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Spokes 2025
Curlew Lake State Park, WA to Duck Lake, MT
455mi
(Just like the other two, this blog was drafted back in late August, but I never got around to publishing it, whoopsie! – Joseph, 1/26/26)
It IS still summer, right? Well, it sure didn’t feel like it when I woke up shivering from how cold it was outside. Here we were in Northern Washington, only a few miles from the Canadian border and I really wished I had a beanie and socks. It was partially our fault, since we decided not to put the rainfly on our tent last night. Though rainflies are made to protect from rain, they also help to insulate the tent. I got up, put on two jackets and sped over to the bathrooms, which were unfortunately quite far away. Thankfully, the bathrooms themselves were pretty toasty, providing me some relief from what felt like a winter wonderland (there was no snow, no ice, no Christmas tree, just the cold).
Eventually we got ready and left pretty quickly. Although we were too cold to properly enjoy it, it was a very nice and peaceful stay in the park by a very pretty lake. The cold wasn’t the only reason why we were so eager to get out of our campground. Today was going to be (as many days will be) a long day and Glacier National Park was near the end of the drive. We wanted to make it to the park with as much daylight as possible, so we could enjoy it. Pretty early we stopped by a random overlook, hoping to catch some nice views of the mountains. Disappointingly, a lot of the views were obstructed by trees, but we did find some wild blueberries on the way. We continued on to a gas station in Kettle Falls, where we attempted to fill up on some gas. However, we were getting a strange problem. Every time we would pull down the lever gas would fill in the car for all of 5 seconds and then stop as if the tank was full. I can assure you, the tank was nowhere near full. Poor Ramona had to press down on the lever probably 20 times just to get us 30 dollars of gas, before we gave up. We thought maybe the gas tank was broken, so we moved to a different one, but it did the same thing.
We continued onwards and stopped down the road at a cafe inside of an antique store. It was really cozy, we sat on a couch and planned the day, while waiting for our order of a sandwich, burrito and a chai latte. It was taking a while, so Ramona ventured across the street to exchange our propane tank, since we thought our stove was not working because we were out of propane. This was something we would later find out to be not true. Eventually I left the cafe with our food and walked across the street. Before I could get to the gas station, Ramona walked out with the same old propane tank, but now twice as heavy. The gas station clerk was confused by Ramona’s request to exchange the gas tank. Instead, like it was common sense, he topped it off using the gas cylinder outside and pulling at least five different levers. We found out the tank was half empty as opposed to being fully empty. This also meant it was half full and our stove troubles were probably not because of an empty tank. That was quite suspicious. But we thought maybe with double the gas we would get double the pressure and the stove setup would work again. Spoiler alert, that was not the case. But that’s all for later.
So, we continued on. Passing through Colville, we saw a self-serve carwash. At this point, cosmetically, the car in shambles. Now, I normally wouldn’t care too much about this, but the windshield was so dirty that it couldn’t be considered fully transparent. This was an especially big problem in the mornings when the sun rays would illuminate the whole windshield, obscuring the road in front of us. Driving blind on windy mountain roads is less than ideal for obvious reasons. And so, we gave our car, Bertha, some love. Clean for the first time since we got her, she was shining.
Leaving Colville, we continued on, soon crossed into Idaho, blogging all the while. Now, I of course could not write out the blogs, so as I drove, I would tell Ramona what to write and she would type it up for me. Thanks, Ramona! At some point we were passing by a big lake (Lake Pend Oreille) that we could see through the trees. We wanted to stop by and take a closer look, but there were no real overlooks. So, at some point we stopped at the side of the road and walked to the lake. We definitely did not need to cross any railroad tracks or anything. Note that to actually touch the water we needed to descend a steep hill full of loose rocks. With our terrific balance, we managed not to fall into the water, but there were some close calls.
We were once again running low on gas, so we stopped. And once again we were having the same problem as before with the gas only filling for a couple of seconds before stopping. At this point we started to suspect that maybe the car itself was the issue. I decided to do what I always do when I realize that there is a problem that I don’t have the knowledge to fix and pulled out Google. I managed to find a pretty helpful video explaining what was probably happening, but the solution would involve removing the gas tank of the car, which was not going to happen on Bertha without the help of a mechanic shop. As we were trying to figure out what exactly we were going to do, Ramona tried filling the tank once more and to our surprise gas started filling up as if there were no problems in the first place. At the same time, the gas tank door magically fixed itself and was able to fully close for the first time in days. We don’t have any explanation for why things started working again, but I am not one to question good fortune.
We continued on and at some point, something that hadn’t happened in weeks happened once more – our time zone changed, but this time the time skipped forward instead of back. The good thing about time zone changes is that it doesn’t actually change how much sunlight you have left, so we still had a good couple of hours to spend inside of Glacier National Park. We eventually arrived at the West Entrance of the park and checked out the Apgar Visitor Center. Inside, along with my routine of getting a National Park sticker, I also got a beanie and some thick socks – two things I would have really liked to have last night. We asked the park ranger what to do as we drove through Going to The Sun Road. Along with stopping at various overlooks, she recommended that once we get to Logan pass, we hike to Hidden Lake to watch the sunset. We still had roughly 3 hours before the sun sets, so I concocted a plan to make dinner at the top of Logan pass. I figured that cooking couldn’t get much scenic than this. Plus, it would be very efficient, since we knew that we were getting to our campsite after dark. Armed with a plan and some time, we ascended up into the park.
At first, the drive was very nice, following the shore of Lake McDonald for miles. Then the road veered away from the lake and started climbing. At some point the road became very narrow with barely enough space for two cars to fit between the rock wall and the cliff edge. I’m sure at this point the mountain views became very scenic, but I was too busy trying not to crash and die to notice. However, Ramona did snap a lot of pics (update: Ramona’s phone died a few weeks after this and we lost all of her photos from this day of the trip, RIP). We stopped at a few of the overlooks, so that I, too, could enjoy the views, but we didn’t linger for too long.
Eventually, we made it to the top of Logan pass. There was a visitors center up here, but we were too late and it was closed. We drove around to the end of the parking lot and set up our makeshift kitchen overlooking some beautiful views. We turned on our camping stove and put on a big pot of water to boil. Except, it never boiled. As previously mentioned, filling up our propane tank had not solved any problems. But we were hopeful that eventually the water would boil. So, an hour passed. It wasn’t enough. We were ready to call it quits. That was until a nice couple passed by and asked us what was going on. We told them about our plight. And they went back to their car to grab their small propane can and a small burner. They wanted us to use these to troubleshoot and isolate whatever the problem was with our stove setup. The first thing we tried was connecting the propane can directly to the stove. Seemingly, it worked flawlessly. The next thing we tried was hooking up our propane tank to their small burner. It did not work. So, we figured our problems did not lie with the stove itself, but rather our propane setup. They offered us their small propane can, but we declined, since it was a bit late to cook and we thought that we would surely be able to figure it out tomorrow. In hindsight, we should have just taken their can… But that’s a story for tomorrow. We chatted with them until the sun set. The hike was definitely not happening. We packed up our stuff and left for our campground at Duck Lake.
One thing I was glad about was that I would be able to descend Logan pass with some daylight left. It did not seem like it would be fun to drive in the dark. We caught some views of Saint Mary’s lake just before darkness fell. I did the last 40 minutes of the drive in the dark, always on the lookout to make sure I don’t hit any wildlife.
Before we arrive at our campsite, we stop at the Leaning Tree Campground, only a few minutes down the road from our campsite. This was where we were told there were showers and laundry available. At this point, I had completely run out of clean clothes, so the laundromat was well appreciated. We left our stuff in their laundry lounge and showered as the washer went through its cycle. After some warm showers, clothes went in the dryer, and I attempted to call the other Spokies. The connection was good enough that they could hear Ramona when she was talking to them, but the moment I took over the call, they couldn’t hear me. The connection wasn’t good enough to do anything else, so we waited patiently until we had clean and dry clothes. With our business at the Leaning Tree Campground done, we drove a few more minutes down the road to Duck Lake. After missing our camp site at the first drive through, we went all the way to the end of the campground, which was in complete darkness. We set up camp, brushed our teeth and promptly went to bed. This time I slept with a beanie and socks. I did not wake up in the middle of the night from cold. Yay!
For the first time in a while the morning had started before I had even woken up. Charles had taken the car for an oil change and let me and Joesph sleep longer. I got up and packed up. Charles’ mom had prepared an absolutely delicious warm breakfast, so we would be fueled up before hitting the road. I also got to see their garden and meet Charles’ sister, who is also a rising sophmore at MIT! Once the car was back, we packed it up. Then we said goodbye to Charles and left him with his family, and drove away. And then there were two.
Seattle, WA to Curlew Lake State Park, WA
292mi
We left Seattle.
After some driving, we filled up on gas. I noticed our gas tank door wouldn’t close, so we taped it shut for now (spoiler: it would fix itself a couple of days later). And then we stopped for a break at a cafe, where Joseph got a Chai latte and something to eat. On the way there there were a bunch of cyclists doing some event, which we were happy to see.
After that I spent some time blogging in the car. And by that I mean Joseph was thinking of his blogs, saying them out loud, and me typing them down in my laptop.
As we went further the views got prettier. The forest appeared, then the mountains and lakes. Then we arrived at the North Cascades National Park and stopped by the Visitor Center to get a map.
Equipped with the knowledge of where and what we checked out a very nice view right by the center and then started the drive through the park. We first stopped at Gorge Creek Falls and Gorge Dam. The water flowing from the dam was a interesting kind of greenish blue with white underneath. A hanging bridge took us over the river to where the falls where.
Then we continued, enjoying the views from the car, to Diablo Lake, where I was commited to take a plunge. Once we made it to the lake, we discovered that, despite the warm day, the water was quite cold. The first time I went in I did not swim. Then Joseph, who is more affected by cold bodies of water than I am, also went in the water and then quickly got himself out of there. I ate some crisp peaches that Charles’ family had given us and then I felt ready to give the lake another go. I’m happy to report that the second time was much easier and I could swim around. The views were great, although filled with paddle boarders.
At this point we were once again behind our imagined schedule that would let us arrive to our campsite in daylight. So we stopped at some overlooks, but kept on moving through the park. In search for bathrooms, we stumbled across a closed campsite. There we found bathrooms, but more importantly we found some mountain ash trees, or rowans. I was really excited to find plants I knew so far from home, the bright orange berries were both bitter and nostalgic.
After that we made it out of the park. We drove for a while, until we stumbled upon Sheri’s Sweet Shop in Whintrop. It seemed ljke the kind of place that once people stop by they love it so much they come back again and again. Joseph got a smoothie, which he says might be the best one on the trip yet, and then we got some chocolates.
The sun was getting lower and lower, so we got back on the road. The forest disappeared for a stretch, but we found some farm eggs in a self serve cooler on the side of the road. There was one last 12 egg carton left, so we scrambled together whatever cash we had and got them.
The final stop of our day was by Anderson’s Grocery in Republic. There was a street concert going on, but we were short on time, so we got some groceries and headed to the campsite.
Our campsite at Curlew Lake State Park was right by the lake. I got dark as we were setting up our tent and stove. We were going to make pasta, but the our propane-powered camping stove was not working. So we pivoted to make sandwiches for dinner. I went for a swim in the dark lake. The water was warm, so I just lay there for a while and looked up to the stars. I befriended some Ukrainian and Russian girls in the bathrooms, who were in a church camp.Then we showered and got ready for bed. We had another full day ahead of us. Before going to sleep I sat outside for a bit longer trying to take pictures of the night sky.
Humbug Mountain State Park, OR -> Seattle, WA. 485mi
(This post was drafted in August. Ramona transcribed my thoughts as we drove across the country. I never got around to publishing it until now, whoops! – Joseph, 1/23/26)
I woke up as we have many times this summer: in the tent from the rays of the sun. As I get out and look at our campsite, I see two tents instead of four and am reminded that we are three instead of eight.
We pack up fairly quickly and get on the road, since it will be a long day of 9 hours of driving. The plan was to drive along the Highway 101 along Oregon’s coast and then eventually head inland through Portland to Seattle.
Our first official stop for the morning was the Sea Lion caves, which were two hours away. While Charles was driving us there, I decided I wanted to do a morning beach stop. I found a pretty isolated beach in a place called Seven Devils State Recreation Area. We pulled into the parking lot. As I was hoping, the place was nearly empty. There were only two other cars in the lot. The three of us got out of the car and ran straight to the beach, only stopping when we felt the cold water on our feet.
I look around and am amazed by the sights I see. In the front of us: the vast Pacific Ocean with a wall of fog running parallel to the shore. To our left and right: beautiful sandy beaches and rocky cliffs. With nobody else around we frolicked along the beach, doing whatever we pleased.
Charles found a washed-up kelp plant and started swinging it around. Ramona climbed up a cliffside and walked around prickly plants. I Jumped around the sand dunes and picked up blocks of hardened sand. Charles also attempted stand a log up in the sand and succeeded (for a couple of seconds). Once we were all satisfied, we headed back to the car. Once we were inside and getting ready to leave, we realized that we had spent way too much time in this unplanned stop.
We continued onwards to the Sea Lion Caves. We arrived at a building a few hundred feet above the water. We were told that there were around 30 sea lions in the cave and in peak season you can see hundreds. We were indecisive if we wanted to spend $18 to see 30 sea lions instead of hundreds. But eventually we decided that 30 sea lions are still a lot of sea lions and went in. We descended down 200 feet into the cave. They had some exhibits and further down was an opening in the rock, where through metal bars you could see where sea lions are gathered. Sea lions are quite the goofy creatures. For some reason they were all trying to fit on this one rock in the middle of the day. I can only assume it was the cool kids rock and everyone who couldn’t fit was lame and a loser. Eventually we decided we’ve seen enough, ascended back up and got back on the road.
Our next stop was Thor’s Well – a set of rocky outcroppings on the coast with a lot of underwater holes that at high tide can create some very cool natural phenomena such as geysers, loud booms and some generally volatile water. We arrived right at high tide and saw some cool stuff. Me and Ramona almost got taken out by a wave, but we survived by standing on top of a rock.
Our next stop further up the coast was a beach town named Cape Kiwanda. But before we could get there, I had an advisor meeting scheduled to register for my classes. I was a little worried about this, because for most of the day, outside of towns, I had no cell service. And towns were few and far between in this area of the country. Luckily, we managed to make it to a town where I had good signal. I was dropped off at a cafe while Charles and Ramona went to find some fish and chips. After troubleshooting many problems and attempting to join the call for more than half an hour, I was finally able to talk to my advisor and register for classes. Unfortunately, this meeting had lost us another hour and a half. At this point it was already past 3pm and we had 6 hours of driving and multiple stops left. We knew we were getting to Seattle pretty late. But we still wanted to see some sights. So, we headed onto Cape Kiwanda.
We parked next to the beach and went to check it out. Charles had been hyping this place up all day. It was a frequent vacation spot for his family. We came upon a beautiful beach with a huge rock coming out of the water directly in front of us. To our right was a pretty big dune. We went into the water and pretty immediately our feet started to go numb from the cold water. So, Charles, being the innovator that he is, started stomping in place in order to bury his feet in the sand. The sand provided an insulating effect against the water, allowing him to stand and appreciate the views. I proceeded to do the exact same thing. We then headed over to the sand dune and saw a lot of people climbing up its face and then running down. We followed their lead and started our own hike up. For some reason this became one of the most difficult hikes I’ve ever done. Every time I would take a step my feet would sink back into the sand back to where I started. It felt like I was making no progress climbing up this dune. It was like I was on a Stairmaster. Eventually though, I made it up to the top of the sand dune and there were some nice views. Then we prepared to run back down. Charles went first. He sprinted down the face of the sand dune, swinging his arms around and made it pretty far down upright, until he fell near the bottom. Face first into the sand. Ramona was up next. She copied Charles’ strategy of swinging arms, but midway through she transitioned into a roll. She made it down just fine. I was last and was really afraid of falling, so I started running down a bit more cautiously. But I picked up speed and then started jumping down the dune. I too transitioned into the roll at the end for the full experience. Charles was a bit jealous that he had not also rolled, so he went halfway up the dune and also rolled. He however did not have my flawless rolling technique. So, when he stood up, we saw his face, caked with sand.
At this point I was getting a little hangry. I had not had enough food and was starting to suffer for it. But everything in Cape Kiwanda was way too expensive. So I decided to get food at our next and final stop at the town of Tillamook. For those unaware, Tillamook is the name of a popular dairy brand in the west and in their namesake town they have their factory which also doubles as a tourist attraction. On our way out, Charles backs the van out of our parking spot and, with our bike rack, pierces the back lights of another car. Yikes.
The owner of the car was nowhere to be seen, so we sped away as fast as we possibly could! Just kidding. We left a note and the owner did eventually contact Charles and file an insurance claim. With this, we lost a few more precious minutes. At this point, Tillamook Creamery was going to close basically at the time we would get there, so made a beeline to the creamery in order to get some ice cream. Funnily enough, when we do get there, all of us get milkshakes. They were quite good. Unfortunately, as we were walking out of the creamery, Charles dropped his milkshake and lost half of it. rip.
Now it was my turn to drive, and I looked for food in town. I found a highly rated taco truck that was still open. We get over to the truck only to find it closed. I was pretty sad about this, until a lady came out from behind the truck. I can tell that she probably speaks Spanish, so I ask her, in Spanish, if they are closed. She says that they are closed, but she can whip up something quick for us. And so, she whips up some delicious steak burritos. The best part is that they are pretty cheap. With haply taste buds and a full stomach we continued on.
At this point the sun was setting, and we still had almost 5 hours of driving to Seattle. We were set to arrive at Charles’ house after midnight. So, we locked in, stopping only for the occasional restroom break or for gas. Eventually, we see the Seattle skyline. A welcome sight after this long, long day. A bit later, we arrive to an even more welcome sight – Charles’ house. And with it – Charles’ boat. A few years back he had bought a broken boat and attempted to fix it, unsuccessfully. Maybe one day he’ll fix it. Or maybe it will sit in his parents’ lawn for all eternity. We go inside and see that Charles’ dad is still awake. It seems that being a night owl runs in the family. He heated up some rice and meat dumpling-like dish that Charles’ grandma had made and frozen for a late-night snack. It was quite delicious. He also set out a tub of watermelon, which I nearly completely demolished. Ramona went to sleep, but I stayed up chatting with Charles’ dad the next 45 or so minutes. Then I too went to sleep. I needed all the rest I could get, because Charles would not be coming with us for the rest of the trip, so I would be the only driver for the rest of the country. This is where the real struggle begins.
San Francisco, CA -> Humbug Mountain State Park, OR. 430 mi
I awoke next to Tian for the last time in what will probably be a very long time. Ishaq was sleeping on the floor. I had set an alarm for 6:25am to wake everyone up at 6:30am and hurry them out of the house by 7am. It was 6:15am. As of early yesterday, there were only seven of us here.
I thought for a moment about not waking anyone up at all, so they would miss their flights and today wouldn’t be possibly the last day I see some of them. But I shooed away these delusions and got to waking people up. The next hour was spent packing, repacking and getting ready. We repacked the car to fit 3 passengers and Ishaq’s bike and at 7:30am Tian, Sarah and Ishaq were sent off to a friend’s apartment or the airport. And then there were four.
Charles did the driving. Joseph, Ruth and me stayed to pack up all the other Spokes belongings and tidy up a bit. Once the car returned we did some reorganising and ultimately all four of us were able to squeeze in. Ruth was dropped off at her sister’s. (The only reason I survived this goodbye is because she is returning to Boston, so I instead said seeya, seeya.) And then there were three.
Now, Joseph should have mentioned this in a previous blog that might or might not be published yet, but we are performing a private delivery of Spokes belongings to Cambridge. And Charles is going to Seattle to his family, so the three of us are taking two days to drive up there.
Which brings us to the new format of these blogs and today’s agenda:
San Francisco, CA to Humbug Mountain State Park, OR
426 mi
Charles took the morning driving shift. We left San Francisco and I wondered if I would ever find myself there again. It’s plausable that that would happen. But also completely realistic that it wouldn’t.
The beginning of the drive we talked, running on adrenaline from the logistics and goodbyes. But the tired caught up to us. Joseph dosed off. And Charles also caught his eyes becoming heavy. So they swapped and Joseph continued the driving, powered by a gas station milkshake. We made a very important stop by the Bill Cypher statue. For those who are not Gravity Falls fans, after the show ended there was a treasure hunt for this statue depicting the main villain who (spoilers!!!) by the end was petrified into this statue.
Then we checked out Humbolt Redwoods State Park and the huge trees. It was pretty crazy. The trees really were quite big. The scenery from the road was also really cool. It looked like how in my head big, old forests are drawn in children’s books. Sometimes it would feel like we might hit one of the huge trees on the side of the road, they were almost like walls.
Then we found an awesome beach on the side of the road and touched the Pacific ocean. The vastness seeped into my already overflowing mind, shoved everything else out of the way and had a calming effect. There was only us and the big blue nothingness.
Continuing North we went through the Redwoods National Park. We didn’t have quite as much time to spend here, but we stopped to see some more big trees. It was a blast!
By this point the sun was setting and we had succesfully failed to get to our campsite during daylight. We caught some of the last sun rays at another beautiful beach. And then drove the last stretch in the darkness, got some 12 inch subs for dinner, somehow found our campsite in the dark, tried to quietly set up camp, saw a bunch of stars and went to sleep.
Final day in San Francisco
Today was the first of many goodbyes. Most people were going to leave on the 21st, however Greta was leaving on the 20th. She wanted to see her sister before she moved into UVA and leaving on the 21st would have been too late. So, instead she had a 6am flight. So she stayed up with Charles, who then drove her to the airport. Me and Sarah also woke up in the middle of the night to say our goodbyes.
And then there were seven.
I awoke again at 9am and saw Ramona was also awake. So we decided to make the most of it and pack the car ONE LAST TIME.
For context, we booked a round trip car rental and me and Ramona were going to drive the car back to Boston. This is in contrast to last year’s team who booked a one way rental, so they had to deal with the logistics of packing up and sending the bikes and camping gear back across the country. Since we were bringing the car back, post trip logistics were a lot easier.
Packing the car for our upcoming road trip was not much different than usual. We’ve done this for 75 days, so we’ve gotten pretty good at it. We consolidated some of our boxes, threw a bunch of stuff out and changed the organization of the car to make grabbing food items easier. With most people’s personal belongings out of the car, we also managed to fit 2 bikes in the car in addition to the 3 bikes on the rack. We managed to finish most of the packing by the early afternoon, so we had a lot of free time.
We decided to go out and explore San Francisco! By we I should say me, Sarah, Ramona, Tian, Ishaq and Charles. At some point, me and Sarah were unintentionally split up from the rest of the group. So we decided to go to Ghiradelli Square to get some shakes and chocolate. The rest of them went to Japantown after seeing the Painted Ladies. Then me and Sarah met up with the rest of the team in Japantown where we had Thai food for dinner. This was the team’s Final Supper (sadness).
We then went into the mall and after failing to find a bakery, we settled for crepe shop, where me and Sarah had some delicious fruit crepes. It was getting late, so we decided to head back, but we were in the technopolis that is San Francisco, so what better way to get home than to call some autonomous taxis! The six of us split up and got into our cars. It was quite the futuristic experience.
Everyone spent their last night here doing their own thing. We tried to get to bed early, because Ramona was going to wake everyone up early.
So that concludes the very last, final Spokes blog…
or does it?
Stay tuned for our post-Spokes blog series which will follow me and Ramona on our 10-day road trip back across the country, featuring Charles for the first two episodes!
Sacramento, CA to Benicia, CA — 74.9 mi, 1764 ft
well, this one is LONGGG overdue…whoops 😀 (please forgive me, mom, grandma, etc.) anyways, without any further delay, i will recount our 2nd to last biking day before reaching our long-anticipated destination of san francisco. buckle up, because while i ALWAYS say this is going to be a long one, this statement could never be more true than right now…(2662 words, to be exact, and for JDs stats on the spokes 2025 bloggers total word counts) (if you’re wondering, yes, i had the most)
…which, in true spokes fashion, started the night before, past midnight and the previous day. ramona (the previous day’s blogger) was fast asleep during these festivities, so i will give the much needed context instead. it all started when joseph, while making the day’s route, pointed out that there was a six flags amusement park within 10 miles of our destination in benicia.
this small comment will drastically alter the course of the following day.
ishaq, the next day’s planned driver, is now DEAD-SET on going to six flags, even willing to wake up at an ungodly hour and bike instead. ruth decides she will follow whatever the group does, but goes to bed right then and there on the couch in case we decide to wake up early. tian wants to go, and is scheming to switch driving days with ishaq and take the van straight there. joseph, charles, greta and i are all indecisive for the next 2-3 hours, while ramona is in the blissful ignorance of slumber. eventually, we come up with the PERFECT plan so that everyone gets what they want:
this leaves me waking up around 9am. joseph also gets up around this time, ramona is already awake (and is debriefed on last night’s plan), while charles and greta have to be woken up (by me) so they don’t sleep in TOO late and miss dropping off their stuff in the van (you’re welcome). most people have some of the oatmeal made by our lovely hosts, while i start scheming for a early ride cafe stop (because what else can you expect from me if not a cafe stop?) i end up finding a spot in downtown sacramento, so after leaving our stuff in the van joseph, ramona and i set out around 10am, with charles and greta behind us. while they originally intended to join us at our cafe, they ended up just heading straight for the one at our first rest stop. this was probably a wise decision, as with the morning rush, it took around a combined 30-45 minutes for joseph and i to get through the line to order (thanks ramona for guarding our stuff!), and all our food to come out. social media was RAVING about their egg sandwiches, so of course i had to get one. my bacon, egg and cheese ended up being pretty worth the hype (maybe not the wait, though…) after finishing up our food, chai lattes, and tea, we set out for davis.
while the first leg would have actually been around 17.5 miles, it was a little shorter than that since we were heading out of downtown. we went on a bike path headed right along the highway, sometimes moving even faster than morning commuter traffic, which i thought was pretty funny. the closer and closer we got to davis, the more i realized it was not nearly as rural as i thought—after all, it was only an hour out of sacramento by bike. we passed by some fruit stands, got accidentally drafted by another random biker, and made our way into the college town of davis! after checking on the status of charles and greta via life360, we realized they we’re actually still in town, so we met up to officially form the full non-six flags group.
with the amount of activities and procrastination that went on in davis, this rest stop deserves its own paragraph. the original rest stop was another cafe, which we all ultimately skipped for other places. after the freshies group helped some locals repair their bikes, we all met up at a newspaper shop around the corner. we learned that davis had the first bike lanes in AMERICA, met the shop owner’s absolutely MASSIVE great dane in the back, and joseph and i got popsicles before heading out. we made our way over to a korean dessert shop, and ended up splitting some bingsu—a popular dessert made from shaved ice, milk, and various toppings. ours was topped with strawberries, mango, circus animal cookies, and what i believe was a chocolate covered oreo. while we munched, charles and co. worked on the crossword inside the copy of the new york times he got at the newspaper shop. eventually, we spread out: charles and greta napped outside on a table, ramona and i looked at books together, and i honestly don’t know what joseph was doing. at some point i split off to call my sister, and before we knew it it was almost 3pm and we were about 60 miles from where we needed to be before dark. spoiler alert: we did NOT make it before dark…
alas, we FINALLY start heading out of davis. our next stop was only 12.5 miles away, and after we all accidentally split up in 3 different directions trying to make our way out of town, we met up again and biked as a pack on the mostly empty farm roads. a few stopped to eat almonds off the trees on the side of the road (myself NOT included), the turns we hit every 1.5-2 miles as we zig-zagged along the main highway kept me entertained, while the wind slightly annoyed me. soon enough, we hit the dixon fruit market! i got a watermelon juice for myself, as well as a loaf of bread and block of cheese to split with the rest of the group. while i was unsure if we would finish the whole thing (as the van was not there to carry the leftovers), i left with only a small cube of cheese in my bike bag. in hindsight, i think not having to worry about the driver being stuck in one place for too long is what caused our future problems. anyways, we made a slight detour to a gas station for restrooms, ice, and scratchers, and hit the road after another decently lengthy stop.
leg 3 was about another 15 miles, and while the rest stop was supposed to be at a park, we once again decided to get creative and instead make it at the great west coast fast food chain known as in and out. i honestly don’t remember much from this leg, but at in and out i got animal style fries for the first time (truly life-changing), while this was quite a few others first time at in and out at all. it’s not the best food ever, but it is pretty good, and in this economy, where else are you getting a burger, fries and drink for less than $10? as we sit outside enjoying our meals with the sun just dipping below the horizon, this was the first time it settled in that we were kinda cooked (aka biking in the dark). after calling the six flags crew, to keep an already incredibly long blog a little shorter, we realized the van simply was not going to be able to come shuttle people if needed (which we really only do in dangerous conditions physically or environmentally), so we had no choice but to finish the ride. i dump the rest of my lemonade in my water bottle (a huge hydration strat i discovered at the end of spokes), and the crew locks in for our last 35 miles.
our 2nd to last leg wound up probably being 15-20 miles, but no matter the case, we locked in and got PEDALING out of vacaville. we were slowly losing more light, but the grind doesn’t stop. we passed by the original rest stop 3, and after some time we made it to our new rest stop—a tj maxx. as we had never biked in complete darkness before, we didn’t realize how cold it got with both the wind and the absence of sunlight. greta got a long-sleeve cotton button-up that she planned to reuse for normal day wear, joseph got a pair of pajama pants with garfield-shaped pumpkins on them, while the rest of us took the opportunity to rest a little. otherwise, we kept the stop pretty short, and soon headed out to get to FINALLY our place for the night.
stepping out of the warmth of that building made me question if i should have actually purchased additional layers or not, but i reassured myself that once we got pedalling i would warm up again. and boy, did we have to PEDAL, because (of course) all the climbs—albeit pretty short—we’re saved for the very end. just my luck. however, there was just around 15 miles to go, so there was no choice but to lock in (count how many times i’ve said that in this blog), and FINISH. we got in the most maximally lit and visible formation, and hit the hills heading into benicia. the first portion was probably the scariest and most painful—-basically pitch black except for our lights and the interstate running adjacent to us on the service road (with the cars BLINDING me instead of helping me see), headwinds CENTRAL, and some route confusion that almost led us down a steep hill to nowhere. but after conquering this most mentally challenging section with the power of the kpop demon hunters soundtrack, we hit benicia and civilization…meaning flat, lit, and car-free BIKE TRAILS!!! we finished the last of our climbs, zoomed down into town, and finally made it to our place at the lovely hour of 10:30pm. we all sigh in relief, saying that would NEVER happen again (of course, with spokes ending the next day, it most definitely wouldn’t, but the sentiment remained). we take quick showers and meals, apologize to our hosts for our ungodly hour of arrival, set out our sleeping bags, and pass out along with the six flags group (who had gone to bed at a much more ideal time).
the next day, we would bike across the golden gate bridge into san francisco, officially completing our over 4,000 mile across the united states. yet, at the time, it didn’t feel like we were actually, finally done. after being in a constant, structured regimen of biking, learning festival, and rest days for almost 3 months, it was hard—no, impossible—to process that in a few days, i would be going home, and then back to school in boston—back to normal life.
fast forward a few weeks later: it’s a sunny sunday afternoon in cambridge, i’m sitting in flour on mass ave, iced chai latte just about finished, about to start working on my 8.02 learning sequences. my bike—covered in stickers i collected over the summer—sits chained up outside. i feel like i’ve adjusted comfortably back to the school routine, the busyness and chaos—between 4 classes, my UROP, pole vault, my new sorority (pi phi, wings up!), my job at the list arts center, and preparations to recruit spokes 2026 (keep your eyes open!)—keeping my mind occupied (which i like, actually).
however, every so often, i am reminded of my life-changing journey (it’s something i will never forget, but sadly, life goes on). chrysler pacificas driving down the street. the cyclists outside trader joe’s last weekend, eating pickles straight out of the jar. certain songs that come up on shuffle on spotify. the hundreds of thousands of pictures in my photo album when i happen to scroll back too far on accident, or when i am reminiscing on purpose. the seemingly simple question from peers of “what did you do this summer?”
i cherish these memories, and remember them fondly, but it breaks my heart to come to terms with the fact that i can’t ever truly go back to and relive those 3 months of my life. i could sit with that pain forever…or i could choose to look forward to what’s next. there are interesting classes and projects to be done, exciting track meets to train for, and so many new friends to be made, and fresh adventures to go on in the meantime (bike touring is certainly in my future—pacific crest summer 2026?) i am forever grateful for the many people i met along the way: from ever generous and wise hosts and grateful, hard-working learning festival partners and their bright students, to kind strangers at rest stops and on the road, and of COURSE my fellow spokies, i truly believe i saw the best of humanity this summer. the chaos and mayhem in the world right now sometimes made the future seem pretty dim, but in every small interaction—from child to senior, townsperson to city dweller, farmer to entrepreneur, stranger to friend—i gained just a little more hope. i saw the grand sights and views, as well as the charming, unique corners, nooks and crannies of this diverse country that make me proud to call it home—both in place and people.
i am also very thankful for the many people who got me to this point in my life journey, to be able to go on the journey of spokes. to my family, teachers, mentors, coaches, and friends—who never doubted my ability to go far and do hard things (like get into MIT…which is still so crazy to me)—i thank you from the bottom of my heart. some days, i still can’t believe the life i get to live, and it was all thanks to you and your hard work and support.
finally, i would like to thank my fellow spokies—my new best friends. tian, ishaq, ruth, charles, greta, joseph, and ramona, thank you for being such a big part in a summer i will never forget. thank you for getting me through the longest days, the toughest climbs, and the most exhausting learning festivals. for the yaps on the bike about anything and everything, serious or not, for the great meals and the time we spent making (or just enjoying) them, and ALL the laughs in between. for the rest stop shenanigans, rest day adventures, and MANY cafe runs that i dragged you all on because i insisted on having as many on each day’s route as possible. for your endless encouragement, thoughtful advice, and sincere love. i can’t wait to keep being friends with all of you—even if we are no longer all together physically, the thousands of miles that brought us together will never, truly, tear us apart.
with my final philosophical spiel, i will end my final spokes blog. it was the ride of a lifetime (haha, get it?), and i am SO excited to pass the baton to spokes 2026, so that 8 more can take part in this special journey.
a lovely rest of your day and one final thank you to YOU, my lovely readers!
signing off,
schmitty 💗
Placerville, CA to Sacramento, CA
54.2mi, 1508 ft
The Spokies awoke one by one in what started off as a slow, bum morning in a church in Placerville, unaware of what the day ahead had in store. Previously someone had made plans to do a scavanger hunt one of these days and Ruth had now convinced Greta that today was the day. So, after calls home, breakfast and packing, we lingered a bit longer in the lot by the church, while Greta flushed out the hunt. Once Greta was done with her scoreboard, we split off in teams for the competitive spirit and after some brief scheming set off. 54.2 miles with very little climbing created the perfect atmosphere for a unserious day full of side quests.
I was teamed up with Ruth and Joseph. Our plan was to hit a CVS in Skinners to get hair dye and enact a break-up, then go to rest stop 1 to jump in a lake, maybe find a secluded area for skinny dipping and choreograph a dance. Then find a car wash, hopefully neighbouring a gas station to wash our bikes and get that winning scratch-off. Finally, get some ice cream with sun glasses upside down, introducing yourself as Latvian and grabbing the ice cream by the scoop. For on the way tasks we could do the secret handshake, stranger selfies and other bits. At the end of the day we would run the last 0.5 miles. Writing this all down, it sounds like way too much, but at the time it seemed completely doable. Our cycling days were always long, so what’s a little side quest here and there?
Well, we ended up arriving to our first rest stop 19.4 miles out a whooping 5 hours later. But, Ruth and Ishaq met a bunch of strangers and took selfies with them. My team (the best team) staged a couple’s fight in a CVS, got some merch from a dollar store and acquired an additional team member – Tian. The other team (the second best team) had gotten some ice cream and probably went on some other side quests I have not been briefed about. Anyway, at the first rest stop – a cafe, where the lovely barista filled all of our bottles with ice water – Greta instated a time limit for the next stretch. That’s really when the day picked up pace. It was time to pedal and be efficient about completing our tasks.
We schemed some more, performed a choerographed dance, Joseph chugged half a gallon of oat milk, Charles downed three cans of Sprite and we struggled to land a bottle flip while cycling. Then we set off to find a place to swim. But on our way we first ran into a car wash and a gas station, so that was nice. Eventually we made it to a park, where we found a nice swimming spot, jumped in the lake and went skinning dipping. Then we pedaled off in a hurry to make it to our second (and final) rest stop in time.
Despite the high pedalling output to keep on schedule, the ride was very enjoyable. The warm weather had stopped bothering me after the swim and snacks from the car kept me fueled. I honestly am not quite sure anymore what tasks we tried to do afterwards, or what the other team was up to. It was a day overflowing with events, a whirlwind that made us forget time, blew us up in the air to land someplace else with a different agenda. Everyone was in high spirits when we finally arrived in Sacramento to our hosts Ray and Judy.
After showers we rewinded with pasta dinner, completed with tomato sauce and vegetables grown in the yard. The hunt dominated the dinner table discussion, everyone was excited to share their adventures. Judy and Ray’s home was stunning, which I will be able to confirm the next morning, when it was light outside again. An absolutely soul-filling experience – a day to fly through and an evening to feel grounded again.
Afterwards, I basically crashed into the bed, but some Spokies stayed up and discussed next day’s plan’s. But more about that in the next blog which Charles will be writing up soon!
Around 2am, I arose, frozen by the South Lake Tahoe nights. It wasn’t until morning that I discovered the cause of my sleepless night. The window was open, letting in blasts of cold air. I will not make the same mistake again tonight.
Ramona, Greta, and I were up before 9am, but the rest of the team is still getting some snooze in. We have a rest day in South Lake Tahoe today. We plan to hit the beach, play mini golf, and enjoy live music at the beach in the evening. As procrastination goes in Spokes, I am not confident that we will accomplish everything we set out to do. With Spokes wrapping up in a week, all of us are feeling a sense of impending end that we are pushing to the back of our minds. At least I know I am trying not to think about it.
Around 10:10 am, everyone awoke. Spokes 2025 is bad at collective decision-making. The morning beach plan was scrapped since we plan to go to the beach in the evening anyway. After some hustle and bustle, we left for mini golf. Little did we know that we would be stuck there for 4 hours.
This was my first time playing mini golf, but the game was surprisingly fun. Ramona and Ruth were leading in the first half, but Charles caught up and snatched a victory in the second half. I ended up in 5th place, tied with Ishaq. Not bad for my first time playing mini golf. We also divided into two teams, SCRI and Latvians in the Sheets, to give Spokies something else to fight for. Unfortunately, Latvians in the Sheets did not do too well. One of my joys in life is trying new things. Mini golf is definitely something I would like to revisit in the future.
28 holes turned out to be too many. After the game, we were famished and rushed back to Dan and Natasha’s place to eat some leftovers and sandwiches. I took this opportunity to take an amazing nap.
Around 6pm, we biked to the live music at the beach. Today’s theme is rock and roll. Beach prices were no joke. 8 dumplings were $15. My wallet was crying. We left our bikes at a bike valet (can you imagine) and enjoyed a memorable evening of dance, food, and swimming.
To my surprise, people wanted to go bowling after the beach event. We didn’t go bowling in Bowling Green, but this time, Ishaq is determined to make it happen. However, I was already suffering from the lack of sleep. In case anyone is wondering, I recovered from my fall described in my previous blog and biked an incredible hill into South Lake Tahoe. I wanted to continue my biking streak. Cutting my sleep doesn’t seem like a great way to prepare for the arduous climbing day tomorrow. Another blogger can tell you how bowling went, but for now, I am heading to bed.
This is my last official blog of Spokes 2025. I have so many feelings about this trip, feelings that I can’t completely process while still on the trip. I want to write a reflection blog in the next month or so, but we will see if that happens. Tian is signing off. Hope you enjoyed following along with my story. Enjoy the final few blogs as we finish up our trip. This journey has been bittersweet. One that will be on my mind for a long time. Good night!
Fallon, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA — 96.8 mi, 5,442 ft
As today’s driver, I’m tasked with waking everyone up. Per Ishaq’s request, I blast Fetty Wap at 7:10am. It was surprisingly efficient: he basically leaps out of bed. Ramona is already up per usual, as is Sarah. Joseph and Tian sleepily arise, while Greta is technically conscious but still lying down. I’m about to jostle her awake until I notice a more concerning Spokes member. Charles has not budged. I rip his sleeping bag off. No movement. I try taking his mat from underneath and he finally awakens, retaliating by grabbing it back. It seems like a losing battle until Joseph pulls out the ultimate weapon: a spray bottle. One squirt and Charles forfeits. I look up, ready to attack Greta next, but fortunately for her she decided to leave the couch. Maybe fortunate for me, actually, since she later admits she would’ve been livid if she had gotten the same treatment (and Greta’s a fighter).
This is my last driving day, so I’m determined to make it my best. I stayed up late last night putting gallons of water in the freezer, labeling the 3D prints from our last learning festival, and probably doing something else important that I can’t remember. I actually woke up at 6am, albeit unintentionally, and I decided to make the most of it by starting to pack the car. My efforts were successful: at 8:30am, all the girls had biked away. I’m pretty sure this is the fastest we’ve left in the morning (I’m patting myself on the back). The guys left a bit later, particularly Joseph, but everyone was out by 9am. My only fault as a driver is that I’m not a particularly good shopper. I guess I didn’t improve much throughout the summer because by the time I get to rest stop 1, only Charles and Ramona are left. I’m ashamed.
I actually catch everyone at rest stop 2, our first cafe of the day. Cafe rest stops are typically longer than usual, since people tend to purchase and consume products from said establishment, but today was particularly long, since Charles decides to have a cup off with Greta. Ruth, what’s a cup off? you might be asking. Well, dear readers, a cup off is when two idiots spend 30 minutes trying to land a plastic cup in a larger pile of cups. It can involve a third idiot who sits next to the pile of cups and retrieves the throwing cup to make the two idiots’ lives easier. I was the third idiot. Neither of the two idiots landed the cup.
I finally manage to shoo them away by promising that they can continue at the next rest stop. I look into Charles’ eyes and lie, because I know that the cups will not be available at the next rest stop. Ruth, why won’t the cups be available at the next rest stop? you might be asking. Well, dear readers, I plan on setting up a float station to cement my position as the best driver because I love my teammates and they love floats. Sure enough, 7/8 Spokies are delighted by the sight of vanilla ice cream and bottles of Fanta and Dr. Pepper (sorry Tian). We have an equally delightful conversation about the injustices of the justice system and whether or not we would press a killing button for $100,000. We also looked at baby photos and gambled. Just delightful.
I admitted to my fellow Spokies that I was having trouble staying awake while driving, and Charles suggested an… interesting comedy sketch. It definitely kept me awake. I also called some friends (shoutout Taylor) to keep me occupied — we haven’t had a whole day with service in a while, and I wanted to take advantage of it. I did also watch the newest episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty, summaries of which I’ve been forcibly subjecting the other Spokies to for the last few weeks.
The drive from Carson City to Genoa was gorgeous, with luscious rolling fields and cute houses speckling the landscape. I also learned from a street sign that Genoa, NV was founded in 1851, in case you were interested. At rest stop 5, I found a nice shady picnic table for us to loiter around. I also climbed a tree! (sorry it was after you left Ramona)
The final rest stop was after a long climb, so I was expecting people to be more tired than they were. Everyone was doing great though (yay team). Tian’s front shifter wasn’t working so Ramona helped fix it 🐐 . Ramona also excitedly informed me that a magical tailwind appeared at mile 85.8, only to disappear a fraction of a mile later. Ishaq consumed Sprite, per usual, while Greta consumed stolen apple sauce, a first.
Everybody had dispersed by 7:45pm, which, if you can’t tell, is late. While I was slightly concerned about this, it did allow me to witness a magnificent magenta mountain sunset while driving down, one Ramona described as “cotton candy.” I unfortunately don’t have pictures because I’m a safe driver 🫡 The beauty didn’t stop at the mountain — entering South Lake Tahoe gave me a sense of euphoria I haven’t felt since Day 46. What can I say, I’m a city girl at heart.
I pulled up in front of our Warmshowers hosts for tonight, Natasha and Dan. Poppy, their dog, trotted out to greet me as well. I got a tour of the house and started unpacking the van when Ramona arrived and very intelligently told me to consider shuttling the rest of the riders since it was now pitch black outside. I nodded at intelligent Ramona, and suggested my own intelligent thing: why don’t I go back and just give them bike lights instead? Joseph and Sarah arrive soon, I steal Joseph and Ramona’s lights, then go find the bums Tian, Charles, Ishaq, and Greta.
After illegally parking in a fire lane, I find them munching on sweets at Insomnia Cookies. I trade them the lights for the cookies, then zoom back to our temporary home. I find the speedier Spokies showered and eating the delicious grilled food that Dan and Natasha served us. After everybody arrives intact, we all enjoy some dinner together while chatting with our lovely hosts. I also realize we entered California today! I can’t believe nobody told me.
That’s it for today’s blog. I must mention it’s my last one 😢(I know I know, a terrible loss for the blogging community). Everybody has at one point or another written something deeply meaningful in their blog. Instead of doing that, I’m going to drop the Spokes rendition of The Breakfast Club trailer that we created at the high school in Ely. Despite the audio and general quality being quite bad at times, I did spend a substantial amount of time editing this for absolutely no reason, so I hope you enjoy! Peace out ✌️
MIT Spokes 2025 