my home for 4 years now and I can't BELIEVE it's taken me this long to realize what a great place for biking it is!! I have fallen absolutely head over heels in LOVE with the Grand Rounds bike trail (BA picture included) and pride myself on some pretty long rides on it. It's not every city that you can go on a 30 mile bike ride and bike along/across/around the Mississippi River, 3+ separate lakes, a Minneapolis-style waterfall AND be able to see the gorgeous skyline the whole time!!! I absolutely love it!!! I can't wait to share this wonderful city with all my new BFFs from Bike and Build :) I've officially trained over 200 miles so far and I'm really looking forward to getting some long rides in while I'm home in Janesville. My mom and I are planning to ride to Milwaukee in the next few weeks, and I know Max (B2SB), Sarah (NUS) and I will be taking southern Wisconsin bike trails/highways by storm! Here's to riding 300+ miles in the next 4 weeks...
The next challenge is moving all of my worldly possessions from my beloved room in Big Blue to a storage unit in West St. Paul. I've decided against moving it all back to Janesville because I'm being SUPER optimistic about finding a job in Minneapolis after this summer...maybe tooo optimistic? oh well! Many thanks to my not-s0-little brother Patrick for being the muscles in this endeavor and helping me out! I'll be home in Janesville this Thursday...can't wait to see everyone! :)
Stay tuned to see how much of an epic fail I am when it comes to packing for this adventure...it should be fun! BAAAHHHH 30 some days!!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
$4,000 reached AND sunny/semi-warm Minneapolis...what more could I want??
(drum roll)......I DID IT!!! And by "I", what I really mean is "all of my amazing, generous, super-duper rockstar donators" did it!! As of last week I have officially raised $4,000.00 AND COUNTING! Thank you so much to everyone that has donated to Bike and Build in my name...I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm BLOWN away by everyones generosity! This is such an outstanding cause and I am so proud to be part of it.
I think it's safe to say summer is right around the corner!!! It's been GORGEOUS this week, but I've learned never to speak too soon in Minnesota...April snow storms are a harsh reality of this wonderful state :) I got on my bike for the first time a few weeks ago and it was amazinggg!! I learned how to clip in and out with my shoes and I didn't fall, so all in all a huge success. Now I'm just waiting to go pick up my gear from Bokoo...bike shorts, helmet, new saddle, lights ect! I can't wait to get my first long ride under my belt! I'm hoping to pick up the gear by this weekend so I can get a good ride in soon...I'll keep everyone posted! :)
PS: a few weeks ago Angela, one of my four trip leaders, called me to check in with B&B stuff and it was AWESOME! Angela was a leader with Ben Ryan and was absolutely fantastic! Talking to her made me even more excited than I am on a daily basis and I can't WAIT to meet everyone else on my trip!!!!!
PPS: my apologies for the excessive use of ALL CAPS in this blog :)
I think it's safe to say summer is right around the corner!!! It's been GORGEOUS this week, but I've learned never to speak too soon in Minnesota...April snow storms are a harsh reality of this wonderful state :) I got on my bike for the first time a few weeks ago and it was amazinggg!! I learned how to clip in and out with my shoes and I didn't fall, so all in all a huge success. Now I'm just waiting to go pick up my gear from Bokoo...bike shorts, helmet, new saddle, lights ect! I can't wait to get my first long ride under my belt! I'm hoping to pick up the gear by this weekend so I can get a good ride in soon...I'll keep everyone posted! :)
PS: a few weeks ago Angela, one of my four trip leaders, called me to check in with B&B stuff and it was AWESOME! Angela was a leader with Ben Ryan and was absolutely fantastic! Talking to her made me even more excited than I am on a daily basis and I can't WAIT to meet everyone else on my trip!!!!!
PPS: my apologies for the excessive use of ALL CAPS in this blog :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My very own set of wheels :)
YAYYYYYYY!!!!!! This is my brand new bike that will be taking me across the U S of A :) Many many thank yous to Amy, Ali and Chris for coming to Bokoo with me to pick it up...it was quite the adventure! Also a picture of my new clip-in cycling shoes (the clipping part that I have yet to master) and the oh-so-clever storage spot for the bike as of now.Only 500ish dollars to go for fundraising!! Thank you to all the wonderfully generous donations everyone! :)
Kate
Friday, January 22, 2010
I gotta bike, I gotta bike, I gotta bike hey hey hey hey!
So...I open my email at work yesterday and what do I see? An email from Jeremy (the very nice sir from Bokoo Bikes) saying my bike is in and I can pick it up anytime!!!!!!! So excited for yet another trip to Chanhassen...pictures of the bike to come soon!
Kate
PS: I've also decided it's completely necessary to have a name for my bike...suggestions are encouraged :)
Kate
PS: I've also decided it's completely necessary to have a name for my bike...suggestions are encouraged :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
First of all, HAPPY 2010 EVERYONE!!! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season :)
I can't even BEGIN to describe the generosity I have experienced in the past couple of weeks! I started receiving donations to Bike and Build in my name just days after sending out the donation letters and they keep coming in!!! I'm so humbled by this entire process and all of the people that are willing to give to the cause...I can't say thank you enough! As of today, I officially passed the $3,000 mark! That means only $1,000 left to raise for my portion of the fundraising!! Along with all of the wonderful monetary contributions, I would also like to thank everyone that has given me support in other ways. I've had so many people wish me luck and tell me they will be thinking of me next summer in all of my travels and that means so much to me!
This week I made my first trip to Bokoo Bikes in Chanhassen, MN where I got "fitted" for a bike (a trip that was ONLY possible thanks to my FANTASTIC, patient, car-owning friends TORI AND AMY)! As most of you know, I'm not exactly TALL so I wanted to make sure the mens x-small bike would still fit my oh-so-lengthy stature or if I would have to cough up the extra money to get a womens bike. After trying out a few different bikes with the help of a very helpful worker, we decided the mens x-small would work just great! Even better...Bokoo happened to be having a huge sale on biking shoes so I ended up buying a pair for 30% off the regular price...I win! Lucky (or maybe not so much?) for me, I'm not the only super short person doing Bike and Build this summer because Bokoo has completely run out of the x-small bikes so I will have to wait until March to get my bike. It looks like more stationary bike training for me in the next two months. However, I had my longest ride everrr last week...23 miles in about two hours! I know 23 miles seems like NOTHING compared to the 80ish I'll be riding a day this summer but it's all about baby steps! :)
Spring semester in a few days....last one, here we go!
I can't even BEGIN to describe the generosity I have experienced in the past couple of weeks! I started receiving donations to Bike and Build in my name just days after sending out the donation letters and they keep coming in!!! I'm so humbled by this entire process and all of the people that are willing to give to the cause...I can't say thank you enough! As of today, I officially passed the $3,000 mark! That means only $1,000 left to raise for my portion of the fundraising!! Along with all of the wonderful monetary contributions, I would also like to thank everyone that has given me support in other ways. I've had so many people wish me luck and tell me they will be thinking of me next summer in all of my travels and that means so much to me!
This week I made my first trip to Bokoo Bikes in Chanhassen, MN where I got "fitted" for a bike (a trip that was ONLY possible thanks to my FANTASTIC, patient, car-owning friends TORI AND AMY)! As most of you know, I'm not exactly TALL so I wanted to make sure the mens x-small bike would still fit my oh-so-lengthy stature or if I would have to cough up the extra money to get a womens bike. After trying out a few different bikes with the help of a very helpful worker, we decided the mens x-small would work just great! Even better...Bokoo happened to be having a huge sale on biking shoes so I ended up buying a pair for 30% off the regular price...I win! Lucky (or maybe not so much?) for me, I'm not the only super short person doing Bike and Build this summer because Bokoo has completely run out of the x-small bikes so I will have to wait until March to get my bike. It looks like more stationary bike training for me in the next two months. However, I had my longest ride everrr last week...23 miles in about two hours! I know 23 miles seems like NOTHING compared to the 80ish I'll be riding a day this summer but it's all about baby steps! :)
Spring semester in a few days....last one, here we go!
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