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.