Oh hey, so Theo Cho, another rider on the trip, has been keeping an amazing blog. Basically a play-by-play. So you should check it out on the site. http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3175
Seriously. Check it out. :)
<3
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Duluth, MN
So I haven’t written since Portsmouth. I know. Obviously I’m not a natural at this game…
We arrived in Duluth, MN yesterday after an easy ride of 59 miles (48 miles of which were on a bike path from Askov, MN north of Sandstone). Pretty much flat, beautiful scenery, sunshine and 70s. Perfect.
There are signs for Bob Dylan everywhere. Apparently he lived here for like two years, but escaped as soon as he could, but Duluth has claimed that it was a place of significance to him… Lake Superior looks like an ocean. After experiencing the mountains of southwest Wisconsin, I have learned that I cannot trust everything I learned in 5th grade geography and won’t believe Lake Superior is fresh water until I touch it and smell it first hand. Despite all the evidence I remain skeptical…
Today was my favorite build site thus far... About 20 minutes south of Duluth all 30 of us worked on a build site. About half were putting up the tresses and roofing and the other half were digging a trench around the foundation 18 inches deep and 4 feet wide, laid down Styrofoam and plywood and then covered it back up. I spent half the day with a bad-ass pick thing the size of a sledge hammer going to town on hard-as-concrete packed dirt and stones. We swear this house is being built on an old riverbed. I pulled some rocks out the size of my head. I’ve not felt so satisfied in ages. Totally beats an office job.
Tomorrow we’re off to Grand Rapids, MN then to North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Canada. I cannot believe we’re about halfway done with the ride. I’m hoping to continue biking down the coast after we end in Vancouver…life on a bicycle is treating me well minus the achy knees and tight muscles.
Folks have been requesting more details, so I've written up a few tidbits here... I'll work on beefing these up. So much has been happening, but it's just been difficult to sit down and write it out... Everything's happening so fast. Eek.
I think I can safely say that so far, Rochester, VT is my favorite place we’ve been to. A beautiful tiny town in the Green Mountains with a picturesque stream with a perfect depth for wading and swimming… We spent an hour walking upstream and then getting on our backs and floating down with the current just watching the trees go by and the sun slowly going down. One of my absolutely favorite evenings.
In Ashtabeulla, OH we had an afternoon free after painting a community organization’s building, so I and a few others went to the main street and explored the little shops. We stopped at a music store and proceeded to play just about every instrument they had available – keyboards, mandolins, guitars, a bass, tambourines, harmonicas… I almost bought a guitar, but decided against it… An old couple came and took down some notes about our trip and had us pose for some pictures as if we were a band. They were planning to try to get us into the local paper – help us spread the word about Bike and Build and the cause. They got a kick out of how giddy we were to play some music. We all miss our instruments back home like crazy. I-pods are great, but it’s just not the same as strumming for yourself.
One of the scariest moments so far has been Highway 6 in Ohio heading into Bowling Green (I think). A narrow shoulder, some of the crappiest road we’ve been on with potholes and tar bumps all over the place, exploded tires lying in the road and semis passing a foot to our left…I almost got off right there to walk my bike the rest of the way to the host, but instead nearly collapsed in a giggle attack (nerves, dehydration, sleepiness) which clearly put me in more danger, but also made it less terrifying. I survived, and now have a new and deeper appreciation for the importance of wide shoulders and smooth roads.
Much love to all of you.
Julia
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Lockport, NY
Greetings from Lockport, NY!
So sorry for the silence the past couple weeks. It's been a long, fast and damp several days. We started with a two day orientation in Portsmouth, NH on the 19th. After a confusing ride around Portsmouth in the rain we made it to the shore where we lined up and dipped our tires in the Atlantic. Then we took off. The days are now a blur. From the shore we dove straight into the White Mountains, through NH and VT and into the Adirondacks... Some highlights: Surviving some of those massive steep climbs and crazy, curvy descents in Vermont... Swimming in a creek in Rochester, VT. We walked as far upstream as we could against the current and then floated down on our backs watching the sky pass slowly. A nice change of pace from gripping handlebars constant peddling. Crossing through the meadows and countryside of VT was the most peaceful my mind has been in ages... I could live there and be happy, I think.
We took the ferry into NY state eager to be out of the mountains only to find that upstate NY is the most ridiculously hilly place ever. Oh. My. God. So exhausting. But equally rewarding. It's so frustrating climbing up, but when you reach the to and coast down it's just bliss. I love cycling.
When I signed up for this trip I was pumped to have some quality think time - hours and hours to process the past few years in DC, sort through all my thoughts that had been building up and keeping me awake at night this spring, figure out my plan for the next year and the next 5 years etc... But I've discovered that pretty much all I can make time to think about is food, sleep, stretching and taking in the scenery. So basically all I've done is attend to my physical needs and breathe for the past several days...and now whenever I sit down to journal instead of pages of tumultuous confusion/frustration/hefty questions, all I can muster is a few points on what happened that day (extra layer on my pb&honey sandwich, amazing brownies for dessert provided by our lovely hosts, a particularly unique specimen of roadkill...)... I've not been so not-in-conflict in a really long time. I credit the views and the endorphins. Highly recommend a trip like this to anyone in need of a vacation...
Unfortunately, this also means that I may have a hard time coming up with inspiring/meaningful posts for this blog... But I'll do my best.
I'm off now. Going to spread the internet-love. Niagara Falls tomorrow.
Good times.
Until next time,
Julia
So sorry for the silence the past couple weeks. It's been a long, fast and damp several days. We started with a two day orientation in Portsmouth, NH on the 19th. After a confusing ride around Portsmouth in the rain we made it to the shore where we lined up and dipped our tires in the Atlantic. Then we took off. The days are now a blur. From the shore we dove straight into the White Mountains, through NH and VT and into the Adirondacks... Some highlights: Surviving some of those massive steep climbs and crazy, curvy descents in Vermont... Swimming in a creek in Rochester, VT. We walked as far upstream as we could against the current and then floated down on our backs watching the sky pass slowly. A nice change of pace from gripping handlebars constant peddling. Crossing through the meadows and countryside of VT was the most peaceful my mind has been in ages... I could live there and be happy, I think.
We took the ferry into NY state eager to be out of the mountains only to find that upstate NY is the most ridiculously hilly place ever. Oh. My. God. So exhausting. But equally rewarding. It's so frustrating climbing up, but when you reach the to and coast down it's just bliss. I love cycling.
When I signed up for this trip I was pumped to have some quality think time - hours and hours to process the past few years in DC, sort through all my thoughts that had been building up and keeping me awake at night this spring, figure out my plan for the next year and the next 5 years etc... But I've discovered that pretty much all I can make time to think about is food, sleep, stretching and taking in the scenery. So basically all I've done is attend to my physical needs and breathe for the past several days...and now whenever I sit down to journal instead of pages of tumultuous confusion/frustration/hefty questions, all I can muster is a few points on what happened that day (extra layer on my pb&honey sandwich, amazing brownies for dessert provided by our lovely hosts, a particularly unique specimen of roadkill...)... I've not been so not-in-conflict in a really long time. I credit the views and the endorphins. Highly recommend a trip like this to anyone in need of a vacation...
Unfortunately, this also means that I may have a hard time coming up with inspiring/meaningful posts for this blog... But I'll do my best.
I'm off now. Going to spread the internet-love. Niagara Falls tomorrow.
Good times.
Until next time,
Julia
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