WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

In a strange and almost unbelievable twist, all 31 of us actually made it to SANTA BARBARA!
A short last day, we rode the last 5 miles in one big pack (which served to remind me how unsafe and annoying this is, even though it was fun) and rolled up to East Beach all together, where we were greeted by enthusiastic friends and family screaming, whistling, and holding some of the most enormous signs I have ever seen. We, of course, ignored all of our loved ones, stripped ourselves of our valuables and our bikes and sprinted to the Pacific. We frolicked, played, did one last Jorge-directed cheer, and covered each other with Champagne before we ceremonially dipped our tires in the Pacific and went back to talk to our families.
The days after that have all been a sort of blur. It seems strange not to be sleeping with 30 other people on a floor or getting up at 4 am or eating vast quantities of peanut butter and jelly.
I don't really know how to conclude this entry. A profound parting thought seems appropriate, but after a smmer of riding through America, no easy conclusion is forthcoming. The only thing that I can say is that this summer has been full of surprises. America surprised me. The hilly lushness of the Berkshires, the vastness and beauty of the Southwest, and the utopic coastal views of California revealed how little I know about my own country and that you really don't have to go far to feel like you are lightyears away. Strangers surprised me. Sure, we recieved our fair share of honks and catcalls, but we recieved far more random donations, friendly waves, and invitations to dinner. My fellow riders surprised me. Their strength and positivity and willingness to sacrifice was phenomenal. Mostly, though, I surprised myself. I leave this summer with a new self-confidence. The future seemed scary, with too many things I "should" be doing and a real threat of being unable or unwilling to make it on my own. After this summer, though, it promises to be a real adventure that I will not only be able to handle on my own, but will enjoy in the process.
Anyway. Sorry if that was excessively introspective and thank you all for reading and for your continual support.

- Katie

California Love

Wow. So much has happened since my last blog post that I can do nothing other than list format:
1. Riding from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas was death, pure and simple. Multiple hundred mile days through the desert at 100 + temperatures? Yikes. The ride into Kingman was especially notable for its hellishness, because as I collapsed, heat exhausted, at the host, a dust storm blew up out of nowhere. Wow. Who knew that happened post-1930s?
2. Las Vegas: A totally surreal experience. None of us were quite prepared for the glitz and glamour, being primarily clad in dirt, athletic gear, and tan lines, but we were prepared for the all you can eat buffet. That buffet will never be the same again. I made a sincere effort to stay out late and enjoy Vegas, but mostly enjoyed sleeping in a real bed. Our build day the next day was cut short because of our general exhaustion and I spent the rest of the day by the pool with a pina colada. Delightful.
3. Riding into California was notable for the rollercoaster on the state line (strange, I know) and for the continued hellishness of the riding. One of our stops (Baker, CA) is known for being the "Gateway to Death Valley" and has a 134 foot thermometer, commemorating the highest temperature recorded in the US! Yay! Let's never bike there again!
4. Today was the beginning of the end. Our last long day (87 miles) was yesterday, and we rode into Valencia, CA after just 35 miles! AND there are now trees, water, and civilization! Wonderful! The only blight on the day so far is that I had my first wipe out. In traffic. I'm fine, just a little banged up, but I was greeted by the enthusiasm of the Valencia Fire Department and thoroughly embarrassed. Oh well. At least I finally have some scars to prove how hard core I am. We plan on spending the rest of our day at Six Flags Magic Mountain, so I should get a move on.
Will write from SANTA BARBARA.

One Pretty Big Hole

Rolling into the Grand Canyon was momentous. We stayed on the South Rim, which is apparently the highly trafficked section, because I honestly have not heard so many different languages being spoken in such a condensed area on any other part of my journey so far. On our first night, we set up camp, watched the sunset over the Canyon, and then roasted marshmallows over the campfire. It was a lovely night and since the sky was clear many of us decided to sleep outside. It was really beautiful and I slept well except for when I periodically woke up panting and had to look inside my sleeping bag for tarantulas. Apparently at one point I sat up in my sleeping bag and started frenzying until my friend Lindsay convinced me that there were no tarantulas on my face. Having no recollection of this, I contest that it ever happened.
The next day, we slept in (until dawn) and went for a short hike into the Canyon. Since we have a habit, at this point, of taking at least 3 liters of water, several snacks, and a change of shoes with us everywhere, we were probably the most (over)prepared hikers on our trail. After some breathtaking views, we trudged back up the side of the Canyon, learning the hard way that walking places actually takes a lot longer, and settled down for second breakfast at the Canyon Cafe.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying such luxuries as napping, reading a NY Times, and playing cards in the tent while it rained.
Overall, a very satisfying Grand Canyon trip.
Oh, and only 10 days until Santa Barbara. Wow.

I Might Have to Move to Flagstaff...

The day off (we were supposed to have a build day, but it was unfortunately cancelled) has been very good to us. After 7 straight days of biking across the Southwest, we were really due for a break, especially since we have been riding at high elevations and with some serious heat. Flagstaff was a great break, in addition to being a fun town. It is bike friendly, full of hippies/young people who like used bookstores and iced chai (read: me), and seems to have planned all of its fun events for when we got here. Last night, Flagstaff welcomed us with an artwalk and an open-air movie in the park. Today has been spent wandering around the town, buying ridiculous outfits for our stay in Las Vegas (OH! WE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT WE ARE STAYING IN THE IMPERIAL PALACE HOTEL AND CASINO IN LAS VEGAS! OH! MY! GOD!). Ahem. Anyway, Flagstaff has been great and the rest of the afternoon will be spent on our behind the scenes tour of Roden Crater. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/arts/design/25fink.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&oref=slogin

This NY Times article will give you some idea of how cool this opportunity is.
It's not the first cool thing we've seen in Arizona. Our days have been full of fun adventures, including a trip to the Painted Desert and a trip to Winslow, AZ, a town that seems to have built itself around the fact that it is included in The Eagles' classic "Take it Easy." It has a statue of Don Henley standing on a corner, a mural of a girl (my Lord) in a flatbed Ford, and two rival giftshops that continually blare The Eagles' Greatest Hits. Wow. Our ride tomorrow, however, will take us to the greatest Arizona sight of them all -- The GRAND CANYON!
So, sure, we'll be treking through the desert for a while, but with the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas to look forward to, I feel fairly confident that it will be worth it.

Hello, Grand Canyon State!

So apparently we will actually make it to Santa Barbara. Crossing into Arizona was another solidification of this fact, although the road to Flagstaff has been a long one. The last few days of riding, though difficult, have been some of the most beautiful of the trip. Riding out of Socorro, we passed mountains covered in mist with a rainbow across them. It looked like heaven. Until we started climbing, gaining 4,000 feet of elevation in one day. That particular day felt like we were all going to die on the road, especially when vultures started circling above us (this is not a joke. It was very creepy.). One of the highlights of the last couple of days was going to the Very Large Array, which is a huge field full of radio transmitters (Contact, anyone?), where we all got the dorky satisfaction of learning about black holes and taking pictures next to huge dishes that weigh 230 tons. The next biggest highlight of the last couple of days was Pie Town, NM, a town of 60 people (the elk outnumber the residents 3 to 1) that was apparently a trading post that got its name for the pies made by the niece of the owner. Since then, they have specialized in pies. Since we at Bike and Build specialize in eating pies, we made beautiful music together. I will write once I have learned more about Arizona. All I know about it right now is that it is hot and doesn't observe daylight savings time.

Land of Enchantment

New Mexico has, so far, had quite a lot to offer a weary traveller. A day off in Roswell, for example, allowed me to learn all sorts of exciting new alien facts. For example, did you know that a mysterious code was discovered on the scraps of space ships that landed in Roswell, or that Mayans were actually the first space travellers? Yeah. Just try to challenge any of this information to the UFO Museum staff and you're in for a world of trouble. I also made such valuable purchases as a bumper sticker that says "Ship Happens" and a t-shirt that says "Trust No One."
We rode out of Roswell today into the Sacramento mountain range. A long, continual ascent occupied our time for the first 80 miles, with the reward of a 15 mile downhill. The mountains themselves were beautiful and the riding was perhaps some of the most enjoyable of the trip so far. We also rode through some memorable places, including Lincoln, NM, where Billy the Kid reigned and famously shot the sheriff (AND the deputy). Also of note was Capitan, NM, the home of Smokey the Bear (Apparently he was originally a real bear. Also, apparently there are bears in New Mexico. Yikes. I'm having enough trouble avoiding rattlesnakes.). Capitan celebrates its heritage by having literally everything in the town Smokey the Bear themed. This includes, but is not limited to, a Smokey the Bear Museum and Gift Shop and Smokey's Restaurant and General Store.
We're heading into a long stretch until we hit Flagstaff -- long days, continual ascents, and desert conditions. Certainly I will reach Arizona with the muscles of a Marine, the reflexes of a jungle cat, and the ability to bite the head off a rattlesnake, Survivorman-style. Wish me luck in this endeavor.

I Guess Everything is Bigger Here

So we have just completed a day of building in Amarillo, TX. Texas has been notable for its extreme heat, wind, and extremely large sized (TexaSize) fries and drinks. Even more noteworthy than all of this, however, is "The Big Texan," a restaurant/theme park/tourist trap that we all frequented last night. The Big Texan features a shooting range, waiters in costumes, a huge concrete steer, and the 72 ounce steak challenge. The challenge is to eat 72 ounces of steak (and side dishes) within an hour. The participant in the challenge sits on a stage in front of a huge ticking clock displayed in front of the entire restaurant. After riding 100 miles to get to Amarillo, we were fairly certain that one of our riders had a good chance of victory. The brave participant, Jorge, started to much enthusiasm. We literally filled the restaurant with chanting ("What Time is it?" "Game time!", "Dogs in the house!", etc.). Despite an excellent showing, however, Jorge was only able to complete about 60 ounces. Mind you, this is still an almost inconceivably large amount of meat. And we are very proud of him.
As an addendum, after this story you can probably guess how the vegetarians on the trip have been doing in Texas. As one of our hosts said, "I hope you're not looking for anything light to eat. Because you won't find that in Texas."

You're Doing Fine, Oklahoma

In an unexpected twist, Oklahoma has become my favorite state to bike through so far. Yes, that's right. Oklahoma. Riding through Kansas and into Oklahoma on our first day, we spent a glorious afternoon swimming and frolicking through sunflower fields. Oh, and biking. Though slightly hillier than I expected (this is largely because I had images of pancake-flat riding) and as hot as the surface of the sun, Oklahoma has by far exceeded all expectations. It even has armadillos! I have yet to see a live one, but the amount of them I see on the road leads me to believe that they are plentiful, and that I may have a chance to see one before leaving their territory. My worst experience in this state has been my epic huge mistake to stay up late watching "No Country for Old Men" in Vinita, OK (Birthplace of Dr. Phil. Bit of trivia.). It was a mistake for several reasons: a. Javier Bardem is really creepy in a haunting way and under no circumstances should be viewed before sleeping b. Watching people being needlessly ed by a serial killer in a countryside much like the one I am riding through did not sit well with me the next day c. Well, I guess it was just two reasons. It actually is a really good movie. The days have also been very short recently. This is, I suppose, a welcome respite, but given that I know we are gearing up for some long painful days in the Southwest, the break is bittersweet.

Treking through the Show-Me State

Rarely, it seems, do I have two blog posts from the same state. We are going through them at a pretty decent clip. Today, however, I follow up my post from St. Louis with one from Joplin, MO. We have been going Southwest (I sense a theme here) across the state, having adventures along the way. Two long days in the Ozarks (two centuries in a row. Ouch.) were rewarded by a build day in Springfield, MO, where we stayed yesterday. The build day was hot, humid, and involved alot of hammering on a blitz build being done by the Habitat chapter there. It was rewarding work because it was so tangibly productive. We saw a boxy form transform into a house with a roof, insulation, and a few appliances. It made me dream (ever-so briefly) about a life in construction. Too bad I have no skills. Or upper body strength.
To be honest with myself (and my readers), the highlight of Springfield was actually the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World, a fishing store that was so much more. A sign over the door reading "Welcome hunters, fishermen, and other liars" welcomed us into a wonderland of camo, trucker hats, guns, waterfalls, live fish, live DUCKS, a starbucks, a barber shop, a restaurant, and many more ridiculous and wonderful things. After an hour of rampaging around the store in a full-on camo jumpsuit, I was as tired as I am after most riding days. And as exhilarated. Well, maybe not. But almost.
I feel that the Bass Pro Shop is pretty indicative of my experience with Missouri. More pick-up trucks, more camo, and fewer leashes and gates for dogs.
Will write from Oklahoma.

Meet me in St. Louis

So it's official. Just like Lewis and Clark, we are heading West. And now I know that we will surely make it because we crossed the Mississippi yesterday, marking the difference between "I guess that's a pretty far way to bike" and "Oh my God you must be jacked" territory. We sped through the Land of Lincoln, my home state, at a pretty serious clip. Blink, and we might have missed Lawrenceville or Salem, the two towns in which we stayed. The most memorable part of Illinois was certainly the 4th of July, not for any particular celebration, but because of our stay in the donated rooms of the Gas Lite Motel. That's right. Double beds. Sheets. Pillows. TV. A shower only shared by 3-4 people. God bless America.
Other than that, Illinois was marked by easy, flat riding and the disturbing scenery of the remnants of the recent flooding. From Bloomington through Illinois, we repeatedly encountered FEMA workers there to look over the damage, and several locals told horrific stories of flood damage. One elderly woman in Lawrenceville told a story about how her kitchen had been completely flooded, and as her family attempted to head out to safety, her dog ran forward first and was electrocuted, inadvertently sacrificing himself for his owners. Stories like that seemed to be fairly commonplace in the area and gave a startling new face to the recent news. I can only hope that FEMA operations are successful and that those with flood damage recieve some amount of aid.
On a happier note, the sun has come out for our day in St. Louis and the arch, the zoo and (of course) the ubiquitous trip to the bike shop are all in order. Will write again soon.
Westward ho!

Hoosierville

Hello from Bloomington, home of the Hoosiers and a little bit of sanity as we prepare for a day of building. Our ride through Indiana thus far has been very welcoming, very sunny, and very windy, but the good riding conditions were marred (for me) when my friend and riding buddy hit a pothole and was thrown from her bike. Having to take a friend to the ER was scary, but she was lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to have escaped with 11 stitches, 5 on her chin and 6 on her knee. So safety has been on the forefront of everyone's mind in the past couple of days, even though accidents like the one she was in were no fault of her own. Nevertheless, being extra careful has been the name of the game for me riding through Indiana.
On a happier note, we have passed through some beautiful and hilly countryside since I last was able to write, including some beautiful farmland and highlights like the world's largest basket (as predicted by my mother). I am fortunate enough to have my Mom and Grandma here to see me tonight so I will get to go to a REAL restaurant and have a meal where I don't feel like I have to gorge myself so that the 30 other hungry wolves that I'm riding with don't eat all my food. This being said, I will likely gorge myself anyway. How can I help it? The food is free and my Grandma brought apple pie.

Ah. And a final thought. To all of you Hoosiers. As I rode into Indiana, I took a picture next to the "Welcome to Indiana" state sign (obviously) and noted to my dismay that underneath the sign saying "Crossroads of America" the Indiana population had tacked on the phrase "Lincoln's boyhood home." The people of Indiana very well know that ILLINOIS is the land of Lincoln. Stop riding on our coattails.

Take Me Home Country Road

It's strange to think that just yesterday I was having a relaxed day of Andy Warhol and Thai food in Pittsburgh, PA, and today I'm writing to you from the Midwest. Gettting to Ohio today (by way of West Virginia, hence the John Denver reference) has made this whole cross country trip seem a little more real. Telling people in Pennsylvania that I had biked from Boston didn't seem too impressive, but now that I've actually crossed into the heartland, it seems like we've gone quite a ways. (700+ miles, actually) The ride today was fairly uneventful, a 40 mile ride that seemed like child's play after the grueling rides of the last week.
Items of note from today included:
- Our leaders surprised four of the members of the trip with awards. These awards included one girl who recieved a medal for her good spirits after getting poison ivy on her butt (she will, for the purposes of this blog, remain anonymous) and one for myself for "waging continuous war with my bike" (read: I am always the greasiest and grimiest member of the trip. Enough so that it has been honored with a medal with football players on it.)
- Having a free large cheese pizza from Papa John's that the owner donated and then scarfing it down with two other girls.
- Stubenville, OH. Home of Dean Martin. Apparently.

Pittsburgh Never Tasted So Sweet

Never would I have thought that arriving in Pittsburgh would be so exciting. But not only is it home to the Pirates, a 35% grade hill (that some of the crazies in my group want to bike up), and someplace called the "Strip District" that apparently has a lot of cheese shops, it is also the scene of our first DAY OFF! My arrival in Pittsburgh (During rush hour and covered with grease from changing a flat along US30. Unpleasant.) may have been anticlimactic, but the possibilities here are endless! I could have, for example, stayed up late last night (this proved physically impossible for my body) or slept in early this morning (ditto). I will not, however, be thwarted in my plan to eat as much as I can, see a movie, and NOT ride my bike. Tomorrow we will be riding out of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania entirely, so this is my last post from the Keystone State. So goodbye PA. I liked your Amish country, but next time, let's lay off on my legs a little bit with the hills.

Rough Riding

In case my faithful readers aren't aware, Pennsylvania is pretty hilly. Yesterday was our first century, and it was spent climbing up and down those very hills. Yikes. If that wasn't enough, we followed the century with an 80 mile day. So send me your love. Because my legs might give out in the Keystone State. More to follow.

Crossing the Hudson

Crossing the Hudson on a bicycle seemed to be a dream come true for most of the people on my trip. For me (and my ever-present fear of heights) it was a little less thrilling. Especially since we would periodically ride past signs that said "Life is worth living," as if you needed reminding that yes, you would die if you fell from the bridge. Our ride today was pleasantly less hilly and less rainy than our previous rides, but as some of our leaders have warned us, we're only gearing up for the horrors that await us in PA. Other than the bridge, highlights of today's ride included getting lost and being cheered on by an entire elementary school, discovering that it is officially Vanilla Milkshake Day, and realizing that we don't actually get showers today, despite the 70 mile ride. Ick.
Oh, and quote of the day, courtesy of Jose, the most intense trip leader ever:
"Chuck Norris' computer doesn't have a ctrl key. Chuck Norris is always in control."
I suppose this was intended to be inspirational.
Will write from Pennsylvania!

Welcome to a World of Pain (the Berkshires)

So apparently the Berkshires are fairly big. And hilly. And hard to bike on. These are all things I have learned in the past few days, en route from Andover to my current location of Poughkeepsie. One of the hills we biked on yesterday was a 17% grade! (If you're not impressed by this, do some googling. It's STEEP.) The scenery, however, made this decently tolerable. Town after New England-y town outdid itself in adorableness and we passed (and played with) a farm full of miniature goats! The mountains themselves, of course, are really breathtaking and it made me very happy that I was exploring the US this summer. I've lived in Connecticut for 4 years and never fully appreciated the beauty of the scenery next door.
As for myself, I'm holding up well.
Current Katie Stats:
Blisters: 2
Ridiculous tan lines: 6 (they would improve faster if it would stop raining. If any of my myriad readers could do anything about it, it would be most appreciated.)
Percent of time spent covered in bike grease: 82%
Bug bites: Too many to count

Unrelated but interesting facts:
Most creepy roadkill: Snake
Strangest road name: Tie between "Fish and Game Rd." and "Rip van Winkle Blvd."
Number of times I have consumed PB&J in the last week: 50+

Build Day #1

For the uninitiated, it may seem odd that we are building at a Habitat for Humanity site in lovely and prosperous Andover, Mass., but just over the rolling hills of Phillips Academy is Lawrence, one of the poorest cities in New England. The houses that we were working on came with a bit of a backstory. Three houses were being prepared on a given site, one of which was two weeks away from being completed and having the family move in, when a fire devastated the entire block. Luckily, the generosity of the community and Habitat for Humanity in Lawrence has allowed them to rebuild -- or at least, be in the process of rebuilding. So we worked on these houses. With the careful supervision of the Habitat for Humanity staff, we raised two walls on one of the houses! It was a very satisfying feeling. Like an Amish barn-raising, but better. I spent most of my day acquainting myself with the hammer, hauling plywood, and getting blisters. I imagine that the one on my thumb will be fairly unpleasant tomorrow on the bike.
Tomorrow we are eating at Chris Webber's family's house for the second night in a row. I can't remember if I wrote this yesterday, but Chris was a program director for Bike and Build who was hit by a car several years ago. The Webber family has been very very nice to us, feeding us, amusing us, letting us play whiffle ball in their backyard, etc. Tonight they are allegedly cooking us THANKSGIVING DINNER!! For me, my thoughts go straight to pumpkin pie, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. With the amount of activity that we do here (biking and building, generally. As the name implies) food has never been so appreciated. Or consumed in such vast quantities.

On an unrelated note, I realized that the stream of consciousness style in which I write this is barely comprehensible. Yikes. Well, I promise I graduated. Sorry for the awkward syntax.

Andover, MA

So DAY ONE of official cycling has ended. The first two days, when we were in Revere, MA, were spent orienting ourselves/benefiting from donated Italian food from the North End/learning to enjoy sleeping on the floor. The people of St. Anthony's, where we stayed in Revere, were extremely kind. One of the women said to us (and I quote): "My granddaughter is about to graduate high school. I would be proud if she turned out like you young people." We all started crying. On a related note, my trip is overwhelmingly female. 25 women outnumber the 8 men on our trip. So this trip should be one long extremely hard core slumber party. In any case, our first day of cycling, though not very long, was momentous. We walked over to Revere Beach and ceremoniously dipped our tires in the Atlantic Ocean, coming to the almost overwhelming realization that we would be reaching the other side of this country by the end of the summer. The ride itself was short (about 23 miles) and slow-going. We are still learning how to ride in such an enormous mass, so slow and steady is the name of the game for now. When we reached Andover, we came to the swanky swanky middle school in which we were staying, and went for a quick swim in a nearby pond (in our bike clothes, of course. Sanitary? Perhaps not.).
Other important things that have happened recently:
1. I named my bike BB King.
2. I developed an increasingly pronounced bikers tan.
3. I mistakenly brought a much smaller bag than I was allowed to bring and struggle everyday to fit my stupid stupid thermarest inside.
4. I have tried at least 6 different types of Cliff bar, and Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch is still my favorite.

** Check bikeandbuild.org for uploaded photos of us (and by us I mean me)!!!

Come One, Come All!

Hello throngs of dedicated readers and superfans,
This blog will track my (theoretically) successful completion of my bike trip from Boston to Santa Barbara with Bike and Build, a great organization that raises money for affordable housing organizations while leading a group of adventurous little Lance Armstrongs across the country. Since I am now sitting in JFK and thus have packing, prepping, and last-minute training to attend to, I will keep this post brief, but STAY TUNED post June 11 to hear all about my quest to the West!