Coast To Coast

I'm not really sure how else to say this but, holy shit. What a fucking summer! 10 weeks ago I left Portland, Maine with 32 strangers to cycle tour (which I'd never done) across a country (which I'd never seen) to support a cause I new nothing about.
I guess when you get to the end you really start to think about the beginning. The uncertainties, the discomfort, the daunting task that stands in front if you. Really the only constant throughout it all were the 32 other people crazy enough to join me. We struggled, we reveled, and we proved to any and all that anything is possible.
It won't be long until the intimate details of each town will begin to fade but there are some things I'll just never forget. I've seen beauty and disgust, tears and laughter (lots and lots if laughter). I've seen what an impact 33 young adventurists can have on a home, a family and each other. I've seen mountains and deserts, oceans and forests. I've seen the toughest people in the country work their asses off to feed their families. I've seen what generosity lies in the most unexpected places. I've seen growth of character, growth of community, and growth of thigh muscles. I've seen the winding roads that make up the circulatory system of this great country. I've seen the heart and soul of America.
Thank you to all who made this journey possible and to those who made it with me. Though this great adventure has since come to a close, I would encourage you all to never stop exploring.

Personal Presents

The rents flew to Santa Barbara to surprise me on my 22nd birthday yesterday and will be joining the revelry today as we roll our bicycles into the Pacific ocean.

Road Humor

Vegas Baby, Vegas

The Bike and Build team took advantage of our one night in Nevada and headed up to sin city for a night of revelry.
We put 27 people in a 25 seat bus and sang our way up to Vegas. Upon arrival, we fell asleep. The thing about bike and builders is that we are not that interested in big cities and large crowds of people. Having to walk anywhere seems wildly inefficient when we know a bike would have gotten us there in half the time. Most of us are broke and if we weren't before, we are now. We look like a bunch of losers with the most juxtaposed tan lines on the planet. But most of all, we can sleep anywhere. Lawns, driveways, sidewalks, gas station floors, you name it we've probably napped on it.
So here we are in arguably the most entertaining city in the country and we are just so exhausted and so uninterested in what was going on that we take naps in restaurants, lobby floors, and even at the slot machines.
What really got us jazzed however, was the epic day to follow.
Our bus got back to the host at 1:30. Wake up was at 5 a.m. Morning coffee was a must to shake the hangover. We loaded up on sunscreen and water and embarked on a 103 mile day through the Mojave Desert to get to Baker, California. That's right, California, our 19th and final state of the journey. A beginning to and end if you will.
This is how I know the Maine to Santa Barbara crew is a bunch of crazy people. We party on the way to Vegas, catch z's while we're there, and wake up on 4 hours of sleep to bike 100 miles through the 113 degree desert on what we deemed, "The most poorly paved road in America," for no better reason other than the fact that we are willing and able.
This is our idea of a good time. This is our Vegas.

Turn Left

I can't smell the salt air quite yet but I'm starting to get the impression that we are pretty close to Cali.

Good Words & Grand Canyons

Word of mouth is more powerful than most people can imagine. People tend to trust what their peers say even if they don't share the same interests or beliefs.
Ive only ever heard what a sight the grand canyon is but perhaps I was a bit skeptical as to how "grand" a crevice in Arizona could really be. I suppose I'll contribute to preexisting word of mouth chatter and reinforce the statement that the grand canyon is indeed "grand." In fact, it's marvelous.
I would stare out into the depths of the canyon and try to understand what I was looking at. I closed my eyes as if to refocus my depth perception of what was in front of me but the same amazement took over when I reopened my eyes. Even after a 12 mile hike to Plateau Point overlooking the Colorado River I still felt a bit overwhelmed at where I was in the world.
I've come to realize that word of mouth is a very solid reason to take part in something. Bike and Build, for instance, attracted me because I had heard so many good things about it. Anybody who knew anybody that did B&B had something good to say about what an adventure it was and how life changing it had been. What it really boils down to is the question, "do I have faith in a strangers opinion? My answer appears to be "yes." it's not to say that I am a follower or that I'm ignorant to believe that strangers know what's best for me. More simply it is the reasoning, marvelous attractions evokes marvelous feedback.

Climbing the Flagstaff

It took us 11 hours to ride 34 miles from Sedona to Flagstaff. The 2500 ft. verticals climb through narrow, winding, switchback roads wasn't really that time consuming. Honestly, it was just so beautiful that we took our sweet ass time.
At mile 5 we found Oak Creek Canyon which looks back on the cozy city of Sedona, nuzzled into the towering red rocks. Some swam, some explored, others say quietly in awe. At mile 18 we invited ourselves into Slide Rock Park to jump off 40ft. Cliffs and glide down weathered stretches of mossy rocks and gentle streams.
Lunch was at a scenic outlook which you can imagine didn't hurry anyone along. We scored free subs and pizza when we got into town and eventually connected with the entire team to form the B&B super group in honor of our departing teammate Nick Audette. Nick is doing what no Bike and Builder Is capable of. Nick is making responsible life choices and will be in attendance at his grad school orientation at Carnegie Melon. We wish you well Nick. The roads between Flagstaff and Santa Barbara will remain intact for years to come. I know you will finish what you started.
We head to the Grand Canyon tomorrow to pitch tents and sleep under the stars. If the posts go unattended for a few days may I apologize in advance for poor cell phone service. Even if I do have cell phone service, I plan on being to involved in my expedition to update my blog. Besides, I'm trying to keep light pollution to a minimum.

Red Rocks Reunion

Jeffrey Jackson

"People always ask me what I do when I get a flat tire. You know what I say? I Apache it!"
Jeffrey Jackson is an full blooded Apache Indian that introduced himself to me at a bar in Payson, AZ. Jeff is 57, riding his bike from Seattle to Key West for the "17th time", and about 10 beers deep at this point. He is dressed in full cycling gear, minus the helmet, and us showing everyone his calf muscles to prove he is a cyclist. Jeff lives in a 65 foot sailboat in Key West. He had worked as a landscaper for a wealthy widower from New York who's yard had fallen in disrepair after months of neglect. The homeowners wife had been killed on that particular boat and so it hadn't left the slip in years. Jeffrey asked how much he wanted for the boat and the man told him that if he maintained his yard for two years he could have it. Jeff did just that.
He was in the area to visit his nieces that live on the Apache reservation. He asked me to shoot a game of pool with him and I accepted. He said we can be cowboys and Indians. "I'm assuming you're going to be the Indian Jeff?" "Yes!" he said, "then you can say you shot an Indian."
I'm a huge fan of corny jokes so Jeff and I hit it off pretty well. As the night went on, his Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer became empty and his words started to fade along with his eyes.
I'm not sure where Jeffrey Jackson went or where he plans on going. I don't know if he really rode his bike across the country 17 times or if he is headed to his yacht in Key West. Hell, I don't know if the guy's even a real Apache Indian! But there was one thing Jeff said that I knew he was genuine about. "I've got my health and my bicycle. What else do I really need." Amen Jeff, Amen.

Gettin Down in Pie Town

That's right, we spent a night in Pie Town, New Mexico. The population is about 45 people. There aren't even road signs here! What they do have though is lots and lots of pie. To name a few; strawberry rhubarb, peach, peach apple, blueberry, apple, pumpkin, pecan, pumpkin pecan, banana nutella (a B&B creation) and pie towns signature southwestern pie made with green chile and apples. It was a religious experience.
Pie Town used to place for settlers to stop and the locals were notorious for giving out fresh baked pie. When New Mexico decided to recognize the small community as an official town the town name battles ensued. New Mexico had come up with a selection of names for the community but the locals refused to be recognized as anything but Pie Town. The state complied.
We stayed in a hostel called the "Toaster House" which hosts hikers climbing the continental divide. Oh, by the way, we also crossed the continental divide. The continental divide was described to me as the point where water flows east on one side and west on the other. We now roll west with the water.
Pie Town was also prom night. We reveled in the community center with live music from Mr. Holland Stewart. Apropos for being in the southwest, prom night was western themed. Cowboys/cowgirls, Native Americans and totem poles put their thrift shop collections together to create a rather well dressed group of nomads. Lets just say it took a little extra time to get out the door this morning.
We will depart the "Land of Enchanment" and enter into a long stretch through the "Grand Canyon State." Thanks for having us New Mexico, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

The Grass is Greener...

On the other side of the continental divide.

Land of Enchantment

Dear readers,
If you have not been to New Mexico I would suggest that you do so fairly soon.
We have been traveling through open country for weeks now and we thought that maybe the stretch of oblivion would never end. Leaving Roswell we saw a mountain far in the distance that entertained our curiosity for a few miles. Little did we know that we would soon reach that mountain and descend into the most beautiful countryside any of us have seen. The dust fields turned to lush valleys and the tail end of the Rockie Mountains engulfed us as we rolled into Carrizozo, NM.
I am hesitant to post these pictures as they do not adequately represent the magnitude of where we are in the world. I must admit that I didn't know such beauty existed in my own country. I suppose riding cross country has allowed me to come to that realization.
The air is thin here in the mountains but not as hot as we have experienced in the past seven weeks. New Mexico has been a breath of fresh air for us, literally. We are hardly half way through the state and most riders say it's their favorite state so far. I would have to agree.

Nuevo Mexico

Though the landscape in New Mexico is quite similar to the open fields of panhandle Texas, there are some noticeable changes. There are more taco shops, fewer cowboys, different time zones, mountains and aliens.
Yes the extra terrestrial life forms have become a phenomenon in Roswell, NM. I have a theory that the "UFO" sightings and civilian abductions that we're said to occur some 60 years ago was a ploy by the government in cohesion with the city of Roswell to boost the cities economy. Roswell is in the middle of the desert. There ain't another town for 50 miles. The only natural attraction is the "Bottomless Lake" which is still 20 miles away from downtown Roswell. (We did make the trip to Bottomless Lake and I was a bit Misguided by the name. I was expecting to see a lot of dropped trousers but I realized the name is in regards to the depth of the lake.) Anywho, I think the UFO event was staged to draw attention to the city. The entire city revolves around an alien theme. The McDonald's has an alien playscape, the radio station has an alien logo, even the street lights are tinted green and have to black ovals to represent an aliens face. People come to Roswell to see the alien museum and in hopes of finding out the truth about what happened in the desert 60 years ago. What they find is a google link to Area 51 and a happy meal with a generic looking alien figurine.
Some cities are built on natural resources, others on geographic location, Roswell, New Mexico is built on a myth.

To whom it may concern,

In honor of everything being bigger in Texas, I've decided to follow suit with one big blog post that sums up the entire Texas experience.
What better way to be welcomed to Texas than with a rodeo. Our first night in Wheeler, TX we caught wind of a rodeo that happens only once a year so we were pretty lucky to be present. I'm pretty sure the whole town was there (that's not very many) but the show was very entertaining. They did bull riding, barrel racing, team lasso events and even sheep riding for the youngsters. Our neon shirts and strange tan lines made us stick out like a sore thumb but I'd say we were pretty welcomed in their community. We got to stay and chat with some if the cowboys and find out what life was like in panhandle Texas. One cowboy said that what we were doing was pretty "badass" and that we must be "crazy." I said "guy, you just attached yourself to the back of a pissed off 1200 pound steer and tried to see how long you could hold on. I'd say that's a little more badass and crazy."
We left Wheeler at 5:30 a.m. While it was still dark out to try and churn out mileage in what was to become a 100 mile day in 100 degree heat with 15 mph headwind on one of the most poorly paved roads I have come across. It was great to see how mentally tough some of these people are that I ride with. Before we even got to lunch I think everyone had just about had it but we kept rolling anyway. Usually we travel in packs of 2-5 but on this particular day we gradually started to pass groups and take them on as our own until we eventually gathered about 19 riders in what became known as "the herd." we were hot and miserable but we were hot and miserable together. We pushed on and successfully got ourselves to Amarillo Texas. Everyone said that that was their most rewarding ride days. Glad morale is still high. We haven't even hit the desert yet.
We had a build day in Amarillo but it was more of a destroy day. We gutted a house that was getting restored so a new family could move in. We tore out most everything except the cabinets and left the house in its skeleton wood frames. We have been adding to house projects for so long it was rather interesting to go backwards. A few weeks ago we had put siding onto a home in Tulsa and the other day we were tearing it down. The homeowner was a younger man (30's) from Burma. He didn't speak much English but he worked diligently beside us. Notably he had already completed his required sweat equity hours a few weeks earlier but he was just putting in the overtime. It was great to see such commitment and I think the team really rallied as well. We were so productive that after we stripped the house we still had time to start the first few steps of siding and we wrapped the house and made repairs to damaged walls. it shouldn't take much longer to turn that house into a home.
From Amarillo we rolled into Friona Texas. A small town with a huge hand in the countries beef production. We rode past massive feed yards and meat packing plants with thousands and thousands of cattle. I was so curious as to what all that beef was used for and how common a yard like this really is. For a quick second I contemplated becoming a vegetarian. The best part about Friona was that we got to do home stays with some church members in the community. I stayed with Tom and Jackie Hefner. A sweet old couple in their 70's that lived on a cattle farm about 8 miles away from the church. Tom wore his cowboy boots and called me sir with a rugged accent. When I asked where I should put my luggage I was half expecting him to say, "put it on my horse sir." Instead I put it in the back of his pickup truck. I spoke with Tom and Jackie for hours over an entire chocolate moose pie. They had lived all over the world and Tom had gotten himself into all sorts of predicaments in his 76 years but he always made it out alive. He was a true cowboy. Born to work an never quit a day in his life. Jackie made a mean cup of coffee and she loved to do so. They were such a content couple and lived such a simple life it was rather inspiring to see that for some, true happiness simply lies in a sturdy home with the ones you care about and an infinite number of stories to be shared.