Hey everybody,
It's been a while since we've had internet access. Since then we've been to Fitchburg, Northampton, and Pittsfield MA, crossed the New Jersey and New York state lines, stayed in Poughkeepsie and Port Jervis in NY, and crossed into PA with stops in Mt. Pocono, Berwick, and tonight State College.
It's been an intense 10 days, and it's hard to believe that much of our summer is already gone. On a typical day we wake up at 6, pack our trailer, clean up the host site, and get on the road by about 8 am. At about the halfway point, we meet up for lunch, and then continue on to our host site.
After the first few days I was so stiff and sore I could barely move. We looked pretty silly...simple things like walking and sitting were extremely difficult. Two days ago for our ride into Port Jervis was the first day I didn't wake up sore, and it was a great feeling. We are all getting stronger, and climbing the hills in the Northeast (there are a lot of hills!) isn't so draining, but definitely still not easy!
Some highlights:
Crossing over the Berkshires was a tough day. On one particularly steep climb, riders who reached the top stopped and cheered on those behind them until they made it up the hill. It was a great feeling knowing you were almost at the top and everyone was behind you.
"Donation Magic." We look very silly as we travel through these small towns. Thirty two people in matching spandex stand out. We have many opportunities to meet all kinds of people and share what we are about, and it is amazing the support and generosity we receive along the way. Last night, as we ate dinner donated by Lesley's (another rider) parents, people in the diner overheard our cause and not only donated money, but showed up at 6 am at the middle school where we were staying to feed us a hot breakfast. Thank you Berwick, PA for your generosity.
Today was a 95 mile ride into State College, and we are all exhausted. Tomorrow we have another hilly 80 miler. There are people waiting to use the computer, so I'm going to have to sign off, but I hope to post some new pictures and share some more anecdotes soon. Feel free to leave comments about what you would like to hear about!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pictures from the Webbers
Our route, Boston to Santa Barbara, is especially dedicated to the memory of Chris Webber. Chris was a former program director who helped make Bike and Build what it is today. He was tragically hit by a car and killed in 2007. We had the opportunity to build with Habitat for Humanity in Andover, Chris's hometown, and with Hudson River Housing in Poughkeepsie, NY--the home of Chris's alma mater, Vassar.
While we were in Andover we had the privilege of getting to know Chris's parents and brother a little bit. The Webbers provided phenomenal meals for us and it was a special treat just to relax and hang out at their wonderful home. Thank you Bill, Joan, and Nick for sharing your home with us! Chris's memory is clearly alive and well. Here are some pictures from dinner at the Webbers' home, one of our first nights together on the trip (click on the picture above to see more).
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Day 2 - Build Day
Today we had our first build day, with Merrimack Valley's Habitat for Humanity. We arrived at the site in Lawrence, MA at around 9 am, dressed in our Bike and Build t-shirts and ready to work. This particular site is an urban block of Habitat houses which are being rebuilt after being destroyed in a fire last January. Three of these, a single family home and a duplex, were our assignments for the day.
Matt and I both got put to work siding the two-story single family home, along with 5 others. Under the guidance of Habitat volunteer, Ed, I measured (twice) and cut (once) --and sometimes remeasured and recut--fiber cement siding and tossed (handed) the pieces up to Matt and Denis on scaffolding, where they had the task of nailing it into the house. Two other pairs, Christina and Sarah, and Larry and Jacqui, kept me busy and entertained keeping them supplied with pieces of siding at the same time, but I had plenty of help from Ed and kept up pretty well.
We worked from 9 until almost 4, with a break for a wonderful lunch of chicken and egg salad sandwiches supplied by a local church. But when the siding was done, there was still one more task before we could leave: moving a huge pile of rotted and moldy drywall from the site to the dumpster. This required gloves, masks, and many, many hands. I'd say the Merrimack Valley Habitat chapter definitely put us to good use today and took advantage of all of the young and energetic bodies they had on hand. The site was extremely well organized and nobody had a second to stand around and get bored.
It's really early in the trip for us to have had a build day already. But in just 4 days, we've experienced a taste of all of the aspects of Bike and Build, and the coolest thing is how excited everyone we meet is to hear about what we are doing, and how excited we are to share it. We really are making a difference, and this is only the beginning!
Matt and I both got put to work siding the two-story single family home, along with 5 others. Under the guidance of Habitat volunteer, Ed, I measured (twice) and cut (once) --and sometimes remeasured and recut--fiber cement siding and tossed (handed) the pieces up to Matt and Denis on scaffolding, where they had the task of nailing it into the house. Two other pairs, Christina and Sarah, and Larry and Jacqui, kept me busy and entertained keeping them supplied with pieces of siding at the same time, but I had plenty of help from Ed and kept up pretty well.
We worked from 9 until almost 4, with a break for a wonderful lunch of chicken and egg salad sandwiches supplied by a local church. But when the siding was done, there was still one more task before we could leave: moving a huge pile of rotted and moldy drywall from the site to the dumpster. This required gloves, masks, and many, many hands. I'd say the Merrimack Valley Habitat chapter definitely put us to good use today and took advantage of all of the young and energetic bodies they had on hand. The site was extremely well organized and nobody had a second to stand around and get bored.
It's really early in the trip for us to have had a build day already. But in just 4 days, we've experienced a taste of all of the aspects of Bike and Build, and the coolest thing is how excited everyone we meet is to hear about what we are doing, and how excited we are to share it. We really are making a difference, and this is only the beginning!
Day 2- Build Day
A group from a local church made us lunch. Click to see more pictures from the build day.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Day 1 - Revere to Andover
Hey everyone!
First I want to thank everyone again who helped get us on our way! Even just during orientation we talked with so many people and listened to a few presentations that just reiterated for me how much affordable housing is needed in this country and how meaningful and life-changing this trip is going to be, not just for me, but also for the communities, families, and individuals that we will touch along the way. I thought I was excited before I got to Boston, but after 24 hours of orientation I was even more excited to get biking!
Everyone on the team is amazing. We all get along very well. I was on dinner duty the first night, and with the help of our teammate Goose and his mom, we served an amazing chicken parmesan and spaghetti dinner. We are eating so much food it is incredible. We need to take in a minimum of 8000 calories a day, and it's nice to be able to practically gorge yourself and know that it's only helping you stay healthy.
The send-off was at 9:30 this morning on the beach in Revere, MA. Mom, Dad, and Corrie were there to see us off in a slight mist and brisk chill. We only had to do 20 miles today, so we took it at a pretty leisurely pace. I only fell once...at an intersection...because I didn't clip out. Fortunately, I was carrying some ego ointment and the pain eventually subsided. We took some nice pictures at a state park (that was slightly off-route) and we stopped at a thrift shop for a bit (that was very off-route) where we purchased some shiny hub caps for our trailer. Pictures will be linked soon, so you can check them out! Thanks again, and I will hopefully be able to post again soon! Try to keep up!
Matt
First I want to thank everyone again who helped get us on our way! Even just during orientation we talked with so many people and listened to a few presentations that just reiterated for me how much affordable housing is needed in this country and how meaningful and life-changing this trip is going to be, not just for me, but also for the communities, families, and individuals that we will touch along the way. I thought I was excited before I got to Boston, but after 24 hours of orientation I was even more excited to get biking!
Everyone on the team is amazing. We all get along very well. I was on dinner duty the first night, and with the help of our teammate Goose and his mom, we served an amazing chicken parmesan and spaghetti dinner. We are eating so much food it is incredible. We need to take in a minimum of 8000 calories a day, and it's nice to be able to practically gorge yourself and know that it's only helping you stay healthy.
The send-off was at 9:30 this morning on the beach in Revere, MA. Mom, Dad, and Corrie were there to see us off in a slight mist and brisk chill. We only had to do 20 miles today, so we took it at a pretty leisurely pace. I only fell once...at an intersection...because I didn't clip out. Fortunately, I was carrying some ego ointment and the pain eventually subsided. We took some nice pictures at a state park (that was slightly off-route) and we stopped at a thrift shop for a bit (that was very off-route) where we purchased some shiny hub caps for our trailer. Pictures will be linked soon, so you can check them out! Thanks again, and I will hopefully be able to post again soon! Try to keep up!
Matt
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Mail Drops
Hey everybody! T-minus one week until we leave for Boston, and we're almost at our fundraising goals. Here's another thanks to everyone who's gotten us this far!
On the road, we have designated mail drops where we can receive mail along the way. If you feel so inclined, here are instructions for getting that mail to us.
To send mail to a Bike & Build cyclist on the Boston to Santa Barbara trip, address your letter/package as follows:
Bike & Build
Attn: CYCLIST NAME
General Delivery
City, State Zip
Use the following list of dates and locations (City, State Zip) to get your letter/package to the location of your choosing:
June 25
55 Mansion St.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
July 02
700 Grant Street Suite A
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
July 09
General Delivery
Bloomington, IN 47408
July 16
500 W. Chestnut Expy
Springfield, MO 65801
July 23
900 Garth Brooks Blvd.
Yukon, Ok 73099
July 30
415 N. Pennsylvania Ave
Roswell, NM 88201
August 06
223 N. Williamson Ave
Winslow, AZ 86047
August 13
1500 S. California Ave
Parker, AZ 85344
August 20
836 N. Anacapa St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
Lastly, in addition to addressing the package correctly and getting it to the post office in time to be picked up, it is also IMPORTANT that the following is written somewhere on the package: "Hold for pickup on DATE." ("DATE" refers to the dates listed above.) This is important because we will have the post office forward any mail received after we have left town; without this note, your package may be held instead of forwarded.
Hope to hear from you!
On the road, we have designated mail drops where we can receive mail along the way. If you feel so inclined, here are instructions for getting that mail to us.
To send mail to a Bike & Build cyclist on the Boston to Santa Barbara trip, address your letter/package as follows:
Bike & Build
Attn: CYCLIST NAME
General Delivery
City, State Zip
Use the following list of dates and locations (City, State Zip) to get your letter/package to the location of your choosing:
June 25
55 Mansion St.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
July 02
700 Grant Street Suite A
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
July 09
General Delivery
Bloomington, IN 47408
July 16
500 W. Chestnut Expy
Springfield, MO 65801
July 23
900 Garth Brooks Blvd.
Yukon, Ok 73099
July 30
415 N. Pennsylvania Ave
Roswell, NM 88201
August 06
223 N. Williamson Ave
Winslow, AZ 86047
August 13
1500 S. California Ave
Parker, AZ 85344
August 20
836 N. Anacapa St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
Lastly, in addition to addressing the package correctly and getting it to the post office in time to be picked up, it is also IMPORTANT that the following is written somewhere on the package: "Hold for pickup on DATE." ("DATE" refers to the dates listed above.) This is important because we will have the post office forward any mail received after we have left town; without this note, your package may be held instead of forwarded.
Hope to hear from you!
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