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