Hi everyone! And welcome to Day 4. It is a very exciting day of course, because it is the first day I rode the entire mileage, yay! So while the rest of the team were sore and tired from previous 4 days, I was excited, full of energy, and ready to document the journey.
Our morning started with a little yoga session led by Sam during the morning circle. The team particularly enjoyed the last pose ;)
STAR-ring the day off right
But that of course was not the last exciting thing that happened that morning, oh no. Once our riders found out that the apparently famous (my fellow non-American team members were as confused as me at this) Chef Boyardee products are made at a facility in Milton AND there is a statue for the chef himself… Well, there was no stopping them.
The operations manager of the facility even donated 4 boxes of Chef Boyardee products to us which came in very handy during the lunch stop
Once we finally started the ride, we were greeted with lots and lots of farmland, cows, horses, and tractors. The highlight of my day personally was when a whole big heard of horses (and one donkey) ran out from behind someone’s house just to stare at us O_O
The horses in question
Getting to know the Pennsylvania locals
The next stretch of the ride ran through a State forest with the most beautiful lush greenery I have seen in my life. Even a little climbing we had to do there could not ruin the enjoyment of the rainy freshness and serenity of this place.
Don’t forget to smell the flowers
Rainy lake selfie
I4K Social media doesn’t sleep even during the ride
The next portion of the day was spent on some steep but very fun rolling hills running through even more farmlands. We saw more horses, cows, and sheep, and even got a little peek of the Amish lifestyle. I even felt a touch of envy for the beauty they get to wake up to every day.
Farmlands for days
The last 20 miles of the ride were perhaps the most adventurous I have personally experienced. We got to ride in the rain and get fully soaked to the bones for the very first time! You can never feel more alive then while riding a bike through some Pennsylvania fields in a pouring rain, trust me.
Rain or shine, I4K keeps rolling
We got to our State College stayover early and got to enjoy the showers and dinner provided by our hosts - Calvary Harvest Fields. Afterwards, our first team laundry (very exciting) and getting the much deserved sleep.
-Valerie