As stated many times throughout the past few posts, I've been a lot less intentional about actually updating you fine folks on the stories/happenings of Coastal Drift 2015. Sincerest apologies - but I'm going to make up for it right here, right now, by telling you a bit about the experience and sharing some photos that I've stolen from others via facebook (because I was equally terrible at documenting this experience with photos).
Immediately following Servio Deo, I took a quick night's nap at my parents house, grabbed my backpack and helmet, and hopped on a plane to Boston. In the few hours of travel to Boston, I realized I had done the math wrong (twice) ending up in Boston on the completely wrong day. I spent one night in Boston, traveled up to Stratham via many forms of transportation, and joined the team, sans bike, a day early. When I arrived in Stratham, we were staying at a Porsche dealership. Mildly/extremely swanky/shocking for expectations of sleeping on a church basement floor. When I was riding (in a taxi) to the host, we passed a bunch of folks on bikes that I didn't know at all, but knew I was about to meet, and I had to practice a bit of self control not to yell out the window at these strangers. First impressions, ya know?
The first few days were, to be honest, slightly rough. It's definitely hard to jump into a team that has been together almost a week already, and to do so without my bike there yet on the first day. I was stuck in the Van from Stratham to Salem, but enjoyed the company of Greg and Courtney. That first day was a super rainy, and incredibly cold day, so many riders made comments of it being a good day to be stuck in the van - but I knew that I would rather have been in the rain with them, because what better get-to-know-you/bond with a team activity is there than getting hypothermia together?
Our first build was the next day, in Salem, and somewhere in that process I made a few friends, ice cream and bagels were permanently renamed sugar milk and sugar bagels in my brain, and we bid farewell to the first friend I made.
I overlapped by a day or two with the folks who were only riding the first week of the trip, and naturally, I had befriended two of these fine folks over those two short days. Sarah Nelson was one of these two (and she got to rejoin us for our last day, yay), and just before leaving she walked over and very harshly said, "Am I still the only one talking to you, gah." Twas harsh, but also pushed me out of my skin to force myself to make friends with the other folks who had fallen into a rhythm on the team already. She's neat, and I'm a fan of her. She also did CUS many years before me, so it was fun reminiscing about different cities/hosts/rides that we had both done in previous summers.
Build 1: SalemWe were tearing apart the inside of a house all day and it was a blast/permanently damaged my lungs. For the first half of the day, I hung out in the dumpster organizing the bigger trash so that we could maximize space used in the dumpster. This is where I befriended Brandon and Nate as they were in the dumpster all morning with me organizing trash. It was one of the best builds simply because hanging out with the guys made me feel like I was part of the team for the first time in the whole trip. (Even though it was only the 2nd/3rdish day, time moves slowly on B&B and it seemed like I had been there forever and met no one).
Ride 1: PlymouthThe next day we rode out of Salem to Carver (right outside of Plymouth). We got incredibly lost riding through Boston. Macy & Nat brough comedic relief with Macy's bacon pocket and random foods being shoved in everyone's faces as we searched for directions. Right at the end of the city, we played in a neat playground, and then we got to add our newest rider to our group at the end of the day (3 of us added in the middle of the trip).
Ride 2: NantucketWe rode from Carver on to Hyannis, where we were going to catch a ferry to Nantucket, where we would build the next day. I rode with Brandon, Nate, Sheetz, Julia, and Allison (I think). We were told that we didn't have to be at the Ferry until 3, so we took our time getting out of town - hike around looking for an overlook that our host had told us about, stopped at a bike shop in town. We didn't leave the Carver area until about 10, but we still felt pretty good about the ride that day. Around 12:30, we saw a text that said the ferry was sooner than expected, and everyone had to get there by 1:40 - so we sprinted for about 10 miles before we felt good about getting there on time. We had seen sweep (the last riders for a given day) not long before we started that sprint, but due to a random turn being chalked wrong, they got a bit lost, added a lot of miles, and barely made the ferry. They also tell the story way better - essentially, we almost lost sweep and folks were slightly salty about chalking for a few days.
But then - we rode on a ferry! For two hours...it was pretty exciting at first, but within a half hour we all had fallen asleep all across the boat. Eventually, we arrived, unloaded all our belongings into a big truck, and rode on cobblestone streets through Nantucket to get to our host - another surprisingly swanky location. We stayed at a little house that had tons of beds and couches and a pool and a beautiful back porch where we hung out a lot. Twas a nice host to stay for two nights, and it was fun to get to know all the folks that were involved in hosting us there. Easily some of my favorite human interactions of the trip.
Build 2: NantucketWe worked with Housing Nantucket doing a lot of landscaping-esque work. I learned how to drive some heavy machinery (the name of this machine was up for debate, so I can't remember what it was actually called). It was neat to learn about Affordable Housing in a place like Nantucket, because it was so well kept and is such a vacation-land that I wouldn't normally thing that there would be any housing crisis in this environment - but that it is very prevalent with folks who live there year-round due to the constant overturn of folks who are just visiting.
After the build, we explored a tad, and visited a really cool coffee shop called Handlebar, as they had brought coffee and muffins to our build that morning. If you're ever in Nantucket - highly recommended. Stellar coffee and nice folks. Spent the evening hanging out with the guys and befriending Joe. Lots of folks watched orange is the new black and cuddled, meanwhile we hung on the porch and in the pool, and I turned in fairly early.
Ride 3: MarionThe next day we rode the ferry back to Hyannis, and then rode our bikes to Marion. The ride to Marion was fun and quick and I rode with a brand new set of folks again. When we got to host, we learned there was a rowing tank that they were willing to let us use, so Rachel and I went down and rowed and played and had a grand ol' time. We tried to convince folks to let us teach them how to row, but for some reason no one was interested in more physical activity. Shame.
Ride 4: Little ComptonWe woke up to pouring rain, and while many folks stopped for breakfast, we rode through some of the heaviest rain. Brandon, Nate, Joe, Kiley and I rode hard for the entire day, missed a turn and got semi-lost, and still got to host super early. Even though it poured the whole day, this was one of my absolute favorite rides of all time. Afterwards we sat in a deceivingly nice diner, learned of the time Joe got kidnapped in Uganda, told many more stories, and then headed back to host to shower before meeting about grants - another reason that this was the best day ever. Grant meeting is one of my absolute favorite things about Bike & Build. My favorite memory from last year was of the ride into the town where we did our grant meeting, and the night we discussed grants (in Maupin OR). And then we got to do it again here in Little Compton RI. It's exciting to see everyone get so excited about the projects we get to choose to fund and to get so involved in the cause that we're riding for.
Ride 5: North Stonington
This was our first longish day. Several folks decided to make the day even longer so that they could get a century in on drift, and so that a few folks could ride their first century, and at the beginning of the day I was pretty sure I would be one of those folks. Somewhere along the way, Joe got a flat and we lost our group. We made several wrong turns. Eventually, we gave up and just decided to enjoy the 80 mile day - which was a good choice overall. We kept crossing paths with mob, who I had told many times how she intimidates me, and throughout the ride she got less, and less intimidating - except when it came to chalking, because she's a master chalker.
After lunch, I ran out of water really early (it was our first semi-hot day too), and we took a nap on the side of a fairly busy rode (oops). When mob passed us nappin it was kinda funny to watch her facial expressions change as she understood we were strewn out on the side of the rode on purpose and not because of injury. Eventually, all three of us made it to hose at the same time, after following a few mis-directions to the wrong Main street, and laid in the parking lot for a bit.
We did our first Bike Clinic at this host with the kids from their VBS, which was a lot of fun. Nate is basically everyone's dream big brother and rode around the parking lot with them far past when the bike clinic was over. Other notable things: This church was known for selling pies throughout the year, so they had tons of wonderful pies that evening for us.
Ride 6: New Haven
We woke up to the news that there was no running water in North Stonington, and running water is fairly necessary for the morning routine of 30ish folks engaging in athletic activity every day. (Ya know, hydration, pooping, etc). We never got up and out of a host as quickly as we did in North Stonington as we all headed down the rode to a gas station where we probably used a months-worth of their water. Swell.
We also woke thinking that Prom would be that night (it got moved to the following night after the ride though), so the day was filled with many prom proposals.
I rode with Macy and Nat for the first half of the day, which was mildly hilarious. Any time around those two, even time spent climbing when one really doesn't want to climb, is pretty funny. Nat fell off her bike right before lunch. I looked back and saw Nat on the ground, Macy pointing and laughing, and Nat's bike in the middle of the road. After Macy pulled out and fed us all (and Murph) a loaf of bread, we eventually hopped back on the road.
After lunch, I switched over to ride with the guys because everyone else was resting a bit longer, and I needed to make a few work-related phone calls whenever I got into host. We knocked out the second half of the day in no time, and just as we got into New Haven it started pouring down rain, thundering/lighting-ing like crazy, and got super windy. While everyone else had fun stories of taking cover in random middle-of-nowhere spots, we knew that we were only 1.5 miles from host, so we decided to go ahead and get there. Apparently 1.5 miles takes a lot longer on city streets. Just about a half mile from host, Sheetz looked up with a sad face and told us he had a flat, so we pulled into a tiny bank awning, threw random supplies at him to help him change his flat quicker, and got back on the road in no time. Once again, one of my favorite 1.5 miles of any b&b experience. I don't know why, but riding with these guys is always my favorite.
Nothing too exciting that night other than staying in Yale's Catholic Center, which had a full sized cardboard cutout of Pope Francis. My biggest regret in life is not taking a photo with the Pope here. Rats.
Build 3: New Haven
This one was especially fun, as we split into groups to accomplish a ton of different projects. At the end of the day, it was neat to get to hear what everyone else did. Our site (Greg, Blake, Nate, Brandon, Sean, & Joe) went to a nearby wall which was about to be painted by a local artist and removed 4 stumps from right in front of the wall. It was ridiculous. Blake and Brandon bounced with all their weight on one of the stumps to get our first one out just before lunch after spending the whole morning digging deep and wide around the roots. Having a wall right next to the stumps was definitely a challenge. Right after lunch, I hit a root too hard with my shovel and re-fractured the break in my hand from just before the trip, so I spent the afternoon doing smaller stuff (like sawing things into a small enough, transportable form). By 4, the team had gotten all 4 stumps out though (even though we were supposed to leave at 3).
That evening was Prom. My 'date' was Blake. He asked me that morning by waking me with the song that I woke everyone up with pretty much every morning last year - Love On Top. Twas a fun-ish time. As usual with our team, there was plenty of Karaoke and dancing.
Ride 7: Greenwich
I woke up not feeling so hot on this particular morning. We only had about 54 miles, so several folks went to a diner for breakfast after departing from the host. At this diner, I took about an hour long nap with my helmet as my pillow and ate no food. I threw some toast in my pocket in the off chance I felt like eating later.
I rode all day with Macy, Meg, and Nat (and occasionally mob), and the entire day, without me realizing it, they kept an eye on me and kept someone behind me at all times because of how tired/sick I was and how that was causing me to ride in perhaps not the safest of manners. At lunch, I ate part of a tiny muffin and some berries, and then took about 3 naps. Then we rode on the Greenwich at my pathetically slow pace. I didn't know until the end of the day that they had been so intentionally watching me/keeping up with me throughout the day. I was pretty grateful to have teammates who cared - because I know many folks would have hated to ride with me that day, but somehow they managed to make a pretty bad day a fairly memorable one. (I could get more sappy, but this is a long post already so whatever).
That evening we stayed at an Alum's house in Greenwich, where his parents fed us incredibly well, and where we had our final family meeting where we did trip his and lows, and closing thoughts. Twas sad. It ran incredibly late, but no one seemed too phased by it as we knew the next day was our last day with everyone there.
Ride 8: New York!
I wanted to finish out Drift riding with the first folks that befriended me in a dumpster, Nate, Brandon, and Sheetz. It was a short ride, with a few wrong turns (somewhat of a theme throughout this trip), and a few flats riding through the city. At one point, we were riding on a super busy road but Nate and I were weaving in and out of the lanes we needed to be in and Brandon was controlling traffic from the back and everything just seemed to click while riding with these folks. We thought we were going to be late to get to the park where we were all meeting before riding over the Brooklyn Bridge, but somehow we made it there with plenty of time to spare. Once everyone except sweep had met up, we rode to the top of the bridge, took photos (I took an accidental nap), and then rode down together as a team once sweep rejoined us.
Last year, I remember being severely overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time when we finally made it to Cannon Beach, and that's exactly how I felt once we finished in New York. I knew Joe was leaving us within the hour, and I knew that I had just begun to get to know a lot of the folks on this team. I kind of avoided the idea that this was the end of our trip (because we still had a build day), and just hung back and watched everyone celebrate. I guess that has become somewhat of a tradition, for my celebration to be seeing others celebrate, and occasionally throwing a hug or a word into a conversation.
After wheel dip, several of us rode the subway...in rush hour...with our bikes. Because who wants to bike 8 more miles to host when you've just biked however many into New York? It was silly, but was fun to find our way/lose a few folks/split into teams of two to fit in a less obtrusive way.
After waiting for the van with our stuff whilst lying on a gym floor for about 2 hours, we showered super quickly, and headed out to find food and to meet up with some of the alums who live in NY. Jay (my co-leader from last year) joined us later in the evening. It was great to get to see him for the first time in almost a year. Two of his teammates from his first trip were also with us. Yippee.
Build 4: New York
We all woke up rather slowly, grabbed breakfast around the corner from our host, and then everyone set out in different directions to get to our build. The leaders had given us an address and told us to figure out our own way to get there - some of the guys rode their bikes there, some folks hopped on the subway and went the wrong direction, and I ran into a group that was taking the bus, so I joined them. After a few weeks of being in a big group, I realized that I had just been blindly following whatever other folks were doing because I had no responsibility/energy to realize I could easily come up with my own ideas, and I realized that as we rode the bus and I had no clue when/where we were getting off or going.
Once we got to our build site, we split into a few different tasks, but all on the same property, which was nice for our final day to be spent all together. My group painted a room, and painted several chalkboards onto walls. Lots of sad/angsty goodbye music was played. I started to get to know Alison better, just in time for the trip to end, as we spent most of our day painting together. Once we seemed to be running out of work to do inside, I bopped in and out of the other projects to see the other folks. I was kind of walking around in a haze because I was so bummed that everything was ending so soon. Once the build ended, we all headed in different directions. Kiley and I (and several others) headed out to look for bubble wrap and packing supplies as we had been trying to figure out bike shipping stuff for folks/ourselves. When we got back to host, most everyone was napping, and they guys were getting ready to head out.
I joined the guys to get into Manhattan and find dinner before going to Sarah Nelson's apartment. Sarah had been on the first half of the trip, and lives in New York, so our whole team made their way over to her apartment for our last hurrah that evening. It was a great way to end our trip, with everyone in one place enjoying everyone's company. We were staying really far away, in Brooklyn, and a lot of folks got lost or frustrated finding their way back at the end of the night. I simply fell asleep on the Subway and woke up when it was time to get off.
The End:
We all woke up the next day either sick from the anxiety of saying goodbye to everyone, or sick from not sleeping the night before. The first words I heard were Kiley reading Sean's facebook status of "I hate New York" after his adventure back to host the night before. We all slowly packed up, and went to get breakfast, and waited around for bike boxes to become available. The next 48 hours consisted of long, slow, drawn out goodbyes throughout random parts of New York. I packed up my bike and headed into town with they guys, said bye to them knowing I would see them again at dinner. Went to Jay's and walked around Central Park with Jay, Blake, and Blake's roommate. Even that small amount of time seemed like I had already left the team, but then we all met back up and walked to dinner and returned to the dreary slow goodbyes. We went to a neat rooftop to see a great view of the city, and did touristy things until the guys left on Monday afternoon. Monday night I met back up with Jay, Blake, and their friends to see Ingrid Michaelson. Twas a great way to end my time in New York. The next morning I ventured through the subway and bus and airport to get home to Nashville and was at work by noon.
I've stayed fairly distracted with work and Nashville visitors since returning, which has been grand. Hopefully, I'll never have any more free time so that I don't have to cope with Drift ending. More thoughts on that...next time I have an hour of free time to reflect. Blergh.
Til then.
