Translation: Let the Good Times Roll ... in New Orleans, Louisiana!
Wow I don't even know where to start. This week has been such an adventure in and of itself: the 5 long work days we spent working on Ms. Vera's house with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (the organization that has been fixing up houses that were destroyed during Katrina; the excursions to Bourbon street (an absolute madhouse, and a million times more overwhelming than Times Square); the media coverage we received from abc TV and a mainstream radio station here in New Orleans; the Soul Rebels concert; and the countless beignets we've all consumed at the famous Cafe DuMonde have made this week one of the most rewarding and exciting I've experienced.
The Build: So this week, all 32 of us arrived at Ms. Vera's house on the corner of N Miro and Mazant. For the first couple days, we sheetrocked that house like nobody's business, and then "mudded" and sanded the walls. It was awesome to see such a transformation, to see the evolution of a home-to-be, and to know that we were a part of improving the quality of life of Ms. Vera and her family.
Visit to the Lower 9th Ward: One of the places that was it the hardest from the hurricaine. The entire neighborhood is be characterized by abandoned houses, and concrete slabs where houses used to exist, athough there seemed to be several families that had moved back into their homes. To say the least, the neighborhood is depressing, mainly because the government has done little-to-nothing to fix it up for the families who used to call it home.
R.U.B.A.R.B. (Rusted Up Beyond All Recognition Bicycles): A community bike shop right around the corner from Ms. Vera's house. The founders have gathered bikes and bike parts that turned up after the flood, and teach the neighborhood kids how to build a bike and fix a flat tire, among other things. In return for their efforts, the kids get to keep the bike they worked on. Totally awewsome project.
All in all, this week was an incredible bonding experience for the group... a chance for us to get to know each other in our normal clothes (not spandex), although at this point everyone has memorized everyone else's (limited) wardrobe .... and wonderful way to lend a hand to a family in need.
Love from NOLA,
Erica.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Biloxi
Alright, I'm back!
Our ride to, stay in, and departure from Biloxi, Mississippi was shortlived, but quite special due to our wonderful dip in the ... GULF OF MEXICO upon our arrival. Group bonding sessions in any body of water = amazing.
Our ride to, stay in, and departure from Biloxi, Mississippi was shortlived, but quite special due to our wonderful dip in the ... GULF OF MEXICO upon our arrival. Group bonding sessions in any body of water = amazing.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
4states4days
Hey y'all.
I know it has been forever and a day since my last post, but perhaps this one will be all the more juicy, as we have made it out of Florida, have successfully traveled through four states in four consecutive days, and have spent the past week in New Orleans.
Some observations about the South thus far: Churches are more abundant here than Starbucks is in the North. Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, you name it. There is no shortage of prayer and preaching, and I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have been told, "Bless your heart" - not just out of the blue, but when I was in desperate need of medication for the poison ivy that had taken over the lower half of my body. There is also no shortage of money, it seems, for some of these church communities. Since when do places of worship have movie-theatre-sized TVs, soda fountains, and guitar hero?! My second observation: Southern hospitality exists, and it is alive and kickin' in a very big way. In fact, some southerners will go so far as to ask about my experience with the folks down here upon finding out that I'm from New York. "We teach our children yes sir, yes ma'am down here". That is for sure.
As I mentioned earlier, we made it safely out of Florida along US90 (in general, the riders have developed a love-hate relationship with this road, as it gets us from A to B, but often surprises us with hills that look like verticals at times when you feel like you just can't pedal any further). Interestingly, I have found that regardless of how many miles we ride each day, whether it's 60 or 100, I always feel refreshed and energized in the morning, but then start to wonder what on Earth I was thinking when I signed myself up for this about ten miles before we reach the host location. But, it is this feeling - the pressure from the saddle (seat) on my butt, the 95 degree heat, the lack of energy or will to keep going - that makes getting to the host site every day that much more rewarding. I never thought I would say this, but church=home.
Some of the most memorable things about our rides in Florida include taking detours from our specified route and swimming in some state park we happen to come across. One day, a large group of us stopped in the morning at Falling Waters State Park on our way to Defuniak Springs, and swam in our shammys (bike shorts) and sports bras. At this particular state park, there was supposed to be a water fall, but sadly it was dry, and so our disappointed (but happy to have taken a dip) group more accurately renamed the park "Sometimes Falling Waters, But Not Today". That afternoon, my friend Anne and I pulled over a second time to swim in a Spring (my first time). It was refreshing and beautiful, and we spotted a little boy with a mohawk who I should have taken a picture with, but didn't. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that I now have a mohawk. Yeeeppp.
And just like that, we crossed the state line into Sweet Home Alabama, which was really not so sweet due to a series of unfortunate events which I will now relate. Our ride from Pensacola, Fl to Mobile, Al was our first century ride (100 miles), and on that morning we awoke to some pretty substantial T-storms that postponed our departure time two hours. At mile 60, we were supposed to take a ferry at 1:15 to get from some place to another (I don't remember where exactly) and leaving 2 hours later than we expected made some nervous that we wouldn't miss the ferry. I personally wasn't worried about missing the ferry, because I generally ride at a pace that would get me there in time. BUTTTT things happen, and my friend Graham who I was riding with got a flat, and then another flat, and then shreaded tire in the middle of a bridge to accumulate a grand total of three flat tires in one day, and so we were starting to get a little behind schedule. But all was still okay until we reached Alabama and all of a sudden pedaling at 14mph was a struggle (for a reference, I usually ride at 17, 18mph) due to raging headwinds, and time was beginning to run out. But it was still okay, and we were still on track to make the ferry, when at mile 50 my ride group suffered a not-so-minor collision (no injuries, no worries), and just like that myself and about 4 other riders had missed the ferry!! So at 2:00 we hopped on the next ferry, and at mile 65, we see lightening. Bad news, because we're stranded on a thin stip of land surrounded by water on both sides with no shelter in sight, and we're pedaling as fast as we can INTO the storm, and then a few minutes later the sky opens up and the rain gods do their magic and we're drenched and thirty miles from the host site when all of a sudden we spot a sea of bikes and blue jerseys hovered under a little shack on the side of the road where our entire team had been waiting out the storm. Several snickers bars later, the skies had cleared up a bit and we set out once again toward the church in Mobile, and ten miles later, it starts to thunder and lightening AGAIN. Fortunately, we all pull over to a produce/fruit market and indulge in fresh plums and peaches and a very very interesting and tasty creation... BOILED PEANUTS. they taste like beans. Okay, so long story short (well not really), but twenty miles later we made it to Mobile and celebrated our first century ride at the Golden Caral (spelling?) - an all you can eat Buffet (our third one that week) and gorged ourselves into oblivioun. Pure bliss.
Okay I must go even though I have so much more to say but I will be back soon to finish my tale!
To be continued, and
Bless your heart,
Erica
I know it has been forever and a day since my last post, but perhaps this one will be all the more juicy, as we have made it out of Florida, have successfully traveled through four states in four consecutive days, and have spent the past week in New Orleans.
Some observations about the South thus far: Churches are more abundant here than Starbucks is in the North. Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, you name it. There is no shortage of prayer and preaching, and I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have been told, "Bless your heart" - not just out of the blue, but when I was in desperate need of medication for the poison ivy that had taken over the lower half of my body. There is also no shortage of money, it seems, for some of these church communities. Since when do places of worship have movie-theatre-sized TVs, soda fountains, and guitar hero?! My second observation: Southern hospitality exists, and it is alive and kickin' in a very big way. In fact, some southerners will go so far as to ask about my experience with the folks down here upon finding out that I'm from New York. "We teach our children yes sir, yes ma'am down here". That is for sure.
As I mentioned earlier, we made it safely out of Florida along US90 (in general, the riders have developed a love-hate relationship with this road, as it gets us from A to B, but often surprises us with hills that look like verticals at times when you feel like you just can't pedal any further). Interestingly, I have found that regardless of how many miles we ride each day, whether it's 60 or 100, I always feel refreshed and energized in the morning, but then start to wonder what on Earth I was thinking when I signed myself up for this about ten miles before we reach the host location. But, it is this feeling - the pressure from the saddle (seat) on my butt, the 95 degree heat, the lack of energy or will to keep going - that makes getting to the host site every day that much more rewarding. I never thought I would say this, but church=home.
Some of the most memorable things about our rides in Florida include taking detours from our specified route and swimming in some state park we happen to come across. One day, a large group of us stopped in the morning at Falling Waters State Park on our way to Defuniak Springs, and swam in our shammys (bike shorts) and sports bras. At this particular state park, there was supposed to be a water fall, but sadly it was dry, and so our disappointed (but happy to have taken a dip) group more accurately renamed the park "Sometimes Falling Waters, But Not Today". That afternoon, my friend Anne and I pulled over a second time to swim in a Spring (my first time). It was refreshing and beautiful, and we spotted a little boy with a mohawk who I should have taken a picture with, but didn't. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that I now have a mohawk. Yeeeppp.
And just like that, we crossed the state line into Sweet Home Alabama, which was really not so sweet due to a series of unfortunate events which I will now relate. Our ride from Pensacola, Fl to Mobile, Al was our first century ride (100 miles), and on that morning we awoke to some pretty substantial T-storms that postponed our departure time two hours. At mile 60, we were supposed to take a ferry at 1:15 to get from some place to another (I don't remember where exactly) and leaving 2 hours later than we expected made some nervous that we wouldn't miss the ferry. I personally wasn't worried about missing the ferry, because I generally ride at a pace that would get me there in time. BUTTTT things happen, and my friend Graham who I was riding with got a flat, and then another flat, and then shreaded tire in the middle of a bridge to accumulate a grand total of three flat tires in one day, and so we were starting to get a little behind schedule. But all was still okay until we reached Alabama and all of a sudden pedaling at 14mph was a struggle (for a reference, I usually ride at 17, 18mph) due to raging headwinds, and time was beginning to run out. But it was still okay, and we were still on track to make the ferry, when at mile 50 my ride group suffered a not-so-minor collision (no injuries, no worries), and just like that myself and about 4 other riders had missed the ferry!! So at 2:00 we hopped on the next ferry, and at mile 65, we see lightening. Bad news, because we're stranded on a thin stip of land surrounded by water on both sides with no shelter in sight, and we're pedaling as fast as we can INTO the storm, and then a few minutes later the sky opens up and the rain gods do their magic and we're drenched and thirty miles from the host site when all of a sudden we spot a sea of bikes and blue jerseys hovered under a little shack on the side of the road where our entire team had been waiting out the storm. Several snickers bars later, the skies had cleared up a bit and we set out once again toward the church in Mobile, and ten miles later, it starts to thunder and lightening AGAIN. Fortunately, we all pull over to a produce/fruit market and indulge in fresh plums and peaches and a very very interesting and tasty creation... BOILED PEANUTS. they taste like beans. Okay, so long story short (well not really), but twenty miles later we made it to Mobile and celebrated our first century ride at the Golden Caral (spelling?) - an all you can eat Buffet (our third one that week) and gorged ourselves into oblivioun. Pure bliss.
Okay I must go even though I have so much more to say but I will be back soon to finish my tale!
To be continued, and
Bless your heart,
Erica
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
From Jacksonville to Tallahassee on US90
Hello from Tallahassee, Florida!
We have only just begun, but already I can tell that my 31 fellow riders are some of the most driven, down to earth, hilarious, interesting people I will ever meet. I had a feeling it would be this way, as it takes a certain kind of person to sign up to pedal your way across the country, building homes and trying to make a difference in people's lives.... but I did not anticipate the magnitude of the enthusiasm of my new friends. It's awesome.
So far, we have pedaled approximately 200 miles, and have slept in three churches in the small towns of Glen St. Mary (population under 500, but voted Florida's Most Outstanding Rural Community in 2004... we wondered how many towns were awarded this prestigious title), Live Oak (where a woman told me that my journey across country would be more worthwhile if I were serving God and spreading His word) and most recently in Monticello (where a small group of riders and I feasted on a 7 dollar buffet of fried chicken and other southern uh.. delicacies, then baked cookies and gorged ourselves into oblivion).
We've spent quite a bit of time on highway US90, where tree farms and roadkill are all you see for 50 miles at a time. We've peed on the side of the road, stopped by flea markets selling suppositories and a dozen eggs, played the "cow game," and eaten more peanut butter than I have ever eaten in such a short period of time (and that's saying something, coming from a PB lover such as myself). Actually, in all honesty, we don't really stop eating. It's amazing.
Ok, I must sign off. If you're interested, feel free to post on the blog... questions, comments, queries, and I will be happy to respond!
LATER,
Er.
We have only just begun, but already I can tell that my 31 fellow riders are some of the most driven, down to earth, hilarious, interesting people I will ever meet. I had a feeling it would be this way, as it takes a certain kind of person to sign up to pedal your way across the country, building homes and trying to make a difference in people's lives.... but I did not anticipate the magnitude of the enthusiasm of my new friends. It's awesome.
So far, we have pedaled approximately 200 miles, and have slept in three churches in the small towns of Glen St. Mary (population under 500, but voted Florida's Most Outstanding Rural Community in 2004... we wondered how many towns were awarded this prestigious title), Live Oak (where a woman told me that my journey across country would be more worthwhile if I were serving God and spreading His word) and most recently in Monticello (where a small group of riders and I feasted on a 7 dollar buffet of fried chicken and other southern uh.. delicacies, then baked cookies and gorged ourselves into oblivion).
We've spent quite a bit of time on highway US90, where tree farms and roadkill are all you see for 50 miles at a time. We've peed on the side of the road, stopped by flea markets selling suppositories and a dozen eggs, played the "cow game," and eaten more peanut butter than I have ever eaten in such a short period of time (and that's saying something, coming from a PB lover such as myself). Actually, in all honesty, we don't really stop eating. It's amazing.
Ok, I must sign off. If you're interested, feel free to post on the blog... questions, comments, queries, and I will be happy to respond!
LATER,
Er.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Prepare for Take-Off
let me state for the record that this is my first blog. surprisingly, or actually not so much, i'm nervous and i've written and deleted and rewritten this first sentence like eight times. so i thought i would let y'all know that. (okay, i get it, i can't say y'all yet, because i'm still in new york... but i'm just practicing!)
for those of you who don't know, i'm taking this summer to ride my bike across america. "what!??!," you say? let me explain. beginning on june 11th, 30 college students from all over the country and myself will be riding 3.529 miles from jacksonville, FL to san francisco, CA through an organization called Bike&Build to spread awareness about the affordable housing crisis in america, to raise money for organizations such as habitat for humanity, and to build a few homes along the way. (our primary build spot will be in new orleans).
anyway, my bike is my new best friend. she (nameless as of now - it's a shame, really) is a blue Specialized dolce, and quite the looker.... i'll post some pictures soon. for the past three weeks, we've stayed pretty local, doing loops around central park. each loop is 6.2 miles, and i try to do 4 loops every day. it's exciting to track my progress, to time myself and see how many minutes i've dropped from the first time i completed that ride, and to be able to keep up with the big guys all decked out in their team gear, perched elegantly on their beautiful multi-thousand dollar bicycles, with monster calf muscles. you judge the book by its cover? i judge the biker by his (or her) calves... suffice it to say, my calves aren't quite at that level YET, so either my method of judgment is off, or i've got some serious work cut out for me. regardless, i've been pedaling hard.
so, this is really just a quick note to get things (the blog) started. my goal is to post a funny anecdote, hardcore cycling moment, or other worthy news every few days (once a week at the very least), and to upload some photos of my journey just to keep you in the mix, give you a virtual tour of the country, and an up close and personal view of my glorious farmers tan.
till then, happy wednesday!
xo er
for those of you who don't know, i'm taking this summer to ride my bike across america. "what!??!," you say? let me explain. beginning on june 11th, 30 college students from all over the country and myself will be riding 3.529 miles from jacksonville, FL to san francisco, CA through an organization called Bike&Build to spread awareness about the affordable housing crisis in america, to raise money for organizations such as habitat for humanity, and to build a few homes along the way. (our primary build spot will be in new orleans).
anyway, my bike is my new best friend. she (nameless as of now - it's a shame, really) is a blue Specialized dolce, and quite the looker.... i'll post some pictures soon. for the past three weeks, we've stayed pretty local, doing loops around central park. each loop is 6.2 miles, and i try to do 4 loops every day. it's exciting to track my progress, to time myself and see how many minutes i've dropped from the first time i completed that ride, and to be able to keep up with the big guys all decked out in their team gear, perched elegantly on their beautiful multi-thousand dollar bicycles, with monster calf muscles. you judge the book by its cover? i judge the biker by his (or her) calves... suffice it to say, my calves aren't quite at that level YET, so either my method of judgment is off, or i've got some serious work cut out for me. regardless, i've been pedaling hard.
so, this is really just a quick note to get things (the blog) started. my goal is to post a funny anecdote, hardcore cycling moment, or other worthy news every few days (once a week at the very least), and to upload some photos of my journey just to keep you in the mix, give you a virtual tour of the country, and an up close and personal view of my glorious farmers tan.
till then, happy wednesday!
xo er
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