Save the Turtles

Right now I am blogging from a beautiful front porch in Belhaven, North Carolina. The NC2SD 2015 Bike and Build route has started. I can't even believe it. On Friday, I arrived at Nags Head Church, where I was greeted by my four team leaders, Marlee, Jackie, Nyx, and Ben. The rest of the team was there by 2:30 and it was AWESOME to finally meet all these people I'd be corresponding with since January. 

For those who are wondering, we mostly stay at churches on our quest across the country. The people I have encountered along the way have been more generous than I ever could have imagined. I'm blown away by people's kindness and hospitality. 

On Saturday we went on a "shakedown" ride so our leaders could see our different riding styles and we could practicing signaling and riding in a group. We rode to the lighthouse on nags head and back to the church. 

Then Sunday was our first ride! 67 miles! I have never been more excited to get up at 5:00 am. We had a couple members of the silver riders lead us out of Nags Head and a police escort. I want to thank these amazing people. Y'all are awesome and this would not be possible without you guys! 

Funny story... I got my first flat on big blue! We had to ride on five mile bridge to get off the island, and there was a lot of debris/random objects on the side of the road. When my teammate, zack and I pulled over to check things out we found a giant nail in my back tire! Ah! Gator skins are great, but not great enough to deter stray nails. Anyways, zack helped me change the tire and we kept it moving. Overall, the route was wonderful. North Carolina is such a beautiful state and I'm so blessed to be moving back here in August. 

After lunch (which consisted of peanut butter and jelly and a dance party) I teamed up with a different group and we rode to Swan Quarter, NC. We stayed at another generous church, who fed us a delicious meal and had a service for us. 

The thing I really like about bike and build so far is that it helps you believe in people. Some of us may have had bad experiences with people in the past, but everyone I have met on this trip is more than willing to help, led a hand, and feed us. I hope one day I can pass that along to someone else too. (Maybe even another hungry cyclist.) 

Today we ride 31 miles to Belhaven, which was nice after 67 miles yesterday. I'm not going to lie... That last ten miles HURT, especially with the wind whipping around like it was the past couple days. I rode with a different group this time. Our leaders have really been encouraging us to ride with different people everyday. I definitely agree with this because it's fun getting to know everyone and hearing about where everyone is from. I love this group of people and I think we are going to do great work this summer. 

We had some fun adventures on the way today... Bug attacks, snack breaks, and we even found a playground to take over. When we arrived at the church, we had members of the congregation waiting for us to let us use their showers and do our laundry! I was so excited/shocked. Nyx, Evan, Lars, and I went with a sweet lady named Lyda. Lyda fixed lunch for us ( and coffee... Yay! ) and even helped me mail stuff home. We sat in her kitchen for a long time and talked with her and her friend who came by to meet us. People are so amazed at what we are going to accomplish this summer! 

To everyone who has lended us a hand thus far, thank you. It helps to know that we are not in this alone. 

*sorry for any spelling/grammatical mistakes... 

Don't forget to pick up stray turtles you see the road. 

Xoxo everyone.