Friday, August 10, 2012

Adventures in the Adirondacks

We're dry now, and that's a good thing.

500 miles, 4 states, and 8 days in, and there are actually quite a few things that we now know to be good, and here are a few:
  • Awesome relatives who drive out of their way to bike along side you and offer encouragement. Thank you so much, Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom, for the company, the lunch (best lemonade ever!), and the AWESOME New York Jerseys - you were right, Aunt Karen, people in this state have been nicer to us since we started wearing them :)


Riding with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom
Chocolate milk in the morning and lemonade in the afternoon. Everyday. They are my medicine and I promise to forgive them if I end up with stomach acid problems or lactose intolerance by the end of this trip.
  • Campground neighbors that invite you over for a glass of wine after a hard day of biking. And then let you stay for dinner. And then offer you more wine. And then you make s'mores together... even though you kinda smell funny :) Thanks again to Mary Alice Moore and her wonderful and highly entertaining family for taking us in for the night and being our family while we're so far from our home and families! And almost more importantly, that teriyaki chicken you sent with us the next morning may very well have saved our lives when we were losing steam at the end of the day.
  • Respites in the rain. That when we're huddled under a tarp on the side of the road with no break between the flashes of lightning and the boom of thunder, I can tell David it will only be a few more minutes and actually be right. That once the rain stops, we can bike fast enough to air dry our jackets, and that if David has to finish cooking our mac and cheese inside our tent, the storm will pass and we can enjoy hot chocolate while our smelly socks air out. And sometimes, just an old man to offer his porch to you while you wait it out.


I'm glad for two miles, because I can keep anything up for 2 miles, so when a destination gets to be within 2 miles, I know we can do it. I'm glad to be at the end of a 95 mile day rather than the beginning.


I'm also glad that mosquito bites heal, that campgrounds have showers, and that New York boys with mohawks. I'm glad for soap and even the sketchiest of motels in a rain storm and for giving people chances to surprise you. And down hill stretches - long, steady, and fast.

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