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
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
