Day 32: Pucker

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Today I was excited to ride bc the Ellies and I had decided yesterday that today we would ride together as a chore group! However, before riding bikes could happen, we were in charge of cooler duty once again and oh man what a feat that was! Raleigh was incredibly kind to us between the food donations from the church, alum, & Noah’s parents so we had to dig out the extra cooler from the trailer (shout out to NJ!) and labeled everything. The additional cooler had some serious black mold so we washed & bleached it as best as we could, added a plastic bag liner, and filled it with the remaining food. Needless to say, Carly was bonking by route meeting—it was hilarious! This is going to be a good day...!

After Ryan gave town facts & Aiden lead route meeting, The Ellies and I rolled out as second to last group which was fine since we were planning on taking it chill today away. Sweep challenge today was to try to kiss as many teammates on the mouth as possible—so silly Beth & Sarah! A few miles in we pulled off because Kristi thought something was wrong with her bike, but luckily it was a false alarm so we rode on and enjoyed the adrenaline rush of the morning commuters rushing by as we rode roads that I thought looked familiar to when I lived & rode here the month after my last Bike & Build trip—full circle!

The roads then turned into a bike trail which was a nice break and allowed us to chat a bit. The bike trail was gravel and hilly and though it tested our skills & patience, we persevered laughing and joked along the way. The gravel continued and before hitting the smooth paved road/trail, we stopped to take some photos. Sweep caught up with us, along with their riding buddies Mikey, Chris, & Ron and the sweep challenge began! I successfully shared some love with Sarah, Carly, Beth, & Chris. Kristi choose not to participate/consent and Ron said he would only kiss who had chalked for him. Excited to have 4 checked off my list, we rode on as the bike trail turned into a paved trail, for which we were stoked about.

We caught up with the other two ride groups and NJ & Ryan we’re doing an excellent job chalking some tricky turns for us. They rode on as we sat with the brick people and chilled out for a bit to give them some space. We rode on again only to catch them again. We laid down in a park-ish side-of-bike-trail and enjoyed just relaxing for a few minutes before saddling up again.

We arrived at lunch, where I ate left over taco things, tomatoes & cucumbers, and some fruit. I kissed Magpie on the forehead (still sick!), was surprised sneak attack kissed by NJ, got consent from Ryan to kiss him, kissed Jess (who held down loyalist to me all day & night!), had Mikey give in (though he almost bailed on me, and entered double digits with Jana as we were rolling out to keep riding. She was a bit hesitate but when she said “anything for you guys” after we thanked her for something, I saw it as my opportunity to say “including kiss me??” to which she said “yeah you can kiss me Rally” lol so silly! During lunch there was also some serious chalking by NJ using up the nubs and Sarah & I swung on the swings ? I’d say it was a successful, love-filled lunch!

The trails continued and though we did an extra loop, we enjoyed the casual ride of flat trails, some boarded bridges, and lots of laughter and “puckering.” These girls never cease to entertain. The end of the ride was a 17 mile stretch of a flat, light gravel rode where we talked about Carly’s future plans, what she’s looking forward about real life, & about how we enjoy the Bike & Build life and bubble it creates.

We arrived at the host and were greeted with smile, tea, & lots of cookies, chips, & candy. We chatted with our host and the two young girls who helped show us around and encouraged them to do Bike & Build! Though they’re only 12 & 15 (I believe) it’s still fun to try to help plant those seeds—after all, that’s how we got Magpie! ? We took a quick tour, claimed the Parlour as our own, & snoozed a bit on the couches until Aiden & sweep returned. I asked him if I could kiss him, to which he of course accepted, however apparently I hit his injuries arm from his fall so it wasn’t a great experience for him ? Now chalking up to 11, I decided to not tell Chris, my fiercest competitor, so as to keep my cards close.

We then all shuttled to shower & when I got back I tried to submit my Safety Nav report but was no successful and ended up drifting into a 10 minute nap before NJ came around and woke everybody up for dinner. After they said a blessing, we grabbed our dinner (quinoa salad, corn & black bean salad, pork bbq, to name a few things) and we sat with Bob, Ann, & Barb. They had us all go around and tell them our names, where were from, and why we’re on Bike & Build. They then told us about themselves, how they met (she wasn’t his superior! ?), and what they are doing for the AH cause now by renting very nice properties to mostly grad/seminary students below market value. Bob gave us this advice, “If your outflow exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.” I thought it was pretty good & relevant ?

We then all walked down to the Tavern where many alum came to join us & meet Ron. Our team played a round of Kings and then I talked to some NC2SD15 & 16 alum. They were such sweet girls! I also checked with Sarah & Beth if alum counted for deer challenge & with their blessing, managed to chalk up 5 more to my tally. You know you’re in Bike & Build life when they say “anything for a sweep challenge!” Gotta love it!

After chatting for a good bit, I walked home with Sarah (after stopping to pee of course! She alwayssss has to pee!) and we got home together. I ate some of the left over desserts & attempted to update the blog before nodding off and heading to bed. I promise this thing will eventually be up to date—-probably after the trip ends ?

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