Yes, in fact we are there

July 15, 2009 Brawley, CA

And so we pass through what we believe to be a part of California. The previous day we were eating at Jack in the Box and I was talking to a local about what we're doing. He proceeded to ask me what route we were taking into Brawley; the desert or highway. Well, the next morning when we started biking I saw the land gradually change and I thought how aptly he termed the area a desert. Green lands to sand with shrubs to plain old sand dunes. Honestly, where am I? We pass through a very small "town" called Glamis where I stop at the local store. I ask the lady behind the counter where the rest of the town is and she answers that this is it. Glamis turns out to be a town of approximately 13 that fluctuates to over 100,000 when tourists come through for the sand dunes. The store also charges 4x the regular price for everything they have since they're the only store within 30 or so miles. So riding through the desert in 106 degrees or more isn't really fun and is very tough. Along with being a physically hard day, it was also mentally hard for all of us. Three of our riders were involved in a bicyclist/motor vehical accident during the early morning. Luckily, things didn't turn out as terrible as they have. We'll just have to hope for the best and be strong for now.




July 16, 2009

It's funny how sometimes when you ask different people the same question you'll get several different answers to a question with only one answer. Today's ride is about 74 miles and the majority of it is flat with a smaller portion of climbing into Julian. Up until the moment that we start climbing, we don't actually know what the topography is like. Word on the street varied from a 10-25 mile climb with a grade of 5-12%. Of course, we're all mentally prepared to climb the mountain vertically and then come to see that it's much easier than what we imagined. The heat today was pretty terrible as well. Really hot weather along with climbing just calls for a tough day, but it was nothing like yesterday so I can't complain.




July 17, 2009 El Cajon, CA

Ah, today was absolutely amazing! A good amount of climbing, which means a good amount of descent in nice weather makes everything so much better-to top that, a seven eleven slurpee with every flavor possible on the way into town. Oh, there was a smiley face on the first climb and we saw the ocean from the top of that climb as well =]. San Diego here we come!

Update of our three riders: Two are discharged and one will be in the hospital for another several days. From what we know so far, they are doing well though =].

July 13, 2009 Wenden, AZ

Seeing as it's going to probably get hot enough to cook breakfast outside, we wake up at 4am to start our bike ride. We start pedalling as soon as we spot the sun rising in hopes of beating the heat. The good thing about starting so early is that we get to the host site so early. With everyone being there by 9:30, we all enjoy another breakfast, a nice nap, and then the movie, "Into the Wild." By this time, the outside feels like a natural oven and so we're all lethargic feeling. But if you know anything about us, we like to spice things up. Water balloon warfare quickly spreads throughout Bike & Build! Sneak attacks, alliances, and betrayals are all fair game. On a more serious note, tonight we start reviewing our grants and allocating the money we fundraised to the affordable housing groups that have applied. It's awesome to say that we've biked across the country , but everything we've done so far has been for this moment. I wish the best of luck to the groups that we'll be supporting. Hopefully, these organizations will inspire youths to reach out to their communities like Bike & Build has for us.



July 14, 2009 Blythe, California

California, here we come! Crossing the state line made me realize how much we've accomplished so far, but also that our trip is nearing an end. Another 4 days and we'll reach San Diego, where we'll celebrate and eventually part ways. For now though, I'm just living in the present and enjoying my time with my Bike & Builders.

July 9, 2009 Prescott, AZ

Ah, finally a change in scenery! We've been biking through pretty desolate areas of Arizona, but today going into Prescott reminded me a lot of Colorado. There was a nice back drop of the mountains behind a small quaint town. The road was also fairly hilly a points rather than what I thought would be pretty much flat. The ride to it was also pretty interesting. We had an amazing down hill for several miles where Timur, Drew, and I pace lined with an average of 30 something mph. Then we hit several miles of all gravel, which was a nice change up in the road conditions, but slippery. Oh, Timur and Drew, please don't close your eyes while biking again because of dust-it's not too advisable. Anyways, Prescott, pronounced Pres-cutt, is a very cozy town with lots of things going on =]. Bennett, Ginger, Amanda, and I went to the town square where they were playing live music. We loosened up our bones by dancing, jumping, and laughing. Me and Bennet were later turned down by two elderly women, but our natural charms could not be resisted for long as we found other dance partners! Afterwards, we were off to karaoke the night away-everybody...yeah yeah...rock your body...



July 10, 2009 Prescott, AZ

Happy Birthday Bennett!



Today, we split up into two groups: dry walling and landscaping/painting. Today, my group, landscaping/painting, is building for Toni. She's a nice lady with two really cute kids and seems to really be motivated to get her life back on track. For us, it's not the most motivated day I've seen out of us, but that's probably because we're all so tired from staying up so late. At night, we all head out to the concert where we shake our bones loose once again. Bennett gets a surprise with some water balloons for his birthday, which he openly welcomed. More crazy dancing, jumping, screaming, and shaking. Then onto the cafe, where they had open mic, and it was so sweet. We huddled around to listen to the local artists croon out their tunes. Gail, one of the Habitat coordinators, had a daughter who worked and played at the cafe-she was awesome. Bennett also went up to read his poem, which was sweet. The artists looked so comfortable. It must feel good to be able to express yourself so well.





On a less happy note, one of our fellow riders, Jackie, won't be able to finish with us because of a spreading infection in her cut. It's sad, but we'll make the best of it. She'll come out and join us in San Diego though =]. Stay strong Jackie/van buddy.

July 11, 2009 Prescott, AZ

Happy Birthday Gabe!

You definitely add a unique spin to this trip, and it wouldn't of been the same without you. Kudos to being a great leader as well as a peer.

So, today's build day was a continuation of yesterday minus the extra tiredness that most of us had the previous day. It turned out pretty awesome and we got everything that was planned done on time. Toni offered us sloppy joes, salads, chocolate milk, and orange juice for lunch. Thank you so much. I hope you and your family make the best of the house =].

July 6, 2009 Tuba City, AZ

Sweep day with one of the radio hosts, Greg Sloan, a.k.a The Sloan Ranger. Arizona is a pretty area, it's just so desolate that riding your bike through it can get tiring. The heat isn't as bad as I thought since it's so dry here, but the only problem with that is my mouth drying out every few seconds. After arriving, Drew and I went around hoping to find food donations from the local restaurants and stores to help us out for dinner. It's a fairly small town, but we did walk away with 20 tacos from Taco Bell, 4 meals from McDonalds and 4 sandwiches from Kate's Cafe. Okay, so not the healthiest assortment, but we're grateful for anything. So, thank you guys.



July 7, 2009 Desert View, AZ

When did Arizona get so windy? Today's ride was incredibly windy from all angles, but also probably one of the best rides as well. Dennis, Matt, Drew, Andy, and I biked together into the Grand Canyons. The view was amazing and scary all at once. We climbed some rocks to get out a little further to get a better view and it was well worth it. Later on Danielle, Dennis, Drew, and I had a family together on top of the rocks while the sun was setting-probably the best meal of my life. Came back to the campsite to have a hobo dinner and then headed back out to the overview to look at the Grand Canyon under the lighting of the full moon =].



July 8, 2009 Williams, AZ

Another windy day, and sleeping very little didn't help at all. Felt sleepy on my bike all day long until we took a nap at a park. In town, Neel and I met a waiter during our search for food donations who wasn't surprised at all by what we were doing. Instead, he replied that he did it twice already and was planning to do one around the world. Definitely a cool guy, he offered us a place to shower and eat since we're dirty and hungry bikers. Thank you so much.

And We Were Infinite

June 30, 2009 Ouray, CO

Happy Birthday Beth!!!



Although a bit of a tourist attraction town, Ouray is beautiful. It's a cozy town surrounded by a wonderful scenery. Our showers were located at the hot springs area so most of us decided to relax in the hot springs. It felt so amazing and was nice on the muscles too. Went out later that night to walk around town for a bit and then slept early for our ride into Durango.




July 1, 2009 Durango, CO

Three climbs today, but worth every sweat! I hit a pretty good max speed of 50 and was pretty excited until Sarah told me she hit 53.4 mph. Ahhh, life... Today's scenery was absolutely gorgeous. I hope some of the pics I take will look good on a huge print. I'll probably aim for making a photo collage when I get back home =].





July 2, 2009 Durango, CO Build Day

First time I've actually been pretty exhausted when I got to the build site. The house was closer to finish than most of the other projects we've worked on. This time we did insulation, roofing, and painting. Our build site was in Bayfield and we worked with an AmeriCorp group as well that day.




July 3, 2009 Cortez, CO

I've never sat in the back of a pick-up truck before and I've always wanted to. No better day than today. We only have about 55 miles today so we opt to take a detour through the Mesa Verde where we can see the ruins of the Native Americans that previously occupied the area. Biking it would have made it an extra 40 miles with a decent amount of it being climbs. So, what we did was bike to the front gates and hitched a ride up and back down and it was wonderful. It was a nice change up from struggling up mountains all the while trying to seep in the scenery around you. It was so laid back and probably was my highlight of the day. I may have to invest in one in the near future. Thank you so much to the nice people who gave us the ride up (I tried so hard to remember all of your names, but I forgot them all because I tried to- comment so I can get your names!) and Umberto and his wife for giving us a ride back down the mountain. It means a lot for us and was wonderful.



July 4, 2009 Teec Nos Pos, AZ

Four Corners! Four places at once, hard to beat I'd say. The scenery gradually changed as we left Colorado and entered Arizona. The path we're taking is rather desolate. Towns seem to space out by about 70 miles with nothing in between. We're traveling and staying within the limits of the Navajo reservation, which is pretty cool. Tonight, we're staying a highschool and what better thing to do on July 4th at a highschool than having a prom? We all got outfits from the thrift store and dressed up for the prom. Photoshoots, crazy dances, and an evening out of the football field details some of it. Other parts, I'll let you imagine.




July 5, 2009 Kayenta, AZ

Taco Bell 74 miles ahead. More desolate areas... still a pretty ride because of all the rock formations though. A bit more of a relaxed day since we don't have too much going on today. Played some wiffle ball and Texas Hold Em'. So, what to do if you don't have money or chips? Bet with food of course! The stakes get real high when that happens lol. We bet with popcorn kernels and it actually got pretty intense.



All right, g'night ladies and gentlemen.