The End??

Wow! Like Molly North said in her and Eric's blog this trip has been to amazing an experience to sum up in a few words. It's been one week since we all arrived at La Jolla (I'm still saying La Holla, thanks for that Yvonne and Mo-P!) and the trip still hasn't fully sunk in.

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop in Chicago where I'm spending the night with some friends on my way to my new home, Minneapolis, MN. I've come to the realization that while this trip is "over" it will never stop affecting my life. Just today when I got into chicago my friends were still working so I went on a quest to find wireless. The only difference is that I got here by car and I didn't have 4 leaders (or more likely Meredith) to ask where to go to find it. Sure enough I pulled out my phone and text messaged google to get some help. When that didn't help I asked a local... Ahh the life skills I've developed!

This trip constantly finds it's way in to every facet of my life. I feel like the people around me must be getting sick of the way that every conversation drifts back to some B&B moment. Discussing immigration with my parents last night I drift into ideas and stats from Kim's presentation, gentrification and I'm launching into Zach-Attacks thoughts on the subject. Heck just driving down the road in my car I see a pot-hole and try to stick my hand out the window to point it out - to bad the window was closed b/c the person behind me nailed it.

I was worried when I left that I'd lose touch with the people from Bike and Build but I'm figuring out that that is far from likely. The night I got off my flight home I sent a text to Eric discussing how much I enjoyed the first Harry Potter book and asking how San Fran was going. Almost everything as I walk the streets reminds me of my friends and our experiences crossing the country.

While I may not be with the my 29 companions every hour of everyday as I had been these past 2 months they are and will be with me in my thoughts, my perspective, and more often than not as the cause of my seemingly unprovoked smile. I am grateful for the time I've had crossing the country with such an intelligent, adventurous and interesting group of people and for the love and support from those following the trip across the country and back home.

I want to give a very special shout out to my parents who have been so amazing in supporting me this spring in all my adventures. They'll never know how awesome it was to call home and have people who knew better than I where I was that day, how much elevation I had climbed, where I was headed the next day, and what the weather was going to be like. They were, and continue to be, a constant supply of energy even at my lowest times and I consider myself lucky beyond belief to have such extraordinary people in my corner.


Thanks to everyone for supporting this amazing adventure, it truly has and will continue to shape my life.

Cheers,

-Vandy

Prescott, Wenden and the ride into Blythe / Cali Border!!!

Out of Prescott

Risa coming around a curve on the amazing downhill we did out of Prescott

Chris Clark and Andrew (left to right) on the same downhill

(left to right) Kim, Risa (Behind Jochem), and Jochem coming up a hill on the way to Wickenburg

Melanie with her Antlers on

(left to right) Melanie, Jen, Tony and Dave with their Antlers

(left to right) Zach, Risa, Mike, and Ivey at the Park in Wickenburg for the Youth Summer Oasis Party put on by the local churches. At the party they had a game in which they launched water balloons up in the air and had two teams (one boys and one girls) that tried to catch the water balloons in buckets as they came down. Occasionally one would go past the group and Madormo would try to take it right on the chest (see below)

On Because Madormo was trying to break the long ones on his chest we told him on was coming long and than Andy nailed him from behind with another... childish perhaps but definitely fun!

Some kids on the inflatable obstacle course... Andy and I raced on it later. We tied, but I kinda cheated by jumping on him.

Wenden

Double pace line on the way to Wenden

Just more pictures of the double pace line

We arrived in Wenden while they were still having church services and so hung out at this cafe until we could put our stuff in the church. I entertained myself with a delicious chocolate milkshake and by taking the pictures you'll find below.

Luna and Ivey looking at pictures from the ride.

This is one series I really like of Luna. She started by making a funny face while I was taking pictures, but when I held down the shutter trigger and let the motor drive go she couldn't help but start laughing. You can totally see her break down into laughter. Very Luna.

Kim trying to frown b/c I'm taking her picture and she doesn't want me to but I'm just too damned entertaining to frown at.

Ivey telling it like it is!

Well hello there Ivey.

Tony and Lindsay after I switched tables due to my other subjects getting sick of the camera.

The railroad tracks that run through Wenden. Taken while I was out exploring still killing time.

Hanging out with CVH and Kim at the convenience store as a storm rolls in. (Molly P. took the picture)

CVH with the storm/sunset in the background.

Molly P. Caught at an awkward time in a dramatic pose. I still like the picture though.

People say it that Arizona is the desert. It rained every day we were there!

Me attempting to juggle

Chris Clark doing the same

Ivey testing out her circus skills.

Wenden to Blythe

Early in the morning out on the road (Molly N., Emily B., Eric, and my shoulder)

Molly N. droppin' her shades down low.

Yvonne pulling the line this morning at 20mph. The girls got some strong legs!

Madormo pushing ahead.

Andy Mac, cruising alone.
Jen and CVH
Jen and CVH from the back.
Andrew on the road and going strong since he's been back.

The next few are just some group shots during riding today. We were lucky to have a lot of cloud cover which kept the temperature down.


Kim, excited to be at the cali state line!
Chris Clark, Zach, and part of Jochem at the cali state line.

(left to right) Kim, Zach, Emily B. Molly N.

Andy and Yvonne at the 2nd California State line sign we found.
Jen Barry
Jen again!


Me at the first sign, mile 0 over the Colorado river.

Molly N. and Eric


Chris C. riding in.

Andy and Me (poorly posed)

Madormo, serious about making it to California

Eric

Zach looking "Intrepid"

Well my friends that's it for today. We're all real excited to be in California but can't believe that this awesome adventure will soon be at it's end. It was definately a bittersweet feeling crossing that state line. Only a few more days together and a couple hundred more miles to ride.

Cheers,

Vandy

Tuba City and Grand Canyon

Tuba City, AZ (Navajo Nation)

Eric getting birthday spankings

It was Ray's birthday too...

Sunset in Tuba City

En Route to the Grand Canyon

Madormo

Left to Right: Madormo, Eric, Zach, Molly North

Grand Canyon

Picture of Kim and I at the Grand Canyon National Forest entrance after a confusing conversation and awkward with a park ranger which ended up with her taking our picture. Something about "... to show your grandchildren..." yeah, uhh... we're not dating.

It was raining on and off as we rode along the Canyon, the next few shots are of that.

Sunset on the Grand Canyon

Some shots from this morning before leaving for Williams, AZ

Kim, Risa (just her arms), and Kaitlin (luna) at the Grand Canyon this morning

Williams, AZ

The first sign for a city in California... We're getting close ... tear...

Hopefully I'll put up some words when I have more time.
Cheers,

-Vandy

Cortez, Four Corners and Teec Nos Pos, Kayenta

Hello all! It's been a fun couple of days since my last post. We've entered the Navajo Nation in North Eastern Arizona and it is a dry, hot, desolate place. In the mornings and evenings the light on the desert rock formations is absolutely gorgeous (as I hope will be shown through my pictures) in the middle of the day though most everything is washed out and boiling hot! Luckily for us we've had some relatively short rides (about 70 miles a day) and some fun attractions along the way.

But first, some overdue shots from our ride into Buena Vista, CO.

The crazy thing about the Rockies when compared to the Appalachans is the expansive flats between the mountains. This is a pic of some that we encountered on our ride into Buena Vista.

Kim on the Buena Vista ride

The downhill into Buena Vista

Andy's flambouant outfit on the day from Buena Vista to Gunnison

Andy with a mountainous background on the Buena Vista to Gunnison Ride

Cortez, CO

Our first day out of Durango was into Cortez. We stayed in a great house the local Bike shop owner is remodeling and it was just perfect for us. Kitchen, showers, lots of floor space. It was a great homey atmosphere that is often hard to come by on the road. Especially when you switch locations every day. We got into Cortez pretty early, dropped off our bikes, got lunch, unpacked the trailer and then asked ourselves what to do. Since Cortez is a pretty small town and it was a sunday there really wasn't a lot going on. So I went to see the new harry Potter movie with Eric, Andy and Yvonne. It was Eric's 2nd time seeing the flick in as many days... Lets just say he's a Potter fan.

Luna on the ride to Cortez, CO

Four Corners and Teec Nos Pos, AZ (Navajo Nation)

Out of Cortez we rode to the four corners monument and into Arizona, more specifically The Navajo Nation, which is a huge reservation in the northeast corner of Arizona. We spent the night at a small rural church in Teec Nos Pos. The sunset that night was absolutely spectacular. Probably one of the best I've ever seen (Hence the ridiculous number of pictures I've taken and posted)

A Navajo Kid doing a dance at the Four Corners Monument

Group shot at the Four Corners Monument

Me napping in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona all at once... I got skills

Lindsay at the Arizonza State Line/ Navajo Nation Border

Me and Madormo at the Arizona State Line

I'm not sure what this is technically called but a mesa-esque rock formation in Teec Nos Pos

The same rock formation with Madormo and Andy on top after they spent about an hour finding a way to the top!

Molly North and Eric cleaning bikes and hanging out at sunset.

Eric Immel - Model Shot

Yvonne on the phone at sunet - Teec Nos Pos

Andy Mac, and Yvonne at Sunset

Portrait of Yvonne at Sunset

Yvonne and Chris Jochem at Sunset

Sunset at Teec Nos Pos

Another Sunset shot

Kayenta, AZ (Navajo Nation)

From Teec Nos Pos we rode to Kayenta. Kayenta is a bit bigger than Teec Nos Pos. The towns main industry is based around a mine and for that reason there are more chain stores there that we couldn't find in Teec Nos Pos, which only had a convenience store. That night we had our last week of the affordable housing curriculum with some excellent presentations on immigration, gentrification, home owner vs. renter statistics, and national affordable housing organizations and their methods of organization and action.

I think that gentrification was the most interesting topic just because it is so hard to come pick a side to support. It's obvious that improving the quality of housing and public services in a community is good, but how do you do so while still keeping the housing affordable for those that currently live in the community? If you don't keep it affordable how do you justify simply kicking people out of their community and transplanting them to another neighborhood, which is also not great, most likely away from their current place of employment, etc. I think that the general goal should be to improve the community as well as the people who live there. Find ways to help them afford the better houses be it more affordable loans, skill training programs, better general education, whatever. The net message I gotten out of our affordable housing discussions this summer is that we all need to focus on community. It is important to understand a capitalist economy and how to protect and leverage your property rights to increase wealth, quality of life and use resources efficiently but it is also crucial that we realize that as humans we care about those around us and that the best way to improve our community is to become more involved in it. We all need to meet, and work with our neighbors, to talk about important community issues and help each other work to make our towns, cities, and communities stronger. If you think about it on a global scale that is the smartest capitalist move we can make. Much like companies find ways to combine the resources of different divisions to increase the efficiency of the entire corporation we need to work with our neighbors to make ours the strongest, most skilled and educated community so that we can continue to compete on a global scale. Anyway, enough of that stream of consciousness ramble for now...

Riding out of Kayenta, early morning (left to right: Jen, Emily B., Melanie)

Some sweet clouds on the ride to Tuba City.

We are now in tuba city, which is bigger than Kayenta (the cities just keep getting bigger). Today I rode sweep with Melanie and we had a great time. It was a fun day with great conversation and adventure. Only have a few pictures however as most of the landscape looks pretty much the same and the light isn't that great while we're riding. That's all for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cheers,

Vandy

To Durango We Go!

Hello from Durango Everyone! It's been a long but very fulfilling couple of days! The rides were hard but we all proved to ourselves that we can push through anything and man did we see some beautiful sites. Riding out of Colorado City from the Garden of the Gods and going past pikes peak on bike is something that really lifts your spirits. The downhill into Buena Vista was a total rush and I never realized how flat it was inbetween the mountain peaks out here in the Rockies - or for that matter how strong the wind is in Colorado. Ouray is one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen and Durango has also been amazing! Here are some pictures from the ride. I edited the ones of me first so thats what the majority of these are - Haha! I'll post some more soon I hope!

Garden of the Gods - The night before our ride out of Colorado Springs

Madormo, actin' a fool

Garden of the Gods from within the garden

Self Portrait in the garden

From the road as we were leaving

A climber in the garden - They have a bunch of sick routes to climb

Another shot from in the garden

Little stone that looks like the big one - Madormo's Idea, I like it

Garden of the Gods Morning of our ride out of Colorado Springs to Buena Vista

My Bike

Zach, looking cool as we wait for the second shuttle of people to show up

Chris and Chris as we ride out of the garden

Kim as we ride out of the Garden

Same shot with Amanda

Out of the Garden on our way to Buena Vista
We actually had 3 mountain passes this day but I only got pictures at 2 of them

Me at Ute Pass our first one

Eric, Andy and Kim at Wilkerson Pass, #3 I think

Me at Wilkerson Pass, Pikes Peak is in the background on the left!

Continental Divide - Buena Vista to Gunnison
This was a big day, we crossed the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, our highest Elevation for the whole trip! I was super pumped and wanted the summit badly so I pushed it all the way up. What a rush to get there!

Me at the summit of Monarch Pass

A few members of the "Lady Line" at the top of Monarch (Left to Right: Risa, Molly North, and Kim)

Meredith celebrating the Monarch Pass Summit

Group at the Pass's Continental Divide Sign
(Left to Right: Andy, Risa, Molly North, Kim, and Me)

Gunnison to Ouray 106 miles - One Long Day

Black Canyon Gorge. It was GORGEous - I know, I know... Lame.

Me at Black Canyon Lake

Me at Cerro Summit, our one summit of the day

Ouray to Durango - Three Passes over 10,000 feet, 74 miles, ridiculous sights and one amazing day!

Starting the ride early in the morning

Me at the top of Red Mountain pass, tired, wet, cold, but so pumped about making it to the top. I pushed hard, averaged 8.6 mph and made it up 4,300 feet in an hour and a half. Chris Clark, Jochem and Molly Pederson's Dad did it way faster but I'm really pumped with my ride!

Red Mountain Pass with (from right to left) Me, Mike, Amanda and Andy

Kim climbing on the way up Molas Pass between Silverton and Durango
Eric Climbing up Molas Pass

Molly North Climbing up Molas Pass

left to right: Kim, Eric, Me, and Molly North - Victory atop Molas Pass!

Me atop Molas Pass - #2 of the day!

Me at the the Coal Bank Pass Summit - Last one of the day and what a great feeling to be there!

Some Very Belated Pictures, and Colorado up to Colorado Springs

So I'm not a huge fan of writing, as you can probably tell. I do however like taking pictures so with this post I've put up a bunch of pictures I hadn't had time to go through until now, and some more recent ones. It starts off in Tennessee and goes all the way to Colorado Springs.

Tennessee

Andy and Eric with some Beef Jerky Chew (like Chewing tobacco) on the ride in to Savannah

Emily Hodge with a Puppy at an Animal Shelter where we stopped to play with animals

Molly P. with a puppy

Shadow Boxing as we leave the Armory in Bolivar
(Lindsay , Kaitlin , Mike , Ryan, right to left)

Getting Ready to leave Bolivar in the morning
(Kim, Meredith, and Chris Clark, right to left)

Kim getting ready to leave Bolivar

Andrew's Bike after he got hit on the way to Memphis, super scary

Andrew after being released from the Hospital in Memphis (he's all better now!)

Profile of Andrew after leaving the hospital

Leaving Memphis TN For Arkansas

Dave sporting the Georgie's shirt at the Arkansas State Line

Me at the Arkansas state Line

Group Shot at the Arkansas State Line

Oklahoma

Glen Zachary Wright Model Shot

Molly North Model Shot

Liz and Risa (left to right)

Group shot on some hay bails
(Back Row, Left to right: Chris Jochem, Ryan, Andy, Eric, Molly N.
Middle Row, L to R: Lee Anne, Mary Olive, Liz, Me
Front Row, L to R: Ivey, Chris Clark, Risa)

Another hay bail shot

And another

Me on a hay bail, photo taken by Yvonne

Andy and Yvonne on a hay bail

Liz

Trailer Shot

Group shot entering Kansas
(Back Row, Left to right: Ryan, Zach, Yvonne, Chris Jochem, Molly N, Eric, Andy, Mary Olive, Tony, Me
Front Row, L to R: Risa, Liz, Ivey, Amanda, Chris Clark, Anita)

Me at the KS State Line

Molly P doing her standard pose

Meredith, KS State Line

Emily Hodge, KS State Line

Colorado

Grou at the Colorado State Line
(Left to Right: Mike, Molly N, Me, Kaitlin, Chris Jochem, Chris Clark, Emily, Andy, Eric)

Me at the Colorado Line

Molly P., Me and Kim at CO state line

Lady Line at the CO State Line

Eric andMolly N. at the CO State Line

Shadows on the road leaving La Junta for Colorado Springs at 5:30 in the morning

Riding to Colorado Springs Early Morning (Front to Back: Molly N and Kim)

Molly N.

Early Morning to Colorado Springs from the saddle
(Left to right: Kim, Eric, Amanda)

The Rockies in sight!
(Foreground, Left to right: Chris Jochem, Chris Clark, Kim)

Chris Jochem in Colorado Springs Contemplating our future climb over the rockies!

Pictures from Ponca City

Hey All! Here are some pictures from our beautiful ride to Ponca City on the 30th. We stayed at the First Lutheron Church there and they treated us so well. My cousin Dan, his wife Angie, their two children - Alastair and Kenna, and their dog - Deputy, suprised me with a visit on their way back to their home in Albequerque, NM, from Detroit, MI, where they were visiting our family. They took me out to dinner and ice cream, and we got to hang out and talk for awhile. It was really great to see them and a total shocker!

The ride into Ponca was great! As I missed most of the group side of the evening and other people are much better about relating the details of the trip I'm simply going to post pictures from the ride.

First are pictures of the two stickers I have on my bike. A sticker has to be worthy to taint the beauty of my bicycle so I'll take some time to explain why these made the cut.

No Whining!
Obviously this is a hard trip and there are times going up a mountain when it sucks, there is nothing the will set you straight like this sticker. It's kind of my motto for life. A reminder to enjoy whatever I'm doing, or at least no there will be a pay off for the pain and that in the end it's worth it. Every uphill has a downhill.

Human Rights Campaign
This sticker is about equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights. It is the one issue that I can't argue more than one side to. It is important to note that this is my view and not that of Bike and Build. I don't know what their opinion is. I think that everyone should have equal rights under the United States Government. If you think that marrige is a religious institution than I think that the US government shouldn't have the right to marry anyone. Religions can make whatever rules they want based on their beliefs but in I think the US government should be blind to personal matters like sexual orientation. I had a bracelet before this trip which broke off and when I ordered another I got a sticker which I am very proud to have on my bike.

Ok, now for pictures of people.

View from the Saddle, Molly, Zach and Eric (left to right)

Zach, Luna, and Mike (left from right)

Mike (left) and Zach showing his guns

Me goofing around

Molly P. and Kim (left to right)

Mike, Eric, Zach and Molly (left to right)

Eric and Molly N. posing for the picture

Molly P. and Kim doing a fist pound 'cause their hardcore biker chicks.

Moutain View To Bartlesville

What can happen to your legs after a night of camping in Pointsett State Park, AR

A pace line starting up in early morning

.... Ok so from where I left off last time....
After the leaders called off the ride we had to shuttle 60 miles to Mountain View. I was not happy that we didn't get to ride. I think the leaders made the best decision they could with the information they had, but that still didn't make me happy about having to ride in a car instead of on a bike. I figured that if we couldn't ride I'd be happier getting to the church we were staying at to unpack everything the trailer, set things up for the night try and take care of some much needed organization. For this reason I decided to get in the first shuttle. About 5 minutes in to the ride it became apparent to me (and I think most other people) that the weather wasn't going to be as bad as had been reported, 20 minutes later it was apparent that it was in fact be a beautiful day! This of course added to my sour mood, which I tried keep contained to myself by sleeping. About 45 minutes into the 60 mile shuttle ride the trailer got a flat tire on the way down a winding hill. When we were finally about to pull over the tire was torn to pieces and we didn't have a spare. So we were stuck on the road for about 3 hours waiting for someone to come and change the tire. I took a short walk, and worked on thinning my tan lines on top of the van while we waited. The guy who came out to change our tire was awesome. He changed a tire faster than anyone I've ever seen, and after a short conversation with Mike Madormo (our ambassador to the world, seriously this kid can make absolutely anyone tell them their life story within 5 minutes of meeting them) we had his life story and a $100 donation!

So, we got the tire changed and got back on the road. After arriving we unpacked the trailer got things setup and then I went on a run to burn off some steam. The rest of the day was great. We had a great dinner, no mosquitoes, and listened to some amazing live bluegrass.

The next day was Harrison, AR, and the day after that was a great ride. We stayed at the Methodist church there and it was again a wonderful night. We had a wonderful dinner of donated Subway Subs (thanks Subway) and Little Caeser's Hot and Ready $5 Pizzas!

(Picture to right is of Andy McDonald and Anita Chang)

The ride after that was to Rogers. In the morning we started off to a good pace. I stopped to take pictures and people we cruising along. When I caught back up I was heading up a hill behind Molly North when her chain came off, got stuck in her front chain ring and broke! What a bummer. We ended up sitting on the side of the road for 3 hours waiting for the van to be able to come back and give us someone else's bike for her to ride. If we had been in a dangerous situation the van would've come back faster but since we weren't they had to support the other riders. Just the name of the game when riding with a group of 30! Anyway, Molly and I decided that we should make sure we enjoyed the rest of the ride and not try and rush which is easy to start doing when you're behind. The ride was beautiful, we peddled through the Ozarks and they were some awesome views. Molly and I ended up having a great ride and got into Rogers at about 4pm.

(Picture to left, Molly North on our day through the Ozarks)

The next day was a ride into Grove. We crossed two state lines that day (AR to MO, and MO to OK) and largely stayed together as a group. It rained about bit but it was still a ton of fun. The place we stayed at that night was again really nice and we were grateful for their hospitality.

(Picture to right, Molly and I again on our day through the Ozarks)

The 28th was Kim Webber's birthday. The ride to Bartlesville was about 80 miles, largely flat, and pretty fun. Part of the ride was along US 60 which becomes a two lane road with no shoulder. Most of US 60 was fine but at one point I got run of the road by a WalMart semi-truck.

After arriving in Bartlesville, we had an awesome dinner cooked for us by our hosts, the members of the Church of Christ, and went out to Vern's Tavern to celebrate Kim's birthday. Vern's was amazing. It is quite literally a metal sided shed with OSB walls covered in pictures, and beer signs. They only have Budweiser on draft, and serve a Budlight, Coors light, Michelob Ultra , and pop in bottles. The people there were super friendly and we quickly felt like family. It was an awesome night, with about 30 rounds of Happy Birthday sung to Kim whenever there was a lull in the Jukebox music.

(Picture to left, The gentlmen of the trip at the Missouri state line, our first of the to for the day)

Today, the 29th, was a day off in Bartlesville. I used the time to rest, organize, clean up and do some needed bike maintenance. The local YMCA let us come in and use the pool, jacuzzi, sauna, etc. It was a great day and I'm excited for the ride to Ponca City tomorrow!

Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon!

Cheers,
Vandy

Hello and Welcome from Harrison, AR

Hello all! Sorry but this post will be short. We are only able to get one computer online at a time and so are limited to 30 minutes each, and well, email comes before blogging!

The last couple of days have been pretty crazy. Memphis was a ton of fun, as well as being filled with some very scary moments. One of our riders was hit by a pick up truck that was going 50mph. Luckily he only got some severe road rash. Considering the truck was going 50 thats about as close to a miracle as you can get. He's taking some time off and may come back to the trip. We are all hoping he does b/c he's a great guy and we're missing him. Remeber Andrew, you should've seen what you did to the truck!

After memphis we stayed in a camp ground in pointsett state park which has the highest density of mosquito's I've ever experienced. I got bit more than 10 times on my right hind end, through my spandex bike shorts, in the 30 minutes I was outside in the morning. We then started what was to be a 100 mile ride in the pouring rain (and I do mean pouring, not misting). After making it to the first rest stop (about 40 miles I think) the leaders called off the ride and decided to shuttle b/c they thought it was going to keep raining and thunderstorming all day and they were worried about cars being able to see us on the road.

That's all I have time for now, I'll finish the story soon I hope!

Cheers, all and thanks for the comments!

Vandy

Party's in the Back!: Pictures from a day of sweeping

Check out the Journal Entry I wrote for today at the bike and build website for written details (click here). Here are some pictures!

A Mohawk picture for those of you who have been waiting (not it's best form as the back isn't sticking up but still not to bad a display)

Molly Pederson searching for inspiration in the morning sun! (sarcastic, not dramatic)

Andrew getting ready for the days ride.

CVH in the morning at Dunlap

Zach Wright Leaving the "Rescue Squad" in Dunlap

Trip leader Kaitlin Luna rolling out of Dunlap

Kim Rolling out in the morning



Zach riding away in fear from the rolling bail of hay pushed by Kim, Molly and Risa (left to right)

Molly P. Bike over head with and without a little funk

Kim with bike over head

Kim after flat number 7 in two days!

If you regularly check this blog and want to see pictures of someone in particular tell them to have me post some.

Cheers,
~Vandy

Gatlinburg and Maryville

So after a pretty filling lunch we headed out for the TN/NC state line unsure how mountainous the trip would be. It quickly turned into a rather steep climb for 15 miles with essentially no breaks. Luckily we had been climbing the previous two days and that morning and had learned a few lessons. Most importantly when climbing don't ever expect to stop. Just keep trudging along like you're going to be going 6mph straight uphill for the rest of your life. The second you start thinking that the road is going to level out (or even better turning into a downhill cruise) you come around the next bend and see another daunting uphill climb.

(Picture to left is of Caitlin Luna at the begining of of the afternoon ride, not quite at the uphill yet and hence the tongue out)

With this new strategy in mind I decided to simply get on my bike and ride for 30 minutes striaght, take about a 5 minute break - eat a snickers, drink some Gatorade - and then get back on my bike and climb for another 30 minutes. It worked out real well for me. I found that I was able to sustain a higher energy level and speed than I had the previous two days and really cut down on the mental frustration.

Finally we reached the TN/NC state line at about 3pm. We were greeted by a tiny sign at a lookout that said "Tennessee State Line" and gave the elevation - about 5,080 feet I think, 800 feet lower than we had hit the day before. We had been hoping for a huge "WELCOME TO TENNESSEE" sign, but no such luck. We took a ton of pictures anyway and waited for the van and more people to show up.

After that we were treated with a thrilling 15 mile downhill ride with an average speed of about 35mph straight into Downtown Gatlinburg. Upon arrival at about 5:20pm we rode around town looking for the church we were staying at. We found it, dropped off our bikes and then headed to a restaraunt/bar on the main drag that had this great balcony overlooking the street to get some appetizers, give directions to the riders still arriving and people watch.

Gatlinburg is truly a turist town. The people watching was great. At one point we saw a horse drawn wagon go by with a guy playing a banjo, a person dressed up as a clown, another peson dressed up as a brown bear and then about 3 other people who looked like they were just along for the ride. That night CVH cooked some delicious pasta and we all hit the sack.

Wednesday we rode into Maryville, TN, where we are currently working with Habitat for Humanity. It was a pretty mellow ride, only about 40 miles and with no major happenings except for Tony Woods and Mike Madormo who took a wrong turn and ended up in Knoxville (oops). We are staying at this awesome summer camp place called "Camp Tipton". They've got 4 cabins with bunk beds as well as a slip and slide, archery area, huge playing field, and a very large gym. We have all reverted to about 12 years old and our enjoying our camp experience.

(Picture to right is of Anderw at the Maryville Build Site)

During the day we've been working at different local Habitat Build sites and the Habitat HomeStore which is like a huge thrift store that also has building supplies and appliances. We had been expecting to do a Blitz build but due to some changes in management in the local habitat chapter it was canceled without us knowing. No big deal, they've got a ton of other useful stuff that we've been working on and all is going well. There is even a Women's Build that some of the girls have been participating in and seem to really love. At the HomeStore we've largely been helping them reorganize everything and sort through donations. They literally have an entire room about 12x40ft stuffed to the ceiling with clothes that have been donated and needed to be sorted. We've done a great job of working through those and have even found some great steals oursleves!

(Chris Jochem at the Maryville build site)

Tomorrow is our last day in Maryville and then we start riding again. I hope to keep posting frequently. Thanks for all the comments!

To Asheville...

Ok, so I last left off at the day we rode up 181 and then down to Linville Falls/Alcott/Newland. After a wonderful dinner of lasagna (vegetarian and otherwise) we had a good sleep and started out the next day for ashville. We knew that this again would be a mountainous ride wouldn't be as bad as the ride up 181. It was agains a long day of climbing but this time there were more downhills along the way up which gives you some much needed rest from climbing and pumps some adrenaline in to the old bloodstream to keep you going. I spent the day riding mainly with Molly North, Andy McDonald, and Risa Griffin. We had a great time and at the end of the day were treated with a 13 to 15 mile downhill ride. Average speed downhill was about 35 mph. Man was that a rush! When we got in were staying at YMCA, complete with whirlpool/jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room! It was awesome.

(the above picture is of Molly (M.A.N.) North on the tric of a guy we met while climbing the moutain)

Kim Webber and Eric Immel were the sweeps for the day and the new 6pm Arrival Time Van Rule was stressing them out a bit while on the road. Andy, Molly, Risa and I arrived with the middle group at around 5 or 5:30pm and the sweeps were a way back. They eventually made it in at 7:45 after about 12 hours on the saddle. The trip leaders aloud them to stay on the road which I think was a great decision since the day was really just a long ride and there was no doubt they'd be able to finish it.

That night Andy's brother, who live's in Ashville, took some of us out for a delicious Italian dinner. He was a real nice guy. I felt bad because we were all so exhausted I'm afraid we weren't the best conversationalists. After dinner we got back to the Y and hit the sack.

The next day was to be the hardest ride yet, Ashville to Gatlinburg. A number of people had told us they didn't think we'd be able to do it in one day and that we should stop in the middle. Needless to say we were all conserned but focused on getting to the Tennessee/North Carolina State Line to stay motivated.

The day started out with pretty flat ground. At the water stop we found out that the road we were on turned into an expressway for a few miles and we had to get shuttled in the Van about 6 miles down the road. After that we had a steep but short (in comparison to the previous day) climb and then a fun downhill to the lunch stop... Library is closing. Hopefully I'll get the post more soon, with some pictures. Thanks for reading!

Goodbye North Carolina, Helllooooo Tennessee!

Hello from Maryville Tennessee! We have made our way from Chapel Hill, NC - Where I last updated the blog - all the way to Maryville Tennessee for a week of building. It has been a very challenging week for the Bike and Build NC2SD team, but we are all stronger for it, have come closer together and I think learned more about ourselves.

Starting out leaving from Chapel Hill we rode Winston-Salem. What was slated to be a 72 mile ride turned out to be in the mid 80's on our direction sheet and in the end (after getting lost) washed out to be over 100 miles - in the rain (Photo left of Kim Webber). It was a very long day with over 32 turns,which doesn't sound like much but when streets don't always meet up the way they're supposed to and every mile in a wrong direction is doubled when you make your way back to the correct route 32 turns is a lot. The day was long, slow, and wet. In all it really wasn't that bad until the end when I just wanted to be there and we were all tired and moving slowly up hills. When we finally rolled in a bike shop across from the church we stayed at had set up a tent in the parking lot and was grilling up food for us and giving free tune ups/lubes. During the day's ride I broke my 3rd bike computer (the first one which I had had for awhile broke at home the day before I left for the trip, the second one never really worked well, 3rd one which I purchased the night before leaving chapel hill for winston-salem worked for a little while, stopped working, jiggled loose and then fell into my front wheel, was ripped off by the spokes and thrown across the street), so I bought what will hopefully be my last one for this trip and had them put it on.

As we sat and ate more people made their way in. As they rolled in I realized the slight detour - due to confusing directions - my group had taken wasn't as bad as I had thought. Some people had ended up on the freeway, gotten two flat tires (at the same time), had small emotional breakdowns or were just to worked to finish the ride and had to end the day with a ride in the van. The truly awesome part (besides the amaising hummus at the bike shop) was that as each person rolled in - some in tears - our entire group surrounded them for a big group hug and show of support and celebration for our first century ride. I've been a part of a lot of teams and organizations in my life but this one is a truly tight nit and supportive group. It is awesome to be a part of it.

The next day was another tough day for me. I was sweep. Each day two people are designated as sweep. They stay at the back of the pack and aren't allowed to pass anyone. They carry extra water, spare parts, and food, as well as a phone, so that they can provide help to anyone who has problems along the way. I am usually in the front group of riders. Not because I'm particularly talented, but because I like to get on the bike and go. I'm not sure why but it's just part of my mental make up. The sweep day was difficult for me because I was riding off of my normal pace, which believe it or not can really mess up your energy levels. While Caitlin vonHedemann (CVH) had a great time taking pictures and making little detours - to check out the fields of a wine vineard for example (picture right is of CVH and Andy at the Vineyard) - by the end of the day I was exhausted and like a five year old child cranky.

This now brings us to last tuesday I believe, our ascent into the Apalachan Mountains! We had been told that they day would be hard, involve some tough climbing and the leaders had also implemented a new rule that if people weren't to the host site by 6:00pm - the usual dinner time - the van would come around and anyone still on the road would have to get in. Because of this I was so I started off determined to push myself through and make it in before six. My achillies tendon had been swelling up to the point where I could feel it rubbing when I walked and would give me some pretty significant pain when riding. Luckily CVH had a ankle brace she wasn't using and I decided to give it a whirl for the day. I started off taking it pretty easy but found may ankle was doing well and decided to start pushing. The route was hilly and I like to shift to a harder gear, slow my candence and pedal lightly down hills to try and build up some more kinetic energy to help push me up the next hill. A lot of people like to glide down the hills to save energy. Because I was anxious to go and ride this way I ended up making my way through most of the hills a bit faster than the rest of the group. I made it to the first water stop in great time and my ankle was feeling real well so I just kept on pushing. I ran into a problem however when I missed a turn on cecel road. The que sheet said that it was something like 5 miles from the first water stop but it was actually around 1 or 2 miles. Needless to say I flew right passed it and continued on for another 5 miles before I called the van saying I couldn't find the road, found out I was passed it and turned around. I finally made it back to the correct route and caught up to everyone right at a 3 mile gravel road that we had to ride down - the leaders didn't know it would be gravel when they planned out the route. Let me tell you riding a road bike with 23mm wide wheels 3 miles up and down hills on a gravel road is a rush. It was bumpy but overall fun. After the gravel road we had a few more hills and then stopped for lunch.

At lunch we spoke with some road workers about what the roads we were taking in the afternoon would be like. They re-iterated what we had expected. US 181 was a steep winding road that would not be much fun. We were pretty sure that it would only be about 4.8 miles long - the distance our que sheet said we'd be on it - so we were confident we could manage. When after lunch we hit 181 it was very steep and windy, but also closer to 13 or fifteen miles long. Really the only thing worse than climbing uphill on a bike is climbing uphill on a bike for 3 times longer than you thought you'd be climbing. It was hot and definately the most physically challenging thing I've ever done - way harder than running 13 miles in 100 degree heat while training for a marathon last summer - but the great thing about climbing up a mountain on a bike is that you then get to ride down a mountain on a bike! Whoooo Weeee! That was a good time. But, as you'll see was a theme for this week, minor disastor struck again - direction problems! At the bottom of the mountain we were supposed to take a left on to a road called Bugger Hollow. Bugger Hollow however turned out not to be labeled and we couldn't find it. After riding back and forth on 181 about 3 miles in each direction looking for the road my group decided to try and find our own way to get to newland - the town our que sheet said we were staying in. We went to a gas station, looked at a map and planned out a route. Along our new route on our way to Newland we got to cross the Eastern Continental devide - pretty cool!

When we finally ended up in Newland we discovered that the church we were staying at wasn't actually in Newland. It was in a town called alcott (I'm spelling that wrong), about 7 miles outside of Newland's downtown. So we got back on the bikes, made the 7 mile trek and arrived at the church right around 5:30 to find almost everyone else was already there! We had called the van earlier and explained our trouble finding Bugger Hollow and they had chalked a different road (US 183) to guide those behind us to the correct destination! We were just happy to be in but definately wished we had had better directions. The real kicker of it is that Mike Madormo and I had stopped at US 183 and debated taking it but it wasn't on our que sheet and we didn't have any cell service so we couldn't ask the van!

Well there is more to tell but the library is closing so I've gotta run. I'll hopefully post some more words and some picture tomorrow. I want to say in closing however that while there have been some fairly big problems with the que sheets I think our trip leaders are doing a great job. This is a completely new route and they're doing the best they can with the maps they have. Navigation is quite a bit harder when you're taking small no-name roads to small towns to try and avoid traffic.

Thats all for now! I'll hopefully write again soon!

Wake Forest and Chapel Hill

Since the last time I posted we've ridden from Greenville to Wake Forest, and from Wake Forest to Chapel Hill. As I believe other people have already posted the ride from Greenville to Wake Forest was a bit longer than it needed to be. We changed our trip directions to a route we had heard was shorter but ended up not leading where it was supposed to, so we turned around reverted to the old directions. It was a hot day but a really fun ride. I really didn't mind the extra miles, and since our directional error caused us to hit 88 miles a few of us debated throwing on another 12 and making it a century. Saddle sores and a swollen Achilles tendon got the better of us however.

The picture above and left is of me on a bridge on the ride from Belhaven to Greenville, and the one above and center is of Zach on the same ride.

On the ride from Wake Forest to Chapel Hill a few of us decided to take a detour through Durham and see the stadium(picture to left) in which Bull Durham was filmed as we as take an ad hoc tour of Duke University's Campus by bike. It was only a 30 mile ride so we had some time to kill and it was worth it. Pictures below are of Eric sitting on Mr. Duke's Lap, and of Catlin Luna riding up to the famous church on Duke's campus.

We spent today working at three different build sites. The group split in half and my group went to one site for the morning and worked on framing a house and putting blocking so that shelving, toll bars, etc. can be hung once the drywall is put up (picture to right of mike doing some blocking, and below that is Andy after we put some straw in his mouth while he was napping at lunch. Zoom in on his glasses and notice kim laughing on the side and me taking the picture).

We then spent the afternoon doing landscaping at another site. It was a very tiring day, especially since many of us seem to have picked up a cough/cold, but it was fun and fulfilling work. Even a few hours of steady work can drastically change the shape of a house and its awesome to be a part of that. Our build supervisor Toniesha was amaising. She was going non-stop and she does this stuff every day. She has some amaising energy. (Last picture is of andy at the landscaping site posing with weed whacker)

One Push up for Every Mile Riden!

Hello from Greenville NC! Today we rode 57 miles from Belhaven to Greenville. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the 80's (a bit hot), but no wind! We had a great pace going after lunch today, keeping steady at about 21mph for about an hour before slowing down as we got into greenville. The riding has been great but all the time in the saddle is wearing a bit on my hind end! I guess shammy butter can only do so much!

Every day after riding we have the push up and sit up club. An organization we've founded as a group to keep our upper bodies from withering away as all the food we eat goes to our leg muscles. Each day we do push ups and sit ups together. I've decided that I'm going to do 1 push up for every mile, which could be difficult after a 100 mile day! This video (click here to see video) is of one a communal ab work out. Legs up and clap hands back and forth with your neighbor.

The towns and churches we've been staying in are awesome. Southern Hospitality truly is an amazing thing. It's like they're all in competition to be the most hospitable even without a direct competitor. We have been so lucky, it's been awesome. For my sponsors I'm sorry if I don't call on your specified day. Cell phone reception in some of these small coastal towns has been spotty for Cingular. I promise to call as soon as I get service.

Day One of Riding Done! 64.7 Miles! Woooo Hooo!

Today we rode from Nags Head, NC, - where we dipped our wheels in the atlantic ocean - to Swanquarter, NC, where we are staying at the United Methodist Church. They are putting on quite the feast for us too. Which is good b/c according to my heart rate monitor I burned over 3,500 Calories today! (and loved every minute of it) . Tomorrow's ride is to Belhaven, NC, and is only 30 miles so I figure we should be done by lunch. You'll notice that the schedule on this blog is a bit different from what we're doing. This is because some changes had to be made when we couldn't find housing along the planned route, or when a build day was cancled. So check out the route tracker on the bike and build website (http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,210/) for the most up-to-date schedule, as well as pictures and journal entries from riders everyday when we're done riding!

The first image (on the left) is my back tire being dipped into the atlantic ocean. The next image (to the right) is a view looking back on my helmet and at my fellow riders behind!

As always thanks for your support!

Day 2: Break Out Ride!

Day 2 Complete! We had our "Break Out Ride" today to make sure all was well with our bikes and for people to get used to riding. It was a short ride, only about 15 miles but it was fun. Especially on the way back when we got to ride at different speeds and just cruise. Tomorrow we'll be sent off with a police escort out of town!

The picture above is of some of the Bike & Builders getting ready for our break out ride.

Interview on Ann Arbor's 107one

Here's an interview I had on Ann Arbor's 107one Radio Station with Martin Bandyke on April 30th.

Click here to hear the interview!

Article in the Detroit Free Press: Grosse Pointer, 22, is ready to bike and build

The Detroit Free Press has published and article on the trip in its Pointes and Macomb Community Section:

Grosse Pointer, 22, is ready to bike and build

Check it out!

Bike and Build Bar Night at Ashley's Pub, April 19th 7-10PM

Come to Ashley's Restaurant and Pub this Thursday, April 19th, from 7-10PM, bring the voucher below and have a portion of your profits donated to Bike & Build!

DON'T FORGET TO BRING THE TICKET!!!

Ashley's Restaurant and Pub
338 State St.
Ann Arbor, MI, 48104