The past couple weeks have been pretty productive for Annamaria and I. Bake sale, shopping (for gear), Doctor Who raffle, training, Diva Cups, and tomorrow we're doing out first volunteer work with the Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County! Like she told you on Monday, Annamaria and I went to the bike shop across from campus last week and got a SWEET deal on clipless pedals and cycling shoes. That's all it takes right? We're serious cyclists now, aren't we? We also started our Doctor Who raffle which is completely awesome, if I do say so myself, and everyone who is anyone should be entering to get some cool DW prizes.
This pedal/shoe combo takes some real getting used to. We of course practiced clipping in and out before we started riding; but the first time we clipped in and started pedaling I felt as if my bike and I were going to be physically connected forever. Clipping out seems counterintuitive as first, I thought that as long as I had a good 30 seconds to stop I'd be fine. Turns out, that's not true. The problem with being clipped to your pedals is that if you lose your balance or need to stop NOW, it's tough to get your feet out in time to stop your fall. So it is clear to new clipless pedalers (like us) that they should expect to fall at least once when learning; I can be an over-achiever, and as such fell TWICE on my ride on Monday, while Annamaria has fallen exactly 0 times (I call this showing off). The first time I fell didn't hurt at all, I was able to bounce back up like I was made of rubber and jump back on my bike. I thought "That wasn't bad, I'll be fine," but I was being cocky, and the universe got me back shortly thereafter. The second time I fell was about a quarter mile away from my dorm, and it was terrible. I sat next to my bike rocking quickly back and forth breathing deeply (like Peter Griffin from Family Guy) for about 10 seconds before stumbling to my feet and slowly getting back in the saddle (this photo doesn't do the pain justice, in my opinion).
Oh, woe is me.
Anyway, the Doctor Who raffle! If you haven't figured it out by now, we are pretty big DW fans and think that everyone else should be too (because, obviously, DW is legit). If you, or any of your friends, are Whovians, make sure you inform them about our raffle. The prizes are : handmade Doctor Who themed quilt, 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver, and a TARDIS cell phone alert charm. To enter the raffle click on DOCTOR WHO RAFFLE! at the top of the page, log in with your Facebook or e-mail address, and donate $5 to Annamaria or I. This gives you 5 entries into the raffle - after donating there are ways to get more entries (follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, etc.). There are 22 days left for these prizes, so make sure to tell everyone about it.
Tomorrow, Annamaria and I are going to volunteer at a build site for six of our ten required Sweat Equity hours. We will clearly be the best volunteers to have at a build site, what with all our experience, and will leave our mark on this sure-to-be fantastic house. We're pretty excited about it.
To everyone who has donated up to this point (time, money, patience, etc.) we want you to know we are extremely grateful. To everyone who hasn't, shame on you! Just kidding, obviously, but we would really appreciate some donations! Bike&Build has provided us with a timeline for fundraising, and it says we should have $2,000 for affordable housing by April 6. Neither one of us has that (although Annamaria's pretty close), so help us out! We are going to seriously help some American communities and families this summer, but only if we are able to fundraise (reminder: it's tax deductible).
More soon!
KAS
P.S. We passed 2,000 views on our blog this week, woohoo!
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