Getting geared up....literally

Yesterday and today were the first two days of my Bike and Build adventure! So far, we have been dressed, fitted, drilled, and thrown into a pile of exciting information about the journey in front of us. I now know how to change a flat tire, for instance! (very important). We kicked off the weekend with some rules, basic bike maintenance instruction, and ice breaker games. And last night we had a fantastic late night jaunt across, over, and through some rather large sand dunes.

If you did not know, there are about 33 of us. So there are a lot of names to learn! It is my goal to meet up with each and every one of my crew mates and get to know each throughout this summer. And so in order to ensure this happens, I am going to attempt to write mini profiles about each of my new friends, with one or two included with each of my entries. Today I am starting with Andrew Linville.

Andrew Linville
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Andrew is a BFG. (Thats a "big friendly giant for all of you non Roald Dahl fanatics). Meaning, Andrew is very tall and very nice. I had the privilege of riding (in a car) from Chapel Hill to Nags Head with him and my Dad. Andrew has spent the last two years of school at Davidson College, but has spent most of his life in the lovely New York City. He has one brother and some pretty smart parents. With a father who has been a lawyer and a mother who has her own landscaping business, it is no wonder he is such an observant and thoughtful person. I found it especially impressive that, as a sophomore, he has lead several outdoor trips for Davidson students, including pre-orientation trips for incoming Freshman last summer. Coincidentally, my NC Outward Bound crew ran into one of these such groups on the French Broad River. I remember because they had awesome big red canoes that said "Davidson" on the side. I look forward to getting to know Andrew even more over the coming weeks! Below is a photo of him helping paint our van that will hold all of our stuff this summer. You can read more about Andrew on his bio page: http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3713

From Bike and Build (North Carolina)

Today we also biked from Nags Head to the Bodie Island Lighthouse. The short 20 miles rounded me up to my 500 pre-trip milage, and we even learned a little of NC coastal history. For instance, did you know that the lighthouses are meant to be constructed very close to 40 miles apart from each other so the ships would be able to see both as the reached the shore? Even so, it is incredible how many ships have been claimed by the OBX. After that, we biked to some public showers and after a dip in the ocean and a scrubily bubbly, we stopped on the way home for ice cream.I had some german chocolate and coffee ice cream...mmmmm.

From Bike and Build (North Carolina)

Well, I best get going to dinner!