Missouri

July 16

Salem, IL to St. Louis, MO: 80.41 miles 

The ride was pretty difficult for me because my whole body was aching from the fall. I chose to ride despite my crippling soreness because I wanted to cross the state line on my bike and see the arch in the distance as we approached the city. Getting to St. Louis required first crossing east St. Louis, which is reputed to be a very dangerous part of town. As we rode through the city outskirts, we attracted long, penetrating glances from nearly passersby on the sidewalks. We crossed the bridge into St Louis and saw the Gateway Arch to our distant left. We arrived at the University of Missouri at St Louis where we would be staying the next two nights. After dinner, Lindsey, Simon, Rose, and I took the train downtown to see the arch. The arch was much grander than I expected. 

The monument signifies our official entry into the west! Afterwards, we ate out at a sushi restaurant on Washington St. and met up with more people at a bar where we participated in trivia and I tried my hand at shuffleboard.

July 17

We spent the day building with the Rebuilding Together affiliate in St. Louis. J and I worked together to refurbish the front door of the house, which involved scraping and sanding off the paint (which quite possibly had lead in it, so we work masks) and repainting the door a more vibrant red. 

The house:

Before:

After:

After we finished our day's work, a group of us rushed over to the City Museum. We arrived at the museum a mere hour before closing. We quickly and aimlessly wandered through the museum, trying to take in as much as we could in our short time frame. The museum featured what appeared to be a artsy junkyard outside that people can climb on, an indoor walkable skate park, a cave with a 10-story slide, and many more unusual and unconventional features. 

We returned to the host site where we were provided a pasta dinner by Katy's parents. The night was concluded with a ping pong match (I get so excited when host sites have ping pong tables) with Chris while we nostalgically listened to Brand New.

July 18

St. Louis, MO to Belle, MO: 100.1 miles

Our first official century. I felt much more energized and less sore than I did a couple of days prior. We stopped for a Starbucks break about 20 miles in. As I stood in front of the cash register, ready to pay for my iced coffee, a woman behind me waved her card in front of me and told the cashier that she would cover my drink. "It looks like you're doing something important so I wanted to pay for your drink," she said, turning towards me. I was so pleasantly surprised and thanked her, explaining that we were riding a century today and that this iced coffee was very much needed to get me through it. She was excited about our cause and said that her and her husband cycle a lot, sometimes for charities.

Our lunch spot was the best yet, set in front of the Boles Fire Department.

The firefighters were very welcoming, letting us get into one of their fire trucks and try out the siren. They challenged us to figure out how to turn on the engine, a test that all four of us college graduates miserably failed because we got lost in the sea of buttons on the dashboard.

Trying to figure out the buttons:

They even let us try on their gear! 

One firefighter noted that I appeared as thrilled as the average 5 year old as I excitedly played dress up with their gear. We had a great time with them and spent over an hour there.

Our host site was Belle High School. The Belle County Fair was taking place just a half mile down the road, so several of us headed there after dinner. Katie B. and I shared a deliciously greasy funnel cake and I watched my first ever demolition derby!

It was quite the experience. Half the experience was simply people watching and witnessing how seriously the locals took this event. The announcer of the show sounded like he had several beers prior to holding the microphone and prefaced his commentary by asserting that he would not be a very good announcer. He informed the audience that there were not many cars to demolish because they were saving all the "good" cars for another town's country fair, but assured everyone that they would drag out the show to give everyone their money's worth. I'm guessing this information should have been kept a secret. Meanwhile, a woman behind me angrily turned to her friend because her night out was ruined by the shortage of cars available to demolish. The show commenced - cars crashed into each other and mud splashed into the audience. It was entertaining for about 20 minutes. We left halfway through and I was peer pressured into going on a ride called The Zipper, a nauseating but fun ride that twirls riders upside down around a Ferris wheel. 

July 19

Belle, MO to Lake Ozark, MO: 75.8 miles 

I had a ride date with Katie D. The terrain consisted of many rolling hills since we were approaching the Ozark mountains. The ride was very scenic but Katie and I were having a rough time from the start. I started getting a cramping pain in my left thigh, Katie got stung by a bee, my chain fell off several times, and I got a flat tire. It was humorous how many times we had to stop along our ride. About 5 miles after lunch, I was ascending a steep hill when my chain dropped again. I looked down and saw my entire derailleur hanging off my bike. "Well that can't be good," I thought. With further examination, I noticed that the derailleur hanger snapped in half. The van came to pick me up. On any other day, I would be disappointed to have to sit in the van but this was a blessing in disguise since I was exhausted and my leg was in pain. The pastor of the church we stayed at was very friendly and accommodating, shuttling us to showers at the school down the street and providing us dinner and breakfast catered by a local restaurant.

July 20

Lake Ozark to Springfield: 92 miles

I had my first biscuits and gravy breakfast! The day was very much a bonk day for me. All the exhaustion I've been feeling over the past month hit me hard on this particular day and I was struggling to make it through. Some fun things to happen during the day included my first hay picture:

....and stopping for iced coffee at McDonalds and sitting in these awesome stools

July 21

Today we had a build day with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Springfield, MO. I worked on painting siding. My group completed painting about half of the siding panels for the house. Dinner was donated to us by Chipotle!

July 22

Springfield, MO to Joplin, MO: 78 miles

I was designated sweep today with Katherine. Each day, sweep comes up with a sweep challenge - some examples in the past have been take the best group photo or find a cowbell. We challenged our group to take a picture imitating someone else in the group. 

By 7:30, the temperature had already reached 80. After 20 miles, we stopped at an antique shop called Whitehall mercentiles to buy postcards. 

The store owner, an elderly man who introduced himself as Dr. White, came outside to join us on the store's porch steps. He told us several stories, seamlessly transitioning from one story to the next. One story was about his days as a theatre student at the University of Missouri and how simple cooperation with others enabled him to get ahead. Another story was about his wife of 60 years who passed away from a stroke. Holding back tears, he explained that he took care of her for three years before her passing and shared a few humorous anecdote about her. We enjoyed hearing his many detailed and nostalgic stories, and could tell he enjoyed telling them, so it became difficult to pull ourselves away to continue the ride. We could feel the temperature rising and knew we had to make a move. Allison chimed in, "thank you so much for your stories," as we started to gather our things. Dr. White replied with an analogy "you know, people are like harmonicas, you don't know they have songs until you play them."  This of course segued to yet another story about his variety of harmonicas, large and small, and how they allow a common language to be spoken between him, a self ascribed hillbilly, and people in foreign countries when he plays recognizable tunes.

We continued our ride as the temperature peaked at 100 degrees. This was the Missouri heat that everyone had been talking about. For the past week, we have been lucky to have an anomalous 70-something degree days. We had lunch outside a large industrial sized chicken coop, the collective squawks providing an uncomfortable ambiance as I gnawed on leftover pulled pork and brownies. In the afternoon, the heat seemed to bake my skin even more. Katherine and I stopped at a gas station to fill our camelbacks with ice and dipped our feet in a murky pond on the side of the road to cool off. Dinner was provided by the host and consisted of salad with many great toppings (grilled chicken, sunflower seeds, boiled eggs, cranberries, etc) and a baked potato. For the first time in a long time, I ate an appropriately portioned meal and felt great afterwards. In the evening, Hetong and I gave a 20 min presentation on a topic we were assigned before the trip, the topic being organizations and events that we can get involved with after Bike and Build to continue our involvement in our communities.

Illinois

7/14

Bloomington, IN to Sumner, IL: 95 miles 

We woke up and rode our bikes to Trinity Episcopal to have breakfast. The volunteers made us a delicious egg casserole. We began our ride as it was raining. Until then, we had been really lucky with having warm, sunny weather. The beginning of the ride was on a very busy road with a narrow shoulder so we rode fast to get it over with quickly. I felt like a warrior as the wind whipped across my face, the rain hindered my vision, and drivers yelled at me to get off the road. We had two lunches because we would be riding over 90 miles. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of the businesses we passed along the ride were that of taxidermy services and gravestone retail. I just thought that this was unusual and noteworthy. I got my second flat of the trip and I stopped in front of Knox county fairgrounds to change my inner tube. The people who worked there came over to talk to us and let us use their bathroom. Towards the end of the ride, we crossed the state line into Illinois.

We rolled into Sumner, as the sky got darker and a thunderstorm loomed in the distance. The town center had several vacant, abandoned buildings. Once we arrived at the church, we were instructed to put our bikes in the barn across the street. 

As we put our bikes away and played with interesting things in the barn, it started down-pouring. 

Playing in the barn:

Katie had shampoo in her camelback and made the brilliant suggestion that we shower in the rain. We all ran outside and had a great time showering in the rain. It was so much fun. As we shampooed our hair, I made the comment, "wouldn't it be funny if it stopped raining mid-shampoo?" Seconds later, the rain stopped and we stood under the gutter to collect the remaining water pouring off the roof. Later on in our free time, Katie and I colored in children's coloring books that were in one of the rooms. We then hid our masterpieces in peoples sleeping bags just because we thought it would be funny for someone to find a colored picture of a dinosaur or pirate as they were scrummaging for toothpaste or getting into a sleeping bag. The host provided us with a great meal of fried chicken, baked pasta, beans, and snicker doodles for dessert. Because we crossed a time zone, we got an extra hour of sleep!

July 15

Sumner, IL to Salem, IL: 62.5 miles

Today I had a ride date with Katie Lee. The cue sheet was our shortest yet - with three turns and one stretch for 61 miles. The road was long and the scenery was pretty, but dull and unvarying after the 20th mile. 

About 5 miles after lunch, Katie and I were riding two abreast so we could talk since the road had a wide shoulder. All of a sudden, we hit a grate and swerved towards each other. We turned away just in time but then hit another bump and our bikes clipped together. We each fell to opposite sides - Katie into the road and I onto the shoulder. Fortunately no cars were passing by at that moment and Katie got up fast to move out of the road. She called Emily who was driving the van as I lay there unable to move. Everything happened so fast. I didn't get up for a few minutes because the right side of my body, the side I fell on, felt numb. I moved my arm to make sure nothing was broken. I looked behind me toward the road and saw a minivan slow down and pull over. Two middle-aged men from Indiana, named Jack and Gary, came over to us to make sure we were okay. "We saw you guys coasting and then wham! The vultures are already circling over you." They helped move my bike and the things that fell out of my bag to the side of the road. I was still lying on the ground and turned to my right to find a bird lying in front of our bikes. "Oh my god! Did we kill that bird?!" I exclaimed. The bird appeared to have died recently and it's placement in front of our bikes supported the possibility that we hit the bird during our collision. We were delirious and found this hilarious and sad at the same time. Jack and Gary helped me up to move me away from the cars. The van finally came and brought us back to the host. Sean's family provided us a great meal with chicken and shrimp skewers.

Indiana

July 12

Dayton, OH to Rushville, IN - 60 miles

We departed our host in Dayton, excited to cross into our tenth state. I was disappointed that we did not see a state sign, since I was determined to get a picture with every state sign, but it was fun to ride in both states for a mile on State Line Road. Much of our ride was on roads surrounded by cornfields, as anticipated. 

My first impression of the people of Indiana was formed by a burly, bearded 60-something year motorcyclist named Shrimp. We were resting on the side of the road when Shrimp pulled over on his motorcycle to lecture us on the variety of comfortable bicycle and motorcycle seats available to consumers. In a very one-sided conversation, he expanded on this topic for several minutes, slowly losing our interest. We were accustomed to standard conversations with locals during which both parties talk about themselves and we pique the other party's interest by talking about our cross country bike trip. But upon learning this piece of information, Shrimp nodded his head and continued sharing his opinionated rant on cushioned seats. 

We arrived at our host in Rushville, IN and were immediately greeted by a kind man sitting with his children under a tent near a table that displayed fruits, granola bars, water, and Gatorade. At 6 PM, we hosted our second bike clinic, which had a much more successful attendance than the last clinic - about 15 kids versus one. We played "Simon Says," to teach them hand gestures we use on the road and set up an obstacle course for them to practice on. I had a lot of fun interacting with them. 

The pastor and her husband were really cool and to my surprise, motorcycle enthusiasts. The host provided us with one of the best and most diverse dinners we have had. They encouraged us each to take two plates at the start and we gladly complied. My plates were piled with fried chicken, a slice of pizza, a baked potato (with bacon bits!), carrots, green beans, macaroni, a bread roll, a slice of pork, a taco, and pineapple. I proceeded to eat dessert which was a meal in itself since they offered cupcakes, an award winning chocolate cake, brownies, cookies, banana pudding, peach pie, and apple pie. I proved to myself that night that I have little to no self control. After dinner we went down the street to a free outdoor country concert - an event held every weekend over the summer. I enjoyed seeing and being amongst the locals of the town, even if country music isn't my preferred genre of music.

July 13

Rushville to Bloomington: 86.6 miles

Our host outdid themselves again with an extravagant breakfast, which included bacon, egg casserole, scrambled eggs, home fries, fruit, donuts, and apple fritters (I love apple fritters!). We set out on our ride, feeling bloated and energized. Much to our dismay, the host forewarned us that the ride would be hilly, especially through Brown county - we expected Indiana to consist entirely of flat terrain and corn. He further noted that part of our route is included in an annual bike tour called the "Hilly Hundred" - self explanatory. We set out on our ride, which started out flat but had a harsh headwind. The headwind got stronger and the ride hillier. We finally arrived in Bloomington, which had noticeably more culture than the small towns we had ridden through - i.e. there are Indian and Thai restaurants and artsy looking shops.

A Humpty Dumpty statue in town - not exactly representative of Bloomington or Indiana, but a worthwhile picture nonetheless:

I associate Bloomington with a movie I enjoy called Breaking Away, a film about the Little 500 race at Indian University. 

The campus:

Souvenir IU sticker:

We stayed overnight at Indiana University and had dinner at Trinity Episcopal Church in the downtown area. I discussed basketball and Larry Bird with one of the volunteers, assuming this was a topic of interest to him. We concluded the night with a town hall meeting. 

Pennsylvania

June 29

Port Jervis, NY to Mt Pocono, PA - 53.3 miles

We left our host site in Port Jervis, heading out for a 53 mile and likely hilly ride since our destination was forebodingly called Mount Pocono. It was another tri-state day, passing from NY, through NJ, and into PA. 

New Jersey state line:

Pennsylvania state line:

The majority of the ride was not bad, and we rode on some really nice roads that had great views since they intersected national parks. Our lunch spot was outside of Pocono Indian museum. I perused the gift shop and bought a few souvenirs. 

Shameless selfie:

The second half of the day was much more strenuous than the first half since we were getting closer to the Mount Pocono summit. 

About 10 miles from the destination, we stopped at a placed called Mary Ann's to get ice cream. The woman taking my order made my day, giving me my strawberry shake for free since I had a credit card and they only take cash. I think she could tell from my moderately deformed face that I was having a rough week. The last three miles before the host site were a long and steep climb. It seemed to last forever. The United Methodist Church where we would be staying was literally on the top of Mount Pocono. Fortunately, the host provided us with many delicious snacks when we entered so we could replenish our fluids and recuperate. We each received a kind letter from a member of the church. They also prepared an amazing taco dinner for us - one of my favorite dinners yet - with a make-your-own-taco buffet that offered every type of taco meat - pulled chicken, pulled pork, ground beef, and fish and all the fixings including quinoa, rice, beans, kale, and guacamole (which I love). At night, we had our weekly town hall meeting.

June 30

Mount Pocono to Berwick, PA - 54 miles

The hosts prepared an amazing breakfast with banana pancakes, sausages, breakfast sandwiches, etc. Hands down our best breakfast yet. One woman there even slept over at the church on a thermarest so that she could get up at 4:30 am to start cooking for us. We left for our ride expecting it to be mostly downhill since we had climbed the mountain the day before. We were wrong. Most of the ride was on rolling hills through Pennsylvania farmland. There were a few really fun descents, with great views in the distance. I also passed my first cornfield of the trip and we took some fun photos standing in the corn.

At the end of the ride, we climbed yet another mountain to get to the host. The First Presbyterian Church was located in Berwick, PA, where the fire department was holding traffic for us. 

The small town had planned a police escort, expecting all 33 of us to roll in at once - we caused some confusion when we anticlimactically trickled in in groups of 2 to 6 over the span of a couple of hours. The hosts provided us with many great snacks (including hummus! Yum!) and gave us delicious meatball subs for dinner. After dinner we hosted a bike clinic open to the community so that we could teach bike safety to kids. A single kid showed up. The student to teacher ratio was an impressive 1:33. We guided the child through a hypothetical road and acted like ducks, mooses, rocks, tracks, and other obstructions that one may find on the road. 

July 1

Berwick, PA to State College, PA - 95 miles

We shifted our wake up time from 5:30 AM to 5 AM so that we could get a head start on the long ride ahead. I was designated as one of the two sweeps that day. Sweeps ride behind everyone, carrying a first aid kit and a tire in case anyone needs assistance along the ride. We rode on the same road, the Purple Heart Highway, for about 60 miles. The road went through vast farmland areas, a state park, and also the hometown of the inventor of the typewriter! We stopped for lunch in a cute town called Lewisburg. On my search for a bathroom, I accidentally entered a person's home mistaking it for a nail salon. A man sitting on a couch inside kindly redirected me to the restaurant next door. We continued our ride through Amish country and at about mile 70, we noticed lightening. A large group of us sought shelter at a supermarket. We had the option to ride the van the rest of the way, but myself and some others who wanted to complete the ride waited out the storm. At the host, we celebrated Kelsey's birthday with cake and a dinner made by some of our riders who are great cooks. At night, my friend Meagan who lives in State College and did the Capital Ride with me last year stopped by the church and brought us delicious ice cream from a local creamery. She showed me and some others the downtown area and we hung out at a place called Zenos.

July 2

State College, PA to Johnstown, PA - 75 miles

Today was reputed by Bike and Build groups who did this route in previous years to be the most challenging ride day of the entire trip. We climbed the second highest mountain in PA, Blue Knob, which is part of the Aleghenny mountains, and gained a total elevation of 6,437 ft. 

Feeling victorious after reaching the highest point:

The climbs were disheartening, especially since I couldn't anticipate the end of the climbs with any certainty. Many of the climbs were on switchbacks, so I would often think that the climb was approaching an end only to turn the corner and see another steep hill. Other hills were like staircases - we couldn't see the next hill until we reached the top of the previous hill. It was my most challenging ride to date. After miles of climbing, we yearned for a long descent. We were teased by signs that indicated every few miles that there would be a 14% grade descent "6 miles ahead," then "4 miles ahead," then "1 mile ahead."

I am not sure why it is necessary to forewarn drivers of a descent so far in advance. Anyhow, the descent was a mere mile long and I just happened to get my first flat of the trip right before the descent. We were close to the host and I was too exhausted to change a flat, so I descended the 14% grade with a flat tire - not a brilliant idea and not that enjoyable. I felt so beat by the end that simple, routine tasks like getting up from a seat or lifting a fork and guiding it to my mouth seemed like enormous energy consuming endeavors. I finally utilized what remained of my energy stores to change my tire as Chris serenaded a few of us with his ukulele. A jam session ensued, with Alex playing guitar, Nick playing Harmonica, and a large group of us singing popular tunes like "Free Fallin" and "Jumper." The host served us a great ziti and meatball dinner followed by amazing homemade brownies. The total number of brownies I consumed shall remain nobody's business.

July 3

Johnstown, PA to Pittsburgh, PA - 80.2 miles

Today was our last ride before a much needed day off. I was starting to feel different aches and pains and needed a chance to recover. The ride was hilly as usual. As we got closer to Pittsburgh, it was exciting to see the skyline in the distance. 

One of my first impressions of the city included two people dressed in full-body tuxedo-wearing cat costumes strolling down the sidewalk. I thought that this was an unusual isolated incident until we continued down the street and found tens of others in varying states of furriness, weather it be as simple as a tail or a more dedicated full body outfit. Our host was the Smithield United Church of Christ.

At night, we saw the Pittsburgh pirates. The tickets had been donated to us and it was a lot of fun. In fact, this was my first baseball game ever! The stadium was beautiful since it overlooked the "three rivers."

Afterwards we went out dancing and concluded the night with pizza.

July 4

We had the day off! I slept in until about 9:30 AM and then I, Chris, Jess, and Rose went out to Brunch at a place called Primanti, which is a Pittsburgh favorite. The sandwiches are stuffed with French fries, cole slaw, and whatever meat you order. It was very high calorie and very delicious. 

We explored the city which had a regatta and many events going on for the July 4th celebration.

Building a sand house:

We also got our caricatures done by a guy named Vince - we have since hung it in the trailer.

Anthrocon, the biggest furry convention in the world, was also taking place. There were hundreds of people in cat costumes and other furry attire infiltrating the streets. We decided to enter the convention center where the event was centralized to observe the masses. 

We briefly snuck into a lecture hall where a panel of people analyzed strange and serene sounding soundtracks. It was entertaining to see large furry cats in the audience swaying to the music. At night, we went out to see the fireworks.