Milton, FL to Mobile, AL - 108 Miles

I really could not have asked for a better first century. Energized from a morning group huddle singing Lean on Me, the prospect of going mostly downhill (although not true), a donated HUGE Olive Garden pasta dinner the night before, finally leaving Florida after more than one week, crossing our first state line into Alabama, biking alongside the seashore for about half the ride, swimming at lunch in the Gulf, and a whole lot of adrenaline, it was (to my surprise) a great ride! I actually averaged higher in speed and cadence than any of the previous days on my trip. After 6 1/2 hours on my bike and 10 hours on the road (I take a lot of breaks), I finally made it! Maybe I can be a competent cyclist after all!?!

A More Typical Day on the Road

5 am - Wake up in order to beat the heat (On long days we push this time to 4 and on build days we "sleep in" until 6)
5:15 am - Realize that I am the last in bed and proceed with the morning routine: dress, pack up, breakfast, bike check (watch me embrace safety!), stretch, pretend I am not sore from yesterday's ride, angst over the day's ride, etc.
7:30ish am - Group meeting and cheer
7:35ish am - Take off. Will my muscles to move. Scold myself for not training more prior to the trip. Wonder why I thought biking cross country was feasible. Sarcastically thank Sam, the one who suggested this whole adventure, in my head.
10 minutes late (after my muscles have loosened a bit) - Remember that I can do this. And sincerely remember Sam and my supporters for making this summer possible
60-110 miles or ride spiced up with frequent breaks such as:
---Stretch, water, and lunch breaks
---Ferry Rides
---Any possible historical monument
---Flea Market, Dollar Store, Gas Station, etc. "shopping sprees" for random stuff and a lot of food
---Waffle House or other regional and exciting restaurants. Many of us have developed the ability to eat anything on the road despite the physical labor.
---State Signs are always exciting.
---Swimming Holes or Beaches
---Funny Billboards
---Libraries with free computer access
---Cemeteries
---Orchids
---Random, overly-talkative, generally crazy people
---Anything else distracting or exciting
4 pm (or before) - Arrive at school, community center, church, camp, or whatever residence of the evening
4:01 pm - proceed directly to the shower (I tried to do abs everyday after I ride, but that only last about 2 days. Sorry Will Freeman.)
4:20 pm - Pass out from exhaustion. Pass out is really the best word. I am becoming known on my trip for my ability to sleep well anywhere. What a great, marketable skill.
6 pm ish - Wake up. Scrounge for food.
7 pm - Dinner. Eat until I am overly full.
7:45 pm - No matter how much I eat for dinner. I am always still hungry. So I start to eat again. I think I average about 4-5 PB&J per day.
8 pm - Evening routine? I don't really have one. Read, sit around and talk, eat, sometimes go out, occasionally give an affordable housing presentation, watch movies, etc.
10 pm - Go to sleep again

A little girl's dress hanging from the ceiling

I am more than thankful for all our generous hosts -- churches, schools, community centers, camp grounds, etc. All of the places have been great and made me feel right at home right when I step in the door -- except for one. There was a little too much clutter, old lady curtains, ants everywhere; in short, the aura was just off. It felt like the strange setting to a bad horror flick.

A tripmate kept talking about the ghost stories of the area where we were staying which he allegedly would know about since his uncle lives nearby. Being myself, I believe every single word he says and while not very detailed, it still creeps me out a little more about where I am sleeping.

I returned home late one night from a great fish dinner to what I thought would be a room full of sleeping bikers. Instead, I find three of my room mates panicking over an old bright pink and flowerly little girl's dressing hanging from the ceiling fan. Naturally, I join in the chaos, tell everyone else I see when I go to brush my teeth, and semi-convince myself that this is all related to those ghost stories.

Still freaking out by bed time, I sleep smack against the wall and seriously consider crawling into someone else's bed for the night or sleeping in the support van outside. Luckily, I was dead asleep (as usual) before I could act on any of these genius protection plans.

I find out the next day, after wrongly blaming an innocent trip mate, that it was indeed my three room mates who placed the dress there.

Morals of the story: (1) I am so gullible and (2) life on the road is exciting.

Snakes and Gators and Road Kill ... Oh My!

3 snakes, 2 Gators, and SO MUCH road kill later, I am on my 7th day of biking. (Oh, and there was one anger, barking dog which chased me half a mile down the road one of those days.) But luckily, I am still alive and mostly functional. My quads and hams are not to eager for the 100 mile day tomorrow. But then we get the day off! I mean we get a build day which is almost relaxing in comparison with the 50-60 mile days I have been pedalling on the road.

The days switch between constant monotony and excitement depending on our location. My favorite lunch break was on the Saturday before Father's day when we stumbled on a celebration in Lake City with live animals and live music plus a couple of kiddie rides on the side. Sometimes we stop for breaks at parks or historical sites. Battle fields are a personal favorite of mine. Other times we meet people along the road like the homeless man, also biking cross country, who told a long story about his biking being stolen and a crack addict giving him a new one or the lady at the orchid who gave us a sermon right then and there.

About the basics: We stay in churches, schools, community centers, or where ever else people will take us in. (One trip, although not mine, even resided in a funeral home.) If we can not find anyone, we camp which is nice in its own right. Last night was our first camping night and the "resort" had a pool which a few of us jumped in which our jerseys, spandex, and socks still on at the end of the day. As for the roads, we have been mostly on Highway 90 which is an old, more local interstate (perhaps better put as the road less travelled by). It switches between constant trucks, traffic, etc and nowhereness where you don't see a sign, driveway, or ANYTHING for miles. And we eat lots of PB&J, donated pizza, and home cooked meals. One of the greatest things about biking all day is eating all night.

And on the note, I am off to bike home from the library, shower, and of course, begin my nightly feast.

Building like the Egyptians

The tables turned today. I was expected to put things together carefully and precisely as opposed to take them down. I was completely clueless about most aspects of today's work and need constant direction. And even when I insisted that we use the sledge for various tasks, I was shunned as crazy -- "no, that would break it." I briefly thought about arguing until I realized that the point is to make, not break. So, sorry Katie, the "when all else fails, use a sledge" rule must not be true in all places.

I spent the entire day on the roof or a ladder. Almost falling off only once -- which was completely my fault. The "sure, it will be fine to defy gravity for a moment and lean backwards on the already shaky ladder" logic is apparently slightly dangerous. But no worries Mom and Dad, a friend was there to grab my hand and pull the rest of my body onto the roof as someone ran to secure the ladder below me.

Today's entry name is attributed to a the man who taught me how to hammer really well (I promise, I already knew how to hammer) by making everything into a metaphor about pole vaulting, once a vaulter himself. His enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication was inspirational. And he taught my pod of three bikers who followed him around how to roof just like the Egyptians did.

Today we built; tomorrow we ride. Life is simple, and I love it.

Some final thoughts before I go

I am almost finished packing and getting ready to take off for two days of relaxation at the beach, then 66 days of BIKE AND BUILD.

Things I am excited about:
(1) meeting 29 other young adults passionate about affordable housing & the Gulf Coast region and crazy enough to bike cross country in the name of this cause
(2) becoming an expert on affordable housing both through our rider curriculum and hands on/real life lessons
(3) working with local, national and global non-profits like Habitat for Humanity, EDOLA-ODR, and Rebuilding Together
(4) seeing so much of my country so closely (of the 10 states and 55 destinations, the Grand Canyon and Napa Valley are definitely my two favorite destinations)
(5) giving presentations to the communities where we stay, meeting the locals, and (hopefully) passing on my excitement for affordable housing in America
(6) perfecting some sweet shorts, glove, tee-shirt, sock, etc. tan lines
(7) writing lots of letters and postcards (if i get time, I really like snail mail)
(8) biking (since this is what i am doing the majority of the time anyway) hopefully, i won't die and my skills and endurance will sky rocket.
(9) eating A LOT (i.e. becoming more of a pig than I already am) since working out all day gives me a great excuse to inhale food all night long.
(10) meeting the people -- current or future home owners -- whom my team and I serve. Through all the community work I have done, I still believe that I learn and gain more as a volunteer then the work I attempt to give despite generally self-less intentions. My most recent (and favorite) homeowner in New Orleans schooled me (and a group of Dallas executives) on financial management and the power of women. This lady's strength and knowledge was absolutely incredible.

My computer access will probably be sketchy, at best, since there will be 30 riders fighting over 1 or 2 computers. I hope to update about once a week. But this is a trip journal which will be updated daily by different riders; it can be found at http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,67/

Also, a few other riders are keeping personal blogs which should also be interesting and will probably cover things that I forget to mention. These can be found at http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,213/

San Fran or bust, baby. I'm ready!

The best post-ride snack EVER

I needed to buy bananas after one of my rides when I noticed that there are so many free samples in the super market. So, decked out in spandex, dripping in sweat, and wearing bright pink flip-flops, I wander through the produce section trying each and everyone of them. In case I don't feel sketchy enough, I notice that not one, BUT TWO, rather chubby, old men are following my footsteps doing THE EXACT SAME THING. (They, fortunately, were wearing something besides spandex.) As I got hung up at the ham station (I definitely had more than my allotted one sample), I look back and just start cracking up at one of the old men. who kindly waved his hands and told me that no one else was watching.

Mail Drops

In the case that any of you wish to send me letters and/or packages, I will have nine addresses as I travel cross country. They are the following:

Jun 21^st Milton FL

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

5111 Dogwood DR

Milton, FL 32570-9998

Jun 28^th New Orleans LA

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

610 S Maestri PL

New Orleans, LA 70130-3429

Jul 5^th Natchitoches LA

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

240 Saint Denis ST

Natchitoches, LA 71457-9998

Jul 12^th Wichita Falls Tx

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

1000 Lamar ST

Wichita Falls, TX 76301-9995

Jul 19^th Las Vegas NM

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

1900 Hot Springs Blvd

Las Vegas, NM 87701-9997

Jul 26^th Ship Rock NM

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

91 Highway 491 S

Shiprock, NM 87420-9998

Aug 2^nd Orderville, UT

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

Orderville, UT 84758

Aug 9^th Lake Tahoe CA

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

7005 N Lake Blvd

Tahoe Vista, CA 96148-9800

Aug 16^th San Francisco CA

General Delivery

C/O Bike and Build- Anna Gilbert

450 Golden Gate AVE

San Francisco, CA 94102-366

Make sure "Please hold for pick up on DATE" is marked on the letter or package. Thanks!

The First Falls

After accidentally steering into the drain basin and turning back onto the road too sharply, the two inch rim in between halted my bike but unfortunately not my body. I squeezed my eyes shut (as I usually do during intense athletic competition -- my coaches hate this), flew over my handlebars, and slid across the traffic lane. (Thankfully, no cars were near.) My eyes burst open; I grabbed my bike and literally crawled off the road to mend my wounds and calm myself down. Funny that same day, my orthopedic had told me at least five times that pole vaulting is the most dangerous sport ever but did not mention anything about the risks of biking … so, it must be very safe, right? I was fine for about another mile until I discovered a flat tire and had to walk the remaining two miles home. When I finally got home, my fearful parents were waiting on the front steps.

Since I am already struggling with the standard biking, I got clip-less petals today. It took me about an hour in a deserted church parking lot to learn to use them. I only fell twice! (Hooray!?!) Both came when I was trying to snap my shoes in and momentarily forgot about the existence of gravity. (I think this summer is going to be an unofficial lesson in basic physics principles/common sense -- you know, like momentum and gravity.) When I returned home with another bloody wound, my father kindly offered to buy me knee and elbow pads for my future rides.

Why I love New Orleans

My internal list seems to get longer and longer on each visit. Despite New Orleans' tragic current situation, the great culture still remains strong.

Reason why I love New Orleans #329: For a city of its size, New Orleans maintains the friendly, open atmosphere I have found to be rare in large cities and abundant only in small towns. The million or so people are split into about forty neighborhoods – the beautiful and historic Garden District, the hard-working middle class division called Gentilly, the University district, the Upper and Lower Ninth Wards, to list a few. And each of these are subdivided into smaller areas around major cross streets. Within these distinct neighborhoods are their own hardware store, shoe shops, and restaurants, plus the absolutely necessary po-boy and snoball stands – two types of classic New Orleanian food which I insist is only good in the city limits. (A Po-Boy in Iowa which I have unfortunately tried is definitely not up to par.) The strength of these small (often family-owned) businesses has made New Orleans one of the last cities to fend off corporate chains and big box stores.

Beyond the businesses, the atmosphere of these neighborhoods are very friendly, and some even have their own distinct accents. Basically, New Orleans maintains a small town feel while still offering the perks found in a large city – pro-league (and successful!) sports teams, business opportunities, public transit (including trolleys), the French Quarter, universities, food and shopping options, and so much more.

NOLA Trip Number Four

I scribbled this out on the kindly provided airport vomit bags (I lacked paper). It is mostly reflections about the changes and similarities which I noticed in my work and the city.

The airports are always the same. My organization (EDOLA-ODR*) is getting larger, stronger, and better organized. Every time I go back, things are just a little more impressive and they have helped another hoard of people and yet are continuing to stress about how to perfect the next stage. Rebuilt houses and well-kept lawns are no longer an abnormality. Some entire neighborhoods are coming back, and many more are trying to follow their footsteps.

Of course, you can not ignore the increasing number of empty lots which once held a home. Or the boarded up houses, abundances of for sale signs, lack of governmental involvement or citywide long-term planning, occasional entirely abandoned neighborhoods, and empty houses on every block.

The homeowner’s stories are getting sadder. The once uncomfortable FEMA trailers (meant for 2 people for 1 month) are becoming more torturous for the countless families of 4+ stuck there for the last 18+ months with no other choice. Battles with insurance companies for unaccounted for flood and homeowner’s payments have been replaces by struggles with the government’s promised Road Home money run by an impersonal computer system and uninformed telemarketers.

One of the most dramatic shifts has been from gutting to rebuilding. Gutting gave homeowners emotional closure to their pre-Katrina lives, sometimes more insurance money, easier resale process, and most importantly for many the first step of rebuilding. Last summer and the subsequent breaks, we emptied the flooded homes of the water and mold damaged belongings, tore apart the insides, and cleaned it down to the wooden support studs. Rebuilding is very different and undeniably more positive. But of the 850 homeowners whose houses my program has gutted – our program can only do about 4/month (48/year) which is very fast for construction but very slow considering the great number of people in need. On the brighter side, rebuilding helps a small bunch piece back together their homes and families along with a new life.

*Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana – Office of Disaster Response. Random, right? The program head is an Grinnell Alumna.