#bbsus17

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Started this crazy little journey together in Pittsburgh and now we've made it all the way to California! #h2p #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild #inyoface (at Death Valley National Park)

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Biked 100 miles alongside a levee of the Mississippi yesterday 💯 #bbsus17 (at Missisipi River, Lousiana)

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The next day we had a 53 mile ride to Elm Grove, LA. We had a scavenger hunt which involved some fun things like hay bale pics and calling my mother and convincing her that I wasn't going to law school next year. That was fun. We also made a music video about all my flat tires and took Gatorade showers. We ended the day at an alum's lake house which was beautiful. Any day that ends in a swim is a good day.

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Day 4 was an interesting ride. We heard rumors from last years riders that this ride was incredibly difficult and full of hills. Before we even had a chance to worry about the hills we encountered a very strange phenomenon: horse flies. While we were biking, we got chased by a swarm of horse flies for about 10 miles. We were going around 15 mph when they found us, and tried sprinting up to 24 mph to lose them. That didn't work, and we spent many miles laughing and swatting away horse flies. They were so big we could see their shadows as they chased us. We ended the ride on an awesome bike path, and it seemed to end pretty quickly! Surprisingly, we didn't encounter any hills and had a nice arrival into Tallahassee! When we got here, I ate my first chili dog! Tallahassee is a cool city with a lot of art and a very cool fountain.

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On the side of adorable housing🏡🛠#whyweride #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild (at Tallahassee, Florida)

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Once we got to St. Augustine, a few of us went to Castillo de San Marcos and became junior park rangers! Castillo de San Marcos was a 344 year old Spanish fort. It was possibly the first time I've been to a national monument? (Correct me if I'm wrong Mom). Challenge to my kindergarteners at Carriage House: can any of you guys become junior park rangers this summer? I had a lot of fun!

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We had another difficult 74 mile day, but I felt pretty good and ended up leading a lot of the ride. The scenery was beautiful and we passed so many farms and rolling fields. We saw lots of cows, horses, goats, and llamas! When we made it to Perry, FL, we got to camp! We had cool campgrounds and got to have another nice swim after our ride. We played some mini golf and ate pulled pork, but called it a night at 9:15 because we had a 4:30am wake up call to try to beat the heat.

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Riding!

We've had some challenging rides since I last posted, and it's the main reason I haven't posted! We had an 86 mile ride in 95 degree heat the other day and it was incredibly challenging. It was ultimately a lot of fun and my team really kept me going. After we spent 25 miles on the hottest blacktop ever, we had an awesome stop for cheese popcorn and popsicles at a grocery store. We ended up being on the road from about 7:30am until 5:30 at night which was pretty exhausting. We got to spend a lot of time on the bike trail that day which meant a lot of laughs, so even though it was the hardest ride I've ever done it was still a lot of fun! It didn't hurt that the Lake City community pool let us take a swim as soon as we got back!

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Today we worked with Beaches Habitat on a housing development. They're working on a development of 70 homes to help families who don't currently have affordable housing!! I got to install hurricane rods in 3 homes, which was very cool and important. This is why we ride🏚➡️🏘!!! Also, I'm low key learning how to hackey sack. Stay tuned for updates on that.

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We raised over $180k, volunteered over 3500 hours, and biked 4,049 miles for affordable housing. I am so grateful for the friends who have inspired me, empowered me and laughed with me for 4000 miles. I'm so proud of my SUS17 family and to call myself a Bike & Build alum!🚴🏼‍♀️ #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild #bestdayever #affordablehousing (at Monterey, California)

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We biked, we built, we conquered. 4049 miles later and the SUS17 fam has made it to the Pacific! #bestdayever #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild (at Monterey, California)

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When you climb a mountain, you turn around. And dance. 📽: @jessiebiser #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild #tiogapass #findyourpark (at Yosemite National Park)

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Didn't find a state sign but we did find a boat. Welcome to Nevada! #bikeandbuild #bbsus17 #bikeandbougie (at Nevada)

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Thanks for saying yes to everything--especially crazy post-ride hikes #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild (at Angels Landing)

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Zion is a dream and a half 🌞 #thenarrows #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild (at Zion National Park)

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Shotguns at the state line ✔️ Sunset over the mountains ✔️ Shenanigans at the build site ✔️ 11/10 would recommend Colorado #bbsus17 #bikeandbuild #affordablehousing #whyweride (at Durango, Colorado)