The ride into Little Rock was a very bumpy one. My rear could have done with out it. Scott S, Lisa, Scott W, Michelle, Daniel Thomas, and some others got into a paceline early and banged out 20 miles before our first stop. We were flying and it felt so good! After lunch we stopped at a dairy bar that the folks in Brinkley told us about. Lisa and I got a chocolate and vanilla swirl dipped cone. It was huge and only $1.50. Probably could have done without it since we had about 25 more miles left in the day but it was so good!
Day #1
We got to the First Presbyterian Church were Flash greeted us, got settled in, and explored the city. Juli from Habitat came by after our Affordable Housing meeting and joined in on the open mic with Laffy Taffy jokes. We all knew that we'd love her after that! Later Dennis, Ben, Emily, Devon and I went to the movies to see Indiana Jones. I was so tired I didn't make it past the previews. But I'm pretty sure it was the worse movie ever.
Day #2
The group split up and half went to the ReStore to help organize and the other half went to a house site where they helped to prepare a house that was build at a different location to be placed in the permanent spot. Juli brought us lunch from a local smoothie/sandwich shop. It was great! Scott, the organist and chef, cooked for us and some members of the church a great dinner. Juli managed to get the whole group tickets to a minor league baseball game, the Arkansas Travelers! So we took the trolley over to the game where we were sitting the the beer gardens. $4 for a local wheat beer did not make me miss NYC or the Yankees that much. We had Bike & Build announced on the PA system and the cameras capture us going crazy. We made friends with some locals who did not like the other teams right fielder, #40 Shory. After the game we went to a local German bar with a great beer selection and live music.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Pictures from Memphis night out
Beale Street is the place to go. Its a cross between Time Square and Mardi Gras and absolutely crazy. They close of the cobble stone streets in one area that is surrounded by bars and shops and everyone drinks on the streets. The whole group came out and we danced the night away! Great times in Memphis.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Arkansas
Arkansas starts the first week that I am responsible for as a leader. Some things I am required to take care of:
-Host/overnight stays
-Build Days/Where and who we build with
-Food Donations
-Dinner arrangements
-Showers
-internet access
-laundry
etc
There a lot of stuff to remember and to constantly be reminding myself and 29 other riders. Thank god for our white board!
So far so good.
First stop in AR Brinkley 88 miles!
-Ride kinda sucked. Ran into some minor snafus.
-Mostly flat.
-Rode with a bunch of people on and off.
-Head wind was bad.
-2 lunches.
-Got chased by a dog. Thought I was going to have a missing limb.
We stayed at the First United Methodist Church. Host: Lindsie Taylor, chef extrodinar! Lindsie cooked our group the most amazing chicken. Its so nice to get protien and everyone was really happy! Shout out to her husband, Brinkley firefighter, and breakfast chef extrodinar! Delicious HOT breakfast. We don't get hot breakfasts often so that was a nice treat! The church was amazing. Thank you to everyone who helped out.
-Host/overnight stays
-Build Days/Where and who we build with
-Food Donations
-Dinner arrangements
-Showers
-internet access
-laundry
etc
There a lot of stuff to remember and to constantly be reminding myself and 29 other riders. Thank god for our white board!
So far so good.
First stop in AR Brinkley 88 miles!
-Ride kinda sucked. Ran into some minor snafus.
-Mostly flat.
-Rode with a bunch of people on and off.
-Head wind was bad.
-2 lunches.
-Got chased by a dog. Thought I was going to have a missing limb.
We stayed at the First United Methodist Church. Host: Lindsie Taylor, chef extrodinar! Lindsie cooked our group the most amazing chicken. Its so nice to get protien and everyone was really happy! Shout out to her husband, Brinkley firefighter, and breakfast chef extrodinar! Delicious HOT breakfast. We don't get hot breakfasts often so that was a nice treat! The church was amazing. Thank you to everyone who helped out.
Wrap up of Tenn
The rolling hills of Tenn were beautiful. We were in the state for about 8 days.
Some of Tenn finest:
-Mello Yellow vs Mountain Dew. These bottles were on the side of the road everywhere.
-Hay stacks
-Mean dogs chasing us
-Hills
-roadkill: We save many turtles lives daily. Some don't make it :(. Snakes, etc
-Color Sceme: All different hues of greens, yellow, orange, and of course the blues of the skys and water. So beautiful!
Some of Tenn finest:
-Mello Yellow vs Mountain Dew. These bottles were on the side of the road everywhere.
-Hay stacks
-Mean dogs chasing us
-Hills
-roadkill: We save many turtles lives daily. Some don't make it :(. Snakes, etc
-Color Sceme: All different hues of greens, yellow, orange, and of course the blues of the skys and water. So beautiful!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Day 20 & 21 The death of my legs
Day 20 Sewanee-Pulaski TN 85 miles
Road first 20 miles as a group with locals that took us through beautiful country roads.
Hit my MAX top speed going downhill of 37.9 mph.
Stopped at a cafe and got espresso and bagel with the group.
Convinced the strong kids (Claire "Beast", Michelle, Daniel Thomas, Dan Carmondy, and Scott W) to ride with me.
Had fun floating in their paceline. (They carried me a lot)
Yelled at dogs that chased us.
Counted the amount of Mountain Dew and Sun Drop on the side of the roads.
Sing-a-long
Took a photo shoot at Cole Lane. (Cole is the res bike fixer)
Cursed my thighs for not getting me up hills as fast as them.
Stopped at a gas station for ice cream.
Claire got a flat so we fixed her up.
Walked into the overnight. (Claire’s tire went flat again)
Arrived at a community college where we had dorm room suites and roomed with the "fast kids"
AC! YEY!
Ate dinner at the Mayors house. Southern BBQ and Bud Lite Lime. So good!
Dan (mayor) jumped in on a cannon ball action with the boys to splash other people hanging by the pool. Coolest mayor ever.
Him and some locals hooked Suz up with bike parts due to her slight wreck.
Best ride to date. Really enjoyed riding with those guys. They were very inspiring. I pushed myself beyond what I thought was possible and had a great ride.
Day 21 Pulaski-Adamsville TN 94 miles
SORE LEGS=Not Fun when you have to ride 94 miles.
Fast kids invited me for another ride.
Fell behind fast but Claire jumped right in front and carried me for a good while. Ave speed? 18-20 mph. We flew!
Dan Carmondy had a wreck on a downhill but we got him and his bike fixed enough to continue on.
Yelled at some more dogs.
Took 2 lunch breaks.
Thought I was going to die.
Rolled into the church as the FIRST GIRL THERE! Hugh accomplishment and don't know if it will ever happen again.
Found out that Hannah and Maggie should have been there first but they got lost. Haha. Oh well.
Went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Whoa guacamole.
Town Hall meeting
Slept like a rock.
Had 2 really great days and could not have done it without the encouragement of Claire, Michelle, Daniel Thomas, Dan Carmondy, and Scott W. Love you guys.
Oh...got mail drop and was sad to see that the only thing I received was a B&B pay check. Ate other people’s food from care packages. HA!
Send me things!
No pictures cause I've been to lazy to charge the battery. More soon!
Road first 20 miles as a group with locals that took us through beautiful country roads.
Hit my MAX top speed going downhill of 37.9 mph.
Stopped at a cafe and got espresso and bagel with the group.
Convinced the strong kids (Claire "Beast", Michelle, Daniel Thomas, Dan Carmondy, and Scott W) to ride with me.
Had fun floating in their paceline. (They carried me a lot)
Yelled at dogs that chased us.
Counted the amount of Mountain Dew and Sun Drop on the side of the roads.
Sing-a-long
Took a photo shoot at Cole Lane. (Cole is the res bike fixer)
Cursed my thighs for not getting me up hills as fast as them.
Stopped at a gas station for ice cream.
Claire got a flat so we fixed her up.
Walked into the overnight. (Claire’s tire went flat again)
Arrived at a community college where we had dorm room suites and roomed with the "fast kids"
AC! YEY!
Ate dinner at the Mayors house. Southern BBQ and Bud Lite Lime. So good!
Dan (mayor) jumped in on a cannon ball action with the boys to splash other people hanging by the pool. Coolest mayor ever.
Him and some locals hooked Suz up with bike parts due to her slight wreck.
Best ride to date. Really enjoyed riding with those guys. They were very inspiring. I pushed myself beyond what I thought was possible and had a great ride.
Day 21 Pulaski-Adamsville TN 94 miles
SORE LEGS=Not Fun when you have to ride 94 miles.
Fast kids invited me for another ride.
Fell behind fast but Claire jumped right in front and carried me for a good while. Ave speed? 18-20 mph. We flew!
Dan Carmondy had a wreck on a downhill but we got him and his bike fixed enough to continue on.
Yelled at some more dogs.
Took 2 lunch breaks.
Thought I was going to die.
Rolled into the church as the FIRST GIRL THERE! Hugh accomplishment and don't know if it will ever happen again.
Found out that Hannah and Maggie should have been there first but they got lost. Haha. Oh well.
Went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Whoa guacamole.
Town Hall meeting
Slept like a rock.
Had 2 really great days and could not have done it without the encouragement of Claire, Michelle, Daniel Thomas, Dan Carmondy, and Scott W. Love you guys.
Oh...got mail drop and was sad to see that the only thing I received was a B&B pay check. Ate other people’s food from care packages. HA!
Send me things!
No pictures cause I've been to lazy to charge the battery. More soon!
Day 19 Dunlap-Sewanee TN 46 Van duty
Drove the van today while the group treked up Das Mountain Rd. The devil climb.
I thought the trailor wasn't going to make it because it was that steep.
Fed the riders at a elementary school.
Arrived at a lake at the Unv of the South where we were camping for the first time on our trip.
Explored downtown which consisted of 2 restaurants, 1 grocery store, and ice cream shop.
Set off for dinner at the Assemby of Monteagle. A camp community for adults and children that was a scene out of Dirty Dancing (Kellerman's). Best community potluck dinner. Awesome warm brownies. (We've become scavengers)
My life revolves around biking and eating.
Met some great locals and now want to return there to live in a cottage with my family some day.
Slept in a tent with David, Ana, Maura, Scott, and Renee. Played "Never have I ever" into the wee hours and barely slept. Scott and David snore.
I thought the trailor wasn't going to make it because it was that steep.
Fed the riders at a elementary school.
Arrived at a lake at the Unv of the South where we were camping for the first time on our trip.
Explored downtown which consisted of 2 restaurants, 1 grocery store, and ice cream shop.
Set off for dinner at the Assemby of Monteagle. A camp community for adults and children that was a scene out of Dirty Dancing (Kellerman's). Best community potluck dinner. Awesome warm brownies. (We've become scavengers)
My life revolves around biking and eating.
Met some great locals and now want to return there to live in a cottage with my family some day.
Slept in a tent with David, Ana, Maura, Scott, and Renee. Played "Never have I ever" into the wee hours and barely slept. Scott and David snore.
Day 18 Sweetwater to Dunlap TN 81 miles
Got to another armory fully equiped with AC, MREs (meals ready to eat), and cots!
Seargent Davis and Shannon hooked us up with the MREs and showed us how to warm up the meal. Kept me busy for a while.
Mine had Penne with sausage and vegetables, potato stix, fig bars, toosie rools, m&ms, pears, and vanilla latte. 2,100 calories of deliciousness.
Played my first round in Mafia with the group and actually won!
Got to bed early.
Seargent Davis and Shannon hooked us up with the MREs and showed us how to warm up the meal. Kept me busy for a while.
Mine had Penne with sausage and vegetables, potato stix, fig bars, toosie rools, m&ms, pears, and vanilla latte. 2,100 calories of deliciousness.
Played my first round in Mafia with the group and actually won!
Got to bed early.
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