crossing state lines left and right

We made it to Kentucky yesterday afternoon, which seems like quite a milestone! Everything is still kind of blurred together and in my mind I remember cities by either the food we ate or the shower facilities we used instead of the town name. It's odd how long a day can be when you are sitting on your bike for 12 or 14 hours, but we have been pushing through like champs. Tomorrow is our first century, with 114 miles to Paris, KT and everyone is a little nervous. The heat shouldn't be too bad though and with such a long day ahead of us we wake up at 4am to get ahead of the mid day sun and eat two lunches throughout the day at around mile 40ish and mile 80ish. Sounds daunting, right? Today we had a build day in Flatwood, KT where we put up siding and built a deck. It's nice to have a day where so much is visibly accomplished by the end of it. It helps bring home the reason we are all here and why all of our blood sweat and tears are worth it in the end. Let's see...Ohio was my favorite state so far, but also one of the shortest. Having flat stretches of road helped break up the mountains and rolling hills we have been dealing with the past week, and for the most part the weather was cooler too. I've been having trouble with my knees (past injuries combined with extreme overuse now) but have been icing them and worked with a bike shop to adjust the cleats on my shoes so hopefully tomorrow will be more comfortable all around. We have all been getting stronger everyday, and learning to deal with the constant muscle pain and bruises that are all over our bodies. Other then that, we are all looking forward to our first day off in Louisville in just a few days. I am imagining sleeping in until noon and then not moving my body anymore then is necessary for the rest of the day....ahhhhh sounds nice. Now I must go take care of my chain so tomorrow is as easy as it can be. Picture time:

Using a chop saw at the build site today! It has a laser and was pretty fricken sweeeeet!

State lines!

The local soda that had twice as much caffeine as mountain dew...we became obsessed and poured it into our gatorade bottles. It was a fast paced day.

Tan lines are getting even better..

Checking off states on the trailer


My favorite day yet, watching the sunset with Mary Ellen while sitting on a fence overlooking a pasture... reminded me of grandma and grandpa.

Hello Ohio! It's nice to see that you're flat so far..

The days have been long and hot, hot, hot. Today was a rough 85 miles simply because of the intense heat but we all survived and once we crossed into Ohio we ven got caught in a little bit of a rain storm that cooled us off. Here are some pictures of the past little while:

PA/WV? either way both were intense mountain climbing but here I am at the top of one about to ride a sweet descent!

Passing into Maryland from Pennsylvania happened at the top of a steep mountain and in the middle of a tough day, so this was all the energy I could muster for the occasion..

So glad to be done with this state, Ohio seems much better already!

My dashboard is complete now that I have my bell pepper secured in it's rightful place!

Here's Heather being ecstatic when a couple drove up to us at the top of a long steep hill and gave us water they had just bought at the gas station because they thought we looked thirsty. It was the best part of the ride!

A real live computer!

Hello hello again. I have access to a real computer today, which is kinda exciting! We rolled in to Chambersburg, PA late this afternoon after a humid day of rolling farm land. Forgive me if this post is a random pile of thoughts, but B&B lends itself to that kind of thought process. The days jumble together to the point that it is hard to recall what city/church/place we stayed in the night before, and all of the climbs/descents/flats become one long long memory. The trip has been so great, lots of hard work and I have never been so tired in my life. Once we get to our destination we are like the living dead, showering and scarfing down ridiculous amounts of food and then passing out in the middle of a crowded room with lights and music going on around us. Or at least that's what I do most of the time. My ability to sleep anywhere has reached new heights entirely, thanks in part to my sister's idea of wearing a sleep mask over my eyes. It's like a magic light switch and I love it. I've never been so sore in my life either, I can feel every one of the muscles in my lower body and stretching has never felt so good. We are gradually shifting into a routine which goes loosely like this: wake up at 5:00, pack our totes, load the trailer, spandex it up and eat breakfast around 6:00. At just about 7:00 we gather in front of the church and go over the days route, getting our cue sheets that have the mileage, turn by turn directions and phone numbers for the sweep riders and the van driver. After that we all shove off and spread out, riding in various sized groups until lunch which is generally at about mile 30-35ish. At lunch we eat and eat and eat, sandwiches and leftovers and anything else that has been jammed into the coolers. We gradually leave lunch and usually get to the host site at about 4 or so. It's nice to have a routine, and it works best for me when I don't think much further than the next step. Certainly when I wake up I don't think about getting to San Francisco, I just think getting to breakfast. After starting I think biking to lunch and after lunch I think biking to my thermarest. Taking it one day at a time and one hill at a time makes every ride manageable. I still can not believe it's been such a short amount of time since we started, we have done so much and come so far already! The whole group wasted no time settling into a comfortable place together and we have had conversations on the side of the road or in the aisles of CVS while looking for diaper rash cream that I never thought I would have. It's been great. Tomorrow is a build day here in Chambersburg which translates roughly to a day off for us. We build at a local affordable housing place, habitat for humanity much of the time, but it's nice to give our butts a break and stay in place for more then one night. Tonight we are super spoiled, staying at a cold weather homeless shelter of all places, and each get a bed to sleep on! Hooray! After days and days of thermarest floor sleeping, it will be nice to have a little more cushion and a real pillow. Let's see, what else? I can't believe I am ACTUALLY biking across the country and will be in Ohio by Sunday. Crazy crazy. In any case, here are a few pictures for you but I can't figure out how to rearrange them or write anything below them on this computer so a brief explanation of them goes like this: 1. Taking a break to snap a few pictures on the side of the road. 2. Rocking chairs at the country store on the side of the road where we stopped to get ice for the camel backs about 14 miles from Chambersburg. 3. and 4. Our trailer that we painted in Stroudsburg and 5. We crossed into New Jersey and Pennsylvania in one day a few days back but there was only a sign for PA. Hope you are all doing well in the real world!

New York New York!

We crossed our second state line today into NY! [editor's note: this was written yesterday]

Midway up Bear Mountain.. The views were great!

At the top we took a break for lunch, and posed for pictures.

Showers at the firehouse! They were much, MUCH needed after our 72 mile day, but we survived and NY was much better than CT for biking.

So Many Things

The days are flying by, I'll write more soon but here are a few pictures to tide you over:


Providence tire dipping!


CT farm animals

Lunch break after some intense hills.



Gigantic stinky disgusting laundry pile!
Also, We crossed our first state line yesterday (Monday?) which was pretty exciting! If I can find a computer to load camera pictures I will show you my documentation. Other then that, holy hills in CT...! Who ever knew?! Certainly not I!

The Beginning

First a disclaimer: this blog post (and many others) is coming from my phone to my sister to you so bear with me on the brevity and the possible spelling errors. Second: I'm alive! I'm alive! Exhausted, packed full of information, a little overwhelmed but extremely excited to be here. It's surreal to be actually doing this, and even though we've already started tomorrow feels like the real beginning with our first real ride day. We have been super busy at orientation, bonding, building our bikes, meeting each other, packing, painting... Lots to do all the time! Everyone is really great, very positive and open and excited to be here. We've had a few presentations from B&B alum which were a great way to get a feel for life onthe road. We've eaten tons of great food from a variety of hosts already. Today was our first build day, and we spent it inside priming and painting because of the rain. It was a great site, with very welcoming leaders who were excited about our trip. We just finished tuning up our bikes for the send off tomorrow in which we will dip our back tires in the ocean and head off to CT. Sleep is something I haven't done much of lately so I am going to go conk out. Some pictures of the first days:
Bike pile, not even all of them!


Taking a closer look at the big ol' US.


Working away!

portland, portland

I made it to p-land safe and sound, and have been eating wonderful homemade tastyness ever since! We made basil stuffed scallops with pasta the first night, and managed not to burn down Joe's new condo although we did set off the very loud and insistent fire alarm. Last night we made arepas and went out for pool and darts afterwards.

Our favorite filling includes queso fresco, avocado and fried plantains...so delicious.

Yesterday morning Em and I went to pilates and then met up with Joe for smoothies, eggs, hashbrowns and salad. Apparently Joe has a new tradition of salad at breakfast and Emily and I both agree that it is a nice addition to the meal! Yesterday afternoon Joe brought me to the recording studio to watch and hear the mixing of his soon to be released album. What little I heard sounds fantastic, and mixing songs is a really interesting thing! All in all, this visit will be a quick but much needed excursion. My bike has been delivered to the REI in Providence, and tomorrow I will be joining it there as well! In the mean time, here are a few pictures to make you all consider moving here:

the first start to it all

Today is the day folks, I packed and laundered everything last night and there are just a few loose ends to tie up today before heading to the airport at 2:30! I've had a few stress/anxiety induced break downs these past few days and can now cry on cue, but I'm ready to get this adventure started. What better way to begin and end such a journey then surrounded by family? I think none, and I will be doing just that from start to finish and even some stops in between. Can't wait to see you Emily and Joe, fresh lobster here I come! But first:

Aside from my bike, which should be arriving in Providence any day now, here is the sum total of things that will make up my summer!

Layer upon layer my tiny tupperware bin filled up quickly, but I rolled my clothes like a pro and even have some (small) room to spare!

I also just want to thank you all for your amazing support, without which I could not have gotten to where I am. I am a lucky, lucky girl to be blessed with so many great people in my life. Next post will be from the east coast so stay tuned!