End of Colorado, Utah, Idaho...dropping like flies

Oh so much to cover...lots on the mind but not enough hours in the day!


Wednesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Water runoff from the mountains is COLD.

For our day off in Aspen, one of the riders had a friend who is a rafting guide and she was able to hook us up with a great deal to do an all day rafting trip. It was a ton of fun, but very cold! I managed to stay in the raft, but just barely. I had to be yanked back in the raft by the girl behind me when I was about 1/2 in the river...

Weee!

Thursday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Sometimes riding by yourself is preferable.

Today's ride was really, really beautiful and also was very, very fast. I felt great just taking it easy by myself and not trying to keep up with anyone. I had some things to think over about going back to Chicago and finding a place to live, etc. so it was nice to take a day to get it all sorted out while biking in some beautiful scenery! That night we stayed in a community center in a the small town of Silt, CO which worked out great for us. Here are some pics from the scenic ride:

I saw my first moose of the trip! It was a mom and baby

Friday's LESSON OF THE DAY: The Bike & Build plague exists and is nasty.

It attacks. It makes you physically ill. It makes you curl up in the fetal position in the van. That's right folks, the first lovely stomach bug to be passed around our group. It really knocks you out, and about 1/2 through a very pretty ride to Meeker, CO it got me. I was sweep (meaning I was supposed to be the last one in case anything goes wrong along the way) so I had to find a willing individual to take over so I could get an emergency ginger ale from the gas station and try to sleep it off. Nothing makes you want home more than getting sick, so this day was a little rough. Luckily we had a great host in Meeker and I was able to curl up in the nursery by myself and put on a movie for some background noise. A good night's rest did the trick, and I think I came out of it much better off than some of my co-riders. I healed very quickly and unfortunately as this sickness has been passed around, the quick healing has not been too common.

Saturday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Utah!

No lesson, just happy to be in Utah! I have never been and on this fine day we arrived after a long 85 miles, with about another 20 to go until our final destination in Vernal. But, to welcome you to into Vernal there is this huge pink dinosaur:


It may seem strange, but we had just passed through Dinosaur National Park, so there were a lot of dinosaur references on this route. As for why its pink, I have no idea. For dinner, our lovely dinner crew decided to make "breakfast for dinner" and whipped up some delicious pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon and grits. Mmmmm.

Welcome to Utah!

Sunday's LESSON OF THE DAY: River floating is awesome.

After a quick ride into Duchesne, UT we discovered that our site (the county fairgrounds building) was conveniently located with the Strawberry River right behind it. So, naturally, we spent the rest of the afternoon floating down on our backs trying to dodge the rocks and then climbing out and doing it all over again. We met some, uhhh, interesting locals and a really cute puppy named Zeus, and then spent the rest of the night getting a presentation and chatting about affordable housing.

Strawberry River

Strawberry River

Monday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Provo canyon makes for incredible scenery.

Today's ride was not easy, about 95 miles, and 52.4 of those miles were climbing a pass. Not that I was watching the mileage or anything :) But after the 52.4 miles of climbing we got to decend down the most beautiful canyon I have ever seen. It was really breathtaking, so much so that I wasn't even crabby when my tire exploded at the bottom and I had to change it on the side of the road. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful area to do it in!

Kind of a disappointing summit sign after 53 miles of climbing...

Pretty,

pretty,

pretty,

canyon.

Tuesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: B&B can cause some serious damage.

Another build day today, this time in Provo where we worked on demolition for a site they are rebuilding. It was really fun to be able to knock things around like we got to do on our first build day and I even found a girly sledge hammer that was a little more appropriately sized for my muscles than the big ones. Here are some pics:

Cool vintage stove that went to the restore

That, my friends, is very old and dirty and itchy insulation

Wendesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: I miss home.

Today was awesome because we had a relatively short ride into Salt Lake City but we had the best destination EVER. We stayed at the home of one of our rider, Justin Gibbs, and his family was amazing! So much so that we really, honostly didn't want to leave. It was so nice to be in a home with carpet, sofas, cable TV, family photos...the Gibbs' made everyone feel so at home and I think it brought on thoughts of everyone's families and going home. The trip is nearing the end as as much as we are going to miss each other, seeing Justin be so happy to see his family really made everyone that much more excited to see theirs too! They hosted an awesome BBQ with tons of family and friends, but I snuck out for a while so that I could go to dinner with my brother-in-law's parents who live near Salt Lake City. It was great to see them, and a rare treat to eat at a restaurant so all in all it was a great night! After dinner they took my downtown and gave me some history lessons about SLC and its Morman influence.

Thursday's LESSON OF THE DAY: We love Roosters in Ogden, UT.

If you are ever in Ogden, go to Roosters. These lovely people with the help of my brother-in-law's father, Rich, were kind enough to host lunch for our group on our way to Brigham City for the evening. They had fruit, sandwiches, pasta salad, and most importantly root beer floats for us! We rarely get anything but peanut butter and jelly for lunch so it was an amazing treat. I also really loved the little town of Odgen and I'm going to recommend to next year's group that they stay there for the night.

Friday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Christmas in July is really fun.

So today we went to Idaho, and in the spirit of Christmas in July we did a Secret Santa and everyone had to pick a name and give their person something that was either found or donated. Here are some of my favorties that people came up with: a wagon that was strapped to the back of the gift giver for 20 miles, a mud flap that was cut into the shape of Iowa to give to a rider who is from there, a unripe turnip, found beach ball, and an Idaho potato pin. It was the best Christmas ever.

Saturday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Yikes, sunburn hurts.

89 miles today, from Holbrook to Burley. The ride wasn't hard, but it was very, very hot. So much so that a group of us decided to ditch our jerseys in order to get some extra wind on our backs. The one flaw in the plan is that it was so nice that we didn't put them back on until about 40 miles later and by that point our poor backs were burnt to a crisp. We all have very distinct tan lines outlining where our hydration packs were, and here I am 4 days later sitting a computer lab cursing the chair because its rubbing on my back.

Sunday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Sometimes huge waterfalls appear as if from nowhere.

There was a lot of confusion on this ride because we were told the "Niagra Falls of the West" was where we were going to have lunch at mile 40. And at mile 38 all that we could see was mass amounts of crops and flat land as far as the eye can see. Then, all of the sudden the earth gave way and we were in an awesome canyon with some great waterfalls. We had lunch there and then traveled a bit farther up the canyon for some great rocks and swimming holes.

We have a knack for finding rocks to jump off

Bigger, scarier rocks

Lots of elk, just haning' out

Blending in

Shoshone Falls, where we ate lunch

This is the bridge we saw people base jumping off of...that is NOT a sport I will taking up

Monday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Bike & Build has talent, and we're not afraid to show it.

Today I was driver, and I have to say I'm lucky because although it was a relatively short 64 miles, the headwinds were extremely strong and it was a very frustrating ride for most people. But enough of the negative stuff...this turned out to be the best day ever because it was the night of a few special treats. First, the leaders decided to cook dinner for the group and it felt SO good to cook again! I miss it. We made pasta with spicy peanut sauce and chicken, mushrooms and broccoli, spinach and artichoke dip, a killer greens salad with veggies we don't treat ourselves too very often, and a yummy parsely, tomato and cucumber salad. Everyone really enjoyed it and we topped it off with and ice cream sundae bar complete with whipped cream and sprinkles. But this was all a precurser to the main event...The First Annual SC2SC Bike & Build TALENT SHOW! It was hilarious...here are some of the events:

Swing dancing

Juggling

Bike & Build rodeo (race to change a flat and "hog tie" a thermarest")

Poetry Slam

There were also some singing acts, one funny one and one seriously amazing performance by Abby, our resident opera singer. Then my friend Laura and I did impressions of everyone on the trip. Hopefully it was funny and not horribly offensive, and then to end the night we all put on choir robes and sang our revised version of "Country Roads". It may have been one of the best Bike & Build nights yet.

Tuesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: I miss being a girl. But I did ride as fast as a boy today.

44 miles to Boise? No problem! My fellow ladies and I finished in a little over two hours because of the amazing lack of wind and a very flat ride. It felt great to be fast! Plus it gave us most of the day to explore Boise which is such a great little city. I have never been there but after showering we wandered around and I was really pleasantly surprised with the great shops and restaurants in the downtown area.

Wednesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: I love Boise.

I didn't get to wander as much as I would have liked on this day, but I did get to sit at a coffee shop outside for multiple hours while I worked on my resume. It was really pleasant, and then later on that night I got to reward myself for all my hard work earlier with a wine tasting and dinner at a Basque restaurant. I really can't say enough good things about Boise. I would really love to go back.

Thursday's LESSON OF THE DAY: It feels awesome to give out money!!!

Today, after a really quick ride into Oregon (only one state border left...ahh!) we had a great discussion about our affordable housing grants and who we want to give our fundraised funds out to. We already paid for the house in Colorado Springs, so we had about $22,000 dollars left to dole out and we had some great discussions about who to give it to and why. I'm really pleased with our decision, and because the applicants don't know yet I won't say who is getting all your donated money, but I'll tell you as soon as I can! Just know it is going to amazing affordable housing organizations that are very committed to getting young adults involved and excited about volunteering.

So now I'm about to travel into the Pacific time zone tomorrow, and also think about how there are only two more weeks from tomorrow left on this amazing adventure I'm on. It seems insane that its almost over, and I'm doing my best to enjoy every last moment I have withe my bike, the open road, and most importantly all the incredible people I've had the pleasure of traveling with for the past couple months.

See some of you very soon! Chicago here I come.

Are we still in the same state?

I'm so confused. I'm not used to staying in the same state for so long...we haven't crossed a border in two weeks!

Check out this article from the Green Bay Press Gazette...

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907120663

Thanks Mom for being my personal media manager :)

Wednesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Sometimes being MVP hurts.

Well, I am officially MVP for the day. Why you ask? Because I fell through the roof at the build site and continued to lay shingles afterward like a trooper. Mom, don't freak out. It really wasn't that bad. It was pretty funny actually. There was roofing work to be done on the site, and since my window group and I had successfully installed every window in the house before lunch (we're getting good) I needed a new job for the afternoon. I was not thrilled about the idea of traipsing around on the roof, but I figured everyone else was fine so I should be too. I was on the roof for approximately 30 seconds and was making my way to the peak when my friend Kristen started to tell me something right as I stepped on the flat part on the peak of the roof. The next thing I knew I was stuck with one leg splayed out on the roof and the other poking directly through to the workers inside the house. Whoops. Apparently there is no wood underneath the tar paper on the peak of the roof, which is what Kristen was in the process of telling me before I poked through like a peg in a LiteBrite. Oh well, Bandy (aka Big Andy) rushed to my side before I injured myself further and I managed to escape with just some mild bruising and scraping. And of course the awesome "Git-R-Done" hat for the day!!


Thursday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Rodeos are actually quite entertaining.

After building a few riders and I decided that we wanted to check out the 69th Annual Pikes Peak Or Bust Rodeo. We fit right in rolling up in our 15 passenger van with the bike helmet and horns on the front! We walked in a little late, but we were just in time to see the Mutton Bustin' segment which, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, is where kids (we saw ages ranging from 4 to 8) are thrown on the backs of sheep which they proceed to ride. Its very strange but they kids are all padded up with helmets, and the sheep aren't big so they don't fall very far. The rest of the events were your typical bull riding, calf wrangling, wild cow milking, barrel racing, you know...just a typical Thursday night. I am actually very surprised at how entertained I was! Here are some pics:

Real cowboys!

The venue

Cool sunset

Friday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Bike & Build can throw up a house in no time.

Since we are so quick and so efficient, we finished the house a day early! We had a great time finishing things up, and even got some drywall work done on the house next door. We had a little celebration with some speeches from the Habitat people and some cake, and then we all took sharpies and wrote notes to the family in their attic. It was really great to take a step back and see the fruits of our labor, but at the same time we had such a good time building and hanging out with the Habitat crew that we were really sad to leave. Here are the final pics of our lovely Bike & Build house:

Almost there...

Finishing touches

Done!

Leaving messages for the homeowners

Our whole construction crew

Saturday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Nora is still really cute.

On our bonus day off I got to spend some more time with Shannon, Jeff and Nora which was great! I took a quick 25 mile bike ride in the morning to make sure I still remembered how to ride my bike after our long break, and then when they got into town we proceeded to eat many times. We got fish tacos for lunch, went to a bike shop, checked into Shannon and Jeff's hotel (where I got to shower with no shoes and a real towel!!), then we went for brick oven pizza and finished off the night by making a visit to Sonic for a little ice cream fix. After that we headed back to the church I was staying at and Jeff cleaned my bike while I got in some last minute playing time with Nora. What a deal! Jeff was a little disgusted at the state of my bike, since according to Shannon he spit shines his, but that poor thing has been getting some use so my components were a bit dirty. Nora made a lot of friends with all the Bike & Builders, and at one point she had an audience of about 4 of the guys were amazed at how small (and cute) she is. One of them asked if babies were really supposed to be that small. It was great to have another day off, but we had to go to bed early since the next day's ride was a big one.

Jeff cleaned my bike...

And I played with my cutie

Sunday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Two mountain passes in one day is rough way to break yourself back into biking.

I had a guest rider with me today, my brother-in-law Jeff! I was a bit nervous to ride with him since he is a much stronger and more experienced rider than I am, but we had a great time and hopefully I didn't make him slow down too much for me. I wasn't really aware that I was taking him on such an adventurous ride, but it ended up being A LOT of climbing (two mountain passes to be exact) and then we got to end the ride with a lovely cold downpour. Jeff and I were both very tired at the end of the 75 mile day, but I was really happy that we finished together and that I got to spend some extra time with him before I had to say goodbye again.

That night we stayed in a very interesting church in Hartsel...it was an igloo. Well, not made of blocks of ice, but in the shape of an igloo and it was quite the puzzle to get 32 people to fit! In fact, one rider slept in the van to give a little more space to the rest of us. It was an interesting night, but really fun because it was kind of like an old school slumber party. Except without the staying up late, another big ride tomorrow!

In laws...together in spandex at last

Jeff and I at Garden of the Gods, 1st half of the ride

Garden of the Gods, a really awesome place to ride through

My first mountian pass!

Monday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Camping in the mountains is cold. Shiver, check my phone to see if its time to get up yet, shiver some more. Try to think warm thoughts, add layers of clothes on. This is how I spent my night camping in Twin Lakes. It was actually a very beautiful campsite, overlooking Twin Lakes and the mountains, and we had fun grilling and making s'mores, but once you stepped away from the fire...brrr! The day's ride went pretty well, I was driving so I got some experience winding through the mountains with the van and trailer!


Tuesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: My legs can get me up a mountain.

Today was the day that we have all been waiting for. INDEPENDANCE PASS! We climbed about 3,000 feet to get there and I, for one, have been really terrified of this ride since the trip began. We started out in the frigid weather but slowly peeled off layers as it warmed up, only to put them back on as we reached higher elevation. It was by far the most beautiful ride I have been on yet this trip, and all the riders and I were in such great moods despite doing nothing but climing for about 2 1/2 hours straight. We were all so proud of ourselves when we got to the top! We just had to have a dance party to celebrate...somewhere there is a video of it because some guy at the top thought we were funny and was taping us, but I fear the video footage might be lost forever. But everyone made it, and it was great to hang out at the summit throwing snowballs and giving ourselves a nice pat on the back for a climb well done :) I can't stress enough now breathtaking this ride was...the pictures just don't do it justice:

Climbing...

Climbing...

Still climbing...

Somehow I was extremely happy and giddy the whole climb...lack of oxygen perhaps?

Snowball fight in July

We made it!

Celebratory mountain top dance party

So now I'm in beautiful Aspen, and we are about to enjoy a lovely day off. Miss you all!

Recapping...

I am a bad blogger. Its been too long, my apologies. I am currently in Denver with Shannon, Jeff and Nora Claire. She is napping so I'm willing to take time away from staring at her to give you all an update on what has been going on in the world o' Bike & Build recently:

Wednesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: When people say "Its going to flatten out soon" they are flat our lying.

We have heard since Birmingham (a mere 4 states ago) that its going to get flat for us. Guess what? It never happens. The US is a curvy hilly place and we've come to terms with the fact that we will never have a day without some climbs. But its okay, we're just getting nice and strong for the Rockies!

Regardless, we were all so happy to get into Arnett after 90+ miles to discover that there was a welcome sign for us on their main street as well as ice cream sundaes waiting in the church! It was amazing...what more could a person ask for after spending 10 hours in the blazing 100 degree heat? Oh, and hey God? If you could turn the thermostat down on this hot box of a nation for a bit that would really help us all out. I am melting. I'm from Wisconsin, I can't take the heat!

Thursday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Maildrops are equivalent to Christmas.

We love Thursdays...because its maildrop day! What a great thing to ride in from an extremely long (90 miles), extremely hot (105 degrees) day and have packages waiting for you from your loved ones! No matter what they are or who they are from I always tear up because it reminds me how wonderful my friends and family are. Mail drop shoutouts- My sister sent me some great pics of little Nora to help get me to Colorado, Maria sent some delicious chocolate cookies that the whole group got to enjoy, and Jason sent me some McDonald's giftcards that are to be used specifically for McFlurries. He knows about my constant need for ice cream so its great that he has given me an excuse to feed the addiction :)

Friday's LESSON OF THE DAY: I've got a beef with Texas. Pun intended.

There is a lot of cattle in Texas. And you know what else there is in Texas? Nothing. Not much at all except "severe wind gusts" according to the road signs. This day was long, and hot and although we had amazing hosts in Texas, the landscape is a little lacking and I have to say I was very, very eager to leave this gigantic state. I need some mountains!

Saturday's LESSON OF THE DAY: New Mexico is beautiful.

But I'm sad I was only there for one day...the ride coming out of Texas, however, was probably the worst one yet. I was going about 8 miles an hour and working harder than I ever had on a bike and the terrain was flat as a pancake. I can thank the intense headwind for my lovely ride. It was a 93 mile day, and after our first lunch at mile 30 I had to venture off on my own because I was not in the best of moods, and felt as though my inner rage at the weather was best saved just for me and my legs. So I got mad, and got even with wind and ended up finishing first that day! That was the first (and most likely last) time that has ever happened. After I crossed over into New Mexico the weather cooperated much more with me and the scenery improved immensely. We stayed in a teeny tiny little town where the only place to shower was a nice man's house's hose with a turkey next door gobbling the whole time...it was an interesting place :)

Finally some scenery!

Sunday's LESSON OF THE DAY: In the words of my fellow rider, Mary, "Colorado is a tease."

Mostly because it started out so incredibly beautiful and with an amazing tailwind that got us to lunch by 9am. We left New Mexico through amazing canyons and bluffs and were greeted into Colorado with glimpses of the mountains that we enjoyed while cruising at around 25 miles an hour without even trying because of the tailwind. Everyone was in such a good mood, and SO excited to get to Colorado. However after lunch, things took a literal turn for the worse. We turned north and our lovely tailwind left us to become an intense and horrific headwind. We tried singing songs from the Lion King to keep ourselves occupied, but eventually we needed our lung capacity to pant for air, so the last 10 or 15 miles were spent cursing the wind. At one point I was going downhill in my easiest gear (which is normally saved for intense climbs) and I was still only going 7 miles an hour. That's right 7. I can practically walk faster than that...but we made it to Trinidad and made ourselves at home wandering the streets and stopping at a local joint for some delicious pizza. Yes, okay fine, I'll admit it. I may have gone to Sonic again. I'm telling you, for those who haven't tried a root beer float since they were ten years old, give it another shot. You'll be so happy you did. You can thank me later.

Monday's LESSON OF THE DAY: A horse saddle is much more comfortable than a bike seat saddle.

A much needed day off! Trinidad treated us great as we roamed the streets...the pastor from he church we were staying at heard some of us wanted to go horseback riding, and offered to have us out to his property because he raises horses. About 15 of us jumped at the opportunity and were so excited to ride some beautiful horses since we have been looking at them while we bike for so long. It was so much fun, and we spent a good portion of the afternoon hanging out at his place exploring down by the creek, riding horses and jumping on his trampoline. Who would have thought I would spend so much time jumping on trampolines this summer? Not I.

Tuesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Its nice to have a pseudo day off.

Thanks to I-25 and our seasoned legs, this "quick" 55 mile ride into Pueblo put us at the church around noon, so we had the whole day to explore! What a treat. Pueblo was a lot bigger than I had imagined, so it was nice to bike around and see the riverwalk, go to the new big library and of course make a little happy hour visit to Sonic. The church that night gave us a great meal and after running some errands (namely to get the second Twilight book, I'm addicted...) it was time for bed.

Wednesday's LESSON OF THE DAY: Colorado is our favorite state so far.

Its getting pretty! And everyone is absolutely loving it. Here is why:

This used to be my favorite road sign...

Now this is!

Thursday and Friday's LESSON OF THE DAY: The building part of Bike & Build is a lot of fun when you know you get to stick around for the whole shebang.

So we are in Colorado Springs now for over a week to build a whole house! We came up on our site to see only a foundation (laid the previous week by another Bike & Build routes) and we left the first day with the floor joists laid and the exterior walls all framed and up. We can get a lot done when we're given a task! It was great to leave knowing that we got to come back the next day and pick up where we left off. One of the volunteers commented on my amazing hammering skills as I was dominating some studs, I'm getting pretty skilled :) Here are some progress pics:

Mail drop shoutouts- My friend Julie (who is currently training for the Ironman, crazy girl) sent me some awesome biking socks, one pair with cows on them and the other with the Las Vegas sign. Thanks Julie! My mom and dad sent a funny package with some trail mix, water balloons, some little American flags and an awesome squirt gun...I'm sure the riders will love getting shot at when I get bored and decide to pull the gun out of my holster (aka jersey pocket).

Saturday, Sunday and Monday's LESSONS OF THE DAY: Nora Claire loves her auntie.

FINALLY IT CAME! I got to meet my little niece for whom I have been waiting with much anticipation to cuddle with. She exceeds all expectations and is making it very hard for me to even consider leaving. She is about 4 weeks now, and has recently started to smile. She is melting her aunt's heart with each little grin. We have spent some good QT together, snuggling on the couch, having a little bottle snack, taking a bath, hanging by the pool. She is such a sweetheart, enjoy some pics below! I'm so in love :)

Today I got an amazing surprise at breakfast when I was told that my sister and I had massage appointments in the afternoon! My massage therapist was in awe at the amount of knots I had in my back, neck, pecks and behind area so it felt amazing to get them all worked out! I should be all fresh and set to leave Colorado Springs in a few days.

That is all for me, Nora is awake now so I'm leaving you all to get in some playtime before I'm forced to leave...boo. But I do miss my fellow Bike & Builders to back to Colorado Springs it is!

Miss you all very much and thanks for listening to my chatter :)