This is the Final Countdown...

So I leave for Providence, RI in less than 48 hours and I'm finally starting to feel prepared and actually feel like I'm leaving. I don't think my brain was comprehending the fact that I was leaving so soon, but now that my fundraising goal has been met, my 60+ mile ride (76.09 to be exact) is completed, packing is under way, and Tim left my house for Maryland it is really starting to hit me.

I got a text from Vicky last night saying she put the cherry on top of my fundraising sundae and it was verrrrrry exciting. It is crazy how many people have contributed to this trip, and the support for the affordable housing cause is certainly appreciated!

I spent last week in Massachusetts, which wasn't too productive in terms of B&B planning, but super productive in personally getting ready! I activated a borrowed smart phone and donated my hair to Lockes for Love and rode my beloved orange Cannondale one last time before embarking on my trip with my new Giant bike. I set up a Picasa album so I can upload pics directly from my phone. Check out the link on the right ------>

This week Tim was in New Jersey so in between doing fun things with him I worked on some planning and organizing! We went on a 76.09 bike ride on Tuesday, my longest ride ever! We rode all the way back up to Jamesburg from Swedesboro, NJ. My legs felt like jello by the end and I was ready to take a nap about 50 miles in....but alas we made it back and I was sure tired....while Tim was ready to go for a run, it was an easy day on the bike for him... half as fast as he usually goes, but he's crazy.

Today I took my bike to the shop for some last minute tuning for loose parts and funny noisy and hopefully it'll be good to go tomorrow when I pick it up.

Tomorrow I have to go do some last minute errands and finish packing, even though I'm already basically out of space!!! Chris, one of my co-leaders arrives to Jamesburg tomorrow with our van and we're leaving early Sunday morning to head to Providence, RI for the week!!!

Next post from the road..... SOOOO CRAZZZZZYYYYY

Final Push

So with less than three weeks to the offical start of my trip, I've been out on the roads putting some miles in on my new Giant Bicycle! I'm having some issues with shifting, but hopefully those will get resolved in the next couple weeks. I've also been getting all my gear ready to go, and while I can't take much with me due to very limited space in our trailer, I have been getting the right gear together! The other day I went for a ride to a dentist appoint and it was raining! Although biking in the rain isn't exactly fun, I don't think I will get through 10 weeks coast to coast without at least a day of rain. Unfortunately though I got a flat during my rainy ride and while riding in the rain isn't terrible, attempting to change a flat in the rain certainly was!

In other news I've been making a final push on my fundraising effort. While $4,500 is certainly a daunting number, it has become much more managable with the help from many supportive family and friends! While I don't like the idea of asking people for money, it has been stated over and over again by those involved with Bike & Build that if you don't ask for assistance people won't know you need help and they may never even get to find out about what a great cause it is. In the past week or so I have had almost a dozen contributions made and in addition to those contributions already made in the past months I am getting so close to my fundraising goal and for that I would like to thank every single person who has made a donation to my trip!! I look forward to sharing my experience with you in the coming weeks and hope you find my adventure super exciting!

 I think these sunglasses will serve me well?

 

New cycling socks!

 

Even more new cycling socks Peace, Love, Wine!

Less than 1 Month!!

So the semester certainly but unfortunately got away from me and now here I am with less than one month to go before I arrive in Providence and get under way to Seattle! The past months have certainly been busy with planning and the next few weeks are going to be crunch time getting all loose ends tied up and ready to go. We've got a lot of great build sites lined up and will be passing through a ton of great towns across the nation. I also just found out recently that after the 10 weeks are complete and I arrive in Seattle, I will also be taking a week to drive back to the east coast with our support vehicle! One of my co-leaders, Neil, put together a great website for our trip that has more information available about our route and build sites along the way! P2S 2012 Website

Mom had her camera anxiously awaiting my brand new bike coming out of the box!

My posts will not be so few and far between once I get on the road and have more interesting things to say! In the meantime if you still haven't donated you have less than a month left to make a contribution to the affordable housing cause here!

4 Four Months To Go!

So it has been a while. January proved to be quite busy and February I think may be even more busy, but while I've been keeping busy with academic related things, I've certainly been keeping busy with Bike & Build related activities as well. The all nighter count for the semester is about to require a second hand of fingers, which is unfortunately an all time high! I jumped on Tim's trainer for the first time this evening and my legs were not feeling it. Even though I was only going only a few miles some days while I was on co-op, I was still on my bike everyday. This semester I'm lucky if I jump on a few times a week to ride less than a mile to the studio. But anyway enough about my excuses on progress I'm not making. I am making a lot of progress in terms on planning. We have almost a dozen hosts confirmed and we just submitted gear orders today. Our Providence 2 Seattle website is under way and will be making a public debut quite soon. Although I am able to ordered my bike I haven't quite done it yet, I'm still deciding whether I should upgrade. My fundraising is at an all time low as I haven't really haven't had time to get out there and have some fundraising event. Hopefully once this semester winds to an end I'll have more time ot actively fundraise which is very exciting!

Me & Creamsicle out for an evening ride in the apartment!

As always visit http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/5497 to make a donation to my bike & build effort!Big thanks to Ian Spencer, who has witnessed first hand my passion for affordable housing and Audrey Gill, who introduced me to Bike & Build this past summer!!!!

Brrrrr....ing on the the warmer weather!?

So Boston is getting colder by the day, but at least we are getting snow tonight! 1-2inches of white powedery greatness!! It does put a damper pn my attempt to get some miles in, but let's be honest that is not going to be happen while it is this cold so it might as well snow! My leader role is now well under way and I had my first phone chat with my co-leaders and they seem awesome and I'm super pumped. I also got my list of overnights that I'm in charge of planning and one of the states I have is South Dakota which is awesome!

In other news my fundraising is working in the right direction. I have officially raised enough to order the bike I will be riding across the country on. Bike and Build has a sweet deal with Giant Bicycles and we get an awesome deal on awesome bikes. I need to go get fitted soon!

Classes are in full swing and as time consuming as ever. Ug. I did present an analysis today on the Seattle Public Library by OMA which is an amazing building. It was a little complicated to analyze, but I picked it of course because it is in Seattle and I'm going to go see it this summer after I BIKE ACROSS THE COUNTRY! woo.

As always visit http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/5497 to donate to this amazing cause.

Keep warm!
-R

Sooo much news!!!

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a great holiday season! I had wonderful pre-christmas news which is I was selected as a Team Leader for a bike and build trip! So I will still be biking across America, but my trip has been changed from Maine to Santa Barbara to Providence to Seattle! I am super excited about the opportunity and am highly anticipating this great leadership endeavor!

I may have forgotten how to ride my bike though!! Just kidding! Seriously though, that flat tire I spoke about last post was just changed this evening by yours truly with assistance from my go to bike aficionado.... and boyfriend, Tim. So hopefully I'll get back out there and log some miles soon, although Boston is getting a bit chilly. I don't think my few miles crusing around on a tandem bike in Florida over break count for much so I better figure something out.

One thing that is definitely going to motivate me to get back out on my bicycle are all the awesome bike related accessories and apparel I received for my Christmas/Birthday and all the recent monetary donations that are fueling me across the country dollar by dollar, mile by mile! Huge thanks to my most recent contributors Jay Glickman, Bill DeBaun, Cait Douglas, Babchi & Pip, Dad, and Grandma DeBaun!!

Check out those who have generously donated to this great cause on the right off the blog and get your name on that list too by visiting http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/5497 and donating to my trip!

Now I'm going to brag about all my new stuff because I'm so excited about!

Not one, but TWO pairs of comfy bike shorts
Two sided pedals
Cleats to be attached to future shoes to go in pedals
Armadillo tires to go on my bike when it arrives!
Bike Gloves
Bike Computer
Saddlebag
Tubes

Big thanks to Tim, Mom, Dad, Babchi, Pip, and Grandma for hooking me up with all this great gear! Just as vital as reaching my fundraising goal is having the right gear to get me across the country so thanks!

Boooo Flat Tire!

So I have sadly experienced my second flat tire since getting my bike in April. The worst part about it was that I was at work trying to get home quickly when I realized I would instead be getting home quite slowly by walking and carrying my front wheel all the way home! I didn't realize until I got home that I had already packed all of my bike accessories and have sent them away since I am moving out of my current house in Cambridge at the end of this week! So alas after biking to work for almost 7 months, I will be walking for the last week... what a drag! On the bright side, this will be great practice for changing a flat which I'm sure I'll get plenty of on my cross country adventure. It's been chilly here in Boston so other than riding to work and running errands I haven't been really getting many miles in. It's going to get colder before it gets warmer so I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and find some fellow bike and build bound riders and go for a ride! I'm looking for awesome fundraising ideas if anyone has any to offer!! Addionally as always, I'm happy to get all the support I can get visit http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/5497 to donate! See you all in 2012!