Category: Tian

Milford, UT -> Baker, NV; 83.4 mi; 4,414ft

By now, you, my dear reader, may have heard us describe the Spokes 2025 journey in terms of TV show seasons (if you haven’t, it’s because my teammates haven’t published their blogs yet). We are currently well into Season 4, which I predict will be a season of personal reckoning. Charles (maybe?), Greta, and Ishaq all had their canon events for season 4. My major event occurred yesterday when I fell on a gravel descent. This was my second gravel fall of the trip. I was shaking and moving so fast down the descent that I didn’t have enough time to protect my head. Thankfully, my helmet took the hit like a warrior. After screaming from the pain of the fall, I had enough sensibility to move to the side of the road and assess damages. I skidded on the left side of my face during my fall. Although there were bruises all over my body, the damage that will be most lasting for me is the scrapes on my face. As an aspiring actor and model, my face is of great importance to me. The mental anguish as I wait for my face to recover, hopefully without scars, will be tumultuous. This is my personal fight for season 4 of Spokes.

Due to my injuries from yesterday, I am once again a passenger princess. Fulfilling my role, I slept in an extra hour, a luxury for Spokes. The typical leave time for Spokes 2025 is 10 am. We are not an early crowd. We are an embarrassment to our predecessors. Ishaq came to inform me that the rest of Spokies were dilly-dallying for the past hour, so actually, I woke up just in time to eat breakfast with the Spokies.

Then came the laundry scandal. Despite Ishaq laboring away at 2 am, washing two days of laundry, he missed a bag of Charles’ clothes. Poor Charlie here thought he needed to throw out all his stinky clothes, which were permanently ruined by Spokes. Never mind that. Fortunately (?), he just had to wear his own filth today.

Team Greta and Tian left Mt. View Church in Milford, UT, at 11 am and went shopping for some last-minute groceries. Greta already did a mega grocery run this morning for tonight’s dinner, but we needed some more bread for tomorrow’s sandwiches. At the parking lot, a Sprite from our car fell onto the floor and sprayed us with Sprite perfume. Thank you for this surprise, Ishaq (our Sprite-addicted Spokie).

Greta and I jammed and sang along to my musicals playlist. At the second rest stop, Greta started creating the sign for her lemonade stand. If she could put half of that energy into her blogs, maybe she wouldn’t be 3 blogs behind ;( Her lemonade stand was a hit, especially with Sarah. Sarah was so happy that she made a Sarah Star. Charles showed off his special skill, double dipping. Our blue corn chips are so crushed such that Charles needed to scoop the salsa multiple times to achieve an equal chip to salsa ratio. Well, luckily, the Spokies who cared about multi-dipping were not at the rest stop with us (namely, Ishaq). Greta poured the salsa onto the jar’s cap and scooped the sauce with her little chips. That’s why she goes to MIT.

Rest stop 2’s really nice tree translated to a long-long rest. This was noticed not only by Spokies but also by a third party (revealed shortly). Right before driving to the next rest stop to catch the other Spokies who had gone ahead, Greta started flirting with Charles’ bike, Junior. “You are just my size”, Greta said. Greta wanted Junior to become hers. Junior was already having a tough day and needed comforting. Charles attributed Junior’s malfunctions to Ishaq’s bike cleaning last night. Laundry was not the only thing Ishaq cleaned last night. He was struck with inspiration to deep clean everyone’s bikes, and may have unintentionally loosened everyone’s brakes. Joseph’s bike was also struggling.

When the van finally caught up to Ishaq at rest stop 3, he had been waiting for 40 minutes. During his joyous wait, he flagged down a random car to ask about our whereabouts. The driver said they saw “6 bikers that didn’t seem like they were going anywhere,” describing us under the (cursed) tree. The driver also passed Joseph and was tempted to disclose the news of his unfortunate predicament. The driver felt so bad for Ishaq that they offered him a whole box of food because the rest of the bikers weren’t coming anytime soon. Ishaq took up the driver’s gracious offer. Although Ishaq waited a long time, he was having a lot of fun kicking up dust and watching it fly into the distance.

Greta and I learned that the cross-winds were really intense today, resulting in slow going for all the bikers. Joseph took an hour to bike 7 miles. The miles of nothingness also created a mirage where it feels like you are not getting any closer to the next checkpoint, no matter how long you bike. Meanwhile, Ishaq and I played Star Realms (an amazing deck building game) at rest stop 3. Greta locked in and blogged. Greta and I also hatched a plan to drive to the church we are staying at today, so Greta could start cooking. I would drive back to finish serving our bikers at the rest stops. Ishaq and Joseph (when he arrived) knew of our plan. I told Greta not to let anyone else know, so I could play a fool and trick everyone into believing that Greta never existed. If that ploy fails, I plan to say that I ate Greta.

Greta and I zoomed to Baker’s church. While she was getting the church keys from the general store, I started unpacking the car. We discovered that the church doesn’t have a kitchen, and the bathroom was clogged. We went back to the general store to figure out the bathroom situation and to use their bathroom.  Finally, with Greta’s support, I returned to the 4th rest stop excited to fool the rest of the Spokies with my trickery and acting skills. Unfortunately, Joseph spoiled my fun and already told everyone what Greta and I were up to before I got back to rest stop 4. I need to choose my partners in crime carefully in the future.

At the fifth and last rest stop, I finished up my quesadilla as I watched more shenanigans unfold before me. Although we don’t have service and haven’t crossed the border to Nevada yet, Ramona’s phone and watch were updated to Pacific Time. Ramona’s watch doesn’t automatically update the time, so this occurrence is really strange for her. Perhaps Ramona had been operating in the wrong time zone this whole time? Who knows?

By the time I returned to the Baker church, Ishaq and Greta had churned up a whole food operation. Dinner was ready in no time. Greta made delicious soup (and chicken, which I don’t eat). Another thing I am impressed by after 60 days of Spokes is how much people take on their roles in stride, whether it be cooking, laundry, or unpacking the cooler. Spokies know what needs to be done and aren’t disgruntled when they are reminded to do their tasks. Sometimes, Spokies embrace their task with pride and enthusiasm. After dinner, all the Spokies dispersed to do their own tasks. The showers were close to a gas station in town. So most Spokies needed to trek to get to the shower. Also speaking of Baker, NV, did you know we single-handedly increased the town population by 150%?

As I am getting ready for bed, the guilt of not biking is eating away at me. I recently started feeling really proud of myself for conquering hills. Even if it takes me hours of pedaling, I now know that I am more than capable of trudging my way up. Ishaq spoke previously about how one of the wonders of this experience is being able to see how far one has grown. I am very satisfied with how much I’ve grown on the bike. I remember how my legs used to feel like jellyfish after every ride at the beginning of the trip. Now, even after a four-thousand-foot hill, I can walk around just fine. It frustrates me that my growth is temporarily stunted by my injuries. With only 9 biking days left, I don’t want to miss out on any. However, whether or not I can biking tomorrow is still a question mark for me. With pain that has yet to recover, I am not sure if I should wait to get better or take on more challenges in stride.

I have also been thinking about my face the whole day. One thing I realized after my face injuries is that I am beautiful. It’s such a shame that I wasted time thinking that I was ugly when I had such a smooth, cute face. Now that my face is filled with bandages, I can’t help but sigh every time I look at the mirror.

But like joy, frustration and sadness are a part of life. I don’t feel like my usual self today, and I also hate to worry my teammates. I wonder when I will find my footholds again in the next few days. Welcome to my day of personal reckoning.

Fowler, CO to Colorado Springs, CO — 99.7 mi; 4,127 ft

I woke up on the floor of the Trinity Lutheran Church, having had the best sleep I’d had in the past three days. Pew cushions did wonders. I was grateful for the driver (Ruth) alarm clock because I didn’t have to worry about setting my own alarm. My morning routine usually consists of packing up my sleeping bag and pad if we needed them, packing up my clothes and chargers, bringing my bags to the car, uploading the route onto my bike computer (preferably done the night before), pumping my tires, lubing my bike chain, filling my water bladder, and eating breakfast. I finished my tasks earlier than others today and set off before 8 am with the driver’s permission to tackle a long day and hills for the first time in a while.

On the road, I wanted to continue listening to my audiobook, The Hobbit, but alas, Spotify limited their audiobook listening hours, and I reached my monthly limit. A horrendous display of capitalism, if you ask me. So instead, I listened to 2000s pop on the first leg of the ride to the first rest stop. It’s fascinating how much popular music changed over the last 20 years. I also ruminated over the missing nose bridge on my sunglasses.

After the first rest stop, I didn’t see the rest of the bikers for the next 80 miles and embarked on an adventure by myself. I skipped a second rest stop, which is a cafe in Pueblo, because I didn’t want to ride an extra mile into the city. However, I heard later that Pueblo is a cute city with many colors and tiny boats. After leaving Pueblo, I faced my first obstacle: a trail closure. Normally, I would’ve just biked past the sign, but the size of the sign made me pause. I rang up Ruth to inquire about next steps. Then, I saw another biker coming from the other side of the sign. Surely, the road can’t be that bad if other bikers are riding on the trail. Two thousand miles on the road have emboldened me to ignore signs. I pressed on and found out why there was a road closure. Construction for a new bridge caused chaos in a section of the road, but nothing I couldn’t  walk through. Looking at the half-built bridge, I realized that any of the unsecured concrete platforms above me could crush me.

After more riding, I encountered Interstate 25 with a 75 mph speed limit. The number of cars on this highway was overwhelming, but the large shoulder offered some semblance of safety. The exits are the trickiest to bike across because you never know if a car is exiting when they are moving so fast. I was looking forward to rest stop 3, but surprise! It’s closed! I moved on, and after ignoring Joseph’s route that would have taken me off Interstate 25, I finally made it to rest stop 4. I am finally resting at a cafe after fifty miles of continuous biking. Luckily, the weather wasn’t too hot today, and 2 liters of water were enough to carry me through those miles.

I met Ruth! Finally, after hours of not seeing anyone. I heard about the epic battle of squirrels that stole Ramona’s Rice Krispies. An intelligent squirrel dug into Ramona’s snack pouch, climbed up a tree, and opened the package. A second squirrel became jealous and went up the tree. What happens next is only known to the two squirrels and the tree. Ramona, of course, was delighted by this event and didn’t stop the theft. This was the highlight of Ramona’s ride. Today was a particularly difficult biking day for Ramona, and her efforts to cheer herself up led to the birth of the best chicken joke in the history of Spokes. Charles got a stomach ache and ate a banana. He became enchanted by the phrase “Monkey no cramp” for the next few minutes and repeated it to everyone, slightly disappointed that no one got the reference.

For the rest of the ride, I took many detours from the planned route to avoid gravel. Greta thinks I have PTSD because of my gravel fall. My detours brought me on highways without shoulders and mud paths. The annoyed Colorado Springs drivers were not happy with me and drove very close to me. But hey! At least there wasn’t gravel. Speaking of gravel, I later learned that Greta rode into a bush and Sarah took her first fall of the trip during a steep descent. Luckily, they were ok. I, of course, walked down the gravel descent because I wasn’t about to risk falling.

My solo ride today was littered with thoughts. Looking at Google Maps, I realized we came halfway across the country. I felt an impending sense of ending. I dislike when things end because I am a creature of habit. I cope with endings by distancing myself from the thought of it. If we are meant to meet again, we will. However, this time, I am not only saying goodbye to a place or a people, I am also saying goodbye to a way of life, a journey. Despite all its difficulties, I enjoy my current lifestyle and the people I am spending 24/7 with. I am also surprised by how much I am getting along with my teammates and how much I like them.

Spokes had taught me a lot about myself. I realized that I need alone time in order to recharge my social battery. However, I am more capable of living and traveling with others than I formerly thought. With teammates who pull their weight, take responsibility, and care for others, Spokes is more effective and efficient together than any of us individually. I thought my biggest challenge on this trip was being vegan. While other Spokies joke about it, I found the crew to be respectful and accommodating. Perhaps, I actually don’t hate traveling with others, and I am more adaptable than I formerly thought. On the topic of adaptability, while I always enjoy a good bed (and prefer it), I can sleep almost anywhere. While I don’t regularly exercise, I can bike for hours every day. My newfound physical capability encourages me to pick up other physical challenges in the future.

My travels around the world have made me more spiritual. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t exactly place why I am doing Spokes right now. What lessons am I supposed to learn here at this time? Today’s youth suffer from the abundance of choices. My travels, in some ways, are a direct consequence of my commitment issues. Where do I want to live? What do I want to work in? How do I want to spend my life? I recognize that not everyone has this privilege. Privilege also comes with responsibility not only to oneself but also to the world. That responsibility can be paralyzing. In some ways, I am a chicken, too, and I am not sure why I am crossing this road.

With these thoughts swirling around in my head and music from The Greatest Showman in my ears, I pulled up to the beautiful home of Greta’s grandparents. Ruth had already unloaded the car. I finally saw the rest of my team and realized that I missed them today. David and Kathy (Greta’s grandparents) served delicious food for snacks and dinner. We ate the sweetest watermelon of the trip and tortillas with amazing toppings while watching the sunset from the balcony of their beautiful home. I also taught Charles a card game (Star Realms) and lost embarrassingly twice.

Since I didn’t get to spend much time with the Spokies, I asked them what their favorite things to do on the bike are to spice up this blog.

Ruth doesn’t like to think about anything when she is biking, but otherwise, she enjoys listening to music while riding (a recent discovery after 30 days of silent ears) and talking to people. She doesn’t like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks because she doesn’t like missing words.

Ramona is a big thinker and actually hates not having things to think about. Some recent topics she thought about are planning MIT classes and how to downscale the amount of stuff she owns. One thing she has planned is embarking on a self-supported bike trip once she returns to Latvia.

Ishaq enjoys going fast and riding hard. He will bend over, get on drop bars, and listen to music if it means he can go fast and ride hard. He enjoys talking to people unless the roads are good for going fast and riding hard. He enjoys riding with one other person, but specifically when you don’t know who is accelerating to go faster, yet still, you can’t be the person to say, ‘go slower’, so you have to go fast and ride hard. He dislikes riding slow. In other news, he enjoys shenanigans and antics such as swerving next to people, hopping on the bike, and yapping

Joseph likes going faster. He also enjoys riding with people, bopping to music, and enjoying the scenery.

Greta likes to talk. She also loves blasting music on her speaker that everyone likes. Otherwise, she enjoys calling people from the real world, including her mom.

Charles likes to think about existential dread. He also enjoys talking to people, which extends to calls with family. Otherwise, Charles listens to music.

Sarah enjoys calling her sister and friends while biking. She also enjoys listening to music, pop, Jpop, and Kpop.

Tian (me) enjoys a healthy balance of talking to people and being alone. She enjoys biking slow, even better if she barely notices that she is biking. While she is alone, she likes to listen to audiobooks when it is quiet and to summer pop when it isn’t. She saves her favorite playlist, music from musicals, for the latter half of her rides to lift her spirits. Otherwise, she occasionally thinks about logistics for Spokes and conversations to resolve conflicts. In general, she doesn’t like to think and lets biking be meditation.

Overbrook, KS -> Emporia, KS – 61.9 miles 1,602 ft

“Herding cats” is how our Overbrook host Scott described the MIT Spokes group getting ready in the morning. We rushed to pack our car because we had a special engagement this morning, visiting Scott’s retirement community. Joseph’s glove also went missing in the laundry so hopefully we will find those soon. We biked over to the retirement center, and Scott took our breakfast orders while we chatted with the retired folks about their interests and lives in the community. I’m glad we had the opportunity to interact with the local folks more.

Yesterday was so amazing that it didn’t seem real. I am still thinking about the amazing hot tub, but today’s rain is a reminder that the world is temperamental. Speaking of temperamental, so is my body. My period cramps forced me to ride in the car today despite my intention to bike. This frustrated me because I like being able to accomplish the tasks I set out to do. However, I knew that if someone else were in my position, I would tell them to rest.

Ruth is the driver today and I trust her to get things done. We got in the car and said goodbye to Scott and the retirement center while the bikers set off to our first rest stop. Ruth started watching Straw and I took a nap. Many others had the same idea because Charles and Joseph also took a nap at the first rest stop.

The second rest stop brought stories of many adventures. The address pointed to a private property again, so Ruth interacted with a stranger (out of character for her) to find a different place to park. We don’t want an incident like yesterday to happen again. Ishaq arrived first because he was trying to best his personal record. The bikers told us about a closed trail that sent them to the street. However, they couldn’t figure out how to return to the trail which kept them on a windy highway for longer than comfortable. Ramona crossed a yellow-taped, do-not-enter bridge. Luckily the bridge did not collapse. If we lost Ramona, we might not go on.

The flatness of Kansas brought about other challenges. Apparently, the bikers faced a 20-mph headwind all day. While today was not the longest ride, it was a tiring day for many Spokies. However, I wouldn’t know what it’s like because I was asleep in the car all day.

Vickie, our host, welcomed us into Didde Catholic Center which had a kitchen, laundry machines, and a shower. What more could we ask for? She permitted us to set off fireworks and told us stories about other visitors to the center. She locked up after us after giving us a key for for easy access to the center. The basement of the center is a child’s dream. It had a switch, a ping pong table, foosball, air hockey, and a pool table. What more could we ask for?

Because Scott was so kind and gave us amazing activities and food for the actual Fourth of July (Yesterday). The Spokes Fourth of July was decided to be set on the fifth of July. The festivities began with Ruth cutting open a watermelon for all to enjoy. Our chefs Charles and Ramona made burgers for dinner. I made peach cobbler (despite having never eaten one) and salad. Many Spokies hadn’t had peach cobbler before so thankfully the taste didn’t matter. Ruth picked up some vital groceries for the dinner crew. We also finally started New York Times’ 36 questions to fall in love during this dinner. Last year’s Spokes recommended them to us. Maybe we will fall in love with each other after we finish these questions. I sure hope so. Otherwise, I am going to sue NYT.

After an intermission of washing dishes, air hockey, and ping pong, the Spokies started setting off firecrackers, sparklers, smoke balls, and Roman candles. Ishaq taunted Greta with a Roman candle which scared Greta enough to run. She fell after slipping on some fine gravel but luckily, she was alright. Clint Lawler (Greta’s Dad) will not be happy with Ishaq after reading this blog. Charles had a (brilliant?) idea to tape a crayon smoke bomb to his bike. He biked around the Didde Center parking lot while his bike farted.

We finished the fireworks activities with a fireworks show. I set off a big fireworks shell for the first time in my life! Our neighbor also had a couple of fireworks shows. Watching these fireworks go off in the night sky, I felt a strange sense of belonging. All these people around me were only strangers a few months ago. The word fate comes to mind. Looking into the night sky filled with transient sparks of light, I couldn’t help but feel the ephemeral connection between the eight of us this one summer like the brilliant fireworks. Short, but cozy and filled with beauty.

All in all, a great second fourth of July.

I have gotten into the (bad) habit of using fellow Spokies as alarms. I woke up and saw Ramona still in bed. I fell back asleep and repeated this process 4 times before Greta (bless her) barged into the room, and woke everyone up. Greta soared up the list of top Spokes drivers today because she made everyone oatmeal for breakfast. Sometimes I forget how such a simple breakfast food item could be so yummy with the right toppings. Speaking of being the top driver, she accomplished something phenomenal, making everyone pack their lunches the night before. I knew how much time doing errands the night before saves, but I haven’t gotten everyone on the same page. However, I learned that building relationships and trust is important in order to influence others (cue evil laugh). I was astounded by Greta’s magic, and very VERY pleased.

The first 30 miles passed like a breeze, but soon after I faced a very unfortunate dilemma. I needed to use the bathroom. Not only that, I needed to poop without any toilet paper. At first, I wasn’t panicking because I had been in this position many times before. I simply need to find a gas station or an unsuspecting soul mowing their lawn and borrow their bathroom (I know, I know, entering strangers’ homes is not the smartest idea). As I trudged along, I spotted a gas station to the left of the road, but I hate crossing busy highways. I moved on hoping to find a gas station on the right side of the road. Kentucky is a state of barking dogs who hate bikes. Lady Luck showed her face a few miles later. An old lady was sitting on her porch. However, her barking dogs scared me away and I didn’t get a chance to ask about the bathroom. After a few more miles, panic started to set in. Around the corner, I encountered an older gentleman with 3 barking dogs. Still, my desperation encouraged me to ask him about his restroom, to which he replied, “We don’t have water right now.” I left, disappointed. Soon after, I realized I should have asked for some toilet paper. After a couple of hills, I broke down. I NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM. I couldn’t see any houses for a mile, and then finally, I saw a gated home with a car parked outside. I thought to myself that someone must be at home. I unlatched the gate and rang the doorbell. Multiple times. All the while thinking that I am going to be shot for crossing into private property. The baby toys in the yard gave me hope that this family wouldn’t hurt me. But most animals are known to be protective and defensive of their young. No answer. I got back onto the road in pain. I don’t know how many more pedals I got in before I threw my bike on the side of the road, squatted on the side to relieve myself, and tried my best to avoid the 3 leaved poison ivies. I held my breath hoping that no cars would come down the road. It turns out, dried leaves are great toilet paper. As soon as I finished my business, I skedaddled away so no one would be able to tell that the poop on the side of the road was human and not dog poop.

I enjoyed lunchtime at rest stop 3, but the heat was getting to me and I was having a slow day. Meanwhile, Charles ate one of the crazy sandwich concoctions that Ruth made for him the night before. Greta was interviewing for everyone’s Rose Thorn Bud of Spokes for her blog. Ishaq was nowhere to be seen because he was a solo bird today.

The next stretch to Dollar General was unbearable. My legs weren’t pushing as it usually does and I couldn’t find my cycling rhythm. I could feel my vision getting blurry as I pulled up to a stop sign on a hill. At the stop sign, I saw a car moving towards me as I tried to turn left. I didn’t stop. Surely, the car would stop for me. But the car didn’t. The car got closer and closer. I blinked at the alarming sight and my mind suddenly cleared up. Oh no, what am I doing? The car swerved and screeched past me. Whew. That was a close call. Yesterday, I also had a close call with a van on the wrong lane who was driving straight towards me after a bend. However, this close call shook me more because I was in the wrong. I should have stopped at the stop sign. My lack of mental faculties frightened me.

I reached the Dollar General rest stop 4 with a sense of relief. I asked my fellow Spokies for advice on relieving dizziness. I was pampered with chewable electrolytes and an energy gel by today’s driver Greta. She asked me if I wanted to get driven. A wave of relief washed over me. I almost shed a tear, but I cried on this team too much already so I kept it in. I have done distances as long as today’s route before, so the fact I couldn’t finish the route was very disappointing. I wanted to push for 10 more miles. If the rest of my team could do it, why couldn’t I? But rationally, what is the point of biking for a few more miles on a random day in Kentucky when I know I am not feeling my best? For one reason or another, today is not my day. My mind and my body were at their limits. And so, I retreated into the car, thankful that I didn’t have to bike the rest of the 30 miles.

At rest stop 5, I took a nap while Greta went for a run (she is crazy). When I woke up, the rest of the team arrived after conquering a crazy hill on their way. I was grateful that I didn’t have to battle that hill today. Ruth arrived all sniffy, but feeling powerful. She has been sick for the last few days so I don’t know how she has been managing.

We wrapped up the day at the Liberty Assembly of God Church. Ishaq broke a vase when he arrived at the church. I don’t know how he managed that, but the church was kind and let it slide. Greta made us an amazing meal of chili while Ramona made cornbread and Ishaq made rice. I did some pre-eating cleanup while Ruth and Charles took care of the post-eating cleanup. Sarah gathered laundry and Joseph made the route for tomorrow. We all made sandwiches for tomorrow and had a productive meeting to set our leaving time as 9 am. Spokes 2025 to my surprise has slowly become a well-oiled machine. There are still creaks and clunks here and there, but everyone is pitching in to make things happen. I realize that when I struggle against the current, I gasp for air, but if I float in the rushing waves, I may be brought to shore. I need to choose carefully when to fight or float, or I may drown.

I tucked into my bed next to Ramona. She seemed to be the only team member immune to my snoring. I drifted to sleep not knowing that the sleep demon was out to get me this night (I fell off my bed).

Lexington, VA to Roanoke, VA – 59.58 mi, 4,160 ft

I woke up to the smell of pancakes courtesy of Dirk and Chrissy van Assendelft. The breakfast I had at their place in Lexington was some of the best I ever had.

After breakfast, the team scattered to pack. As I collected my clean laundry, I felt anxious because I hadn’t biked the steep hill, which had grades up to 17%, from yesterday. Not completing something gives me immense dread. My pride also makes it hard for me to stomach that I am the slowest biker on our team.

We packed our lunches on the lawn of Dirk and Chrissy’s home as the morning sun brutally shone on us—lunches I wished that we packed the evening before. After 2.5 years of traveling the world solo, I am used to organizing my schedule however I want. However, I am learning that traveling with a group of 8, each with their quirks and needs, proves to be a very different task.

We started our ride to Roanoke down a grassy and gravel path where some of us feared for our lives. Fueled by my desire to become faster, I kept pedaling, one street after another, until I left the city. Before I realized it, I passed the zeroth(?) and first rest stop. Some of the team members stopped in downtown Lexington to snack on gelato and sit in love chairs. Usually, I would feel FOMO. However, I didn’t want gelato, and there was nothing I could do about missing a rest stop. Besides, my anxiety about completing the route was ebbing away with every mile I moved towards Roanoke. I am content with choosing to ride on.

I ended up playing leapfrog with Ruth for the rest of the day. I would ride in front, and then she would pass me for another stretch. I took the advice of a previous spokester (Duha) and acquired open-ear headphones. With Chappell Roan playing in my ears, my legs were willing to keep spinning the wheels. Although I was exhausted and walked a couple of hills, this was my happiest biking day.

When I finally arrived at the destination, I couldn’t find Lisa and Rob’s home. I meandered back and forth on the street, hoping that our driver Ishaq would pop out of nowhere to fetch me. Instead, I spotted a lady in her yard who beckoned me. That’s how I met Lisa.

Lisa ushered me into her home with utmost kindness. I met Ruth, who arrived before me. Ruth was shocked to the core when I said I wanted to shower first. Apparently, our shower order was based on the arrival order (I never arrived early enough to find out). But it calmed my anxious heart to know that I will be showering second today.

Lisa offered us a bowl of cherries. I love cherries, but I never buy them because they can cost quite a penny. Lisa and Rob were generous and offered us flautas and me impossible burgers. I even got to meet Carol (Rob’s mother) who is a big fan of Spokes. We met Rob, the creator of the Virgina Rockstar route, a trail some of us vow to do one day (not me).

Since this was the second day we arrived around 4 pm, Lisa and Rob had time to take us sightseeing. This was the first time Spokes had time to sightsee. I was so excited. Sightseeing was one part of my solo traveling I missed on Spokes. Lisa loaded me onto an artsy van Rob bought for $200 and drove us to see the largest man-made star, which happens to be in Roanoke.

Reassured by the city lights of Roanoke that twinkled in the distance, I realized I was still figuring things out. I don’t know where exactly Spokes ends and Tian begins. I’m not sure how much of the solo traveler in me can exist on this trip. But surely, once in a while, I can choose myself.

The night wrapped up sweetly with Lisa’s chamomile mint tea.