MIT Spokes 2025

Author: MIT Spokes

  • Day 51: We Gettin Schmittyyyyyy

    Day 51: We Gettin Schmittyyyyyy

    Moab, UT -> Moab, UT

    One Schmitt, two Schmitt, red Schmitt, blue Schmitt. Today I was struck with the cruel reality that I cant just call Sarah by her awesome nickname Schmitty because we have two more Schmitties with the gang today. Sarah’s lovely parents, Jennifer and Mike (dubbed mother and father Schmitt) got the team an Airbnb for two days and treated us to quite possibly some of the most fun and adventurous rest days of the trip. Sadly twin sister Schmitt could not join us 🥲.

    We had potential plans today for an early morning hike, however, the group collectively decided in the morning that we were not built for that so we all enjoyed some delicious cinnamon rolls made by mother Schmitt then Ramona and I hit the pool for a morning swim. Later, a few of us hit the town to go to a bike shop and book store. We all did our business and Tian introduced me to some game on her phone that she really loves. I, looking at bike tires the first round, was not locked in so Tian easily defeated me. But of course that round was just the training so I proceeded to destroy her the next two games. We hurried back to the Airbnb to set off for our group white water rafting trip on the Colorado river.

    Our rafting guide, Jonah, got to know us all and gave us the run through on raft and kayak safety. I really wanted to flip a kayak, but they ened up being pretty much unflippable. The ride down the river was pretty relaxing. We saw 3 bald eagles, an otter den, and even a stunning otter impression from Ruth flailing in the water. I started out in the raft and really wanted to take a turn at the paddles. So I got into the captain chairs and started rowing. Now some would say I was just bad a rowing, but the raft was initially in quite the difficult position near the river bank in almost still water making it pretty difficult to navigate back to the flow in the middle. Charles stepped in to assist, each of us with one paddle and we eventually found the bubble line and started zooming. Others tried, Ramona getting the most praise from Jonah for her steady pace and good navigation. Personally, I believe she received the oars when the raft was already in steady currents due to the labors of all who came before her, but I could never hate on Ramo so I sat there while she was praised, only making a small off-handed political comment about inheriting a good economy to Charles. During this process of us spokies learning how to row a boat, mother and father Schmitt wisely chose to flee to a kayak, avoiding a series of terrible raft maneuvers with one of us spokies in the captains seat. When it was finally my turn in a kayak, Ruth and I locked in. Utilizing her years of rowing experience and my raw power, we successfully paddled around in circles and were far slower than Charles and Tian in the other kayak 😐. But we did have a good time navigating through a few of the rapids and swimming around in calmer areas. All in all, rafting was a great experience for the team, after packing up all the boats at the end we started heading back to moab and hit our spokes signature move: napping in the van.

    After our return, we set out on yet another adventure: Arches National Park. We went on a short sunset hike to the delicate arch and I gotta say, it don’t look all that delicate to me. Liiiiiiiike a bunch of birds were pulling up and perching on it and nothing happened 🤷🏾‍♂️. The hike up was pretty nice and it wasn’t too hot anymore. Ruth enjoyed seeing germans, because apparently every time you go on a hike there will be germans. She has some strange obsession with them for no reason, even though she barely speaks the language. Everyone enjoyed me tripping and falling on the way up because they’re all fake friends with no care as to if I was okay. Seeing the arch itself was pretty breathtaking. I would’ve loved if the amphitheater around it didn’t have as many people so the entire area would be more serene, but I suppose Jean Paul Sartre put it best: hell is other people (I’m just being dramatic, but i would have loved to be there at like 3 am with no one else around). Charles, Joseph, and I got some solid pictures of the men of the group looking fly as heck, but we were photobombed by Greta who couldn’t resist destroying out vibes (She’s evil, simple as that). Tian of course got her entire photoshoot with all of her signature poses as usual, actively kicking away any spokies who wanted to join her bc she gotta maintain her solo traveler reputation. After some cute full group photos we all headed back down and had a great conversation about REDACTED. Tian and Ruth have quite interesting opinions about the topic, then we took the convo to the van ride back to Moab.

    🙂
    Me exiting tian’s photo shoot
    Tian being a poser
    Getting Schmittyyyyyy
    Men looking fine as heck
    Greta’s evil photobombing
    us posing like we love each other
    What are they staring at???
    Not so delicate arch
    The setting sun

    Our final event of the day was hitting an upscale Italian restaurant. Now I LOVE Italian food, but the menu was my worst nightmare: too many options. Everything looked phenomenal, I didnt know what to order and started scrambling to organize a bunch of shared plates with other spokies so I could try everything. Bc the team is fake as heck no one wanted to go splitsies on 2-3 dishes so i had to make a choice. Once the waitress got to me I asked a wealth of questions about the dishes but was hit with the curveball of more dinner specials on the board behind me which i hadn’t seen. Naturally I asked her to come back to me after this revelation. Everyone else orders. Most notably Joseph gets the Josephina ravioli, very fitting I know. Once the zero hour finally arrived and I was forced to make a decision then and there, I did not take a chance on the ravioli, nor did I spring for the tortelloni. I, a man of class and high standards, ordered their mac and cheese. No toppings, no meat, no nothing. Just cheesed-up mac. As the other ordered started rolling in I started to get scared because they all looked absolutely scrumptious. All of the complex artisanal pastas made my dedication to my mac and cheese waver, I nearly even felt some regret. Then set before me was the finest plate of dairy coated pasta I have every witnessed. The consistency, the aroma, the perfectly browned layer of cheese on top. Taking my first forkful caused a single tear to trickle down my face. C’est tres bon. C’est magnifique. One could say it had a certain je ne sais quoi. But as they do whenever you find something truly sacred, the fiends began to swarm. Greta and Ruth started by simply asking for a taste, to which I agreed – I am a chill guy who likes to share food after all. But then, without warning, they began to descend on my cheese sauce with handfuls of garlic bread, dunking and swiping, leaving streaks of emptiness where rich cheese sauce once was. I continued to eat and revel in the meal, but the crows were flocking. In the end, my plate was decimated, not a spec of noodle or cheese sauce remaining. While I’m sure everyone enjoyed their own meals, everyone who tried mine surely had regrets about their ordering choices afterward.

    My reaction to receiving my mac and cheese
    Spokies at the Spoke on Center

    After dinner we headed back to the Airbnb, another successful day for the spokies, very generously funded by mother and father Schmitt. All parties, tired, speedily headed to bed in preparation for an even longer and more arduous day tomorrow.

  • day 50: meet the schmitts 💃🏼

    day 50: meet the schmitts 💃🏼

    Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT — 114.1 mi, 4,019 ft

    if you read the byline, you probably realized that sarah is about to tell you about the 2ND LONGEST ride of our spokes journey.

    and if this day wasn’t going to be long enough already, it decided to start BEGRUGINGLY early at 4 in the morning, as i was woken up by red, itchy bug bites all over my body. it seems no matter where we are, the bugs decide to attack me the most consistently. i think they realize that, being from the barren desert, i have the most untainted, fresh blood. you’re welcome, my fellow spokies 😌

    anyways, enough with the dramatics. i actually got up and out of bed around 6:30am: we had 114 miles of biking ahead of us, so we had to get started as early as we could (or at least try to). last night we stayed in our warmshowers’ host greg’s “project house”: a house he was currently in the process of renovating. this worked out perfectly for us: we could spread out and sleep wherever, had plenty of room for bikes, and got to be the first to test out the showers! i chowed down 2 bowls of CTC and a banana before heading out right before 8am.

    leg 1 was a tame ride out of grand junction mostly on bike paths far from the busy roads. i usually put on music when i’m alone, but this morning i decided to listen to the world around me instead (as well as save my battery for the long day). i passed a sign at the entrance to the city and quickly snapped a photo for the blog and my old high school pole vault coach: she went to school and vaulted for the college in grand junction! i got the rare chance on a rest day in colorado springs to meet up with her (and her husband) and catch up for the first time since she moved away last july. i truly couldn’t have made it to MIT without her—if you’re reading this, gabby, it was SO nice to see you again! (and thank you jason for helping coordinate the surprise!) 💗 joseph and tian eventually catch up to me, and we make it to the 1st rest stop of the day—a cafe (my favorite)! after my order got messed up (and fixed, even though i was nervous to ask for a redo…) i walked out with my usual iced chai, a strawberry cheesecake cookie, and an extra latte, which ended up being taken by ruth, who was hyper for the rest of the day. i think the energy on such a long day was appreciated, though :))

    • bye bye, grand junction!
    • bridge into town
    • cafe-goers
    • my pre-114-miler treat

    knowing the scarcity of society for the day, i stepped into the restroom real quick before heading out for leg 2, and when i came back out, i see that everyone had already left (except for joseph): uh, rude much? 😐 anyways, the two of us set out to officially leave grand junction—and civilization. we spot another cyclist on the road, and while joseph keeps insisting it’s ramona, i know it’s not (it isn’t her). i decide to call my parents to check in on things: i haven’t mentioned it yet, but i would be seeing my parents in moab!!! long story short, we had a housing gap in moab for quite a while, and they decided to fill it in! they have been meaning to go to moab for a while, and it would also be a good chance to be with me for a bit since i would be gone all summer…sorry :(( they came in the night before, and i hear that they are getting settled and already starting to prep for dinner that night! with rest stop 2 being only a few miles away, i see a suspicious clump on people on the side of the road ahead of me. joseph and i pull over and realize that ramona was having tire issues. the car was also stopped and packed with water, food, and supplies, so we collectively decided to make this an unofficial rest stop 2 and move on to “leg 3.”

    this is when we start making our way into more desert scenery—what i’ve been joking is “my territory.” even ramona commented on the actual excessiveness of shrubs: having made a quick stop in nevada herself, she (and i) know what REAL desert will look like. we start chit-chatting, and some of us come up with 4-lined poems, to pass the time. we hit a bit of gravel (tian’s least favorite thing ☹️), but there’s an unexpected bathroom at the top! then, after a quick, short climb, we speed down to the sign signaling that we had made it to utah!!! i was a bit sad, since from here on out all the states will be old news to me, but was comforted knowing that i actually would be seeing new areas within these “old” states. even so, traveling by bike really gives you a truly unique perspective on places and the communities that occupy them, so i realized i was actually excited to get to see familiar places in a new light! i ate my first of 2 sandwiches (my 1st double sandwich day), we took some pictures, and set off into the sands of utah 🦂

    • we’re here!!!
    • casual with it
    • juice
    • bathroom view
    • the gang
    • more tire troubles :((
    • various spokies with fruit, courtesy of ruth
    • hello camera-woman!

    leg 4 was a longer one—17 miles. by this point though, the whole team was together, so we chit-chatted, played a bit of biker leap frog, and just tried to make it through the chaos of I-70. as various signs warned us that there were no services for the next bajillion (read: 40-50) miles, we realized we were truly in the middle of NOWHERE. this is where i started to feel it: i was consistently just a tad uncomfortable in my saddle, the wind was just a bit too intense, the sun a bit too bright, the road ever so slightly inclined, AND my podcast wasn’t that interesting to me. the fact that we were just going straight for MILES also bothered me: my biggest dread is making a turn and garmin telling me to keep going for some 10+ number (where there’s no decimal that counts down faster). for the first time EVER, though, there were quite a few ENCOURAGING honks from cars on the interstate!!! this was so fun, and an instant mood-booster for the whole group. we power through and eventually exit to find ruth on the side of the road attempting to make a call, grab some food, water, and MUCH cherished AC, and set off once again—half-way through.

    • a selection of our 4-line poems

    leg 5 was definitely the most mentally challenging of the day. the terrain was once again quite barren, but the winds were AWFUL 😔 joseph and i attempted to draft off each other, but that wasn’t even possible due to the fact that it was a mix of head and cross winds. finally though, we hit a left turn, and after some small hills, we see the canyon we are to enter draw closer and closer—the winds, now in our favor, helping us speed along. rest stop 5 is only 5 miles before an opportunity to dip in the colorado river, so we only rest for a few short minutes before heading on, but not before saying hello to ruth’s german swiss european friend she’s on the phone with. i don’t normally partake in getting wet mid-ride, but this was MUCH needed (and i changed into swim bottoms so my chamois wouldn’t get soggy and give me sores when i eventually hopped back on the bike…eventually…) the current of the mighty colorado was, as expected, pretty strong, so we didn’t drift too far from shore. we tried (and failed) to play human bowling. we settle for finding larger rocks to prop ourselves up against and rest, allowing the cool water to wash over us. at this point, i realize that it’s late afternoon and we are still pretty far from moab, so i get out and get changed and pray the others will follow soon (and swiftly). i munch on more of my sandwich(es), and the group sets off for the canyons 🏜️

    • attempted selfie w/ ishaq
    • trees!
    • almost thereee

    honestly, legs 7-9 were in short succession, and towards the end of this long, hot, and quite eventful day…so, a bit of a blur. what i definitely remember though was the views FINALLY starting to improve, changing pretty quickly from barren, monochromatic desserts to towering, colorful canyons. surprisingly (to some people), the desert can actually be quite spectacular and beautiful! besides maybe charles, i’m the only one who has seen views like this, and—unlike anyone—i’ve lived in them. so, it was a treat to get to see my teammates experience the stunning sights for the first time: it made me feel a bit of fresh wonder and awe for the yet increasingly familiar terrain of the southwest 🧡 even though the views we’re wonderful, it was hard to ignore our increasingly declining physical conditions: things we’re starting to hurt more, water was running low, hunger (for a real meal) was growing exponentially, and there was still about 20-30 miles to go. however, the road goes on, and so do we. 

    • yesss red rocks
    • moab SOON
    • hi ishaq and tian!

    as we begin the final, 10.5 mile leg, we get into single-file, hit a bike trail, and its full steam ahead to moab proper. AND, after hours and miles without service, the bars come back!!! this is especially important because it’s been WAY too long since we were able to update my mom on our whereabouts, and (as i predicted), after we were over half an hour late to dinner, she had sent my dad out to backtrack our route by car to make sure we were ok. while we were expected at 7pm, we came rolling in in two waves around 8:45pm…sorry for worrying you, mom! surprisingly, i managed to be apart of wave 1, even with a 2 mile climb in the home stretch—what can i say, i was VERY excited to see my parents, and VERY excited to SIT. DOWN.

    while my fellow spokies helped to start arranging things at our place for the next few days, i was on a mission to track down my parents. i find my dad in the back, and (after a short walk) my mom at the grill making the final preparations for dinner. eventually, both meet at the grill, and i start excitedly debriefing about the day, showing them my cool uniform in-person—generally catching up. we bring back and serve dinner—chicken and vegetable skewers, pita and bagel chips, and hummus! while i was worried the energy would be low after such a long, gruelling day (something i warned my parents about in advance), there is conversation and laughter to be heard all-around. it was very interesting to see two very different groups of people in my life interact, but i’ve since heard all parties had a lovely time, which makes me very happy :)) 

    • thanks mom!!!
    • YUMMY

    after some “heated” (yet, of course, laughter-filled) debates over the bed situation in the non-tian-and-ramona room (that i was dubbed moderator of due to it being the “schmitt’s” place), some DELICIOUS berry crisp for dessert, and a shower at SOME point, i crashed in a solo top bunk to prepare for some rafting and hiking the following day. i wish i could end this with some of my usual thought-provoking rambling, but it’s just 11pm, this blog is late enough as it is, and i have 94 miles to bike tomorrow. i will say, though, that this trip has solidly reinstated the gratitude i have for the wonderful people in my life who have gotten me to this point in it. i have to pinch myself every day when i think about where i am, what i’m doing, and who i’m doing it with—spokes and beyond. to ALL of you—thank you :))

    with that, i’ll catch you next time for our rest day in bryce canyon! 🌵

  • Day 49: seeya, rockies!

    Day 49: seeya, rockies!

    Vega State Park, CO -> Grand Junction, CO, 60.9mi, 1551ft

    I woke up after Ishaq but before everyone else our cosy campsite overlooking the Vega Reservoir. I biked to the bathroom and saw a bunch of geese going for their morning swim in the reservoir. I sat there for a bit. The sun kissed mountains, the geese in the water and me. I couldn’t imagine needing anything else.

    Of course I did not have my phone to take a picture for you guys, however Ishaq came in a clutch with these pictures from the morning.

    The view ❤ (can’t see the geese 😦 )
    Tian struggling with the sleeping pad
    Me eating breakfast!

    After some food, we packed up our stuff and I headed out with Ruth, my trusted companion. We attempted to speak only German for the first part of the day, an idea we had the day before. It was possible to string together sentences, but it definitely limited our conversation.

    - Wie hattest du geschlafen?
    - Gut, gut... aber leider habe ich keine Träume.
    - Ah, ja. Träume?
    - Träume. Dreams.
    - Ah, klar. Ja, ich habe auch keine Träume.

    The conversation was also made difficult because after we got out of the park, it was all downhill for quite a while. That also meant that the first rest stop came super quickly. We filled up on ice at a gas station and spent some time scheming how to make up for a deficit in water bottles (some were lost in battle with gravel yesterday) and electrolytes.

    Soon after we headed out, we missed a turn, going fast downhill, but we saw a deer and then corrected our course. I drafted Ruth until the next major turn, but Ruth was without navigation, so then Ruth drafted me. It was still downhill, but there was a fair bit of headwind and the road was fairly busy. The shoulder was good, but lots of debris. Was good, but tiring.

    me and Ruth going downhill

    Then we turned on i-70, which was even more busy. So I was glad when we turned off it, only to be faced with a gravel hill and after that something that could only be described as not a road and very steep.

    Me and Ruth let others know about this scam, but ultimately decided to climb the hill in hopes that there would be an existing road somewhere on the top of the hill. It took us solid 20 minutes to climb the less than 0.2 mile long stretch. There were times I thought that if my foot slipped, I would probably roll back down with all my bike, hit the prickly bushed and I was not sure I would have it in me to try again. But we persevered and made it up. And, guess what, there was a gravel road up there after all.

    the “road”

    And to make it better, the gravel soon turned to asphalt and we were back in business. The next rest stop was in a sweet little ice cream place in Palisade that was also space themed, called the Milky Way. I got some coconut and some peach ice cream, the latter of which was very good. But the rest stop soon turned a little sour by a discussion about budget and Spokes spending. The team ended up giving Charles and Tian space to discuss and headed further. They were there for over two hours. Poor ice cream shop. But these are conversation to be had in a project like this, so huge thanks to Tian and Charles for taking it on.

    Then we arrived at a rest stop by the Colorado River and what I think was Corn lake, where we took a dip first in the lake and then in the river for the full experience. The current in the Colorado really is powerful, as we have found out on multiple occasions. But it was also more refreshing than the lake. After this we were almost exclusively on bike paths and continued so up until Grand Junction.

    At the very end, we climbed a hill, short but not easy, only to find out from Steph that its the wrong house and we did not need to climb the hill. Once we descended and got to right house, we met Greg, who showed us the house they had been renovating for 3 years, which featured a frige full of fruit and electrolyte drinks, so we successfully rehydrated. Greg and Steph made us some amazing vegan burritos, let me tell you, I was so happy about the veggies, it’s always difficult to get enough of them on the road. And their friends, both of whose names started with K, but I cannot recall them exactly, brought us brownies!!! After nourishing our bodies, we spent the evening talking with Greg about our trip and hearing his incredible stories from travel and work. At some point I did all my evening tasks and went to sleep. I could hear Greg starting to talk about peaches and how they need cold temperature, but not too cold, and how in Palasade the geography makes it possible with Million Dollar Wind and the gas law and … I dozed off. I later heard the conversation continued about peaches and travel. Laying on my sleeping pad, I was thinking. I aspire to have that amount of wonder and awe for the world around us that Greg seems to have. A perfect peach, a solar eclipse, a beautiful road. All the things beautiful things in life I so often take for granted, that are actually quite remarkable. I think most people actually have the wonder, the interest in the world around, I definitely have had it, but somehow it tends to get burried in school, college, the future, plans, the past, whatever else and generally trying to do the right things in life. But it is also something that this trip is helping me find. Appreciation for the things around me right where and when I am.

    It was during this train of thought that I fell asleep.

    The next day, somewhere during our 115 miles, many of which we spent looking at a bleak, dry and flat landscape around us, I did a redo of a famous poem as a way to say goodbye (at least for now) to the Rockies, which we officially exited when we left Grand Junction. Here it goes.

    Whose lands these are I do not know.
    The mountains vast, the river cold.
    I stop mid climb, awe fills my bones;
    If I stayed right here, could i skip the low?

    These peaks and valleys
    They make me dream,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.
    /Robert Frost messed up by me

  • Day 48: Which Spokie Are You?

    Day 48: Which Spokie Are You?

    Glenwood Springs, CO -> Vega State Park, CO — 56.6 miles, 4887 ft

    Sometimes on Spokes we are faced with tough decisions. Which lesson should sit out at the upcoming learning festival? When should the driver leave rest stops on days when everyone gets spread apart? Do we end Spokes today and just stay with our hosts forever until the end of time? Unfortunately on the last count, while the answer is clear, the decision to leave our hosts is always a tough one. It was hard getting out the door in the morning and saying bye to Barb, Lindsey, Birdie (their dog), and their fantastic cooking, but we all eventually lumbered towards our bikes and headed towards our first rest stop of the day, a free hot springs a few miles out from town.

    The hot springs were surprisingly hot (I know, not sure what I was expecting). The Rs (Ruth and Ramona) got there first and changed into swimwear and bathed for a bit. The rest of us (minus Tian, who skipped the stop) pulled up a short while after and waded.

    • View leaving Grand Junction
    • Our fav dynamic duo hits the hot springs first
    • dap…..?
    • DAP!!!!!
    • Drying off

    Once again, we peeled ourselves away from a place we could stay forever and biked together to the next stop. For some reason, we often ride together when Sarah is the driver for the day. It’s not on purpose, I think…? Or perhaps Sarah has some deep, sinister vibes that subconsciously poison the will to form a seven-rider peloton when someone else is driving 😬

    I was feeling a bit slower today on the bike and my chain was making weird noises, so I troubleshooted at the second rest stop. I also found out the sushi wrap that Ruth had made me last night went missing! Not a great rest stop. And right before we set out again, Ruth broke the news that Ozzy Osborne had died. After explaining to some of the team who he was (and also why it was incredible that he made it to 76 in the first place), I put in my AirPods and played my favorite Black Sabbath songs. RIP Ozzy

    In between rest stops 2 and 3 lay a long gravel climb. Despite the surface and the elevation, the climb was a reminder of how far we’ve all come as bikers since the start of the trip. When all of us are getting faster and more skilled on the bike, it’s hard to tell how much I’ve improved sometimes; however, I know a climb like this would have obliterated me on the first week of the trip. Now, it’s quite manageable. We reached the top and waited for one another. I took a scenic piss.

    • At the top of the climb
    • Tian selfie
    • Greta cannot figure this 0.5 selfie thing out
    • Ruth nails it first try

    After leaving the last rest stop for the day, I biked with Greta and Ishaq to the campground. I finished my Ozzy tribute ride and took my earbuds out, Greta marveled about the Earth being round (?), and we tackled the final climb with some help from Fiona Apple over Greta’s speaker. The views coming into Vega State Park were gorgeous and our campsite was right next to the lake.

    Ramona went for a shower/swim. The others went for actual showers. I helped Sarah chef up her signature Spokes meal — grilled cheese. After taking some very involved, personalized orders, we decided that the meal sounds a lot better advertised as custom melts instead of just grilled cheese. When it was my turn, I put literally every possible topping available on my two melts, made my bowl of tomato soup, and rocketed off to heaven. After dinner, Ruth, Joseph, and I drove to the campground facilities (rather far away since we were at the other end of the lake) and I showered while they did the dishes. I came out to see the sunset bathing the sky in warm red, yellow, purple, and pink hues. I helped out with the last few dishes, joining what was easily the most scenic dish washing experience I’ve ever had. Ruth and I also tried the tiny playground slide and I stung her with a nasty shock at the bottom. It was bad. Joseph heard and saw the spark from 20 feet away. We both screamed.

    • Dinner ████████▒▒ 80%
    • Campfire ft. Ramona making smores
    • Golden hour views from the dish washing station
    • Greta and her garbanzo beans
    • Late night campfire relaxation

    When we got back, some of us sat around the camp fire, relaxed, and stared at the mesmerizing flames. Ishaq broke the tranquil trance from inside one of the tents by cracking a Sprite. After chatting for a bit, we dispersed for bed. Ruth and I played a couple hands of Gin Rummy with a cheeky hanging iPhone flashlight rig. Another Spokes day in the books — I feel maybe our coziest yet!

    Since today’s blog wasn’t all too eventful, I also worked with the other Spokies on a more recent rest day to bring you our long-awaited, hotly-anticipated, Grammy-nominated “What Spokie Are You?” quiz. Link in text form: https://opinionstage.com/page/a42634c6-b51c-4f3c-8261-221331801c6f.

    **EDIT: migrated the quiz to a new site! the old quiz was buggy, but has all the bios at the end if you’re curious.

    Drop in the comments which Spokie you are most similar to!!

    P.S. Sorry about the late blog! I officially entered (and am now exiting) the three-blogs-behind club 😞. Because I am vain and need the blog views (and I worked hard on the quiz :)), I am leaving this blog up at the top of the blog page and I will backdate it when someone else publishes a more recent blog.

  • Day 47: Birdie needs Sleep.

    Day 47: Birdie needs Sleep.

    Tian (I) woke up today with amazing sleep. Yesterday was a bit rough for me because my mind became very foggy and confused by the end of the ride. It might have been due to dehydration, a lack of calories, or a sudden rise in temperature, but today I’m back, better than ever, for a learning festival day blog!

    Barb (Greta’s relative) made us an amazing breakfast of fruits, croissants, and peanut butter with banana on toast for me. The bread was so good! It reminded me of how much I miss a really good piece of bread. Sarah and Joseph (the learning festival floaters for the day) shooed us out the door in a timely fashion. They were so responsible, and that made me so happy. Honestly, how much we have grown as a team makes me shed a tear. What the people say about growing together might be true.

    We arrived in the Garfield County Public Library in Glenwood Springs in a timely fashion and discovered that we would all be teaching in the same room! Cons: students are distracted by other workshops, and noise can be overwhelming. Pros: Spokies get to see each other run workshops, which builds camaraderie and togetherness. This is our 7th learning festival to date, and everything just ran as smooth as butter. Signups happened, groups were created, and we even tried a new rotation today due to Greta’s suggestion and Charles’ support. The small group size made the rotation work well, and I taught one less session! During my break, I sabotaged joined other Spokies’ workshops. In Ramona’s workshop, I made a Caesar cipher wheel and finished the cipher sheet (I wasn’t sure I could do it). In Greta’s workshop, I made oobleck for the first time and punched it. I was also regaled by Ishaq’s Tour de France talk and became interested in the race. We watched some of the highlight recap together, and I became more educated about the world of professional cycling.

    Ishaq flexing his research
    Amazing space for our 7th learning festival

    The library had amazing facilities and also treated us to takeout lunch. We do love good Asian food and decided to all order from Kedai Pho & Japanese Cuisine. I am always craving Asian food, and the udon did not disappoint. There was a food mishap where Ishaq and Joseph’s meal didn’t arrive. Thankfully, this situation was resolved quickly by the library staff. Meanwhile, Ruth shared some of her meal with Ishaq.

    Ishaq obviously loved the food

    Ishaq and I have a machine learning festival workshop that we perfected over the past seven festivals. At first, other Spokies were skeptical about the fun-ness and hands-on nature of our class; however, we adapted our workshop to be engaging for all ages, from kindergarteners to highschoolers. We started each session with a presentation of how AI is present in our lives through ChatGPT, Snapchat filters, and self-driving cars. Then, we broke down machine learning into three simple steps: data, algorithm, and decisions. The majority of our class included four amazing activities/games courtesy of Ishaq and me.

    Activity 1 trains students as pretend AI models. They are shown images that belong in category A and category B. They are then tested with new images that they designate as category A or B. We reveal what the categories are at the end of the exercise and score their accuracy. We review concepts like data cleanliness and AI’s pattern recognition. Activity 2 encourages students to draw happy and sad faces to train an online AI model. Students get to see in action how the lack of data often leads to misclassification and how difficult it is to produce good data. Activity 3 introduces the concept of unsupervised machine learning models. A pretend AI student classifies the drawings of their peers into categories with no guidance. Finally, Activity 4 introduces reinforcement learning where a pretend AI-robot student is guided by their peers through a maze, with a goal and a bomb. Other students give a number between -100 and 100 based on how the student robot is doing on the map. The student robot uses this number to decide its next move. A positive number rewards the student robot for doing well, and a negative number punishes the robot.

    We worked out so many kinks in this workshop that I believe we have the best version yet. The activities are simple enough to scale down for a younger audience. I felt so happy and not as drained as I usually am after learning festivals. It is partially because the workshops went well; I taught 3 sessions instead of 4, and there were less students.

    After the festival, Ishaq, Greta, Sarah, and I ditched the rest of the Spokies and headed back to Barb and Lindsey’s place, each with our own goals of napping, snacking, chilling, and blogging. I am in awe of Barb’s beautiful home and decorations. Soon, more of Greta’s relatives showed up, and Greta held a baby for the second time on this trip! I could never. We had the most delicious lentil coconut curry topped with mango chunks (courtesy of my amazing knife skills). This dinner was thanks to Barb’s hard work. During dinner, Joseph and Ishaq regaled me with Dragon Ball Z lore. Honestly, the lore was so ridiculous that I don’t know if they are lying to me or not. But, the creativity behind characters born in a no longer existing vegetable planet makes me believe that they didn’t make the story up.

    I returned upstairs for my second serving of food and realized that birthday celebrations were in order for Ishaq. I returned downstairs to converse with Ishaq while everyone slowly trickled upstairs. Finally, I made the excuse of wanting to see what everyone else were up to and quite easily tricked Ishaq to follow me. Ishaq unsuspectingly walked into his birthday surprise. Happy 22, Ishaq!

    Just as I thought the day was ending, we shuffled our way over to the freezing Colorado River. We played man in the middle, a game created by Charles, similar to dodge ball, except that the team escaping the bean bags was in the middle of a square play area. Ishaq took out Ramona with a hit to the face, which frightened Sarah enough to end the game. Luckily, she was fine. The Spokies entered the freezing river and swam along the current. Two pet ducks who were out for their evening swim also joined the Spokies.

    Soon enough, the evening hit, and we were just about to leave when an ice cream truck pulled up out of the darkness. The duck owners were also trying to leave, but since the road was only one car wide, the ice cream truck and the duck owners had a faceoff. Unfortunately, the ice cream truck lost, but Greta and Charles acquired ice cream!

    Well, everyone! Birdie just came into my room to sleep. I have been kicking this poor dog out of its bed for the last two days. That means it’s time for me to sleep too! Cheers to a blog published on time.

    Gentle star to not awake anyone

  • Day 46: good things come to those who wait

    Day 46: good things come to those who wait

    Frisco, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO — 93.9 mi, 3,266 ft

    The morning is uneventful. We wake up, take down the tents in the backyard we didn’t even end up using, and wash dishes we were too lazy to do last night. I clean the rice pot 😫(cleaning the rice pot is not fun).

    The bike ride starts off with amazing mountain views, ones that rival those I’ve seen in Switzerland — yes I did study abroad there thanks for asking. I’ve loved biking through Colorado and would honestly consider moving here, which is a pretty big deal because I’ve only ever considered the coasts before. 

    For our second rest stop, we enter an extreme tourist trap a cute market area called Vail Village.  We hop off our bikes and thread our way through the crowds. I love markets and I love crowds, so I’m very excited about this rest stop. Once we park the bikes, we disperse. Sarah consumes a $6 loaf of banana bread and a lemonade with berry tea and passionfruit boba of an undisclosed price. Ishaq also finds himself with a most definitely overpriced drink. I don’t think I see Tian but I’m sure she’s having a great time. 

    I’m planning on laying in the sun and peacefully listening to the live music when Charles starts inquiring if anyone wants to play cornhole. I decide that yes, I do want to play cornhole, despite the fact that I suck at throwing and despite my fear of Charles trash-talking the fact that I suck at throwing.

    Greta and I team up against Charles and Joseph. Ramona spectates. The rules are that a bean bag on the board is 1 point, and a bean bag in the hole is 3. The winner is the first to get 21, and opposing teams’ scores cancel each other out each round (e.g. if I get bean bag in hole but Joseph gets bean bag on board, the score is 2-0 not 3-1). Charles and Greta are standing across from me and Joseph. My memory is a bit foggy, but here is my best recollection of the events that took place:

    1. Joseph starts out strong with bean bag straight in the hole. Greta and I think we’re cooked.
    2. We shortly realize that was just a lucky shot and Joseph is in fact not good at cornhole.
    3. Charles is also not good at cornhole.
    4. Greta and I are good at cornhole.
    5. Joseph almost gets bean bag in hole but it stops short. I shouldn’t be able to get my bean bag in hole without knocking his in, but against all odds I manage the impossible. 
    6. Charles gets a rare bean bag in hole, but Greta follows through with her own bean bag in hole, cancelling out all of Charles’ effort.
    7. The score is 18-? (some low number). Greta and I need exactly 3 points to win. Joseph shoots. Bean bag off board. I shoot. Bean bag on board. +1 point. Joseph shoots. Bean bag off board. I can’t get a bean bag in the hole without going over 21 points, so I aim for bean bag on board. I get bean bag on board. +2 points. Joseph needs to get something if his team wants any hope of winning. Bean bag off board. I breathe deep. I hope for bean bag on board… bean bag hits grass… bean bag BOUNCES ONTO BOARD! +3 POINTS!! WE WIN!!!

    If you didn’t read any of that, all you need to know is that Greta and I crush Joseph and Charles at cornhole.

    Honestly, the middle of the ride was kind of forgetful compared to the epicness that occurred at Vail Village. The scenery turned more desert-y, and the air got a little warmer. I call my dad at rest stop 3, and he watches me eat spaghetti in front of the massive USPS sign I’m sitting in front of. It’s his brother’s birthday tomorrow, so my parents are preemptively celebrating at his house. I wave hi to my uncle and cousins, and they also watch me eat spaghetti in front of the massive USPS sign. 

    For the next stretch, I draft Greta for a while since I’m feeling lazy, then we catch up to Ishaq, and the three of us bike together.

    I forgot to mention it’s Ishaq’s birthday!! Woo. We are secretly planning on getting him a cake, but Greta feels bad when Ishaq inquires about it. She cryptically responds with “good things come to those who wait,” which clearly indicates to Ishaq that we are in fact planning on getting him a cake. Good job, Greta👍

    Rest stop 4 is actually laughable. We break at Dulce Tentacion, a very pink dessert shop. Everybody sits there silently for an uncomfortable amount of time, too tired to say anything. Except actually, Ishaq and I are full of energy so we’re just looking around and laughing at everyone else. I have no idea what’s wrong with the group but I’m having a great time.

    Ramona and I continue biking together. We go through a tunnel with a sign that says “make noise through tunnel.” So of course we scream. (Since then Ramona and I shout anytime we’re in a tunnel together.)

    Rest stop 5 is nearly is laughable as 4. Everybody is actually passed out, particularly Sarah and Joseph. Tian is nowhere to be found. I’m hungry so I eat mayo with rice — yes it was good. I have way too much energy for my own good, so Ramona and I head off again.

    It’s so warm out that we start scheming to find a body of water to jump into. We did it yesterday, so why not two days in a row? We find a great spot to hop in the Colorado River. Unable to swim due to the speedy current, we resign ourselves to squatting. Ramona sees a fish, and I’m jealous so I also try to see a fish. Ramona is greedy so she wants to see another fish. We keep hearing splashing but turn our heads too late to see anything. After 5 minutes of fish hunting, we decide to give up on the elusive aquatic creatures and keep biking.

    As we approach Glenwood Springs, Ramona expresses her disdain for the seven do not enter/one way/wrong way signs lined up next to each other at one road. I reply with “Americans are stupid.” She nods.

    We finally arrive at Greta’s aunt’s house in Glenwood Springs. Barb and Lindsay greet us warmly, as well as their demure dog, Birdie. We have an incredible dinner of vegan quinoa curry, one that is also laughably silent and one that Ishaq yet again attempts, and fails, to revive. Oh, and apparently none of the nearby stores carry the type of fruit cake/tiramisu that picky Ishaq likes, so he actually will have to wait. Happy birthday, dude!

  • Day 45: What a Wonderful World

    Day 45: What a Wonderful World

    Black Hawk, CO -> Frisco, CO – 69.75 mi, 7,848 ft

    Today’s a big day. We’re set to cross over the continental divide, a true dividing line that separates East from West. And any big day needs a big breakfast. The team ate a final breakfast at Amanda’s place, preparing for the day with the single most elevation gain of the entire trip. Some people are nervous, some are anxious, but we’re all determined.

    We set off at different times, with Ruth, Tian, and Ramona in front, Charles and Greta in the middle, and me and Sarah in the back. The big climb of the day was the long ascent to Loveland Pass, the highest point of the whole trip, but the climbs at the beginning were no joke either. I could see the glistening glaciers at the top of the Rockies in the distance. We would have to pass up and over those later in the day, but first we had to descend to the I-70 corridor, nestled in one the few valleys in the Colorado Rockies that go east to west and are big enough to hold settlements and something like a major Interstate. We descended 1000ft down a steep dirt road into the Black Hawk, the gambling capital of Colorado. There, Sarah and I stopped at our first cafe of the day, where Charles and Greta were also around… except Charles was busy playing poker at a nearby casino!

    • distant obstacles
    • glistening glaciers in the distance
    • top of the 1000ft descent (It was a rough ride down)
    • first cafe
    • Black Hawk!
    • Charles gambling

    After I munched on a delicious cheese Danish, we continued on, climbing out of Black Hawk, up and over another steep mountain pass, then descending 1600 feet down a winding dirt road to Idaho Springs. It was both terrifying and beautiful, with the sharp drops being both an ever present danger and opening up wide vistas into the distant mountains and the thousands of cars zooming across these once impassible mountains. Sarah’s back tire kept on leaking, so I would wait at the bottom of a steep descent for her. This process happened multiple times until we eventually got off of the somewhat treacherous Virginia Canyon Road, leaving the two of us quite a bit behind the frontrunners of the day. We stopped at the second cafe in a row, and while I was inside, Ishaq seemed to go mad. He threw my bike onto the ground and chucked one of my water bottles across the parking lot! I came back to the scene of the crime confused and angry. Ishaq denies the allegations placed against him, but he has no alibi. I know it was you. Ishaq.

    • starting the 1600ft descent down Virginia Canyon Rd
    • views
    • more views + bike
    • I did Sarah right with this one
    • winding down the mountainside
    • the valley down below
    • cold-weather gear (it’s chillyup here)
    • uh oh, it became dirt and there’s no more guardrail
    • they say its called “oh my god” road
    • second cafe in a row

    We continued on, slowly making miles as the elevation ticked up, foot by foot. There was beautiful scenery wherever I looked. Gushing rivers, evergreen trees moving against the wind, and boundless mountain vistas in every direction. Today felt like more of a pure adventure than any other day of the trip. I passed through Georgetown, a small town with a passenger railway going up to a mountain pass. I was very happy to actually catch the train making its way down the mountainside.

    • nice lake
    • more nice lake
    • on route 6
    • cool rail bridge
    • I wonder where it goes
    • above the valley we go
    • Nice vistas
    • so that’s where the railway goes
    • I caught the train on camera!
    • lively rivers all around
    • Bakerville to Loveland trail

    At the third rest stop, I realized there really would be no catching up to the frontrunners of the day. They were only two miles from the top! We still had over 2000 feet of climbing over 10 miles to go. We continued on, slowly climbing ever higher. The road wasn’t actually all that steep compared to previous climbs, but the sheer elevation and endurance game meant that things were very slow going. I spent so long staring at each foot of elevation gained on my bike computer, watching the number get further and further away from anything I’ve ever done before. Eventually, I could see the top of the pass. It really does feel like I’m climbing up to the top of the world.

    • the high rockies in the distance
    • oh boy, here goes nothin’
    • ascending above the tree line
    • always gotta look good for the camera
    • just a few more pushes to the top
    • winding up for what feels like forever
    • the I-70 tunnel that bypasses Loveland Pass (bikes aren’t allowed)

    A few minutes later, I saw the van, and the Loveland Pass sign right next to it. As I like to do when I’m close to the end, I sped up to reach the top. I had done it. I conquered the biggest climb, the highest high of our journey. Sarah trailed behind me, reaching the top a minute or so later. With this, Spokes conquered Loveland Pass. What a day.

    • the frontrunners at the top
    • views from the top
    • Triumphant Ruth
    • Ramona at the top of the world
    • Tian’s got heart
    • Greta posing at the top
    • first group photo (me and Sarah are mid-climb)
    • We made it!
    • dynamic duo fr fr
    • true nonchalant
    • the high rockies aren’t so distant anymore
    • we just climbed all that
    • Charles getting some time on the powder

    …Except we still had 20 something miles left to go. And it was 5pm. So at this point I started zooming down the backside of Loveland Pass. What a lovely reward for our hours and hours of climbing. 2600ft of descent over 8 and a half miles. And just like that I was out of altitude. After waiting 10 or so minutes for Sarah (she is a lot more cautious on descents than I am), we continued on a series of bike paths towards the Dillon Reservoir, the big lake that the town of Frisco sits on. This part of the country really is just so beautiful.

    • descending Loveland Pass, very pretty
    • It just goes down and down and down and down and –
    • what a lovely trail
    • The Dillon Reservoir!

    The cool mountain air kept my spirits up as we continued toward Sapphire Point, the site of our last rest stop. Unbeknownst to us, there was a wedding happening at the same time. So we basically became a bunch of wedding crashers. I can see why they picked this location for a wedding, though. Its absolutely stunning.

    • Ruth befriending a chipmunk
    • Saphire Point
    • Tian gotta get her pics in
    • wedding crashers
    • awwwww
    • awwwwww part 2

    We descended down to the surface of the reservoir as we followed its coast into Frisco. Ruth and Ramona had the idea to dip into the water for a swim, and independently Charles and Greta came up with the same idea.

    • Ruth bathing in glacial waters
    • meeting up with Charles and Greta
    • they took a dip too
    • them struggling to step over the rocks

    The sun slowly started to sink below the mountains as we made Sarah and I, finally ahead of the middle of the pack, made it into the quaint town of Frisco. Nearing the end, I saw two blobs ahead that looked suspiciously like Ruth and Ramona! We had finally caught up with them. It turns out that this duo had spent the last couple of hours goofing around in all sorts of places, including downtown Frisco.

    • biking into Frisco
    • Frisco’s downtown

    I sped ahead of them to make it to the finish line as second of the group, very satisfied to have beat most of the team when I was so far behind… and also because I had a long, long drive ahead of me. You might remember that I lost my prescription sunglasses way back on Day 35. If you pay close attention to any pictures of me with shades from day 36 onwards, you might notice a different pair of sunglasses every day. I’ve actually been borrowing the driver’s glasses this whole time! It does mean that I am biking with impaired vision, but I’m not so blind that I can’t manage without. Its just very annoying, especially on gravel. Turns out that I had in fact left them at the church we stayed at in Macksville, KS and the nice people there had them mailed to Black Hawk, a place they would surely get to before us… not. They in fact were delivered the day after we left! I now had no choice but to drive all the way back to Black Hawk to grab them. What a tragedy. Thankfully, our Black Hawk host Amanda offered to meet me halfway in Idaho Springs. And so the plan was set. I would drive our van through mountainous I-70 in the cover of darkness to grab my shades. And that was AFTER one of the most physically intense cycling days of the whole trip. And to top it all off, our now nearly empty roof storage decided to start intensely THUMPing against the roof of the van continuously for the entire ride… I was quite shaken after that drive, and when I finally met up with Amanda she had the bright idea of taking the roof storage off of the roof of the car. The drive back was much more relaxing. And now I had my shades! Yay.

    • Driving to Idaho Springs
    • Entering the same I-70 tunnel I photographed from above
    • This thing is loooong
    • Everyone else eating dinner while I drive

    It was a long day full of trials and tribulations, but also with adventure and beauty. So much experienced, all in one day. All the emotions I feel and everything I experience, this is what it means to live, to be human. I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

  • Day 43: Maybe my heart just aint in this 🤷🏾‍♂️

    Day 43: Maybe my heart just aint in this 🤷🏾‍♂️

    Denver, CO -> Black Hawk, CO

    Ishaq on the blog, and we’re gonna keep this one short and sweet. Yesterday we had a great learning festival un Denver, but the real highlight gotta be what happened after. Yes the alum dinner that you can read all about in another blog, but even more epic, Joseph and I went on a spontaneous 10:30pm movie excursion to watch Superman. Absolute cinema 🙌. Lex Luthor truly taught me that I’m not hating to my full potential, but some of his actions were down right diabolical.

    Post Superman

    In other exciting news, we finally got a new car! Amy the white 2025 Chrysler Pacifica has now been replaced with Bertha, the grey 2025 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid. And today will be Bertha’s first ride 😎

    Our new car Bertha!

    Getting up this morning was quite the endeavor after getting back at 1am. In the morning, I was groggy and complaining about the impeding ride. Our host said to me that it seemed like my heart wasn’t in this trip. I proceeded to think about that for the first 20 miles 😐. The main challenge of the day is out first climb into the rockies. But first we had a great stretch on bike trails around Denver, and thanks to our host’s recommendation, I was zooming with my slightly overinflated tires. Greta and I met a chill biker named Joel at the second rest stop. His son was actually in the 2024 Tour de France, riding for EF, but we didn’t get his name 🥲.

    After quite the hefty rest, I set off on the climb alone. 18 miles, 4300 feet, somewhat reminiscent of Shenandoah on day 3. I, however, am a changed rider, making this a little baby climb. I locked in and and just pedaled bruv. I wont lie, the final stretch to the peak had me huffing and puffing, moving at 3.5 mph, but we made it alright. All the other spokies has similar experiences, and it really goes to show just how far we’ve all come.

    Denver view with a guy on a Specialized bike 🤩
    View heading into the rockies
    Amanda’s Cat

    Pulling into our host Amanda’s house near Black Hawk, I was hungry but energized and we all played games as we waited for greta in the van and all the other spokies to finish their climbs. The day ended with a top tier pasta dinner and some good games of horseshoe in the backyard.

    TBH, theres def a lot of other stuff that happened today, but c’est bon. My heart definitely isn’t in this blog thing.

  • day 42: adiós, amy! 🚗

    day 42: adiós, amy! 🚗

    Denver, CO to Denver, CO — 0 mi, 0 ft

    greetings from the mile high city (and home of the beloved broncos1)! 🐎 this is sarah, back with my 2nd learning festival blog!

    while i like to give myself plenty of time to get ready in the morning on biking days, learning festival days have turned out to be quite the opposite. i woke up about 20 minutes before our planned departure time, quickly threw on my usual spokes t-shirt and black jeans, and headed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast. thankfully, ishaq was taking care of that: he was behind the stove cooking up some lovely banana pancakes! 🍌 i had mine with some jam, but sadly forgot to take any pictures :((

    eventually, the 8 of us cram into our 7 passenger mini van (shhh…), and i take one for the team and sit in the non-existent seat in the middle row. we queued up a range of music to hype us up for teaching—from kanye to disney—and after weaving our way through city traffic, eventually made it to kipp sunshine peak academy, who is hosting kids from the boys and girls club of denver!

    per usual, we start to arrange ourselves into various classrooms and begin setting-up our workshops. while originally in one classroom, joseph and i accidentally break the leg off of a table, and one of the staff move us somewhere else. whoops 😬 (to be fair, the building had sadly recently been caught in a pretty bad flood, which i’m guessing soaked up the wooden tables and made them pretty susceptible to damage). after everyone is settled, we make our way to the cafeteria to introduce ourselves, arrange the kids into groups (usually based on age, if possible), and lead everyone to their first “station.” 

    • our host maud’s nevada mug!!!
    • whoops…
    • our new classroom 📚

    for some reason, no matter how many learning festivals i do, i’m always nervous right before starting the day—it’s probably my life-long fear of public speaking. but, like always, i got into my groove, and things went pretty smooth from there! even if the kids are not super interested in the complex physics and chemistry behind real-life rockets and chemical reactions, seeing the their excitement when we finally go outside and launch them is SO much fun for everyone involved—college kids included (these things go seriously high, i’m talking dozens of feet above roof tops at LEAST!!!) for our 2nd out of 4 groups, we ran into a unique and unexpected situation: not only were they the youngest of our groups (ages 5-7, i believe), a majority of them spoke spanish as their first language. while i took spanish in high school, speaking was not emphasized nearly as much as it should have been (which is odd, since in my opinion, that’s the most important part…): i could catch a few words, but would be too slow in formulating a response (if i could at all—99% of the time i would be too nervous to speak anyway since it would be pretty clear that i do NOT speak spanish at a decent level). thankfully, besides the other teacher who was there helping translate a bit, i managed to snag a native spanish speaker for my learning festival partner—joseph was definitely MVP for this learning festival 🏅

    • prepping the rockets 🚀
    • teaching
    • herding the children
    • go ramona!
    • ishaq’s hat 🎩
    • hi greta!

    for lunch, we were provided jimmy john’s sandwiches, chips, and oj! 🥪 i also took a cinnamon toast crunch bar cereal bar that was of questionable origin: i thought it was the kind that was mostly the sugary cereal with sweet icing drizzled on top and DEFINITELY not good for you, but it ended up mostly being oats with the rare CTC nibble. not worth it 😔 we got through our last 2 groups, and with a little drizzle of rain at the end, finished up our 7th of 10 learning festivals. joseph and i cleaned up the field, carried our materials inside, and took some time to decompress from the day while the others cleaned up their own workshops (MAJOR props to teachers who do this 7 hours a day…180 days a year…) he worked on figuring out some of our routes for the next few days in the rockies, and i texted some people back while giving my occasional input on some of his…questionable course choices (i am a notable member of team anti-loose dirt/sand/rough gravel). i hear rumors of video games in another room (sadly there are only 2 controllers), but eventually we finish packing up the car and leave—this time, i am in shot gun 😎

    • post-lf debrief
    • greta has opened her third eye 👁️

    we came back home to a lovely taco dinner prepped and ready by our lovely hosts—MIT alumni david and maud! it was planned in advance to also be a denver area MIT alumni event, so once the spokies had had a bit of time to relax, alumni started wandering in, food was served, and conversations began. i decided to float around to make the most of this unique experience—suprisingly, this is only the 2nd time on spokes that we’ve interacted with other MIT folks! some notable characters included:

    • a fellow course 7 (biology) alum, who never used his degree except in one instance where he managed a project involving chemistry modeling software 🧪
    • his wife, who was an alum of “that other school down the river” (a.k.a. harvard): we had a lovely conversation about everything spokes, as well as northern nevada! she had traveled through there when moving from the bay area to colorado
    • a guy who went to the tour de france and shook lance armstrong’s hand! i think he was also the same guy who was also a member of the track and field team like me! he was mostly a sprinter, but was also occasionally thrown in as a long jumper. we bonded over the struggles of head winds in jumping events 🫠
    • li (who was there the day before when we arrived), and his daughter! i got to hear about an epic, 15-month long road trip across america he went on a few years ago! he also gave me some recommendations for other sights to see in the southwest—specifically arizona and new mexico ☀️

    to be honest, i always forget that we are all MIT students, not just a random group of college-age kids. talking with the other spokies and alumni about dorms, courses, athletics, and so on really reminded me of that connection. it’s always interesting to get to chat with alumni, too—to see how the spirit of MIT has persisted across generations. even though so much has changed throughout the years, one thing always stays the same—the passion. i think that’s one of my favorite things about MIT: no matter our interests, whether they be in STEM, the humanities, arts, sports…our passions are never taken lightly, and that’s what takes us far. it also makes the people (my actual favorite part) so fun and exciting to interact with and learn from! 💗

    • the fixings 🍅🥑
    • yummm
    • treat!

    eventually, the alumni make their way home, and the spokies start winding down to prepare for a LONG day of climbing ahead. but first, for those of you keeping up with the van recall drama…charles received a call from enterprise during our learning festival earlier in the day with the news that they had FINALLY found a replacement car for us!!! 🥳 so after a collective effort to fully unpack the van, we bid goodbye to charles, greta, and amy as they made their way to the denver airport to switch out for what ended up being the exact same car, except it was silver and a hybrid! her name is TBD…amy jr. was brought up, but i personally veto that—not creative enough. joseph and ishaq made the last minute decision to go watch superman (a 2 HOUR MOVIE) at 10:30pm—i declined their gracious invitation, as i wanted to get some decent sleep before (as previously stated) our LONGGG day of climbing ahead. 

    i went to sleep feeling grateful for the opportunity to (due to car switching that night and repacking in the morning) slightly sleep-in to a calm 8am, at that day’s driver (greta’s) discretion. the day ahead had in-store for us a lovely (awful) 5,000 feet of climbing over 50 miles…i was very nervous, but had resolved that i was going to take it slow and steady—as SLOW as i needed. this would be my first big climb since shenandoah on day 2, which i hadn’t fully done due to cooking myself the day before (because of my lack of knowledge of my lower set of gears…i will never live that down), and concerns for my breathing. what i think i lack for in physicality, though, i make up plenty in what my dad likes to call “mental toughness”—i may be the last to finish, but i will FINISH (which, spoiler alert: i DID!!!)

    • goodbye amy 😔
    • hello new van! name TBD
    • the next day’s ride…

    with that, i leave you to read on ahead about beginning our epic trek through the rockies! see you next time as we cross the border from colorado to utah! 🏜️

    1. beloved by my long-time family friends, the arons! if you’re reading this, thanks for all the lovely comments! colorado has been AMAZING!!! ↩︎
  • Day 41: The Mile High Club

    Day 41: The Mile High Club

    Colorado Springs, CO -> Denver, CO, 66.4m, 2974ft

    Hi, hi! This might be the latest I’ve published a blog yet. Various other things were occupying my mind, things like leaking tires and the learning festival in Denver, and upcoming Hors Catégorie climbs, and going to the sauna… I’m sorry! Regardless, I still remember day 41, because it was one of my favourite cycling days and I have LOTS of pictures, so let’s get into it!

    Me and a newspaper
    Ruth with a piece of newspaper after wrongly accusing Charles of making 2 mistakes on the crossword (he made 1).

    I started the morning by checking the crossword puzzles some people had done the previous night. I came to the conclusion I would most definitely have not been able to solve them, but crosswording is a skill I do wish to acquire. However, me and Ruth did some easier ones, such as a word scrabbler. But she soon headed out on her side quest of getting her hair done. The rest of us did not start the ride particularly early, but at some point I stopped thinking about it, because it should have been a pretty short, easy day – almost 67 miles and reasonable elevation with no major climbs. The views were incredible, truly, I was still filled with awe whenever I noticed the mountains in the distance, even though we had been seeing them for the past two days.

    Charles checking his tire pressure before the ride. If you look very closely, you can see the mountains behind the trees.
    Us setting off
    Ishaq’s head and the view while stopped at a red light

    Getting out of Colorado Springs was kind of annoying, with its many traffic lights and watching for cars, but then we made it on the trails. The trails! New Santa Fe Trail, Greenland Trail, some city bike paths on the way, Plum Creek Trail, Daniels Park trails and then bike paths in Denver. Many trails. Some gravel, some paved, with nice turns, little hills here and there and great views of the fields and the mountains. I have way too many pictures and none of them do the scenery justice.

    One of the incredibly long trains that passed us.
    Charles apparently found some bones.
    Me happy
    Sarah climbing that hill

    Somewhere in between those pictures was one of the best rest stops we have had, topped only by Buc-ee’s, maybe, it was a whole lake! While most people were paddleboarding or in boats, we feared not and got in the water. It was great!

    Me looking like a seal.
    The brave people who swam across, some in the kit.
    Sarah conquering the lake.

    But the adventures did not end there. Around mile 33 we found out that a road found on Ride with GPS does not exist in reality. Some of us, including me made the decision to continue on the highway, but others were determined to find the trail and instead went off road. So, while Tian, who had headed out first, was enjoying her boba at the next rest stop in Castle Rock, Greta, Charles and Ishaq were in some field, somewhere.

    Tian and boba
    Off-roaders

    Anyway, after that we we were heading to a viewpoint in Daniels Park, which involved a short, but suspicious stretch of highway and then a category 3 climb. We got hit by a some slightly stormy weather, but it stopped raining before I got to the top. Tian mostly escaped the rain and Sarah hid to wait it out. But at the top we were greeted by some more incredible views.

    Cows observing me climbing.
    Heading to Daniels Park
    Rain
    Sarah being cheeky
    The views
    Trail heading out of Daniels Park viewpoint

    With that we were heading into Denver. That was a combination of paved paths and crossing 6 lane streets (which truly scare me, there is almost no gaps!). At the end everyone successfully, although slowly had made it to Denver, where we were welcomed by Maud and Dave, had some great food, before getting ready for the learning festival the next day, examining our slowly leaking tires and going to sleep.

    Uncharacteristically, I have no pictures of that. But this day with its adventure and a bit of chaos probably goes into my top 7 Spokes days so far. It was full of awe inspiring views, challenging in unexpected ways and I got to spend it with some great people. Could not ask for anything more.