4,199 miles of lessons learned

Road Closed? No thanks, I've got places to be.

What I thought was going to be a summer of biking across the country, helping build affordable housing, and hopefully making some new friends turned out to be way more than that. I learned more than I could ever hope to convey in a blog post, made friendships that will last a lifetime & managed to help people along the way. So here we go, a (maybe short) list of what I learned this summer, combined with some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Jay & I, just before our first official ride day!

1. People helped me way more than I helped them.

People we met were often in awe of the fact that we raised money & stopped along the way to help build affordable housing. However, the love and thank you's we received from all those for whom we built, as well as everyone who along the way housed us and fed us was more than ample "payback" than we could have ever expected.

2. Faith in humanity.

You hear so many people now say they are losing faith in the good of humanity. Do not fear, for there are still good people out there. Randy & Shelly who spent all afternoon driving up and down the road searching for B&B'ers so that they might offer us a Coke and an air conditioned van to give us rest from the sun. The local swimming pool in OK who agreed to let us all in free of charge to cool off after our ride. The countless gas station owners who allowed us to fill up our Cambelbaks with ice & use their bathroom, free of charge. Churches & community centers excited and willing to open up their doors to us, to house us and feed us, to sit and hear our stories & be excited about the work we were doing.

Cafe du Monde in New Orleans

3. Face your fears head-on.

There were many days this summer when we would know we had a lot of climbing to do. And many a time I would look up and see a mountain, hill, or vertically rising land mass and know that in a matter of miles or maybe days I would be ascending that. We never had a choice, the cue sheet told us where to go & that was the route we were taking, even if it was up. Our only solution was to take a deep breath, downshift and pedal on.

4. Don't sweat the small (ish) stuff.

Waiting out a thunder storm, with 60 miles still to ride on our 118 mi day.

More than once we were lost. More than once our cue sheet told us to go the totally wrong direction. More than once there was only creamy peanut butter at lunch, when I wanted crunchy. But, every day I was one step closer to having biked across the country, and that's what really mattered. At the end of every day none of those things mattered. Sometimes all you could do was laugh at how positively absurd a situation we had gotten ourselves into, and know that even though no one had any idea what was going on we would eventually figure it out.

5. Blue (Gatorade) can take away the worries of almost any bad day.

It's just a fact.

6. Home is wherever I'm with you.

Our fully framed house in Dallas!

Hey Grand Canyon!

We spent almost every day of the summer biking somewhere new. I hadn't been to a single one of the cities we visited. So everywhere was new to me. There were very few constants this summer, and we often laughed because people we met would ask where we were coming from and going to, the only answer we could consistently remember was Jacksonville to Monterey. After a few weeks all of the names blend together, the order gets mixed up and all you can do is laugh and shrug. However, I knew that wherever I went my 26 other teammates would be there, we would all go to sleep and wake up in the morning to repeat.

Should I climb on a hay bale? YES!

7. Yes is always the right answer.

You're biking across the country, so would you like a hamburger or hot dog for dinner? YES! Would you like to go on a 15 mile hike on your 1 of 4 days off for the summer? YES! Should you stop for a milkshake even though its only 9 am? YES! Should you ride a carousal? YES! In fact, I can't think of a single question to which the answer should be no. Everyone already thinks you're crazy for biking across the country, so you might as well do some other cool and crazy things along the way.

8. I have way too much stuff.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX

Seriously. I just spent 2.5 months living out of a 20 gallon bin. It may look like a lot, but add a pair of tennis shoes, a sleeping bag, pillow & thermarest & there isn't too much space left. I only had a 3 or so t-shirts and about the same number pairs of shorts, and I survived just fine. And while it is much less socially acceptable to wear the same outfit 4 days in a row, I don't need 300 t-shirts. Or the skirt I have had, but not worn for years.

9. You can get a shocking amount accomplished if you wake up early.

You never hear anyone say it's only 2 a.m. and I've already worked out, eaten 4th meal, finished my term paper & gone grocery shopping. However, you do hear early risers talk about all the things they accomplished before 9 a.m. We got up so early we were often having lunch by 9, it felt good to have already accomplished that much.

Made it to 2,000 miles before 9 am!? Hell yeah!

10. Sharing is caring!

Sometimes when you only have a little bit of something it seems like it could be easier than not to say no if someone asks to share. But, living with 26 you were always sharing something. Whether someone ran out of soap and the next town was not for 4 more ride days, or if there was only 1 piece of lasagna left and 2 people were still hungry, we were always sharing. It always came back around, and in the end, no on went hungry or dirty, unless by choice.

11. Chivalry is not dead.

Monument Valley

There were only 8 guys on our trip, as compared to 19 girls, but what they lacked in number they made up for in chivalry. I very rarely had to open a door for myself. And while everyone realizes that girls are capable of opening their own doors, sometimes it's nice not to have to. The guys formed the Gentleman's Club, and vowed to eat dinner last each night, after each girl had gone through line. These are just a few examples, but we appreciated it every little bit.

And, the last and final thing learned...

12. Pay it forward, you never know how much your action might mean.

We made it!!!

So many cars this summer drove by and gave us a friendly honk, or wave, or fist pump. It never failed to put a smile on my face, and more than made up for the occasional rude driver. But some days that wave or honk is the only thing that kept me on my bike, when I thought I might be too tired to go on, or thought I was nuts for thinking I could bike across the country. And a hot breakfast or even just coffee in the morning means more than a thank you could ever convey to any of our hosts. At each host we left a thank you note & t-shirt to convey our thanks, but it was never enough. It's more of a relief than even I realized at the time to know you have a roof to sleep under, a shower to use and dinner provided. Even just walking down the street with a smile on your face, or holding the door for the person behind you might mean more than you know to someone around you.

We biked to the PACIFIC!

I am forever changed. I have shared a series of moments that connected into one amazing summer with 26 other people who together made SUS '12 a team, rather than just a "route".  Some days I don't feel like I pedaled across the country. I know that I woke up each morning & biked the number of miles required of me, and each small number added up and before I knew it we had biked 2,000 miles and even sooner after that we were running into the Pacific and had biked 4,000 miles. So, never doubt that small repeated actions can lead to great success.

And FINALLY. Thank you so much to everyone, to all who donated, prayed, read the blog. I would not have made it coast to coast without the support & love from everyone around me. I biked EVERY INCH! And on the days that seemed too hard I just remembered all the love & support I had across the country, and knew I could do it. THANK YOU.

Hollister to Monterey

Today was full of procrastination. Though everyone woke up on time nary a bin was out on time. Jack had prepared a slide show of pictures so most of us spent time watching that, as well as just generally trying to make our last morning last as long as possible.

During breakfast we passed out letters that we had written to each other earlier in the summer. We had each drawn a name out of a hat and wrote a letter for that person to open in Monterey. Chika had written a poem which she read, and my tears started. In true B&B fashion we had the weirdest of breakfasts, which included pudding cups, pizza and about anything else we hadn't eaten yet but that would soon go bad.

David, Arden and I set out for one last ride. We knew that we would have one last hill/mountain to climb, so we braced ourselves. The weather was cold, in a weird twist of irony, and we all were wearing arm warmers. The mountain we climbed was barely paved and shrouded in fog. At many points I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me, though thankfully the road was practically deserted. It was windy and really only 1.5 lanes wide.

Halfway in we spotted a gas station ahead and all agreed to stop in hopes that they had coffee for David and I and hot chocolate for Arden. They did indeed. And, as tends to happen with B&B, where there is 1 there are more. What started out as us and a few others stopping to warm up turned into 27 B&B'ers drinking coffee, eating burritos from the sketchy Mexican place in the back of the gas station (delicious!) & generally partaking in nonsense, including dance parties, sidewalk chalking the parking lot and procrastination. All in all we spent about an hour and a half there before deciding we really ought to move on, as we had promised family we would be on the beach at 1 and it was now almost noon.

We were on a bike path for about the last 10 miles, and we caught glimpses of the water, which prompted the singing of "We biked to the PACIFIC, P-A-C-I-F-I-C!" to the tune of Gwen Stefani's "This sh*t is bananas" song. With about 1 mile to go we stopped at a Best Western and had our final lunch. I read my letter, which was an awesome parody all about B&B from Jay, to the tune of Freaks & Geeks by Childish Gambino. It was perfect! Jay ate his first & only PB sandwich of the trip (he had purposely & successfully avoided doing so all trip) We read the final Kudos (Kudos are little compliments, or shout outs, sometimes funny, sometimes serious), most were a walk down memory lane, which I think we all needed. We had a super intense dance party in the middle of the road, blocking some traffic, listening to some of our trip favorite songs, we hooked Marcus' huge flag to the back of his bike again, and finally, around 130 decided that we should maybe go to the beach.

The last mile in was on a bike path & is all sort of a blur. All 27 of us were screaming and chanting. We rolled in, dropped our bikes, took off socks & shoes & ran to the water. It didn't even feel cold, though apparently the temp was in the 50's? We danced and splashed and sang and chanted and generally made fools out of ourselves as only B&B'ers could. We circled up and had a big group hug. We posed for pictures & then headed back to retrieve our bikes. We completed our journey (my odometer read 4,199) & dipped our front wheel into the PACIFIC Ocean! We posed for more pictures & then the feasting & celebrating began with all of our friends & family.

Fresno to Hollister

Today's ride was supposed to be our longest of the summer, but due to a detour earlier in the summer we did 118 to Baton Rouge and this became our second longest ride, though still not something at which to scoff. I set off with Kristina, Hannah, David and Justine. Thankfully many of the first few turns were chalked, we were supposed to be riding along a bike path, but we just ended up taking the road as the path was not clear, and many directions on our cue sheet were wrong-ish. The roads were very bumpy, and this was a condition that we hoped would stop when we changed roads, though it never did.

The days we spent in CA were not what I expected. I guess it was unrealistic, but I pictured lots more beaches and water, and instead found mountains, desert and agriculture. This day we had lunch in a almond orchard. Second lunch was originally at one of our turns under what had been the only shade for miles, but was later moved to a saloon only a half mile away where we were able to enjoy cooler temperatures and a Coke if we so desired, which I definitely did. One of our stops between first and second lunch included a hot springs where we were able to use the bathroom and rest for a minute as well as a side of the road nap, or if you were me, middle of the road nap. The road was deserted and we were all desperate for a break. We kept trying to hold out for shade, but none came, and we decided we couldn't wait any longer. While the miles before first lunch were easy-ish, all of us had boarded the struggle bus afterwards. We had to cross what was known as  the Coastal Range, a small mountain range. We crossed through a low pass and about the highest grade we climbed was 4%, but we were all tired and at least for me, the climb up Tioga Pass went way more smoothly and easily than this.

We were told that there was a town & gas station at mile 100. Hannah got a flat tire around mile 98 & Kristina & I went ahead in search of the gas station because she wasn't feeling too hot. What we actually found was a store at mile 104-ish. We got a snack & a Blue and waited for the other 3 there. By the time we left the gas station it was already nearing 6 p.m. We knew that there were only 5 others ahead of us, which meant about 17 more were behind us. We hustled the last 10 miles in, and after battling the heat and sun all day we were actually chilly since we had crossed the mountains and were now getting an ocean breeze.

When we got there we gave our taillights to Tova who went back out to give them to riders on the road without them because it was nearing dark. We walked a few blocks over for showers and decided to treat ourselves to Subway, instead of waiting for pizza. Though we all did have a slice or two after dinner. Everyone made it in safely and close to 9 p.m. we got a start on reviewing grant applications.

Each B&B team gets to disperse the rest of their fundraised money through a competitive grant program. AH organizations can apply for up to $10,000, but their program must involve youth in some substantial way. We, as a group, got to read over all the applications and decide where our money could make the most difference.

We all headed to bed late as we relished our last night all together.

The beginning of the end

Spoiler alert: All of us made it safely to Monterey. Look for the last few blog posts in the week to come, and lots of pictures when I make it back to my laptop.

In the meantime...thank you to everyone who has followed along and supported me this summer. Your comments, thoughts and prayers have meant more to me than you'll ever know.

Oakhurst to Fresno and prom B&B style

The day started off with me forgetting my camelbak and sunglasses. Yup, 11 weeks in and my act still is not together. After I got my things Natalie, Hannah, Jack and I set off down the hill we climbed to the host yesterday. We stopped immediately at a local coffee shop at bottom where we DM'd some coffee.

We left and almost immediately started climbing. My body was not prepared for this and even in my granny gear I was barely moving. After a stop to remove my underarmor I continued on, and we regrouped at the top. We then circled Bass Lake which was beautiful but the roads were rough. We got to a gas station at mile 18 intending to take a nice break, but instead learned that in half an hour the section of road at mile 24 would be closing. So, Nate, Trent and I set out to crush to make it through. It was downhill and though we made it well before the supposed closing time of 10 am they had started early. They were blasting sections of hillside and as a result the road was both temporarily closed and unsafe for us to bike on. So, we had an early lunch stopped and hitchhiked our way through once the road opened. We had left Jack at the gas station with Marcus whose tire had exploded and needed to wait for sweep. Shortly after making our way through the construction we stopped at a school for a quick break and Natalie did the dip. So we were down to two and headed on. The rest of the ride was hot but conversation passed the time just fine.

After arriving at the church a few of us made a McD run knowing we had almost 4 hrs til dinner. And we pre-dinnered hard.

After dinner the prom prep began. After a store run Emily and I headed to the bathroom to do our hair. Our trio was Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2. I was Thing 2 and we both used blue hairspray to help us look the part. The costumes were all pretty funny and we headed out as a motley crew to a nearby restaurant. We got our drink and dance on and a bomb time was had by all. We partied hard til around 1130 when we were all beat and the restaurant finally kicked us out. Overall prom was a huge success!

Yosemite to Oakhurst

One of the riders Hannah had to leave for a few days and was supposed to return on our off day. However, we were told they had lost her luggage so she had to wait for it to be found. But...as we found out this morning it was not Hannah's luggage thy was lost, but the bike of the program director, Natalie, whom we love. She flew in a few days early to bike with us! We departed the host with Arden, David, Marcus and Natalie. However, due to the curvy and downhill nature of the roads we split up and it ended up just David and I.

The van was still in the shop, but the Captain's fiancé was visiting so we were able to use her truck as a SAG wagon and to set up lunch. Lunch was at mile 30 after a mostly downhill morning. We feasted on lunch meat with real bread and cheese. We regrouped as just David, Arden and I after lunch and immediately began climbing hills. We spent the last 40 miles of our day climbing and neither my body nor my mind was prepared. The host was straight up a large hill and on the way up Arden's chain dropped. I swerve to avoid hitting her and we stopped for her to fix it.

We had hose showers again and dinner crew made b-fast for dinner. We gave a presentation to a local BSA troop and worked some more on prom stuff.