More!

It's weird to think about how much life has changed since I started this trip. I didn't go outside much, I didn't exercise much, I didn't eat much, and I didn't sleep much.

I guess the not sleeping thing has changed, but everything else has. We are outside for about 10 hours a day. 10 hours!!!!!!!! We are living a dream, it's so crazy. But, alas, I have ended up getting some patchy sunburns. Mary and I have concluded that spray-on sunblock is a sham. Every time I use it I get streaks of sunburn all over my non-spandexed body parts, and I'm getting tired of it.
And we exercise. A lot. We biked 104 miles over the Ozarks (supposedly) the other day (I still can't believe it), then had a build day, a 50 mile day, and another 90 mile day. It's wild. Yet I still look basically the same. How long does it take for the Amazon woman's body to develop? I'm pretty sure I'm on my way, but full development would probably require me to bike back from Oregon to Florida, and I don't think I would be able to handle that.

I also eat an average of about 12 cookies a day. That average is directly related to when the last mail drop was. Thank you, parents and friends! You're baking keeps the meat on our bones, whether we want it there or not.

But not anything about Bike and Build is perfect. For example, if the leaders could please just tell us where the lightning will strike, we wouldn't have to stop every time it thunderstorms. We could just avoid those places. Or if Amelia or Kristian could maybe go through our 3800 miles of road and spraypaint every pothole on the shoulder, that would really help too. Does that seem like too much to ask?

What's fun about little glitches in our day-to-day lives is that it makes B&B a legitimate adventure. Sure, we don't carry our packs and the most food foraging we do is through our coolers, but getting lost once in a while and rerouting and those kinds of things makes everyone (and by everyone, I mean myself) feel like we are really travelling from place to place, and that bikes are simply our means of transportation to and from each build site.

And while I've been yelled at and honked at by my fair share of drivers, most are pretty good to cyclists. And the people who host us are amazinggggggggggggg. And the people on the trip are amazing too. Everyone likes each other, it's so bizarre. Since when have you been in a group where all 31 people are close friends and practically a family? I'm a little nervous to go back home after this. I think I'm going to make Anna (my roommate in Gainesville) sleep in my bed with me since I've gotten so used to sharing a room with at least a dozen other people. But we'll see.

Also, I am sitting next to the creepiest man in the library right now. He is looking at his MySpace and dancing a lot. I am not overexaggerating. This is bizarre. I think I have to go, for my own safety's sake. And because laughing in the library is generally frowned upon.

P.S. Manhattan is awesome!!!!!!!! We had a feaux prom last night, I'll post pictures eventually. I wore a tablecloth.