The other day we crossed another state border. The states are flying by! We went from Rome, GA to Scottsboro, AL. The weather was beautiful and this day was the hardest and the best day at the same time. In the morning, I rode by myself because the weather was so perfect and I wanted to enjoy the rural scenery at my own pace. I stopped often to take pictures of the Georgia countryside. But I made sure to keep close to a few other riders so I could have someone to take pictures of me at the state line. There was a large group of us that stopped at the Alabama sign. We had enough to try to spell out ALABAMA, but the idea was better than the picture because most cannot tell what we are spelling out. After we were done taking pictures, I continued on with a few of the girls. Shortly after the state line, we hit our first mountain climb! The road was a gradual climb for about a mile and a half. It felt like forever! I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. Once we made it to the top, lunch was waiting for us. I had worked up quite an appetite and the lunch felt well deserved. one of our leaders told us about a waterfall not too far away. Most of us decided to take the detour to the falls. The falls weren't huge, but the. Swim in the water was well worth the hike. We even jumped off a few rocks! I started on a small jump that was about 7 feet. Some of the guys were having fun jumping off the bigger jumps. I was a little scared to do that, but my friend Kelsey convinced me to jump off the 30 ft cliff. I have never done anything like that before, but I'm glad I did it! After about an hour of playing around at the waterfalls, we headed back on the road. We expected to go downhill, but we kept going up! Once we finally started on the descent, it was lots of fun! There were curves to make it challenging and fun. Later on, we went on lots of back roads that didn't even have names, just numbers. Towards the end of the day, we went up another climb. I rode with a group of 5, but Mike and I wanted to go a little faster, so we left the group. We went on some really rough backroads
, which is why we decided to stop at a gas station to rest with about 15 miles left. The people there were nice, but very concerned about our safety. The next downhill was a gradual 13% grade hill! As we went down it, I hit 46 mph (which I think was speeding on that road...) the end of the downhill opened up to a lake. Mike and I stopped to take some cool pictures before we went the rest of the way. Once we started towards the church, the fast group passed us. They pulled us all the way in. For dinner, we had some great homemade BBQ. Some people are getting sick of +BBQ, bjut I'm loving it! And tons of sweet tea too.
Well I know I'm a few days behind, but I'm really tired after a ten hr build day in the 90 degree heat and 65% humidity. Should get off to bed now. Will try to catch up tomorrow and shoot to do short daily blogs.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
When in Rome....update your blog!
We arrived in Rome, Georgia today after an 81 mile ride. Although the ride was long, the route was on some nice country backroads. We finally got off of the highways! Once again, I switched between groups of riders. In the morning, I rode with Kelsey and Craig. Going out of town was a little hilly and busy because we were just outside of Atlanta. We went through lots of construction areas that were really bumpy! After lunch, I rode mostly with Paul and Katie. At the top of one of the hills, we stopped at a little horse farm to takr some pictures. To our surprise, three miniature horses came running up to the side of the fence and came close enough for us to pet them! After taking some pictures, we headed down a beautiful descent. The road slowly went down and we went through a canopy of trees. The ride was very peaceful! Towards the middle of the ride, I found a really cool road. Elizabeth road! My groupmates weren't excited to take the picture because the road was at the bottom of a hill, so they had to stop and lose their momentum. A little later, I rode with Kelsey again to the end. I really liked one part of town where there was a fast, curvy downhill with no cars. I felt like I was back in racing! Once we got to the church in Rome, we were spoiled rotten. Not only did we have another awesome dinner prepared, we also had a bike mechanic, a guy who gave massages, (he is actually
a local fireman who is also a Cat 1 rider and rode with the fast guys today), and chiropractors. I wasn't in dire need of any of these luxuries, so I was one of the last in line for all of them. But I got my bike checked out, got a leg and shoulder massage, and had my back adjusted. I have never had a massage or a chiropractic adjustment, so these were new experiences for me.I am still in awe about how generous some people can be.
I'm sorry I haven't been blogging the last few days. I was doing so well on my blog that I was neglecting my personal journal. Plus, the last few days have been very hot and humid, which has worn me out. Since my last blog entry, we have had six riding days, a day off, and a build day. Most of these days were uneventful days. I enjoyed riding through the capital of SC and crossing our first state border. I was actually the last of our group to cross over the border because I was sweep, which are the people who must stay behind everyone else to make sure everything is okay with all the riders ahead. Another fun thing I found on the road was a milk vending machine at a dairy farm in Newberry. If you inserted $4, you got a jug of fresh milk! Another highlight of my ride days was an on road donation I got. Each day, we havw a donation challenge to get something that would be useful. One day, the challenge was an extension cord because ours had been broken the night before. I was riding on my own that day, so I decided to stop at an ACE hardware store. I walked in and told them about the cause and the manager eas more than happy to help. He said "what do you want? A 25 or 50 foot one?". He ended uo giving me a 50 foot one and I was again shocked by the generosity of strangers. But by far, my favorite part of the last few ride days was my ride between Athens and Norcross. We rode right past my aunt Trish's work, so I was able to surprise her! And later that day, I was able to visit with my uncle, who tracked me down on the route! I had never been where they lived or worked, so it was a fun adventure for me!
Well I will haved to leave the build day and day off for tomorrow because I am quite tired and have a 83 mile day tomorrow. But I will hopefully write about the build within the next couple of days!
a local fireman who is also a Cat 1 rider and rode with the fast guys today), and chiropractors. I wasn't in dire need of any of these luxuries, so I was one of the last in line for all of them. But I got my bike checked out, got a leg and shoulder massage, and had my back adjusted. I have never had a massage or a chiropractic adjustment, so these were new experiences for me.I am still in awe about how generous some people can be.
I'm sorry I haven't been blogging the last few days. I was doing so well on my blog that I was neglecting my personal journal. Plus, the last few days have been very hot and humid, which has worn me out. Since my last blog entry, we have had six riding days, a day off, and a build day. Most of these days were uneventful days. I enjoyed riding through the capital of SC and crossing our first state border. I was actually the last of our group to cross over the border because I was sweep, which are the people who must stay behind everyone else to make sure everything is okay with all the riders ahead. Another fun thing I found on the road was a milk vending machine at a dairy farm in Newberry. If you inserted $4, you got a jug of fresh milk! Another highlight of my ride days was an on road donation I got. Each day, we havw a donation challenge to get something that would be useful. One day, the challenge was an extension cord because ours had been broken the night before. I was riding on my own that day, so I decided to stop at an ACE hardware store. I walked in and told them about the cause and the manager eas more than happy to help. He said "what do you want? A 25 or 50 foot one?". He ended uo giving me a 50 foot one and I was again shocked by the generosity of strangers. But by far, my favorite part of the last few ride days was my ride between Athens and Norcross. We rode right past my aunt Trish's work, so I was able to surprise her! And later that day, I was able to visit with my uncle, who tracked me down on the route! I had never been where they lived or worked, so it was a fun adventure for me!
Well I will haved to leave the build day and day off for tomorrow because I am quite tired and have a 83 mile day tomorrow. But I will hopefully write about the build within the next couple of days!
Friday, May 28, 2010
First build day and first two ride days
Yesterday was very busy. Our group of 32 roofed an entire house in one day! We woke up early and headed out to the site. The family was a retired couple living in a house just outside of Charleston. At the site, there were a few Americorps people and a few worksite foreman. The weather was quite cloudy and a few sprinkles in the morning, but Mother Nature held off when we worked. We scraped off the old shingles fairly quickly. My job was to pick up the loose shingles and chuck them into the dumpster below. During one of my loads, I scraped my thigh. The scratch was extremely minor, but thanks to my genetics, I bled enough that I had to get off the roof and ask for the first aid kit. Simple pressure was not enough for the minor scratch. So yes, I managed to be the first one to be "hurt" on the worksite. Since I was already on the ground, I decided to help out one of my teammates who was picking up scraps that had fallen to the ground. Later, I used a magnet find all the nails off the ground. When I was done, I headed up to the roof to help pound nails. I did that for the plywood, the felt tarp, and finally the shingles. The felt was my favorite because the nails were short and easy to pound. I felt really bad when I pounded in a nail crooked, but I got better as the day went on. I'm still not an ace at hammering, but I definately got better as the day went on. Once we finished, we went back to eat dinner at Sticky Fingers, a local BBQ joint that has been mentioned on "The Colbert Report" several times. For. B dessert, I visited a local frozen yogurt shop with three of my teammates. To finish off the night, I made some last minute alterations to my bike and packed up.
Another early morning on our first ride day (I'll be really good at waking up to exercise after this summer! I helped with breakfast because that is my chore group's job this week. After a hearty breakfast, we headed out to the beach near the fort for our wheel dipping ceremony. The local news crew came out to wave us off as well (Charleston ch. 4 if you want to search for the footage). Once we dipped the rubber of our rear wheel in the Atlantic, we hit the road! I was one of the last to leave the beach, but the drawbridge was up and I caught up to most of the group. 9nce there, I rode with Karen most of the way to Monks Corner, SC. The 44 mile route from the beach was very flat and simple. I had fun looking at everything though and thought of Matt as I passed Highpoint Ct. We made it to the church by 2 and most people went swimming at a nearby lake (but I was a party pooper and took a nap instead). I was quite tired and didn't finish my blog, even after my nap.
Today was an interesting day. A 66 mile ride changed into 90 miles! We had a great breakfast cooked by several church members. I headed out on my own for the beginning of the ride. I didn't find anyone going at a good pace until around mile 20. I was not a big fan of the road as igt had many potholes and rough parts, which aren't fun. I rode with a large group for ia while. for about I rode with them for about ten miles until we saw something odd; some of our teammates riding in the opposite direction! The directions were to a dead end and we had to backtrack 8 miles. And our reroute ended up being a little longer than the original route. I skipped around groups again because I kept taking breaks in the shade. I was alone when I pulled into Sumpter and I wound up going 2 miles past it. Thankfully, a man was nice enough to use his GPS system to help me find the best way to the church. I finally made it in around 6 pm. Long day with lots of heat and humidity, so I'm off to bed now!
Another early morning on our first ride day (I'll be really good at waking up to exercise after this summer! I helped with breakfast because that is my chore group's job this week. After a hearty breakfast, we headed out to the beach near the fort for our wheel dipping ceremony. The local news crew came out to wave us off as well (Charleston ch. 4 if you want to search for the footage). Once we dipped the rubber of our rear wheel in the Atlantic, we hit the road! I was one of the last to leave the beach, but the drawbridge was up and I caught up to most of the group. 9nce there, I rode with Karen most of the way to Monks Corner, SC. The 44 mile route from the beach was very flat and simple. I had fun looking at everything though and thought of Matt as I passed Highpoint Ct. We made it to the church by 2 and most people went swimming at a nearby lake (but I was a party pooper and took a nap instead). I was quite tired and didn't finish my blog, even after my nap.
Today was an interesting day. A 66 mile ride changed into 90 miles! We had a great breakfast cooked by several church members. I headed out on my own for the beginning of the ride. I didn't find anyone going at a good pace until around mile 20. I was not a big fan of the road as igt had many potholes and rough parts, which aren't fun. I rode with a large group for ia while. for about I rode with them for about ten miles until we saw something odd; some of our teammates riding in the opposite direction! The directions were to a dead end and we had to backtrack 8 miles. And our reroute ended up being a little longer than the original route. I skipped around groups again because I kept taking breaks in the shade. I was alone when I pulled into Sumpter and I wound up going 2 miles past it. Thankfully, a man was nice enough to use his GPS system to help me find the best way to the church. I finally made it in around 6 pm. Long day with lots of heat and humidity, so I'm off to bed now!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Second day of orientation
This morning was pretty uneventful. We woke up at 8am for breakfast and had more basic orientation about rules and regulations. We met our chore groups and discussed names for our groups. My group is "The Chomps". After morning orientation, we went for our 23 mile shakedown ride around Charleston. I started out pretty well and had no problem staying with those in the middle of the pack. Our route went north over a cool new suspended bridge and out towards a fort on an island and back. About halfway through the ride, I managed to get my first flat! Of course I would be one of the ones to manage to get a flat on the "warm-up" ride! And to make things worse, the flat was on my back tire. I have never changed my rear tire before, so I was very embarassed and nervous. But my teammates were very nice and helpful. They helped me change out my tire and we got back on the road. The fort area next to the beach was really cool and apparently we will be doing our tire dipping ceremony out by this area. After returning to the church, we had pizza and tacos for lunch. Then we had free time and I took a nap because the humidity drained me. Hopefully my body will adapt to the climate quickly. Later we had more pizza for dinner. We ended the day wih an alumni presentation, which made me more excited about this trip, Looking forward to our first build day tommorow, which will be roof shingling. Hopefully no rain!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Arriving in Myrtle Beach and Travelling to Charleston
I arrived in Myrtle Beach on Saturday evening after a short week of last minute preparations after graduation from Willamette. Although orientation didn't start until today, I wanted to visit an old friend and get acclimated to the east coast timezone. I believe I am the only one from my group who is used to PST. Plus it was nice to just relax for a day playing games, walking on the beach, taking my time reconstructing my bike (which did arrive unharmed despite a hole in the box!), and playing minigolf with a friend I haven't seen in 6 yrs. (She beat me twice in putt putt and even managed to sink a hole-in-one using the opposite side of her putter!) This morning, Amanda was nice enough to drive me to Trinity United Methodist Church, the check-in point for B&B and my temporary home until Thursday. I was one of the last ones to arrive. After claiming my "bed" (Thermarest) and jersey for the trip, we played a name game and icebreakers. I was "leaping Lizzy". Then more downtime before a local bike lawyer came by to give us some bike safety tips. We ended the day with dinner from a local BBQ place. If all the host food is just as good, I might gain weight this summer despite cycling 65+ miles a day! Finally, the Charleston Habitat group presented about their organization. They told us that we will be working on roof shingles on Wed. Tomorrow is more orientation and a short ride around Charleston.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mail Drops
Hey everyone!!
As I promised in my earlier post, here is the schedule for our mail drops this summer. Every week, we receive "snail mail" at one of our stops. Personally, I LOVE getting letters (or if you're feeling really ambitious..a care package). Since I will have limited access to e-mail (and possibly no phone service at times), mail will be an important connection to family and friends. After a hard, 70-mile day, I'm can't imagine anything better than sitting down to enjoy an encouraging, inspiring, or "just plain fun" letter from family or friends. When sending mail, please use the following format.
Attn: CYCLIST NAME (Lizzy Whittemore)
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, ST ZIP
And please mark the envelope or package with "Please hold for pick-up on DATE."
June 01
300 East Washington Street
Greenville, SC 29601
June 08
1814 Beltline Road Southwest
Decatur, AL 35601-6259
June 15
304 West Michigan Street
Stuttgart, AR 72160-3122
June 22
305 Northwest 5th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-9998
June 29
301 East Main Street
Trinidad, CO 81082-2712
July 03
8585 Criterion Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920-1045
July 13
235 Puppy Smith Street
Aspen, CO 81611-9998
July 20
95 West 100 South
Provo, UT 84601-6099
July 27
770 South 13th Street
Boise, ID 83708-0001
August 03
240 North Main Street
Alturas, CA 96101-4047
August 10
18 Oak Street
Brentwood, CA 94513-1301
Only a week left before the start of orientation in Charleston!! Cannot wait to start this adventure!!
As I promised in my earlier post, here is the schedule for our mail drops this summer. Every week, we receive "snail mail" at one of our stops. Personally, I LOVE getting letters (or if you're feeling really ambitious..a care package). Since I will have limited access to e-mail (and possibly no phone service at times), mail will be an important connection to family and friends. After a hard, 70-mile day, I'm can't imagine anything better than sitting down to enjoy an encouraging, inspiring, or "just plain fun" letter from family or friends. When sending mail, please use the following format.
Attn: CYCLIST NAME (Lizzy Whittemore)
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, ST ZIP
And please mark the envelope or package with "Please hold for pick-up on DATE."
June 01
300 East Washington Street
Greenville, SC 29601
June 08
1814 Beltline Road Southwest
Decatur, AL 35601-6259
June 15
304 West Michigan Street
Stuttgart, AR 72160-3122
June 22
305 Northwest 5th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-9998
June 29
301 East Main Street
Trinidad, CO 81082-2712
July 03
8585 Criterion Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920-1045
July 13
235 Puppy Smith Street
Aspen, CO 81611-9998
July 20
95 West 100 South
Provo, UT 84601-6099
July 27
770 South 13th Street
Boise, ID 83708-0001
August 03
240 North Main Street
Alturas, CA 96101-4047
August 10
18 Oak Street
Brentwood, CA 94513-1301
Only a week left before the start of orientation in Charleston!! Cannot wait to start this adventure!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
School is done!! Next stop..Charleston!!
Hello everyone!
Well setting up my blog has been on my "to do" list for almost three weeks now (big surprise, huh??). Yesterday I turned in my final paper of my undergraduate career, which meant I could no longer find any excuses to procrastinate any further on my "to-do" list. Anyways, everything has been okay preparing for my trip. Thank you to everyone who has supported my fundraising efforts so far. I still have $1,000 left to fundraise, but I'm confident I can make it. There was an article that ran in the Statesman Journal (Salem's local paper.. check it out here http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100508/NEWS/5080327/1001/news ) and I was lucky enough to receive a few donations from generous Salem residents. And I'm hoping my "donation matching" fundraising will put a dent in the remaining amount.
I can't believe I am going to be in Charleston in less than two weeks! For the most part, I feel mentally and physically ready. This spring, I tried my best to get out on a bike as much as possible. Although I haven't tracked my total miles, I know I have been over the 500 mile mark for a while. And my 65 mile ride hasn't happened yet (will be done within the next two days), but I've been very close on several occasions. I'm still intimidated by the idea of going up the Rocky Mountains, but I keep telling myself I have 2/3 of the trip before I have to face that obstacle. Plus, my Mom keeps telling me "you start at sea level and end at sea level..what goes up, must come down!"
Well time for me to start packing up my room now. These four years flew by! Now onto my next adventure..biking across America!!
P.S. If you would like to donate, please visit http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3766 and click "DONATE". Everything can be done online in 5 minutes or less! Instructions for donating by mail is also on the site. But if you plan to donate by check, please do so soon as they need to receive the funds by May 24th.
P.S.S. For those of you wondering if this blog will turn out like my "Semester at Sea" blog, do not worry. (I was quite upset with myself that I did not do a great job keeping up..) I have promised too many donors that I would keep them updated about my trip. Although Internet accessibility will be limited on the trip, I will get to a computer as often as I can to put up a little bit about my amazing bike trip.
Well setting up my blog has been on my "to do" list for almost three weeks now (big surprise, huh??). Yesterday I turned in my final paper of my undergraduate career, which meant I could no longer find any excuses to procrastinate any further on my "to-do" list. Anyways, everything has been okay preparing for my trip. Thank you to everyone who has supported my fundraising efforts so far. I still have $1,000 left to fundraise, but I'm confident I can make it. There was an article that ran in the Statesman Journal (Salem's local paper.. check it out here http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100508/NEWS/5080327/1001/news ) and I was lucky enough to receive a few donations from generous Salem residents. And I'm hoping my "donation matching" fundraising will put a dent in the remaining amount.
I can't believe I am going to be in Charleston in less than two weeks! For the most part, I feel mentally and physically ready. This spring, I tried my best to get out on a bike as much as possible. Although I haven't tracked my total miles, I know I have been over the 500 mile mark for a while. And my 65 mile ride hasn't happened yet (will be done within the next two days), but I've been very close on several occasions. I'm still intimidated by the idea of going up the Rocky Mountains, but I keep telling myself I have 2/3 of the trip before I have to face that obstacle. Plus, my Mom keeps telling me "you start at sea level and end at sea level..what goes up, must come down!"
Well time for me to start packing up my room now. These four years flew by! Now onto my next adventure..biking across America!!
P.S. If you would like to donate, please visit http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3766 and click "DONATE". Everything can be done online in 5 minutes or less! Instructions for donating by mail is also on the site. But if you plan to donate by check, please do so soon as they need to receive the funds by May 24th.
P.S.S. For those of you wondering if this blog will turn out like my "Semester at Sea" blog, do not worry. (I was quite upset with myself that I did not do a great job keeping up..) I have promised too many donors that I would keep them updated about my trip. Although Internet accessibility will be limited on the trip, I will get to a computer as often as I can to put up a little bit about my amazing bike trip.
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