Bike Adventure 2014 - Americus to Philadelphia to Atlantic City

During the Bike Adventure this summer I was so impressed by a few of my fellow cyclists who religiously kept journals of their experiences.  There were at least four of these very disciplined riders who I remember sitting down nearly every evening to record what they saw and felt that day... which is so awesome!  Life on the Bike Adventure is simplified, condensed, and deepened--it's like real life distilled to a point that forces your to learn a lot about yourself in a short amount of time, and to form some of the strongest and most meaningful relationships I've ever encountered. Remembering a journey like that is invaluable.

However, it's increasingly amazing to me how quickly the details of the experience seem to leave my brain.  In some ways, returning to a "normal life" that's so different makes an experience like the Bike Adventure feel like a dream--you can remember the feeling of it, but the details get more and more fuzzy the further away you get.  So, while I'm not too far from the experience (and not quite returned to "normal life" yet), I want to try to record the summer from my point of view.  I guess also because I'm a little jealous--those riders who took the time to write it all down along the way will have something awesome to look back on years from now.  So here goes!

Getting to the start - Americus to Philadelphia to Atlantic City

Finally starting the Bike Adventure feels sort of like starting something you've been preparing for a lifetime to do.  I spent nearly every day of the previous 9 months at a desk preparing every detail that I possibly could and never really stopping the running to-do list in my head. Even with all that planning there's a ton of details that can't really be planned. When the thing finally starts, all that planning can sometimes becomes a ton of pressure to make it--something you ultimately don't have total control of--all go perfectly! It's awkward to transition from planning to doing, among all the other awkward things like starting an event in a place you've never been to (hoping there will be someone there to open the door for you!), and all the new people meeting each other (and wondering what they got themselves into). This summer though, the start actually did feel nearly perfect.

But first, a short aside... here begins the list of things I feel so grateful to have learned over and over again doing this job (and that I continue to be amazed by), that I will probably continue to repeat for in every subsequent post:

1. There are strangers everywhere who are incredibly kind and generous--much more than the evening news would have you believe.
2. It's amazing (often miraculous, actually) how things seem to just work out when you're doing something like this.  There's so much that you can't really plan, but somehow it all works.
3. The Fuller Center Bike Adventure is a family just as strong as any family bound by blood.

Me, Ryan, and Jisun (from left) posing for the
obligatory early morning departure photo. 

Back to the adventure...

The start for me was the drive from Americus (the little town in southwest Georgia where I lived and worked) to the ride's starting point in Atlantic City, NJ.  Ryan, Jisun, and I traveled up with the van and trailer that would become sort of like home over the next couple of months.  To remain true to the Bike Adventure's signature (and possibly excessive) frugal-ness, whenever and wherever we travel we make a point to stay somewhere free.  During the ride this usually means crashing in churches, but when we have a smaller group we try to re-connect with old friends who might have a few empty square feet on their floor (which has some really wonderful benefits in addition to being free--I'm happy to have had this practice added to my life).  Strangely though, we couldn't find a friend along our route in quite the spot we were hoping to.  You collect friends in a lot of places with this cross-country biking thing (see number 3 above!) but I guess they're not quite everywhere. When we shared this unfortunate news with the Fuller Center president, David Snell, he came through with a board member who owns a few hotels in nearly the exact spot we were hoping to stop after our first day of driving (see number 2), and after a couple of emails this generous board member came through with a couple free hotel rooms for us (and number 1 :-) )!  Score!  Thank you to the folks at the that hotel for offering us one of the last beds we'd sleep in for quite a while!

Bike Adventurers, new and old, Geezerman (aka Tom Weber),
and members of the Emperado family, helping us get the
Bike Adventure started.

Our next pre-adventure stop landed us in Philadelphia where we stayed the night with Kert Emperado's awesome family, giving us a chance to collect a few riders from the airport before heading to the coast (Kert was a part of both the 2013 and 2014 adventures). We arrived early in the day and over the course of the afternoon and evening riders joined us at Kert's house until we packed probably about 20 people (including his family) like sardines into every corner of the home to sleep (including under the dining room table, much to the amusement of Kert's Dad :-) ).  They not only let us take over their home but various family members brought over plate after plate of food (which, unbeknownst to us, would foreshadow our experience when we biked back through the area a few days later). They were so proud of their son / grandson / nephew, so excited to meet all his crazy biker friends, and just as excited to share their delicious filipino food with us! They even helped us celebrate the 72nd birthday of everyone's favorite Geezer.

While we were all gathering, laughing, and celebrating I couldn't help but wonder what the few cyclists who are new to this Bike Adventure family were thinking (most of the people who joined us in Philly were returning riders and knew what they were getting themselves into--we would meet the rest of the new folks in Atlantic City).  I imagined thoughts going something like... "I signed up to ride my bike and build houses, but now I'm sleeping on the floor at some random house in Philadelphia, surrounded by a bunch of loud and crazy strangers!?" I can definitely understand if any of them were second guessing their decision. However, I think it turned out to be an incredible start to the adventure for me (and for everyone else, once they caught on...).

We were gathering in simple, loving community. It didn't matter where we came from, what we looked like, or how comfortable we were--the only important things were the beautiful, loving people around us (and maybe the food...).  For me, it was so awesome to spend a day (before the real onset of the craziness that is leading a cross-country bike ride) catching up with friends, relaxing, and laughing. And for everyone I think it was a perfect beginning to our summer of meeting and communing with equally beautiful strangers all across the country, whether they knew it or not.

And of course it was a free place to stay :-). Thank you Kert and the Emperados!

The next day we drove the last hour to Atlantic City to really get things started!

Me and my excited (scared?) face :-).

Spring Ride Recap

I have officially finished my first bike ride as Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure trip leader!

On March 15th I met 32 awesome new friends in Nashville and we spent the next week biking nearly 400 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway to Jackson, Mississippi.  We rode bikes, we helped rebuild homes and we told everyone we met along the way about the Fuller Center for Housing and the great need for affordable decent homes that we have in our world.  It was amazing, intimidating, inspiring, stressful, and all kinds of other adjectives.  The experience both stretched me to my limits, and renewed my energy for this role I've somehow been led to fill!  I wanted to write something to try to share the experience with everyone who has supported me in this little detour I've taken to Americus, GA to volunteer and lead this bike ride.  I hope this can express some of the gratitude I have for everyone who's helped me as I take on this awesome challenge!

Two of my fellow cyclists and new friends:
Bud, age 75 (left) and Jack, age 85 (right)
... two of the most inspiring guys I've ever met.
photo credit: Dan Sheridan

My favorite part of the ride was definitely the people.  I've (sort of... not really) started to get used to talking with reporters, and they often ask what kind of people do a bike ride like this.  I just say "awesome people!!" ... I don't think it's quite the answer they're looking for, but it's so true!  The combination of loving biking, loving adventure, and loving people makes for a pretty awesome sort of person, and the 2013 Spring Ride team was no exception.  As I think back on each rider, every single one makes me smile for their own unique reasons.  There were the silly ones who were always making everyone laugh, the ones who always seemed to have the perfect words of encouragement at just the right moments, the ones who were willing to do whatever needed to be done and more, the ones who always had great wisdom and advice to share, but were still so open to new ways of doing things.

Of course, not every moment was perfect (like the morning we had no coffee...), but amazingly most moments were!  It's especially surprising when I remember the weather.  We had a day of thunder and lightning, a near-100 mile day in 40 degree temperatures, then another 75 miles in 35 degree rain ... and most of the riders came from up north, hoping for an idyllic spring cycling destination with wild flowers and sunshine!  But instead of complaining they just pulled the plastic shopping bags over their socks, duct taped their shoes for wind resistance, put shower caps over their helmets to try and block a few drops of rain, and got on their bikes.  Everyone kept a positive attitude the whole time, encouraged each other through the challenges, and laughed about them afterward.  They kept riding through the rain because they were grateful that they could, because they knew that at least they'd have a warm church floor to sleep on when they finished, and because it's more than just a bike ride.  They did something a little bit extraordinary to remind people that extraordinary things are happening everyday--things like Haitians living in the dirt under threadbare tarps, or elderly Americans confined to one room of their home because the roof is leaking everywhere else.  It's such a blessing to get to call these wonderful people friends, and an honor to get to plan an event that brings them together.

A rainy pace line (I'm third).
photo credit: Dan Sheridan

There were so many other things I loved too...

• getting to visit "towns" like Duck River, TN
• experiencing the amazing generosity and love of the churches we stayed with
• working alongside a family in need in Tupelo, MS, helping them to make their home simple and decent again, and giving the local Fuller Center a boost of bike adventure energy
• raising more than $28,000 as a team to help those in need of affordable housing
• the fact that my job now requires that I ride my bike and spend massive amounts of time outside seeing beautiful places like the Natchez Trace Parkway (even if it's cold!!)

I could easily write a play by play for each day we were on the ride and go into even more detail about why this has been such a wonderful opportunity for me, but since my fellow cyclists already did all of that on our official Bike Adventure blog, I'll just give you the links.  Of course their words help show even more of what this ride is really all about!

Day 1:  Everyone arrives in Nashville and we spend a day getting to know each other, learning about the chore teams that will be working together to complete tasks like packing the trailer and making breakfast, and going on a practice ride / tour of Nashville.

Day 2:  After attending the early service at our host church in Nashville, we had a short send off ceremony, and a visit with our first TV reporter!  Then the adventure officially begins! We finished the day at one of the tiniest and most generous churches I have ever experienced with warm showers in the church members' homes, and an amazing meal (my first fried chicken in a very long time...).

Day 3:  The first rain ride ... we cycled through a storm so big that it earned itself a name, and coated most of the southeast in hail and even sprouted a few tornadoes  but everyone arrives safely at another generous church where I got to practice my presentation skills (which still need lots of work!) and share what the Fuller Center is all about.

Day 4:  A very cold 96 miles ... but thank God for no rain!

Day 5:  Build Day in Tupelo!  Also, one of my most stressful days, as I did everything I could along with the local volunteers to put our 30 enthusiastic cyclists to work.  You have to be very organized to make a big impact in one day's work!  The stress was worth it though--a big difference was made for a family truly need, and I think the local Fuller Center leadership caught a second wind from our team's energy (somehow we always manage to have some energy to share, even after biking almost 100 miles the day before!).

Day 6:  A short ride and another amazingly generous church, complete with 30 lbs of pulled pork!??!

Day 7:  The really cold and rainy day...

Day 8:  This was probably my favorite day (and not because it was the last day!).  The weather was perfect, the scenery seemed a little extra beautiful, and much of the team road together in long pace lines to share the experience.  Plus, we received a surprise police escort for the last few miles to our final church host and our amazing 85-year-old rider lead us in behind the police car.  It was a perfect celebration of our accomplishments that I couldn't have even tried to plan!  We were also treated to a gourmet dinner with the president of Tougaloo College, and learned about how it's rich civil rights era history is intertwined with the Fuller Center's!

We were in the news in Tupelo: A group uses bikes to serve others
Florence, AL: Cyclists on ride to help others
and in Nashville, Williamsport, TN, and Houston, MS.

The experience of planning and participating in these bike rides has brought so many new and crazy challenges to my life.  It has definitely not been easy, but I'm learning so much.  Whenever I take a step back from the chaos and endless details and remember what this ride and the Fuller Center is all about, I feel so blessed to be a part of something so simple and good.

Thank you again to everyone who's supported my crazy leap of faith.  I couldn't do this without your encouragement and friendship!  If you'd like to contribute funds as well, I know it will go a long way to help people who are truly in need.  You can donate here.

Celebrating at the finish line in Jackson!
photo credit: www.beretmeyersphotography.com

Our first ride and our first build!

So the first leg of our trip went pretty well! We ended up biking 45.7 miles, according to my bike computer, from St. Joseph Michigan to South Bend Indiana. We had rest stops at miles 15 and 30 (the state line between Michigan and Indiana) where the van pulled over and we stopped to get water and snacks. I think about 20 riders from the Kern Road Mennonite Church in South Bend road with us, which will happen at a few other places along the way. The ride was difficult, but it was fun, and served as a great first ride. I actually ended up taking a spill in the first mile. haha. I had that issue with not getting my shoe unclipped again, but it was minor, and I got back on with only minor battle wounds :).

Before we took off we rode a couple of miles to Lake Michigan for our send off ceremony. We dipped our back tires into the lake while some Fuller Center leaders said their encouraging words, and then we were off! There are some pictures of me at the ceremony on Facebook if you want to see them. It was really cool, even though the crowd was pretty small, they were all so excited and dedicated to the cause. It was amazing to think about all the similarly awesome people we'll be meeting along the way!!

Afterward we had this awesome cookout at one of the Fuller Center board members houses, then went to the church. This one has two individual showers we could use :). Krystal, one of the riders, then gave us a yoga lesson, which was awesome!! I'm so glad people want to do yoga because it really helps me when I've been working out a lot... which I will be doing :)... Haha. And it's so nice to have someone who's been trained in teaching it!! Thanks Krystal!

Today I worked on a Fuller Center project here in South Bend. One thing that makes the Fuller Center unique (different from Habitat for Humanity) is that the Fuller Center does repairs in addition to building new homes. I really enjoy that aspect because there are so many people who already have homes, but are still in dire need. So today we worked on a repair project for a lady named Freddie Mae Williams :). We pulled some weeds and did some painting.

In unhappy news, my iPod is broken :(. It says it's playing music, but it won't actually let me hear it. Haha. It's had a good long life though. So if anyone wants to make a donation in the form of a new iPod, it would be greatly appreciated :).

It's finally setting in that I'm actually doing this, and I'm so excited!! I'm excited to get to know my fellow riders better (there are a lot of cool people here... there's someone behind me right now teaching a lesson in writing Korean... haha), learning about all the places we go and churches we visit, figuring out if I can actually ride my bike all this way, and everything else that's going to be a part of this crazy adventure. Thanks again to everyone who's supported me, I'm so grateful to have this opportunity.

Begining of the trip!! (writen 7-11-09)

We’re wrapping up our first full day of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure! I still can’t really believe I’m doing it... perhaps it’ll set in when we actually start biking. Tomorrow we’re doing our first official ride from the shore of Lake Michigan in St. Joseph to South Bend, Indiana—about 40 miles. I’m pretty nervous, but I think I’m probably about as prepared as most of the other people here, and there’s definitely the mentality that this is not a race. Over the past two days we’ve been getting oriented to the logistics of the ride and stuff... and eating a lot of good food served by some very generous locals :).

Friday I got to the First Church of God here in St. Joseph at about 1:00, met a few of the riders, and acquired all of my cool new Fuller Center gear. Then I got a box full of 295 letters that I had to sign and stuff into envelopes to send to all the Kiwanis clubs in Ohio asking for donations :). Luckily I got some help from some of my fellow riders. That evening we had dinner at a beautiful lake house and relaxed on the beach while the sun set, and we stayed the night in the basement of the church. It’s been an unexpectedly comfortable start to the trip.

Today we had some more formal orientation. I learned how to change a flat tire!! We also went on a short practice ride around town which was fun. It’s a lot different riding in a group of people than it is riding alone—I think that aspect is going to make this trip even more interesting. Then we went to the St. Joseph – Benton Harbor YMCA and I had my first communal shower experience. Haha. Ryan Iafigliola, the trip leader, taught us about the Fuller Center, which was great. He answered some questions about the difference between it and Habitat for Humanity that I’ve been searching for answers to for a while. Then for dinner we went to a farm owned by a guy named Gary who cooked some enormous steaks for us, and when we arrived he asked “so what are you guys actually doing?”. Again, he just confirmed what I’ve been finding all along—all he knew was that we were doing something good and that we needed to eat, and that’s all he needed to open up his beautiful farm and cook steak for us. There are good people everywhere :).

Tomorrow we’re going to the church service upstairs and setting up a table outside to talk to people as they’re leaving... and hopefully raising some money. Then we’re setting off on our first day of riding after the official send off ceremony at 2:30! Wish me luck :).

This bike thing has required a lot of purchases.

So I'm in South Carolina right now! I'm here visiting some friends--Jimmy from high school who just got a job in Columbia and Austa who I met in Boulder, CO last summer while we were doing science and exploring the west together :). As i was telling some of my friends, I feel pretty guilty taking what is essentially a vacation right now because there is so much work left to do, and there are so many people back home, not vacationing, who have helped me do it. However, I suppose even in my first day and a half here I haven't stopped working. In fact I think most of what I have left to do doesn't require me to be at home anyway. Plus, this place has definitely proven to be good for my training. Haha. The hills are so much bigger here!! It's making me feel very unprepared, but I guess all I can do now is just keep biking!

Also, I've finally finished acquiring all my gear! Here's a picture of my bike! I probably risked a little getting a brand that no one's heard of, but from what I can tell it's a pretty nice bike, and I'm sure it'll make it to Florida :). I've also put clipless pedals on it... which are pretty challenging to get used to. Haha. Jimmy and I went for a ride last night--my first ride with the new pedals--and I think I nearly fell over 3 times... once when we were just out of the parking lot. Every time I clip one foot out thinking I can lean on it, and I somehow end up leaning the other way, toward the side of the bike that has my foot still attached to it :). I survived without any injuries though, haha, and after that ride and the one this morning, I'm getting the hang of it. It makes going up hills quite a bit easier because I'm using some extra muscles that were sort of useless before. The gloves I got also make a pretty significant difference. I rode yesterday without them and today with them, and today lacked many of the annoying vibrations. Woo. So with those upgrades to my collection of biking gear plus three pairs of fancy padded bike shorts, a multi-tool, spare tubes, a patch kit, chain lube, a three pack of cycling socks, and my new helmet, I've spent quite a lot of money on this bike adventure. But with those things, and a few bike related gifts from some friends and family (a fancy bike speedometer/odometer/altimeter as an early Christmas gift from Dan, a hydration pack from Josh, and a water bottle cage, and tire pump from Uncle Ron), I think I finally have everything I need to survive the ride! And I'm sure it's all going to be worth it--not only is it a good cause, but it'll probably be one of the coolest things I'll ever do!

On fundraising...

I'm going to try to write at least a little every day now, I hope. Part of the problem has certainly been laziness, but I think a bigger part is the sort of self consciousness about the actual gravity of my thoughts that I always seem to feel. However, I was reading Chris's blog, my friend who's in Ghana right now as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and he inspired me. I know I'm not really a particularly awesome girl, and my thoughts, as I've suspected, truly aren't any more important that anyone else's, but I have taken advantage of a lot of opportunities that have made for some pretty sweet experiences in my life. If writing about it can inspire someone to take advantage of some of the challenging opportunities they have in their own life, I've probably done a good thing. So thus, I'm going to try to share my experiences. If nothing else, I'm sure I'll ultimately appreciate the record later.

Today I had my super spectacular Benefit BBQ!!! Haha. I've been pretty nervous about it for like 3 weeks now. Initially because I didn't think we'd get enough donations, and then later on because I was worried that we'd have too many donations and not enough guests. However, as these things usually seem to, our hard work paid off. It might not have been the best barbecue ever, but it was pretty fun and I'm seriously amazed by how generous people were. I collected $532 with donations, a chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. Seriously! How amazing is that, especially considering that there were probably less than 40 people who showed up throughout the day. It's been one of the best things about trying to reach this fundraising goal--spending time with all the good people I have around me. And it seems like so many of the people who want to talk to me about it and donate to the cause are either complete strangers or acquaintances that I really never spent much time with before. It's really wonderful to know that there are so many good people around us everyday.

It's also been really difficult asking for money though. I was pretty sure that the fundraising would be more challenging than the biking, from the beginning, and although I can't officially comment on that yet, I think it's probably gotten pretty close to living up to the expectation. The other day Dan was generous enough to walk door to door with me through a neighborhood of complete strangers and ask for donations. It was pretty tough, even though no one was really opposed to me showing up at their door (except for the house that may or may not have let their dogs out on us :) ). It was ultimately a success though--in the short hour we lasted we collected $50. The hardest has definitely been asking family members for donations, because whether they truly want to give or not, as soon as the question is posed or they find out that another family member has donated there's and instant sense of obligation. That worries me quite a bit, but family have still chosen not to donate, while others have given volumes of their time and money. That sort of contests to the fact that I really need to think of this fundraiser as me presenting someone else with the opportunity to do a good deed. It is ultimately their decision whether they donate or not, but at least I gave them the option and perhaps a little motivation if they needed it. Regardless, I'm so grateful for all the help I've had and the countless donations everyone has made. However difficult it's been, it's really rewarding and, actually quite an honor, to be able to witness and perhaps even inspire good will in my friends, family, and random acquaintances.