Lamar, CO (not Lemur, that’s a feline)

Since it was a century (101 mile) day, I wanted to get out early. Of course, 3 miles in, I got a flat. Could not locate the leak, so I took out a spare tube, and managed to break the valve off, after getting the tire back on the bike. I didn’t even get 1 inch out of the tube before it was garbage. Luckily Devon had a spare tube (Renee and Maura had nothing), and I was able to get it replaced. Of course my road morph pump is broken (leaks air, which is bad for a pump) but luckily I had a CO2 cartridge and was able to fill it up and get to lunch. 3 miles after lunch – another flat. This time I was able to locate and patch the leak, and flag down Dan Carmondy, who had a working pump and helped me get back on the road. We stopped briefly at the 2nd lunch stop (just to get some water) before heading into the next town for some ice cream. We stopped at a local Mexican restaurant and I got a cheese quesadilla and French fries – it was an international snack. The best part was we could make our own self-serve ice cream cone. Unfortunately, the vanilla was out, but I made do with chocolate. Using my skills from back in the dorms, I was able to make a large cone, with 8 swirls of ice cream on the cone. Dinner consisted of deli meat (yum), salad (I still eat healthy) and potato chips (Need to replenish my salt).

Get the hell out of Dodge (City) and to Garden City

This was a short day, just 54 miles and we took our time. We stopped at the Dodge City sign to get a picture (to be posted below), a scenic overlook (not so scenic) and arrived in lunch to find that Dan had set up a slip and slide – Bike and Build style. It was 3 blue tarps, body wash soap, dish soap and water. We got in some DQ – Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard and then another great dinner provided by the Garden Valley Church. A local bike shop owner came by and helped us with maintenance – way cool without charge. We also had our own “talent” show which was very entertaining. I lucked out and got a couch in the youth lounge to sleep on for the night.

I know I am behind

I will hopefully get caught up with postings later this week. The weather (couple of days 100 degrees, wind of 20 mph), lack of sleep and just being tired have delayed the postings. Pictures will also get loaded, as I got new batteries for my camera (some are from several weeks back). Tomorrow, we will be in Colorado, and mountain time.

On to Dodge City

Dodge City was a little shorter ride – only 83 miles. There were some gnarly storms that we could see as we rode, and hoped that we would be able to avoid them. It was a nasty crosswind, but the focus on the ride for the 1st half of the day was watching the storm clouds. We got a little wet before lunch, but just a little sprinkle. After lunch, we turned north and ran into a big headwind – at least 20 mph. It was very slow going and pace lines were imperative. After stopping at a grocery store at mile 60 and getting a Miss Debbie Swiss Cake Roll, I was refueled for the last part of the ride. We stopped again 5 miles later for a quick water refill at the van before Patrick and I decided enough was enough. We were going to town. We took turns pulling/drafting off each other every mile (the mile markers on the highway were huge), which made it much easier both physically and mentally. Of course there was a steep climb up a brick road, which wasn’t too bad except I had to stop at the light partially up the hill. I was surprised at the large Hispanic population in Dodge City – numerous restaurants, stores and churches were evident as we came into town. We got a bite at Wendy’s (not eating nearly as health conscious as before the trip) before returning to the church. Dinner was prepared by our dinner crew, who did an awesome job – beans, rice, corn, soft shells, salsa – an amazing Mexican dinner. I was more than full, but it felt good. The church was also nice enough to let us stay later (originally 7:15 departure so we were gone before services), which was appreciated as we got some more sleep.

Coldwater, KS

Out of Oklahoma and into Kansas. I have a new focus point when riding – water towers. This way I can spot a town from miles away and have something to strive to get to, especially on a 90 mile day like today. It was another HOT (upper 90s) day, and once we got into town, we stopped at a (the) local ice cream shop. Since I knew that we were camping, and I was hungry, I got a chicken sandwich, fries and cherry milkshake. Still wasn’t completely full, but it would hold me over to dinner. Since it was so hot (upper 90s), and there was no air at the campground, I took my time in town, staying as long as I could at the ice cream shop before heading over to the library. We had an amusing time reading some of the magazines (Seventeen in particular) as they provided a wealth of knowledge and humor. I took a 45 minute nap on the floor before it was time to leave as they closed at 5:30. To keep cool at the campground, I would take the hose and run cold water over my head about every 30 minutes. The heat really got to me today. My mom suggested that I get a motel room, but that is not the Bike and Build way. Its all for one and one for all, especially since this is for affordable housing, we should not complain about our accommodations.

Cherokee, OK

It wasn’t the mileage that killed us, it was the heat (101 according to the bank sign) and wind (15 mph – which according to the locals was nothing). We could see a bunch of down limbs and utility poles from a storm 3 weeks earlier that had winds of 90 mph. I am glad we missed that. There was a huge storm that passed overnight, but was clear for our ride the next day. Dinner was great, and the pastor said that after reading our blogs that we would want something other than pasta. It is nice to know that so many of our hosts follow us online. We had mac & cheese (always a popular dish), meatballs, fruit salad, etc (all I know is that I had 2 full plates). The pastor was great and it was evident that he had been a campus minister as he new exactly how we thought. He even called out that we should have some cake – which was called “Better than sex cake.” Never expected to hear that from a pastor. On the ride, we stopped at a well, which was divine, since we were so hot. Of course, 10 minutes after filling up, the water was already hot again from the heat.

Ponca City

Just a mile into our ride, we had an accident – Angela versus hole in pavement. The pavement won. With a deep gash on her elbow, it was evident that she needed stitches. After Emily wrapped it up, I walked her to the support van with her arm up above her head – to keep the wound above the heart, and to make her look like the Statue of Liberty. After being told that she did not need to hold her arm up that high, I responded: I know, its just funnier this way. With the van busy at the hospital, we were on our own for lunch. Luckily it was not an extremely long day (73 miles) and we stopped at Sonic / gas station for some lunch and to refill water. The van caught up with us towards the end to refill our water, as several people had run out. To make Angela not feel left out, I managed to wipe out riding 50 miles into the ride, when I went to give Maura a boost up the hill, hit a rock and wiped out. I am fine. Handlebars had to be readjusted (took most of the fall), rim trued (straightened – at the end of the day, it was still ride able), shoes scratched up and the smallest of scratches on my arm. For how hard I went down, I was lucky. We stopped in town at Dixie Dogs, who had happy hour – half off ice cream. I felt guilty getting a cone for only $0.45, so I ordered a 2nd one. Upon walking in to the church, we were welcomed with snacks and a bunch of string cheese and other cheese assortment (so good). Dinner was probably the best vegetarian lasagna I have ever had. We showered at the high school across the street and I took the laundry crew down the street to wash clothes. It never fails to get weird stares as we bring in our laundry in 2 big blue tarps. I guess some people use laundry baskets.

Bartlesville

Barltesville was a great place to have our 2nd day off. We stayed at the Adams Blvd Church, which went all out for us. They had a popcorn machine with fresh popped popcorn – I had probably 6 bags total, ice tea and lemonade (made a bunch of Arnold Palmers), and cookies. Dinner was great, and I made sure to have a large appetite to show my appreciation (they had a list of what was being served for each meal, which only added to the anticipation). Andy was awesome, driving us to showers at the YMCA, downtown to see the sights (Frank Lloyd Wright designed Price Tower and Phillips 66 company museum) and picking us up. We also had a bachelorette party for Rachel, to celebrate her birthday.

On to Fayetteville

Today was a shorter ride, only 93 miles, but with some good climbs thru the Ozark Mountains. They were not nearly as long as those in the Appalachians, but were challenging with the “rolling” hills. It was a great road to ride – scenic and little traffic. The only drawback was the lack of places to stop for a break – since there is such little traffic. It was a hot day, and we took advantage of the 2nd stop to refill water. The last quarter mile included a climb up a steep hill, not something you want to do at the very end of a ride. The church hooked us up with dinner and a great place to sleep – air conditioned rooms.

All day with Maggie – Our first century

The ride into Clarksville was our first century on the trip (some had done over 100 miles earlier in the trip after taking alternate routes). I was sweeping with Maggie, so we had to make sure that we were the last riders. To start off, once everyone left Little Rock, we took a 20 minute nap in the church before leaving. The buffer was quickly gone as there was some confusion with the route (streets not matching what was shown on a map) and we had to wait as people doubled back. We crossed the Dam Bridge, which is supposedly the longest bridge strictly for biking and walking in the US. Lunch was at mile 37, and since a rider missed a turn and had gotten behind us, we went to the bike store while the van went to pick her up and dropped her off ahead. Assuming we had a big enough buffer to the 2nd lunch (2 lunches if its over 90 miles or 90 degrees – mainly to refill water), we took off, and caught a rider resting at mile 54. Since we still had 20 miles to lunch, we took a nap under a tall oak tree and then watched a train go by. Unfortunately, there were not places to stop when we wanted to. To avoid catching up the rider, we slowed down, and to entertain ourselves, practiced riding no hands on US-64 (made sure cars were not coming). Once we got to lunch, we hung out there for a while, let the riders get a lead and then stopped again (for ice cream) to create another buffer. We waited 20 minutes for a torrential storm to pass – just 6 miles outside of town before rolling in at 6:30, just in time for an awesome pot luck dinner. After 11.5 hours on the road, I was more than ready for it. We headed to the preacher’s house in the country to light some fireworks before going back to the church to sleep.

Little Rock

The ride in to Little Rock had some great back-country roads. After lunch, we stopped at the Dairy Mart for some ice cream (at 10 am) and got a ice cream cone dipped in chocolate for $1.25 – great deal. The last part of the ride, in North Little Rock sucked. The road was absolutely awful – it could compete with any road in Detroit as being the worst. We made in to Little Rock and after a quick shower with the hose, we headed to the riverfront for some food (a lot of what we do revolves around food). Dinner was prepared by Scott, a member of the church, who did an awesome job, preparing all of our breakfasts and dinners.

Working hard at the Rebuild Store (Renee pulling Maura and I on a pallet jack)

We had 2 build days in Little Rock. The first day we split up, with half going to a build site to prep the area to set a house that had already been constructed, and the other half went to the ReStore. There we helped organize the inventory. Maura, Renee, David and I were responsible for mixing donated cans of paint and marking the color on the top of the lid. A couple of lids were not on all the way, so as the machines was spinning them, paint was flying everywhere. Whoops.

The 2nd day was a deconstruction day, where we tore out stuff from a house that was going to be demolished (molding / appliances / anything that could be sold at the ReStore). I spent much of the day getting the nails out of the wood that we had ripped out, as I was able to be outside, in the shade. The news did a story about us, and the clip can be seen here. You may notice I have a lot of camera time…I was trying my best to get in as many shots as possible. I am wearing silver shorts with a blue stripe, if that helps you pick me out (and silver bike shoes). The link to the video is here:

http://www.todaysthv.com/video/default.aspx?aid=68558

Habitat also hooked us up with tickets to the Travelers (AA) baseball game, which was a lot of fun. I got to meet a couple of southern gals, Kathleen and Lauren, who were very entertaining. Lauren tried to convince me that she had class, since she was wearing a dress. Talking with them was a lot more entertaining than watching the game.

Brinkley

My turn to drive the van, so I missed out on getting a picture with the Arkansas sign. On the plus side, I got to drive a van on the interstate, instead of riding my bike and trying to avoid all the broken glass, as everyone did. Still, I would have rather been biking. It was a long day for sweep, as a lady decided to ignore the railroad crossing warnings and go around, even though a train was coming. Since they were there, they called 911 and had to answer a bunch of questions. Everyone was ok, which was good. Our host site was amazing and we stayed in the entertainment room, watching tv and enjoying the plush carpet and a/c. The dinner was great, and the lady warned us that it was high in calories, which did not faze us as it tasted good and the more calories the better.

Walking in Memphis

We spent the night before sleeping and listening to some crazy storms, with the rain pounding the roof and some thunder thrown in for good measure. We waited an extra 45 minutes for the storm to pass before leaving, as the radar was showing a break between storm systems (or as I refer to it as: Green with a chance of light bulbs). David and I took off with the plan of riding fast enough to get into Memphis before the next storm (which ended up going south of where we were). We were first into lunch, with a large group rolling in just minutes later. After lunch, we took off in a huge paceline (12 people deep) and every time a small group would try to break ahead, they would get reeled back in by the pack. This lasted for about 15-20 miles before the pace broke the pack apart and people then rode at a more leisurely speed (but still pedaling). Once we got the host site, we walked over to get some BBQ (wish I was in Texas to enjoy the beef BBQ, as most of the BBQ here is pork). Since the next day was an off day, most of us headed grabbed cabs to downtown, and after dinner at Rendezvous (more BBQ!), it was off to Beale St. I had never heard of it before, but it was a good time. Reminds me of a small Mardi Gras, where the streets are blocked off to vehicles and people can walk in the street with drinks. The also had some street performers and this one kid did about 15 back flips, with the last couple only 1 handed. After walking around enjoying everything, most of us ended up at a small bar and took over the juke box, pushed the tables aside and started dancing. Yes, even I was up and dancing, or at least on my feet trying to move to the music. We left around 1am, jamming 10 people into a mini van cab and after raiding the coolers for some food, went to bed.

I was hurting the next morning and did not get up till 11:30 – way later than normal. Headed over to an Italian car show fundraiser for Memphis Habitat before taking care of some leader responsibilities – went shopping at Costco (tried a bunch of samples), Kroger and then took the laundry crew to the laundry mat to wash our dirty clothes (they always need to be washed) and finally swung by Macaroni Grill to pick up dinner.

Hard at work at the laundry mat - we brought a thermarest and pillow to rest on.

Bolivar

Today was a relatively easy ride - 38 miles on US-64. What should have been an uneventful ride had some adventure because one of the riders has a hard time paying attention and listening. Every morning, we have a route meeting, where we go over the day's route, point on any potential issues as well as showers and internet access. One rider never listens and always asks a bunch of questions...questions that were already answered in the route meeting - which is really annoying. Today, while riding, we were following the sign for US-64 West. Since she didn't know what was going on (and evidently can't read a street sign), she slowed down to ask a construction worker, which led to a chain reaction with the rear rider in the pace line falling. Luckily she was ok, but the rider that caused it decided not to bother wait to see if she was ok and continued on the ride. Later, she was saying how she would rather ride alone since people don't know how to ride. I think its a good idea, for everyone else.

For showers, we got to shower at the Bolivar Fire Department, and then play on the fire truck - see below...

Adamsville

Breakfast at the dorms in Pulaski = good food, brings back memories. The ride was 93 miles and only in the high 80s. Of course my Camel-bak was leaking but I luckily I found this out this morning so I could manage my water (and refill accordingly). After lunch, David and I took off and just flew, going nearly 20 mph (not even drafting) and got in over 3 hours before the last group (some say that its not a race, but they finished after us). We also avoided the storms that some of the other riders got caught in. Once in Adamsville, several of us headed over to Sonic for a snack and Maggie and I shared a Sonic Blast with M&Ms and Reeses (an appetizer before dinner). Today was also mail drop day and I got a sweet letter from Amanda (I coached with Amanda at Westerville Crew).

Pulaski

Today was again my turn to drive the van. What should have been an easy day, was not. We got some food at Kroger’s (great deals on our meager budget) and then dropped the trailer off for the lunch stop before driving 15 miles to take Swaroop to the doctor as he was not feeling well (he’s doing fine). Then I drove back to get the trailer, before heading towards Pulaski. Then I got a call from sweep saying that Suze got in a fight with a car, but that she was fine. I was only 2 miles away and so we stopped to make sure everything was good and filed a police report. The girl in the car turned left in front of Suze’s path and Suze ran into the passenger door, denting the door, but also bending her fork, making her bike unrideable. So Suze and Daven (sweep) got in the van as Suze could not ride and Daven could not ride sweep by himself (dropped Daven up to the last riders so that he could continue riding). After dropping the trailer off at the dorms (awesome), I got a call to go back and pick up a rider (the heat got to her). What should have been a 85 mile ride / drive turned into 150 miles. Dinner was at the mayor of Pulaski’s house, which was delicious. I made 2 trips up, and was stuffed to the point of no more space left in my stomach (it was a good feeling). After camping the night before, the A/C was awesome and I slept well.

Sewanee

The day started with DAUS MOUTAIN Road, 3 miles into the ride. The climb was hard, as the mountain was steep with a lot of switchbacks. I made it a point not to stop at all on the climb, and was in my easiest gear for much of the climb. I even had to get out of the saddle and climb in the easiest gear, but I made it. After that the ride was typical, although we did stop in a small artsy place for some free Gatorade (made from real gators). Dinner was at the Assembly (arranged by Lisa, whose daughter did SUS ’06), which was really good. After finishing my first plate, one of the members told me to go up and get more food, as they did not want to take back any leftovers. This was not an issue as there was no food left when I went back for 2nds. It is amazing how much food we go thru. We camped out tonight (1st time on this trip), and it was so hot, I could not sleep and got out a couple of times to cool off. I also got poison ivy, not from camping but because someone else on the trip got it and put there clothes in the wash instead of keeping them separate.

Sweeping with Maura

Today we got to sleep in to 6am, as everyone forgot to set their alarm clocks (some people wanted a 5am wakeup) – but it worked out well for me. As Maura and I were sweep, we let everyone leave before heading out on the route. After 1 mile, we took our first break of the day at Hardee’s (Maura wanted coffee). One of the customers wanted to know if Maura and I were married (we are not). The day started off cool (relatively) but definitely heated up quickly. The sign in Dunlap showed the temperature at 100 degrees. It seems that people along the route do not feed or chain up their dogs, as there were numerous occasions of riders avoiding dogs. A couple of squirts of water stopped some, while other resorted to simply biking faster than they could run. We are staying at another National Guard Armory, and we are enjoying the air conditioning. Tonight was the first night that we prepared our own dinner, and it was a gourmet meal of pasta, tomato sauce, beans and rice. We are living like kings tonight at the Armory sleeping on military issued cots, and I even got to eat my own MRE of chicken tortillas. The group is pretty tired from the ride so we have all just been hanging low this evening and gearing up for the big climb tomorrow!

On to Sweetwater

The ride to Sweetwater was short (under 40 miles) and we got there early (noon) to the Tennessee National Guard Armory. Unfortunately, the A/C was broken. We laid around watching Semi-Pro and Gladiator and I want to thank Lance for biking over to the grocery store and bringing back popsicles, which were appreciated with the heat.

We headed over to Pizza Hut for dinner (generously provided by Ben Ryan’s parents). I had 11 slices of pizza, which really hit the spot. Afterwards we headed next door to A&W, but I passed on dessert (for some reason I was full). Since it was still hot out, several of us headed over to Kmart to hang out in the A/C. There were several shenanigans that occurred, including riding the bikes around the store, roller-blading, skate boarding, football tossing – the things you would expect, with photos below.

I am under the lampshade...

Getting some more biking in, pulling Renee around Kmart

Testing out a new bike...it was too small

Trying on a pair of waders and a hunter's jacket while Maura models the hunter orange backpack.

Building in Maryville

We had 2 days of building in Maryville. The first day we put in the floor tresses, which was easier then when I did it with Columbus Habitat, as these were I-beam like (Columbus was 2 x 8 and we had to toenail them in). Crystal with Blount County Habitat hooked us up with a deli lunch, and since we were so skilled and ahead of schedule (and it was so hot), we ended early. Several of us went on an evening bike ride with Keith and several local cyclists. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not want us to ride as a torrential downpour started just a couple miles into the ride. We waited awhile before deciding to end the ride early and head over to dinner, which Keith arranged with Tomato Head. I sat with Keith and some of the riders, which turned out to be a good decision. After eating my meal (and still hungry), I lucked out as one of the riders offered me another half a sandwich, ice cream for dessert, half of Maura’s chocolate chip cookie and a bunch more chips.

The 2nd build day featured a good natured competition between us to see which group could get all of the sub-floor installed first on the 2 houses. Don’t worry, quality control was not an issue as we made sure that all boards were properly installed (and the Habitat crew chief inspected it and pointed out any issues). A couple of other riders also did stucco on both houses. We finished by noon and Crystal hooked us up again with lunch, this time provided by Grant and God’s Planet, a youth outreach ministry. After my afternoon nap, we headed over to Aubrey’s, a really good restaurant in Maryville, that Crystal arranged. As you can tell, the time in Maryville was awesome, and I can not thank Crystal enough, as it would not have been possible without her.

Maryville

Thanks to Charles Brinkley from Blount Habitat

Today was again my turn to drive the van. Wake-up was 9am, but I got up at 8 and ran to the Food City with Ben for some food (Thanks to Les and Food City for the donation). After cleaning up the church, several of us headed over to the Log Cabin Pancake House for breakfast. I was full after the omelete and 3 pancakes, and was glad that I did not have to then ride on that full of a stomach (although others had to - mad props to them). We stopped at the Cycology bike shop for some bike maintenance, and more importantly (to me), dinner. We also were lucky to meet Jeff Roth's widow, who spoke to us about her husband's foundation to change TN law to require cars to travel 3 feet from a cyclist. Then we headed over to Maryville college, where we will be staying the next couple of days (thanks Crystal and Blount County Habitat).

Quote of the day: Its better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Gatlinburg

So today was supposed to be our hardest climb yet, and while it was hard, we were in better shape as we have already done several climb days and the 2 descents were awesome. I did not pedal for 6 miles on the first mountain descent as it was all down hill and I was able to maintain my speed. It was also long - 85 miles and hot - 90s. It also included 3 miles on a highway, as US-19 changed from a back-road to a highway with on and off-ramps (my bad). We got into Gatlinburg, which is a huge tourist destination - very different from the ride in thru the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We stayed at Our Savior Lutheran Church (thanks Matt), who were very generous and showered at the Gatlinburg Community Center, barely making the 8pm closing time. Had dinner at the mexican restaurant and then walked around the main drag of Gatlinburg observing the sites.

Quote of the day: None, to tired. (but wake-up tomorrow is 9am - 4 hours later than today's)

Asheville

We got back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for an 80 mile ride into Asheville (71 on the parkway). Even though the parkway was closed for a section due to rock slides, we were able to avoid the detour. The van took the detour, which made for lunch at mile 52, longer than what we normally would like. The climbs were the hardest to date, but the scenery was the best to date. The descent was also a lot of fun, although I lost my rear light on the descent with the rough road and nearly lost my grip on my handlebars. The road was so bad, I thought I was riding in Michigan. Stayed at the Reuter YMCA, which was great, with a pool, showers on site, and a climbing wall. We had dinner at the Kovachs (Maggie and Samuel's parents), who live up a mountain. Luckily the van got up no problem.

We also had a build day in Asheville. The group split up between Asheville Habitat (stucco) and Mountain Housing (accessibility ramp) on two projects. I was with Habitat as I was driving the van and the last group went to Habitat. We got to put stucco on a house, which I have never done before. Also got to share some laughs while building. John, from Habitat was amused with our conversations. One of the better quotes from Becky to me: "The reason you don't have a girlfriend is because you treat women the same as you treat everyone else." I thought you were supposed to treat everyone the same...so confused. Habitat (Missy) also provided lunch (Little Caesar's Pizza), and Missy said that she got extra pizzas after reading how someone on our trip ate an entire pizza (it was me!). It was a good thing for the extra food as both Ben and I ate an entire pizza. The group that built with Mountain Housing made the ABC local news, as several people commented on the next day. Dinner was down the street at the Volvo (Construction Equipment) headquarters. We also got hooked up by Cane Creek with seat posts and arm warmers. 5am wake up for tomorrow's long ride.

Quote of the day: None, too tired. Only one that I could think of was: I am not a vegetarian because I love animals, I am a vegetarian because I hate plants. I didn't use this as I did not want to offend anyone and was too tired to think of any others.

Altamont

Today we had our first real hard climb of the trip on US-321, and it was under construction, which made it even more of a challenge. My chain fell off while climbing, and since I was going about 2 mph up the hill, I did not have enough speed to shift it back on and was able to unclip and get to the side, before falling or running into the wall of rock. No damage done. We went thru the town of Blowing Rock, which was a cool town, and then on to the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. I hit 35mph going downhill, but the best was yet to come. We got off the parkway onto US-221, which was about 2 miles of descent with switchbacks. I have never gone so fast around such sharp turns, really having to get low into the turns, and using the brakes to avoid the cyclist ahead of me. It was such a rush, hitting 39mph on the hairpin turns.

Quote of the day: None, too tired.