Against the Wind

Casper, Wyoming

 I cannot get over how beautiful our country is. And I can think of no way to fully articulate this. So there you have it. 'Murica, you're really freakin' pretty.

 Let's see..what's happened in the past week or so:
-I rescued our life size cardboard cut out of Chubaka from the local authorities at a lunch stop. Apparently his presence was not welcome tied to their street signs.. rolled in just in time.
-We've stayed in some pretty small towns, and a few rather large cities. For instance, Lake Andes SD vs Casper WY. The other day we rode through a town with a population of 4. I don't think they could have handled us. 

- Our 102 mile day into Martin, SD easily stands as my favorite riding day thus far. Together with Caley and Collyn, I rode through the Rosebud reservation. This land is alive. The morning was rather eerie as clouds hung low in the sky as far as the eye can see and the bush was cast with a gray shadow. This air of mystery and power was very intriguing and we rode swiftly into lunch some 40 miles past our starting point. We were parked on the campus of a Lakota College and I spoke briefly with a man named Buck who gave and a few other Bike and Builders feathers. Post lunch we faced rain and heavy mist. This was incredibly challenging and it felt like we weren't moving at all. Once the storm broke we were greeted by stunning rolling hills and gorgeous golden prairie. We were challenged by long climbs and headwind until second lunch, which was in the middle of a cattle ranch. While I'm not quite sure how to describe this landscape, I was incredibly moved by this ride. There is much to be said about the area and the history of the Lakota people. I am fortunate to have had this day and to experience the power of the land. 

-I love Bike and Build. Never again will I be able to consume a cheeseburger, fries, and milkshake like a bowl of cereal.  
- In honor of the man that tried repeatedly to draft off of my in Ohio, my friends and I have started Fat Man Friday. Every five miles we ride with our buts up and knees out. Quite the sight.

-We showered in a fire house in Martin, SD after that 102 mile ride. Way too much fun!
-Have I mentioned the headwind? Holy headwind. Nothing like this in the Northeast that's for sure. I've spend a lot of time on my drop bars just to cut down on the resistance but man has this been work latelly. Honestly I'd take hills over this any day but the picturesque landscape has my heart. In a year I won't remember the fatigue or my intermittent crankiness, but the perfection of the rolling golden hills and remarkable sunsets.
-Our day off in Chatom, Nebraska was much needed and we enjoyed the day exploring town and relaxing in coffee shops. After a chance encounter at the Safeway grocery store, a few friends and I spent the evening sitting around a campfire with a couple who had essentially pedaled across the world in the late 80s. Over hott brownies and ice cream we chatted about our experiences, but mostly listened to their incredible and inspiring stories.  I'm totally stoked to continue riding post bike and build and exploring this world from the saddle, but no worries mom and dad, I won't spend three years traversing Asia or taking the Trans-Siberian rail to an unknown destination. Seriously, Steve and Cheryl had done it all. And then some. If you're interested in a good story when I return ask about the legend of Hans. Its a good one..

In all seriousness this was an incredibly fortuitous night that gave us all a breath of fresh air and some much needed inspiration. 
-Today marked our latest build day and I found myself doing all sorts of stuff from breaking concrete, moving dirt, filling in holes, hammering, chalking, to putting up tar paper around the foundation. We made some serious progress on the site and Casper's Habitat was certainly excited to have us. 
-We're in Jackalope country. No really, I swear some people think he's real.
- The other night we spend an afternoon on a Ranch! Horses, baby pigs, cows, and a home cooked meal. So content. 
-Bike and Build Wedding!! Yes, in honor of Erin and Duncan we threw a beautiful, sunset, mock wedding in a local park last night. Decked in biking apparel we sang and danced the night away after a very multicultural, overthetop, cake and sparkling cider included, ceremony.

 Cheers!
Muffin

We ride for Paige

We're Halfway There

Yankton, South Dakota


Miles: 1952/3947
Days: 39/70
Build Days: 6
Rest Days: 1


 We've reached our halfway point with less than 35 days until we reach Seattle. It seems like yesterday I met Ted Danson in Kent, CT! Weren't we just in Ithaca? This summer has flown especially fast as we're removed from any typical summer routine, and society in general through the Bike and Build bubble. While the milage remains a bit daunting with the daily distances growing longer I would say that P2S can only grow more amazing. 

P2S Prom 2011

 Amazing. Unfortunately I revert to this word all too often. While in the saddle I feel so expressive and eloquent, yet I find myself searching for words when faced with a keyboard.

Spa night. So needed.

Today we  crossed the Missouri into South Dakota in route from Sioux City Iowa. Its unbelievable how far we've come in such a short amount of time. South Dakota. I'm in South Dakota! Today was perfect, and I was transfixed by beauty of meadows, distant hills, and the sky with its many shades of blue. The moon was still visible in the bright morning sky and mist rose from the fields. My riding buddy and I stopped numerous times for photo ops and it seems the whole team was just, well, happy.


 Iowa was quite the experience, though I'm glad to be riding into new lands. Whoever said Iowa was flat was entirely wrong. Talk about some climbs! Many of us broke personal records, riding distances of 100 and 108 miles in the same week. From wind ravaged houses to overwhelming 100+ degree heat we've seen and done it all. For the past week we've been waking up at between 4:30 and 5:30 to beat the heat. I think this brings new meaning to being a "morning person."Many riders, including myself, were a bit overcome by the heat. We had a few bonking* and Herman was a full and stinky van. We're all ok now though it took gallons of gatorade and lots of naps. Overall I loved the riding, give me hills over headwind any day. 

Wind destruction in Iowa.

Herman braves the Iowa roads. Will he make it?

 Our last build was very productive as we worked on two separate houses. I spent the morning scraping paint and priming. This included successfully climbing a ladder. :-)


 Cheers,
Muffin


*Bonking: Experienced by cyclists and endurance athletes across the globe, a phenomenon in which you're pretty much just donezo. Sometimes you just can't stop crying, sometimes you're too hott, sometimes you're seeing Rambod riding a unicorn. Time to get off your bike. 

Greetings from the Midwest

Ames, Iowa

 While I realized internet access would be limited during our time on the road, I failed to anticipate the deadly combination of slow connections and my increasing fatigue post ride. But I'm back!!

Frolicking in Ohio fields of gold.

 The past two weeks have been a complete whirlwind with everything blending together as one long day in the saddle. I've pedaled from Ohio to the middle of Iowa in what seems like no time at all. Is this real life? The change in landscape has been incredible. We've gone from rolling hills to flat as the eye can see, farm after farm after farm. The Midwest is a never ending expanse of corn. Soy. Corn. Cow. Corn. Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa have roads that form a massive state wide grid system, so we've been riding on the likes of 1100 N, and 950W. Be careful, make sure to turn onto 750 E once you pass the intersection of 800 N and 2350W. You'll pass the smelly farm and the wind turbines. Can't miss it! We're not in Ithaca anymore..  

Turbine photoshoot

 Honestly the rides have been beautiful and I've become accustomed to the terrain. I've never seen so many wind turbines, and they'll just never get old. So cool. It has also been quite interesting to put my Ithaca education to use and discuss agribusiness and sustainability with my fellow riders. We're always passing patent signs along the corn fields, and I shudder at the sight of factory farms.



 As we move farther west our mileage increases dramatically. For instance, within three days of being back in the saddle I rode 95 miles. Whew. By the last fifteen I was seriously questioning my life choices and drafting off of my fabulous leader Colin, who was also wondering why it was a good idea to sign up for this. 75 miles no feels like nothing, and the 45 we did today seems like it never happened. On the 8th we completed our first century, an awesome accomplishment, but a rather depressing day as we rode through wind ravaged towns. I've never seen anything like this, and it was quite disheartening to say the least. Barns completely destroyed, corn blow down, debris everywhere. We at lunch next to a house that had been blown 20 feet forward from its foundation. We came through just days after the storm, and immediately after the area had been declared a disaster zone.

 On a lighter note..
-We crashed a 4th of July parade in Liberty, Ohio. 

New friend

-I was able to meet up with two long lost study abroad friends in West Lafeyette, Indiana and Gilman, Illinois. Vienna was machst du? Both were wonderful evenings spend reminiscing and catching up while getting the grand tour of the area. I love you Tia and Christina!

Team jukebox at the border!

-I love eating as much as humanly possible on a daily basis
-I may or may not have swan sans shammies in a random Iowa river..
-My friend Kelly and I had coffee, with soy milk(!!!) at a hippy shop in Mount Vernon
-The community center/middle school/thrift shop/gym/library we stayed at had a dance studio! Stretching my legs and getting my Irish on felt great..
-We crossed the Mississippi River. Enough said.
- We stayed in a YMCA that hasn't changed since 1962 and got our butts whipped by some teenagers and ten year olds at dodge ball. No seriously, I had a welt on my thigh the next morning. I almost peed my pants laughing so hard when the game began, these kids just weren't real. I swear there's something in the corn.. 

About to go down. Real hard.

-The last Harry Potter was incredible, as was watching it with 33 20 somethings.
-We've had our best build day yet! Two houses side by side got a complete facelift from the inside out. I spent some quality time siding a house, its amazing to see how much our group gets done. While I was six feet was initially too high, I conquered some eight foot scaffolding. Big day.  

Bloomington, Illinois build site

-The Bike and Build prom was a complete success. Not only did my date Alex say yes, but she did so by sharpying this on the back of her newly shaved head. Ohh yah. And we were Batman and Catwoman. 
-Amazing rides are made even more fulfilling as well tell each other "life stories" and become closer and closer each day. I can't describe what a beautiful experience this has been and will only become. 

Cheers,
Muffin

Back in the Saddle

July 5th, Dayton Ohio


 Three days down, and I've ridden nearly two hundred miles. I can't begin to express what a rush this has been. On Saturday I started twenty-five miles out of Kenyon College and sailed through the rolling hills of rural Ohio. I felt at home as we passed farm after farm, the smell of cow in the air. Oh..upstate NY. While I nearly collapsed walking my bike up the first hill we encountered- 13% grade? Not possible when you're broken and out of shape (my leader walked too so its totally cool here)- I felt very strong and steady. The highlight of my ride had to be being passed by a horse and buggy. While this was entirely terrifying, there's nothing like riding a narrow shoulder with a horse on your immediate left and cars right next to him. Phew. Needless to say we actually blew them off and it was smooth sailing from there. We were even joined by a deer as she ran across a corn field, she was with us for what seemed like forever. So, this is going to sound terribly Muffinish, but I felt like I was coming alive and was completely connected with the world around me and beings both human and wild. 
  I digress. We- I should qualify this, I rode with Collyn S. and my leader Collin P., a pretty kick ass team, and I couldn't have done it without their encouragement, especially after that first killer hill- rode into campus and immediately devoured the best blackberry pie I have ever had. With our hands.


   After blissful night spent in real dorm beds I rode sweep to Columbus. With my bum clad in superman undies (Tim, my sweep partner was Batman) we flew across the flatlands and 64 miles felt pretty awesome. Peanut butter and jelly with M&Ms made for a fantastic lunch.


  A few friends and I made the trek to Germantown and were able to DM* free beer simply because we're with Bike and Build and have some pretty sick tan lines. Excellent night.


  The ride from Columbus to Dayton was certainly not easy, and felt like work. While Ohio is flat it packs a pretty heavy punch with headwinds. Thankfully most of the day was spent on bike trails (Ohio actually has trails running entirely across the state) and I was able to work with my teammates to beat the wind. Again, I have to thank the wonderful and strong women I rode with for providing some much needed encouragement and support. Towards the end I got a bit loopy and started singing a made up German drinking song that sounded something like "Shnizten und witzen und groessen und grotzen.." while standing on my pedals to alleviate the extreme amount of booty pain I was experiencing. Clearly I got by with a little help from my friends.  Another notable occurance centers around the ridiculoulsy overweight man who tried to draft off of us, particularly me. Dude, if you need a twenty one year old with a fractured elbow to pull your weight you've got some pretty hefty *pun intended* problems. We put him in his place..Towannda the Wonder woman! Fried Green Tomatoes anyone? Oh, and on a lighter note all of Bike and Build crashed a bicentennial fourth of July parade in London, Ohio. Good times had by all. Also, there may have been a naked mile. Thanks boys..





 Well, I should probably stop rambling and clean my bike. As always thanks for reading. Wish me luck as I attempt 90+ miles tomorrow and head into Indiana!


 We've been on two wonderful builds in the past week, which I will reflect on in greater detail in my coming entires. Honestly I'm feeling rather absorbed in riding as I've been stuck in Hermen for so long. Bike and Build has been an incredible journey thus far, and I'm so thankful to be working for affordable housing. This is incredibly challenging, and equally as rewarding.


Be Well,
 Capt. Muff Muff


I'll get better about posting pictures..I promise.




 *DM= Donation Magic. Getting sandwiches, beer, ice cream, smoothies, pizza, showers, bike stuff, etc for free after explaining why you're crazy enough to ride a bike across the US of A.