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 :)