East Coast Update

Fact: I'm terrible at blogging while traveling. But the lack of recent posts is really a testament to how much exploring of the east coast I've done since arriving in this time zone. I've been in Chicago (although that's technically still Central time), South Bend, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. I went to my first baseball game at Wrigley Field and learned what the Gulf Stream was from someone who worked at law firm where we had an event. I, of course, talked to lots of strangers everywhere we went (I'm known on the team for being extremely sociable and for talking to strangers often and easily). I've ridden through rural Pennsylvania and Maryland, amidst both thunderstorms and sunshine. I met welcoming, warm, and absolutely wonderful families during host stays (which are always difficult to ride away from in the early morning). I am trying to savor every moment of these last 9 days as much as possible.        

Some more stories:    

The team took a rest day in Pittsburgh. Four generous families hosted us and made our stay there very comfortable. We found housing through a friend of mine from Pittsburgh. It’s always hard to leave the families we stay with on rest days, because by then I’ve had two nights to chat with wonderful people and two nights to get to know very warm and welcoming families.

This past week as been an adventure—the day we rode on the Great Allegheny Passage path from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD was one of my best days of the Ride so far. The second half of the day was awesome. During lunch in Rockwood, I walked into a bargain clothing store and chatted with the owner, her daughter, and her granddaughter. I learned a lot about the area from the owner, including the fact that at the time I was standing only 15 miles from where Flight 93 crashed on September 11. The family then proceeded to give me fresh peaches and grapes grown by nearby Amish. The rest of the day’s 90-mile ride was fantastic. I rode with Gabi and we stopped every couple of miles to take pictures of rural Pennsylvania wilderness, the “Welcome to Maryland” sign, and of the Eastern Continental Divide. The last 20 miles was smooth, scenic, and best of all, downhill. I felt connected with nature, peaceful, and happy on the bike for the first time in a few days.

Then next day was an adventure as well—we rode out of Cumberland that morning with the intention to ride 90 miles to Williamsport, MD but encountered very rough trail on the C & O Canal Towpath and lots of thunderstorms. All of us had to stop riding in Hancock, and after we learned that our campground in Williamsport was closed due to flash floods and that more were expected for the following day, we decided to shuttle to Washington, D.C. a day early.

I had three rest days for my first visit to D.C. and did plenty of sightseeing; yesterday we rode to Flannery’s home in Baltimore. The 50-mile ride was gorgeous, hilly, and short. During lunch I met Angela, who stopped her car when she saw our red van parked with “Ride Against AIDS” painted on the side. Angela told me that she was proud of the team, and that it made her happy to see a group of young people trying to start a conversation about HIV/AIDS because so many members of her family are affected by the disease. We also had a well-attended and productive event at a law firm in downtown Baltimore yesterday evening.

Today is August 14, and we roll into Boston on August 23. That means I only have a very surreal 9 days left of this journey with my teammates. While it’s healthiest for this adventure to end at some point, transitioning to normal life without my friends will be difficult at times and I expect to be nostalgic when I’m back at school for the routine we’ve settled into.