Blog
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Day 5: Floatin’ Along
Rest day in Afton, VA Following my coincidental bike-rest-bike-rest pattern (I hitched a ride with Aarushi on day 3 as the only non-driver’s-license-bearing-individual), today was our first REST DAY!! We intended to watch a movie together the night before since we had no responsibilities the morning after, but we were truly so tired that we conked out pretty quickly. I finally reunited with my one true love — 8+ hours of sleep — and had…
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Day 4: Country Roads, Take Me Home…
Luray, VA to Waynesboro, VA — 62.5 mi, 3,900 ft Today we awoke in our campsite and EVERYTHING WAS WET!!! We had foolishly left all our belongings strewn about the campsite, including bike shoes we had to wear this morning and fresh laundry that now needed to be re-run. Although there had been no rain in the forecast, all our bike gear and camping tents were now covered with a generous layer of morning dew.…
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Day 3: Pool & Pool
Linden, VA to Luray, VA – 31.8 mi, 2303 ft Today was a beautiful day, marked by sunshine, side quests, and the kindness of strangers. We began the day with yummy oatmeal prepared by our host Jen, licks from her cute dogs, and a car ride courtesy of Jen’s husband Tim down the gravel mountain that Carmen, Drew, and Nate had painfully climbed the night before. This was my first day biking since I drove…
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Day 2: First SAG (and 2nd and 3rd and 4th)
Washington D.C. to Linden, VA – 88.6 mi, 4947 ft (5833 ft if you make the wrong turn) Def SAG (noun): Support And Gear. The minivan holding all the teams’ gear, food, etc. Def SAG (verb): a.k.a SAG out. To get picked up by the car during a ride, usually to be driven to the end point. Before explaining today, I’d like to provide some context on the current state of the team. Two nights…
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Day 1: Small Wins
On day 1, MIT Spokes left on time. The weatherman in me is inclined to predict that this will never happen again, ever… my forecast extends far beyond the usual ten days. Everything was packed on time; everybody was in the car on time; the driver (me) didn’t make a single wrong turn. Nate’s usual stench was absent, and we didn’t have to go back to the house to force him to put on deodorant. …
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Day 0: Half a Mile of Hell
I woke up to my blaring 7 am alarm in a dazed state, suddenly remembering that TODAY IS THE DAY! Did I go to bed a little too late the night before from my final post-graduation yap session with my best friends? Maybe. But the excitement overcame! My mom, Olga, and my grandfather, Victor, were going to help me drive down to DC, so they showed up at 8 am. This had been our planned…
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Day -1: Government Operation
“This is like a government operation, there’s so many people but nothing is getting done.” – Aarushi’s dad This quote pretty much encapsulates our whole day spent packing. I woke up this morning on three hours of sleep after getting back from Howl at the Moon the night before where I danced and cried for the last time with all of my college friends. Today, Aarushi and I had a deadline to move out of…
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Day -53: Warming up for the Summer ☀️
Hello hello! Thank you so much for tuning into the “first” blog post for Spokes 2026 🙂 We’re so excited to start as the start of the summer gets closer, and we’re currently busy prepping for all of our learning festivals with fun, engaging workshops! As a sneak peak, we’ve got some topics on motors, electricity, 3D modeling, and chemical reactions 💥 This past week, most of us were able to pick up our bikes…
MIT Spokes 2026 