cactus legs and 12% climbs

My back almost went out on me this afternoon. Today was the hardest mental and physical challenge I have ever put my body and mind through. I am badass, but could never have made it without the encouragement of my teammates.

Today we crossed into Vermont, and simultaneously into serious hill country. Our last climb was an 8-mile gradual climb with a 2 mile super steep incline in the middle. It was absolutely brutal. Of course, knowing we had the hardest climb of the trip coming up, Ton, Denis and I decided to take the 2-mile uphill detour to see the Joseph Smith monument (which is essentially one big shaft...literally, and it's not even that big). Anyway...we kicked ass and took names all the way up the hill, and eventually reached the top. The downhill was indescribable. Seriously, no words. But it was amazing. I had my first fall in town trying to turn around (it was a soft fall, and very funny) and my bro was there to document it.

We stayed at a huge house that used to be a hostel in Rochester, VT with Ginny Bowman and her family. She and her son biked across the country a few years back, and their family is super interesting. Showers were in the river, which was literally the coldest water I have ever felt in my life. My girl parts went from cold to numb to burning it was that cold. Lots of screaming and overdramatics in the river.

While walking back to the hostel, through town half-naked, we were lamenting how hard it is to explain this experience to people who are outside of it. It is so hard to convey to the outside world how amazing it is, and we're only 8 days in. I can only imagine the impact it will have on each of us when it's all over (not that we're thinking about that now).

VERMONT STATE LINE

boys and the shaft

i have always loved peanut butter, and this is the master pb sandwich

nolan's lap dance/feeding me coffee/me resisting since i don't want to choke

alt angle

me and d at the top...couldn't have made it without him and Abbs

my Bethel Mountain posse

river showers

cactus legs are what nolan has named unshaven legs

me and sarah and our cactus legs

Pancakes and Angels

Kyle woke up from a nap dream today giggling hysterically. Denis and I were confused, but were in fits of laughter because it was funny even though we didn't know what was funny. When he calmed down he explained that he dreamt that I was shooting our Lebanon host with B&B t-shirts out of a t-shirt gun. This is hilarious.

To say today was a roller coaster would be an understatement. Our host is really something, and my patience has worn sort of thin. We had a great team meeting this morning though, and the builds turned out to be successful. Earlier, Steve asked if he could teach us a call and response song tonight. Thinking this would be hilarious and entertaining, I obliged. So after the B&B presentation (which the riders rocked) we headed to the ladies parlor to get our song on. He led us in a song about angels.

I was really proud that we were all able to keep it together and be somewhat serious. What happened next was beyond my wildest dreams. It turned into the biggest singalong love fest ever and continued on for 3 hours. I now love this host, and we made them so happy (and they us). Words cannot describe these moments or the way our team has bonded tonight. Another life moment I won't be able to put into words.

the ever-patient breakfast/pancake crew - kira and chris

badass american zebras on a bun

denis at our team meeting. mustaches for miles.

The Situation does the B&B presentation right

beginning of the singalong...not sure what to expect

Steve and Nolan searching for the next song

singing at the top of our lungs

choir?

getting down by the end of it

Do you wanna know how I found out that poop floats?

That is the question one of my riders asked me today as we were getting out of the lake. I love this job. I love how hard we laughed after she told me the story, and how we all lounged on the grass afterward and I said out loud, "I feel sorry for people who don't do Bike & Build". Because I do.

I can never go back to working in a cubicle.

Today was an amazing ride. After driving the van yesterday, I was ready to get moving with Nina again. It was a rough start because Nina has been sick. Her gears are not working, and I was afraid that every time I was going uphill she would fail me (don't tell her I said that). So unfortunately, some of the riders had to listen to me cussing a bit before Kyle saved the day and got her working again. Then once we hit major hills again, I lost her again. The good thing is that I took her to the bike shop yesterday, and she is well again.

The day started off with the delivery of the Sweep sashes to Mark and Sarah, which they are to add flare to over the trip's duration. We had quite a breeze/wind today, so flying downhill felt even better than the day before. Again, the weather was perfect. I forgot to mention that last night was hair night. Angela P may have just won herself the resident hairstylist for the trip. Liz and Stephanie shaved their heads. Liz sent her dad a photo of it, and he sent one back showing that he, too shaved his head. I got goose bumps. That's pretty f-ing cool.

The rest of the ride was filled with laughter, ice cream, and an amazing lake view. This is the life. But according to Mark, watch out for those free-wheeling wheel chairs on the road;)

On another note, I want to say how overwhelmed I am with love and respect for our riders. They are an awesome group, and every day I am impressed at how the group is coming together. They are each so unique, and bring something different to this posse. I am also so impressed with their interest in and dedication to the cause. It's a pretty amazing thing this Bike & Build. I feel soooooo incredibly lucky to be a part of something so meaningful and potentially life-changing. I am so excited to see how each of them will grow throughout the next 9 weeks as we make our way west.

Also - I love their dance moves.

face job

Stephanie getting buzzed and Liz getting prepped

charlie on the left

sweep it up sweep

man with a van

nolan doing a street dance

bikes by the lake

putting our "stuff" in the sun

ice cream treats

dm/flare

everyone at the bar doing the gramelly

the ha ha... mad love

don't put it out with your boots, ted

It would happen that I haven't had a bowel movement in 2.5 days that as soon as I get to the lunch stop in the woods in the middle of nowhere, I have an unbelievable need to go RIGHT NOW!!! So yes, I just walked deep into the woods with some tissue, dug a hole, squatted down, and got to business, all in time for the riders to come and eat their lunch. Aaaah back to the basics of nature.

I'm just thankful my systems are back to normal.

Broken Trojan

No, it's not what you think. This is not a blog post about broken condoms. Rather, it's about a broken horse for real.

Today was the first ride day of the trip. After a few flats, we dipped our wheels in Portsmouth (we had to do this 2 times, because the first time we did it without Michael on accident. We must learn to do head counts), then headed out on a somewhat hilly adventure. It was supposed to rain all day, but except for a rainy start this morning, the weather was sunny and perfect.

After the most amazing downhill ride of my short biking career (where I got up to 44.9mph), we stopped for lunch. Brendan drove the van today so we could all ride with the team.

We stopped later down the road when we saw a large Trojan horse to take some photos. It turned into about a 45 minute ordeal. First, Angela K fell off her bike and got some gnarly deep cuts. Jamey came out of the store we stopped in front of with some donation magic (organic apple juice and cookies), we were so proud of him! The store owner Billy equipped us with bandages, Peroxide, and paper towels, and we cleaned up Ang's leg. I felt proud of my first aid skills.

Then, we decided to take a group photo in front of the horse. I of course had to try to be funny, and climbed up so my head was inside the horse looking out. I was leaning on the oldest wood in the world, thinking, hmmmmm what if this breaks. And with a crack, it certainly did. The best part is we got it on film sort of. Do as I say, not as I do.

The church in Concord is amazing. This is the first year they are hosting us, and it's fabulous! They had the best spread of food when we got here, and we had two really great speakers. Brendan, Kyle, Angela and I danced around town to a little game I like to call Whistle Dance.

We ended trading riders in our leader meeting, eating gummy worms with smiley faces, which is somewhat disturbing.

It was a great first ride day. We finished with 3 flats, one minor fall, and 3 riders riding an extra 20 miles in the wrong direction. But all our babies (seriously feels like we're their worried parents when they're out there) made it here safely, and we're all ready for day #2.

kraft-tastic

cheryl - our AMAZING habitat contact

leader-time

wheel dippin' on the east coast

action shot

trojan horse before the drama...i realized i don't have the actual breakage pic

badass angela

jamey and donation magic

jump photos

new game where brendan blows the whistle and you dance around and make strangers feel uncomfortable

Let there be biking and building...oh, and today is Tuesday

Yesterday we had our first ride, the shakedown ride. A short 6-mile warm-up to get everyone pumped, on the bike, and ready for group togetherness on the road. It went well, was a blast, and everyone is super pumped to begin!!

everyone getting ready for shakedown

the whole crew

Last night we went to an amazing host's house for dinner, extreme ping pong and presentations. When we arrived, they handed all the girls pink mustaches so we could be in stasche cahoots with Denis. It was hilarious. I kept mine on all night even through the presentation. Skip did his presentation, and the riders loved it.

creepsters

all the ladies

the boyz

Today was our first build with Habitat, and it was super cool.

work it out

yes - nail in the nose. paul keeps us entertained

Afterwards, some Habitat homeowners came to the church to cook for us. We got to witness this moment, which made me cry, and was a great way to remind us all how much of an impact what we're doing can make on the lives of others. It was amazing...here is the video.

What they forget to remind you when you are a leader is how exhausting it is. It's wonderful, don't get me wrong. I can't tell you how many times i said this week that I can't believe this is my job right now! And I was joyous when I read my friends' facebook status messages complaining about it being Monday (at which point i looked at my co-leaders and said "hey guys, it's monday, did you know that?"). But I am tired. (and so is Denis as you can see from the pic below)

I love our riders. This is going to be a summer of epic proportions. So much laughing and dance parties and peanut butter and chamois butter and love. Tomorrow we leave!!!!!! I can't believe it's almost time!!!!!!! I am so anxious to get up and moving on the road. WE have been at this host for days, and our stuff is everywhere. Feels like a lot to do to get everyone safely moving tomorrow. I feel like I'm about to send my 28 children out on the road.

donation magic

So there is this little thing on Bike & Build called donation magic. You may be curious as to what donation magic is, so I will tell you.

Donation magic is a bit of a competition (friendly of course) to see who can get awesome donations, be it food, drink, tent, tire, etc. As leaders, we've been reaching out for donations, and as we get on the road, the riders will do the same. Yesterday was a day in donation magic history (interesting being that it was also only the first official day of our trip). We got over $600 in breads donated from Panera to our trip. We are literally swimming in it, and will be able to make mad PB&Js with it.

Orientation has been magical so far. Our group is amazing, and we're really really excited to bring it on across the country.