Life Lessons from the Bike

1.  Hills always look bigger from far away. They're never as bad as they appear once you get closer and start taking them on (Niel Curley).

2.  It's not always best to be in the front of the pack.  Sometimes, it's better to be slow.  The first people are those who get lost and have to figure out the directions.

3.  Detours make the journey much more interesting.

4.  When photographing scenery, sometimes there's a better view right around the corner. Be patient.

5.  You need your friends to push and pull you up mountains. You can't do it all on your own.

6.  Sometimes your biggest obstacles aren't those that look the scariest, they're the ones you cannot see.  I'd take steep mountains over strong headwinds any day.

7.  Miley Cyrus, "The Climb".  I hate to admit it, but she's right.

8.  For every uphill, there's a downhill (Johnny Foster). 

State Lines, Scents, & Contrasts

3 build days, 5 states (we detoured into Kentucky just for fun), 9 ice cream cones, 19 days, and nearly 1,000 miles (if you count bonus miles!) already done!  I would very much like this dream to slow down.

Fun lunch stop!

My last day in West Virginia was fantastic.  We cycled under a blistering sun, but got to play on big inflatable water toys at a campsite's lake during lunch.  After we un-velcro-ed our shoes, ate our pb&j, and rode our bikes around.  It's great to be 5 years old again. 

Haaaaang on Sloopy...

 Our last West Virginia stop was in Huntington.  We found the football memorial at Marshall University and danced to a Jimmy Buffet cover band in the rain at a downtown pavilion.  Livin the dream ahaha.  The next morning, we crossed the Ohio River into the one and only Buckeye State.

I knew it the minute I pedaled into Ohio.  I may be a little biased, but immediately the people became drop-dead gorgeous, the sun started shining, and the flora and fauna exploded with beauty.  Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit.  But it did smell different from West Virginia.  That's one of my favorite parts about this trip- I get to smell the country.  I acknowledge that that is weird, but each place I've been has definitely had it's own scent.

Hyde Park, Cincinnati

  It's so nice to be out of the mountains and foothills!  Ohio was pretty flat (except for that random, cruelly graded hill that everyone literally fell over while attempting to bike up). After Portsmouth and then the quaint town of Georgetown, Ohio (birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant!), we rode to Cincinnati.  One of my favorite moments of this trip was at a farmer's market in the ritzy Cincinnati neighborhood of Hyde Park.  There, I witnessed the most gentle and picturesque vision of America.  Small children squealing and running around leashed dogs, soft music balanced with the splash of a water fountain, families purchasing local goods from farmers under a perfectly sunny sky.  It was a scene that, to me, represented the American dream.

Just 3 miles away from this, we stopped at a gas station in a rough part of town.  Here, the windows were barred and bullet proof, and all of the patrons walked out of the convenient store with alcohol and cigarettes.  Music thumped out of beat-up cars, and we attracted dirty looks as we stood outside.

These two scenes represent one of the most significant things that I've realized from this trip. Our country is FULL of extreme contrasts.  For example, I'll ride by an old barn that's literally falling apart, and right across it is a brand new subdivision of mcmansions.

While we were in Cincinnati, my good friend from UNC (and Beth's boyfriend) drove down from Columbus to visit us.  I kind of forgot that there are people outside of Bike & Build until I saw him.  Just kidding...  We also had our third build day here, which was lots of fun (and lots of sawdust)!   And this morning, we crossed into Indiana (and they didn't have a welcome sign.  Rude.)!  During our 86 mile ride today, we turned one corner and BAM we hit the Midwest. LOTS of farmland.

Right now, I'm in Columbus, Indiana.  It's a really cool town with lots of interesting architecture.  It makes me happy because it's a classic small town USA with lots of character that actually seems to be growing.  Sadly, most of the other towns with any personality that we've been through have been fading fast.  It's refreshing to see one that's thriving!

Aaaah I have so much more to tell you, but I don't want to miss out on exploring this awesome town!  

Love and miss you,

Abby

Georgetown, Ohio

at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Cincinnati

At the build site in Cincinnati

Crossing into Kentucky-just for fun.

The Mountains: Appala(tion) & Perspiration

"We were young, we were wild, we were restless. Had to go, had to fly, had to get away. Took a chance on that feeling. We were lovin blind, borderline reckless, we were livin for the minute we were spinnin in, maybe we were a lot of things, but we weren't crazy."

So sorry for the delay- I'm blogging from Huntington, West Virginia, where I finally have phone service and internet access again!  Such a luxury!




First build site

Last time I blogged, we were in Charlottesville, Virginia.  While we were there, we had our first two build days.  It was great to get off the bike (and out of our spandex!).  We worked at Charlottesville's Habitat for Humanity, where we put down a floor and raised some walls.  After we built, we got a chance to explore UVA and downtown Charlottesville. 

After our build days, we were warned by our leaders that we had the most difficult riding days ahead of us.  It was Appalachian time.  Before our first day of climbing, a bunch of Bike & Build alumni came to our host site at 5am to cook us breakfast and pump us up for the big day.  "You'll need it," they told us.  And we did.




soaking in the views at lunch

Although it was incredibly rough getting up the 4,000+ foot mountains,  the views from the top made it worth it.  On our fist day, we rode along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where I was tempted to stop every quarter mile to soak up the breathtaking views of the valleys below.  I've never appreciated how beautiful our country is as much as I did that day.

After flying down the mountains at over 40mph, we coasted into the quaint town of Lexington, VA.  After that was 2 more days of mountaining.  Although it was slow and painful, we rode the entire way, because as Jacob Smith sassily reminded us, "this is NOT walk-your-bike-and-build."  It was a struggle, but the scenery was so remarkable that I smiled nearly the entire ride.   My cheeks hurt more than my butt!

West Virginia State Border!

After a particularly long climb, we hit the our first state border! Onward and upward into "wild and wonderful West Viriginia"!  We coasted down the mountains, through middle-of-nowhere towns (one host town had no phone service at all, and I had to use a payphone to call mom.  Such a complicated device- I don't know why old people complain about the complexity of cell phones!).  Although there wasn't much going on in these small mountain towns, our hosts here were definitely the best cooks we've had thus far.  We were spoiled with feasts that included the most incredible homemade biscuits that have ever blessed my stomach.

Just yesterday, we reached Charleston, West Virginia.  Since most of the ride was downhill (yay!), we got into town early and had a chance to explore.  I think I may have found a strong contender for America's best ice cream at Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream on Capitol Street.  I'll post an update on that soon!

Sights in West Virginia

It's time for dinner- something that a cyclist NEVER wants to miss out on.  I'm hoping to post a lot more pictures soon, because words cannot describe all of the things that I'm seeing.

Miss and love you all,

Feeling strong (?) after a big climb

Abs

Cooling off in the mountain stream

Exploring an old cemetery- complete with Confederate States of America plaques

Mountains & Thunderstorms.

Two days ago, my team and the entire Bike & Build community mourned the death of Christina Genco, a leader on the South Carolina to Santa Cruz (SC2SC) trip.  Christina was struck by a car and killed while riding in Alabama.  We heard the news at night, and the next day struggled up the Appalachians.  We felt the weight of our sorrow with every pedal as we moved slowly uphill.  Although only our leaders had personally met Christina, she was a part of our Bike & Build family and we all were devastated.  Later that day, pathetic fallacy erupted as a thunderstorm halted our ride for the day.  The thunder, lightening, and pouring rain appropriately matched our emotions.

Please pray for Christina's family, her SC2SC team, the Bike & Build community, and cyclists everywhere.  And please please please remember that a person's life is more important than getting somewhere fast in your car. 

If I've learned anything from biking through the mountains, it is that for every struggle uphill, there is a smooth glide downhill.  And to make it up that mountain, you sometimes need to be pushed and pulled up by those who love you.  As a team, as friends, as family, Bike & Build will help push and pull eachother through the devastating loss of Christina.

We pedal on for Christina, with every ounce of sweat and blood in her honor.  For her, we will continue on and bike & build as she would have wanted us to. 

Ride hard, love harder.


"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, butnot in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed...We who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body."  -2 Corinthians 4:8-11

Wheel Dipping & Riding

I am alive.  I won't lie- it hasn't been easy. But it wouldn't be an accomplishment if it was easy, eh?

Wheel Dip Ceremony in the Atlantic

And currently, I'm situated at our host site (a UVA sorority house) in Charlottesville, Virginia.  I'm not sure how to consolidate thirty pages of journaling into one blog.  This is going to be a little sloppy and disorganized, but SO much has happened in the past week that there's no way to help that. But I'll start at the beginning, in VA Beach.

Enchanted Swamplands!

After two days of orientation and ice breakers, we epically dipped our wheels in the Atlantic and began our ride.  Although the 50 mile ride was completely flat, I struggled through the blistering heat.  I worried that I maybe wasn't cut out for this.  However, after a solid night of sleep and literally gallons of water into my system, I've recovered and have been going strong.

Morning View

On Monday, we rode through gorgeous farmlands of rural eastern Virginia.  When stopping to fix a flat, we watched the wind ripple over the fields of grain.  We zipped through lush swampy areas from which we expected fairies to emerge because they seemed so enchanted.  We clambered into abandoned farm houses and explored some rickety dock houses.  To celebrate Memorial Day, we belted out "God Bless America" while we rode under the spacious skies, through the amber waves of grain and fruited plains, from sea to shining sea.  We stopped in Waverly for the night, a small and aging town where a gracious church put us up, cleansed us with a hose shower, and stuffed us with classic Southern fried chicken.


On Tuesday, temperatures peaked at over 100 degrees and the sun bore down on us.  We were sweating even at 5 AM.  After getting lost a couple of times (we like to call it "bonus miles"), we finally made it to Pocahontas State Park.  It was hard not to run when our leaders brought us to the campsites's pool area!

Today, we hit the hills.  The ride was like a roller coaster as we coasted down and powered up the slopes.  The scenery was remarkable- deep green forests were broken up by farms that lay slanted on the slopes.  After we rolled over the sparkling James River, we stopped in the small artsy town of Scottsville where Beth and I FINALLY got our first ice cream cones!  All I can say is that it's the best we've had thus far.  After lots more hills, we made it to our destination!


Here is where I'll get random as I spill out some of my thoughts collected thus far:


My group is incredible.  Never have I been surrounded by such a positive, determined group of people.  Never an hour passes by without laughter.  Nobody is left behind on any ride, in any mile, on any hill because we're all like family now and have eachother's backs.


We do push-ups before we ride, ab workouts after we ride, and are planning on going for a run on our build day (tomorrow).  This is crazy even for my standards. And for those of you who know me well, that's pretty ridiculous.


It's remarkable how quickly one's body can adapt.  I couldn't sleep, I struggled to wake up at 5am, I wasn't hungry at lunch, I had to remind myself to drink water, and my body hurt like hell on the first two days.  Now, I sleep like a rock, jump out of my sleeping bag, am famished by 9:30am (lunch time!), I drink gallons of water automatically, and my legs are feeling just fineeeee after 80 miles of hills.  When is that normal for a 20-year-old? Only on Bike & Build.


I wake up every morning and remind myself how lucky I am.  This trip could not be more amazing, and it's only day 5.  I wish I could properly relay how ridiculously incredible this all is, but there's no way to convey it all.


Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! We're hitting the Appalachians after our 2 build days here in Charlottesville, so I'll try to update you again after that.


Gotta go- time to explore downtown Charlottesville!