Penultimate Post

It is hard to believe that just over a week ago we finally arrived at the Pacific Ocean for our wheel dip ceremony. A trip that I had been planning and thinking about for months (November 2011) finally began and what a world-wind experience it was. 

One of my biggest trepidations about this trip was that I would not enjoy the company of any of the riders. Sure I had thoroughly stalked each on Facebook and read their bios several times before I left for Jville, but you still never know. I also kept telling myself that only a certain, slightly crazy person would sign up for an adventure like this so surely I would be able to find at least one person with whom I could bike; turns out I found 26. From the moment we started throwing around a beach ball littered with questions and people jumped at the chance to go bowling I knew this was the start of something good. Living with a group 24/7 for eleven weeks means you get comfortable quickly and long bike rides meant plenty of time for some hot seat action. Each of us came from an extremely different background (hometown, volunteer and cycling background, education), but somehow we morphed into the definition of a dysfunctional family with very few, if any, boundaries by the time we reached California. 

 

No matter how many pictures we post on the facy-space or words we use in a blog post the trip, the adventure and the people we met along the way will never be done justice. As much as I hate to say it, the only way you can really understand Bike and Build is to get out there and do it and even then each trip has its own different culture; this was something the team learned when we ran into the SC2SC trip. 

The statement "there are no bad days on Bike and Build, some are only harder than others" could not be more true. We survived everything from the heat of Death Valley with no water to the freezing temps/rain out of the Grand Canyon from early morning wake ups to longing for the Hoff and second lunch. The cliche what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger holds true because even in the hardest moments you had your teammates pushing you (literally sometimes up hills) and that voice in the back of your head reminding you why you were riding in the fist place.  We learned quickly how much this trip would be a game of mental stamina with a sprinkling of leg muscles and cardio. In fact the hard days usually had the best stories ie the first hard ride int Lake City or the day of 21 flats among 4 people or the day of rain and lightening so hard we were holed up in a McDonalds for three hours. While the huge amounts of endorphins running through our veins probably had something to do with masking the hardships on the road, maybe with a splash of blue Gatorade, it was the sense of camaraderie among teammates, the laughter, the story telling and the ability to DM a milkshake at all hours of the day that really got us through the trip. 

 

 

By far one of the best parts was meeting people along the way whether it be at hosts, at a random "stop and smell the roses" location or at a build site. After living all my life on the east coast, I was exposed to a HUGE part of the county I had never seen or known existed. We were continually blown away by the generosity of strangers who would stop on the side of the road to offer us water and/or a ride to a local bike shop when we were changing flats or invite us to pull up a chair at their family's BBQ. These small actions restored my faith in humanity and hopefully will serve as a reminder for myself to pay it forward when I am back in the real world. Similarly our ride would not have been possible without the support of local churches and community groups who opened their buildings up and fed us some amazing meals. It was great to share some of the local cuisine and hear about life in these small towns; many of the residents had never strayed too far from the place they grew up. 

 

 

Even more inspiring were the people working with the affordable housing movement, especially those who were working on their sweat equity hours with the hopes that one day soon they would be moving into their own home. After hearing some of the heartbreaking stories and feeling almost as frustrated with what is at times is a broken system, we stared to understand just how important affordable housing is not only for families, but also for communities. Many of us looked past the fact that we were biking across the country and instead saw ourselves as part of the possibility and movement to make some real change. The bike trip was the hook to educate people on the road about the work being done and it was great to hear that we in turn restored the older generations faith in young adults as well.  

The trip also taught us about patients and really living in the moment. So often in life, speaking from personal experience, we are rushing to get from one place to the next. Traveling at 17 mph gave us the time to really take in the country and because you can only bike so far we could stop for some amazing side trips along the way. There were definitely days when the cue sheet could not be more wrong and paved roads turned into gravel, but again those usually had some of the best stories and will be retold again and again at future SUS reunions. Being completely unplugged from the outside world was great; emails could wait for another day and facebook was only used to show friends an family we were alive and well and maybe make people a tad bit jealous that we were on the adventure of a lifetime. For the first time in a longtime we were able to focus what we were doing without the constant distractions to which we have become accustomed. All we had was each other and tons of time to kill on the bike; as a result, we could take the time to really get to know one another. 

It has been an absolute privilege and an honor to have had you all following along with me. Your notes, thoughts and prayers (it was the Southern route) got me through even the hardest days. 

 

At out last lunch stop before the beach in Monterey, Natalie told us to find some adventure which would raise the bar even higher than biking across the country. While I have no idea what that is, you can be sure I will find a good one. Maybe my next big one is surviving the nurse practitioner program I am beginning in a few weeks or maybe I will sail around the world - who knows. Let me know if you hear of anything good.

 

So with that in mind, I will not say goodbye, but until the next big adventure!

Xoxo, Emily 

PS: Don't take me off your google reader just yet. In the coming week(s) I am hoping to have our famous dance video put together.