Bike and Blog - Sorry For the Wait

It's been way too long since I've blogged, and I apologize to everyone that wanted to follow my cross-country journey but couldn't without me blogging. Good news is that I've been snapping enough pictures to tell my story without words. Bad news is I can't show them to you yet because I can't seem to upload them very well. I'll keep trying and I'll try to keep you posted. Eventually I'll get them to you. The ones I have up will have to do for now.

Can I just pause and say so far the trip is awesome? Well I'm doing it anyway...THIS TRIP IS AWESOME! If you're under 25 it's necessary for you to do Bike and Build before your life ends. You think life's good, but you haven't lived until you've hopped on a bicycle and started riding from one side of the country to the next. I'm no stranger to meeting new characters, but seeing the determination and variety of success in so many people is inspiring. Whether it's watching the smile of a teammate as they conquer a 2-mile-long hill, or playing telestrations (don't ask me if that's spelled right) for an hour and seeing how creative people can be, this trip is giving me a lot.

I started the trip because I like helping people, but so far it's been the people that have been helping me. I already posted about how blown away I was with the willingness of my donors to give, and I'm getting blown away again by how amazing a group of young adults can be. I haven't seen any drama (of course that doesn't mean it won't occur later), but I have seen tons of hard work and I've seen more sweat produced than my previous gym dripped out in a week. All the creativity, happiness, and hard work is overwhelming.

I wish I could go into greater details about the amazing things that are happening on this trip, but it would be a book (might do that one day). I am keeping a journal, and feel free to give me a call if you want to hear about how things are, but so far I don't have regular access to internet or a computer. If my journal interests you, I'll be willing to share it with you at the end, but for now you'll have to settle for my sporadic blog.

If I can post more regularly I'll start to go into more depth about what's actually happening on the trip, but for now I'll just say that things are going swelltacular! We're in Youngstown, Ohio at the moment, but tomorrow we're moving on. Track me online if you haven't already. Go to Bikeandbuild.org, click on Providence to Seattle, and follow the route.

Welp, that's all I have for now so thanks for listening with your eyes. Again, I hope I can go into more depth soon, but hope the pictures provide a little window.

Bike and Blog - Yank My Chain (Part 2)

So I was going to wait until I actually started the trip, but meh I wanted to write one more post before I go.

I never realized how hard it would be to leave a job, but this last week has been tough. It's been weird walking through the gym and seeing members that I don't really know that still wish me luck on my trip. It's been sad knowing that my regulars will no longer be my regulars (whether it's a member that decided to start working out with me in the last month, or whether it's my regulars that have been with me since the beginning, it sucks having to say goodbye). Though, I will say that it's been great knowing that I'll never have to bother another guy about dead lifting, cleans, or plyometrics again.

I had to forego my sensitivity to germs (not germaphobia!!!) and give hugs to sweaty members after a good class because it might have been the last time I saw some of them. Even co-workers were giving out hugs and I loved every second of it (even with you Ali lol). Wish I could stay with the Planet forever, but a guy's got to do what a guy's got to do (sorry for the lameness of that).

Of course it wouldn't be an event unless one of my longest running members gave me a gift, (picture) and my coworker even painted me a picture (picture 2). It's been an awesome year and a half and it's been a blessing working with everyone at the gym. I can't wait until our paths cross again.

"How blessed I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

(The member gave me a card, a buttload of candy, and a 15 dollar subway gift card. Too nice to me!)

(Ana painted me a picture that I'd been asking her for since day 3 and a half. Thanks Ana! It's going up on my wall!)

Welp that's all I have for today. So until next time, thanks for listening with your eyes. 

Bike and Blog - Yank My Chain

I can't believe this Journey is about to begin. I've been itching to do Bike and Build for a little under 2 years now, and it's finally time to quit talking and start peddling. I've done all the pre-trip requirements, and all that's left is the need to raise 110 measly dollars (which I'm sure you'll donate by clicking here).

I was reflecting on the past couple of months and can't believe how far I've come. I started my training struggling to complete an 8-mile ride, and today I finished another 66-or-so-mile ride. When they told me I had to raise 4500 dollars, I can honestly say I thought no one would help me out and I would be donating my own savings in order to go on this trip, but that's not how it happened. You all came through, and it's overwhelming to know that I have your support. My friends, family, and co-workers simply gave me upwards of 4500 just because I asked (and maybe begged). God has truly blessed me with a wonderful support web.

If you've been following my journey at all you know that these past six months have been the hardest of my life. Situation after situation has sucked my bank account dry, but God kept me through it all and blessed me with generous people so that I did not have to give away the money that I did not and do not have. Though these past six months have been the hardest, they have been some of the most rewarding. I won't go too far into how bad life's been, because I haven't really felt it. Life's been crappy but I've been encouraged and haven't thought much about the bad times after they occur. If it isn't a member in the gym buying me a half pint of ice cream because I looked down, it's a coworker making me laugh when all I wanted to do was run away. If it wasn't my sister helping me when I needed her, it was my mother writing me a note telling me to keep my head up when all I could see were my laces. If it wasn't an old friend telling me how they missed me, it was my girlfriend surprising me with a gift I don't deserve. I'm not the best at expressing gratitude, so I won't attempt with some elaborate garnishment, but thank you to everyone who has helped me get to where I am.

In other news, my girlfriend bought me a new phone (lol cause she knew I wouldn't do it) so I can now text again. Feel free to send me a text just in case the number was lost during the sim card switch. I wanted to upload a few pics of food that I have, but they're on my camera and the cord is back at the house (which if you haven't figured it out, I am not). So you'll have to enjoy these lavish pictures from our ride today (pirated) from JoBeth...arrrr)

The guy's book is finished for the most part, my training is finished for the most part, and my fundraising is almost finished. I can finally breathe. I'll wrap up this last week of work, do some exploring in Boston/Providence, then bathe myself in the grease of a summer that boasts to be the most memorable of my life. Welp, that's all I have for this edition, so until next time thanks for listening with your eyes.

Crash Slam Kaboom Goes My Life

It's crazy how you mention something bad comes along and sends you down a muddy path, and then how the situation worsens, and how you keep thinking things will get better but instead they keep squeezing you down the drain of despair? I usually see stuff happen to people in movies, but I never really figured my life would end up being like this. It's crazy how different things turn out, no matter how you plan for them, life WILL HAPPEN!

So if you've read any of my previous posts, they've been pretty melancholy, but I've had high hopes for things to get better. So...they somehow got worse. A while back I mentioned losing my car, job, and/or body would be the only way my life could get worse. Well guess what? You don't have to be a guessing wizard to know something of that list got worse...drum roll please....if you couldn't figure out from the giant picture of a damaged car, I lost my car. So now, my financial situation has progressed from crappy crappy poo poo...to just shoot me in the eyeball and call it surgery.

I was on vacation when it happened, and it was 100 percent my fault. SMH. Now I have to purchase rentals until I can get it back. My previous credit card bills were around 2 grand a pop, and I only pull in cough cough I'm not saying how little I make cause it hurts my soul cough cough a month. Which is considerably less than 2 grand. So two months of being in the red was bad enough, now it's 3 months and this one will be worse. Right now I'm pretending life isn't so hard. The bill is only 1 grand at the moment, but of course I haven't had my week's worth of rentals added on yet, and I also haven't had to pay my 500 dollar deductible yet...not to mention how crazy expensive gas is when you drive across 4 states in one day. Sigh...who knows...maybe I'll hit a recent record high of 3 grand...only did that once before, and it was when I was making a bunch more money.

On a brighter note, the vacation was still fun. Minus the car troubles, it was fun to see my old friend from AmeriCorps, my old mentor, and my old friend down at Duke. Wish I could have seen my other friend, but meh, there's always next time. This little distraction cut back my training (again) and I"m preparing to be the most unprepared cyclist this summer. I will still do my best, and I'll still fulfill the commitments I made, but lets just say my life is completely horrible until August...then we'll see how much worse it gets when I usher in unemployment.

One thing I've learned from all of this is that planning is for lames. Leave it to God and let go. What will happen is going to happen regardless of what you do, and life will continue on. The only thing that can make matters worse will not be uttered, because so far I'm on a pretty good average of making the bad possibilities a reality. If you want to cheer me up, donate to bike and build and cheer up some family in need of affordable housing. At least I can say I have a house to live in, though it's not my house, it's still a house. Here's a link if you want to donate .

So on to the next thing. Hope it's better than where I am, but if it's not I'll make it the best worst place I'm in and that'll be that. Welp that's all I have time for today. As usual, thanks for listening with your eyes. Try to find some one today that you can treat kindly, and treat em as kind as you can bear. Then tell them to donate to Bike and Build too ;-)

Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

The old song mentioned in the title comes to mind when I think of all aspects of my life. Recently, I've been hit with disappointment after disaster and things aren't getting any better, but in the end I have to keep going. Not too long ago I got a flat tire during a 30 mile ride, but thankfully I was near my house so my mom was able to come pick me up. I don't mention that because it's just another thing that's gone wrong in my life, but I mention it because it's an example of exactly how my life has been. Great picture of the good, the bad, and the family.

So I got the nail in the worst possible spot on my tire, literally right next to my previous puncture. As you might be able to see from the picture, it's far to close to try and patch this again, but I tried anyway.

After failing, I had to buy another inner tube and replace that. I could have just said screw the whole thing (yes that was a horribly bad joke reference nails and the like) but I did what I could do to fix the problem. Bike and Build isn't coming along poorly, just the training every now and then, but overall still one of the brighter points of my life. I received my new bike and here are some pictures of the thing post and pre assembly. 

Not sure if you remember my post from a few months back, stating that I was currently in the worst financial situation of my entire life, but that there was hope things would get better. I believe that was back in early February or late March, right after I spend 2 grand on various things, most of which were necessary. My thought process was that March would be a better month financially because I wouldn't have any required expenses. Plus I should get a tax break. Well March rolled around, and instead of getting a tax break I ended up owing the government 1100 dollars. So again, had a horrible financial month after adding on the other expenses I had (also ended in about 2 grand for the bill). Again I find myself saying next month will be a good month, but I can't help but think the same thing will happen. Some sort of nail will deflate my bank account.

No buying a new bank account to fix this problem, but I can keep rolling down the path that has been set before me. I can't always control what happens, but I can control how I respond (credit to whoever said that first). I still have my family and I still have a tiny fragment of my sanity (Just kidding, I'm totally out my mind). So cheers to the obstacles in life. Thanks for keeping things interesting.

So on a brighter note, thanks to everyone who has donated thus far. I'm at 2,800 something and the goal is 4500. Almost there! If you're interested in helping out a great cause and helping families in need of affordable housing, click here to donate! The donation is tax deductible so you don't get hit with an 1100 dollar tax bill like me, hopefully. Welp that's all for now, so thanks for listening with your eyes. Have a blessed rest of your day.

Still Raining, No Umbrella

Last month was certainly the worst financial month of my adult life. Money kept getting sucked out by the vacuum of necessity, but life just couldn't seem to put it back fast enough. Had to dip into savings to pay bills, but I had high hopes for the month of March. Most of my big expenses were taken care of in February, and my optimistic stupidity failed to foresee any big situation smashing my wallet to shards. Of course, that's when life gets you the best, when your back is turned and your chin is up.

If you didn't read the Facebook posts, I ended up owing the government around 1100 dollars for taxes. Not back taxes, just regular old, run-of-the-mill taxes. What baffles me is the fact that I claim 0, and am pretty sure I'm below the poverty line. If I'm not below then I must be straddling the darn thing because I'm certainly not above it. So now the government gets more of my hard earned money. Well, I take it back. The government gets money I have not earned yet, and will have to earn to pay them off. Sad, but this is life.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Graduate school, and at the moment the answer seems to stand as the pivot point for how happy I'll be in the coming months. Naaaahhh. If you know me you know I can't look, act, or be sad for longer than a couple of days, but it would be a nice boost to all things Jeremie if I hear back with a yes! Plus Bike and Build is still coming up (and yes I still need donations so click here to help out a great cause) so at least my summer will be amazing! I DO believe the answer to grad school will be yes. Why else would they take longer than they said they would to respond? Obviously because they're writing a nifty acceptance letter. Duh!

Welp that's all for now folks. As usual, thanks for listening with your eyes. Until we meet again.

PS: Here's a link to a video of me doing the impossible. breaking eggs

When It Rains It Technically Always Pours

Usually when I think of the term when it rains it pours I think of bad things getting worse over time. But, this weekend was awesome, and today somehow was pretty darn tootin close to being awesome as well. Since most sensible things follow a linear train of thought, I'll start from the beginning of the weekend.

Friday was actually really rough. So it probably shouldn't be included in a raining and pouring positive post, but I guess that goes to show that the rest of the weekend went well because I forgot Friday sucked until just now. Work went okay, but after work I tried to find a local bike shop to finally get fitted for my bike. Of course the address wasn't in my gps, and I couldn't remember where the street was, so I drove 20 minutes on the street I thought it was before getting frustrated and going home (only to Google map it and find out I was on the right street, but going the wrong direction >__< ). Then mom wanted to bug me, but whatevs, it was off to my g/f house after.

Saturday was actually semi-rough, and I'm starting to see a real pattern her. I promise one of these days during the weekend wasn't bad. Just go to a farm and grab some reins so you can hold your horses. So I was supposed to volunteer with some BB people, but again, my gps didn't have the address. So I woke up early and got in my car for nothing, also frustrating. But after that I just edited my book, worked on someone else's book, edited an article, wrote up some letters for BB and then played video games. That was were the cool awesome goodness started.

Sunday I went to church with the g/f and then we decided to celebrate Valentines Day this weekend instead of after the 14th. So we went out to eat at a restaurant named Gordon Biersch Brewery in Tyson's Corner. Took me back to my AmeriDays in Milwaukee when all we did was tour breweries. The food was awesome for the most part, but came at a pretty penny. Here's the beer I had (also yummy) and the food and the menu (cause you love the front of menus!!!)

Oh yeah, look at that waist of phone memory

Missy's main entree, California Cobb flat bread pizza with house-made cheese. Not too shabby. Conversation upon her receiving her pizza. Missy: Why does it look like a salad. Me: You know Cobb is a type of salad right? Missy: Ooohhhh

Southwest Egg rolls - it was aight...but they thought they were slick...saying you get 4 egg rolls...pish this is two egg rolls cut in half...can't trick me you swindlers!!

The beer I got. Actually really good. Description below, it was the Marzen

My entree. Lobster and crab cake sandwich. Actually pretty darn good. I was debating if the crab meat was fake since it was only 16 bucks...no way to know for sure though. 

So to make Sunday even better, we decided to go to Coldstone and the movies!! I'm not a pirate so I didn't take any pictures of the movie we saw, but it was the Hansel and Gretel movie. PS...this movie is super violent and not like the fairy tale at all! Lol but it was still okay. Here's a picture of the wonderful Coldstone Hot stone thingy. Soooo good. It's A warm cookie with warm cookie dough with vanilla ice cream with Oreo pieces on top. Yeah, my mouth just got a little moist thinking of it again. The picture does NOT do it justice at all. 

To make sunday even even better, Missy's roommate's boyfriend John gave me a 200 dollar pair of Oakley sunglasses for when I go bike riding. Definitely a need for the trip. Never in 30 years would I even think about buying a pair of glasses as high quality as Oakley, but God moves in mysterious ways. So thank the Lord for wonderful people! I always think of donations to my trip as monetary help, but I never imagined someone would donate materials I need. Here's a picture of the snazzy things, though I dare not wear them until I'm on the road.

Crazy shades came with a second pair of lenses, replacement nose thingies, a cleaning kit, a big carrying kit, a small carrying kit, and a taste sample of how people with money live. Whodathunkit. Then Missy gave me a really nice thermal and a long sleeve shirt and some sweet coupons (she def stole my idea)

To wrap up this wonderful slew of two days, today was awesome. Work was cool, but the weather was amazing! So warm I could have rode my bike today with just a T-shirt and shorts and been okay. I ended up being hot and wanting to take off layers for the first time since I started training!! Then my workout was crazy crucial in the gym, and the ride home was even easier in this mild weather. Boy am I excited for constant warm weather. Welp, this post has already gone too long, so as a reward here's a video of me swinging on a vine and falling into a creek.Video Figured it went with the theme of raining and pouring and such. Anywho, thanks for listening with your eyes!