Today marked our first day off our bikes and onto the jobsite. Now in Longview, we worked on one of the local affiliate's houses which is pretty near complete. Within the next two months, the house will be ready for move in, due to the huge dedication and will of local volunteers. Usually, to accomodate for work schedules and the like, the volunteer days happen on Saturdays, however they opened up the project for us today so that we could help out. Our main tasks included texturing the primed drywall surfaces, and building outdoor deck space. Much to the amusement of others, Nova and Liz ended up completely covered in spackle, and fortunately enough for Nova and Liz, it came right off.
The local affiliate remains relatively small at this point, with the hopes of growing larger. They build about two houses a year, in a town of 35,000. Len, the local director, said that it's been a real challenge to get people interested in green building methods, but they're doing their best with green appliances and fixtures, insulation methods, and offering a $1000 "bonus package" to the homeowner, that allows them to select particular features.
So far, we've been fortunate enough to encounter fantastic hospitality and generosity from the people who've hosted us. Longview has been absolutely delightful because of this. Tonight, at Len's house, we even made some turtle friends.
Liz
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
leg 2: from olympia to chehalis, staring clipless newbies, buffalo jerky and some whimpy hills
ahhh man. what a day. i think we were all actually pleasantly surprised to hop on our bikes this morning and actually feel comfortable. we were in pretty good spirits, after our incredible hosts last night. they really took care of us. we arrived only to be greeted with pizza, beer, air mattresses, a swimming pool, outdoor WARM shower, pool table, shuffle board, ping pong table, awesome dog name Emma, cat, salad... the list goes on. totally unexpected and marvelous! Gary and Penny were excited about our green affordable housing mission and had all sorts of ideas for next years RGBG tour. 2 days in and we're gaining momentum!
At todays end, after stuffing our face with a large assortment of food (we're burning about 1,500 calories a day) we're all settling into St. John's Lutherans. Yet another cushy accommodation this evening. we're sleeping in a nursery. next to the box of lincoln logs. The Safeway down the street was having it's grand opening. What does this mean? samples. lots and lots of samples. As Mike was checking out he won and Ipod! It was pretty ridiculous-- upon returning to the church to cook up our stir fried rice, Nova pulled all the groceries out of the bags........ "um, where's the rice?" They look on her face was priceless.
Mike agreed to ride back and pick-up the main ingredient for dinner.
Alex, the volunteer coordinator from HFH Olympia, gave us a tour of some green affordable homes. Some highlights: pervious pavement, cottage style layout, on demand water heaters and radiant floor heating (which we actually found out HFH OLY was not such a fan of, as if they break, they are very costly to fix-- not such an awesome thing for a low income family-- or for anyone for that matter!), low VOC interior paints, hearty plank siding, minimal carpeting to minimize off-gas, insulated concrete forms, bio soils and native wild landscaping, recycled tiles,
to name a few!
Alex hooked us up with powerbars and gatoraide, gave us a tour of the ReStore and sent us on our way!
Actually, we detoured to the farmers market. got some amazing beef jerky trail mix! (we're burning about 1,500 calories a day.) We've unofficially named the tour Ride, Eat, Build Green. We just can't stop stuffing our faces!
Nova got a flat. She counted six holes in her tube. It rained on us a bit too. One big thick mist of WET! Not too pleasant (especially for those riding behind riders that got laxidazical about fender instalation.)
Overall today was a really great ride-- about 42 miles through some beutiful country side.
At todays end, after stuffing our face with a large assortment of food (we're burning about 1,500 calories a day) we're all settling into St. John's Lutherans. Yet another cushy accommodation this evening. we're sleeping in a nursery. next to the box of lincoln logs. The Safeway down the street was having it's grand opening. What does this mean? samples. lots and lots of samples. As Mike was checking out he won and Ipod! It was pretty ridiculous-- upon returning to the church to cook up our stir fried rice, Nova pulled all the groceries out of the bags........ "um, where's the rice?" They look on her face was priceless.
Mike agreed to ride back and pick-up the main ingredient for dinner.
Alex, the volunteer coordinator from HFH Olympia, gave us a tour of some green affordable homes. Some highlights: pervious pavement, cottage style layout, on demand water heaters and radiant floor heating (which we actually found out HFH OLY was not such a fan of, as if they break, they are very costly to fix-- not such an awesome thing for a low income family-- or for anyone for that matter!), low VOC interior paints, hearty plank siding, minimal carpeting to minimize off-gas, insulated concrete forms, bio soils and native wild landscaping, recycled tiles,
to name a few!
Alex hooked us up with powerbars and gatoraide, gave us a tour of the ReStore and sent us on our way!
Actually, we detoured to the farmers market. got some amazing beef jerky trail mix! (we're burning about 1,500 calories a day.) We've unofficially named the tour Ride, Eat, Build Green. We just can't stop stuffing our faces!
Nova got a flat. She counted six holes in her tube. It rained on us a bit too. One big thick mist of WET! Not too pleasant (especially for those riding behind riders that got laxidazical about fender instalation.)
Overall today was a really great ride-- about 42 miles through some beutiful country side.
Friday, July 25, 2008
First Day!
Most of the riders, except for Nova (who joined everyone in South Seattle, closer to her home), gathered near the Montlake Bridge this morning to depart. Elise had some gear/chain trouble which we managed to fix thanks to a chain tool. There is always a hitch, and Jesse reports that mechanical troubles continued through the day, but everyone arrived safely!
The riders arrived in Olympia this evening to reportedly great hosting from the family of Eric, a friend of Liz's. Food, drink, and restful sleep awaits!
Here are a few photos of the preparations this morning. As I have not yet joined everyone (I am taking the train to Eugene next Saturday) I hope that they will be able to post their own thoughts as they journey through Washington and northern Oregon.
-Erica
The riders arrived in Olympia this evening to reportedly great hosting from the family of Eric, a friend of Liz's. Food, drink, and restful sleep awaits!
Here are a few photos of the preparations this morning. As I have not yet joined everyone (I am taking the train to Eugene next Saturday) I hope that they will be able to post their own thoughts as they journey through Washington and northern Oregon.
-Erica
Monday, July 21, 2008
Departure on Friday!
Ride Green Build Green is leaving Seattle on Friday morning! We have seven riders. If you would like to ride with us for a portion of the trip, please get in touch! We are still fundraising and still looking for funds for rider support (food, etc.).
The first few days of our schedule are as follows:
7/25 Seattle - Olympia
7/26 Olympia (Habitat for Humanity tour) - Centralia/Chehalis
7/27 Centralia/Chehalis - Longview-Kelso
7/28 Volunteer at Cowlitz County Habitat for Humanity
7/29 Longview-Kelso - Portland/Beaverton
7/30 Tour Olson Woods Community Partners for Affordable Housing
7/31 Tour Portland's Habitat for Humanity LEED Development
8/1 Portland/Beaverton - Salem
8/2 Salem - Eugene
8/2 Eugene (looking for volunteer opportunities or community events in this town! we would love to set up an impromptu potluck or other event to talk with people about green affordable housing!)
8/3 Eugene (see above)
8/4 Eugene - Florence
If you live along this route, particularly in Olympia, Salem, or Florence and have room for us to sleep in your backyard or inside your house (or on your church property, or any other place!), or would like to organize an event for your local community group and us to chat (non-profits, schools, summer camps) please let us know!
We are also available to speak with representatives of the media about our cause and our journey.
The first few days of our schedule are as follows:
7/25 Seattle - Olympia
7/26 Olympia (Habitat for Humanity tour) - Centralia/Chehalis
7/27 Centralia/Chehalis - Longview-Kelso
7/28 Volunteer at Cowlitz County Habitat for Humanity
7/29 Longview-Kelso - Portland/Beaverton
7/30 Tour Olson Woods Community Partners for Affordable Housing
7/31 Tour Portland's Habitat for Humanity LEED Development
8/1 Portland/Beaverton - Salem
8/2 Salem - Eugene
8/2 Eugene (looking for volunteer opportunities or community events in this town! we would love to set up an impromptu potluck or other event to talk with people about green affordable housing!)
8/3 Eugene (see above)
8/4 Eugene - Florence
If you live along this route, particularly in Olympia, Salem, or Florence and have room for us to sleep in your backyard or inside your house (or on your church property, or any other place!), or would like to organize an event for your local community group and us to chat (non-profits, schools, summer camps) please let us know!
We are also available to speak with representatives of the media about our cause and our journey.
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