BONKING

Made it through two of the longest back-to-back rides yet. Wednesday we headed from De Funiak Springs, FL. to Gulf Breeze, FL. Traveling a century (100 miles) through strong gusts of head wind.  It wasn't until mile 86 when I caught a serious case of "bonking." My cleets no longer wanted to clip into my pedals, my bladder was so full I could barely contain the pain, and the zombie-like expression started to take over my face. Pushing through the last and hardest 15 miles was mentally draining, but such an accomplishment. 

Thursday, we were eager to cross the boarder into Mobile, Alabama. My favorite day of riding through a down pour of rain and booming thunder. The amount of back spray from the bike wheel in front of me to enter into my mouth was disgustingly enough to keep me hydrated. Reaching the first lunch, in desperate need of food, I unshamefully stuffed an entire pb&j sandwich into my mouth with just one bite. When bonking, we will take desperate measures to fuel up. The best part of the 95.5 mike ride was taking a ferry at mile 60 to get to Mobile. The 40 minute cruise along the water made a great resting break and pretty scene of the unfimiliar surroundings. Making it to the host sopping wet clothes, while knowing the hot shower was in sight was magical. I had never been so excited to take a shower in my life. 

Today, we had our 3rd build day working with Habitat For Humanity. Ashley, Emma, and I teamed up to saw wood for the wall edging and painted floor boards. In all good fun, 5 of us working together in the same house plotted a dance attack on another house. Pretending to be sneaky, we hid behind cars, next to the house, and climbed through the window. Without being seen, we caught them if guard dancing our way around their house project. We thought we were hilarious, as for them, they're still in the process of coming out of their nutshells. 

To end the night, we held a bike clinic for children. We tuaght them about the bike life, and encouraged them to ride safely. With big smiles on their faces, they rode like pros around a mini obstacle course we created for them. 

                Peanut butter jelly time

                  Cutting wood

            

         Build day Jumping in the rain

Talla-hilly

Welcome to Tallahassee- I mean Talla-HILLY. Yesterday, we biked from Perry to Tallahassee, FL. During the ride we tackled hills that seemed to last longer then a turkey baking on Thanksgiving...the best way to describe it. It was hot and painful cranking up, but rewarding to finally leave the bottom of the hill looking at my rear end. After that, all I could think about was smoothie king, sonic, Hardee's, and basically every other place that I could think to grub at.

Today, May 24th, we had our second build day. We worked with Good News Outreach. Being such lovely people, they provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner; a triple whammy! We couldn't that them enough for being so gracious and engaged in our mission to serve.

On the site, we used saws to cut the border of the homes and nailed fresh slabs of wood to prevent termite infestation and a more realistic design for the surrounding area. There I met the cutest little boy in a Spider-Man t-sort named Bubba. Bubba was a trooper and worked by my side to pick up wood slabs from the ground.

My favorite part of the day was toward the end when our leader, Maddy created our original "mulch Olympics". The intensity of the race to fill up a wheel barrow full of tree bark and dirt made the job seem to fly by quicker. My team came in se...Zzzz (out like a light bulb)

Killin' It!

Woke up feeling only half way charged. Sleep is at a bare minimum these days since our bike mileage continues to increase. The earlier we get up (5am) and out on the road (7am), the less scorching heat we encounter. Temperatures almost reaching into the 90s was a clear indication that hydration was far most important. That being said, we made drinking H2O fun. Every time someone said "cheers", we simultaneously took a swig together. My favorite cheers of the day was "cheers for good gears!" That was my favorite since we battled hills and extreme wind conditions all day...a muscle burning combination.

Pulling up to the campsite was a great relief and seeing a clear lukewarm pool to jump right into was a sweet surprise. We dared Colleen Daly to body flop face first into the water with the incentive she would get a 20 minute massage in return. She did it, twice, only because the first attemp just wasn't good enough. Watching her land flat on her face provided laughs out loud for the group and seemed to sum up how we felt about our long ride for the day.

Sweep challenge of the day was to take a picture of roadkill and insert a sweet caption to explain the brutal scene. Without hesitation, my bike buddies and I got down and personal with an armadillo who blatantly had been run over more than once. There's two things I learned: 1. Armadillo roadkill truly does smell like death. 2. Don't "drink and 'Dillo-dally across the road" or else bad things could happen. Literally and figuratively speaking, we killed it today!

As for Maddy (my leader), she spilled it today. ;)

Pop Goes The Tires

Pedal Pedal...

Who's creepin'?...

SWEEPER!...

Sweeper who!?...

SWEEPER to the rescue!

Riding as the caboose of the bike pack made for a long eventful day full of unfortunate events. Molly B and I were chosen to be sweeper for our first big ride (80 miles!). Shortly after leaving Palatka we encountered two groups with flat tires. Luckily, we flew in with capes and just the right tools to get our friends tires spiffy again...or so we thought. Throughout the entire ride we helped replace new tubes for riders 7 times. It was a rough ride for a few riders to say the least. 

Once we got to the host site fashionably late, we were treated with a Taco salad meal. I don't think I've ever eaten so much rice and beans in one sitting in my life. I was HANGRY, HANGRY, HANGRY! 

Tomorrow will be another long ride (70 miles), so I'll be saying a prayer we have better luck with our tires. 

Bad Girl Watcha Gonna Do?

IOff to a slow start called for a morning cup of coffee at The Chocolate Turtle. The lovely woman working there provided us with a free and very delicious pineapple upside down cake the night before. The donation magic just keeps on rollin' in!

After taking a few right, but actually wrong turns, we finally made it to the top of the lighthouse in St. Augustine, FL. The view of the coastline of Florida was incredible. Climbing up the stairs was a great butt workout and well worth it.

40 long miles later we made our way into Palatka, Florida. A huge thank you to St. Monica church for feeding all 32 of us dinner, giving us access to clean showers, and a comfy building to sleep in. The hospitality here is contagious. Taking a tour around the town to see hand painted murals is one of the treasures that makes this place so special.

Bad girl, bad girl whatcha gonna do when the cops come for you...Did I mention I got arrested today? Gun pulled and handcuffed, I was one bad biker chick. To the two cops who played along with the joke, you made my night. The sweeper crew (last bike riders) made a challenge to take the BEST picture with someone in uniform and this was the BEST I could come up with:

When You Dip I Dip You Dip

Together we dipped our back tires into the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville, FL. to mark our official first day of riding. Riding down the A1A was beautiful. I have never seen so many houses I could easily call me dream home. Also, I got to see an armadillo for the first time; dead on the street. I never knew until today how potentally awful road kill smelt until today.  

Once my group successfully reached the church building hosting us for the night, we went out for some ice cream. I stopped in a cute organic Popsicle shop called "Hoppy". The employee working informed me I was just a minute too late from meeting Jack Johnson. I almost squealed from excitement of just know he was in the same town as me. 

Donation Magic was unreal today. The amount of giving companies and stores that donated food to our trip was eye opening. We were given a watermelon, pineapple upside down cake, turkey wraps, 2 boxes of pizza, and a bag full of candy. This was proof that there are good people in the world. 

Day 2: Build it!

Woke up at 6 a.m. to country music. Bike and Build already knows how to wake me up on the right side of the bed. Staying well hydrated in the hot Florida sun, I drank 7 bottles of water, which resulted in crystal clear urine...I think that alone calls for a celebration.

From 8-4 we helped build our first house with Habitat For Humanity Beaches in Jacksonville. My task assigned was to cock and paint the interior of the home. Tag teaming with Molly (another bike and builder) made the work go by quicker, especially when we started jamming to the tunes on my iPhone. Habitat For Humanity provided us with a delicious lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cookies. It's so great to see how many people support are mission and are first hand contributing to make this experience pleasant for every single one of us.

We ended our night leap frogging our way around the community center hosting us to go over safety rules. Lights are out and the guy next to me is snoring so loudly that the entire room just busted out into laughter...he had no idea. I think he might have eaten a monster. Oh, how I love finding humor in the little things.

        Elle and I getting ready to build!

                  House project #1

Loopy Laura

Day 1- Bike & Build Orientation:

Meet the crew I'll be spending my next         80 days with!

Today was a day full of ice breaker games and silly skits to create good vibes for the start of our journey together. Everyone has a great sense of humor and are fun to be around. This is definitely a trip I'm surely not going to regret. It's 11:30, lights are out, and I can barely keep my eyes open I'm so drained from the days activities. Loopy Laura is hitting the hay!

We Run DC (Nike Women's Half Marathon)

4-27-14 marks the day I left 13.1 miles around the streets of Washington D.C. in the dust. I finished my fourth Half Marathon, and most definitely not my last. Here is my shout out to the random, but winning husband cheering runners on with a sign that said, "Run faster! You're running in my wife's gas"...let me tell ya, that gave me an extra kick in my stride. If it weren't for those motivating words, I may not have made it across the finish line before your wife (joking). There really is no better sight to see down the last stretch than a gentleman in a tuxedo handing out Tiffany's necklaces' in a pretty blue box. I'm hoping the profuse amount of sweat dripping down my face onto the necklace really made it sparkle like a diamond.

 Pointing to my name on the wall outside Nike Town in D.C.

 Running around the Capital, while making my move to pass his wife. ;)
(^^read above)

 "My finale boyfriend" and a beautiful blue box that kept my heart beating.

I'll be back, DC.