Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Crookston rest day

Crookston, MN
92 miles

Yesterday was another ride along Highway 2. Me and my fellow riders have decided that Highway 2 is EVIL. Pure evil. I got stung by a bee for the first time and my second flat yesterday. Others didn't fare well, either- the girl I rode with got 4 flats and a slashed tire. Collectively, our group got 17 flats in one day. The road is not good for riding bikes, but there isn't really another alternative- this part of the country has very minimal infrastructure. And so we will continue along, using extra caution...

Since today is our day off and I wanted to flex my creativity muscles-- not to mention I had an old tube lying around-- I did a craft! In honor of the upcoming Bike & Build prom, I found some fake flowers and made a corsage and boutonnière. I think my date as I will look dashing.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Blogging from Bemidji

Bemidji, MN
72 miles

Today marks the second of many days spent biking along Highway 2. We'll be riding its shoulder from here through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington. It's not the most enthralling of scenery, but sometimes we find exciting things- like piles of logs, Judy Garland museums, larger-than-life Paul Bunyans, and fish-shaped homes.

It's official: we are more than halfway across the country! And over 2,000 miles in. To celebrate, we've bought a time machine and transported ourselves back to high school and prom. Well, jut kidding about the time machine... Not so much about prom. Bike & Build prom is taking place in a few days in Rugby, ND.

Creativity is running amok in how people are asking their dates. Today, one of the boys told me that his rash was getting worse and wanted me to take a look at it (this group has all sorts of rashes, sunburns poison oak, leeches, you name it). As he pulled up his shorts, I was in for a surprise-- an invitation to prom and a pun. Well, I hope spandex is appropriate and that cycling shoes make good dancing shoes...

Tonight's sunset is a beautiful and reflective one, and one that I wish I could be sharing with someone extra special to me. Being on Bike & Build sometimes feels like I'm on another planet and out of touch with reality; it's easy to lose one's sense of groundedness. Reaching the halfway point has got me thinking about life after the trip and about who I am as a person.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Duluth build day

We're in Duluth, MN- birthplace of Bob Dylan and allegedly "the San Francisco of the Great Lakes region" (it's hilly and liberal). So far my experience in the city has been good- beautiful views of Lake Superior, friendly service and repairs at the local bike shop, and awesome local beer (post-riding, obviously).

Our build day today involved moving around dirt, weatherizing, and dealing with repairs post flooding. Props to Kevin for the cool action shot posted below... Can you find me and my short hair?

Also, on the ride into Duluth, we biked by a meat shop and I saw the BEST pun ever. It was picture worthy.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Minnesota!

St. Paul, MN
80 miles

Hello from the land of 10,000 lakes! Today was a hilly, cold and rainy ride. 80 miles of rain was sort of tough (not to mention waking up at 4:30 am to thunder and lightning... Which delayed us from starting our ride for an hour).
Luckily, we found a coffee shop to warm up in, and I rode with a great group of people today.

Also, I got a haircut! Yay! Hopefully that will keep me cooler in my helmet.

Not much to report... So exhausted. Another century ride tomorrow... Better get to sleep!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Peppy in Pepin

Pepin, WI
65 miles

This is going to sound crazy, but today's ride didn't tire me out, so I ended up going for a run once we got into the host site. I guess after you bike a century like we did a few days ago, anything sounds easy. Bike...run... Maybe I should go hop into the lake and swim so I can complete my first triathlon...

Pepin is a small town of 850, but it's got a lot of pride- especially for being the birthplace of Little House on the Prairie's author, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The last few days of Wisconsin have been beautiful. I haven't had Internet access, so here's some photos from the last few days. Be sure to note my awesome new University of Wisconsin Madison socks, being sported oh so stylishly with sandals.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Madison Build Day

Madison, WI

Not too much to report today. We spent another day in the lovely Madison, this time volunteering on a build project with Habitat for Humanity. I spent all day hammering nails while making walls and doing balloon framing. Studs, joists, wall plates...that all used to be a foreign language to me. Definitely have learned a thing or two about construction after so many build days!

(photo credit to Kevin)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bike-xploration: Madison

Madison, WI
50 miles

We rolled into Madison, WI yesterday after an easy 50 mile ride. We're in Madison for a few days- today is our first day off of the trip, and tomorrow we have a build day. 2 full days here- feels like forever!

Often, Madison is compared to the City of Davis because they are both college towns and super bike friendly. To put it in perspective, however, Davis has around 60,000 people and Madison has over 200,000. After a day of exploring, I've decided Madison is a bigger and denser version of Davis. I loved the bike trails that were lined with community garden plots, bicycle boulevards, bike boxes, cycle tracks and other progressive cycling infrastructure. A few of the Bike & Builders (all the urban planning students) got to take a tour of the city's bikeshare program, B-cycle. It's funny, you'd think on our day off we'd want to stay off bikes, but we just can't seem to get enough...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Who-ra-ra Wisconsin

Janesville, WI
70 miles/ build day

We've spent the last couple of days in Wisconsin, and I hope to resolve the longstanding question- do happy cows come from California or Wisconsin?

Yesterday's ride was incredibly difficult. While only 70 miles ( I notice that now anything less than 100 miles seems short), heat and hills were in full force. It was 103 degrees and since I was riding as Sweep, the ride took 9.5 hours. Let's just say I wasn't the happiest of campers when I finally rolled into the host site.

Today's build day was a mix of renovations in a blighted neighborhood. I was on paint crew again, but it was worth it since I got to be inside and singing along to The Rolling Stones. We also got to exercise our green thumbs and work on starting up a community garden for the area.

Tonight featured an incredible feast of the midwest's finest, with highlights including sweet corn and a dairy truck serving fried cheese curds and ice cream. Our host was the brother of Paul Ryan, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and prominent member of the Republican Party (he was a potential running mate for Romney). Politics were not discussed at dinner, however- mostly talk of the Tour de France.

Also, my chore group for the week includes making breakfast and doing laundry. Let's just say that washing nearly 100 pairs of spandex is kind of overwhelming.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Recovery

Grayslake, IL
50 miles

The best way to recover from riding 100 miles the day before is to have a breakfast of CHAMPIONS! Some of the group went to Chicago's delicious eatery, Yolk, where we feasted on avocado omelets and pancakes galore. I would have taken a picture of my sundried tomato and pesto frittata, but I had already devoured it before I remembered my camera.

We then did some urban riding through Chicago (so many potholes!) and played around on the Northwestern University campus. I love looking at college campuses because they feel like little cities. I love seeing how the spatial elements of the campus shape the student experience. It's so interesting how colleges are like planned communities, with housing and buildings and other infrastructure. It reminded me of how much I would love to be a campus planner some day, largely because I identify strongly as both a student and urban planner.

We finally reached our destination in 90 degree heat. Bike & Build alumni of years past greeted us at the host site, armed with smiles, cold water and frozen Snickers bars. Yum. I guess all Bike & Builders know the best way to someone's heart is through their stomach...

Century to Chi-town

Chicago, IL
105 miles

We rode our first century ride yesterday! The last 20 miles consisted of torrential downpour, so we were very happy to finish, get inside and dry off. We spent the night at The Red Frog Events office, complete with a treehouse, zipline and rock wall. And pizza. Soooo much deep dish pizza.

Friday, July 13, 2012

South Bend Build Day

You know you're going to have an awesome day when the Mayor of the city comes to make you pancakes for breakfast. Oh, and did I mention that South Bend, IN's mayor is Peter Buttigieg, the youngest mayor of any U.S. city with over 100,000 people?! A young politician wearing an apron and flipping pancakes... Dreamy. Mayor Pete and I had a good time at breakfast talking. It's inspiring to meet young people like him tackling big issues in their community.

After breakfast, we spent the day working with the South Bend Habitat for Humanity Chapter. They gave us lots to do- roofing, framing, caulking and insulating. It was a hot day, but we made it fun. It's also incredibly satisfying to see progress after a hard day's work.