My hundreds of Bike & Build photos are now available online, hooray: http://picasaweb.google.com/zenithguitar.
Additionally, my study abroad pictures from last fall in London are also posted there, for those curious about my other cross-country, er, cross-continental adventures. (For the extra observant, the "10-17-08 london, stonehenge, and bath" album documents Becca Bainbridge's visit, so you'll be able to see pictures of both of us not biking. Shocking, I know.)
But wait, there's more! Videos to come soon! :)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Downieville, CA to Yuba City, CA
I decided to ride with sweep that day, which meant that I left the host last with Anna Baeth and Luc. The host was this house in the midst of a gorgeous, winding mountain road that follows along this super, clear river. Almost everyone was stopping at the cafe at mile 5 for breakfast, since it was only a 72 mile ride day and thus a "short day." As usual, Bike & Build swamped this little cafe that only has one waitress and one cook, so it took some people up to 45 minutes to get food. I got the eggs & bacon breakfast, which comes with 2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, and a little slice of watermelon. Luc got the deluxe breakfast, which is all of the above plus sausage, as well as two pieces of french toast and two gigantic pancakes...i.e. 3 breakfasts. Everyone ate their food (and scavenged some of Luc's pancakes), and we didn't actually leave the cafe until 10:30am. Rebecca and Laura joined us (Rebecca said that she had been at that cafe since at least 7:45am, haha), and we headed out to climb the first mountain.
Halfway up the mountain, we run into Tim's group (Tim, Laurel, Max, Anna, and Jordan) and stop to find out that they were picking blackberries from the side of the road behind the guardrail. We ate a lot of wild blackberries, which were all along the side of a cliff. At one point, Rebecca held on to the back of my jersey because I was leaning forward really far to reach some larger blackberries that had been yet un-scavenged by hungry Bike & Builders.
We crossed over a dam on the way to lunch (the water was SO BLUE. Like the kind you only see in tv commercials for the Bahamas or something).
Fifteen miles after lunch, we stop at an intersection where we see a restaurant with bikes outside. We go inside and see Tim's group is getting food, so Luc and I get some fries. Then 11 miles after that, we stopped a gas station where Ashley, Jacki, and Emily Boydstun were, and then a bunch of us got ice cream. Laura got an It's-it, which Tim had told us about and was super excited to have once we got to the San Francisco area. (It's an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich dipped in chocolate.)
Fifteen miles later, we pass a church sign that says "Jesus is why there is myspace in heaven." I stop to take a picture. We then get lost half a mile from host. After asking for directions several times, we finally make it, where dinner and showers awaited us.
As sweep, we determined that being sweep basically means that not only do you stop when others stop, but that you eat when they eat. I.e. you eat all day: eat big breakfast at some cafe in morning, go 10 miles, meet up with one group who's eating, eat with them. Go 10 more miles, meet different group that's snacking, eat with them. Go 10 more miles, eat at lunch, etc. It's great!
Quote of the day:
"Feet, fart, and fun: the smells of Bike & Build" - Anna Hankins
Halfway up the mountain, we run into Tim's group (Tim, Laurel, Max, Anna, and Jordan) and stop to find out that they were picking blackberries from the side of the road behind the guardrail. We ate a lot of wild blackberries, which were all along the side of a cliff. At one point, Rebecca held on to the back of my jersey because I was leaning forward really far to reach some larger blackberries that had been yet un-scavenged by hungry Bike & Builders.
We crossed over a dam on the way to lunch (the water was SO BLUE. Like the kind you only see in tv commercials for the Bahamas or something).
Fifteen miles after lunch, we stop at an intersection where we see a restaurant with bikes outside. We go inside and see Tim's group is getting food, so Luc and I get some fries. Then 11 miles after that, we stopped a gas station where Ashley, Jacki, and Emily Boydstun were, and then a bunch of us got ice cream. Laura got an It's-it, which Tim had told us about and was super excited to have once we got to the San Francisco area. (It's an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich dipped in chocolate.)
Fifteen miles later, we pass a church sign that says "Jesus is why there is myspace in heaven." I stop to take a picture. We then get lost half a mile from host. After asking for directions several times, we finally make it, where dinner and showers awaited us.
As sweep, we determined that being sweep basically means that not only do you stop when others stop, but that you eat when they eat. I.e. you eat all day: eat big breakfast at some cafe in morning, go 10 miles, meet up with one group who's eating, eat with them. Go 10 more miles, meet different group that's snacking, eat with them. Go 10 more miles, eat at lunch, etc. It's great!
Quote of the day:
"Feet, fart, and fun: the smells of Bike & Build" - Anna Hankins
Labels:
blackberries,
ice cream,
sweep
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Day off in Ely, NV
Here is the third journal that I have written for the group journal page.
My day off in Ely, Nevada began with me waking up at 7:30am, which had been the earliest I had ever gotten up on a day off. The fact that I accidentally fell asleep at 6pm the previous night may have contributed to my “early” wake up time (still late by our 4:30am standards). As usual, there were already a few people awake by that time, so we wandered around in the dark finding out if people were interested in getting breakfast. By the time we left, about half the group had waken up, so we all headed out to the Silver State Restaurant, which was recommended by our host.
The directions we were given by the host including cutting through a cemetery, but when we reached it, we discovered that sprinklers were on in the morning and thus drenching the walkway with water. We had a dilemma: should we run through the sprinklers or walk an extra half a block to go around the cemetery?
We hesitated for about 30 seconds. Suddenly, the cemetery was filled with a dozen yelping Bike & Builders running awkwardly downhill in their flip flops while trying to dodge the sprinklers (and failing miserably). By the time we reached the bottom, everyone was in hysterical giggling fits and more awake than they would have been had they had three cups of coffee.
However, that is not to say that we still can’t have three cups of coffee anyway. Or seven. To say that we enjoyed the free refills of coffee at the café would be an understatement. We also thoroughly enjoyed our real breakfasts that had lovely things like eggs and pancakes! Ah, the simple luxuries that one enjoys after living on a food budget of $4 a day for two months.
After breakfast, the girls in the group split off to go visit some of the local thrift stores. Our mission: to find completely ridiculous (and fantastic) outfits for roller derby day. We had decided near the beginning of the trip that the girls would dress up in roller derby costumes for one day and give each other roller derby nicknames, such as “The Hammer” (Jane), “Sonic” (Anna Baeth), or “Hurricane Nina” (real name unknown). Today we decided to finally put this plan into action and debut our outfits the next ride day. Some of the better outfits included a green halter top with hood (it IS as odd as it sounds), two identical leopard print dresses with matching cardigans, and a bright yellow belt covered in frayed, blue denim patches. Thrift stores are great – I got my camouflage overall skirt with matching camouflage shoes for a grand total of $1.75 . . . roller derby was clearly a big budget day.
Afterwards, people split off into little groups that went to the library, got ice cream, or just explored. I ended up walking back to the host with Becca and Rachel Bainbridge, and we once again cut through the cemetery, although this time the sprinklers were no longer on. We did, however, get stopped by a passing pickup truck. A somewhat elder looking man leans out his driver side window and beckons us closer. As we approach, he asks, “What side of a chicken has the most feathers?” We stare at him blankly for a few seconds before I realize that I know the answer and blurt out, “The outside!” “You got it!” he says, while pointing his finger at me and slowly driving off. Becca, Rachel, and I look at each other and just burst out laughing. I think it’s safe to say that we all just had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, since I’m pretty sure that I won’t be stopped in the middle of a cemetery to be asked a riddle anytime in the near future.
Later that night, we watched “He’s Just Not That Into You” while eating dinner, since someone had rented it from the video store. It was certainly interesting (we made fun of the bad advice the movie kept giving), but we haven’t watched movies in so long that it was still something to do. Then another night of sleeping on a gym floor before roller derby day the next morning!
My day off in Ely, Nevada began with me waking up at 7:30am, which had been the earliest I had ever gotten up on a day off. The fact that I accidentally fell asleep at 6pm the previous night may have contributed to my “early” wake up time (still late by our 4:30am standards). As usual, there were already a few people awake by that time, so we wandered around in the dark finding out if people were interested in getting breakfast. By the time we left, about half the group had waken up, so we all headed out to the Silver State Restaurant, which was recommended by our host.
The directions we were given by the host including cutting through a cemetery, but when we reached it, we discovered that sprinklers were on in the morning and thus drenching the walkway with water. We had a dilemma: should we run through the sprinklers or walk an extra half a block to go around the cemetery?
We hesitated for about 30 seconds. Suddenly, the cemetery was filled with a dozen yelping Bike & Builders running awkwardly downhill in their flip flops while trying to dodge the sprinklers (and failing miserably). By the time we reached the bottom, everyone was in hysterical giggling fits and more awake than they would have been had they had three cups of coffee.
However, that is not to say that we still can’t have three cups of coffee anyway. Or seven. To say that we enjoyed the free refills of coffee at the café would be an understatement. We also thoroughly enjoyed our real breakfasts that had lovely things like eggs and pancakes! Ah, the simple luxuries that one enjoys after living on a food budget of $4 a day for two months.
After breakfast, the girls in the group split off to go visit some of the local thrift stores. Our mission: to find completely ridiculous (and fantastic) outfits for roller derby day. We had decided near the beginning of the trip that the girls would dress up in roller derby costumes for one day and give each other roller derby nicknames, such as “The Hammer” (Jane), “Sonic” (Anna Baeth), or “Hurricane Nina” (real name unknown). Today we decided to finally put this plan into action and debut our outfits the next ride day. Some of the better outfits included a green halter top with hood (it IS as odd as it sounds), two identical leopard print dresses with matching cardigans, and a bright yellow belt covered in frayed, blue denim patches. Thrift stores are great – I got my camouflage overall skirt with matching camouflage shoes for a grand total of $1.75 . . . roller derby was clearly a big budget day.
Afterwards, people split off into little groups that went to the library, got ice cream, or just explored. I ended up walking back to the host with Becca and Rachel Bainbridge, and we once again cut through the cemetery, although this time the sprinklers were no longer on. We did, however, get stopped by a passing pickup truck. A somewhat elder looking man leans out his driver side window and beckons us closer. As we approach, he asks, “What side of a chicken has the most feathers?” We stare at him blankly for a few seconds before I realize that I know the answer and blurt out, “The outside!” “You got it!” he says, while pointing his finger at me and slowly driving off. Becca, Rachel, and I look at each other and just burst out laughing. I think it’s safe to say that we all just had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, since I’m pretty sure that I won’t be stopped in the middle of a cemetery to be asked a riddle anytime in the near future.
Later that night, we watched “He’s Just Not That Into You” while eating dinner, since someone had rented it from the video store. It was certainly interesting (we made fun of the bad advice the movie kept giving), but we haven’t watched movies in so long that it was still something to do. Then another night of sleeping on a gym floor before roller derby day the next morning!
Labels:
day off,
group journal,
nevada,
roller derby
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Page, AZ to Jacob Lake, AZ
Internet and phone service is available again! Here is the second journal that I have written for the group journal page. Full blog posts are still hard to do, so don't forget to check out my twitter page for mini-posts that are posted whenever I have phone service.
The morning started out once again at 4:30am as we woke up in the town of Page, AZ. This was our last host site before three full days of camping, and it seemed as though we were moving just a little bit slower that morning in order to savor having a roof over our heads. As part of the breakfast crew chore group for that week (yea, Flock of Seagulls!), I helped prepare the 60(!) eggs that St. David’s Episcopal Church had provided for us to go along with all the delicious dinner leftovers that we would be having with our standard breakfast foods of cereal and oatmeal.
After breakfast and the host had been cleaned up, I headed out for the day with Rebecca Bainbridge. The elevation began at 4300 feet, and we began our slow climb towards the first mountain of the day, which peaked at 5800 feet. Along the way, we met up with Laurel, Ashley, and Emily B. Halfway to the mountain, we saw the van approaching behind us. As it passed, Nate honked at us as the van driver usually does, but then to our surprise, Kerri poked her head out the passenger side door. “Ice cream!” she yelled, while waving two ice cream bars out the window. As the van pulled over, I felt like a little kid chasing an ice cream truck, except we were adult bicyclists screaming after a 16-person van with trailer. We had a lot of ice cream bars left over from dinner, and they were very well served as a mid-morning snack. Adam was so excited with his sundae cone that he powered up the next hill holding it triumphantly in the air like an Olympic torch.
Ice cream break over, we started to slowly, slowly, slowly climb the mountain. There was a brief pause as we reached the top where the road seems to disappear over the edge, and then we crested it and let gravity take over. All of sudden, the valley was visible beneath us, and it was breath-taking as it seemed to stretch out endlessly into the distance. We zipped down that road and almost flew to first lunch, descending at over 30mph. Unfortunately for me, my cheap little bike computer has difficulties reading speeds over 26-30mph, at which point it gives up and reads “0mph”, so I never know quite what my max speed is, only that it is more than 30mph.
After lunch, we rode along Marble Canyon and the Vermilion Cliffs, enjoying the sights but also being fully aware of the fact that the road could be as much as 30 miles shorter had it cut straight through the canyon instead of the taking the scenic route alongside it. We certainly didn’t mind it that much since it was a scenic route, but it did remind us of the sort of things people take for granted in a car: taking winding roads with ease, motoring up hills, and being unfazed by intense wind.
The above is also a fairly accurate summary of that afternoon: blistering headwinds and crosswinds, no shoulder, and a very long, slow climb out of the valley. Becca and I averaged about 5 miles per hour for a long time and got super excited whenever we would briefly reach 7 or 8 miles per hour. When we finally climbed over another hill and saw the trailer about two miles away, it felt like it was both really close and really far at the same time, since we could see it, but it still took almost half an hour to get there. Stopping for second lunch was a welcome and much needed break.
As we were about the leave, Becca discovered that she had a flat, so Konrad and Max stayed with us as we changed the flat while Ashley, Laurel, and Emily went on. Just as they started to leave, the wind picked up even more, and we watched as a dust storm began to gather in the distance. Konrad tied a handkerchief around his face, and we all turned away from the wind as the sand hit the backs of our legs at ridiculous speeds. Even just standing there, the sand stung as it hit us, and we hoped that the riders who were riding through it would be okay. “Eventful day” would be an understatement.
Dust storm passed, tire changed, we set out to climb one last mountain before we reached our campsite at Jacob Lake. This mountain lasted for several miles, but by then, the wind had died down, so it was actually easier to climb the steeper hills than it was plowing through the headwind earlier. When we reached camp, we did what was most important first, which was getting milkshakes at the Jacob Lake Inn, of course! While there, some people saw our trailer and asked what we were doing. Upon hearing that we had come all the way from Florida and raised about $150,000 for affordable housing, they gave us a $100 donation! Thank you again to the Walkers and the Koons!
After milkshakes, it was time to eat dinner and go to bed. Showers were $2.50, so a number of people did not shower, since we would be smelly the next day anyway. Plus, it’s Bike and Build; we’re smelly all the time anyway, hehe.
The morning started out once again at 4:30am as we woke up in the town of Page, AZ. This was our last host site before three full days of camping, and it seemed as though we were moving just a little bit slower that morning in order to savor having a roof over our heads. As part of the breakfast crew chore group for that week (yea, Flock of Seagulls!), I helped prepare the 60(!) eggs that St. David’s Episcopal Church had provided for us to go along with all the delicious dinner leftovers that we would be having with our standard breakfast foods of cereal and oatmeal.
After breakfast and the host had been cleaned up, I headed out for the day with Rebecca Bainbridge. The elevation began at 4300 feet, and we began our slow climb towards the first mountain of the day, which peaked at 5800 feet. Along the way, we met up with Laurel, Ashley, and Emily B. Halfway to the mountain, we saw the van approaching behind us. As it passed, Nate honked at us as the van driver usually does, but then to our surprise, Kerri poked her head out the passenger side door. “Ice cream!” she yelled, while waving two ice cream bars out the window. As the van pulled over, I felt like a little kid chasing an ice cream truck, except we were adult bicyclists screaming after a 16-person van with trailer. We had a lot of ice cream bars left over from dinner, and they were very well served as a mid-morning snack. Adam was so excited with his sundae cone that he powered up the next hill holding it triumphantly in the air like an Olympic torch.
Ice cream break over, we started to slowly, slowly, slowly climb the mountain. There was a brief pause as we reached the top where the road seems to disappear over the edge, and then we crested it and let gravity take over. All of sudden, the valley was visible beneath us, and it was breath-taking as it seemed to stretch out endlessly into the distance. We zipped down that road and almost flew to first lunch, descending at over 30mph. Unfortunately for me, my cheap little bike computer has difficulties reading speeds over 26-30mph, at which point it gives up and reads “0mph”, so I never know quite what my max speed is, only that it is more than 30mph.
After lunch, we rode along Marble Canyon and the Vermilion Cliffs, enjoying the sights but also being fully aware of the fact that the road could be as much as 30 miles shorter had it cut straight through the canyon instead of the taking the scenic route alongside it. We certainly didn’t mind it that much since it was a scenic route, but it did remind us of the sort of things people take for granted in a car: taking winding roads with ease, motoring up hills, and being unfazed by intense wind.
The above is also a fairly accurate summary of that afternoon: blistering headwinds and crosswinds, no shoulder, and a very long, slow climb out of the valley. Becca and I averaged about 5 miles per hour for a long time and got super excited whenever we would briefly reach 7 or 8 miles per hour. When we finally climbed over another hill and saw the trailer about two miles away, it felt like it was both really close and really far at the same time, since we could see it, but it still took almost half an hour to get there. Stopping for second lunch was a welcome and much needed break.
As we were about the leave, Becca discovered that she had a flat, so Konrad and Max stayed with us as we changed the flat while Ashley, Laurel, and Emily went on. Just as they started to leave, the wind picked up even more, and we watched as a dust storm began to gather in the distance. Konrad tied a handkerchief around his face, and we all turned away from the wind as the sand hit the backs of our legs at ridiculous speeds. Even just standing there, the sand stung as it hit us, and we hoped that the riders who were riding through it would be okay. “Eventful day” would be an understatement.
Dust storm passed, tire changed, we set out to climb one last mountain before we reached our campsite at Jacob Lake. This mountain lasted for several miles, but by then, the wind had died down, so it was actually easier to climb the steeper hills than it was plowing through the headwind earlier. When we reached camp, we did what was most important first, which was getting milkshakes at the Jacob Lake Inn, of course! While there, some people saw our trailer and asked what we were doing. Upon hearing that we had come all the way from Florida and raised about $150,000 for affordable housing, they gave us a $100 donation! Thank you again to the Walkers and the Koons!
After milkshakes, it was time to eat dinner and go to bed. Showers were $2.50, so a number of people did not shower, since we would be smelly the next day anyway. Plus, it’s Bike and Build; we’re smelly all the time anyway, hehe.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wichita Falls, TX to Altus, OK
This is the journal that I was assigned to write for the group journal page.
It was another early morning for the Bike and Build crew as we woke up at 4:30am in the Wichita Falls YMCA. Breakfast was the usual simple Bike and Build meal: cereal, bananas, oranges, and coffee. You’d think it’d be easy enough to make it through the morning uneventfully, but some people (or maybe just this person, heh) tried to refill the industrial sized coffee maker and instead managed to get coffee everywhere because she couldn’t figure out how to stop the water from pouring through the filter even though the coffee maker was off. Hm . . .
As people started heading out that morning towards our next new state (Oklahoma), I discovered one of the more unpleasant things of a typical Bike and Build day: the dreaded flat tire in the morning. With the wear and tear of each day’s biking, it usually happens at least once a week to somebody on the trip, but each time, it never fails to be a surprise. Becca Bainbridge waited for me to change my tire, and we finally headed out as the last people before sweep, who are the two riders that are assigned to ride in the back for the day.
Along the way, we turned onto a new road that we would to be riding on for nine miles and promptly encountered a bright orange sign that said, “ROAD WORK: NEXT 8 MILES.” As we bumped along, we exchanged stories to pass the time and distract ourselves from the “mildly uncomfortable” butt massagers that our bikes had become. When the road work ended, we started riding a lot faster since the road was nicer, but we had only gone a few miles before Becca yelled, “Stop! Camels!” As confused as I was, I stopped anyway and saw Becca pointing at the small herd of camels that were grazing on the other side of the road. We took some pictures, and I chalked the road with “Camels! <=,” so that the riders behind us would see the chalk and the camels. (They did indeed stop and ended up crossing the street and seeing the camels up close. Some of the camels even walked up to the fence so that the riders could pet them.)
Usually chalk is used to indicate which direction to turn on a confusing street or whether we should turn off for lunch, but sometimes it can really be used for anything, like when we chalked that there were camels. Riding along, we saw lots of random, fun things like “=),” “I wish I were on a boat right now,” and my favorite, “STOP: Hammer time.”
After lunch, we encountered some serious, 15-20 mile headwind that did not let up for basically the whole 50 miles we were on that road. We usually try to take breaks every 15 miles or so on a normal ride day, but that day, we stopped after 2 miles to go to the bathroom and then 8 miles after that because we were exerting so much energy. As we approached the only shade we had seen for the past ten miles (a barn by someone’s house), we could see a convertible in the driveway with two curiously unmoving people sitting on the back of it. As we got closer, we realized that it was two mannequins dressed in bikinis sitting on top of this classic style convertible just hanging out on the front lawn. It was certainly . . . unique. We weren’t the only ones to think that either. While we sat in the shade of the barn, we watched as a random SUV stopped in front of the house. A woman came running out of it to pose in front of the convertible while her husband took a picture. She then ran back into the car, and it just drove off, perhaps not even seeing the tired bikers huddling in the shade nearby. We took some of our own pictures before leaving, hoping that the owners didn’t mind too much that we enjoyed their little oasis of shade in the endless road of powerful headwind.
Becca and I toiled on for many more miles before we finally turned onto a new road away from the wind so that it became a tailwind. We zipped along the smooth flat road, thoroughly enjoying the fact that we could actually coast downhill without coming to an abrupt stop because of the wind working against us. We crossed the border into Oklahoma (and took pictures with the state sign) and made it to the host with a few minutes to spare. It was a long, hot day, but it was definitely a boost each time we saw something unexpected on the road, be it silly chalk or bikini-clad mannequins on someone’s front lawn. The things you see on the road in a day of Bike and Build . . .
It was another early morning for the Bike and Build crew as we woke up at 4:30am in the Wichita Falls YMCA. Breakfast was the usual simple Bike and Build meal: cereal, bananas, oranges, and coffee. You’d think it’d be easy enough to make it through the morning uneventfully, but some people (or maybe just this person, heh) tried to refill the industrial sized coffee maker and instead managed to get coffee everywhere because she couldn’t figure out how to stop the water from pouring through the filter even though the coffee maker was off. Hm . . .
As people started heading out that morning towards our next new state (Oklahoma), I discovered one of the more unpleasant things of a typical Bike and Build day: the dreaded flat tire in the morning. With the wear and tear of each day’s biking, it usually happens at least once a week to somebody on the trip, but each time, it never fails to be a surprise. Becca Bainbridge waited for me to change my tire, and we finally headed out as the last people before sweep, who are the two riders that are assigned to ride in the back for the day.
Along the way, we turned onto a new road that we would to be riding on for nine miles and promptly encountered a bright orange sign that said, “ROAD WORK: NEXT 8 MILES.” As we bumped along, we exchanged stories to pass the time and distract ourselves from the “mildly uncomfortable” butt massagers that our bikes had become. When the road work ended, we started riding a lot faster since the road was nicer, but we had only gone a few miles before Becca yelled, “Stop! Camels!” As confused as I was, I stopped anyway and saw Becca pointing at the small herd of camels that were grazing on the other side of the road. We took some pictures, and I chalked the road with “Camels! <=,” so that the riders behind us would see the chalk and the camels. (They did indeed stop and ended up crossing the street and seeing the camels up close. Some of the camels even walked up to the fence so that the riders could pet them.)
Usually chalk is used to indicate which direction to turn on a confusing street or whether we should turn off for lunch, but sometimes it can really be used for anything, like when we chalked that there were camels. Riding along, we saw lots of random, fun things like “=),” “I wish I were on a boat right now,” and my favorite, “STOP: Hammer time.”
After lunch, we encountered some serious, 15-20 mile headwind that did not let up for basically the whole 50 miles we were on that road. We usually try to take breaks every 15 miles or so on a normal ride day, but that day, we stopped after 2 miles to go to the bathroom and then 8 miles after that because we were exerting so much energy. As we approached the only shade we had seen for the past ten miles (a barn by someone’s house), we could see a convertible in the driveway with two curiously unmoving people sitting on the back of it. As we got closer, we realized that it was two mannequins dressed in bikinis sitting on top of this classic style convertible just hanging out on the front lawn. It was certainly . . . unique. We weren’t the only ones to think that either. While we sat in the shade of the barn, we watched as a random SUV stopped in front of the house. A woman came running out of it to pose in front of the convertible while her husband took a picture. She then ran back into the car, and it just drove off, perhaps not even seeing the tired bikers huddling in the shade nearby. We took some of our own pictures before leaving, hoping that the owners didn’t mind too much that we enjoyed their little oasis of shade in the endless road of powerful headwind.
Becca and I toiled on for many more miles before we finally turned onto a new road away from the wind so that it became a tailwind. We zipped along the smooth flat road, thoroughly enjoying the fact that we could actually coast downhill without coming to an abrupt stop because of the wind working against us. We crossed the border into Oklahoma (and took pictures with the state sign) and made it to the host with a few minutes to spare. It was a long, hot day, but it was definitely a boost each time we saw something unexpected on the road, be it silly chalk or bikini-clad mannequins on someone’s front lawn. The things you see on the road in a day of Bike and Build . . .
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Updates from the road
Since it is so difficult for me to access the internet on the road, I have opened up a twitter account: http://twitter.com/ninabikes so I can use my phone to send text messages about what I am doing and have it posted online. These short updates (think of it as a mini blog) will only appear on twitter and not on my main blog, so hopefully I'll be able to let you guys know more about what I am doing. Feel free to leave comments about anything (either on the blog or through twitter); I'd love to hear what you guys think! :)
Labels:
twitter
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Carthage, TX to Athens, TX
Today's route: 94 miles from Carthage, TX to Athens, TX
We woke up this morning at 5am in the house of a previous Southern U.S. Bike and Build rider. I was sleeping alone on a recliner in a room in the corner and did not hear the wakeup call, so I did not actually get up until 5:20 when I heard people moving around outside. I packed my bag as quickly as I could (the rule is that no one eats breakfast until all the bags are packed in the trailer) and actually managed not to be the last person packed. We then had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, cereal, coffee and orange juice, amid the chaos of everyone filling up their water bottles and cleaning their bikes.
Lots of people had already left by the time I was ready, and there were only about 5 riders left, including sweep, which are the two riders who are assigned to ride in the back to make sure everyone is okay. I left at around 7am with Rebecca Carter, and we headed out into the Texas sun. Well, it was actually more like Texas dense fog, and it was very eerie riding through fog so thick that visibility was only a few feet. Thoughts of Stephen King's The Mist kept coming to mind.
Rebecca and I took turns leading as we zipped down the road thinking that everyone was way ahead of us because they left so early. We ended up passing some of the slower riders (we affectionately call them "The Slugs") and a large group of at least 10 people that were waiting for someone to change a flat tire. We finally caught up to another group that was riding and traveled with this group until we reached the first lunch stop. The group pulled in just as the van was parking, so we were the first group to arrive. I was thrilled because I had never been in the first group to arrive at lunch and especially not after leaving almost last.
After lunch, (including some delicious donated lunch meat...lunch never has meat usually since it's too expensive to buy), we all headed out to the pool party that was being held at mile 70. The hosts were the family of yet another Southern U.S. alum, and everyone was excited for the break in the long day. Three miles from the party though, we encountered construction and freshly paved roads. While this is a plus for cars, it is completely impossible to bike on because gravel would get stuck in the wheels and lock the bike up, and many people ended up with melted tar all over their wheels. Becca Bainbridge and I alternated between biking 20 feet, stopping to get out all the rocks, or just walking the bikes in the grass. Those three miles took us about an hour, and all we wanted was to go to the pool party. When we finally made it, everyone just relaxed and had some delicious food and ice cream. We also found out that some people managed to hitchhike their way across the construction, while others got a ride from the van or just toiled through it like Becca and I did.
When we left, we biked the last 25 miles mostly on a very narrow road with no shoulder and rolling hills. Kerri and I almost got run off the road by a semi passing another semi, but still managed to make it to the host right before 7pm. It was a long day and will be another long day tomorrow (~100 miles again: the mileage on the website is not necessarily up to date, but as of today, everything listed for before July 4th is correct). Our average mileage is way more than the original stated 65, but by the end of trip, riding multiple centuries (100 mile rides) in a row will be a piece of cake for everyone. Although hopefully not something that we would need to continue doing after Bike and Build. :P
We woke up this morning at 5am in the house of a previous Southern U.S. Bike and Build rider. I was sleeping alone on a recliner in a room in the corner and did not hear the wakeup call, so I did not actually get up until 5:20 when I heard people moving around outside. I packed my bag as quickly as I could (the rule is that no one eats breakfast until all the bags are packed in the trailer) and actually managed not to be the last person packed. We then had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, cereal, coffee and orange juice, amid the chaos of everyone filling up their water bottles and cleaning their bikes.
Lots of people had already left by the time I was ready, and there were only about 5 riders left, including sweep, which are the two riders who are assigned to ride in the back to make sure everyone is okay. I left at around 7am with Rebecca Carter, and we headed out into the Texas sun. Well, it was actually more like Texas dense fog, and it was very eerie riding through fog so thick that visibility was only a few feet. Thoughts of Stephen King's The Mist kept coming to mind.
Rebecca and I took turns leading as we zipped down the road thinking that everyone was way ahead of us because they left so early. We ended up passing some of the slower riders (we affectionately call them "The Slugs") and a large group of at least 10 people that were waiting for someone to change a flat tire. We finally caught up to another group that was riding and traveled with this group until we reached the first lunch stop. The group pulled in just as the van was parking, so we were the first group to arrive. I was thrilled because I had never been in the first group to arrive at lunch and especially not after leaving almost last.
After lunch, (including some delicious donated lunch meat...lunch never has meat usually since it's too expensive to buy), we all headed out to the pool party that was being held at mile 70. The hosts were the family of yet another Southern U.S. alum, and everyone was excited for the break in the long day. Three miles from the party though, we encountered construction and freshly paved roads. While this is a plus for cars, it is completely impossible to bike on because gravel would get stuck in the wheels and lock the bike up, and many people ended up with melted tar all over their wheels. Becca Bainbridge and I alternated between biking 20 feet, stopping to get out all the rocks, or just walking the bikes in the grass. Those three miles took us about an hour, and all we wanted was to go to the pool party. When we finally made it, everyone just relaxed and had some delicious food and ice cream. We also found out that some people managed to hitchhike their way across the construction, while others got a ride from the van or just toiled through it like Becca and I did.
When we left, we biked the last 25 miles mostly on a very narrow road with no shoulder and rolling hills. Kerri and I almost got run off the road by a semi passing another semi, but still managed to make it to the host right before 7pm. It was a long day and will be another long day tomorrow (~100 miles again: the mileage on the website is not necessarily up to date, but as of today, everything listed for before July 4th is correct). Our average mileage is way more than the original stated 65, but by the end of trip, riding multiple centuries (100 mile rides) in a row will be a piece of cake for everyone. Although hopefully not something that we would need to continue doing after Bike and Build. :P
Labels:
athens,
carthage,
construction,
fog,
pool party,
tar,
texas
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