The week of a crash

This week’s update is going to be the account of my ride from Sewanee to Pulaski Tennesse on June 11^th. The day as usual started off early in the morning at 5am to watch the sun rise over the lake. We had camped in Sewanee, TN. We got to have an exciting change to our morning routine: the taking down of our tents. I think we all passed the test, and all of our tents fit (were shoved) back in their little green totes. Then it was on the road again with some of the local riders who guided us for the first 20 miles. The ride started off with a three mile downhill: it was glorious. Because we were following the locals we were able to successfully navigate the maze of back roads. It was a good thing that we were not trying to negotiate them by ourselves because most of them were unmarked. I saw my first ever field of cotton. There was even a man on horse back checking up on his field.

Though we had lost our guides, we kept on the back roads until our lunch stop at mile 40, and the got on the Highway 64. I learned from a roadside sign that we were quite near where Jack Daniel’s Whiskey is distilled. Apparently the county that the distillery is located in is a dry country. So Jack Daniel’s is not actually served at the distillery just lemonade. The group I was riding with was rather far behind the main group, so we decided to see if we could catch up after lunch. We were flying along much faster than any pace I could have held at the beginning of the trip. I was proud, and even though it was hot and there were long hills, I was having a great time. After about 10 miles of averaging over 20 miles an hour my legs informed me that it would be a good idea to slow down. They could not maintain that pace for another 30 miles. Me and one of the other riders ended up dropping back.

Unfortunately, me, my bike, and a car decided to have a fight. I won, but the fork of my bike and the car lost. An oncoming car took a left in front of me. I did not have enough time to stop or swerve out of the way, and T-boned it. I was very lucky and survived the accident with only a small cut on my chin and a two inch bruise on my thigh. The driver of the car was much more shaken up then I was. Once I realized that I was uninjured I started laughing and joking with my fellow riders. Sadly, my bike’s steel fork was quite bent. It has been quite an ordeal to get one, but my bike should be all better on Tuesday. Thank you very much to the work of West Chiles from Pulaski, and John Fleck at Surly I am getting a fork donated to me. I had to ride the last 20 miles in the van. As I rode in the van at 60 miles an hour up some very big hills I had complete respect for my fellow riders, because the hills looked long and hot. A mean way for the last 20 miles of an 80 mile day.

We stayed that night in the dorms at Martin Methodist Community College. We got hooked up in Pulaski by Dan the Mayor to stay in suites. They were pretty sweet with real beds, washer and driers, and AC. This trip has made me appreciate the small things in life such as real towels, private showers, real beds, and AC. We were then provided with dinner at the mayor’s house, which many people of the community enjoyed with us. I personally cannot thank this group of people enough. Many of them came up to make sure that I was ok after my accident. I even got a much needed “mamma hug” to speed along the mental recovery. Through their combined efforts I only had to ride for one of the three days into Memphis in the van. I would like thank West and Terry for arranging to get me a new fork. I also was loaned a bike from John and Michelle Hunt under the condition that I was not allowed to run it into any cars. I got to upgrade and ride Lightspeed titanium bike for two days. It was a very nice ride, but I was a little terrified of breaking it during the ride. I watched very carefully for cars and other road side dangers and had no more incidents.

Overall, it was a very eventful day, but it also showed me how great people can be. The people in Pulaski had only just met me, and they went completely out of their way to help me out. And as my Dad says: in the end it will make a good story, and in life it is the stories that are important.

Week numbered 2

The south is hot. TOday we passed a bank thermometer at 2:09PM and it was 95 degrees. I have had to re define my concept of hot. In Maine it was above 80 degrees. Tomorrow it is supposed to cool off and be 85 degrees. I am so excited. I have also discovered the great thing about riding a bike is that you create your own wind to cool you off. The only problem with this is that this does not really work on the uphills. They are just hot.

In the past week we have conquered some mighty uphill. From Asheville we continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then through the Smokie National Park The Smokies do in fact have a hazy smoky look to them and are absolutely beautiful. Although sometimes I was too busy concentrating on the back wheel of the person in front of me to enjoy the view. I had a variation of a song from Finding Nemo running through my head "just keep spinning, just keep spinning..." It was such a rush when we reached the top of a 15 mile climb through the Newfound Gap to leave North Carolina and enter Tennessee. I have been told that i is the second longest state, so we will be in it for a while.

I have also discovered that construction is hot We have had three build days in the past week one in Asheville and two in Maryville TN. Both times we have worked on two separate Habitat for Humanity houses on the same street, because 30 people on the same house would be a bit much. In Asheville I got to polyurethane stained trim boards, and then paint the door jams white. This job came with benefits: we got to have a fan. It was amazing. My nice red Bike and Build tee shirt we wear to the job site how has paints on it. I was quite proud, because it actually shows that I did work on this trip. In Maryville we put the subfloor and stuccoed the foundation of two houses. My hammering skills have improved immensely. Okay actually only as long as no one is watching me. When I have an audience my nails end up looking like flowers, were all the petals are missed hammer marks. Maybe by the end of the trip I will be allowed to hammer something other than studs. The job sites that we work on have been slightly chaotic, but a lot of fun. The Habitat for Humanity staff, and other volunteers are interesting people, and we usually end up joking around quite a bit. So far I have avoided getting a golden screw for biggest mess up (knock on wood), I have a feeling that I will manage it at some point this trip.

People ask me where we are headed next, and I never know. n It is great to just take life each day as it comes. No big deadlines to meet. I just know that in the morning I will get up and either bike or build, and then that night I will curl up on my green thermarest ready for the next day.

Week 1

"I'm headed to San Diego" is what I tell anyone that expresses interest in why 30 bikers in blue jerseys are passing by. I have gotten pretty good in explaining in under a minute that we are crossing the country to raise funds and awareness for affordable housing. We will be on the road for 64 days of which we will be working for 10 days on different affordable housing projects as well as having a total of three whole days off. Now that I am over 500 miles into the trip I am actually beginning to believe that I actually raised over $5,000 and am headed west biking and building. Back in January when I stepped into the Lincoln County News for an interview I was unsure how I could possibly raise $4,000 but with the help of over 100 individuals and businesses I suprassed my origanal goal. Thank you to all my suppoerters in the Lincoln County area.

Growing up in Damariscotta and going to college in the North East I am excited to experieance a whole new side of te country, and so far it has not let me down. We began by dipping our wheels in the Attlantic in Nags Head on the Outer banks of North Carolina and then peddled off with our back to the ocean. The first three days we crossed a total of four "hills" which were actually just bridges over the intercoastal waterway. Slowly as we crossed the State the landscape turned into rolling hills, and then yesterday we ran into the Appelacian Mountains. My little legs are asking my whoes idea this was to bike across the United States when it would be so much easier and quicker to drive. I told them to quiet down, and the reval in the amazing views from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The ridges are indead blue. The advantage of biking instead of driving, is that you can stop and take a picture when ever you want instead of just at the lookout points.

Each night we have been staying at churches and YMCAs. They have been providing us with dinner and breakfast, and southern hospitality is not a lie. We actually had to donate some of the food given to us to a local food pantry, because even 30 hungry bikers would not have been able to eat it all. I continue to be amazed at the generosity of everyone we meet from bring smelly bikers to their house so we can shower, to getting up to feed us sausage biscuts at 6:30 in the morning. This trip has reconfirmed that people really are good. In the evening not only do the host provide us with dinner, but they often eat with us. I have meet some very interesting people along the way. In fact yesterday I was told the recipe to make homemade banana pudding. I had never had real southern banana pudding before, and it is amazing.

This trip is called Bike and Build, so we are not only biking, but also building our way across the country. We were scheduled to build for two days in Chapple Hill, North Carolina, but shortly after arriving at a Habitat for Humanity build it started to pour. Becaues we were framing the house we had quit work for the day. We were given a tour of the Chapple Hill's Habitat Housing developments. They build over 10 house a year there, and so are a much bigger organization then any I have previously worked with. They opperate much more like a General contracter. On the second day of building we were able to accomplish alot. We got up all the interious and exteriour walls of they house, as well as the top plates. The house was ready to have the rafteres and roof put on, but unfortuately we ran out of time.

Tomorrow we will have our next build day here in Asheville. I am excited to give my biking muscles a day off before we bike to Gattlinburg which will have over 17,000 ft of elevation change. It will be one of the hardest day of our trip, but I am excited for it. After a day of rest hopefully the Mountains will seem small.

Yipppppie!!

Thanks to everyone who has donated I have now raided over $4000!  I get to bike across the USofA!  Ok now I have to write of the German.

Time is of the essance

So I have neglected my blog. I am surprised I did not find it shriveled up and dead like all but the heartiest of my house plants. I found a solution to that problem: buy plants that live in your fish bowl, and you never have to water them. I'm so smart, but I digress. I have 15 min to write this entry and then I must return to the dreaded world of Educational Psychology. It may look like I do lots of work for that class, but the truth of the mater is, and I quote my dad here: "if you spent as much time doing work for that class as you do complaining about it you would have a 100 in the class." Only two more weeks of classes, one week of finals, one week of senior activities, and a car ride down the coast, and then off across the country on my bike for two months. Kind of excited. Kind of scared.

So I have much exciting news. First I have my bike! It is blue and pretty, and very technologically advanced. So I got it and me being just a tad bit bike illiterate didn't realize that fancy bikes have fancy valves and normal bike pumps don't work. So I had this beautiful bike that I couldn't even try out cause I would ruin the rims. I was also unsure if my bike even had tires, because I have tread less tires. I called Bath Cycle and Ski, and Darcy informed me that yes in fact those were tires on my bike, and so off I went to the bike shop down town and they generously filled the flattened tire with air. So I'm all excited for my bike's (which is still missing a name) maiden voyage, and my first experience with clip on peddles. So I bike around in circles in our parking lot to figure out the mystery of the mysterious contraption that make a clipping noise, but are name clipless. I was proud I did not fall, and there were only a few times where parked cars tried to jump out in front of me. I manage to avoid all of their sneaky attacks without casualties on either front. I was a little weirded out, since it felt like the peddles moved around quite a bit on my foot, but I just figured that was normal. Apparently it is not. I ventured out onto the road, and then as I was going to turn onto Ridgecrest Rd, when I wanted to stop and look at my map. My right food does not want to declip. I turn my ankle as far as I can, and it just doesn't want to declip. So I make the executive decision that I just wont get off my bike till I get home. My peddle did not listen to the executive orders, and shortly there after my right shoe detaches from the peddle, and I tried to click it back in and it will not. They truly became clipless peddles. In my distraction of my right foot not clipping, when I stop to investigate I forget to declip my functioning left peddle. So I fall over in very slow motion onto the grassy shoulder. No one was hurt well except my pride. Luckily no one was there to watch. I found out that I had not tightened the screws that hold the clips onto my shoes. So the screws worked their way out. After much use of my handy dandy mulitool, I got my bike back up and running. I really couldn't be that upset with me bike, because it was such a beautiful day that one did not mind sitting in the sun on the side of the road playing bike repair. The rest of the ride was uneventful, well minus the fact that I fell in love with my bike. Though just for clarification my love does not extend to my saddle. We will be needing a new one of those.

Ok so my 15 min post turned into a 34 min post. ooops.

Before I return to the land of Education I must thank the following people: Vicky M., John and Libby M, Dan M., Tom P., Michael S., and Bob and Ginny V. I'm almost there which is so exciting!!

Swimming without a suite

Today I did Ed Psych all day instead of going for a bike ride in the 50 degree weather. So I decided I would go for a swim tonight as my excise. Now as a leftover crew benefit I have a locker in the Hill Center, where the pool is. My suite and towel have been living there since before spring break. I went to open my locker today, and me being wicket intelligent cannot for the life of me remember the combination. So as fun as skinny dipping in a public pool sounds, I decided against it. Instead I played Euchre. hmm... maybe not the smartest use of my time, but by the time I biked home and got my work out stuff so I could go to the gym, I would have been way too far behind schedule. Plus I now had an extra hour that I wasn't exercising that I could use to play games without getting behind schedule. Well at least at the time it sounded like a great excuse.

This weekend though I did end up doing both the Biking and the Building. I went and volunteered at the Corning Habitat for Humanity ReSale store. It is supposed to open next week. It was fun to get back out in the community again. I got to play walky-talky. I worked with the electrician to figure out what outlets and lights were on what circuits. Since the panel was in another room, and we had no modern communications devices I was the middle man, and yelled to the guy at the panel what the girl standing at the outlet had to tell me. I think was I find so interesting about Habitat Houses is they do not have all the bells and fancy toys, but they get done. Because they have the manpower of volunteers they can take a little longer, and use three people on a job, that having the right tools could be done with one. We did find out that practically all of the outlets in the entire show room were on the same breaker. Me not really knowing that much about electricity knows that that is not a good thing. They were going to fix that real soon.

So after I got home from the build I decided that I was going for a bike ride. I found a good map of the area surrounding Ithaca, and immediately the road Midline jumped out. I being a math nerd was super excited. The Midline in hyperbolic space is the only line between two divergent parallel lines that is perpendicular to both lines. Non divergent parallels don't have a midline. So after not really having studied the map that hard I went off biking in my adventure. Along the way I actually had to strip down layer, and it was the first time this year that I could comfortably wear shorts. Ok there have been other warm days, I just haven't gone biking on them. Now a Suz bike ride usually consist of me biking along a road for a while, and then deciding to take the next turn that appears, and then biking on that for a while, and then turning again until I eventually deciding that I should start attempting to get home. My main goal is always to try and do a loop, and take a different route home then I used to get out there. The challenge here in Ithaca is how to make a long bike ride, and avoid the hills. But Saturday I had a goal: Midline Rd. I did have to stop a few time and look at my map, cause I had no idea where I was. Also Midline was a bit farther then I was expecting, and I ended up biking home when it was a tad bit darker then I would have normally like. Overall though it was a good ride that google has told me was 23 miles. Unfortunately my new bike still has not arrived. I think it is anxious to make the trip across the country and started without me. So if anyone see a blue Surly Long Haul riding along alone, will you please kindly point it in my direction.

So this day of both biking and building made me pumped for this summer. Even thought there is only a few days since my last post, I got a new donation since I last updated. Thank you Lorraine M.

Now I must return to the world of Ed Psych.

I'm a bad blogger

I have been a very bad at this blogging thing recently. First and Foremost Thanks to all the amazing people who have donated to my cause, and I have now raised well over $3000. The end is in sight, but I have to make certain that I don't let myself slack off. There is über long list of people to thank since I last update so here goes it.

THANKS to: Nan A., Dave B., Harry and Geri D.,Karen L., Matt and Pat M., Carol S., Mark and Jane T., and Levi W. The best part of this list is the diversity of it. It ranges from people I see every day to the aunt and uncle of my roommate who I have only had one conversation with in the doorway of our apartment. It always amazes me who donates, and the generosity of people. This trip has also gotten me back into contact with people that I haven't spoken to in years. My 7th and 8th grade math teacher donated, and told me about her huge Christmas cactus that has grown up from a small little clipping I gave her over 9 years ago. (Oh dear that number makes me feel old.) I am not the best at keeping in contact with people, but I am trying very hard to get better at it.

Sorry if this entry ends up sounding scattered, and contains typographical errors. Some of the are on purpose, and, well, most of them probably are not. I stayed up way way to late last night writing in German about how the architecture and history of Berlin are connected. I pretty sure I have mentioned it before, but formal writing in what ever language is not one of my favorite past times. In fact I might even go as far as to say I abhor it. But this entry is not to be an anti writing rant.

So back to the topic of Biking and Biking and other topics that begin with B. (If you didn't notice writing does not in fact begin with B.) So there is a bike working it's way from Bath Cycle and Ski in Maine to my humble abode here in Ithaca. I am getting a blue Surly Long Haul Trucker. I's so excited. I feel like it is Christmas, because it got shipped at the end of last week. Everyday I walk up to my door, and hope there will be a humongous box sitting there with my name on it. So far everyday I return to an empty hall, but there is always tomorrow. I will need to figure out a name for my bike. Since it's a Surly I feel like it really must get a piratesk name. I will have to get to know it before I can commit to anything. Naming something is not something to rush into. Lipschitz the fish would probably agree with that statement.

Unfortunately I have not only been bad at the blogging, but also at the training. I think the weather and I are on opposite schedules. The days I have time, it is rainy and icy, and cold which just demotivates me. It snowed 4" a week ago. I was a bit perturbed to say the least. Or it is absolutely beautiful and in the 50s, and I must sit inside and write about Architecture in Berlin. Wildlife sightings in the last few rides include a ground hog, a raccoon, deer, and a Yeti. Ok at least one of those was seen on a computer screen. Although to be truthful I admit that I have spent a significant amount of time in the last few weeks playing cards instead of doing me work. I have to keep telling myself that I have almost gradumacated. I have to prove my mommy wrong that I can play Bridge, and not flunk out of skool. Just 44 days left before I am supposed to receive my fake diploma. I get the real one a couple weeks later. I am so excited for graduation, and for this trip, but at the same time I am terrified of life after college. I think I hate saying good bye even more then I hate writing.

Well it is time for young ones to be in bed. Tomorrow morning I am going to do some affordable housing, and work with Ithaca Habitat for Humanity on the new Corning ReSale Building. I have to get up at the crack of dawn, aka I have to be on campus at 8am. If nothing else College has taught me how to sleep in. It is a habit that I will have to unlearn in the real world.