Page, AZ

A short day!!! Today was basically a day off for everyone because we only had to bike 36 miles and we had a major tailwind and slightly downhill the whole way! We got there in no time and had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. Right when I got there, Greg, Colleen and I went to try to find some cheap prices for the antelope canyon tour but everything was like $40. Instead, we went to a Mexican restaurant and got some lunch and then I took a wonderful nap until we went on the antelope canyon tour that Dan S organized for cheaper than $40. The tour was so amazing!! We got picked up at the church we were staying at by pickup trucks with benches in the bed that we sit in. The ride over was insane because of how we were put into the truck and because we had to go over a bunch of crazy sand that had a ton of bumps in it. Antelope canyon is a slot canyon so when you go in it, you can touch both sides of the canyon by reaching out with both arms. Apparently, if there's a storm miles away from the canyon, it floods really easily and goes all the way to the top of it. The canyon was only about half a mile long but it was up to 100 feet deep! It can flood almost all the way to the too with enough rain. After the tour, we went back and I took another nap, followed by a wonderful dinner provided by the host and me trying to go to bed early but having to do laundry and some organizing. It was a super fun day but I was tired by the time it was over!

Kaibito, AZ

For the ride into Kaibito, we got to ride with the NC group for the first half of the ride into mile 30. We only had 66 miles that day but they had a much longer day ahead of them. I started off the day in a wet large group, probably a little bit too big but with the way we were riding and how many people were on the road, it was almost unavoidable. The first portion was a lot slower than we usually go and very chill, so that we were able to talk with the other team and enjoy the morning. The group I was with stopped to climb a gigantic rock off the side of the road. It was part of what looked like a mountain range but it seemed like just a giant, smooth rock. In order to get to it, we had to bike down a gravel back road, walk to the edge of a small cliff, climb down, cross the stream and then climb up the rock. It was a lot of fun being up there and we didn't want to do the rest of the ride afterwards. We took tons of pictures (most of which aren't on my phone) and even a video of us dancing. Eventually we made our way down and off to lunch. While there, we had planned to surprise attack them with a water balloon fight but they somehow found out what we were planning and ambushed us with an attack! It was a lot of fun goofing off at lunch and having a great closing to our time together. The rest of the ride wasn't anything too special.. There wasn't anything on the road or any kind of gas station for a break. In Kaibito, we stayed in a church on an Indian reservation. We got there really early so we just all took a nap upstairs and waited for their vacation bible school to be over before moving downstairs. As a team, we bought out the grocery store next door and bought all of the fried chicken and french fries they sold! When we get somewhere too early, we end up just eating a lot. Colleen gave an education committee presentation on eating disorders awareness. She talked how to support someone with an eating disorder and the recovery process and how I could play a crucial role in the process. I really enjoy the education committee presentations and learning a little bit more about the people I'm with!

I'm sorry!!

I wish that I had been able to write more consistently the past few weeks but I've been so busy and so sleepy!! I'm going to continue to write about each day but they're super delayed! Every day will be written about eventually :) thank you!! 

Kayenta, AZ

Today we got to go to Kayenta where we met up with the NC crew again. They had 70 miles and we had about 90 for the ride (and we caught up with them!). We had a really awesome ride ahead of us. Long, but a lot of fun. I rode with Katie up until 1st lunch and we had a lot of really great descents. There was this on descent where the downhill curved around a huge mountain. All the way down, there were signs warning of falling rocks and about half way down the hill, there was the reminents of a recent rockslide so I was pretty nervous the whole way down because I didn't want to get hit by a rock! It was a lot of fun though. On the route, we also stopped at a museum where it was a bunch of old school, western cottages and huts. We didn't really try to learn anything, we just goofed around for thirty minutes, playing on the carriages and in the cowboy outfits. After first lunch, I jumped on with Laura and Greg. The very first part of our ride, we were greeted by a huge climb...at the top, I was the sweatiest I've ever been on this trip! Luckily, the climb was quickly followed by a massive downhill into one of the most scenic and beautiful places I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I can't even capture it all with a picture but it was clear that we were starting to move into canyons and rock formations. We then made it to a place called Mexican Hat, which was a town that existed purely because of a rock formation in the distance that looks like an upside down Mexican hat. This is also where I made the best mistake of bike and build and chose to eat a gas station hot dog before a ton of climbing. We climbed up into monument valley, which was amazing! On the way in, there was a ton of shops on the side of the road selling jewelry and souvenirs. I bought a rock that had a carving in it...which sounds silly but I really like it! Monument valley was really amazing but at the time in the afternoon that we got there, the heat was starting to become unbearable and everyone just wanted to get into the host. When we finally got there, all of NC was there, greeting us happily! We went to sonic for milkshakes and then after dinner, I accidentally fell asleep in the middle of the doorway to the main room. I slept straight through a bunch of people doing wrestling lessons and swing dance lessons. I later woke up for some water and then fell asleep again. It was such an exhausting day and I wish I had more time to talk to the other team but I could barely keep my eyes open!!

Aneth, UT

The beginning of this ride started with a long, 10 mile, 2000 foot climb! No one realized how high we were climbing until we got to the top and we checked the elevation but it was pretty awesome! After that, the rest of the ride was pretty chill. I got to bike through Cortez and see when Rachel works! Everyone on the team wanted to go because of how cool the name was...and we love pizza! The road we were on after biking through Cortez was amazing. Everything was so scenic and beautiful and the road allowed for us to just put on cruise control and roll along. We also did a little but of climbing, which seems to be a trend lately. The host was the start of staying in the Navajo reservation for a few days. When we got there, it was a tiny little community with one store (the gas station) and all of the houses were the exact same. We stayed in the Chapter House that night and one of the members came to give us dinner and also give us a little talk about the history of the Navajo and his experiences on the reservation. It was very cool to see! Later that night we were having family meeting, planning our water balloon attack on the nc2sd route for when we meet again and when we looked outside, there were a bunch of cows all over the road! Apparently the live stock is free to roam wild in the reservation. It was a pretty funny night full of roaming cows and talk of surprise attacks!

Build Day 13

For the Durango build day, we got to work with Habitat for Humanity. The house that we were working on was in a pretty immature state. I worked with Connor for the beginning of the day, hammering in more wood to the frame of the house and getting it ready for some drywall! Connor was able to hit in a nail in like 10 hits but I counted and it took me anywhere from 70-90 hits....hammering is harder than you would think! For lunch, Aunt Jeanette and Rachel drove down to take me out to lunch and get away from the craziness for a little while! It was so amazing to get to see family and get away for a little while. I actually started to tear up a little when I saw them because of how much I miss family. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and got some time to catch up and enjoy some free time. Afterwards, we went to the grocery store and bought strawberries and Popsicles! I'm so happy they were able to come visit me, I just wish I could have been kidnapped by them for the night and slept in a bed! For the rest of the build day, I helped put up a liner on the outside of the house (I don't remember exactly what kind it was). I had a really good build day and was happy to get to help again after what seemed like a long time without a build. That night, I took my bike to the store and got a new chain because mine was very worn out and then got ready for a really long week of riding. 

Durango, CO

Another century! Today was 112 miles and was really awesome of a ride! I was so excited to get to Colorado, out of the desert and back into a big city. I rode with Colleen, Dan K, Liz, Hannah and Dan S periodically throughout the day. The whole beginning was awesome and there was so many downhills! First lunch came really quickly. After first lunch, we started getting into some huge rolling hills. We would have a massive descent that was quickly followed by a huge climb. All of the climbing made it difficult and the downhill sections became more like a break for my legs where I didn't have to pedal. We also biked over a huge dam..it was really tempting to go swimming but with such a long day, we had to keep truckin and continue on. Getting into Durango, there was a massive storm that hit when we were about ten miles out so we pulled off and waited out the worst of it in a gas station. Dan K, Colleen and I had a great time talking and joking around so it wasn't so bad waiting it out. When we made it into the host, we got to meet the NC2SD route because we were all staying in the same host that night! Everyone was super awesome and helped us with unloading the trailer and everything. Also, because it was the 4th of July, Durango had a massive parade going through the town! We got to walk around for a little while and then I got some dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Greg and Colleen. Afterwards, we met up with a few others to watch the fireworks in the parking lot of a grocery store. By the time I got to the fireworks, I was so tired that the only thing that was keeping me awake was how loud they were. I eventually made my way back to the host with Rhys and some of the NC folk so that I could catch some sleep and get ready for an awesome build day!

Lumberton, NM

This was a pretty crazy day that started off all uphill! I rode with Laura all day and then Colleen and Dusty joined us after lunch. After going uphill for a very long time, we starting having lots of steep up and down hills so, even though I was having fun with Laura, I was having a pretty tough time. Lunch was at a restaurant where an alumni works and had offered to give us a bunch of desserts and drinks for free! I originally said I wasn't going to eat lunch there but by the time I arrived, I couldn't help myself and I tried out a lamb burger for the first time. It was actually a really awesome sandwich but it put me to sleep.. And I ended up sleeping with my head on the table for about 30 minutes on accident. During this day, we also had the sweep challenge "this is why I'm single" so we were going crazy doing a lot of really weird and hilarious stuff. Colleen, Laura and I definitely submitted the most stuff and they were pretty funny. After lunch, I had a really great ride until there was about 20 miles left and we stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break. While we were waiting, it started to storm out of no where and then all of a sudden was hailing like crazy! We waited for a break in the storm and then got out as fast as possible. Unfortunately, there were storm clouds on all sides of us and they were closing in super fast. We got about 15 miles out from the host and it started hailing and storming on us again but there wasn't anywhere for shelter. Eventually, we came across a storm drain that passed under the road and as we were crawling in, a car pulled up, offering to let us sit in his car until the storm calmed down, which was so awesome! He was do extremely nice and gracious towards us as we soaked the inside of his car. Luckily, he was a government employee in his government car, so he told us that it gets cleaned anyways. Once the storm finally calmed down, we made out way out again and then about 7 miles out, Colleen and I both got flats at the exact same time down a huge hill, while it was raining. We were both so freezing that we had the hardest time even getting to change the flats. We were both so so cold and wet and miserable that the situation actually became hilarious! Katie and Shayan rolled up on us after a while and we still hadn't change the flats so they helped us out while telling us about that 10 mile detour they took and accidentally went to Colorado. We were all so freezing and crazy that we couldn't stop laughing and we just wanted to get into the host! We eventually, finally made it in and were greeted to an almost immediate hot shower and mail! It was a good way to end a crazy day. We stayed at a school where all the teachers are volunteers who get a small salary and get housing and some meals for free. A lot of their volunteers are kids like my group that come teach elementary school kids. It was a pretty cool place to be! 

Abiquiu Lake

I'm not really sure how to say Abiquiu Lake but it was an amazing place and an even better ride! We went to stay in Ghost Ranch, which is a gigantic ranch and camp site out in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. I rode with Connor and Greg  for the 56 miles we had to go. We started off with a tiny little climb out of Santa Fe and then the road dropped out of no where and we had a decent for about 3 miles! Greg and Connor took off but I was a little bit nervous about the drop because of how steep it was and how much speed we were picking up. After that, we stopped at a really strangely shaped rock that was turned into a tourist site. The entire ride was down hill with a slight tail wind so I had a really great time. After lunch, we decided to take the day very relaxed and enjoy everything! We stopped at a bridge that went over a river to see if we could jump in but the water didn't seem deep enough so instead, we climbed a mountain right next to that river! I haven't ever been rock climbing or really ever intense hiking so all of this is so new and awesome to me! Greg told me he is going to teach me how to climb whenever we are out doing random adventures. Hopefully one day I can get good at it and actually be an outdoor sports kind of person. On the way down that mountain, I sat on a cactus and Jamie had to pull all of the little spikes out of me...that was painful! Later down the road, we came across a huge climb. We stopped at the top for a break and to catch our breath and realized that someone had left their bike on the side of the road and walked over to a gathering of rocks. When we followed, we realized that there was a HUGE canyon that over looked a river and bunch of the mountains! Each step we took closer to the ledge of the rocks, the more beautiful the view got! I wish that the pictures I took gave the view even a little bit of justice but there's no way to capture everything I saw and how breath taking it was. It's also really cool that if I was doing this trip in a car, I would never see half the things I get to and I wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much. We also would see everything at a much greater speed in a car and wouldn't see all of the tiny details of the country. It really is amazing! We stayed on that rock ledge for about an hour just talking and having a good time with all the other groups that caught up and hung out. After that, we had a pretty quick ride into ghost ranch. Unfortunately, the whole driveway was gravel and sand, making it extremely difficult to bike. A few people fell on the way in just because it was so difficult to control the bike. When I finally made it to the camp site, I hung out for a long time, eating candy and hanging out with everyone until dinner time! I went to the camp cafeteria for dinner and then afterwards, we went on a hike on one of the trails that the camp had to Chimney Rock. We managed to hike up and get there by the time the sun was setting and got back down right when it got really dark. The most beautiful pictures we've gotten as a group came from that hike! Greg brought his really nice camera too, so I hope to print it and make a huge frame! That night, I slept in a tent and, unexpectedly, I slept great! Camping is a lot more fun that I always made it out to be. 

Build Day 12

Finally a build! I felt like we hadn't built in sooo long so I was really excited to get going. We built with a Habitat in Santa Fe which was right down the road from where we were staying. The site did adobe style houses so it was completely different from what we had been doing! When we got there, we split up into groups and I ended up with the AmeriCorps volunteer that was there and we were going to be working on fencing all day. Rita, the AmeriCorps volunteer used to ace bikes when she was in college and was really cool to talk to! In New Mexico, there are a lot of fences called coyote fences. Basically, you have to take two pieces of thick wire and wrap them together to make it twice as thick and durable and then wrap big pieces of wood to a pole that they put in the ground. It's pretty simple! We started by wrapping the wires together by using an electric drill and winding them and then we got to work. Colleen and I were on a fencing team together and the entire process ended up being a competition between us and the two other teams on who could make the best fence and who could put it up the fastest (Colleen and I, of course, won). We worked on the fence for the majority of the day and ended up going so quickly that the landscaping team didn't realize how far along we were and that they wouldn't be able to dump rocks into the yard over the fence! They were able to eventually find a way around it but our fence looked pretty darn good! The very last thing we did that day was just putting up a part of the wall and then we packed up got ready to go! The end of the build day we got to talk to someone who was just approved for habitat housing and the process they went through. They were so incredibly excited and grateful for everything that was going on and I love being able to talk to the families and see the difference that's being made. That night, Colleen and I went back to the plaza to see if the market was still open because I really wanted some cool new earrings but it was already closed. We ended up going to the trading post (which is just like a general store but cooler) and I got some awesome sterling silver jewelry! I had a really great build day and was really happy with the work we did. 

Santa Fe, NM

A big city!! I was so happy to be able to go to a city where there are going to be lots of shopping and places to eat!  I started my ride off with a very delicious breakfast on the way out at a local diner and then my group, Kirstin, Charlie, Gaurang and Shayan got started! As usual, there were quite the rolling hills but nothing we couldn't handle. The majority of the ride was pretty simple because the wind wasn't too terrible. The wind is always what gets me down. Eventually, my group broke up and I got to ride with Jamie into lunch. After lunch, I decided to take off on my own for the first time this trip. It was really nice to be able to get into my own groove and be able to settle into my own pace. I haven't been able to do that in a long time. On the way into Santa Fe, there was a little cafe that everyone was stopped at, getting snacks, water and coffee (a huge luxury on B&B). I rode from there into the city with Micah and Josiah and we were killing it, taking in the scenery and having a great time! Santa Fe is amazing. Right when I got in, everything made sense and all of the classic "New Mexico"/Native American theme things started popping up. I didn't even go to the host right away. I immediately started to explore and check out what was around. I got to go into this tiny little beading craft store and I bought two skull beads to go onto my Camelbak. I really do think that after being in Santa Fe, I would like to spend some time in New Mexico and live here for a little while. It's beautiful and so different from where I live and I love it! I hope to come back for sure. After the little craft store, we went to the plaza in the middle of the city and I went to the market and checked out the live band. I really wanted to buy some earrings or a ring from the market but I didn't have any cash with me at the time. Eventually, I made it back to the host but got scooped up right away and went to help Colleen and Greg round up some dinner for the crew! We got a lot of food donated from the local businesses, thanks to Colleens hard work all day! After that, we just ate and all started getting ready to go back out and continue exploring the city. Right as I was getting finished up in the shower, there was a huge bang on the door and someone was yelling for me to get out because, unfortunately, the host started to flood from the toilet downstairs...that kind of stunk because we had to pick up all of our stuff that was all laid out and move it over to a different place. Luckily, the place we moved to was a lot nicer and we ended up with the better end of the deal. That night, Colleen and I went out and walked around the plaza for a little while and then ended up meeting up with the rest of the crew at a pizza place. Everything closes in Santa Fe pretty early so we were all back in bed by 11 and ready for an awesome build day the next day!!

Las Vegas, New Mexico

Noooo, not THE Las Vegas but it sure was a cool one! The ride there was determined the hardest ride of our route so far. We started the day off with a ton of headwinds and uphills...there was clearly going to be some serious triple H in effect today (head winds, heat and hills). After getting to turn off that first road after about 20 miles, we were with the wind for a while and this was the best part of the whole ride. We were told that today's ride was going to be insanely beautiful and amazing so we knew that there was something big in store down the road. I was able to tell that something awesome was about to happen because there were a lot of signs for "hill" up ahead. Then, the grade notification signs started picking up and soon, we noticed that we had a massive downhill stretch in front of us. So much that the cars needed to be warned about it and make sure they went down slowly enough to be in control. We were on a two lane windy back road that was descending into a valley and it was really cool until all of a sudden, everything in front of us, blocking our view, opened up and the valley was in front of us! I can't explain how awesome it was and I hope I can find some good pictures that other people took of it but I was too nervous to take my hands off my bike and take a picture. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down and vice versa...so all the distance we got to go downhill, we also had to go uphill.. luckily, the top of the hill was the first lunch stop, so we were able to take some time and celebrate the huge valley we conquered. After first lunch, I rode with Molly B and Josiah. The uphills never seemed to end...and they didn't. After first lunch, everything about the ride became extremely difficult and the entire team struggled to make it to the second lunch. The only reason that my group was able to make it was because we didn't take any breaks, we just biked very very slowly. Second lunch was more like a very long feast for most people. Everyone was dreading getting back on the road and back in the heat with all the winds and hills. Josiah was feeling pretty good so he took off but Molly and I were struggling a lot and ended up vanning ourselves. We were both very very out of it and kind of dozing off while biking. It was definitely the best decision to make, though it was a very hard one. The host we stayed at was extremely "hands off", meaning that we didn't see or interact with them and were able to have the entire place to ourselves. The only downfall to that was that they turned off the gas and the water to the hoses so we had to resort to sink showers and cooking our dinner in the microwave. It worked out pretty well though! That night was also a very early one and I ended up falling asleep around 9:00 (my new normal bed time). After two very extremely difficult climbs, I have a feeling the Rockies are going to rock me.

Mosquero NM

I'm really starting to love New Mexico!! The landscape is so beautiful and it keeps getting better with each day that we ride. The ride into Mosquero was really awesome! We found out that where we are going has a grand total of a 95 population and we are staying in the local school which has about 40 students. The beginning of the ride was amazing! We had a tail wind on a completely empty road and for the first 43 minutes of the ride, we hadn't been passed by a single car. This was also the ride that we hit the half way mile marker. We had officially rode 2,090 miles and had that many to go! It's insane how fast the summer is going and how quickly we made it to NEW MEXICO FROM FLORIDA! It just blows my mind every time. Every time we got to a tree, Connor and I would freak out and say that we found the only tree in New Mexico! So we found about the 5th only tree in New Mexico several times. Today was also one of the longer days so we had two lunches..both of the lunches were under one of the 5 random trees that we on the side of the road on the 89 mile stretch. After leaving first lunch, we had a lot of climbing to do and some rewarding downhills but the best part was one of the last hills in a long stretch of climbing had the most rewarding view at the top. As soon as we made it to the top of the hill, the landscape opened up and everything was insane! We were in the middle of a huge plain and there were huge mountains and plateaus off in the distance. It was the first time getting to see some real elevation and we were clearly in the foothills of the Rockies. The landscape continues to amaze me! Throughout the ride to second lunch, we were all coasting downhill, amazed at the mountains and all of the beautiful land. Second lunch was about 8 miles out from our first "real climb". We had been warned the night before about this hill that we had to go up so every one was very hesitant leaving the second lunch. The whole way up to the climb, we were greeted by some extremely strong headwinds (almost like a warning to turn back) and fighting to go more than 8 MPH. Then, we got to the hill! It was 2.5 miles straight uphill and we climbed 900 feet in that short of a time! It was extremely difficult but luckily, half way up, Maddi was there with the water coolers and gatorade so we could take a quick break if we needed (and my Camelbak was empty at this point). I wish that I was able to get this part of the ride in a picture but it's almost impossible! The rest of the way into town was all with head winds but getting in was amazing and I fell asleep on the gym floor until dinner and then ate some ice cream and fell back asleep until the morning. It was an exhausting climb!