Georgia...

...is hilly! Who knew? Not atrociously so, but still, there has been more up and down lately than flat.

So, we left Greenville on Thursday, which turned out to be our first rainy day. It started sprinkling when we gathered for route meeting, and rained the rest of the day with various levels of enthusiasm. I didn't really mind it though. First of all, because it was our first rain day, everyone was even more rowdy than usual. Partly to pump each other up, and partly as a result of releasing our inner kid-playing-out-in-the-rain mentality, I was doing as much laughing as pedaling for most of the morning. Leading the ridiculousness were of course Chris and J Gibbs, who were offering a wacky continuous commentary in outrageous Australian accents.

Thursday was also notable as being our Best Ever Lunch Stop. We stopped at the parents' house of a Bike and Build alum, and they had an amazing spread laid out for us. You see, the typical Bike and Build lunch consists of pb&j on bagels and bread, bananas, apples, carrots, chips or pretzels, and usually cookies of some kind. But luckily, Rachel (the BB alum) alerted her mother that to win our hearts all she need do is not offer any of those things. So we feasted on chicken nuggets from Chik fil-a, homemade mini banana bran muffins, bowls full of grapes and berries, fresh veggies with hummus, and oatmeal M&M cookies warm from the oven. It was heaven!

The main excitement of the afternoon was crossing the state border into Georgia. Near the border we passed by a huge, beautiful lake and were greeted by a sign saying "Welcome to Georgia...we're glad its on your mind." Our first night in Georgia was spent in Hartwell, at a labyrinthine Baptist church with hallways that wove and turned about and got me thoroughly confused on most occasions. I was overjoyed though to find the choir room open, and forwent a shower so I could spend the afternoon working on music (hey, it was raining all day, it's not like I was that gross!).

The next day we continued from Hartwell to Athens, the former stomping ground of Adam, a University of Georgia grad. Athens is hilly! It's a cool college town, though I only saw the main drag as we biked down it, for our church was a bit removed. The best part of this church, Holy Cross Trinity Lutheran, was the FOOD. Several church members prepared an amazing pot luck dinner for us, and we shared it with a dozen or so of the congregation. We showed them our rad Bike and Build video, chatted, laughed, and ate way more than was necessary (at least I did). But they REALLY went above and beyond the call of duty by getting up at 6 am the next morning to prepare us breakfast! When I carried my duffel to the trailer around 6:30, I was shocked to see several ladies from the church setting out bagels and spread (they really spoiled us with Nutella), bowls of fresh fruit, granola bars, and coffee and cocoa. We were certainly incredibly lucky to have them as hosts, and hopefully they will be long-term partners of the Bike and Build family.

Today's ride was pretty great, and brought us to Norcross, a suburb of Atlanta. Highlights of the day included a visit with a miniature horse, or more accurately, Claire yelling "Tiny horse!!" to a group of riders approaching us and causing Kelsey to literally fall on the ground laughing. The terrain was kind of interesting: hilly getting out of Athens, mostly flat in the middle, and then hilly again coming into Norcross. The last dozen or so miles (of 55) were pretty urban, which isn't the best riding, but I didn't mind it. Tonight and tomorrow we're staying that the Boys and Girls Club, and we are pretty much in heaven. Not only is there a computer lab with internet (15 people blogging as I type this) but also pool tables, air hockey, foosball, basketball courts, a flat screen and DVD player, and more sports equipment than you can shake a stick at. Tomorrow we have a build day with the organization Rebuilding Together. I'm not sure what our tasks will be but I will keep you posted!