We are blocking it with our bicycles... but that is the Golden Gate Bridge in the background! We made it! We are alive! We did not throw our bikes in the ocean! Marco and Erin almost died crossing the bridge, but I did not and that is all that matters! Just kidding! I love Bike and Build! No, seriously, we're all fine. The twelve year old girl they crashed into... well, that's another story.

No, she's fine, too. Here, look at me, jubilantly emerging from my post-3,700-mile-bike-ride Pacific Ocean swim!

Farewell, dear friends. Sadly, I no longer have an excuse for a blog. In other words, my life has suddenly become uninteresting once more.

Dearest impatient fans

Greetings friends and family. I write to you from the bustling metropolis of Cedar "The Festival City" City, Utah. I just ate a delicious grilled cheese sandwich accompanied by a wondrous bowl of tomato basil soup and two splendid cups of coffee.


We had a short ride today. 45 miles: half uphill (agh), half downhill (agh.) Turns out I'm terribly afraid of traveling down mountains via bicycle. But the landscape was beautiful. And Matthew, dear friend that he is, stopped frequently for me, providing my uncontrollable sobs ample time to be released. Kidding. I didn't cry in the middle of a descent. At least not today. ANYWAY, we passed through Zion National Park (that is, we stopped at a scenic vista point overlooking it).

In the past week-and-a-half-ish, we have passed through New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Lots of mountains, lots of beauty.



In Abiqui Lake, New Mexico, we visited Georgia O'Keefe's ranch. It was beautiful. And relaxing. And I wanted to stay forever.




We also admired each other's tan lines after swimming in the man-made Abiqui Lake for which Abiqui Lake is named.



...and of course, marveled at my disgusting scabs. (Sorry.)




In Farmington, NM, we we had a "build" day that actually consisted mainly of gladitorial-esque hammering contests (great fun). We also drank root beer and saw Aztec ruins that were not in fact created by the Aztecs but that exist in what is now known as the town of Aztec, New Mexico. (I am also confused. Ask your friendly neighborhood park ranger for more information.)

Look at that assembly line. My heartbeat quickens at such a marriage of industry and charity. An efficient non-profit, egads! Were Henry Ford not such a self-serving anti-Semite, he would most certainly be proud.


Somewhere in Arizona, Matthew and I enjoyed a cold one outside an unexpected 4-star Caribbean resort:



The meadows on the ride to the Grand Canyon:



El Canyone Grande itself:

This one is us setting out on our 40 mile hike. We had a day off at the Grand Canyon, so we decided to use it to the best of our ability. You know, really see the sights, really experience nature's majesty. Just kidding. This is us walking the 1.4 miles to the Grand Lodge. Where we ate breakfast, napped, read our books, ate lunch, napped, and read our books. Glorious.

Um, also, we went camping, and our stuff got soaked because we put it in the broken tent. On purpose. Because we thought it would be fun. So, um, we, well, wenttotheTraveler'sMotelandgotaroom? Awkward. (And so worth it.)

And now we are heading into Nevada. One week until Lake Tahoe, two until San Francisco. Yikes.

the tale of the missing pick-up truck and other adventures

Ah, desolation. There's nothing like it. And nothing in it. No gas stations. No water. No people. No shrubbery. No bathrooms. No nothing.

In New Mexico, it's just you and the bicycle. And the song that happens to be stuck in your head. (Ironically, the one most often trapped in mine was "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman -- "Baby's got a fast car..." -- and let me tell you, this baby would have settled for any kind of car.) There's also the oppressive head-wind (why did we decide to ride our bicycles east to west again?) and a great deal of physical and emotional strife.

Kidding! The desert is great!

We had a tough couple of days into Santa Fe (where I am now!). 100+ miles, our first real mountain climbs, etc. Bicycling is tiring work, especially when there are no Starbucks or Sunocos or Subways or alligator parks or Taco water rides to keep you motivated.

But we made it. Albeit barely. Yesterday, as we were about to go up a semi-monster of a hill into Santa Fe, Matthew and I decided to take a little "break" (our fourth in a ten minute span) so that I could "fiddle with my chain." "Fiddling with my chain" in this context meant waiting until we caught sight of a pick-up truck. Just so that we could chat with the locals, you know, shoot the shit. (We didn't even consider the fact that pick-up trucks are by definition spacious and roomy and well-equipped to fit a multitude of people and wheels and tired spirits in their multi-purpose, durable flatbeds. Matthew and I would have been just as happy to chat with the owner of a convertible or a VW bug, but everybody knows that pick-up truck owners are friendlier and more savvy individuals. They really have a sense of local culture and tradition. What can I say? They really like to help us fiddle with our chains.)

It was, in true Bike and Build Southern US '07 manner, a matter of trying to get the truest possible sense of the Santa Fe lifestyle.

Don't worry, parents and other concerned elders: no pick-up trucks passed by. (And disclaimer: there has been no hitch-hiking. Yet.) So. We began to climb the wretched hill. As we rounded a particularly steep corner, a gleaming forest-green Chevrolet Silvarado (in truth I have no idea what kind of truck it was) passed us by. Screams were emitted by all, and I think I caught a glimpse of a cackling Satan in the rearview mirror.

A few moments later, the sky darkened most dramatically and a lightning storm commenced. The bolts were in fact rather beautiful, set as they were over the already-picturesque mountains. A sign several miles earlier had warned that "GUSTY WINDS MAY EXIST," and let me tell you, the existence of those gusty winds was indeed confirmed. My bicycle swerved and my self became frightened, but we were only about 2 miles from the Santa Fe Church of Christ (our home away from home) and needless to say arrived unscathed.

All in all, a physically and emotionally exhausting several days. But today we are in beautiful Santa Fe. A day off is a glorious thing. I watched Little Miss Sunshine last night (brought back glorious memories of watching it for the first time with the fam); ate delicious muffins and bagels and assorted Mexican foodstuffs in the past 24 hours; had a vanilla latte this morning; and likely will be able to ignore the dying cat/strangled mouse sounds that my bicycle is emitting, for at least another 5 hours. My tan lines are also looking particularly ravishing at this point in the trip. Apologies too for this picture-less post -- my camera's battery has been low to nonexistent and so I have been reliant on others for photographs. And now this library computer won't accept my USB cord. Ah, technology.

Much, as always, has occurred.

But, alas, I am not extraordinarily inclined to convey it all. So here, for your reading pleasure, is a hodgepodge of pictures and random recollections.

Today we are in Amarillo (Yellow! In Spanish!), TX. We had a day off today -- great, but a bit disappointing, seeing as I woke up at 7 a.m. (damn those Circardian (?) rhythms), and that my big adventures were: going to a bookstore (actually a great time), going to Walgreens, going to the bike shop (new bike shorts! less chafing!), going to Dairy Queen (my first Blizzard!)... and, now, writing in my wondrous blog. Ah, the fabulous life I lead.

Yesterday was pretty amazing, however. At various points, I feared death by boredom or exhaustion, but by mile 50ish, I was feeling good. The highlight of the day was certainly when we stopped at an Amarillo waterpark around mile 82 and rode THE TACO, a ridiculously, amazingly scary taco-shaped waterslide. A picture, you say? Documentation?

(This picture sadly does not do the Taco justice, but I will let you see the true thing for yourself the next time you are in Amarillo.)

We also had a nice side-trip to the home of the free 72-ounce steak:



Other notable trips in the past week include a GREAT trip to the only museum of HOUSE-MOVING in the country. Seriously. A museum devoted to the art of house-moving, an art which now relies largely on hydraulics but which in the past was reliant on the synchronization of sheer (hu)man-power to lift levers at precisely the same time to prevent buckling.... And yes. I have found my future occupation.

We also took a detour to Oklahoma:


...and had a joyous post-thunderstorm photo shoot:


For other fun-filled photos and adventure-stories, see Matthew's blog. I am the most exhausted one. Leave me comments, especially if your surname is not Daniels. Seriously guys. I feel as though I have not one non-blood-related friend. (That said, family, continue with your comments. I have no faith in my non-blood-related friends.)

Also send me care packages.

ahh so many interesting things(!!)

A now-oldish picture from the Mississippi Border.

Many things about which to speak.

Since I last updated (thanks for all your comments, ahem ahem), we have traveled to New Orleans (for almost a week), Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and now, a lovely little college town whose name I forget.

First, New Orleans. Allow me to whet your appetite with several choice pictures, most of which are of me. Another exciting thing about these pictures is that I AM NOT WEARING MY LITTLE BIKE AND BUILD ENSEMBLE IN ALL OF THEM. WOW!

Here is a picture of me and my flared-out* bike outside the church we stayed in:



*Here is a close-up example of flare:

(Matthew's mom sent this cow-horn to me, and for that I am forever grateful. Especially considering that my own mother never sends me mail. LOVE YOU MOM. Material goods do not make you happy, material goods do not make you happy.)


So happy. AND MATTHEW I AM SORRY FOR THE DOUBLE POST OF YOUR PICTURE.


On the banks of the Mississippi. Ah, the beauty of the industrial.

I have several other pictures of NOLA (as those in the know -- not me -- call it) but by and large I failed in the picture-taking department. Luckily a word says a thousand pictures (false).

The ride into New Orleans was fine -- long, hot, lots of flat tires -- but riding through towns that had been demolished by Katrina put everything into perspective. The number of driveways with no houses at the end was astonishing. Getting into the city, we rode though parts of the Ninth Ward. People were on their stoops, and life was continuing, but the devastation was readily apparent. And this is two years after the hurricane. I wasn't sure how to feel. Pity seemed condescending -- but thern and again I felt pretty damn condenscending already riding through on my shiny bicycle in my special matching jersey.

The days that followed helped to clarify my emotions at least a bit, and I began to feel less like a tourist to the destruction, and more like a participant in the rebuilding. I mostly helped paint on our "build days" -- god can I roll a paintbrush. The last day was especially great: the homeowners were there and they were so appreciative of our help. The mother gave me a hug when she walked in and then fed us a delicious lunch.

All in all, the city is amazing -- we got a chance to walk around a bit, go do the touristy things (Bourbon Street is a nightmare), see some jazz, EAT FOOD THAT WAS NOT PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY, etc. I want to go back sometime for an extended period of time. There's an amazing volunteer community in the city now, and an incredible amount of optimism and spirit. There are so many more things to say but I am having trouble balancing my ever-meaningful coming-of-age life-changing-experience observations with day to day details. So. Moving on.

Here are some more pictures of our post-New Orleans rides.


Great road sign.


WE FOUND PUPPIES. And irrationally wanted to keep them as our mascots. But ended up giving them to someone who "worked for a vet for 6 years". Some claim that he was in fact a taxidermist. One thing is for certain: the puppies were the least clean in the land. One peed in my Camelbak.


WE FOUND A BURNING BUSH. Go down, Moses? (Or something like that. My biblical studies were halted around the second grade.)


And this is not from the road. But we found this dress hanging on the door of our room this afternoon. YES.

And with that, I'm off. The time I have on this library computer is running out almost as quickly as your attention span.

there is lightning and there is thunder and we are in mississippi.

Hey friends.

Here I am in Biloxi, Mississippi. We're staying at the HandsOn: Gulf Coast site, which is pretty neat-o (big warehouse-like place with bunks, inspirational poster-remnants, photos, etc.), and you should be pretty thankful that I'm writing to you right now. I just tried to go out for a little "night on the town" -- meaning walking 30 paces to a pub down the street -- but alas, as my title indicates, there is lightning and there is thunder and the water is at least a foot deep on the sidewalk and water conducts electricity and... well, we turned back, and i then turned to the internet, and transitively, to you.

Deep breath.

Our ride today was a-ok. 60 miles; not a big deal after the 106 about which I will soon tell you. A lot of traffic. Cars are a little scary. But I am safe!

Going back in time to yesterday. Yesterday, we laid sod. We worked at a Habitat site in Mobile, Alabama. It is a cul-de-sac with a lot of houses, some of which are being built for people whose homes have been ruined by Katrina. The supervisors didn't have a ton of stuff for us to do -- apparently they thought a) we were motorcyclists (you'd be surprised how much we get this) and b) that we were coming in waves. What this meant was that for most of the day 30 of us were standing around raking the same patch of land over and over again before laying down our little squares of sod. It was a hot day, and we were tired, but there were ample amounts of Gatorade, Dominoes Pizza, and Walmart Cookies (DELICIOUS).

Oh yeah, we were tired because, oh wait, we had biked 106 miles the day before.

A hundred miles of cycling is called a CENTURY for you non-cyclists. I hope now that you feel that you are in the know, like I am. When it comes to cycling, I am absolutely the one who is the most in the know. Always. To quote Matthew JK Soursourian, "I am an avid cyclist."

So, the century plus six miles day, in somewhat chronological order:

The story (and what a story it is!) began at the ripe hour of 4 am, when I awoke from my peaceful slumber (on a likely ant-infested mattress), donned my spandex and "butt-butter" (see Matthew's blog for more info), pumped my tires, ate my requisite bagel, peanut butter, and banana, and set off from Milton, FL. We reached lunch at about 9:30, at which point I was starving. Lunch was great. There was meat, which was incredible (!!) after eight million thousand days of PB and J's. Additionally, we were on the BEACH, and it was pretty. It looked just like the Florida I know and love (shout out to the g-parents!) We were in Pensacola, right on the Gulf, by the by. A picture to whet your appetite:


We then proceeded to cross into Alabama. We biked about 40 more miles, arrived at our ferry (we were going to take it 3 miles across the water, I would explain in more specific detail but I'm horrible at geography) at 1:17, only to see most of our dear B and B friends cross over on the 1:15 ferry. Party. So we cried a few tears, ate delicious Haagan Daaz ice cream from the snack bar and waited until 2:45, at which point we hopped on the ferry, jumped eagerly back on our bikes, and rode off into the sunset to this lovely little bridge:

Not as nice as it looks. It gave Caitlin a flat, which we changed by the sea. Picturesque.

About 30 miles away from our destination, Matthew became dehydrated/heat exhausted (not funny then, funnier now) so we hung out outside Jeminy's Bait and Tackle. Alabama! There were many bugs, southern accents, and pick-up trucks. Also Gatorade and Snickers bars. After a little while, we headed back, just in time to see the sun descend. A day of biking! No, really, a day. 6 am to 7 pm. A day. Of biking. I have the worst tan lines in the world. But, I am also one of the more impressive people in the world. Or at least in my family.

We then arrived at Camp Christian, which looks like an abandoned orphanage from a horror film. A pink little girl's dress was hanging in our closet, to top it all off, and, as I think I mentioned before, ants were having a fiesta in Matthew's mattress.

Needless to say, a nervous breakdown ensued.

Kidding! But if one had, I wouldn't have been surprised.

In other news, I have named my bike Pilgrim, which is a bit FUNNY and IRONIC because my bike is not drab. It has a lot of "flare": multi-colored handlebars, a cow-shaped horn (Thanks, Matthew's mom!!), a green flouncy thing around the handlebars.

AND here are some more pictures, in no particular order:





ALSO, click here for more PIX! (And though it may sound like it, this is not a link to an explicit website.)

fire ants, lightning storms, aching quads, ETC

Hello loyal fans. (Judging by the comments on the blog, those include: my sisters, my father, my mother, and my grandparents. I am so hip.)

I am currently in Defuniak Springs, Florida, at a campsite semi-infested with red ants but also miraculously equipped with wireless internet, a store (!!), a pool (!!!!!!!), showers (not very exciting for you, perhaps, but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-level excitement for me after a day of biking), and grills for eating food (which I enjoy more and more of each and every day.)

I'm not sure where I left off, so I'll probably miss some stuff, but since I last wrote we've stayed in some dirty gyms, some really clean gyms, a great church where they fed us lunch, dinner, AND breakfast (exclamation!!)... I have also continued to bike, and my odometer (which measures total miles biked) continues to grow by the day, which is satisfying.

The satisfaction of completing a long day of biking is not to be underestimated. However, the boredom inspired by long stretches of NOTHINGNESS are also not to be underestimated, nor is the agony inspired by Florida's "rolling" hills. (Note: agony might be particular to Meghan Daniels, who did not prepare in an exemplary manner for this particular trip.)

Florida's been fun and very very different from the beachy Florida that I know and love. There continue to be amusing church signs and lots of fruit stands. I have also seen a chain-gang-type deal outside of a "correctional institution", of which Florida has many, which was really surreal and a little bit disturbing. Men in rows, guards on horses... yikes. Especially considering the percentage of false convictions...oy.

I had my first "bike in the rain" experience -- lightning, thunder, power-outages, oh my. Not the funnest of fun, but also not the worst. I survived.

This morning a Baptist church provided grits (not the biggest fan) and biscuits (delicious) for us, and we listened to an 80 year old church member's "breakfast dinner theatre" which comprised mostly Christmas songs. WONDERFUL, dare I say. And hilarious.

More things have happened. I have eaten more peanut butter sandwiches and many more bananas; I have not read any more of my book; I have continued to go to sleep early and wake up earlier. I will add pictures WHEN POSSIBLE.

I miss you all
(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

BICYCLES

I am now sitting in a beautiful public library in LIVE OAK, FLORIDA, home of _____. I'm not actually sure what Live Oak is home too, but there are a couple of things I do know: it has multiple fast food restaurants, multiple grocery stores, and multiple sporting goods stores, which makes it bigger than ALL of the towns we passed through today. Or at least most of them.

Today was many things. Today was the day that I got a flat tire (!!!!!!) I needed a lot of help changing it. But I assisted in at least 25 percent of the endeavor, and I think 25% is an honorable percentage. PLUS if that isn't enough for you... I still have grease stains on my legs. Delicious. Tangentially, I also have a great farmer's tan.

Today was also the day we biked for 55 miles on one long flat road known as I-90. We stopped for lunch at a great petting zoo with poor helpless malnourished mistreated exotic animals. There was also a Christian rock band.

Which brings me to my next topic: Christianity. IT IS EVERYWHERE. "Happy Father's Day; Real fathers love God" is my favorite billboard so far. There have been about 400000 churches so far along our route. We have also been staying in churches and showering at megachurches and basically, God is very present in my life. Which is great.

As for biking, I am a member of what we have dubbed, alternately, Team Tardy, Team Terrible, Team Terrific, and Team Tenacious. Basically what we're trying to say is that we go slowly. See the scenes. Snap some shots.

Yesterday we biked 60 miles, from Jacksonville to Glen St Mary, a town which was the smallest of small. We spent about 15 of those miles on a Rail Trail with, get this, NO CARS. Hilarious jokes were cracked, lifelong memories were formed.

The day before that we had our first "build day", working with Beaches Habitat in Jacksonville. I felt very magnanimous at the end. I laid sod. WOW do I dislike laying sod. But at the end we had created a lawn where only dirt had been before. TEAMWORK IN ACTION. Matthew and I also put up shutters. I even used a powerdrill and I only messed up 3 times. We put one shutter on upside down. Then we realized our mistake, fixed it, and proceeded to put the next shutter on upside now. The shutters were blue and beautiful, and they really tied the house together.

IN CONCLUSION, I hope all of you are well, and don't worry about praying for me because the whole state of Florida seems to be already.

this is a blog about me and my bike

hi family, friends, anonymous people who can but probably will not read this blog. i am a little afraid of the idea of a blog (self-indulgent?) but here it is. a blog!

background: this summer, i am riding my bike three thousand and something something miles from jacksonville, florida to san francisco, california. i have raised over $4000 for affordable housing/this trip (thanks guys) and the trip will give me an opportunity to meet the people who will benefit from that money, raise awareness about issues surrounding affordable housing, build some houses (yikes), get some great tan lines (yikes), clad myself in spandex and swelter in the southern heat.... etc.

i am flying to jacksonville tomorrow via charlotte, where i will unite with my dear friend matthew (from cityterm) so that we can strategize about how to present ourselves to "the group." i think i have it in my head that bike and build will be like survivor without the coconuts, or big brother without the mod houses, or celebrity fit club without screech. anyway. perhaps matthew and i will color-coordinate our outfits.

and then i will be off (!)

here is our full itinerary

and here is a link to the communal and perchance more neatly polished and less biased/judgmental group blog

and here is a link to a minor secondary news information source if you find our/my reporting inadequate

and i believe that that is all, for now.

except if you want to send me food or gifts or other tokens of affection here are our mail drops:

June 21st Milton FL
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
5111 Dogwood DR
Milton, FL 32570-9998

Jun 28th New Orleans LA
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
610 S Maestri PL
New Orleans, LA 70130-3429

Jul 5th Natchitoches LA
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
240 Saint Denis ST
Natchitoches, LA 71457-9998

Jul 12th Wichita Falls Tx
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
1000 Lamar ST
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-9995

Jul 19th Las Vegas NM
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
1900 Hot Springs Blvd
Las Vegas, NM 87701-9997

Jul 26th Ship Rock NM
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
91 Highway 491 S
Shiprock, NM 87420-9998

Aug 9th Lake Tahoe CA
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
7005 N Lake Blvd
Tahoe Vista, CA 96148-9800

Aug 16th San Francisco CA
General Delivery
C/O Bike and Build- Rider's Name
450 Golden Gate AVE
San Francisco, CA 94102-366