Day 3 bike 1
39.4 miles. Avg 3% grade. Avg 13mph(thanks hills ..I mean mountains....) max grade 9% (it was a great hill) max speed 31.3

A great ride from Seattle to Monroe today. We took a trail for about 12 miles. It was so pretty. Not only we're the waterfront houses beautiful, we seen lots of house boats, docks of boats, and water planehsrd storage. _

Once we we're on a road we could see snow covered mountains. Breathtaking.

I'm so amazed by all the cyclists we seen today. Anchor walkers, runners, skaters and even the road cross country ski things. Individuals old and young, families and groups. Everyone is so active here. I o coxyld live here.

We have another under 40 mile day again tommorw and then the fun begins.

Im still getting used to my brakes sense I got them adjusted. I just don't like them. Hope I get used to it soon.

posted from Bloggeroid

Day 2

Day 2- Orientation

Today we had orientation and the new riders learned how the trip works and learned about the fuller center.

We took our first ride as a group around seattle. We have a local seattalan (maybe that's what you call the locals here) hour. We went to a park that had a great view of the space needle. Then we biked to it and around town. Due to the long lights and lack of directions we only had time for 12 .03 miles. It was a 79 minutes if ride time (again....it was our first ride together). Meaning our aerage speed was 9.0 as a group. Don't worry we have several weeks to improve. Max speed was 26.5. Avg grade of 2% with max of 17%.

During the ride I seen 3 crossfits. I miss joust.

Later in the evening a nice lady nammed Tammy and her son dropped of brown bag lunches with about everything you could ask for on it. We all have leftovers.

We had the rest of the night to explorer. Some people went to the fish market, some to the needle, and some just walked around the university district. Mike, Laura, Martha, aaron and myself went to Rei headquarters and walked around that area. I packed light as in clothing and random extra things. But I brought to many bike tubes, tubes of sunscreen (I rarely use sunscreen, but thanks to couponing I got paid to purchase it), extra tires, tampons and other stuff that will last the whole time. I packed so mix stuff for rhw future in mu bike box that was shipped, that everything dis not fit. So...I bought a new bag!

While I was bag shopping Michael and krystal bought a tandem bike. For those of you that dont know then. I bikes mi to fl w them in 08, where they met. They got married a few weekends ago and this trip is part ld there honeymoon. They had been to busy wedding planning to tandem bike shop. They rode w the trip leader allan and others from the Fuller center headquaters in americus, ga. The van got in a car accient on the way to Seattle. Everyone survived with little injury. The van, the trailer, many blankets and krystals bike were not as fortunate. Well, obv krystal needed a new bike, what do you know they found a sweet deal on a tandem that fur them both perfectly. No adjusting or anything.

Sorry for grammer, capitals or lack of, spelling errors and etc. This touchscreen phone ia still new to me.

posted from Bloggeroid

24 hours

24 hours.  I could not sleep last night.  Nope, not until 5am.  I have so much stuff to be doing, I wish I would of been doing it with my time.  But nope, I could't do anything but lay in bed and think about how happy I'm to be able to do this trip.  How proud I'm of the money I have raised (even if I'm a few hundred short of doing the whole distance...  I think?) and How proud of the money I have saved to fincially not be able to work for 3 months. 

Speaking of work.  I picked up a morning shift today and I work tonight.  I prolly should not have picked up the morning shift because I have so much to do.  But oh well.  I think work is something that gives me a good feeling right now.  Because not working for a few months sure makes your stomach get that oh no feeling.  Other than starbucks everyday and a few dinner with friends, I have saved almost every penny lately!  :)  Last night one of my best friends Nina Tate came into visit me and say good bye for the Summer.  We work opp schedules and only each other for Sat am breakfasts about once a month.  She is having a baby that is due around the end of Sept.  But they either have her due date wrong, or shes going to give birth way early.  She has the cutest baby bump ever.  Of course, its a little bit bigger than a baby bump, which makes her so adorable.  :) 

As Nina was leaving yesterday I got a party.  I was thinking, its $$, but I'd rather just talk to my friend.  The table was so much more than $$.  I'm so happy I was able to wait on them.  My crazy manager Tom decided to tell the table that on Friday I was leaving on a cross country bike trip.  The table could not imagine almost biking 4,000 miles (to be honest. neither can I).  We got to talking and I mentioned it was for the Fuller Center for Housing.  Immediately everyone wanted fliers, wanted to know how I was raising money, wanted to know where to make donations.  This is before I got there $70. alcohol order (that had a little bit of everything... sorry MIT) and explained to them how mongo worked.  I learned they worked for Catholic Services, Catholic Social services and or Catholic Charities and worked with poverty housing everyday.  They joked that I would be a perfect employee for them.  Suzanne (who works for Catholic Charities-Lake City Regional Office) and the rest of the group, helped me settle the butterflies.  I didn't even know these people, my manager just barely mentioned it and they were so excited. They asked for pamphlets, asked for my blog address, asked how to donate and kept saying I'd love to be 26 again. 

I guess better get ready for work, go to work and come home and pack and not go to bed.  I leave at 5:30 am tomorrow.  :)  

FCBA van crash.

Please read this blog post in the official blog about the Fuller Center for Housing Van and Trailer accident that included 8 riders and several bikes heading out to Seattle for the start of the trip.  I'm relived to read that everyone is okay, but am sad I was not there to help out my old friends and soon to be new friends.

Oyee! to everyoen being okay.  God has a plan, maybe its not exactly as we planned, but I'm ready for the adventure.  :) 

FCBA Official Blog

2 days till I fly out!

Test blog from phone

33 days. yikes.

33 days till the bike trip. Scary because I need to raise some money still in order to be able to bike the full 3,600 miles (minus a day or two because of my bff's wedding... I can't wait for this day).

I don't like knowing what day will be my last day on the trip, I sure hope its near the end. But... I do know that god has a plan. I'm not sure if I need to raise $1,500 more dollars or $1,000. I can't dwell on how much more I need to raise. The bottom line is everything happens for a reason. I want to bike the whole way, but if it doesn't happen because I failed to raise the money. Its only my fault. I'm not good at asking for money even though its for a organization I'm so passionate about. I'm also not good at doing fundraisers for fear of failure after seeing organization after organization fail at guest grillers at mongo. I do awesome working with others in a big group raising money, but its really hard for me, myself and I to raise money for a organization.

It's been a good learning processes of accepting how things are sometimes. I also have been realizing more and more why I'm biking again. I think we all forget once in awhile because we get wrapped up in telling people we are biking 3,600 miles. Which sounds super neat. But the truth is, Its so much more than that. So, in the acceptance that I may NOT be able to bike the whole way inless I raise some more money. My heart is back in it for the right reason. And if I raise $2,000, $2,600 or $3,600 the money is still used the same reason, to help eliminate poverty housing. That just makes me smile.

So remember, if you can spare a dollar it can help a house in need and also helps be bike another mile. Which I can't even explain how much that means to me. but I'm sure the donation will mean that times 100x to the family whose house is getting rehabed.

In the next 33 days I have a goal of biking at least 23 days and having 20 blog posts. Informing you more of the organization and about training. Or lack there of.

Please consider donating. Even a dollar. :) xoxo

Roller Derby = other love.... well and volleyball :)

Sorry for the little hiatus.  I've been spending my extra time skating and practicing for Roller Derby.  As we had skills test on Sunday.  I love trying new things, I love being active, and I love meeting new people.  When a co-worker told me that she was joining the Ann Arbor Derby Dimes (A2D2) team.  I decided to give it a whirl as well.  Boot camp is finally done. (well for this time)

I figured I used to roller blade a lot, I'll be just fine.  WRONG.  I'm horrible on roller skates.  But don't think I was the only one.  When you’re a beginner you’re called "fresh" meat.  Most of the fresh meat had not skated sense we were little girls.  I have fallen in love with my derby sisters.  Everyone is different.  Some are young (yes you Erin) so are mom age, some are my age and some are grandmas. Doctors, professors, stay at home moms, hair stylists, servers, social workers and etc.  Everyone is different, but everyone is GREAT.  Everyone is so nice, supportive and trying something new out as well.  Powerful ladies. 

12 weeks of boot camp have been completed and part one of skills test.  Endurance test is in a few hours. (update.  I just failed endurance by a quarter of a lap, but don't worry I was not even tired. I was trying to not cut people who were in my group off.... and Honesty;  Now I'm just pissed.  A quarter of a lap.  *insert scream*) 

Most fresh and vet meat have been extremely nervous for the skills test.  The first bout is May 1, and you have past skills test to compete.  If you don’t pass skills test, you have to re do boot camp.  The next boot camp will start in Sept.  If I were to pass skills test, it would be a great experience and a lot of fun to skate in the May bouts.  However, I would have to re-skills practically days after getting back from biking across country.  I honestly didn’t get nervous until the morning of skills.  I knew that even if I passed sills now, I would most likely have to re-do boot camp in Sept.  

So. How did skills go?  I don't know if I passed or not. I don't think I did.  I skated HORRIBLE.  Honestly, HORRIBLE.  I'm not going to say I'm a great skater on a normal day, but usually better than I skated on Sunday.  The whole time I kept thinking, if I pass skills am I going to get injured in the month of May and not be able to bike across country?  The whole time...infact I started crying because I was so confused at one point.  

I love roller derby, and I love the dimes.  But I have amazing opportunity that I will be taking part in this summer. I'm so lucky to have this opportunity.  I know that god is choosing my path. If I don't pass its because I didn’t give it 100%.  I went there to give it 100%, but I don't think I had thought it through until sitting on the ground waiting for it to be my time to skate and then I was a complete disaster.  I can't get upset at myself.  Thats prolly how it as supposed to happened.  I'm going to endurance testing right now. I'll give it 120%, but it may not be enough.  It makes me want to not go...knowing that even if I do my best, it may not be enough.  But......I'm not a quitter.

I'm prepared to hear I’ll be doing boot camp again in September.  There are positives and negatives to both passing and failing skills.  I need to focus on the positives.  :)  

I'm not a quitter.  This reminds of me when I didn’t pass bike school at the police dept the first time.  The biker of the bike school group.  FAILED.  I couldn’t bike in a circle inside a parking spot to save my life.  I just fell, fell, fell and fell more.  I had so many blue, purple and green bruises.  I kept trying, and falling. Then it came to stairs.  Don't worry I fell more.  The next summer I re did bike school.  By no means did I get perfect score. I was scared to death of falling, but don't worry I passed and with little bruises.  Sometimes you just need a little more time. At first, I wanted to cry every time I seen my co-workers names on bike and mine on foot or paddy wagon.  But it ended up being a GREAT summer.  Everything happens for a reason.  I learned so much that summer.  If I would of quit because I couldn’t face that I had to work on something, there’s no way I would be who I'm today.

So... I'm not selling my skates.  Just remembering everything happens for a reason.  :)

A2D2= Love