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

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>

...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!!!

$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 :)

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

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 :)

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!