Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 27 - June 23 - Odell, IL to Oxford Junction, IA - 92.4miHad an amazing sleep last night on one of the couches in the TV room. Woke up at 5am again, for our now regular departure time of 6am. Because we left so early, we missed the first rest stop, but stopped at a gas station to have some breakfast. Shortly before rest stop two in Muscatine, we stopped to get the long awaited picture with the Illinois state sign. We then crossed the mighty Mississippi River, and took pictures with the Iowa sign. Rest stop 2 was at a Walmart, so I stocked up on Clif bars and Powerade - basically what I am living off of these days. Iowa, it turns out, is very hilly. At about mile 68, I bonked hard. Vikki did too, so we stopped for a snack (Clif bar) while Frank and Catherine continued on. A little while later, Vikki got a text from Catherine warning about some dogs, and recommending that we walk past the house so as not to scare/aggravate them. We misjudged how far away the house was, and walked for a little bit more than we should have, before flagging down a pickup truck. The driver assured us that the dogs in question were behind a invisible fence, so we would be safe biking past. We made it to the next rest stop, and relaxed for a bit before taking on the final 11mi. Alison, who rode in the morning, but jumped in the van because her knee was hurting, decided to join for the last bit, so off we went. We got another text from Catherine warning about two tiny dogs, but made it into camp with just a small chase from one of them. The fire department graciously let us shower in their building, which was probably the coolest shower I have ever taken. They actually built us a shower, with tarps and a hose, right in the garage, surrounded by fire trucks. After the shower, I grabbed a burger for dinner at a local restaurant. Chandler started talking with a gentleman sitting at the bar, and the guy ended up buying us dinner! I know I've said this before, but the generosity we are seeing from people on this trip is just outstanding. After dinner, we took a picture with the fire department, and grabber ice cream. Another long day tomorrow, so I'm getting to bed early. Day 28 - June 24 - Oxford Junction, IA to Elkader, IA - 92.5miI actually had to go into google Maps to look up where we are right now. I literally had no idea what the name of the town is. Early start this morning. Stopped for breakfast with basically the entire team at rest stop one. Very hilly again today. I could have sworn that once we hit Ohio it was flat all the way to the Rockies. Apparently not. After breakfast, we got onto a road that was under construction, and all gravel. We thought it would last only about a mile or two, but we ended up riding on gravel for at least 10mi. I loved it, because that's the kind of riding I'm used to, but not everyone had as much fun as I did. After the gravel, we had to replace Catherine's back tire, and then it was off to the Field of Dreams movie set, that happened to be on route. If there is one thing this trip has done for me, it has given me an unhealthy fear of animals that I would not normally be afraid of. Several times today I got dive-bombed by these red-winged blackbirds. One even hit my helmet! I spent the rest of the day paranoid every time I saw a bird fly overhead. The last 20mi were pretty tough, but Catherine and Alison stuck around with me to keep me company. There were also a couple pretty great downhills that made the uphills worth it. Staying in a church again tonight, and they made us dinner and provided a ton of snacks. We are really getting spoiled by all of the free food on this trip. After eating, I was able to take a shower and do some laundry. The laundromat was a bit far, so I bungee corded my laundry bag to my bike rack and rode the 1.5-2 miles to get there. Day 29 - June 25 - Elkader, IA to Brownsville, MN - 81.9miWhat a day. We left bright and early, and were immediately greeted by some climbs. We got separated from Jen and Sharon, so I rode with Frank, Catherine, and Alison. The first rest stop was only 14mi in, so we got there way before the van and kept going. We stopped at a gas station in Monona for some food, and then somehow got mixed up and made a wrong turn. We didn't realize this until about 18mi later though, when we went into another gas station in Waukon, which we learned is very different from Waukon Junction. We didn't just go off course, we were completely off the map. Luckily, the cashier at the gas station was able to give us a route that would get us back on track to the third rest stop. This actually turned out to be a fortunate mistake, as our detour shortened the ride by 3mi, and eliminated most of the hills. We finally connected with the van at R3, and got some more food, then headed on. It was absolutely boiling hot out, so it was a tough afternoon, but we were able to make it to New Albin, and stopped at a meat market that a local had recommended. This place had the best beef jerky I've ever had in my life. Shortly after that, we stopped to take pictures at the Minnesota border. The last 14mi were long and hot, but we made it to Barb and Dan's house. Walking into an air conditioned house was the best thing ever at the end of the day. They made us a lovely dinner, and we were able to go out and see the cows on their beef farm.
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Day 21 - June 17 - Bowling Green, OH to Monroeville, IN - 90.4miToday was going to be a long day, so Catherine and I headed out early after taking advantage of the donuts provided by Matt and Michelle. It was a hot day, but we cruised along to the first few rest stops, stopping at the third to grab lunch with everyone. We even had a bit of a tailwind at our backs! In Payne, we stopped to find ice cream and were directed to a great little place by some locals. After polishing off a delicious chocolate milkshake, we headed out to finish the last 13mi. We stopped along the way to take photos at the Indiana state line - our 7th state of the trip! Camp is fantastic. We could sleep inside or outside, so I set up my hammock between some trees. Hopefully tonight goes better than Geneva-on-the-Lake! Pizza dinner was provided, and then a bunch of us played a rather violent game of Egyptian Rat Slap. When I say violent, I mean blood was actually drawn. From me. Courtesy of Luke's fingernail. I must say though, it is pretty impressive that the first time I needed the first aid kit, it was because of a card game and not a bike related incident. Day 22 - June 18 - Monroeville, IN to Denver, IN - 80.4miToday was pretty hot, and pretty long, but it was also pretty great. I was a bit cold in the hammock overnight, but I stuck it out. I was on the slow side getting ready this morning, so I was one of the last to leave, and rode solo. Had some pretty quality podcast time before the first rest stop, and then caught up with the crew shortly after heading out again. I rode with Sharon, Catherine, Jen, Frank, and Kate until rest stop three. A bit after leaving R2, we encountered yet another dog that chased us along the road. Kate sprinted past us pretty quick as soon as it started barking and running! There wasn't any lunch food at rest stop three, but we were able to get milkshakes. We also happened to run into a fair in Largo, complete with elephant rides and hamburger eating contest. The announcer saw us walking by, and invited us to get on the mike and tell everyone what we were doing. I rode solo again for the last segment of the day, and then arrived to some pretty awesome accommodations in Denver. We are staying at another church, and it has an indoor basketball court! Literally the minute I walked in to the building to put my bike away, I grabbed a basketball and started shooting hoops with some of the guys. How I had the energy after that long of a day, I have no idea. The church and Chandler's mom provided an amazing dinner, probably one of the best so far. There was pulled pork, spaghetti bolognese, bacon wrapped chicken, salad, garlic bread, cookies, and best of all, peanut butter cake. They were so good, I snagged a couple extra pieces to put in my day bag tomorrow so I can eat them on the road. After dinner, we wandered around town and ended up watching a bit of a little league game. On the way home, we happened to come across a birthday party where they were playing slip-n-slide kickball, and asked if we could join. We had an absolute blast, and ended up staying out way later than we should have the night before a 7am departure. Totally worth it though! Day 23 - June 19 - Denver, IN to Iroquois, IL - 94.4mi - Happy Father's Day!High mileage, heat, headwinds, and hounds. These are the four words I came up with to describe the day. I woke up feeling a little sick (too much peanut butter cake perhaps?) and cycled on my own for most of the day. About halfway to the first rest stop, I had my scariest encounter with a dog to date. A little brown dog ran right up to my bike, barking, and managed to bite my back tire. Lucky it didn't flat, but it really gave me a good scare. Normally I like to ride on my own every so often, but today I started to get really bored by myself, and I am now pretty sick of every song on my iPhone. I caught up with Julia before rest stop three, and saw Ethan at the stop as well, but didn't really see anyone else besides the route leaders at the rest stops for the entire day. We passed through our first time zone, which was pretty exciting! We also crossed into our eighth state, Illinois. It felt like the cherry on top of a pretty bad day when there was no sign at the border to take a picture of. Before the state crossing though, I got chased by yet another dog. I also met two guys who are cycling self-supported from Iowa to Washington, DC. It was so hot, and I was so tired, that the last 30mi seemed to last forever. Eventually though, after about 10 hours of biking, I made it into camp. We're sleeping in the town park tonight, and the route leaders + Alison had ice cream waiting for us when we got back. Julia and I took a quick swim in a nearby pool, and then the whole team went for dinner at the town's only restaurant. Day 24 - June 20 - Iroquois, IL to Odell, IL - 63.2mi -Happy Birthday Mom!Early start today to try and beat the heat. Some of the worst headwinds we've had so far, all day long. I was also going through water like crazy, because it was so hot out. Alison rode with us today, first day back since her spill on the bridge. I rode with Sharon, Frank, Catherine, Alison, and Vikki for most of the day. Since Jen is away for a couple days with her family, we stopped to take pictures with lawn ornaments to tag her as on Facebook. The last 20mi were particularly tough, and it didn't help matters when a rude driver cut us off, and then got out of his car to yell and swear at us. Thankfully, as always, things got a lot better when we arrived at camp. We got to swim in the public pool, and played an hour long game of monkey-in-the-middle. I even managed to pull of a pretty epic back-flop when Eddie challenged me to represent Canada. This was all followed up by a fantastic dinner that Jen cooked for us. Thanks Jen! After dinner it was still really hot, so I decided to take down my tent and put up my hammock. This was short lived, as the bugs came out in full force, so I had to set up my tent again. Hopefully it'll cool down a bit over night! Day 25 - June 21 - Odell, IL to Henry, IL - 54.7miSo yesterday I said that everything gets better when I get to camp. Today I proved myself wrong. Today was a short day, so we (Sharon, Frank, Catherine, Alison, and I) left at 6am to beat the winds and heat. The first 35mi were a breeze, and we even stopped for 30 minutes to take some pictures in a cornfield. Sharon decided today's theme was cool mailboxes, so we stopped a couple time to take pictures. The wind picked up a bit after the rest stop, but we still made it to camp by 11:30. Upon arriving at camp, we discovered that the car battery that we keep in the trailer to charge our devices had leaked all over the floor. Unfortunately, the net on my cubby had also broken, and my laundry bag fell out and landed right in the acid. This resulted in about an hour of washing my clothes in the tiny sink of the laundromat with about 2 boxes of baking soda. My Harvard shorts took the brunt of it, and unfortunately I don't think they'll make it. On the plus side, I did learn an awful lot about chemistry today. After the laundromat, we grabbed lunch, and then went to DQ and got blizzards. I then read for a bit, and took a nap in my hammock. At around 5:30 we went to the Mexican restaurant, where a local man had offered to buy us all dinner. The tacos were amazing! We then went back to DQ, and got our second blizzards of the day. We decided to start a blizzard challenge to see who eats the most blizzards this summer. It's supposed to thunderstorm and hail tomorrow, but at least there won't be any headwinds! Day 26 - June 22 - Henry, IL to Orion, IL - 71.6miI woke up at 2:30am to the sound of rain and thunder. When I opened up my tent flap, I could see the lighting in the distance, as well as Sharon running to the van for shelter. The thunder kept me up for a while, wondering if I was safe where I was, or if I should move somewhere else. Eventually I went back to sleep. We woke up at 5am, aiming for a 6am departure. There was still thunder and lightning, so we gathered in the van to assess the weather and decide when we should leave. We decided that it would be better to go earlier than later, and left as soon as we were all ready to go. We rode through a bit of rain, but it cleared up pretty quickly, and we had some nice, cool weather for about 10mi. Then we caught back up with the storm, and could see the lightening again. I love thunderstorms, when I can watch them from inside, but being the tallest thing around while riding through corn fields is a different story. We booked it to a nearby farm, where we assessed our options again, and decided to ride the mile or so into town and find proper shelter. We met up with Sharon and Frank at a gas station, and waited for the route leaders to arrive. Eventually, it cleared up, and the radar map looked like we had enough of a break to make it to the next town. It started pouring again shortly before the next town, where we sought refuge on someone's porch. When it lightened up, we rode the 8mi into the next town. At this point, it completely cleared up, and we had sunny skies for the rest of the day, which was amazing. I was really worried that the weather would be too bad for us to ride, and we'd have to take the van instead and miss some miles. We are staying at a church in Orion tonight, and it is one of the nicest yet. We laid out our tents to dry, took advantage of the wifi, and then ate a fantastic meal prepared for us by the church. After dinner, the pastor showed us how to play an amazing game called 9 Square in the Air. It was super fun, and we played for over an hour, until the pastor told us that it was starting to thunder, so we ran outside to put our dry tents away. Later in the evening, we played a great game of scatergories. Day 16 - June 12 - Brocton, NY to Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH - 92miEarly morning today. Woke up at 5:30 to try and get out as early as possible and beat the winds for our first century. I was a bit slower than everyone else, so I headed out by myself at around 7am. Of course, out of all the days for my iPhone to mess with my music, it had to be the long solo day. Shortly before the first rest stop, my phone started looping one song over and over, regardless of the fact that I was on shuffle mode. After stopping to take a picture at the Pennsylvania state line, I rolled into the first rest stop and headed into the restaurant, where I happened upon Julia who was just about to leave. She had only gotten through half of her cinnamon bun, so she offered me the other half. Delicious! After heading out again, I switched over to listening to podcasts since the music was so buggy. If you haven't listened to Ehducation, I highly recommend checking it out! After the crossing into Ohio, out third state of the day and sixth of the trip, I got a text from Catherine saying that they were at the finish line of the Bike MS ride in Conneaut. A few minutes later, I happened upon some cyclists in the ride and followed their route to the finish line. The lady at the desk gave me a medal even though I explained I wasn't part of the ride! From that point, it was a fairly easy 20mi to camp, putting us a bit short of the 100mi we were told. I set up my hammock in the pavilion, ate some dinner cooked for us by a Bike MS rider that Chandler knew, then headed into town with the group for some DQ. I'm in my hammock right now, all bundled up in layers, but the wind is a bit strong so I may have to bail and sleep in the van if it gets too cold. Guess we'll have to wait and see! Day 17 - June 13 - Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH to Cleveland, OH - 59.2miSoooo I bailed from the hammock. I was in and out of sleep until about 1:30am. At that point, I sat up and looked around and saw that Megan's hammock was empty and flapping in the wind, so I decided to head to the van. Megan was already in the van, so she helped me clear some stuff off the other row, and I climbed in and went to sleep. Roughly 6 hours later, I woke up to Stefan knocking on the window, and pointing so some donuts that Kayli had bought us as a goodbye gift. The riding today was pretty fantastic. It was roughly a 60mi day leading into a rest day, and we were in absolutely no rush. I left camp with Alison, and we eventually ran into Ethan, Dave, and Luke at a diner, where I joined them for food. Because our stomachs have now become bottomless pits, we left the diner hungry, even though we had all just eaten a full breakfast. Alison suggested that we go to a restaurant that Peter had recommended, so we all decided to head there. When we got there, we were told that they wouldn't be opening for another hour due to a staff meeting, so we decided to move on, and ended up stopping for burritos/Wendy's a little later on. A guy at the Wendy's asked us about our bike ride, and gave us a $20 donation! Right after lunch, we had a near accident when a car turned into a driveway directly in front of us. Fortunately, everyone was able to stop or swerve out of the way and we were all totally fine. From that point on, we had a quick stop at R2, and made our way into Cleveland. From what we saw on the ride in, it looks like a pretty cool city! Can't wait to explore it a bit tomorrow. I took a quick nap at The Cleveland Hostel, which is a pretty cool place to be staying. Later, a bunch of us went for ice cream at this really cool place down the street, where you could go upstairs and see them making the ice cream in the back. Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow! Day 18 - June 14 - Cleveland, OH - Rest DayWhat an amazing day! We kicked things off by piling into the vans to head to a service project. On the way there, we got pretty ridiculous and sang camp songs, taped things to the steering wheel, and drew a face on a watermelon and named it 'Baby Stefan'. Really the route leaders should have known better than to leave us alone in the van when they went into Home Depot. For the service project, we helped Gisella, who lives with MS, clean up her house. There wasn't a lot of work to do for the 17 of us, so we were able to chat with Gisella for a while which was really nice. After leaving her house, we went to visit Kali's dad, who also has MS. Lunch was being provided for free by Ken, a BTUSFMS alum who owns a Chick-fil-a. Then we got even more food from a friend of Sharon's who owns a couple Italian restaurants in town. It is absolutely unbelievable how generous people are! We hung out at the hostel for the rest of the night. I did laundry, wrote a couple postcards, and then joined some others for a rowdy game of spoons. Day 19 - June 15 - Cleveland, OH to Huron, OH - 56.7miBiked ~12mi to Chick-fil-a for a free breakfast, provided by Ken. I must say, Ohio drivers are probably some of the least friendly so far. We almost got hit yet again by someone turning right in front of us, and then a driver blared his horn and yelled at us to get off the road, even though we were not in his way at all. Ken joined us for the day, and it was really great getting to ride with him. A little bit into the ride, we got word that Alison had taken a spill on a rather slippery bridge, which she now refers to as the metal cheese grater bridge, and needed stitches. We grabbed lunch in Vermilion at a nice restaurant with really good mac & cheese. Because it was so hot, we also stopped about a mile before camp to get some DQ. We are sleeping in a school gym tonight, which is nice except for the fact that we couldn't turn the lights off. I took a nap right after showering, then ate dinner provided by Chandler's family. Later in the evening, a bunch of us walked to a local bar where I was able to get free wifi (win!). Day 20 - June 16 - Huron, OH to Bowling Green, OH - 77.1miToday was pretty tough. We stopped by a restaurant in Huron for breakfast, and then headed out for our 70mi day. The headwinds were bad right from the get go, and less than 20mi in, I was pretty exhausted. Catherine and I made a wrong turn and ended up taking a pretty busy truck road to get back on track. At rest stop two, we grabbed lunch at Kate & Al's Restaurant, and then headed out for the final push to Bowling Green. The headwinds were awful, and we shortly realized that we actually had 16mi left, not the 8 or 9 that we thought. Once we closer to town, it started to rain. Shortly after, Catherine got a flat tire and we had to pull over to a gas station to fix it. Finally, we made it to Matt and Michelle's house at about 6, utterly exhausted. Matt and Michelle opened up their house to us, and provided a delicious BBQ dinner and cookies. It's amazing how even on the really tough days, things always get better when we roll into camp. We ended up spending the night hanging in their family room watching soccer and using their massage chair. Not a bad way to end a rough day. Day 12 - June 8 - Sodus Point, NY to Spencerport, NY - 68.2miWe were expecting to wake up to rain this morning, but were pleasantly surprised when there was none. It was a bit on the cold side, so I bundled up in my arm warmers, jacket, tights, gloves, and booties before rolling out. The ride to rest stop 1 took us through the rolling hills of the New York country side. Still some headwinds, but not as bad as yesterday. After rest stop 1, we started riding on the Erie Canal Trail, which we will be on for the next two days. At Pittsford, the town where rest stop 2 was supposed to be, we got word that one of the cyclist in our group had been a minor crash (he's fine, don't worry), and that rest stop 2 would be cancelled. Because of this, we ended up eating lunch at an amazing Greek restaurant called Olives, and then getting cupcakes for dessert. The last 20mi were fairly easy, and the time passed quickly. We saw a deer and two fawns on the trail, as well as tons of geese and their goslings. On the way into Spencerport we came across a Tim Hortons, which I had been waiting for since we got to New York. It is surprising how many people on the trip had never heard of Timmies. Regardless, I introduced Catherine, Alison, and Vikki to the goodness that is a Tim's donut, and taught them that the proper terminology is 'timbit' not 'donut hole'. Staying in another church tonight. A very generous BTUSFMS alumni came by with dinner and ice cream for all of us, which was fantastic. Day 13 - June 9 - Spencerport, NY to Lockport, NY - 53.1miWoke up to breakfast provided by the church - eggs, sausages, pancakes, and Tim's donuts! Pretty sure it's impossible to have that good of a breakfast, and then have a bad day. Before taking off, we took some pics of the ladies posing with Frank, as Frank's Fleet. It was then an easy ~25mi along the bike path to the first rest stop. Sharon tasked everyone with finding out something new about everyone else in the group, so I had some great chats with everyone along the way. We stopped for lunch about 10mi after the first rest stop, and I ate with Chandler and Jen at a diner, while some of the other cyclists stopped at a pizzeria. After lunch we all regrouped, and headed to camp. Some very kind people at the church drove us to the YMCA when we got there so that we could shower. They also cooked us a fantastic dinner, complete with cheesecake, brownies, and peanut butter cookies for dessert. I'm sleeping in the sanctuary of the church tonight, right next to the pews, which is pretty cool. On to Buffalo in the morning! Day 14 - June 10 - Lockport, NY to Buffalo, NY - 32.4miThis was one of the days I have been looking forward to most on the trip. After eating an amazing breakfast prepared for us by the church, I set off on my own, off route, for a quick 32mi ride to Buffalo. Everyone else in the group was doing about 50mi, but since I was planning on bypassing Niagara Falls, I took a more direct route into the city that involved a quiet highway, and a nice bike path along the water. I made it to the hostel in record time, getting in just before noon. I ditched my bike, grabbed some pasta at Expo, and then met up with my family, who drove all the way down to see me! We had a second lunch at Dinosaur BBQ, and then planned to head to a bike shop to get me some new shorts. Just as we were about to leave, I got a text from Austin saying that he had arrived, so we went over to the hostel to find him. As we pulled up, Aust started to drive away, but was stopped at a red light, so we sent Ben out to get him. Ben got out of the car and hesitantly walked up to Austin's car, but thought it wasn't him and came back. Eventually Austin saw us and we all headed over to the bike shop. Shout out to Handlebars Bike Shop in Buffalo for being super helpful and generous! Later in the evening, we stopped by the hostel quickly so Austin and my family could meet everyone. Then, we met up with the Wakils for a fantastic dinner - quite an improvement over the usual camp stove food I prepare for dinner. The Wakils even brought us some Our Mom's Cookies to have for the trip! All in all, an amazing day with amazing people. Day 15 - June 11 - Buffalo, NY to Brockton, NY - 67miToday was windy. Have to pedal to make it down the hill kind of windy. Austin and I said our goodbyes at the trailer before we set off on our bikes at around 8:30am. Stefanie, the BTUSFMS alum who got dinner for all of us a few night ago joined for part of the ride today, and ended up getting a flat tire a little bit before the first rest stop. After the first rest stop, we swung by a friend of Vikki's house to take a pic, and then headed on. We stopped for lunch about 6mi from rest stop 2, and got a $50 donation from the cashier! The wind got really bad after the second rest stop. Having this invisible force pushing against you all day really mentally and physically drains you. I was on my own for most of the last 20mi into camp, and it was really tough. I was completely wiped when I rolled into camp, and apparently everyone else was too. The biggest thing that got me through the last 10mi was knowing there was a Wakils cookie waiting for me at camp when I arrived! Day 8 - June 4 - Middlebury, VT to Newcomb, NY - 65.6miToday we said goodbye to Vermont, and entered our 4th state of the trip - New York! We took a ferry across Lake Champlain to cross the border, which was pretty fun. It was then just a short jaunt to our first rest stop at a Walmart in Ticonderoga, where I finally got the egg mcmuffin that I had been craving for days. Leaving the rest stop, we encountered a pretty big climb. Not as big as the ones in previous days, but a challenge nonetheless. After that, it was a lot of cruising alongside lakes until the next rest stop in North Hudson. The gas station here had little to offer, so my lunch consisted of chips, cookies, and Powerade. Yum! The last part of the day was pretty rough. We went up Blue Ridge Road, which is now my least favourite road in America. There were some pretty big climbs, and every time I thought I'd finally reached the top, I'd turn a corner and be faced with another uphill. Finally, after what felt like forever, we came across one of the downhill truck signs that I have come to love, but thirty seconds later there was yet another uphill. It seemed endless, and I was more than a little frustrated at this point. The ridge was definitely more of a mental game than a physical one, but it really had me beat by the end of it. The day did get better though, because we stayed at a lovely church in Newcomb, with the sweetest Pastor ever! He even offered up his spare bedroom, so I got to sleep in a real bed instead of camping outside. He also told us all about his life and all the places he has lived, which was really fascinating. Most of the evening was spent chilling outside in the lawn chairs. We made a group pizza order for dinner, and after hearing about this Father Peter came outside and handed us a $80 cheque to cover the costs! After pizza we sat around and played keep up with a soccer ball, while still seated in the lawn chairs, for at least 2 hours. It was really cool to spend the evening hanging out with the entire group. Day 9 - June 5 - Newcomb, NY to Old Forge, NY - 64.1miToday was wet. I mean, it was really pouring. We were drenched less than a mile into the ride, and I soon discovered that my waterproof gear was not as waterproof as I would have liked. We left at 7am in order to try and beat the thunderstorm that was expected to start at 2pm. The first rest stop was at a diner, and I walked in and just stood at the doormat, dripping and wringing water out of my gloves. We didn't stick around at any of the rest stops for long, and we tried to get to camp as soon as possible. I was pretty miserable for most of the morning, but at around 11am, I noticed a sign that said "Lake Ontario Watershed" and stopped to take a picture. It made me feel a little closer to home, which lifted my spirits. Also, at around the same time, I got a text from the route leaders saying that we had indoor accommodations! The prospect of setting up my tent in the pouring rain was really bringing me down, so this was very welcome news. We rolled into camp at around 1:30pm, which was a lot earlier than usual. Turns out, it was one of the resort employees' birthday, so we were invited to help ourselves to free hotdogs and cake! There was also a pretty cool arcade in the lobby, and wifi, which has been pretty scarce recently. Later in the day a big group of us walked into town for dinner, which was a lot of fun. Old Forge is a really cute little town. We also saw a deer lying in the grass on the walk back. While we were gone though, the guys back at camp had a bear walk right up to the cabin porch. Made extra sure that there was no food left on my bike before going to bed. Real bed two nights in a row? I'd call that a win. Day 10 - June 6 - Old Forge, NY to Selkirk, NY - 87.6miI was the first one ready today, out of our group of four, which was impressive seeing as I am normally the last one ready. A little while into the ride along Moose River Road Catherine and I got separated from Vikki and Alison, which resulted in is missing a turn on the route. Before we realized this however, we had an encounter with a rather nasty dog that chased us down the road for a little bit. When we stopped to text the group to warn them, we realized we were way off course, but couldn't backtrack because of the dog. This ended up adding 4.5mi to the ride. After reconnecting with the group and doing some grocery shopping, Catherine and I set off again, only to encounter another, slightly less aggressive dog, before the second rest stop. We stopped for lunch here, and Alison had some rather bad luck with some bikers who found her gloves on the ground and cut them up so they could have a strip of fabric to fix the loose mirror on one of their bikes. Vikki's bike also broke down, so she had to spend the rest of the day in the van. It was all worth it rolling into camp on Lake Ontario though. It's pretty cool knowing that everyone is just on the other side of the lake. We had showers, cooked dinner, then set up some chairs by the lake to watch the sunset. Somehow, that turned into line push-ups, summersault, and a three legged race. Great team bonding to end the day! Day 11 - June 7 - Selkirk, NY to Sodus Point, NY - 64.3miWoke up in the middle of the night to wind and rain pounding on my tent. Managed to get back to sleep before waking up at 6:30 to start the day. Rest stop 1 was at Walmart, where we spent too much time grocery shopping. When we rolled out, it started to rain. The day van had already left with my rain jacket in the back, but thankfully Megan let me borrow hers. We stopped for lunch in Fair Haven, where I got yet another breakfast sandwich. At this point we cold and wet, and ready to get to camp. 20mi later, we rolled into Sodus Point, where we camped out by the lighthouse. Some of the group went into town for dinner, but I stayed behind with some others to cook at camp. I made quesadillas with canned refried beans and an avocado, that actually turned out pretty well. Also, a very generous guy who lives across the street walked over and offered to let us put our bikes in his garage, and sleep in his spare bedrooms. A few of us took him up on this offer, as it was supposed to start raining at 6am, and we didn't want to have to put away wet tents. Day 6 - June 2 - THetFord, VT to Middlebury, VT - 76.5miWe woke up to a lovely breakfast prepared for us by Meg and the people of Thetford. Seriously cannot get over how amazing these people are. I was a bit slow getting up and getting ready, but the group waited for me before setting off. The morning was pretty good, minus an fellow cyclist wiping out shortly after rest stop one, but the thought of having to climb Middlebury Gap later that afternoon was making me a bit anxious. However, just before noon we got a text from the route leaders that the gap was under construction and we wouldn't be able to climb it, so we should sit tight in Rochester. The whole team ended up eating at the same restaurant. Eventually we got word that we would be going up Brendan Gap instead, which would be 7mi out of the way, but a lot easier of a climb. The climb ended up being very manageable, and the decent very fun. On the way into Middlebury a bunch of us stopped for ice cream, which was a refreshing reward after climbing. We rolled into Middlebury, excited at the prospect of not having to ride in the morning. After setting up in the basement of the church, Catherine and I grabbed dinner and then met others for drinks and a pub called Fire and Ice. Great end to the day! Day 7 - June 3 - Middlebury, VT - Rest DayFirst rest day of the trip! I got to sleep in until 9:45, which was fantastic. A bunch of us grabbed breakfast at the diner, and then it was time for errands. Did my laundry, grocery shopping, and stopped by the bike store to get some gloves. We also got frozen yogurt, and Mexican food at the movies theatre for dinner. Really nice to have a full day off the bike!
DAY 5 - June 1 - Lincoln, NH TO Thetford, VT - 57.7MIBecause the day was going to be fairly short (50mi), a bunch of people headed out to grab breakfast at a local diner in Lincoln. After fuelling ourselves for the morning, we set off. The day started off with another mountain pass - shorter than Kankamagus, but a lot steeper in some sections. At the top of the climb was Beaver Pond, where we stopped to take some photos, and ran into a couple from Ottawa. Such small world! After the climbing was over it was basically all downhill to the first rest stop in Haverhill. We crossed over into Fairlee, VT for lunch at the Whippi Dip which was delicious. I got beef tacos and a brownie sundae for dessert. It is absolutely incredible how much I have to eat to keep my body fuelled for biking. After lunch, we crossed back into New Hampshire to get back on route, and then crossed into Vermont again a little later. We found out earlier in the day that the construction going up Thetford Hill was nearly impossible to bike through, so we had to take a detour that added about 9 miles to the day. It was completely worth it though, because when we arrived in Thetford, people from the community were there cheering us on and handing out cold towels to cool us down. They even cooked us dinner that night! After dinner, a bunch of us headed down to the river with some of the locals, who showed us their favourite place to swim. It even had a rope swing that some of us took a couple turns on. We also saw a beaver swimming around, which lead Julia, who was in the process of getting into the water, to ask "are beavers aggressive?". After swimming, Nancy let us into her home to shower and use wifi. The people we are meeting on this trip are so generous, it's incredible! All-in-all, probably the best day of the trip so far. |
katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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