Bike and Build Press
Sooo Awkward!! The Ithacan, the Ithaca College Newspaper, published an article on us. They choose pictures and the main one includes a quick snapshot from Megan's camera of us doing our naked mile!! Luckily you can't see much but naked butts.
Click Here for the article.
Click Here for a pdf where you can see the picture pretty well.
Ride on!
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Hampton, CT
Well, it's back to the real world.
Life: I'm slowly, but surely going though the last 23 years of my life, or at least the physical accumulation that is my room. Over the years I've ended up saving a lot of stuff/things. It's weird to slowly go though it and remember old times, and then throw it away to prepare for the next stage of my life. It becomes very freeing and I get to decide what's really worth keeping for memories. Oddly enough I keep the potential future "family" in mind. What will be fun to go though with the "kids" in 10-15 years? I'll let you know how it turns out.
Plans: I am moving out of the house, going though as much as my above mentioned stuff as I can before Monday. I set a deadline otherwise I would never get it done. I am trying to say a semi goodbye to friends, while preparing for what's next. I'm going to be living with Sara's family in their house until her and I have enough money to get an apartment. I'm both excited and nervous. I am excited to get to know her family more, yet I don't want to overstay the welcome and create tension. It will be good to set some deadlines for that also. The plan is to get a job. Not the perfect job, just a job that rewards the work with money.
Job: I'm in contact with a local Saratoga Springs photographer who is looking for 3 new positions. Based on the craigs listing it seems like it would be ideal. I talked to Emma, the photographer, today and she said that two of the positions are intern positions that can quickly turn to paid depending on how well things go. I E-mailed the contact and all I'm waiting for now is them to let me know if I get an interview slated for next Wed. I'll keep you posted.
Bike: I thought I should include this because that was the sole purpose of my blog. It seems that I have grown rather fond of "blogging" and will probably keep it up. I'll obviously have to reformat the site at some point. My bike is in Albany with Sara, and I long for it. Every nice day I feel like just jumping on my bike and going for a nice leisurely 20-40 mile ride. Another reason I set the deadline for move out to this Monday. I really want to ride again. I also want to tell all the bike and builders from my trip that I really miss each and everyone. I know I wasn't able to say goodbye like everyone had wanted and I'm sorry about that. Please, lets all keep in touch.
Ride on!
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Total Trip Stats and Factoids
!!Final Pictures Here!!Total new houses built with money raised: 1
Total Miles: 3797.86
Total Ride Time:
Min: 14822
Hrs: 247.03
Days: 10.29
Overall Average Speed: 14.71 mph
Max Speed: 51 mph
Miles rode in a car/van: 0
Total States Ridden in: 13
Max Temp: 110ºF
Min Temp: 52ºF
Calories Burned: 217,360
Lbs I lost: 2
Lbs I would have lost based on calories burned: 62.1
Water drank: 306 liters or 82.7 gallons
Times my ITB band in my knees popped: 1,778,640
Accidents: 1 (I fell over)
Close Calls: 5
Pedals: 3 sets
Spokes broken: 2
Chains: 2
Tires: 6
Tubes: probably 20 or more
Brake pads: 8
Bike Computers: 3
Times I heard Gibbs say "Have you seen my..." : 150
New best friends: 29
New Fiancee's: 1
Best summer's of my life: 1
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More soon!
There is more coming soon I promise, a final post then a transition to a new blog. I'm going to put up the last ride post Monday and a final trip post. So keep checking more to come always, maybe just not so often.
Peace out!
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Seattle, WA
Total Distance: 26.35 miles
Ride Time: 1 hr 46 min
Avg. Speed: 14.8 mph
Max Speed: 30.5 mph
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Everret, WA
Total Distance: 69. 01 miles
Ride Time: 4 hours 5 min
Avg. Speed: 16.8 mph
Max Speed: 37.5 mph
Bike: This morning was much warmer then yesterday which made everyone pretty happy. We packed up quickly and were off. The whole morning it was either flat or slightly downhill and we pretty much went 20 mph the whole time. Most of the morning was spent riding though rain forest like roads, very beautiful. Next thing we know we have amazing views of the mountains covered in snow. Keeping up the pace and pace-lining the whole way we were at lunch in no time. Lunch was quick and involved me eating about a litter of blackberries growing along the road, I'll let you know how that turns out. About 10 miles out we caught a sweet tail wind and we were going up gradual hills at 25 mph with barley any effort. Even the steep part near the end we went up at 14 mph. About 2 miles away we saw the Puget sound. We had made it to the Pacific ocean! As soon as we saw it and we could smell the salt water we started hooting and hollering. We all pulled up along side the sound in a tiny park and we just smiled at each other. What an amazing feeling. A feeling that still wasn't complete because there are 26 miles between us and Seattle. Tomorrow will be the end!
Ride on!
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Rockport, WA
Total Distance: 82.17 miles
Max Speed: 46 mph
Bike: Today was just amazing. It was supposedly one of our hardest days because it had two passes but it ended up not being that bad. The morning started out super cold, we had all our "warm weather" gear on and we were still freezing. As soon as we turned out of our camp site the first pass started. It was about 20 miles of gradual up hill and then about 5 of really steep hill. There was even a switch back towards the end and just to be crazy we climbed up the mountain carrying our bikes on our shoulders. The tandem started it and when I looked up as I rode by they were yelling that the switchback was a trick and not to take it. Mark was almost to the top and was carrying the whole tandem bike on his back. So I also decided it was a good idea. I have to show you pictures to explain how steep it was, crazy but hard core! Right after that we had reached the top of Washington pass. It was downhill for a little then a bit of uphill and we were done with our second pass, rainy pass. Then it was super sweet downhill, pretty much the whole rest of the way. The views and the mountains were amazing!! Snow capped mountains on all sides and a river the whole way. Eventually we came up on huge lakes hundreds of feet below us. Diablo lake is bright blue/green and looks just amazing. It's actually formed from a damn that supplies Seattle with 159,000 Kilowatts of electricity. After Diablo it was more sweet downhill. We went over a grated bridge and it was crazy seeing the rocks below. Next we came up on a tunnel where bikers are supposed to stop and push a button to tell drivers your in the tunnel and turn the lights on. We were going way too fast to bother with such nonsense and just flew through it, what a rush. The day ended with a very nice flat ride to our camp site. We stayed at Rockport state park which was one of the most beautiful parks I've ever seen. It was like camping in a rain forest. There was moss everywhere, I tried to take some good pictures but they didn't come out really well. 65 miles tomorrow, shouldn't be too hard. Almost there!
Ride on!
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Mazama, WA
Total Distance: 57.94 miles
Bike: Slowly but surely we awoke this morning ready for another day. We started out going the wrong way but quickly figured it out, good old sun. Once back on track we made pretty good time up to Loup Loup pass. Boy it was a hard pass. It was probably about a 2000 ft climb. Toward the middle we saw a pretty large deer jump out across the road and fly up the side of the road. The pass ended up being 4020 ft. The next part was awesome, an 8 mile down hill at a 6% grade. The fastest speed was only 45 which I actually reached during a middle part of the pass. Next thing I knew we were in a crazy little town called Winthrop, WA. It looked like something disney world would build, but unlike disney it was actually all real. It wasn't just a fake front. It was a very old looking town, I'll try to put pictures up eventually. We got some really good ice cream, pumpkin and raspberry. After bumming around town we decided to head to Mazama, WA where we would spend the night. My group was on breakfast crew again and everyone requested mac and cheese again so we caved in and made it. Before dinner though Stewart and I went to the river and skinny dipped to clean off a little, I have never felt such cold water in my life. Good times! Night!
Ride on!
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Photos are up!
I've posted some photos sorry for the long wait.
Click here to check them out! The last three posts are new also.
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Omak, WA
Total Distance: 76.65 miles
Ride Time: 5 hours 34 min
Avg. Speed: 13.7 mph
Max Speed: 41 mph
Bike: The morning was nice because they gave us an awesome breakfast of biscuits and gravy with eggs!! The actual ride was a pretty long, mostly due to the moutians. It started out with semi rolling hills in a desert. We came up upon a huge dam which they use to produce electricity for the region. Right after the damn we entered an indian reservation. Like others in america there was unfortunately evidence of a lot of alcohol abuse. The most obvious was the trash, mostly beer cans, on the side of the road increased by ten fold. It's sad because they were done such an injustice. I wish more money could be spent helping curb the problem. After a long and hot pass we had a little flat which finally opened up to an amazing view of Omak. Its an awesome river valley with a backdrop of the cascades. Showers were at the pool and about 20 of the local children got quite a kick out of the fact we were showering naked. Pretty funny. I'm tired and the days are getting longer. Seattle looms in the distance of the land, and our minds. It makes the riding harder and we are all getting tired. The trip has been amazing, but it has also started to ware on me physically and mentally. I need a rest and I look forward to Seattle and afterward. I'm ready for the next step of my life and continue to be more and more excited to spend it with Sara. Tomorrow will be short but hilly. Not much longer now.
Ride on!
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Wilbur, WA
Total Distance: 64.93 miles
Ride Time: 4 hours 43 min
Avg. Speed: 13.7 mph
Max Speed: 34 mph
Bike: We had to hustle this morning because we had to have everything out of the Y by 7:30 am. Breakfast was on the lawn out front and we headed off. It was a pretty uneventful day. A slight climb out of Spokane and then it was pretty flat all day. The downside of it being flat is the fact that it was super windy all day. We are camping and then the whole community is giving us a potluck dinner!!
Ride on!
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Spokane, WA
Total Distance: 37.94 miles
Ride Time: 2 hours 16 min
Avg. Speed: 16.6 mph
Max Speed: 31.5 mph
Bike/Build 7/30/05: We awoke early because today we not only biked but built, making it a true bike and build day. We only had to do 38 miles. We were also leaving Idaho and finally getting to Washington. A bike path was pretty much our route the whole entire way. It worked for a little while but when it ended we just jumped on I-90 until the Washington boarder where we saw the bike path again. It was a very beautiful ride, all along a river. The water was so clear it was just amazing. Once we were almost there we passed a few middle age women on the side having bike trouble. I pulled over and helped one of them change a flat. Describing how to do it along the way so she would be able to handle it next time. In return they told us how exactly to get to the YMCA which was a huge help. We ended up being the first ones there because of them. We quickly changed and headed over to the build site where we got right to work. It was an awesome duplex house that we ended up decking and putting the staircase in. They did a huge grill cook out for lunch right on site. After working all day it was wonderful to head back to the Y for a swim. Jess and I raced a few times which was pretty fun. For dinner we finally used $300 worth of gift certificates from Pizza Hut that the Providence Habitat supplied for us. We ordered 26 pizzas for a little more then $150, sweet deal!! They were all gone by morning by the way!
Build 7/31/05: I slept pretty late today, 10 am, it was really nice! I then laid around even longer reading. Sara had already gotten up and gone to breakfast but I vaguely remember her asking if I wanted anything and I said yes. So it was a nice surprise when she brought me some pancakes!! After a little more laying around we got ready and headed back to the build site. It was supposed to be our day off but the supervisor, at our request, made it a build day. We decided that it was more important for us, and bike and build to have a build day rather then a day off. One group went early morning and then we came around noon to relieve them. So everyone got both a day off and a build day. We finished a few 2nd story walls and even started the second set of stairs. Seema was in the first group but we convinced her to stay because her dad came and surprised her, it was cute to see. Dinner was provided by Stewart S. because it was his birthday and he was willing to cook. It was amazing!! It was some sort of lentil stew over curry rice and then a spicy tomato soup. A few of us finished off the night by going to the dollar theater, which is actually $2.50 now a days, to see Sin City. Great movie by the way, if you haven't seen it.
Ride on!
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