Hey everybody,
It's been a while since we've had internet access. Since then we've been to Fitchburg, Northampton, and Pittsfield MA, crossed the New Jersey and New York state lines, stayed in Poughkeepsie and Port Jervis in NY, and crossed into PA with stops in Mt. Pocono, Berwick, and tonight State College.
It's been an intense 10 days, and it's hard to believe that much of our summer is already gone. On a typical day we wake up at 6, pack our trailer, clean up the host site, and get on the road by about 8 am. At about the halfway point, we meet up for lunch, and then continue on to our host site.
After the first few days I was so stiff and sore I could barely move. We looked pretty silly...simple things like walking and sitting were extremely difficult. Two days ago for our ride into Port Jervis was the first day I didn't wake up sore, and it was a great feeling. We are all getting stronger, and climbing the hills in the Northeast (there are a lot of hills!) isn't so draining, but definitely still not easy!
Some highlights:
Crossing over the Berkshires was a tough day. On one particularly steep climb, riders who reached the top stopped and cheered on those behind them until they made it up the hill. It was a great feeling knowing you were almost at the top and everyone was behind you.
"Donation Magic." We look very silly as we travel through these small towns. Thirty two people in matching spandex stand out. We have many opportunities to meet all kinds of people and share what we are about, and it is amazing the support and generosity we receive along the way. Last night, as we ate dinner donated by Lesley's (another rider) parents, people in the diner overheard our cause and not only donated money, but showed up at 6 am at the middle school where we were staying to feed us a hot breakfast. Thank you Berwick, PA for your generosity.
Today was a 95 mile ride into State College, and we are all exhausted. Tomorrow we have another hilly 80 miler. There are people waiting to use the computer, so I'm going to have to sign off, but I hope to post some new pictures and share some more anecdotes soon. Feel free to leave comments about what you would like to hear about!
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