Day 6: Van Day

June 3, 2022 in Charlottesville, Virginia

Today was my first van day! Essentially, what that entails is a rotation of all the riders, and every ten days or so we have a day where we are in charge of being the "safety navigator" for the day. I rode in the truck instead of biked, put colorful chalk on the road (with a spotter) to mark hard turns, and set up lunch and water stops. We also make sure there's no construction or dangerous situations on the road before our riders get there.

This job was largely uneventful, but the van driver (another rider who has to be over 25) found an awesome little breakfast/lunch place where we set up the lunch spot for the rides. I had a delightful breakfast burrito, and took a very long nap in the van while we waited for everyone to roll through.

My highlights were a strawberry milk popsicle from the lunch stop and our first glimpse of the Blue Ridge Mountains!

After everyone was back and had settled into our host site, our leaders sat us down to have a group talk. I could tell from their tone that something serious happened, but since everyone was there I knew no one was hurt. As it turned out, the program director, who had spent the week with the team, had tested positive for Covid, and we had to talk about what comes next.

Since Bike and Build has never run during Covid before, it's all kind of a learning process for both riders and leaders. That being said, there is protocol put in place that will be followed. For example, there was supposed to be a build day tomorrow, but it was cancelled.

Caroline and I went out and got rapid tests for the entire team–– sixteen of us tested negative with no symptoms, and two tested positive with no symptoms. The two who got it were in the same ride group as the program director yesterday, and will be quarantining and rejoining the group in ten days.

We were all pretty bummed and freaked out by the reality check that a couple of us getting Covid provided, and spent some time talking about what the next few days would look like.

My night was totally flipped around though, because a Bike and Build alumni made us homemade burritos and brought them to our host site! We also had seltzers and rootbeer floats for dessert, and I had some really good conversations and laughs with my friends outside at a picnic table.

As of 9pm, pretty much everyone is laying in bed watching TV or reading. I'm glad to have a night with low social pressure, and I'm Zooming with my boyfriend to watch Twin Peaks together. And there's no wake-up call tomorrow!!

Covid scares and all, I'm feeling much more settled and much less homesick than the past few days. Life is good!