Howdy y'all!
Wow its been a whirlwind the past couple weeks. We have had about 1% internet which makes posting blogs difficult, but I will try to update the entire trip since NOLA. I'm going to do this in bullet point form with highlights from each day. Here goes!
New Orleans
- I got to build some Custom Boutte Cabinets for Ms. Lynete Boutte. Her brother is John Boutte, who wrote the theme song for the HBO show, Treme. We went to see him play the night before we left and he gave us 3 shout outs, lots of CDs, and people at the bar bought us drinks. Pretty cool!
- Big shout out to John and Elaine, who graciously offered us their home for 4 nights in New Orleans. They also cooked us an incredible dinner the final night, including a bathtub full of fruit salad and a kitchen sink full of guacamole. Truly amazing people.
Baton Rouge
- It was over 90 miles to Baton Rouge, but a beautiful ride out of the swamps of New Orleans and into the woodlands. We also had a build day in Whitecastle, just outside of Baton Rouge, were we got to work on finishing up the framing of a house and putting up the roof trusses. It was fun to get some serious building done and we were fortunate to work side by side with Frances, the homeowner, who was so nice and such a great person to wor with. Also it was about 100 billion degrees and we sweat a lot.
Melville
- From Baton Rouge we had another long ride to Melville, the bustling metropolis of 1100 people. There wasn't much to do except cook dinner (part of my dinner crew responsibilities for the week) - mac and cheese with hot dogs, salad, and leftovers from Baton Rouge, and watch Emanuel's Gift on the projector. Check out the movie, it's a docmentary about a one legged man who rides his bicycle across Ghana to gain awareness and support for Ghanaian disabled people. Good stuff.
Alexandria
- Alexandria is a much bigger town than Melville, but we were unable to enjoy the fruits of the town because of a massive rainstorm. I actually got caught in the rain on my way back from writing my Southern US Journal for our website. I got lost. In the pouring rain. It was great to get everything I had completely wet (not). But like always, arriving back "home" to 32 other Bike and Builders brightens any spirit. We had a knockout binge in Baton Rouge - which had a full basketball court - so felt pretty nature to play knockout again in Alexandria's church's tiny gym/dining area/play room with a bouncy ball and a 3-foot-tall playskool basketball hoop. Chris won, as usual, so we piled on top of him to celebrate.
Nachitoches
- Pronounced "Nack-ah-tish." We stayed at the local university there, Northwestern State, so we got to play some more knockout in the gym. But we also visted historic downtown, which was founded in the 1700s, and we had breakfast in a church with an awesome man whose name I can't remember. He was a big, barrel-chested man who wore an apron all morning as he cooked us dinner with bare feet. Mind you, this is 6am. He had great stories and a vast knowledge of Louisiana which was awesome, and he was also a soccer enthusiast, so he let us use the youth center to watch a world cup game. The ride to Pelican was only 35 miles, so we got to chill a lot longer than usual in the morning.
Pelican
- We stayed at a Baptist Camp, and they fed us catfish until we exploded. They also let us use their pool, and we slept in dormitory-style bunk beds. It smelled pretty bad when we left because of all of our sweaty gear, but sleeping in a bed was surreal.
TEXAS
Carthage
- An 82-mile day with our first sets of rolling hills. This was one of my favorte rides so far. In the morning I set out with Hans, Luke, and Z and we absolutely crushed the first 35 miles to lunch. Riding in a pace-line at an average of 23mph on rolling hills fried my legs and burned my lungs, but it felt amazing to go so fast. These guys are seriously strong cyclists and have pushed me to the limits on many occasions, but this was definitely the fastest, most sustained push I have ever ridden on my bike. It felt awesome getting to lunch just after 9am and being able to loung for 2 hours before setting off on our way.
We let some of the girls go ahead of us and played a little cat and mouse the rest of the way to the host - no small feat considering some of the girls on this trip are very strong riders. We'd ride as hard as we could until we got them in sight and then coast. Our plan was to wait unti the last 6 miles and then burn past them at a blistering pace, but it was foiled when Z and Luke combined for 4 flats in the last 20 miles. We still managed to catch the girls, but only after emptying the tanks of gas and running out of water in the last 2 miles. It was a grueling and tough day, but we all got into Elaine and Rick's house in Carthage at 1:30, just in time to watch the US blow it in the World Cup. They cooked us a delicious meal though and the buckets of beer more than raised our spirits from the US loss.
Athens
- Another grueling day with even longer and steeper hills, hotter weather, and tired legs from the day before. Unfortunately I was unable to ride to lunch because I had a broken spoke, and riding on it would have risked complete destruction of my rear wheel. Luckily though I was able to get a wheel from Allison at lunch; she got into the van after having an asthma attack in the first 35 miles. I only rode 60 of the 90 miles, but man was it tough. Thats why our second lunch stop at a former B&Ber's family residence at mile 69 - complete with cold water, gatorade, ice cream, cookies, home made venison jerky, and a swimming pool - was amazing. I was riding with Justin, one of my best pals/partners in crime on this trip and a source of much laughter, and Chelsea whose grunts while riding up hills crack me up. We were refreshed body and soul after second lunch and made it into Athens without too much difficulty.
Athens is deserving of a lot of words because it was definitely a noteworthy host site. We were hosted by the Methodist church in Athens, but each of us went home with a family for the night. I was with Justin and Brandon, and we stayed with Weldon and Carol Stone, an elderly couple who lived on a lake. That night I slept on a queen bed. It was heavenly. But before I went to sleep, indeed before our late-night snack, Carol informed us that her neighborhood friend, Rick, was hosting 2 Bike and Builders and would be taking them out on his boat. Would we like to go? Absolutely! So Brandon, Justin, Kate, Christina, and I all got on Rick's boat and went tubing and waterskiing for 4 hours. It was amazing, and they were so incredibly nice to drive around and be so patient teaching us all how to waterski. It tired us out, but we went back to Carol's and had some snacks, told them about our lives, did some laundry, and THEN went to sleep on heavenly queen beds. Amazing.
Dallas/Garland/Sunnyvale
- So the cue sheet says we were going to Dallas, but we actually stayed in Sunnyvale and worked with Habitat in Garland. Go figure. Texas keeps getting better and better. We slept in the Sunnyvale Middle School, but we spent the vast majority of our time at Sally and Pete Muhl's house. THey let us use their pool, hot tub, beer, burgers, chips, candy, soda, water, cookies, tacos, brownies, pancakes, french toast, fruit, veggies, spare beds, spare couches, spare floors, television, puppies, dogs, backyard, frontyard, sideyard, cars, trucks, trailers, and anything else you could ever want or need. They are the Bike and Build SUS Hosts of the Year so far. Absolutely incredible people. So nice, so much fun to be around, so helpful. Wow. Anyway, Pete manages the Habitat construction among many many other things, so we worked with him for 2 days framing a house. Awesome work to do - we saw more progress in those two days than any other part of the trip I think. AND they drove us into Dallas to visit the JFK museum AND took us out to steak dinner the last night. Amazing. Really amazing.
Decatur
- Decatur is another small town that we rode through, but they were very welcoming and supportive of our trip. They cooked us burgers from a cow raised and slaughtered (only days before) by one of their church members, and we got to give them a presentation. As part of breakfast crew responsibilities, I was part of the presentation team, along with Brandon, Jenn, Justin, Christina, and Allison. I think we did an awesome job because one of the girls there, who had just graduated high school, wants to do Bike and Build! Yay! It's nice seeing the positive effect we have on people in host communities.
Wichita Falls
- We stayed at a YMCA in the city which was very nice because we got to use the facilities - a gym, pool, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and just a lot of space in general. We've spent so much time in small spaces that a large area like the YMCA is almost weird to us. Naturally, 80% of the group slept in the smallest room we were allowed to sleep in.
The ride into Wichita Falls was actually one of the most fun rides I've had. I rode with Jenn, Josh, and Scott most of the way which were some new riding partners and we had a blast playing stupid games like GHOST. We also had some serious chats which is awesome because I feel like I'm really getting to know everyone on this trip so much better, and it's getting to the point where deep life-chats are pretty regular occurances. Spending 24 hours a day with 33 people for 75 days will make best friends out of most, and I'm loving that aspect of Bike and Build.
OKLAHOMA
Altus
- We dipped into OK for a night in Altus, a small town with a giant methodist church that opened its doors to us. I spent the previous afternoon riding with Hans, and we had an awesome ride with a lot of good conversation. We also crushed the last 7 miles at 27mph (Lance speed - though we had a tailwind) which was good to loosen the muscles. I bought a bunch of American flags immediately after arriving in Altus and spent the rest of the night eating and cleaning my bike before passing out.
TEXAS (AGAIN!)
Memphis
- That brings us to speed! Memphis is a tiny town of 2000 and we're staying in another Methodist church. They cooked us a bunch of lasagna and pasta for dinner which was delicious. The ride today was a wash in the morning - absolute downpour with a strong headwind, while the afternoon opened to a partly cloudy sky with a stiffer headwind. My bike computer doesn't like to work in the rain so I didn't add many miles to the odometer, but whatevs. Tomorrow we head to Amarillo with a day off. We've almost conquered Texas already in a short amount of time - we're putting in some serious miles from here on out! I will try to update more often, but until then, this should be enough. Please leave comments or email me if you want to hear more!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
N'Orleans
First thing's first - big shout out to Grandma and Kaitlyn for sending me a box of delicious cookies. They also promised to send stuff EVERY WEEK for the rest of the summer. I have an awesome family. Can you top them? Check out the mail drops for my route - we get mail every Thursday, so make sure it's where it needs to be by thursday! I accept cash donations, letters, and, most importantly, delicious treats.
http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,347/
I last wrote here in Panama City, which turned out to be an awesome party town. New Orleans puts it to shame.
Before I get onto the the raucous crowds of Bourbon Street, I'll take you through Western Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. We crossed many states in not so many days.
From Panama City we biked north to DeFuniak Springs (we put the fun back in DeFuniak). Along the way, most of us got caught in multiple rain storms that seemed to be following us across the Florida pan-handle. On a bike, that means you need to do some serious maintenance work before the next ride. Most of us wiped our bikes down with rags, re-lubed the chains, cleaned out the cassettes and brakes, and generally performed daily maintenance tasks after arriving in DeFuniak's community center. We were only there for one night, and there wasn't much else to do, so it worked out pretty well. In the morning, we got back in the saddle and headed to Pensacola, but before we left Defuniak Springs we had to ride (rather unnecessarily) around one of two perfectly circular lakes in the world. The other is in Switzerland, apparently.
Anyway, that day's ride was interesting. I rode with Colin, Luke, Z, and Justin, and we really dropped the hammer. It was my first day of serious pedal-mashing, and we were doing pretty well until we hit about mile 50 of 80-something. Route 98 is not friendly to cyclists, and the asphalt soaked up the heat of a 95-degree-day and turned it into at least a 110-degree oven. After a quick water stop in the parking lot of Wal-Mart that Hans had set up for us, we re-routed along Santa Rosa island, a barrier island that felt more like the gates of hell. Sand surrounded us on both sides, and the heat didn't abate, though the traffic was much better. We trucked along through a headwind though, and finally arrived at a delicious feast prepared by our hosts for the evening. Colin mixed chocolate syrup into a gallon of milk, and I think it was gone in less than 60 seconds, split between the 10 of us that arrived around the same time. It was glorious. And there were couches to sleep on.
We only stayed in the Pensacola Paradise Hotel (read: United Methodist Church) for one night before heading to Mobile, Alabama. One of our leaders (there are four, Hans, Colin, Agata, and Cassie) is responsible for the route each day, and for this stretch of the trip it is Agata. She told us we had 91 miles, definitely our longest ride day so far. The morning went quickly. I was riding with Colin again and we were hammering out the first 40 miles like it was cake. We missed the Alabama sign, but got into lunch feeling good... except for my tailbone. I think I injured my coccyx playing intramural hockey this year, and sitting in the library studying on hard chairs didn't help it heal. Now I'm spending close to (or over) 5 hours a day on a skinny, hard bicycle seat everyday. Not a good combo.
At lunch I decided, after talking to both Colin and Hans, that I would spend the rest of the day in the van. I really wanted to finish the ride, but I figured some rest now would help me to ride more later on - I didn't want to injure it further and have to sit in the van for multiple days down the road. We had 2 build days in Mobile, so that was some additional rest.
The van sucks. It's got air-conditioning, but that's about the only perk. We had to set up a second lunch stop, pick up riders that missed a ferry, and drive down beautiful winding roads that I should have been riding my bike on. Sucks. AND there was a "surprise" 5 miles at the end that I missed. I know, you're thinking I'm crazy to have wanted to ride an extra 5 miles up and down hills at the end, but there's something about grueling through a difficult and long ride with your friends that builds a lot of cameraderie. I am sad to have missed it.
But it's all good, and my butt healed a bit during our two build days. I spent my build time with Justin (his last name is Butler, so we call him Butts) working in one of the houses. Frankly, the Mobile Habitat for Humanity needs a construction supervisor. We saw multiple issues, like the crack in the floor that we were tasked to fix, throughout the entire house. Anyway, after two days, we had fixed the one big crack in the floor, but in order to do so we had to take out three doors completely and the entire floor. So we left a bit behind where we started. We also may or may not have ruined some of the doors (which were caulked, sealed, and painted) because there was no other way to reinstall the interlocking laminate flooring. But I think the two of us learned a lot, and now, in New Orleans, we are applying that knowledge and being much more careful with our work.
After our stay in Mobile, we biked to Long Beach, Mississippi, which is just south of Gulfport. I think it's appropriate now to bring up the oil spill. I have seen oil. It's here. When riding on Satan's Island (Santa Rosa before Pensacola), we stopped on the beach to talk to contracted clean up crews (and dip our tires in the Gulf. Only trip with 3 coasts!) Some of the clean up guys had big tar balls, but the beach and ocean were very clean.
Riding (and driving) into Mobile, we saw a LOT of the floating booms they're using in the clean up process. I learned that the oil, for the most part, rests on the top of the water. The booms sag about a foot and half into the water, so they use them to funnel the oil into specific locations, where boats are rigged to skim the oil off the top of the water. This oil can actually be reprocessed and used.
The booms are everywhere. They've got really long ones, and every body of water since Pensacola has had them somewhere. Riding over a bridge towards Mobile, I saw an island/sand bar in the middle of a bay that was absolutely drenched in oil. The sand was brown. You can see the oil in the water - it looks brown and... well, oily. It's murky and streaks through the water. There are clean up crews just about everywhere - poor souls wearing orange vests and long pants in the dire heat. Every beach has been practically deserted other than sporadic tents for the clean up guys. Other than that, however, the beaches seem clean. When you hear the governors of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi saying it's clean, it is. But the oil is there, and I'm sure it's wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. I have a shirt that says "Save Louisiana Seafood." I'm not sure if it's possible.
At Long Beach we stayed in Colin's parents' friend's beach house. In the evening we walked around the corner to Darwell's pub/grill for some famous Shrimp Creole and live music outside. It was amazingly delicious and a really good time.
The rest of the block we were staying on was either nice new houses, or empty lots, with stairs leading to nowhere: remnants of Katrina. Some houses were abandoned and had FEMA numbers spray painted on the walls. While many of the communities we had visited before this along the coast were affected by Katrina, this was the first real encounter with the horrifying destruction of news headlines. It got worse in New Orleans.
We had a 69 mile ride into New Orleans and I decided - along with the bros I've been riding with - to totally crush it. I got my first flat, we endured 4 flats as a group, as well as blistering heat, but we crushed it. For a stretch of newly paved highway, we even rode at 30mph for a few miles, which is really like, Lance speed. It hurt. But we dropped the hammer and got into NOLA around noon, which was perfect because our goal was to arrive in time to watch the World Cup game at 1:30. We ended up meeting with some other riders in our group and looking for a place to eat and watch the game. With 5 others, I helped get some hot wings and sodas donated and we sat in a nice restaurant on Bourbon Street to watch the game. We then rode to our host location in the Lower 9th Ward - a former Walgreens that was gutted and unfinished except for one room which was being used as a worship hall for a church. Not good. The L9W was hit the worst by Katrina - it was under 13.5 feet of water, and it shows. Now, people are poorer than they were (we saw signs for businesses that were clearly written by illiterate people. Seriously, the letters were written incorrectly, much like a 4-year-old would write an "e" backwards). It's dangerous because people are driven to steal, and a group got their belongings stolen out of that church. So we resolved to move across town, which is where I am now. I've been out on the town a few nights - Bourbon Street is a giant party, Frenchmen Street has great music, and there's delicious seafood all around. We've built for two days now - I'm working with Justin and Hans on building and installing a kitchen cabinet set for a hard-to-work-with woman in Treme whose brother wrote and performed the title track for the HBO series of the same name. We're going to watch him on Saturday.
Anyway, I've written a ton so far, so I am going to bed. I'll try to update again before I leave New Orleans, but we have to move again tomorrow so I have no idea of the internet situation. It's been very spotty, but I am taking mental notes and promise to update as often as possible. Thanks for reading, don't forget to send me cookies!
Alex
http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,347/
I last wrote here in Panama City, which turned out to be an awesome party town. New Orleans puts it to shame.
Before I get onto the the raucous crowds of Bourbon Street, I'll take you through Western Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. We crossed many states in not so many days.
From Panama City we biked north to DeFuniak Springs (we put the fun back in DeFuniak). Along the way, most of us got caught in multiple rain storms that seemed to be following us across the Florida pan-handle. On a bike, that means you need to do some serious maintenance work before the next ride. Most of us wiped our bikes down with rags, re-lubed the chains, cleaned out the cassettes and brakes, and generally performed daily maintenance tasks after arriving in DeFuniak's community center. We were only there for one night, and there wasn't much else to do, so it worked out pretty well. In the morning, we got back in the saddle and headed to Pensacola, but before we left Defuniak Springs we had to ride (rather unnecessarily) around one of two perfectly circular lakes in the world. The other is in Switzerland, apparently.
Anyway, that day's ride was interesting. I rode with Colin, Luke, Z, and Justin, and we really dropped the hammer. It was my first day of serious pedal-mashing, and we were doing pretty well until we hit about mile 50 of 80-something. Route 98 is not friendly to cyclists, and the asphalt soaked up the heat of a 95-degree-day and turned it into at least a 110-degree oven. After a quick water stop in the parking lot of Wal-Mart that Hans had set up for us, we re-routed along Santa Rosa island, a barrier island that felt more like the gates of hell. Sand surrounded us on both sides, and the heat didn't abate, though the traffic was much better. We trucked along through a headwind though, and finally arrived at a delicious feast prepared by our hosts for the evening. Colin mixed chocolate syrup into a gallon of milk, and I think it was gone in less than 60 seconds, split between the 10 of us that arrived around the same time. It was glorious. And there were couches to sleep on.
We only stayed in the Pensacola Paradise Hotel (read: United Methodist Church) for one night before heading to Mobile, Alabama. One of our leaders (there are four, Hans, Colin, Agata, and Cassie) is responsible for the route each day, and for this stretch of the trip it is Agata. She told us we had 91 miles, definitely our longest ride day so far. The morning went quickly. I was riding with Colin again and we were hammering out the first 40 miles like it was cake. We missed the Alabama sign, but got into lunch feeling good... except for my tailbone. I think I injured my coccyx playing intramural hockey this year, and sitting in the library studying on hard chairs didn't help it heal. Now I'm spending close to (or over) 5 hours a day on a skinny, hard bicycle seat everyday. Not a good combo.
At lunch I decided, after talking to both Colin and Hans, that I would spend the rest of the day in the van. I really wanted to finish the ride, but I figured some rest now would help me to ride more later on - I didn't want to injure it further and have to sit in the van for multiple days down the road. We had 2 build days in Mobile, so that was some additional rest.
The van sucks. It's got air-conditioning, but that's about the only perk. We had to set up a second lunch stop, pick up riders that missed a ferry, and drive down beautiful winding roads that I should have been riding my bike on. Sucks. AND there was a "surprise" 5 miles at the end that I missed. I know, you're thinking I'm crazy to have wanted to ride an extra 5 miles up and down hills at the end, but there's something about grueling through a difficult and long ride with your friends that builds a lot of cameraderie. I am sad to have missed it.
But it's all good, and my butt healed a bit during our two build days. I spent my build time with Justin (his last name is Butler, so we call him Butts) working in one of the houses. Frankly, the Mobile Habitat for Humanity needs a construction supervisor. We saw multiple issues, like the crack in the floor that we were tasked to fix, throughout the entire house. Anyway, after two days, we had fixed the one big crack in the floor, but in order to do so we had to take out three doors completely and the entire floor. So we left a bit behind where we started. We also may or may not have ruined some of the doors (which were caulked, sealed, and painted) because there was no other way to reinstall the interlocking laminate flooring. But I think the two of us learned a lot, and now, in New Orleans, we are applying that knowledge and being much more careful with our work.
After our stay in Mobile, we biked to Long Beach, Mississippi, which is just south of Gulfport. I think it's appropriate now to bring up the oil spill. I have seen oil. It's here. When riding on Satan's Island (Santa Rosa before Pensacola), we stopped on the beach to talk to contracted clean up crews (and dip our tires in the Gulf. Only trip with 3 coasts!) Some of the clean up guys had big tar balls, but the beach and ocean were very clean.
Riding (and driving) into Mobile, we saw a LOT of the floating booms they're using in the clean up process. I learned that the oil, for the most part, rests on the top of the water. The booms sag about a foot and half into the water, so they use them to funnel the oil into specific locations, where boats are rigged to skim the oil off the top of the water. This oil can actually be reprocessed and used.
The booms are everywhere. They've got really long ones, and every body of water since Pensacola has had them somewhere. Riding over a bridge towards Mobile, I saw an island/sand bar in the middle of a bay that was absolutely drenched in oil. The sand was brown. You can see the oil in the water - it looks brown and... well, oily. It's murky and streaks through the water. There are clean up crews just about everywhere - poor souls wearing orange vests and long pants in the dire heat. Every beach has been practically deserted other than sporadic tents for the clean up guys. Other than that, however, the beaches seem clean. When you hear the governors of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi saying it's clean, it is. But the oil is there, and I'm sure it's wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. I have a shirt that says "Save Louisiana Seafood." I'm not sure if it's possible.
At Long Beach we stayed in Colin's parents' friend's beach house. In the evening we walked around the corner to Darwell's pub/grill for some famous Shrimp Creole and live music outside. It was amazingly delicious and a really good time.
The rest of the block we were staying on was either nice new houses, or empty lots, with stairs leading to nowhere: remnants of Katrina. Some houses were abandoned and had FEMA numbers spray painted on the walls. While many of the communities we had visited before this along the coast were affected by Katrina, this was the first real encounter with the horrifying destruction of news headlines. It got worse in New Orleans.
We had a 69 mile ride into New Orleans and I decided - along with the bros I've been riding with - to totally crush it. I got my first flat, we endured 4 flats as a group, as well as blistering heat, but we crushed it. For a stretch of newly paved highway, we even rode at 30mph for a few miles, which is really like, Lance speed. It hurt. But we dropped the hammer and got into NOLA around noon, which was perfect because our goal was to arrive in time to watch the World Cup game at 1:30. We ended up meeting with some other riders in our group and looking for a place to eat and watch the game. With 5 others, I helped get some hot wings and sodas donated and we sat in a nice restaurant on Bourbon Street to watch the game. We then rode to our host location in the Lower 9th Ward - a former Walgreens that was gutted and unfinished except for one room which was being used as a worship hall for a church. Not good. The L9W was hit the worst by Katrina - it was under 13.5 feet of water, and it shows. Now, people are poorer than they were (we saw signs for businesses that were clearly written by illiterate people. Seriously, the letters were written incorrectly, much like a 4-year-old would write an "e" backwards). It's dangerous because people are driven to steal, and a group got their belongings stolen out of that church. So we resolved to move across town, which is where I am now. I've been out on the town a few nights - Bourbon Street is a giant party, Frenchmen Street has great music, and there's delicious seafood all around. We've built for two days now - I'm working with Justin and Hans on building and installing a kitchen cabinet set for a hard-to-work-with woman in Treme whose brother wrote and performed the title track for the HBO series of the same name. We're going to watch him on Saturday.
Anyway, I've written a ton so far, so I am going to bed. I'll try to update again before I leave New Orleans, but we have to move again tomorrow so I have no idea of the internet situation. It's been very spotty, but I am taking mental notes and promise to update as often as possible. Thanks for reading, don't forget to send me cookies!
Alex
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Day 7
Hello from Panama City, Florida, home of Spring Breakers gone wild! Or Bike and Builders resting weary legs (and butts!)
A quick recap of the past week:
Jacksonville to Callahan - stayed in a campsite. Rode fast
Callahan to Perry - stayed in another campsite. Rode fast
Perry to Sopchoppy (it's a real place) - stayed in a campsite. This was actually one of my favorite rides so far because I rode at a slower pace, but got to talk a lot more to a lot more people. I rode mostly with Cory, who in the morning got a flat. Changing a flat in the intense heat is not fun, but we got it done quickly and then got to lunch where Hans (leader driving the van that day) had bought us sweet corn. Everyone has been talking - and it's true - about how the "little things" make such a difference on this trip. Having corn in addition to the normal PB&J&Banana&Honey sandwich made such a difference in our moods and we left lunch feeling great. However, not more than a mile and a half out of lunch, Cory and I stopped to assist Agata (a leader riding that day) who had a flat and heat exhaustion. We took care of her the best we could and got Hans to come get her as quickly as he could. It was a little scary, but she turned out to be OK in the end, and all we got was a little extra sunburn.
About 15 miles later, we decided to jump into the Wakulla River to cool off. There was a canoe rental cabin next to the boat ramp we used, and as we were swimming in the deliciously cold water and slimy kelp, the people at the canoe rental yelled to us that manatees were swimming towards us. I thought they were joking. They weren't. Two manatees, a momma and a baby, swam right up to us. About this time, other riders saw our chalk on the road (indicating we went for a quick swim) and joined us in the water. The manatees were very playful and let us pet them, ride them, and in Jen's case, kiss them. One also blew water in Josh's face. It was an incredible experience, and totally made up for the flats and heat that Cory and I had to ride through in the morning. Definitely one of the high points of the trip so far. We called it: Habitat for Hu-Manatee.
Sopchoppy to Apalachicola - rode slower again, but at a good clip. I've settled in around 15-16mph average, which I'm happy about. It rained A LOT that day, and we had to shelter in multiple locations from lightning. After lunch the thunderstorms gave way to simple rain, which was refreshing to ride in as long as we didn't stop for so long. To get to Apalach (which is what the locals call it), we had to ride across a 3-mile-long flat bridge and a tall bridge after that. I was riding with Rebekah that day, and luckily we had a tail wind because we were cruising across the 3 mile stretch at around 23mph - fast on a bike when you're on flat ground. On the way down the bridge, I hit my trip high of 35mph which was a lot of fun, and I was surprised to see a bustling village on the other side of the bridge.
One of the things we try to do everywhere is get stuff donated. Whether it be cycling gear, food, coffee, ice cream, or swag, we always talk to locals about Bike and Build, what we're doing, and if they'd like to give donations. In downtown Apalach, we were received with open arms. Rebekah and I were joined by Scott and Brandon, and between the four of us we managed to get coffee, a giant lunch of turkey, salad, crab cakes, and chocolate mousse cake for the four of us, enough paella for dinner for the entire group, and oysters later that evening for just about anyone who wanted them. We were surprised, overwhelmed, and humbled by the amazing generosity of the people in Apalachicola.
Apalach is an oyster/seafood town, but it's hurting badly from recession, housing prices, and general neglect. We stayed in an abandoned high school because nobody else had the resources to host us. We all went into town in the evening for oysters, and the people there were terrified of the Gulf oil spill. In their opinions, which are probably very close to the truth, the oil will turn Apalachicola into a ghost town. Talking about it made people visibly upset. Most became silent. It was heartbreaking. I was surprised and inspired by their resiliency though - nobody spoke of leaving. Everyone there is a fighter. Apalach was my favorite stop so far because the people there were the nicest, but also the strongest... even though the town has so little.
Apalachicola to Panama City - Yesterday I rode with Justin, who is a student at Harvard and joined me for a ride in Boston before we were both done with school. He's a hilarious kid, but yesterday we were both exhausted and turned somewhat into zombies, just spinning away on our bicycles trying to get to PC as fast as we could without collapsing in the heat. We passed Tyndall Air Force Base - which is huge - and saw two fighter jets screaming above us, but it wasn't enough to combat the monotony of a 15-mile stretch of perfectly straight, perfectly boring road that lulled us almost to sleep.
We were all surprised to hear that today was not a build day. In fact, as I write this post, I'm realizing that I probably wouldn't have had the time to give such detailed explanations if our build day got canceled. For some reason, the family whose house we were going to build could not complete the final step of the application process, so they did not break ground last week. Panama City's Habitat for Humanity is a very small chapter, so this is a huge setback for them, and a disappointment for us. I truly love build sites - I loved it in Huntington, WV during my spring break trips, and I loved it in Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville. I was really looking forward to building again with the 32 other people whom I am coming to know much better, but it was not meant to be. I'm scared for the family because I don't know the reasons for their failure to break ground, but for some reason I'm haunted by the possibility that they were unable to pay, or even worse, lost a job. Owning a house (and paying Habitat's no-interest mortgage) is such a stabilizing financial factor for a family that I am worried a deserving family will end up worse than they are now. But I don't know the details so I must remind you this is all speculation.
In any case, it is nice to have a day to lounge and rest the legs. I've ridden over 400 miles already. The route tracker says it's been less, but we had a few detours and re-routes each day that add miles. I'm confident I'll have ridden over 4,000 by the time I reach the Golden Gate Bridge. Anyway, 400 miles in 6 days of riding is a lot. My bum hurts, a lot. My legs are sore, constantly. I was beginning to have knee pain, but learned that I was spinning incorrectly, so that is beginning to subside. I've been eating a ton - probably in the range of 7000-9000 calories a day - but I think I'm actually losing weight. I have ridiculous tan lines. I'm sick of peanut butter, already. I hope I never have to drink yellow Gatorade ever again. I've been in two states (we crossed into Georgia for 11 miles on Day 2 of riding). Yesterday we crossed our first time zone.
But the people on this trip are amazing. I'm learning more and more about them each day, and everyone is so dedicated and has such inspiring (or hilarious) stories that it makes an 80-mile ride seem like nothing. Tomorrow we head to Funiak Springs, before riding the following day to Pensacola. The oil just hit Pensacola so it will be an interesting experience. Then we ride out of Florida to Mobile, AL, which was hit hard by Katrina. Hopefully I'll be able to get internet and post again before then, but if not I am keeping notes and will fill you in afterwards.
Thanks for reading!
Alex
A quick recap of the past week:
Jacksonville to Callahan - stayed in a campsite. Rode fast
Callahan to Perry - stayed in another campsite. Rode fast
Perry to Sopchoppy (it's a real place) - stayed in a campsite. This was actually one of my favorite rides so far because I rode at a slower pace, but got to talk a lot more to a lot more people. I rode mostly with Cory, who in the morning got a flat. Changing a flat in the intense heat is not fun, but we got it done quickly and then got to lunch where Hans (leader driving the van that day) had bought us sweet corn. Everyone has been talking - and it's true - about how the "little things" make such a difference on this trip. Having corn in addition to the normal PB&J&Banana&Honey sandwich made such a difference in our moods and we left lunch feeling great. However, not more than a mile and a half out of lunch, Cory and I stopped to assist Agata (a leader riding that day) who had a flat and heat exhaustion. We took care of her the best we could and got Hans to come get her as quickly as he could. It was a little scary, but she turned out to be OK in the end, and all we got was a little extra sunburn.
About 15 miles later, we decided to jump into the Wakulla River to cool off. There was a canoe rental cabin next to the boat ramp we used, and as we were swimming in the deliciously cold water and slimy kelp, the people at the canoe rental yelled to us that manatees were swimming towards us. I thought they were joking. They weren't. Two manatees, a momma and a baby, swam right up to us. About this time, other riders saw our chalk on the road (indicating we went for a quick swim) and joined us in the water. The manatees were very playful and let us pet them, ride them, and in Jen's case, kiss them. One also blew water in Josh's face. It was an incredible experience, and totally made up for the flats and heat that Cory and I had to ride through in the morning. Definitely one of the high points of the trip so far. We called it: Habitat for Hu-Manatee.
Sopchoppy to Apalachicola - rode slower again, but at a good clip. I've settled in around 15-16mph average, which I'm happy about. It rained A LOT that day, and we had to shelter in multiple locations from lightning. After lunch the thunderstorms gave way to simple rain, which was refreshing to ride in as long as we didn't stop for so long. To get to Apalach (which is what the locals call it), we had to ride across a 3-mile-long flat bridge and a tall bridge after that. I was riding with Rebekah that day, and luckily we had a tail wind because we were cruising across the 3 mile stretch at around 23mph - fast on a bike when you're on flat ground. On the way down the bridge, I hit my trip high of 35mph which was a lot of fun, and I was surprised to see a bustling village on the other side of the bridge.
One of the things we try to do everywhere is get stuff donated. Whether it be cycling gear, food, coffee, ice cream, or swag, we always talk to locals about Bike and Build, what we're doing, and if they'd like to give donations. In downtown Apalach, we were received with open arms. Rebekah and I were joined by Scott and Brandon, and between the four of us we managed to get coffee, a giant lunch of turkey, salad, crab cakes, and chocolate mousse cake for the four of us, enough paella for dinner for the entire group, and oysters later that evening for just about anyone who wanted them. We were surprised, overwhelmed, and humbled by the amazing generosity of the people in Apalachicola.
Apalach is an oyster/seafood town, but it's hurting badly from recession, housing prices, and general neglect. We stayed in an abandoned high school because nobody else had the resources to host us. We all went into town in the evening for oysters, and the people there were terrified of the Gulf oil spill. In their opinions, which are probably very close to the truth, the oil will turn Apalachicola into a ghost town. Talking about it made people visibly upset. Most became silent. It was heartbreaking. I was surprised and inspired by their resiliency though - nobody spoke of leaving. Everyone there is a fighter. Apalach was my favorite stop so far because the people there were the nicest, but also the strongest... even though the town has so little.
Apalachicola to Panama City - Yesterday I rode with Justin, who is a student at Harvard and joined me for a ride in Boston before we were both done with school. He's a hilarious kid, but yesterday we were both exhausted and turned somewhat into zombies, just spinning away on our bicycles trying to get to PC as fast as we could without collapsing in the heat. We passed Tyndall Air Force Base - which is huge - and saw two fighter jets screaming above us, but it wasn't enough to combat the monotony of a 15-mile stretch of perfectly straight, perfectly boring road that lulled us almost to sleep.
We were all surprised to hear that today was not a build day. In fact, as I write this post, I'm realizing that I probably wouldn't have had the time to give such detailed explanations if our build day got canceled. For some reason, the family whose house we were going to build could not complete the final step of the application process, so they did not break ground last week. Panama City's Habitat for Humanity is a very small chapter, so this is a huge setback for them, and a disappointment for us. I truly love build sites - I loved it in Huntington, WV during my spring break trips, and I loved it in Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville. I was really looking forward to building again with the 32 other people whom I am coming to know much better, but it was not meant to be. I'm scared for the family because I don't know the reasons for their failure to break ground, but for some reason I'm haunted by the possibility that they were unable to pay, or even worse, lost a job. Owning a house (and paying Habitat's no-interest mortgage) is such a stabilizing financial factor for a family that I am worried a deserving family will end up worse than they are now. But I don't know the details so I must remind you this is all speculation.
In any case, it is nice to have a day to lounge and rest the legs. I've ridden over 400 miles already. The route tracker says it's been less, but we had a few detours and re-routes each day that add miles. I'm confident I'll have ridden over 4,000 by the time I reach the Golden Gate Bridge. Anyway, 400 miles in 6 days of riding is a lot. My bum hurts, a lot. My legs are sore, constantly. I was beginning to have knee pain, but learned that I was spinning incorrectly, so that is beginning to subside. I've been eating a ton - probably in the range of 7000-9000 calories a day - but I think I'm actually losing weight. I have ridiculous tan lines. I'm sick of peanut butter, already. I hope I never have to drink yellow Gatorade ever again. I've been in two states (we crossed into Georgia for 11 miles on Day 2 of riding). Yesterday we crossed our first time zone.
But the people on this trip are amazing. I'm learning more and more about them each day, and everyone is so dedicated and has such inspiring (or hilarious) stories that it makes an 80-mile ride seem like nothing. Tomorrow we head to Funiak Springs, before riding the following day to Pensacola. The oil just hit Pensacola so it will be an interesting experience. Then we ride out of Florida to Mobile, AL, which was hit hard by Katrina. Hopefully I'll be able to get internet and post again before then, but if not I am keeping notes and will fill you in afterwards.
Thanks for reading!
Alex
Monday, May 31, 2010
Day 2
Howdy y'all.
It's day two of the Bike and Build adventure, and I can tell you for a fact that it is incredibly tiring!
Orientation was a blur. I arrived in Jacksonville at around 9am from a 6am flight on Thursday, and after 2.5 hours of bus rides finally got to the Sunrise Community Church. Bikes were being assembled, introductions were had, and we promptly began our 16 hour days of Bike and Build orientation. We built for a day for Beaches Habitat, had a safety course, lots of rules talks and ice breakers, dinners all over Atlantic Beach, and a 20 mile "Shakedown Ride" down the coast. It went quickly but we were all excited to get into our saddles and ride!
Yesterday was our first real day. I'm in the "breakfast crew" so I have to wake up early with 6 of my crewmates and prepare breakfast. So far we've only had bagels and fruit, but we're going to venture into eggs. The other crews prepare dinner, do laundry, fill up coolers, and other tasks that need to get done - and we switch each week.
Our ride was almost 60 miles through country roads in Florida (from Jacksonville to Callahan), and it was my fastest ride ever. We rode through a rain storm, which was awesome, and I had some great conversation with some of my new friends. Last night we camped out at a RV campground which was an interesting and dirty experience, but we got to create a giant fire, where I taught everyone how to play Mafia, a favorite game of the Applachia trips I went on at Boston College.
Today I got out a little earlier than everyone with the fast group and we made excellent time to lunch. We crossed our first state line today on our way to Lake City, but it was only for 11 miles - we dipped through the little nugget of Georgia that scoops into Flordia. So we took photos (which I will upload soon!) and again when we got back into Florida. It was a really long ride - we did 80 miles, 30 of which were on one road. We got chased by pitbulls and German shepherds, saw giant bugs that flew into our faces. We joked that it looked like Jurassic Park. If I saw a dinosaur I wouldn't have been surprised.
At the end of the ride we did a short mile-long detour to get some ice cream at The Icy Hut. It looked like a run-down building that you'd find drugs in, but it turned out to have DELICIOUS strawberry ice cream. It totally refueled us (simple sugars at the end of a long ride are actually really good for you), and we booked it through the last 3 miles to our second campsite.
Tomorrow we ride to Perry, Florida, which is another 80 miler, but we do get to stay inside in a church which will be nice. My butt hurts a lot. A whole lot. But hopefully it will start to get conditioned soon. Until then, I'll apply loads of shammy cream, bear down, and keep riding. I'll try to post again soon, but until then, thanks for reading!
It's day two of the Bike and Build adventure, and I can tell you for a fact that it is incredibly tiring!
Orientation was a blur. I arrived in Jacksonville at around 9am from a 6am flight on Thursday, and after 2.5 hours of bus rides finally got to the Sunrise Community Church. Bikes were being assembled, introductions were had, and we promptly began our 16 hour days of Bike and Build orientation. We built for a day for Beaches Habitat, had a safety course, lots of rules talks and ice breakers, dinners all over Atlantic Beach, and a 20 mile "Shakedown Ride" down the coast. It went quickly but we were all excited to get into our saddles and ride!
Yesterday was our first real day. I'm in the "breakfast crew" so I have to wake up early with 6 of my crewmates and prepare breakfast. So far we've only had bagels and fruit, but we're going to venture into eggs. The other crews prepare dinner, do laundry, fill up coolers, and other tasks that need to get done - and we switch each week.
Our ride was almost 60 miles through country roads in Florida (from Jacksonville to Callahan), and it was my fastest ride ever. We rode through a rain storm, which was awesome, and I had some great conversation with some of my new friends. Last night we camped out at a RV campground which was an interesting and dirty experience, but we got to create a giant fire, where I taught everyone how to play Mafia, a favorite game of the Applachia trips I went on at Boston College.
Today I got out a little earlier than everyone with the fast group and we made excellent time to lunch. We crossed our first state line today on our way to Lake City, but it was only for 11 miles - we dipped through the little nugget of Georgia that scoops into Flordia. So we took photos (which I will upload soon!) and again when we got back into Florida. It was a really long ride - we did 80 miles, 30 of which were on one road. We got chased by pitbulls and German shepherds, saw giant bugs that flew into our faces. We joked that it looked like Jurassic Park. If I saw a dinosaur I wouldn't have been surprised.
At the end of the ride we did a short mile-long detour to get some ice cream at The Icy Hut. It looked like a run-down building that you'd find drugs in, but it turned out to have DELICIOUS strawberry ice cream. It totally refueled us (simple sugars at the end of a long ride are actually really good for you), and we booked it through the last 3 miles to our second campsite.
Tomorrow we ride to Perry, Florida, which is another 80 miler, but we do get to stay inside in a church which will be nice. My butt hurts a lot. A whole lot. But hopefully it will start to get conditioned soon. Until then, I'll apply loads of shammy cream, bear down, and keep riding. I'll try to post again soon, but until then, thanks for reading!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Mail Drops
Great news everyone! I've got a list of mail drops here for anyone (or everyone?) to send care packages and letters to me along the route! Mail drops will be every Thursday, so send in advance to make sure it gets there on time.
Very important: you must address your mail in the following fashion:
Bike & Build
Attn: Alex Cohen
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, ST ZIP
Very important: you must address your mail in the following fashion:
Bike & Build
Attn: Alex Cohen
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, ST ZIP
| Southern U.S. |
|---|
| June 03 20 Ave. D #101 Apalachicola, FL 32320 |
| June 10 104 Norton Ave Saraland, AL 36571 |
| June 17 New Orleans, LA 70140 |
| June 24 Natchitoches, LA 71457 |
| July 01 206 East Walnut St Decatur, TX 76234 |
| July 08 1 Walnut St. Clayton, NM 88415 |
| July 15 2301 E. 20th St. Farmington, NM 87401 |
| July 22 Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 |
| July 29 51 S. Main St. Eureka, NV 89316 |
| August 05 761 Plumas St. Yuba City, CA 95991 |
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Cape Ann Coaster
The red line is where I rode my bike. It was 61 miles. That's a little more than the distance between Toms River, NJ and Philadelphia. Chump change in Bike and Build terms.
So I don't really know what the "North Shore" or the "South Shore" really means, but people from Massachusetts use these terms often. Apparently really rich people live there. I don't know.
What I can tell you, after having biked through pretty much all of Gloucester County on the North Shore, is that it is gorgeous. Also, judging by the houses... really rich people live there. Something to work towards I guess.
Anyway, here are some videos I took on my first really long training ride. I rode with the Charles River Wheelmen, a Boston cycling club. Each ride they do has a name (this was the Cape Ann Coaster) and when I finally caught up to them at the halfway/lunch point, they gave me some great advice and tips and (kind of) taught me how to ride in a paceline! Yay! They also paint sweet directional markers on the street so you don't need to continuously check your map. Very helpful. You'll see some of my fellow riders in one of the later videos.
Without further ado:
Part I
Part II
If you want to see the map from the top of this page in better, here's the link:
http://www.crw.org/CueSheets/cues2htm.php?id=62
So I don't really know what the "North Shore" or the "South Shore" really means, but people from Massachusetts use these terms often. Apparently really rich people live there. I don't know.
What I can tell you, after having biked through pretty much all of Gloucester County on the North Shore, is that it is gorgeous. Also, judging by the houses... really rich people live there. Something to work towards I guess.
Anyway, here are some videos I took on my first really long training ride. I rode with the Charles River Wheelmen, a Boston cycling club. Each ride they do has a name (this was the Cape Ann Coaster) and when I finally caught up to them at the halfway/lunch point, they gave me some great advice and tips and (kind of) taught me how to ride in a paceline! Yay! They also paint sweet directional markers on the street so you don't need to continuously check your map. Very helpful. You'll see some of my fellow riders in one of the later videos.
Without further ado:
Part I
Part II
If you want to see the map from the top of this page in better, here's the link:
http://www.crw.org/CueSheets/cues2htm.php?id=62
Affordable Housing in a Nutshell
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says that housing is affordable to a low-income family as long as the cost of rent or mortgage payments plus utilities does add up to more than 30% of the family's income before taxes.
Today, over 27 million low-income households pay more than 30% of their incomes on housing. Half of those pay over 50%. Imagine for a second spending fully half of your income - before taxes - on rent. That doesn't leave much for anything else.
I first became involved with affordable housing through a group at BC called the Appalachia Volunteers. They send around 650 students on Spring Break service trips every year, many of them going to work for Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the Appalachia region. Sophomore year, I went to Huntington, West Virginia and had an amazing experience. Our first task on Monday was shoveling a mound of dirt out from the center of the foundation. Our final task on Friday was putting the roof boards on the house. With 12 kids, and between 5-10 regular volunteers (retirees who spend their free time building houses pro bono), the progress was remarkable.
While I wasn't able to find a similar thing to do when I was in London last year, I was able to lead an Appalachia trip back to Huntington this past Spring Break in March. It was great to see everyone from two years before. I also got to work on a different part of the house, this time installing tile floors and all the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen, as well as helping on the siding of the house, installing the front porch and back deck, and destroying a roof with about 30 layers of roof tiles on it. It was fun.
Most importantly the second time around, I got to meet the future house owners, Perry and Cleta. I think Perry worked nights at WalMart (though I can't remember for sure), but they adopted a boy with cerebral palsy, and their biological son just moved out of the house so they wouldn't have to support him anymore. They were extremely nice and extra-appreciative that we were there helping, and it was really heartwarming when they asked us to sign a tin star that's going to be placed on one of the walls.
Working for this cause has helped me recognize that owning a house isn't just about putting a roof over your head. It gives people dignity. It's a home - where parents come to relax after work, and where children feel safe when they're scared. A house is where a family's collective memories are shared, and years later, relived. Owning a home is part of the American Dream.
Being a part of Bike and Build is exciting because we're helping Americans live the American Dream. Having 30 million Americans pay 30 or 50% of your income on housing, leaving next to nothing left for food, let alone leisure activities, is shameful for the richest country in the world.
But there is hope, and it's because of organizations like the Huntington Area Habitat for Humanity in West Virginia. You can be a part of these solutions by donating (in my name of course) online.
This cause means a lot to me. I'm excited to bike, but I'm also really excited to build.
Today, over 27 million low-income households pay more than 30% of their incomes on housing. Half of those pay over 50%. Imagine for a second spending fully half of your income - before taxes - on rent. That doesn't leave much for anything else.
I first became involved with affordable housing through a group at BC called the Appalachia Volunteers. They send around 650 students on Spring Break service trips every year, many of them going to work for Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the Appalachia region. Sophomore year, I went to Huntington, West Virginia and had an amazing experience. Our first task on Monday was shoveling a mound of dirt out from the center of the foundation. Our final task on Friday was putting the roof boards on the house. With 12 kids, and between 5-10 regular volunteers (retirees who spend their free time building houses pro bono), the progress was remarkable.
While I wasn't able to find a similar thing to do when I was in London last year, I was able to lead an Appalachia trip back to Huntington this past Spring Break in March. It was great to see everyone from two years before. I also got to work on a different part of the house, this time installing tile floors and all the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen, as well as helping on the siding of the house, installing the front porch and back deck, and destroying a roof with about 30 layers of roof tiles on it. It was fun.
Most importantly the second time around, I got to meet the future house owners, Perry and Cleta. I think Perry worked nights at WalMart (though I can't remember for sure), but they adopted a boy with cerebral palsy, and their biological son just moved out of the house so they wouldn't have to support him anymore. They were extremely nice and extra-appreciative that we were there helping, and it was really heartwarming when they asked us to sign a tin star that's going to be placed on one of the walls.
Working for this cause has helped me recognize that owning a house isn't just about putting a roof over your head. It gives people dignity. It's a home - where parents come to relax after work, and where children feel safe when they're scared. A house is where a family's collective memories are shared, and years later, relived. Owning a home is part of the American Dream.
Being a part of Bike and Build is exciting because we're helping Americans live the American Dream. Having 30 million Americans pay 30 or 50% of your income on housing, leaving next to nothing left for food, let alone leisure activities, is shameful for the richest country in the world.
But there is hope, and it's because of organizations like the Huntington Area Habitat for Humanity in West Virginia. You can be a part of these solutions by donating (in my name of course) online.
This cause means a lot to me. I'm excited to bike, but I'm also really excited to build.
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