Trying to catch up. . .

Oklahoma City Builds
We spent two days building in OKC. Habitat there was awesome. They did a great job organizing all of us. We framed a house, and then ate donated Chipotle burritos for lunch. Our host site was small, and most of us hose showered because we were impatient. The second build day we did a number of things. We sodded, framed, sided, and worked on about 6 different houses in their awesome development. It was great. Breakfast and dinner were provided both days, and I made friends with a couple of Habitat caravanners who took me to see their RV and their dog.

Fort Smith, AR to Henryetta, OK
STATE LINE DAY! Today I started off riding in front of Melissa and Preston. They caught me about 8 miles in and said that one of our riders had gotten hit by a car. They didn’t have any info because there was already too many people on the side of the road. But the police were there, and an ambulance had been called. We rode up to the state line in complete silence, when Melissa finally heard back from T-Hall. Scott was hit, but he was luckily fine. The car was not, and neither was his bike. He ended up riding the rest of the day on Travis’ bike. We were all a little shaken up after that, but glad everyone was ok. Today we had $ stops! B$’s dad is following us through Oklahoma and setting up additional stops for us. It’s awesome.
JUNE 17, Little Rock (Day Off)
We basically explored Little Rock. I needed to get to a bike shop, so I didn’t do as much as everyone else did. But I did go to the Clinton Presidential Museum, and ate awesome Pad Thai for lunch that I couldn’t finish because I was so full. I also switched out my derailer and cog. It now has about 32 gears, and hopefully will be easier on my knees.

JUNE 16, Stuttgart, AR to Little Rock, AR.
Today was interesting. B$ and Michael Carroll were sweep. I started out the day lost, and called them to let them know. They of course had no idea where to turn because they were still at breakfast. So I waited for them and they pointed me in the right direction. Hooray for being directionally challenged! Then I got a flat, and needed tubes. We pumped up one, but it didn’t work so I needed another. Then my tire was rubbing. We stopped to fix the brakes, but it was the wheel, which was not tru, that was causing the problem. Travis trued it for me at lunch and we kept moving.

JUNE 13, Tupelo, MS
Today was a build day in Tupelo, MS with Habitat for Humanity. We arrived at the build site where there was a cinderblock frame of the house. We poured some concrete, laid floor supports, and finally got to nailing the base plywood flooring down to the ground. It was 97 degrees out with a heat index of 110!

June 3-5

We have made it to Georgia! Our first state line.

On Thursday, we had a day off in Athens, GA. We had fantastic hosts at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. The fed us massive amounts of food. I slept in front of the church altar. There weren't many of us in there, so it was nice and quiet and nobody was snoring.

Yesterday, we had our second build day. We stayed again at Holy Cross. It was demo, which was really cool. We tore down brick walls, plaster ceilings, and drywall in these housing units. I was really dirty by the end of the day.

Today was rough. Breakfast was awesome, Holy Cross fed us pancakes and fruit and bread with nutella. Apparently, I have no idea how to properly inflate a tire. I broke the valve on my tube before we left, and had to spend about 30 minutes changing my tire. I am still having extreme knee pain whenever I pull up or push down my pedals. Hopefully this will improve.

First update from the road. . .

Hey all!
Right now, we are stopped at one of our four days off in Greenville, SC. We have gone 284 miles. Today, we got to meet with our awesome sponsors at Hincapie Sports. They've designed our jerseys, and hooked us up with some pretty sweet cycling clothes. I think I'm starting to develop a southern accent.

The first few days have been pretty interesting. People are still trying to feel each other out and get used to riding (and eating) this much.

We all arrived in Charleston, SC on Monday, May 24, and had a two day orientation. We went for our 20 mile shakedown ride on Tuesday. I ended up with a flat tire about one block in and had to stop to change it. Charleston is a pretty cool city. On Wednesday, we had our first build day. We replaced an entire roof in one day.

Thursday was our first ride day. I rode sweep with Megan, one of the four trip leaders. It was pretty slow going. The two sweep riders ride behind all of the other riders to make sure that everyone gets there. Sweep is kind of fun. It's a pretty relaxing day, but it can be long. I always end up right in front of them anyway. We rode for a total of 56 miles, and stayed the night at a church in Moncks Corner, SC.

Friday was our second ride day. It ended up being about an 80 mile day, and I didn't make it the entire way. I couldn't go any further once we hit 60 miles. We stayed in Sumter, SC.

Saturday was a shorter day. We did 46 miles, and stayed in Columbia.

Sunday, we made it about 60 miles from Columbia to Newberry. Newberry was a very small town, and everything was closed. It seemed like a good night to try to paint our trailer, so a group of us worked really hard on it for several hours. Then it rained, and it was gone. We still have yet to paint it.

Monday was extremely rainy. I wiped out biking over a RR track when I skid out and my wheel got caught. I have some pretty nice bruises on my left side. I also have been having some seat trouble. I lowered it, and had trouble going up hill and my hips hurt. Then I raised it, and my knee hurt. We made it the 70 miles. We are now in the foothills of the Appalachians, so it's been all uphill and will continue to be for a while (I think they said until Alabama). Tomorrow we will be in Georgia, which will be cool. Tonight we have dinner provided by one of our awesome board members. Look for an update in the next week or so. A lot of the places we stay at don't have wi-fi, and there are 32 riders who also need to use the computer. Next time, I will try to upload some pictures.

Mail Drops

Okay, folks! I leave tomorrow, and I have yet to post my mail drops for this summer. So here they are, along with mailing instructions:

Please address mail to:

Bike & Build
Attn: Jillian Zingale
General Delivery
STREET ADDRESS (if noted)
CITY, ST ZIP


South Carolina
June 01
300 East Washington Street
Greenville, SC 29601

June 08
1814 Beltline Road Southwest
Decatur, AL 35601-6259

June 15
304 West Michigan Street
Stuttgart, AR 72160-3122

June 22
305 Northwest 5th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-9998

June 29
301 East Main Street
Trinidad, CO 81082-2712

July 03
8585 Criterion Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920-1045

July 13
235 Puppy Smith Street
Aspen, CO 81611-9998

July 20
95 West 100 South
Provo, UT 84601-6099

July 27
770 South 13th Street
Boise, ID 83708-0001

August 03
240 North Main Street
Alturas, CA 96101-4047

August 10
18 Oak Street
Brentwood, CA 94513-1301

I really like mail, and I will be looking forward to receiving it! Also, if you want to receive a postcard, send me your mailing address either in a message or in an email at jzingale88@gmail.com.

I will not have access to a computer every day, but I will update this as often as I can. Also, you should check out the SC2SC route tracker for updates from other riders and location. It's pretty cool! http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/route.php?route=SC2SC&year=2010

Thanks to all of you who supported me, either by donating, buying a hat, giving me awesome gear discounts, or just by being fantastic.

It's April! (almost)

Hi all,
So I've slacked off a little bit on the posting. I have received my bike, and it's fantastic. For those of you who are interested in bikes, it is a Giant Defy II. It is absolutely amazing, and I love it. It's so much easier to ride than my mountain bike.
I'm doing excellent with my fundraising. I am now up to $2,200, with more hopefully coming in after today. I presented my research on affordable housing today in a poster display at my school's Community Scholars Day. I think it generated a lot of interest. People were coming to talk to me about it all day.
I've been working with my local bike shop, ATA Bike, to properly fit my bike for me. They have been wonderful, and have taught me so much about bike care and maintenance and bike products. The only thing that my bike should need now is a shorter handlebar. When I ride for more than 10 miles, my elbows really start to hurt. The distance between the bars is too great, and I'm not able to bend my elbows enough. It's an easy fix, and should make a big difference in my riding!
Thanks to all who supported me today at the Community of Scholars Day! I had a great time talking with all of you.

January Update

Hey! Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a great holiday as well.

I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know where I am in my fundraising and training. As some of you know, I had my hat sale on December 7th and 8th. Between that and the hat requests that I have received, I have made around $250, with more requests still coming! In addition, I did receive several large donations from family members over the holidays, which brings me up to a current total of $700. I only have $300 more before I can receive my bike!

My next step is to write fundraising letters to all of the bike shops in my area. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Over break, I started training. I am biking an average of 20 miles a day.

Thanks for all of your support!
Jillian

Getting Started

Hey All!

I set up this blog so you can keep track of me over the next year as I fundraise, train, and eventually ride my bike cross-country from Charleston, SC to Santa Cruz, CA. I will be riding with a group called Bike & Build (www.bikeandbuild.org). Bike and build is an organization that raises money to fund projects planned and executed by young adults. They have raised over 2.3 million dollars in the past seven seasons to help out with the affordable housing cause.

From May 26^th to August 14^th, I will be biking 4,131 miles with about 30 other people. My group will be stopping along the way to help build houses for affordable housing groups and to raise awareness about the affordable housing issue. We also get to spend 9 days in Colorado Springs, where we will build an entire house on top of the foundation laid the week before by the North Carolina to San Diego route.

Every rider on this trip needs to raise at least $4000, which gets donated to Bike & Build and is subsequently distributed to affordable housing organizations. Donations can be made through the Bike and Build website by clicking on my name in the dropdown menu, Jillian Zingale. All donations are tax deductible, and anything anybody can offer will help me out. I can also use your help and support in raising awareness for this cause, and by donating flyers, business cards.

My first fundraiser will be in December. I am still working to finalize the date, but I'm planning on selling some hats that I made. Donations of yarn would be appreciated, and I'll keep you updated on where it is and how it turns out! Thanks in advance for all of your help and support!