"Shut Up Legs!"

There is a famous German cyclist named Jens Voigt, who is an outstanding climber. When interviewed, they asked Jens how he keeps going up so many hills ruthlessly, he says, "When my legs start to hurt, I look down and say 'SHUT UP, LEGS!'" He's famous for this saying, but I'm pretty sure he stole it from me because I am constantly telling my legs to shut up as well as yelling at myself when I go up hills. (For more information on me talking to myself in intense situations see: "They Call Me Mr. Competitive.") The other day, we left Pepin, Wisconsin toward St. Paul, Minnesota and expected a relatively normal day. We had no warning of hills or mountains in Wisconsin so people took their time. I don't really like to stop so I pressed on with Kristen toward lunch and we were met by the biggest hills we've seen probably since the East coast. It was brutal. Hill after hill appeared over the horizon, but we finally made it to lunch. At lunch, someone said, "Well, it's all flat from here." That person lied to me. We continued to climb hills all afternoon arriving in St. Paul to what looked like the mother hill. It was nearly straight up for .2 miles. We pumped ourselves up and got in the zone and then realized at the top that it was nothing compared to the mountains of the morning. I think that day proved one of the tougher ones in the Midwest, but I think we can all learn a little something from Mr. Voigt (who learned it from me). When you're in pain, just tell your body to shut up and keep going. (Unless of course you have a bone sticking out of your body or realized you've lost a limb. Then, maybe you should go see a doctor!)

Paige Hicks

For those of you who have not heard, Paige Hicks, a P2S (Providence to Seattle) leader was killed in an accident last week in South Dakota. This is not a leader on my trip, but it is terrible news. For more information, please check www.bikeandbuild.org. This is the first major accident in B&B history so please keep Paige's family in your prayers

Raise the Roof!

Today was our sixth build day of the trip as we built in Janesville, WI. I helped put up some roof trusses and then it was onto roofing. I got to be on shingle crew and we were almost able to finish the whole thing! It was a pretty awesome experience and it was the first time on the trip that I felt really like I was very helpful at a build site. We've had to do a lot of landscaping thus far so it was nice to have some building on our hands. Overall it was a very successful day.

They Call Me Mr. Competitive

No, seriously! Today at our lunch stop, we were lucky enough to eat on the porch of a bar in Lake Geneva, WI. Upon arrival, I noticed a very nice sand volleyball court and was excited when some people asked to hit the ball around. We were just having fun when someone said, "So, should we start a game?" I of course was the first to chime in with a yes! That's when it happened. Someone said, "Well, Mr. Competitive, that's not a surprise." Most people would think, "well that's rude to name call," but not this guy. It was more of a proud moment. Someone actually told me it was their goal to beat me today in volleyball, which sadly for them didn't happen because we ended up on the same team for the second game, which we lost. You will all be glad to know that I handled the loss well, didn't yell at anyone, and still laughed during the game. I may have had a pep talk with myself out loud after a botched serve, but baby steps people, baby steps.

Ride of the CENTURY!

The other day, I awoke to a challenge nobody has ever experienced before. Well, that's a total lie because thousands if not millions of people have completed the challenge, but oh well. We had just finished building in South Bend, Indiana, and needed to get to Chicago. There was just one problem. Chicago was 105 miles away. "What did you do?" you are thinking. "Did you hitchhike? Break the trip into two days? Lay down and cry?" Nay I say to you. We just got on our bikes and rode, and i completed my first century ride. Now, had the weather sucked, the ride would have been awful as well, but we really lucked out. We had a tailwind for most of the ride (our first of the trip), and everyone knocked out the first 40 miles in just over two hours! When we got into Chicago, we got to ride in on the Lakeshore Path, which was so nice. The view of the city was incredible. In the city, I met up with some friends from camp and ran into a good friend who I haven't seen in years. She was working at our host church! Crazy! Chicago was by far the best ride of the trip, and I'm so excited to say I have finished my first century and lived to tell about it. Of course, that will be nothing when we ride 119 in the wind in North Dakota. For now, we'll just pretend like that isn't going to happen!

P.S. I Have a Mohawk!

I needed a haircut yesterday and instead of just cutting my hair short, Kelly created a masterpiece. I now have a mohawk for a few days. I will try to post pictures later.

OHPA!

You may be reading this and think, based on the title, that I have just come home from a Greek wedding. That is, however, not the case, though I did pass a Greek Orthodox Church on the way here so I guess I could have tried. In the past three days, I have completed two more states. Ohio and Pennsylvania flew by and we are now in Camden, Michigan. While in Ashtabula, Ohio, we stopped for a build day and were again split into three different groups. One group went to pull up roots to prepare a site for the foundation. Another group went to help paint buildings for the community center, and my group ended up at G.O. Ministries' soup kitchen. You may be thinking, "Michael, that doesn't deal with affordable housing!" When we cannot find enough work to do in a town, Bike & Builders will serve wherever needed. We picked up trash around the outside, got rid of some siding, and put together food boxes for members of the community. The center just received news that they are going to be getting a new building and are so excited to get started with the changes. When we awoke in Ashtabula, we were greeted by some terrible storms. Our ride for the day was cancelled and we had to shuttle to Avon Lake, which was such a hassle, but when we arrived, they had awesome snacks, cornhole, and Monopoly. I got a little too into the board game, but it was still fun. Avon Lake provided our first host visit, where we stay with the actual members of the church at their houses. Tony and I stayed with the Coy family, and it was so great. We ate dinner with over 80 members of the church then headed to one of their lake houses. We all jumped right into the crashing waves of Lake Erie and swam around for over an hour. The waves were literally 8 feet tall. We then headed back to finish our laundry, and then found out we both had our own room with a queen size bed. When the 5 AM wake up call came, I was not too eager to get out of bed. We headed out on a 90 mile ride to Bowling Green, which was soooooooo flat and nice. We arrived around 2 and relaxed for the rest of the day. Today was a 77 mile ride here to Camden, Michigan, and it was a bit more windy. We stopped at a Dairy Queen, and I talked to some nice ladies in line, who ended up buying my slushie and giving a small donation to Bike & Build. It is so cool how many people I have talked to on the street about our wonderful cause. For all of you following out there, and especially you Dairy Queen family, thank you so much for all of your support. Tomorrow, I get to see my parents and I can't wait! Indiana, here I come!