Mike hits Durham












Durham Bulls park










Yay Cosmic










Dinner 1 at COTC (thank you Jean, Peter, Bob and Mary!!)

Home Sweet Chapel Hill! (Chapel Hill, NC)

We arrived in Chapel Hill today after a pretty quick and easy 40 mile ride (words I never would have associated a couple weeks ago!). After leaving Wake Forest, we took a northerly route through Durham, and a few of us stopped at the Durham Bulls park to take pictures. The rest of my riding group took a visit over to Dook, but not understanding why anyone would choose that detour I headed on my own for Chapel Hill. It was kind of nice to ride on my own for awhile, pedaling hard when I felt like it and relaxing some too. It’s also really nice to ride with a partner or two to chat and keep company, so I imagine I’ll be switching up my riding style as we go along.

All of us arrived at the Chapel of the Cross Episcopal in Chapel Hill by noon, which gave us some time to relax in the afternoon. Chapel of the Cross has been my home away from home for the past four years at UNC, so it was great to be back with old friends. I went for lunch at Cosmic with Mary Olive and Jochem, and the garden burrito has never tasted so good. I’m amazed at how hungry I’ve been over the past few days…no matter how much good food I eat, I’m hungry again after a couple hours. Keeping a balanced diet is pretty tricky, and I have to admit the brownie sandwich I had for lunch yesterday was awesome.

The DeSaixs and Chases at Chapel of the Cross served us a huge dinner of chicken-broccoli casserole, salad, baked potatoes, DeSaix bread, deviled eggs and Texas sheet cake. For now, happiness is sweet Chapel Hill.

PS – My sister Liz, a sophomore at UNC, is studying abroad in Singapore for the summer and has just set up a super cool blog. Check it out at liz-gilliam.blogspot.com!

Bike odometer: 298.8 miles

Some pictures from yesterday:

Eric and CVH

The Emilies and me










Man were we tired...

In the news!

Here are a couple links to our team in the news:

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/

http://www.wnct.com/midatlantic/nct/news.apx.-content-articles-NCT-2007-05-29-0063.html

And here's a really neat video about Bike and Build called "Bodies in Motion." The videos and pictures are taken from past trips, but we're working on making a new one featuring our team. This is the video we play at the beginning of all our educational presentations at churches:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49P5-EAkhHs

Hills! (Wake Forest, NC)

Oh man, it took a lot of effort to add an exclamation point to that one. We rode from Greenville into Wake Forest this afternoon, in a ride that took 80-88 miles depending on how far each of us got lost. Andrew’s mom, who lives in Greenville, brought us bagels for breakfast this morning, which were great (thanks Mrs. Martin!). With a good breakfast and plenty of sleep (I conked out at 9:30 last night), I was feeling pretty energized this morning—good, because the going has started to get tough. About forty miles west of Greenville, gentle slopes turned into real hills, and ninety-degree weather plus misleading directions contributed to the challenge. At the end of the day, though, we all arrived safely (minus some bruises) at North Wake Church in Wake Forest, where we had another good pizza dinner and some relaxation time, plus showers at the Y. Tomorrow: Chapel Hill!!

Biking through NC has given me an entirely new appreciation for road signs. Here are a few we passed today:

Adopt a Highway: Saint-Gobain Glass Awareness Committee (promoting glass awareness everywhere?)

Carolina Egg Development Group (comprised entirely of hens?)

And my new favorite, the caution sign for low-flying planes (the real reason we wear helmets)

People I’m thankful for today:

Mom, for insisting that she buy me a good pair of sunglasses (also protect against low-flying planes)

Dan, for being cool

Bike odometer: 258.2 miles

Some pictures from yesterday (I've added a couple to older posts as well):

Leaving Belhaven

Stopping at St. Thomas in Bath (Father Ray and me)













Granddad and Auntie Ann

Anita at a road-side produce stand














Getting shortcuts from the cashier at a strawberry farm










Mmm strawberries...

All my headings will end with exclamation! (Greenville, NC)

We had a great ride into Greenville from Belhaven today (Nana came over to Belhaven and gave us directions to avoid traffic yesterday!). Last night Trinity UM and the Christian church a few doors down hosted a festival, which allowed us to give our presentation about affordable housing and play with the little kids. Their small congregations raised $500 to give us as a donation! They even raffled off some bikes for the kids...it was great fun.

Along the way today a few of us stopped in Bath, where my grandmother lives, to visit her church, St. Thomas--the oldest church in North Carolina. Father Ray met us and showed us the chalice that George Whitfield brought over from England. It felt like going home. I felt really good on the bike today; very little of the soreness of two days ago, and 56 miles felt a lot shorter. We took lots of detours, stopping at a strawberry farm to take pictures with giant cut-out strawberries and a produce stand for fresh tomatoes. After some beautiful showers at ECU, we're relaxing at the First Penecostal Church here. More meetings tonight, but that's all for now!

Bike odometer: 174.4 miles

Some pictures from yesterday:








Lunch in Belhaven







Festival that evening









The kids loved our bikes









In the saddle










Nana hooks us up with directions

Swimming and even more hospitality! (Belhaven, NC)

Hi again from Belhaven! This morning Soule Methodist in Swan Quarter sent us off with an awesome Southern breakfast (yeast biscuits, bacon, ham, eggs, strawberries, gotta stop I'm getting hungry again). Today's leg was the second-shortest of our trip, about 34 miles, so we took our time and stopped for lots of pictures (I'm having trouble uploading them, but I'll do what I can). I'm feeling more comfortable in the saddle now, which is good news since we haven't hit any hills yet. Strangely enough, the only part of me that's really sore are my elbows, from holding myself upright on the handlebars. I think I'll have to join the "push-up/sit-up club" that a teammate founded for the extra hard-core among us.

I'm realizing that there are lots of things that I notice on a bike that I wouldn't driving. Wildlife (we've seen hawks, turtles, lots of snakes--dead and living), Queen Anne's lace and buttercups on the side of the road, the incline going up and over a bridge, and...friendly people who have pools in their backyard. As we were coming into Belhaven, we spotted some teammates in front of us splashing around in a backyard pool, where the homeowner had welcomed them to come over and take a break. Of course we had to join, and the family who welcomed us was really friendly and interested in our trip, although I never could have gotten the courage to invite myself in!

After arriving in Belhaven, we ate lunch donated by Food Lion and went swimming in the sound nearby. We're staying at a nearby home (owned by the church?), which is really comfortable. The pastor at Trinity United Methodist and a neighbor have opened up their homes and showers, and now I'm borrowing his wireless. In a few minutes we'll have barbecue, then the whole community has been invited to a festival where we'll teach bike safety classes to kids, talk about affordable housing, and celebrate Memorial Day. The kindness we've received from strangers amazes us all.

Bike odometer: 117.3 miles

Send-off! (Swan Quarter, NC)

I'm amazed at the hospitality we've recieved from strangers so far on this trip. This morning we were "sent off" by the town of Nag's Head with a ceremony on the beach--with seating from the funeral home, a podium, the mayor, members of the press, friends and family. After pictures and a few short speeches, we carried our bikes down to the beach and dipped our rear tires in the Atlantic Ocean...we'll dip our front tires in the Pacific. Thanks so much John for seeing us off and taking photos!

The police and Mr.McCombs escorted us out of Nag's Head and across NC's longest bridge--Old Baum Bridge, 5.4 miles--to the mainland. I'm loving the flatlands and the rest of our ride went pretty well, 65 miles to Swan Quarter, where we're staying at Soule United Methodist Church. 65 miles is about three times farther than I've ever biked before, so I'm feeling a little sore but arrived in good time. The folks at Soule UM have been gracious hosts; they're preparing a fresh seafood dinner for us and will have a home-cooked Southern breakfast in the morning. My grandmother, uncle and cousin also came over from Bath to say hello!

I'm borrowing a computer so I have to cut this short, but I'll post pictures the next time I can. Cheers!

Orientation! (Manteo, Nag’s Head)

Hi everyone! My friend and co-cyclist Mary Olive and I arrived in Nag’s Head, just down from Manteo, on Friday afternoon and met up with our team. For about three-fourths of our trip, we will be hosted by local churches and YMCA’s, and the rest of the time we will be camping out. Since the Outer Banks are so crowded for Memorial Day weekend, however, we’re being hosted here by some friends of Bike and Build—who own Gallop Funeral Home. I have to admit, it’s a little weird sleeping in a room with a coffin (they say it’s for display purposes only, but we haven’t checked), but our hosts are very generous and we’re very comfortable! I really like the team members I’ve been talking to so far; most of us are recent college grads, and we come from all across the US.

In two days, we’ve gone over Bike and Build policies and learned a lot about bike maintenance and safety. I’m amazed and how many volunteers come together to make this trip work. Last night, we were served our first dinner by Nag’s Head Church, then had presentations from a Dare County housing representative and a local cycling enthusiast, Jack McCombs. Mr. McCombs lead us today on a shakedown ride (15 miles) to Bodie Island Lighthouse, where we met a 91-year-old veteran who grew up working in the lighthouse. He shared stories about painting the lighthouse in the 1930’s—1 million bricks over 3 summers for $3 a day, a small fortune at the time! My friend John Derrick came over for the afternoon and rode along with us (yay John). Anyone is welcome to ride with us for a leg or visit at a host site along the way!

Tonight we’ll be painting the trailer that carries our gear for us, and tomorrow we’ll start out on our first leg—67 miles to Swan’s Quarter down US-264. We’re all itching to get on our bikes and on the road!

People I’m thankful for at the moment:

My dad, for driving us down to Manteo and buying us peanuts at Mackey’s Ferry

Mr. McCombs, for arranging much of our time in Manteo

Mrs. Gallop, for hosting us assuring us that that coffin's empty...

PS - I bought a bike computer, which has an odometer and speedometer, to help navigate as we go. I’ll update my total trip mileage with each post. Our route is supposed to be 3416 miles (!), but from what I hear we’ll actually bike a bit more, as we take detours and get off course. For today, though:

Bike odometer: 15.59 miles

One day to go!

I'll be driving down to Manteo tomorrow morning to finally meet up with the NC2SD cycling team! We'll be having a two-day orientation about rules and procedures, bike maintenance, and the educational presentations we'll be giving along the way. After putting our rear tires in the Atlantic Ocean, we'll set out from Manteo on Sunday morning with, I hear, a full police escort.

It's been a busy spring getting ready for this adventure! With the help of many generous donors, a scholarship from the Chapel of the Cross, and an Easter lily sale, I've just reached my $4000 fundraising goal--and I cannot thank you all enough. I've bought almost all my cycling gear and now feel pretty blinged out when I'm training around Raleigh (bike pictures to come). Raleigh has a surprisingly extensive network of greenways and bike trails, which are great for avoiding traffic and conserving little pockets of nature in the sprawling city. I wish I could say I've been absolutely true to my training schedule, but I know that the first couple weeks of our trip will be challenging as I get used to many long hours in the saddle.

I've also been putting together a presentation about the history of affordable housing policy in the United States, which I will be presenting to educate the group along the way. We have all been given different research assignments so that we can learn from each other, and I'll be posting the interesting tidbits I collect on this blog as we go.

To track our progress on a map and read our group journal, check out this neat feature on the Bike and Build website. Happy summers to you all!

Send me mail!

Pre-arranged mail drops:

May 31: Wake Forest, NC 27587
June 7: Gatlinburg, TN 37738
June 14: Maryville, TN 37801
June 21: Memphis, TN 38128
June 28: Bartlesville, OK 74003
July 5: Lamar, CO 81052
July 12: Durango, CO 81301
July 19: Williams, AZ 86046

Address mail to:
Bike & Build
Attn: Meredith Gilliam
General Delivery
CITY, ST ZIP

Email me your address if you'd like to get a postcard from the road!