You name it

June 29, 2009 Gunnison, CO

What I like about Bike & Build is that it's a place where young adults can come to be themselves without fear of being judged by their peers. We're all here to have a great time and that's what we're doing. Our trip leaders: Gabe, Amy, Steve, and Anna, have all worked hard to create activities for family bonding and it's been sweet. I wrote about a couple of them already like movie nights, scavenger hunts, and dance parties. Creating the family atmosphere is tough with 31 people who come from all different areas and have different ideas and tastes. Or maybe that's what really makes it so awesome; a collection of creative minds working together.

Days like today and the next few days where we'll climb the Rockies are tough, but when you have 30 other riders to help you through the day it's not terrible at all. We all rely on each other and we'll finish together. I've been feeling the effects of the altitude here and I continually feel sleepy, but everyone is experiencing it and they're all doing their best as well. Today's elevation, the highest we'll reach on this trip, was 11,312 ft. We did a 17 mile gradual climb and it was exhausting. We all made it to the top and had a dance party kick off up there. It was strange to see snow on the ground during the summer, but understandable because of our altitude. At any rate, I'm gonna keep truckin' and you guys keep readin' =].

Oh, and here's some media of us.

Fayetville News, Ozarks Video, Arkansas Deer Video, Dodge City, Kansas

Colorful Colorado

June 23, 2009

Lamar, CO

Another day, another time zone =]. Biked and took pictures today. It's mostly plains and flat land for now until we hit Colorado Springs and start our slow climb through the Rockies.



June 24,2009

Rocky Fords, CO

After coming into the host site, we held our bike clinic with the little kiddo's from town. Forgot my camera, so no pics of them, but they were awesome little kids. Tomorrow's our longest day, so we're all resting up.

June 25, 2009

Colorado Springs, CO

Ah, we begin the day off with a inspirational speech from yours truly Timur and Drew, our volunteer sweepers. That was then followed by Gabe's impersonation of the famous Braveheart speech, but Bike & Build style and it was awesome-maybe even better than the original. We all had face paint on that day too, marking our fearlessness lol. It turned out to be a pretty good day, we all finished before 6pm. THE ROCKIES!!! Finally, we're here and it's really beautiful. The Smokey Mountains were great, but the Rockies are so much more intense.



June 26, 2009

Colorado Springs, CO Build Day

Here we stand to lay the foundation for the South Carolina trip, who will be doing a blitz build and finishing up what we start. The habitat houses have such an amazing view from their house.



June 27, 2009

Colorado Springs, CO Day Off

Skydiving =]. I've been wanting to do it for a while and I since other people wanted to too, I figured why not. The place was a little run down, which is probably not the best thing for a skydiving trip, but everything was safe. I was pretty relaxed about everything up to the point where we were 12,000 ft above the ground and he opened the door and told me to get ready to jump. The freefall was amazing. Right after I jumped out of the plane, for about five seconds, I didn't breathe at all. The rush of it all hit me and I was just left breathless. Next came a nice batch of screams and yells. Saw Garden of the God's through a quick drive and then Old Colorado City thanks to Ginger's parents =]. Later that night, Timur, Cindy, Anna, and I went for a run. After 10 seconds I started panting really hard because of the high altitude, but that made it feel like such a great work out.



June 28, 2009

Buena Vista, CO

Definitely felt tired today more so than any other day so far. This morning I rode with Bennett and Timur so that we could get to the Garden of the God's early enough to take a look around and take pictures. Yea-exhausting when they both blast the first 20 miles. Couldn't really keep up with them afterwards because they're much better climbers than me and it was a lot of uphills. Rode with Amy and Drew until 1st lunch and then decided to join Cindy and Sarah. Well, by this time I was feeling really really sleepy. So we split up to go at our own paces. I couldn't keep a continuous pace going because I was so mentally worn out. So, I stopped, pulled off of the road, and laid on the grass to recollect my thoughts/nap. After I got up, I just went with it and felt great. Ending up riding with Neel on my way to the host site after 2nd lunch. The views were so amazing today.

Krazy in Kansas

Quick entry about the past couple of days before all the mosquitoes eat me alive.

I'm in Garden City, Kansas outside of the church stealing someone's wireless, all for you guys. Today was great, we had a scavenger hunt that put us in a frenzy during the morning hours, until the sun settled in and tired us out. I'd post pics up from that, but we had one photographer do all of our team's pics and that was Neel. So, maybe I can get some from him later. At any rate, it was a great opportunity to interact with the locals on many levels. There were so many friendly people willing to go along with our insane antics like riding in the scoop of a tractor and lifting it up as if we were on a roller coaster ride or going out on a date with us.

Greg and Cindy, awesome job on getting onto the local news!

Happy Birthday Amanda!!!



June 21, 2009

Riding into Dodge City was awesome. I was on the road with Bennett, Sarah, and Michelle. We played some good games and took great photos =]. Definitely a hot day though, and the days are just getting hotter. Later on that night we got free pizza provided by the mayor. Oh, and Kelly you are really just blasting past everyone these days and you're growing stronger everyday =].



June 20, 2009

Camping out! The day started miserably with loads of rain and heavy heavy winds that wore us all down. Once we got to our campsite in Coldwater, Kansas I thought camping would be so miserable, but the day got better and so quickly. Thank you trip leaders for making things so awesome later on in the night. A bonfire, smores, music, stars, and 31 people = an amazing time. We sang and talked and group hugged and it was lovely. The stars were so very clear as well. We also canoed a little bit. Well, Bennett and Neel pushed the canoe that we found around the shed since we didn't have any oars lol. Good find Amy, Bennet, and Ginger. I could live a life out on the waters for some time. Maybe, I'll invest some money into one soon. Nice sweep day with Steve and Amy. Shared some good life stories and crossed into Kansas.



June 19, 2009

Cherokee, OK

Along the way there was a well that was dedicated weary travelers and I thought it was great that someone is thinking about us. Our travels are long, but are well worth it.

Pure laughter

You know how when you were a kid you would explode into a pure laughter of freedom, carelessness, and joy? I don't mean that as adults we don't have those moments; It's just that it happens less frequently because of the responsibilities that we acquire as we age. Well, after biking around 80 miles today in a heat index of around 105, we decided to stop by the local water amusement park before heading into the church.

Absolutely wonderful. Sun 'N Fun had about 5 adult rides, 2 kid rides, and go karts. Priced at $5 for us Bike & Builders with short lines, it was more than we could ask for. Racing down the Banana slide (slip and slide like), tubing down another slide and having my bottom touching the ground, standing underneath the big bucket waiting for the water to overflow and tip over, and lazying down the lazy river while causing an obstruction for the little kiddies all felt great. I think the moment that really got me was waiting underneath the big bucket of water with Bennett. We both stood there and he said "At water parks, always trust the kids," and we did. The water poured down fast and hard while me, Bennett, and all the little kids burst out with a laughter and scream that felt so pure.




Pics: Morning shot of some riders coming up a hill during sunrise, a wonderful scenery with me, Sharif pointing at a huge tarantula scuttering across the street, our riders biking along the hills, a group shadow pic of Andy, me, and Sharif, and riders after descending a hill

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ~2 Timothy 4:7

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

June 17, 2009

Dear Reader,

You've probably noticed it's been quite sometime since I've last updated. A combination of things such as finding wireless connection, being tired, and enjoying the present moment have delayed my entries. Have no fear though; I'm still alive! For me, keeping a blog was a way to help organize my jumbled thoughts and records of the current trip. Biking from town to town and day after day it's hard to keep track of the days and towns. The second reason is to keep my family, friends, and supporters updated on my progress. I'm grateful to hear I've had a steady flow of readers following our journey. Feel free to comment on what you'd like to hear more about and I'll work my magic. Since today is my off day, and I've reserved this time for a good writing session I'll give you guys a quick run through of the past several days.

June 8+9, 2009 Memphis, Tennessee

Our highly awaited day has arrived! A break from continuous high mileage cycling is always welcomed. Thanks to our trip leaders, we have free tickets to a minor league baseball match of the Redbirds vs. Zephyrs. Although I'm not a baseball fan by any means, the pregame environment got me pretty psyched to be at the ball game. Loud music, a loud crowd, and a free bobble head usually calls for a good time(now broken since it was stuffed into my luggage that gets tossed all over the place). Too bad it didn't last for too long though, the baseball game itself dulled my senses to a nice stupor, but it was nice laying out on the shaded grassy area on a warm summer's evening. Some of us left the game early (including me) to roam around downtown and enjoy the local food and drinks accompanied by live entertainment. Some people tried the famous deep fried burger at Dyer's Burger, which I sadly didn't have the chance to so maybe next time. I did, however, try fried pickles, which I thought were terrible. It's just a bad combination of crunchy/crispy with soft/soggy. Twas a great night. Next morning, we visited Graceland where Elvis resided. It was interesting to see where he lived and some historical facts about him. We also spotted out an Elvis impersonator in the ice cream store. Later on in the evening, thanks to Anna's relatives, we had another pool party =]. Maybe I should start training for a triathlon at the rate that we're having pool parties.

June 10+11, 2009 Brinkley+ Little Rock, Arkansas

Entering Arkansas, we traveled the long and weary road named Highway 70. Basically an all out straight stretch on a terribly bumpy long road with high headwinds. Not the greatest road for bicyclists. Thankfully, there were nice diversions on both days. Heading into Brinkley we stopped by at a park that had a sweet little lake. Did a nice splish splash and then rolled on out. Reaching Little Rock, there was an awesome biking trail that was surrounded by a body of water on one side and rocky cliffs on the other. Here, we were invited to a cyclist's BBQ and gave a little presentation to about who we are and what we're about. One of the cyclists I talked to owned a Friday Bike, which folds up into the size of a small suitcase. I mean it doesn't compare to a regular bike, but its portability gives it a boost on the awesomeness scale. Our evening = Family movie night!

June 12, 2009 Little Rock, Arkansas

(I was on journal duty, so here's my journal entry I wrote that day)

When I first donned my Bike & Build hat, I had no clue how well it would represent my life for the next 65 days. On the bottom side of the cap’s visor are the words: eat, sleep, bike, and build. When I was in kindergarten, me, my sister, and, my best friend Nam were eating dinner together. He suddenly turns to my sister and states, “ Your brother eats like a P-I-G.” Of course he spells out pig as if I didn’t know how to spell. What can I say? It was delicious and slurping effects add to the general awesomeness scale of the meal. At any rate, the days are back! Biking miles on end and then building on our “rest days” works up quite the appetite. Be wary if you eat with us Bike & Builders! We may resemble savages at breakfast and dinner, but we play nice. Sleep? Mhm… not quite sure we sleep enough, but we do our best. Now, onto bikes! Bicycles, a vehicle for transport, has become so much more in the past four weeks. Biking across the country, we have become in tune with our bodies and surroundings. Experiencing the contours of the road through miles of climbs and descents, we push ourselves to new thresholds. Seeing the social disparities that exist within as little as blocks of each other, we open our eyes to the needs of affordable housing. Build days like today are a part of how we are helping families integrate into communities and raise their neighborhood value. For today’s project we placed vinyl siding on the walls of the house. It’s a fairly quick and easy project that pleases aesthetically, cleans easily, and sustains wear. After a hard day’s work, we quickly packed into what is now aptly called the “poop van.” A truck had spilled it’s contents onto the road and whatever spilled is now one with our van. When a van full of people who have been sweating all day long complain about the smell, you know it smells and oh does it smell.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall ~ Confucius

(Courtesy of Amy Ovsiew for providing the quote)

June 13, 2009 Clarksville, AR

The Ozarks, what a wonderful name. Maybe I'll name something Ozark one day, a pet perhaps? That reminds me as well-I have yet to name my bike. Drop a name if you'd like and maybe I'll name my bike or maybe not lol. The weather wasn't that great today, but the scenery was still nice. It was our longest ride so far at 109 miles. On arriving at our destination looking grossly tired and sweaty, we were greeted by TV media who interviewed a batch of us including me.

June 15, 2009 Grove, OK

Here we stand tall to say, we are in three places at once. We rode to the historical marker where all three borders of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri met. It was pretty sweet. Props to Ginger for taking this wonderful picture with my camera. It was a good day-a lot of signs to take pictures with. Did some riddles and some tricks on the road. Well, everyone else did the tricks while I watched, since I can't take both hands off the handlebars and dance yet, but stayed tuned!

June 16, 2009 Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Heat index of 105 doesn't feel too fun when you bike all day long in it. There were some pros to the day though. We had a nice tailwind for some time, which made life much much easier. I was biking at around 22 mph with ease. Our host site is awesome, when I walked in we had a masseuse in the works. I didn't get to though because of the line and then I wanted to visit downtown the next morning, but it's okay. In evening, we all went out bowling together and had a great time. Apparently I have a new song dedicated to me Akon - I wanna make love right now nhan nhan nhan, in which they all circled me and danced. I still got 9 pins btw lol. Afterwards, we came back to have our dance party-I dig it. Lots of madness and lots of fun =].