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 newspaperRuth 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 offIshaq’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 happySarah 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 bobaOff-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 ParkRainSarah being cheekyThe viewsTrail 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.
Fowler, CO to Colorado Springs, CO — 99.7 mi; 4,127 ft
Why did the chicken cross the road?
I don’t know. Why?
To get to Colorado Springs, and the chicken is me.
Perhaps the best joke in the history of MIT Spokes 2025, courtesy of Ramona.
Ramona eating breakfast while calling family.
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.
Changing landscapes and other Spoksies on their ride
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.
Beautiful view right before gravel descent
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.
Beautiful landscapes to accompany my thoughts
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.
Little GretaSpokie Shenanigans in Greta’s grandparent’s home.
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.
Today, I was hit with the big trifecta of chores: blogging, laundry, and driving tomorrow. Since a driver’s power unofficially begins at the end of the previous day’s bike ride, I had many tasks to accomplish tonight. Naturally, I had to slack on one of them — this meant publishing my blog the day after. Apologies.
I wake up at 7am to Tian shrieking (she’s today’s driver). I mumble a half-asleep complaint and tumble off the three chairs I slept on. I roll up the sleeping mat I didn’t end up using, then pause right before rolling up my sleeping bag. I usually have a specific order I do my morning tasks in (put away sleeping gear, change to biking clothes, pack my bags, eat, pump bikes…) but today I had a crazy thought — screw it. Let me try something new. I leave my sleeping bag unfurled, brush my teeth, then eat breakfast with Ramona, who always wakes up earlier than the rest of us. Doing things backwards is refreshing after over five weeks of the same exact morning routine, and yes I know the fact that this was so exhilarating to me is slightly concerning.
Ramona and I — the dynamic duo — head out with Sarah and Joseph — the equally dynamic, albeit newer, duo. Ishaq had already left, and Greta and Charles are shortly behind. The high for today was 83 °F, so naturally Sarah, our Vegas native, felt “cold.”
A bit into the ride, Ramona receives a phone call. She initially tries to talk through the wind, but pulls over once she realizes she can’t hear anything. I dutifully pull over too, while Sarah and Joseph abandon us. It sounds kind of urgent, and I realize what the fuss is about as soon as Charles sends a picture to the group chat.
Good job, Charles
Greta had called Ramona, the gear expert, to ask for her expert advice on Charles’ screw-in-tire situation. Ramona agrees that Tian should pick Charles up and go to a parking lot where he can attempt to patch up the hole with a plug kit. Ramona begs Tian to let us know where they pull over so she can spectate (nerd). Tian unfortunately opts for a grocery store we had already passed to kill two birds with one stone, so Ramona and I continue pedaling to rest stop 1.
Rest stop 1 is short since Tian and Charles and the van with all our supplies are nowhere near. The unofficial dynamic trio of me, Ramona, and Greta, who we picked up at the rest stop, bike and chat. My dad calls me in the last 5 miles and I tell him how the day’s going so far. When I mention the lightning storm from two days ago, he mentions a similar story from his youth, when he walked for hours in torrential rain in the middle of a forest in Ethiopia. I love hearing stories from my parents’ youth. It’s almost like they lived full lives before I was born.
Unrelated proof that my dad is hilarious
At rest stop 2, a trusty Dollar General, Ramona and I pull up to a loud POP. Charles is trying out a new plug kit combo, and it apparently burst at 45 PSI right as we arrive. Ramona is excited that she finally gets to witness the (attempted) repair of our worst bike damage yet, so while Sarah, Joseph, and Greta leave, I dutifully wait by Ramona for another half hour (spoiler alert: I do not see Ishaq the entire ride, he’s too far ahead). We come to the conclusion that Charles should in fact not bike for the rest of the day, and that he should try to fill his initially tubeless tire with a tube, which will supposedly provide an impermanent but stable solution to the screw issue. I suggest to Ramona that Charles ride my bike tomorrow, since I’m driving and he has pretty short legs, but this great solution is ignored.
By this point, everyone is wayyy ahead of us, so Tian, Ramona and I agree the van can skip rest stop 3 so the others don’t have to wait for supplies as long. Ramona and I pull up to the gas station rest stop anyway to refill our waters with ice, and to our surprise, the van is there! Apparently, Tian is easily susceptible to the whims of others. Specifically Charles and his lottery addiction. At least he wins $40.
Ramona and I leave rest stop 3 at 2:10pm. We are informed that rest stop 3, a cafe, closes at 3pm. There are 11.7 miles. I am determined to make it. We zoom there, our last 2 miles at an average speed of 20 mph. Ramona casually called her parents in the midst of this speedy ride, one-handed — they had just finished eating dinner after a fun day of mountain orienteering and quarrying. We make it to the cafe a minute before closing! Turns out the baristas do not care at all about us staying overtime, because I lounge on the couch far after 3pm. Also shoutout to Tian for letting me try her pear peach apricot smoothie 😌
The last 18 mile stretch is surprisingly quick. Ramona and I arrive at our church for the night, and find it entirely empty save for all the Spokies’ bikes and bags. Apparently Pastor Wayne graciously let everyone shower at his house, so we make the long, 5 minute trek to his place of residence. Everyone’s finished showering, except Greta and Charles who are crazy and decided to go on a run (more so Greta, Charles was a bum in the car today). Ishaq asked for the password at the door, Ramona correctly answered “password,” and we were allowed in. I stayed at the Pastor’s house until everyone was done showering so I could start the laundry, then Greta and I walked back to join some church members at dinner. We were greeted with burgers and a mix of freshly grown fruits and veggies, including Fowler’s very own cantaloupe specialty. Yum!
Post dinner, I unload our food from the cooler into the fridge. Then I walk back to the Pastor’s house to do some more laundry, and Greta graces me with her presence on the walk. We run into a bunch of cats on the way! The cats apparently all live in one house!! I count 16 total!!! I go back to the church to get my phone to take pictures of the cats, and Ramona follows me out. We squeal at how cute they are — fine, I squeal at how cute they are. At the same time, the sky starts looking like a renaissance painting, so we take flicks of that as well. I knock out at 9:30pm after a long day, gleefully knowing that I’d get to wake everyone up at 6:30am the next day, however I want 😈
I awoke at 4:30 am to Ruth full on launching herself onto the bed where Charles and I slept. Ruth cracked her nose on Charles’ knee upon impact, causing sudden onset bleeding. I was pretty bewildered, but it turned out that Ruth couldn’t bear to share the same bed as her partner for the night, Ishaq, for any longer. Ruth gets pretty terrible sleep already, so an active sleeper is a bad person for her to share a bed with. She switched places with Charles, and we all went back to sleep.
We later awoke played out our usual morning routine. The inn that the church in Lakin had graciously provided us rooms in had self-serve breakfast, a nice change from our usual make-your-own breakfast. Eventually, we got ready to leave. Today was an unusual combination of people for me. Charles, Greta, and Ishaq would be my riding partners for the day. I had ridden with Charles and Greta a few times before independently, but Ishaq is usually chasing PRs, so it’s not often I get to ride with him, much less everyone in such a large group. This group was full of a lot of the speedsters of the group, though, which led to a fun dynamic for the day. Ruth, Tian, and Ramona left earlier than us, but we eventually caught up. They would leave rest stops before us, but we would always catch up. At one point, we passed them while performing the Indonesian Boat Racing Dance Formation, which we later all attempted as a big group.
The morning group with Charles and Greta (Ishaq is flying up ahead)Cruisin’ through the Plains
Indonesian Boat Racing Dance
Pretty early in the ride we crossed into Mountain Time, a first for my 19 years on this Earth. A short while later, we crossed into Colorado! This marked the end of our 8-day stretch in one of the flattest states in the Union. It’s not like we had left the Great Plains yet, though. Eastern Colorado contains the High Plains, and it’s pretty darn big. We wouldn’t be able to even see the Rockies for another two days. There is some interesting stuff in this region of Colorado, though, like the site of the Amache Internment Camp in the small town of Granada, CO. It’s a bit strange being in the middle of nowhere and then passing through a site where thousands of Japanese Americans were held in WWII. Apparently, the townspeople treated them well, but they were still treated like POWs by the government. We weren’t able to see the site up close, but I could see the ruins from afar.
Chilling at a Dollar GeneralMountain Time! (without the mountains)Kansas Conquered!
After our stop in Granada, I was feeling particularly good. In fact, I could feel endless energy emanating from my legs. It was go time. I turned on the music and led the pack for the next 10 miles. I was zooming. A quick 30 minutes later, we made it to our first gas station in Colorado. Charles bought a bunch of scratch offs to commemorate our new state, and wouldn’t you believe it, he won big time. This win was big enough to offset all of his losses in Kansas. Colorado was off to a good start.
Leading the pack
We eventually made it to our church in Lamar, and sure enough, I set a lot of PRs. I was averaging 23 miles an hour for that stretch! What a good day for cycling… as long as you ignore my seemingly chronic finger numbness. It really doesn’t want to go away. RIP my nerves, I guess.
Woot Woot
I spent some time before dinner hashing out details with Ramona about our road trip back to Boston. For those of you who are unaware, once the team makes it to San Francisco, most people are going to eventually fly back to wherever life takes them next. But not me or Ramona. We’ve been tasked with driving our van, gear, and bikes back to Boston. It was cheaper than buying a one-way rental and logistically simpler than shipping a packed van’s worth of gear. That’s not even mentioning the free road trip I get out of this. The quickest route back to Boston involves passing through a lot of the same regions of the country we will have just spent nearly 3 months cycling through, and that seems a little lame. We will instead drive up to Seattle, then cut across the Northern states and hit some awesome national parks. After zooming through the Rust Belt, we will end this 10-day road trip with a journey into Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. I’m really excited for this drive, but I have to get to San Francisco first!
The general route for getting back to Boston
Dinner time came and our lovely hosts at the Lamar Christian Church invited us to their Friday community dinner. There was a great variety of food brought in from various members of the church. It was quite a feast. They also do a weekly viewing of a TV show, this time the House of David. It was very dramatic and entertaining.
Watching the House of David
Following dinner, I, Sarah, and Ruth went on a walk around town. We had a great time.
Lots of cycling culture in this small townRuth and Sarah on a strollSecond selfie of the blog
Crossing into Colorado is a sign of the beginning of the end of one of the longest stretches of the trip. The Great Plains have been both boring and eventful and were the first segment of this trip completely new to me. I’m glad to be leaving, but the many days on Highway 50 have been a nice kind of predictable. I knew what to expect day after day, whether good or bad. It gave my mind space to think about other things. The Rockies will bring real challenge back to the trip. Tune in next time to the single hardest day of the trip: crossing the Continental Divide.
hello again! after i (sarah) took over tian’s blog about a week and a half ago, she took over mine, so it’s been a second since you’ve heard from me (especially since i’m posting this a few days late…sorry everyone. and you mom, especially). but i’m back, writing from the great plains—specifically, kansas!
today, we departed from the historic home of the voth’s after our 6th out of 10 learning festivals the day before at the fairly new newton public library. after 4 hours of teaching (both rewarding and EXHAUSTING), i had popped over to a cafe across the street to grab a quick snack with greta and joseph, then came back and read for an hour or so. it was such a nice, peaceful moment: i’m already missing that quaint little library in the middle of nowhere kansas…📚
some of my reads at the newton public libary: i was first introduced to fredrik backman in early high school, love his work!
ANYWAYS, getting back on track! i woke up a little before 7am in the upstairs living room among a pile of air mattresses sleeping my fellow spokies. i had a little bit of last night’s breakfast burrito from the mexican place our hosts had so kindly treated us to for dinner yesterday, did my usual personal and bike preparations (including making my electrolyte water concoctions that i like to call “potions”–today was a mix of watermelon salt and orange gatorade powders 🍉🍊), and departed around 8:30am. i’ve been a fan of the slightly early start: 8 or 9 isn’t SUPER early anyway, and we usually get to our place for the night with a good amount of time left in the evening, and still have plenty of time throughout the day to bike at a moderate pace, and have ample time at rest stops.
this was too good 🌯
good morning from newton!
bike set-up! was planning on doing a gear tour for me and my bike, but that will have to wait for another blog…
leg 1 was about 18 miles long, so a bit on the longer side. i made my way out of town playing a folk mix off of spotify, which felt appropriate for the quiet morning hours. after catching up to ruth and ramona (a common pairing on the road these days), i also caught up to tian, who proceeded to non-consensually draft me for the next 10 miles!!! every time i thought i had finally got a bit of space, the shadow of her helmet would appear at my feet…scary 😨 the kwik shop finally appears in the distance, the girls all wait around and snack for a bit, then decide to keep going without waiting for the car—greta was going grocery shopping 🛒
because joseph has (for SOME unknown reason) been trying to be frugal with rest stops, leg 2 was 21 miles long. the fastest way i’ve found to make the time go by on the bike is to talk to people, either with my teammates in-person or over the phone with friends and family from back home/MIT. for this stretch, the terrific trio of ruth, ramona, and sarah returns! we bike along a train carrying whole AIRPLANES ✈️, i send a selfie to my parents after my dad texts and reveals that he’s stalking my location, and we play a few songs from spongebob while rolling into rest stop 2. while joseph gets points for choosing a cafe, he loses more for it being closed. thankfully, a kind stranger invites us into his office right next door for some AC! i eat an UNGODLY variety and quantity of fruit courtesy of greta that included an apple, strawberries, AND raspberries, and our friendly stranger tells us about how he is finishing up grad school soon and hoping to work in south america! we share our socials, give our thanks, and head on our way. if you’re reading this kind stranger, good luck on your future travels! 🌎
country roadsss
reno mention? (nevada is in our future)
hello ruth and ramona! hello dad and mom!
TRAIN 🚂
our kind stranger’s office!
fruits galore 🍎🍓🫐
my apple
leg 3 is once again 21 miles. SERIOUSLY 😐 i set off for a solo segment to grind through some mileage, and while i’m jamming out to some tunes and enjoying the scenery, i get a text in a group chat of some of my high school friends. it’s a screenshot from snapchat maps of my location, with the app claiming that i’m driving, and one of my friends claiming that i’m CHEATING!!! i immediately send picture and video evidence to prove that i am NOT cheating—i’m just. that. fast 😎🔥 this leads to a catch-up call with another one of my high school friends: i tell her about where we stay, what we eat (which has been AMAZING), biking, teaching—everything spokes. one day i will post a blog with an deep, introspective section on people, since we’ve met so many AMAZING ones on our spokes journey. but for now, this blog continues…eventually, i turn around and see everyone minus tian (so, ruth, ramona, charles, AND joseph) right behind me! i slow down for a sec and join them, and after hanging up the phone, we all take on the next 2 miles of VERY loose and slippery dirt—thankfully, we all make it out with no falls, just quite a few close calls…soon after we all catch up to tian, and we have a rare almost full group ride going into rest stop 3! 💗 we all descend upon the seats inside of the oasis convenience store for some food and more scratch offs courtesy of charles. i ultimately decide to buy the ice cream sandwich i had been eyeing (hey, it had EXTRA chocolate chips on the rim), and share with some of the people still around at the store. i try to give my last bite to charles, but drop it on the floor. sorry, i owe you one 😦
selfie of evidence 📸
loving the greenery!
all together now (if you squint)
🍪🍦
slightly shorter at 17 miles, i ended up tag teaming leg 4 with joseph on my side (after drafting him without asking for around 4-5 miles…), and the duo of ruth and ramona in my front (thanks for some wind coverage!) we talked about deciding on our majors, classes we took in high school, and general academic stuff, and before we knew it, the rest stop was just ahead! but before we quite make it, my mom calls asking for updates, so i had to put a pause on joseph and i’s conversation (of all the spokies, he probably understands the “mom calls” the most). after a quick convo, i say my love you’s and goodbyes, apologize to joseph, and we pull into a nice shaded rest area with some informational signs on the local wildlife. i charge my phone in the bathroom, we snack and debate over some questionable…safety posters, and then head off for our last leg.
hello joseph!
wow 💚
lovely rest stop
signs!
our final leg for the day was only 14 miles! i love when our last leg is a short “sprint,” so the energy was high as we set off for even more fields (a typical sight these days) and the occasional clump of trees. we resume our formation from the previous leg (now including charles), and we start a group discussion on travel before splitting into side conversations. joseph tells me about colombia—his mom’s side is from there, and he’s been there a few times himself. it’s so mountainous (due to the andes mountain range) that driving anywhere takes FOREVER because you have to take various detours to avoid unclimbable summits, has these very unique ecosystems called “cloud forests” that occur due to a mix of high altitude and intense moisture, and is one of the most biodiverse places in the WORLD! 🏔️☁️🌿
hearing how passionate he was about his roots was very moving, and got me thinking about my own roots…or lack thereof. i’m (guessing) that i’m a mix of various countries in europe (but probably mostly germany). no matter the case, that was generations ago: since then, we’ve just been hopping around the states. that…impermanence (is the best way i can put it) makes me feel like i’m missing out on something sometimes: not having anything “well grounded” to look back on and connect, or celebrate, or share with others. i think if there is something i can look back on with pride, though—if i have any “heritage” or “legacy”—it would be the sacrifices my predecessors near and far made for me to be simply…here. i will probably never know their names, their struggles, their accomplishments…but so much went into my very existence—COUNTLESS generations of triumph and toil—there has to be some dignity in that, even if my ancestry is a bit muddy.
can you tell i’ve had a lot of time to think? anyways 😀
after i took some pictures of the welcome signs, we stroll into the quaint town of macksville—and by stroll, i mean i force the group to wait while i snap my photos and then joseph and i (after some sneaky scheming) proceed to sprint ahead of them to get to the front of the shower queue (i let them have their spots back, don’t worry, i’m not that mean). we are warmly welcomed by our hosts at the macksville christian church with the promise of fajitas for dinner! i shower, and ishaq finally arrives after ditching us the day before (he was visiting his mom in oklahoma city so…valid). to apologize for his absence (i assume), he brings a bag of nigerian snacks and some meat pies in a tin. i enjoy what doesn’t have nuts as an appetizer, and our lovely dinner is served soon after ishaq’s grand entrance. i expressed a desire to watch chicken little, but i accidentally fell asleep for 1-2 hours…i was a little disoriented so i’m not entirely sure, but i slept pretty late into the evening. whoops. i proceeded to devour 2 bowls of sugary cinnamon toast crunch (or as we loving call it, “CTC”) in a late evening burst of hunger, and against ALL odds, slept pretty good that night!
the quad
macksville we are here!
signs pt. 2
ishaq’s snackies
snack/food box chaos
din din 🌮
i leave you with my usual ramblings and many additional introspective thoughts. hope you enjoyed, and see you next time for our learning festival in denver, co! ⛰️🧪
My day began like most of my other days on Spokes — smashing the snooze button on my phone alarm and cursing previous-night Charles. This time, the offense was a 7-player Smash Bros session in the church basement the night before. I can probably count on two hands the number of times I’ve played Smash Bros in my life, but Ishaq was literally playing by himself against the CPU and it was honestly getting sad to watch. “One game I promise” morphed into “last game” turned into “last game, swear, for real” (not in fact the last game). However, Greta was (un)characteristically the voice of reason and shooed us to bed since she was sleeping on the couch in front of the TV, so all in all, it was a fun and not terribly regrettable 20 minute delay of our bedtimes. Once I cleared the cobwebs and hazy memories of spamming Ness’ PK Fire attack from my addled early morning brain, I began my morning routine and we all got out the door by 8am SST1.
Today was the first of many days from now on that we will be biking along US route 50. Despite a few shortcomings (the occasional stinky manure smell; no shade to protect us from the sun; random gusts of wind from passing semitrucks; the neverending, flat, and often repetitive scenery), the pros (spacious shoulders; smooth, paved asphalt; no climbs) make the riding physically fast and painless, leaving only the mental fight against boredom. Over the course of the past month, I’ve been developing my personal arsenal of defenses against the lack of external stimulation on my rides.
Comically wide shoulder
I busted out my first boredom defense by biking and chatting with Ramona on our way to the first rest stop. We talked about extreme physical endurance feats and Ramona sung high praises about one of her favorite topics in the whole world — mountain bike orienteering. For the uncultured, that’s orienteering (a sport where you navigate using only map and compass to find waypoints, usually in some sort of natural setting like a forest) on a mountain bike. Before we knew it, we pulled into Phillips 66, almost 20 miles in.
Greta had snapped her rear derailleur cable on the ride over. Conveniently, Joseph, the driver for the day, rocks the same frame size as Greta (despite being a very differently sized human; Greta has freakishly long legs apparently). The plan was for Greta to use Joseph’s bike for the rest of the day. After adjusting Joseph’s entire bike fit and preparing to leave, Greta’s nose starts bleeding. Profusely. So, with two signs from the big man upstairs, she finally takes a hint and realizes perhaps biking is not in the cards for her today. Ishaq cries PR sabotage.
Also, Ruth whips out a tub of left over ice cream and we eat some. Great job, Ruth.
OmmNommm
Back on the road, Ramona calls her family, who are in Latvia and taking a road trip (“so they have no excuse not to pick up”). I try out my second trick and ring my family as well. Coincidentally, they are also on a road trip. I roll in to rest stop 2 feeling adequately entertained and ready to eat lunch. Greta and Joseph arrive at the rest stop a little late (a lot late for a few of the other bikers who were 20 minutes ahead of me) after checking out a local nature preserve a kind stranger had recommended at the last rest stop. I eat my sandwiches and invest (read: scratch lotto tickets).
Sights from Joseph and Greta’s adventure. Greta convinces Joseph to “run” a trail with him. Air quotes around “run” because both of this man’s feet are firmly attached to the ground smh
The rest stop is in a kind of ghost town. Halfway through our time in Cedar Point, a guy (who actually lives there!) pulls up in a pickup truck, and we ask questions about the town. It’s not quite a ghost town actually, but mostly deserted. The entire county is 20 miles square but only has 3,000 residents — they have more cattle than people. Most of the buildings in the town closed down after the school shuttered about 25 years ago. The bank is technically still operational, but only by appointment. We also learned that the town used to be the first location of Heckendorn Mowers, a company that developed tricycle mowers with small turn radii to mow grass in cemeteries.
I called my family some more after this rest stop, but their connection ended up being the problematic one, so we gave up. For the third time in the day, I tried a different time-passing technique — listening to music, the tried and true method. I’ve been absolutely jamming out to and falling down the rabbit hole that is the genre of “white girl hardstyle” the past few days. Tuning in each time is a complete game changer, +2 mph boost at least.
I switched over to a normal hardstyle mix at some point and listened to possibly the worst song I’ve ever heard. After this abomination graced my earbuds, I switched back to white girl hardstyle and finished the ride boppingly.
Contrary to popular belief, water exists in Kansas. Still not sure about Nevada
In Newton, we arrived at the home of our hosts, Janet and Orvin. We met Enzo, their adorable, uncoordinated, and slightly clueless dog. We also meet Bill, another biker they are hosting for the night, who is on a self-supported trip across the country. Dinner featured angel hair pasta, marinara sauce (w/ meat for the meat eaters), and Texas toast. Janet and Orvin asked us each to share why we decided to do Spokes. Though we kept getting distracted by side tangents, we all answered, alternating between contemplative reflection and laughter, in true Spokes fashion.
We concluded dinner with Janet’s mulberry pie. Bill asked Orvin to share any stories of the pie’s fame. Turns out it is quite famous — it fetches $500 bids at a bake sale benefit auction Janet and Orvin do every year! I felt slightly guilty and most definitely spoiled whilst scarfing down my ~$50 slice with a healthy heaping of vanilla ice cream, but I think I did the dessert justice. Licked my lips and the plate clean. Absolutely heavenly.
Their house is from the 1800s!
Enzooooooooo
😴
Janet and Orvin had a guest book they asked us each to sign with a page describing ourselves and leaving any contact info we’re comfortable sharing. It was great leafing through the book and reading about everyone else who has passed through their house on a similarly long ride as us. Spokes `24’s entries were in the book as well. Ruth asked me to read them all and just tell her the best one since she was being lazy. I decided the best entry was from no they were all great (except for seven of them :P).
Days like these make me feel so blessed to be assisted by so many kind souls on our trip. From calling my family and friends, to conversations with fellow Spokies, to meeting helpful strangers at rest stops, to our wonderful hosts each night who open their homes and churches to us, it’s been great to experience travel not just as the sights I see, but the people I meet. And on the flip side, Janet and Orvin said something quite poetic about being WarmShowers hosts that will stick with me for quite some time — “traveling is wonderful because you go see the world, but when you host, the world comes to you.”
1SST aka Spokes Standard Time: 30 minutes to an hour later than the given departure time
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.
Classic Sarah Star
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.
Kansas City, MO to Overbrook, KS — 77.6 mi, 3,363 ft
Happy 4th of July!
The morning starts out normal. We say we’ll leave at 8am, and we actually do a pretty good job of it. At 8:30am, I see everyone except Joseph leave, and I hurry to get on my bike and catch them. Unfortunately, my bike computer is acting up. Charles helps me fix it, and I zoom ahead, two minutes behind the others, determined to catch up.
2.5 miles into my ride, I realize I am going in the COMPLETE OPPOSITE DIRECTION as everyone else. I only notice because some road blockage forces me to reroute, my bike computer glitches, and I check Life360 to see which direction to head. I slightly freak out once I see that everyone is miles to the south of me.
A historically accurate diagram of where I was this morning
I decide to navigate with Google Maps instead, and head towards Joseph’s last known location. Sarah calls me to check in, I tell her that I’m probably fine, and I make my way to rest stop 1 alone. I’m convinced Charles sabotaged my bike computer ✋
On my solo ride, I get to see some cool things, like crazy Kansas City mansions and the start of the 4th of July bike parade.
Pretty view
I get to Krispy Kreme to several Spokies waiting for me. I rant about my defective bike computer, go pee, then head out with Ramona, who patiently waited for me. We spend the ride talking about Latvian rock operas, debating about school uniforms, and shouting in tunnels.
Ramona dancing at rest stop 2
While biking to rest stop 3, we pass two small children sitting on the grass with bikes suspiciously similar to ours. I realize it’s Sarah and Joseph! Sarah tells me that everything is good, but I later find out that Joseph hurt his back (sounds like you need to work on your core, man).
While biking to rest stop 4, I see a cop car zoom by. Suspicious, I think.
I get to the rest stop, tired from the uphills and the heavy headwind, and confused why it’s a mile ahead of schedule. Ramona didn’t notice the change, so she blows by the rest stop, and a cop car chases her down to tell her to turn around. Why a cop car, you might be wondering. Boy, do I have a crazy story for you:
Apparently, Charles, Ishaq, and Greta arrive to rest stop 4, blissfully unaware. Charles peeks into all the windows of the glass blowing shop we decided to have a rest stop at. A couple minutes later, a sheriff pulls up. She tells them that the man who owns the shop got so freaked out by Charles looking inside that he got his gun ready and was prepared to shoot. They stood there in silence while the deputy sorted things out, then Charles moved the rest stop a mile forwards while Ishaq and Greta continued biking.
So now you know that the cop car was zooming after our resident Spokie delinquents. Also fun fact, remember how Charles sabotaged me? Well, this had lasting effects. Because of my 5 mile delay and the fact that Charles ditched us to go to Lawrence, KS, to visit his birth hospital, Greta and Ishaq were so far ahead of the rest of the group that they kept on leaving rest stops before Charles got there. Ishaq rationed his water, so when he got to rest stop 4, he chugged 2 Sprites and 2 bottles of water and an apple, and promptly puked.
Anyways, Ramona and I finally get to the Warmshowers host, and we shower and get settled. Our host, Scott, offers us pizza and wings. We get in the hot tub, relax, then watch fireworks in the driveway post-sunset. Great 4th of July 🙂
Hi, Ishaq here 👋. Happy first of July and have Tour de France eve eve eve eve. What a day today was. The pace was slow, the vibes immaculate, and the falls even more so. All in all a chill century ride with loads of fun time.
Our journey begins in Sedalia, Missouri where we hop back on the Katy trail, where we’ll stay for pretty much the rest of the day. But we had a nice rest stop at a cafe where I got a large pineapple limeade Italian soda. Delicious way to instantly hit my daily recommended added sugar intake. But continuing on we hop back on the trail and start playing Mr. White. Our favorite gaem for the day works by havign us all pass around Charles’ phone and getting a word. All civilians have the same word, 2 people, the under covers, have a different word, and Mr. White gets no word. No one is directly told their role except Mr White and we all have to go around giving clues in order to vote out Mr. White before they get the civilian word and vote out the under cover members. On the other hand, the goal of Mr. White and the under cover members are to survive as long as they can.
Now that you know the game, you can begin to understand just how I was repeatedly wronged over the course of this ride. Every time my turn rolled around I’d drop the most elite hints and no one would get them. I personally think its a skill issue. For example, I had Lord of the Rings as my word, so I, with a very sensible line of logic, said “Professor X” (Professor X -> Magneto -> Ian McKellan -> Gandalf). Little did I know, none of the other spokies know X-men! Actually criminal. So I made it FAR more simple for round 2 and dropped “Eagles” (Gandalf always calls the eagles to save the day in LOTR). Once again even the so called “LOTR readers” didn’t get it. I was ultimately voted out for my “suspicious answers” and we civilians lost the round ☹️. Even worse, Ruth’s insufficient knowledge of the intelligence of aquatic mammals threw me on the chopping block again (She claims whales aren’t smart).
In the middle of our grand group ride a few whoopsies happened. First off, I sadly slipped off the trail, took a ride in the bushes, and fell back on to the trail. Really tough, I though I was going to survive spokes unscathed, but I have now acquired scrapes on my right knee and elbow. The team, of course, laughed at me, however, my fall was topped by Charles just a couple of hours later. While setting up a new game of Mr. White, he clipped a metal post and was launched off his bike. He lied there, motionless, all of us thinking the worst. He says he hit his head and the worst was spinning but recovered as we ushered him to a nearby table. He actually re-scraped an old scab on his elbow so we hit it with the wettest stingiest alcohol swab which had him squealing in pain. Once we were sure he was okay we all had a good laugh about the sound of the fall and the scene we observed in the aftermath. Maybe we’re horrible people for finding joy in the misfortune of our friends. Maybe we are just a generation conditioned on epic fail complications 🤷🏾♂️. Either way, its funny because we were all okay in the end.
After tending to the wounds of the fallen, we stopped playing Mr. While and I was now incredibly tired of biking for the day. This is where I innovated. Using two bungee cords I secured my iPad to my handlebars to enable a peak watching experience on the bike. Granted I did not want to watch anything actually good that would require mental energy to enjoy so I put on the Netflix adaptation of the popular game series Devil May Cry. I was very disappointed because at no point in the 4 episodes I watched did a devil cry. But, I suppose thats what makes it interesting: maybe a devil will cry, maybe not 🤷🏾♂️. The other spokies were all haters, thinking that I would fall or my iPad would drop, but I literally have a degree in engineering from MIT so pretty confident in the setup. I followed Ruth and Ramona because the iPad partially covered my bike computer.
At the end of the day we rode into Kansas City and I hada great time zooming down the city roads at sunset. We got to our large Airbnb where Sarah made us all grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, then we spokies dispersed for our bedtime endeavors.
MIT Spokes 2026 