HBC South 2006 | Gold Rush!

San Francisco: Game plan for Sunday!

2006-07-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Come welcome the 2006 Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge as we pedal across the Golden Gate Bridge this Sunday!

This Sunday, July 30th, 28 college students on the 2006 Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge will pedal across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, completing a 4,400 mile cross-country odyssey that began in New Haven on May 27th. Come help us celebrate!

WHAT: The 2006 Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge arrives in San Francisco!
WHO: 28 college students, their friends and family, HBC alumni, and anyone else who cares about bicycles, Yale, or Habitat for Humanity
WHEN: This Sunday, July 30th, 2:00 to 4:00 pm
WHERE: Meet at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge at 2:00 pm to cheer the riders on as they cross into San Francisco. From there, we will walk to a group site at Crissy Field for food, drink, and jubilation.
BRING: Something tasty to share. We will provide pizza, libations, and a balloon arch--we're counting on you for fruit, salads, sides, and sweets.
CONTACT: HBC leader Daniel Weisfield (CC '07) at (650) 743-0637 or daniel.weisfield@yale.edu or Eric Bloom (MC ’08) at (781) 910-3503 or eric.bloom@yale.edu

California Knows How to Party!

2006-07-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

After eight and a half weeks on the road, we have finally crossed our final state border into the glorious state of California. We're currently camped out by the edge of Lake Tahoe after a solid five days in Nevada.

One of Nevada's most distinctive features is a pleasant little creature called the Mormon cricket. Every year these little bundles of joy swarm Route 50 and cause a huge ruckus. We were warned of the crickets in Baker but had no idea of what to expect. As we passed Eureka and Austin, however, we encountered them on the road, first as two bands of run-over crickets on the roadway and then finally we biked through full patches of the crawling things.

One might even say that these swarms were of biblical proportions, which led me to consider how many of the original ten plagues our crowd has come across in our cross-country journey. Let's take a look at it:

1. Water into Blood. I can actually quote one Katie Dankovich as having said, unsolicited, at one point in Utah that "the water tastes like BLOOD."

2. Frogs. They're all over the place on the roads, along with turtles and jackrabbits galore.

3. Flies. Every time we camp.

4. Boils. We call it chamois rash or chiggers but it's all the same really.

5. Hail. It's happened to us in Kansas and Nevada.

6. Locusts. Or Mormon crickets.

7. Darkness. Indeed the sky darkens over us from time to time.

Seven for ten. Not bad, I'd say.

And a word from Jess: "I love CA!!!!!!11111"

Forward to San Francisco...

Eric

Nevahdah: The Silver State

2006-07-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not referring to Nevada, Missouri (pronounced Nevaydah). We rolled into State #12 yesterday afternoon after a wonderful ending stretch in Utah. Biking out of Escalante, we had a thrilling ride on a bike path through Bryce Canyon and the equally remarkable Red Canyon and then a few fun nights in Panguitch and Milford to finish up Utah. We're in the Grand Basin now, which is basically a huge aquifer that stretches from the Sierra Nevada to western Utah; there are region-wide water wars which are essentially fights between Las Vegas and everyone else.

Now that we're in Nevada, the daily directions have become extremely straightforward: "Turn west on US 50. GO." This is the road that Times Magazine once referred to as "The Loneliest Highway in America." The LA Times published an article on the road just last week actually (http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-drives16jul16,1,354120.story?ctrack=1&cset=true). We had our first taste of the area's loneliness yesterday on Route 21 in Utah; there was nothing by the roadside except a few greasewood shrubs and sand. Well, except for a lone tree around mile 40, which is where we stopped for lunch. When we were talking with our hosts later on about the ride, this tree came up in conversation; they knew exactly which tree we were referring to.

Last night we had a great time in the little town of Baker, Nevada. It has a population in the mid 50s and a working force of 12. Still, it pulls its own weight, with no fewer than two Stanford PhDs and a strong presence in the local National Park Service.

Whenever we roll into a little town like Baker, we tend to overwhelm the local retail life. When we arrived in Baker, the first place we crashed was the Lectrolux Cafe at the Silver Jack Inn (http://silverjackinn.com/), which is run by the wonderful chef/inn manager/cyclist/nature photographer/the list goes on Terry Marasco. Dining on hummus platters and plates of olives and brie, it seemed like we were experiencing a premature arrival in Sonoma than staying in the high desert of eastern Nevada. If you ever find yourself in eastern Nevada, you've got to stop at the Lectrolux Cafe (don't worry, you won't miss it if you're on Route 50).

We also got a chance to visit the Lehman Caves, a network of limestone caves with beautiful stalagmites, stalactites, shields, and curtains. How to tell the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite: the stalaCtites are on the CEILING and the stalaGmites are on the GROUND. Jargon aside, the caves were beautiful and, yes, they do bar mitzvahs in the caves.

Tonight we're in the slightly larger town of Ely. We had a delicious dinner at the Baptist Church in town and now some of the riders have dispersed into the town for the evening. US 50 is sparkling under the lights of the Hotel Nevada and various casinos in town. We've got about 4 days to look forward to in this state! Signing off...

Eric

HBC South Summer Family Vacation Continues

2006-07-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

So you thought we were done with the HBC South Summer Family Vacation, but it's only gotten deeper. It may have culminated last night when we were offered seven rooms at the Days Inn in Torrey, Utah free of charge from Pastor Wayne, which is very "family-vacation," second perhaps only to driving through the Grand Canyon in a big old mortorhome. Huge thanks to Pastor Wayne for his generosity. For once, we were showering in a legitimate shower...and we didn't have to press a button while rinsing out our hair.

In the last few days, we've biked through so many National and State Parks that it's hard to keep them apart. The biggest one, perhaps, was Capitol Reef National Park, a huge park replete with red rock canyons and formations that look like the Capitol building or a great cathedral. A few of us stopped off at a water hole with a huge waterfall to get out of the heat, which percolates all day and is regularly getting over 100 degrees in the late afternoon. During the rides, we're regularly biking down to, through, and up out of canyons.

Tonight we're in Escalante, doing homestays in the unusually domestic pattern we're generating here. Escalante is home to Grand Staircase National Park, which we biked through to get here. The red and white sandstone is really incredible; many put today's ride at the top of their list of favorite HBC rides. This is about as far south as we'll be going in Utah; tomorrow to Panguitch.

Until the next HBC South Family Adventure...

Eric

It's getting hot out here...

2006-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, you get two posts today. We arrived really early today in Green River, UT so we have had lots of free time to surf the Net, watch movies (movie du jour = "Mighty Ducks"), clean bikes, hang at this town's only coffee shop, and even swim in the Motel 6 pool (an interesting story). It is HOT out here...when I walked down Main Street around 3 PM today, it registered at a whopping 109 degrees! Thank goodness we got a really early start and were all in town by noonish.

Tomorrow should prove to be a challenging day, about 90 miles to Capitol Reef National Park, where we will be camping. We all love camping, but the idea of not having an air-conditioned place to crash after biking is a bit intimidating. Have no fears though, HBC South is TOUGH.

It's hard to believe that we've been on the road for a total of 7 weeks now. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details of the trip and lose sight of the larger picture, i.e. the fact that we have biked over 3,000 miles by now. Just 2 weeks from tomorrow, we will be triumphantly crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, hopefully to the cheering of many of you who are reading this blog entry. We'll be sure to have all the details of our arrival posted up here within the next week, so stay tuned...

It's gonna be an early night for me, so I'll sign off for now!

~Jess :)

HBC South Family Vacation!

2006-07-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to bike through the painted canyons of Utah without imagining a coyote chasing a roadrunner over the edge with a huge box of Acme dynamite. So far we've steered clear of any coyotes but the prairie dogs are out yipping and yapping at the side of the road as we bike by.

In the last few days, HBC South has, by most accounts, turned into a classic bonafide American family vacation. Colorado is basically one huge National Park, what with the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Since we entered Utah two days ago, the family vacation has taken us through the outdoor mecca of Moab and Arches National Park. We had a much needed day off in Moab, where riders dispersed on all sorts of adventures. As Jess suggested, most of the riders did end up trading in their road bikes for souped up mountain bikes, taking on the trails of Slickrock, Klondike, and other mountain biking parks in the area.

Those who wanted to get out of the saddle headed out on spelunking trips or whitewater rafting trips. I went on a full-day whitewater trip through the Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River with the Canyon Adventures Company with Sophie, Matt Schrimpf, and Jess. Not only did we hit some Class IV rapids, but we also saw a bald eagle, blue herons, canyon walls hundreds of feet tall, and we even got to do a bit of cliff jumping in the river.

Our hosts in Moab were incredible. We stayed at the St. Pius X Catholic Church in town both days, who provided us with a comfortable place to stay in town and many, many delicious meals. A big thanks to Moab's Mayor Dave, who helped us find a place to shower and swim across the street from the church and just generally helped us feel welcome in town.

After dinner on both nights in Moab, our family vacationeers traveled out to the famous Arches National Park. The first night we took a sunset hike down Park Avenue, a canyon named so because its sheer vertical walls make it feel almost like walking down the namesake in New York City. I don't think Park Ave. NYC has gnarly desert trees or rock vats carved out by thousands of years of water and wind. But we'll let that slide.

The second night we drove a bit farther into the park to the world-famous Delicate Arch. Definitely one of Utah's state symbols, it was one of the most awe-inspiring natural phenomena that many of us had ever seen. And this in the wake of the Rockies and the Black Canyon. It must be about 70 feet tall, a free-standing sandstone arch at the edge of a cliff hundreds of feet tall. Awesome? Awesome.

Tonight: Green River, Utah, in the town's Community Center, with no fewer than 5 computers and cable TV. Utah is treating us well. Signing off...

Eric

Southwestern style

2006-07-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

I'm here in the public library in Naturita, CO, our last stop in Colorado before we hit the sweet town of Moab, UT. Last night we stayed over in Montrose, CO, a bustling metropolis (well, it's all relative out here...) conveniently located just 10 miles away from the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. After a gorgeous 65-mile ride into Montrose yesterday, we were able to shuttle 15 or so of us out to the Canyon for some trail running, hiking, etc. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the overlooks at the Canyon were some of the most beautiful and breathtaking that have seen thus far on our trip, and that is saying a lot.

Today's ride was a longer 85-miler into Naturita, including a climb up the 9,000-foot Dallas Divide. After lunch, the scenery turned very Southwestern, with dark red canyons and ridges surrounding us on all sides. Naturita is a quiet little town in the middle of pretty much nowhere, but as we have consistently found on this trip, the size of the town says nothing about the friendliness of the people. The nice folks at the middle school here agreed to let us stay in their facility, and the members of the Union Congregation Church of nearby Nucla, CO are coming together to serve us dinner tonight at 6:30.

Tomorrow's ride should be a challenging one as well, though it will be followed by a much-needed and much-anticipated day off in Moab. There have been rumors of mountain bike trips being planned for the day...I guess you have to be pretty crazy to bike across the country in the first place, but mountain biking on your day off? Let's just say we're a pretty hard core bunch.

Well, the van hadn't arrived in town by the time I did, but I'd better go now to see if it's here so I can get some of this bike grease off my legs. Just over two weeks remaining until the grand finale in San Fran...get excited!!!

~Jess

Mo' Mountains = Mo' fun

2006-07-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

This will be a quick entry, as I am paying for Internet access from a coffee shop here in Gunnison, CO. Basically, the last couple days have been the most beautiful of the trip and probably of most of our lives. We've passed over the Continental Divide not once, not twice, but a total of three hard core times. Yesterday's journey from Dillon to Buena Vista included a fiercesome 11,000+ climb, which was rewarded by both a trip to a hot springs in Buena Vista as well as a delicious Mexican dinner provided by the Habitat chapter there. Today's trek from Buena Vista to Gunnison included another 11,000+ ascent, followed by yet another sweet dinner, this time provided free of charge at a local delicatessen (shout out to The Firebrand and Heidi!) We are currently staying at the Gunnison High School and are psyched to be able to sleep in 1.5 hours later tomorrow morning, courtesy of a shorter and less mountainous ride to Montrose, CO.

Before I sign off, I want to offer a big shout out to all the kind folks who sent us mail to the Gunnison maildrop. You can't imagine what getting a package from a loved one means to us after a long day of biking. A special shout-out to my mom's own homemade chocolate chip cookies: Most people would think that you would lose weight on a cross-country bike trip, but my mom has worked very hard to prevent that, and I just want to acknowledge those efforts :)

Still Rocking the Rockies,
~Jess

Mission Accomplished: Trail Ridge Road

2006-07-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

So, pretty much, HBC South is the toughest bunch of ninjas this side of the Continental Divide. And by that I mean we biked over the highest continuous highway in the U.S. today, achieving an altitude of over 12,000 feet, and then strolling into Grand Lake, Colorado like it was nothing. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places we've been on the trip. The ride began with a climb to the entrance to the park; thanks to some dutiful dirty work by Jess, our group was able to ride up Trail Ridge Road, which is something that doesn't happen to HBC South every year. Starting at 7,500 feet in Estes Park, we rode through some dense forest, catching occasional glimpses of elk, marmots, and even a moose!

As we continued to climb, the thick trees gave way to some scraggly weather-whipped evergreens and a few aspens; I harvested a few wild mountain strawberries, which I ate for energy in lieu of a Clif Bar. The trees continued to get shorter as we biked higher, and, eventually, we crossed the timberline and disappeared about 2 miles above sea level. On all sides we were surrounded by the rocky crags of the Rockies, peaking at heights of up to 14,000 feet.

It was COLD at the top. It's July in Colorado, and I'm not lying when I say that we had some snowball fights with some leftover snow. It was in the 40s at the top, and, to make things even more pleasant, it began to rain and the wind picked up. Not to mention the thinning air. This group was not to be fazed by such obstacles; after climbing 19 miles uphill, we mounted our bikes and enjoyed a downhill coast into Grand Lake, feeling the air warm up by the minute. Basically, it was a full experience, one that we are unlikely to forget. Everyone in the group finished strong, and we're ready to move west from here.

Tonight we're camping at the Winding River Resort in Grand Lake. In good HBC South 2006 tradition, it is raining on us as we camp; but it's not too bad, and we're all ready to bang out the final third of our cross-country ride. Stay tuned for more...

Eric

Rocking the Rockies

2006-07-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

We have finally left flat ground and are currently in Estes Park, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery this side of the Mississippi. Several of our riders today commented that the stunning Rockies that now engulf us on all sides look as though they are images plastered on TV screens that couldn't possibly be real. But alas, they are real and we are climbing up the highest continuous highway in the world, Trail Ridge Road, tomorrow. 12,183 feet. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

We rolled into Boulder yesterday in record time, allowing everyone plenty of free time to explore the crazy hippie city that is Boulder, CO. After picking up our latest addition to the trip, Kurt from Amity Bikes in New Haven (who we are lucky enough to have with us for the rest of the trip!), we enjoyed an amazing dinner at the Marpa House, a Buddhist residential community with whom we were connected with via Nealy of the New Haven Habitat office. Thanks, Nealy!

This morning was intended to be an 8 AM wakeup, but that was unfortunately thwarted by an unexpected church clothing giveaway that began to be set-up in our sleeping quarters at 6:30 AM. Let's just say that it was one of those mishaps that will seem much, much funnier in retrospect. We finally hit the road at a bit after 8 and made sweet time on the 35-mile (but hilly...er, mountainous) ride to Estes Park. Little did we know that when we rolled into the Community Church of the Rockies in Estes Park that there would be a herd of elk waiting for us in the parking lot. Apparently the elk around here are far from people-shy (we had to hold Emily back from taking a baby elk for the van).

We enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner tonight courtesy of the Church and have all pretty much settled down for the night, with memories of Trail Ridge Road floating in our heads. We'll be camping tomorrow night at the Winding River Resort in Grand Lake, complete with a dinner of Dan and Emily's special recipe chili (back for an encore performance after being such a hit at Audra State Park in West Virginia). Well, bedtime for me, but keep your fingers crossed for good weather for us tomorrow as we bike into the clouds!

Team Awesome '06,
~Jess

Back on the road!!!

2006-07-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

I think everyone will be happy to hear that HBC South is back on the road and better (and hotter) than ever! Sad as we were to leave the kind folks of Colby, KS (and the awesome Slavens family with their late-night decorating of our van), we decided this morning that it was finally time to hit the slopes of Colorado. Only there are no slopes here. Apparently Colorado has a bit of a split personality. If it wasn't for the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign on the side of the road, we would never had known that we not only crossed into a new state, but also a new time zone!

Twelve of us suited up for the ride today (well, an abbreviated version of the ride, about 50 fast, flat miles from the CO border into Cope), with the rest of the troops vanning it up one more day to fully recouperate from our bout of the now-infamous "HBC plague". All arrived in Cope by 1 or 2 PM, giving us plenty of time to rest and relax before our whopper of a day tomorrow. And I don't think we have to worry too much about riders going wild partying tonight and exhausting themselves. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say that with the exception of Big Ugly, Cope is far and away the smallest town we've stayed in.

Well, it's my turn for a shower, so I'd better sign off now. I'm sure we'll have another blog for you in Boulder (2 days!!!!)

Fireworks and Future Farmers of America,
~Jess

P.S. Thanks for the awesome mail drop...keep it coming! :)

HUGE Thanks to Colby, Kansas!

2006-07-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

After some introspective thought (and some convincing words from the community here), HBC South decided to stay in Colby for a second night. We slept in, recovered our exhausted bodies, and spent an entire day relaxing and reorganizing the trailer and ourselves for the rest of the ride. And prepared we are!

We'll be waking up at the regular time (5 AM) tomorrow and, while most of us will still be recovering a bit and getting shuttled all the way to appropriately-named Cope, Colorado (Mountain Time Zone, set your clocks back!), a few of us will ride from the Kansas-Colorado border to Cope, emerging victoriously over this plague that briefly set us back.

The community in Colby has been INCREDIBLE, one that makes me and the rest of our riders feel that Kansas has become a kind of second home. The prevailing attitude among the community members here has been, "If these were my children, I'd want someone else to treat them well and make them feel at home."

Carolyn here at the United Methodist Church urged us to stay another day and made arrangements for an extra lunch, dinner, and car rides for any riders that needed it, both around Colby today as well as from Colby to Cope tomorrow. She also called a local supermarket, Dillon's, to provide us with fried chicken, potato salad, and cole slaw for our dinner tonight for free. She is truly an angel! Thanks so much, Carolyn.

In that same category is Dr. Gary Slavens and his wonderful family. A few riders made use of a local medical clinic to help them through the stomach virus and they met Dr. Slavens, who invited us all to his home for dinner tonight with only a few hours' notice. His family prepared hamburgers, hot dogs, and other treats for us that we couldn't be more thankful for. We got to watch the most recent stage of the Tour de France on his TV and we got to play some touch football with five of his seven children. Everyone loved to spend an evening at a real home and it was hard to tear everyone away to go back to bed and prepare for (what was it that we were supposed to be doing on this trip?) biking the next day.

Finally, one last shout out to Alan Sayer, who generously donated his HUGE trailer for us to use in transporting our bikes from Colby to Cope. We pretty much couldn't have done it without him.

If there were one place where we could get ourselves through a stomach virus best, it would be Colby, Kansas. The community reached out to us in a way that was unexpected but truly a godsend. Thanks again, Colby, and hopefully we'll get a chance to take care of your kids someday!

For now, it's off to sleep, then Colorado...

-Eric

Picture link!

2006-07-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested in checking out our hot, tanned bods, check out this link for photos of Team Awesome:

Go to snapfish.com

Log-in: Tdc204@lehigh.edu
Password: goldrush

Sweeeeeeet.

Chilling in Colby...woohoo.

2006-07-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

So it's 10 AM and we're still in Colby, KS. HBC South style. Apparently living in such close quarters for 35 days straight is not the most sanitary thing to do. When one person goes down with an illness, a domino effect is created. Right now, the plague count is at 15 of 26 riders, though all are being very well taken care of by the kind church ladies of Colby and the Citizens Memorial Hospital here (shout out!)

So parents, have no fear. No one is riding today as a precaution, and it's actually not a plague at all. More of a nasty stomach flu virus that hits you hard and stays for about 24 hours. Luckily our healthy 11 riders are superstars and have really been helping out to pick up the slack. Of course, they probably don't mind having a day off either.

So we're all catching rides today to St. Francis around 3 PM with kind members of the congregation here in Colby. It'll be our last day in this great, but apparently germiphilic state of Kansas, and I'm convinced that all of our plague troubles will disappear when we cross that Colorado border.

Well, I'm still getting over the bug myself, so it's back to bed. We'll keep you updated, but signing off for now :)

~Jess

Parkside Lounge: We Miss You

2006-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Chris Wooten: Thank you for posting your comment on our blog and reminding me of my contractual obligation to Sandy, the big-hearted proprietress of the Parkside Lounge. For those not in the know: on the night of June 24, HBC South had the good fortune to stay in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, a town renowned for its municipal band, its combination barbeque restaurant/rootbeer saloon, and tap water that smells like rotten eggs (apparently, sulphurous water is good for one's health.) While in town, we had the further good fortune to stumble across the Parkside Lounge. Actually, this description is innacurate on two counts: it was somewhat inevitable that we would find the bar, given that it was the only such establishment in town, and furthermore, while some of us may have stumbled out of the bar, the majority of us were walking in a straight line upon entry.

What ensued over the next four hours does not need to be recounted on this blog. Suffice it to say that fermented beverages were consumed, karaoke songs were belted, t-shirts and pick-up lines were exchanged with locals, and several members of HBC South went home with incredibly chic Parkside Lounge trucker hats. In exchange for my trucker hat, I promised Sandy, the bartender, that I would write her a shout-out on our blog. Here it is. Sandy, thanks for showing us El Dorado Springs' finest. $1.25 draughts of Bud Lite never tasted so good. You run the best bar in the state of Missouri. On behalf of the 2006 Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge, Habitat for Humanity International, and college students everywhere, I thank you.

SANDERSON!

Luray, Kansas

2006-06-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Last night we stayed in Luray, Kansas. Pastor Dale welcomed us in and made us pancakes and played a song on his guitar that almost made me cry. It was about Jesus and pain and he said he wrote it the night his wife left him, right after pulling the .30-30 out of his mouth.

Daniel

Chalk up another one for Team Awesome!

2006-06-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Inside the Graham County Library in Hill City, Kansas, it's a comfortable 68 degrees, as it rages at over 100 degrees outside. It is for that reason that we woke up in time to hightail it from Luray this morning to Hill City by 1 PM to beat out the heat.

Last night we were in Luray, Kansas. All I have to say is that, when HBC South (hereafter referred to as Team Awesome) rolled into Luray, we immediately boosted the population of the town up by 8%. Some of us got to shower at The Roost, Luray's very own hunting lodge.

While HBC may seem to some like a daily grind where you get up, ride a ridiculous distance, and pass out on the other end, there's a lot of "variability" to the usual routine that comes with the whole package. Perhaps the best of the unexpected occurrences we've experienced so far happened yesterday.

I should preface this by introducing those of you who are new to HBC with the age-old tradition of the "Naked Mile." Every year, HBC inevitably finds itself on some remote back road where the only sound is the wind whipping through the hills and you see a car roughly once per hour. Such was the case yesterday, riding from Gypsum to Luray, and a group of about ten decided to drop trou and feel the breeze on bike for a solid mile.

So off go the gloves, the jersey, the spandex, everything but the helmet (safety first!) and the shoes. As we prepare to mount our bikes au naturel, we see a car in the distance about 2 miles behind us. We think nothing of it; there's usually at least one car that passes during the Naked Mile, no big deal. One person comments on how funny it would be if that was a cop car.

Within two minutes, we realize it IS, in fact, the county sheriff. Quickly we jump into a grassy ditch by the side of the road, our only cover. We scramble to put on our clothes again (in a fit of fury, I managed to put my spandex on inside out) as the officer rolls up and asks how we're doing. Fortunately, a few compadres of ours remained clothed and were able to convince the sheriff that we were just doing a tick check, that's all. Unconvinced, he asks us where we're from and then tells us he's not going to ticket us unless someone calls and complains.

Alas, at that point, we concluded that this Naked Mile had been thwarted for good, although some comment that they wouldn't really mind getting ticketed for biking in the nude in Kansas. As we bike on, we clear the top of a hill only to lay eyes on Interstate 70 which crossed right over our projected Naked Mile. So much for the remote back road! Sheriff 1, Team Awesome 0.

All this to make the point that HBC is not all grinding but is really a rich experience diversified by ridiculous shenanigans.

In other news, we had a kitten join our cavalcade for about an hour this afternoon. Evan biked up to the SAG wagon holding in one hand a poor abandoned kitten that he found on Rt. 24 near Bogue, Kansas. I called some of the local animal control centers who assured me that they just didn't have the facilities to handle a...cute abandoned kitten. So the kitten hung with us for about an hour (Melanie named her "Lucy"...that is, if it was a her, we weren't really sure). We eventually drove back to the place we found it and asked someone in the area if it was their cat; they took it in, and that was the last we saw of Lucy.

Well that should do it for now...thanks for another HUGE maildrop today! Signing off...

-Eric

15 MPH Winds from the North

2006-06-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived to yet another unbelievably warm welcome to Gypsum, Kansas. A sign at the edge of town read, "Welcome Habitat for Humanity Cyclists," and I just got up from a long conversation with a reporter from a Salina (pronounced Sa-Lie-Na with that unusual Kansas way of pronouncing towns) newspaper.

We rode 95 miles today on terrain that was not quite flat but we were shadowed the entire way by those Great Plains winds, which we're told are unusually strong this year. But we're all sitting comfortably in the Gypsum Community Center right now with a cookie-to-rider ratio of about 14.6 so life is good.

In Kansas, the roads are flanked by one of three things: wheat, soybeans, or corn. The wheat's pretty much fully cut for the year, but the corn is growing tall (some of our riders got into a cornfield and ate sweet corn straight from the stalk...) and the crops sway in the breeze as you bike by. It's easy to see why Willa Cather described the appearance of wind in the fields as an ocean in My Antonia (well, she was talking about Nebraska, but even people here will agree that there isn't much that differentiates this from Nebraska).

Thanks for the mail! We just cleaned up house at the little post office here and smiles abound.

I'm logging a few too many hours in what we call "chamois time" on HBC South (i.e. unnecessary time spent wearing the terrible spandex cycling shorts) so I'm going to catch a shower, but stay posted as we head deeper into the Kansas flats...

-Eric

PS Here's another haiku I failed to include last time, on the theme of chamois time, composed by Matt Kotler, David Madden, and yours truly:

This seat hurts my butt.
Three days of chamois rash sucks.
Butt press on I must.

Girl Scouts Rock!

2006-06-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sophie and I are sitting in the Amend Girl Scouts Center in Emporia, Kansas, relieving our tired limbs by...well, by doing heavy lifting for the Emporia Area Habitat for Humanity chapter. If you were to walk around this town of 25,000 right now, you'd see Habitat bikers clipping flowers to beautify downtown Emporia or hauling heavy desks out of offices through impossibly small doorways or showing the local youth how to change a flat tire. We hope, at least, that our work will bring something concrete and useful to this community, but I think the reward is mutual, as we get to meet people who are active with Habitat here in central Kansas.

Iola, as Jess suggested, was AWESOME. Unfortunately the wind didn't hold out and we didn't go powerparachuting, but the rock concert was a blast. The band, Leave Thursday, was finishing off its tour of Kansas and Missouri and we were the last stop for them. We enjoyed headbanging and moshing and Sophie even got some crowdsurfing in; the band later told us that that was the only crowdsurfing that had happened on their tour. The next day, 90% of our riders had the catchy tune "You Are My Only Hope (Help Me Obi Wan Kenobi)" stuck in their heads on their bikes. You'll have to hear it for yourself; check them out at http://leavethursday.com/index.cfm. I bought the T-shirt.

We found out something very profound about biking through Kansas these last few days: there is no such thing as a "flat, easy ride." True, we are no longer facing 10% inclines on Laurel Mountain in Pennsylvania; instead, however, we're facing straight into the Jet Stream and other crosscurrents that somehow always seem to be pointing in the exact wrong direction. Yesterday, riding 80 miles from Iola to Emporia, we were crisscrossing north-west-north-west with a 15 mph wind out of the north. We had a delightful choice between a) biking straight into the wind or b) biking with it swiping us from the side. So even if you think you've beaten the hills, the Great Plains are still there to keep HBC a "challenge"!

Not all the ride, however, was pure grinding. Sophie, Dalton and Garrett had a moment in the middle of the Kansas flatland, with short grass and shrub trees all around, when Circle of Life from the Lion King came on Dalton's iPod and a bird flew out in front - just as if we were in Africa. We also made up a bike dance routine to Spice Up Your Life which we hope to impress the rest of the group with later. Before lunch was even more of an adventure at Luther's Jerky house in Leroy, KS, where we bought delicious buffalo jerky and took rides on the owner's Segway. This is the real thing: if you ever want any really good beef jerky, check these guys out at jerkyusa.com. They ship everywhere! Hint hint: mail drop...

So we've got the rest of the day here pretty much off...I'm going to go see about a pizza at Wheat Pizza in downtown. To finish off, I'll conclude with some haikus composed by Matt Kotler, Dave Madden, and me yesterday:

Kansas is wheat land.
This breadbasket feeds us all,
Says Iola boy.

"Car back," says Eric.
We always ride with autos,
So get over it.

-Eric

the cats meow.

2006-06-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

So really, we are now in KS which apparently turns to "flat lands" although as most of us have decided Eric Bloom is a liar when he hands out directions and says, "todays route should flatten out." But actually he might be right this time. Hopefully. It feels great to be done with another state (MO) we're in our seventh and it seems like time has flown by.
Today I entered KS by van...not bike, on account of imbibing myself last night, who knew that the El Dorado (Dor-A-do) Springs Missouri (Miz-or-a)community center would be convieniently located next to a bar, sometimes the only cure for a long day is a nice cold beer. Parkside Lounge inhabited by drunk locals, also proved to have karaoke on a saturday night, providing hours of entertainment for many members of the trip. All i know is the night involved, bad singing, cheap cigars, shirt swapping, and a pocket full of goodies. I've decided our trip is full of a bunch of cartoon characters, the group dynamic is so spectacular, its a ridiculous sight.
I think i'm bad a writing blogs. And dear Daniel, you owe the bartender a shout out on this site.
Peace out girl scout----
-emily

Cheers for Kansas!

2006-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in the house of one of the kind church members in Iola, KS where I just took one of the most amazing showers of my life. Iola is the greatest. I don't think we've had as many "Welcome HBC cyclists!" posters and signs on the whole trip as we've had in this one town. Today's ride started out on a great note, with a scrumptious breakfast of sausage, eggs, and biscuits in El Dorado Springs, MO. Despite a somewhat later start than we've been getting lately, we cruised through Missouri and passed the Kansas state line before noon, stopping for yet another gold medal lunch by Mr. E. Bloom. The afternoon ride was refreshing as the terrain immediately began to flatten out and we got our first glimpse of the good old Kansas flatlands. The first riders began arriving in Iola a bit past two (after "passing" through the town of Gas, KS), and we were met by a barrage of signs and well-wishers at the house of Dave Fontaine, a local bike mechanic who generously offered to tune all of our bikes free of charge, in addition to providing us with a mouth-watering array of refreshments and drinks and even a game or two of lawn croquet. What a way to spend an afternoon after putting in an eighty-mile day on the bike.

This evening we are being treated to a full potluck put on by the members of the church with whom we will be staying tonight in Iola, followed by a private concert by a Christian rock band and, if the weather holds, even a few power-parachute rides around town. Talk about getting a warm welcome to Kansas. Tomorrow is a shorter day, around 65-70 miles followed by yet another friendly welcome by the folks of Emporia, KS. I know everyone is looking forward to Tuesday, a work day with the local Habitat chapter in Emporia. We're all in good spirits and relatively injury-free, though I know I'm not the only one with a sore rear end after our first century (100+ miles!) yesterday. Well, dinner is calling me, so I'd better sign off for now. Keep us in your thoughts!

~Momma Duck (Jess)

Road trippin'

2006-06-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

So this time Eric and I are actually blogging at the exact same time. I wonder who will publish first? We're sitting side-by-side in the public library of Ellington, MO, a town of approx. 1,000 people (inflated by 2.5% by our arrival). Tonight we're actually bunking up in the City Hall here (yeah, we're that big time) and showering at the local firestation. Three cheers for civic pride.

We were down several riders today, as a half dozen are road-trippin' to Louisville to pick up our long-lost van and trailer combo. How we missed it...I know some of our riders will be happy to have the extra passenger room for those extra hot days. Everyone needs a break now and then.

Today was a nice respite from the last four, which have all measured between 80-95 miles. Who could have guessed at the beginning of the trip that we would ever consider 60 miles to be a short day? Well, dinner's being served up at 4 today (after all, we want to be able to enjoy the assuredly wild night life in this town), so I'd better sign off. Here we come, lasagna!!!

~Jess :)

Hurrah! Missourah!

2006-06-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

In the last 4 days we've hit four states: Indiana; Kentucky; Illinois; and now Missouri. We crossed the mythical Mississippi River (I'll admit that I was hoping to cross it on a Huck Finn raft rather than getting escorted over the Chester Bridge by our ever elegant U-Haul) into Missouri yesterday. And then half of our group proceeded to purchase fireworks while the other half unzipped their jerseys for the camera to herald in the "Show-Me State".

Missouri, as it turns out, is NOT flat. We've had our fair share of hills that recall painful memories of northern Pennsylvania. And the roads are named with a fun alphabet soup (yesterday we were on routes H, Z, B, P, and N). We had a few really long days (going through 4 states in 4 days and all) but today we arrived at our destination, Ellington, Missouri, by 1 PM. It certainly helped that we woke up at 5:30 this morning to beat the heat and we'll be waking up gradually earlier because it hits 80 by 8 am.

In this part of the country, it seems that Vacation Bible School is taking over while many of the old folks are out mowing their front lawns. They make good conversation while you're taking a water break by the side of the road, though. We've got a few more days in Missouri before we get to our halfway point, Iola, Kansas.

Today a few of our riders got the opportunity to take a road trip to pick up our poor van in Louisville. They set out early in the morning to backtrack the distance we've covered in the last 5 days and go forward one time zone to get the old SAG wagon. Sure, the U-Haul has been fun, but we could definitely use some legitimate seating instead of the 3-person bench in the front of the U-Haul.

To these riders, 70 miles is no big deal at this point. We are cranking through the heat and through the miles and are still having the "best summer ever"! Signing off at the Ellington Public Library...

Eric

At last, a college town...

2006-06-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Since I last left you, we have traversed through the town of Morganfield, KY and are currently staying in Carbondale, IL. Another day, another state border. The last few days have been long ones, measuring in at close to 90 miles each, but riders' spirits are high and the farmland never ends. We have truly hit the Midwest now. Highlights from the last two days include a lunch stop at a friendly nunnery while a a "Twister"-esque storm was brewing outside, perhaps the most delicious dinner we've had thus far at St. Ann's Church in Morganfield (a shout-out to fried chicken leftovers for lunch), mid-day Taco Bell/Dairy Queen stops, and of course, Harry's wake-up "reading".

Today's ride was fairly flat and fast, though it was also at least 90 degrees for a good part of the day. While the afternoon was marred by several flat tires (including 3 by yours truly), we all arrived in Carbondale hot but happy and have since been able to enjoy the sights and sounds of this bustling college town. Home to the Southern Illinois "Salukis", Carbondale boasts an impressive recreational center that puts Payne Whitney Gym in New Haven to shame.

Tomorrow it's off to Farmington, Missouri and yet another state border. A milestone day, we'll also be crossing the great Mississippi, something that I know we all have been looking forward to. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a little swimming action (clothing optional in the "Show-Me" state...). Tomorrow also marks our introduction to Katie D's parents and the famed toasted ravioli of St. Louis, as well as a temporary farewell to Harry as he heads off to his Fulbright conference in D.C. for a couple days. What will we do without our Pastor Flaster?

It's getting late, so I'll sign off for now, but Eric has promised to come on later tonight with more exciting HBC tales, so stay tuned...

~Jess

Midwestern love...

2006-06-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

I know Eric already blogged today, but since Internet access can be sporadic, I thought I'd add my two cents to satisfy all you eager parents, family members, friends, and well-wishers :)

Today was a long one for bikers and driver alike. Almost a century (100 miles) in almost 90 degree heat from Louisville, KY to Tell City, IN. Good times. Plus one broken axle on the van. But have no fear, U-Haul has come through for HBC South once again and we have recovered all of our belongings from our temporarily out-of-commission van and trailer combo. We should have it back in action on Tuesday, when we'll be in Missouri!!!

The states are really starting to fly by now- only one week until we hit the flat plains of Kansas! Spirits in the group are high (except for perhaps those four poor souls doing laundry right now), and we're really bonding with one another in a way that only happens when you bike across the country together.

I'd like to second Eric's thank-you for all the wonderful (and yummy) mail drop treats that were sent to our Louisville mail drop. A particular mention must go out to all those who sent homemade cookies. Well done. Also a HUGE thank you to our MVP Hilary, who somehow managed to put together an amazing package for us even as she prepared for surgery on her elbow.

Finally, while I'm on the subject of thank-yous, I'd like to take a minute to express our sincere gratitude to all of our wonderful hosts this summer. HBC is all about bringing out the best in people, and these hosts sure have shown us the type of generosity and hospitality that makes you feel good about the state of our country today and the people who live in it. From warm showers to delectable potluck dinners to engaging conversations (or ATV rides) to energizing breakfasts, these kind folks have really rolled out the red carpet for us and they are the engine that drives this entire trip forward. We simply couldn't do it without them.

I haven't yet adjusted to this whole time zone change, so I'd better get some sleep in. Take care and keep us in your thoughts as we go back into the 'Tuck tomorrow!!!

~Jess

New State, New Time Zone

2006-06-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

After spending last night in the dorms at the University of Louisville with Bulldogs in the Bluegrass, a Yale program that offers paid jobs and internships to students in Louisville, we set out from Kentucky for state #6: Indiana! Somewhere during the ride, we also managed to cross time zones...if you want to check it out: http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-usa12.php. So be careful what time you call the riders because we're heading back in time now...

The ride was challenging under the scorching Indiana sun. We started off with a really cool ride through historic downtown Louisville that brought us over the Ohio River and, when we got to the other side, we were in Indiana! One aspect of Louisville that benefited our group specifically was that the mayor is an avid cyclist of his own, and has made significant inroads into paving the shoulders (or should I say "burns"?) and plastering the city with bright "Share the Road" signs.

We had some long but gradual uphills and some long downhills today in Indiana...definitely a far cry from the unmistakably steep terrain in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Still, we trucked 90 miles today in 90 degree weather and everyone got in in record time (that is, if you don't take the time change into account...some people thought they'd broken some big record before realizing that in fact they'd been given a free hour).

Tonight we're in Tell City, Indiana. If you're perplexed about the strange name, here's the deal: it was originally settled by Swiss-German immigrants in the mid-1800s. They eventually named the city after one of their mythical heroes, William Tell. We're in the Evangelical United Church of Christ and had yet another delicious dinner...it seems the dinners keep getting better and better! I'm not sure how far this can go before the bubble pops.

If our departure from Kentucky was a little too sudden, have no fear: we'll be returning to Kentucky tomorrow for one last hurrah before we bounce into Illinois (the "s" is silent!) for a day and then a few days in Missourah.

Also: thanks to all the friends and family who sent their love to us at the Louisville mail drop! Keep 'em coming; it's totally awesome to get packages! The riders were really happy about them.

Signing off for now...

Eric

Early Morning in Shelbyville, KY

2006-06-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

I have about seven minutes to write before I have to risk my respect and my head by waking up "the group." These guys can be HOSTILE when you try to wake them up! We got a chance to sleep in today here in Shelbyville, Kentucky, where we're staying at the thoroughbred horse farm of the Hinkle family, who have two sons at Yale and opened their home to us for the night. We've been having a great time here, to be sure.

Yesterday was a fun day with an unusual change of pace: around mile 25 en route from Lexington, Kentucky to Shelbyville (on our newly tuned-up bikes!), we stopped for a tour at the Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery. I happened to be driving the SAG wagon yesterday so I arrived a few minutes before the rest of the group and had my way with the bourbon balls and peach-flavored tea before the rest of the group joined me.

We took a tour of the grounds and learned a thing or two about bourbon. A few things you might not realize:

1) By law, all bourbon is only bourbon if it's made in the US.
2) 99% of all bourbon of all brands and varieties is made within 50 miles of Versailles, KY.
3) There was a movement in Kentucky to name towns with French influence, resulting in places like Versailles and Louisville. Note: Versailles is pronounced "Ver-sales".
4) Bourbon is aged 7.4 years on average.
5) Distillery gift shops are a ripoff. I paid $1.12 for a postcard and they tried to charge me twice that!

Still, if you're ever passing through Versailles, KY, give a stop to the Woodford Reserve.

It's about time to enter the battlefield of the wake-up call, but today we look forward to a half-day of biking that includes a bicycle escort into the bustling city of Louisville, KY with Jim Moyer, a Kentucky judge, followed by a free afternoon to explore the city. Signing off! Wish me luck that no one tries to bite my head off.

Eric

Chickn Dumplins

2006-06-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in West Virginia, enjoying what is probably one of the more culturally distinct areas of this country, at least to members of our group who didn't grow up hunting on four-wheelers, the colloquial expression for all-terrain-vehicles. The state seemed to try its dardnest to live up to its "Wild, Wonderful" motto - our adventures were wild (off roading in the back country with a pastor, battle royal in a boxing gym above a church), and the scenary and the warmth of our gracious hosts was wonderful. While four-wheelers may be an accepted from of transportation (helmets optional, and no age limits in either direction) muscle powered two-wheelers are less so. No shoulders (or burns, as they are called here), and lots of coal trucks rumbling down the backroads at speeds that inspire me to prayer. The weather was gray and rainy for most of the time, especially in the southern, poorer area of the state around Big Ugly.

Nothing but sunshine since we entered Kentucky. In contrast to the coal country of West Virginia, this area seems to exude happiness and light from the heavens, while WV spewed dark sulphurous coal from the depths of the earth. The best horse farms on the planet are located here, and I've been told that the wealthy from around the world keep their horses here for breeding. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is how much the flora and topography has changed...we have finally left the Appalachia's behind and the country is beginning to look more flat, less wild, generally more suitable to agriculture...we've left the northeast behind for good. Nothin but southern comfort for the next few days. Tonight I am staying with Dalton at the Cravens, who provided a delicous meal, showers, beds, plenty of power outlets to charge cell phones, and access to the internet so that I could post my first entry on HBC south's journal.

Riding on one of these back country roads, dotted by farms and framed by rolling hills, I can not help but learn to appreciate country music. Dropping down a tree shaded hill at 30 miles an hour and rounding a curve to see a valley with an old farm house and bales of hay makes me want to get out the guitar, or maybe a banjo, and just let loose. Maybe a spandex clad biker doesn't fit the scene perfectly, but I don't care. By the end of the week I hope to be able to speak with a drawl and yell like a proper redneck.

We're home! (sort of...)

2006-06-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here on incredibly comfortable easy chair in the living room of the Heitzs' in Lexington, Kentucky watching "Seabiscuit" after a delicious dinner of salmon, grilled chicken, corn pudding, et al. Homestays are amazing!

After a comfortable stay at a church in Morehead last night (and a dinner of what else...fried chicken!), we enjoyed a very scenic 70 mile ride today through the rolling hills of the 'Tuck. The Heitzs graciously arranged free bike tune-ups for us this afternoon as well as all of the homestays, which have been just about the best thing that ever happened to me.

Tomorrow we are leaving for a stay at a thoroughbred horse farm (how timely "Seabiscuit" is...) that is owned by the family of one of Dan's friends. From there we go on to Louisville and a stay at the University of Kentucky with the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass program. I don't think college dorms will ever look so good as they will after a long day in the saddle!

This is my first time in Kentucky and I can't believe how stunningly beautiful it is. West Virginia was pretty scenic as well, but I can't say I'll miss the drivers there, or all the coal trucks (or all the "rolling" hills for that matter).

Well, I'm beginning to yawn and the movie is getting good, so I think I'll sign off for now. A shout out to my family and Kentucky-born and raised roommate, Kate!

"HBC South, Wake-up!"
~Jess

Crossing into the 'Tuck!

2006-06-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

The last few days have brought us deep into the West Virginian hillside and finally into State #5: Kentucky! When we last left you, we were back in Cowen, West Virginia staying at The Edge, Cowen's very own church-sponsored boxing ring. From Cowen we headed to Gauley Bridge. "My gauley" was it a beautiful ride! The HBCers got a chance to ride ATVs and visit local coal mines in Gauley Bridge up unimaginably steep hills, but a good time was had by all. Oh, also, the pastor in Gauley Bridge showed us his bow and arrow. Awesome.

The next night was the night you've all probably been waiting for: BIG UGLY. Just to clear the air, we pretty much bought out the Big Ugly Community Center of all its Big Ugly T-shirts and Big Ugly postcards. The area is supposedly named "Big Ugly" because of the difficulty it took to survey the land there. There's the Big Ugly Creek which runs through the region, but it's not terribly big (more of a gentle trickle), although perhaps one might say it's on the ugly side of things.

The Big Ugly Community Center was definitely in a different realm from the rest of what we've been experiencing in West Virginia. It seems that all the community spaces and meeting places in this part of the state are 1) church fellowship halls or 2) people's living rooms. The Edge was one exception, a place where the community rallied around a safe space for youth that was about more than just praying or shooting the breeze. The Big Ugly Community Center, on the other hand, is a secular space that provides programming to the local youth, who otherwise face low-quality public education and a good deal of abuse at home. A really interesting place with a Big Beautiful mission.

This morning we bid a sad farewell to Hilary Costa, one of our riders who broke her elbow while riding out from Big Ugly. Hilary has been one of the mainstays of the trip, easily one of the most friendly and personable of our riders and always willing to lend a hand or an ear to help out a fellow rider. We're going to miss you, Hilary! We'd better see you in San Francisco when we get there!

Today is our second day in Kentucky; we spent last night in Louisa, a small city with a big Coca Cola distribution plant. And, FINALLY, we got ourselves some fried chicken and dumplings, Kentucky-style. I was disappointed this morning when I saw a KFC container laying by the side of the road, but what we had last night was the real thing, and we've got a few more days of real Kentucky chicken to look forward to. Cornbread, too!

Tonight we're in Morehead, KY, a college town that is home to Morehead State University. The ride was BEAUTIFUL as we took Rt. 32 west from Louisa along a ridge. The wildflowers are blooming now, and the air smells of it. The wild roses enliven the road shoulders with their bright pink petals, and we got to wind our way through rolling hills in the sun all day today.

The Rowan County Public Library is closing now so I'll have to sign off, but that's where we're at for now!

Eric

West Virginia. Mountain Mama.

2006-06-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

To recap:

In the past three days, we have undergone:

8 punctured bicycle tires
1 exploded trailer tire
1 replacement of exploded trailer tire, along with shredded, smoking-hot metal rim (nota bene: this is what happens when you drive for four miles on a flat tire while towing a 10,000 pound trailer)
1 collision of van/trailer with the ceiling of a certain hospital which, for both personal and fiduciary reasons, shall remain unnamed (nota bene: I wasn't driving)
1 attempted lynching
1 rendezvous with Artie, Valley Head town drunk
1 ooey, gooey, glunky, gluey, doughy, peppery, creamy platter of buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy
1 no-holds-barred heavyweight boxing match
1 near-concussive blow to the head courtesy of one Mr. Evan Leitner (which, unfortunately, did not put an end to said boxing match)
countless Confederate flags
0 platters of fried chicken. (Kentucky waits)
1 lunch stop at Mountaineer Medical Center, outside Morgantown, WV, where doctors frequently operate on people who have been run over by their own tractors, and where patients occasionally walk in with axes lodged in their heads

The U-Save in Craigsville, WV sells a small cup of coffee for 10 cents and a large cup for 20. Sales tax is not included.

To quote a large wooden sign planted next to somebody's trailer home: "God I love West Virginia."

On a final note, I settled on a name for the van. It is not "the beast." It is not "the stallion." It is not "the monster." It is, indubitably, "the hippo."

Day 14? (I think)

2006-06-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today the riders were able to continue our journey through beautiful West Virginia. Overall the state is scenic as we were able to ride high in the clouds this morning! This was quite cold, but I'm sure it will be very refreshing in retrospect once we hit scorching states such as Nevada later in the trip. The ride lasted for only about 45 miles today, but we rode over a couple of mountains. It was hard work but all of the riders were able to quickly complete the ride before arriving at the church.

Tonight we are staying in the "boxing ring" located in a church in Cowen WV. Although stinky, the boxing ring has proven to be quite entertaining for the riders. Several of the riders were able to get into the ring, and actually fight for a bit with one another. Several of the fights were rather intense, but there was no resulting bloodshed.

Tomorrow we are riding to Gauley Bridge. Emily has been to this area before, and says that it is beautiful. This area is also known for white water rafting, which unfortunately the riders will probably be unable to enjoy.

Shortly riders will begin going to sleep in anticipation of waking early in the morning for another ride!

~Catface (Becca)

Oh, West Virginia....

2006-06-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

So Eric thought we wouldn't get another blog entry up for days, eh? Little did he know about public libraries in tiny towns in the valleys of West Virginia. Oh yea. After an amazing evening with Pastor Mark and family of the Calvary Church of God of Valley Head, HBC South tore up a gigantic hill this morning and cruised down a sweeeet 5 miles at 5% grade before stopping for a good old PB & J around noon. That's 14 days straight of PB & J for yours truly. I'm planning on making it 64 straight. Tonight we will be staying in a boxing gym (yes, a boxing gym...) in Cowen, WV. We're hoping that our riders can get out any pent-up aggression in the ring, so long as it's not at their leaders :)

Yesterday was an incredibly eventful day, highlighted by one HBC trailer cutting a foot-long hole into the 9 foot, 6 inch overhang at Davis Memorial Hospital. Sorry Bill, we didn't mean to. Luckily, folks in West Virginia are incredibly friendly, so long as they're not driving Pepsi trucks (ask Evan about that incident).

Well, I had better get back on the road (which is absolutely gorgeous, by the way...I'm moving to West Virginia), after this relaxing 2+ hour lunch stop. Looking forward to giving a bike clinic and slide presentation tonight, starring who else but the one and only David Madden. We'll try to be much better about blogging in the future, though the next few days could be a bit sparse.

~Momma Jess

Welcome to HBC South 2006!

2006-06-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

GOLD RUSH! We're off to San Francisco!

Welcome to HBC South 2006's journal! Sorry it's taken us some time to get this off the ground...internet access has been hard to come by. But we're having an excellent time indeed! At the time of this writing, we're in Valley Head, West Virginia. Although we're not sure if that's really what we should be saying, since Valley Head is "unincorporated." So basically we're somewhere in Randolph County, West Virginia, and we're very comfortable at the Calvary Assembly of God on Route 219. The past two weeks have witnessed us traverse the hills of Connecticut, cross the Hudson in southern New York, climb innumerable ridges all the way across Pennsylvania, and hop from one swimming hole to another in West Virginia. We've had the best and the worst of it, from a smooth 30-mile ride into the funky college town of Morgantown, WV to a rainy night of camping on top of Kentuck Knob at Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania. But we know this is a good group: regardless of the circumstances, we seem to make ends meet, and even have a good time in the process!

Over the course of the past few weeks, a few riders have taken it upon themselves to put together blog entries; they may be a bit out of date, but hopefully they'll get you up to speed to some extent with what we've been up to. Here's what they had to say:

Talia Lerner, Yale '06, June 5, 2006, Uniontown, PA:

Well, we haven't been as successful as we might have liked at blogging this trip, but rest assured, we're having a great time. Right now we're in Uniontown, PA, which is our last stop in Pennsylvania. We've been in PA for several days now and I'm excited to cross another state line.

I think it's time now to update all our readers on some of the details of life on the road. First: roadkill. There are many roadkill facts that I've discovered in the past week.

1) There is a lot of it
2) All roadkill is located on the shoulder of the road, where we are biking. If anyone can explain why this is the case, I would greatly appreciate it.
3) Roadkill can come in a much wider variety of species than you might expect. So far, I have observed not only squirrels and small rodents, but racoons, deer, snakes, all sorts of birds, and a skunk. Skunk roadkill, btw, smells rather unpleasant.

Besides roadkill, the group has enjoyed biking of the "the one big hill for the day" and "the last ridge in Pennsylvania" on numerous occasions. We've also become very adept at scouring churches for comfortable couches to sleep on and we're getting better at getting up at 6am.

Finally, I'd like to assure everyone that "HBC sooouth" is in great spirits. One of our riders, Melanie Loftus, was hurt recently (she broke her elbow and collar bone) and had to go home for a while, but we're hoping she'll soon be able to come back and join, riding along in the van if nothing else.

I'll have to sign off now, but we'll holla at you again soon! Promise!

Matt Schrimpf, Harvard '08, June 5, 2006, Uniontown, PA:

Three states down; a long way still to go. Tomorrow we cross over into state number four: West Virginia, the "Mountain State." I have a feeling it won't be much different from what we've already been riding on, however, as every day has seen a number of demanding and gigantic hills. The topography of Pennsylvania is kind of like a ruffled potato chip .... if the chip were three hundred miles long and the ruffles were as high as the Empire State Building.

It is nice to see those signs at the top of big climbs warning truckers about the three-mile descent at a 9.5% grade, though. The only thing you can do at that point is eat a Clif Bar, lean onto the drops and the brakes, and yell out "Oh Yeah!" We've had hundred-degree heat and searing sun, pouring rain and biting cold. Yet, we have defeated every obstacle in our way, be it hill or pothole. Bring it on West Virginia!

P.S. Amish horse-and-buggies go at about ten miles per hour and the people wave to you whenever you pass them on a bike.

P.P.S. Riding in the rain causes more gunk than is possibly imaginable to accumulate on the bike and gears. Some de-greaser will come in handy.

Eric Bloom, Yale '08, June 8, 2006, Valley Head, WV:

We are absolutely CRUISING! We're packing the heat at 70 miles per day (give or take) and it seems like, piece by piece, this country is flying past us. And it's been a beauty. We've descended into and out of the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Allegheny, and Tygart River Valleys and, just a few days ago, we passed the Eastern Continental Divide at about 2700 feet.

These first two weeks represent the portion of the trip that I planned, and things have gone quite smoothly (or at least I'd like to think so...). Our hosts have been amazing, from homestays in Monroe, New York to staying in a hockey rink in Morgantown, West Virginia to a beautiful campsite along a rushing river at Audra State Park, West Virginia.

We've taken a bunch of routes that are new to HBC, in the interest of safety and choosing scenic routes. We took Route 655 from Sunbury to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania (Amish country), and I was passed by a horse and buggy while helping Dalton Combs replace a flat tire!

What HBC is really about, I think, though, is eating. We have become absolute eating machines. If you have a penchant for eating, then I highly suggest you get on a bike and go 70 miles before dinner because you will end up starving..but more importantly, you will be able to burn EVERYTHING you eat. Matt Kotler, David Madden, Harry Flaster, and I stopped at an orchard en route to Port Jervis, NY a few weeks ago where we proceeded to consume an entire apple pie, a jug of fresh cider, and numerous Rice Krispie treats between the four of us and then get onto our bikes without a problem.

In addition to being an eating fest, HBC is also a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven. The other day, in Uniontown, PA, we worked on a Habitat build site with the Fayette County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. We split our time between answering questions to an inquisitive media and hauling large sheets of drywall into the house. It was great to connect with a local chapter and also to rest our weary limbs for a day before tearing up West Virginia.

Stay posted for more updates...it may be a few days before we write again (read: the combined population of the towns we're staying in for the next 3 days totals 1700), but we'll be sure to have lots to report as we hit Kentucky!