Mosquero, NM

If you blink, you might miss it.

Today we biked 50 miles from Logan, NM to Mosquero, a town with a population of 120. That means that when 32 cyclists came riding down Main Street, we increased the population by 25 percent!

Exciting news: we hit our first mountain today. It may have been small, but we climbed 2 miles of switchbacks! Invigorating.

Cowboy Camp tonight. All 32 of us crashed a cowboy camp and pigged out on hot dogs, hamburgers, and cowboy coffee. After the feast, we indulged in songs from the cowboy bible such as "i just found out Jesus loves cowboys" and then the B&B choir reciprocated the nice gesture with our rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. Awesome night.

it's my birthday and i'll bike if i want to

Today, we crossed several "things," if you will. First, I crossed over into the world of the nineteen year olds (that sounds thrilling). Shortly after, we crossed a time zone taking us out of central time and into mountain time. And a few yards after that, we crossed the state line bordering Texas and New Mexico to enter the Land of Enchantment.

Even before hopping on Alfalfa (my bike, affectionately named for the tufts of hair that stick up out of my helmet), the day was off to a very interesting start. We had just spent the night at a beautifully renovated church in Dalhart, TX, and because my friend Sara and I were assigned sweep (last two riders) for the day, we stuck around for an hour to give the group a head start. Over by a set of bookshelves, Sara and I got into a discussion about religious fundamentalists, inspired by a book that denounced gay marriage. Not long after, pastor John came over and asked if he could join the conversation. I admit, I was slightly nervous for a moment that he had been eavesdropping and was about to teach us a lesson or two. But to our astonishment, the first words out of PASTOR John's mouth were, "I hate religion. I am probably the most anti-religious person you will ever meet." Stunned, I urged him to continue, and listened as he talked about hating tradition, corruption, and irrational religious dogma and practices; his belief that there should be no middle man between us and God; and how his sole purpose in being a pastor is to help his congregation establish a relationship with God, and to teach his congregants to be ministers to each other. What an intersting guy.

Around 8:30, Sarah and I left the small town of Dalhart and headed north (?) along US54 for 71 windy miles, approximately 8 of which were lined with stinky cows. We estimate that there were close to one million moo-ers. One of the things we do on the trip is to chalk turns on the road so that people don't miss them, or chalk messages as to what mile lunch is at, or words of encouragement in the middle of a hill. Some days, when the cue sheet is particularly lengthy or confusing, there's a lot of chalk on the road. And other days, when we're on the same road for, uh, ever, there's almost none. Today was an exception, because there must have been a birthday message for me every 3 miles. One rider went so far as to draw my face (mohawk and all) in the center of the road. To say the least, the chalk made my day.

I would just like to give a shout out to my mom for being amazing. Best cake (and everything else) ever. You rock.

Hopefully I will post some pictures, soon.
Hasta luego,
e.

oooooooooklahoma...

...where the wind comes sweeping down the plane.

literally.

ok so basically we went to altus, oklahoma for all you can eat mcdonalds (for dinner, and then for breakfast the next morning). just imagine the response when you tell 32 starving cyclists that they can eat anything and everything they want. no limits. the result? i think our biggest order was four crispy chicken sandwiches, a big mac, two large fries and two mcflurry's. over 3000 calories for dinner. yum (vomit) yum.

riding out of oklahoma and back into texas, it rained. so, to use a commonly said phrase here on bike and build, we booked it all the way through africa. visual aids below:

Small Town, TX

So from Dallas we continued westward to Decatur, the epitome of a small town. Upon our arrival at the town square, a small group of us was greeted by the sheriff, and offered a personal tour of the courthouse, located smack dab in the center of the town. Check out the pic to give you a feeling of the courthouse.

And to give you a feeling of how small this town was, one of the people working in the courthouse just so happened to be the son of the only bike shop owner in the town, and upon learning of our journey, called his pop and told him we'd be swinging by. Well, there was no sign outside Mel's bike shop, so after passing it and doubling back, we entered to find a small room with approximately 12 bicycles, and an old man who appeared as though the shop had never seen so many customers in its entire existence. Check out the pic of Mel and his bikes.

As if the town couldn't get any smaller, it happened that Thursday night was movie night, and so 32 cyclists carried their thermarests to the town square, and joined 20 or so families out on the lawn in front of the courthouse to watch The Little Rascals projected onto a big, white truck, and to be entertained by seven year olds singing karaoke to country favorites Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. New favorite song: "Our Song" by Taylor Swift. I love country music.

hammer and a nail

From Athens we journeyed to Dallas, and for the first time on this trip I saw a sky-line and felt like I was coming home! After a resftful night's sleep, we awoke bright and early and pedaled over to the Dallas Habitat for Humanity Warehouse, where we worked under Chuck's authority to construct the frame of one of the largest home's Dallas Habitat has ever built! GO TEAM! A bunch of little worker bees, we built enough doors, window frames, interior and exterior walls to complete three-fourths of the house in a single day. Ohhh yeeahhhh.

Don't Mess With Texas

This past week we crossed the Louisiana state line into Texas... Naked.

I know, totally crazy and ridiculous and absurd and just ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN AWESOME.
It is a Bike & Build tradition to do a naked mile (or two or seven) and on the peaceful, traffic-free, back road that led us into Texas about eight of us stripped down and pedaled into Texas wearing nothing but our helmets, camelbacks, gloves, and shoes. How badass... until we arrived five miles later at a sign that read "Welcome to Louisiana" (again) and we knew we had taken a right instead of a left.

But all was okay, because that afternoon we arrived at the lovely home of a Bike & Build alum where ice cold beers, sandwiches, and fresh fruit awaited us. Oh to sleep in a house and be fed BBQ and watch television!

The next morning, the gang set out on a 99.1 mile trek to Athens, TX: an all inclusive package with highs and lows (around 97 and 96 degrees, respectively) and ups and downs (the first half of the ride was particularly hilly). No but seriously now, this ride could not have been more chock-full of every blessing and every misfortune you could ever imagine. The roads were bumpy, the rolling hills did not stop rolling, the invisible enemy (wind) demoralized us with every pedal stroke, and at mile 60 I got chased up a hill by an big angry black dog that appeared out of nowhere at my ankle and before I knew it I had accelerated from 8mph to 20mph and my heart was beating out of my chest and screaming and hyperventalating. BUT! at mile 70, a rest stop at the home of a bike&builder on another route came at the perfect time, revitalizing the group with every scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, every handful of trail mix, every fresh strawberry, and every strip of HOMEMADE DEER JERKY (first time eating deer, first time eating jerky. a-mazing). and did i mention the pool!? yyyeeeeppp, there was a pool at the house... and a hot tub!! ohhhh baby. Shortly after leaving heaven (the rest stop) things started to go downhill again and I got my second flat tire of the trip, and then ran out of liquid around mile 80! As if that wasn't enough, when we (myself and the two girls I was riding with) pulled over to check the cue sheet around mile 93, the salt and sunscreen started to accumulate in my eyes and in a desperate attempt to rinse them out, I grabbed Kelly's water bottle and squirted the liquid into my eyes only to realize that it was GATORADE. omg feel the burn. The last six miles seemed like hell on earth and I couldn't stop wondering whyyyy I signed up for this, but alas, we arrived at the church to the most wonderful surprise and all of a sudden, all was worthwhile. Two words: Max and Minna-Jane. Instead of staying on a gym floor, members of the church congregation took small groups of us into their homes, and spoiled us silly! Max and Minna-Jane, my hosts drove Eleni (another rider) and I to their home on Lake Athens, took us out on a boat ride and swim in the lake, and fed us eggs and bacon and biscuits and canteloupe for breakfast in the morning. To say the least, it was the most wonderful night, and our hosts could not have been more gracious, welcoming, and friendly.

Ok I must not hog the computer but more to come soon.
I'll upload some pictures, also.

Till then!
Erica

Question of the Day

Every morning before we ride, we circle up for a brief overview of the route, the town we're visiting, and the host location. It is our tradition to do an increasing number of push-ups each day after the circle, and to ask a question of the day that riders will come up with. We have had several interesting ones thus far, and I thought I would share them with you:

If you could have 10 different liquids pour from your fingers whenever you wish, what would they be?

What do you like most about America? Least?

Would you prefer to always be happy, or always be around happy people?

Would you rather be born with no arms or no legs?

If you could have any super power, what would be it be?

Food for thought,
xoEr

Photo Album

leaving jacksonville!


at the spring!


first flat tire!


R.U.B.A.R.B.


building (mudding) in NOLA

Back in Action

Hello from Pelican, Lousiana! Even Google doesn't know a thing about it!
But, don't be fooled, because while we are literally in the middle of nowhere, it is the most beautiful middle of nowhere I have ever been. We are staying a Clara Springs Encampment (church related, obviously) ... and upon our arrival, we hiked around a small pond on the grounds, and paddle-boated in circles, careful not to dip our legs in too far for fear of alligators.
Speaking of alligators, I ate fried alligator last night for the first time. I wasn't too impressed - sorta tasted like chicken. I tried frog legs too. Why not? Oh, and then today (since our trek from Natchitoches - pronounced nakitush - was only 33 miles) we stopped at an alligator park on mile 9 and watched the big guys jump for food. It was totally bizarre, especially because they served alligator on the snack shop menu. Basically, go to the park to see the alligator, feed the alligator, and eat the alligator.
Today was awesome. It was great to have such a short day of riding, as we were able to wake up late (8am) and play a 32-person game of knock-out in the gym we stayed at before we all took off. In addition to the alligator park, a couple other riders and I stopped at Jason Anderson's produce farm and were given free watermelon! It was wonderful... and even more wonderful when we arrived at the host site to find that Jason had personally delivered an entire box each of fresh corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and 5 watermelons.
We are anticipating that tonight will be just as good: fireworks (round 2), and s'mores around the campfire. And, if we're lucky, the Bike&Build choir will be performing the National Anthem. (The B&B choir is composed of our very own riders with a wide range of musical abilities. They practice several times a week).

Okay... backtracking. This week was highly eventful, beginning with our first day back on the bike after our week-long stay in NOLA. On Tuesday, the group rode 80 miles from N'Orleans to Baton Rouge, and on mile 3, I was going straight, had the right of way, and got hit by a pick-up truck making a right-hand turn. I went flying off my bike, onto the hood of the truck, and landed on the ground, and somehow walked away from the accident with nothing more than a sore neck and back, and a few scrapes and scratches. As lucky as I am to have suffered only very minor injuries from that accident, the potential for disaster was major, and was enough to teach me a lesson: to be constantly aware of my surroundings, and a more defensive rider, because the reality is that sometimes drivers just don't see us. So, after filling out a police report (the 12 or so riders at the site of the accident could not have handled the situation better), I begrudgingly hopped into the van and drove the 80 miles to Red Stick (Baton Rouge) with my group leader. I say begrudgingly only because I wanted to do the entire trip across America on my bike, and never have to ride in the van. But, all does not always turn out the way we plan, and I now have a bad-ass story to tell.

Wednesday. 90 miles from Baton Rouge to Lafayette. Great morning, shitty afternoon. Painkillers wore off, my back hurt, my neck hurt, I was sore and grumpy and emotional and rode 30 miles by myself. Instead of trying keep up with the people I was riding with, I just said screw it, I'll ride at 11mph until I regain my strength. Ain't no shame in that, right???? Anyway, we got to Lafayette and because one of our riders is from there, we had access to a kick-ass health club, so we all went swimming in the pool, and relaxed in the whirlpool/hot-tub... but I could hardly enjoy it because I was in such a cranky mood. I knew that biking across the country would be physically straining, but I had no idea it would be so mentally and emotionally straining as well.

Thursday. 100 miles from Lafayette to Alexandria. I honestly don't remember this day.

Friday. JULY 4TH!! 55 miles from Alexandria to Natchitotches. What a cute town! Fourth of July festival and fireworks were awesome: dancing on stage with the Diva in Red (singer in the band that was performing).

I think that's all for now.
I'm going to try and post some pix. Hope that works.
keep it real.
erica.