Michigan and Indiana

Michigan 

So we were able to visit Michigan for one day!  It was the most southern part of Michigan (Camden).  It was a very small town and it consisted of one block of a main street.  The host Trevor had us in his church and it was a very nice gentleman.  We shared the bond of having played rugby in the past, but his experience was very different than mine.  He grew up in South Africa where everyone in his private school was required to play rugby.  Very interesting!  Imagine if School 7 required all students to competitively.

In Michigan, I did receive my first flat tire, which was very disappointing.  I had aspirations to make it across the country without a flat tire, even though that is very unrealistic.  I had 15 plus flats during my last trip. 

Indiana

Indiana has been great so far.  I have fond memories of it from my 2009 trip.  They have friendly people, great towns, and interesting things to look at on the ride.  The ride was super fast again as we were averaging over 20 miles per hour on long flat roads.  The ride was 91 miles so it was great to move quickly and make great time.

Our destination was South Bend, Indiana.  The home of the Notre Dame, one of the most popular football programs in the country (The Fighting Irish).  Riding past the university was great and I will have pictures to follow.  The most interesting story of the day…. Ambroise and I decided to go to the athletics office and snoop around at the university.  We spoke to a woman in an office about possibly receiving free t shirts as a memento.  After telling her what we were doing she gave us some great high quality Notre Dame polo shirts.  I will have a picture soon and a post about what we call “donation magic” to follow coming up soon.

Avon Lake Hosts

 Hannah from our group posing with the corn hole game at the church in Avon Lake.
This is a great game not really found in the Northeast.  Google it!

 A picture of our group hanging out in the youth center at their church which is soon to be finished.

 This is the bike clinic some of our riders did for the community there.

 An awesome game called Kan Jam, it is played with a frisbee and two teams, a lot of fun.

A pic I forgot from downtown Cleveland.

Cleveland and Avon Lake

1) Cleveland was really cool and I will let the pictures explain themselves!
2) The hosts at Avon Lake, Ohio have been so amazing and have been the best so far.  We have had host families and beds!
3) Build day 4 was rough!- We had to gut a really smelly and really gross house so it could get ready for a new family to move in.  It was a house donated to Habitat, but it was in rough shape.  We had to take everything out and put it on the side of the road, rip up carpet and repaint the house after cleaning all the walls.  This was humbling work as we often had to leave the house for "air breaks".  The goal is that a new family (they have somewhat already been chosen) can move in before school starts in September.

 I think I am blinking here... we did three states this day- NY, Pennsylvania and Ohio

 It was 97 degrees this day so I did not have the energy to get off my bike and take a photo with this sign.

 The stadium where the Indians play.  Great stadium.  It was busy because there was an afternoon game.

 The Cleveland Cavaliers play here...

 Two pictures of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Go Browns!!!

Westfield NY

Hey everyone,
    The best ride day of my trip so far was the day from Niagara to Westfield.  It was a long ride in the middle of the heat wave, but that's ok.  We rode through urban Buffalo, NY right through the downtown area.  It was a blast because I love city riding.  Those of you who know me know I love the NY Mets.  Buffalo is the home of the farm team  of the Mets, the Buffalo Bison.  I saw signs for the stadium and decided to take a detour and go!  It was early in the morning, but I was able to take some great pictures.  Too bad I could not see a game there.  I also went to the Sabres hockey arena in the same neighborhood.  Also, a nice gentleman named Jeff had a bbq for us on our second lunch stop.  He  had an amazing property on Lake Erie and he has been a friend of Bike and Build for a # of years now.

    The town of Westfield was nice with a nice Main Street.  There was a baseball card store there and I was able to get some cool Mets cards and talk to the owner for a bit.  Otherwise we have been going to bed really early to beat the heat.  We have been waking up at four and leaving at 6am.

A view of Rochester Institute of Technology (sorry, not a very good pic)

The magnificent falls!

On the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls.  One of the riders; Donnie in the poncho and our fearless leader Sean.

Me putting some muscle into a dirt moving operation on the Niagara build.  Tan lines are in full effect!

A great mohawk shot of Charlie and myself!

Lockport + Niagara Falls

Hello,
   The ride to Lockport, NY was a nice flat ride of only 58 miles.  Unfortunately, I ate way too many cookies at the lunch stop and had a really tough time finishing the last 30 miles.  Let that be a lesson to all you aspiring athletes reading this!!!  The town was nice and a lot of nice views of the Erie Canal.

   Niagara Falls has been the highlight of our trip so far (even though I still really like the Paterson Falls).  Niagara Falls is really a humbling site.  It was the shortest ride to date and even felt like a rest day.  We quickly showered and got ready to see the sights.  The Maid of the Mist boat ride was the highlight of course (pictures coming) and walking up to the falls was breathtaking.  I did not have my passport yet so I just relaxed at the host site until the fireworks later that day because it was July 4th!
    We had the chance to rest of our legs for the most part as we had our 3rd build day.  This build day was interesting.  There was not a lot to do at the site so many of us took turns and rotated.  Niagara is an interesting area because there is a lot of history there, but it is currently a depressed area.  I am glad we could pitch in there and help.

Pictures to follow.... and we start a three day journey toward Ohio!

Western New York

Hey everyone,
   I am one day and only 22 miles (short day!) away from July 4th, a build day and Niagara Falls.  There will be some great pics to follow.  I may be only seeing the American side because my passport just arrived to my NJ apartment, and  I will be getting it in the mail next week so they let me into Vancouver, BC.  We just had our longest ride day into Rochester two days ago (90 miles).  It was our first day with two lunch stops and that worked very well.  About 12 miles before the second lunch stop we encountered some of our first flat riding in a really long time.  We were cruisin!  The 90 miles were not so bad because the last 30 went very quickly and we were excited to be back in civilization.
   My friend Jenna from my last Bike and Build trip met us at the host site and showed me around the city because she lives in Rochester.  We stayed at Rochester Institute of Technology.  It is great staying on a college campus.  There are comfy beds and  I spent a solid time getting to know someone better as a roommate.
      Jenna decided to ride with us today to the first lunch stop.  She rode 30 miles of the 58 mile day.  We were able to catch up about stories and memories from the last trip.  The riding was pretty easy today into Lockport, NY.  It is a big Erie Canal town and I have some good photos to follow.
    A lot of the guys on the trip are getting mohawks as well, including me, so I will be updating that as well with pictures when I can.