Oops, sorry...

ohmygod. I am so sorry for abandoning you for over 11 days as several of you have reminded me. That's probably because this has been the best part of the trip, so it's hard for me to break away from all the fun things we've been doing and force myself to sit inside at a computer. But really I do apologize.

We rode from Holyoke, CO to Stoneham and the next day to Fort Collins. The ride into Ft. Collins was rolling hills but I actually lost my breath when I saw the Rockies looming in the distance. I mean I always knew it would be like this but really...I couldn't possibly imagine the excitement (um, terror?) at seeing them in real life. For that day though, we were still on pretty flat ground as we rolled into FoCo.

I was able to see my friend Misty (we lived with Kara and Erica together for 3 years at Kenyon), she is from Ft. Collins and still in the area. Since I got in relatively early, we were able to grab lunch at a cute cafe downtown (Ft Collins is a typical college town, a main street with cafes, coffee shops, bars, outdoor shops, bike shops, young kids, etc. Definitely my kind of place and a nice change from the small towns we'd been in since Lawrence.). Later we went to REI and then met up with Becca and our mutual friend Elana (Hi Elana), who came to ride with us for the next day and a half. We browsed the downtown, got ice cream at Walrus Ice Cream (yes it's in the book and yes it lives up to it's reputation), and then went for drinks and some Mexican at Rio. It was a great afternoon away from 30 other Bike and Builders and like I said before, in an actual town.

The next morning we woke up at our normal wake-up time of 4am. Of course it was still dark outside but we had a 42 mile ride uphill into Estes Park. 42 miles is a cakewalk you say...not so much. Actually, it wasn't at all as hard as I'd imagined, and I had a great time riding/trading stories with Elana.

Estes Park is another cute town, a bit too touristy for me but I was finally able to get a pair of (pink, obviously) Crocs as well as a new pair of flip flops (they have ice cream cones on them) since Becca so carelessly lost my beloved Rainbows. There were a ton of outdoor shops there too which were fun to browse and I was so proud of Roshan for finally buying a pair of her own Patagonia shorts. If you ever are in Estes Park, be sure to check out Kind Coffee, a great little coffee place on the edge of town. Free wireless and lots of reading materials (plus a great iced chai) make this a place one can sit for hours. In fact I did later in the afternoon, and almost missed dinner at the host site.

After Estes Park came Granby, but inbetween the two was the hardest and most beautiful ride of the summer. We rode on Trail Ridge Road (thru Rocky Mtn Natl Park), which included a 22 mile climb straight up to the 12,000+ summit. The climb took 7 hours, but that wasn't because I was going 5mph, instead it was due to the many stops I made 1) to take random hikes to gorgeous views (don't worry Mom I took pics), 2) to eat food because after every half mile I became so famished I thought I was going to faint, 3) because of the altitide, I also thought I was going to pass out, and 4) because I got a flat in a construction zone and ended up walking my bike to the visitor's center on top (though sadly, even though i could see it, it was actually about 2 miles away, which made for a pretty long walk. I did refuse 2 offers for a ride because that would mean I hadn't biked xc). It was cold at the top, maybe 40-50 degrees, and super windy and cloudy, but it didn't even matter because the ride to the bottom was just sublime. After we left Rocky Mountain National Park, Becca and I stopped in the town of Grand Lake, bought Phish Food at the gas station and walked down to the shoreline to share the pint. That was pretty sublime, too, even though we were swept by sweep.

After Granby came Steamboat Springs, a cute mountain town that kind of reminded me of Vail a bit although a little bit less snobby. Highlights from that stay included a night of drinks on a rooftop bar, a build day in the nicest Habitat neighborhood I've ever seen, and a trip to the hot springs for naked nighttime frolicking with about 10 other riders. Fantastic.

Now I'm in Park City Utah and not only is my internet time running out but I've been in Utah for 3 days and haven't even noticed one Morman. I've seen several churches (we're not allowed to stay in any), but no one has bothered me with their Mormanism, which I think is awesome.

Park City is somewhere I'd definitely love to return to, not only to snowboard but to be here for the Sundance Film Festival. Next January maybe, or in '09? Can't wait.

Hope this update gives you a little idea of what I've been up to for the past week. I'll be riding thru the salt flats next (has anybody besides Rowan seen Wind? Now picture the sailboat being a bike.), then on to Nevada along I-80 (hopefully we will all stay injury free), Reno, and into the GREAT state of California! I can't believe this is ending so quickly. In the words of Roshan, "this trip has totes been da bomb digs."

Finally in Colorado!

Hello from Holyoke, CO! We biked 100 miles (on one road) here from McCook, NE yesterday, and today had the luxury of sleeping in! I got up at 8am Mountain Time, which is 5 hours later than I normally sleep and more than twice the amount of sleep I've been getting each night over the past week. I am still pretty tired and will probably take a nap later but since I actually have time to do that I'm not too stressed out about it...

Nebraska was a great state, way better than Kansas. There were actually people in the towns and they were super friendly and the land was a bit flatter. Yes there were still many hills, but for the most part things weren't too bad. The flatest road we've had since that day in Illinois was yesterday, leaving Nebraska and heading into Colorado. Apparently between Holyoke and whereever we're staying tomorrow night it will be flat as well.

I can't wait to actually hit the Rockies, I mean yeah it will hard but there has just been so much anticipation leading up to this that we are all absolutely dying to finally get there! We just found out today though that we might not be able to ride on Trail Ridge Road (the highest paved road in the country) because of construction. This is particularily disappointing, especially because Trail Ridge Road and the ride from Estes Park to Granby is one of the top three reasons I signed up for this trip (the others were Park City and Lake Tahoe). The Habitat Bike Challenge (which is what Bike and Build stemmed from) went through there earlier this week and was forced to reroute. They also shared with us that it's too cold to wake up at 4, so when in the mountains they woke up at 6! HOOTIE! My life just improved drastically :)

My bike has been doing really well, I am actually pretty surprised he has been holding up. Most people are getting new chains and while I did put on new brake pads and have a new tire, my chain is still going strong (I mean...I think it is...I really have no idea and it will probably break tomorrow...but for now it's great). My new best friends Becca, Roshan, Erin, and Kristi are all doing fabulous too.


Fave part of the last few days:

-when we had a short day (68 miles) and the leaders gave us a scavenger hunt to work on. we got to go in a fire house in some small Kansas town (sounds like Matokat but I really don't remember the name) and got pictures with their fire truck.
-when Cooper's parents provided us with first and second lunch yesterday and I got to not only eat apple pie at 9am but could eat it with Nilla Wafers and a turkey and fresh tomato sandwich.
-swimming in the Alma, NE town pool. and rocking the awful tan lines too of course!
-gaining an hour of sleep as we moved into Mountain Time.
-Becca's very brilliant purchase of speakers, allowing us to listen to Rent slash every mix I've ever made as we ride, and also being able to make mixes solely dedicated to P2SF07 rides.
-mail day yesterday in Holyoke -- I got 3 packages (this is normal and makes me so excited every Thursday) and a letter. This week's fantastic letter was from Tai (thanks Chipotty!) and my packages were from my parents (included new spandex, always a great thing to have, as well as the Times, WSJ, and Lake George Mirror -- in the Bell family the three most important sources of print one can read), my aunt (lots of good food and of course tabloids so I can know what's really going on in the world), and my good friend Jess (I opened up the USPS package and pulled out a colorful bag with ribbon handles and felt like I was back on the Kenyon Lacrosse team again, getting a secret pscyh bag. It was PERFECT, and so Jess. I LOVE it!). So great!

hope you are all doing well, thanks for your comments :)

PEACE.

I'm in Nebraska!

4am is the new 6am.

Today I was in the geographical center of the continental US by 630am. Pretty sunrise over the Kansas hills.

Despite popular belief, Kansas and Nebraska are NOT flat. They ARE windy.

Wrapping speakers around your Camelbak and playing the Rent soundtrack really makes the miles go by.

When I'm in Colorado in a few days I'm seeing my friends Misty and Elana and I can't wait.

There is a long line of Bike and Builders behind me waiting for this computer so that's all I have time for right now.

Lawrence: 27 square miles of reality surrounded by Kansas.

That's the sticker that I bought at a store on the cute Massachusetts Street of downtown Lawrence, KS earlier today. Love this town! It's totally a mecca in the middle of the midwestern cornfields. We got in on Tuesday evening and are staying at St. John's School, an elementary school across the street from a wonderful park, a block from downtown, and about 3 blocks from KU. We're staying here till Saturday, working on building an entire house (a Habitat "Blitz Build") during our 3 day stay. Yesterday we had the luxury of sleeping in until 730 (quite the luxury, especially considering we were told tonight that our new wake up will be at 4am), followed by breakfast at a nearby church and a day at the build site in North Lawrence. Well, I only spent the morning building; in the afternoon I went with Becca, Roshan, and Erin to the Habitat ReStore a few miles away. The ReStore is a fantastic idea -- household items, parts, etc are recycled and dirt cheap! If I had a fixer-upper I woul totally look there for cheap doors, windows, floors, appliances, tiles, etc. It's such a wonderful thing, and open to everyone. I think it's just such a great resource. Last night a bunch of us went to see Harry Potter! It was pretty good, I won't spoil it for anyone who may not have gotten the chance to see it yet, but I will say that about 10 of us (myslef included) fell asleep because we are always just so damn tired. Plus the seats were the most comfortable seating we'd had in weeks! We built again today (we actually painted first, this included a painting contest quite similar to the fence-painting contest we witnessed at Tom Sawyer Days in Hannibal...I would just like to say that Becca, Kristi, and I beat Roshan, Justine, and Erin. Not only was our side of the house painted faster, but it looked prettier, too.), and will again tomorrow. Our free time has been spent at the bike shop (Sunflower Outdoor and Bike, GREAT SHOP), ice cream place (Maddy and Sylas's, also quite fantastic), and random places like Urban Outfitters, Aimee's Coffee Shop, Pita Pit, Bank of America, Brother's Bar (just like in Columbus!), and Weaver's Department store (super cute dresses for only $50, don't worry though Mom I didn't want to have it get wrinkled in my bag so I didn't buy the one I really wanted). We have been really deprived from civilization since we left New York (except for our time in Marietta and Cincinnati, OH) and this town is just so great! It does NOT feel like we are in Kansas. Even though I'm off the bike for a few days, I STILL CAN'T STOP EATING!!! It's so ridiculous how we all rush to get multiple pancakes, eggs, cereal, and fruit each morning, even though instead of biking 90 miles we're just putting in a few nails or raising the tressels of a roof. The food from various hosts here has been nothing short of amazing -- kind of like our entire trip. Here is what I ate today, just to give you a glimpse of what I eat when I DON'T bike: Breakfast: 3 pancakes with real maple syrup, 1 orange, 1 banana, some scrambled eggs. Mid-Morning snack: 2 gatorades -- 1 glacier freeze and 1 orange. Lunch: veggie sandwich donated by Habitat, too many cookies home made by Rachel's fam. Mid-afternoon snack: again too many cookies, these ones were sent to us by Erin's friend. Also 2 scoops of ice cream, sweet popcorn, and some fudge. Dinner: strawberries, an entire bowl of blueberries, salad, 2 veggie burgers with ketchup (but no buns), a brownie, and yes more ice cream. WOW. Also I went running and was pretty much dying, I still go once a week but I have definitely gained weight (ha, I wonder why), I mean when I run I can feel my body is just that much heavier. Also my legs are much more used to spinning so the running motion feels weird, and I actually have to breathe heavily (aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise) so yeah I was pretty much having an asthma attack as I ran thru Lawrence. Awesome! But seriously things continue to go well and I am still so pumped about this extraordinary experience :) Today was mail day and thanks again for all your packages and letters!!! Miss you all. HOOTIE.

Oh, the Midwest...

The mentality of the midwest (Indiana, Illinois, Missouri) is really beginning to stress me out. I grew up frequenting the south, but I haven't truly experienced the bible belt until this trip. It's so different from what I am used to! While I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, I dislike how they are thrown on me as I pedal past on poorly paved roads. Just today I passed a pro-life billboard. Like, seriously? The churches we stay at frequently have pamphelts concerning homosexuality and abortion, and every time a priest makes a prayer, we all hold our breathes, afraid that something he or she says will make us all uncomfortable. I know the saying "when in rome..." but wow. It's tough. I guess I just don't get the restrictiveness of everything. If that was my religion I would feel so suffocated! Too many rules. For instance right now I am on a computer that has bible quotes all over it. And there are more on a board over the computer, including one that says "Jesus knows what you are thinking." UMMM creepy. And there's a TV here but 90% of the channels are blocked, even the news. Seriously? Plus today a man asked me if I had seen the "oriental" boy walk by and I was like, are you kidding me?! What the heck year are these people living in?! It's disgusting, like living in a bubble. I am just blown away by it.

The towns here are pretty creepy, too. We pass thru several during each day, many with populations under 200 people (right now the record stands at 44). The weird thing is that there are never any people around! The streets are dead quiet and we all feel like we're invading a movie set. Plus you can bike down Main Street and look down each side street and see a cornfield at the end. Kind of like when you're on Atlantic Avenue at LBI and you look down each street and know it leads straight to the beach. Kind of...but not. It's weird -- so not my style. But it makes me SO happy that I didn't grow up here. So happy.

Today we biked 68 miles from Hannibal, MO (boyhood home of Mark Twain) to Mosberly (I think that's where we are), MO. The ride wasn't too bad...I rode sweep with Eric. It was slow because we couldn't go our own pace, plus it was super windy and hilly too, but overall it was fine. People are really starting to emotionally break down though. There was a lot of crabbiness this morning that is pretty disheartening. I however would still rather be doing Bike and Build than anything else!

Yesterday we got into Hannibal early which allowed us to go play around town and enjoy Tom Sawyer Day. I've never been to MO before (thank you Mom and Dad for never taking me here as a kid!) but actually my first glimpse of it wasn't too bad. Maybe it was because Hannibal was in the middle of Tom Sawyer Days, maybe it was because I legit like Mark Twain books...I don't know what the reason is, but having the Mississippi right there, being able to see the jail, Widow Douglas's house, Tom Sawyer's house and fence, being able to watch a fence painting contest, being able to see a Tom and Becky Thatcher look-alike dress-up contest, seeing a man in character playing Mark Twain...it was fun to be touristy like that for a few hours. Also Becca, Roshan, Erin, and I found a cute coffee shop (the first one west of the Mississippi) that reminded us of our beloved northeast. We were able to get frozen and iced coffees (with soy milk, something we couldn't find in IL) and sit and read Time and art magazines and Roshie even got her hands on an US Weekly. We all pretended we were at our respective schools or in Boston and it was just so fantastic! Of course today...we were thrown right back into the heartland.

Tonight we'll be watching Crash on the church's TV. I'm sure if they watched it with us they would somehow be offended, kind of like when we watched Rent on a TV in western Ohio. These are two of my fave movies though (so i obvi recommend them to everyone) and everyone in my group appreciates them too. Tomorrow we bike about 90 miles to I don't know where and in a few days we'll be in KANSAS. We've been building up Lawrence for a while now, so we'll see if it lives up to it's expectations.

And I thought Gambier was in the middle of cornfields!

I have never seen this much corn. It is crazy! Yesterday, the 4th of July, was spent in not your typical 4th of July fashion. There were no parades, no red white and blue, no fireworks, no beer (well, until after 9pm). At the beginning of the day, I naively expressed my excitement at being sweep*, eager to ride in at least 5 small towns' 4th of July parades. I was even going to decorate Brutus.

BUT. There were no 4th of July parades. The 100 mile day began with a 5am wake up call at our campsite in Paris, IL (you can always count on the midwest to be unoriginal -- we've passed thru Paris, Milan, Albany, Boston, well you get the picture). As the group rolled out around 7, Jerrod and I followed, but didn't get very far as everyone was getting coffee and snickers bars at the gas station just outside the campground. By 8 everyone had left the gas station and Jerrod and I decided to roll out as well, by 830 we were caught in a downpour just outside Paris in the middle of cornfield #1.

Cornfield #1 turned into cornfields #2-10000000 as well. Paris was the last town we went through (I know, depressing, right?) and before I knew it all I could see was corn. It was just ridiculous. We would ride for 20 straight miles literally through a hallway of corn. It was super creepy. And then we'd turn left and go for a mile or two, and then turn and head west again. And the wind, oh the wind. Pedaling in the pelting rain with a strong headwind makes for a fun ride, let me tell you. If we were riding west to east, the flat terrain would cause us to go about 25 mph. Not so traveling east to west...we were averaging 9mph.

Jerrod and I caught up with Becca, Roshan, Doug, and Erin around mile 15, and we pedaled with them into lunch #1 at mile 40. We took our time at lunch, luckily the sun had come out, and bounced once the Becca-Rosh-Doug-Erin group (the last group in front of us) had been gone for about 20 minutes. An hour and a half later, once we had gone 15 miles (just in case you can't do math, that's pretty pathetic) we caught up with everyone just chillin by the corn, running out of water and too exhausted to keep pedaling. This stopping went on for the next 15 miles, so basically there were now 6 of us sweeping. Still nothing but corn. I mean, I don't get where the people who plant and take care of the corn actually live. They must own thousands of acres.

We finally did run into a house. Well, there was a sign on the side of the road advertising an orchard. We were pretty sure we were hallucinating, this was almost too good to be true! We walked up the driveway, taking note of the break in the monotonous landscape. What did we stumble on but a Mennonite family's 4th of July party! OMG (to anyone who knows who the AGDs are...yes, I think they were their close friends). BUTTTT they were super nice and gave us water, homemade ice cream, and apple cider slushie. YUM! What an oasis. One second I swear I am in hell, boringly pedaling past stalk after stalk of corn, and suddenly my mood goes from horrible to wonderful in just a few feet. They even took a picture with us. Oh so Bike and Build...good times.

Lunch #2 was at mile 70, but by the time we arrived everyone else was gone, including the van. Sarah (one of our leaders) was standing with the trailer, watching the swollen cloud of a midwestern thunderstorm move across the giant sky. Mariah (another leader) had taken the van to find water (where she thought she would find it, I have no idea). We were actually pretty full from the little holiday party we crashed, so after eating 2 snickers bars each, we were ready to hit the road.

Finally the storm hit us, and by now it was just Becca and me riding sweep with everyone else ahead of us. But we came across Roshan, Doug, Erin, and Jerrod, and as the sweep rules go, we had to wait for them. It was actually raining pretty hard, as well as thundering and lightening, so stopping probably was a good idea (let's just try to imagine this though...where does one go where all there is is corn?! We thought a ditch seemed like the best option).

Fifteen minutes later, and after filming a video of Roshan and Erin running in circles to stay warm, we decided the storm was letting up and moving south and that we should hit the road again. And then who do we run into literally a quarter of a mile down the road but Carrie, Carys, and Justine. And so we stopped again.

The group we were originally with had decided to keep going, but as sweep we had to stay back with Carrie, Carys, and Justine, who were afraid that the storm wasn't quite past us yet. Finally they felt it was safe, and as we were pulling out, Carrie announces she has a flat. Excellent! Jerrod, who had stayed back with Becca and me again, decided he wanted to roll out with Justine, so now it is Becca and me sweeping, waiting for Carrie and Carys to fix Carrie's flat.

FINALLY we can leave for real. And we only had 25 miles left! Now Bike and Build has a policy that all riders get in by 4 (and keep in mind we've been up since 5 and riding since 8ish). At this time it is about 5. We have already been through two rainstorms. And we have 25 miles to go....AWESOME.

To make an extremely long story short, Becca and I got to the Taylorville YMCA at 8pm. We rode for a total of 9 hours and had slept for 6 the night before. SWEET.

Luckily the Y had warm showers. And they were individual, too (hey, it's the little things that really make a difference). By 9 we were all piled into the van and headed to the Taylorville Family Restaurant (or some similar name). We all ordered basic ick sandwiches (but they did give us some nourishment I suppose) and a few rounds of beers. Later on we went back to the Y and had a field party high-school style with a few more beers and sparklers. I won't forget this 4th of July, but I'm not going to lie, next year I hope to head back to Red White and Boom, and if not there then to LBI with my high school friends!

Today was our first off day so we got to sleep in (I slept till 8, but believe it or not that really is sleeping in). I got to go for a run, take a shower, and write in the Bike and Build journal (check it out) all in my own time. And my good friends Kirstie and Sara came down from their current (and disgusting) home of Champaign, IL to play. Later on Becca, Roshan, Kristi, Erin, and I went to see Ratatoille. Now it's time for a game of sardines, complete with glowsticks, all around the Y. Tomorrow we have another 100 miles through cornfields, so we will be going to bed shortly afterwards.

Thanks so much for all the mail and love, everyone. I'm glad that you all get as much of a kick out of reading this blog as I do writing it. I'd just like to say hi to my fave fans Katie and Ashley of Head2Head Consultants, as well as my high school friends who are spending this coming weekend at Suzie's shore house, which is a tradition with them that I have sadly never been able to take part in (call me like you always do girls). I can't believe it's already that time of the year!

If you live in Pennington/Hopewell, check out the Hopewell Valley News. Apparently there's an article in this week's edition. If you can't get your hands on a hard copy, check out the below link:
http://www.packetonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18552861&BRD=1091&PAG=461&dept_id=456062&rfi=6

As always I'm not sure when the next time I'll have internet is. I have no idea where I'll be tomorrow night but know I'll be in Missouri sometime in the next few days.

PEACE.

*Every day there are 2 of us who ride behind everyone, making sure no one gets left behind. One of the perks of sweep is that you can take as long as you want; hence, Jerrod and I were planning on taking forever playing around in these (nonexistant) parades.

Indiana = definitely NOT flat

I know, right? You'd think the midwest was really flat. Wrong. It was cute at first, the rolling hills, but today there were STEEP hills. No big deal though, it was a fine 86 mile ride...we were just surprised, that's all.

We left Seymour, IN around 8 this morning and headed west to Linton, also in IN. It was an absolutely beautiful day today -- low 80s and a sunny cloudless sky with abundant greenery. Several stops in the morning (pictures with hay barrels, mainly) resulted in riding in late to lunch, but luckily there were still some cold cuts left over. Geoff's fam had been nice enough to buy some real lunch (as opposed to the normal chocolate and marshmellows on hamburger buns or leftover spaghetti). We also had some Graeter's, left over from last night when Carrie's parents drove 2 hours from Cincinnati to give us one more final chance at Graeter's YUM. After lunch we had a 41 mile ride into Linton, and several of us were absolutely dying because of the huge mass quantity of food we had just consumed. Becca and I made a stop 3 miles in, running into Roshan and Erin, then the 4 of us ran into Mary and Kelly 11 miles in, and then stopped yet again with 12 miles remaining at the Dairy Queen in Bloomfield. Finally though we made it to Linton, home of the largest 4th of July celebration in Indiana. Some of us are headed down to the fair this evening, taking advantage of the late midwestern sun (last night it set around 945 and we are even further west in the Eastern time zone, totally psyched for a longer day!).

Tomorrow should be easy (HA) -- only 60 or so miles (so the way our cue sheets work, i.e. they're always about 10 miles short...we should only have 70). The next day is something like 99, and I'm sweeping, so I'll be bringing up the rear with Jerrod, making sure all other riders are ahead of us and taken care of (tires ok, bikes ok, bodies ok, etc).

Until then--