Cheers!, Spills, and lots of Spandex.

June 26th, Coudersport PA

 Where to begin? The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of new faces, chain grease, and never ending rolling hills. Burn baby burn. Just keep spinning just keep spinning just keep spinning.

 Orientation went by fast as we bonded with one another, learned what it takes to be a Bike and Builder, and became one with our bikes. I've also acquired the skill of packing my life into a twenty-one gallon bin, sleeping on a thermarest/glorified blow up mattress, and ingesting an insane amount of carbohydrates. The life of a Bike and Builder is perfect for a recent college grad- eat, ride, eat, ride, eat, chill, sleep. Repeat. Build days are slightly different as we eat, ride, build, eat, build, ride, eat, sleep. I think I can get used to this..

 While the days have begun to blur together, I can say that my experience with Bike and Build has been nothing but positive. I couldn't ask for a more loving, open, adventurous, supportive, and warm hearted team. We come from all walks of life and many areas of the country, but have united under the common goal of *being crazy* riding bikes across the country. We have devoted our summers to social justice, and to shedding light on the need for affordable housing. 

 Though I don't have any truly epic ride stories yet, I can say that I haven't laughed this much in ages. Every day is a new adventure, turning the pages in this new chapter of my life. So far I've tackled massive Connecticut hills, met Ted Danson (!!), eaten loads of ice cream, clipped in and out of my pedals without falling, clipped in and out of my pedals and fallen, and spend one hysterical night out in Ithaca. I've learned to appreciate Chammy butter and all of its glory, sweet tan lines, and think its totally normal to wear spandex for the majority of the day. Real people clothes? Psh..who needs those.

 Unforunately most of my time has been spent out of the saddle and in our beloved van, Hermen. My baby still needs a name. We're working on it.. 
I started off day three feeling awesometastic, rocking the hills, and flying through the countryside. While my group had the misfortune of arriving at a damn after the cops had yelled at Bike and Build (no swimming for us..), we took lots of pictures and enjoyed our ride. 
In short, there was a miscommunication and I was one of two riders involved in a collision, which has resulted in my fractured left elbow.

BUT! I'm staying positive and enjoying the ride from the passenger's side. I'll be back in the saddle as soon as physically possible, starting with half days and working my way up to full rides. I've got one sexy elbow brace and have been pounding the ibuprofen. Yeehaw. Hopefully I'm getting my bad luck out of the way early and will ride like the wind through the west. This could have been so much worse.

 So stay tuned as we leave the Northeast and I being my descent into unexplored territory. Once I figure out my new camera I'll post some of my best pictures, and more musings from the journey.

Cheers, and thanks for following...
Muffin

Ps. I LOVE MAIL DROPS!