Build Day #4

Another morning to sleep in which was much appreciated after an evening exploring Mobile. After breakfast we piled back into the vans and over to our original build sites. Due to some projects at the local Restore building, six of us left which mean that Hannah, Arden and I headed over to the other build site. When we arrived we were treated with more painting and due to my stellar cutting from yesterday I was elected to do the same thing.

 

The house was pretty much the same size, but this one had a small shed out the back. Marcus and Kristina were hard at work building new doors which they would have to attach after lunch.

Marcus was way OCD and definitely lived up the measure twice cut once mentality; it could have been more like a measure three or four or five times.

Nap time after lunch was a thing that definitely happened and got us ready for the afternoon. Here Arden and I are demonstrating our new standing nap technique.

After the painting was finished, both houses worked on installing tile and flooring. I have seen people dong it on TCL and other tv networks and assumed that it would be a fairly easy process. The instructions we were given before starting we to lay down some plastic tarp, lock the pieces together and then use the saw to finish up. Well all of us just looked at each other and figured that with all the education and build experience we should be able to figure this out. WRONG! We were completely clueless ands got a better tutorial which helped. Wiggling the tongue and grooves together was by far the hardest part.

I did get to use a pretty bad ass saw.

Others were wailing away cutting and installing tile in the kitchens and bathrooms

The final crew and our Habitat leader Jerry

 

Build Day #3

The crew was able to sleep in this morning until 6:30 which was AMAZING!!! Habitat also donated breakfast which fueled us up before we headed out to our build sites. Because there were so many of us we were split up into two groups. My group had a busy morning of pulling up carter, tiling, painting and more painting.

After lunch we passed out over some torn up carpet.

After we all go back and showered, we out to the OK Bicycle Shop, which is a sushi and taco restaurant in Mobile. The owner helped out our group with some free appetizers and two tacos which were fantastic.

 

First (Almost) Century Ride

Pensacola to Mobile, Alabama: 95.6 + 5 mile ferry ride

Total mileage: 726 miles + 5 mile ferry ride

 

First I would like to say that it is amazing what a good nights sleep on a futon will do for you. We were hooked up with a church that had enough couches for all of us. After a quick breakfast we were out on the road by 7:15. The headwind from yesterday destroyed my legs so getting going this morning was rough. Thanks to David (I would like to give a shout out to Violet, David's mom, who is a reader of this site) we were able to get ourselves out on the road without looking like too much of a disaster.

 

One of the big highlights of the morning would be that we would be riding into Alabama. We were surprised at how quickly we came upon the stateline and of course stopped to take some pictures and video.

After our first lunch we had to book it to the ferry. We had to cover about 15 miles in just over an hour which was doable, but we definitely had to kick it into high action. With five minutes to spare we boarded the ferry and headed off to the other side. The two groups behind us made it only seconds before they stopped taking passengers.

A bunch of us were able to catch a quick power nap, but we were pretty sore when we had to get going again. After we hopped off the ferry the next project was to find some food. The speedy ride to the ferry, spring for some, made for some hungry bikers. After about eight miles we ran across this hole in the wall restaurant called Mary's place.

 

Two of the riders decided to partake in the monster burger challenge in which each participant had to eat a two pound burger with all the trimmings. If they were able to finish their meals which mean that their burgers were half price. Let's just say that those burgers did not have a chance. Marcus finished his off in under nine minutes and Holly was done in under 20 (she actually enjoyed it).

Thanks to our second lunch we had enough energy to get us to the host site whereshowersand ns of vegetables and fruit were calling our names. The one thing about the south is that fruit comes out much earlier. Hopefully we will be able to find some farmers markets as we continue west.

 

Tomorrow is a build day and we are all super excited that we will be driven to our work sites. It will be a quick trip here in Alabama as we have two build days and then will be rolling out and over to Mississippi.

 

Bike Ride to Pensacola

Defuniak Springs to Pensacola: 80.2

Total mileage: 630.4

 

This morning we had the treat of a lifetime - our hosts treated us to a hot, home cooked meal filled with scrambled eggs, pancakes and TOASTED bagels. AMAZING.

Before we started eating the pastor started off his prayer by talking about how there are no coincidences and that we are all supposed to be here of a reason which I completely agree.

The ride got off to a slow start and we were definitely on the struggle bus. Within the first 15 miles we had to fix two deralers, but we get to meet a dog at the first place.

The ride was all about DM'ing free things. About twenty miles from our host site our group decided to stop and try and get some snow balls aka snow cones. After giving my speech the owner pointed to the woman next to us and said that she would buy them for us because she had just won the powerball. As we were getting out snow balls we came to finds out that the woman actually did buy them for us and then hopped in her car and drove away.

As we headed over the next bridge element up with the van and headed over to beach. Since I started the trip, I decided to make it my mission to DM a sailboat. Well I went over and gave my talk again an I'd was able to convince the guy in charge to give us thirty minutes for free; big thank you to Navarre Beach Ski and Sail. Four of us hopped into the Bobbie craft adhered out. When we got back we were able to take a bunch more people out on the water. It was great to be out there and it went much better than my last time out on the water

 

We hit killer headwind during the last twenty miles and did not break 12 mph. We did stop for a quick break which helped us push through the last few miles.

Tonight is out last night in Florida. Tomorrow we head out for Mobile, Alabama for our first century (100 mile) ride.

 

Killing Florida

In just over a week we have crossed almost all of Florida

 

Bike Ride to Defuniak Springs

Panama City to Defuniak Springs: 63.4

Total mileage: 550.2

 

After experiencing a hot and humid Panama City morning, the group voted last night to wake up slightly early, hustle to pack/load our bins and be out of our host by 7:15. While there were some grumblings about the early 5:30 am wake up call, and let me tell you that this hour is almost unheard of for most people our age, we ROCKED the morning routine and were able to hit the road by our agreed upon time.

Ben, Holly and I were setting a pretty good pace and after passing a lake decided that we should double back to check it out. Turns out that it was in a new development, but was beautiful none the less.

Half way between our morning start and lunch several bikers pulled over to grab some fresh blackberries off the side of the road. One group had accidentally run into the bushes during a water break and thankfully decided to share the wealth with those who were following. Let me tell you people, if you do not have a blackberry bush of your own, you should at least let your berries warm up on the porch before eating them - LIFE CHANGiNG!!!

 

Lunch, as I am sure you know, is always halfway and thanks to a killer tailwind we arrived at mile thirty by 10am; while lunch did not happen at a real world time, the leftovers from dinner last night were certainly appreciated. A challenge was posed to the group a few days ago to find some kind of a marker which would help riders find the lunch spot. Last year they found a life size cardboard cut out of David Hasselhoff. Yesterday while some of us had gone to Panama City to check out the beach, myself and two others went to try and DM (donation magic) a blow up pool alligator. Thankfully we were successful and now the 2012 SUS crew has our own Hasselhoff which had its debut at lunch today.

We did come across these crazy bugs when we stopped on the side of the road

The remaining portion of the road twisted through farm and horse country. Thankfully one of the pastors from last night's host suggested we take a country road which would keep us far away from the Memorial Day traffic on 98. Some of the locals had warned us that we would be hitting some hills in the later portion of our ride and they were not joking. With the sun hot and high in the sky, the group made good time up several large climbs with all the rides arriving by 2.

This week our group is on laundry duty. We were ON POINT and done within an

And so I sign off and am sure that several bikers and I will be dreaming of the homemade pancakes we will be eating in the morning thanks to our super hosts here in Defuniak Springs.

 

Build Day #2

Bike to site: 5 miles

Total mileage: 486.8 miles

This morning we were able to sleep in an extra thirty minutes until the group alarm clock went off. Because we do not have to pack up our bins we can shave off a few minutes from our morning routine. When we went outside to do our abc's (air, breaks, chain) check the wether was hot and muggy - way worse than what we experienced coming into town yesterday.

The Habitat office in Panema City builds about 4-5 houses a year and today we went to help put some finishing touches on a house which had been rebought by Habitat. The majority of us headed outside to help sod the front and backyards and I started off with a few others putting some plants. There was a dramatic before and after picture. Sadly I forgot to get the before picture, so you will just see our handy work.

Because the group was done by 1, a bunch of us hopped on the van and headed out to to Panama Beach for the afternoon. The beach was great and because we were on the Gulf, the water was amazing.

While we were wandering around we decide that we wanted to try and DM a parasailing ride. While we couldn't it get one for free we did get one which was majorly marked down.

 

Bike to Panama City

Apalachacola to Panama City: 60.9 miles

Total mileage: 481.8 miles

The morning ride as a beautiful one and probably one of my favorite ones to date. The first thirty miles flew by partially because of the conversation and scenery and partially because we are beginning master pacing which allows us to not have to work so hard. I was joking with some of the riders that you know you are on a Bike and Build trip when thirty miles seems like no big deal. Lunch was equally as great because we stopped at a beach on the Gulf of Mexico. My group decided to lock up our bikes and head to the beach for a quick swim before the van sherd up with lunch and our mail (I did get some snail mail from mama dukes and Memere which was a welcome surprise).

Sandcastle time

Turns out that Florida is split into eastern and central time (news to me folks) and just after lunch we crossed into central time. Sadly most of us missed the sign, but Jessie was able to snag a picture of said sign. Unfortunately the time change also meant that we were spending a large portion of our time out in th sun when it was at its strongest. The last fifteen miles or so were brutally hot and one of the local thermometers said that the temperature had reached 97 degrees. For the first time i think that a lot of us started to realize what we got ourselves into withe southern route.

The ret of the ride was hot, but my group of three made good time and were the second group to arrive to the host site. As we entered the host we were treated by a blasting AC unit and the most amazing juice known to man (combo of lemonade and a v8 smoothie drink). Unfortunately there is not too much to do in Panama City, as we are not only in the middle of nowhere, but also in a slightly sketchy neighborhood. With the beach being an additional 20 miles away we decided to head over to Chilies for beers - a great way to end the day of biking. Lights out on build days is 1 so we were able to hang out for a while before making the adult decision to get some sleep before our build day.

May also may or may not have built a fort to keep the lit of the soda machine out of his eyes.