Cross-Country Katy: Happy Fourth of July from Pittsburgh!

Greetings from the Steel City! We made it into Pittsburgh yesterday after 7 days straight of riding, which included more than 500 miles through scenic NY and PA and lots of hill-climbing through the Berkshires, Poconos, and Alleghenies (we've renamed our current state Painsylvania). The days and weeks are quickly becoming a blur of fun and adventure, and I haven't been doing a good job of journaling, so I'll just paint a picture of a typical ride day and share a few highlights.

A Day in the Life:

You might be wondering what a typical day of Bike & Build looks like. Now that we are two weeks in, I have a pretty good grip of the routine. Wake up is around 5:00, which is generally a welcome event for me (I'm biking across the country for crying out loud!!). The group aims to have the trailer packed with everyone's stuff within 30 minutes of wake-up, and no one eats breakfast until it's done. Trailer packing is a science that must be perfected, and anyone who hinders this process (aka showing up ten minutes late with an overstuffed bag) has to wear their underwear over their helmet for the day. Ok, so this scare tactic has yet to be enforced, but I look forward to the day. Once the trailer is masterfully packed, breakfast commences, which is usually consists of cereal or bagels unless a host is gracious enough to wake up early and prepare a hot breakfast for us. Oh how I relish hot breakfast days. Just the other day the YWCA in Johnstown made us breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, sausage, and potatoes, and I swear I had died and gone to heaven. After we have breakfast, chore groups clean the host site and everyone preps their bikes/gear for the day until route meeting, when we discuss the logistics, terrain, and hand out cue sheets (directions) for the day. We aim to be rolling out by about 1.5 hours after wake-up - no small feat for a group of 33 tired puppies.

After route meeting, everyone is free to break into groups of 2-6 to take off. Everyone is required to wear a helmet at all times (duh), along with a safety triangle, camelbak, spare tube, pump, snacks, etc for the day. We use extensive hand and voice signals in order to ride as safe as possible within our groups, calling out every pothole, stop, turn, and interesting piece of roadkill along the way. I find a strong sense of security, teamwork, and enjoyment in this form of group riding, and we hold the group to high safety standards (i.e. you get put in the van if you ride unsafely, without your helmet, etc.). Two people are designated as "sweeps" to be the last

Napping my way across the country

two riders back, carrying a med kit and spare tire. Everyone else stays in small groups ahead of the sweeps onward to the lunch stop, which is designated by the van driver (myself or one of the other 3 leaders) at roughly halfway through the mileage. We tend to do lunch about 5-10 miles past the halfway point to crank out more mileage when it is cooler and before everyone gets their "lunch legs". On days when we ride more than 90 miles or it is more than 90 degrees, we take TWO lunches to ensure adequate nutrition and hydration, which we've only done once thus far. I usually sneak in a lunchtime nap, whether intentional or not.

Groups roll in and out from lunch at their own pace and complete the day's mileage, aiming to arrive at the host site by 4:00 pm. On less hilly, lower mileage days, there is more time for a leisurely pace and much-needed swimming hole and ice cream stops. My favorite swimming hole thus far was a backyard pond that a guy gave us permission to swim in, complete with cold gatorades and tricks by his dog, Rocky. On days when we have hills (most days) or 70+ miles, we have to budget our time a little better and push the pace to get to the host on time. Generally we have plenty of time to "unclip and smell the roses", seeing as we have all day to ride.

Once we start trickling into the host site (typically churches, sometimes schools or community organizations), we unpack the trailer assembly-line style, unload the coolers and take showers (warm ones if we're lucky!). Most hosts prepare dinner for us, which is always such a comfort at the end of every day. Our hosts have been unbelievably generous and welcoming. At the UMC in Mt. Pocono, PA, we had one of the best meals (ever, not just in Bike & Build) of four types of tacos with every fixing you could imagine. I am so famished by the end of of the day, that no matter what food is served, it always tastes like the best meal of my life. During dinner we mingle with the hosts (my favorite) and give them a brief presentation to tell them about ourselves, our trip, and Bike & Build as an organization. After dinner we either have affordable housing presentations delivered by the riders, a weekly "town hall" meeting or free time until our 11:00 curfew. I've noticed that with the long days/rides, most people have been crashing well before curfew, myself included.

Pittsburgh Day Off:

Free tix to the Pirates game!

View of Pittsburgh from PNC Park

We have three days off throughout the summer, and our first one conveniently falls on the 4th of July in Pittsburgh. There has likely never been a group of people happier to see Pittsburgh, PA than we were yesterday after a very challenging and rewarding week of riding. We mustered up enough energy to go out as a group to a Pirates baseball game and hit the town before enjoying a night's sleep with no wake-up time in the morning. One person forgot to unset their normal 5:00 am alarm, which led to lots of groaning and cursing (still not sure who the culprit was). I didn't sleep in too late, because I wanted to enjoy the city. There is TONS going on here - a "Furry" convention (look it up), festival and regatta at Point State Park, where the Allegheny and Monogohala Rivers combine to form the Ohio. Tonight we'll enjoy the city's fireworks show from Mt. Washington, overlooking the entire city skyline. Overall, not a bad way to spend a day of and rejuvenate ourselves for the road ahead. Ohio here we come!!

p.s. Thanks to those of you who have sent postcards to me on the road - you have no idea how nice it is to hear from you!! You can reach me at one of our next mail drops by checking out the Contact page!