NEW MEXICO! Best state yet

To Portales NM
Thankfully New Mexico has some of the better roads we've hit. Also the wind wasn't bad at all so those two combined made for a great ride. I ride with Butterfield and Kristi in the morning and heard their life stories. We ride together a lot, but there were definetly some things I didn't know before. We passed some more feed lots too and the ride wasn't all that scenic, but the shoulder was big. Right before lunch Meggers took a spill while trying to wave to the van. I guess she hit the rumble strips and wiped out. Good thing the van was right there anyway because her derailleur was messed up. She only had to ride for 4 miles anyway. At lunch we got Subway which was a nice surprise. I was not in the mood for another PB&J. I'm definetly going to have to take a break from PB&J after the trip. Lenny had a look and Meg's bike and she was able to ride again after lunch.
We stopped at Joe's Boot shop, which was this great big western wear store that advertized they had over 16,000 pairs of boots! It was a really fun stop. I got Butters her birthday present there rpretty much right in front of her, but she was so excited about the boots and cowgirl stuff that she didn't even notice! I got her cute little kid-sized bright red cowgirl boots and filled them with candy for her birthday (later in the trip). We tried on boots and hats and had lots of fun and Joe tried to sell all of them to us. He's a good salesman, but am I really going to drop $5000 for a beaver hat? Apparently he sells about one of those bad boys a year.
The rest of the ride was good. I had my first experience at Sonic and was overall unimpressed, but what do you expect from "America's Drive-in"?
We were staying at ENMU and didn't have dinner provided so Lenny and team worked the donation magic as we call it and got us pizzas and ice cream cake.
Also, we're in the dorms and we had a whole floor of the building. It was really great to have real beds. Each one of use could have our own room, but we decided that would be lonely so Butters, Megs and I had a sleepover.

To Roswell (if this looks similar to the group journal, there's a reason)

Entering UFO Territory.

This was another one of those near-century rides: 96 miles from Portales to Roswell.

Amol and I were sweep for this ride and I spent the first 30 miles telling my life story and Amol told his from lunch to second lunch (the second 30 miles). It really made the time pass faster and made sweeping fun.

Between Portales and Roswell there was nothing too lively. We took route 70 the whole way making a few stops along the way. First lunch was in a "town" called Kenna, which really only consisted of a small gas station/general store/post office all in one. Jess R bought Native American made earrings and the people in the shop let us use the bathroom (the only toilet available for the whole ride). Second lunch was around mile 71 in another so-called "town." This one was called Acme and from what we could tell it may not exist at all. There may not have even been a town sign, although I'm told it's a dot on the map. There was a small abandoned-looking building next to where the trailer was stopped for second lunch. At that point in the day, it was just so hot that we just had to refuel, refill, reapply and roll out. No time to explore the Acme town center.

The landscape changed at some point on this ride from mostly green to desert vegetation and dry land. It was really good that we all got an early start because it was certainly hot by the end of the day. Also, New Mexico has well paved roads, so our butts are all thankful for that.

Once we finally got into town there were lots of stores and restaurants along Main Street. We had heard about Classics Frozen Custard, so of course, we had to try that out. Allie got us all ice cream tokens there as a donation. Thanks! Also along the way Lenny, Kyle, Lynn, Skip and others worked their donation magic. We got Peter Piper's Pizza, Cici's Pizza, Chili's, and KFC for dinner. So thanks to all of them for helping feed us. Sound glamorous? Just picture eating it in a squash court wishing for a clean utensil. But really, the food was great, and as we say, every dollar we don't spend on food can go directly to affordable housing.

Day off in Roswell
In the morning we all woke up around 8 which is sleeping in when usual wake-up is 4am. We went to breakfast at IHOP and then went to Target and then for more frozen custard at Classics. Next we hit the UFO museum which for most people was a big highlight and it converted them into believers. I was not so interested so I left and went across the street to a consignment shop and a few Roswell gift shops. I got a dress to wear for our nice dinner out in Santa Barbara and some other secret things. I was glad I bumped into Emily because shopping with someone is always more fun and I wanted someone other than the woman selling me the dress for an opinion. We went to a few other shops and then I headed back to the UFO place to see what everyone else was up to. We regrouped and then shopped around somemore before heading over to the movie theater. The plan was to see X-Files but by the time we got there we realized we would have to choose between that and the best mexican food that some guy on the bus has ever had, if we wanted to be bask at a reasonable time (keeping in mind that reasonable time is around 8 if wake up is 4-still seems crazy). Of course, we chose food over the movie. The place was called Martin's Capitol Cafe and the food was in fact delicious.
Sophie was in the hospital for most of the day getting fluids and whatnot because of a stomach bug. Amol and I went outside and picked desert vegetation and left the small bouquet on her pillow with a not signed secret admirer. She eventually found out it was us because someone spilled the beans. No secrets in this group.

TO Carrizozo NM Happy Birthday Butterfield and Angie
We woke up the birthday girls with balloons that everyone had written messages on. Coordinating that the night before was a hassle, but people write funny and really nice messages and they both really liked it. I was happy that worked out.
The ride was freakishly great. There was a tail-wind which is very unusual since we are always going west. Apparently it was caused by a hurricane in Texas. The wind made the uphills feel great and it seemed like we all had our energy legs. There is a stomach bug in the group going around and a bunch of people were in the van. I'm glad I'm healthy and happy.
Part of what made the day so great was the weather. It was cool and rainy which was a welcome break from the hot hot heat we had been having. At times I was even COLD because I wasn't prepared for this.
Butterfield and I did a mile sprint on one of the roads right before second lunch. At second lunch we got hot chocolate and snacks at a gas station.
The last part of the ride was THE BEST EVER. It started with a 6% grade down hill for a long time and then continued with a long downgrade. The view was amazing. Overall this was one of our most scenic days yet and after a day of gradual uphill this down was awesome. Too bad I forgot my camera for the day.
At the bottom of the hill, we ended up in town. Even though we were cold, we went to Roy's for birthday ice cream.
The host was a high school gym that was a little dirty and dinner was very questionable because we didnt have propane to light the camp stoves. We improvised and all was fine.

To Socorro
Today was another really great day. This time we were prepared for the weather too. In the morning we rode through 5000 year old volcanic rock which is apparently the second youngest lava rock of its kind in the continental US. The place was called Valley of Fire and Butters, Meg and I rode on the path through the rock and vegetation (even though it's for walking-figured there's no harm in riding it at 7am when no one else is there. It was quite peaceful actually). Looking out, it was a really beautiful field of black rock and desert plants. The others missed out. From then on we rode with sweep (Kristi and Charlotte) on and off for the day. In the morning there was a thick fog that we rode through which was really cool even though visibility was quite low. Around lunch time the fog had cleared and it was sunny and then later we got caught in a big storm. We rode up a hill and at the top the clouds changed from sunny to stormy and we had been seeing lightning in the distance for a while. There was a group stopped at the hill and Megs Butterfield and I rode by them. When the thunder and lightning were right on top of eachother and we were in the eye of the storm we decided to get off our bikes and wait. Just after we did, it started pouring buckets and we scrambled to get our raincoats on and then huddled. It lightened up after a while and we were drenched and got back on the bikes. What fun. A few miles later Emily and Lynn passed us DRY. Smart of us to whiz by them all before, right? I guess all of this doesn't really sound like a great ride, but it was. Everything was really beautiful, we're learning to love the rain, more downs the ups, and I had my camera this time too!
Socorro is a small town with a cute center. It even has a bike shop. Butterfield and I walked to the grocery store barefoot because our shoes were soaked and the trailer wasn't in yet. We got delicious fruit for snacks.
Tacos tonight. We have propane and this time we actually can cook.

Everything's bigger in TEXAS

To Wheeler TX
79 miles. This was the first day that we left right at sunrise. I suppose because the day before was so hot, the leaders thought this was necessary. I rode with Butterfield and Jorge for most of the day. Sauromon would definelty win over Dath Vader in a fight. I think it would be against the rules for Darth Vader to destroy Middle Earth with the Death Star. Along the ride there weren't really any towns with the exception of the one we stopped in for lunch at mile 38. At mile 67 we crossed into Texas. The sign said "Proud Home of President George W. Bush." Guess they'll be replacing that sometime soon. Right away we really liked Texas because at the state line the road surface changed and it was delightful. Also there were tons of huge grasshoppers. Who knew they could fly too?! At the chuch where we were staying a youth group team made us a delicious texan beef brisket dinner. We also had sleeping bag wars. I need to have a rematch with Dugan. I also looked through Jorge's video footage to choose some for our slideshow project. That was fun.

To Amarillo
100 miles. We found out that it's not that Texas has good roads it's that Wheeler county has good raods. As soon as we crossed the county line, that all changed. too bad. In the morning we saw a bobcat (dead) on the road. We really get a good idea of the wildlife from the roadkill. Also I think Texas does a better job of cleaning it up than some of the other states (Oklahoma and especailly Pennsylvania). Before lunch it got really windy and it didnt' really let up for most of the day. I found out later that Amarillo is the windiest city in the continental US. I'm not sure if I believe that (Chicago, Boston?) but perhaps Amarillo has the most constant 17 mile/hour winds and Chicago has the coldest and Boston the gustiest. I don't know.
I got a flat in the afternoon and wasn't feeling all that great. Sophie tried to help me adjust my back deraileur, but ended up making my bike such that I could only ride in a pretty hard or a very easy gear. I was not too pleased about this, but rode the 12 miles to second lunch. Jose had a look at it there (good thing it was his driving day) and fixed everything. I finished out the ride with sweep (Jorge and Sophie) and caught up to Butterfield before we got in.

After dinner at the Habitat office we all headed to the Big Texan Steakhouse to watch Jorge in the 72 oz steak challenge. Basically if he finishes the steak plus a baked potato, side salad, and shrmip cocktail in under an hour he gets it for free. Well we were all cheering for him and he ended with 9.8 oz. of steak on the plate. He put up a good fight and we all had a good night out.

Build in Amarillo Texas
This was (in my opinion) the best build site yet. Allie and I went in the second van shuttle so we would have time to call reporters and other media people for the build today. Turns out we were very successful. Check us out! Allie and I make a great PR team!
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=8711508 (check out the video clip) http://myhighplains.com/content/fulltext/?cid=14221 http://www.amarillo.com/stories/072208/new_news4.shtml

The other reasons why it was the best yet are that they had lots and lots of work for us to do. Everyone had a job and by the end of the day we felt really productive. We painted inside and out and caulked and some of the group did some landscaping stuff. The house is the former Habitat office, but in a few weeks it will belong to a single mom of 14 kids ranging in age from 2 to 22.

To Hereford (pronounced her-ford like the cow)
I'm really glad I opted for the optional 20 mile detour. We went to the Palo Duro Canyon which is also known as the grand canyon of Texas. I guess this is a case where everything isn't really bigger in Texas, because this was smaller than the grand canyon, but certainly worth the 20 mile ride. After checking out the canyon from above and the gift shop/museum a group of us (self-named Team Adventure) decided to ride our bikes down into the canyon. Kyle and Lenny had already gone and came back saying it was awesome and the ride back up wasn't too bad. Kyle kind of psyched us out about the steepness of the downhill and the sharpness of the turns, but it was good he warned us to be extra cautious. This was no Johnstown, but the turns were harder and less predicatble. The ride down was about a mile and it was really fun and also cool to see the canyon from close to the bottom. (I doubt this was the lowest point). Back up was steep, but well worth it. Lenny did it 3 times and made it up to 49.8 on the downhill. Frightening.
Hereford calls itself the Cow Capitol of the World and it's pretty clear why once you can smell it. The people where we are staying are really nice. Also, Katie Poor is in the Batman movie so everyone went to see that today.

....Tomorrow on to New Mexico

OKLAHOMA - best state ever

TO Tulsa

I had routed my chain incorretly so I took care of that in the morning with Jose's help. I got a little bit of a late start because of that but I ended up catching up with the group about 20 miles in. We rode the whole day on route 66 and stopped at roadside attractions like a giant blue whale. I'm not sure why it's there and apparently it used to be a swimming place, but not any more. I would have enjoyed a swim, but the water didn't look too clean. The bathroom there was just one little room with two toilets and one roll of tp in between them. That was pretty funny. Dinner was a really great potluck from the church members in Tulsa. Everything was wonderful. This was the longest buffet we've had and the most variety. Potlucks are good for that.

Build in Tulsa

At the build site we were greeted by reporters and ended up in Tulsa World. The picture of Kyle was on the cover and here's the link (front page!): http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080716_11_A1_hWHEEL136056 . Jake Curtis, a fellow BU student and Bike and Builder on P2S is apparently from Tulsa and his mom was at our build with lots and lots of delicious fruit and cookies and goober (marshmellow and cream cheese topping for strawberries). Best snacks ever!

At the site we built a shed which was really cool because we built an entire mini-house from the foundation up. I also did some caulking inside the real house at the end of the day. In case you didn't want to read the article, on of the most notable points is the neighborhood where we were building was once the stomping grounds for drug dealers. Now it's a cute Habitat neighborhood with 63 houses. Quite a turn-around.

To Chandler

Pastor Dave from the church in Tulsa rode with us for the whole ride and showed us the safest and most fun way out of the city. We rode on a nice little bike path next to a river for a while. During the ride we came across a giant buffalo statue called the guardian of the fields. Amol climbed up it and others followed. In the afternoon Kristi's derailleur broke off so she couldn't ride and made plans to have it replaced in oklahoma city. The second part of the ride got hotter and hotter. We stopped at a shoe tree (which is exactly what it sounds like) and the accomanying trading post (more like a glorified garage sale, but still interesting). After the ride I decided to postpone my shower in exchange for figuring out my visa situation on the internet at the library in town. Still working on that, but maybe later. The town was small and cute and I walked around a bit and saw the courthouse, a few small stores and other things. I went into the Subway to use the bathroom and a woman and her family stopped me to ask about Bike and Build (I still had my jersey on). She said they noticed my tan lines from across the street (wow, I mean I knew they were bad, but now I know they really are that bad). I told her all about Bike and Build and chatted for a bit.

Rice's Birthday day to Yukon

This was a really fun day because it was Erin's birthday! Our goal was to all stop for pancakes and wait for Meg (sweep) and have a lovely breakfast. This ended up working out quite well. We found a soda shoppe/gas station/gift store called Pops. We were drawn in by the giant soda bottle outside and then awed by the walls full of all different kinds of pop. (And I call it pop because this wasn't any regular coke or sprite, this was specialty) We got brunch there and by the time lunch rolled around we weren't too keen on the idea of half off at ihop. Throughout the day Erin had been leaving little presents for Meg and Jess R just for fun. She got them candy bars and had the people at the gas stations hold on to them till sweep arrived and left them poems and notes and clues on the road. It really brightened their day. After lunch the ride was great until the last ten miles which were really tough because of the wind. We made a turn and were bombarded by the wind but Dugan, Oliver, Butters, Jorge and I powered through. When we got in I called a reporter in Yukon and had an interview with him. I wonder if that was every published. He told me it would be either wednesday or saturday and this was July 17. Maybe it's online.

After dinner Rice got her pinata and candy and all sorts of goodies. It was a really fun time.

To Cordell

This ride was really really great--mostly because I was riding with Allie and we were having lots of fun chatting and singing and whatnot. It was really really hot, but we didn't notice too much because we were too busy singing as loud as we could.

After dinner I changed my front brakes. That was long past due. At some point I should do the back too.

The Show Me State

To Potosi MO
We did a 20% uphill grade on this ride! Wow. The climbs were tough but I thought it was a really fun ride. I was with the first group to the campsite which only meant that we had to set up tents. woohoo
We were "camping" in a cemetery kind of. Which I thought was a little weird, but apparently we couldn't stay at the real campsite. Showers were iffy and it was really hot and we were told specifically that we were not allowed to use the lake at the campsite. So Dugan Oliver and I went to the foot deep creek to cool and rinse off. I happened to have a bar of soap in my camelbak at the time so we used that too and went back to camp feeling refreshed. By that time the crew had already taken down the tents that we had put up because of the forecasted thunderstorms. The new plan was to sleep in the in-progress house next to the abandoned bug filled church. As predicted the skies opened up and it rained really hard, but it was perfect timing because we had just finished hose showers and dinner and brought everything inside. It rained pretty hard all night and at one point I was woken up thinking a cannon had gone off and we were under attack, but it was thunder and we were all safe so back to sleep I went.

To Houston MO
Bumpy bumpy bumpy. We did eleven miles of gravel/mud/sand/clay roads which was not only tough on the bikes but also on our bums. Also it was pretty hilly, but we made it. About half of the group went an extra 12 miles of really hilly roads and only 3 miles on gravel and my group did eleven of gravel. I don't know who got the sweeter part of that deal. Along the gravel road we saw what Erin swears was a coyote and an ornate box turtle (I looked that one up later). After the eleven miles we stopped at some nice folks' house and asked to borrow the hose to clean off. It had been raining on and off and the mud sprays up off of the back tires making it look like we all had accidents in our chamois. After lunch I rode with Jorge and we exchanged life stories and chatted. We got in pretty early and for a while we were first but we ended up riding in with the first group. At the chruch we were greeted with welcoming smiles and baked goods. More than enough to win me over and fill my belly. The Methodists have been so good to us, especially in Houston! They let us drive their cars to the pool for swims and showers and they were all around really great people.

To Springfield
After taking it pretty hard the day before I was feeling a little slow and my bum was in pain from the day before too. The road we were on were not great quality so that didn't help my bum either, but I made it through a near century. Also my camelbak had a soap taste which was unpleasant so I didn't drink out of it for most of the day. Nancy from the Springfield Habitat provided us dinner and we took a Wal-mart run for some stuff we needed. Ice cream at Braums (a chain around here).

Build Day in Springfield (third largest city in Missouri)
THe morning started out slow because there wasn't too much for all of us to do. We helped with the trusses and in the afternoon we did some styrofoam insulation on the outside of the house.
After the build Allie's friend Laura took a few of us to Andy's for the best frozen custard in Springfield and then to the Bass Pro Shops. I had learned about Bass Pro in Destination Marketing this past semester so I was particularly excited to go there. It's basically a giant fishing/archery/guns/boating/camping/aquarium store and it was fun to look around. I don't think I'll be in a room with 900 rifles again anytime soon or decked out in leafy hunting gear, so that was new. No more chains in the bike shop. We bought them out and I missed the boat and actually really needed a new chain. Another 80 miles can't be too much damage, right...

To Joplin MO
I rode pretty fast partly because I needed to get to the bike shop before it closed at 4 and partly because it was a relatively easy ride. I guess 80 became easy after two back-to-back 90 mile days. I rode with Dugan and Oliver. In the morning it was super windy so we pace-lined for a good chunk of the way (basically tail-gating so the first person breaks the wind). We got in around 2 only to find that the bike shop was closed! Being resourceful we looked up where another bike shoo was and rode there. The Joplin Bicycle Specialists hooked me up with a new chain and brake pads and some good stuff on a discount, so that was good. When I got to the church Allie and I decided to go for a swim so we got a ride to the local pool from our hosts and swam for a bit then showered. We got back to the church just in time to miss a downpour rainstorm.

To Vinita OKLAHOMA
Joplin is only a few miles from the Kansas border. We went to breakfast at a real restaurant and it was ok that we were taking our sweet time because 70 miles is considered a light day for us now. We whizzed through Kansas and got to Oklahoma. Lunch at Braums (ice cream chain) so of course there was ice cream to be had after lunch.
The ride was good and Oklahoma is drier than Missouri. This was a rare ride day with no rain!
Vinita OK is the birthplace of Dr. Phil and the home of the world's largest McDonalds. We took a field trip there (McDonalds that is, didn't know where to look for Dr. Phil). It's not as large as I expected but it does straddle an interstate and have other stores inside. I got free ice cream at a cafe thinger.
Now in Vinita. We went on a candy outing and saw the downtown which is rather small. I couldn't find a post box at the post office which I thought was weird, but there was one at the gas station.


MILLAGE UPDATE: 1855
nearly halfway there

Feel the Illinoise

To Lawrenceville IL
86 miles and not as hard as I expected it to be. It was really cold and rainy and by the time lunch rolled around I was freezing and had to warm up in the van for a bit before getting back on the road. We saw a few very anti-abortion signs along the way which is something I would never see back home. We were staying in the Gas Lite Motel. What a place. We had 10 rooms for the 31 people so Meg Butters and I were in a room together. The town has only 4800 people and there's really not that much going on there besides a roller rink. Meg Jorge and I rode to dinner at a church only 1.5 miles away and Meg ended up getting her first flat on this shortest ride ever. And we got lost so we were a little late to dinner, but everything was ok. Not too many fireworks for the fourth of July but we did see a few and get eaten by bugs while playing Trivial Persuit.

To Salem IL
Biscuits and gravy and sausage for breakfast which seems to be a standard breakfast item in these parts. I'm not so much a fan but food is energy and necessary for biking. I was sweep with Lindsay (last riders of the day). Meg bumped her head a little and got scraped up so we met up with her in a town called Oleny. We happened to be outside some nice peoples' home when this happened so they came out to chat with us while we were waiting with Meg for the van. Apparently the town on Oleny is famous for white squirrels. We didn't see any, but I was interested in why white squirrels may have settled there as opposed to anywhere else. Our new friend didn't know. Next stop was DQ with a bunch of riders for some morning ice cream. They had to turn on the machine just for us. Ice cream at 9am? Well feels like noon when you've been up since 5 and that makes it ok. Overall Lindsay and I had a good sweep day.

To St. Louis MO
Leaders gave up the topographical outline of hiking trails in the Adirondacks for a completely flat ride. Nice joke. Also in the beginning of the ride I was trying to kick my quick release in and got my foot stuck in my wheel. Admittedly, this was a poor decision, but it was a little funny and I was proud of myself for not completely wiping out with one foot in my wheel. This caused my back wheel to be out of true really badly but I rode on it anyway and Emily and Lenny taught me how to fix it later. I rode with Emily and Jess L in the morning and then after a quick lunch ride with Kristi and Lauren. We made a really great stop for frozen custard which is another food item that we don't have at home. We went to a chain called Culvers. It was so humid outside and we were thankful for the AC. We couldn't have done the 20 more miles to St. Louis without the frozen custard. We got to the place we were staying and found out it was also a food kitchen and not in the best part of town. There were homeless people in and out of the building a few times/day so we were careful to keep our room locked despite the bike and build stank that accumulated.
Showers were at ALlie's Grandma's place nearby which was so nice because it was warm and we could swim in the pool and go in the hot tub there.
We went out to see the arch and then got some second dinner. It was a good night.

Day off in St. Louis.
Funny how sleeping till 8 or 9 is sleeping in for me now. A bunch of us went to the City Museum for the day which is a museum/giant jungle gym/play place. We climbed in spirals and tunnels and it's indoors and outdoors and it was pretty cool, but VERY HOT and HUMID.
Joe Torelli is an awesome guy who helps out with the bike paths in St. Louis. He and his people provided a really great dinner for us and then took us for frozen custard at Ted Drewes on route 66. Joe was driving Devon Jo Tong and myself. Along the way he showed us the St. Louis sights and told us about them. We went through his neighborhood which is called the hill and is the Italian part of town. He took us to his house where he let us ride his trio bike which was so cool! This was a big highlight for me. The bike seats three one in the middle upright and a forward recumbent on the front and a backwards recumbent on the back. Jo Devon and I rode it together and I steered it all the way around the block! It was hard to get started with all three people on it but it was really fun! Also, there are only 5 in the world of these made. Joe rides it with two mentally handicapped kids who we met. Next stop Ted Drewes. Yum. And Joe treated us which was really great. He was so good to us, and I loved learning all about the city.

The Buckeye State and into Indy

Leaving Pittsburgh
I spent most of the day off sleeping. I needed that. We also got brunch at Pamela's which is a place that Emma knew about and really great pancakes. The guys in the [second] bike shop we went to were super helpful. I got a pair of new tires and a few other things. Bike stuff is not cheap. I also measured my butt there. It told me my saddle is one size too big, but I'm just going to assume that's not causing the pain... I put on my new tires and Angie helped me out with my derailer. By the end of the [frustrating] night, my bike was in good working order and clean too!

Through West Virgina for seven miles and then to Stubenville Ohio. Only a 40 mile ride.

The ride was short so we had time to explore Stubenville. I really liked the little town. It seemed a little empty because of the steel mills that closed. It's called the city of murals because of all the murals which were painted to stimulate tourism. After all it is the home of Dean Martin, birthplace of Woodroe Wilson and 1861 stop for Lincoln on the way to inauguration. Who wouldn't want to go there?! Lauren, Meg, Rice and I got sweet shirts! The Visitor center was really good to us too-they told us history stuff and gave us postcards.

The hosts there were really great. They were so happy to help us with everything and there were a lot of people to listen to our presentation.

To Newcomerstown
Scenic ride. Rolling hills. Jorge rode with us and we "accidentally" spit water at him. He says he'll get us back tenfold, but it hasn't happened yet. He liked riding with us, even if he won't admit it. In the afternoon I hung back and rode with Allie. We took it slow, stopped at a blackberry patch and I and helped her with 2 flats.
The people in Newcomerstown where thrilled to have us. There was a parade there and we rode our bikes in it and handed out info about B&B to the locals out on their porches and stuff. Cute little town.

To Columbus.
Too bad I spelled Columbus wrong on all of my postcards. You didn't notice that, did you postcard receivers? The weather was not so cooperative for this ride. We had to take cover from a thunder and lightning storm under and underpass for about an hour. It was windy for the rest of the ride, but we finally got there. Also, there was a giant basket that was the HQ for a basket making company. We stopped there for the bathrooms.

Build in Columbus then bike to Yellow Springs
Half day build. I was digging trenches for piping. I'm a real expert at digging now after doing it at two build sites!
Yellow Springs. What a cute town. Only about 4000 people and pretty small. When we got there (late-ish) the YMCA was closed (or something) so they arranged for church members to have most of us shower in their homes. I went to Bruce and Carol's house. They were such nice and welcoming people--I couldn't believe it! They told us about their son's solo bike trip from there to Alabama along an underground RR route and how they appreciated all the nice people he met along his journey. Also, they invited us back if we're ever in Yellow Springs again. I'm keeping their info! Never know when you might need a contact.

Another century ride. YS to Rushville
96 miles. Almost a century. The morning went by pretty quickly. Lunch was around mile 40. About half a mile out of lunch I got a flat. My ninth one. nine. and on the good tires. I really don't think I'm doing anything wrong-I just have bad flat luck. I'm thankful that everything else on my bike functions well: derailers, brakes, I've been pretty lucky for having a [kindof] cheap bike. Well Dugan and Oliver waited with me while I fixed it and then the three of us rode together for the rest of the day. I don't usually ride with them because they're a little faster than I usually ride, but I kept up and I felt good going consistently a little faster, especially since it was mostly flat. We met up with Butterfield at the Indiana State line and rode with her until Dugan got a flat. Then we caught up with her at her blackberry thicket nap spot and rode the rest of the way together.
Rushville is bigger than Yellow Springs. The people in the church there were THE BEST. They were so so so helpful and their food was unbelievable. In general they were really great people. They sang us the Indiana State song for us and went to CVS to get some med stuff for the small injuries in the group. They made us the best breakfast we've had yet.

To Bloomington:
Lauren and I rode together for the whole ride. It was a pretty relaxed pace. We stopped for a roadside nap after lunch at mile 60 and for ice cream at mile 82 of 85. We made sweep (Amol and Jorge) stop at ice cream which they weren't all that happy about-sorry, it was necessary.

Build in Bloomington:
Half day build because they couldn't use all of us for the full day. I was on the morning shift. I went to a site to build interior walls and just after I got the hang of it it started pouring rain so Devon, Sarah and I left that site and went to help the group at the Restore. We just moved some stuff around. Things were a little confusing there. Then Sarah, Kyle, Meg and I went to the local Co-op grocery store for donations. It was a little tricky to get a hold of the right person to talk to, but we did and the Bloomington Organic food co-op ended up donation $40 that we decided to put toward cereals, bananas, juice and a few other breakfast items for the group. They were really nice to donate to our cause.

For the rest of the day, it's nice to finally have some down time and be off the saddle so that's what I'm up to for now.

Keystone State

Today is our first day off. Much deserved. I slept till 9. Glorious.

To Mt. Pocono
From Port Jervis we went to Mount Pocono. That ride was pretty tough but not as tough as the ones to come...

To Berwick
If I could remember details I could tell you more...

To State College
Jose told us that this would be the hardest ride of the trip. It was our first 100 mile ride and after two days of riding through Poconos and/or Appalachians I was a little nervous for it. Turns out that was all part of his plan to psych us out and the ride was not so bad. I wouldn't say it was easy--100 miles was LONG but the terrain was certainly manageable. The climb was about 4100 ft or so but it was all gradual and not so steep.
We rode through Amish country and stopped at Penns Cave too!
Around mile 95 we stopped at Skip's friend's place for energy nutty cookies they best iced tea ever and a rope swing into a creek. Was it worth it? YES. This was the best roadside stop ever! It was so refreshing and lots of fun, even if we did only get in to State College at 6:30. Who cares about that 4pm thing anyway...

To Johnstown
So here we go thinking man what was Jose thinking when he told us that stuff? Well turned out this one was actually the toughest. We did over 5500 ft of climbing and the ride was hilly all the time and very steep. Too bad we missed free ice cream along the way. The best part though was the final descent into Johnstown. We had been seeing signs all over for a 14% grade downhill but were having trouble believing them at every steep uphill we hit. Finally we got there and geez it was steep. There was an awesome view of Johnstown that I desperately wanted a photo of but there was no way I could have braked hard enough to stop there. Anyway it was a relief to get there. A bunch of people were in the van by the end of the day and it was good to finish out the ride even though it was hard riding.
The place we were staying was a YWCA mansion. Amazing.

To Pittsburgh
Finally Pittsburgh. On the ride here I got a flat which was not cool because I changed my tires before the State College ride to gator skins to avoid such a situation. I mean I was riding on a glass covered highway. Why on the highway and not the cute little parallel farm road? The world may never know. Well flat count is up to SEVEN now. SEVEN. I think that may be the most on the trip.
Well the morning of the ride was really great! We stopped for a bunch of silly photos in front of aggressive drivers signs and with road kill.
In the afternoon Lauren and I got a late start because of my flat so we ended up getting in at 6:30! Everyone was already eating and showered and we rolled in covered in dirt and sweat. I grabbed an apple and proceeded to eat the whole thing. including the core. what was i thinking?! The trash can was 50 feet away! I was informed later that apple seeds might have cyanide poison in them. Well maybe there will not be a repeat incident. It's ok- I'm well fed. Don't worry. We even got a calorie and hydration speech.

Last night a few of us went up the incline and saw the city from above. It was good especially because a bunch of others were hitting the town, which clearly I'm not allowed to do even if I wanted to. I was too wiped out anyway.