To Explain

Before performing, my teacher/mentor in Cleveland once told me to 'Play with love.' Those three words stuck with me and have guided me ever since - through performances and auditions to friendships and relationships.

It is important to play music with love, but the phrase also applies to life as a whole; it is vital that everything you do is from your heart.

I put the tattoo on the outside of my wrist, where the words can always be there to remind me, whether I'm about to play the flute, write an essay, or shake someone's hand.

Play with love.

(Thank you, Mr. Smith.)

Tattoo

Home is where the (Cajun) Heart Is

4 States in 4 Days

On the way to New Orleans

It's like coming home.

After Our First Century: "I've Never Seen That Much Meat in My Life"

Yeah!!!

Rained Out Of Our Build Day

No Riders Are Allowed to Drive the Van

Tanlines from Clip-In Sandals

The Difference Between Us

The past few days have been great - the cycling is getting harder, both from accumulation of milage on the legs and from the evelvation gradually changing to the hilly. Tomorrow is our longest ride yet; it'll clock in at 82m as we ride into Pensicola - I need to stretch and get a good night's sleep to be ready. My legs were plenty worn out at the end of the 60+ mile day we had today; I'm a little bit hesitant about tomorrow. But, I'm getting to know everyone, and have been riding with a bunch of different people.

We had our first group discussion about affordable housing last night; everyone gave impressive presentations and we had a decent discussion - with no help from me because I'm still too chicken-shit to talk in front of these people. (When am I going to get over this fear of public speaking thing?!?)

I'm excited for the rest of the summer; I really think this group of people can do some good towards helping the affordable housing crisis. I'm proud to be part of it...

But.

I guess sometimes when we go into these small little grocery stores in barely surviving towns and try to 'spread the word', I feel a little bit ridiculous. We come in on these fancy road bikes, and we're all decked out in spandex...and we're loud. And yes, we have great intentions...but a lot of the time I feel like we're just a bunch of (comparitively) spoiled rich white kids - and even if we don't all fall into those categories, I think we come across as such. We all have college educations - and impressive ones at that; we have bunches of Ivy League students and alumni...

Why should these people relate? And moreover, how do we relate? We're this clan - and we have this unfortunate air of righteousness and superiority...and it's not anyone's fault; I'm not really concerned about it. We are the privledged; there is no reason to feel guilty for what you have - we're all doing what we can to bridge the gap, and that's very impressive.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm increasingly realizing how big that gap actually is - and how hard it is to even understand what these people are saying; it's hard to know where they're coming from when you can't quite make out the words.

Leader's Food Baby

Bernie helped us out when we went the wrong way.

We Made it to Georgia!

Falmouth Springs again

Falmouth Springs

The Whole Group at the Atlantic

Day 2: Glen St. Mary, FL - Live Oak, FL

Made it out of Jacksonville! Today I rode a bit faster - averaging around 17-8mph, most of it in a pace-line. We played Categories for a good hour before lunch, with the leader calling out the category and everyone in the line calling out an answer until someone messed up - then the leader dropped back and the next person pulled and picked a Category. Our categories were Bike Parts, Brands of Bikes, Elements from the Periodic Table, Gas Stations, Types of SUVS, Methods of Contraception, Sexual Positions, Capitol Cities, etc...it was fun.

We rode 55m today, so we're now 115 into the trip. It doesn't seem like much, but the miles will start to add up pretty quickly and we'll move through the South faster than I'd like.

We stay in the gyms of churches (churches with gyms? who knew??), and the churches tend to supply food. I'm starving all the time though; no amount of peanut butter or ice cream can possibly be enough.

We stopped at the site of the largest Civil War battle in Florida (picture below); apparently the South Won, which made the man setting everything up very happy.

I guess that's about it. It was a short day; I was in the next city by 12:15. Now it's 3:30 and I need a nap. People are going to stop being on their best behavior and start getting cranky soon, I think. It's going to be interesting as true personalities start to appear.

The only other thing that happened today was that my cleat broke on the way to ice cream this afternoon. I still haven't gotten my shoe off of the pedal. I didn't fall, but I had to walk back to the church barefoot, and now the bottom of my foot is burned from the hot sidewalk. And I didn't even get the chocolate shake I really wanted...

I'm feeling a little out of it right now. The weather has been cooperating and it hasn't been nearly as hot as it could be...but I'm still drained by the end of the day. It's a nice kind of exhaustion, but it's still makes me pretty damn tired.

We have a presentation to on Affordable Housing tonight at the church, but other than that, we're all free. Most of the time that's the case...all we have to do is get from city to city, sometimes give presentations, and otherwise just hang out and explore the town. I've been trying to practice a bit everyday. So far it's been pretty manageable; I think I'll be able to stay in decent shape. It's making me actually look forward to practicing. It's relaxing to warm up slowly and play a little Bach; it gives me a little space to do my own thing.

I've gotta say - I never quite thought I'd be doing something like this...but here I am...

Lunch

The South Won

Day 1: Atlantic Beach, FL - Glen St. Mary, FL

Today, we started biking - we're now officially on our way to San Francisco. Lots of orientation games and meetings preceded during the last few days; I was happy to get going on the bike.

The funny thing? We biked 64 miles (or, we biked 61m to the next church and I managed to get lost and add on 3 miles), but we're still in Jacksonville, FL. A different suburb of course, but the thought that we biked all day and didn't manage to get out of the city we started in was a bit humorously disheartening, especially considering that the goal is to bike across the country (and why does our country have to be so big, anyway?!?).

The ride went well; I felt fine the whole time. I'm just kind of chilling in the mid-back section of our 32 member team, moving along at about 15-6 miles per hour. We have a long summer ahead; there is plenty of time to hammer, and I really don't want to blow out my legs on Day 1.

As you can see by the pictures in the previous few posts, we started the day at the Atlantic Ocean, submerging our rear wheel into the water and then taking off...the next time we or our bikes see the Ocean, it'll be on the other side of the country.

Today the highlight of the route was a pedestrian trail that we travelled on for almost 15 miles. It was gorgeous, tree covered with picture-perfect shade. I didn't stop and get a picture of it, but other people did as we were riding away. By the way, if you track me online, you should be able to also see the pictures that have been uploaded by everyone in the group, both on Facebook and the Bike and Build website. Pretty cool. I'm working on getting those links on the sidebar. I was informed of how to do it, but without consistent or speed-worthy internet service, it's harder to get it done.

I'm already eating a ridiculous amount; I came back from the ride and stuffed potato chips and chocolate chip cookies down my throat. I love being able to eat whatever I want, but I do want to maintain some degree of healthy eating habits along this trip; I need to be better about eating on the bike before I get hungry...

The cool news? The trip has been rerouted and we're now going to ride right through Lafayette and stop there for a night. My dad is going to cook everyone dinner, I believe, and I'm going to attempt to get us access to the pool at the health club. It'll be fun to maybe be able to sleep in my own bed for a night, but even more so, it'll be great to be able to show everyone here around town.

The people here are nice; despite that I'm a socially awkward loner, I'm starting to get used to everyone and everything. The first night I couldn't sleep at all (we're on sleeping bags on the floor and three different people had their heads within 2 feet of mine - it was just weird), but I have a feeling sleeping isn't going to be much of a problem now that we're on the road.

I felt more comfortable immediately upon take-off this morning; being stationary at a church with a bunch of people I didn't know felt odd, and getting on my bike made me feel more assured and at-home.

Not everything is perfect; I'm upset sometimes and I'm mad other times, and I don't understand much of anything, but all in all...I'm ready for a great summer.

Bike in the Water!

Dipping Our Wheels in the Atlantic

The Start

The Book

I'm sitting here on my bed in Lafayette, LA, staring at the mountains of stuff on my floor, unable to fathom managing to stuff it in the one bag I'm alloted for the summer. Stuff - bike accessories [pumps, tubes, water bottles and cages], bike clothes and regular clothes, shampoo, face-wash and toothpaste. And books. 9 books because I can't narrow it down and I want to read them all right now. My flute and some Bach sheet music. Sleeping bag and bike lock and bike computer and headphones. Sandals and running shoes and bike shoes and building shoes.

It's a lot of stuff...but it can't really be decreased. They say to bring one t-shirt, but...one t-shirt for the entire summer? That's just kind of gross. Laundry every 3 days, apparently - I still need more than one t-shirt. They're going to make me send the excess back home; I've been warned. I'm still going to bring too much; I don't think I'll be able to help it.

It's been a long day full of emotional and physical turmoil. It's hard to leave, at least it is for me. There are things in my life right now that I didn't want to change, but that doesn't seem like it's going to be an option. So, I'm trying to go with the flow and just see what happens. It will all work out as it should. I hope it will, in any case.

I tried to embed the route tracker that Bike and Build has on their web-page onto this site, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. If any of you computer-whiz types want to take on the challenge, it would be awesome to have it on my side-bar this summer. I'll pay big money... (Or, I'll thank you profusely.)

My plan is to write my book over this summer. A lot of people experience riding across the country; it won't be anything revelatory. But, it will be my experience...my version of Travels With Charley, my Search for America accompanying my search for myself. So, these words and pictures and thoughts that I'm giving you this summer will be a precursor - they (these) are the notes that will become the first book I want to write.

Snail Mail

I have every intention of staying up-to-date with email and other computer-related activities, but I did want to put out a request for real mail. Normally, I try to avoid the post office, but considering that I'll be at a summer camp of sorts for the next 9 weeks, I'm (politely) begging for care packages. (Anyone remember those SWAK packages?)

Along the route, we have designated mail drops, and it would be awesome to have something waiting for me, even if it's just a postcard saying hi.

Here are addresses, with corresponding dates (just address it to Susanna Loewy, c/o Bike and Build):

	6/19	100 S. 18th St. Defuniak Springs, FL 32435
	6/26	2000 Louisiana Ave New Orleans, LA 70115
	7/3	1715 Odum, LA 71301
	7/10	206 E. Walnut St. Decatur, TX 76234
	7/17	1003 Martinez St. Logan, NM 88426
	7/25	2301 E. 20th St. Farmington, NM 87401
	8/1	39 S. Main St. Kanab, UT 84741
	8/7	51 S. Main St. Eureka, NV 89316
	8/13	761 Plumas St. Yuba City, CA 95991

To reciprocate (and possibly attempt to entice those who might not be otherwise obliged), if anyone gives me their address, I'll mail mementos along the way from across the country.

12 hours 'til take off...

Pretty Cool

I got back from San Francisco this morning - taking the red eye always seems like a good idea when booking the ticket, but in actuality, it's really freaking exhausting. I arrived in Lafayette at 8:20 this morning and crashed until just now at 2:15...and I still feel like bubble-gum on the bottom of someone's shoe.

So, I've got today to get ready for this bike trip. We spend a bunch of days in Florida doing orientation-like stuff, so we don't actually start pedaling until Saturday...but as of tomorrow I'll be in transit across the country until August 17.

I guess I kind of wish some things were different as I'm starting this trip - I wanted to be a little more secure about how I was going to deal with the extended absence from real-life - but all in all, I can't wait to get going.

I get to ride my bike across the country - it's unreal.

Oh, and (as the post title suggests) I got some pretty cool news - my website was listed as one of 50 blogger designs worth noting. I'm not sure how they happened to find me, but I'm not going to argue.

Now I'm off to start to get my stuff together for this 9 week trip during which I'm only allowed one backpack. (Granted, it's possibly the largest backpack in the continental US, but nonetheless - one bag? Over nine weeks?!?) I'm somehow going to have to tone down my tendency towards excess and figure out how to bring less than 6 pairs of shoes...and 3 bathing suits...and in general, enough clothes to avoid ever having to partake in laundromat excursions.

Wish me luck - I'd like to think it's all possible, but I admit I'm not entirely sure...

Hey.

It's been a while...

I'm at home in Louisiana now. It was a crazy week - first, going to San Antonio for an audition that was completely fixed (gotta love spending $1000 and countless hours of excerpt practicing for a horrible audition experience). Then, I flew back to NJ on Wednesday to pack up my stuff for the summer (you ever tried to pack for an entire summer? it sucks), and flew home on Thursday. So, within the space of 48 hours, I was in Texas, NJ, and then Louisiana - with multiple connecting airports in-between.

Now, I'm finally rested and recovered (I slept at least 10.5 hours last night), and enjoying being home. I've only been swimming (outside!) to avoid running or biking in the heat and humidity, but tonight after it cools down, my dad and I are going to go biking. Right now I only have my mom's hybrid to ride here in Lafayette, but hopefully soon one of my bikes will arrive - I need to get used to riding in the heat anyhow - this summer is going to be riding across the swamps and dessert, all in the heat of mid-day.

Wednesday, I'm doing my sweat-equity work for Bike and Build, which means I'm going to help build a Habitat for Humanity house for the day. I'll finally start to learn what this summer is actually going to be like...

Then on Thursday I head out to San Francisco to visit boy and see my sister's art opening. Then I'm back in Lafayette after the weekend, spend the day getting ready for the 9 week bike tour, and leave for Florida on Wednesday.

We have 4 days of orientation and we start pedaling across the US on Saturday, June 14. That seems like it's still a long time away, but the time is going to disappear really quickly, I think.

Anyway, I know this is just a boring schedule update, but I wanted to explain why I might not be in touch as much for the next couple of weeks. As soon as the bike trip starts though, I'll have daily stories and pictures...riding a bike across the US and building houses along the way - 5 years ago, who would have thought?!?