Modesto

On our ride to Modesto we went down a rode that is apparently the 2nd steepest in California- called Old Priest Grade. We didn't know this at the time but for 1.5 miles I squeezed my handle bars so tight that I now need to replace my brake pads. This route had never been taken by a Bike and Build trip before so there weren't notes on the route. Two riders had accidents- Justin, whose tire popped and fell (minor road rash, he was fine) and Stephanie M, who slid on gravel and hit the guardrail, totaling her bike and injuring herself as well. She had pretty bad road rash and leg pain but is a total champ and after a long day in the hospital, was ready for a cup of coffee and a warm shower. She will hopefully be able to ride into Monterey with us but until then she's off of the bike- especially hers as her front fork and seat post snapped and both wheels are bent pretty badly.

The hosts in Modesto were amazing- very willing to help and eager to please. There were always snacks in the form of watermelon and popcorn out and fresh coffee in the pot.

We built with the local Habitat for Humanity, doing a few different projects in a 21 home Habitat community that they are in the process of building. I was on fence duty again because I learned that I am somewhat decent at it. We had to remove the old fence first which turned into a game of 'who could smash the panels out the most dramatically' and then put in the new fence. 

We finished at about 2:30 and got back to the host early to do laundry, family meeting, and work on grant applications. We are given 18 proposals and $50,000 to allocate to the Affordable Housing organizations that are requesting money.  We finished that process in Modesto which was a huge weight off of everyone's shoulders. I know from my experience on the Sport Club Exec Board just how stressful allocating funds can be but this was pretty mild in comparison.