limited building experience, yep - that's us.

Bike and Build requires all of its participants to complete eight hours of sweat equity, volunteering for an affordable housing organization in some capacity.

After a good deal of communication with Habitat for Humanity branches in Williamsburg, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Carys' and I were on our way down 64 to swing some hammers, test my rafter-climbing skills and even learn how to do a little bit of fancy cutting with a circular saw.

The build we were participating in was an all-women's build in a string of three Habitat houses in progress. As soon as we got there, we were put to work undoing the job that some other volunteers had done the week before. Nervous that our work would be undone one short week later, we were determined to do everything right. This task required for us to stand on ladders, in the misting rain, and hammer boards out of the walls as (it felt like) we dangled precariously out of the second story frame. Thankfully, I continue to learn about myself, and this time it was that I have a bit of a fear of heights. However, we did catch the eye of the photographer who seemed to record our every move. I keep checking the Norfolk Habitat site in hopes that I might someday add a picture of me dangling over those rafters to this blog.

Unfortunately, because the three sites had one shed of communal tools, Carys and I were asked to cut our work short so that some pressing adjustments could be made on the house next door.
I am really looking forward to this aspect of the summer (in part, of course, because you can't ride a bike if you are hammering a nail).