Building in Durango

I must start off with the simple fact that I have fallen in love with Colorado. I've always heard about how active everyone is and personable but never truly understood what that meant until this past weekend.

We built for two days with Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County in a Durango suburb. We worked on many aspects of the house- mainly framing, landscaping and painting. Like on most build sites, we worked closely with Americorps members and got to better understand the affordable housing situation in Durango. 

Our evenings were spent hiking, mountain biking, exploring town and getting our bikes tuned up. I had my chain and brake pads replaced and finally got my front dérailleur (the shifting for the big rings near the pedals) working again. There was always so much to do and so many places to explore that we wished we had a day off in the town to take advantage of everything Durango had to offer.

After our second build day Tucker and I rode out 6 miles in the direction we came from in order to 'finish the ride'. This was definitely a personal thing for both of us because we were so close yet so far. It felt good to get those miles under our belts and to know that we finished them honestly (and with the bonus of a strong headwind).

Into Colorado

The rides finishing out New Mexico were definitely some of the best yet. Gorgeous landscapes filled the Land of Enchantment as we had lots of downhills and tailwinds. We reached more than 8,200 feet a few times and got to max out those descents. I hit my record at 41.9 mph. Noah, a fellow rider, reached 52.5 mph on a downhill into Dolce, NM which is both terrifying and impressive at the same time. Anything faster than 35 could definitely do some damage if anything goes wrong so we choose the hills that we bomb wisely.

Riding into Durango, Colorado, I swept with Tucker- one of our strongest riders. It was supposed to be a 112 mile day but a reroute set the mileage to 120- the most for our trip and some of the highest mileage for any Bike and Build trips. The day was filled with flat tires, bike issues, and massive, mountainous climbs. Because we were in the back all day we had time to do things like the Pint Challenge, which involved eating a pint of ice cream while on your bike with no spoon or other utensils. 

It was a great day until about mile 100, where I bonked (a physical and mental crash) and was running out of water with more than an hour until the host. It was such a weird feeling because even though I felt so miserable and exhausted, I was so determined to finish the ride. The van started picking up riders as we approached dinner time but they gave us the go-ahead to continue riding. We both wanted it so badly. At around mile 114 Tucker got his sixth flat of the day and we had run out of tools to fix it. We waved over a couple in a truck and they were kind enough to take us to the church we were staying at during our time in Durango. I felt defeated but still proud of our day's accomplishments.

After dinner Kalli called me over to meet someone that had come to visit me. I knew that I didn't have any family or friends in the area so I was a little confused but when I walked outside I was greeted by Mary, a childhood friend of my Grandma Linda's. She attended the church we were staying and my grandma had mentioned to her that we'd be riding through her town. Although we had never met, the gesture brought me to tears. It was the perfect end to a long day into Durango.

We spent one night camping at Abiqui Lake, NM. Needless to say I was in the water before I could even take my helmet off.

I miss the homeland quite a bit at this point...

It's a pretty small world after all- Mary and I posed for a photo :)

Tuck and I made it!

Building in Santa Fe

We've had two build days in Santa Fe that have been my two favorite so far. We were building Adobe style homes with Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity. They are in the process of building two more homes in a mixed income neighborhood where they already had around 8 completed homes. The cool thing about Affordable Housing in Santa Fe is that 30% of all neighborhoods need to offer some kind of affordable housing option- even the higher income neighborhoods.

Integrating these communities has many pros and cons but overall I think it creates a better environment for a new homeowner to move into as it is more stable than a neighborhood with only first time homeowners.

The first day I worked with Alex, the assistant construction manager and 2013 Bike and Build alumni as he showed me a lot of the electrical components of a home, including wiring and installing electrical boxes. Today I worked with Jeffery, an Americorp worker on landscape where we moved almost one hundred wheelbarrows full of dirt to the front of the house and started learning how to use blue board to insulate these houses. Most Adobe style homes in Santa Fe don't actually have air conditioning but rely heavily on insulation and use the cold air from the evening to cool the house during the day.

Everyone on site seemed so knowledgeable about the different elements of these houses and were so eager to teach us why they do the certain things that they do. They also are involved with a Youth Build program, which brings 30 teenagers pursuing their GEDs on site for 10 months in order to teach them valuable skills in the construction industry and give them experience as they enter the real world. Working with some of these kids was really powerful because they offer so much promise and potential.

Our evenings in Santa Fe have been filled with karaoke, dancing, and overpriced margaritas. We are having a blast enjoying each other's company and working through our highs and lows together.

Shoutout to my amazing boss Julia who is off to take a huge job at Indiana University

Entering New Mexico

The last three ride days in New Mexico were breathtaking. We've been up and down through canyons, on top of plateaus, and without wifi or phone signal for days.

On our way into Mosquero, NM, we climbed a 1,000 foot plateau that made me miss Florida more than anything. I have to give a huge shoutout to Tucker, a fellow rider that rode up by my side the entire way up. We just kept pedaling at almost 4 mph for about a mile until we reached the village with a population of 93 people. We ended the day at an elevation of near 6,500 feet and I arrived to the host with the surprise of my thermarest and sleeping bag already set up for me (thanks Josh!), ready for a good night's sleep.

The next day we got to experience the reward of our hard climb as we went down into a canyon (and then again right back up). I hit my top speed of 35.4 mph and still got to enjoy the ride with great people.

Before just recently I was having a really hard time accepting that I was a decent hill/mountain/plateau  climber. We participated in rider evaluations last week and I got so much support that I was beyond flattered by it all. I know that I can push myself if I want to or need to but some days it's definitely nice to ride with my fellow Floridians and take them slow.

The combination of dry heat and high elevation has been an interesting transition for me but one that makes me realize we're further west than I'd ever imagine I'd make it. The views have also been breathtaking- looking left we see more plateaus and to the right we see what look like snow topped mountains in the distance. As we arrived in Santa Fe, we topped 7,100 feet in elevation and realizing that I cycled every inch of that feels pretty solid.

Yeah, we climbed that.

Amarillo to Dalhart to New Mexico

The ride to Dalhart, Texas was around 97 miles, and we were greeted with dense fog all morning on our way out of Amarillo. I volunteered to sweep again for Lauren, who was still recovering from a tumble on our ride in. I rode in the back all day with Stephanie Munro, a fellow South Floridian who is super passionate about coffee shops and animals.

We had two long fog delays in the morning, and had only traveled 10 miles by 9:30. Seeing as we were up at 4, we were nervous about making it to the host without the possibility of being vanned at the end of the day. Once we got rolling the ride was gorgeous with long descents, valleys, plateaus, and wind farms mixed into our trip along the historic Route 66. On a side note Sarah and Neil are back on the road after their accident, and we're all so happy to see them back on their bikes.

As a member of laundry crew this week, we went and did laundry after a nice taco  salad provided by the host and a frigid hose shower. Hose showers are the hidden gems of hygiene- both refreshing and liberating.

Today we had a really short 46 mile day with yet another fog delay. We crossed the 2,000 mile marker, entered into New Mexico and Mountain Pacific Time, and passed the halfway point at 2,041.5 miles. I rode with Josh and we talked a lot about what halfway meant. The first half has flown by and although there are so many things we are still looking forward to, we are quickly learning to appreciate every moment more and more. I wish I could put into words how fast everything moves here, I don't even want to nap because it's just lost time. I do promise to get letters out soon though, I have definitely slacked on that note!

Oklahoma and West Texas

Finding wifi to post with has been pretty difficult so I'll try to catch up the best I can. On our ride out of Decatur, Texas two of my close friends Sarah and Neil were in a cycling accident that Josh and myself rode up to just after it had happened. We responded calmly and quickly and I utilized my years of first aid training.

We arrived 70 miles later at a YMCA that evening in Wichita Falls happy to see them safe and already asleep. While they came out of the accident with just stitches and some bad road rash, they realized that their helmets (now shattered) saved their lives. We also had a mail drop that day, and I was greeted by a care package from Mom and Dad and also some of my bosses from Campus Rec. It brought tears to my eyes to realize they're thinking of me during this journey just as I am thinking of them while on the road.

Our rides recently have been ridiculously beautiful- Oklahoma is totally underrated, with beautiful mountains (the riders from outside of Florida call them ant hills but regardless they're gorgeous). We've had some shorter days (58ish) mixed in with some 80 days and yesterday we had a 107 ride into Amarillo, Texas.

I swept for Sarah yesterday so I got to ride with Kalli as we went through west Texas. It was a slower day because we had to remain in the back but still had a blast. As a field hockey player in college, she and I share a lot of the same values when it comes to team activities and leading them. There was another accident yesterday with my two friends Lisa and Lauren, which was apparently not as bad but still required a hospital visit. We had a close encounter with a truck pulling a trailer that fish tailed out of the way and feel like we are given countless reminders of how lucky we are not to have had dealt with anything too serious yet.

Today we have a day off and the majority of the team went to hike a canyon in Amarillo. Josh and I decided to sleep in and catch up on errands and bike maintenance. It's nice to relax but definitely weird to spend more than an hour in a given city during the day. We're going to try and catch Jurassic World this afternoon and have a host dinner tonight with rumors of it turning into a mini pool party.

We met a cross country cycling couple on a tandem bike at lunch from Japan riding in Oklahoma! They're going from LA to NYC

I've been napping a lot and even started an Instagram account entitled @bikeandbuildnaps -go follow it!

Kalli and I attempting to look cool with no sleeves. She couldn't keep a straight face.

Once getting back into Texas, Josh and I climbed a sizable plateau (helmets still on for safety)

Decatur, TX

We We rode in to Decatur with an 88 miler and were definitely sad to leave Dallas. We wanted to get on the road early so we had to be up by 4 with our bags packed and out to the trailer by 4:30 in order to avoid the heat. The ride was tough with lots of rolling hills and temperatures reaching into the high 90s. We had two lunch stops and countless water fill ups along the way. I rode with friends Sarah and Jenna and we arrived to the host with Icees in hand at around 3:30. It was a long day and I feel pretty under the weather both physically and mentally. Headwinds, rolling hills, bad road conditions and now the addition of Texas heat has definitely gotten to me a bit.

We are staying in the cafeteria of the middle school in Decatur- which reminds me a lot of High School Musical. I'm hoping for a good night's sleep because we have 92 miles to go tomorrow with rumors of it hitting over 100 degrees.

Dallas, TX

Let me start off on this note- the last three days in Dallas have changed my life. The ride in was a blast, we stayed back with the sweeps and did things like the Ice Cream Pint Challenge (eat a pint with no utensils while riding) and got a free watermelon along the way which I rode with for about four miles on a terribly rough road. We got lost multiple times and our group had about 7 flats but we still managed to turn it into a great day. 

Our hosts, Sally and Peter, were the most generous people we have met thus far and probably in my young adult life. We were greeted with coolers on coolers of beer, protein shakes and other goodies. There were baskets of candy and mountains of fruit along with hot meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Both Sally and Peter work for Habitat for Humanity Garland and Peter led us at the worksite as we framed a house- a very powerful and influential task that utilized our strong team dynamic.

These folks were so welcoming of us into their home that they encouraged us to drive their cars into town and to the build site (it felt amazing to drive again, and an 1987 F250 Diesel at that!) and even gave us the enormous amounts of left over food to take for the rest of the trip. I really can't put into words how much they've impacted us, and the best part is that their whole family will be meeting us in California when we hit the Pacific!!

On a more serious note, Andrew, a fellow rider from Florida decided that his journey with Bike and Build had come to an end. His desire to pursue a comedy opportunity has set our SUS family to 29 and although we will all miss him tremendously, we wish him the best in this endeavor.

Dinner- night #1

Sally arranged a sunset sail for all 30 of us after our first build day

The home was just foundation when we arrived, and all of the walls had been framed after just two days

Elm Grove, LA, Carthiage, and Athens Texas

This past week we have had mind blowing experiences at each of our host sites. We rode into Elm Grove, Louisiana to stay at an alum's lake house. The home was just off the Red River and the flooding in Texas has flooded their 300 acre property into a mini island. We were greeted with smoothies and fresh fruit after our easy 53 mile ride and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the lake and kayaking. The next morning we were forced to walk our bins and coolers across the flooded area because the water had gotten so deep. We parked the van and trailer on the other side of the water in anticipation of this blockage.

We then rode into Texas and spent the night in Carthiage- at another alum's parents house. Our first night in Texas we were spoiled with brisket, mac and cheese, and peach cobbler. The ride itself was rocky because shoulders in Texas are terrible- but more on that later.

We then rode to Athens, Texas, and along the way we stopped at Alice's house (one of our leaders) for even more bbq. I must admit that I was having a rocky day due partially to a cactus that I leaned on first thing in the morning. We also had taken a wrong turn that led us three miles in the wrong direction. Once we arrived at the church we were given amazing pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and then were sent off to different church member's homes for the night. We stayed the night in a barn loft- with huge beds and horses right downstairs.

Natchitoches

Today's ride was only around 53 miles into a town that we can't pronounce to save our lives. What we do know is that it was the first settlement after the Louisiana Purchase. Because it was such a short ride, we were in no rush to leave Alexandria. My chore group this week is trailer crew so we had to be up even earlier than our normal 4:45 wake up in order to properly pack the trailer.

I rode with four other girls- Margaret, Jenna, Chelsea, and Melissa. We took it slow and had some really interesting conversations throughout the morning. It was one of those days where we turned left out of our morning host, got on one rode for 53 miles, and then turned into our evening host. Along the way we stopped a house with a "free puppies" sign. We must've stayed for close to an hour debating on whether or not the 30 of us could care for one of these black labs. We spent the afternoon checking out a local fort and a quality ice cream spot. Our host for tonight is another Wesley Foundation like the one we stayed at near FSU, but this time near Northwestern State University.

Opelousas and Alexandria

Headed to Opelousas (don't try too hard to say it, none of us could either) we had a day full of flat tires and bad shoulders. We got a police escort over the Mississippi River- mostly for safety reasons but also because what we're doing is awesome. My group, Noah, Tucker, and Rowan, had a total of 5 flats in the last 35 miles after lunch. This made it hard to get into a rhythm but we try to make fixing flats a group effort/dance party.

We stayed in a high school football locker room and got to enjoy the field space to play soccer and frisbee afterwards. On our way to the host we DM'ed a Raising Canes, an amazing chicken spot- better than Chic-Fil-A. A friend Josh and I also checked out a local baseball game, which we couldn't pass up. 

Our ride to Alexandria was drop dead gorgeous, I was in a slower ride group today averaging about 13 mph but didn't even mind because we were surrounded by corn fields and empty roads. We had 73 miles to travel today and rolled into the host treated with sugary snacks and foosball- every rider's dream.

Two easy 53 mile days ahead, looking forward to finding a pool and getting some laps in- not sure if I remember how to swim!

Baton Rouge!

We had our first official huge day en route to Baton Rouge. For 116 miles I paired up with friends Sarah, Jenna, and Lisa, the crew also widely known as the Dream Team. The route was primarily along leeves and roads that paralleled the Mississippi River. We cranked out this ride so impressively we were on cloud 9 by 115. Coincidentally we were also under a bridge at mile 115 fixing our only flat of the day (not even my bike!) while avoiding lightening too close for comfort. With only .25 miles to ride we embraced the torrential downpour and finished by around 6:00pm- 11 hours on the road but averaged 17 mph while riding.

The next day was a build day where we partnered with Rebuilding Together Baton Rouge. The organization focuses on fixing already owned homes for elderly people below the poverty line. All 30 of us repainted the exterior of a home in about 4 hours which was incredible. It's always to inspiring to see how much can be accomplished with the assistance of others.

The rest of the day was spent hammocking, reading, and watching the sunset across the Mississippi River with good friends and good food. By this point we have all come to the realization that this summer is more than just biking and raising awareness for Affordable Housing- we've learned that we're living a lifestyle in which a Tuesday can be just as good as a Friday or Saturday and that makes us embrace each day even more.

New Orleans

Sorry that I have lagged behind a bit on the blog, this last week has been a lot to take in. Riding into New Orleans we had an 80 mile trip in which I was sweeping with Kalli, one of our trip leaders. We had a great first half, but rain hit around lunchtime and the afternoon went downhill. The two of us got caught in a pretty bad lightening storm around mile 55 and I had my second fall of the trip because of the wet roads. We then had to detour and go over a long grated bridge which I proceeded to practically hydroplane on due to the weather conditions. As we walked the rest of the bridge with no shoulder, sidewalk, or bike lane, there was a car accident behind us and were then cut off twice riding down the decline both of which were pretty close calls. 

Very shaken up, we arrived at Camp Hope, a volunteer base with real, actual BEDS!! While it was by far the scariest two hours of my life, I couldn't have imagined doing it with anyone but Kalli. She is such a motivational person and sweeping together definitely brought us closer as riders and friends.

We built with the St Bernard Project for three days and had our first day off in NOLA. With SBP we split up to work on two houses, both focusing on muddling, taping, and floating drywall. We also spent a lot of time in the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street, and in local parks listening to jazz and slack lining. It was the perfect amount of time off of our bikes and in an area with so much history and culture to enjoy.