I am going to keep this short so that you dont get too bored. Disclaimer: I dont have a camera so i cant provide pictures, but others may have some on their blogs.Last Friday we drove out to New York City. I had the last leg into the NYC because I had the most experience driving in the city. It was pretty intense driving a monster cargo van in Manhattan....But we all lived. We stayed at a church a block from central park. One of the most memorable moments about new york was definitely time square. Never have I seen anything like that in my life. We walked around it at midnight on Saturday and it was completely crowded. The lights from all the advertisements/ tvs lite up the night sky. It is definitely something everyone should see once in their life time.That Sunday we had a brunch at the church where we got to meet some of the members of the congregation. We interviewed a man named Christopher for the Portratis Project.His story was touching and very inspirational. I have to thank him because his story was very inspirational, it truly reminded me to appreciate the finer things in life.Monday was our first day riding. We left NYC at 7am and made it to hills borough new jersey around 5. Getting out of NYC took forever because of traffic and stop lights. We got to experience some real hills for the first time, they were a blast. The day went real well, everyone was super pumped the whole time. I rode with my favorite group of girls ( Team Rainbow Kitty Burst Rangers), they are a real hoot to have around. Their silliness makes the time fly by. I can only hope we keep such enthusiasm for the next 70 days. That night we stayed at the Thakars house, they are the parents of one of the founders of this organization. They were THE BEST! They provided what was essentially an unlimited amount of food, snacks, drinks, and deserts. It made leaving the following morning a little more difficult. Thank you so very much for your hospitality.This morning, Tuesday the 24th, we left the Thakars home after an inspirational speech by Connor Ramsey ( go wolf pack! ). The weather report said 80% chance of  thunderstorms all day, and we prepared for the worst. We got out there around 7:30 and were in awe by the beautiful landscape of the garden state. The weather was sunny throughout the entire ride!!!!!!! We rode up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down, well you get the idea, all day....but it was great. We zoomed through lush forests, and past beautiful hill communities on our way to Philadelphia. It was exhausting, but these hills are much more rewarding then the wind we experienced during our training rides in Illinois.Towards the end of the ride with 20 miles left we all began to feel the fatigue. Some of my group mates were experiencing some unfortunate pains in their legs/ knees.  We powered through and entered Philadelphia around 5pm. With 5 blocks lefts to go disaster struck. One of the riders had to make a quick maneuver around an idling car on a descent and ended up getting her wheel stuck in the trolley tracks on the street. This caused her to have a nasty spill, which of course you hate to see happen to anyone. Furthermore, when we stopped another rider couldn't unclip and she took out not only herself but one more rider! Such heartbreak so close to our destination! We bandaged everyone up and walked slowly on the sidewalks those last 5 blocks. The tears in my group mates eyes was an important lesson in safety that I know everyone will not soon forget. We need to remember the lessons we learn everyday, while learning to put the past behind us because tomorrow we ride onward to San Francisco.|