little kristen: peace & LOVE, bike & build.

Arriving into Stanley, ID on my birthday. Salmon river and Sawtooth mountains in the background.

2010-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Final Trip Thoughts

2010-08-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

Right now I am sitting at a coffee shop, downtown Grand Haven after a wonderful conversation with an old friend. During most of which I gushed about Bike & Build. This has been fairly typical of the past week and a half that I have been home. My time has been spent catching up with friends and family and attempting to explain what was the MOST AMAZING SUMMER OF MY LIFE: Bike & Build CUS 2010. This has proven to be difficult! How do you put an experience like this into words?

The best way I have come up with is just describing my emotions this summer. I have never felt more loved, happy, joyful, thankful, encouraged, encouraging, inspired, inspiring, brave, proud, confident, strong, blessed, adventurous, helpful, empowered and SO MUCH MORE in my life than on Bike & Build CUS '10. This summer I have certainly lived life to the fullest-in every sense of the phrase. Emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally-I have grown and helped others grow...and there is no better feeling in the world.

Looking back over the map, the entire country that we crossed, has been unreal. I did that, we did that. Biked across the entire country, ocean to ocean, helping and educating people along the way. As often as I say it, it still seems like a dream. Frequently (daily!) along the trip there would be moments when we would say to each other “Is this real, what we are seeing right now? What we are doing? Is this really happening” Making it to the top of a mountain, biking through canyons, raising roofs, building walls, witnessing insanely beautiful sunsets and stary skies. MOUNTAINS! This country is so so beautiful-and we were able to experience it in a way that many don't. We saw every foot of the road, smelt the wildflowers, felt the breeze, appreciated every little hill, dry desert and high mountain, we were one with the bike, our team, and nature. It was beautiful. And it did happen, we did do that. There are pictures, videos and memories to last a lifetime.

When asked, what made it so amazing? What was your favorite part about the trip? My first answer all summer, and now even afterward is always people. People. I love people! Specifically 5 groups.

The first is my team. A group filled with passionate, caring, intelligent, funny, creative, talented, and just generally amazing people. From all over the country. They are not just friends, they are family now-we've laughed, cried, biked over mountains and through deserts, eaten, slept, shared our lives, built houses, and so much more together. We biked across the country together, as a team not as individuals. I love them all very dearly and miss them terribly.

The second group would have to be our hosts across the country. The churches and schools who not only gave us a place to sleep and food to eat, but also a certain amount of soul nourishing that is hard to explain if you haven't experienced it. Congregation members would come to encourage us, bring us snacks, root beer floats, bring in massage therapists and chiropractors, but more importantly shower us with love. We truly experienced the generosity of Americans all across the country. Which brings me to the third group…

People along the way, on the road, people we meet in passing. SO generous and encouraging! Affordable housing is a cause that everyone (with the exception of a few crazies in Eastern Colorado…) will get behind and want to help. Because of their interest in the cause and what we were doing, they would do WHATEVER they could do to help. This ranged from monetary donations, to water and sports drinks, to candy bars, to cake, to fruit, to their bus tickets they received from the unemployment office to prayers and words of encouragement. It was phenomenal. Honestly, before this trip I had been somewhat disappointed in Americans, in our selfishness and greed. But now that I have experienced this immense amount of love and support from strangers along every mile of our trip, I have a renewed faith in the goodness and generosity of the American people. I am proud to be an American.

The fourth group consists of the Habitat for Humanity and ReBuilding Together affiliates that we worked with. Volunteer coordinators, construction site leaders, and other volunteers were GREAT. I feel we all learned a lot from them, about construction but also about the cause. Their passion for providing adequate, affordable housing always gave us a renewed energy to continue on our journey. Very inspiring.

And finally, the fifth group of people is…YOU! Support from back home. Earlier in this post I mentioned that I’ve never felt more loved or encouraged than on this trip. Prior to leaving it was my family, friends, 1st Allendale CRC church family, His House Church family, Isabella County Habitat Family, Tri-Cities Area Habitat family and strangers who heard about the trip who supported me and this cause. SO ENCOURAGING! Wow, I really cannot thank you enough. And then, while on the trip, each and every maildrop was overflowing with letters and care packages-I could feel your love from hundreds and thousands of miles away. I knew I had people back home who were praying for me and following along with my journey. You are all amazing. I like to take the time to mention a couple people in particular: 1. my parents-they trust and support my every decision and have given me the base layer of LOVE that allowed me to take this on. They believe in me, 2. my roommates and friends: Kelly, Summer, Maeghan, Virginia and Monique. These girls helped me train and fundraise pre-trip, drove me to the beginning in Virginia Beach, sent me mail and other goodies all along the way (there was not a single mail drop that where I didn’t have a piece of mail from my friends), called me with encouraging words, AND drove all the way to Cannon Beach, OR to surprise me at the end, so that I could have someone from home there with me during the greatest moment of my life thus far. I am truly blessed with absolutely incredible friends. 3. my aunt Dianne, who has been a HUGE source of support and encouragement from the very beginning, who followed me all the way through, sending just the right words and treats along the way. Indeed, this trip would not have been possible without YOU, and you have influenced me in a massive way.

Hmmm, well I have talked A LOT about people, but this is ok, because people are very important to me. My second favorite part about the trip were the MOUNTAINS! I’m sure by now you have realized my complete adoration of mountains. The challenge of biking up them, the view as you make it to the top, the feeling of accomplishment and empowerment, the view, seeing how far you have come, the team cheering you on, you cheering the team on, the view, the descent down the mountain, the rush of adrenaline and endorphins, looking back to see how high you came from and most importantly, the self confidence that you can do anything you set your mind to. Anything. Biking up mountains is a very mental task, and having conquered that I am confident that I am able to accomplish great things for good. “Define your limitations and sure enough, they’re yours” (thanks for the quote Sharif). Mountains remind me of this and I am saddened by the flatness of Michigan and lack of mountains. But this is ok, it only means that I must look harder to find my mountain.

The ten weeks of Bike & Build were the best ten weeks of my life. I have never lived life more, grown more or was more inspired. I know I have done something big, and meaningful, that I have inspired a lot of people and that others were able to see love and service through my every word and action. This is something I will never forget. I biked across America this summer, from sea to shining sea. To help people. To love people. And I was helped and loved.

peace & love
bike & build
kristen

I finished this blog post on the first day back in the “real world” class and work at CMU are beginning for one more semester. I am looking forward to continually spew Bike & Build to anyone who will listen, and recruit participants for next year! Thank you all for reading, and for allowing me to share this experience with you. Let me know if you want more details and we can grab coffee or something!

Portland, Build day, Vernonia, CANNON BEACH/ PACIFIC OCEAN!!

2010-08-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Portland/Greshem 85 miles
We didn't actually stay in Portland but in a town about 12 miles east. This was Mt. Hood day, and we were all very excited and nervous, this being our last BIG mountain day. I myself had saved up about 10 packages of shot blocks to give to people today, expecting it to be difficult. It was hard, don't get me wrong, but certainly not the mountain we were expecting. We would go up and up and then down and then up a little and then down. After lunch we went up just a little more and there it was: "Next 6.5 miles steep downgrade"...that was it? Mount Hood, really? that's all you got? In all fairness we just went over the southwest portion, but it was a disappointment for many of our team. Now that my rant about Mt. Hood is over, our church host was great. They provided us with snacks! After a great dinner and a night on the town we had a good night's sleep to prepare us for our last build day!!

Portland Build day
Our. last. build. day. We are having a lot of "lasts" and it's beginning to get hard to not think about the end. So we continue to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of this Bike & Build experience. At the Habitat build site we worked on painting, siding, porch roofs, cleaning and other tasks. For lunch we had the most delicious pulled pork EVER! That night Habitat for Humanity of Metro Portland threw a party for us at the Green Dragon Pub in downtown Portland with one free drink per person, door prizes, and lots of Habitat folks and Bike & Build alumni, it was great! Then several of us traveled to the Last Thursday's street fair, which is difficult to put into words. I'll just describe a couple of the things that were taking place: free advice booth, $1 clothes box, sewing machine powered by bike!, bike jewelry, LOTS of art, lavender flowers passed out everywhere, street musicians, a band playing a song titled "Let's Ride Bikes", Native American tribal drums and chanting, fire dancers, LOTS of awesome and unique people. Yeah, this one street that was closed down for an amazing street fair occurs on the last Thursday of the month all summer-this is something to check out if you are ever in Portland. It was epic and we loved it-very Bike & Build appropriate.

Vernonia, OR
Started the day by biking through downtown Portland and stopping at Voodoo Doughnuts (YUMMM-I had a cake doughnut with chocolate frosting with peanut butter and oreos!!!) and Stumptown Roasters coffee. We continued on Skyline Drive, which included LOTS of climbing, but it was very beautiful and worth it. Due to a large case of "we don't have much time left" I have been attempting the past several riding days to spend time with everyone on our team, and today was just perfect! Started out with a large group, then some smaller groups, then some one on one riding with several riders. It was perfect. Lots of different speeds, people, sights, conversations. This is our last night together and we are camping-which is very fitting because it is just us. We celebrated our time together by writing Sunshine notes for everybody-this is just a sheet of paper with your name on it that everyone writes something they like, value, admire, etc about you. Writing 30 heartfelt sunshine notes takes some time, but it is very much worth it. Then paper plate awards! I was awarded "Most likely to give you the shirt of her back, both kidneys, a lung, perhaps a cornea & an arm if needed" Some reminiscing around the fire ended a perfect evening before drifting to sleep.

Cannon Beach and the PACIFIC OCEAN
WOW. OUR. LAST. DAY. It's hard to believe that after ten weeks we have finally arrived. The day started very slowly. Leader speeches, lots of hugging, some tears, and we were off! Until we all stopped at the local coffee shop. We needed to completely take over an establishment for one last time, enjoy each other's company a little longer. And THEN we were off. Part of the day was spent biking over the Coastal Range. About two miles away from the beach everyone stopped so that we could all bike in together. This is also where we could see the Pacific Ocean for the first time! To say we are getting excited at this point is an understatement. The last two miles were filled with screaming, adrenaline and endorphins pumping, the sight and smell of the ocean adding to the emotional and sensational overload. As we came through the town and took over the road the streets were lined with people, it felt like a parade.

We walked our bikes down the stairs to the beach, stripped off our jerseys and gathered for the sprint into the ocean: the Pacific ocean which we biked to from the other ocean, the Atlantic ocean. WOW. At the count of three we full out sprinted and dove into the ocean (which we biked to from the other ocean). Not even realizing the freezing cold temperature, all emotions firing at once we were screaming, hugging, laughing, crying, jumping, splashing, hugging, CELEBRATING our accomplishment in the shadow of the magnificent Haystack Rock. We also did the Haka-a New Zealand rugby chant/dance thing that we have been working on all summer and wow does that make you feel powerful-especially doing it in the ocean after having biked there from the other ocean. More hugging, splashing, screaming, someone popped some champagne which was passed around, and we made our way out of the ocean.

You are probably thinking, "Could Kristen's life get any better?" because I was! I just biked across the entire United States of America, ocean to ocean! My whole soul was bursting with joy at our accomplishment. But it got even better! While I was walking out of the ocean arm in arm with Emily, I heard someone say "your friends Kristen, your friends" and then I hear my name, "Kristen!" Standing in front of me are Summer, Maeghan, Virgina, and Monique: four of my dearest friends from home!!!! I wasn't expecting anyone to be waiting for me at the end, Oregon is a long way from Michigan after all. 44 hours as I was told by my insanely ridiculous amazingly awesome friends who road tripped from Michigan to Cannon Beach, OR to surprise me. I completely lost it at this point and started sobbing/balling/laughing/hyperventilating. My. friends. came. Summer, Maeghan, and Kelly drove me to the beginning of the trip and now more came to meet me at the end! I know that Kelly was there in spirit :) Oh man, I'm crying again as write this blog post. I am TRULY blessed with great friends indeed. They arrived in Cannon Beach around 10am that morning, spent time chalking the streets and waiting for us to arrive. When we did arrive we went flying right past my friends and the group of parents they were with, so they had to sprint down the beach to make sure they didn't miss anything. THAT's dedication. We were able to spend a couple hours together after our group arrived at about 4 pm. My friends had to get back on the road at 8pm in order to arrive back in MI for Monique's class. MY FRIENDS DROVE THOUSANDS OF MILES TO SPEND A COUPLE HOURS CHEERING ME THROUGH THE FINISH OF MY BIKE AND BUILD TRIP AND THEN HAD TO TURN RIGHT BACK AROUND AND DRIVE THOUSANDS OF MILES BACK. And that's not all, they made and were wearing t-shirts saying "Peace Love Bike Build" and brought me a present. Normally I don't like to brag, but this blog post is going to be a little extra boastful: I am certain that I have THE BEST FRIENDS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. go ahead, try and find some better ones. I also need to mention that both Summer and Kelly have been sending me mail all summer, as a constant encouragement from home.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I'm still freaking out a little bit. I, little Kristen, have biked from Virginia Beach, VA to Cannon Beach, OR. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Across the entire country. Through 12 states, 3,835 miles, through mountains, plains, deserts, forests, small towns and large cities. I, WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

That evening we had a picnic celebration with all the family and friends that had come (my friends had to leave a little early). Good food and drink was followed by more sentimental and touching leader speeches, a campfire on the beach, fire lanterns sent up into the sky, memory sharing and the first of many goodbyes. This day has been a whirlwind of emotions, and bittersweet. We accomplished something HUGE together, for a great and worthy cause: adequate, affordable housing. And now we must part ways.

This day was the official end of the Central US 2010 Bike & Build trip, but many of us stayed together for several more days, exploring Cannon Beach some more (Haystack Rock is AMAZING, there were starfish, sea anemone, and much more), spending a little more time in Portland together. Cherishing every last moment with each other. People slowly trickled away however, and my time came to go on the train Monday August 2nd at 4pm after saying many goodbyes in the beautiful Rose garden in Portland. The train took me from Portland to Chicago and lasted a little over 2 days, on the train I was able to share my story with many strangers and gather my thoughts about this life changing summer.

My fantastic family picked me up Wednesday in Chicago, where we spent the evening together at Navy Pier (and where I was able to see an old friend Sabrina!!). We came back to Michigan Thursday and now I am home. Very happily home, but missing my Bike & Build family very much.

The trip of a lifetime is now over, I will post one more blog hoping to share some final trip thoughts, how I grew and what I learned; attempting to explain and share in some way how Bike & Build CUS 2010 affected my life.
much peace and love

Beginning of the end

2010-08-06T20:03:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long long delay. The end of the trip has gotten crazy
busy and blogging got put on the back burner. I did it though!!! I
biked across America, sea to shining sea!! On the train ride home now
and will get you all caught up on the last week of my adventures.

Unity, John Day, Dayville, Fossil, Maupin, OR

Unity 85 miles: Hills, rolling hills (which are my favorite!) long
hot windy day, met two other people (Greg and Eli) who are biking
across America self supported! Crazy! The actually camped next to us
which was fun. Camped next to the Unity lake, went swimming, campfire,
stargazing.

John Day 50: rode sweep, stopped for Huckleberry ice cream, rode with
Greg and Eli again for a while, Great Majestic View of the Strawberry
Mountains, dairy queen, bike clinic-which went great for once, we had
about 10 kids show up!!! Great dinner, kayoke, sleep.

Dayville 31 miles: Woke up to the smell of a hot breakfast! A large
group of church men cooked it for us !! Dave and I stayed behind for
the church service and then a married couple from the church rode with
us to Dayville! It was so so hot, in the hundreds I'm sure. The wind
felt like a burst of air from the oven when you first open it. But we
made it. That evening we went to the sweet water hole in the middle of
the desert, there was a little water fall and stream attached and a
big rock/cliff for people to jump off. I did not jump. Today was also
Andy's 21st birthday, so in absence of a bar we celebrated with a
couple drinks down by the river, with an amazing sunset to our backs.
Sleeping was hard because this church didn't have air conditioning,
but a few wet bandanas helped a lot.

Fossil: Very pretty canyon ride through desert, piano playing and
fossil hunting around town, cookout at the pastors house, with live
bluegrass and gospel music which some of our team joined in, we were
split up into different houses for homestays, so Alyson and I went to
Elena's house. She is truly an amazing woman. Her property is five
miles outside of town at the highest point in the high deserts on 200
acres. It is so peaceful and serene up there. She is off the powere
grids so her house is run by solar and wind energy and she has a water
cistern. Elena drove us around her propety on her ATV and we watched
yet another astounding sunset over the desert and mountains, we could
even see Mt Hood from here. We have been blessed with so many amazing
sunsets on this trip!! Back at her house we ate ice cream that she
bought and then talked about her time and service work in Thailand and
Burma. I am inspired by her.

Maupin: some beautiful climbing, saw Mt Hood in its full glory for the
first time on the road, rolling hills, steep descent into town. We
were greeted at the church with root beer floats and snacks! Slept out
on the porch.

Sent from my iPod

I made it!!!

2010-08-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

So I know this is like skipping to the last page of a book before finishing it, but I just wanted to say.... I DID IT!!! I BIKED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SEA TO SHINING SEA!!!! that is all for now. Details of how I got from Unity, OR to Cannon Beach, OR and back home will be coming shortly. Love you all!

Boise, ID Day off Ontario, OR

2010-07-22T22:22:00.001-07:00

Boise, ID Day off Ontario, OR

Ride to Boise was short and sweet, lots of downhill, 38 miles, avg mph
for everyone was pretty close to 20, and we arrived there by 10 am. So
it was like we had two days off really. I spent some time napping and
reading by the river and then we got some pizza after exploring
downtown Boise a little. It's a very cool town, the most civilization
we have seen in over a week or more. That night we recieved some very
sad news from the Bike & Build office. Paige Hicks, a leader on the
Providence to Seattle trip, was hit and killed by a truck earlier that
day. Now I don't know if you've picked up on this from reading my
blog, but Bike & Build is a family. Even though only two people from
our group actually were aquainted with her, we all felt as if we had
lost a sister. This is B &B love. We talked, cried, prayed, hugged,
cried more and attempted to comfort each other in our loss. I cannot
imagine what their team and her family is going through right now.
Keep them in your prayers and thoughts. Paige's energy and legacy
lives in through us. We ride for Paige.

On our actual day off we slept in! In the morning everyone was still
quite somber, and we took it easy. I enjoyed expiring the local co-op
and then a picnic by the river. The Boise river and park in which we
ate was beautiful, and I spent a lot of time reading and journaling.
Then I was able to explore the Anne Frank memorial, which consisted of
quote walls! Including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights-which
I love. I sincerely enjoyed the whole thing. Then coffee shop then
bakc to the church for dinner. After dinner we started discussing our
grant applications. This is going to be hard, selecting who get money
and who doesn't and how much and who can use it best but also who
needs it most and how it will make the biggest difference. I'm excited
though, this will be great.

Ontario, OR 62 miles
Our last state!!!! This is insane how far we have come. We biked here
from Virginia!! From the Atlantic ocean!!!! Crazy!!!! Anyway, it was
nice and flat all day with no headwind! Emma and I were rather unlucky
however and had to change 5 tires between the two if us before the
state line! And then, after a stop at McDonalds my rear tire was flat
again, but not very so I thought I could just pump it up and ride the
remaining .25. Wrong. My tire developed boils all over, it was the
strangest thing. Dime size bubbles appeared all over, bummer. I still
rode it to the church because we were so so close and didn't feel like
changing any more tires. The culprit of the many flat tires turned out
to be thorns, and almost everybody got flats today. No worries however-
I put on a differen tire and hopefully everything will be good as new
tomorrow. Mail day was today! Thank you to Aunt Dianne and Uncle Don
and Summer for your letters, they were very encouraging. Also we
finished up reviewing the grant applications and we start makin
decisions tomorrow evening. Oh boy! Only 9 days left!!!!!!! Eeeeeeek.

Sent from my iPod

Challis, Stanley, Idaho City

2010-07-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

mountains, going fast, mountains, biking, GRAND VIEW CANYON, headwinds, pizza, ranch/resort, babbling brook, beach, mountains, forest, pond, food, warm fuzzies, town hall, reviewing grant applications, stargazing, sleeping outside, cuddling,

21!!!!!, cold morning, decorated birthday bike, sweep, mountains, birthday pie at local restaurant, streams, Salmon river, desert, biking, mountains, Clayton, ID population 26 museum, natural hotsprings swimming and relaxing, SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS, rivers, streams, ice cream, 60 miles, camping-in the most BEAUTIFUL PLACE IMAGINABLE, running through sprinklers, slip n slide, mountains, fields, sun, wine, friends, conversations, peace, love, serenity, Stanley, ID population 100 bar, a couple birthday drinks, sleeeeeeeeeep.

FREEZING MORNING, 38 degrees, frost covered clothes, rough start, hot tea, big brother, biking, mountains, evergreen forests, 91 miles, two endless mountains, GREAT descents, 42 mph, mountains, lovely scenery, great conversations and biking group, cold shower, being able to bike 91 miles over 2.5 mountains the day after my 21st birthday, shower, food, sleep.

MOUNTAINS
i kind of really love mountains...a lot.
currently in Boise, ID-rest day tomorrow! short day today, only 38 miles and we arrived in town by 10am. Spent some time by the river, and at the coffee shop.

love you all
kristen

Idaho Falls build day, Arco, ID

2010-07-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

Idaho Falls build day, Arco, ID
Slept in until 7:30am! We biked to the current Habitat ReStore and
office, where we met Karen, the new Executive director, who shared
with us the goals of this affiliate. They are hoping to go from
building one house to four houses a year with the help of their new
ReStore! So that is what we were doing all day, helping to prepare
their new ReStore by painting and staining both the inside and
outside. It looked great once we finished! Came back to the church to
shower and then I opened mail, this was the best mail drop ever!!!
Mainly because it is my birthday soon!! I got a card with stickers
from Kelly, a package from Summer with chocolate, flowers and a
promised massage, bike ride, and volunteering event, a package from
Aunt Dianne and Uncle Don with an AWESOME bike tshirt and gummy
candies, a package with many delicious snacks from Kathi, and my
birthday package from my family which was AMAZING. I got a glass duck
from Kevin, peace earings and a bracelet from Ryan, and.... a photo
album filled with pictures of family and friends wishing me a happy
21st birthday!!! And everyone wrote me birthday notes! It was SO SO
GREAT!!!! Thank you to everyone who was a part of that, it made me so
happy- I've been happy every day and was unsure if I could get any
happier, but this definitley made this my best birthday ever!!!! And
it isn't even my b-day yet!
After opening mail we went to the pastor's house for a massive and
great BBQ, and watched ourselves on two news stations!! What a great
summer evening.

Arco, ID 70 miles
Great day and ride. Lots of great conversations and we visited the
first nuclear power plant/museum! Rode through a lot if desert and
nothingness, and it got hot, but that's alright- we made it. Spaghetti
dinner with elk meat pasta sauce and watermelon for supper. Then a
bike clinic in which one child showed up, thirty minutes late, to fix
his bike. It was nice to be around kids again though, we also had the
two pastors kids to hang out with. A nice relaxing evening, but I
didn't clean my bike like I should have-that's what tomorrow morning
is for I guess!

Sent from my iPod

Pinedale, Jackson, WY, Idaho Springs, ID

2010-07-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Pinedale, Jackson, WY, Idaho Springs, ID

Century number 2! We biked 101 miles to Pinedale, WY!! Today was the
beginning of our photo scavenger hunt, and I was a memeber of team USA
with Alyson, Caroline, Will P and Mark. The hunt consited of taking
pictures with live animals, doing yoga poses, in firemen outfits and
much more. It was a lot of fun riding together as a group, especially
because we normally ride with all different people. A little after
second lunch (yes, another two lunch day!), the skies opened up and we
were pelted with rain, hail, and such and intense headwind we were
working as hard to pedal downhill as when we pedalled uphill. It was a
little frustrating. But that was the only bad part of the day. In
total we visited some horses, a llama farm, a fire department and got
to enjoy 101 miles of beautiful Wyoming. Once we arrived in Pinedale
we were greeted once again with immense generosity. There were snacks
and goodies and sodas waiting for us, along with a hint of what was
going to be provided for dinner. I told the wonderful woman who was
preparing some zucchini qnd red peppers for the grill, along with her
husband, about the garden my parents had back home and how excited I
was for the grilled zucchini. Then I was able to talk to many dear
friends from home, which was very very nice but it made me late to
dinner. This didn't bother me in the least as I prefer to go last in
the first place, but the husband noticed that there wasn't any
zucchini left for me, and was clearly upset. He went to the grocery
store, bought and grilled more zucchini! This is the kind of amazingly
generous and kind people we are encountering!

Jackson, WY
The ride in was great, the Teton Mountains looking bigger and more
beautiful with each mile. Everything we are seeing is just stunning.
Finished up the scavenger hunt and arrived at a house about 7 miles
outside of Jackson Hole, WY. We camped out at the Ambler's just
because they are a kind couple. Some slept in tents, some in the
garage, some on the deck, and some (like me) in the back yard-which
was the PERFECT place for stargazing. Located out in the country, we
were surounded by beautiful fields with wildflowers, horses and cows
grazing together, and of course the wonderous backdrop of the
mountains and hills. Words cannot describe the serenity and beauty of
this place.
The next day was a rest day, so we managed to sleep in until 8, after
an initial wakeup when the sun was rising. I spent the morning
journaling, reading, and soaking in the beauty of the mountains. When
people ask me what is my favorite part of the trip, I first say the
people and then the mountains. I have no idea how I will handle being
in flat Michigan in a few short weeks. Later we went to the Grand
Teton National Park and saw some herds of bison, then into downtown
Jackson to explore. It's a great town! Back to the Amblers for dinner.
There was laughing, singing, eating, drinking, dogs, wonderful weather
and scenery, great conversation and people. A recipe for a perfect
summer evening. After judging the photo hunt pictures, it was time for
a little more stargazing before drifting off to sleep.

Idaho Falls, ID
Epic day. Climbed Grand Teton pass, which is one of our steepest
climbs this summer. About 5 miles of 10% and higher grade. As each one
of us reached the top, we were first greeted by Sharif waving the
American flag and then Will Green carrying speakers with music, all
cheering us on. Then came Joe with the cowbell and a high five and the
rest of the group cheering and making a spirit tunnel. Lots of yelling
and adreneline rush. Once everyone made it to the top, we had a dance
party celebrating our accomplishment. We climbed another mountain!!!
After the descent we all got world famous huckleberry milkshakes
before continuing the remaining 70 miles to Idaho falls. When lunch
was over, I was filled with energy and went descently fast over some
more uphills and downhills both. Then some annoying construction, a
stop at Wendys, and we arrived at the church greeted by three sweet
girls who showed us where to put our bikes and where we were sleeping.
Dinner was great, a baked potato bar! We are in a new state after all,
yeah Idaho!!! I sat with this marvolous woman named Shirly who
reminded me of my grandma. So so sweet, this church has been my
favorite so far I think, they are extra kind and nice and thoughtful.
Build day tomorrow!!!

Sent from my iPod

Steamboat Springs rest day, Maybell, CO, Vernal, UT, Flaming Gorge, UT, Rock Springs, WY

2010-07-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Steamboat Springs rest day, Maybell, CO, Vernal, UT, Flaming Gorge,
UT, Rock Springs, WY

Rest day was relaxing, slept in, went out for breakfast, spent a LOT
of time at the coffee book shop again, bike shop, art gallery, made
dinner and then..... HOT SPRINGS. Strawberry Springs- they were great.
Very natural, outdoor rock pools with hot hot waters and warm water
and cold water from mountain springs. So nice and peaceful.

Maybell, Co we were camping, middle of nowhere. It stormed again, and
we made dinner in the trailer and served it in the girls bathroom! It
was crazy. Everyone went to bed early because there really wasn't
anything to do bu talk and sleep. So that we did.

The ride to Vernal, UT was fun. A dinosaur theme for the day because
we were bikin through Dinosaur, CO and ending in the dinosaur capital
of the world! Crossing state lines is so much fun! Utah is beautiful,
and I couldn't help but picture prehistoric life roaming around the
lands we were biking through. Once in Vernal, and after showering and
dinner, I did a lot of bike maintenance. With the help of Andy, I put
on a new bike computer, break pads, tires, and cleaned my chain and
cassette. Whew!! Like a new bike- it was fun and relaxing.

Flaming Gorgeous! Wow. I'm having a hard time taking in all these
amazing views and realizing that this is real, that I am biking
through them. So so beautiful! Lots if climbing and then a great
descent. Camping again, so I hiked a little ways fot find some quite
time in nature at the edge of a cliff. Absolutely magnificent! Later
we had a campfire and told stories while eating smores. This was after
our town hall meeting, in which we read warm fuzzies, and talk about
our highs and lows of the week, along with any other business the
leader might have. Much later, after watching the fire die, Will P and
I discussed fate, God and life in general while watching the stars,
laying on a picnic table. It was the most amazing night sky I have
seen in my entire life. We could see the whole milky way arch, many
shooting stars, and everything was so crisp and pure and bright and
beautiful. It was EXTREMELY difficult to pull myself away from the
stars to crawl into my tent for the night.

Rock Spring, WY
Another amazingly beautiful state! I am in awe for almost every ride!
Well except for when it is very steep or ther is a strong headwind.
Lots more uphills and downhills. This church provided us a potluck
dinner, which is always our favorite, especaly after 6 days of cooking
for ourselves. Currently watching Harry Potter on the projector in the
sanctuary while eating some donated snack food! The people here are
VERY generous! Only three weeks left :(

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Estes Park, Granby, Kremling, Steamboat Springs

2010-07-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

Estes Park, Granby, Kremling, Steamboat Springs

As you can very well see, blogging has taken somewhat of a back burner
here in the Great state of Colorado. Everyday here has been absolutely
amazing. Currently blogging from a place called "coffee books friends"
definitely my kind if place.

The ride to Estes Park was hard, we had to climb some pretty steep
hills- but beautiful. The descent into the town itself was by far the
best downhill ride of the trip thus far. Perfect weather (well
everyday has been sunny, we are in the state where it's sunny 300 days
a year after all) and a gorgeous view while zooming down at 30 mph-
very satisfying after the tough morning climb. The place we stayed was
Eagle Rock school, which was this fantastic private school for
troubled youth funded completely by Honda. I encourage you to look it
up and check it out!

The day of Granby was the best day of the trip thus far- on so many
different levels! Every other day I feel like I say "today was the
best day ever" but really- this day was something special. The morning
began with homemade breakfast burritos, homemade granola, yogurt and
blueberries-all provided by Judy, a volunteer at her local Habitat who
has been providing the meals for the Bike and Build teams for the past
six years! She was so great, as well as her food (she made a delicious
dinner the night previous as well). As we were finishing breakfast,
Will P got everyone's attention and began to read a poem-to ask me out
to the Bike & Build Prom which was to occur that night. The very
eloquent and clever poem worked it's magic and I accepted the
invitation as well as the flowers he had picked. It was very sweet. On
to the ride. WOW, words cannot describe adaquately the beauty that is
Rocky Mtn Nat Park and Trail Ridge Road. The entire day I could not
keep the smile off my face. If you don't know, Trail Ridge road takes
you to an elevation of 12,183 feet up a mountain. I biked that! Little
Kristen biked up another mountain, a bigger mountain! Pictures cannot
even begin to do this beauteous creation and nature justice. There was
a Very strong headwind at the top of the mountains which almost
knocked several of us off our bikes! But we all made it. There was
snow at the top and I was able to utilize my arm and leg warmers.
Wildlife we saw: marmots, elk, moose, deer, prarie dogs, and lots of
birds. Another thing we saw was the 4k for Cancer bike group- who are
are also bikin across this country for a noble cause. The downhill was
nice, not quite as pretty as the ride up, but still beautiful. It was
almost easy biking up the mountain because there were so many
wonderful things to look at to destract me from the fact that I was
crawling slowly up at 3-4 mph in my lowest granny gear. Anywho...after
we arrived in Granby and a visit to thrift store for some last minute
prom acessories, preparation for prom began. This was a big deal- and
had been in the works for weeks. There was a prom comittee, photo
station, decorations, and voting for prom court and prom king and
queen. Soon everyone dressed in the best (or worst/wacky) outfit they
had put together after several visits to Goodwill or local trift
stores. My dress was green and I wore a sparkly gold jacket with
shoulder pads. It was absolutley fabulous, the only thing that could
have made it better was if we could have seen the fireworks- but after
waiting on the playground with Will and Jen for thirty minutes without
any luck, we headed back to the dance floor. Someone (Noah I think)
had the bright idea of turning on everyone's blinky bike head and tail
lights, so that made it seem much more like a real dance. We had so
much fun! The night ended perfectly with star gazing, seeing the milky
way and shooting stars, and sleeping outside surrounded by peace,
love, stars and mountains. What a perfect day.

The next morning we got to sleep in! For one, we had a late night with
prom, two it was the fourth of July, and three it was only a 26 mile
ride to Kremling-downhill!! So we didn't leave until after 12, some
time at a local coffee shop and Lots of cleaning. The ride proved to
be a little more difficult than expected, due to a very strong
headwind. We've experienced more wind in Colorado than Kansas! Our
arrival at the campsite was followed by unloading the trailer and
pitching tents. This was our first time camping! So much fun! Because
this week I am on dinner crew, we made some rice, beans and hot dogs
mixture with some salad. Still very windy and the temperature dropped
rapidly. I put many layers of clothes on and was still cold. We walked
to downtown Kremling to watch the 4th of July fireworks which they
shoot off the cliff. Slept wonderfully in a tent bundled up, but
waking up was Rough!

It was so cold this morning there was ice on the tents! Many more
layers were added and we were off biking, numb fingers and toes for
many miles. A couple thousand feet climb up Rabbit Ear pass, and then
a great descent for over 7 miles into Steamboat Springs. Now we are
here, ready to relax for our day off!!!!

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Akron, Denver, Boulder Colorado!!!

2010-07-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

Akron, Denver, Boulder Colorado!!!

Sorry I haven't blogged in soo long! I'll just give you some of the
highlights of the past week.

Biking into Colorado was epic, leaving Kansas behind. We spent over an
hour at the welcome to Colorado sign taking pictures, we were a little
excited. Kansas was great, the first hundred miles of wheat fields,
but the novelty of it wears off. This being said, the "town" we were
first in Colorado was literally in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded
by wheat fields, with no sight of any other type of civilization for
miles and miles was the little church in which we stayed. That night
we were blessed to have watched the most incredible, beautiful,
amazing, awesome sunset I have ever seen in my entire life. The
combination of the view over the golden wheat fields, peaceful
setting, the whole CUS 2010 b&b team sitting together for hours,
guitar music, dancing, good conversation made me more joyful than I
can even describe.

I biked 105 miles into Denver!!! And it was windy and hilly! Crazy,
this summer is just crazy, I'm gaining so much self confidence as
well, if I can do this: bike across this great country, I can do
anything if I just set my mind to it. For most of this ride I kept
singing America the Beautiful, especially when the Rocky mountains
finally came into view. Biking past waves of amber grain wheat fields
and seeing the mountains majesty as we bike sea to shining sea was
just mind blowing. Emily and I both teared up multiple times, each
case when we arrived to the crest of a hill we had just climbed.
Denver is a Great Great city, very bike friendly and we were welcomed
by some b&b alumni and family members and friends. I loved Denver. On
our "off"'day we took part in a "race for a place" fundraiser for
affordable housing organizations and bike and build. It consisted of a
luncheon, biking around Denver on cruiser bikes as part of their
amazing bike share program, and then free appetizers and drinks at a
brewery. After visiting with a dear friend from home who is working
for the Denver rescue mission this summer (Brooke Willis!) I was
excited to open mail and then head upstairs for the professional
photographer who wanted takes pictures of us for free! Bed time came
too early.

Boulder is equally enjoyable, I can picture myself living in either
Denver or Boulder at some time in my life. The ride in was beautiful
with some interesting twists-which just made it all the more an
adventure. At times I think my overly positive search for the silver
linings might annoy some people, but it is there!! Anyways. Boulder
is great. Pearl st ( the downtown) is filled with cute shops and
street performers at all hours of the day and night! Live music,
drums, jugglers, magicians and more provide entertainment all the
time, it great. Boulder is very hippie friendly and green. When we
worked with Habitat on our build day I was able to see this even more
with there wonderful green building strategies. This Flatiron Habitat
has been my favorite affiliate by far- they have their stuff together
and have fun. We were framing today and putting up floor joices
(spelling error??) for the 2nd floor. It was a great time and we all
worked hard until 4 pm. After shower and food, some more exploring of
Boulder ensued and we ate cheesecake while listening to some Celtic
rock/string music. Now a little blogging then bed! Tomorrow begins the
climbing of the mountains!!!!

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Philipsburg, KS 80 miles

2010-06-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Philipsburg, KS 80 miles
Despite the long mileage, everyone arrived at the host church by 1:30
pm, we are all such strong riders. The highlight of today was biking
by the Worlds Largest Ball of Twine! By far the little town's main
attraction and source of income. We were all able to add some twine to
it ourselves-it was the most exciting thing (besides us crazy Bike &
Builders of course) for a good hundred miles at least. Our hosts were
very generous and friendly, I've enjoyed talking to community members
of all the towns we stop in. Meeting people and both sharing with and
listening to them has been one of my favorite parts of this trip. One
particular woman, Eve, took a particular liking to me and showed me
the secret room where the bean bags and another couch were hidden.
Also the next morning she handed me some banana chocolate chip cookies
for me to do what I wanted with. I love people!!! I also trying
talking a couple high schoolers from the community into doing B&B once
they are old enough. They looked at me like I'm crazy and said there
is no way. After explaining the awesomeness that is Bike & Build and
directing them to the website, I can only hope they may change their
mind. This trip is proving to be the most incredible experience of my
life thus far. This day was Thursday which meant mail!! Thank yous to
the Meyer family for the shot blocks- they are great! Also to my
roommates/friends for you letters, cards, goodies and especially the
origami whale and dog :). Thank you Aunt Dianne and Uncle Don for the
card and gift card, to my Grandma Dykehouse for the kind words and
cash, and to Art and Elsie Terpstra for their encouraging card. Mail
day may be my favorite day of the week- the energy I get from friends
and family is imeasursable and I can't thank you enough. If you are
thinking about mailing me something, cards are always appreciated, as
are homemade goodies and any snack food, gift cards are also great.
Just a couple suggestions to those of you who are wondering what is
best to send :) Anything fun and small is a good choice too. OR you
can also comment on my blog to say hi- I love reading comments from
people!
peace and love-Kristen

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Beloit, KS

2010-06-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Beloit, KS
Um, I'm having a little trouble remembering what exactly we did.
Kansas roads are great though, flat with rolling hills. On the road we
stopped in the small town of Glasco, KS for root beer floats and
milkshakes at the local small town soda fountain shop. Later when we
got into Beloit we stopped at Another soda fountain and I got a
chocolate malt on the way to the city pool. I got wet in the pool,
napped in the sun, and eventually showered and headed back to the
church for dinner. That night we went to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D which
was SO great!! Cell phone service was spotty though so I couldn't get
the phone call I was so looking forward to from my lifegroup girls!!! :(

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Clay Center, KS 40 miles

2010-06-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

Clay Center, KS 40 miles
Short day, everyone was into town by 11:30 am, and then went to
Wendys! The gift card from Aunt Dianne came in handy, thanks!!! It was
good that we ended so early because by 2 pm it was 97 degrees in
town, plus humidity. I spent my free time calling family and friends,
journaling, exploring town and just relaxing. Dinner then bike
cleaning, more phone calling and lastly movie watching, Kansas has
been mostly flat and vast, lots of open empty fields and the ocational
cow herd staring at you from a hill. Love it!

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Manhattan, KS 86 miles

2010-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Manhattan, KS 86 miles
A fast day, the road was straight, flat and not very windy. I was
lucky enough to ride with some fast people and had an average speed in
the 20s for the majority of the ride. We were even going 25 mph for a
while before I got stopped and dropped off the line because I needed
to catch my breath and fix my contact. I figured that air and vision
were both important and necessary for biking safely. Everyone arrived
to the host church by 2pm, which is pretty early considering the
mileage. After some napping and a great dinner, we all explored
downtown Manhattan and enjoyed ourselves a little later than usual
because we had a rest day the next day!!!

Rest day!
After a full month of biking or building every day, we enjoyed a day
off! My attempt at sleeping in was a failure and I was up at 7 am,
which I guess is sleeping in more than usual. The day was spent
watching Batman, the Dark Knight, getting a free massage, eating free
Chipotle burritos, getting a new phone from the verizon store, walking
around downtown, visiting a used book store and coffee shop, and a
thrift store. A potluck dinner from our lovely hosts and group
bonding with some head and back scratching followed by trying to jump
and stay on a massive bouncy ball and watching Dirty Dancing completed
our rest day very well!

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Lawrence, KS 61miles

2010-06-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Lawrence, KS 61miles
This day was an adventure! It started out on a paved bicycle path,
sounds nice and easy, right? Wrong! Yes it was fun but certainly not
the "easy" ride I was expecting. The week previous there had been
storms and flooding which left the bike path strewn with piles of
rocks, fallen trees, puddles, mud, sticks, barriers and dead fish. We
compared it to a video game, getting on and off our bikes and carrying
them over the fallen trees, yelling "fish left!" sharp turns to avoid
mud-it was so great! Later there was a gravel road, which wasn't
particularly great except for the fact that there was a big storm fast
approaching which encouraged us to go faster. It felt like a scene
from the wizard of oz, windy with ominous clouds up ahead and
surrounding. After we got on paved road once again the skies opened
up. Thunder, lightning, and rain with wind so hard it felt like hail!
We stopped underneath some trees for a little while, continued biking,
it started storming again and then we stopped again, this time at a
house. We sat on the porch and played with some puppies while we
waited out the storm. The rest of the ride was beautiful! We were
literally biking into the light, with the dark storm sky behind us. It
was wonderful, the whole ride this day was surreal and amazing. Once
we got to our host, a private school, we went swimming in the great
outdoor pool with a water slide! It was perfect.

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Kansas City, MO 94

2010-06-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

Kansas City, MO 94 miles June 16-18
Wow, what a beautiful ride. The weather was really nice and so was the
scenery. I was sweep with Kathryn so we took it nice and slow, over
many rolling hills. I very much enjoyed the hills after lots of
fairly flat land. It was the longest ride I have accompished thus far
and that felt great. Because we were sweep and therefore the last
riders in, we came in late. I need to give a shout out to Kathryn
because this was her first day back on her bike after resting her knee
for a couple days. Not only was this the longest day any of us have
done, but it had hills! I am so so proud that she made it the whole
way, even through the last couple miles of horrendous hills right
before the church. It was a great day to sweep :) Dinner that evening
was amazing and so was the sky. There was a thunderstorm and then a
double rainbow. Jen, Laura, Andy and I stood outside for several
hours, just watching the sky change. The rainbow, sky, clouds and
sunset combination was breathtaking. So beautiful. I love nature!

Build day 1 and 2
Yes build day!!!! Slept in until 7 am which was great, and then
shuttled over to the Kansas City Habitat office. From there we split
into two groups, one for the warehouse to build walls, and the other
to deconstruct and reconstruct front porch steps from one of the first
Habitat houses built in KC. The KC Habitat is actually one of the
oldest Habitat affiliates (7th) of Habitat for Humanity International.
I worked with the porch group with our great constuction leader Jim,
who was a lot of fun to work with. It reminded me of working at my
home and school Habitat build sites. We finished that project in a day
and a half, and then moved back to the warehouse to build some dog
houses and organize lumber. The dog houses were made from scrap lumber
and to be sold at the ReStore, which I thought was a great idea. Lunch
both days was amazing! They grilled for us and had kabobs and pasta
and baked beans among other great foods. At the end of our first build
day we got free tickets to the Royals baseball game! So much fun! The
ball park had waterfalls, fountains and fireworks! The night of our
second build day I was able to meet up with two dear friends from
home, Jessy and Erica, it was so nice to go out to Panera bread and
Coldstone with them. A town hall meeting with warm fuzzies and later
journaling and blogging ended the night well.

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Sedalia, MO 61

2010-06-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Sedalia, MO 61
This day was kind of a down day. Moods were depressed, there were many
bike problems, it rained A LOT, and the Missouri drivers today were a
little rude. They would lay on their horns and yell profanity at us,
even though we were as far over as we could be on the road, biking
safely. By a sign that says "share the road" with a picture of a
bicycle on it no less. Ah well, we made it to our host church and it
was wonderful. After sorting through our coolers and food, condensing
and organizing to make things fit better, I took a hot shower and got
my laundry together because it's laundry day! Dinner was great: cesear
salad, cheese bread, spaghetti and green beans. The best part of the
night, howerver, was the suprise the host had for us. They brought in
a massage therapist and chiropractor! Whoever wanted could get a free
adjustment and massage of whatever they needed. It was marvelous!
Several of the girls actully cried with joy when this suprise was
announced. Every Bike & Build day is a GREAT day!!!!!

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Jefferson City, Mo 79 miles

2010-06-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Jefferson City, Mo 79 miles
More riding in the Katy Trail. There were at least ten flats today
along the trail. It sprinkled a little bit, and it was very welcome to
cool us down. When we got into the the city, which is the the capital
of Missouri, a couple of us tried unsuccessfully to find the Race
across America time check in for the crazy cyclists who are biking
west to east hundreds of miles a day and get about 2 hrs of sleep a
night. They are insane, but we couldn't find it, so we came back to
the church. After dinner I cleaned my bike and then explored the city
a little and the beautiful capitol building. A little journaling,
blogging and cuddling and it's time for bed.

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Washington, Mo 62 miles

2010-06-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Washington, Mo 62 miles
Rode on the Katy Trail today, which used to be the Kansas and Texas
railroad. I love rail trails! It was mostly crushed limestone and
gravel, shaded in the woods. Bad things about the Katy trail: gravel
isn't fun to ride on with a road bike, lots of flat tires (not me yet)
and there are lots and lots of mosquitos. Good things: shade-which is
really nice when it's over 90 degrees and humid, protected from the
wind, flat, no cars, and it's very nice to be able to talk with each
other and ride side by side. A couple of us stopped at a beautiful
Winery and Vineyard before biking the rest of the way to our host. We
are staying right along the Missouri river, so a walk to the
riverfront was very nice. As was some nice free Sonic cherry limeade
and icecream.

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St Louis, Mo. 68 miles and Build day!

2010-06-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

St Louis, Mo. 68 miles and Build day!
It was a very windy day of biking, but a stop at a farmers market and
biking with awesome people made it great. I alternated riding speeds
again today which was nice. Another state line crossed as we passed
over the Mississippi river on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. It was
very cool. We arrived at our host at about 3 pm, and were welcomed by
a wide array of snack foods provided by Kristina's mother. We eat SO
MUCH FOOD. Later I was able to see my family, mom dad and brothers who
drove about 8 hours to come see me! We went out for dinner and took
pictures by the arches. After that I was reuinited with my group and
we explored St Louis a little more before going to bed.

Saturday build day!
Slept in until 7am, then headed off to the build site. We worked with
Rebuilding Together today, which is an affordable housing organizaion
that seeks to keep families safely in their houses and to sustain the
affordability of their houses. The four houses we worked in today were
over 100 years old, and the main task we worked on was replacing
flooring. Landscaping was something else we worked on. It started to
storm and rain again (our second build day to end in a thunderstorm)
but it was time to leave anyway. Back at the host we went swimming!
This was very refreshing and needed after working in 90 degree heat
and 80% humidity for much of the day. Dinner was delicious once again,
and afterwards my family came over. We ate ice cream together, talked
and played badminton before they had to leave. It was very very nice
to see them :) Played more badminton after they left and now am
getting ready for bed.

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Greenville, IL 51 miles

2010-06-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Greenville, IL 51 miles
What a great day! It was dubbed "dia de locos" and we all dressed
CRAZY! I had a unibrow and mustache and wore underwear outside my bike
shorts. It was nuts, i looked like a scary man. In the morning I rode
with some super fast people and was lucky enough to ride at the end of
the pace line behind some strong cyclists. We averaged about 23 mph
and we the first people to lunch, a little after 9 am. I was lazy and
stayed late at lunch, napping with the sweep riders (Jen Hunt and
Jesse Young) and also with Andy and Jesse Bright. After a long
relaxation time under the tree and a little stretching we were on our
way, going pretty fast again. Shortly before arriving at our host
town, we caught up with some other riders and found out about a city
pool! So instead of going directy to the church we detoured to the
pool. They let us in for free and we cooled off, swimming in our bike
clothes. It was just what we needed, but I may have gotten a little
sunburnt. The host site wasn't far from the pool and when we arrived I
opened mail!

I got so much mail, I was overjoyed! I'd like to thank my Aunt Dianne
and Uncle Don, Kathi Moore, Kelly Siegersma, Summer Dubois, Grandma
Dykehouse, Kristina Meyer and everyone else who has been praying for
this trip and thinking about us, the encouragement I recieve from you
all gives me strength on long milage days and high hills :) Tomorrow
we go to St Louis and I get to see my family! Can't wait! And another
build day Saturday!

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Effingham, IL 70

2010-06-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

Effingham, IL 70
Kind of a boring day, we were on US 40 the whole day, and it was
overcast and windy. Luckily we are in good company :) After we were
done riding for the day the weather cleared up! I spent a good portion
if the afternoon under a beautiful shade tree journaling, reading and
napping. It was wonderful. Beacause it is Wednesday night, we had our
affordable housing meeting/ presentation. Each week four of our team
give a little presentaion to the group about what they have reseached
in an area of the affordable housing crisis. For example, tonight we
discussed Education and Heath care and how they relate to the cause. I
look forward to these meetings a lot, and we have some great
discussions as well. We crossed into our fifth state and have entered
a new time zone. Three weeks ago today we met and started this thing
called Bike & Build, wow.

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Terre Haute, IN 60 miles

2010-06-10T16:59:00.001-07:00

Terre Haute, IN 60 miles
We went fast today! Lunch was at 9:30 and we arrived in the host town
by 12:30. Flat and smooth roads make riding do much easier for some
reason. Especialy the last part of the day I rode with Emma and Sara G
and they set a very nice, fast pace. But once we got into the town,
maybe 2 miles away from our host church, we stopped and explored a
really cool cementary and then went to the store. Later, after
showers, a bunch of us spent some time at the coffee shop writing
postcards and journal entries- it was great. The church previded us
with some spectacular food, and were very hospitable. Today was also
laundry day and it was nice weather. Every day I seem to have more joy
than the last, it's overflowing onto everything and I move it!!

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Bloomington, IN 40 miles

2010-06-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Bloomington, IN 40 miles
What a beautiful town! I loved Bloomington! As a college town it is
nice to see lots of young bike friendly people, it's kind of a hippy
community. A short ride allowed for us to stop in the pleasant town of
Nashville, IN at this great place called the Fudge Kitchen. They had
54 types of popcorn and lots of fudge, I bought some maple nut fudge.
Once we got to Bloomington we explored the town and ate at Little
Tibet, a restaurant owned by the Dali Llama's brother apparently. It
was my first experience with Tibetian food and I enjoyed it. For
dinner we had a cookout at the local park by the parents of a Bike &
Build alumn from last summer. People are so generous! Again and again
I am astounded by the amount of support we are receiving. Another B&B
alumn bought usblots of snack food...and hummus! There is very little
that makes us riders happier than hummus. I will be returning tonthis
town I am sure.

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"Typical day"

2010-06-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wake up at 5:30 am. Pack up everything into my bin and change into my
bike clothes. Eat breakfast. Help clean up. Route meeting, this
includes recieving our cue sheets (to tell us where to turn and how
far to go etc), listen to announcements from leaders, learn about the
town we are biking to, pass the disco stick, and dance 20 seconds of
80s dancing. Then we bike, stop to stretch about 10 miles in, bike
some more. Halfway through the route the van sets up lunch, unless the
90/90 rule applys. This means that when it over a 90 mile ride day or
over 90 degrees, we eat two lunches! After lunch we bike some more,
take breaks as we feel like it, and bike even more; arriving at our
host site by 4 pm. More often than not we will stop at interesting
things we see along the way, you see so much more by bike than by car!
We bike in groups of 3-6 people, sometimes by skill, sometimes just
randomly. I've been biking with many different levels and loving every
moment, slow or fast :) After arriving at the host we unload the
trailer with all our stuff, shower, eat, give a presentation for our
host, and then hang out or explore the town we are staying in,
depending on how tired we are. Bedtime is 11pm when we pass out on our
thermarests, and then we do it again the next day.

That is a very general day in the life of a bike and builder :)

Sent from my iPod

Columbus, IN 88 miles

2010-06-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Mostly flat terrain today, but Very windy- it reminded me of all the
training I did back in MI in the wind. Woke up at 5am because it was
such a long ride, cleaned up the church after another overly generous
meal, and rode our bikes!

Not too long after lunch we biked by a ranch with chalk on the
pavement in front if it saying, "cute animals" chalk is such a great
tool! Anyways, we went down the driveway and proceded to meet, feedand
hold lots of animals! Camels, black bears, peacocks, water buffalo,
bison, deer, goats, monkeys, lemurs, donkeys and more! My favorites
were feeding and holding the three week old tigers, and holding the
two day old baby deer. Feeding black bears was cool to, and so were
the camels. It was great, we spent well over 2 hours there and were
late getting to the host church. This only meant we had to take hose
showers instead of regular and heat up our food in the microwave, it
was well worth the time. This ranch is a non profit that serves as a
rescue for many animals. In three weeks they are getting a liger! It
was great and I recommend it to anyone driving in the middle of
nowhere Indiana. Oh! And the baby llama named Twilight was super soft
and cute. I can't wait to show you all pictures of these awesome
animals!

Sent from my iPod

Cincinnati, OH Build Day!!!

2010-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

We slept in today! 6:45 am! I'm using lots of explanation marks
because today we build!!!! The site we worked at had three Habitat
houses being worked on, all in the begining stages, we worked on the
roof trusses and building scaffolding. I was able to go into downtown
Cincinnati with the the building manager, Bob, and two other bike and
builders in Oder to get more scaffolding. It was really cool being
able to chat about Habitat with him and their new ReStore, it made me
miss my Habitats back home a little bit. After a little more roofing
it started to storm and we had to end our work day. I may have taken a
little too long getting to the vans, but I just had to help the old
men volunteers pick up the tools from the day! Showers then dinner,
and then Will's mom came to visit! She brought cookies, milk, and that
special motherly love which we all really appreciated Will sharing
with us. She was just fantastic! For the rest of the evening we sat
around in the grass, journaling, reading, blogging, chatting, playing
the "ha ha" game and scratching each others heads. Yeah, we are pretty
close with each other.

I want to give a shout out to the Iowa service trip leaving from
Allendale, MI, I'll be with you in spirit and you are all in my
thoughts and prayers. Go out and serve!

Sent from my iPod

Cincinnati, OH 51 miles

2010-06-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

Short day today, and I rode with some new people too! I was able to
ride with Sharif, Emma and Mark throughout the ride today, 3 people I
have never rode with before and that was very nice, but Sharif
continues to make fun of my Michigan accent, which is extremely
evident when I say "Habitat for Humanity" (which I do a lot) and talk
about the "Aflak duck" Kelly sent me. Buy it's cool, I embrace my
accent. I ended the ride with Andy Mark and Emma, three very fast
riders who kindly slowed down enough to allow me to be a part of their
group. We stopped at two different bike shops and drooled over some
very nice bikes, Andy took some pictures. I held one bike that was
$11,500!!!! It was so light and nice! The roads were really rough and
busy coming into Cincinnati, biking in a big city that doesn't really
take care of their roads is quite an experience! On our way to the
Ymca to go swimming and shower!

The Y was wonderful and so was dinner! After dinner we had a big
cuddle session and nap and then went out to Salies Saloon for karyoke,
it was a great night filled with dancing, singing and laughter.

Ps I'm getting better at riding my bike without holding my handlebars,
but I still have to workbon picking my bike upsidedown over my head.

Sent from my iPod

Georgetown, Oh 61 miles

2010-06-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

An eventful day! Chore groups changed and we are now in charge of
overnight cleanup. The ride today was a little stress ful due to some
unexpected hills, Ohio is NOT flat! There was one very steep uphill
thatvi made the mistake of stopping halfway up. Yes, I couldn't
breathe and needed to catch my breath, but stopping midway up an
extremly steep hill makes for a difficult time remounting the bike.
The first attempt resulted in me tipping over onto the ground (luckily
not pavement the second try my gears were messed up from my fall and
the third time I almost fell again. I seriously contemplated going
back to the bottom and biking up again, but i just couldn't bring
myself to do it. So I ended up walking my bike about 20 feet up the
hill to a flatter portion for me to get back on. I really wanted to be
able to bike across the whole country wihout walking my bike or riding
in the van, but no- I make it up the Appalacian Mountains just fine
but not an Ohio hill!?!?! I'm a little angry and disappointed in
myself. The downhill of this huge mountain was absolutly terrifying!
Very very steep with very very sharp curves, by far the most dangerous
decent so far. Four of my teammates crashed and one had to go to the
hospital. I was going 40 mph using my brakes, it was a little scary.
But we are all safely in Georgetown now, at a United Methidist Church
which provided us with hot showers and lasagna! Excited for some
sleep :)

Oh! We got mail today!!! Thank you so much Kate and Kelly and Mom and
Aunt Dianne for your mail!!!! It made a somewhat depressing day much
better! The food, kind words, news from home and other fun things were
just fantastic!

Sent from my iPod

Portsmouth, OH 60 miles

2010-06-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yet another, "easy" day, everything feels easy compared to the mountains now! But there were actually a few steep hills to keep things interesting. We were able to talk to quite a few people to tell them what we are doing, and everyone is so inspired. Because we were on less busy roads today, we were able to ride side by side and talk more-the ride goes by SO much faster when you get to talk to cool people. The last 8 miles of the ride was on a highway with very busy, fast traffic and bad roads (holes, bumps, debris), but we all made it to the host church safely!!

I've been thinking about cutting my hair very short because it is starting to drive me nuts in my helmet every day, sweaty and hot. But I'm not sure...some guys on the trip are having fun with facial hair designs, but that is something I am unable to do :( Portsmouth is pretty small, we explored a bit and tried to cross the bridge into Kentucky, but there was no sidewalk and our trip leader was concerned for our safety. Our trip leaders are great, taking care of us all and making sure we have everything we need-they are the best!! Right now I am at the public library computer, but I still don't pictures. If you want to look at some I recommend you look at my teammate Andy's blog: www. andyreagan.com. It's pretty good.
Love you all!!!

Huntington, WV 50 miles

2010-06-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

What an easy day! It's really funny to me how a 50 mile day with
rolling hills feels like a piece of cake now. Those mountains got us
in shape! Today was our last day in West Virginia, and we spent most
of the day on a busy road, so we biked pretty fast and didn't do quite
as much talking. Got to the church we are staying at early, 1:30.
Huntington is a great town/city. After dinner we explored a little bit
and ended up at the park, we played on the playground and walked
through the rose garden. A note of bad news, I think my camera is
broken :( but I can still take pictures with my phone and everyone
else on my team is taking lots of pics which I will be able to have
also, so I'm not too upset. It has been very warm, 80's and 90's, so
we are sweating a lot! Tomorrow we will be in Ohio, saying goodbye to
mountainous Wesr Virginia.

Sent from my iPod

Marlinton, WV and Summersville, WV

2010-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Marlinton, WV and Summersville, WV
More mountains!!! Lots of climbing both days, and harder than the
first. But we are now in West Virginia!!! We have officially biked
through our first of 12 states! WV is very very beautiful and hilly.
78 miles and 74 miles these two days. We were above clouds, and it was
very peaceful. After biking up mountains all day we finally arrived in
Marlinton, but we biked all the way through town and up another huge
hill before seeing a steeple-which gave us the extra burst of energy
until we realized it wasn't our church, we had one more hill to climb
to get to "Mountainview Church" appropriately named. At the church in
Milinton, after they fed us a ridiculous amount of food, we went into
the sanctuary and played and sang some hymns and other songs together,
the musically talented from our group helped make up the band- it was
great. What else that is great is yoga followed by back massages.
Nothing ends a day filled with biking through mountains better than
that. Except maybe swimming in the Summersville lake. My muscles are
just a little sore but besides that, everything feels great! I don't
feel like I can't walk, or like I'm going to die halfway up the hill,
I'm doing this, Im biking across America!!!!! (sorry, I'm still way
geeked out about this, especially as I see progress)

Sent from my iPod

Lexington, Va 85 miles

2010-06-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Lexington, Va 85 miles
Today we biked up, over and through parts of the appalacian
mountains!!!! It was insane! I, Kristen Dyke, biked up mountains. At
the top of the mount afton, there is the cookie lady's house. She has
been providing cyclists who bike up the mountain with cookies, food
and water since 1970 and has everyones stories and postcards and other
things in a "bike museum" It was so cool, talking to this old woman
and hearing her stories, and it was exactly what we needed after that
first big climb. We biked the Blue ridge parkway, amazingly beautiful.
Looking down after we biked up gives such a great feeling of
accomplishment and empowerment, in addition to a magnificent view.
Words cannot give it justice. In other news, I still have a huge
bruise on my calf from orientation when I almost fell but caught
myself on my pedal. Some people on my team say it looks like the face
of Jesus, others say thier dad or an alien, I don't see any of it but
we have some pretty creative people on this trip. Biking up mountains
is hard work, but awesome!!!

Sent from my iPod

Charlottesville 5/26-27/10

2010-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah build day!!! I was soo soo excited to build! It had been almost
two weeks since I last volunteered for Habitat and I was really
missing it. We all split up into different groups, and I ended up
first digging a hole and then weed wacking a jungle. No joke, the
weeds in this back yard came up to my armpits and it was a very very
steep yard with a trench with water in it. I weed wacked all day,
taking breaks to move big branches, drink water and change out the
string. It was a really great feeling, though, to look back at the
yard and see the difference I had made. Relaxed the rest of the day,
Derricks mom came and made us smoothies which were fantastic! We love
food. If you are considering sending anything through maildrops, send
food :)

Build day two in Charlottesvill was also awesome. I worked with
Aileen, Jesse, Andy and Sarah landscaping a rehabed habitat house a
town away. More weed wacking but I didn't do that today, just mulch,
trimming, moving lots of gravel, and other things around the yard. It
was very very hot today, in the 90s at least, but everyone did so
great. All our team members are so hard working, and I- being the
Habitat geek I am-was so very happy to be able to share this passion
of ours together. At night we had a cookout at an alumni and leader of
Bike & Build's house. It was delicious. I need more words to describe
the greatness of the food we are eating. The first mail drop came
today, so that was exciting, nothing for me but lots of candy was
shared among everyone. I've loved Charlottesville, it is a great town
and I cannot wait to come back here some day, I highly recommend that
you visit this town sometime in your life.
peace and love-kristen

Sent from my iPod

Charlottesville

2010-05-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Charlottesville 5/25/10 46 miles
The ride into Charlottesville was amazing! Lots and lots of hills and
beautiful scenery. The farmlands we biked through were breathtaking!
Although the uphills were just a little rough, the downhills were
exhilarating and well worth the small stuggle up. After we arrived in
Charlottesville, and had settled into our host site (sigma sigma sigma
sorority house) for the next couple days, we explored the town. It is
a very very pleasant, nice and beautiful town, home of UVA. We
actually have quite a few alumni of UVA on our team, and they were all
very excited about being back in their town. The next couple days here
will be spent building, relaxing and just hanging out together. Loving
every minute of this!!! Also I'm doing some things I never would even
have imagined doing, which is very good for me I think :) Love and
miss you all! Please comment, ask questions

Sent from my iPod

Dillwyn

2010-05-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Dillwyn
Another great ride into a great little town. It took about 65 miles,
but we were on some very busy roads. We could only ride single file
most of the time so not a whole lot of conversations on the road. When
we got to the church we found out that our hose shower was just down
the road, that sleeping space was very limited, and that we were
preparing our own food for the night. But all these potentially
negative things turned into awesome positives! Getting lost on our way
to the hose let us explore the town, dinner crew made delicious
burritos, and we pitched two tents and I slept in one with six other
people. It was sweet! Across the street lived a family of 14! I played
with some of the kids and their cat named Lion. Very rural, poor part
of Virginia.

Sent from my iPod

Blackstone, Va 5/23/10

2010-05-23T17:17:00.001-07:00

Started out the day biking in the rain, but it was warm and the rain
wasn't too bad, my socks and shoes just got soaked! And my butt got
wet. After about and hour the rain let up and it was sunny again!! I
biked with more fantastic people, and then for lunch had a peanut
butter, goldfish cracker, and cheddar cheese sandwich. It was ok, but
the cookie with raspberry jelly was better. The rest of the day we
rode pretty slow again. There were a few more hills, and Heather and I
stopped for pictures and stretching. We talked to some horses, smelled
some wild roses and daisies, took a picture by a rustic looking barns
and talked to the owner and her son, and stopped for Heathers flat
tire. At about 2:30 we arrived at the military base we are staying
for the night in Blackstone, Va. We biked about 65 miles total today.
At the base we each have our own room which, more importantly,
includes our own beds!!! Also hot showers and laundry for the first
time this trip. My chore group is trailer/laundry this week, so we
load all the stuff in the trailer in the morning and evey three days
do eveyones laundry. It's probably the worst chore group, but we have
a great team so it's alright. Currently we have four more loads to go,
and we've been working on it since 3 or 4. (it's now 8 pm)

Tonight we had our first group highs and lows. It was a great time of
laughing and sharing. Seriously, the people on this trip are
absolutely amazing! Everyone is awesome, and I've loved talking to
people along the road who ask, "what are you guys doing?" and watching
their faces when we tell them, "we're biking across America to raise $
and awareness for decent affordable housing" People first think we are
nuts and then are inspired and in awe of what we are doing and why.
It's pretty cool. I just love people!!!

Currently just hanging out and listening to guitar and singing,
conversations, and thinking about cleaning and lubing my bike.

Sent from my iPod

Waverly, Va 5/22/10

2010-05-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Waverly, Va 5/22/10

Yet another fantastic day! We biked 45 miles from Suffolk to Waverly,
Va. Today I biked with Andy and Emily most of the ride, and also with
Will and a couple other people. We shared life stories, coolest things
we've done and other random facts about ourselves. About 15 miles we
stopped and did some yoga at a little park. Lunch was a delicious
potato salad and lettuce sandwich, mmmmmm. I also had a brownie muffin
and a banana with peanut butter. There will be lots of interesting
food combinations on this trip i think. It was beautiful outside and
we took our own sweet time, stopping at some swamp and taking some
pictures. I was in the first group to arrive at the Wavery United
Methodist church, around 12:30 ish.

Shortly after unloading the trailer and claiming some floor space for
sleeping later, we walked into town. Welcome to small town America!
We toured the first peanut museum in USA history, the Folk Art museum
and the wood museum, all located in one central piece of land. A very
old woman and a very old man showed us around and we learned a lot
about a man named Miles Carpenter. It was a fun time!

OH! It was our trip leader, Derrick's birthday today! I passed the
disco stick onto him, and his bike got decorated Lady Gaga theme also.
We bought him a McFlurry.

The Methodist women made us all some wonderful food, and afterwards we
were going to celebrate Derricks birthday at a Mexican restaurant, but
our plan was thwarted by the fact that the town closed down at 8pm,
and that two police cars pulled us over (we were walking...). Because
we were walking around at such a late hour (9pm), we were making
people nervous. They also warned us about going into the "bad" part of
town, "You don't want to go on the wrong side of the tracks, if ya
know what I mean" This town was very segregated and the cops were
obviously racist, but it was a good town to experience, it was eye
opening to see that places with this kind of racism still exist. So
we just came back and played cards and hung out. I slept very very
well that night.

Sent from my iPod

First day on the road!

2010-05-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 6am to pack, clean, eat breakfast, load the trailers and
wheel dip!! At 8:30am, together with our friends and family, we dipped
our back wheels into the Atlantic ocean. There was lots of cheering,
dolphins in the background, and TONS of excitement!!! After a pep talk
huddle and cheer, and the bestowing of the "Disco stick" to the rider
of the week, we were off! Biking across America!!! I was given the
disco stick because I was the rider who raised the most money! So this
is really a big honor to all of YOU who have donated to this cause,
congrats everyone!!! I now have the pleasure of picking the next rider
of the day to give the disco stick to. (our trip has somewhat of a
lady gaga theme...) :)

It was a beautiful ride today, sunny and in the 70s or 80s, very flat
terrain and about 55 miles. Lunch was delicious, leftover food from
the previous day and some banana and peanut butter. Another fantastic
food thing was a strawberry patch we found: u pick! For $3 Will,
Laura, Dave and I picked a quart of strawberries and ate them in the
shade before continuing on. We arrived in Sufolk around 2:30ish. When
I say "we" I mean my little group of riders. Throughout the day we
divided up into smaller groups, so the times we all arrived at the
church varried.

The church made us dinner (mmmm spaghetti!!!) then bike cleaning and
trailer painting. Soon we will watch a movie :) I'm loving this sooo
much, the biking part has been awesome and I cannot wait for the build
part!

Sent from my iPod

B&B orientation day 1

2010-05-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

B&B orientation day 1

Well today it started! After much anticipation, training and
fundraising the trip is here :) My truly fantastic roommates and
friends drove me down to Virginia Beach yesterday and are seeing me
off. They even decorated the car, 3 times (it was a little rainy on
the drive) in all bike & build! It was beautiful! I don't know what I
would do without you guys: Summer, Maeghan, and Kelly.

So. Orientation. Walked in with the nervous, first day of school, new
kid feeling in my stomach. What if eveyone is more athletic than me?
Am I the only one who isn't strong enough to pump my tire up to the
full amount (120 psi)? These were the questions running through my
head. But now my mind is at ease, all my teammates are amazing, and
our leaders are just fantastic! I changed my first tire by myself and
feel like I've started the begining of many great friendships.
Basically what we did in orientation so far was go over rules and get
to know each other.

One cool thing that happed was the alumni presentation. The two alumni
who gave it were two of the girls I taked to from the Southern US Bike
& Build trip 09 last summer when my home church was doing a service
project in Mississippi. They are how I found out about b&b and one of
the reasons I am here today, how cool to see them today and tell
themhow they affected my life!!

Well it's time for bed, lights out and listening to jets flying
overhead. I'm loving this so much and we haven't even started biking
yet!

Day 2
More awesomeness, health, safety, bike maintenance, shakedown ride,
bike clinic with kids, food. It's been pretty amazing.

Tomorrow morning we have our wheel dipping ceremony in the Atlantic
ocean and then we begin biking across America! Our 40 mile ride
tomorrow will actually be 60 miles in order to avoid a "death highway"
I am glad we are avoiding a death highway. Sounds like a good thing
to miss.

I'm working on figuring out how to get pictures on here...this blog
will be a work in progress, bear with me :)

Sent from my iPod

The time is near!

2010-05-18T03:58:00.001-07:00

In about 30 minutes my roommates will arrive to begin our drive down to Virginia Beach, VA. Wow, I'm really biking across the country this summer! WOW. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, antsy, and READY TO GO!!! I'm excited to meet my teammates, excited to meet cool people from little towns all over the country, excited for this incredible adventure and opportunity to really make a difference in this issue of affordable, adequate housing. I'm nervous about mountains, both going up and down them. People keep asking if I'm ready, and I'd like to say, with confidence:

I AM READY TO PEDAL ACROSS AMERICA FOR AFFORDABLE, ADEQUATE HOUSING!

Orientation Wednesday and Thursday, wheel dipping ceremony Friday morning, and then off we go!

Adventures in training!

2010-05-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Training for Bike & Build in the central Michigan area has been fantastic. I've met lots of new friends, learned much about biking, and have found many cute little towns! Blanchard, Shepherd, Elwell, Winn, Alma, Lake Isabella, Weidman, Coldwater, and of course, Mt. Pleasant, have been a pleasure to bike through. The little antique shop in Winn, used book store (that was closed :() in Blanchard, the bike path I found on my last bike ride in Central MI, I'm going to miss them all-but know they will be waiting for me when I return in the fall.

With the help of new friends who know MUCH more about biking than me, and my local bike shop, Motorless Motion, and my fantastic roommates, friends and family support, I was able to adequately prepare (I hope!) for this Bike & Build trip. With their help I was able to conquer my fear of clipless pedals (a shout-out to Kelly who held my bike in our living room while I practiced clipping in and out), taught me how to use my gears, helped me change my two flats, and pushed me to train when I just didn't feel like it. (As I said before, I'm not really a sporty person...). Project “training Kristen to bike across America to benefit decent affordable housing” has only been effective because of the tremendous amount of support and encouragement I've received. I could not have made it this far without any of you! YOU are helping me pedal across the country this summer, YOU are helping me swing the hammer on the houses we will be building. THANK YOU!

Hmmmm...so talking about training adventures turned into thank yous-I'm ok with that so I will just continue. I know I will be leaving someone out, but first my parents need to be thanked. When I first told them I wanted to do this they were skeptical, we had talks that sounded like, “Shouldn't you try to make some money during the summer?” and “Do you really think you can do this” but it didn't take long before they were fully behind me in this effort. My mom has been HUGELY supportive in my fund-raising efforts and researching the best gear to get, my dad loves my bike as much as I do, and even bought be a Bicycling magazine for me and slid it under my bedroom door while I was asleep earlier this week. Other family members who need to be thanked include my brothers, (who I love and will miss dearly), and my Aunt Dianne who sends encouraging emails and was a huge part of my fund-raising events. My roommates are awesome and have supported and encouraged me since I signed up for Bike & Build in October, and helped me to train during the yucky winter months. Kelly Siegersma has been especially fantastic-I really think she is just as excited as I am! It's nice because if I have a question about Bike & Build, I can ask her and she will probably know it (we both enjoyed reading the Bike & Build manual...yes we are kind of nerds). THANKS KELLY!!! There are so many other family members and friends that I'd like to name, but I've already rambled on a little extensively. But know, you are thanked and appreciated.

Oh, ok just four more organizations, well, they are more like families actually, that NEED to be thanked. My Habitat for Humanity of Isabella county family, Tri-cities area Habitat for Humanity family, His House Christian Fellowship family, and First Allendale CRC family all have a large part in who I am today and why I am doing what I am doing this summer. Within these groups I have grown close with many people who I now consider my family-the support and inspiration I receive from them is one of the main reasons I am doing Bike & Build.

Back to training ;), I love my bike, I love to bike, I love biking with people, I love building, I love building with and for people, I love summer, I love America...I think Bike & Build is a good fit.

Things I've learned from training: there is a LOT of road kill on every road!, dogs chasing you is scary, especially after you are finished climbing a big hill and are out of energy!, countrysides are beautiful, baby horses are very very cute, changing a flat sucks, and wind and hills are both good and bad. I am excited to learn and grow more!!

Newspaper articles

2010-05-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Cycling across America: Grand Haven senior plans to bike 3,860 miles for housing cause

How to begin....

2010-05-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking about this blog for a while, how to start it, what I want to say in it, how to best share this summer with friends and family back home, lots of things. I've decided that I will just ramble and see how it goes :)

Hardcore, athletic, crazy...these are three new attributes that friends, family, strangers and acquaintances call me when they find out that I'm biking across America this summer. These are three words that are pretty much opposite of how people have seen me for the previous 20 years. I've never participated in sports, rarely exercised, and I like to make safe choices and decisions. Sweet, nice, innocent little Kristen is what I've been called more often, but those who know me well also know that there is little I wont do in the name of helping and serving people in need.

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

I love being sweet, nice and innocent-but I'm just as excited to be hardcore, athletic and crazy.