Portsmouth

So Bike and Build has officially started. We have had three days in Portsmouth, our first orientation half-day, our second day of a short bike and some clinics, and we just finished our third day of orientation with our first build. We have a great group, everyone seems to be getting along and we are having a great time.

Our first day was just some basic introductions and rule along with some free play time. Then at night we went to the Chuckie Cheese's right next to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church where we are staying.

The second day we woke up at the fresh hour of 7:30 (or something like that) it was very early nonetheless, but not as early as the rest of the summer. We all had a hearty breakfast of bagels and Cheerios and then it was off to learn about bikes. I actually ended up teaching the bike clinic since it seems that I'm one of the more experienced bike mechanics on the trip. I had a nice presentation on how to mount a tire and change a tube then we all got to practice that for a while, especially since many people had bought aftermarket tires for their bike. I then went over a basic clean/lube/inspection of the main parts of your bike so that every one can keep their bikes working well. After we all go that one figured out we got our bikes in working condition and a representative of the American League of Cyclists or something like that. We learned about hand signals, safety etc. And in the middle of the talk a UPS truck pulled up with Ian's bike so I did a quick bike build before our first ride (the shakedown ride). It was 10ish miles through Portsmouth. We kept it pretty slow and we all rode as a group. The route wasn't the best, at one point 30 cyclists had to cross four lanes of traffic to get to the left hand turn lane, along with going through several four way stops (that had traffic). We all arrived back at the church safe and sound. We then had a wonderful dinner at another church in Portsmouth. There was no Chuckie that night (much to our dismay) but we did build a fort out of sleeping bags and other random things and watched Akeelah and the Bee then went to bed.

Today was another early morning (6:30 I think). We drove out to Farmington, NH where we worked on a Habitat build site. It was pretty exciting, we got to meet the Director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for New England (turns out he was a cat 3 racer in Washington DC, pretty cool). There was also a reporter and photographer for the daily newspaper in the Farmington area, so I very well could have my first quote and picture in the paper. Throughout the day I helped to: install a doorknob, put down some plastic (glamorous ain't it), the put a rain diverter on the roof of two houses so you can now walk out the door and not get water dripping down your shirt, spread some dirt... a lot of dirt..., and finally pounded some nails for a shed. Overall a good day. We then went to the local middle school took showers and came back to the church. I must get off the computer and help paint the BnB trailer.

It's going to be a great summer, I am so excited and we have great group of riders.

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair or the future of the human race.
-- H.G. Wells