Please read below for all the updates I've been promising. Sorry to throw these at you all at once, but I'm hoping I'll stay a little better caught up now that I've settled into the flow of the trip. Pictures from the past week or so will come soon, and you can always check the photos on the Bike and Build page (linked on the right side of this page.)
I'd also like to thank specific donors who have sponsored days of the trip...
Special thanks to Kathleen Hock and James Kay each of whom I've named as sponsors of the week in New Orleans and the trip as a whole for their generous contributions.
Ride Days
Max Fischer - Jacksonville to Glen Saint Mary
The Luse Family - Glen Saint Mary to Live Oak
Jacksonville Build Day - Laurie and Bob Keller
Mobile Build Day - Carol Fischer
Biloxi Build Day - Elizabeth Nelson and Edna Hoseman
New Orleans Build Day (1) - Lorraine Ferris
New Orleans Build Day (2) - Howard and Babette Denis
New Orleans Build Day (3) - Suzy and Nick Massey
New Orleans Build Day (4) - Sarah Keller
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Some thoughts on New Orleans
I'm sitting here in a coffee shop in the Garden District on our last day in New Orleans. This is my third time visiting the city and I'm always charmed by it. Somehow this time I've experienced it on a different level, though. Perhaps it's because we've been staying in the heart of the city this time instead of outside. Perhaps it's because I've gotten over the tourist attractions and just relaxed into being in the city. Or maybe it's because I've seen so much more of the city this time by driving a biking around. Like the other times I've visited I'm still struck by the fact that this is a city unlike any other. A little story illustrates this:
One of our riders, Rachel, was outside the house looking for something in the van when a man walks by and strikes up a conversation. He was on his way back from a corner grocery store and was just being friendly. This is something that happens in New Orleans. People stop and talk to strangers. Sure it happens elsewhere, but I think I'm always a little bit surprised when a stranger just starts talking with me in D.C. Here it's normal.
A few minutes later Alan (our new friend) knocks on the door with a shopping basket full of muffuletta sandwiches. He said he always likes to help out the volunteers and wanted us to have the experience of some real New Orleanian food. He stayed and talked with us for about 45 minutes about New Orleans, peak oil, food, social isolation, where we're from, etc, etc, etc. Yes, perhaps we were quite ready for him to go and perhaps we were a little weirded out by his questions about when he should "stop by tomorrow," but his generosity and hospitality were things I've seen over and over here. Another rider's grandparents brought us red beans and rice the first night we arrived...and brought enough that we are still eating leftovers. A homeowner bought one of the groups painting her house lunch that included shrimp scampi. A couple local bike shops have given us discounts when we explained what we're doing.
This time I've also seen some more of the problems of the city. Rebuilding has not progressed like it could. Parts of the city that weren't hit very hard are doing well, but those that need help are not getting the support they need from the city, state and federal governments. Too much money is caught up in red tape and too many good ideas are caught up in political battles that are preventing real progress. Most of the good things I've seen are from NGOs and faith-based organizations. We worked it the Episcopal Diocese Disaster Response team which has been gutting homes for over a year and is now transitioning (like most other organizations) into rebuilding.
I've also seen some of the underlying and very subtle racism that is part of the city. To avoid making any general claims here are a couple examples: Our ride into the city from Mississippi took us straight through the Ninth Ward, the now-famous poor, black area of the city hit hard by Katrina. Two different unsolicited comments from white residents upon discovering our route went something like this: "You have no business being there," and "I wouldn't ride through there unless you've got a flak jacket." We rode through anyway, saw the devastation, and some riders even stopped and talked with residents. I'm not denying that this area was probably higher crime than many other parts of the city and these comments were made with our best interest in mind, but I cannot help but think that much of their concern was based on second and third hand reports and the fact that what you see in these neighborhoods are rundown houses and black people sitting on stoops.
Anyhow, enough of my sociological observations. Here are some simple highlights from my stay:
One of our riders, Rachel, was outside the house looking for something in the van when a man walks by and strikes up a conversation. He was on his way back from a corner grocery store and was just being friendly. This is something that happens in New Orleans. People stop and talk to strangers. Sure it happens elsewhere, but I think I'm always a little bit surprised when a stranger just starts talking with me in D.C. Here it's normal.
A few minutes later Alan (our new friend) knocks on the door with a shopping basket full of muffuletta sandwiches. He said he always likes to help out the volunteers and wanted us to have the experience of some real New Orleanian food. He stayed and talked with us for about 45 minutes about New Orleans, peak oil, food, social isolation, where we're from, etc, etc, etc. Yes, perhaps we were quite ready for him to go and perhaps we were a little weirded out by his questions about when he should "stop by tomorrow," but his generosity and hospitality were things I've seen over and over here. Another rider's grandparents brought us red beans and rice the first night we arrived...and brought enough that we are still eating leftovers. A homeowner bought one of the groups painting her house lunch that included shrimp scampi. A couple local bike shops have given us discounts when we explained what we're doing.
This time I've also seen some more of the problems of the city. Rebuilding has not progressed like it could. Parts of the city that weren't hit very hard are doing well, but those that need help are not getting the support they need from the city, state and federal governments. Too much money is caught up in red tape and too many good ideas are caught up in political battles that are preventing real progress. Most of the good things I've seen are from NGOs and faith-based organizations. We worked it the Episcopal Diocese Disaster Response team which has been gutting homes for over a year and is now transitioning (like most other organizations) into rebuilding.
I've also seen some of the underlying and very subtle racism that is part of the city. To avoid making any general claims here are a couple examples: Our ride into the city from Mississippi took us straight through the Ninth Ward, the now-famous poor, black area of the city hit hard by Katrina. Two different unsolicited comments from white residents upon discovering our route went something like this: "You have no business being there," and "I wouldn't ride through there unless you've got a flak jacket." We rode through anyway, saw the devastation, and some riders even stopped and talked with residents. I'm not denying that this area was probably higher crime than many other parts of the city and these comments were made with our best interest in mind, but I cannot help but think that much of their concern was based on second and third hand reports and the fact that what you see in these neighborhoods are rundown houses and black people sitting on stoops.
Anyhow, enough of my sociological observations. Here are some simple highlights from my stay:
- Red beans and rice, muffulettas, beignets, and all the great food.
- Sitting in with Ryan Burrage at Fritzels and ending up playing a whole set.
- Hearing great music at the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street.
- Playing some poker at Harrah's.
- Painting, gutting, and landscaping in different parts of the city.
- Riding and driving around and feeling like I really know the city.
- Stopping by St. Bernard Parish and seeing Curly, a friend from my time there.
- Seeing a bunch of my fellow riders experience the city for the first time.
- Seeing my odometer go over 1000 miles since I bought my bike in April! (This was done while riding in a 10 foot diameter circle so that a couple of others could share in the joy. I arrived home at 999.2 and rode around the block a few times before finishing the job with 30 or 40 revolutions right outside our house.)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
So busy, but here's a post
Here I am in Biloxi, trying to get everything I can done before our internet status returns once again to "unknown." We worked with Hands On today, a great organization doing lots of different projects in the Gulf Coast. I wish we could stay longer because the people, accommodations and the work has all been great.
I do plan to update more, but the life of a trip leader seems to have taken over and I'm constantly trying to juggle biking, building, planning, and having a bit of fun with the other riders. That plus the lack of internet in most places where we've been have left me unable to update. But our next stop is New Orleans where we'll be for 5 full days! If I don't get a solid rundown of the past two weeks up here by then you're free to never pay attention to this blog again. Deal?
In the meantime...here are a few pictures (you can find more of the trip in general by following the above links):
Me at the Atlantic, with my new impulse buy, enjoying the moment with Ray Charles in his boyhood home, Greenville, FL.
I do plan to update more, but the life of a trip leader seems to have taken over and I'm constantly trying to juggle biking, building, planning, and having a bit of fun with the other riders. That plus the lack of internet in most places where we've been have left me unable to update. But our next stop is New Orleans where we'll be for 5 full days! If I don't get a solid rundown of the past two weeks up here by then you're free to never pay attention to this blog again. Deal?
In the meantime...here are a few pictures (you can find more of the trip in general by following the above links):
Me at the Atlantic, with my new impulse buy, enjoying the moment with Ray Charles in his boyhood home, Greenville, FL.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Biloxi, MS
I came to Biloxi having only spent one night in Mississippi during AmeriCorps last year. I've heard a lot about Biloxi from friends who had projects here last year. Many places closest to the ocean were hit hard and completely wiped out. But I was also surprised at how much activity there was. Ask anyone who lives there, though, and you'll hear that you can't really tell how bad it is unless you had seen it before the storm.
The city will not be same, partly because of the storm and partly because a huge portion of the recovery plan involves the development of casinos. To aid recovery, they have permitted onshore casinos instead of just offshore and there are more than 10 casinos planned along a strip of East Biloxi. In ten years or so we may speak of Biloxi as the new Las Vegas.
The day biking in was fairly easy. It was hot, but the ride was only 60 miles or so. We crossed our second state line in as many days of riding and it was strange to know that after spending 8 days riding across Florida, three days of riding from Milton to New Orleans would cover three new states. The Mississippi state sign was far more prominent than the Alabama one, which I missed entirely. We stopped and took pictures which I'll have to get from someone else, because at this point I couldn't find my camera. (It turned out to be in van.) The last 20 miles of riding, or so, were made slower by a big head wind, but my group still arrived with plenty of time.
We worked with Hands On Gulf Coast, which is doing a variety of projects in Biloxi, including rebuilding. They didn't have very many rebuilding projects available, so the group split up into various projects. Mine was helping at a camp for Spanish-speaking kids across the street. They ranged in age from about 6 to 12 and our job was to try to interact with them in English as much as possible. Despite some disorganization, I had a lot of fun, and was reminded how rewarded I feel when I work with kids who just need a little individual attention and encouragement to succeed. I emailed a friend at Sherman Lake YMCA, where I worked in Michigan to inquire if/when they might have a spot for me when I'm done with this crazy adventure. Who knows where I'll end up next, but I'd love to work with kids. So despite not being directly involved in an affordable housing cause during this day, I definitely got something out of it.
I ended up staying up late, trying to get things done and get organized before driving the van into New Orleans the next day.
The city will not be same, partly because of the storm and partly because a huge portion of the recovery plan involves the development of casinos. To aid recovery, they have permitted onshore casinos instead of just offshore and there are more than 10 casinos planned along a strip of East Biloxi. In ten years or so we may speak of Biloxi as the new Las Vegas.
The day biking in was fairly easy. It was hot, but the ride was only 60 miles or so. We crossed our second state line in as many days of riding and it was strange to know that after spending 8 days riding across Florida, three days of riding from Milton to New Orleans would cover three new states. The Mississippi state sign was far more prominent than the Alabama one, which I missed entirely. We stopped and took pictures which I'll have to get from someone else, because at this point I couldn't find my camera. (It turned out to be in van.) The last 20 miles of riding, or so, were made slower by a big head wind, but my group still arrived with plenty of time.
We worked with Hands On Gulf Coast, which is doing a variety of projects in Biloxi, including rebuilding. They didn't have very many rebuilding projects available, so the group split up into various projects. Mine was helping at a camp for Spanish-speaking kids across the street. They ranged in age from about 6 to 12 and our job was to try to interact with them in English as much as possible. Despite some disorganization, I had a lot of fun, and was reminded how rewarded I feel when I work with kids who just need a little individual attention and encouragement to succeed. I emailed a friend at Sherman Lake YMCA, where I worked in Michigan to inquire if/when they might have a spot for me when I'm done with this crazy adventure. Who knows where I'll end up next, but I'd love to work with kids. So despite not being directly involved in an affordable housing cause during this day, I definitely got something out of it.
I ended up staying up late, trying to get things done and get organized before driving the van into New Orleans the next day.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Mobile, AL
Our first century! We had two options for a route going from Milton. A shorter, but hillier and busier 92 mile option that would take us through downtown Mobile or a flatter, more scenic and quieter 108 mile option including taking a ferry across the mouth of Mobile Bay. The group decided on the longer ride even though it meant getting up at 4am to leave by 6am and get to the Ferry by 2:30.
Everyone did great. Only one rider had to be picked up, because he ended up getting dehydrated and the heat got to him, but I have no doubt that he could have finished. The flat ride and the scenery really helped things. I got there in time to take the earlier ferry but opted to wait for the rest and spend some time chilling out by the water. It was a nice break around mile 80 of the ride.
On the other side of the ferry we still had about 25 miles to go, much of which included the unshaded and brutally hot causeway that took us from Dauphin Island up to the mainland of Mobile County. It was a beautiful ride, but I was so glad to be done. My previous long day of riding was somewhere around 70 miles, so it felt great to smash that, especially this early in the trip. I think getting this under our belts gave the entire group great confidence for the rest of the trip. We definitely have some long days that will be even harder, so I think this will nullify some of our fears. You feel pretty invincible when you can say you biked 100 miles in one day!
The work in Mobile was good. We worked with Mobile County Habitat for Humanity, mostly laying sod while a few people painted. They are building entire communities in the Bayou la Batre area as part of Operation Home Delivery, a Habitat International response to the hurricanes of 2005. Many of the homes where we were had been more or less finished, so the 27 of us, plus a few other volunteers and homeowners worked on laying sod. We finished faster than they expected and it was great to see the result of a good day's work from 27 people: three lawns that were previously huge patches of lumpy dirt now looked like lawns and the buildings that looked like construction sites that morning had taken a huge step toward looking like homes.
Everyone did great. Only one rider had to be picked up, because he ended up getting dehydrated and the heat got to him, but I have no doubt that he could have finished. The flat ride and the scenery really helped things. I got there in time to take the earlier ferry but opted to wait for the rest and spend some time chilling out by the water. It was a nice break around mile 80 of the ride.
On the other side of the ferry we still had about 25 miles to go, much of which included the unshaded and brutally hot causeway that took us from Dauphin Island up to the mainland of Mobile County. It was a beautiful ride, but I was so glad to be done. My previous long day of riding was somewhere around 70 miles, so it felt great to smash that, especially this early in the trip. I think getting this under our belts gave the entire group great confidence for the rest of the trip. We definitely have some long days that will be even harder, so I think this will nullify some of our fears. You feel pretty invincible when you can say you biked 100 miles in one day!
The work in Mobile was good. We worked with Mobile County Habitat for Humanity, mostly laying sod while a few people painted. They are building entire communities in the Bayou la Batre area as part of Operation Home Delivery, a Habitat International response to the hurricanes of 2005. Many of the homes where we were had been more or less finished, so the 27 of us, plus a few other volunteers and homeowners worked on laying sod. We finished faster than they expected and it was great to see the result of a good day's work from 27 people: three lawns that were previously huge patches of lumpy dirt now looked like lawns and the buildings that looked like construction sites that morning had taken a huge step toward looking like homes.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Snapshots of Florida
Who knew Florida was so big? That's a comment we've gotten a lot so far on the trip. No one really thinks about the panhandle of this deceptively large state. Miami, Orlando, Daytona, Jacksonville...those are the places most people associate with Florida. But we got to see a very different Florida, one of small rural towns and long stretches of two-lane highway, surrounded by forest, farms and marshes.
A disclaimer and apology about this post is that I'm sitting here in New Orleans trying to synthesize my spotty notes and jumbled memory into prose that might do justice to my Florida experience. For the most part I was so busy trying to get this whole trip-leader thing down (not to mention the biking 60 miles a day thing) that I didn't have time to think about journaling or blogging. Hopefully the upcoming states will provide a little more time for reflection. So here are a few snapshots of my time in Florida:
Jacksonville -
This was the exciting and nervous time where we met everyone, made lots of trips to various stores to gear up and got used to sleeping on the floor without the aid of 4-8 hours of exercise each day. Our contacts there, Gary and Deb Testa were amazingly hospitable, having the leaders to their house on the first night, planning accommodations, meals, putting together bikes that were shipped, arranging our build day and just being great people. Gary retired after selling businesses he owned and now is a full-time volunteer, working with Habitat and the YMCA and also being a HUGE asset to our trip. Deb also volunteers with Habitat and spent countless hours doing Bike and Build stuff in the weeks and months leading up to our arrival in Jacksonville. I can't imagine two better people to get our trip started right. The world could use more people like them.
Our build day in Jacksonville was excellent. I've worked with many different Habitat affiliates of various sizes and organizational levels and I can honestly say that I've never encountered one that was better than Beaches Habitat. The group spent the day on various projects, including roofing, landscaping and building door frames. Even when we accomplished things faster than they expected, they adapted and found productive things for us to do.
Glen Saint Mary
Another easy and uneventful day of riding. Today was the first day that the "where am I" syndrome has started to set in. Someone can ask where I was the night before and I literally have to think for a bit before I remember where I just was. Nomadic life is exciting but not particularly conducive to the creation of vivid and lasting memories.
We stayed the night in a large church gym, unairconditioned and with huge, loud fans, trying valiantly and unsuccessfully to provide some relief from the heat. No worries, though, everyone slept well, and I'm sure this won't be the first place we sweat while we sleep. And any misgivings about our sleeping arrangements were countered by a donation of pizza from the local Pizza Hut and a wonderful breakfast provided the next morning. Southern hospitality, indeed.
Quincy
Our first mini-crisis of the trip was handled smoothly and I was so impressed with the patience of all the riders. With some bad timing (the hectic days of orientation followed by a weekend) we didn't call our contact until this morning. Lo and behold, they weren't really expecting us for some reason. Everyone waited at the lunch stop while we tried to figure everything out. A few hours later, things were worked out and we actually ended up with some of our best accommodations yet. Another high school gym, but nearly brand new and airconditioned, with access to the school's laundry facilities and showers. They even bought us pizza for dinner and we were able to take the van into town for a much needed internet fix.
The high point of the day was leaving lunch and finding either superhuman strength in my legs or (more likely) a nice strong tailwind. Claude and I were sustaining 30mph in the flats! (Compared with a normal high speed of 20mph or so along flat roads.) The low came a few miles later. After baking in the sun for about 6 miles were were counting down the pedal strokes to the enticingly-named Shady Rest Road. It was neither. We continued to labor in the hot sun until we reached our destination. I got close to running out of energy but I still had a Clif Bar and that gave me just enough to reach our goal.
Marianna
Delilah, Carly and I are not allowed to ride together if there is cloud in the sky. This is the same group I was riding with when we got dumped on the first day and sure enough, Carly and I had been riding together for awhile, watching storm cloud gathering. We hoped we would get into our destination, a few miles away before it let loose, but as soon as we caught up with Delilah, lightning started to get closer and the skies darkened even. We ducked under the carport of an Enterprise Rent-a-Car just in time to watch the awesome deluge. I'm very glad we didn't try to tough out the last mile or so. We would have been soaked to the bone.
After letting the storm pass, we pedaled the last mile or so to the church where we were greeted with lunch and very warm reception. I'm not a church-goer but this is one that I would belong to. They had wonderful people and a strong sense of service that flowed from their devotion to true Christian principles. They cooked a pasta dinner for us where we got to interact with members who came by. We gave our first presentation of the trip and also showed pictures from our trip so far. At breakfast the next morning were treated to possibly the world's only "Breakfast Dinner Theatre..." a collection of stand-up and Christmas songs performed by George, one of the congregation. I know we all left feeling energized and uplifted by such great support.
De Funiak Springs
Our first night of camping. And it was certainly not what any of us expected. I drove the van for the first time today and was a little shocked when we pulled up to the address and found an RV park. Nevermind that it wasn't expected, we had a great time. It was nice to get some practice pitching the tents and going through the logistics of camping while having an airconditioned dining-room area to go into and even use the internet. People enjoyed the pool and we cooked out on the grills. I ended up sleeping outside with Laura and Sean because we were up late doing logistics and didn't feel like trying to find a spot in one of the tents.
Milton
I think by this point 60 miles felt easy to most people. After my day off in the van, it certainly did to me once I got over some initial stiffness. It was a pretty uneventful day of riding and we arrived at the Milton Community Center. We celebrated our last day in Florida with Olive Garden, brought by Elizabeth, a Bike and Build alum who lives in Pensacola. After deciding to do our first century the next day everyone hit the sack early and turned the lights out for the last time in the state of Florida!
Overall, I've immensely enjoyed the state and the people. While small rural communities are not outside my realm of experience, I don't know that I've spent much time in them, especially with such a conversation starter in my back pocket. For the most part, I've been incredibly impressed by the hospitality and generosity of all the towns we've stopped in. Hopefully the next nine states will be as welcoming.
A disclaimer and apology about this post is that I'm sitting here in New Orleans trying to synthesize my spotty notes and jumbled memory into prose that might do justice to my Florida experience. For the most part I was so busy trying to get this whole trip-leader thing down (not to mention the biking 60 miles a day thing) that I didn't have time to think about journaling or blogging. Hopefully the upcoming states will provide a little more time for reflection. So here are a few snapshots of my time in Florida:
Jacksonville -
This was the exciting and nervous time where we met everyone, made lots of trips to various stores to gear up and got used to sleeping on the floor without the aid of 4-8 hours of exercise each day. Our contacts there, Gary and Deb Testa were amazingly hospitable, having the leaders to their house on the first night, planning accommodations, meals, putting together bikes that were shipped, arranging our build day and just being great people. Gary retired after selling businesses he owned and now is a full-time volunteer, working with Habitat and the YMCA and also being a HUGE asset to our trip. Deb also volunteers with Habitat and spent countless hours doing Bike and Build stuff in the weeks and months leading up to our arrival in Jacksonville. I can't imagine two better people to get our trip started right. The world could use more people like them.
Our build day in Jacksonville was excellent. I've worked with many different Habitat affiliates of various sizes and organizational levels and I can honestly say that I've never encountered one that was better than Beaches Habitat. The group spent the day on various projects, including roofing, landscaping and building door frames. Even when we accomplished things faster than they expected, they adapted and found productive things for us to do.
Glen Saint Mary
Yesterday we started off from
The directions today looked something like this: Turn Right out of church, Turn Left on 90, go 54 miles, Turn Left on 129, Turn Left into church. And this will be much of the next week. We basically follow US90 all the way into
I don’t know that there’s too much else to say right now. The group has been great. Everyone is fun to be around and extremely responsible. Our different “chore groups” – laundry, breakfast, dinner, clean-up – have been going very well. The riding is a bit tough at times, but you mix it up and ride with different people, stop at interesting places and sing whatever song comes into your head. It hasn’t really hit me that I’ll eventually end up in
Another easy and uneventful day of riding. Today was the first day that the "where am I" syndrome has started to set in. Someone can ask where I was the night before and I literally have to think for a bit before I remember where I just was. Nomadic life is exciting but not particularly conducive to the creation of vivid and lasting memories.
We stayed the night in a large church gym, unairconditioned and with huge, loud fans, trying valiantly and unsuccessfully to provide some relief from the heat. No worries, though, everyone slept well, and I'm sure this won't be the first place we sweat while we sleep. And any misgivings about our sleeping arrangements were countered by a donation of pizza from the local Pizza Hut and a wonderful breakfast provided the next morning. Southern hospitality, indeed.
Quincy
Our first mini-crisis of the trip was handled smoothly and I was so impressed with the patience of all the riders. With some bad timing (the hectic days of orientation followed by a weekend) we didn't call our contact until this morning. Lo and behold, they weren't really expecting us for some reason. Everyone waited at the lunch stop while we tried to figure everything out. A few hours later, things were worked out and we actually ended up with some of our best accommodations yet. Another high school gym, but nearly brand new and airconditioned, with access to the school's laundry facilities and showers. They even bought us pizza for dinner and we were able to take the van into town for a much needed internet fix.
The high point of the day was leaving lunch and finding either superhuman strength in my legs or (more likely) a nice strong tailwind. Claude and I were sustaining 30mph in the flats! (Compared with a normal high speed of 20mph or so along flat roads.) The low came a few miles later. After baking in the sun for about 6 miles were were counting down the pedal strokes to the enticingly-named Shady Rest Road. It was neither. We continued to labor in the hot sun until we reached our destination. I got close to running out of energy but I still had a Clif Bar and that gave me just enough to reach our goal.
Marianna
Delilah, Carly and I are not allowed to ride together if there is cloud in the sky. This is the same group I was riding with when we got dumped on the first day and sure enough, Carly and I had been riding together for awhile, watching storm cloud gathering. We hoped we would get into our destination, a few miles away before it let loose, but as soon as we caught up with Delilah, lightning started to get closer and the skies darkened even. We ducked under the carport of an Enterprise Rent-a-Car just in time to watch the awesome deluge. I'm very glad we didn't try to tough out the last mile or so. We would have been soaked to the bone.
After letting the storm pass, we pedaled the last mile or so to the church where we were greeted with lunch and very warm reception. I'm not a church-goer but this is one that I would belong to. They had wonderful people and a strong sense of service that flowed from their devotion to true Christian principles. They cooked a pasta dinner for us where we got to interact with members who came by. We gave our first presentation of the trip and also showed pictures from our trip so far. At breakfast the next morning were treated to possibly the world's only "Breakfast Dinner Theatre..." a collection of stand-up and Christmas songs performed by George, one of the congregation. I know we all left feeling energized and uplifted by such great support.
De Funiak Springs
Our first night of camping. And it was certainly not what any of us expected. I drove the van for the first time today and was a little shocked when we pulled up to the address and found an RV park. Nevermind that it wasn't expected, we had a great time. It was nice to get some practice pitching the tents and going through the logistics of camping while having an airconditioned dining-room area to go into and even use the internet. People enjoyed the pool and we cooked out on the grills. I ended up sleeping outside with Laura and Sean because we were up late doing logistics and didn't feel like trying to find a spot in one of the tents.
Milton
I think by this point 60 miles felt easy to most people. After my day off in the van, it certainly did to me once I got over some initial stiffness. It was a pretty uneventful day of riding and we arrived at the Milton Community Center. We celebrated our last day in Florida with Olive Garden, brought by Elizabeth, a Bike and Build alum who lives in Pensacola. After deciding to do our first century the next day everyone hit the sack early and turned the lights out for the last time in the state of Florida!
Overall, I've immensely enjoyed the state and the people. While small rural communities are not outside my realm of experience, I don't know that I've spent much time in them, especially with such a conversation starter in my back pocket. For the most part, I've been incredibly impressed by the hospitality and generosity of all the towns we've stopped in. Hopefully the next nine states will be as welcoming.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Quick update from the road
Hi everyone. Well, it's been an exhilirating few days! We're now in Quincy, Florida, which is just northwest of Tallahassee here in the panhandle. I have so much to update, and some of it I've even written down on my computer, but internet access has been hard to come by. So for now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm alright and things are going great. You'll get more updates soon, definitely by the time we hit New Orleans in a little over a week.
Thank you to all the people who have donated recently. I appreciate it so much. I've now raised over $6200 that will be donated toward affordable housing organizations in the Gulf Coast after the trip is done.
Thank you to all the people who have donated recently. I appreciate it so much. I've now raised over $6200 that will be donated toward affordable housing organizations in the Gulf Coast after the trip is done.
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