Lacy and the Machine: June 2011

My astounding artwork on Ryan's leg while we were waiting for laundry to finish.

Ke$ha. (Keef looks amazing, no?)

Officer Curley, who kindly directed traffic when the van got stuck in a ditch with the trailer laying across the middle of the road. Luckily, only 2 cars passed during the 20 minutes we were stuck...

Johnny as Mario! Beautiful.

Dennis as himself.

Jetpack as...?

Me!

Group shot! Notice me as I clutch my Dora pack for dear life c:

Beth as Sacajawea and Kyle as Gary the Cowboy.

Bryant as Tarzan!!!!

Ryan the pedo.

Snyder as Miss Annabelle Richardson Smith, a southern belle from Peach Fuzz, Alabama. This was definitely a trip highlight as he stayed in character the entire day.

Mike. Douche 1.

Jake. Douche 2.

Tender!

Kareem the Safe Bikerrrrrr!

Also, Ryan has our routes posted on his blog if you're curious.

Love y'all, miss y'all.

Lacy

P.S. Here is Keef's post for the B&B official blog and it was great and in limerick form so really, how could I not repost it? I hope you all love it as much as I do.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Lawrence, KS - Manhattan, KS
Mileage: ~86 miles
A Day in the Life, in Limerick Form
Respectfully Submitted by Emily Keefer
This morn, 86 was the goal.
Over our hearts, a fear had stole.
Kansas wind is vicious
And we were suspicious
But with strong hearts we shouted, "Let's roll!"
I rode with the good Noam Fine.
Every twenty miles did we dine
On delicious Clif bars
Away from the cars.
My stomach, it ne'er did whine.
Our journey today was easy
For though the road was breezy,
The wind was of tail
And it didn't fail
To push us so fast I was queasy.*
To get lost today was quite hard.
One did not need to be on guard.
The way was one road:
On us it bestowed
The chance to arrive early and nard.**
My lunch, of course, was a feast.
Mainly bread, one component is yeast.
Good peanut butter
Jelly was the oter***
And Oreos, last but ne'er least.
Post lunch, we frequently stopped.
For bathroom, for food we would opt.
During one such break
(My day it did make)
Natan we did adopt.
The entire ride was a blast.
Yes, we did go fast.
To Natan I sang
At Micky-D's we did hang
Then on to our host at last.
Upon arrival, oh what a sight!
So much food, 'twas almost a fright.
I was quite energetic.
Indeed, kinetic.
The day had not failed to excite.
My excitement was soon to climb higher,
For of mischief we never do tire.
Out with recon
On sweep we spied on,
And surprised with works of fire.****
And dinner, oh what a meal!
As always, I tucked in with zeal.
The cheesy potatoes
And salsa-ed tomatoes
Deviled eggs, and brownies, unreal!
This evening, we took a walk.
Perhaps a bit more than a block
Was a playground with things
Like adult-sized swings
A chance to sit and talk.
A fantastic day this has been.
With Bike and Build, one must grin.
Sometimes we creep
We bike, eat, and sleep
Then get up and do it again.
*not really. The tailwind was, however, quite unexpected and thoroughly delightful.
**nard = nap hard
***other - h = oter, pronounced here "utter"
****works of fire = fireworks. This may have been illegal.

We are heading out of Missouri tomorrow and into Kansas, which really is a shame because I have adored this state. I have finally gotten over the worst of my illness (though an extremely attractive cough remains, I assure you). I did van myself out of St. Louis into Washington and ended up sleeping around 17 hours that day, perhaps a new record.

The next day I did sweep with Kyle into Jefferson City, a very enjoyable ride despite being attacked by ferocious mosquitos and downing an entire bottle of cold medicine/ruining Kyle’s handkerchief. We rode about 65 miles on a single trail, the Katy, an old railroad turned granite dust path. We also got to several RAMM (Race Across America) riders which was so totally cool. As one fellow, maybe 40 or 50, rode by, Kyle thought it would be appropriate/encouraging to shout “You’re almost there!” I did not (though I guess, technically, they were well over 2/3rds…). Jeff City turned out to be the capitol of Missouri (who knew!?) and I spent my evening wandering about downtown admiring all the beautiful statues and architecture.

The next day’s ride was 70 into Sedalia and we were plagued by ridiculous head winds the entire ride. Furthermore, we were stuck with riding a fairly busy/unfriendly highway which was a bit unnerving at times. However, the ride was so beautiful with tons of wildflowers and rock formations along the roadside AND Tender found us an AWESOME lunch stop with a free pool with waterslide and diving board! I was so excited, even though I was really the only one who swam for a significant period of time (the water was pretty cold I suppose). We also had two ladies who randomly saw us riding buy us some Amish apples and bring them to our lunch stop. It really was such a nice gesture. I also got my fourth flat that day and contracted poison from someone, which has since spread up my arm and onto my chest and stomach. So that has been fun.

Friday was my first century! We rode 96.2 miles into Kansas City, definitely one of the most beautiful rides yet. We also saw a stealth bomber! It was super awesome, just like something right out of Star Wars. The highlight of Friday was definitely Johnny’s excitement about coming back to his home town – I have never seen that child bike so fast! Anyway, I rode with Mike and Ryan that day and about 30 turns, 2 reroutes, and 96 miles later we pull into the host site only to directly turn back out again to literally (well, not literally…but close) drag ourselves around town to get a final 4 miles in; it was a site to see.

Our build day was good yesterday. We woke up to an amazing breakfast fixed up by short-order cooks which was hilarious and super delish. I got 4 blueberry-and-peach pancakes, scrambled eggs, a bowl of sliced fruit, and 3 biscuits – Heaven. We worked with Habitat and, despite only having one supervisor, we got a lot done. I worked on “Rock Crew” in the morning (we were supposed to dig up the giant rocks and bricks from the yard) occasionally stopping to help lift trusses to the roof. I was so terribly excited to get to go up to the roof and start installing some overhead boards in the afternoon! Unfortunately, I stepped in a rock hole (my own?!?!) on the way to grab a hammer and sprained my ankle which ended my build day an hour early – a major bummer. Also!, the local station covered our build and you can find that video here: http://www.fox4kc.com/videobeta/2b3296dd-f61f-4740-b3f2-50ced78896cb/News/Volunteers-Travel-Cross-Country-to-Build-Homes (I am wearing the pink jacket with my hair in a ridiculously high ponytail [there is one shot with Keef and me in it that is real cute]).

Today I got to go to church which was really nice and, after our potluck lunch, we headed out to see the Cubs and the Royals play. Being goofy and watching the game with everyone was definitely a highlight of the week – I am really happy I went. We spent the evening at Johnny’s parents’ house, another fun time for just hanging out with B&Ber’s and Johnny’s (really awesome) family and friends. We spent the rest of the evening wandering around the local water tower…and finding outfits for tomorrow! Since we are only getting in 40 miles tomorrow (and because Kansas has earned a reputation of being pretty boring rides) we have several activities planned, tomorrow’s being costume ride. I am going to be a little kids and I am also helping Keef with her Ke$ha outfit. I also found AMAZING jorts for our next build day. Be on the lookout for pics – they’ll be coming hard.

Until Next Time,

Lacy