Day 6: Bread Loaf Mountain climb into Middlebury, VT

We awoke in the community center nearly 30 minutes later than usual - all of 6am instead of 530am! There were almost no early birds on the TransAm ride last year, so this has been quite the change. As mellow as this group is, they really love to just get up and tackle the miles. Hard core!  Someone from the local community in East Thetford had made us something like 4 or 5 dozen donuts and sent along maple cream (similar to icing) to top them with! So delicious! We delayed heading out so that we could present Meg with the Bike the US for MS Silver Award for her repeatedly amazing hospitality when the Northern Tier riders come through town each year on June 1st. It was a very special moment. Check out the video here.

Since I had taken the previous day off to rest my sciatic nerve, my bike needed a fresh chain lube from all the rain it had been put through on top of the van. As usual, I was one of the last ones to depart from camp, but oddly, never later than the time we are supposed to depart by. I'm just not an early bird. :)  Stefanie and I had a nice ride out of East Thetford, VT with some lovely scenery to the first rest stop in South Royalton, VT. It was chilly and misty, so I was bundled in multiple layers and my rain jacket. Our stop was in a cute little town where I got homemade chicken soup and a banana at a local market. It warmed me right up!

After leaving this rest stop, I wasn't more than 5 minutes of out town when I heard a strange squeaking sound and it was to the tune of a flat front tire. So, I pulled over and two of the other riders, Al and Gayle, kindly pulled over to offer assistance, as well. It was a pretty easy and quick tube change, and I was happy i had changed a tire the previous day and was fresh on my skills. Seeing as this tube had already been patched 2 or 3 times, I wasn't surprised it had a flat. I used my Air Kiss CO2 cartridge to fill the tire, but later discovered I only let it fill the tire half full. It seemed ok while riding another 15 miles on it, with a significant hill climb included. I was lucky to not get another pinch flat riding on it that way.

Our 2nd rest stop of the day was in another cute, little town called Rochester. By this time, my sciatic nerve was feeling more pinched and my knee was really starting to ache. I decided to see if I was ambidextrous and unclip with the other foot than I usually do. It turns out I'm not podiatrically ambidextrous when it comes to actually stopping and being able to put my free foot on the ground. Unclipping was not the problem, but correct balance was. So, I went injured-sciatic nerve-first into the pavement right next to a bunch of riders. So graceful. It felt kind of nice, in a sick way perhaps, to have such direct pressure on the pain point. I'm alright, just have a fresh bruise to match the other "cheek" from a few weeks ago.

Once dusting myself off and straightening out of my crooked seat, I ate delicious French toast (with pure VT maple syrup of course!) and drank a bottle of milk at a local bakery. When the massive plate of food came out, I wasn't sure if this was the correct choice before climbing Bread Loaf Mountain, which was a 2-3 mile climb at 12% grade. Oh well, I certainly wasn't going to NOT eat it.

Once again, last out of the rest stop, I stripped out of my rain jacket, gloves, sunglasses and hat (all items that could cause me to pour sweat on such a mountain climb) and off I went. I wasn't exactly sure when the climb officially began, but I felt strong, like I had adrenaline and maple syrup fueling my veins. I surprised myself and caught up to a number of riders, reaching the summit with others I don't normally get to ride with. We took photos of our achievement and then were immediately passed by the men's Olympic biathlon team who were training on the same mountain and looked way more badass. So, to keep my adrenaline going, I got on my bike and hit 40 mph riding down the other side of the mountain at a 15% grade. I pedaled so hard, but forgot it was actually a 15 mile ride to camp. I felt great and crushed that day of biking, but I think part of my success was due to knowing it was my last day, as well as 6 pills of ibuprofen to get me through the day.

We stayed at a local sports facility in a building called The Warming Hut in Middlebury, VT. It was smaller than the previous night's community center and then we found out there was no hot water for showers, so 27 stinky people were packed in a small room. It smelled anything but lovely.

My parents arrived just in time to see me come into the parking lot on my bike, but yet they didn't even recognize me in my cycling gear. They let me use the shower in their hotel room, thankfully. After my first hot shower in about 3 days, it sure did make me sleepy. And then the ibuprofen began to wear off.

We met most of the group at the popular,  local Two Brothers Tavern and the night evolved into karaoke and fun times together. The next day was a rest day, so nobody was anxious to get to bed, despite the exhaustion. I lost my ID somewhere in the mountains, probably stolen by a moose, so I didn't get to go to the bar. Ibstead, I met others back at camp and Mr. Sandman and full leg pain hit me pretty hard. I barely slept for the 6 hours I layed on my sleeping pad on the floor and winced with pain any time I turned over. As sad as I am to leave tomorrow, my body is ok with taking time to heal and I can't wait to come back healed and stronger when I meet the group in 8 weeks in Washington state for more mountains!

Anytime I've had this pinched nerve pain while riding, I always think back to the rider pledge we signed where one of the lines says, "Before I complain about feeling tired, hurt, or dirty, I will think of the millions of people living with MS and the struggle they go through each day." And then I do my best to press on through the ride in honor of all of those I've spent this week riding for.

Vermont scenery 

Delicious cafe in Rochester, VT

Milk gets me up mountains 

At the top of Bread Loaf Mountain; conquered!

Hanging with some of the gang at Two Brothers Tavern in Middlebury

Day 5: Summit of Mt. Kancamagus and down into VT

We are only spending 1 night in NH, and it will probably be the coldest, wettest night of the entire trip. We stayed at Jigger Johnson Campground last night about 10 miles up Mt. Kancamagus. Half of the group woke up to sleeping in puddles or flooded tents. My hip and knee ached all night long and I could barely sleep. Despite wearing nearly everything I brought, I shivered all night and was thankful to have a mummy style sleeping bag. It's rated to 45F, but it didn't quite get the job done because it was probably 40F with the wind chill. Pretty quickly I knew that I wouldn't be able to climb the 2 mountains today, riding 80 miles total, in the cold and pouring rain while being in pain. Part of the problem is that I can't wear my cycling shoes to clip in and out because it shoots severe pain from my foot all the way up to my hip. It really seems like my psciatic nerve is being pinched. Oddly, it is directly opposite where I fell on my right hip just over a month ago. So, instead of it being truly knee pain, I'm wondering if my fall misaligned my hips and is pinching my psiatic nerve when I ride. It had been feeling better after being off my bike, but today it's just constantly hurting and ibuprofen has stopped working. As heart broken as I am about not riding with the group today, I am more concerned about not making it worse and also risking falling if I can't unclog (or slipping off my pedals on the ascents or descents while only wearing sneakers). Emily is a massage therapist and is kindly going to work on my pyriformis tonight to try to loosen the pressure on my psiatic nerve. 

The group is doing amazingly today. They all have such fantastic attutudes, despite all the frigidity and wetness they are experiencing. Though most didn't have smiles on their faces, 2 guys (Will and Zach) actually gave us in the van a smile as we passed them. After a 12 mile steep descent into Lincoln (slippery and in the cold and rain), everyone stripped down and went into a local laundromat to dry their gear (sleeping bags and some tents, too!) before having lunch and hitting the road again. 

The rain let up a little bit as the group headed across state lines into Vermont. A few folks had falls coming down the mountain and someone who broke both of his rims, so we are up to 4 riders total in the van who had to give their bodies a break.

The rest of the day included a few more stops in the rain and our final destination in Thetford Center, Vermont, which is where we had a great host named Meg who has MS. She rallied the community to bring all kinds of wonderful food for dinner, tents, showers in their homes, and let us stay inside in their Community Center. This is one of the nicest towns I've ever been in. This is also one of our riders' (Ryan) hometowns, so we said our goodbyes to him tonight, as well. Most people were able to get showers, and we are all set up in the same room, so we will quickly find out who snores tonight! 

I'm so bummed tomorrow is my last day of riding (until late July when I rejoin the group for the last 5 day!) and I'm going to try to bike, despite my knee. We are in a warm room tonight and I'm really hoping that helps my knee feel more loose by morning.

Flooding tents

The van and trailer 

Drying ourselves

Days 3 and 4: Newcastle to Naples and halfway up Mt Kancamagus

On Day 3 (Saturday), we had our longest day yet at 76 miles (unless you got lost, so give or take 10 miles). It was a pretty hot day, too. We started out early from Newcastle where we stayed in a church. The first of three stops was in a cute town called Bath. There was a local farmers market where we taste tested some great local goat cheeses, and had coffee and danishes. Everyone asked if there was a bike race, so we had plenty of opportunities to talk about Bike the US for MS and even collected some great donations!

It's been pretty rough riding so far through Maine. Most of the main Maine roads are pocked and cracked, probably from the harsh winters. Many of the side roads are nice and quiet, and some even freshly paved, which is always a treat! There wasn't much shade and the day was full of rolling hills. Our 2nd stop was at the top of a hill after following a river for a few miles that I just wanted to swim in. The last destination was a town called Naples, which had a town a few miles before our camp site. Stefanie (whom I rode with last year on the TransAm) and I stopped to have a burger at a local place. By the time we finished, it was getting to be dark. My rear tail light had bounced off and got crushed by a truck on the first day of riding when we crossed over a bridge on a steep down hill that had a big bump. Stefanie lent my one of her lights, but then we spent 30 minutes searching Rite Aid and the small local grocery story for cable ties to attach it to my bike, but nobody had any! Usually I bring them, but I had forgotten them this trip. Finally, she was able to tear it off and reuse the one she already had on her bike and we headed down the road. It ended up being nearly 5 miles, which took about 30 min riding in the dark. We got into the campground well after dark and set up our tents, then showered and headed to bed. It took me forever to fall asleep because I was so wound up from riding up until bedtime. 

Day 4: It was a humid night with a little rain in the morning. I was so efficient getting ready that I was ready to leave camp nearly 30 minutes early, until I discovered a flat on my rear tire, which is always way more of a pain to change. Then it started to rain... a cold rain. Another rider named Ryan and the mechanic Lucas helped me get my chain and rear derailleur set correctly. Stefanie and I finally left, this time way later than we had hoped. By now, we were hungry for 2nd breakfast, so we swung into a Subway in the next town of Bridgton. By now, it was a steady, cold rain. I had my rain jacket on, but just my shorts and compression calf sleeves. We rode to the first rest stop in a full on cold downpour. Notice all the emphasis on cold! The temperature had dropped significantly since yesterday, and we were headed upwards in elevation into the White Mountain Forest. I put on my rain pants and better gloves, but the chill had already set in. I powered it through the next 20 miles to the next rest stop in Conway, New Hampshire. I wanted to stop and take a picture at the state line, but I honestly just didn't want to stop at all. I got to Conway by 1pm and the route leaders advised everyone to stay in town for a bit to get warm and wait for a break in the rain. By this time, the cold was making my knee ache really badly, so I ended up riding in the van to the campsite. I feel like a total loser for not riding the last 10 miles of the day and also missing the first few miles up Mt. Kancamagus, but I want to be able to ride the next 2 days and just felt like my knee needed a break. 

At the remote campsite in the White Mountain National Forest, we worked together to put up tents in the rain, then cooked under a pop up tent we had. It's fun to see everyone's different cooking gear. We had a team meeting (in the cold rain because there's no where you can fit 25 people together here) and then most folks went to bed before dark.

Tomorrow will be both a long day (80 miles) with 2 climbs and more cold rain (45F). This is so far, far out of my comfort zone, but I love everyone on this trip and they're awesome attitudes make it still such a great time. 

Time for bed!

Waterfront Farmers Market in Bath

Beautiful lake somewhere...

Ready for a rainy ride, complete with trash bags to try to keep my socks dry (they didn't work for long)

Hiding from the rain in the trailer

Hanging out at an abandoned gas station

So sad I finally had to throw in the towel and take the last 10 miles of the day off to give my knee a break

Cooking at the campground