Adventures of BrightShorts

whatshouldwecallme:

The most eventful morning of mornings! I never thought taking the bus would be much of an adventure, but it really was! I left my brother’s apartment in Chapel Hill around 7:45am, hoping to catch an 8am bus to Raleigh. I had just packed lunch for the day and showered in the morning…things I haven’t done in a while! After a few detours on the road (due to unfamiliarity with Chapel Hill), I came up Columbia as the CRX bus passes me on my left. 

In a panic, I started to sprint on the bike and passed the bus as it stopped for a red light. I arrived at the bus stop at 7:58, where the bus…for some reason…waited another 5 minutes. Turns out I didn’t have to rush after all. Now it’s around 10am and I’m chillin’ at DH Hill studying. It was a little chilly outside, but a beautiful day nonetheless. 

Elections are today at NC State, so vote if you are a student! Cause I sure can’t.

http://vote.ncsu.edu

Consider Caroline Yopp for president (www.yoppontop.com)

Despite troubles with shin splints early in my training, I was able to finish my half marathon last weekend with a time of 2:09:54. Just barely under the 2:10 mark. Throughout this week, I’ve been quite sore in the legs, in addition to coping with the sweet quarter-sized blister that I got from my shoe. However, I was able to get back in the gym yesterday and get some kind of cardio, even if it was on the elliptical. Non-impact is all I can do right now. 

I am looking forward to running my next event, whatever it may be. Hopefully, I can properly train and improve on my time! 

I’m looking for my next big adventure, though it may not be until this summer when I visit some 2012 Bike & Build routes. 

After a night of fun at prom, the team was a bit slow in getting up the next morning. However, we kept our journey going by riding to Upper Pahranagat Lake. On the way, we passed a small town with an amazing gas station filled with food and treats. Right across the street was a hot springs that was busy with locals. Many of the riders visited and spent a good portion of their day in the water. 

Before long, it was getting late and we needed to keep riding to get to the host. Mel and I rode together on this day, and took a very leisurely pace throughout the ride. We were one of the last ones to get in to the campsite at Pahranagat, and made it just in time for dinner. The sun was just about to set, and the view was spectacular. Despite the beauty and serenity of this site, it became the least favorite place for many of our riders…you’ll see why!

We rode about 60 miles on this day out to Caliente. On the way, we crossed our second to last state line and into the Silver State…Nevada! The ride itself wasn’t too exciting, but the change in terrain was definitely noticeable. We arrived in Caliente pretty early in the day, and had a chance to relax. 

Our host that night was the volunteer firehouse. We had spaghetti served by the families of the firefighters. That night was also Prom Night! Riders were very excited to dress up in outfits that we have found in thrift stores along our ride. The girls spent a ton of time planning the night, and we had many donations from our past hosts, and some from Coleman’s mom. We danced and sang and ate all night and had a great time at the fire house.

The morning we woke up in Washington, one of our riders had asked a girl to Bike and Build prom by writing the word “prom” on her forehead in the middle of the night. She was a very good sport about it, and it was quite funny to see! Due to the midnight showing of Harry Potter, we decided to sleep in a bit and wait until the local bike shop was open. A few of us went, and I invested in my first pair of bibs from the Red Rock Bike Shop. It’s a sweet pair made by Specialized that I put on immediately. 

The ride to Beryl was hilly, and many of us were just exhausted from the day before. The last 20 miles of the ride, however, was fun - somewhat downhill, with a great tailwind. We averaged about 25 miles per hour for that stretch of road. We stayed in a community center that night, and had an awesome breakfast provided by the host the next morning!

The morning of the 14th, we woke up and only had 35 miles to ride to the next host. Most of us stayed in Zion National Park and spent the day exploring. The group I spent the day with decided to hike to a waterfall, and check out a spot in the river to swim. The water was very cold! After all that it was already 3pm, we went back into Springdale to grab some lunch before riding out to Washington, Utah. The ride was pretty much uneventful, with the exception of a little town called Virgin, UT that had a cool looking store. We arrived in Washington around 6 or 6:30pm, and found out that there was an In-N-Out burger within walking distance. I hadn’t had it in about 3 years, so I jumped at the opportunity to go! I wasn’t extremely hungry, but it definitely hit the spot. At night, many of the riders decided to go watch the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie, while others just went to bed. Overall, I think everyone had a great time in Zion and Washington!

Kelley and I had sweep duty on the ride into Zion. The morning started with a border crossing back into Utah, only a few miles into the ride. The road had a thin shoulder and was a little scary at times. We had to stop a few times to help others with flat tires, and other problems. We had a sweet 7 or 8% grade while descending down a mountain to first lunch. The only complaint I had was that it was a little windy, and it felt a bit scary to be blown back and forth by the wind while going 35 miles and hour. By the time Kelley and I arrived at lunch, only 3 or 4 others remained there. I bought a few snacks at a gas station, and took a nap on the grass at the nearby golf course. 

After lunch, we climbed a huge hill towards the entrance of Zion National Park. The park was just remarkable, with massive rock formations surrounding us on all sides. We arrived at a tunnel and had to get into the van to be shuttled across. It was a Park policy that prohibits bicycles from riding the dark and narrow tunnel. After the tunnel, however, came my favorite descent of the trip thus far. They were a set of switchbacks that came down into the campgrounds, where we were able to pass cars going down the road. Along with the thrill of the downhill, we had amazing views of the mountains all the way down the road. Within a few minutes, the fun was over!

We arrived at the campsite, and decided to exit the park and check out the neighboring town of Springdale. There, a bunch of us checked out some stores, and restaurants. I was able to go to an outdoor store and find a pair of Chacos for about $50. Others decided to try and get donations for dinner, which we later enjoyed back at the campsite. I really wish we had more time to spend at Zion, because it had so much more to offer.

Leaving Grand Canyon National Park has difficult, because of the 10 miles of uphill that kicked off the ride. I didn’t get any pictures from this ride, but it ended up being very fun! It was Steph’s first time on her bike since her fall, and she chose to ride with me! We took it slow most of the morning, and arrived at lunch in Jacob’s Lake in a few hours. From there, we had a downhill ride into Fredonia, AZ. The ride after lunch was fast for everyone, and Steph and I were able to average over 20 miles per hour for the last 30 miles. The only hiccup that we had was a flat that Steph had about 3 miles from our host site. 

At Fredonia, we stayed in a high school, which had a sweet basketball machine that many of the riders enjoyed. It rebounded the basketballs and shot them back out to the shooters. Many of us played basketball for hours, and others just explored parts of the town: convenience stores, post office, and the thrift store. Still, many of us just sat outside the school and hung out. Since we arrived to early at the host, we had time to clean our bikes, which was crucial for those who rode the 30-mile dirt road out of Big Water. Some of the riders cooked some delicious chicken, veggie kabobs and rice for dinner. It will be my turn to sweep our next ride into Zion!

We woke up early to a beautiful morning at the campsite. Many of us felt spoiled by some of the amenities that were offered there. First of all, they had real functioning showers (hot water and all), but for a small fee. Others found the store near the camp site, which sold coffee and other goodies that was just perfect for waking up. Many of us went on hikes down the North Rim, and others just hung around the camp site and talked. 

A group of us headed to the Lodge after our hike of the canyon, and had a meal in their fancy restaurant. Afterwards, we gathered our things, got cleaned up, and returned to the lodge to watch the sunset. Not many of us have been blessed with an opportunity to view the sunset from such a beautiful place, and for me it just looked spectacular!