Day 11: Brandon, Vt to SIlver Bay, NY

Mileage: apprx 75. Weather: hot, very hot.

The day started off with pretty easy terrain. I was biking w/ my friend Dan when we hit about 10 miles of farms - the smells was unbearable: a mix of wet grass and manure. If I breathed through my mouth I could taste it, but breathing through my noise was worse. This was a slight predicament. Dan claimed that this is what most of the Mid West would smell like - I have been fearing the Mid West since.

We finally crossed into New York today, which was very exciting. The whole group took a ferry over the river to actually cross into the state though (so the border was slightly less exciting, but rewarding nonetheless).

Picture = Adi, Dan and me.

The ride became pretty hilly once we reached NY. There was this one gigantic hill that was extremely exhausing; however, Dan and I were rewarded by the most delicious vanilla frozen yogurt at the top (which we purchashed from a roadside store - very strategically placed - it was much appreciated). After our treat, the ride was much smoother and we had beautiful views of lakes. To top off this overall delightful riding day, our 'home' for the evening was the YMCA resort in Silver Bay: we all got to share rooms, were provided with individual beds (as opposed to the floor, which is the norm) and were privileged to the culinary delights of resort dining. This resort was directly out of "Dirty Dancing", all that it was missing was my gorgeous prince charming who was supposed to teach me how to shine dancing the meringue - but, well the fresh fruit was still a nice treat.

Day 9 - Lebanon, NH to Rochester, VT

We crossed our first state line today - wahoo (see picture below)! Mileage = apprx 38 miles.

The day started off relatively relaxed and very fun. We biked past Dartmouth and continued along the route to Killington (ski mountain) that passes by Queeche gorge, which was cool b/c I drove that route regularly this winter so it was super neat to bike it instead. We stopped at the cabbage cheese store along the way and ate delicious samples (Vintage Choice was my favourite).
Below = picture of Adi with a moose outside the Cabbot Cheese store.



However, easy beginnings do not mean easy endings: My hope (dream) that the northern US was flat has completely disintegrated (although the hills have not - some dreams never do come true...). On the way to Rochester we had to bike over, well, a mountain. It was a 2900 ft vertical increase (the weather didn't help - it was around 90 F). And, although I write bike, I walked up 3/4s of it ( I wasn't the only one). After my first break ( no one made it up without stopping), I got back on my bike and ended up peddaling so slowly (for you bikers out there, I think my cadence was LESS than 30) that I didn't have enough momentum to make it up the hill and I fell over into the bushes - somewhat funny and a definite sign that walking the rest of the way was in my cards; however, I have road biking shoes, which are NOT at all meant for walking ( most of the other kids have mountain biking shoes that have treadding along the bottom) and consequently walking equals awkwardly waddling like a duck - it took me 45 minutes to make it up the hill. The day was still short though, which was nice.

After dinner, we all wanted to sleep outside (because inside the Church was unbearably hot) - in fact, some brave bikers decided to sleep in the graveyeard that borded the church (not my cup of tea - I figure I'll have a good chunk of my life to sleep w/ dead ppl...); however, the bugs were so bad (mosquitos in July always are), so that pretty much failed. Overall, all was swell...

Day 8 - Lebanon, NH - 2nd Build Day

2nd 'build day'in Lebanon, NH. Most of us landscaped, I lucked out and got to paint the inside of the house; however, I was assigned to paint the edge b/w the ceiling and the walls, and even standing on a 2 ft block of wood it was still a stretch - let's just say there were some 'drip' marks.. Photo = ppl shovelling dirt (after it was laid down as top soil, then it was seeded and then covered in hay).


Shovelers having some fun.

Build day ended late so the showers in town were closed. To 'get clean' we all went swimming in the Connecticut river (at Dartmouth) instead. Picture = me jumping off the River Ranch roof (apprx 30 ft high) into the river. Oodles of fun!

Day 7 - Lebanon, NH - Build Day

Spent the day landscaping a house in Lebanon. Shovelled around 50 tons of dirt, laid top soil, spread grass seed, etc all while listening to sweet tunes played through my portable speakers, which were my 10th birthday present from my grandparents (these speakers have lived through over 150 days of canoe trips, rain, dirt, snow - pretty much eveything) - booya. We worked alongside the family who will be moving into the house, which was not only fun and interesting, but it also made our work seem more important as it put a face to the afforadable housing issue -i.e. a face consisting of a mother, father, a daughter and a son.

Picture = Billy helping the little girl ( of the family who will be living in the house) move dirt.


After building, I met up with Lauren Bennet (one of my closet friends at Dartmouth) - she is spending the summer at school working (and Lebanon is only 10 mins from the college). We hung out, ate a delicious dinner and then went to the Fairlee drive-in movie (which is a relic from the '50s, totally charming and a ton of fun) where we saw 'Next' and drank Hot Chocolate. It was delightful!

(Side Note: My camera broke yesterday (probably a result of one of my many falls trying to clip onto my bike while going up hill ( I have managed to conquer this problem by starting perpendicular to the fall line so I am not bothered by the slope of the hill...)). So, Lauren and I went to Best Buy where I purchased a camera marketed as a camera ' For Life'. Yes, it is crush proof up to 220 llbs, water proof up to 33ft (although my father cautioned me against taking advantage of this feature), and shock proof up to 5 ft ( just under my height). I figured this was the camera I needed to cater to my 'needs' (or, at least, to my 'luck')).

Oh, the adventure begins....

Day 6. Hanover! I visted Dartmouth and was greeted by this rainbow. Must be a sign that there is hope -i.e. I will finish this trip, despite aching pains all over my body...















Day 6 - NH. New Long to Lebanon. Short day (35 miles). Dan by the waterfall. It was pretty.

















Day 5. Ride was short (40 miles or so), but very hilly. Dan and I decided to reward ourselves with a restaurant lunch (cause bagels and peanut butter did not sound too satisfying). Well, we ended up getting caught in a thunderstorm on the way home. Garbage bags = my idea : ).














Day 5 - NH - on route to New London from Concord. Snack break. Oh, what a cinnamon role. Sam, Adam, Mei-Mei.











Day 5 - NH. 'Hardcore' biker pic in front of a pretty lake. Sam, Me, Mei-Mei, Adi, Brendan (program director).











Day 4 - before our first ride - my team: right to left: Claire, Me, Lindsay, Dan, Adi. We ended up splitting up - Claire, Adi and I stayed together though, got lost, and ended biking an about an extra 15 miles. Total mileage day 1 = 76 miles.









Day 4 (1st bike day). Pic = Adi and Me.













Day 4 (1st bike day). The 'wheel dipping ceremony' : we all dipped our back wheels into hte Atlantic ocean, and we'll dip our front wheels into the Pacific when we reach Vancouver. I am the very last person on the left-hand side of the picture.

Day 2 - Orientation (Portsmouth, NH)

Second day of orientation - wahoo! The day was pretty relaxed, we learned how to deal with some bike issues (i.e. change a flat tire, proper bike maintenance etc...). My friend Sam let me change his tire for him (which was very nice, I thought, considering my (total lack of) experience - although he did walk me through the process) since my tires are tubeless, so I can't change them (they have this foam stuff that supposedly seals itself if the tire goes flat, which they aren't supposed to do. Who knows?!)

Everyone also went on a 'shakedown' ride around town -i.e. a 10 mile practice ride to get the hang of biking. I, however, did not go. I forgot to get my med forms signed by my physician, so I wasn't allowed to go. Yep, typical me - a little too last minute : ). But, it didn't really matter b/c my father and his friend took me riding the day before I left for the trip anyway (which, by the way, was a very good thing b/c before that ride I was not able to stop - a skill I have learned is most crucial...)

Below are pictures of our van / trailer. One (of our four) leaders drives the van each day and s/he provides all necessary support (i.e. lunch stop @ the halfway mark (PB and J - slash, I like open-faced PB w/ a little bit of honey and cereal (any kind) on top) - transports our gear, etc...). We all painted it together - well, considering my artistic expertise I left most of the work for the studio art majors, but I was a dedicated 'watcher'. Check out the group Canadian pride - and, that had nothing to do with me, no joke.

Side of trailer. Outlined in white is our route across the northern US. I didn't realize quite how long / large our route really was until I looked at wall map of the US - slightly overwhelming to say the least (especially considering the most I have ever biked before this trip was 12 miles, and that was only the day before I left on the plane to come here). The man at the bike shop who sold me my gear told me that biking 4000 miles, with my experience, was 'agressive'. I figured that sounded just about right...hmmmmm : ).

Side of trailer. The names of all the universities represented on the trip. Dartmouth = front and center - yeah, I know ppl : ) .

Back of trailer. Be nice to cyclists while driving. Cars are scary.

Front of trailer. For some reason, Americans think of mounties as being symbolically Canadian. The speach bubble reads 'Vancouver or Bust'.

Our van. Booya.

Summer Coordinates

This is just a post to let you know what I am up to for the summer and how I can be contacted - it might be long, and slightly complicated, but I'll do my best.

WHAT:
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So, I am biking across the northern US from Portsmouth, NH to Vancouver, BC with an organization called Bike and Build. Bike and Build organizes cross-country cycling trips to raise money for, and promote awareness about, affordable housing. We bike around 75 miles a day and throughout the trip we stop at different towns to give presentations on affordable housing and we also stop and build houses (w/ Habitat) around once a week too.

TRACK MY PROGRESS:
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As well, if you want, you can track my route (see where we will be each day, mileage, a visual (map), and journal entry) by clicking on 'route tracker' on the left hand panel of the Bike and Build website. Again, I am the Northern US route. Or, click on this link: http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,207/

HANG OUT:
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Yep, that's right, I might be biking a sh*t ton, but I would LOVE to MEET UP with any of you if you happen to be in / near any of the areas I will be biking / building.
- I can meet up ON THE ROAD with you (i.e. for snack, or you could even BIKE with me)
- I can meet up for DINNER(or you could come to the group)
- I can meet up AFTER DINNER - wherever I will be or I can meet you in town etc. (curfew = 11pm if I am biking the next day; 1am if I am building the next day; NO CURFEW if I have a day off the next day)
- I can meet up on a DAY OFF.

Honestly, it would be so super cool to meet up anywhere along my route (NB: for all you Torontonian's (who are in the city) on this list, we will be in NIAGRA FALLS for the 4th of July - so, if you want to take a short road trip for a little spicy adventure and come and meet up that would be super sweet).

CONTACT ME:
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Please send me updates about your summers - I'd love to know what you are all up to and hear about all of your adventures! I have limited access to email, but I will be checking it relatively regularly, so I will be able to write you back (replies might be slow at times).

Also, I have a cell phone ( please note the CHANGE OF NUMBER) - so feel free to call for some one-on-one time - I'd love to hear from you!

Cell # is: 917 716 1043

ITINERARY: http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/38/54/
Outlines when I will be where, our daily mileage, and whether I will be biking, building, or day-offing.
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MAIL DROP DATES / INFO: http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/55/217/
Yes, I can receive SNAIL mail. WRITE ME and I'll send you a POSTCARD back (from whichever state I happen to be in at the time...

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I think that about covers all of the details of my where I will be etc....I think about you all often and I miss you more....

Have the most wonderful summers!

Live hard. Trip Fast. Cream Soda.

Keep it real,

*JaX*

Side note: send me your SUMMER COORDINATES too, so I can keep on contact with you (i.e. phone number, mailing address etc...)

CHECK OUT 'bikeandbuild.org' for MORE INFORMATION

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