Little Rock, AR - Day off #2

Hello everyone! Sorry I took a few days off from blogging. There has been a lack of internet at host locations lately.

Today we had our 2nd day off in Little Rock, AR. I started out my day by sleeping in until 8:30. It is amazing how early we wake up even when we don't have to wake up at a specific time. Some people rode bicycles downtown and others (like myself) were shuttled downtown in our van. When we got downtown Karen, Brad, Angela, Sarah, and I all went to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. I learned today that Bill Clinton started Americorps because he believed service at a young age was important. I think Americorps is a really cool program and I've definitely thought of it as an option for my year off from school next year. After the presidential library we walked to the River Market area and I ate my beef pad thai, Jillian's tofu pad thai, and Zac's chicken pad thai. (They were both too full to finish theirs, so I had to eat it.) After that I got a call from my dad and he came to visit me and follow our route for a week. I went back to the community center and invited him to come along with us to Heifer International. My dad, Brad, and Eugene took a tour of Heifer Int and I was really impressed by their organization. The tour highlighted the Green Building they implemented while building their headquarters. Their ceiling is at a slant so it will collect the rainwater in a 30,000 gallon barrel to be used in the bathrooms and other non-drinking water locations. It is cool to see how you can make adjustments like that to save money over the long term. After that my dad, Varun, Katie R, Lizzy, and I all went to the Flying Saucer to have one of their 200+ beers on tap before dinner. For dinner Natalie got Olive Garden donated and Tyler got us 12 pizzas donated. Now we are currently sitting around watching Game 7 of the NBA Finals. A few people bet on the game but I just want the Celtics to win.

Yesterday I was sweep with Michael Carroll for a 56 mile ride from Stuttgart, AR to Little Rock, AR. We started out our day by waking up at 6. Instead of eating breakfast with the group, Michael and I went to a restaurant called Gracie's in Stuttgart. I ate sausage biscuits and gravy and a pancake. They were awesome! After wasting about an hour eating we got a call from Jillian letting us know that she had a flat tire at around mile 9 with no extra tubes. Michael and I rode quickly to catch her and change her flat. Jillian had a few more bike problems and we ended up getting to lunch at around 12:30. We grabbed a few bananas and apples before leaving lunch. When we got to mile 43, we stopped at a mexican restaurant to eat chips, salsa, and queso for an hour before completing the ride. When we got to the host location, there was a line for showers so we rode back out downtown to relax in a park with Craig and Katie R. The Arkansas Bicycle Club donated BBQ chicken, pork, and beef to us for dinner and we gave a small presentation to them after dinner. After that we all headed back downtown to go watch the movie "The Blindside" out in a park for free. When the movie was over I took a shuttle full of the sleepy kids and under 21ers back to the host location. I was glad to get to sleep early because I kept trying to fall asleep during the movie.

The day before that was an 95 mile van day from Clarksdale, MS to Stuttgart, AR. It was a good day driving but really long. It was disappointing to miss getting to ride over the Mississippi River and a state line, but it was nice to hear how stoked everyone else was about crossing the Mississippi river. I sat up the first lunch stop outside of a church at mile 33 in the shade. After that I drove to mile 66 and sat there for a long lunch stop. When we got to the host the church provided a taco bar for dinner for us. The host also offered to take us to see the movie the Next Karate Kid. I skipped the movie along with Natalie & Travis in order for all of the riders that were on Laundry crew to be able to go to the movie. We went and did laundry and then went home to go to sleep. It was a relatively uneventful day for me.. but a good day overall.

The sad thing is I barely remember the day from Oxford, MS to Clarksdale, AR.. but I'm sure it was a good day as well.

The day from Tupelo, MS to Oxford, MS was an awesome day. It was a hot, humid, and hilly ride most of the day. My favorite part of the day came when I got to the top of climbing a hill and Michael Carroll yelled at me and Katie R. from the side of the road. He had stopped at Lake Steven at a Methodist Church Camp. When we got to the lake we were met by two camp counselors named Tyler and Katherine. They were our lifeguards on duty while we swam in the lake. While we were swimming we noticed a zip line running over the lake into the water. Katherine went to a little shed and pulled out zip line harnesses and asked us if we wanted to zip line into the lake. We were excited about this opportunity and could not pass it up. We zip lined the first time normally and then did it again hanging upside down with our arms out. It was a thrill to get to zipline over a lake. When we arrived in Oxford, we had dinner provided by the Oxford Bicycle Club and a pool party. I was trying to sleep while at the pool because I was tired. When I got back to the church at 7:00, I decided to go to bed at 7:30.. It was surprising when the next time I woke up was 5:30am for wakeup. I guess I was tired.

Well.. apparently I need to update my blog more often! I have had too much going on to remember everything lately. Sorry about the thrown together thoughts and general ramblings. I will try to post pictures some other time.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in Oklahoma in a few days!