Back Across. The Journey Home.

The posting isn't done just yet. Rather than flying home, I took the support van back from San Francisco to Philadelphia, PA. It took us a mere 10 days to drive back across the USA. We stopped in national parks, and slept in rest stops. It was a whirlwind tour, which really can't be compared with a bike trip across the country... we know this. But I was fortunate enough to travel with some great riders, and took a few 35mm pictures along the way. Hope you enjoy.

A morning in the Grand Canyon.

Jenny, Sonya, Me and Sarah

Waiting for our turn through a tunnel in Zion National Park

The night sky from atop the City Museum in St. Louis, MO

A 62lb squash harvested from a garden along the way

If you'd like to see a nice collection of pictures I took from the trip feel free to check out a set of web albums I put online. These are by no means all the pictures... just some pretty nice ones from end to end of the trip.

Feels Good to be Home!

So as you may have heard... we did it! The same 32 who left Providence, RI back in early June made it to the west coast, dipped our tires in the Pacific and then plunged into the icy waters on August 13th. It was a great feeling, and I hope you all had fun following along.

Since my last update was in Nevada (an I apologize for this) I'll continue with a couple of blog posts to wrap up Bike and Build. Making it to California was a great feeling. We reached the California border just before getting to our host in South Lake Tahoe. This was a beautiful day. We descended to the lake and then rode for about 7 miles along its shore. The lake was as blue as everyone says it is, and surrounded by huge mountains... it's pretty surreal. After a lovely day off in South Lake Tahoe we pressed on for our finals days of riding.

It's all a bit of a blur... the days leading up to crossing the Golden Gate. We met up with another Bike and Build group in Davis, CA mere days before we both finished our respective trips. We had our last chores, our last morning playlists, and our last days in spandex for 12 hours at a time. We rode into San Rafael and spotted the bay for the first time. We were a mere 20 miles from our destination, and we were excited.

That night we feasted on huge amounts of guacamole, and were treated to a concert by the churchgoers. The next morning we were buzzing. Chores to do: clean the trailer, clean the van, pack your bin one more time, inventory everything. We hopped on our bikes by 11am and took off as a group. This was the first time we've ridden as a group (all 32) since Providence. It felt great. We had a quick wrong turn, but no one cared. We eventually made it to THE BRIDGE. We stopped briefly to pick up Miranda, a rider who broke her collar bone just weeks before. She went back for quick surgery then was hooked up to Sean's bike just moments before crossing the bridge and was towed end to end and down to Baker Beach.

What a scene it was on the beach. We swerved down the coastal roads following the bridge and caught sight of the sign for Baker Beach. From then on it was non-stop yelling and cheering. We saw lots of family members lining our path to the Pacific. We ducked under a huge bike and build banner and full on sprinted to the sand. We all dove right into the huge swells that were crashing on the beach. We all cheered our loudest, and hugged and danced. It felt great to be in the ocean.

I hope you all enjoyed following along. We all had an amazing time, and I feel lucky to have had such an experience and work for affordable housing all summer. Moreover, I'm privileged to have ridden alongside some of the finest people I've ever met. This wouldn't have been possible without all of you or all of them. Many thanks and much love.

rob