Miles & Miles

"And every one of us gets tired, but every one remains inspired, and every one of us required to keep picking through our soul.  I play the road, and the highway is our song..."



St. Louis seems thousands of miles ago.  In Bike & Build world (very different from real world), we do and see so much in one day that each day feels like a week.  It makes blogging very difficult.  For example, today we ate breakfast, cleaned up the host site, rode 45 miles, and ate lunch all before 10am.



Hiding in corn



After St. Louis, we rode along the Katy Trail.  The Katy Trail was an old railroad line converted into a trail that stretches for hundreds of miles through rural Missouri.  Although the trail was gravel, it was wicked nice to get off the roads and not worry about cars for 2 days.  As usual, the landscape was remarkable and we had a blast exclaiming at bluffs and playing in cornfields.

Pintos along the roadside

Once we were done with the Katy Trail and passed through Jefferson City, we faced some brutal headwinds through which we had to pedal downhill and still only hit 9mph (to put that into perspective, I usually ride at about 25mph downhill without pedaling).  To break up the ride, we made friends with some beautiful horses and attempted to woo some cows.

Monkeys in Missouri?

We completed our first century (100 mile ride) on our way into Kansas City! With 2 lunch breaks, a B2 Bomber overhead, and a detour at which we saw an island full of monkeys (yes, in Missouri.  And I'm 98% sure this actually happened and that I wasn't just hallucinating.), the hundred miles felt like a breeze.  Also, Kansas City happens to be Johhny Foster's hometown, so seeing him jumping around excitedly like a 6-year-old on Christmas that morning made the day particularly enjoyable.  After we rolled into our host site, his hometown church, I got to witness Johnny's reunion with his mother, which was one of the most touching moments of the trip thus far.  So happy!



Gates BBQ in Kansas City



In Kansas City, we had a build day with Habitat as well as our first day off!  It was wonderful to have no responsibilities for the day and to sleep in (til 8:30am woooooh!). We got a full Missourian experience, complete with a Kansas City Royals game and classic BBQ. 



Costume ride!



For our ride out of Kansas City, we had a "costume ride".  We all dressed up in costumes that we had bought at a thrift store.  It was hilarious, to say the least.  Although it did get a little toasty in my wool flight attendant dress after 60 miles of pedaling...



Kansas University yesterday, Kansas State today.  Our Central Route is actually Tour de College Towns.  I couldn't be happier- I love touring the schools and exploring the little local shops and eateries (the BEST ice cream stops) that college towns offer.  So far we've seen UVA, Marshall University, Xavier, Indiana University, Indiana State University, St. Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri in St. Louis, Kansas University, Kansas State University, and several smaller schools.  And many more to come!

The ice cream hunt is going well.  I can't disclose any information just yet, but since I'm nearly half way done with the trip, I'll post a midway ice cream blog soon!

Thanks for following.  If you have any feedback of what you'd like to hear more/less of, please send me an email at poeske@email.unc.edu

Love & miss you all,

Abby

Group picture at the build site in Kansas City

 

Inspiration & Motivation

After facing a long morning of gravel (we've been riding through Missouri on the beautiful but unpaved Katy Trail) and strong headwinds, I took an unusually long lunch break.  This leisurely stop turned out to be one that provided me with much inspiration and motivation.

Bike & Build meets RAAM!

As Setareh and I were overlooking the Missouri River, a man came up to us and started chatting.  Turns out, he was a crew member for a woman who was also cycling across America.  The difference is that she's going from west to east. Oh, and she's 50 years old and is expecting to complete the trip in 13 days.  In the past 3 days, she's averaged an hour of sleep and has biked over 300 miles. 300 miles each day, that is.  Kathy is participating in RAAM, or Race Across America, the ultimate cyclist challenge.  Setareh and I chatted with Kathy's crew, parked nearby, and had such perfect timing that we got to see Kathy and cheer her on as she plugged away.  


Kathy is raising money for childhood cancer along the way.  She also was the first woman ever to complete a triple ironman.  Yes. A triple ironman.  What a warrior.


We were given bracelets with "Courage" written on them, which I now wear as a reminder that I have NOTHING to complain about, and that there's people out there who are truly suffering and showing real courage.  

Kathy as she passed by us!

To find out more about Kathy and her challenge, or to be instantly inspired, visit Go Kathy Go!

Hoosiers & Mizzou

Good morning from St. Louis!  I'm currently at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, waiting out a thunderstorm before I start riding this morning.

Nashville, Indiana

IU in Bloomington

It's been a big week- since I've last blogged, I've traveled through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and into Missouri!  Indiana has been my favorite state thus far- every town we stopped in was interesting and unique.  We went through Columbus (a blossoming city known for their architecture), Nashville (a crafty toursit town that is very much like the shopping villages at Disney), Bloomington (an awesome college town with the beautiful IU and the most interesting ice cream place I've been yet! So many crazy flavors...), and Terre Haute (home of the "Crossroads of America", or the intersection of Routes 40 and 41).  In Terre Haute, we hosted a bike clinic for young kids to teach them cycling safety.  The kids were adorable and SO excited to show off their skills in an adjacent parking lot.

2 friends from the bike clinic!

Illinois was fun as well, but quite thunderstormy.  We had to break up a couple of rides when there was lightening and the rain got bad (visibility issues).  Those days, despite being soggy, ended up being hilarious and rather enjoyable, as we entertained ourselves for hours inside laundromats and under gazebos.

Laundromat Entertainment

Welcome to Illinois!

 

Crossing the Mississippi!!!

Near the Missouri border, I stopped into the Louis and Clarke museum and compared their westward exploration to ours.  It was pretty cool to read quotes from their journal entries that expressed their fatigue yet determination to reach the Pacific, and then their excitement at finally getting there.  The similarities were neat, but it also made me appreciate how easy I have it.

Just the other day, we monumentally crossed the mighty Mississippi River.  It felt like such an accomplishment to have gotten this far!  Shortly after, we pedaled by the arch of St. Louis.  It was so exciting to finally see the gateway to the west!

Working with Rebuilding Together

Yesterday, we had a build day in St. Louis.  For the first time on our trip, we worked with Rebuilding Together (instead of Habitat for Humanity), another affordable housing organization.  We had the pleasure of revamping Sandy's home, doing things like painting her kitchen, replacing her cabinets, and fixing her porch.  It was a nice change from Habitat and incredibly satisfying to see the improvements we made in just one day.  Sandy, an elderly woman, was one of the most appreciative women I've met.  We could barely  talk to her for thirty seconds without her crying happy tears!

The storm is passing, and it looks like it's time to ride!

Love,
Abby

Pictures & More Pictures!

Here are lots and lots of photos from my first 2 weeks!  I won't get a chance to title them/tell you where they're from because I'm currently hogging the computer just to upload them.  Enjoy!

Album 1

Album 2

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).