Day 14 - June 17, 1 day late
89 miles. Cumberland, MD to Parsons, WV
So this day's journal is the only one I haven't written on the day of due to my sheer exhaustion yesterday. So much stuff happens each day that not writing daily makes it impossible to capture it all.
The theme of this post is discomfort. In many forms. The day started off rainy which was eh. Should I ever need to imagine what Armageddon will look like, this day will be my closest point of reference. Unfortunately I couldnt figure out my layering situation quickly enough and on top of that my rain jacket soon turned into a wetsuit. Note: Water-resistant and Water-proof are not equivalent. The result was that within the first 5 miles of our wettest, windiest, longest, hilliest day yet i was already soaked through every layer. The windchill was really the worst part and on every single downhill the wind felt like daggers flying through my body. I was too cold to even curse and had to resort to pure primal screaming just to try and keep warm. As my older posts indicate, i really purely hate biking in the rain, let alone freezing, and it was easy the most miserable I can ever remember being in my life. The whole point of biking is the joy of enjoying the world around you and its hidden gems. In otherwords its the journey, not just getting to point B. When it rains all I can think of is how uncomfortable I am and how I just want it to be over as soon as possible. It's fitting then that at mile 20 just as I was hitting the early stages of hypothermia, my back tire decided to get a flat.
Fortunately there was this one bar right there(the only building for miles) that i was able to go into. I didn't have any cell phone coverage to call the van so i don't even know what wouldve happened if i didn't warm up in there. The owner Judy was kind enough to give me a hot chocolate and let me change my tire inside. While there another rider Carlos found me. He called the van and after the tire was fixed we rode three more miles to meet the van. Two other people had already been picked up due to the cold and others were getting into dry layers. At the van I immediately inhaled 3 donuts and put on every dry piece of clothing I had. Fortunately the other riders were doing well with the rain and were able to keep going.
I rode in there until lunch about 10 miles later so that i could warm up. I was much warmer and drier by then and the rain had stopped. Thus i was in a better mood!
We rode on and guess what, the sun came out! It happened just as we were crossing this great bridge low on the water and I screamed with delight at the top of my lungs.
For the rest of the trip the sun would disappear and reappear about 3 more times. It was literally the craziest weather. At one point we were being poured on as we could see the sun and blue sky.
At mile 63 we crossed into West Virginia, the "Wild and Wonderful" state. Enough Said.
Big highlight: As i left our second lunch i realized i had forgotten my gloves. I started going back just as i heard some rustling in the woods and barking. Not more than 30 feet in front of me a huge buck emerged from the forest and ran across the road. I was the only person there and immediately felt such a great connection to nature in that one moment. Seeing its muscles ripple was just so beautiful and stunning. If you've ever seen wildlife you may know what I'm talking about.
As i continued the route i soon realized that my chain was acting and sounding funky. I found out later that the rain had completely removed all of its lubrication. The result was that I might as well have been hauling 4 pumpkins. And not even in a carriage, I mean like dangling from a rope. At the top of the last hill was the extremely rewarding site of gigantic wind turbines. These guys were HUGE and actually cool as hell. It was super sweet because we had seen those same turbines 10 miles ago from the valley. I got pretty close and couldn't help but just stare for 5 minutes straight. I also pondered the whole concept of pure renewable energy which when you think about it is pretty mindblowing. The only word i could think of how to describe them was gracious.
By now it was already 8pm and I had been on the road for 12 hours. There were still 15 miles more and I was done. The van came and picked me up along with the last few riders and drove us past countless more hills that made me cringe just looking at them and thinking of my chain.
The chuch in Parsons was very gracious and put out a great spread along with letting us sleep in the sanctuary which was a cool experience. It was also Dan's 20th birthday and we presented him with a dinosaur birthday cake to match the stickers on his bike.
By that point i was just purely beaten, like unimaginably so. I barely ate any dinner and dragged myself straight to bed at 9. While routine is important to me, such as journaling and cleaning my bike, I knew I needed to sleep right there and then at 9pm. It was a fabulous 9 hours.
Overall it's just really hard to reconcile the overall awesomeness of Bike and Build with the small pockets of misery such as this day. Lets just hope for less rain.
Also, just as I'm writing this the second rider today told me that her mom is a follower of the blog. Pure Awesomesauce. Makes me so happy to know that the Bike and Build P2SF family audience audience is growing. The slight pressure to deliver makes sure i do it and this is great.
One of the most overwhelming things about this trip is the sheer lack of personal quiet time, especially given our time constraints. Though I lose about an hour of sleep, my journaling is a legitimate contributor to the maintenance of my sanity and prevents general passive aggressiveness. It helps even more to know that someone is actually reading all of this. So thank you for encouraging my sanity! Will try to stay funny for you all. And maybe even insightful...
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Poop. Lots of Poop.
Day 13 - June 16, 9:56pm
Build Day. Cumberland, MD
I woke up pretty tired today from hanging out last night and realized that this has been the most sleep deprived period of my life. I don't regret having fun last night at all but I was pretty miserable for most of today due to not having enough sleep.
In the morning, our host for the artspace, Lucas(Noah's friend) brought us some great cereal and blueberries. He's an awesome dude and just one of those people that you know you'll get along with real well within the first 30 seconds of meeting.
Speaking of sleep, the leaders right this minute just announced a 5:30am wakeup tomorrow, since we have 82 miles through the heart of the appalachians. Oh fun. Did i mention it will be raining!
Today half of us went to build steps for the porch of a homeless shelter while the others did drywalling for another shelter. I was in the former group and it was really great since we actually started with nothing and today there is a brand new set of stairs there. This will stop the insurance from charging them huge premiums for that fire hazard. It was even more meaningful since Noah donated his $500 Bike and Build donation(which every rider gets) for the supplies. It was amazing to realize how without us this project would've never gotten moving and how much of a tangible difference we have made for the financial struggle of the homeless shelter. Also, guess who got to use a power drill!
Colin King's Dad was there and gave so much help to what seemed like a bunch of blue shirted hammer wielding headless chickens. Steven's mom and sister also passed by which was so nice. I was especially glad to meet Steven's mom Priscilla. I might have said this before but I love meeting people's parents and getting to see what has shaped them.
At lunch i changed my wound dressings and realized that there was actually no skin on a decent patch of my elbow. Disgusting is a pretty fitting word. We're taking really good care of it so I'm sure it'll heal just fine. But i'll also probably have a decent battle scar as well. Again, all i could think about was how much worse it really should have been, and how even if it does scar what's the big deal. I won't lie though, walking around with a wrap on my elbow does make me feel(and look) pretty hardcore. I should be able to ride tomorrow no problem though it will def be a bit more annoying and painful with the bandages. Fortunately, butt issues are way more under control though i did find two saddle sores today as are most riders. They're these little pimple like things in your crotch area that result from rubbing and are almost inevitable. With all of this crazy stuff we're doing to our bodies i can't help but laugh and think "Really? are we really doing this willingly?"
In the afternoon, i went to the bike shop where the mechanics were super kind and fixed up our bikes for free. Mine had some kinks from the fall but is fine. On our way there some huge dude in a pony tail yelled at us saying "Hey stop, no blue shirts on tuesday" Needless, to say we were horrified only to find out that he was the owner of the bike shop and laughing his ass off at having pranked us. He was definitely a fun guy.
So as i was sitting against the wall of the bike shop with Sonya, trying to nap, shit went down. I literally mean that shit fell. As in i felt a splash and saw that i had 6 bird poop stains on my shirt. 4 on my shirt and 2 on my shorts. I kid you not that i literally got shit on from the sky today. Not one foot to the left or right of me(Sonya was untouched), but right where i was sitting. It's funny how its always the people who didn't get pooped on that inform you of your supposedly newfound "good luck". Anyway, I started screaming in my disgust but soon started laughing uncontrollably as i realized how hilarious it was. Especially since i was feeling horrible from no sleep this just confirmed that today wasn't my day.
Fortunately afterwards i was able to get a solid two hours of sleep in and felt much better. We went over to this nice bar where Noah's had arranged for his friend Lucas' dad's band "Shanty Irish" to give a performance for us. It was great traditional Irish folk music and we were all jigging away and hollering with them.
We were treated to dinner by a local Synagogue who had great vegan and gluten free options for our riders as well as an awesome bicycle design in the powdered sugar on one of the cakes. They were so so kind and it was nice to see such generosity spread out across different religious establishments. One of the members took out a map and helped us do some major avoiding of hills for tomorrow.
After searching all my stuff today, I've officially confirmed that my wallet has misplaced me. Of course this sucks beyond belief as all my IDs, and important cards were there. It's the only wallet i've ever had and it's the first time this has happened in all of its six years with me. If anyone reading this blog has it please do comment and let me know! I'm basically planning on trying to contact every random general store i've stopped at but hope is not high right now.
In general this whole routine of packing and unpacking all of my stuff every day is really stressful for me though I'm getting better. Being in so much flux and losing little things on top of everything else going on and your physical exhaustion is not the funnest.
For a little while today i started thinking about what will be going on for me as i return to my Junior Year of college in the fall. I hated that i was getting stressed out about some obligations that i have waiting for me. This summer is so surreal in its isolation from all my normal life and i want it to stay that way. I've been having so much fun this summer that I am slowly developing the rough mentality that If you don't enjoy something and can bail without too much fallout then do it. That's exactly what I considered as i thought of those school obligations and it immediately calmed me down. As much as we can, we should live life for us and for the people we care about, and prevent the clutter of life from seeping in and corroding this. Pretty easy for an idealistic responsibility-free teen to say, but still.
Officially decided today that I will aim to grow my facial hair until San Francisco. Notice the use of the phrase "facial hair" and not "beard". Today was the first time i ever cleaned it up as opposed to fully shaving and its not too bad. Am hoping for at least +8 rugged points by August.
It makes me super happy that more and more riders are telling me that they're family members are following this blog and are encouraging me to keep writing. It's kind of unfamiliar territory but also an honor to be able to bring you along for this journey in daily doses. Please do keep the great comments coming. I figure with this many readers, at least someone has to appreciate my warped humor...
Hope to at least be able to walk down the stairs semi comfortably tomorrow. Its prob going to be the hardest yet(funny how i keep saying that) and will totally rock my world. Can't wait!
Build Day. Cumberland, MD
I woke up pretty tired today from hanging out last night and realized that this has been the most sleep deprived period of my life. I don't regret having fun last night at all but I was pretty miserable for most of today due to not having enough sleep.
In the morning, our host for the artspace, Lucas(Noah's friend) brought us some great cereal and blueberries. He's an awesome dude and just one of those people that you know you'll get along with real well within the first 30 seconds of meeting.
Speaking of sleep, the leaders right this minute just announced a 5:30am wakeup tomorrow, since we have 82 miles through the heart of the appalachians. Oh fun. Did i mention it will be raining!
Today half of us went to build steps for the porch of a homeless shelter while the others did drywalling for another shelter. I was in the former group and it was really great since we actually started with nothing and today there is a brand new set of stairs there. This will stop the insurance from charging them huge premiums for that fire hazard. It was even more meaningful since Noah donated his $500 Bike and Build donation(which every rider gets) for the supplies. It was amazing to realize how without us this project would've never gotten moving and how much of a tangible difference we have made for the financial struggle of the homeless shelter. Also, guess who got to use a power drill!
Colin King's Dad was there and gave so much help to what seemed like a bunch of blue shirted hammer wielding headless chickens. Steven's mom and sister also passed by which was so nice. I was especially glad to meet Steven's mom Priscilla. I might have said this before but I love meeting people's parents and getting to see what has shaped them.
At lunch i changed my wound dressings and realized that there was actually no skin on a decent patch of my elbow. Disgusting is a pretty fitting word. We're taking really good care of it so I'm sure it'll heal just fine. But i'll also probably have a decent battle scar as well. Again, all i could think about was how much worse it really should have been, and how even if it does scar what's the big deal. I won't lie though, walking around with a wrap on my elbow does make me feel(and look) pretty hardcore. I should be able to ride tomorrow no problem though it will def be a bit more annoying and painful with the bandages. Fortunately, butt issues are way more under control though i did find two saddle sores today as are most riders. They're these little pimple like things in your crotch area that result from rubbing and are almost inevitable. With all of this crazy stuff we're doing to our bodies i can't help but laugh and think "Really? are we really doing this willingly?"
In the afternoon, i went to the bike shop where the mechanics were super kind and fixed up our bikes for free. Mine had some kinks from the fall but is fine. On our way there some huge dude in a pony tail yelled at us saying "Hey stop, no blue shirts on tuesday" Needless, to say we were horrified only to find out that he was the owner of the bike shop and laughing his ass off at having pranked us. He was definitely a fun guy.
So as i was sitting against the wall of the bike shop with Sonya, trying to nap, shit went down. I literally mean that shit fell. As in i felt a splash and saw that i had 6 bird poop stains on my shirt. 4 on my shirt and 2 on my shorts. I kid you not that i literally got shit on from the sky today. Not one foot to the left or right of me(Sonya was untouched), but right where i was sitting. It's funny how its always the people who didn't get pooped on that inform you of your supposedly newfound "good luck". Anyway, I started screaming in my disgust but soon started laughing uncontrollably as i realized how hilarious it was. Especially since i was feeling horrible from no sleep this just confirmed that today wasn't my day.
Fortunately afterwards i was able to get a solid two hours of sleep in and felt much better. We went over to this nice bar where Noah's had arranged for his friend Lucas' dad's band "Shanty Irish" to give a performance for us. It was great traditional Irish folk music and we were all jigging away and hollering with them.
We were treated to dinner by a local Synagogue who had great vegan and gluten free options for our riders as well as an awesome bicycle design in the powdered sugar on one of the cakes. They were so so kind and it was nice to see such generosity spread out across different religious establishments. One of the members took out a map and helped us do some major avoiding of hills for tomorrow.
After searching all my stuff today, I've officially confirmed that my wallet has misplaced me. Of course this sucks beyond belief as all my IDs, and important cards were there. It's the only wallet i've ever had and it's the first time this has happened in all of its six years with me. If anyone reading this blog has it please do comment and let me know! I'm basically planning on trying to contact every random general store i've stopped at but hope is not high right now.
In general this whole routine of packing and unpacking all of my stuff every day is really stressful for me though I'm getting better. Being in so much flux and losing little things on top of everything else going on and your physical exhaustion is not the funnest.
For a little while today i started thinking about what will be going on for me as i return to my Junior Year of college in the fall. I hated that i was getting stressed out about some obligations that i have waiting for me. This summer is so surreal in its isolation from all my normal life and i want it to stay that way. I've been having so much fun this summer that I am slowly developing the rough mentality that If you don't enjoy something and can bail without too much fallout then do it. That's exactly what I considered as i thought of those school obligations and it immediately calmed me down. As much as we can, we should live life for us and for the people we care about, and prevent the clutter of life from seeping in and corroding this. Pretty easy for an idealistic responsibility-free teen to say, but still.
Officially decided today that I will aim to grow my facial hair until San Francisco. Notice the use of the phrase "facial hair" and not "beard". Today was the first time i ever cleaned it up as opposed to fully shaving and its not too bad. Am hoping for at least +8 rugged points by August.
It makes me super happy that more and more riders are telling me that they're family members are following this blog and are encouraging me to keep writing. It's kind of unfamiliar territory but also an honor to be able to bring you along for this journey in daily doses. Please do keep the great comments coming. I figure with this many readers, at least someone has to appreciate my warped humor...
Hope to at least be able to walk down the stairs semi comfortably tomorrow. Its prob going to be the hardest yet(funny how i keep saying that) and will totally rock my world. Can't wait!
Wipeout
Day 12 - June 15, 10:27pm
60 miles. McConnelsburg, PA to Cumberland, MA
Woke up today only to realize how much I would miss my host family Don and Charlotte. They had a regal spread of eggs, pork and fruit. On top of everything Charlotte new i LOVE ketchup on my egss because they had read my rider bio. We talked about how she too had raised her kids that way. They insisted that we would not leave their house without trying Scraple. Its this little patty like things that is literally just leftover pork scraps. Between the sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, and scraple i basically ate an entire pig for breakfast.
All of last night I had seen Charlotte struggling to barely walk around her own house and this morning she told me about how MS is a mentally degenerative disease which i had no idea of. She mentioned how she was an active reader every day to keep the MS symptoms at bay. The strength, love, and perseverence from this small woman was overwhelming. Don was equally great and drove out last night just to pick up ointment for my rear which has since gotten much better.
When we got back to the Church ready to head out, I found that a bird had pooped on my bag as it was waiting to be packed. Yea.
Couple of highlights on the road:
Found a dead turtle on the road, which was a first. Passed through this nice little tunnel and Rob, Julie and I took the opportunity to chalk, i mean graffiti, a "P2SF wuz here" right before
our dope pose.
We also officially passed the Mason - Dixon line from PA into Maryland which was marked by this great obelisk.
Though i thought yesterday's two mountains were a special case, it turns out we had three today. So much for getting a break. As we were climbing on right at 2pm with the sun at its strongest, I remember never ever being so ridiculously sweaty and grimy and exhausted at once. Getting to the peak at 1,602 feet and seeing the view in my sweaty, panting glory was supreme.
On the way down i took a spill coming into a turn. It was obviously super scary but i managed only a scrape on my elbow and thigh. I seriously wouldn't put it being past a miracle. I'm literally 100% fine save for my scrapes but it was supremely humbling to think of how much i really should've hurt myself. I rode the last 20 miles in the van and it really sucked totally. On an emotional level i hated not being with my friends and not having that sense of accomplishment. On a physical level, my body was all hyped up on adrenaline and was literally craving for endorphins and physical activity so it felt horrible. Getting to our host site not being totally exhausted ironically enough is the worst feeling one can have on this trip. There were four other people who got vanned for various reasons so it was great that we could have some company.
It really made me appreciate the ability to be healthy and fit enough to ride everyday and enjoy all the fun stops and all. I'll admit that i love building speed on downhills and after this I learned that i need to be way more respectful of the dangerous endeavour I'm making. Seriously, beyond just cycling it's so easy to take things for granted, and with potentially dangerous things like this I feel that second chances are not really the norm. At least my camera and phone are still intact.
We're staying in a super sweet huge empty loft that is normally an art space, courtesy of Noah's cool friend Lucas and had dinner graciously provided by the Cumberland African United Methodist Church.
Really funny, on our way walking back across the railroad tracks we were midway when the bells started ringing and the bars started dropping. We all literally started screaming and running. It was absolutely terrifying and hilarious. I mean seriously, since when do trains actually pass by railroad tracks anymore?
For the record, I am considering my personal issue resolved. Not necessarily in the way i originally expected but its nice to be able to have come to terms with it and to be able to focus more on the trip now. A lot of us got a chance to hang out in the town tonight and i had some really awesome bonding/conversations. All i could think about during them was how much i am looking forward to being great friends with these people after this.
We're having a build day tomorrow. Finally, rest!
60 miles. McConnelsburg, PA to Cumberland, MA
Woke up today only to realize how much I would miss my host family Don and Charlotte. They had a regal spread of eggs, pork and fruit. On top of everything Charlotte new i LOVE ketchup on my egss because they had read my rider bio. We talked about how she too had raised her kids that way. They insisted that we would not leave their house without trying Scraple. Its this little patty like things that is literally just leftover pork scraps. Between the sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, and scraple i basically ate an entire pig for breakfast.
All of last night I had seen Charlotte struggling to barely walk around her own house and this morning she told me about how MS is a mentally degenerative disease which i had no idea of. She mentioned how she was an active reader every day to keep the MS symptoms at bay. The strength, love, and perseverence from this small woman was overwhelming. Don was equally great and drove out last night just to pick up ointment for my rear which has since gotten much better.
When we got back to the Church ready to head out, I found that a bird had pooped on my bag as it was waiting to be packed. Yea.
Couple of highlights on the road:
Found a dead turtle on the road, which was a first. Passed through this nice little tunnel and Rob, Julie and I took the opportunity to chalk, i mean graffiti, a "P2SF wuz here" right before
our dope pose.
We also officially passed the Mason - Dixon line from PA into Maryland which was marked by this great obelisk.
Though i thought yesterday's two mountains were a special case, it turns out we had three today. So much for getting a break. As we were climbing on right at 2pm with the sun at its strongest, I remember never ever being so ridiculously sweaty and grimy and exhausted at once. Getting to the peak at 1,602 feet and seeing the view in my sweaty, panting glory was supreme.
On the way down i took a spill coming into a turn. It was obviously super scary but i managed only a scrape on my elbow and thigh. I seriously wouldn't put it being past a miracle. I'm literally 100% fine save for my scrapes but it was supremely humbling to think of how much i really should've hurt myself. I rode the last 20 miles in the van and it really sucked totally. On an emotional level i hated not being with my friends and not having that sense of accomplishment. On a physical level, my body was all hyped up on adrenaline and was literally craving for endorphins and physical activity so it felt horrible. Getting to our host site not being totally exhausted ironically enough is the worst feeling one can have on this trip. There were four other people who got vanned for various reasons so it was great that we could have some company.
It really made me appreciate the ability to be healthy and fit enough to ride everyday and enjoy all the fun stops and all. I'll admit that i love building speed on downhills and after this I learned that i need to be way more respectful of the dangerous endeavour I'm making. Seriously, beyond just cycling it's so easy to take things for granted, and with potentially dangerous things like this I feel that second chances are not really the norm. At least my camera and phone are still intact.
We're staying in a super sweet huge empty loft that is normally an art space, courtesy of Noah's cool friend Lucas and had dinner graciously provided by the Cumberland African United Methodist Church.
Really funny, on our way walking back across the railroad tracks we were midway when the bells started ringing and the bars started dropping. We all literally started screaming and running. It was absolutely terrifying and hilarious. I mean seriously, since when do trains actually pass by railroad tracks anymore?
For the record, I am considering my personal issue resolved. Not necessarily in the way i originally expected but its nice to be able to have come to terms with it and to be able to focus more on the trip now. A lot of us got a chance to hang out in the town tonight and i had some really awesome bonding/conversations. All i could think about during them was how much i am looking forward to being great friends with these people after this.
We're having a build day tomorrow. Finally, rest!
Hardest. Day. Ever.
Day 11 - June 13, 10:37pm
82 miles. Schuylkill Haven PA, to McConnelsburg, PA
Thats right, 82 miles. I just spent 6 hours pedaling on my bike today. No way have I ever done anything like this to my body. Ever. AND IT FEELS GREAT!
This week I'm assigned to the cleanup chore crew, where my group has to make sure our host site is totally clean before we leave. Last week we were responsible for giving the presentation to our hosts during dinner.
Day started off quietly enough with more of the great rolling countryside and sunny weather. Got into a good game of boticelli on the road and a group of us were able to stop at this cozy sandwich shop in Carlisle, PA where Meghan was kind enough to let us fill up on bagels. It was such an obvious college joint for the nearby school and gave off that great hip vibe with its leather couches.
Following lunch a group of us came across these awesome oxen like creatrures and just observed their shagginess for a while. In general there areo many farm animals on the way. I can hardly describe how painfully beautiful some horses have been along the way. The smelly cows not so much but they're still cool and they even moo at us sometimes when we yell at them enough.
We could only go 200 more feet before we had to do an obiligatory frolic among hay barrells. it took 3 of us to even budge one. Fun was had by all.
Saw two amish horse buggies today. Seeing them have signal blinkers on the carriage and having to negotiate an intersection with them was hilarious.
We knew we had a long day ahead of us and pushed it until mile 60. This is when we quickly realized that the reason we had had so much flat ground for 3 days was because we had just reached the actual mountain range separating us from the rest of the country. Namely, the start of the Appalachians. CT had hills but i'm emphasizing that this was a legitimate mountain, meaning a mile and a half of straight ascent. I started climbing just before I was able to realize that all of us on this trip are probably insane.
To be honest, it just didn't end and was mindboggling. We were all in lowest gears barely able to rotate the pedals. It's too bad that this is where some of our riders with knee problems had to call the van. Never ever have I been so furious and happy at the same time as when i summited the ascent. We could hardly believe what we had just done and treated ourselves to the two mile downhill waiting for us.
At the next town, we were all ready for calories and invaded a general store. This is where I ate an entire sleeve of Fig Newtons, about 15 or so in 10 minutes. This did not fill me up as much as it merely held me over till i could snack next or dinner. But it gets better.
A few miles later at mile 70 we were treated to yet another full ascent of a mountain. This was just pure horror and my legs have probably never pushed so hard in my life. Unfortunately it was so steep that some riders had to get off and walk up. Don't know how but i found the power to get to the top where the riders ahead of me were splashing in the lake there.
Never in my life have i been so assured and determined to do anything as i was when i started marching straight into the water. I could barely get my gear off before my body threw itself into the water. It was like a baby's but meeting talc powder, except there was no mother applying anything. I was so hyped up on endorphins that i couldn't stop laughing the entire time. After our splash session, we assumed a quick 10 miles to our destination only to find that we had not even summited the mountain. Again, I might as well have been being beat with smelly bricks the whole way up. I'm sure the exhaustion from that would've been less. At the top of the ascent I found a second wind, via some vehement cursing, that brought me to this awesome biker bar and a breathtaking dusk view of our town.
We descended a super 3 miles of downhill to meet each other and our hosts. I remember still wanting to do more after having just done 82 miles. What happened today was literally both the best and worst thing I've ever done to my body. The whole way up was the most horrible muscular struggle I've ever faced, but it was so worth it. Seriously, there wasn't anything i didn't think i could accomplish after having just destroyed those two mountains. I'm sure that feeling will probably stay with me for a long time after this trip. it's just so great and inexplicable to be able to push yourself far past the limit that your mind sets for yourself. It opens up a whole new hidden pocket of self confidence.
We are doing homestay's tonight and the fabulous Don and Charlotte are hosting me and Doug. They're super cool. Don builds baseball fields around the country with his identical twin brother and his office is best described as a shrine to the sport with a wall of autographed balls and two actual stadium streets there. Charlotte is such a sweetheart who used to teach 4th grade and kindergarten. She is so much fun to talk with. I barely asked her anything before she was already telling me her and Don's life story. it's really painful for me to see the effects that Multiple Sclerosis is having on her ability to walk around her own house. But her eyes lit up like unregulated headlights when she explained how she just recently reached the one mile a day landmark on her recumbrent bicycle. What great people.
Their son Tim who lives next door also passed by and Doug and i chatted with him about his time in the Peace core in Chad.
I actually can't even keep my eyes open anymore. to sleep. now.
82 miles. Schuylkill Haven PA, to McConnelsburg, PA
Thats right, 82 miles. I just spent 6 hours pedaling on my bike today. No way have I ever done anything like this to my body. Ever. AND IT FEELS GREAT!
This week I'm assigned to the cleanup chore crew, where my group has to make sure our host site is totally clean before we leave. Last week we were responsible for giving the presentation to our hosts during dinner.
Day started off quietly enough with more of the great rolling countryside and sunny weather. Got into a good game of boticelli on the road and a group of us were able to stop at this cozy sandwich shop in Carlisle, PA where Meghan was kind enough to let us fill up on bagels. It was such an obvious college joint for the nearby school and gave off that great hip vibe with its leather couches.
Following lunch a group of us came across these awesome oxen like creatrures and just observed their shagginess for a while. In general there areo many farm animals on the way. I can hardly describe how painfully beautiful some horses have been along the way. The smelly cows not so much but they're still cool and they even moo at us sometimes when we yell at them enough.
We could only go 200 more feet before we had to do an obiligatory frolic among hay barrells. it took 3 of us to even budge one. Fun was had by all.
Saw two amish horse buggies today. Seeing them have signal blinkers on the carriage and having to negotiate an intersection with them was hilarious.
We knew we had a long day ahead of us and pushed it until mile 60. This is when we quickly realized that the reason we had had so much flat ground for 3 days was because we had just reached the actual mountain range separating us from the rest of the country. Namely, the start of the Appalachians. CT had hills but i'm emphasizing that this was a legitimate mountain, meaning a mile and a half of straight ascent. I started climbing just before I was able to realize that all of us on this trip are probably insane.
To be honest, it just didn't end and was mindboggling. We were all in lowest gears barely able to rotate the pedals. It's too bad that this is where some of our riders with knee problems had to call the van. Never ever have I been so furious and happy at the same time as when i summited the ascent. We could hardly believe what we had just done and treated ourselves to the two mile downhill waiting for us.
At the next town, we were all ready for calories and invaded a general store. This is where I ate an entire sleeve of Fig Newtons, about 15 or so in 10 minutes. This did not fill me up as much as it merely held me over till i could snack next or dinner. But it gets better.
A few miles later at mile 70 we were treated to yet another full ascent of a mountain. This was just pure horror and my legs have probably never pushed so hard in my life. Unfortunately it was so steep that some riders had to get off and walk up. Don't know how but i found the power to get to the top where the riders ahead of me were splashing in the lake there.
Never in my life have i been so assured and determined to do anything as i was when i started marching straight into the water. I could barely get my gear off before my body threw itself into the water. It was like a baby's but meeting talc powder, except there was no mother applying anything. I was so hyped up on endorphins that i couldn't stop laughing the entire time. After our splash session, we assumed a quick 10 miles to our destination only to find that we had not even summited the mountain. Again, I might as well have been being beat with smelly bricks the whole way up. I'm sure the exhaustion from that would've been less. At the top of the ascent I found a second wind, via some vehement cursing, that brought me to this awesome biker bar and a breathtaking dusk view of our town.
We descended a super 3 miles of downhill to meet each other and our hosts. I remember still wanting to do more after having just done 82 miles. What happened today was literally both the best and worst thing I've ever done to my body. The whole way up was the most horrible muscular struggle I've ever faced, but it was so worth it. Seriously, there wasn't anything i didn't think i could accomplish after having just destroyed those two mountains. I'm sure that feeling will probably stay with me for a long time after this trip. it's just so great and inexplicable to be able to push yourself far past the limit that your mind sets for yourself. It opens up a whole new hidden pocket of self confidence.
We are doing homestay's tonight and the fabulous Don and Charlotte are hosting me and Doug. They're super cool. Don builds baseball fields around the country with his identical twin brother and his office is best described as a shrine to the sport with a wall of autographed balls and two actual stadium streets there. Charlotte is such a sweetheart who used to teach 4th grade and kindergarten. She is so much fun to talk with. I barely asked her anything before she was already telling me her and Don's life story. it's really painful for me to see the effects that Multiple Sclerosis is having on her ability to walk around her own house. But her eyes lit up like unregulated headlights when she explained how she just recently reached the one mile a day landmark on her recumbrent bicycle. What great people.
Their son Tim who lives next door also passed by and Doug and i chatted with him about his time in the Peace core in Chad.
I actually can't even keep my eyes open anymore. to sleep. now.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The birth of Red Velvet
Day 10 - June 12, 11:13pm
55 miles. Schuylkill Haven PA to Harrisburg, PA
Scratch yesterday's post. Today was officially the best day yet of bike and build.
So because yesterday we had seen a ton of yard sales but never stopped, Meryl and I today firmly decided to stop at one no matter what. It was only a few miles out where two huge stuffed monkeys advertising one. It was here that I met Red Velvet. Lying amongst a rack of women's skirts and blouses it's red crocheting caught my eye and never let go. At first I noticed it and laughed but then when i failed to find anything else i thought, "Wait, why wouldn't buy a ridiculous hot red, form-fitting, see-through women's sweater"
The wonderful sisters Gale and Lisa were not quite expecting my decision to say the least but gladly donated it. As if my day wasn't already overloaded on awesomesauce at that moment, I then noticed the most irresistable pair of fuzzy leopard skin dice as we were leaving. Guess who's handlebars they're on now!
The terrain was pretty gentle and the scenery still nice. I managed a nice conversation with Miranda which I hadn't yet really done. Something i like to do with people comes from this awesome dude named Sanford who taught a FOP workshop at school this past spring.
How it works is to have 2 person exchanges where each person has 2 minutes to talk about specific features of hemselves(usually their school, best friend, favorite teacher, etc) while the other person can only nod their head and say "uh huh". in It's really interesting what comes out and how much we can learn about each other's essences in only a few short minutes. The questions that result once the listener is allowed to speak always amaze me. While structuring a simple conversation initially wierds most people out, its highly worth it. Perhaps you'll give it a try sometime?
Anyway, back to the ride, a real highlight was Miranda complementing my shadow and how cool it looked as we were riding. I've never ever had anyone say that and it felt really cool. Thanks Miranda!
As we approached the wafting smells of cocoa in Hershey, Pennsylvania a factory tour pitstop was most necessary. Little did we know what was about to happen. After the ridiculous factory tour ride involving dancing and singing robotic cows(alright they were kinda cool) Max decided that he really really wanted to see if they would give us complementary admission to Hershey Park. The five of us decided to give it a shot expecting nothing and at the guest services counter we met Bob whose conversation with us basically went as follows:
"Well what i can do is hold your credit card and not charge it so long as you're back in 45 minutes, actually lets make that an hour, actually just take your time, actually let me call the ride manager and let you skip the line onto our most extreme roller coaster, actually let me reserve front row seats for you in the coaster" So yes, thanks to the infinite generosity and kindness of Bob at Guest Services we had been in and out of Hershey Park's best roller coaster free of charge within 20 minutes. Though we might have also hit up the horse carousel and a picture with the walking chocolate bars. The roller coaster was sick and even now I still can't process what super fun had happened there on such a whim.
Tonight our church was kind enough to open up this sweet parish house to us and dinner was all arranged and cooked by the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. First of all they had couscous. That's at least +9 points for them. However it was only once I got there dressed in my see through skin tight red sweater did I realize that they had actually invited all of their members to mingle with us. Talk about first impressions...
I did get to meet Erica and Antron there. Our small talk slowly rolled into much deeper conversation and I just loved them. The way Antron talked about loving what he can do for people through his Habitat job rather than just focusing on what paycheck's he could be getting at other jobs cut right through me. He had this total earnestness gushing from every pore and seeping down his great dreads. We talked a lot about how we both love meeting new people and man we just totally connected. It was all of ten minutes but that feeling is the thunder of life for me. I can hardly think of anything better in the world than connecting with another human being. Erica was equally as charming and we just threw jokes around left and right. She was so sweet and sharp in conversation i could sit with her all day. She is actually in charge of interviewing potential homeowners applying for a Habitat house which sounds like a great job. I wish i had talked more with her about it.
Red Velvet was a hit with everyone so I think it will continue to occupy my bag, as will the dice. More affordable housing presentations tonight, and following them Dan Cooperman was kind enough to buy us all huge tubs of Rita's "Water Ice". I know it as "Italian Ice" but its the same thing and it was great.
There's this wierd game people keep playing where they describe a line between two objects repeatedly according to some hidden "rule". They give good and bad examples while the rest of us mortals have to figure out what the rule is. It's pretty ridiculous personally but then again i still can't figure it out. Hopefully that will change.
Unfortunately today I discovered some butt issues while riding. And by that i mean i felt the fires of hell burning all up in there if you get me. I'm going to try some ointments and monitor it closely. It would really suck to have to ride in the van because of it not to mention, that its hard to even sit down sometimes. We'll definitely treat it and it'll soon be fine but it just kinda sucks.
Some other people have been having serious knee issues though, and i can't imagine what it's been like for them to not be able to ride, or to ride with extreme pain. Steve, Carlie and Marisa are true champs.
Today i finally realized that some irritation i've been feeling lately has been coming from the sheer stress of constantly being around 31 people in such cramped quarters. I realized that its just kind of inevitable and that its not that i dislike people particularly. It's like a roommate's idiosyncracies multiplied by 31. I'm glad to have been able to diagnose this in myself as i think it will help me avoid any passive aggressive anger from developing.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to confront/try to resolve that annoying interpersonal issue(trust me it's not what you think). Hopefully all will turn out well.
All in all, its odd trying to balance a personal journal with a public record. Since this is my only written record, that's why i tend to reveal more rather than less.There isn't really the room to reveal all my really personal feelings and concerns though without losing the joy of sharing this all with you. However think its going just fine and I hope its been good for you all so far! Love the comments!
1 more day in PA! Not the most sleep tonight but still better then yesterday.
55 miles. Schuylkill Haven PA to Harrisburg, PA
Scratch yesterday's post. Today was officially the best day yet of bike and build.
So because yesterday we had seen a ton of yard sales but never stopped, Meryl and I today firmly decided to stop at one no matter what. It was only a few miles out where two huge stuffed monkeys advertising one. It was here that I met Red Velvet. Lying amongst a rack of women's skirts and blouses it's red crocheting caught my eye and never let go. At first I noticed it and laughed but then when i failed to find anything else i thought, "Wait, why wouldn't buy a ridiculous hot red, form-fitting, see-through women's sweater"
The wonderful sisters Gale and Lisa were not quite expecting my decision to say the least but gladly donated it. As if my day wasn't already overloaded on awesomesauce at that moment, I then noticed the most irresistable pair of fuzzy leopard skin dice as we were leaving. Guess who's handlebars they're on now!
The terrain was pretty gentle and the scenery still nice. I managed a nice conversation with Miranda which I hadn't yet really done. Something i like to do with people comes from this awesome dude named Sanford who taught a FOP workshop at school this past spring.
How it works is to have 2 person exchanges where each person has 2 minutes to talk about specific features of hemselves(usually their school, best friend, favorite teacher, etc) while the other person can only nod their head and say "uh huh". in It's really interesting what comes out and how much we can learn about each other's essences in only a few short minutes. The questions that result once the listener is allowed to speak always amaze me. While structuring a simple conversation initially wierds most people out, its highly worth it. Perhaps you'll give it a try sometime?
Anyway, back to the ride, a real highlight was Miranda complementing my shadow and how cool it looked as we were riding. I've never ever had anyone say that and it felt really cool. Thanks Miranda!
As we approached the wafting smells of cocoa in Hershey, Pennsylvania a factory tour pitstop was most necessary. Little did we know what was about to happen. After the ridiculous factory tour ride involving dancing and singing robotic cows(alright they were kinda cool) Max decided that he really really wanted to see if they would give us complementary admission to Hershey Park. The five of us decided to give it a shot expecting nothing and at the guest services counter we met Bob whose conversation with us basically went as follows:
"Well what i can do is hold your credit card and not charge it so long as you're back in 45 minutes, actually lets make that an hour, actually just take your time, actually let me call the ride manager and let you skip the line onto our most extreme roller coaster, actually let me reserve front row seats for you in the coaster" So yes, thanks to the infinite generosity and kindness of Bob at Guest Services we had been in and out of Hershey Park's best roller coaster free of charge within 20 minutes. Though we might have also hit up the horse carousel and a picture with the walking chocolate bars. The roller coaster was sick and even now I still can't process what super fun had happened there on such a whim.
Tonight our church was kind enough to open up this sweet parish house to us and dinner was all arranged and cooked by the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. First of all they had couscous. That's at least +9 points for them. However it was only once I got there dressed in my see through skin tight red sweater did I realize that they had actually invited all of their members to mingle with us. Talk about first impressions...
I did get to meet Erica and Antron there. Our small talk slowly rolled into much deeper conversation and I just loved them. The way Antron talked about loving what he can do for people through his Habitat job rather than just focusing on what paycheck's he could be getting at other jobs cut right through me. He had this total earnestness gushing from every pore and seeping down his great dreads. We talked a lot about how we both love meeting new people and man we just totally connected. It was all of ten minutes but that feeling is the thunder of life for me. I can hardly think of anything better in the world than connecting with another human being. Erica was equally as charming and we just threw jokes around left and right. She was so sweet and sharp in conversation i could sit with her all day. She is actually in charge of interviewing potential homeowners applying for a Habitat house which sounds like a great job. I wish i had talked more with her about it.
Red Velvet was a hit with everyone so I think it will continue to occupy my bag, as will the dice. More affordable housing presentations tonight, and following them Dan Cooperman was kind enough to buy us all huge tubs of Rita's "Water Ice". I know it as "Italian Ice" but its the same thing and it was great.
There's this wierd game people keep playing where they describe a line between two objects repeatedly according to some hidden "rule". They give good and bad examples while the rest of us mortals have to figure out what the rule is. It's pretty ridiculous personally but then again i still can't figure it out. Hopefully that will change.
Unfortunately today I discovered some butt issues while riding. And by that i mean i felt the fires of hell burning all up in there if you get me. I'm going to try some ointments and monitor it closely. It would really suck to have to ride in the van because of it not to mention, that its hard to even sit down sometimes. We'll definitely treat it and it'll soon be fine but it just kinda sucks.
Some other people have been having serious knee issues though, and i can't imagine what it's been like for them to not be able to ride, or to ride with extreme pain. Steve, Carlie and Marisa are true champs.
Today i finally realized that some irritation i've been feeling lately has been coming from the sheer stress of constantly being around 31 people in such cramped quarters. I realized that its just kind of inevitable and that its not that i dislike people particularly. It's like a roommate's idiosyncracies multiplied by 31. I'm glad to have been able to diagnose this in myself as i think it will help me avoid any passive aggressive anger from developing.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to confront/try to resolve that annoying interpersonal issue(trust me it's not what you think). Hopefully all will turn out well.
All in all, its odd trying to balance a personal journal with a public record. Since this is my only written record, that's why i tend to reveal more rather than less.There isn't really the room to reveal all my really personal feelings and concerns though without losing the joy of sharing this all with you. However think its going just fine and I hope its been good for you all so far! Love the comments!
1 more day in PA! Not the most sleep tonight but still better then yesterday.
Imagination Zone! and Flags!
Day 10 - June 11, 11:58 pm
61 miles. Stroudsberg, PA to Schuylkill Haven, PA (yea i couldn't pronounce it either)
I really must start going to bed earlier. LIghts off is at 11 and we wake up at 6am every morning. However there is just too much fun stuff from today to write about. This might have been my funnest day yet. And coincidentally the sun was also out.
Today I rode sweep along with Noah. This means that we are the last riders of the group at all atimes and responsible for helping anyone who may have run into trouble. This also means that we have an excuse for taking all the time in the world to stop everywhere and do every silly thing imaginable. To clarify, the only rules for riding each day is that you arrive by 4pm. Everyone rides at whatever speed they like and stops as much as they want.
As I alluded yesterday, Noah's wackiness cannot be described and our desire for fun today was a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't long before we found our first field to frolic in. Part of the reason we could stop so much was because of all the level ground we had today. After CT, these flat stretches in PA were like nutella and croissants for a starving Frenchman on a desert island. We easily rocked 20mph for a solid 3 miles at one point.
Today was also the first day I really felt like i was seeing America. The gentle hills and acres of green farmland were just unbelievable. We agreed that we could officially start using the word pasture from here on out. The lush green Appalachian mountains flanking us in the distance were just so immense and overwhelming in the best way. During several downhill coasts through this scenery my fantastic-meter definitely maxed out.
Soon enough we came across The Flag Store and decided for another unnecessary stop. As we prepared to give our usual pitch, we were interrupted by the fact that the lady had already seen us on tv that morning.( i forgot to mention yesterday that a local news channel came to interview us). This store was ridiculous in the best way possible in that it just had tons and tons of flags. The very nice owner Vena was so kind and donated a large American flag and Pennsylvania flag for us to fly on our trailer. We also snagged a sweet checkered racing flag that we'll start using to start off in the mornings. She also threw in a pamphlet describing the meanings of each fold in the traditional 13 fold flag folding ceremony of the US armed forces as well as other cool facts. (Did you know that a 21 gun salute comes from the sum of the digits in 1776?)
Our next irresistable detour was at the Imagination Zone. It's basically this children's funhouse(think playpens with plastic balls) which was too well named for our immature selves not to check out. Upon closer inspection we found their logo to be a circle containing a large flying pink unicorn opposite a voluptous red dragon. Needless to say Noah and I immediately jumped into several dragon and unicorn like poses as we set timers on our cameras.
Now get this, it turns out at lunch that one of the girls, Anne Lise, had been late because she had been flying in an open cockpit biplane! Turns out her dad and his friend are pilots and decided to meet her en route and take her on a quick spin. Awesomesauce? i think yes. After they left us, they flew their sweet blue and yellow propeller plane in circles around us dipping as low as 100 feet as they waved to us. I might as well have been a 5 year old is how excited I was.
I also saw my first ever real junkyard today. It just had mountains of scrap metal that are mindboggling. Of course several photos were taken here along with this totally random tin man statue in front of some random person's mailbox. MMM..That was fun.
Schuylkill Haven is a quiet town and the church was gracious enough to let us take over the entire parish house. They were just so sweet and had a great spread out for us. It was primarily the women's club organizing it. So you know those mustard stuffed egg things? Apparently they're called Devil Eggs, and the lovely Doris made a ton of them today. Basically, I love them and you can guess how many tables i almost knocked over upon seeing them and after having just ridden 60 miles. I unfortunately didnt get to chat with Doris too much, let alone learn any secret recipes, but thank you for the eggs Doris!
A typical B&B trip is expected to raise about $500 in donations on the road. After dinner, the women of the church threw a ridiculous $500 donation to us. Could they be any cooler? Seriously though, all these folks we meet aren't totally loaded and that was huge. I can't even process this kind of generosity. At this rate we already have close to $1,000 fundraised on the road within the first week.
It's too bad I repaid the church by clogging up their toilet. I eventually fixed it but it was just not fun times with that plunger.
Oh and there was a carnival in town tonight. Nothing too special, just a chance to see the locals and eat cotton candy.
Tomorrow i think i can get back to my pushup routine and will make an active effort to sleep early. Routine's are interesting. I really should be sleeping now but decided to write this in order to honor the routine that i am trying to cultivate. They're really the kinds of things that take a lot of time and energy initially, and almost beg you to give up. But once you pass the initial hill of resistance, they have enormous rewards.
I'm hoping that the discipline of this journal routine will roll over to other spheres of my life as i need it to. What routines do you have in your life and why are they valuable? What is stopping you from developing a new routine that will add value to your life? Are these obstacles really that insurmountable?
Goodnight!
61 miles. Stroudsberg, PA to Schuylkill Haven, PA (yea i couldn't pronounce it either)
I really must start going to bed earlier. LIghts off is at 11 and we wake up at 6am every morning. However there is just too much fun stuff from today to write about. This might have been my funnest day yet. And coincidentally the sun was also out.
Today I rode sweep along with Noah. This means that we are the last riders of the group at all atimes and responsible for helping anyone who may have run into trouble. This also means that we have an excuse for taking all the time in the world to stop everywhere and do every silly thing imaginable. To clarify, the only rules for riding each day is that you arrive by 4pm. Everyone rides at whatever speed they like and stops as much as they want.
As I alluded yesterday, Noah's wackiness cannot be described and our desire for fun today was a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't long before we found our first field to frolic in. Part of the reason we could stop so much was because of all the level ground we had today. After CT, these flat stretches in PA were like nutella and croissants for a starving Frenchman on a desert island. We easily rocked 20mph for a solid 3 miles at one point.
Today was also the first day I really felt like i was seeing America. The gentle hills and acres of green farmland were just unbelievable. We agreed that we could officially start using the word pasture from here on out. The lush green Appalachian mountains flanking us in the distance were just so immense and overwhelming in the best way. During several downhill coasts through this scenery my fantastic-meter definitely maxed out.
Soon enough we came across The Flag Store and decided for another unnecessary stop. As we prepared to give our usual pitch, we were interrupted by the fact that the lady had already seen us on tv that morning.( i forgot to mention yesterday that a local news channel came to interview us). This store was ridiculous in the best way possible in that it just had tons and tons of flags. The very nice owner Vena was so kind and donated a large American flag and Pennsylvania flag for us to fly on our trailer. We also snagged a sweet checkered racing flag that we'll start using to start off in the mornings. She also threw in a pamphlet describing the meanings of each fold in the traditional 13 fold flag folding ceremony of the US armed forces as well as other cool facts. (Did you know that a 21 gun salute comes from the sum of the digits in 1776?)
Our next irresistable detour was at the Imagination Zone. It's basically this children's funhouse(think playpens with plastic balls) which was too well named for our immature selves not to check out. Upon closer inspection we found their logo to be a circle containing a large flying pink unicorn opposite a voluptous red dragon. Needless to say Noah and I immediately jumped into several dragon and unicorn like poses as we set timers on our cameras.
Now get this, it turns out at lunch that one of the girls, Anne Lise, had been late because she had been flying in an open cockpit biplane! Turns out her dad and his friend are pilots and decided to meet her en route and take her on a quick spin. Awesomesauce? i think yes. After they left us, they flew their sweet blue and yellow propeller plane in circles around us dipping as low as 100 feet as they waved to us. I might as well have been a 5 year old is how excited I was.
I also saw my first ever real junkyard today. It just had mountains of scrap metal that are mindboggling. Of course several photos were taken here along with this totally random tin man statue in front of some random person's mailbox. MMM..That was fun.
Schuylkill Haven is a quiet town and the church was gracious enough to let us take over the entire parish house. They were just so sweet and had a great spread out for us. It was primarily the women's club organizing it. So you know those mustard stuffed egg things? Apparently they're called Devil Eggs, and the lovely Doris made a ton of them today. Basically, I love them and you can guess how many tables i almost knocked over upon seeing them and after having just ridden 60 miles. I unfortunately didnt get to chat with Doris too much, let alone learn any secret recipes, but thank you for the eggs Doris!
A typical B&B trip is expected to raise about $500 in donations on the road. After dinner, the women of the church threw a ridiculous $500 donation to us. Could they be any cooler? Seriously though, all these folks we meet aren't totally loaded and that was huge. I can't even process this kind of generosity. At this rate we already have close to $1,000 fundraised on the road within the first week.
It's too bad I repaid the church by clogging up their toilet. I eventually fixed it but it was just not fun times with that plunger.
Oh and there was a carnival in town tonight. Nothing too special, just a chance to see the locals and eat cotton candy.
Tomorrow i think i can get back to my pushup routine and will make an active effort to sleep early. Routine's are interesting. I really should be sleeping now but decided to write this in order to honor the routine that i am trying to cultivate. They're really the kinds of things that take a lot of time and energy initially, and almost beg you to give up. But once you pass the initial hill of resistance, they have enormous rewards.
I'm hoping that the discipline of this journal routine will roll over to other spheres of my life as i need it to. What routines do you have in your life and why are they valuable? What is stopping you from developing a new routine that will add value to your life? Are these obstacles really that insurmountable?
Goodnight!
New Jersey?
Day 9 - June 11, 11:14pm
60 miles. Warwick, NY to Stroudsberg, PA
Rain + biking is not the funnest combination. It doesn't help when your body pretends to have been mashed by a 32oz aluminum softball bat the night before. Today had plenty of nice flat ground which was great but the rain made everything just plain icky. Fortunately we were quickly able to start off the day with two quick poses in front of boarded up dance studios (What?)
Three miles into the route today, our leaders had planned a special surprise for us. As we eagerly rode we soon found a sign welcoming us to New Jersey. Turns out, our leaders rerouted our ride to give us the honor of being graced by such marvelous marshlands for 10 miles and to add another state to our list bringing it to 18. Talk about exotic.
The day continued well until some pain started hitting my right knee. This was disconcerting so early on in the trip but after lunch it was much better. This was of course aside from the fact that my triceps were totally blasted today from all those hills yesterday. Yes, cycling is a full body sport and I've finally realized these past two days how much of a legitimate physical strain this trip is. I'm just hoping that my legs will hold up without too much pain. Fortunately my bruise from yesterday's fall is almost totally better.
After lunch we hit a pretty solid downpour for a good 3 miles. It was pretty fun in a way to have to ride in such absolutely ridiculous conditions. Also! *Cool alert* if you looked down at the ground while you were riding today you could see your full reflection in the water in the pavement. It was totally wierd and almost like riding on a mirror.
Today was also the birthday of one of our trip leaders, Noah. Awesome guy, but also the absolute wackiest i have ever met hands down. The birthday tradition on our trip(which he also started) is to apparently ride around all day with a spongebob squarepants bib on in front. He proudly did so along with his purple spandex pants.
Stroudsberg, PA is a legit nice town. The (once again very welcoming church) is right on main street and its such a quaint scene. I had totally wanted to nab this sweet neon orange hat from a camping store next door but they were closed after another great Church dinner. Either way, I still got to enjoy the fact that the store was owned by the "Fenkelberger" family. Those who have seen Senior Sing 07 understand.
After Laundry I chilled a little in this sweet comic book shop(do those even exist anymore?) and also passed by a clothing boutique and chatted them up about this funky line of t shirts they carried called "Artful Dodger". The crosswalks had a voice counting down the seconds and was kinda creepy honestly. I speculate that all our urban crosswalks will soon come complete with full robots telling us when to cross as well as making small talk with us about the weather and how Ms. Johnson is doing. If the future really goes sour, they may even have a winking feature as well.
A group of us all just came back from watching "UP" for Noah's birthday. The manager was super kind to let us in for free after we explained what we were doing. The movie was really fun and well put together. Unfortunately I was so exhausted that i kept nodding off though and didnt really get to fully sleep or watch the movie.
I really hope to get to explore towns like this more, though its tough given the little free time after arriving at destinations. We'll be in PA for a little while longer, I wonder what it has to offer.
One quick note: I forgot to mention a highlight of yesterday which was that as we were riding we were passed by 6 consecutive Lamborghini's, the drivers of which pumped their fists at us. It may be such a typical male thing to be into hot cars, but that was damn awesome.
PS - Also, totally weird, did anyone notice how I started writing both today's and yesterday's posts at exactly the same time? Talk about routine.
60 miles. Warwick, NY to Stroudsberg, PA
Rain + biking is not the funnest combination. It doesn't help when your body pretends to have been mashed by a 32oz aluminum softball bat the night before. Today had plenty of nice flat ground which was great but the rain made everything just plain icky. Fortunately we were quickly able to start off the day with two quick poses in front of boarded up dance studios (What?)
Three miles into the route today, our leaders had planned a special surprise for us. As we eagerly rode we soon found a sign welcoming us to New Jersey. Turns out, our leaders rerouted our ride to give us the honor of being graced by such marvelous marshlands for 10 miles and to add another state to our list bringing it to 18. Talk about exotic.
The day continued well until some pain started hitting my right knee. This was disconcerting so early on in the trip but after lunch it was much better. This was of course aside from the fact that my triceps were totally blasted today from all those hills yesterday. Yes, cycling is a full body sport and I've finally realized these past two days how much of a legitimate physical strain this trip is. I'm just hoping that my legs will hold up without too much pain. Fortunately my bruise from yesterday's fall is almost totally better.
After lunch we hit a pretty solid downpour for a good 3 miles. It was pretty fun in a way to have to ride in such absolutely ridiculous conditions. Also! *Cool alert* if you looked down at the ground while you were riding today you could see your full reflection in the water in the pavement. It was totally wierd and almost like riding on a mirror.
Today was also the birthday of one of our trip leaders, Noah. Awesome guy, but also the absolute wackiest i have ever met hands down. The birthday tradition on our trip(which he also started) is to apparently ride around all day with a spongebob squarepants bib on in front. He proudly did so along with his purple spandex pants.
Stroudsberg, PA is a legit nice town. The (once again very welcoming church) is right on main street and its such a quaint scene. I had totally wanted to nab this sweet neon orange hat from a camping store next door but they were closed after another great Church dinner. Either way, I still got to enjoy the fact that the store was owned by the "Fenkelberger" family. Those who have seen Senior Sing 07 understand.
After Laundry I chilled a little in this sweet comic book shop(do those even exist anymore?) and also passed by a clothing boutique and chatted them up about this funky line of t shirts they carried called "Artful Dodger". The crosswalks had a voice counting down the seconds and was kinda creepy honestly. I speculate that all our urban crosswalks will soon come complete with full robots telling us when to cross as well as making small talk with us about the weather and how Ms. Johnson is doing. If the future really goes sour, they may even have a winking feature as well.
A group of us all just came back from watching "UP" for Noah's birthday. The manager was super kind to let us in for free after we explained what we were doing. The movie was really fun and well put together. Unfortunately I was so exhausted that i kept nodding off though and didnt really get to fully sleep or watch the movie.
I really hope to get to explore towns like this more, though its tough given the little free time after arriving at destinations. We'll be in PA for a little while longer, I wonder what it has to offer.
One quick note: I forgot to mention a highlight of yesterday which was that as we were riding we were passed by 6 consecutive Lamborghini's, the drivers of which pumped their fists at us. It may be such a typical male thing to be into hot cars, but that was damn awesome.
PS - Also, totally weird, did anyone notice how I started writing both today's and yesterday's posts at exactly the same time? Talk about routine.
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