This trip has more than surpassed my wildest expectations so far. Between the incredible riders and leaders in my group and the never-ending generosity of our hosts, I have never experienced anything quite like this. Having never seriously biked before committing to this trip, I was pretty nervous coming into orientation, but by the end of the first day I knew I had made the right decision. The riding has come along better than I was expecting. Each day I feel more and more like I am becoming a real cyclist, which is pretty exciting. I'm hoping within the next couple of weeks I will be able to consistently keep up with the fastest group of riders. The two build days we have done so far have been awesome too. At the first one we tore the roof off a house and put a new one on in one day. I helped with everything from tearing the old shingles off to laying down new plywood to laying the new shingles. I have always enjoyed building when I've had the opportunity to do it, so I had an awesome time helping with that project. Today we did some demolition work in an apartment complex which was a lot of fun. We got to knock out some cinder block walls with hammers, and tear drywall off of the walls and ceilings. Tomorrow we ride again, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the saddle. We're only a week and a half into the trip, and I already know that this is going to be one of the greatest summers of my life, with some of the greatest people in the world.