PICTURES

 Hey everyone! Guess what...we're going to CANADA tomorrow! These last few weeks have been absolutely amazing. Here are the best of the pics with the best descriptions I can provide. Thank you all again for your support because this summer wouldn't be possible without you!

Julia looking BEAUTIFUL

Kyle descending Washington Pass

Glacier National Park, before we climbed the pass

Climbing Logan pass at Glacier! We were as high as the snow- there's Erik.

View of the Going-to-the-Sun road at Glacier

Emily, Julia, and me at Glacier..I can't believe how high we climbed.
Look at those mountains!

Bike and Build men at the end of "Stache-tana" where they
grew out moustaches for the state of Montana.

Awesome road we climbed going up Washington Pass!

Emily and my dance party at the top of the pass

Beautiful Lake Diablo on the way down the Washington Cascades

Well it's been a whirlind of a week going through the best part of Montana! I could rave about Glacier National Park forever...if you haven't been it's 100% worth the trip of traveling to northern Montana. Never have I seen beauty on such a vast scale before! But instead of trying to convey an indescribable feeling of climbing and descending the Glacier pass, I will post my pictures as soon as the internet connection gets better- I figure they will speak for themeselves.

It's our last night in Montana and apparantly we are in the lowest point of the state right now-- tomorrow promises to be a large climb into Sandpoint, Idaho. Goodnight to all and I'll try to get back on soon!

Wind Power

Hi there!

We made it to Montana! Finally we hit the west and are only 3 weeks away from Vancouver!! We still have so much to look forward to, namely Glacier National Park in less than a week, but also multiple mountain passes in Washington that are bound to be some of the most picturesque spots of our trip. Eastern Montana has been flat and windy so far which makes me really crave the mountains. Yesterday we rode into Glasgow in the most windy conditions we have experienced yet. It was at the point where Steph and I were cracking up while descending a hill at 10 mph..while pedaling. On a day where you could have cried it was so tortuous to ride we worked hard to find the positive aspects of a headwind. They are as follows:
1. Your hair is never in your face- not even a little tickle on your neck.
2. There is no reason to feel silly for stopping every 10 miles on the dot for a rest.
And 3. Lunch tastes like the greatest meal you've ever had.

Wind conditions have SUCH an impact on a ride. Yesterday it was killer, but a couple days before while riding into Williston we picked up an amazing tailwind that swept us at a consistent above 25 mph pace. It was so effortless! That day ended with our entire team circled around a donated Dairy Queen ice cream cake devouring it bite by bite until it was all gone. The image of us all crowded on a gym floor, forks in hand is absolutely priceless.

Its also been a week of cultural activity along our route! On sunday we rode through an Indian reservation to Wolf Point just in time for their annual traditional Pow Wow. Unfortunately we were asked not to record the ceremony but I'm glad we got a peak into the Native American traditions! Plus, their outfits and headdresses were super cool.
After our taste of the Pow Wow we ended up at a local carnival and rodeo in Glasgow the following night. It was so fun and different from the east coast- I can hardly explain the events or the scoring of them but they are definitely entertaining. The rodeo announcer gave a nice shout out to Bike and Build, our cause, and our 30-strong attendance.

Although the rodeo was so fitting of Montana, the biggest news from our new state is that tonight we begin our process of allocating our fundraised money towards affordable housing programs. We have received a couple dozen grant applications from programs across the country, so as a group we will read them and discuss how we are going to donate our money. It's an incredibly exciting process for us to be so closely involved with. Thank you again to all my sponsors and I look forward to updating you with the progress of our grant approvals!

We've now completed day 6 of our 11 day riding streak in Montana with 4 more days untill Glacier! Let's hope for less headwind so our legs will be warmed up nicely for the ROCKIES!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Speaking of Route 2...

Julia, Kyle, and me entering "legendary" North Dakota

My favorite picture of ND- awesome colors

Sunrise in Devil's Lake, ND

...we've now been traveling on the same road for a week through Minnesota and North Dakota! It's flat with few towns amongst it, but the traffic unfortunately hasn't thinned much even though we are heading to less populated areas. I guess because Route 2 is the only major road out here, everyone is heading west on it- including us. So because of our limited route options our cue sheets, which give us our directions for the day, have been very simple: get on Route 2, ride all day, get off Route 2. On Saturday we completed our longest ride of the summer: 116 miles into North Dakota, 114 of those miles were on the same road!

That long ride entering North Dakota has been my favorite ride of the summer, and the picture on the left sums up why. North Dakota is (surprisingly) beautiful! It has gorgeous greens in the grass, fields, and trees and then the ND sky is the biggest sky I've seen. Don't be fooled by my ND excitement because it kept me going through many miles on my bike today!

Other highlights from the week included:
- Our day off in Crookston, MN where a group of us played soccer in the morning and woke up to incredibly sore legs the next day..I guess biking and running use more different muscles than I thought.
- While at our lunch stop on Tuesday we met a European couple biking across the country west to east, although tackling the US was only one continent in their 3 year bike trip around the world! They told us we were cheating by having a trailer with our food and clothes (their bikes weighed 80 lbs each with all their gear).
- The North Dakota sky keeps to excite me day after day :)
- Coming into Rugby, ND we passed the marker of the "cornerstone of North America". It meant we were standing at the center longitude and latitude of our continent. Alright Rugby, we'll take it!
- And that we're 3 days away from entering Montana!!!! Finally, the west!

Brad at the cornerstone of North America

 

 

 

 

Today we had a very meaningful build day in Minot, ND where all the flooding occurred a month ago. We split into three groups and each entered houses that were ruined by six feet of water. In order to rebuild on the existing frame, everything but the framing needed to be removed from the house, so we gutted drywall, insulation, and floorboards today. It's so sad to think we were tearing apart a house down to the nails that was a place of so many memories for the homeowner, but I'm glad we had the opportunity to help out the folks of Minot.

That's it from ND, I'll be writing next from Montana! Bye all!

Debris-lined street in the flooded Minot, ND

 

 

 

 

Gutting a house

That's me with the orange backpack

Bluffs of Wisconsin

PICTURES! I tried to include ones of us actually riding this time so you'd get somewhat of a feeling for what we do the majority of our days. We hit some incredible bike paths in Minnesota that make a day so fun without the worry of cars. They have also been along some of the most beautiful forests and meadows...I can't get enough! Today we started our week-long relationship with Route 2 West which we rode for 80 miles today and will be on for many more miles. It's no bike path but it still is simple and pretty serene.

Entering St. Paul, Minnesota

Early morning bike trail

Bike trail!

Cliffs we found in MN to jump off of

Riding through the trails

Hey all,
I must first give you the stats from Wednesday's ride from Wisconsin's capital to Soldiers Grove, mainly because since the east B&B Northern has lost a little bit of its killer street credit, but this ride definitely put us back on the map.
We rode;
103 miles
in 105 degree heat
through a 15 mph headwind
over major hills
...and I got 4 flat tires.

Ha actually I unfortunately didn't get to finish my first century ride because after 98 miles my tire had blown for the 4th time and I couldn't find what was causing it. Turns out there was a hole in my tire siding that required me to replace the entire tire yesterday. But even though the ride was brutally long and hot, it was awesome to see our team push through such a challenge. Haha at one point around mile 65 Emily and I saw a sign for a McDonalds 5 miles down the road, and after we decided that's where we'll stop, I've never searched for the golden arch harder in my life. We passed many places with AC and water but we HAD to get to our goal before we gave into the heat for the time being. I will never look forward to a McDonalds like that again.

I am writing you from a cute Italian style coffee shop 15 miles from our destination for the night. Its been a fun, easy ride today as our last day in WI. Happy Friday all!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Winnetka, IL

I also was fortunate to bike through Winnetka, IL, the town where my mom grew up! I couldn't believe that I had just biked from the east coast to her hometown. My uncle and grandma still live there so it was an absolute joy to spend the afternoon and evening with family. Here I am above with my cousins Pete, Pat, and Katie. Such a great day!!