DirtDrift 2018: Build Days (9/14 & 9/15)

Morning Huddle with NeighborWorks

Unlike other Bike & Build trips, our build days on this trip were not spread out over the week. Due to the remoteness of the areas where we'd be biking and the general brevity of this trip, our build days were scheduled for the first two days that we'd be together in Boise, ID (9/14 & 9/15).

While our rider numbers would eventually grow to 12 in total, our first build day on Friday, 9/14, had a few less people due to scheduling and travel conflicts. Regardless of this, we went to work supporting the organization NeighborWorks and their goal of building a weather-resistant shelter for use by residents of one of their low-income apartment complexes. This would provide a safe place for children waiting for the school bus and other residents to seek shelter from the elements.

At the site, the corner posts had already been set in concrete and the materials were on their way, but nothing else had yet been done. Although we got off to a slow start with leveling the ground for paving stones, we quickly picked up the pace and by the end of the day had completed this lovely shelter:

With the shelter completed, the next day we split into two teams to volunteer at a pair of local Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations. The Habitat ReStore is a great source of home furnishings and construction materials at a low price, though sometimes they get pieces of furniture donated that are not in good shape or so outdated that they never get sold. As our supervisor said, if you wouldn't put it in your own home or the home or your siblings, parents, or grandparents, it may not be worthwhile to keep in the store.

We quickly found that there is a lot of interest in maximizing sales and turnover of donation stock at the Habitat ReStore, where proceeds from sales go to support Affordable Housing causes. Our goal there was to clear out space for new donations to come in and to help de-clutter and reorganize the display isles. The rest of the day went by very quickly as we re-arranged their showroom floor and broke down a number of old cabinets to make room for newly donated items.

With two good days of labor behind us, it is time to look towards the upcoming ride...

On The Road!

Update From The Air

...and I'm off!

As I type this, I'm currently on a plane flying somewhere over Colorado on my way to San Jose, CA then to Portland, OR. I've left the East Coast a week early so that I can join my fellow Bike & Build SUS 2014 riders Laura & Dusty at their wedding this weekend in Portland! I can't wait to celebrate with the happy couple!!

Next Friday, our DirtDrift group will start off our trip with the first of two back-to-back build days. Following this, we'll hit the road and disappear into the mountains for our 250-mile ride.

Despite the extensive cumulative experience of our group of Bike & Build alumni, I can't help but be a little nervous about this trip. Contrasted with the long days spent riding on highway and side streets in 2014, we will be out on the wilderness and expect to have little to no communication with the outside world until it is over. This will be a great test of our group dynamics and capability to deal with any incidents and accidents (hopefully not!) completely by ourselves. Nevertheless, I'm still excited!

Stay tuned for more info and pictures!!! A big thank you to everyone who has donated to my trip so far :) I am still taking donations up through the trip, so if you have some spare change please consider supporting this great cause!

DirtDrift 2018: Update

Biking the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail with the BWI Loop

Only a couple weeks now until I arrive in Boise, ID and head off on my second Bike & Build trip! We had a team meeting over the weekend and squared away some detailed trip info:

• 2 Build Days (in Boise)
• 6 Riding Days
• 250 Miles to Cover
• Camping Every Night
• Weather - Highs in 80's, Lows in 20's
• Cell service - Not likely
• Wildfires - Maybe?

As for me, I'm hurriedly getting ready for this trip along with everything else going on around here! At the suggestion of other Bike & Builders, I am using BikeFlights.com to arrange ground shipping straight to Boise and hopefully I'll have a good review to leave when my bike arrives safely via FedEx (their shipping partner). I never needed to ship my bike when I was on SUS 2014, so I'm a little nervous. My local bike shop was kind enough to give me a used bike box and somehow I managed to fit my 29er into this small box (made for a cruiser bike) during a test fit.

Attempts at Bike Packing

Well I'm home now from my 45-mile ride on the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail, adding in the BWI Loop for good measure. I was hoping to make this 60 miles but I ran short on time... Anyways, I'm quite tired and I shall say goodnight! Thanks for reading my blog!

I'm Back!

Hi friends, welcome back!! I ask that you please take the time to eventually read this whole post, but if time is short or if you want to know why now, 4 years later, I am creating a new post on this blog, go ahead and skip to the end. As always, thank you for your friendship and support!

Just over 4 years ago, I joined an amazing group of individuals on a 4220-mile trip from Jacksonville, FL to Monterey, CA. This trip was the 2014 Bike & Build Southern US (SUS) trip and it opened my eyes not only to the wonders of our great country but to the needs of those within it. All across this country, there is a significant need for decent, affordable housing. Many families lack the funds and support to have a place of their own, something which many of us take for granted. Supporting affordable housing is about helping others to fulfill the basic human need for shelter and giving them the chance to improve their own well-being.

 

On SUS 2014, our group of cyclists met many people along the way that were positively supported by affordable housing. From veterans to single-parent families, those that we met were the kindest, most gracious and welcoming people that I have ever been in contact with. I have been very fortunate to be a part of this and see firsthand the benefits that an organization like Bike & Build and its affordable housing partners can bring to the less-fortunate all across the country. 

My OTHER Ride (Rocky Mountain Trailhead 29er)

Wait, what happened to my road bike??  Well, friends, I am pleased to announce that this summer, I will be joining Bike & Build for another ride, but this time it will be on a less-paved course very far from any ocean. On September 14th, I join the  Bike & Build DirtDrift leaving out of (& returning to) Boise, Idaho!

This ride will be the first test of a future off-road Bike & Build trip and although we won't stray outside of Idaho, we are still following the same organizational goals of my 2014 trip. These include earning our 'sweat hours' on at least two affordable housing build days and raising funds for affordable housing projects. I am extremely excited to be joining Bike & Build once again on this shakedown ride and paving the way (though not literally)  for future generations of service-minded young adults to continue supporting the affordable housing cause. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for your support as I tackle this new trip!

Please feel free to follow me here for updates on the ride. Given the nature of the ride itself, I may not be able to post every day during the week-long ride (or at all), but I will have some amazing pictures after it has wrapped up. I am responsible for fundraising $700 towards this trip, so if you wish to help support me financially, please see my fundraising page at https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/1521309. Thank you once again!!

More information about this Bike & Build trip is available at https://www.classy.org/event/bike-and-build-dirtdrift/e188238.

Training For The Trip (Plainfield, NH)

Still Alive

Strange, this blog still exists.  Not to worry, I'm alive!  For many reasons, I've been caught up in a world quite outside the one of social media and online stuff... but I'm back!

My apologies to everyone that I let this drop to the wayside and never finished my stories from the road!  It has been a long time since my trip ended, but I have many fond and vivid memories of those times with my fantastic bicycling crew and I will try to take those and finish this up in the coming couple months if I can (and before classes start up again -- yup I am now deep down in the perils of grad school!) (Update: Yup, real world got the best of me and many things fell by the side. Will I ever catch up with this? Maybe...).

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support!!!!

So stay tuned and remember...
"How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something" - Kurt Vonnegut

Day 44 - Mosquero, NM

Our ride today took us into our smallest town yet! A town of just ~100 people proved to be very difficult to get to but also very interesting once there. We had an awesome ride in on some of the emptiest roads we've seen so far, feeling great with our tailwind in and stopping to climb a random windmill! Thanks to our great record keepers, we also found out that we have now completed over half of our riding distance. After a lunch stop at only the second tree we saw this morning, we continued straight into headwinds and an insanely steep uphill which had many bikers moving imperceptibly slow or walking when the need arose.

The climb was only two miles long, but it did feel like an eternity. Although the climb finally reached the top of the plateau upon which Mosquero sits, the headwinds did not recede. I rested for a while and met other riders at the top of the climb, where a water drop sat awaiting us. Eventually, Molly M and I took off to finish our ride into town... or not immediately, because we fairly quickly came across some horses on the side of the road that were keen on being petted. A quick detour to say hello to the horses and we got back on the road and worked our way to the school where we would stay the night.

After settling in, many people headed to the single convenience store in town to get some cold refreshments. While I could see that the tiny town center was incredibly nice and well kept, I didn't realize that I would spend the next two hours sitting with JB and Claire, talking with the shop owner, Jimmie, and his friend and local, Shane.

Out of all the things that we discussed, it was a little rock that I'll remember for a long time... To summarize, Shane said, "For the entirety of your life, you will be pushing a rock up a hill. God has given you a rock to push but he will never make it any larger than this (holds up small rock). It is you that makes the rock large and unwieldy. You can make the rock as big or small as you would like."

Ride partners:
Katie
Angela
Molly M

Day 43 - Clayton, NM

We've reached New Mexico! Today's ride took us out of Texas with a vicious side-wind into the small town of Clayton, NM.

Just like yesterday, we missed SC2SC by one day as they stayed in the same town (but different host). Our host this night was the First Baptist Church of Clayton. Although a very hands-off host, they had food and snacks ready for us when we arrived! Thank you!!! Unlike yesterday's showers, which were very cold, tonight's showers were fantastic! Once again we showered at the nearby school gym, but this time there was plenty of hot water to share. What a difference that makes!

Since most of us arrived early to the host, we split up to take care of errands and to explore. While a group of riders headed off to check out the nearby "Rabbit Ears" mountains, two ancient volcanoes just outside of Clayton, I toured the town and stopped by a thrift shop where some SC2SC riders had just bought their B&B prom clothes the previous day.

Affordable housing presentations tonight! Since we did not have much else to do, we decided to get our presentations out of the way. Great job everyone (we are finally done with those)! As for the rest of the night, well, we feel asleep pretty soon after that.

Ride Partners!
Emma
Liz
Connor
Hannah