Day 1 - Orientation 1

The big day finally came and Bike & Build has officially started!

This morning I drove from Columbia to Charleston, South Carolina and met up with my fellow SC2SC riders at Trinity United Methodist Church, the host site for our time in Charleston.

In short, our first day consisted of:

Gear check (Fortunately I had already made a list and checked it twice. Well, maybe 17 times…)

The longest name game in the history of name games (Nice Piano Noah, Michigan Molly, Dancing Dave, Machine Gun MG, Joyful Joel...)

Briefings on subjects such as hygiene and Bike & Build policy (Saddle sores are a real things!)

Dinner provided by the local Habitat chapter complete with beneficiary appearances

A spontaneous free-time walk to the Battery and back (I ended up being the tour guide since I’m from the area-ish. I hope the information I spouted out wasn’t entirely false…)

Getting my gear checked in and approved 

Team acting out Bike & Build's policies 

Of course, all of this was sprinkled with countless awkward introductory conversations with people that I will likely be close friends with by the end of the summer.

I’m not going to lie… I’m exhausted. And this blog is extremely hard to write. I wish I were going to go to sleep in my own bed. I wish I were with close friends or family instead of strangers. I’m out of my comfort zone. And it’s entirely possible that I will cry myself to sleep tonight.

Thankfully, my Mom always reminds me to enjoy the journey, even the parts that might not seem so nice at the moment.

The Catty Corner: I’ve been told by multiple riders (who just so happen to be from the North) that I have an accent. To which I respond in my head, “No... You’re in South Carolina now. I’m from here.” Regardless, many amusing imitations ensue.