Day 12 - De Funiak Springs

That awesome host that I mentioned that served us dinner on Memorial Day? Oh yeah, they took out one step farther by making our first hot breakfast of French toast and sausage. To a rider that has been having cold breakfasts so far, that is quite awesome!

Today's ride to De Funiak Springs was rough, I'll admit. There were some hills that really took it out of all of us. With a lunch break a little further down the road than we expected, we had definitely pushed our bodies a little too far too fast, but it's all good! :) On an even more positive note, we stopped to take pictures on hay bales only 5 miles away from the host, so that was lots of fun! (Pics to come)

Our hosts here at the East Baptist Church once again showed just how awesome hosts can be. With homemade spaghetti and sauce (and fabulous sweet tea), we stuffed ourselves to the gills tonight before relaxing to listen to a live concert by the church band put on just for us. That was just so cool and a perfect end to a challenging day. Thanks! Goodnight :)

Day 11 - Panama City

Wool! Panama City! I think all of us have heard about Panama City and have a certain preconceived notion of the crazy partying that happens there during spring break season. That was my thought at least.

What we did find when we arrived was that we were not in the party city I expected (which is actually Panama City Beach... 15 miles away), but a much more relaxed city without the glitz and glamour of resorts and bars. Today we passed the time zone change, so with a fast ride in and an extra hour, we had some time to kill. My riding partner, Hannah, and I were definitely looking forward to some Mexican food ( hopefully at a beach bar), but since we were not at "The Beach," there were no beach bars/restaurants around. Instead we found ourselves at an awesome authentic Mexican restaurant with some delicious burritos! It took a while to find an open place, with it being Memorial Day and all, but it was worth it in the end.

By the way, on the ride in, we stopped at possibly the best lunch stop ever! We stopped in an eerily quite condo community right on the water, bit that meant that we got to enjoy a rest stop with shade, actual toilets and running water, and a pristine beach where everyone went swimming after lunch. Did I mention that we saw a pod of dolphins and a stingray out in the water? Quite cool.

At the host, we were once again graciously welcomed in and well fed, this time by former and current service members that should have been relaxing on a day dedicated to their service to the country. The lasagna dinner was fantastic and I am definitely looking forward to seconds for lunch tomorrow! Thank you for hosting us, feeding us, and for your service to the country. You are truly inspirational!

Day 10 - Apalachicola

How could I be more wrong?! Okay, let's back up a second....

Prior to this trip, reach rider must investigate 1-2 cities to present to the group. This presentation happens in the morning of the ride to the city, so everyone knows what to expect and where to go or what cool things to see, not to mention the current state of affordable housing in that city. Mine were Tallahassee and Apalachicola.

In my research, I read news of a town that seemed to be not doing quite well, because of a declining oyster population (their main industry). While this still seems true, the town still looks great and is an extremely friendly and hospitable town. While i expected a rundown town, it is the essence of a quaint and friendly town, with beautiful streets, homes, and a location on the water. After we arrived, Hannah and I went for a swim with some local children underneath the bridge that we just rode over, which in itself was a very fun and hilarious adventure. Before dinner, we went out for some coffee and to look around. We ended up at a small local restaurant/bar and enjoyed some excellent craft beers and a delicious crab dip. When we finally made it back to the host site, our nostrils were filled by the smell of the delicious low country boil that our wonderful hosts made for us. Can I say delicious? Oh yeah... it was all that and more.

All in all said, I think that Apalachicola has far exceeded my expectations and I will remember that small town of less than 3000 people for a long time.

Day 9 - Build Day 2 - Good News Outreach

Woohoo, build day!!! You know what that means, right? We got to sleep in! Our bodies will probably never get used to the torture of Bike and Build sleep hours, so we make do with getting as much sleep as we can whenever we can. Every day has a different wakeup time, based on time expected at our next host and distance to ride that day (or if it is a build day).

What did we do today with Good News Outreach? GNO has a large number of permanent single-wide homes that are earmarked as affordable rentals particularly towards single parent families, all located on a large parcel of land. They've discovered a termite infestation on one home in the wooden support for the under-home fencing, which could lead to termite infestation of the entire home. Our task was to create an air gap so that there is no way for termites to migrate to the home. This meant lots of sawing and cutting existing wood and installing some new exterior molding pieces.

Not only did GNO provide breakfast for us in the morning, but they also provided lunch and dinner! We have not yet had an organization provide all three, and we are extremely grateful and full because of it. Thanks!

That's it for now... Tomorrow, Apalachicola!!

Day 8 - Tallahassee, FL

We've arrived in Tallahassee!

With consensus of the group, we took a detour on the way into town for some frozen yogurt. One of the things that happens on these trips is called "donation magic" (DM), when random people and businesses supply our group with free food, supplies, and service. Every one of these helps us Dave money and give more to affordable housing. In this vein, some thanks must go out to the folks at Nuberri for free froyo, to Panera Bread that gave us a large box of their excess bread for us to eat on our trip, and finally to the wonderful couple that drive our 20 lb box of Panera to the host site.



Although we got slightly lost and had to climb a couple massive hills on our way to tonight's host, the froyo was definitely worth it! We are staying tonight and tomorrow night at the Westley Foundation house, who were also kind enough to provide us with a wonderful dinner! Thanks guys!

An ode to Tallahassee:

Oh Tallahassee
your hills so high
Froyo so delicious
Colleen really did cry.

52 miles we rode
To reach your one way streets
Trying not to think
Of the pain upon our seats.

You've welcomed us in
With free yogurt, smoothies, and bread
And gave us a comfortable place
To lay our heads.

Our new friends from FSU
Made sure that we were all set.
With food, showers, and sleep
We are ready for all the rest!

Day 7 - Perry, FL

Another long day and another great evening off of the bike! We changed things up a little bit today and ended up camping instead of staying indoors. Thank goodness the weather was nice and there was no rain!

We stayed at the Perry KOA campground, which (as a bonus) has a pool and a mini golf course in addition to all other amenities. Once again, the cool pool water was incredibly soothing on hot and tired bodies and we all perked up a little bit following our dip in the pool. Also once again, our hosts at the campground provided us with dinner, for which we were incredibly grateful. The salad and lasagna went over quite well!

Day 6 - Lake City, FL

80 Miles! The longest bike ride that we've done yet on this trip and the longest bike ride that I've ever gone on.

How could a host be more considerate to the pains of 33 bicyclists traveling 80 miles? Popsicles of course! After rolling in, exhausted and overheated, we were greeted at the door by our host with popsicles in have and a van ready to drive us to the pool and showers! Not only did we get this wonderful treatment but also had a fantastic meal of taco salad. So delicious! I'm definitely feeling ready for tomorrow!

Day 5 - Palatka

Rolling in from a significantly larger city, (St Augustine), the change to a much smaller town today has been quite the difference. As we rode through the farm fields full of potatoes and corn, I was reminded strongly of my hometown of Jamesport, NY.

As always, we find fun ways to pass the time during our ride days. Although today was a shorter day, we found the time to climb a fire tower, what a view!





Even time for some goofing off...



What can I say about Palatka? While it is a very small town, the town is very quaint and nice. Immediately upon our arrival, we got a tour of all of the town's grand murals on the sides of old buildings by one of our hosts.

By the way, Laura might have gotten in a little bit of trouble in town...



Just kidding!

Our hosts this night set us up in their church (air conditioning!) and provided us with a lovely spaghetti dinner.  I cannot describe how great a home cooked meal tastes these days!  I'm glad to be carbo loaded for tomorrow's 80 mile ride!

As this trip goes on, I continue to be very amazed and impressed by the stories and varied pasts of all of our riders. Each and every one comes from quite a different background, but everyone is getting along great! I daresay that this group has done of the best group dynamic that I've ever seen or heard of, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of this summer plays out.

Day 4 - St Augustine

How exciting is this?! We took off from Jacksonville today on our cross-country ride!!! We started the morning with a group wheel dip in the Atlantic Ocean as we prepared to cross the country. Although our trip will end far too soon, for right now, the Pacific wheel dip seems years away.









On our way to St Augustine, we cruised down a beautiful stretch of A1A along the beach and nature preserves. With clear skies and 90 degrees, today was an awesome ride! No problems today!

Day 3 - Orientation Day 2

Bike safety and maintenance! Today we went over bicycle safety and maintenance, some extra B&B orientation stuff, and went for a bike ride!

Our "shakedown ride" took us 20 miles through the beautiful Atlantic Beach area ofa Jacksonville. Only two flats for the group and a great ride completed!



We're off tomorrow! So excited!!

Day 2 - Build Day 1

Things are getting real! Today we spent the day with Beaches Habitat in Jacksonville, FL, helping to work on three separate duplex housing units. Each one was in a different state of construction, giving us many different jobs to do. The most finished house is expected to be opened in mid June! Josiah and I were on siding duty, with some occasional help from our awesome group leader Claire (but really, all 4 leaders are awesome!).



We're all cleaned up and awaiting dinner and our evening bike safety meeting, so I'll sign off now and enjoy the rest of my birthday :)

Day 1 - My Adventure Has Begun

And I'm off! Day 1 of my 80 day Bike and Build summer has come to an end and now I'm laying here looking forward to tomorrow! Already I've had a great time and met some awesome people, so all is well :)

We had a great time driving down from Stevensville, MD to Jacksonville, FL over the last couple days. After an overnight stay in Charleston (where we enjoyed a short bike ride and some celebratory pre-trip drinks down by the ocean). Five people with bags and bikes all in a Chevy Tahoe made the final push from Charleston to Jacksonville today, where we arrived in style and got right to work with orientation!



To everyone who had supported me and donated to the cause, I'd like to send out a huge thank you straight to you! Bike & Build promises to provide an awesome summer of doing good and I really couldn't do it without you. Thank you from the bottom if my heart!!!