What's it like...?

What is it like to bike across the country with a group of 28-40 other people? 

Depending upon the time of day there are multiple answers to that question. Much of this past week I would have answered, "exhausting." We've been sleeping on thin (2") and narrow (20") therm-a-rests on a different floor almost every night. On a good night there are only 2-4 other people in the same room. On a not so good night we are all in the same gym (or smaller) and you hope the snorers are far on the other side or there is a loud fan to provide some white noise. Whatever the location may be, I rarely have control over when the lights go off or the alarm rings in the morning. Despite all this, I feel like I've been sleeping well since the first week of the trip. I guess I was tired enough, that it didn't really matter where I was. The introvert in me needs some time to myself and sometimes the only "alone" time I've been able to get has been on my bike. Add it all up, and earlier this week I wondered how much more I could take. A quiet room for an hour nap in Plummer, ID helped me feel more like my normal self.

My other answer to the question of what it is like to bike across the country is, "beautiful." Every day brings new scenery and I've decided that everything looks beautiful in the early morning sun. This week we rode 288 miles in 4 days and every day was different. (See Idaho post for details and pictures.)

I've also enjoyed getting to know both the other riders, and our hosts along the way. Tuesday evening our meal was provided by the Catholic church in Kellogg. I sat next to the priest who was from Mexico City and we had a delightful conversation about culture shock, the things he misses from home, what he loves about Idaho, and the quality of Mexican food in the US. On Wednesday during our first build day, there wasn't enough work for all of us to do. At one point I ended up sitting in the shade with Laurie, one of the Canadians who joined us for the week. We had an enjoyable conversation as we shared some of our stories with each other. At the end of our second build day the two of us ended up pulling weeds together and again our conversation was stimulating. As I said good-bye to her early Sunday morning, I wished she could stay for the final week of the trip.