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!
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Brad - sounds like you are enjoying all things Bike and Build. i so know what you mean about those hills that never end. The hills in the east show NO MERCY!
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