Intro

Welcome to a story, or stories I should say. A compilation of adventure tales. An ongoing itch to see, smell, and touch the world, or at least the deserted roads and rarely trampled mountains of America. Characters within the descriptive paragraphs of these stories carve out the coming and going companions in life; vital life people and pieces that parallel a universe for moments, days, years. And then spear off, leaving granules of magnificent memories of magical places. They leave a lasting trace, a gained sense of courage to stand tall on oxygen deprived mountains and shout absurdities like: I love you Ralph! Ralph is a teenage reindeer stuffed of the finest synthetic polyester fiber poof; he says made in Indonesia but really tells me he is from the North Pole. Delivered through a chimney one December night 20 years ago, we instantly became cuddle buddies upon that morning's sunrise. He is the instigator. The inspiration. And the imagination. He breathes creativity. Laughter. His is a dear companion. And yes, at 4lbs he tags along atop a pack or strapped to a rack. In delirium of 107 degree heat, the small possession of material belongings gain a persona. Innate objects become friends of the road and trails. And as for the humans who accompany, their presence reads priceless. Without O'Reilly, a 29 year old New Hampshirian with superior taste buds, the mathematical six foot four inch tall German, or handful of organic peanut butter and 99 cent jam eating munchkins, there would be a lot less excitement. The encounters we make with our specie, encapsulating the world with their awkward ways and over consumerist love, somehow we have managed to become overly adored creatures. Their generous hearts restore a faith that goodness prevails in the upheaval of a sometimes lost humanity. As for myself, I'm just the navigator, paddling up the stream of life munching on Clif Bars, with an iPhone documenting the frailties and goodies underneath all the simplified complexities in the world we reside. So again, I welcome you to get lost and dream a little through this typed text and your imagination. My name is Kristen Gentilucci. I live in Berkeley California and I love dogs.


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Day 36. A day at the races.

Build Day Habitat of Tulsa
Miles: 43 (12 to the race, 8 warm up, 10 racing, 13 to pizza and home)
Weather: 95 and breezy!

One thing I truly admire about Bike & Build is the ability to sleep anywhere at any time of the day. This includes 11am on a dusty cement floor with power saws and chatters rattling the walls. 4 hours of sleep was well worth the early wake up for our publicity on the morning news channels of 3 stations until about 10am hit.

I wish I could tell you more about our build day, but after caulking and siding a house for 2 hours I had to take a break which turned into one of these naps that just happen as though a conscience didn't exist. Right there in the dirt, i was out cold for at least an hour. This nap was then continued at 3pm until it was time to prepare for the excitement of the day...the race.

Really it seemed unreal, in Tulsa, biking to a crit race, with 3 other eager riders, and two van loads of sideline cheerleaders. We were the talk of the town today, showing up at a race, you guys were on TV this morning building a house. There I was unscrewing my panniers and touring rack at the start line of a bicycle race. Every corner of the 1 mile loop was positioned with our cheering squad, anxious to see what a real race entailed. Painted chest with red and blue lettering Bike & Build, screaming every word of hilarious encouragement at each bend.

The race started, no girls showed except the Bike & Builders so we were placed right up there with the spandexy shaven legged men on their fancy bikes. And the games began. After getting left in the dust to battle a headwind from hell out by myself most of the laps, I came in a whopping 7 of 14 riders, then we road out way to all you can eat pizza and our plush thermarests for a night of sweet dreams.