MIT Spokes 2026

Tag: cycling-day

  • Day 16: Kentucky Fried Chicken

    Day 16: Kentucky Fried Chicken

    Liberty, KY to Mammoth Cave National Park, KY – 88.6 mi, 5,465 ft

    Today was our longest ride to date — 88 miles — and I woke up in the morning not looking forward to it. It was going to be my third straight day cycling and my left knee had been bugging me more and more over the course of the last two days. Moreover, after a discussion the previous night about trying to actually leave earlier in the morning, the team firmly resolved to get on the road by 9am. I haven’t seen the doctor about it yet, but I might be allergic to waking up so early.

    So, after a speedy pack up process in the morning, we got an early (by our standards) start to the day and I got to biking. The rolling hills of Kentucky went by rather uneventfully until I came up on a small stream that I tried to cross on my bike. After I fell in, what did I look up to see but Joseph recording my stream crossing attempt and laughing to himself. This guy really waited 20 minutes at the stream just to capture everyone’s crossing attempts. (He did actually yell out for me to dismount my bike and cross normally, which I didn’t hear because I had my earbuds in 🙊).

    Bro is cackling at my downfall

    Once everyone behind me crossed the stream (without trying to pedal through it and falling off), Joseph asked us where Greta was. We were sure she was ahead of Joseph, but he was adamant that she hadn’t passed him. After gaslighting Joseph for a few minutes, we realized that Greta maybe took a wrong turn after the rest of us lost sight of her and we called her. She had in fact gone down the wrong road while calling her mom and biked an extra four miles. So we all owe Joseph an apology for making him question his own sanity.

    After the rest stop, Greta and I biked side-by-side and started chatting. We rode together for the rest of the day. This actually was great for staving off the biking boredom that I had been dreading for the day and I’m definitely going to employ the “yap ride” technique on these longer mileage days. We talked about silly topics, like religion and making friends, and deep topics, like if we would get along with twin versions of ourselves and whether we’d marry into the British royal family.

    Our second rest stop of the trip was possibly the best rest stop we’ve had yet. Ishaq and Ruth got Lee’s Fried Chicken and lemonade. They made the mistake of allotting chicken by number of pieces, so I claimed the two largest pieces in the entire bucket. A few of the others went to the coffee shop and met a bunch of interesting people. I joined a few others in the book shop and bought a book.

    The food tided us over until a late lunch, when I ate my two sandwiches for the day. To keep things interesting, I’ve started making one normal sandwich and one abomination sandwich every biking day. Two days ago, Ruth made me a diabetes sandwich (peanut butter, golden Oreos, Hersheys, sour patch kids, marshmallows, and jam) and it was actually incredible and got me through the hills. Tuna, sour patch kids, and hummus was another surprising yet resounding success (others disagree; they are wrong). For today, I had asked everyone to name a random sandwich topping and assembled the resulting peanut butter, crushed red chili flakes, goldfish, apple slices, and parmesan sandwich. Unfortunately, this disaster looked to be my first sandwich DNF of the trip.

    Diabetes sandwich from two days ago; I did not take a picture of my sandwiches today

    Greta and I yapped until we reached our final destination, Mammoth Cave NP Campground for the night. We finally got to pitch our tents with daylight left and made a fire! After compensating for our poor fire-starting skills with plenty of lighter fluid, we cooked corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, and burger combinations in the fire while everyone took turns telling scary stories. I finished my thought-to-be-DNF sandwich. It wasn’t so bad actually — I think all the crushed chili flakes got concentrated in one bite I had at the rest stop. The indomitable human spirit triumphs again.

    • At long last
    • Dinner 😋🏕️
    • Boo

    Double blog! Ruth had such a fun day riding in the car with Ishaq today that she has decided she wants to hijack my blogging day and write her own events of the day. So, I’ve kept my musings short and I’m tapping Ruth in. In exchange, I’ll be popping in to Ruth’s blog tomorrow to rave about Buc-ee’s.

    Ruth here! And now for the better blog…

    Uh oh. Why can’t I breathe??

    This was my first thought waking up in the church in Liberty, Kentucky, where we spent the night. I’ve been battling a cold for a couple days, but something changed today. It went from being uncomfortable to becoming semi-serious. I thought to myself, I probably shouldn’t bike. But I couldn’t decide, and I really didn’t want to miss a whole 85 miles, so I got ready for the day, staying in my pajamas for as long as possible. When I couldn’t prolong it any longer, I announced to the team that I didn’t think I could bike. Everyone was very supportive, probably because they care for my health more than I do, let’s be real. I took on some driver roles and helped Ishaq load the car and fill waters, then I sat in the van and mentally prepared for the next super serious role I’d have to take for the rest of the day – passenger princess.

    Ishaq and I started off by getting gas, because someone forgot to fill it up the day before (cough Greta cough). We then went to Save a Lot to buy ingredients for our hobo campfire dinner at Mammoth Cave Campgrounds. Save A Lot didn’t have some essentials, like marshmallows, aluminum foil, and firewood, so we planned on stopping by a Walmart later on. We made it to the rest stop and watched Sonic 3 on Ishaq’s iPad until bikers showed up to refuel. Now, this boring pattern ought to have continued through the rest of the day, but Ishaq the goat discovered a Lee’s Famous Chicken shop nearby and bought a 16-piece bucket for us all. He also spiked one of the water tanks with lemonade powder and ice. We parked on a main street in Campbellsville, a hidden gem in the middle of Kentucky, and waited for bikers to show while munching on our own chickens, sipping lemonade, and proceeding with Sonic 3. Once the bikers arrived, we all munched together, except Tian who’s vegan.

    I also discovered an adorable bookstore across the street and bought my summer book #2 for $3.50. Sarah, Charles, and Greta are all copycats and followed me in.

    cute bookstore in Campbellsville

    We declared this the best rest stop of the trip (crazy that I’m agreeing with Charles, I know).

    Once the bikers had semi-digested, they headed off, leaving me and Ishaq behind yet again. We went to a bike shop to fix one of our broken pumps, and instead ended up trading our pump with the owner’s personal pump from the 90s for free. Then we went to Walmart and had too much fun perusing the aisles. Ishaq got his Sprite, and I got the rest of the important stuff (jk jk). We still couldn’t find firewood but figured Mammoth Cave Campground would have some. As a result of our jovial time at Walmart, we were very late to the next rest stop. But it was at our favorite place, Dollar General, so bikers had already gone inside and bought their snackies and peed and whatnot. Ishaq declared the breaks were getting too long and shooed them away.

    We drove to the next place and proceeded to watch more Sonic 3. The bikers rudely interrupted us demanding lunch, which we begrudgingly handed to them. Ishaq’s friends called so I got kicked out of the car, and I sat with the bikers and listened to tales from their harrowing journey.

    Once everyone left, we went to the final rest stop, a Dutch-themed place with ice cream and other desserts. I got a pumpkin loaf that reminded me of a bakery from my hometown (shoutout to Fornax), Charles got his signature float, Ramona probably also got the same thing since she’s been on a soda bender recently, Sarah was disappointed by her pumpkin cream cheese chunks, Joseph is boring and just got vanilla ice cream, Greta got toothpaste mint chocolate chip ice cream, Tian ate her vegan chili, and I don’t remember what Ishaq got. Sarah got mistaken for one of the Amish workers, I stole 16 plastic utensils, and Greta made new stranger friends, per usual. 

    Amish horse drawn carriage spotted!

    Once everyone finished, Ishaq and I kept driving until we reached Mammoth Cave. We bought some firewood and set up tents until the bikers finished their travels for the day. Joseph and Charles struggled to start the fire, but once it was ready we threw in some foil-wrapped corn, sweet potato, and hobo onion + carrot + patties (tofu for Tian because she’s vegan). While eating and making s’mores, we told impressively crafted ghost stories, except for the fact that several people didn’t think of endings and just stopped telling the story right at the denouement. What happened to the butler, Ishaq?!? 

    hobo dinner

  • Day 15: Choose Your Battles

    Day 15: Choose Your Battles

    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.

    Spoon is Ramona

    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).

  • Day 14: through the fairy forest

    Day 14: through the fairy forest

    Hazard, KY to London, KY – 70.7 miles, 5293 ft

    If Virginia was Big A mountains, then Kentucky is the fairy forest.

    The mountain we climbed just a few days ago ->

    If you move away from the towns, gas stations and highways, you can take the much calmer single lane roads. The roads go up and down, turn from asphalt to gravel. They will take you into a deep, dark, mystical forest.

    the houses we left behind
    leading us into the forest

    The forest is humid and warm. There is water vapour in the air. It mixes with the sweat on your skin and makes it shine. You can almost always hear some type of water around you – a stream gurgling down the slope or water dripping from the rock wall by the road. Every once in a while there is a waterfall. The river that flows through the forest is brown, almost sand coloured. You hear birds and see yellow butterflies and maybe even a deer or two. Everything is green. The leaves create a tunnel around you. Even the road is turning green. The moss and some crawling plants are slowly taking over the road.

    These single lane roads weave together a couple of houses, little settlements almost. There always seems to be a stream or a river running by them. The people living here keep chickens and grow corn in their backyards. They are kind. They ride quadricycles, wear tattoos and keep (mostly caged) territorial dogs. The kids ride quadricycles too and the dogs really don’t like cyclists.

    If you go through the fairy forest, expect to get some rain, if not from the skies, then from the trees above you. But it is a calm and weirdly soothing place.

    We were going through the fairy forest, when we stopped by a little church, and that is when the plot thickened.

    the little church
    where the plot was about to thicken

    So, the situation. Our plan was this.

    The church rest stop on top right (a tree with a table), then a dashed (meaning gravel) road (with hills), named aptly Confluence-Shoal-Sizerock Rd to Sizerock.

    very steep ascent

    However, once I made it up a very steep ascent to the Spring Rd crossing (see blue X), I was faced with two roads in the right direction.

    Luckily, there people hanging out by some pickup trucks and quadricycles there. I asked them, which road could lead us to Sizerock.

    And, while they seemed unsure about how to get to Sizerock, they did know that one of the roads was a dead end and the other one, which they had taken themselves, was flooded. Now, this was not good news. I could not figure out exactly what had flooded, but it was probably something in the area in the map marked with purple blobs and question marks. The water that had been all around the road in the morning, was now taking over the road. After some more talking, they advised we take the Hell for Certain Rd to get to Sizerock.

    I debated just going for it and maybe walking through the floods, but my wiser self won and I decided to trust their judgement on whether I would pass the floods or not.

    Equipped with this knowledge, I returned to our little church and we did a reroute (pictured right).

    We were lucky there were easy reroute options. We swapped one gravel road for another (it was indeed named Hell for Certain Rd). And it is a good thing we did.

    The car on a fairly good part of the road.

    There were no floods on this road, but even without that, it was not easy. Not for the cyclists nor the car. Some took advantage of shuttling in the (fully packed) van, but we were lucky Joseph had the car in good hands. Ups and downs and sharp turns, and puddles and potholes, but we made it to Sizerock, also called Hell for Certain.

    And, with the arrival at Hell for Certain, we had made it out of the forest.

    We ate lunch, Charles climbed a tractor, we biked some more, did a fun stop at Dollar General.

    Charles
    Taking over the dollar general

    Then we got thunderstormed on and arrived at our home for the night during golden hour.

    Rolling towards the destination
    I took this picture of the fields after the rain
    Ruth took this awesome selfie

    There we were greeted by a very friendly cat 🙂

    cat
    thanks Ruth for the pictures!!!!!
    i heart

    And that is it! Thanks for reading and I promise we are trying to get back on schedule for the blogs!

  • Day 12: katch me in kentucky

    Day 12: katch me in kentucky

    Today started at 3am when I sat straight up in my tent and started screaming for someone to come help me get out. After entertaining my tentmate Ruth and terrifying the rest of my teammates (including Joseph, who, thinking I was being attacked by a bear, started screaming along) I went soundly back to sleep until our wake up time around 8am.

    Besides my exciting pre-dawn shenanigans, today was a relatively uneventful day. Cloudy with occasional rain in the morning, we made our way across the Virginia border and into Eastern Kentucky. One of the things I like most about biking as a mode of transportation is that it’s slow enough to take in on all the sights around us. I’ve rarely travelled to areas as rural and secluded as what we saw today, so I spent a lot of time contemplating what life might be like out here. There is so much beauty in the winding creeks and appalachian foothills, but life also seems harder here than it is back home. I’m coming to appreciate all the urban conveniences I usually take for granted.

    • Waiting out the rain at a rest stop
    • DAIRY QUEEN

    I spent most of the day thinking about the land we were riding on, and just how much bigger our country is than the slice of east coast life I’m used to. Somewhere along the way, though, my mind turned inward and I started thinking about the ways this trip was shaping me. I realized the things that had been hardest for me on the trip hadn’t been what I expected, and neither had the things I’d most enjoyed.

    Overall, these first two weeks of Spokes have been some of the best in my life. I had thought the most difficult parts of the trip would be how gross and dirty we were. In reality, the most difficult part of the trip so far has been.. ummm… saddle sores? which was not something i even knew existed? something i wish i still didn’t know existed?? other than that, i’ve been most challenged confronting my fear of unleashed dogs and figuring out how to manage the dynamics of conducting life constantly surrounded by 7 other people (answer: with a lot of laughter!) I’ve absolutely loved meeting our hosts and other locals, each one of which has expanded my perspective on what the future could hold. I’ve also been cherishing all the small moments we spend together as a team, whether at rest stops, cooking dinner, or even when we’re all grumpy and bleary-eyed in the morning. It’s a privilege to see each other through our highest highs and lowest lows, and I feel like I’ve personally bared down to my realest self more quickly than at any other time in my life.

    I wanted to get the rest of the team’s perspective, so I asked everyone to go around and share a rose (highlight), thorn (challenge), and bud (something to look forward to) from the trip so far. Here are their answers:

    Sarah

    Rose: Seeing a lot of greenery that I’m not used to since I’m from the desert. Also seeing wildflowers and butterflies and rivers. Thorn: climbing ginormous hills and not knowing how to shift my bike gears. Bud: visiting national parks in Utah.

    Joseph

    Rose: the time the team has spent hanging out together so far. Thorn: my seven day streak of horrendous sleep that forced me to take an extra rest day. Bud: when we finally get into a stable enough routine that we can do a bunch of fun stuff during and post ride

    Tian

    Rose: all the nice people we’ve met along the way who have offered their homes, showed us their communities, and made us delicious food. Thorn: managing both physical and mental fatigue from day to day. Bud: The rest day learning festival combination in bowling green (extra rest!)

    Charles

    Rose: this sandwich/ getting to hangout with all of ya’ll and the fun moments we have over dinner and breaks. Thorn: butt pain and neck stiffness. Bud: buc-ees!!

    Ramona

    Rose: having a very different routine and set of responsibilities and things to worry about that is completely unrelated to what I do and worry about during the semester. Thorn: less time than I expected to think about life and whatnot… scared the summer will pass in a blink and I’ll be launched back into chaos. Bud: excited to see more places and experience what “real” heat it

    Ruth

    Rose: meeting the hosts and eating their foods (learning about their lives, sitting at dinner and talking with them). Thorn: sleep. Bud: better sleep

    Ishaq

    Rose: getting to the top of the hill in Shenandoah. Thorn: climbs are still hard. Bud: being better at climbs when we get to the Rocky Mountains

  • Day 11: The Crucible

    Day 11: The Crucible

    Howdy hi y’all, Ishaq on the blog today and what a day it was. The team (well actually mostly me) was pushed to the brink mentally and physically, and once again reminded of the cruel reality of this world. But at the end of the day maybe of greatest enemy is the one thing we cant escape from… ourselves.

    This day began like any other, despite my incredible Garmin sleep score of 90, we had a lazy morning, ate breakfast and packed our car, saying goodbye to our wonderful host Theresa and the quaint little town of Tazewell VA around noon. We expected a little rain, but nothing too bad so we hit the road with our rain coats. I was determined to make the day an easy one, so I employed the elite biking strategy that makes you 10-20% more efficient on the road: drafting Greta for 40 miles. Life in the draft is a nice one, you have the person in front pedaling away while I could just sit there taking in the sights and occasionally putting some wattage. Further, the climbs felt like easy mode. The draft helped less here, but Greta’s pacing simply couldn’t be beat. For the first time miles long climbs didn’t mean contemplating existence and cursing the earth for being bumpy, and not gonna lie I was feeling a little cocky so I decided to see how long I could go without shifting my front derailleur to the small ring (became a low cadence, high resistance warrior on all the climbs).

    I finally was forced to shift when climbing the aptly named Big A Mountain (it was a big mountain after all), but sustained my riding bliss right up and through the summit. Now for the descent, but… tragedy strikes! When I go to shift up my chain fell off my cogs. So I go through the process of getting my hands a little dirty to get it back on and keep riding.

    While descending we were hit by a massive rainstorm, each drop hella painful as we zoomed at 30 mph down the mountain roads. The next rest stop was right at the mountain base and we took shelter in the Honaker Community Center. Rain was coming down hard and Greta somewhat jokingly suggested that we should just stay there for the night. Lowkey it was a great idea, it was pouring rain, we had another 30 miles to go and the community center has bathrooms and a kitchen. The one down side is that the next day would be turned into a 115 mile ride to get to Hazard, Kentucky in time for our next learning festival. After an hour of deliberating, I was hopped up on endorphins and good vibes with a reckless abandon for the wellbeing and sanity of the team, making me a fierce supporter for a 115 mile ride. The team was split evenly: four for staying four for going.

    Sanity was decreasing, then, in proper deus ex machina fashion, a staff member of the community center rolled up outside and told us we couldn’t stay the night inside and wed have to be in an outdoor shelter down the road. After seeing it, the team said heck nah and we geared up to bike the rest of the way to Breaks Interstate Park. Joseph and Charles leave. Ruth isn’t feeling well (ruth’s edit: this is a lie, I went to help with the tents) so she hops in the car with Tian. Ramona and Sarah then depart, however they start going the wrong way! Greta and I were about to take off, but tragedy strikes again! Greta can’t find her phone! I hop on my bike to go look for in the community center with her, then tragedy again again! My front shifter isn’t working!

    I call up Ramona for some quick maintenance and we start trying to track Greta phone because it wasn’t in the community center. After some tinkering we determined my front derailleur had become horribly misaligned somehow and I was no longer able to shift to the small ring. And with some nifty find my iPhone tracking we saw Greta’s phone suspiciously traveling our route. After a quick phone call we determined that Joseph had stolen Greta’s phone and sabotaged my bike in an attempt to prevent the both of us front being first to the national park! Absolutely diabolical. Well, this is half true, he did accidentally take Greta’s phone (not even realizing he had it when we were clearly looking for it before he left), but my bike breaking is still a mystery.

    Tian is driving, Ruth is in the car, with no room left, I have but one choice: Ride the last 30 miles using my broken bike. A challenge, yes, but one that I had the determination to complete. By this point everyone but Greta and I had left, we started cycling and instead of cheating in her draft for another 30 miles, I took the lead and I start dashing. Just a few miles in, Greta asked me, “Can you keep this pace for 20 more miles?” I simply shrugged and said “Let’s find out.” It was then, on a broken bike, that I hit my fastest 5 mile, 10K, 10 mile, 20K, 30K, and 40K pace (peep the Strava) averaging 20 mph for a long stretch through the rolling hills of western Virginia.

    Our final challenge? Three large hills at the end of the ride to enter the park. I, of course, cannot shift down. By this point Greta and I have caught up to and passed every other biker on the team. I forced all of my weight and all of my strength into the pedals as an ungodly slow cadence, swerving side to side just to reduce the grade ever so slightly. It began pouring after the first hill. I was exhausted, legs aching, heart pounding, thinking I’m certainly not qualified to carry these boats, let alone the logs. I pulled out my phone to call it quits and get Tian to come pick me up. No service. As said in the critically acclaimed drama set in the Star Wars universe, Andor, “There is only one way out!” I hopped back on the saddle and continued to sluggishly grind my way up into the park. On nearing the end, right before the park entrance, the rain cleared and we were beholden to a beautiful view of the mountains and the setting sun on the horizon. As the rest of the team caught up we had one last group hype session to get ready for the last stretch of the climb. I gave a short speech. The content? I cant remember. The result, however, was six bikers devoted to finishing strong on what may have been the craziest day of our trip so far.

    We rolled into our campsite, Ruth and Tian having already unpacked and pitched tents, I took a shower and retreated to my tent, for my crucible was now over and I yearned for nothing more that the sweet comfort of my dreams. But… A car rolls up to our campsite, its a park ranger and they tell us the worst news: we had set up on the wrong site! But it was fine because no one has booked it and I didn’t have to move my tent and simply went to bed.

    Oh and we totally saw a bunch of cows earlier in the day that kept blocking the road, but it didn’t narratively fit so here’s some pictures for funzies.

  • Day 9: forever long miles and the perfect refuel spot

    Day 9: forever long miles and the perfect refuel spot

    Radford, VA to Tazewell, VA – 68.24 mi, 4,380 ft

    It’s Ramona again and welcome to day 9. The day started with some awesome power oatmeal that Sharon made for us. It had all kinds of amazing nutritious additions, so we we’re well equipped to start the day. I left Sharon’s and Keith’s home with some hesitation. We had had a great evening with smores and fire (read more (probably?) on Charles’ account on day 8), but I knew we had to hit the road. On paper, the day seemed chill enough – 68.2 miles and 4319ft of elevation (according to ridewithgps, our navigation devices thought it was more like 6000ft, but i think they are wrong). So we headed out from Radford! These were the views – some mountains in the background here and there, some trees, a little bit of ups and downs and cloudy skies.

    :sparkles: views :sparkles:

    We had a nice little break at a park, where Greta and Charles unleashed their inner childs.

    Charles getting in that exercise and Greta on the swing.

    … but after the first 10 to 20 miles, everything started to feel ~ slower ~

    I am not even sure why, we had plenty of rest stops to refuel and get water, but the fourth cycling day in a row hit me harder mentally than any of the previous ones. I know I wasn’t alone in that. Charles was hurting, Joseph had (very wisely) decided to take a rest day and Ishaq was complaining that his butt aches. The miles, with little variation in hills, seemed to go on forever. I was watching my navigation and I swear the miles left were just frozen sometimes.

    Battling my own mind, I put on some music, but in the heat, and the occasional cars overtaking us, it just overwhelmed me. So I suffered for a while, until I remembered a great invention – podcasts! I put on some Origin Story (an episode on the Doctor Who) and everything got so much better. Dorian Lynskey even brought out some laughs in me. My dad actually recommended this podcast, so I was waiting to pull this card out in exactly this kind of a situation. So, from this experience, I rate listening to podcasts a 10/10 strategy, especially suited for when no good thinking thoughts seem to be floating in your mind, so you are left with battling boredom and frustration.

    I had taken a break at some point, when Charles passed me. I did catch him afterwards, and remembered that perhaps an 11/10 strategy is yapping, even for a little bit. By the time the next rest stop rolled around (with a huge hornets nest, allegedly (ask Joseph or Sarah, I did not see any hornets)) I was feeling better. I left Charles with the hornets and started on the last 10 miles of the ride.

    Soon after entering Tazewell I noticed a sign for ice cream and contemplated stopping, BUT THEN I noticed the some Spokies at the ice cream spot! Telepathy! Of course, I pulled over and got two cold, sweet and glorious scoops of ice cream (pictured below).

    Me and ice cream
    Spokies and ice cream

    The spot was actually very cool! First, the ice cream hit the spot! And I’m pretty sure the girl at the shop only charged me for one scoop, so it was an incredible deal. Second, they also did floats, which Charles was very happy about. And third, through the same door, there is also an Italian food spot. (It might or might not be the same establishment, I am not sure). And Joseph noticed, it had a creative logo.

    The logo, in case you want to stop by, ice cream is right there!

    With that we arrived at our destination. Theresa at the Main Street United Methodist Church is kindly letting us stay. I am glad tomorrow is not a cycling day, since we are teaching! So, last item on the agenda is dinner. Lead by Ishaq, the Spokes cook crew is making turkey meatball spaghetti right as I am writing this. I better go and help them. Tune in tomorrow (or whenever Sarah will finish tomorrow’s blog 🙂 )

    Meatballs in the making

  • Day 8: A Day in the Life (Driver Edition)

    Day 8: A Day in the Life (Driver Edition)

    Roanoke, VA to Radford, VA – 52.39 mi, 4,265 ft

    The stars have aligned. We have 8 bloggers but only 7 drivers (uncommon Ramona L), so today is one of the rare days when the driver is in charge of blogging! I thought this would be a good opportunity to peel back the curtain and explain some of the driving logistics that happen behind the scenes to keep our cross-country ride running smoothly.

    Literally me

    The driver’s day actually starts the previous night as they are tasked with unloading the cooler. This way they know what goes into the cooler when they load it in the morning of their driving day. Our hosts yesterday, Lisa and Rob, didn’t have a lot of fridge and freezer space for us, but Rob’s mom lives right down the street her fridge had a lot more room! Thanks Rob and Carol!

    Since the driver gets the day off, they take on a few more responsibilities to make life easier for the bikers. This includes:

    • Packing the car in the morning
    • Refilling the water jugs
    • Flagging Spokies down at the rest stops
    • Contacting our hosts (if we’re being hosted)
    • Checking biker locations on Life360 periodically (safety first!)
    • Grocery shopping (if need be)
    • Getting gas (if need be)
    • How we’re packing the car (we limit at most 1 bag on the cooler for easy access to our lunches)
    • View from the driver’s seat

    Every day, the route has multiple rest stops. The driver leaves each stop after the last biker departs and then drives to the next rest stop in time for the faster bikers. At the rest stops — if needed — the bikers refill their water bottles, re-apply sunscreen, snack, eat lunch, and take a break from biking.

    The best part about being a driver is not having to bike 😆. Most of the time, the driving route between the rest stops is the same as the biking path. Knowing that the everyone else has to bike on the road I’m driving on definitely gave me a new perspective today. I tried to feel bad each time I drove up a hill but mostly I just giggled and felt fortunate to be in a car with AC on and music blasting while I zoomed towards my destination.

    The next best thing about being the driver is the free time you get after arriving at the rest stops and waiting for bikers. Activities our drivers have done with this free time include:

    • Watching a show/movie
    • Reading
    • Napping
    • Calling loved ones
    • Calling not-so-loved ones…?
    • Blogging!

    Today, the first rest stop was at a gas station. After troubleshooting a buggy bike computer for a bit, I decided to generously spend some of my free time acquiring some fundraising opportunities for Spokes.

    • Feeling lucky 🍀
    • No dice 😕

    We did not win a single scratch-off. However, as the well-known statistic goes, 95% of gamblers quit before they win big. Big Spokes windfall coming next time for sure.

    At the second rest stop, I discovered that the Sprite we had bought yesterday had not been completely loaded into the cooler. The team keeps teasing me because I really want to teach my own slightly unhinged Learning Festival lesson about the science of pressure. Maybe my fellow Spokies could take a lesson on pressure so we don’t have beverage cans burst in the heat!

    Deformed Sprite cans
    Cleaning up

    The third and final rest stop of the day was when most people decided to eat their lunch. I hadn’t fixed myself a lunch in the morning, so I tried to make myself a very simple tuna sandwich. There was one problem, though. The can opener was in the cooking supplies box that was under another box in the trunk. I was also feeling very lazy. Greta definitely egged me on by suggesting that it was possible to open the can by smashing it on the ground.

    • Greta’s floor rice cake
    • Ice ice baby
    • Aftermath of our tuna can opening attempts
    • My “tuna sandwich”

    Spokes derangement reached all-time high levels over the course of the ensuing 20 minutes. We threw the can on the ground. We smashed it on rocks. We stomped on it. We pried at a small opening with sticks. We shook out small bits and pieces onto my sandwich. Tuna went everywhere. Mostly *not* on my sandwich.

    Eventually the shame set in and we called it quits on that. We all made it to the house for the night and met our lovely hosts, Sharon and Keith. They cooked us an immaculate dinner and gave us a tour of their greenhouse that Keith built during COVID. S’mores followed dinner (Ramona had her first ever smore, as well as her second and third). Our long-awaited attempt at a movie night was postponed yet another night as people cozily chatted and blogged by the fire.

    • Sharon and Keith’s signature fried spaghetti setup
    • yum 😋
    • Ramona’s reaction to her first ever smore
    • The greenhouse

    All in all, a packed but fairly restful day for me. This driving thing is pretty efficient — wonder why we even bought these dang bikes in the first place 🤔

  • Day 7: The Lone Star Adapts

    Day 7: The Lone Star Adapts

    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.

    Berries! Yum 😋

    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.

    Spoksies on a creaky bridge

    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.

    Second rest stop! After completely missing the first 😦

    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.

  • Day 6: stab your friends…

    Day 6: stab your friends…

    Afton, VA to Lexington, VA – 47.02 mi, 4,354 ft

    Today was just one of those days. I woke up at 1:55 am to pee, and never quite fell back asleep. Tian, our resident snorer, unknowingly kept me awake all night. I popped in my airpods and drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few hours. 

    At the breakfast table, we (ironically) started off the day comparing sleep scores — Ishaq was well rested with an 87/100, and Greta was close behind with a 71/100. I was the star of the show with a whopping 42/100. I was basically non-verbal throughout breakfast and car-packing due to how sleep deprived I was (apologies, fellow Spokies).

    Now, I’m not sure if you read Day 5’s blog (go Joseph), but if you did, you may know that we changed our route last minute, opting for a shorter, albeit steeper climb. Due to my state of being, Greta, our driver for the day, offered to drive me to the top. I respectfully declined – I needed to tire myself out enough that I would sleep peacefully tonight.

    Sad to leave Pam’s magical cottage in Afton, VA, we headed off to the steepest climb to date. With an average grade of 10% (and a maximum of 17%), this climb reached a steepness of over 2 times the maximum allowable slope of a wheelchair ramp (my dad is an architect).

    Text correspondence with Father Ruth

    I opted to not have my own bike computer to save the team $350, so I rotate through drivers’ computers. Today, Greta’s computer was simply not loading the route for me – I resolved to follow Ramona closely behind so I wouldn’t get lost, since we ride at a ~similar~ pace.

    Me, Charles, and Joseph before I zoom ahead with Ramona

    I’m not going to subject you to the same pain that I felt climbing that large hill today, so I’ll spare you the details. Just know that Ramona and I didn’t take breaks, that I felt I was going to go backwards at multiple points, and that when we finally passed the worst of it and pulled over to snack, I didn’t know if I could get up again.

    As for the rest of the journey, it went pretty smoothly. All the Spokies met under a tree to eat lunch. By this time, my mood was significantly better👍. Exercising does release endorphins, after all ✨.

    Me and Ramona smiling through the pain post a 17% grade
    Spokies at lunch

    Ramona, Ishaq, and I set out before the others. Then came the best 13 miles of the day – flat land. On this land, like a fledgling jumping out of its nest for the first time, I learned to fly— i.e. ride with no hands. I even did the wave! 

    We had one last climb before the house, but after a quick snackie, we pulled through.

    Me, Ramona, and Ishaq smiling before the last climb

    46.8 miles later and 4456 ft ascended, we made it to Dirk and Chrissy’s house in Lexington, VA at 3:30 pm— early for a change. Roxy the dog was awaiting us!

    Greta petting Roxy
    Ramona chasing Roxy
    Roxy with a ball
    Joseph passed out next to Roxy
    Greta hugging Roxy

    Greta and Ishaq ran out to get groceries, while the rest of us took much needed showers. Once everyone was stink-free, we had dinner! A very very very yummy dinner, with stuffed mushrooms and caprese salads and protein pasta. During dinner we discovered Ramona’s love of orienteering – Europe’s favorite pastime. We also realized what a small world it is. Last week, Dirk and Chrissy hosted a Harvard pole vaulter that Sarah sort of knows. And they have a daughter at Stanford in the same department and year as my sister, who she doesn’t know at all! Pretty small world if you ask me.

    Since we got to our Warmshowers so early, we could actually do fun things! We used the large foot massager in the living room. Most people hated it but Tian was ready to sneak it into the van. People made banana bread. I got sat on by Roxy. We pet the bipolar cat, Eli. Finally, we played Stab Your Friends, a card game (by Dirk and Chrissy’s nephew!) that turned all of us against each other. Charles, I’m coming for you.

    Sarah making banana bread
    Roxy sitting on me

  • Day 4: thunderstruck⚡️

    Day 4: thunderstruck⚡️

    Big Meadows Campground, VA to Afton, VA – 42.74 mi, 3,045 ft

    “There’s no way I’m biking down Skyline Drive this morning,” I told Ruth as the pitter patter of rain woke us up from our short, wet night of sleep. Yesterday, we completed the long ascent up Skyline Drive and I had spent hours of it imagining us all flying down the mountain at the end. Unfortunately, the combination of blind curves, thick fog, and heavy rain was a perfect recipe for broken bikes and broken Spokies–not a desired outcome on day 4 (or day anything) of our trip.

    Luckily for us, as we were stuffing our soaking wet camping gear back in its bags, my dad and his friend Greg were driving up to meet us at Big Meadows. Now, with two cars and two bike racks at our disposal, we decided the best plan was to shuttle both ourselves and our bikes down the mountain into the nearest town. Even though I knew I wouldn’t have felt safe on the mountain in these conditions, I still spent the whole drive down mourning the loss of such a beautiful descent. I was not consoled when I was informed we didn’t have enough space to bring down all the bikes in two trips–so my dad was going to make the trip down by bike after all. without me…

    mystical fog at big meadows
    hiding out from the rain:)

    Once we were all assembled at the bottom of the mountain, we ate some brunch, pumped up our tires, and got on the road. Although Greg and my dad were purportedly here to ride “with Spokes”, I guess the beautiful Virginia hills got to them because they took off as soon as we started. I let them get away the first couple miles, until I decided I couldn’t let two middle-aged dudes get the better of Greta Lawler so I showed them what I was made of (aka drafted off my Dad for the rest of the ride) 👍 Besides their super speedy bike skills, I was super happy to have Greg and my Dad with us for a day! Greg taught us to think about our energy reserves as a matchbox; each one of us has only a limited number of matches to burn each day. Its important to know how many you have and to decide carefully how to use them. I really liked that one! My dad updated his advice to future Spokes from “be safe and have fun” to “be prepared for rain.”

    (Did I mention we got hit by another bout of torrential rain around 4pm? Classic Virginia.) Other highlights include “the world’s best pizza” (according to Ishaq), the acquisition of a new (overpriced) sticker, and lots of cows!!

    dad aka captain lawler
    yep
    joseph and the BEST PIZZA EVER (elf style…)

    Despite our crazy, water-logged day, we arrived at our host’s house by about 5, which is much earlier than we’ve arrived at our destination the previous two days of Spokes. I’m so glad we did because our host, Pam, is just incredible! First of all, she hosted her son’s entire wedding the day before we arrived and still offered to host us for two nights. Second of all… well, there’s really too much to tell, so I’ll do my best with a (completely inexhaustive) list.

    List of reasons Pam Mendosa is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met:

    • lives entirely off the grid
    • built her own house from the ground up
    • is an expert wildlife rehabilitator, working both with cats and racoons in her backyard and gibbons and chimpanzees in Africa
    • volunteered as a a street medic at the charlottesville riots in 2017
    • worked as a racecar pitcrew and chatted with tom cruise and paul newman without even knowing who they were
    • pours her heart and time into pursuing her passions
    • created the release protocol for rehabilitated bush babies
    • makes a delicious mac n’ cheese
    • is one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met

    Pam lives in an “intentional community” called Shannon Farm, which is a neighborhood tucked back in the forest in which everyone has shared ownership of the land, participates in community events, contributes to upkeep of the farm, and is invested in knowing and supporting their neighbors. Everyone I met seems to really love it in Shannon. It reminds me a lot of French House, where I currently live in MIT, and I honestly think I would love living in an intentional community one day. Even just 4 days in, Spokes has given me so much to think about and I’ve met so many cool, generous, inspirational people. Somehow, the world feels both bigger and smaller than ever. (Not to mention I’m getting to hang out everyday with 7 of my newest favorite people ever. 🫶 ) So so so excited for the rest of our adventure!

    Peace out,

    Greta