Welcome to the "Big Easy"

The en-route city I think I'm most excited about this summer is New Orleans, LA. SUS '12 (Southern US. (my route name)) will spend a total of 6 days in NOLA. 1 day off, to rest our legs/run around and explore as much as we can in 24 hours, & 5 build days! I'm most excited about NOLA for several reasons.

1. My dad graduated from Tulane with his MBA & has talked about how great New Orleans is.
2. After Katrina the city was left in ruins, and still, almost 7 years later has not completely recovered. I'm excited to be able to make an impact, no matter how small, and perhaps help one more person move back into their house.
3. Mmmmm, Cajun & Creole food. Rice & beans anyone? Jambalaya? Thank goodness we'll be biking there. I'll have earned my self a po'boy or 6 and some beignets by the time we make it there. :)
4.  The picture is chalkboard paint on an abandoned house in NOLA. Each line asks what a person wants to do before they die. As the wall is filled it is wiped clean & visitors can start fresh. Candy Chang, the creator, wants to one day create a book of all that has been written. You can check out more about the wall here.
5. Reason #3 repeated. Eat. Repeat. Nom. 

So, time for some facts about New Orleans, LA!

NOLA flooded post Katrina

• New Orleans has several nicknames, NOLA (A combination of New Orleans, Louisiana), The "Big Easy", & some less well known ones include The Crescent City, The City that Care Forgot, Americas Most Interesting City, Hollywood South, & The Northernmost Caribbean City.
• 1 of NOLA's most famous areas include the French Quarter, an area which contains the famous Bourbon St.
• The Port of New Orleans is the 5th largest in the US based on volume of cargo.
• Studies show that approximately 70% of pre-Katrina populations have returned to New Orleans, except, in areas that did not flood that population is 100-110% of the pre-Katrina population.
• The state of Louisiana, rather than have counties within the state have their "version" which they call parishes. New Orleans is part of the parish of Orleans.
• Street cars are still an active method of transportation in NOLA & there are 3 active lines within the city.

St. Charles Avenue

• NOLA ranks 8th in the nation in bicycle & pedestrian transportation & is claimed to be a very bicycle friendly city!!!
• The Canal St. Ferry runs between the heart of the city & Algiers Point across the Mississippi River, and has been running continuously since 1827.
• NOLA boasts such famous people as Tennessee Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, Reese Witherspoon, Tyler Perry, Louis Armstrong, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, &  Eli & Peyton Manning.
• The NOLA montage from above includes pictures (clockwise from top left) of St. Charles Ave.,  A streetcar passing Loyola of New Orleans & Tulane University, NOLA Skyline, Jackson Square & the French Quarter.
  
  
  & 62 days 'til SUS '12!

Meet McFly

 This afternoon, after my field trip to the Pittsburgh Food Bank, where me, and 16 other Supply Chain Management majors went for a tour as well as a few service hours. We spent the first 2.5 hours repackaging bulk cereal. Granola came in a HUGE bag, with 600 lbs in each. We took scoops and repackaged into 1-2 lb bags for redistribution to soup kitchens and food pantries so it can then make its way to the hungry people. (Hopefully there will be a few pictures of this to follow).

I'm over to the left of the bin, rockin' the black shirt & repackaging some granola cereal.

One of the biggest problems when there is a lack of affordable housing is that in order to keep a roof over their heads families spend a much higher percentage of their income on housing leaving their food, healthcare, education, miscellaneous, budgets lacking. Many of the people you'll find receiving food are not homeless, but rather those who after securing housing lack the money for food.

After the field trip it was off for a bike ride. So, cycling shorts, shoes, GREEN shirt (so I would have the luck of the Irish), helmet, all the standard stuff you would put on to ride a bike. The emphasis here being it was 70 degrees out, so shorts & a shirt was all I needed! :)

 Took the Birmingham bridge to the Southside River Trail (I think it's called).

Took care to make sure my camera actually had batteries this time...and snagged a few pictures along my ride. This was taken just down river from the 10th st. bridge. I then made my way back up river, past Hot Metal Bridge, and to Baldwin Boro, I took the trail until it ended and found Welcome to  Pittsburgh sign to take a picture with as well.

Probably my favorite part of the ride today, besides checking out some graffiti which I'm always a fan of, was this sticker on the sign in the picture from left, it says Pierogi Powered, and it's a BikePGH sticker. If it wasn't for their awesome free map outlining all the places, trail, road, bike paths, etc, to ride in Pittsburgh I never would have made it today. & of course, I LOVE me some Pierogis. :) *despite the fact that the word is spelled wrong on the sticker*

So, by the time I crossed the Hot Metal Bridge to the Jail trail (Eliza Furnace trail) I had found a name for my man. So...meet McFly. & of course, the man needed a middle name, & he came with a last (Giant, being the brand of bike). I present to you, loyal readers, McFly "Lil' Bit" Giant. Lil' Bit being for when I need just a little bit more to reach the host site, the top of the hill or the west coast.

After my 15 on the bike I ran 6, out of the 12 I planned for. What a poor idea...won't be doing that again any time soon.

15(.10) + 44 miles= 59 miles completed/ 500, 441 left to ride.

Finally...$2000 raised!!!

So after Florida and the crossing of our first state line via bicycle we hit Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in quick succession. So, today we have Mobile, Alabama (where we'll spend 2 build days!) followed by Biloxi, MS. I'll save New Orleans for it's own post because of how excited I am to spend 6 days in the "Big Easy"!

Mobile, AL

Part of the port of Mobile

• Mobile is the only seaport in Alabama, and is currently the 9th largest port in the U.S.
• A 2007 study determined that Mobile was the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states averaging 66.3 inches of rain per year over a 30 year period. (Take that Seattle!)
• Jimmy Buffet spent a significant part of his childhood in Mobile.
• A recent survey ranked Mobile as one of the 5 most polite cities in America.

Biloxi, MS

Biloxi Lighthouse

• The Biloxi Lighthouse (supposedly one of the most photographed objects in the Southern U.S.) was built in Baltimore in 1848 and is one of only 2 surviving Gulf Coast light houses (out of an original 12).
• Hurricane Katrina hit Biloxi hard in 2005, with a storm surge that was over 27 ft high.
• There are 8 casinos in Biloxi, and gambling here has dated back to the 1940's when the legality of gambling was suspect to say the least.
• Barq's Root Beer was invented in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1898 by Edward Adolf Barq, Sr.

Welp, that's it for today folks. Also, in other G-R-E-A-T news...I crossed my $2000 fundraising "line" today. Which is just in time for the Friday deadline. Thanks to some very recent donations from Betty Drake (neighbor extraordinare!), Cheryl Jones (awesome cousin!) and Jack Porter (birthday twin! Whaddup March 27th!?)

Panama City to Pensacola; 65 days 'til SUS '12!

The weather was gorgeous today, but I opted to head out for a run rather than a ride after Saturdays harrowing experience riding with my new pedals & shoes. I plan to get some more practice clipping in and out before I head back out on the streets. Trail riding doesn't freak me out, it's the stopping and starting @ stoplights that has me freaked. So...in the meantime, 3 more cities to explore today.

Panama City, FL

And while it's technically Panama City Beach, not Panama City...I couldn't resist.

• Panama City will represent our first time zone crossing of the trip. Panama City is in the Central time zone. I think what that really equates to in B&B terms is for one night we will feel like we were gifted an extra hour of sleep. :)
• The Panama City city website features an affordable housing section, which can be found by clicking here. The city provides a list of affordable housing options as well as provides an after school assistance program for families that may struggle to afford this otherwise.
• Despite their very similar names Panama City & Panama City Beach are actually two distinct cities, albeit right next to one another & in the same county.

DeFuniak Springs, FL

•  Pictured right is the sunset over Lake DeFuniak.
• Lake DeFuniak is one of two naturally occuring perfectly round lakes in the world. (The other is in Switzerland)
• A railroad survey crew came looking for an area through which to place a railroad, it is said they discovered Lake DeFuniak and decided to build a town as well. They named it after Fred R. DeFuniak who held many positions within Louisville & Nashville Railroad

Pensacola, FL
 

• Home to the first U.S. Naval Air Station & the home of the Blue Angels (a well known flight demonstration crew) (pictured left). SUS'ers from years past have said they've been able to see the Angels fly over head!
• Pensacola has several nicknames, a few of my favorites being "The City of Five Flags" due to the 5 governments who have flown flags there (Spain, France, GB, Confederate States, US), my other favorite being the "Redneck Riviera" 
• Pensacola is one of America's first known settlements, with recorded history dating back to 1559

And that's it for Florida, Pensacola is the last city before crossing our first state line & heading to Alabama, followed quickly by Mississippi & Louisiana!!!

You're turning out to be quite the problem child...

This morning at 9 am I woke up, ate a filling homemade breakfast sandwich, put my cycling shorts, some tights & ample upper body wear on, donned my helmet & set off for Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill. I had a bike fit at 10 am. A bike fit takes a serious look at how you ride, you're measurements, flexibility, honestly, really about everything you can think of, and uses that information to help improve the set up of your bike to best benefit the rider. A fit typically takes 2 hours, mine took 4.  My uber short torso & super long legs & monkey arms proved to be somewhat of an issue. Once we got the seat (saddle) at the right height I struggled to reach the handlebars without shoulder pain. When we got it so I could reach the handlebars my knees hit my elbows on each pedal stroke. Needless to say it took some serious thinking on the part of Gregg & Todd to get everything figured out. Well, I'm pleased to say we have it mostly figured out, but Todd, one of the guys at Pro Bikes wanted to talk to some friends & see if they had ever run into a problem like this, I had pretty much everyone baffled. By the end they were calling me the problem child. Haha.

Because my fit took so long I was unable to meet up with fellow SUS '12 rider Emily. So, after getting some suspect directions I set off to explore the Panther Hollow trail as well as the Eliza Furnace/Jail trail. I got what are called clipless pedals, which is misleading, because these actually allow you to clip in to your bike with special cycling shoes.

The below pictures feature (left) a clipless pedal very similar to my new set, you'll notice they're very small, they have just enough space for the clip on the bottom of the shoe to "hook" in to the pedal. The (middle) picture features a shoe in the process of clipping in to a pedal and the (right) pictures features my new Camelbak Mule. :)

While in the long run this clipless pedal will make me much more efficient with each pedal stroke it is at the current moment PETRIFYING to clip in and out of my pedals to come to a complete stop. I almost fell over into traffic, including a PAT bus, on several occasions. : / Eek. I stopped by some interesting graffiti, leaned my bike up against the wall, & took my camera out of my Camelbak to take a picture, only to discover I really ought to check my camera batteries BEFORE I leave home. So sadly, no pictures of my bike in action.

Now, normally I would explore 3 more cities on our route, but because this entry is already so long we'll keep it to 1 & I'll be back tomorrow to explore some more. Tonight, we explore Apalachicola.

Apalachicola, FL

 

Boats in Apalachicola Bay

• Known by the locals as "Apalach" and was once the 3rd largest port on the Gulf of Mexico.
• Has over 900 historic homes & buildings listed in the National Register District.

One of the 900 Historic Homes

• The taste of the oysters from Apalachicola have been recognized nationally by chefs for their unique taste. They harvest 90% of the oysters in the state of Florida & 10% of the nations oysters.

32.32 miles + 10.85 miles today = 43.17 miles / 500, 456.83 miles to go.

Thursday...almost Friday...Fact.

There have been a few things people have said to me about affordable housing, and more specifically Habitat for Humanity, which is one of the organizations we build with throughout the summer that have alarmed me. One was that this is just another form of charity encouraging people not to work. So...I thought today I would share with you a part of the Habitat "Myth" section which lays several common myths to rest. Enjoy. :)

Myth: Habitat for Humanity gives houses away to poor people.
Fact: Habitat for Humanity offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 50 percent of the area's median income. In most cases, prospective Habitat homeowner families make a $500 down payment. Additionally, they contribute 300 to 500 hours of "sweat equity" on the construction of their home or someone else's home. Because Habitat houses are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.

Myth: Habitat houses reduce a neighborhood’s property values.
Fact: Housing studies show affordable housing has no adverse effect on neighborhood property values. In fact, Habitat houses have proven to increase property values and local government tax income.


Myth: Habitat homeowners are on welfare.
Fact: While some Habitat homeowners receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children, many more are working people. Typically their annual income is less than half the local median income in their community.


Habitat Myth page can be found here.

This weekend will bring a ride with another SUS '12 rider as well as a professional bike fit & the purchase of some cycling shoes. :) & we'll also explore a few more cities as well, so look for that post. 

73 days, whaddup!?

Alright guys, time to "explore" a few more cities. Also, before we get to that. Finally got around to buying my first pair of cycling shorts this past weekend. Didn't realize how much padding would be in them. They take a hot second to get used to. Essentially, for anyone who was as unaware as I, there is pretty extensive padding exactly in the shape of a bike seat in the crotchular (definitely a word, Google that sh*t) region. Definitely didn't realize that prior to Saturday afternoon. After trying on 178 pairs of cycling shorts, I found one that didn't feel like I was wearing a diaper & also one that didn't look more like capri's on me. So, now, in true Pittsburgh style, it snowed today, however, according to the weather guru's it should warm up later this week, so I sure hope a ride in my new shorts is on the horizon.

AND NOW...ON TO THE CITIES!
On today's list we have: Lake City, FL , Perry, FL & Tallahassee, FL.

Lake City, FL

 

Olustee Park, Lake City, FL

• Lake City is known as "The Gateway to Florida". It's the northernmost FL city that I-75 runs through, a major North to South highway. It's also where I-75 intersects I-10, 75's east to west counterpart, which runs from Jacksonville, FL to Santa Monica, CA.
• Lake City was originally a Seminole village that went by the name Alpata Telophka, meaning Alligator Village. 
• The only major Civil War battle to occur in FL, the Battle of Olustee, has been reenacted   every February since 1976 as a part of the Olustee Battle Festival.

Perry, FL

• 28% of the population is considered to be under the poverty line, including 39% of those under 18.
• The city is named for Madison S. Perry, a Confederate colonel during the Civil War.
• The picture slightly up & to the right is from a couple who biked across FL in 1975. Pretty cool.

Tallahassee, FL

                          Florida's "Old" Capitol building                      

• In 2010 there were 84, 248 households in Tallahassee, 11.2% of those were vacant.
• 24.7% of the population lives under the poverty line.
• Tallahassee boasts the oldest police department in the Southern U.S. (what a vague title), it was founded in 1841. It was preceded in founding only by the cities of Philadelphia and Boston.
• The picture slightly up & to the right features Lake Talquin.