Bike and Build Video - thanks for the best summer of my life

I made this video a while ago. Thought I'd actually add it to the blog.

got moab?

It was our day off in Moab, Utah yesterday and we had an awesome time. Some friends and I got up at 4:30 am and bike 15 miles (and up a not-so-nice hill) to Arches National Park to watch the sun rise. First of all, dessert sunrises beat any other kind of sunrise. Second, the park is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was beautiful and awesome and unreal all at the same time. We played among the arches and I never realized how large and high they reach. We left the park around ten which was perfect timing because loads of traffic began to come in whereas we had the park all to ourselves when we were there and I wouldn've have done it any other way.

At eleven we went white water rafting on the Colorado River. Since moab is crazy hot in the afternoon, it was a nice way to spend it. The river is tame at this time of year, but we had some crazy water fights and they let us take the inflatable kayaks. Luke fell out in one rapid and it was pretty funny to watch. our raft (and kayaks) sort of terrorized everyone some played along with us, and others... well they have no sense of fun. I stole a bucket from some guy on another raft and I think I might have hurt him. I feel bad about that.

Then in the evening we checked out some all natural homes. One was made from hay bales and the other from dirt bricks. I didn't know what to expect, but they look exactly like a regular home. The hay- bale home (hay is insulation surrounded by clay and the ground is packed dirt - an adobe floor). I want to live in one when I get older. The lady who lives there spends so much time at the sink that there is a slight dent where her feet are in the ground. The air conditioning system uses water evaporation and its essentially a fan blowing through wet aspens. The house also faces south to take full advantage of the sun. It was an awesome house. All the material used to build it are from within 50 miles from the home and a lot of the materials are from the lot site itself. I might spend a semester or something out here working on these kinds of homes as the most expensive part of buidling them is the labor. And so it is another type of affordable housing. check out communityrebuilds.org

Then I passed out after an awesome day off.

Today was 52 miles to Green river.
100 miles tomorrow and 100 miles the day after that...

Missouri!

We crossed the mississippi river yesterday and the amount of flooding was incredible. I'd never really seen flooding before except for maybe when there was two feet of water over the road or something in Connecticut. We had to reroute onto the interstate because the bridge we would have taken was closed due to the flooding. So in Hannibal, Missouri yesterday we where they put up the levees (back in '94) and the sandbags and such and the water was over swing sets, rail roads, and much of the downtown. And it was weird to be looking at the Mississippi since you spend so much time reading about it and then to see levees and sand bags just added to the experience. It was crazy. We went to the Mark Twain museum since Tom and Huck lived in Hannibal.

Today we road about 70 miles to Moberly, Missouri. I'm still entertained by the scenery of just seeing flat and open fields, something my brother tells me I will get bored of soon. But the sky also seems to stretch on forever and it makes me glad to be a on a bike. However, the head wind is rediculous and (I don't know if I've already talked about this) but it cuts our speed in half.

Peace out.

Hoosiers

We got into Indiana yesterday and so far I am enjoying its relatively flat terrain and giant wheat fields. Apparently, people in Indiana also like to steal street signs to hang in their barns and the state just got tired of replacing them... so for us cyclists trying to get to Bedford, we had to rely on the kindness of the few passerbys. we would come to a four-way and there would be the pole, but with nothing on it. We also learned that people around here where there are no street signs rely on directions like, "right at the field, over the railroad tracks, you'll come to a river... go over the bridge and the road will fork. you want the left fork." "uh, ok" and then we would forget and have to ask some person sitting on their porch with the meanest looking dog in the world. I've noticed that when I talk to people with accents I aquire a twang for the durationg that I'm talking to them.

I am constantly surprised by the generosity of people. Today, a few of us were in the post office of Linton, IN and a man just gave us a twenty towards our cause. It was pretty awesome. The food we get donated is also amzing. Last night we had tacos at the church and they had everything from the rice and and the guac and the sour cream. Amazing. I also learned what a hoosier is. Or rather how it was derived. It's what people in Indiana would shout in the fields when the saw a visitor approaching. It's supposed to sound like "Who's there"

I just realized I've been sitting in this Library fiddling with the Internet and I'm still wearing my helmet. Awesome job, Mo.

We did 45 miles today which is like a break for us. Tommorrow is 75 miles to Illinois and into a new time zone.

Ohio Welcomes You

We survived West Virginia. I now know why it is called the Mountain State. It is all uphill with limited downhills. I think the best climb we had was a 4.5 mile long 9% grade. The nice part was lunch was at the top. The bad part is that we thought it would be a nice long downhill after that. No. West Virginia likes to torture us with making a slight downhill followed by some serious uphills. West Virginia was gorgeous. The mountains were awesome and then there were times when it would just open up into farmland.

Yesterday, we got caught in two thunderstorms. The first one we biked through followed by several cars who told us to stop cycling or we would die. Yea, I definitely thought that between the severe rain, lightning, and logging trucks that I was going to die. At some point it was like we were biking towards lightning bolts and then the lightning bolts were actually in front of us and we had to stop and jump a barb wire fence into a Verizon factory for shelter. I was also chased by a dog today.

As a part of our affordable housing education we learned that West Virginia had the largest gap between minimum wage and minimum housing wage and it was definitly evident in the ride. We saw a lot of houses made just from tin sheets and it was hard to imagine them in the winter. As soon as we crossed the border into Ohio there was a noticeable difference in standard of living and it was just fascinating to see.

Tomorrow we ride 85 miles to Wellston, OH.

Yahoo!

Hey all, I know it's been a while...

We're now in Harrisburg, PA and it has been a crazy 400+ miles to here. I don't know if you knew this but the northeast has been experiencing a heat wave and we've been biking 85 miles in 97 degree heat (which is around 100 on the pavement) we've had some people get sent to the hospital with heat stroke... but they're better now. Tomorrow we work on a house and I'm super duper excited. I think we get to work alongside some 17 year old kids from the local high school. When we got to Harrisburg, we showered, dinner, ect. and played an awesome game of kickball and jumprope with some kids from the high school and it was pretty so much fun. Some of the girls were on the cheerleading squad and we traded a cheer for an insnaely dangerous human pyramid.

As for the road, I've had a bunch falls so far and two flat tires. We passed Hershey park today and yesterday, some vast fields of farmland. It was gorgeous. I also saw a legit horse and buggy for the first time to. What else? oh yesterday, another girl and I were caught in a storm about 8 miles from our destination and we can ride in the rain... but we're not aloud to ride in hail. The pizza place we stopped at gave us some free pizza which was delicious. As we waited for the van to get us (which evidently experienced a lightnigh bolt hit a power line and blue sparks fly out of said poll and the powerlines just falling front of the van) it's been crazy. We've encountered all sorts of problems - one of which required everyone to sleep half naked in the sanctuary of a church. good times. In the stretch from Danbury, CT to Middletown, NY, another kid and I were sweep which means we ride last. We got lost by 15 miles and still had to climb three mountains (one of which was Bear Mountain) in 97 degree heat.

But we've met some really amzing people along they way to Harrisburg. A woman told me about how her father is also bike across country (but from west to east which is easier) and some kids fundraising to get to a state tournament and a woman who's dog is the champion in some division and she delivered water to us in a cooler. A lot of random people. We've been handing out business cards and spreading the word and it's been an awesome time so far. I'm very happy that I came and that this is how I am spending my summer.

I'll put up some pictures the next chance i get.

Connecticut!

so this morning we dipped our back wheels into the "Atlantic" in providence and rode about thirty miles to Connecticut. It felt good to cross a state line for the first time and took a bunch of pictures. I will post them eventually. I think one of the other highlights was in ri when we coasted down this hill (i hit thirty mph) and then everything just opened up to a bridge right on the water on both sides. Like riding on water.

We're staying at a church in Plainfield, ct and the kids were crazy but the food is crazy good. I think were sleeping in the pews tonight