Wow, what a crazy few days its been! It seems like since our short 40 mile day I wrote about earlier its been harder everyday. Each day has been around 80 miles, which isn't too hard, but its the hills out here that have been wearing me out.
Our ride to Baltimore was one of the first days with some serious hills, but it was nice to get into the city where we stayed with a past rider, Ben Horns. My thanks go out to him for putting all of us up in his apartment. That day gave me a chance to see a different part of the city, and also have a great burger down the street.
After Baltimore, we headed to Washington D.C. which ended being somewhere around 80 miles by bike. I traveled in the group with the longest ride that evening, and unfortunately got caught in the rain right in the last 10 miles. We rode through the rain and were rewarded with some great food from Matt Cady's friend Ben, whose apartment we stayed at. The next day was our first rest day which we spent exploring the D.C. area. We also had the opportunity to visit the Walter Reed hospital in D.C. and got a tour of their breast cancer ward. In addition, we had the opportunity to hear from Mr. and Mrs. Mulvaney, which really connected us to our cause. Its easy sometimes when were tired, hungery, and busy to forget why we ride and the stories we hear really inspire us to keep going.
After D.C. we rode out to Boonsboro, MD, through a full day of rain. We all slept soundly that night. The next day we had another full day of riding out to Everett, PA. This was a particularly difficult day for me because of the crazy steep hills, and because as my group neared Everett we missed a turn and made an 80 mile day into a 90 mile day. I have to say, those 90 miles have been the most beautiful miles yet. Honestly, its a conflicting feeling to enjoy the surrounding landscape so much while my legs feel so much pain. Even with the added milage, my group pulled in second out of everyone and were very hungery for the dinner that the church had generously served us.
That brings us to up today. For the last two days the roads have turned from hills into full-on mountains. The route was very tough with all of the inclines, but to every uphill there is a downhill. One downhill in particular had me travelling 45 mph, a very exciting ride indeed. My group arrived here in Mt. Pleasent, PA around 6ish and got in just in time for dinner. There's nothing better than a great meal after a tough ride, and the church here provided us with a wonderful feast that left everyone full. There is such a great difference from when we try to cook for ourselves after riding all day and when our hosts cook for us. After dinner I headed out to a festival that the town is putting on, and enjoyed some great weather and music. So far Mt. Pleasent has been nothing but pleasent and I hope for more of the same in the future.
Thanks for reading!