Pool party lunch stop!

I officially love biking in the morning. Waking up early is still rough and making me super alert on the bike but its worth it. Yesterday was a 97 mile day through some pretty bad roads. They were very bumpy all day long leaving me almost shaking each time we stopped. And to top it off, when we hit mile 68 the road was freshly paved- now this sounds good, but it certainly wasn't. The road was melting and so the tar was getting stuck to our tires, and in the brakes. It made walking my bike VERY difficult, let alone the thought of riding. The tar ripped a line through the rubber in my tire and ripped the screw out of my cleats. It was the worst 3 miles of the trip....
BUT, we had a lovely pool party waiting for us at mile 71 which totally got me through it all! We were greeted by a kind family, food, a pool and their little son who had a tray of ice cream! It was amazing and powered us through the last 25 miles which were pretty good.
Last night was our best host yet! We were split up into pairs and sent off to stay win different families from the church. I was with Kim at the Grymonprez's house, and they were great :) we went out for a sunset boat ride on the lake, and a little dip. I took lots of beautiful pictures! And, it was amazing to have my own bedroom!

Today was only 75 miles which was nice. The day was pretty average. Laura got a few flats, she is up to 18 so far this trip! I feel super lucky to have only had one yet.

I was hoping this summer would be relaxing and stress free so I could enjoy the journey and our county. I'm realizing that this isn't true :( There is always something going on and so we aren't free til 9 or 10 at night, and well I just want to sleep at that point because we wake up sooo early. My leader responsibilities are more time consuming than I had expected and often keep me occupied. But overall I like the majority of the people and enjoy the time on the bike and so the experience is good thus far :)

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Texas!

Thanks to my aunt Julie, Kylee and Delaney for sponsoring today! Happy Birthday Grandpa, we miss you lots.

Today we crossed into Texas which is super exciting. This is the first state
on our journey that I have never been to before. It was also one more state that I drove across the border not rode my bike... Maybe the next one I can finally ride across!
It was a super rainy day, the worst we have had yet, until about 2 pm and so I wasn't too sad to miss out on that.
Tonight we are staying at a family's house. Their daughter did bike and build a few years ago, so it should be a fun evening.

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Amazingly short day!

Today was a simple 31 miles... We chose to sleep in until 9am and then my group stopped at an alligator farm along the way! The gators were pretty cool I took a lot to pictures and will postnsome here eventualy. I also bought some souvenirs for my cousins! So be excited fot those next time I'm in NH. There were some thunder storms in re afternoon... But we were surrounded by corn fields and saw no where to take shelter so we just rode through, which ended up being pretty fun.

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July fourth

Happy 4th of July!!!
Today was a really fun ride day. I was riding sweep (at the of the bunch to make sure everyone gets there ok) but it was only 55 mile so we were able to have a nice relaxing day. We stopped and took some pictures on bails of hay!
Tonight went to the college president's house for dinner and then explored downtown Natchitoches where there was a fair and fireworks by the river.

Thanks to Martin and Paula for sponsoring today! And happy anniversary too :)

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my first flat

Yesterday was a 102 mile day.... And today was 99 miles. Needless to say I don't have much positive to write. LOL
Today I got my first flat tire which stinks. But I was able to change and pump it up in 10 mins which was sweet! I also lost the screws in my cleat and so the cleat got stuck in my pedal... Making it SUPER hard to ride the last 5 miles. My back hurt again today too :( but hey, tomorrow is the 4th of July and we only have 55 miles to ride! Happy holidays all, I'll try to write more when I have time... But right bow I just want to sleep.
We do some math... And found we typically spend 3-4 hour more riding our bikes each day than the sleep we get at night. Not good.... Especially for someone who needs as much sleep as I do!!!

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Baton Rouge Build Day!

I was assigned to do today's group journal, and below is my entry for anyone reading this blog and not the group one:

This morning we woke up at 5am thinking that breakfast crew was cooking and we had to be at site at 7am to volunteer. However, there was a pleasant surprise that the church was providing breakfast and we had a little "snow day" because we were able to go back to sleep for 30 minutes! It turned out that the whole group slept an hour... And we were a bit rushed by everyone made it out and there on time. Thanks to the St. James Episcopal Church for a delicious break consisting of eggs, pastries, sausage, coffee, and juice.

We arrived at the worksite for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge and began the day with a prayer. Today we were doing a pre-build meaning that we were putting door and window frames together, and putting together studs for the corners, etc. Many people wet excited because this is the closest we have come to framing! And tons of people had the chance to use power saws which is always fun. There was enough work to keep everyone busy alld ay long which was exciting, and something that does not always happen. The day was extremely productive with many piles of cut and prepared wood by the end of the day. And, an ice cream truck drove by site, which many people found exciting! I ended up leaving the worksite a bit early to take two riders to doctor's appointments but the group kept hard at work. Both riders are fine, they just wanted to get things checked before continuing the upcoming long ride days. The work day was over at 1pm and some people went back to the church for a good old PB&J lunch while a few others went out. Thanks to Habitat of Greater Baton Rouge for an excellent work day, and for the delicious snacks!

The afternoon consisted of napping, visiting the public library, running to the bike store, pharmacy and various errands for different people. A handful of people took time to catch up on old journal entries, so we can hopefully be up to date! There is a sushi place just down the street with happy hour deals so many people headed over there. Dinner was provided by St. James Episcopal Church again today. In the evening a few people went out to explore town, but most stayed in and watched a movie on the projector.

-Kerri Socha

On the road again

Yesterday morning we had a lovely breakfast and then rolled out of New Orleans around 7am. It was an 83 mile ride into Baton Rouge. At first I was little worried about that many miles after I hadn't ridden in 9 days and becuase I wasn't sure the bike was all adjusted properly. However, we got on the road and there was a bit of a tail
Wind in the morning combined with a non humid 90 degrees, and well we we crusing! We had 60 miles done before noon time and were thoroughly enjoying it. I honestly think this was the best ride conditions of the summer so far! The route itself wasn't too eventful as we rode on LA route 61 for 75 of 83 miles.
Along the route we passed a few establishments which I found imtersting: a gas staion and casino combo?!?! I made a stop later in the afternoon to see a chiropractor because my low back was really hurting from working on the floor boards, and then biking 83 miles... But I'm already feeling better. A few of us have discussed going for massages in Texas! (And of course when we get to San Francisco)
The pastor at the church we are staying at took us all out for pizza at a cut local shop which was a nice treat. Today we are building in Baton Rouge and I'm assigned to do the group journal so I'll paste that entry here too.

Thanks to the Spiegleman's for sponsoring June 29! They asked to sponsor a nice day, and well this was a vey nice day :)

I anyone would like to come to San Francisco to see I finish and celebrate, let me know! We will arrive on August 17th and have a nice lunch time celebration and then spend a few days in the city.

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