Yesterday I said we were mentally preparing for today… it wasn’t enough! The first 25 miles were fine; it was just cold and we got to ride some tailwinds. But as soon as we got to the first rest stop it began raining, and with temperatures dropping as the day progressed, it was only downhill from there (not in the good way). As a welcome gift to upstate NY, we also got hail!

Since there were tailwinds, my group (Willard, Gibby, Cam and I) managed a hearty 15 miles of freezing rain before desperately needing warmth, which we found at a small family diner (literally called Family Diner). Two cups of piping hot coffee and a couple slices of toasty toast later, we decided to quickly hit the last 5 miles to the “lunch” rest stop. Finally, music to our ice cold ears; the ride was off for the day— we were shuttling to our stayover! The groups stopped at various gas stations or the aforementioned diner as we waited for the van to pick us up. Due to the rain and whatnot, I don’t have any photos of the actual ride— just imagine a few soaking wet and dedicated cyclists and there you go, that’s us!

Our stayover provided us with plenty of hot drinks and an enormous spread for dinner and dessert, which was what we needed, wanted, and more. In the end, it was a satisfying day; we all managed to get about 45 miles on the road, rolled out our muscles, and are now warm and dry, cozied up in sleeping bags. Tomorrow is our first real rest day, and we have some team events planned after breakfast! Cheers!

— Marielle