OH MY GOODNESS. So it has only been 20 days since we first started our trip but we are already going to be in Chicago tomorrow! Before I continue on with this post, I just have to talk about my experiences in the Appalachian Mountains. When we were told that the mountains would be tough, I initially thought, "Alright, I can deal with this. After all, I've survived marathons." However, once I got on those climbs, my perspective changed completely. When I was climbing up the mountains, all I could think about was how I could ski down these if there was snow on the ground! The mountains were steep, never-ending, winding roads. I honestly thought numerous times that I was going to do an unintentional wheelie and fall back down from where I climbed up. In addition to the climbs of the mountains, I cannot forget about the descent. After I went down my first descent, I was so much more motivated to climb up to the top of the mountains because the downhills were SO fun! I remember this one downhill was a 12% grade for 3/4 mile and I got up to 42 mph! It was so much fun and it reminded me of skiing, but I can't deny that there were some turns that made me nervous. Overall, it was awesome and I just kept in mind what I was working for while doing the uphill climbs.When I think about the tough moments that I have encountered during I4K, I keep reminding myself that I can do it and most importantly, I remind myself what I am doing this trip for and who I am biking for. With this mentality, it makes each day even more meaningful and it makes me stronger when I am facing uphill climbs, head-winds and rain during long rides. There is no doubt that I got stronger each day and that the mountains were very hard but luckily, each day I had wonderful teammates and we helped talk each other throughout the difficult moments and we made it! Here I am, back in the sweet, sweet, flat Midwest.It's funny how we are all in our own little I4K world and we forget what day it is and all we know is that each day we'll be together riding on our bikes all day. I love it since I am constantly surrounded by wonderful people that I love. Speaking about wonderful people, I cannot get over how kind and loving strangers have been to us. Their generosity is so heart-warming and it truly restores my faith in humanity. I just can't get over it, and it just makes me so happy. That being said, I am definitely looking forward to continuing this ride while fighting cancer and to also find out the West has in store for us.
Dipping my back wheel in the Atlantic.