Alright, this is my first blog from the road. It's been tough to get on the internet since there are usually 20 riders and one computer. We are currently in Everett, PA and just finished the 8th day into the trip. So lets see what I can rememeber fomr each location
New York City: Our rest day was fun. Me and Jay bought an all day pass on the subway and shot around the town. We stopped by MOMA and NYU. We met up with some other riders and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. Sadly we missed being able to dip our wheels because we ran out of time and we were staying a long way from the ocean. The team attended a U of I NYC alumni event and were fed very well. I'd like to give a big thanks to the Chabad House at Columbia University for putting us up for the night. We left around 8 in the morning and had breakfast in Central Park(Cereal and crackers). It took us a long time to get out of the city but we didn't have any trouble. We left by going over the George Washington Bridge which gave us a spectacular view of the city as we said goodbye. I highly recommend walking over it if any of you ever go to NYC. We rode through Newark and Elizabeth, NJ which were a little too busy for our liking. All of us barely missed a pothole that was literally so big that someone could curl up in it and still be below the street line. (Seriously!) We stayed at Anish's house for the night and were fed exceptionally well. The last 15 miles of riding in was so gorgeous it made up for all the traffic we had to deal with.
Philidelphia: Fantastic ride for most of the day. Going into the city was a little tricky but everyone made it. We ended up not staying at the church we were supposed to stay at since there had been a miscommunication. Luckily Jon K's brother used his american express points to buy us three rooms at the Shereton. We all had a nice shower and enjoyed the soft beds. The Phili Alumni Group brought us tons of Phili Cheese Steak Hogies! They were fanstastic. We had so many we were eating them three more days down the road.
Newark, DE: The whole day we rode out of Phili and on shadeless glass filled roads. Everyone had a layer of dirt on their legs after riding that was from all of the chemical plants we passed in SE corner of PA. The Salem Lutheren Church put us up for the night and had plenty of Chess and Mancala to play which was fun. Plus we were given several fantastic meals.
Balitmore: Hills! Riding out of Newark was beautiful but we hit our first streach of hills. Today the law of every downhill has an equal and opposite uphill applied. Everytime we coasted down we would have to climb the same distance up. It was great scenery so we didn't mind. The last thirty miles were tough because it was along a big highway with no good view and no shade. The days usually get up to 80 and we've only had one cloudy day into D.C. We stayed at the Frisby house named for the street it's on. Everyone there was a Vegan Fixy biker. They were all so much fun to talk too and it was nice to stay somewhere else with people our age. They had this sweet dog named Rover who was very friendly and nice. I went out with Arjun and Melissa for pie and ice cream that night. It was good to catch up with them after not seeing them for so long. I remember sleeping the best at this stayover so far.
D.C.: After getting out of Baltimore we had a gorgeous ride through the towns between. I met two fantastic riders today. After climbing halfway up one steep hill and being in the back of my group I had this crazy guy on a fixed gear pass me by and fly up the rest of the hill. I think pure awe describes what I felt. He ended up circling back and talking to us. Jay was speechless and only asked to shake his hand. He had read about us in a Baltimore newspaper, which turned out to be about the Hopkins group. His aunt has lung cancer and only has 4 monthes left. I wish I had gotten his name. We also met a recent grad from U Penn named Daniel. He's riding from Phili to Dallas with all his own gear. He's an exchange sudent from Costa Rica. He got really excited because he saw his first deer. We took a bike path for the last 15 miles into D.C. through the Rock Creek State Park and it was beautiful.
More to come soon but I have to give up the computer to the others.