Hanging out at the baseball game in Dayton was a lot of fun, and the next day we had a police escort out of town. With lights flashing, we were able to run the red lights and hold traffic up for 7 miles on our way out of Dayton. Thanks to everyone in Dayton who helped us out. They really made it an enjoyable couple of days.
From Dayton to Hartford City, IN was the group's longest day so far (well at least the longest planned day) at 96.7 miles. After our police escort we hit a bike trail and were able to move pretty quickly for most of the morning. Things were going well until storm clouds began to appear in the distance late in the afternoon. As the sky grew darker with about 20 miles left, Chad and I decided to try and out run the storm. At well above 20 miles per hour into a strong head wind we pushed ourselves really, really hard. The storm clouds kept moving closer and closer, and we kept riding faster. With just a mile or so left the thunder and lightning began, and we decided to just make it to the church instead of seeking cover. We reached St. John's about 15 seconds before the bottom fell out of the sky, and we hid under the awning until the pastor saw us from across the way. Everyone else was caught in it, but they all found shelter in barns, houses, and diners. They waited out the storm, and then made it in later that evening.
From Hartford City we had another long day (80.8) to West Lafayette, IN. It was a good day, although windy, and we made it to the Faith Community Center fairly early.
West Lafayette to Gilman, IL was one of the hardest days we've had on the bike so far. 88.8 miles seemed twice as long as we fought crazy strong headwinds (40 + mph at times) all day long. We left at 8 am, and the first group, which I was in, didn't make it to Gilman until 5 o'clock (It would have been 6 o'clock, but we crossed time zones). 10 hours from the time we left definitely makes it the longest day time wise I've had so far.
Gilman to Pontiac was a great, short day. 45 miles with a little wind, but we made the best of it. I got to lunch early, took a nap, ran a few errands, and then pushed the last 10 miles pretty hard. When I got in, Lisa, Katharine, and I walked to Dairy Queen where the couple in front of us in line treated us to free blizzards.
Pontiac is our first day off. Most of us went out last night, played some darts, and pool and such, and stayed up later than normal (my normal bedtime these days is around 9ish). This morning I slept late, and then a group of us went to eat breakfast and run some errands around town. Joe, Marty, and I convinced the local grocery store to give us their day old produce and breads tomorrow morning, and now we're back at the church watching a movie and relaxing.
I added new pictures today, you can check them out by clicking on the "Photo Album" links over on the right. Photo Album 2 is the newest one.
I'm 1321.8 miles into the trip, and 40 days away from Seattle!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
1000 miles from Rhode Island
The last week seems like a blur. We left Franklin, crossed into Ohio where we spent our first night in Youngstown and then headed to Akron.
Akron we had a build day in Akron with Rebuilding Together, an organization that works to remodel houses for veterans, the elderly, and the handicapped. There were lots of little odd jobs to do; painting, yard work, fixing siding (my specialty) and cleaning out a basement.
From Akron we headed to Gambier. It was a great 93 mile ride with some great bike trails along the way. Lisa and I rode together most of the day and were treated to ice cream at the college bookstore by Chad's uncle! Thanks so much for that. We beat the rain by seconds (literally), and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the dorms at Kenyon College.
I was in charge of the group journal entry from Gambier to Columbus, so I'll just post it here so I don't have to rewrite it.
Columbus to Dayton was a 78 mile ride that should have been easy, but it was a tough day for me. I don't know if it was because I ate a little breakfast or what, but I felt pretty bad all morning. I ate a big lunch, and felt a little better in the afternoon. Peter, Ashley, and I rode together most of the way, and Peter and I both went over 1000 miles for the trip.
In other words we've gotten lost the most.
Akron we had a build day in Akron with Rebuilding Together, an organization that works to remodel houses for veterans, the elderly, and the handicapped. There were lots of little odd jobs to do; painting, yard work, fixing siding (my specialty) and cleaning out a basement.
From Akron we headed to Gambier. It was a great 93 mile ride with some great bike trails along the way. Lisa and I rode together most of the day and were treated to ice cream at the college bookstore by Chad's uncle! Thanks so much for that. We beat the rain by seconds (literally), and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the dorms at Kenyon College.
I was in charge of the group journal entry from Gambier to Columbus, so I'll just post it here so I don't have to rewrite it.
"We woke up this morning feeling extra refreshed thanks to
With our bellies still full we hit the road on a 52 mile trek to
The group reached
48 days to
Columbus to Dayton was a 78 mile ride that should have been easy, but it was a tough day for me. I don't know if it was because I ate a little breakfast or what, but I felt pretty bad all morning. I ate a big lunch, and felt a little better in the afternoon. Peter, Ashley, and I rode together most of the way, and Peter and I both went over 1000 miles for the trip.
In other words we've gotten lost the most.
Dayton has been great so far. The church we're staying in has been great, and the local Habitat has gone out of their way to hook us up. At our build day today we poured concrete did drywall, and the Police Chief came and talked to us. It was a great day, and now we're on our way to watch the Dayton Dragons baseball game!
Tomorrow we'll reach Indiana!Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Pedaling through Pennsylvania
Its crazy to think that tomorrow we'll be entering Ohio. In less than two weeks our group of thirty one has made it across Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and now Pennsylvania. When you look at the map of the whole country it doesn't seem that impressive, but we're starting to feel like RI to OH is quite a feat in itself. Just one more hilly day ahead of us before we trade in the Appalachians, Catskills, and Alleghenies for the the plains of the Midwest!
They say the Appalachians are harder for cyclists to ride than the Rockies because the roads are steeper. In the Rockies there are switchbacks the whole way, but most of the Appalachians are straight to the top. I really think some of the toughest days physically (like to Roscoe and to Binghamton) are behind us. It also seems like I'm becoming more mentally and emotionally prepared (like the long cold, rainy days you'll read about in this post).
So anyways, we left Wellsboro and made it to Coudersport 50 miles later on the 15th. It was a pretty hilly rain with just a little rain but not too bad. We stayed at the Alliance Church in town where they fed us pizza and wings (delicious!), and then we hit the bed pretty early.
We woke up the next morning to rain on our way to Warren, PA. A 58 mile was in store, and Brooke and I were "sweep" for the day. This basically means we're the caboose of the group, staying with the last rider to make sure everyone is okay. The cold rain was miserable before lunch, and it seemed like we were swimming in it at times. We arrived at lunch and decided to wait a while before getting back on the road. We warmed up in the van for almost an hour before the two of us took off again (once again at the back of the pack). We had given enough space so we were able to move at a pretty quick pace, and the afternoon was much more enjoyable, although still cold and wet. This was probably the hardest day so far mentally because it seemed to grind out so slowly. The afternoon was more enjoyable though as the sun peaked out just a little, and Brooke and I were able to pass the time talking. Our host in Warren was the YMCA, so we were treated to an evening of saunas and hot showers. Definitely a big plus. We also had our second Affordable Housing meeting where several of our group members explained to us the history of Affordable Housing in the United States during the 1900's. Then we went to sleep in the gym which was great until basketball players came in at 5:30 to shoot some hoops while we were still asleep.
Today (the 17th) we woke up to more downpours. The temperature had dropped over night, and the high was only 55 degrees! Bundled in my jersey, arm warmers, knee warmers, a long sleeve jersey, and my rain jacket (hey, I'm not used to riding in the cold OR the rain) I hit the road with the first group. We were lucky enough to have Pastor Sam Gibb of the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin (our host for tonight) meet up with us this morning and ride the whole day. The morning was cold, cold, cold, wet, and a bit sketchy at times as we had to spend quite a bit of time in construction areas. The weather broke a little bit at lunch time as we got to Pleasantville (ironic I know), where we had our trailer set up at a local diner. the lady who runs it was nice enough to let us bring our food in, and some of us decided to eat there. I had delicious buckwheat pancakes, and they definitely warmed my cold body up. After one quick uphill out of Pleasantville we were pretty much downhill, flat, or rolling hills the rest of the day. Pastor Sam took us down some awesome bike trails to make the day shorter and safer, plus he set a great pace for us to follow. We held about 20 mph for most of the afternoon as he pulled us along at the front of the pack. We didn't even have to take turns up front, he did almost all of the work. It definitely made for a great day. My legs are feeling good tonight, and I'm ready for the next few days. We got to Franklin, showered and saunaed at the Y, and then Pastor Sam took us all to Subway for dinner! The church is also feeding us breakfast in the morning before we leave town. Hopefully it will warm up and dry out in the next couple of days.
They say the Appalachians are harder for cyclists to ride than the Rockies because the roads are steeper. In the Rockies there are switchbacks the whole way, but most of the Appalachians are straight to the top. I really think some of the toughest days physically (like to Roscoe and to Binghamton) are behind us. It also seems like I'm becoming more mentally and emotionally prepared (like the long cold, rainy days you'll read about in this post).
So anyways, we left Wellsboro and made it to Coudersport 50 miles later on the 15th. It was a pretty hilly rain with just a little rain but not too bad. We stayed at the Alliance Church in town where they fed us pizza and wings (delicious!), and then we hit the bed pretty early.
We woke up the next morning to rain on our way to Warren, PA. A 58 mile was in store, and Brooke and I were "sweep" for the day. This basically means we're the caboose of the group, staying with the last rider to make sure everyone is okay. The cold rain was miserable before lunch, and it seemed like we were swimming in it at times. We arrived at lunch and decided to wait a while before getting back on the road. We warmed up in the van for almost an hour before the two of us took off again (once again at the back of the pack). We had given enough space so we were able to move at a pretty quick pace, and the afternoon was much more enjoyable, although still cold and wet. This was probably the hardest day so far mentally because it seemed to grind out so slowly. The afternoon was more enjoyable though as the sun peaked out just a little, and Brooke and I were able to pass the time talking. Our host in Warren was the YMCA, so we were treated to an evening of saunas and hot showers. Definitely a big plus. We also had our second Affordable Housing meeting where several of our group members explained to us the history of Affordable Housing in the United States during the 1900's. Then we went to sleep in the gym which was great until basketball players came in at 5:30 to shoot some hoops while we were still asleep.
Today (the 17th) we woke up to more downpours. The temperature had dropped over night, and the high was only 55 degrees! Bundled in my jersey, arm warmers, knee warmers, a long sleeve jersey, and my rain jacket (hey, I'm not used to riding in the cold OR the rain) I hit the road with the first group. We were lucky enough to have Pastor Sam Gibb of the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin (our host for tonight) meet up with us this morning and ride the whole day. The morning was cold, cold, cold, wet, and a bit sketchy at times as we had to spend quite a bit of time in construction areas. The weather broke a little bit at lunch time as we got to Pleasantville (ironic I know), where we had our trailer set up at a local diner. the lady who runs it was nice enough to let us bring our food in, and some of us decided to eat there. I had delicious buckwheat pancakes, and they definitely warmed my cold body up. After one quick uphill out of Pleasantville we were pretty much downhill, flat, or rolling hills the rest of the day. Pastor Sam took us down some awesome bike trails to make the day shorter and safer, plus he set a great pace for us to follow. We held about 20 mph for most of the afternoon as he pulled us along at the front of the pack. We didn't even have to take turns up front, he did almost all of the work. It definitely made for a great day. My legs are feeling good tonight, and I'm ready for the next few days. We got to Franklin, showered and saunaed at the Y, and then Pastor Sam took us all to Subway for dinner! The church is also feeding us breakfast in the morning before we leave town. Hopefully it will warm up and dry out in the next couple of days.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Through New York and on to Pennsylvania
First off, I put up a photo album on Facebook, and you can check it out by clicking on the title of this post.
Here's what's gone on the last few days.
We left Poughkeepsie, and after getting turned around, riding across a busy bridge and then taking the highway against traffic in the wrong direction we headed to Roscoe. This was the hardest day we've done so far. 85 miles over 3 mountain passes including Hunter Mountain, which had a grade (steepness) that I won't even begin to guess at. All i know is it was the steepest road I've ever seen, much less ridden. I got to Roscoe a few minutes before the first group , and meet Rick, our contact for the night. They really hooked us up. The church we were staying at had pot luck pasta (i honestly ate like 4 plates), and then we stayed at the Roscoe Country Club. We had beds!!!! It was so awesome. Then, the next morning Rick's restaurant had pancakes for us. Roscoe is going to be hard to beat.
Thursday we left Roscoe and headed to Binghamton, NY. Shira, Ashley, Peter, and I left first, and missed our turn onto highway 17. We ended up adding 30 miles and a mountain pass to the day. At lunch we'd already hit 64 miles (the whole day was only supposed to be 69). We reached the church at 94 miles, so Peter and I decided to keep riding and make it a 100 mile day. A hard, but good day.
Friday we had our first build day on the road. We moved 80 tons of top soil and spread it across the yard. We worked hard, got done early, and spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and going to the bike shop. I got a new computer (so I can keep up with mileage) and some sweet new tires (my tires got shredded on a gravel road on the way to Binghamton).
Saturday we left Binghamton and headed to Towanda, PA. It turns out we were really headed to a small town called Standing Stone about 7 miles away. And then it started raining. Then it poured. And then the van got stuck in the mud trying to turn around when we were lost. But the Road King got us out (see the pictures), and everything ended up okay.
This morning we left Standing Stone, went through Towanda again (nothing like back tracking), and headed to Wellsboro. It was 58 miles of what seemed mostly uphill, but all in all it was a pretty good day. It was also the first time in 5 days I didn't get lost. Hopefully my luck is changing for the better. We made it into Wellsboro early, we showered, and then just hung out for a while. I got all the dirt and muck of my bike and now its ready to ride after a few dirty days. The host church wasn't providing dinner tonight, so we decided to go out instead of cooking. We went to a little family restaurant where I had spaghetti and meatballs. It was delicious. Now I'm sitting in the town park on the public wifi, enjoying a very pretty evening.
Tomorrow we leave for Coudersport, PA.
Here's what's gone on the last few days.
We left Poughkeepsie, and after getting turned around, riding across a busy bridge and then taking the highway against traffic in the wrong direction we headed to Roscoe. This was the hardest day we've done so far. 85 miles over 3 mountain passes including Hunter Mountain, which had a grade (steepness) that I won't even begin to guess at. All i know is it was the steepest road I've ever seen, much less ridden. I got to Roscoe a few minutes before the first group , and meet Rick, our contact for the night. They really hooked us up. The church we were staying at had pot luck pasta (i honestly ate like 4 plates), and then we stayed at the Roscoe Country Club. We had beds!!!! It was so awesome. Then, the next morning Rick's restaurant had pancakes for us. Roscoe is going to be hard to beat.
Thursday we left Roscoe and headed to Binghamton, NY. Shira, Ashley, Peter, and I left first, and missed our turn onto highway 17. We ended up adding 30 miles and a mountain pass to the day. At lunch we'd already hit 64 miles (the whole day was only supposed to be 69). We reached the church at 94 miles, so Peter and I decided to keep riding and make it a 100 mile day. A hard, but good day.
Friday we had our first build day on the road. We moved 80 tons of top soil and spread it across the yard. We worked hard, got done early, and spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and going to the bike shop. I got a new computer (so I can keep up with mileage) and some sweet new tires (my tires got shredded on a gravel road on the way to Binghamton).
Saturday we left Binghamton and headed to Towanda, PA. It turns out we were really headed to a small town called Standing Stone about 7 miles away. And then it started raining. Then it poured. And then the van got stuck in the mud trying to turn around when we were lost. But the Road King got us out (see the pictures), and everything ended up okay.
This morning we left Standing Stone, went through Towanda again (nothing like back tracking), and headed to Wellsboro. It was 58 miles of what seemed mostly uphill, but all in all it was a pretty good day. It was also the first time in 5 days I didn't get lost. Hopefully my luck is changing for the better. We made it into Wellsboro early, we showered, and then just hung out for a while. I got all the dirt and muck of my bike and now its ready to ride after a few dirty days. The host church wasn't providing dinner tonight, so we decided to go out instead of cooking. We went to a little family restaurant where I had spaghetti and meatballs. It was delicious. Now I'm sitting in the town park on the public wifi, enjoying a very pretty evening.
Tomorrow we leave for Coudersport, PA.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Connecticut is Conquered
Tonight we're staying in Poughkeepsie, NY at a local Church.
Yesterday was an awesome ride. We thought it was going to be a 70 mile day, but it ended up only being 50, so that got our day started in a great way. After a quick misdirection (only a mile or so out of the way) it was a hilly, fun day. I don't have a computer still, but the guys I was with on one hill clocked themselves at 47 mph as I was passing them. Definitely a fast day. When we were about 10 miles from Kent school Andy, a Bike & Build alum from 2004 and our host for the night, waved our group down and hooked us up with Gatorade. He also told us about a sweet waterfall about 4 miles outside of town that we decided to stop at. We all went for a swim (pictures later), and then stopped for ice cream as we got into town. It was definitely a good day that will stick with us for a while.
This morning was supposed to be a 30 mile ride, but due to a wrong turn at the beginning of the ride it turned into a forty miler for about 10 of us. A detour around a broken a bridge added a huge hill, and then we got our first experience with switchbacks for the summer shortly after entering New York. There was a climb of about 2 miles that really made us all work hard. Jake St. and I somehow missed lunch, so we stopped at a gas station and got peanuts and ice cream. That's nutritious. After getting into Poughkeepsie we showered and then our group did laundry before dinner. Tonight we had our first Affordable Housing meeting, where our group shares the research we've done on the topic.
We've got two 70 mile days now before we reach Binghamton for our next build day.
Yesterday was an awesome ride. We thought it was going to be a 70 mile day, but it ended up only being 50, so that got our day started in a great way. After a quick misdirection (only a mile or so out of the way) it was a hilly, fun day. I don't have a computer still, but the guys I was with on one hill clocked themselves at 47 mph as I was passing them. Definitely a fast day. When we were about 10 miles from Kent school Andy, a Bike & Build alum from 2004 and our host for the night, waved our group down and hooked us up with Gatorade. He also told us about a sweet waterfall about 4 miles outside of town that we decided to stop at. We all went for a swim (pictures later), and then stopped for ice cream as we got into town. It was definitely a good day that will stick with us for a while.
This morning was supposed to be a 30 mile ride, but due to a wrong turn at the beginning of the ride it turned into a forty miler for about 10 of us. A detour around a broken a bridge added a huge hill, and then we got our first experience with switchbacks for the summer shortly after entering New York. There was a climb of about 2 miles that really made us all work hard. Jake St. and I somehow missed lunch, so we stopped at a gas station and got peanuts and ice cream. That's nutritious. After getting into Poughkeepsie we showered and then our group did laundry before dinner. Tonight we had our first Affordable Housing meeting, where our group shares the research we've done on the topic.
We've got two 70 mile days now before we reach Binghamton for our next build day.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Providence, RI to Woodstock, CT to Grandby, CT
I'm sitting on the front porch of a church in Grandby, CT stealing wireless from the neighbors.
We've got two days of riding under our belts, only 68 more to go. We left Providence Saturday morning after dipping our tires into the Atlantic.
We hit the road, and before too long, we had left Rhode Island and entered Connecticut.
Saturday's ride was about 34 miles with some
gentle rolling hills. I rode with Chad and Lindsey most of the morning, and then Jake St. and I pushed it pretty hard at the front in the afternoon.We spent the night at HYDE school in Woodstock where they treated us to burgers and chicken. My chore group gave the presentation about Bike & Build, and then we went and did laundry. We slept in the school gym, and everybody was asleep by 11.
Our 6 o'clock wake up call came early, and we were on the road by 8. The ride today was 53.4 miles of hills through surprisingly hot Connecticut. There were several really long climbs that took a lot out of you, but they were followed by some super fast downhills. I lost my
computer somewhere on the ride yesterday and had to go without one today. I don't know how fast I was able to go, but it was kind of nice not to constantly be checking my speed. I'll have to pick another one up at the next bike shop I find. I rode with Chad up front this morning before stopping to help Lindsey with a flat, and then we rode with a large group to lunch. The biggest climbs in the morning, but it was gorgeous as the trees made a canopy blocking out the sun and heat. After leaving my sunglasses at the van during lunch and making an extra mile loop to get them, I spent the majority of the afternoon by myself before catching up with a few people to finish up the last few miles.
Tonight we're staying at the First Church of Grandby where they're preparing Chicken Parmesan for us, plus they'll feed us breakfast in the morning too!
We leave tomorrow headed west again, and ever closer to the Appalachians. It's a 70 miler where we'll cross over part of the Appalachian Trail, so our motto for the day may be "up, up, up."
I guess I'll leave you with a picture of the side our trailer. It has four sides (obviously), but I only took a picture of one. I'll get around to the others later.
We've got two days of riding under our belts, only 68 more to go. We left Providence Saturday morning after dipping our tires into the Atlantic.
We hit the road, and before too long, we had left Rhode Island and entered Connecticut.
Saturday's ride was about 34 miles with some
gentle rolling hills. I rode with Chad and Lindsey most of the morning, and then Jake St. and I pushed it pretty hard at the front in the afternoon.We spent the night at HYDE school in Woodstock where they treated us to burgers and chicken. My chore group gave the presentation about Bike & Build, and then we went and did laundry. We slept in the school gym, and everybody was asleep by 11.Our 6 o'clock wake up call came early, and we were on the road by 8. The ride today was 53.4 miles of hills through surprisingly hot Connecticut. There were several really long climbs that took a lot out of you, but they were followed by some super fast downhills. I lost my
computer somewhere on the ride yesterday and had to go without one today. I don't know how fast I was able to go, but it was kind of nice not to constantly be checking my speed. I'll have to pick another one up at the next bike shop I find. I rode with Chad up front this morning before stopping to help Lindsey with a flat, and then we rode with a large group to lunch. The biggest climbs in the morning, but it was gorgeous as the trees made a canopy blocking out the sun and heat. After leaving my sunglasses at the van during lunch and making an extra mile loop to get them, I spent the majority of the afternoon by myself before catching up with a few people to finish up the last few miles.Tonight we're staying at the First Church of Grandby where they're preparing Chicken Parmesan for us, plus they'll feed us breakfast in the morning too!
We leave tomorrow headed west again, and ever closer to the Appalachians. It's a 70 miler where we'll cross over part of the Appalachian Trail, so our motto for the day may be "up, up, up."
I guess I'll leave you with a picture of the side our trailer. It has four sides (obviously), but I only took a picture of one. I'll get around to the others later.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Our First Build Day & Mail Drop Information
Today we went over to the Providence chapter of Habitat for Humanity and built the walls for a house that will be going up soon. It was a cold, muggy day, so we were kind of fortunate to be inside the warehouse. My group had some trouble thanks to a wickedly bent board, but as a whole the day was a lot of fun.
Now we're just kind of hanging out until dinner when an alumni from the Providence to San Francisco 2007 group is going to come talk to us. I've already heard from two of our leaders, Shira and Jake, what its like, but I'm excited to hear someone else's perspective too.
Our Mail Drop dates and locations are up now. I know some of them don't have street addresses, but it will still get to the Post Office this way. If you want to send me something something (which would be way cool), address mail to:
Bike & Build
Attn: Eric Rowell
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, STATE, ZIP
Please mark the envelope or package with "Please hold for pick-up on DATE"
June 12th 6 Water Street
Council Creek, NY 13744
June 26th 123 S. High St.
Hartford City, IN 47348-9998
July 3rd 615 6th Ave SE
Cedar Rapids IA 52401
July 10th PO Box 9999
Stuart, NE 68780
July 17th Casper, WY 82609-9999
July 24th Ashton ID 83420
July 31st Superior Post Office
Superior, MT 59872
August 7th Winthrop, WA 98862
We're scheduled to dip our tires in the Atlantic around 9:15 tomorrow morning. The mayor is coming to deliver a send-off speech, and then we'll head for Pomfret, CT around 9:45.
I'm not sure what internet access will be like from here on out (we've kind of gotten spoiled being here at Brown), but I'll do my best to keep the blog updated.
Tomorrow we ride!
Now we're just kind of hanging out until dinner when an alumni from the Providence to San Francisco 2007 group is going to come talk to us. I've already heard from two of our leaders, Shira and Jake, what its like, but I'm excited to hear someone else's perspective too.
Our Mail Drop dates and locations are up now. I know some of them don't have street addresses, but it will still get to the Post Office this way. If you want to send me something something (which would be way cool), address mail to:
Bike & Build
Attn: Eric Rowell
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, STATE, ZIP
Please mark the envelope or package with "Please hold for pick-up on DATE"
June 12th 6 Water Street
Council Creek, NY 13744
June 26th 123 S. High St.
Hartford City, IN 47348-9998
July 3rd 615 6th Ave SE
Cedar Rapids IA 52401
July 10th PO Box 9999
Stuart, NE 68780
July 17th Casper, WY 82609-9999
July 24th Ashton ID 83420
July 31st Superior Post Office
Superior, MT 59872
August 7th Winthrop, WA 98862
We're scheduled to dip our tires in the Atlantic around 9:15 tomorrow morning. The mayor is coming to deliver a send-off speech, and then we'll head for Pomfret, CT around 9:45.
I'm not sure what internet access will be like from here on out (we've kind of gotten spoiled being here at Brown), but I'll do my best to keep the blog updated.
Tomorrow we ride!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
orientation and the "shakedown" ride
Everybody has arrived, and orientation is under way. It's been pretty relaxed as we've learned about the rules, bike maintenance, and our duties on the road. We've spent a lot of time just getting to know each other, and we have a really great group.
This morning we went on our "shakedown" ride of 20 miles through Providence and into Mass. (that's one more state I can mark off my list). A couple of guys from the local bike club led us on the route through mostly nice, windy country roads. It was really cool to have all 31 of us in our Bike & Build jerseys riding down the road. "This is so awesome!" had to have been the most common phrase used during the ride, and for good reason. I think the group ride made most of realize this is the beginning of an awesome summer.
Tomorrow Build.
Saturday We Ride.
This morning we went on our "shakedown" ride of 20 miles through Providence and into Mass. (that's one more state I can mark off my list). A couple of guys from the local bike club led us on the route through mostly nice, windy country roads. It was really cool to have all 31 of us in our Bike & Build jerseys riding down the road. "This is so awesome!" had to have been the most common phrase used during the ride, and for good reason. I think the group ride made most of realize this is the beginning of an awesome summer.
Tomorrow Build.
Saturday We Ride.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Providence
I left El Paso yesterday just after lunch, flew to Chicago via New Mexico, and then arrived in Providence around midnight. After a taxi ride in to town, I made it to campus, met my roommate Jeff, and then hit the sack. I woke up to it drizzling outside (it should really cut that out before we start riding), and laid around for a while. Then I got up met the leaders and a few of the other riders and then put my bike together. Jeff and I just got back from the post office where we picked up some stamps, and we're waiting a little while before going and grabbing some lunch. Orientation starts around 1, and it looks like we'll be going from then until the end of the summer. I let you know how everything goes.
Monday, June 2, 2008
It All Begins Tomorrow!
It's 7:00 o'clock on Monday night, and I leave for Providence in the morning. The money is all raised, the bags are packed and the bike is bundled and ready for the plane ride. We'll be in Providence for orientation June 4th and 5th, we'll have a build day with the Providence Habitat for Humanity on the 6th, and we'll start our cross country adventure on the morning of the 7th (Saturday). I'll do my best to keep you updated as we go depending on how interntet access is.
Thanks to everyone who has helped make this happen! I know it's going to be an amazing summer!
Be sure to check back soon for pictures and tales from the road.
-Eric
Thanks to everyone who has helped make this happen! I know it's going to be an amazing summer!
Be sure to check back soon for pictures and tales from the road.
-Eric
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