My folks and I got into Bar Harbor yesterday (Tuesday evening) after a long drive up from Danbury, CT on Monday evening. It was nice to see family Monday afternoon and evening after we left our family farm where I worked remotely on Monday. As I-95 started turned into rolling hill after rolling hill in Maine, I started saying, "Uh oh, it's gonna' be hilly!" And my parents laughed at that, partially because they might be evil, but also knowing I already knew what I was in for. Tuesday night, we stayed at a house where some of the other cyclists were staying in downtown Bar Harbor. It was a fun way to ease into the trip and meet a few people at a time, also so I could remember names.
Today (Wednesday), we had a group orientation at noon at the Village Green park in Bar Harbor, which is when the excitement really began! There seemed to be so many more people than I expected. It was fun to meet all these new, excited cyclists. Some have a close tie to MS and others are just learning about the disease. No doubt everyone will feel close to it once they meet many folks along the way who are living and dealing with MS.
During the Orientation, the Founder Don Fraser introduced himself and explained founding this organization because his mother has MS. He then introduced Cassie who runs so much of the logistics of all the Bike the US for MS trips. She then went down the line and introduced all the route leaders for the trip, who jokingly all say you are "one of them" if you quit your job and are homeless while doing this trip. We continued on with individual introductions, explaining where we are from and our connection to MS. I said I was really touched back in college at JMU when my Advisor (and favorite professor) told me of how MS has changed his wife's life and his, too. Since getting involved with this organization, I'm constantly being touched by people who's parents, friends and even their dogs have MS, and I had never known how prevalent it was before. It's pretty incredible how this organization has brought me closer to other people in unexpected ways.
Next, we moved on to various stations to discuss logistics, such as trailer etiquette, communications with the route leaders, basic road side bike maintenance, and map reading. I even got real maps this year! The trailer has even more improvements and sweet lights inside now than last year. Cassie designed our awesome jerseys. The front is the same as the back, minus the sponsors.
We have yet another great group of riders this year. It's so nice to reconnect with alumni friends from last year, but also not be a total novice myself. My roommate is pretty nervous and I told her I had a meltdown last year the day before the start because my anxiety just broke me down, but that she will totally get the hang of it and that I feel extremely differently about it this year.
After Orientation, my family and I drove around a bit of island, through Acadia National Forest, and back in the road I'll ride out on in the morning, which had some decent hills to start us of with. My sister Meg flew in today, also, so she and my parents will go exploring and meet back up with me in a week in Middlebury, VT. After a waterfront lobster dinner, I headed to the hotel to start prepping my gear for tomorrow. Everyone is excited, but sleepy, so hopefully we can all get a good night's rest.
If you'd like to donate, please do so here: http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727
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