Post #11 - Sweat Equity & Tornadoes

I did my first day of "sweat equity" yesterday at a Habitat for Humanity build site in north Birmingham.  The build was in a neighborhood that was destroyed by the April 27, 2011 tornadoes.  There are several houses that are still just piles of rubble.  I really should have taken some pictures.  It was incredible to me that there are so many houses that just haven't been rebuilt or even cleaned up after a whole year.  There are still piles of rubble in my town of Cullman too.  The storms really did change the landscape of many communities across the state.

But anyways, it was a really great day working.  Omar, the site leader, was awesome to work with.  For the first hour or so it was just me, Omar, and 3 people from Starbucks working.  I guess Starbucks encourages community service among its workers.  Then a Habitat group from New Hampshire showed up.  It was a pretty funny group.  There was one older guy, a few women, and then about 15 middle and high school girls.  The Starbucks crew bailed around lunchtime, which left me and the New Hampshire crew.  I was really impressed with them.  They sat up on the trusses and climbed up ladders with no fear (ok, well just a little fear), and really just worked hard.  They were down there on Spring Break.  Seeing a bunch of kids giving up their Spring Break to help out down here was pretty awesome.  It was a really fun day.

Speaking April 27 tornadoes, Bo Jackson has been in the press a lot for his Bo Bikes Bama ride.  He is riding the path of some of the worst tornadoes.  He is coming into my hometown of Cullman today!  A buddy and I are riding tomorrow with him from Cullman to Jasper, 58 miles.  I am really really stoked.  Ken Griffey Jr is riding.  Even Lance Armstrong is going to ride the final day with Bo.  Check it out www.bobikesbama.com.

On the fundraising front, I am up to $3,580 raised!  Only $920 left to go.  So if you're holding out on me go ahead and get em in!  Hope everyone has a great week, and take some time to think about the tornado victims from a year ago.  

Post #10 - Training and Saddle Searching

So I've finally been putting in a few more miles the past few weeks. According to Strava I've ridden 267 miles in the past three weeks.  Not bad, but nowhere close to what we will be doing this summer.  I've had really good luck with the weather.  The new bike and I are starting to really figure each other out.  Here's my Strava summary:



So one thing that I've realized is that I most certainly will not get along with the stock saddle.  I ordered three different ones to try out, I'll send the other two back.  Competitive Cyclist is really great about returns and they actually recommended me doing it that way.  So I've gotta log some miles on these three this week and see what I think.

Stock

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

I'll definitely feel better once I get settled on a saddle.  I mean its kind of a big deal, I'm gonna log over 4,000 miles on one of these over the next few months.  Speaking of equipment I settled on a Garmin computer the other week.  I've used it for 6 or 7 rides now and love it.  So much data!  It's really going to be cool to see total distance, to feet climbed, and all kinds of other stuff from this summer.  Also ordered my sleeping bag last week.  I realized my 20 degree bag might be a little bit too warm for most nights so I have a Big Agnes summer bag on the way.  Super compressible and a sleeve for your sleeping pad, it'll be perfect.  Gear wise the only thing left to round up will be a mini pump.  I've always just used C02's for on the road flats, but it's much more economical to simply carry a good mini pump.  

Mmmm... Ride Data...

Fundraising.

So I am currently at $3,430 raised!  I still have $1,070 left to go.  Like I've said the whole time, any donation is greatly appreciated.  I've got just over a month to finish up.  It's a great way to do something that matters with your money AND get a nice tax deduction for next years taxes!  So donate today!