Just Keep Pluggin'

As I'm sure many of you now know, this Monday, Bike and Build lost one of its leaders riding through Alabama. Christina Genco was struck by an SUV while she was riding in Alabama on the South Carolina to Santa Cruz route. There is more information about her accident at bikeandbuild.org.

I returned to the Bike and Build trip on Monday night in Marlinton, WV after a weekend home for Julie's graduation (great to see everyone!) We received the news around 10 PM and it was a tough night for all; safety is obviously our biggest priority and it was extremely difficult hearing the news of an accident like this happening to an avid member of the Bike and Build community, someone who had crossed the country a summer before and returned this summer as a leader, someone who knew all the rules of the road and consistently followed them. Our 4 wonderful leaders are struggling the most; they all knew Christina personally from other trips and leader orientation. On Tuesday, our group all rode with two pieces of yarn around our wrist in memory of Christina and Paige, another rider killed on a previous trip. The accident was shocking and scary for us all, but only gives us a reason to keep pushing through to the West Coast. Christina absolutely loved Bike and Build and was an awesome example of a person who was touched by the organization and was able to then touch many, many others from what she learned on her trips.

We are FINALLY out of the Appalachian Mountains...I missed two days of riding in them (I think a blessing in disguise) but had a hard day on Tuesday. Thankfully though, we had a relatively easy ride yesterday through beautiful rural West Virginia, and spent the night in Charleston, where the church  we were staying provided us with more food than we could eat, a personal bike mechanic, and a massage therapist...can you say spoiled? We were also able to explore the city a bit and walk down by the river and on Capitol Street. Today we only rode 50 miles (trust me, VERY short for us!) and stopped for lunch at a KOA Kampground, where we were able to swim and jump on their water trampoline. We are now staying in Huntington, WV, only a mile or so from Marshall University's campus...as in the movie, "We are Marshall." Pretty cool--probably somewhere I never would have been able to visit!

Thanks to everyone for their support and concern for my safety and the safety of other riders as we work through the loss of Christina. She will certainly be missed by all and remembered always for her dedication to Bike and Build.

Sorry again for not being better about blogging; I will definitely try whenever I can get Internet access! Tomorrow we travel to my home state!!