It's nearing the end of day 11 and I've finally found the time and energy to write everything down before I forget everything. This is also the first place since leaving New York where I've found an Internet connection too. Anyway, here's a rundown on what my trip has been like so far (some things might be out of order or didn't actually happen in that state - time and memories have blended together. 11 days isn't much, but it feels like I've been on this trip for weeks already... I can't imagine what day 50 is going to feel like.):
Falls on my bike:
Stopped in a parking lot and not unclipping my feet in time.
Trying to jump over a pothole in front of a McDonald's parking lot and jumping into it instead. I've got a huge elbow scrape to show for it.
Going over an extra slick puddle. I probably slid about 5 feet and left a wake behind me.
Bike problems:
Left rear mirror ripped off
Bottom bracket worn out and replaced
Bent and destroyed front derailleur
Snapped shifting paddle off. I'm stuck on the little ring :(
3 flat tires
Gears so dirty, they stopped spinning in the middle of a ride.
I'm starting to fall asleep so I'm only going to write about what I remember from the first day, riding out from Central Park, New York City to Hillsborough, New Jersey.
Day one was hectic and exciting; I would finally be going on the trip I've been waiting almost a year for. 65 days of seeing the sights of America from a bicycle seemed unreal to me, and it still is. We have to write down our directions on flash cards and that day we had 72 cues to write down since there are so many turns leaving Manhattan and just as many riding through Newark.
In those 67 miles, we already passed through so many environments: going from the busy New York streets, crossing the George Washington Bridge, riding through a dense Hispanic urban area, going through the Rutgers University campus, dangerously weaving through Newark traffic, passing by a tree-lined golf course, and finally ending up in a suburban neighborhood made the day feel like it had already been several days.
After crossing the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey together, the team split up into smaller groups depending on each rider's preferred speed. There is a huge difference between the lead and last group; there are several hours between them at the end of each day's ride. Since it was the first day, not all the kinks were worked out and the support vehicle was shuttling between the groups trying to get everyone fed for lunch. By the time the van reached my group, we had been biking for about five hours running off of a bagel, a bowl of cereal, and probably a granola bar. Since I was starving, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had way too much peanut butter and jelly. Half of the sandwich ended up leaking on the ground. In the end, about half of the team ended up riding together and we rolled into our stayover in Hillsborough, New Jersey completely exhausted from being out of shape.
We stayed at the Thakkars' house; their son had done the trip in previous years. We were all served an endless supply of food and drinks. It was incredible. Despite being worn out from the day, some of us got a game of ultimate frisbee going before having dinner and passing out for the night.
More to come soon!