Just keep swimming and the hardest day yet

After giving a nice presentation and bike clinic to the people of Mount Pocono we took off the next morning to Berwick, PA. The ride was relatively smooth - only about 53 miles. It was a pretty nice day and the climbs weren't too too hard.

The day wasn't so smooth for everyone. Another birthday boy, Larry, got hit by a fellow rider and a few of his spokes broke. Nathan had to drive him to the bike shop to get it fixed and then Larry biked it from there. Also, we parked the trailer in a church parking lot about half an hour before noon mass. We had forgotten it was Sunday and the van had already taken off to help Larry, so people had to park around it. Luckily, people were interested in what we were doing so no one seemed to mad. Then, Nathan had to drive back to Mount Pocono to pick up the projector we left behind. Because of all these van detours we weren't able to change when we got to the middle school in Berwick.

HOWEVER, due to Andrea and Brandon having been lifeguards before, they convinced the janitor to open up the HUGE pool they have. We played on the diving board, played some water basketball, and just floated around like lazy bums. It. Was. Great.

Lesley's parents surprised her (and us) by showing up during the ride. They followed us back to school where they told us they were going to take all 32 of us out to a local diner. It was delicious. After that 15 of us got into our new van, Angus. And then it didn't start. So after 40 minutes of us trying to get it jumped and whatnot, the other half of the crew came out from the diner. They thought we had already driven back and just forgot to turn around. Turns out Ben was pretty good with cars and figured out our problem right away. With a simple turn of a wire the van started and we were able to hang up with AAA. We all had quite the laugh about that.

Most of us went to bed early because of our 5am wake up call. Why did we wake up so early? Because we had our first century ride today (that means 100 miles).

Yeah....um today sucked. It was all rolling hills and then moments of huge climbs. The scenery was beautiful. We even passed through Amish town. But what really sucked was that there were points I felt so mentally exhausted because the wind was KILLER. You could barely average 12mph going against the crazy wind. Usually you can fly down hills. Not so much with wind.

We did two lunch stops. One at 35 and the other at 75. These were both extremely useful and we even got some ice cream before the second one. And then the last 20 miles were miserable. It turned out to be me and Andrea just chugging along as hard as we could. We even took a break at the top of a hill and laid out on someones lawn for ten minutes. After a little confusion regarding cue sheets and where to go we rolled into State College. We're staying with a guy that was on Penn State's cycling team (I think) and he's letting us use two of his friends houses. They provided a nice dinner for us, too.

I'm off to bed soon. Not sure if it's a 5am or 6am wake up, but it should only be about an 80 mile day. And then one more riding day and then a day off in Pittsburgh! Cannot wait! Gonna see my friend, Liz, and also my parents. Every rider is really looking forward to the day off.

Until then, my face will be flopping in the winds the next two days.

PICS!

Getting into PA

The church we stayed at in Port Jervis

Taking the train to Port Jervis, NY

Beacon Bridge on the way to Port Jervis
Weeding at the Hudson River Housing site

We heart NY, obviously

A cute little horse on our way to Pittsfield

OK

On a cute little bridge right before North Hampton

Andrea and I at our lunch stop between Fitchburg and North Hampton

My first flat

Playing games with busted tubes (get the flat around moving Brad)

A little lake between Revere and Andover

Right after dipping our back tires in the Atlantic

"There's always gonna be another mountain..."

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. It really stinks not to have internet access readily available. Well, on the one hand it stinks, but, on the other hand, it's nice not to feel tied down to anything. I do wish I could blog more often, though. I'm writing things in a hard journal, too, but I was relying on my online blog to keep track of specific details from the trip.

Anyway, so last time I wrote we just got into Northampton, MA, and were staying with a leader's friend. Umm...best host site yet. She had a duplex, but owned both sides. This meant six bedrooms which resulted in me getting/sharing a bed! It was glorious! So comfortable. The woman also had the cutest son ever, Ethan. We sang Viva La Vida while his mom made a delicious dinner for us all. He was also baffled by my ability to remove my finger (magic is great). So after a great night's sleep we took off for Pittsfield, MA. It was only 42 miles, but, oh man, it was tough. Hills hills hills. Julie Andrews was on crack. The hills are alive with the sound of exhausted cyclists climbing. Good thing I started the morning by serenading the group with The Climb by Miley Cyrus. A very applicable song. After lunch I noticed I was having tire difficulties. Then, Andrea noticed she had a flat. We changed our tires and took off and then she ended up getting another flat only miles from the host site. Definitely frustrating. We got to the host site which was a church a woman bought years ago and started her own business in. It was kind of cool/kind of creepy. But the food was amazing. It was all vegan and I totally judged it at first, but it was sooooo good! We also roamed around town, went to the bike shop, etc. Later that night we had our first presentation on affordable housing. Each rider is paired up with another and have to give a presentation at some point along the trip. I don't have to do mine until late July.

So after sleeping in the aisle of a creepy half-renovated church we took off for Poughkeepsie, NY. This meant, yes, we were crossing our first state line! That was exciting. Hard to believe we've gone through all of Mass. That was an interesting ride, too. It was our longest yet - 92 miles. But I really loved it. The rolling hills really reminded me of Ithaca.

After lunch something peculiar happened. I was riding with Goose and Aaron and I pulled over to eat something. I pulled out my first pack of Performance Power Gel and downed it. And then I had wings. The last third of the route was flying. Goose and Aaron were mad impressed. We were the first to arrive at Oakwood Friend School. Here we stayed in dorms which, once again, meant beds! Some people didn't roll in until 7:00/7:30 that night. We were all so beat. There was a mix up with dinner, to, and we ended up walking downtown to a Chinese buffet...delicious. Most of us crashed early that night because of how exhausted we were. Overall, it was definitely my favorite day, so far.

The next day was a build day. We helped out an organization called Hudson River Housing. It was sort of a pain (literally) that we had to bike to the site. Most of us didn't wear shammies or cleats which was added difficulty. And it was really hot. And I got a flat on the way there. But we got to the first site which was a transitional housing apartment complex. They let tenants stay there up to two years to help them get on their feet. We did relatively easy work. Ripped up carpet, weeded, powerwashed benches, and painted. They gave us a tour around the area and then we ate lunch with the tenants. After, they took us on a bike ride around the city and showed us different property they owned and what they were doing with it. It's an interesting organization. I do feel more accomplished if I'm building, though, which is something we really didn't do. Still, they are a good organization and what they're doing is great. We ended the day with a BBQ at a retirement home. The people were super friendly and a blast to talk to. We biked back at the end of the day and had some chill time. We started painting the trailer (something we haven't been able to do because of the rain) and also got some mail drops. I received nothing and blame you. I also did a solid cleaning of my bike. Roy needed it badly. Also heard about the death of MJ - devastating. I will miss the king of pop.

Yesterday morning we headed out of Poughkeepsie and to Point Jervis, NY. Only like 68 miles, but near the end it got rough. And rainy. And thundery. And lightningy. And haily. Luckily, it stopped after a few minutes and a group of us were able to get in safely, but while walking back from this fitness club where we took showers it started to POUR. Water was flooding the streets. And some riders were still out there. Everyone got back safely, though. The group of us walking back had to seek refuge in the city's Municipal Building to wait for the rain to stop. It lightened up a hair and we booked it uphill using our towels to try to shield us (did not work).

It was a fellow rider's birthday yesterday (Robbie), so we went to a bar across the street and drank a few with him. I replaced my brake pads, too, because they've been shot a while.

Today we woke up, ate the breakfast provided by the church, and took off for Mt. Pocono. We were all so scared of this ride because we heard the climb in the Poconos was killer. The ride was only about 55 miles and, surprisingly, only the last couple miles were a steady uphill battle. We all got into the church super early, too. I think sweep got in by 3:30. And, with the exception of Thomas driving the Uhaul (still waiting to get a new van) into the overhang, everyone here is nice and we can't wait for the dinner provided by a local restaurant. Baked ziti... you are mine.

Until next time, keep on pedalling.

Hills and rain and flats, oh my

Here I am typing in the living room of one of the trip leader's friends that lives in Northhampton, MA. Today was a pretty intense day. It luckily didn't rain that much, but, boy, were there some HILLS. At one point I think we kept going up and then up.... and then just when we turned the corner and thought maybe salvation was around the corner... nope, more going up. But, luckily, we made it safely. Andrea and I were one of the first people here. Some of the leaders took off shortly after because the van that carries our stuff actually got into a bit of a fender bender. Megan was driving and is fine, but I think when they get back it might get a little stressful here.

The past few days have been great, as well.

We had our first build day the other day in Lawrence, MA. It was a great day. I went with a group of ten to a house near the build site where we dug up a lot of dirt, moved rocks, weeded and put new soil in. We went back to the site for lunch and then after my group took off without me, so I joined Andrea, Jenna, and Emmy painting the side strips of the house. We worked all the way until 4. People also made sidewalks, painted fences, cut grass, and did scaffolding. Overall, we got a lot accomplished and the man in charge was really happy we joined.

Both the night of the build day and the night before (the first night we spent in Andover) we went over the Webbers house for dinner. Chris Webber was a very active member of Bike and Build who passed away a few years ago. His family lives in Andover and like to be involved with B&B, so they made us so much food to eat. One night they had Thanksgiving dinner for us complete with two turkeys. The other night we had a good whiffle ball game going on.

In our down time between all that we played a lot of basketball in the school's gym and projected movies to watch on the wall.

Yesterday was our first long ride. We took off and it was pretty rainy and rained all day. We had breakfast at the Webbers and headed out. A large group of us got lost within the first six miles. They give us cue sheets to follow to not get lost, but one was not specific from our starting point. And throughout the day SO many people got flats. I didn't get a flat, but I did pee on the side of the road and I dropped my sunglasses into that puddle. And then a group of us passed the lunch stop, so had to eat at a gas staion (mmm Trail Mix). But it was a good day once all was said and done. The church had a great dinner for us and we gave a presentation about what B&B stood for. Our first laundry load was done last night, too, which was kind of hectic.

Our 62 mile ride went pretty smoothly today, but I did get my first flat. It's never fun changing it in the rain, but obviously has to be done.

I typed all this pretty quickly, so if I have anything to add I'll go in later and fix it.

Also, sorry there aren't pics this time. We're using her home computer, so I don't want to upload any on here. I will soon. I swear!

Until then, the wheel keeps spinning...

Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is supposed to be impossibly hilly. Can't wait!

First (OFFICIAL ON-THE-ROAD) Blog!

Here I sit in the library of the Pike School in Andover, MA, after our first official ride day!

Let me recap our first few days really quickly...

Tuesday morning I flew to Boston and spent the night there with my friend, Katie.

Wednesday I had to navigate the T to get to our host church in Andover.  It was about a half hour away from the place I stayed that. 

I hiked with all my stuff on my back on a nice sunny day and, by the time I got there, I was pretty soaked in sweat.  We got there and checked in and slowly I met some other people.  

Everyone helped each other put their bikes together and then we started with name games.  

Basically, over the next two days we did a lot of standard orientation stuff.  Name games, bike safety, EATING (free Chipotle burritos...nice), etc.  Yesterday we did about a 16 mile ride around Boston.  It was cool, but a little cloudy.  We had a pretty sick view of the Boston skyline.  

I can't remember every little thing we did in orientation.  Having ridden only one day it already feels so far behind us!  

We woke up this morning at 6am.  We got all our stuffed packed and loaded in the trailer.  How it works is there are four different chore teams.  One has to load the trailer and coolers, one has to take care of dinner and presentations, one has to do breakfast, and one has to clean up all the host location in the morning.  My team is dinner duty this week.

After packing the church provided us breakfast.  We did an ASS 101 presentation.  And that's exactly what it sounds like.  How to keep yourself clean.... down there.  

We headed over to Revere beach at 9 for the tire dipping ceremony.  In this ceremony everyone puts their back tires in the Atlantic (and then their front tire in the Pacific).  For the past day we had been preparing for the forecast... rain.  And it sure did rain.  But it was still fun.  We then took off for Andover. It's only about a 23 mile ride, but we did it in 30.  Yes, that is more than 23, but it was (half) intentional.  A small group of us biked to the "State Park," which was really just a lake.  And then we missed a turn and went far into town.  Me and two others stopped at a thrift store where we bought three awesome hubcaps to put on the trailer.  We still have to paint that trailer, too, because the weather has not been agreeing with us.  

Then we arrived to this school.  I think it's a high school.  Kind of feels like we're in The Breakfast Club just running amuck.  

I'm going to try to upload a few pics tomorrow.  Here are two from a fellow rider, Alex.  

Here's us awkwardly getting to know one another while standing outside the church:

And here's us taking off for our ride around Boston:

Like I said, look for some of my pics tomorrow.

Blogging will be unpredictable.  It completely depends on the type of place we're in.  Only a few people have computers on the trip, so it'd be hard for everyone to use them.  It's pretty nice when there's a whole library full of computers, though.  

Alright, that's all for today.  Nothing overly exciting yet.  Well, that's a lie.  Starting this trip IS pretty exciting, but I'm sure I'll have quite the plethora of stories as time goes by.  

I'm off to roam around the school and maybe go get coffee somewhere.

Until then, the tire still spins (I'm trying out different out-lines...tell me the ones you like).

Brad

Many (more) thanks

With only a few days to go before departing to Boston I decided to dedicate a blog to those who truly made this trip possible, but with a twist. I've most likely already expressed to each one of you how grateful I am to have your support on this trip, so I'd like to take a moment to reach out and say thank you for something unrelated to Bike & Build. It's unlikely that donating to B&B is the only thing I can thank you for, so here it goes (in no specific order):

Bob and Linda F. - Thank you for always having a surplus of really cool games to play in your basement.

Mike and Joanne D. - Thank you for having Nickelodeon so we could always watch Are You Afraid of the Dark? on SNICK with Allison, Vicki, and Steph when we were there on weekends.

Chuck and Pat N. - Thanks for turning our family on to getting a Westie.

Gary S. - Thank you for always being someone I could talk to.

Dave and Mo L. - Thanks for being good people to talk to at Shawn's basketball games (when I would go, which wasn't often...sorry, Shawn).

Doris R. - Thanks for being a great third grandma.

Cassie G. (you will never be Cassandra to me) - Thanks for singing Lean on Me with me in front of the whole high school during the American Idol assembly.

Sam and Eileen B. - Thanks for the knowledge you bring to Xmas Eve board games.

Rick and Joan G. - Thanks for always having a good sense of humor.

Mike and Mel S. - Thank you for always making time to hang out when I come home (and thank you, Mel, for slapping me to teach me that I can't just kiss girls whenever I want).

Joe and Angela P. - Thanks for backing all our crazy movies that always seemed to be shot at your house.

Grandma Rosie - Thank you for the Florida memories, especially Goldie.

Chelsea T. - Thank you for starting Punch Buggy in Dijon and Paris.

Ray and Andrea S. - Thank you for always being so enthusiastic about hanging out with us whenever we'd visit and reading Bernstein Bears to us.

Ed and Connie T. - Thanks for the fun times we'd have in the winter doing cross-country skiing and ice boating.

Tom and Terry J. - Thank you for the time we all went to Oglebay (except John finding poo in the pool the last day was kind of gross).

Steve and Beth L. - Thanks for always making driving anywhere so fun as kids by having a TV and VCR in your van.

Bridget S. - Um, thank you for basically introducing me to Bike & Build! I don't know if I'd be writing this blog and leaving next week if we didn't go to Tim's wedding last August.

Jess W. - Thank you for JG, Partner, STOOOPPPP, "a bed," oh, boy, the list could go on....

Jerome and Toni R. - Thanks for all your New Year's Eve parties.

Chris C. - Thank you for hiring me as an intern and for all I learned from you.

Todd B. - Thank you for shattering and rebuilding an image I had of what all producers in LA are like.

Alexa R. - Thank you for encouraging me to do the Coldplay solo.

Jack and Carrie H. - Thanks for letting us join your AOL account when we were younger (though I still remember how embarrassed I was when someone reported me for using foul language and the email was sent to you).

Fred H. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers.

Mike and Ann OD. - Thank you for letting us shoot Family Feud in your basement and for coaching me on how to perfect a Bill Clinton impression.

Dan and Dawn P. - Thank you for always letting us sleep at your place, watch movies, get slurpees, and just go above and beyond as cousins.

Grandma and Grandpa N. - Thank you for having a pool we could play in and for the weeks we would stay there alone and eat ice cream for breakfast.

Aunt Judy - Thank you for taking us to the Mall of America when we were kids.

Mom and Dad - Thanks for..um...life?

DJ - Thank you for sharing a room growing up. I went into freshman year of college knowing no roommate could be worse.

Becky P. - Thank you for being the best partner one could have during Oom Pa Pa.

Liz P. - Thank you for making me a Frickis and for always being there.

Don and Judy M. - Thank you for being such a great second family to Max (sorry Ollie isn't quite the same).

Jenny R. - Thank you for a great weekend in Utah (we will be back!)

Tony C. - Thank you for Tequila Fridays and for having a really cool house and dogs that occasionally need to be watched.

Cathy S. - Thanks for being my mom's "cousin in California." It sounded so cool to be a resident, so I became one!

Jackie P. - Thanks for being my boo!

Jacki M. - Thank you for making France unforgettable.

Alexis B. - Thank you for making Italy that much more fun.

Stan S. - Thank you for witnessing that skeezy shiz in Griffith Park with me. If I had seen it alone I don't think people would believe me.

Beth M. - Thank you for showing that even people I used to ride the bus with can affect my life today.

Pam and Michelle - Thank you for being my first work friends in LA and for keeping me sane in the corner cubicle.

Meredith F. - Thank you for not banning or shunning me after I broke your lamp.

Kim R. - Thank you for the time we ate dinner and observed Operatic Karaoke. I would have never known that existed.

Jeff G. - Even though it was such a short time, thanks for being one of my favorite roommates ever, though I will never again tell you when I think a ghost has whispered in my ear because I know you will just tell everyone about it.

Meagen M. - Thank you for hosting Harry Potter trivia at the midnight showing of Goblet.

Lisa S. - Thank you for accepting a birthday kiss on the cheek from me even though I had just met you.

Lynn F. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers.

Neil and Ruth D. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers (I know I have used this a few times, but, really, I don't know what else to say).

Rhonda E. - Thank you for being a fun person to work with. And future thank you for your pool party this weekend.

With that, I'm off to keep packing! Only a few more days until we hit the road.