A week and a half off took a bit more out of us than we expected. Sitting on a bus for hours on end, eating any junk food that passes by, doesn't really keep you physically in shape. Surprising, I know. We had a 20 mile shake down ride in Little Rock to see how we all felt about getting back on the bike and to get the kinks out of our bikes, which had been stashed in the trailer during the bus trip. My physical readiness did not match my mental readiness. And milk is always a bad choice. After a few too many breathing breaks along the small hills in town, we ended up making it to and from the park.
But 20 miles there and back couldn't prepare us for the mountain we were about to encounter the next day. I never realized the Ozarks had any mountains of significance. First day back in the saddle was a lovely little 88 mile ride, up hill both ways. Or at least that's what you would have thought after seeing us ascend the mountain. A little walking never hurt anyone, and it's actually a nice change of pace for the legs after riding for 60 miles. The view at the top was almost worth the brutal climb. Also, its amazing how rewarding shooting off a few fireworks at the end of the day... Try it some time, just under responsible* adult supervision.
On days that are either 90 miles long, or 90 degrees out, we get 2 lunches. It helps break up the day and make sure we have enough water and food to get us through. We can also break up the day with QLBs, such as a couple rounds of paintball. I was scared since my only experience with that is seeing JD come home with huge welts from it, and here we are playing in spandex and a mask. But the adrenaline got going after the first few shots. Gave a couple bruises, received a couple bruises... Life is good on the road..
We had our first century ride on June 19th. Combine 106 miles with Oklahoma heat and blowing winds, and you got yourself a fun filled day! But we made it, don't ask me how, but we did. The dinner provided by the Henryetta church tasted all the better after earning it like that.
Then.... the big moment.... waking up at 4:30am for it to be my birthday!! That made the early wake ups all the more tolerable. I don't think there was a person in the past couple hundred miles that didn't know it was my birthday considering all the chatter we've made about it while making plans. The plan was to ride 92 miles to Oklahoma City, but mother nature had other ideas for us. The winds were so intense by the afternoon, it was too dangerous to ride. So began the shuttle to pick up riders and bikes. As disappointing as it is to not get to finish a ride, the 3 shade tree breaks along the way made for a perfect birthday! The evening following the same pattern of awesomeness thanks to some intense dancing in tutus at a concert. Great birthday thanks to my Bike & Build family!
We had 2 build days in Oklahoma City working on houses in a subdivision of 300 lots, with 225 houses built already. Pretty impressive, especially since they are brick houses -- a very unique Habitat for Humanity neighborhood. Brick is cheap and easy to come by in OK, as well as a bit more sturdy in the city with a 400% higher tornado rate than normal.
Then began our week of battling winds, crossing borders, and preventing burns. We ventured straight west, through the slight hills of Oklahoma, into the flat barrenness of Texas, into beautiful New Mexico, to finally rest in Colorado. The panhandle plains of OK and TX may have just earned the title for worst place to live in the US. Nothing there. Horribly windy, flat, desolate places. By windy, I'm talking 25-30mph cross winds that cause you to ride at an angle, with the constant fear of being blown off the road, especially when semi's come blowing past. Then, switch that blusteriness to a head wind, and you aren't moving. At times, I have been pedaling with all my might, and only going 4.5mph. It's a little discouraging, but I've never seen people so excited to see those yellow diamond signs with a curve arrow on it. A slight curve in the road can be all the difference in your optimism of finishing the day's ride. As soon as we crossed into New Mexico, the topography and time zone changed. We could see faint outcrops in the distance. It was such a relieving sight. NM is a very underrated state, in my opinion. We have had our most beautiful landscapes so far while in NM. It's a shame we were only there for a night, but onward North to Colorado we must go!
A guy driving by asked me where we were going. I said California! He said isn't California that way? (pointing to the left) I said I don't know, I'm just riding where they tell me! Point being, we are talking a loopty looped way of getting to the West coast. Since our route was the newest route added (this is the 3rd summer), 2 routes already go through Nevada. Since those routes take up the only bike friendly roads going through the state, we have to meander our way around Nevada, into ID & OR before dropping back into CA.
So here we are, in desolate eastern Colorado. Looks strangely a lot like OK. I have a slight fear we took a wrong turn and are headed back east, especially considering the winds that struck up again as we crossed the border. They started as beautiful, amazing tail winds that had me cruising at 17mph (which is flying for this turtle). But they then switched to the dreaded severe cross & head winds. This is not the Colorado I've ever pictured. But there's a lot more to come. We're about 1400 miles into our now 3600 mile trip. Our trip to Boston cut out about 500 miles of the original 4100. That now puts us on par with the other trips, since our trips is the longest route, both days and mileage. We'll be about halfway through next week when we're in Colorado Springs doing our Blitz Build for the week. If our legs aren't made of steel yet, these upcoming mountains should do the trick!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Who do we ride for? Christina!
As many have already heard, one of our trip leaders, Christina Genco, was struck and killed by a vehicle on Monday, June 6th. I will include several links that can describe different aspects of the story, but I thought it'd be appropriate the type a bit from my perspective of the day (at least what I can manage while touch screen typing on a borrowed iPad).
We left Rome, Georgia that bright, sunny Monday enroute to Scottsboro, Alabama. It was a long 70mile day ahead of us, but we'd get through it. After about 15-20 ,lies, I crossed the Alabama state line on a back road with Christina, Jeremy, Cecilia, & Kara. The state line had been chalked by a fellow rider earlier as there was no sign on this country road. We stopped to tAke fun photos before hitting the highway, where we doubled back a bit to catch the actual state line sign. After that stop, I broke off from the larger group and rode the remained of the relaxing country ride with Cecilia. We had a grueling 2-3 mile incline to conquer before reaching lunch. A few breather breaks later, we made it to the top. We munched on leftovers before checking out the waterfall. Due to the long, mildly challenging day and repairs at the previous host, the group was very spread out, with the first group leaving as we pulled in as the middle of the pack, then the last people not arriving til we were leaving - creating a several hour spread between all the groups.
We clammered downr the rocks to jump in the water, swim around, and play in the waterfall (using extreme water safety caution, of course). Christina & the crew she was at lunch with were heading out as me & my speed crew were jumping in. We had a grea time, swimming, relaxing, tromping through the woods. Cecilia & I finally left lunch after cleaning up, meeting up with Dits while cruising down some hills into the town of Rainsville. We had definitely earned that downhill flying decent. As we rode throguh town, we were motioned over to a Sonic where many riders had gathered. We assumed it was a nice QLB (quality of life break). But as we pulled in, Travis told us the news about Christina. She & Jeremy were about 20 miles ahead when it happened. We joined the other 8 riders sitting outside the Sonic in utter disbelief. We consoled each other and made sure everyone was okay physically. We let the other leaders know where we were, had several local group representatives introduce themselves saying they'd either seen it or heard and offered to help. I don't know how long we were actually sitting there, but Stan eventually came with the riders at lunch and dropped them off while he went to get other riders ahead of us. While waiting, we saw the ambulance fly by toward the hospital.. I just lost it then. Eventually, we were taken via police van to the host in Scottsboro to meet the rest of the group. Our bikes transported via box truck. As we neared the top of the hill a few miles down, traffic slowed to one lane, where we slowly went by the accident site. Her bike was still there, as were orange circles outlining her things. It was unreal.
We had a gathering in the church once we all arrived to relay all information, which wasn't much, and to have a small remembrance and prayer for her. We were all pretty much in disbelief/zombie zone the next couple days. We had group talk that night, group counseling to tell "our story", like I'm doing now, then individual counselors were available the rest of the days.
We were kept busy & fed by local people, all wanting to help -went to A lake house, pool, anything to keep us busy. We had a build day on Thursday, which was great to feel useful again. We then were udder to Boston, where Christina was from. Her family had come down for the week to be with us and see the site and what not. We arrived Saturday night, had dinner at Christina's house, which was overflowing with family, friends and B&B alumni. Sunday allowed time for sight seeing befor ethe wake that afternoon. There was a line out the door and around the corner. Sunday morning was the funeral service, held in a large, large sanctuary. It was filled, plus standing people in the back. There were easily 500 people in attendance. Absolutely unbelievable! Bike & Build had a reserved section behind the family and there were probably almost 100 lacrosse girls she'd coached next to us. Jeremy, her brother, and her mother gave excellent eulogies, very touching and well said. She was buried next to a brook in a very gorgeous cemetery. Lunch after which had slideshows from friends and her computer. Unbelievable turnout and support from everyone.
We're now enroute to Little Rock, AR to resume our trip as schedule. We will arrive Wednesday afternoon, "day off" Thursday, where we plan to have a shake down ride to get used to the idea of being back on the road before taking on the next 4 days leading into Oklahoma City. These days look like 80-100 miles days each.
Please keep our group in your thoughts as each of us heals and handles grief in different ways. We are each others best support system as we're all going through the same thing, but outside support doesn't hurt either :)
Photos for Christina
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101089110196251.3419644.2052540
Bike & Build blurb about the accident
http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/9207/1/
Jeremy's post on Christina's blog
http://www.xtinag.com/post/6323263618/june-6
We left Rome, Georgia that bright, sunny Monday enroute to Scottsboro, Alabama. It was a long 70mile day ahead of us, but we'd get through it. After about 15-20 ,lies, I crossed the Alabama state line on a back road with Christina, Jeremy, Cecilia, & Kara. The state line had been chalked by a fellow rider earlier as there was no sign on this country road. We stopped to tAke fun photos before hitting the highway, where we doubled back a bit to catch the actual state line sign. After that stop, I broke off from the larger group and rode the remained of the relaxing country ride with Cecilia. We had a grueling 2-3 mile incline to conquer before reaching lunch. A few breather breaks later, we made it to the top. We munched on leftovers before checking out the waterfall. Due to the long, mildly challenging day and repairs at the previous host, the group was very spread out, with the first group leaving as we pulled in as the middle of the pack, then the last people not arriving til we were leaving - creating a several hour spread between all the groups.
We clammered downr the rocks to jump in the water, swim around, and play in the waterfall (using extreme water safety caution, of course). Christina & the crew she was at lunch with were heading out as me & my speed crew were jumping in. We had a grea time, swimming, relaxing, tromping through the woods. Cecilia & I finally left lunch after cleaning up, meeting up with Dits while cruising down some hills into the town of Rainsville. We had definitely earned that downhill flying decent. As we rode throguh town, we were motioned over to a Sonic where many riders had gathered. We assumed it was a nice QLB (quality of life break). But as we pulled in, Travis told us the news about Christina. She & Jeremy were about 20 miles ahead when it happened. We joined the other 8 riders sitting outside the Sonic in utter disbelief. We consoled each other and made sure everyone was okay physically. We let the other leaders know where we were, had several local group representatives introduce themselves saying they'd either seen it or heard and offered to help. I don't know how long we were actually sitting there, but Stan eventually came with the riders at lunch and dropped them off while he went to get other riders ahead of us. While waiting, we saw the ambulance fly by toward the hospital.. I just lost it then. Eventually, we were taken via police van to the host in Scottsboro to meet the rest of the group. Our bikes transported via box truck. As we neared the top of the hill a few miles down, traffic slowed to one lane, where we slowly went by the accident site. Her bike was still there, as were orange circles outlining her things. It was unreal.
We had a gathering in the church once we all arrived to relay all information, which wasn't much, and to have a small remembrance and prayer for her. We were all pretty much in disbelief/zombie zone the next couple days. We had group talk that night, group counseling to tell "our story", like I'm doing now, then individual counselors were available the rest of the days.
We were kept busy & fed by local people, all wanting to help -went to A lake house, pool, anything to keep us busy. We had a build day on Thursday, which was great to feel useful again. We then were udder to Boston, where Christina was from. Her family had come down for the week to be with us and see the site and what not. We arrived Saturday night, had dinner at Christina's house, which was overflowing with family, friends and B&B alumni. Sunday allowed time for sight seeing befor ethe wake that afternoon. There was a line out the door and around the corner. Sunday morning was the funeral service, held in a large, large sanctuary. It was filled, plus standing people in the back. There were easily 500 people in attendance. Absolutely unbelievable! Bike & Build had a reserved section behind the family and there were probably almost 100 lacrosse girls she'd coached next to us. Jeremy, her brother, and her mother gave excellent eulogies, very touching and well said. She was buried next to a brook in a very gorgeous cemetery. Lunch after which had slideshows from friends and her computer. Unbelievable turnout and support from everyone.
We're now enroute to Little Rock, AR to resume our trip as schedule. We will arrive Wednesday afternoon, "day off" Thursday, where we plan to have a shake down ride to get used to the idea of being back on the road before taking on the next 4 days leading into Oklahoma City. These days look like 80-100 miles days each.
Please keep our group in your thoughts as each of us heals and handles grief in different ways. We are each others best support system as we're all going through the same thing, but outside support doesn't hurt either :)
Photos for Christina
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101089110196251.3419644.2052540
Bike & Build blurb about the accident
http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/9207/1/
Jeremy's post on Christina's blog
http://www.xtinag.com/post/6323263618/june-6
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