Here I sit in Palmdale, CA, three days away from Santa Barbara (and about 60 some miles from LA right now...weird). INSANE. We just had our last build day today and did some roof repairs, weeding, and driveway work on a bunch of different properties. The one woman at our host site is so great. So kind and so impressed by what we're doing.
Anyway, yes, hell week has ended.
After leaving Prescott we headed for Salome. The beginning of the day started out amazing. There were a few climbs and then there were the most breathtaking descents we've had the whole trip. They were down around the mountains and it was seriously like a roller coaster. The first major mountain we went down was scary because it had traffic going both ways, so going around tight tight turns at 30mph not knowing if a car was coming the other way was pretty f-ing scary. But the second mountain had separate roads going down and up, so we were able to fly freely down the mountain. Like I said, breathtaking.
Then the day started to suck. The people of Prescott had warned us we were finally entering the desert and, pretty soon, we knew they weren't lying. While I was riding with Nathan I got a flat and the moment I stopped to change it I noticed how hot it was when not biking.
We biked on and it. got. so. hot. Picture 115 heat plus the heat coming off the black roads we're riding on. Add to that winds that feel more like hair dryers blowing you in the face and it makes for a miserable day. Some people got heat exhaustion. It was tough forcing yourself to drink HOT water, too, but you had to stay hydrated.
Finally, we got to the host site where it was still hot as balls. They had a nice dinner for us and we crashed pretty early.
The next morning we took off to go from Salome to ___. NOBODY wanted to get sick again, so most people booked it. The ride was about 60 miles and I got there in about 2.5 hours. Brandon, Ben, and I snuck into Best Western and enjoyed their continental breakfast before heading to the campsite. It was already getting warm at only 10 in the morning.
The campsite was cool. It was right on the Colorado River and on the other side was California. We hung out a bar on the water all day and swam a bit. Me, Larry, and Cali started talking to this guy on our way back from the bar and he ended up letting us take his jet ski out for a spin. That was awesome.
We all wanted a good amount of sleep that night because we had our 120 mile to Twentynine Palms, CA, the next day and were waking up at 2:30 to beat the sun.
The problem? It was about 95 degrees.... at night. We didn't even put up tents. No one could sleep cause it was so hot. I maybe got less than two hours of non-consecutive sleep.
Aaron and I volunteered to be sweep for the 120 day. It was gonna be challenge. I knew that from the moment we were packing up our camping gear in the darkness.
Going to first lunch wasn't bad. I got tired at one point and took a five hour energy and that helped. People had already gotten in the van by first lunch.
First lunch to second lunch started getting difficult. There was a gradual climb that seemed to go on forever. And, seriously, there was NOTHING around. There were mountain tops that seemed like they were from a video game. There was some haze around them and you couldn't see anything past them.
Second lunch to third lunch went relatively okay. We did a lot of riding with Tati and had a few descents.
Then third lunch to host site was rough. Winds picked up and we were starting to realize we had been on our saddles for almost eight hours. The heat was never as bad as it was two days prior, thankfully.
Finally, we got in. We went to a pool at one of the churchgoers houses. They had the three cutest kids, too, and I enjoyed giving them airplane rides. The town had a great potluck for us that night and then we all broke up and went to different peoples houses to sleep at. Me and Larry slept at this woman, Cynthia's, house and she showed us where the military base was and told us a lot about Twentynine Palms. I slept great on the couch, too.
Unfortunately, we got to the church a little late the next morning and had only a few scraps of food for breakfast. It was a 90 mile day and it didn't take long for everyone to realize we were all on the struggle bus. Especially when the winds picked up and made us miserable. Luckily, it was cool wind. But at one point me, Matt, and Aaron got so tired we tried to nap behind a big rock with a little shade. A trucker pulled over to ask what we were doing and he ended up donating ten bucks to us.
After a long day we got into this house in Victorville that the Lutheran church let us stay in. All of us were beaming that the next day's ride was only 54 miles.
I rode with Larry and we really took our time. Had a nice Starbucks in the morning, went to Barnes and Noble later and then got some McDonalds. We had some good conversations and the day turned out really well, overall. Palmdale, CA, feels a lot like the California I know. After our host provided dinner we went to BJs Brewery and had a few drinks to celebrate the week from hell being over. Definitely tasted good.
So yeah, back to square one. Only a few days left... sad. But it's been a great journey.
Ok, we're getting free Chipotle in a bit. Can't wait!
Until next time.. the wheel keeps on spinning.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
"Look at the stars....."
Okay, back after that quick shower session at a local college.
Grand Canyon=awesome and relaxing.
Things we did:
Saw the sunset - GORGEOUS.
Woke up at 4:45 to go see the sunrise - GORGEOUS.
Saw five huge elk and got really close.
Hiked a trail and saw some breathtaking views.
Played mafia. I was a mafia member and won.
Drinking at the general store.
Six-person-one-shower-head shower. $2.00 per shower, so we saved money.
Star-gazed and saw a shooting star. This was probably my favorite thing of the whole GC trip. It was so amazing. I hadn't seen stars like that in years. You could even see the milky way.
One thing not so cool that happened before we got to the Grand Canyon? One of our riders, Sarah, got something caught in her tire and ended up going over her handlebars and breaking her elbow. Her and her good friend, Lesley, spent the past couple nights in Flagstaff. Sarah had a complicated surgery, but they have both returned to us now and we are a better group for it.
Yesterday we rode from Grand Canyon to Ash Fork, AZ. Larry and I were sweep. It was kind of crazy packing up EVERYTHING from camping, but we still made great time. First, we stopped and had some coffee with others. Yum yum. A local gave us Smarties.
On the way out of the GC I suddenly heard a loud POP. Sure enough, I had a flat. I pulled over and Larry helped me change it. As we started pumping the new tire, it popped...again. We changed it once more and started pumping another tire. That tire popped, too. AWESOME! I finally changed out that tire for the sweep tire we had and continued on.
At a gas station we met a young boy who was riding (with his mom, I think) from Seattle down the coast to San Diego and then over to the Grand Canyon.
The rest of the day went on and Larry told me his life story. We stopped at Pine Country Restaurant in Williams because we were told it had amazing pie. We tried the cappuccino one and it was pretty darn good, if I say so myself. The wind sort of picked up at the end, but it was pretty much all downhill for the last six miles.
We stayed at some school in Ash Fork, had our family meeting, and I changed my tire. Exciting stuff, huh.
Today was amazing because it was only 54 miles from Ash Fork to Prescott! We got here around 11:30 and ate some Quiznos. We had some amazing gelato after that we got for free (DM woot woot). I bought some more tubes at the bike shop after because my patch job on a different tube didn't work so well and it was flat after lunch.
Prescott, overall, is a pretty cool city. Used to be the capital of Arizona. People around here say it's getting a little too crowded, but I saw a sign that read, "Prescott, Everyones home town" and thought it was a good summation of the town. I would definitely spend more time here if I could.
Alright, now I'm all caught up. Dinner time and then it's Christina's 21st birthday! So we are gonna show her a good time.
The next three days will be tough. We are officially dropping 4000 feet tomorrow into...the desert. Not only that, but tomorrow is 99 miles, the day after is 120, and the day after that is 95. This will be fun. I'm not dreading that so much as much as the end of this trip. It is a week from Thursday we will be getting into Santa Barbara and I find that very hard to believe.
But I'm only living in the moment. And in this moment I am hungry.
Until next time, the wheel keeps a spinning.
Grand Canyon=awesome and relaxing.
Things we did:
Saw the sunset - GORGEOUS.
Woke up at 4:45 to go see the sunrise - GORGEOUS.
Saw five huge elk and got really close.
Hiked a trail and saw some breathtaking views.
Played mafia. I was a mafia member and won.
Drinking at the general store.
Six-person-one-shower-head shower. $2.00 per shower, so we saved money.
Star-gazed and saw a shooting star. This was probably my favorite thing of the whole GC trip. It was so amazing. I hadn't seen stars like that in years. You could even see the milky way.
One thing not so cool that happened before we got to the Grand Canyon? One of our riders, Sarah, got something caught in her tire and ended up going over her handlebars and breaking her elbow. Her and her good friend, Lesley, spent the past couple nights in Flagstaff. Sarah had a complicated surgery, but they have both returned to us now and we are a better group for it.
Yesterday we rode from Grand Canyon to Ash Fork, AZ. Larry and I were sweep. It was kind of crazy packing up EVERYTHING from camping, but we still made great time. First, we stopped and had some coffee with others. Yum yum. A local gave us Smarties.
On the way out of the GC I suddenly heard a loud POP. Sure enough, I had a flat. I pulled over and Larry helped me change it. As we started pumping the new tire, it popped...again. We changed it once more and started pumping another tire. That tire popped, too. AWESOME! I finally changed out that tire for the sweep tire we had and continued on.
At a gas station we met a young boy who was riding (with his mom, I think) from Seattle down the coast to San Diego and then over to the Grand Canyon.
The rest of the day went on and Larry told me his life story. We stopped at Pine Country Restaurant in Williams because we were told it had amazing pie. We tried the cappuccino one and it was pretty darn good, if I say so myself. The wind sort of picked up at the end, but it was pretty much all downhill for the last six miles.
We stayed at some school in Ash Fork, had our family meeting, and I changed my tire. Exciting stuff, huh.
Today was amazing because it was only 54 miles from Ash Fork to Prescott! We got here around 11:30 and ate some Quiznos. We had some amazing gelato after that we got for free (DM woot woot). I bought some more tubes at the bike shop after because my patch job on a different tube didn't work so well and it was flat after lunch.
Prescott, overall, is a pretty cool city. Used to be the capital of Arizona. People around here say it's getting a little too crowded, but I saw a sign that read, "Prescott, Everyones home town" and thought it was a good summation of the town. I would definitely spend more time here if I could.
Alright, now I'm all caught up. Dinner time and then it's Christina's 21st birthday! So we are gonna show her a good time.
The next three days will be tough. We are officially dropping 4000 feet tomorrow into...the desert. Not only that, but tomorrow is 99 miles, the day after is 120, and the day after that is 95. This will be fun. I'm not dreading that so much as much as the end of this trip. It is a week from Thursday we will be getting into Santa Barbara and I find that very hard to believe.
But I'm only living in the moment. And in this moment I am hungry.
Until next time, the wheel keeps a spinning.
Can almost taste the Grand Canyon...
Okay, a few quick updates:
1. Yours truly took home FIRST PLACE in the talent show. It was an act I was in with Aaron where we took Alanis Morrisette's song, "Ironic," and applied it to a lot of annoying situations we've all faced when biking. We called it, "Frustrated."
The chorus went like this:
"It's getting flats when you're all out of tubes,
Chafing up when you're all out of lube,
Toilets clogged and you all have to poop,
And who would have thought it figured..."
The whole video of the performance will be up online shortly.
Andrea pulled out of our act at the last minute. We had a Spartan Cheerleaders routine planned. Amary and I began performing Halo and then she choked up. Cali came through with her idea to read Gin and Juice as a poem. Good times. Tatiana got Aaron and I washrags that were embroidered with "B2SB Talent Show Winner!" She's so good at that stuff.
2. The ride from Spingerville to Sanders was fast. There was a LOT of descending in the first couple miles, so I threw my bike into third gear and cranked it out and caught up with the guys in front. Sanders was, um.. dot dot dot. There were about four buildings that made up the town (or so it seemed). Luckily, we stayed at a fire station and they were amazing. They set up a pool for us cause we were there so early. And they used the hose from the fire truck to shower us. When will I ever get to do that again? We played some games that night and relaxed. Little did we know what would happen the next morning...
As we were getting ready to leave, Trey realized his bike was missing. I could build the story up with great suspense, but I'll make it short and say that someone stole his bike, the cops found it later that day, and Terri (the fire chief) drove his bike to him at our host site in Winslow. CLOSE CALL. It was definitely sitting among other peoples bikes. We're not quite sure when and how the thief got it.
3. You know the song, "Take it Easy," by The Eagles? Well, I've officially stood at "the corner of Winslow, Arizona"! Kind of cool, no? They had a statue of a guitar player and a bunch of signs. The song played on repeat during the day, too.
Larry and I played on some cool railroad cars, too, on this nice little bike/walk path.
We all went to sleep nice and comfy, not knowing what awaited us the next morning...
We headed for Flagstaff (a "simple" 60 miles) the next day and here's all I have to say about it:
35mph CROSSWINDS.
Miserable ride. Absolutely miserable. People were crying. One person got blown over and cut up. You could not pace line. You could not ride next to each other for fear of being blown into each other. Trucks passed and would almost knock you off the road with their gusts of wind. At one point we were even going to get shuttled because of construction, but we found a detour that had lots of trees and cut down the wind a bit.
The good news is the town of Flagstaff was really cool. A lot of chill people. Maybe too many hipsters, but that's okay. We had some good Mexican food and beers before dinner. A Bike & Build alum, Kyle, who actually helped plan Boston to Santa Barbara last year, made dinner for us and even joined us for a ride the next day to the Grand Canyon.
The next day's ride to the Grand Canyon had many perks.
I rode with Tati, Cali, and Larry all day and we started out getting coffee in Flagstaff cause it felt FREEZING. Here is where I taped my new mascot, Herman, onto my helmet. He is a beanie baby frog from McDonald's. After getting lost, we finally found our way out of town.
We saw a couple forest fires from far away while riding, but nothing that put us in danger. Our elevation hit 8000, too.
27 miles outside the GC we stopped at this old weird kind of "theme" park based around the Flinstones. It cost five dollars to get in, but we used donation magic to get in free. Definitely wasn't worth five dollars, but we have great photos now.
The plan was to meet outside the GC entrance and then the van would shuttle us in (cheaper... kind of against the rules, but whatever).
Okay, I'm in Prescott, AZ, right now and have to leave to shower and put my laundry stuff in before dinner. I'll have to fill you in on the rest of the Grand Canyon adventures later.
Until then, bike on!
1. Yours truly took home FIRST PLACE in the talent show. It was an act I was in with Aaron where we took Alanis Morrisette's song, "Ironic," and applied it to a lot of annoying situations we've all faced when biking. We called it, "Frustrated."
The chorus went like this:
"It's getting flats when you're all out of tubes,
Chafing up when you're all out of lube,
Toilets clogged and you all have to poop,
And who would have thought it figured..."
The whole video of the performance will be up online shortly.
Andrea pulled out of our act at the last minute. We had a Spartan Cheerleaders routine planned. Amary and I began performing Halo and then she choked up. Cali came through with her idea to read Gin and Juice as a poem. Good times. Tatiana got Aaron and I washrags that were embroidered with "B2SB Talent Show Winner!" She's so good at that stuff.
2. The ride from Spingerville to Sanders was fast. There was a LOT of descending in the first couple miles, so I threw my bike into third gear and cranked it out and caught up with the guys in front. Sanders was, um.. dot dot dot. There were about four buildings that made up the town (or so it seemed). Luckily, we stayed at a fire station and they were amazing. They set up a pool for us cause we were there so early. And they used the hose from the fire truck to shower us. When will I ever get to do that again? We played some games that night and relaxed. Little did we know what would happen the next morning...
As we were getting ready to leave, Trey realized his bike was missing. I could build the story up with great suspense, but I'll make it short and say that someone stole his bike, the cops found it later that day, and Terri (the fire chief) drove his bike to him at our host site in Winslow. CLOSE CALL. It was definitely sitting among other peoples bikes. We're not quite sure when and how the thief got it.
3. You know the song, "Take it Easy," by The Eagles? Well, I've officially stood at "the corner of Winslow, Arizona"! Kind of cool, no? They had a statue of a guitar player and a bunch of signs. The song played on repeat during the day, too.
Larry and I played on some cool railroad cars, too, on this nice little bike/walk path.
We all went to sleep nice and comfy, not knowing what awaited us the next morning...
We headed for Flagstaff (a "simple" 60 miles) the next day and here's all I have to say about it:
35mph CROSSWINDS.
Miserable ride. Absolutely miserable. People were crying. One person got blown over and cut up. You could not pace line. You could not ride next to each other for fear of being blown into each other. Trucks passed and would almost knock you off the road with their gusts of wind. At one point we were even going to get shuttled because of construction, but we found a detour that had lots of trees and cut down the wind a bit.
The good news is the town of Flagstaff was really cool. A lot of chill people. Maybe too many hipsters, but that's okay. We had some good Mexican food and beers before dinner. A Bike & Build alum, Kyle, who actually helped plan Boston to Santa Barbara last year, made dinner for us and even joined us for a ride the next day to the Grand Canyon.
The next day's ride to the Grand Canyon had many perks.
I rode with Tati, Cali, and Larry all day and we started out getting coffee in Flagstaff cause it felt FREEZING. Here is where I taped my new mascot, Herman, onto my helmet. He is a beanie baby frog from McDonald's. After getting lost, we finally found our way out of town.
We saw a couple forest fires from far away while riding, but nothing that put us in danger. Our elevation hit 8000, too.
27 miles outside the GC we stopped at this old weird kind of "theme" park based around the Flinstones. It cost five dollars to get in, but we used donation magic to get in free. Definitely wasn't worth five dollars, but we have great photos now.
The plan was to meet outside the GC entrance and then the van would shuttle us in (cheaper... kind of against the rules, but whatever).
Okay, I'm in Prescott, AZ, right now and have to leave to shower and put my laundry stuff in before dinner. I'll have to fill you in on the rest of the Grand Canyon adventures later.
Until then, bike on!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I'm looking for something like Mexico, but maybe a bit more modern
Long story short: New Mexico was awesome. So so so so so beautiful and amazing to bike through. I can't believe we've already gotten through the entire state.
Last I left you we had just gotten into NM. Now I'm writing from Springerville, AZ.
What happened since last time we talked?
Highlights:
Portales, NM: the mayor declared July 29th, 2009, Bike & Build day! We had a great dinner at their church. We were also able to talk to a local resident who was receiving a house from Habitat and saw her finished place. She was truly touched by what Habitat has done for her. Along with a great dinner and breakfast the city also provided us a police escort out of the city the next morning. It was a solid four miles and definitely put everyone in a great mood.
That day, particularly, turned out to be great. It was a century ride into Roswell. Century rides can always sound overwhelming, but, oh man, was that ride great. For once we actually had a tail wind and could easily hit 30mph! I pace lined with Sadie and Cali for most of the day (more Cali near the end) and we seriously averaged 21mph. We flew there. We stayed at ENMU Roswell and they had a pool to offer us when we got in.
Our time in Roswell was...um.. just kind of eh. The city was pretty blando commando besides all the alien stuff which is more just tourist bs, overall. Megan's parents took us to a Mexican dinner the first night we were there. It started storming like crazy right as we were about to leave. Seriously, just from running from the front door to the car we got SOAKED. We then waited twenty minutes in the van for the storm to lighten up and when we left it was like we were fording rivers with how bad the streets were.
After an early night (still was grossly sick) I ended up waking up at 5:30. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I listened to my ipod for a half hour until I finally did.
Like I said, day off in Roswell.... thrilling. Megan's parents took us all out to IHOP, but, due to the distance and lack of shuttling, breakfast took a solid three hours. After, we went to the UFO museum which was two dollars and a joke. A local coffee shop looked kind of neat, but was disappointing. We had to get back by 3:00 to get our laundry out and it seemed like no one in Roswell had ever used their bus system. It's probably because it was more of a van that came every forty minutes and had a bunch of crazy locals on it. Andrea's shorts were wet when we got off and we're pretty confident she had sat in pee.
The rest of the day we just hung by the pool until Christina's mom (also came to visit) took us all out to a buffet dinner. The shuttling and distance also meant a long night, but it was definitely appreciated.
Oh, I did get a few packages in the mail on our mail drop day! That was exciting for me.
The next day's ride was from Roswell to Carrizozo. The day didn't start so hot. It was just dreary out and really windy. Sarah got a flat and then Christina did. At one point we passed a stick in the road, only to realize it was some kind of bone (looked human) when we got closer. Then, we saw a dead dog...in a duffel bag. Yes, not a joke. Disgusting. Finally, at mile 30 there was a huge gravel patch at the bottom of a small decline. Christina was ahead of me and I watched her fish tail until she finally fell. I grabbed my brakes, but just slid over the gravel, hit her back tire, and fell, too. My elbow and knee are scratched up, but she definitely fell harder. We were both okay and kept riding.
A guy started following us on his bike and hung out at lunch with us. His wife worked at the ENMU Roswell campus and she told him about us and he wanted to ride with us a bit. Pretty cool.
Overall, the first 50 miles sucked. It got hot and hilly really fast. But once we made a turn onto a different road things got much better. There was still some up and down, but not nearly as windy. And after second lunch we had a few miles of climbing and then the last 14 miles were pretty much all down hill. Not only that, but it opened up to the most incredible view ever. It was sunny, but there were at least three rain clouds in the distance. And pedaling was effortless. It was such a high for anyone riding that day and it really is hard to justify in words. A stunning view and a great ride into the town.
The town, itself, didn't offer much. We stayed at the middle school, had our family meeting, and slept.
The next morning we took off for Socorro. A pretty uneventful ride besides the gorgeous scenery. There were some cool descends, too. We played this bandanna game where sweep started out with a red bandanna and the goal was to get the bandanna signed by every rider and to the front of the line by the time we got to the host site. Aaron stayed at lunch waiting for sweep and, once he got it, he took off. He came upon us and we signed it and he was off again. We found out later he was three people shy when he got to the pastor's house we were staying at. But he's a trooper.
It's funny how, now that we're getting in the desert, gas stations are equivalent to a tropical oasis. They offer water, snacks, and fountain drinks. I am totally hooked on fountain Cokes. NOTHING in the world tastes better after a 30 mile stretch in hot hot heat. This gas station we stopped at offered a variety of pins that I could add to my collection. I bought two: "Fantasy Lover," and "It's Not Easy Being a Sex Symbol." Rock.
The pastor greeted us with some amazing burgers and chili cheese fries. A group of six of us needed to get bike work done, so the pastor made some calls (because the bike shop is closed on Sundays) and they opened their doors just for us at 4:00. I got my bike fixed, but... we were there until 8:00. Not the most fun time in the world. Everyone had eaten by the time we got back, but the pastor was still at the oven making us some delicious burritos.
We were going to have an AH meeting that night, but, because of the bike shop detour, we pushed it to the next night. Everyone had one thing on their mind: this mythical hardest ride ever the next day to Pie Town.
The riders last year rated Pie Town as their hardest ride. People just started joking about how bad it was going to be.
Personally, all the hype was great because it definitely didn't deliver.
Sure, I got a flat at mile six or so, but big whoop. The first ten miles we gained 1700 feet of elevation, but after that it wasn't THAT bad. We hit some bad wind at the end of the day, but I would not classify it as our worst ride. One thing that is a pain is biking at such a high elevation. I can barely drink out of my Camelbak without getting out of breath. And just imagine how difficult it is to breathe once you start laughing really hard. That has happened a couple times. Poor Andrea was having a rough time with me and Larry because we kept farting so much. Talk about head winds.
Thinking back, I do remember getting really frustrated with the wind at the end of the day. I wasn't descending fast enough on a hill, so I stopped pedaling. Andrea caught up to me and asked, "What's wrong? What are you doing?" and I snapped with "GOING DOWN A HILL, WHAT'S IT LOOK LIKE?!" I dropped from the front and then apologized when she dropped back. We laugh about it now.
Also, there was this nice gentleman at second lunch who segued his interest in the organization into how End Times might be coming soon... awk-ward.
Pie Town was very interesting. It's a community of less than 100 and we stayed at someones house. But it wasn't their house anymore. They turned it into a hikers lodge that was open to anyone who needed to use it. A lot of people hike the continental divide and end up there. The house, itself, was decorated interestingly with toasters in the front yard and random stuff all over.
The community had a nice dinner for us at their community center complete with pie for dessert! We did an AH meeting after and then walked back. I'll tell you, some of these sunsets I've seen in NM are breathtaking. Red and orange and crazy clouds. Pics soon!
People mozied around all night. Some watched a movie, some sang songs while Tess played the guitar. We ended up crashing early. I got to sleep in a bed upstairs (shared, of course) and it was so comfortable. I did wake up with a big bug on my chest, but I threw it on the floor (maybe on top of Jenna... my bad).
This morning we slept in until 5:15, had a nice breakfast at the community center (the yogurt expired two months ago; didn't realize that til after we ate it all) and took off to Springerville, AZ.
A relatively calm ride it was. The first 20 miles were pretty much all downhill and we went 21 miles in an hour. The gas station we stopped at had the cutest boxer puppy, Spot. Also, it had free Starbucks fraps because they expired in December. I was skeptical, but drank them anyway.
I jumped around from people to people during the ride. Sometimes I felt a fire under my ass, so I really booked it for reason. Some parts of the ride were worse than Pie Town's ride. There was the city of Red Hill which only had to offer a rest area.. and a large obnoxious hill (who would have thought?). We hit the AZ border, too, and, once we did, it seemed like they threw out the idea of switchbacks and just had straight up and down hills. There was a sweet descend into town and a nice McDonald's awaiting us with their fountain drinks... mmmmm.....
Okay, I have to get going now because tonight's the talent show! I'm in about four acts and still have to practice a few of them. Hopefully I place first or second. We'll see. There should be some tough competition.
Until next time, bike on, riders!
Last I left you we had just gotten into NM. Now I'm writing from Springerville, AZ.
What happened since last time we talked?
Highlights:
Portales, NM: the mayor declared July 29th, 2009, Bike & Build day! We had a great dinner at their church. We were also able to talk to a local resident who was receiving a house from Habitat and saw her finished place. She was truly touched by what Habitat has done for her. Along with a great dinner and breakfast the city also provided us a police escort out of the city the next morning. It was a solid four miles and definitely put everyone in a great mood.
That day, particularly, turned out to be great. It was a century ride into Roswell. Century rides can always sound overwhelming, but, oh man, was that ride great. For once we actually had a tail wind and could easily hit 30mph! I pace lined with Sadie and Cali for most of the day (more Cali near the end) and we seriously averaged 21mph. We flew there. We stayed at ENMU Roswell and they had a pool to offer us when we got in.
Our time in Roswell was...um.. just kind of eh. The city was pretty blando commando besides all the alien stuff which is more just tourist bs, overall. Megan's parents took us to a Mexican dinner the first night we were there. It started storming like crazy right as we were about to leave. Seriously, just from running from the front door to the car we got SOAKED. We then waited twenty minutes in the van for the storm to lighten up and when we left it was like we were fording rivers with how bad the streets were.
After an early night (still was grossly sick) I ended up waking up at 5:30. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I listened to my ipod for a half hour until I finally did.
Like I said, day off in Roswell.... thrilling. Megan's parents took us all out to IHOP, but, due to the distance and lack of shuttling, breakfast took a solid three hours. After, we went to the UFO museum which was two dollars and a joke. A local coffee shop looked kind of neat, but was disappointing. We had to get back by 3:00 to get our laundry out and it seemed like no one in Roswell had ever used their bus system. It's probably because it was more of a van that came every forty minutes and had a bunch of crazy locals on it. Andrea's shorts were wet when we got off and we're pretty confident she had sat in pee.
The rest of the day we just hung by the pool until Christina's mom (also came to visit) took us all out to a buffet dinner. The shuttling and distance also meant a long night, but it was definitely appreciated.
Oh, I did get a few packages in the mail on our mail drop day! That was exciting for me.
The next day's ride was from Roswell to Carrizozo. The day didn't start so hot. It was just dreary out and really windy. Sarah got a flat and then Christina did. At one point we passed a stick in the road, only to realize it was some kind of bone (looked human) when we got closer. Then, we saw a dead dog...in a duffel bag. Yes, not a joke. Disgusting. Finally, at mile 30 there was a huge gravel patch at the bottom of a small decline. Christina was ahead of me and I watched her fish tail until she finally fell. I grabbed my brakes, but just slid over the gravel, hit her back tire, and fell, too. My elbow and knee are scratched up, but she definitely fell harder. We were both okay and kept riding.
A guy started following us on his bike and hung out at lunch with us. His wife worked at the ENMU Roswell campus and she told him about us and he wanted to ride with us a bit. Pretty cool.
Overall, the first 50 miles sucked. It got hot and hilly really fast. But once we made a turn onto a different road things got much better. There was still some up and down, but not nearly as windy. And after second lunch we had a few miles of climbing and then the last 14 miles were pretty much all down hill. Not only that, but it opened up to the most incredible view ever. It was sunny, but there were at least three rain clouds in the distance. And pedaling was effortless. It was such a high for anyone riding that day and it really is hard to justify in words. A stunning view and a great ride into the town.
The town, itself, didn't offer much. We stayed at the middle school, had our family meeting, and slept.
The next morning we took off for Socorro. A pretty uneventful ride besides the gorgeous scenery. There were some cool descends, too. We played this bandanna game where sweep started out with a red bandanna and the goal was to get the bandanna signed by every rider and to the front of the line by the time we got to the host site. Aaron stayed at lunch waiting for sweep and, once he got it, he took off. He came upon us and we signed it and he was off again. We found out later he was three people shy when he got to the pastor's house we were staying at. But he's a trooper.
It's funny how, now that we're getting in the desert, gas stations are equivalent to a tropical oasis. They offer water, snacks, and fountain drinks. I am totally hooked on fountain Cokes. NOTHING in the world tastes better after a 30 mile stretch in hot hot heat. This gas station we stopped at offered a variety of pins that I could add to my collection. I bought two: "Fantasy Lover," and "It's Not Easy Being a Sex Symbol." Rock.
The pastor greeted us with some amazing burgers and chili cheese fries. A group of six of us needed to get bike work done, so the pastor made some calls (because the bike shop is closed on Sundays) and they opened their doors just for us at 4:00. I got my bike fixed, but... we were there until 8:00. Not the most fun time in the world. Everyone had eaten by the time we got back, but the pastor was still at the oven making us some delicious burritos.
We were going to have an AH meeting that night, but, because of the bike shop detour, we pushed it to the next night. Everyone had one thing on their mind: this mythical hardest ride ever the next day to Pie Town.
The riders last year rated Pie Town as their hardest ride. People just started joking about how bad it was going to be.
Personally, all the hype was great because it definitely didn't deliver.
Sure, I got a flat at mile six or so, but big whoop. The first ten miles we gained 1700 feet of elevation, but after that it wasn't THAT bad. We hit some bad wind at the end of the day, but I would not classify it as our worst ride. One thing that is a pain is biking at such a high elevation. I can barely drink out of my Camelbak without getting out of breath. And just imagine how difficult it is to breathe once you start laughing really hard. That has happened a couple times. Poor Andrea was having a rough time with me and Larry because we kept farting so much. Talk about head winds.
Thinking back, I do remember getting really frustrated with the wind at the end of the day. I wasn't descending fast enough on a hill, so I stopped pedaling. Andrea caught up to me and asked, "What's wrong? What are you doing?" and I snapped with "GOING DOWN A HILL, WHAT'S IT LOOK LIKE?!" I dropped from the front and then apologized when she dropped back. We laugh about it now.
Also, there was this nice gentleman at second lunch who segued his interest in the organization into how End Times might be coming soon... awk-ward.
Pie Town was very interesting. It's a community of less than 100 and we stayed at someones house. But it wasn't their house anymore. They turned it into a hikers lodge that was open to anyone who needed to use it. A lot of people hike the continental divide and end up there. The house, itself, was decorated interestingly with toasters in the front yard and random stuff all over.
The community had a nice dinner for us at their community center complete with pie for dessert! We did an AH meeting after and then walked back. I'll tell you, some of these sunsets I've seen in NM are breathtaking. Red and orange and crazy clouds. Pics soon!
People mozied around all night. Some watched a movie, some sang songs while Tess played the guitar. We ended up crashing early. I got to sleep in a bed upstairs (shared, of course) and it was so comfortable. I did wake up with a big bug on my chest, but I threw it on the floor (maybe on top of Jenna... my bad).
This morning we slept in until 5:15, had a nice breakfast at the community center (the yogurt expired two months ago; didn't realize that til after we ate it all) and took off to Springerville, AZ.
A relatively calm ride it was. The first 20 miles were pretty much all downhill and we went 21 miles in an hour. The gas station we stopped at had the cutest boxer puppy, Spot. Also, it had free Starbucks fraps because they expired in December. I was skeptical, but drank them anyway.
I jumped around from people to people during the ride. Sometimes I felt a fire under my ass, so I really booked it for reason. Some parts of the ride were worse than Pie Town's ride. There was the city of Red Hill which only had to offer a rest area.. and a large obnoxious hill (who would have thought?). We hit the AZ border, too, and, once we did, it seemed like they threw out the idea of switchbacks and just had straight up and down hills. There was a sweet descend into town and a nice McDonald's awaiting us with their fountain drinks... mmmmm.....
Okay, I have to get going now because tonight's the talent show! I'm in about four acts and still have to practice a few of them. Hopefully I place first or second. We'll see. There should be some tough competition.
Until next time, bike on, riders!
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