How Bike and Build Stacks up against de Tour...

For as long as I can remember, my grandpa recorded every stage of the Tour de France as it was televised at 5am. And then every night, we would bring the VHS home and watch it, with my dad commenting about all the cycling greats. I have always wanted to travel to France and watch the race during one of the mountain stages, since this is really the only point when they are going slow enough that you could actually see them. These stages also have the best spectators.

So why am I talking about the Tour? Well my co-worker pointed out that my daily and summer mileage would be like me riding my own Tour. That makes me really glad that Bike and Build is not a race. But just to see how the mileage matches up, here are the numbers for 2014.

Date	Tour	Bike&Build
5-Jul	119	0
6-Jul	123	29
7-Jul	98	100
8-Jul	101	66
9-Jul	97	36
10-Jul	120	110
11-Jul	145	43
12-Jul	100	0
13-Jul	103	79
14-Jul	100	42
15-Jul	0	40
16-Jul	115	0
17-Jul	114	96
18-Jul	124	72
19-Jul	110	81
20-Jul	138	85
21-Jul	0	59
22-Jul	147	99
23-Jul	78	0
24-Jul	90	73
25-Jul	129	62
26-Jul	33	64
27-Jul	84	76

 
Well, thankfully we are not riding as far or as fast as the peloton, but it will be cool to think of myself riding the same days as the tour. And just to throw out another fun fact, I am going on my training rides with a bike and boyfriend that have raced against Tejay van Garderen (winner of the White Jersey in the 2012 Tour de France).

Taking pictures while riding uphill, a skill that does not help you a faster rider.

Trying to keep my excitement managable...

Hello March Madness and what it’s already March 10th! This means I have 67 days until Jacksonville, roughly 58 days to ride over 335 miles, 35 more days of work, $1365 more dollars to raise, and excitement that just keeps building!!

So what happened in February?
*I raised an additional $2000!
*I miserably failed at getting on my bike and riding any serious amount of miles.
*I continued volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
*I tried a 3rd saddle and still didn't like the fit.
*I have sewed lots and lots of cheerful spring birds for folks that have donated. I also got t shirts and have been making thanks you cards gallore!
*Getting to know the other riders on SUS and they are all amazing!!! I can't wait to meet them all in person.

Goals for March:
*Have a fundraising brunch with my soccer teams.
*Ride my bike over 100 miles. And get a bike fit session.
* Send out at least 20 more letters.
*Hang posters about the ride at some local shops.
*Reach $4000!
*Bike some more!

T-shirts for donors who contribute $100. They were donated by friends who own a screen printing shop. They are awesome!

The bird on the far right is what I am giving to folks that contribute $50. I was getting tired of making birds so a friend came over and we made dinosaurs and chickens also, then for more change I made a goat.

Close up of the shirt logo I created.

Thanks for reading!

My new Bike!

What happened to June-uary? A week of ice, a week of rain and now another week of rain. It is making it very difficult to want to get on my fenderless bicycle. And speaking of getting on a bike, check out what showed up on my porch yesterday!!

Giant bike box, with a GIANT bike.

Can't wait to do some commuting on this bike. I will be adding a rack so I can carry my work clothes.

I have never had to put a bike together before, and I am not that great of a bike mechanic either, so I decided to wait for some help. I also took some key photos so I could remember how to put the bike back in the box when the time comes in May.

 

 

How to zip tie and protect it all... I never would have thought of the zip ties.

And Wa-La! It was actually really straight forward to put together and came with all 3 of the tools you needed. The hardest part was aligning the handlebars, but that was because I took off the funny sticker with the arrow on it, then read the other sticker that said, "Align arrows". Oops, at least it's something I can adjust when I am riding.

This lady is going to see some miles and the beautiful South with me! (but first I will be adding some pedals)

It's February already!

Wow! Time seems to be going faster and faster. January flew by and all without me updating this blog and keeping you posted on my progress. 

30 mile ride along lake whatcom and lake samish, what a beautiful June-uary day!

Goals Achieved in January:

*Each rider get a 120 page Rider Manual and I am happy to report that I read it cover to cover and passed the safety quiz!

*I have learned more about affordable housing from the Rider Manual and I am working through additional links to continue learning more.

*I have started volunteering with Whatcom Habitat for Humanity. Unfortunately they do not have a current building project so I am helping out in the store and getting involved with Women Build.

*I reached my goal of 100 miles on my bike for the month of January and have gone through 2 saddles and am still trying to find the one that makes my bum the least unhappy.

*I have reached the fundraising mark of $1000.00 thanks to the extreme generosity of my family and boyfriend. I have more fundraising planned for February and am getting letters in the mail to additional family and friends.

Goals for February:

*Fundraise and keep fundraising: reach out to local businesses, host a movie night, be a spectacle on my trainer at events around town, attend a dinner my amazing friends are hosting as a fundraiser for me, follow up with folks I sent letters to last month.

*Find a saddle for my bike, order my new bike and be super excited for it to arrive.

*Figure out this social media thing and start meeting the other folks of SUS 2014.

A special shout out to my friend Eliza for being really excited about biking and for being my riding partner for most of the January rides! The temperatures for the first week of the month have not gotten above freezing so not much riding has happened. I can’t wait for some warmer weather and non-frozen toes.

Here are some pictures from a mini tour Eliza and I did on San Juan Island:

The ferry workers are GREAT! They gave us this delicious blueberry fritter!

Can you see us?

We made it to the girls cabin in the woods. It was beautiful riding in the moonlight.

After two days (and me not taking out my phone for pictures) we are leaving Friday Harbor with our bikes loaded down. We had an amazing weekend with our island friends, exploring beaches, riding bikes and eating delicious food!!