Day ??? - I LOVE Kansas!

So after a long radio silence, I'm back!  Actually I've never left, I've just been busy, tired, or unmotivated to blog (sorry guys) when faced with the opportunity to bask in the awesomeness that is Bike and Build CUS 2010.  Yesterday I was sweep with my lovely co-rider Sarah Graham on an 80-mile day from Beloit to Phillipsburg, Kansas which proved to be a beautifully scenic and fair weathered day.  To break up the monotony (or just to get us to stop being so giddy at how pretty everything was), we stopped at every mile for a themed photo.  To sum up our day and see a little bit of the landscape, here they are in order:

Mile 10 - Tight at Ten (our morning stretching ritual)

Mile 20 - Tourists at Twenty (we stopped to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City).  It's really big...and we got to add to it!

Mile 30 - Thristy at Thirty (and we managed to capture this with a bike tripod and self-timer)

Mile 40 - Frolicking at Forty (We eventually caught up to another rider who was kind enough to take photos for us for the rest of the day.  I felt like I was in the Sound of Music running through wide open fields)

Mile 50 - Fighting at Fifty (I clearly have the upper hand and had to show Sarah who's boss...don't worry, no sweeps were harmed in the taking of these photos!)

Mile 60 - Sexy at Sixty (so after fighting naturally had to make up--Sarah takes charge)

Mile 70 - Sprinting at Seventy (10 miles to go! We're almost there!)

Mile 80 - Eating at Eighty (We made it! And now we get a mid-afternoon snack, again part of our daily ritual of burning more calories than we stuff in our faces, but we make a solid effort at finding all the delicious spots.  The Chubby Pickle was recommended as the roadside place to go in lovely Phillipsburg, pop. ~2000.)

After all of that we had another fantastic dinner, meaning that after just over a month we've still only cooked dinner for ourselves 3 times.  My chore group was back to dinner and presentations so we're getting more practice on talking up Bike & Build, which at this point comes naturally and we all love to do it.  On Thursday nights we have our group "Town Hall" meeting where we all gather together and give Highs/Lows for the week.  Often we'll include something we're looking forward to, but this week a leader changed it up to Confessions and let's just say we were all thoroughly entertained with several no-holds barred offerings.  After Highs/Lows come Warm Fuzzies, where people write little shout-outs to other individuals about whatever--being cool, goofy, doing something nice, admiring a budding bromance, you name it.  These group meetings are great for the collective spirit because we always end up laughing to the point that we're on the floor crying and it just reaffirms our collective bonds. 

One thing I'm looking forward to (and I know I'm not the only one) is getting into Colorado.  We're nearing the end of our week plus in Kansas, and while its been great--it's truly the quintessential American landscape--the mountains are drawing us towards them.  The excitement grows with each day as people excitement wins out over anxiety of climbing.  LIVELOVERIDE!

Day 25 - St. Louis Build Day!

Today was our fourth build day, but it was the first time we've worked with Rebuilding Together, the other organization Bike & Build frequently partners with for build days.

Unlike Habitat for Humanity that primarily builds from the ground up or rehabs homes for new owners, Rebuilding Together helps out existing homeowners fix up their homes so they have a safe, secure place to live if they can't afford or otherwise perform the repairs themselves.  Our M.O. on Bike & Build is that we'll do just about anything under the sun these organizations need us to do, and today we did just that.  As a group we were working on three homes on one block doing anything from spackling cracked ceilings to putting down new flooring to fixing fence posts.  I was one of the last people to arrive on site so I ended up going to Home Depot with another rider and the crew leader from RT, which was an awesome chance to learn all about St. Louis and how Rebuilding Together operates. 

By the time we got back from our errands, it was lunch time and so while I wasn't super hungry, just about everyone else was.  The heat and humidity in St. Louis were absolutely oppressive, and while most days on the bike I don't go through my whole 100oz CamelBak of water, it was gone by about 2pm today.  We congregated in the shade, taking refuge in any escape from the sun we could find.  Needless to say, we were worn out:

After an afternoon of hard work, we managed to cover up the underside of one home's awning that had rotted away, leaving the joists more exposed to the elements and more likely to crumble later. 

I wish I had more photos from the rest of the day, but sadly my camera isn't waterproof and thus I can't show you in photos just how wonderful the UMSL pool was after a day in sweltering heat.  I think everyone knows the feeling, and I'm getting chills just thinking back about it.  Showers and food came next, then more food, then a little ping pong, more food, then badminton!  Since we were staying at the gym they had all kinds of things for us to do and I think I speak for all of us who played when I say it was a blast to totally goof around and smash the little birdies back and forth at one another.

Back on the road tomorrow--we're biking all the way to Washington! Washington, Missouri that is....all along the Katy Trail, an old rail line converted into a 225-mile gravel bike path.

Day 24 - St. Louis! Gateway to the West!

Our day into St. Louis was punctuated with lots of excitement and uncertainty.  While it wasn't a really long day in terms of mileage, by the time we arrived at UMiss-St. Louis it felt like an eternity.  Along the way we saw lots....and lots....and a whole lot more corn, with the occasional lone tree like this that I've quickly become obsessed with photographing:

After biking almost all the way there, we finally came to the point where we had to cross the Mississippi River (ahhh!!!) and the directions from our well-intentioned leaders became really fuzzy really fast.  We stopped at a Lewis & Clark visitors center to escape the highway death trap that is Rt. 3, where we learned of a great bike path along the river.  With about 3 miles to go, we decided we could use the break and hopped on the path we were told would lead us directly to the bridge we wanted.

As you may or may not be able to see from the photo, the bike path was not a happy place.  Think less bike path and more loose rock service road.  Definitely NOT road bike friendly.  This may have been the longest 3 miles of our day....We had no idea where we were going, no faith in our tires (but luckily no flats!), and lots of pain to sore rears that don't need any more torture than we already give them.

Eventually we found the old Chain of Rocks Bridge which would deliver us from unpleasant Illinois to a somewhat welcoming Missouri.  Had our leader Derrick not been waiting for us at the start of the bridge, I think we would've turned around and continued to be hopelessly lost.  What we discovered is that the bridge is actually part of the historic Rt. 66 and we got a few good photos in the middle.

Once into St. Louis we biked through the north part of the city to UMSL where we stayed and a few of us stopped at a rundown roadside barbecue joint for a local treat: pork steaks.  Despite the appearance of the place, the delicious food not only lifted our energy but also our spirits after a day of highs and lows.

Now onto some highlights of the evening: THE ARCH!

We were so kindly bussed downtown by one rider's parents and we got to hang out and walk around for a few hours while the sun was setting.  In photos it looks big, but for those who haven't been--it's WAAAY bigger in person, and all the more impressive because of it.  A cool fact: it's as wide at its base as it is tall--630 feet.  Another cool fact: it's elevator is egg-shaped so it can go up the arch.  I didn't get to go inside, but that'll definitely we a priority on my next visit.  Lying on the grass underneath we could see camera flashes going off from the observation deck at the top.    Later that night we went out to an area near WashU in St. Louis called 'The Loop' which has fun shops and bars to kick back and have some good off-the-bike fun.

The first thing off the Metro was this cool sculpture, so I couldn't resist taking photos of it:

Eventually us 21+ year olds found a half decent bar, got ourselves a couple rounds and ordered our umpteenth dinner of the day because yes, we were still hungry...  Rebuilding Together tomorrow!

So much Bike & Build love...

Day 20 - Bloomington, IN (College towns are cool)

Another short ride (and limited battery life) merit another short photo tour of possibly our shortest ride to date.  That said, the ride from Columbus to Bloomington, IN was certainly not the least entertaining.  About 2/3 of the way rolled into Nashville, IN which is a super cool little artists community with small shops and restaurants.

A few of us stopped for a rare treat--a morning coffee!--at the Muddy Boots Cafe as per the suggestion of another rider, Will Paradis, who had been previously. We were not disappointed.  Our stop also featured some bicycle repair excitement as we had to change a tube AND tire after a spontaneous explosion.  The underlying cause was later discovered to be the tube, but at the time we just changed it out and got on our way.

To hide her black eye, Christina decided to go for the McDonald's ghost look.  As she rolled up with the spare tire we all burst out laughing, but the couldn't help but feel bad since she's now constantly being asked about how she got them (a spill she's quickly recovered from).

The little town of Bloomington is home to Indiana University.  As a result, it's also home to lots of great little restaurants, more coffee shops (wahoo!) and legitimate bike shops.  Laughing Planet is a vegetarian/vegan burrito place that made one vegan rider, Emily Frost, extremely happy.  The coffee shop below, Soma, made my day.  Not only was I able to get good coffee, but also some really great postcards.  Keep and eye on your mailboxes or send me your address if you can't wait!

As a midday snack we got Tibetan food before exploring the area around IU, but I unfortunately missed out on touring the campus proper.  Since our lives revolve around our bikes and food that fuels us, I have to say that dinner was a special one.  The parents of a former rider with no affiliation to our trip made us barbecue in a public park about a mile from the church we were staying at.  It was a great chance to walk through the residential area of the town and I even spotted some cool street art.

While must of the day was really great, I want to end with one highlight that really made me smile:

That's right--a candy pink Mini Cooper.  Tomorrow we ride along Rt. 46 into Terre Haute, IN when we'll hit 1000 miles!

Days 19 - Columbus, INDIANA!

We've crossed into our fourth (official) state--Indiana!  Shortly after leaving Cincinnati we were greeted with intense rains, soaking us so thoroughly that no rain jacket or outerwear could have provided any protection.  Water was coming at us from all directions, and even when we thought it had stopped, we were still soaked by cars passing us flying over puddles.  Not surprisingly, I have no photos from the rainstorm.

That said, it eventually cleared up and the rest of our 90 mile day into Columbus, IN was fairly pleasant.  There was more of the same rolling agricultural countryside, although we've now started passing dairy farms that have, well, a very distinct smell to them.  Fortunately we didn't pass to many so I was still able to breathe, but I also now know the smell of roadkill all too well....and I have 3000 miles left to bike.  Woo hoo!  Now for the exciting photos of the day!

There were some pretty awesome chain grease tattoos (that's been the best one so far).

We passed through lovely Greensburg, IN where they have a tree growing out of a bell/clock tower (don't ask why...):

Then after lunch we passed this huge abandoned barn on the side of the road with it's roof totally caved and we decided to explore.  We discovered that it still had electricity (we were able to turn a whopping one light bulb on), really cool timber framing (I'm a huge nerd for that kind of stuff), and some really old but cool looking farm equipment.  I'm not sure where we were, but of the many MANY barns we passed, this was definitely one of the coolest simply by virtue of the extent of decay.

And about that whole facial hair thing....I lied!

Day 18 - Cincinatti Build Day

Sooooo I've been totally slacking this past week on this whole blog/journal thing.  Not to make excuses or anything (I'm totally making excuses), but finding wireless internet can be tough in small town America.  Anyways, instead of trying to recount all of the events from the past week and show you in photos, I'll start at the present and backdate a few posts if I have time.

Today we had our third build day with Habitat for Humanity in northern Cincinatti, OH.  We crossed into Ohio a few days ago and got here midday yesterday.  We all slept in the sanctuary here because it's the only air-conditioned space in the church, but as a result the space has stayed calm and quiet as people messed around outside and downstairs where we stashed all of our bikes.

Sign-in this morning was the usual mad dash to find a spot to write, but we got down to work once we'd all filled out the requisite paperwork.  Our site today had three houses in a row, all at about the same level of completion.  Two houses needed the roof trusses to be put up and the third already has it's trusses up and needed the plywood sheathing.

I worked on one of the houses that needed all of the trusses.  The first end truss took us almost all morning, then after lunch we were able to get about six or seven into place (about half the roof).  The reason(s) the first truss took so long was that we had to nail plywood, rigid insulation, the vapor barrier (the Tyvek housewrap stuff) and the eaves onto it.  All of these steps took at least 45 minutes to an hour because we had to make sure to the n-th degree that things were perfectly aligned, trimmed, squared off, etc. at the request of our project leader. 

I believe in tight tolerances, don't get me wrong, but in all the other construction I've done or heard of, there's always a little fudge room.  Not today however.  Dick, the leader for our house, about had a conniption fit over the eaves beam being about 1/16th of an inch off from the top of the truss, had us pull out about 10 3" nails, clamp it, and reaffix it.  Imagine this process, which mind you took about 15 aggravating minutes, then repeat all afternoon.  I appreciate the attention to detail, but at a certain point it got to be a bit much, even for me.  But enough ranting...

All in all it was an incredibly enjoyable day.  After 8 straight days of riding, including some really tough days at the start of that stretch,  it was great to swing a hammer once again.  In biking we so seldom use our arms and hands other than to keep ourselves going in a straight line.  Today, however,
they were put to good use hoisting the trusses you see above up two stories then across the length of the house to put them into place.  The only white knuckles today were from gripping the ropes to make sure these huge things didn't crush anyone on the ground or tip over and land on someone moving about on the scaffolding.

Our day was cut short by a quick storm, but being up on scaffolding where there's thunder and lightning really isn't the greatest idea.  We were promptly called down at the sound of the first roar, despite the persistence of the HfH workers.  Our build days usually start wrapping up about 3pm, and since today the storm rolled in at 2:30, there were fine with letting us go.  Having not walked around on scaffolding much before, and with my ankle STILL hurting, I definitely had to dance my way around today.  That said, part of the thrill was feeling like a monkey moving around and watching three roofs take shape within only a matter of hours. 

I enjoyed another relaxing afternoon and evening at the church, and I'm already looking forward to our next build day.  Until then, RIDE YOUR BIKES!

Day 16 - Portsmouth to Georgetown, OH

Photos from the day (more details to come later because I'm off to bed!):

Bike & Build shirts from the very first year (Georgetown UMC has hosted CUS riders every year!)

Kentucky!  It was right across the bridge so we had to go "get" an extra state!  Detours never hurt!

Pretty country roads that ended up being super slick with tight turns--this led to a few spills but everyone's OK! More on this later...

Day 15 - Huntington, WV to Portsmouth, OH

Our third state!  O-H-I-O!  And it's at the start of the day, right on the bridge out of Huntington! Boy did the scenery change quickly...

We snapped that shot in the few free seconds between cars rushing by on the bridge, our bikes parked just out of sight on the shoulder of the road.  Good photographs aren't easy to come by, and we definitely made the most of the opportunity to plan and execute.  Shortly after the bridge we turned onto little two-lane country roads that are more typical of our routes from departure to destination.

The countryside immediately change, a perceptible difference from even just a day before in West Virginia.  The land was once again back to more rolling farmland like we had seen in Virginia--a welcome change from the busy and fairly ugly stretch of highway into Huntington (which turned out to be quite nice!).  Having biked through fairly lush green areas, be they hills or fields, I find it depressing when the scenery turns commercial and neglected.  That said, a day later I appreciated even more what most would find mundane scenery simply for the fact that it was back to being green.  Along the way we even encountered some friendly horses:

The church we stayed out was just a block or so off the road we took almost the entire day.  Since there wasn't much to do nearby we just hung out at the church.  Some people picked up some new clothes at the rummage sale they were having in the church.  After dinner we had our second installment of our Affordable Housing curriculum where I learned all about how Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together function (ask me! it's interesting!) and some of the issues that lead to individuals' need for affordable housing (there are lots...I'm full of good info).  As a result of the lack of entertainment and the need for something to do, a couple guys buzzed their heads (I was not among them) and made changes to their facial hair, removing themselves from the June Beard-Off (this I was a part of).  With that, I leave you with a taste of one of the finer groomings:

Joe says: RIDE YOUR BIKES!