Carthage to Athens 89.8 miles/101.46 miles
"There are no bad days on Bike & Build, some are just harder than others." ~B&B saying
If you had asked me at noon how the day was going, I would have told you it was my worst day ever. Eight hours later it had become one of my favorites. We started out the day at the MacPherson's with a wonderful breakfast and a great surprise. Today was scavenger hunt day!!! I have been looking forward to this almost as long as I have been looking forward to B&B. We were given a lost of 34 different prompts and we needed to take a picture for each of them. Some of the ideas were "best Chuck Norris look-alike" "best upside down" "gas station mayhem" "picture with stranger-bonus if hugging stranger-double bonus if kissing stranger" "best animal photo-bonus if armadillo-double bonus if alive armadillo" "best donation magic" ect. All creative and all lots of fun. We were split into teams. My team included Kelsey, Kenan, Grant, Lynsey, and Josh A. We started off well with a Chuck Norris picture, stopped at a gas station where we had a stick-up with water guns and Grant got a kiss from the cashier, then on to a farm to get tractor pictures. As we approached the back door to ask permission a very angry man came out an asked us what we were doing on his property. It being Texas, we were a little concerned, but Lynsey told him we were doing a photo scavenger hunt and asked of we could take a picture on his tractor. Expecting a "no" we all half turned around, but the man's demeanor changed immediately. "Of course!" He asked us more about what we were doing and where we were from, then told us to go ahead and take the photos. We posed on the tractors, tried to cajole the donkeys into coming close enough to pet (kinda worked), then spent some time with the horses. As we were walking away, the man came out again and said "wheres that girl from Michigan I was talking to?" everyone pointed at me and the man said "you need to have some Texas" then handed me the most ginormous garlic plant I have ever seen. It was bigger than a softball and still had the stalk attached. I thanked him and then rode the remaining ten mile to lunch holding garlic in my hands. We stopped at a dollar store to get more photos and ended up getting our picture taken for the paper and I got interviewed about Bike&Build :) another high was getting tojump around on a trampoline while we took our upside down shots. At lunch we made the decision to pause the hunt until 2nd lunch because we still had 60 miles and it was already 12pm.
That's when things got hard. My team was separated since we didn't need to be together for photos anymore, but all of the people who ride my speed were either way ahead or way behind me. I ended up alone for most of the thirty miles to 2nd lunch with rising temperatures and some of the worst winds that we have seen yet. I kept pushing, hoping I would find someone or that things would get easier, but neither happened. I got in a mind funk, where I kept fuming over little things, which just made me more and more unhappy. At mile 55 I stopped to take a picture of the bank sign that said "103 degrees." I followed that up with a couple miles of a sobbing pity party on the road. I didn't want to stop moving, but I was just angry and frustrated. After feeling like my cycling skills were continually improving in Florida and Louisiana, Texas was making me feel like a failure. I stopped at a gas station for some water. The woman inside was really nice, even though I was a little crazy :) She got me ice and convinced me to stay and cool down before venturing out again. We chatted for a little bit, until I was calmer and less shaky. As I set out another group of cyclists were passing, so I hopped into their group. It worked out great because we were headed right down the biggest street in town (think 28 St in Grand Rapids area). Being in a big group makes it a lot safer in those situations because the cars have to see us and respect us. Halfway through town a red SUV dropped in behind and started flashing his four ways. It turns out that the president of the Texas cycling club happened to see us on the road and wanted to make sure we were safe so he became our unofficial chase car. He followed us for five miles all the way to second lunch. After such a horrible afternoon it meant a lot to me that he took the time out of his day to protect us.
Second lunch was quick because we had been told that we needs to be to the host by 6:30 at the latest or we would have to be picked up by the van. It was 3:30 and I wanted to be as far away as possible if the van started picking people up. I had not suffered through 30 miles of mental madness to be picked up by the van in the end. I think most of my worries and anguish were about the possibility of being picked up by the van.
I set out again with Coleman, Lynsey,Corey and Kristina. After a few miles Kristina decided that she needed to be picked up, so Corey waited with her and the rest of us kept trekking. We pushed our way through six miles of winding, windy uphills but when it came time to turn, there were no roads to turn onto. We had missed a turn! Ahhh! Because of a huge lake, the only way to get to Athens was to backtrack six miles. I was just so tired and so scared of being vanned for taking too long. We booked it back to the turn where sweeps and Corey were waiting for us. Corey had seen us miss the turn but couldn't get our attention. We decided to push on an try to make it even though it was 6:00. Up and down, down and up we went over hills that lasted two miles. Corey was riding with me up one particularly nasty slope, when out of nowhere a giant black lab lunged at us. The rational side of my mind had left me back at mile 30 so I did the first thing that came to my mind. Instead of yelling "stay!" or "sit!" or squirting warm Gatorade in it's face, I screamed. Full out shrieked at it! I think I stunned the dog because it halted in it's tracks, but that is probably not the right way to handle dog attacks. We pushed on through the never-ending hills. Christine C and Dre did a wonderful job as sweeps, encouraging me up the hills. I think that it became one of my favorite days because i really tested my limits and went beyond them. At 8pm we finally made it to the church where the rest of the team was waiting to give us a spirit tunnel and lots of food. We were also met with a great surprise, homestays! Each of us was going to spend the night with a church member and one or two other B&B'ers. Bwalsh and I spent the night with Toni. She let us use her shower and did our laundry for us. Her daughter even made us a cake and wrote a note to us since she was away. I slept in her daughters room and Bwalsh slept in her sons room. Sleeping on real beds was a special treat. It was a great way to end an interesting day.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Texas!
Grand Cane, LA to Carthage, TX 89.7 miles
A longish day. We started with so much excitement. We were goof to Texas after a long time in LA. Not that Louisiana isn't a great state, bit we were all looking forward to the next state line. Coleman was especially happy to go back to his home state. Before we could reach the line at mile 19 we had a few hills and valleys to cross slowly but surely. Right before we reached the border we saw a church with a particularly appropriate sign out front. "Dream no small dream" was all that it said. Most of us took pictures in front of it then headed to the border. Waiting to welcome us into the motherland was Coleman wearing his Texas shorts and wielding a giant flag tied to a log he had found on the side of the road. Everyone gathered at the border for photos and memories. We decided to do something epic like a 4 story pyramid with the flag on top...so we did it :) I was on the third story of the pyramid and it was very interesting. We had to take three attempts to get it right, but eventually Coleman and his flag managed to scramble to the top of the formation and we had our pyramid!
The rest of the day was fairly normal (as much as biking across the country can be normal!) until we got to Carthage. We stopped to look at a tea house, but got distracted by a village museum on the third floor. They had all sorts of old stuff that had been donated to them including a 75 year old braid of hair, several army uniforms and a giant neon "GAS" sign. We found a perfect double for Coleman in on of he pictures on the wall then moved on to explore the town. We went to the fudge shop and a few other places before taking over the Mexican restaurant. We had 28 of the 33 of us at this restaurant(a few had skipped the town and gone directly to the hosts) . It was super good and delicious. We finally left and headed out to the McPherson's. Their daughter did SUS a few years ago and they have hosted the group ever since. The last 6 miles were hard. We had just eaten a lot, were facing headwinds, and having our first experiences with chipseal. A cheap way to pave Texas road is chipseal, where they basically just put a thin layer of tar down, then cover it with gravel. The tar keeps the gravel in place, but it's cheaper than a straight tar road. However, it is far from ideal for bikes...mmmm.... Makes for quite the bumpy road. Arriving at the host, I played with their dogs, swam in the neighbors pool and showered before falling asleep on a pull out sofa.
A longish day. We started with so much excitement. We were goof to Texas after a long time in LA. Not that Louisiana isn't a great state, bit we were all looking forward to the next state line. Coleman was especially happy to go back to his home state. Before we could reach the line at mile 19 we had a few hills and valleys to cross slowly but surely. Right before we reached the border we saw a church with a particularly appropriate sign out front. "Dream no small dream" was all that it said. Most of us took pictures in front of it then headed to the border. Waiting to welcome us into the motherland was Coleman wearing his Texas shorts and wielding a giant flag tied to a log he had found on the side of the road. Everyone gathered at the border for photos and memories. We decided to do something epic like a 4 story pyramid with the flag on top...so we did it :) I was on the third story of the pyramid and it was very interesting. We had to take three attempts to get it right, but eventually Coleman and his flag managed to scramble to the top of the formation and we had our pyramid!
The rest of the day was fairly normal (as much as biking across the country can be normal!) until we got to Carthage. We stopped to look at a tea house, but got distracted by a village museum on the third floor. They had all sorts of old stuff that had been donated to them including a 75 year old braid of hair, several army uniforms and a giant neon "GAS" sign. We found a perfect double for Coleman in on of he pictures on the wall then moved on to explore the town. We went to the fudge shop and a few other places before taking over the Mexican restaurant. We had 28 of the 33 of us at this restaurant(a few had skipped the town and gone directly to the hosts) . It was super good and delicious. We finally left and headed out to the McPherson's. Their daughter did SUS a few years ago and they have hosted the group ever since. The last 6 miles were hard. We had just eaten a lot, were facing headwinds, and having our first experiences with chipseal. A cheap way to pave Texas road is chipseal, where they basically just put a thin layer of tar down, then cover it with gravel. The tar keeps the gravel in place, but it's cheaper than a straight tar road. However, it is far from ideal for bikes...mmmm.... Makes for quite the bumpy road. Arriving at the host, I played with their dogs, swam in the neighbors pool and showered before falling asleep on a pull out sofa.
Sweeps!
Nachitoches to Grand Cane
Today was my first sweep day. Jillian and I rode at the back of the pack to make sure that everyone made it to the host safely. We carry a spare tire, some extra tubes and a "medical kit" also known as a very squished box of band aids. We have to make sure that everyone stays in front of us and makes it to the host with minimal problems. Everyone on the team sweeps at least three times. I am also sweeping into Kaibib,AZ with Tiffany, Zion National Park, UT with Dre, and Delano, CA with Alex.
The day started with breakfast at the university cafeteria. We had pancakes and fresh fruit! They also had a cheer/dance camp happening on campus, which made our breakfast all the more interesting. 33 B&Bers, 100 Cheerleaders, 50 dancers and 10 campus police make for an interesting looking crew at the breakfast table. But Southern US is an exceptional group and we even managed to magic a police escort off campus. We gathered the group, then rode off after he police car...even if he did make a wrong turn that caused a half mile detour. Nothing like starting the day off on an exciting foot. We made it a few miles down the road before the first flat tire. Jillian and I stopped and waited for them to change it, then waited a little longer to give ourselves more time. We traveled on down the road until we saw a group stopped at an alligator bus. We went a mile down the road only to learn that alligator alley is not open at 8am on a tuesday. What a shock...it so strange when I run into businesses that aren't open because I have been up and functioning for the last 3 hours. We decided not to wait for it to open at 10 and went on our way. We rode a bit further before coming upon Brettly and Richard napping in the grass. We joined in on the napping for 30 minutes before setting off again. The next city was a few miles before lunch so we stopped to fill water bottles at a feed store. I got to play with the store cats which was nice. We finally got to lunch where we helped clean up then continued on. We stopped for a few more things before arriving in the tiny town of Grand Cane. This was the smallest city hat we have been to yet with only a few hundred people in the area. We stayed at the First Baptist Church where we had a great potluck with the church members. Dinner crew also put on an amazing presentation for the church members during their Wednesday night service. After church was the weekly family meeting, then off to bed.
Today was my first sweep day. Jillian and I rode at the back of the pack to make sure that everyone made it to the host safely. We carry a spare tire, some extra tubes and a "medical kit" also known as a very squished box of band aids. We have to make sure that everyone stays in front of us and makes it to the host with minimal problems. Everyone on the team sweeps at least three times. I am also sweeping into Kaibib,AZ with Tiffany, Zion National Park, UT with Dre, and Delano, CA with Alex.
The day started with breakfast at the university cafeteria. We had pancakes and fresh fruit! They also had a cheer/dance camp happening on campus, which made our breakfast all the more interesting. 33 B&Bers, 100 Cheerleaders, 50 dancers and 10 campus police make for an interesting looking crew at the breakfast table. But Southern US is an exceptional group and we even managed to magic a police escort off campus. We gathered the group, then rode off after he police car...even if he did make a wrong turn that caused a half mile detour. Nothing like starting the day off on an exciting foot. We made it a few miles down the road before the first flat tire. Jillian and I stopped and waited for them to change it, then waited a little longer to give ourselves more time. We traveled on down the road until we saw a group stopped at an alligator bus. We went a mile down the road only to learn that alligator alley is not open at 8am on a tuesday. What a shock...it so strange when I run into businesses that aren't open because I have been up and functioning for the last 3 hours. We decided not to wait for it to open at 10 and went on our way. We rode a bit further before coming upon Brettly and Richard napping in the grass. We joined in on the napping for 30 minutes before setting off again. The next city was a few miles before lunch so we stopped to fill water bottles at a feed store. I got to play with the store cats which was nice. We finally got to lunch where we helped clean up then continued on. We stopped for a few more things before arriving in the tiny town of Grand Cane. This was the smallest city hat we have been to yet with only a few hundred people in the area. We stayed at the First Baptist Church where we had a great potluck with the church members. Dinner crew also put on an amazing presentation for the church members during their Wednesday night service. After church was the weekly family meeting, then off to bed.
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