Hey everyone!
Here are two more photo albums (as can be expected, there are a lot of weird pictures with inside jokes, but once you get past those, there are a lot of good ones in there):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2247784&l=f3908&id=6209617
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2247779&l=a8aa8&id=6209617
Sorry it's been a long time since I've last posted, but we've been pretty busy and internet connections are hard to come by. Right now, I'm in a Tennessee National Guard Armory in Sweetwater, TN staying in a big, very hot gym with the rest of the riders after a "short day" of 40 miles. Thanks to the local Pizza Hut, we had a very big dinner and most of us are taking refuge outside in the breeze in the shade of some army equipment, hummers, and a tank. We rode into Sweetwater from Maryville, TN where we were able to stay at the college's dorms for 3 nights during our two build days in the area.
At these 2 build days we were able to get a lot of the foundation work completed and we actually got a lot more work done than the Habitat crews initially thought we would get done. On the first day we did floor framing on top of the concrete foundation of 2 homes as well as water-proofed the sides. On the second day, we were able to complete the flooring and finish stuccoing the walls. Both days were very hot and humid, but it was nice to meet the families of those moving into the houses and to work with local, full-time (now retired) volunteers on the projects. Maryville also provided us with some opportunities to go out as a group and have a good time--something we haven't been able to to since Chapel Hill, NC. Thanks to a local restraunt, we had a great meal and most of us went out to the local main street to find local clubs and karoke bars. Maryville defintely spoiled us with our dorm rooms and AC, but we all knew we would be back on our bikes soon.
Before going into Maryville, TN, we came from Gatlinberg, TN, which was a 38 mile trip. Gatlinberg reminded me of Myrtle Beach, SC, but without the sand. It had cheesey shops, a lot of little pancake houses, fudge and cotton candy shops, and a whole bunch of tourists. Gatlinberg stands at the bottom of the Smoky Mountains, which we climbed over the 3 previous days to a total height of 5,100 feet. With all of the ups and downs, it was a total of 10,000 feet of climbing for the first day from Taylorsville, NC to Newland, NC over 67 miles crossing over the Eastern Continental Divide, 12, 500 feet from Newland to Asheville, and 17, 500 from Asheville to Gatlinberg. (Hopefully I got those cities right, this trip is quickly becoming smashed together! Thank God for my pictures!.) These were the 3 hardest climbs of the trip for us and many of the seasoned and veteran riders have never climbed some much in their experience. Needless to say, when we crossed into TN from NC at 5,100 feet at the top of the Smoky's it was a great feeling. If the trip were to end tomorrow, I would already be very proud of all of us.
These climbs were mainly using the Blue Ridge Parkway, which was gorgeous to ride on. We were also very lucky in that during one section of it, it was closed for vehicle traffic leaving an open road for us to travel on. Seeing beautiful views each time you took a break from the hard climb made it such a wonderful experience. For me personally, after the first day's climb, we had a 10-15mile downhill section, which allowed us to just coast down the Blue Ridge Parkway over it's wide switchbacks and shaded road. Gliding down that road for about 30minutes with a few of my friends was probably one of the greatest feelings/experiences of my life. A lot of people took videos and pictures on the way down, but I just wanted to enjoy the ride. The other two climbing days also hard long downhills that allowed many of us to break our personal speed records, but for me the first one was the most beautiful and rewarding.
Between two of those climbs, in Asheville, NC we stayed at a local YMCA and had our second build day stop. This build day split our team into two groups with 10 going with an organization called Mountain Housing and the rest going with Habitat for Humanity. With Mountain Housing (MHO), we met up with a gentleman named David to build a walk-way ramp for a couple who were recently having trouble walking up and down the stairs into their home to perform their daily errands. After an introduction into the organization and what MHO was all about, our group got to work on the ramp. Over the course of the day, our group enjoyed meeting the homeowners and enjoyed building something different than some of the other typical housing projects. Our work also caught the eye of the local ABC news bureau who sent down a reporter and cameraman who shot video and interviewed Michelle Williamson about how the trip and build days were going. At the other site, the rest of our team was able to put the finishing touches on the exterior of a home’s stucco on a Habitat project. After putting down an initial base layer, by the end of the day the home’s stucco was completed and had a nice finish.
Well, I think that's enough for now. Tomorrow we have a 80 mile ride through to Dunlap, TN. We're getting up between 4-5am because of the heat so I should get going. I hope that my next blog post doesn't take so much time in the future.
I hope you're all doing well. I love and miss you!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Rained Out
Today was supposed to be our first full build day in Chapel Hill, but the rain had other plans for us. After only a few hours of work on the foundation and framing of the house, the rain started to pour down and we had to call it a day. But this has given us a great opportunity to exchange and post pictures, watch movies, and relax in Chapel of the Cross, where we are staying for three nights (including last night). We have another build day tomorrow where we are continuing work on a home for a prior Habitat family who lost their home in a fire.
Yesterday's ride from Wake Forest to Chapel Hill, which was about 38 miles, was actually very nice and relaxing. We road through Durham and although some parts were rough, we had some supporters waving and cheering us on. At the end of the ride, we had a nice hill that led up to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, but it's nothing compared to what we'll find in Colorado I'm sure.
Our ride from Greenville to Wake Forest, however, two days earlier was the hardest for many of us. It was 77 miles with heat into the 80's and it had a lot of hills and narrow roads for us to navigate. I road with Rachel most of the day and it was nice to be able to push each other through one on the hardest days yet. Everyone made it fine although a few people had some problems with flat tires and things.
Tonight, we're having a huge potluck with Orange County Habitat and other members of the community at the church. After, I'm sure a lot of us will be going out to explore Chapel Hill with some of the riders who go to school here to tour the campus and check out some of the night life. So far I'm having a great time and I can't wait to see what Tennesee has to offer in a few days.
I hope everyone is doing well at home. Take it easy!
Yesterday's ride from Wake Forest to Chapel Hill, which was about 38 miles, was actually very nice and relaxing. We road through Durham and although some parts were rough, we had some supporters waving and cheering us on. At the end of the ride, we had a nice hill that led up to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, but it's nothing compared to what we'll find in Colorado I'm sure.
Our ride from Greenville to Wake Forest, however, two days earlier was the hardest for many of us. It was 77 miles with heat into the 80's and it had a lot of hills and narrow roads for us to navigate. I road with Rachel most of the day and it was nice to be able to push each other through one on the hardest days yet. Everyone made it fine although a few people had some problems with flat tires and things.
Tonight, we're having a huge potluck with Orange County Habitat and other members of the community at the church. After, I'm sure a lot of us will be going out to explore Chapel Hill with some of the riders who go to school here to tour the campus and check out some of the night life. So far I'm having a great time and I can't wait to see what Tennesee has to offer in a few days.
I hope everyone is doing well at home. Take it easy!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The past few days
All I can say to start off is that the people of North Carolina are incredibly nice. Our first two nights in Nags Head, NC at a local church was really comfortable and relaxing. We had, just like all the other places we've been so far, a lot of food, drinks, and desserts donated from local families and church members.
Our first day went great. We rode from Nags Head to Swanquarter, NC--about 70 miles--and stayed in a small community church. The local highschool opened up their showers and the church opened up its doors for us to sleep anywhere we could find a spot. The ride itself was beautiful and we had a police escort for the first quarter of the ride over a lot of the bridges. I got a lot of pictures, but with our limited computer access and 30 eager internet users I won't be able to post anything yet. However, you can check the official bike and build website for some of our pictures, journals, and route tracker.
Our second day was about 40 miles in the rain. It went smooth and fine, but we were soaked as we pulled into Bellehaven, NC--a town of 1,000 people. We had a huge community bbq and the familes and kids loved having us in town. They were sad to see us go this morning, but they sent us off with a huge breakfast. I swear that every time we leave a place, we have way more food to eat than we know what to do with. (And of course it's great southern, family cooking!) Needless to say, we were all well fed as we rode to Greenville, which was about 77 miles on our bikes. It had our first hills of the trip, but it was relatively smooth. A couple local restraunts and familes donated a ton of food (recuring theme!) and we're about to dig in now.
Our first build is on Wednesday in Chapel Hill, NC and if the rest of the trip goes like it has so far, it's going to be an amazing summer and I'm going to be so in love with small town America! So far my bike and I are holding up well, but my legs are a little sore.
Anyways, we've got to eat now. I hope to post pictures soon. I hope everyone back home is doing well. Talk to you later.
Take it easy!
Our first day went great. We rode from Nags Head to Swanquarter, NC--about 70 miles--and stayed in a small community church. The local highschool opened up their showers and the church opened up its doors for us to sleep anywhere we could find a spot. The ride itself was beautiful and we had a police escort for the first quarter of the ride over a lot of the bridges. I got a lot of pictures, but with our limited computer access and 30 eager internet users I won't be able to post anything yet. However, you can check the official bike and build website for some of our pictures, journals, and route tracker.
Our second day was about 40 miles in the rain. It went smooth and fine, but we were soaked as we pulled into Bellehaven, NC--a town of 1,000 people. We had a huge community bbq and the familes and kids loved having us in town. They were sad to see us go this morning, but they sent us off with a huge breakfast. I swear that every time we leave a place, we have way more food to eat than we know what to do with. (And of course it's great southern, family cooking!) Needless to say, we were all well fed as we rode to Greenville, which was about 77 miles on our bikes. It had our first hills of the trip, but it was relatively smooth. A couple local restraunts and familes donated a ton of food (recuring theme!) and we're about to dig in now.
Our first build is on Wednesday in Chapel Hill, NC and if the rest of the trip goes like it has so far, it's going to be an amazing summer and I'm going to be so in love with small town America! So far my bike and I are holding up well, but my legs are a little sore.
Anyways, we've got to eat now. I hope to post pictures soon. I hope everyone back home is doing well. Talk to you later.
Take it easy!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tomorrow is the Big Day!
Early tomorrow morning, Rachel and I head down to Nags Head, NC to begin our orientation and last-minute training. After a few days of that stuff and dipping our wheels in the Atlantic, we'll be off to San Diego, CA! Wow...how quickly graduation has come and gone and how this trip has crept up on me.
We spent all day getting last minute gear, doing last-minute errands, and spending more money than I expected (but should have expected!). It's all worth it, though, and it will definitely be useful to have after the trip is over when I want to keep on riding.
But before I end this first blog post, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all those who donated toward my cause. I was able to reach $4075, which is amazing and will definitely be put to good use throughout our route for those who need it the most.
As I said, hopefully this is just the first post of many to come! Please check by more in the future to see pictures and to use the link on the right side of the website ("PaTracker") to keep track of where I am along the way!
Thanks again to everyone! Talk to you soon!
We spent all day getting last minute gear, doing last-minute errands, and spending more money than I expected (but should have expected!). It's all worth it, though, and it will definitely be useful to have after the trip is over when I want to keep on riding.
But before I end this first blog post, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all those who donated toward my cause. I was able to reach $4075, which is amazing and will definitely be put to good use throughout our route for those who need it the most.
As I said, hopefully this is just the first post of many to come! Please check by more in the future to see pictures and to use the link on the right side of the website ("PaTracker") to keep track of where I am along the way!
Thanks again to everyone! Talk to you soon!
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