Hidden Treasure

The little town of Wichita Falls, Tx. was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Dusty and I arrived early to the YMCA who hosted us for the night, so we set out on an exploration of the town. Riding down the road a few miles we found the man made Wichita Falls. We later came across the "Hotter Than Hell" race building (a popular bike race) where we found a rad bicyclist mural on the wall, which had me missing all the unique artwork surrounding my hometown. As we continued wandering the side streets to see what other artwork was hiding, we discovered a huge shopping cart and a dreamy old school yellow mustang. Having some good fun, we took model pictures of all the beautiful little treasures that made the bare feeling of this tiny town original.

For dinner, one of the kind guys from the "Hotter Than Hell" ride club took us all out to dinner at one of their favorite burger joints. Without even reading the menu thoroughly, I immediately ordered a hamburger, onion rings, and a milkshake. Five minutes later it was all in my tummy. If there's anything I've learned about myself on long ride days, it's that I forget to chew. 

The next morning, we woke up to an unpleasant surprise...four of the tires on our van and trailer had been slashed during our slumber. This tragedy did not prohibit us from riding on, but put us back a couple steps with our morning routine. Fortunately, our awesome leaders handled the situation smoothly and promptly took care of the tires. One minor setback didn't stop us from getting to our next point. With positive attitudes, we all rode on!

Famous Sally

Finally, in Dallas, Tx. The moment we all were waiting for. The rumor floating around the bike and build world was that "THE best host" lives here. This rumor was NO lie. Walking through the doors into the beautiful home of our host, Sally had me almost faint in disbelief. There was so much food in the kitchen- all of us HANGRY bike riders couldn't even make a substantial dent. As I continued to tour the house, I glanced outside to see a pool, coolers full of cold drinks, and a blow up slip-n-slide. This was a sure invitation to scream out of excitement like a kid who sees the ice cream truck ride down the street.

The first night was full of crazy bikers splashing in the pool, music blaring so loud we couldn't stop singing, and the best home cooked meals. 

Day two we built with Habitat For Humanity. This project was a bit more hands on and in the early stages of building. As a team, we were able to finish nailing in the roofing wood boards. By the end of the day, the house changed so much we could barely remember what it looked like from the start. 

After a long days work, Sally surprised us with a sail boat ride on a glistening lake in Texas. My girls and I cruised down to the lake in her Mustang belting Beyonce's "single ladies". Let me tell ya, we sounded like the voice of angels (joking). The 3 days spent there we unreal, and was definitely one of the hardest place to leave to date. 

THANK YOU SALLY FOR EVERYTHING! You put a smile on our faces, brought out many laughs, and made this trip even more special. 

Adopted

90 degrees, and a long day of hills- sweeping my way into Athens, Texas was such an accomplishment. Many riders started dropping like flies throughout the day. We called this wipe-out the "aPUKEalypse", which hit and hit hard. By the time we had reached the host, at least ten riders had their white faces hanging over the toilets. Scared to touch anything and everything, I washed my hands an overly healthy amount. Better germ safe than sick, right?

After dinner, we were split up into groups of 2-3, where we became adopted by lovely hosts. Ashley and I were sent off with the most amazing bike and build parent for the night, Linnea. Driving just 10 minutes away from the church we ate at, we arrived at her GORGEOUS 100 acre lot of land with a to die for white house and pool in the backyard. To top it all off, she had two friendly horses, and two playful dogs that won my heart. Adopt me forever, please? (Sorry mom & dad...hehe). 

                 Love at first sight

              Friends from the get-go