First Days

Be proud kids, I just took a shower. It's been 4 days, and in that period I completed a run, three bike rides, and 5 hours moving dirt. Shazaam.
But seriously, the trip thus far has already exceeded my expectations. Everyone is rocking my socks off, each having so many of their own crazy stories to tell that I expect no one will bat an eye at stories like Idaho or the Incident. Okay, well the Incident probably can't be topped; even by the guy who lives in Alaska (Anson), the girl who went to Swiss boarding school (Michelle), or or even our trip leader who did the Peace Corps in Senegal (Christopher). My favorite rider thus far is Craig, who deadpan sense of humor is priceless. When asked what riding experience he had, he replied, "Um, yeah, the ride around the parking lot when they assembled my bike 20 min. ago." And then last night a woman exclaimed, "I can't believe you're riding across the country!" Deadpan, Craig said: "Neither can we."
Right now I suspect I'm being qualified as that "ridiculous trash talker." It started the second someone busted out Scrabble. Unfortunately I couldn't dominate due to the number of people playing (4) and my abysmal luck in letter draws. It probably also didn't help that one of the guys playing did Scrabble tournaments in high school. I came in dead last. But I'm going to redeem myself with a win against Tournament Player.
As for what we're up to, well not too much at the moment. We've spent alot of time getting oriented and making last-minute shopping runs. Yesterday a couple other girls (Kimberly, Lindsay) and I rode to Portsmouth in our free time and spent the afternoon trollin' the the town. It was awesome being stopped by people on the streets asking what we were up to (mind, we all had our jerseys on and were walking around with our bikes). Today we spent time at a build site. Our group was in charge of spreading loam (dirt) over the yard. The work required shoveling dirt from 9ft. piles onto a lawn the size of a small football field. Needless to say, it's likely going to be a sore day tomorrow.
Riding starts in the morning, beginning with an opening ceremony where we dip our back wheels into the Atlantic (the front one will be dipped in the Pacific when we reach Vancouver). Tomorrow's ride is 65 miles.
I'll be posting pictures soon, including some of Portsmouth, rides, and Chuckee Cheese's (sp? which btw is conveniently located right next door to the church).