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 

Day 2: Rolling hills from Belfast to Newcastle

Since the sunrise in Maine is 4:55am, the group woke up early as we were getting baked in the rising sun in our tents. Due to the rain storms, it took a long time to dry out tents and get packed up. Oddly, the women's restroom was locked at the campsite, so we all had to share the men's room, which slowed the process of getting ready a bit.

Everyone left camp by 9 am, with an immediate hill climb out of camp and then we proceeded to bike up another hill in the wrong direction, so we had to turn around and ride up the other side of the same dang hill to get back on course. It was a shorter day of riding (54ish miles) through country roads to Camden, Maine, along busy Route 1 to Waldoboro and a combo of quiet and busy roads into camp in Newcastle.

The highlight of the day was meeting my co-worker Ryan at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro. Ryan is a local and recommended the place, so I recommended it to everyone else. It turned out that the one of the owner's wives has MS, so it seemed almost serendipitous that we stopped there. They want to put us on their website and Facebook page!  We met the owner, but not his wife, unfortunately. She is apparently not using a wheelchair, which is great that her MS still seems manageable. I hope her body stays as healthy as possible for a very long time! They were so thankful at the diner for our riding cause that everyone got a free whoopie pie, my first one, too! And it was delicious, as was the rest of the food.

Coming into camp, my knee pain was really flaring up. We set up our sleeping bags in a local church that kindly welcomed us, then we to eat at a local seafood restaurant. I could barely walk after dinner and had to go to Rite Aid to buy some knee braces. I've never had pain like this before, so I really hope it doesn't keep getting worse. Thankfully, between the physical therapist, the massage therapist and the mechanic, I might be able to get it figured out.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long riding day at 74 miles, so I hope it feels better by morning.

Random field between Belfast and Camden

Camden, Maine

Moody's Diner and my delicious whoopie pie

Group stretching session at the end of the day 

Day 1: Bar Harbor Hills and T-Storms in Belfast

The Northern Tear 2015 ride has officially begun! With a 9am group photo and rear tire dip in the Atlantic, the group said goodbyes to whoever had loved ones make the trek to support them and set off westward. Within 500 ft of the departure point, we had our first hill leaving town. The entire Desert Island was rolling hills and head winds, as was the rest of the day, it seemed. It was about 10 degrees warmer than we thought it would be, so it was a beautiful and sunny day, no tights or ear warmers needed.

The first stop of the day was in Ellsworth, a cute little town and we got smoothies across the street. After hanging out for an hour, we headed west right up another mega hill. This trip is already way more hilly than the TransAm. It's ok; I eat hills for breakfast. We made a few stops on the side of the road along the way to give our... chamois and legs a break. We only had 2 people take falls today, but everyone is ok. My knee that's recently been bothering me really made today hard. I wonder how it'll feel for the rest of the trip.

The 2nd stop was in Orland, which wasn't much but a gas station where we took our break. I actually ate chicken tenders from the gas station and guzzled a delicious bottle of chocolate milk.

The last 20 miles were particularly tough for me. I had reached my exhaustion and pain points, so I slowed down a bit, but made it into camp with the group I had been riding with.

Immediately, we pitched our tents and took showers at a local park along a bike path in Belfast, Maine. It's beautifully scenic along the water. A friend from last year's ride, Stefanie, and I had burritos at local place called Bay Wraps and they were fantastic! Thunderstorms rolled in while we were eating, so we relaxed on the couches and I charged my devices while we waited. After the storm, we headed to a local waterfront brewery called Three Tides, which was a perfect end to the day.

It's only 930 and I'm so ready for bed! Thanks for reading and thank you for your support!

Tire dip and group photo in Bar Harbor

Side of the road selfie stop

Tents before the storm

Three Tides Brewery 

Sunset from Three Tides Brewery 

Welcome to Ba' Habba'

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

Me at sunset 

The house we stayed in

Orientation 

Don, Cassie and the route leaders

My elevation profile for the week

Our sweet jerseys

Downtown Bar Harbor, Maine

Packing for Maine

Today, my parents and I are heading north to begin our journey to Maine. I'm telling people I tricked them into taking a vacation so they could drive my north, but my sister will be joining us on Wednesday, so they really are taking a vacation!  Since it's a 12 hour drive and I am working remotely tomorrow, we are breaking the trip up into a couple of days. We will stay at our family farm tonight in Harrisburg, PA and then drive as far north as we can Monday night, maybe getting into the Hartford, CT area. We will drive the rest of the way Tuesday to Bar Harbor. I'm excited to be one of the first people in the US to see the sunrise Wednesday morning as Bar Harbor is the first place the sunrise can be seen in the US. Then, the excitement will begin with Orientation at noon on Wednesday and off we'll go Thursday after a ceremonial rear tire dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

It's complicated to pack camping gear, cycling gear, off bike clothes, toiletries, and rain gear for this trip into a 30" duffel bag; all of it, including my tent.  Luckily, I can take a separate grocery bag with my food.  It's been done year after year, but it seems more complicated for me this year because rain and cold temps are in the forecast for the start and then hot weather at the end. I suppose I'm mostly worried about being cold at night. I have everything laid out and I know it'll all fit, somehow perfectly, but I'm always wondering if I'll need more. Following the suggested packing list is always a smart choice. Even with all my travels over the years, I always seem to find myself trying to over, but it always works itself out in the end. Well, I guess I should get to it!

Here's a sneak peak at the section of the route I'll be participating in, starting on Thursday morning.

If you would like to donate to Bike the US for MS, please do so through my page:

http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727

Check back soon for more posts!

Donation Dinner for MS

Last night, some very good friends, Brian and Emily, hosted a wonderful Donation Dinner in honor of Bike the US for MS. Each month this year, Brian and Emily are hosting a Donation Dinner in honor of a selected charity.  They work seemingly tirelessly for days leading up to the dinner and invite their closest friends to share in the meal, as long as each person contributes a minimum of $10 to the selected charity.  This month, they selected Bike the US For MS as their charity for the Donation Dinner. 

Brian and Emily prepared a deliciously grand Mediterranean meal with proper mezze of hummus, eggplant puree, chickpea fritters, chorizo, haloumi, veggies and pita.  The main course was a fabulous spanikopita and concertina squid.  The meal was rounded out with the most amazing panna cotta that was topped with mango and raspberries in rose water.  

The wine was flowing and the conversation was full of laughter and good stories.  To allow for 14 dinner guests, Brian and Emily set up their tables outside.  We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, too. With lights strung out to the street over the dinner table, we spent all evening outside in the gentle breeze and comfortable temperatures. 

Thank you so much to Brian and Emily for their generosity and hospitality in hosting this fabulous fundraising event!  And great thanks to all of the guests for their generous donations, as well as to those who donated, but could not attend the dinner!  

The Bike the US for MS Donation Dinner was a HUGE success, raising approximately $300 for the charity!  I hope all of the donors understand how grateful I am and how grateful the recipients of these funds will be.  


Only 18 days to go before we start pedaling on the Northern Tier 2015 Bike the US for MS tour. Check back soon for more stories and trip updates!

My cyclist page: http://www.biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727

Prepping for NoTier 2015

Where has the year gone?

Really. Someone tell me.  I can look at my Christmas card where I marked off all the cities I went to in the past 365 days.  Or I can try to explain the soul-searching trans-formative journey I’ve been on (how much time do you have?)  Or I can try to describe all the ways my job has changed in the past year (get ready for a nap!).  These things all have vague beginnings and ends, but nothing truly coincides with a year, other than the changing on the seasons and crossing off days on a calendar… which I didn’t do, so it’s no wonder I feel this way!

What I do know is that it’s that time of year again…oh, the suspense!... this is a time when cyclists are trying to toughen up the skin padding their sit bones, tune up their bikes to the key of Bicycle by Queen, air out their dank camping gear from the summer before, and, most importantly, fundraise, fundraise, fundraise for a great cause!  Bike the US for MS raises funds not only for research, but also to improve the lives of those living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) through service projects, clinic donations, and even material donations (such as a modified mini-van to help getting around town a little bit easier). 

Making sure I know how to set up my tent... and now I have a guest room. :)

I had the honor to ride a week with the 2014 TransAmerica group one year ago.  It changed my life in so many ways.  Personally, this cause helps to feed my insatiable hunger to aide my fellow man, but also builds my confidence as a road cyclist.  Commuting every day to work via bike in traffic used to really scare me, but now I ride my bike like it’s my trusty Mustang horse.  She knows me and I know her.  Yes, I believe all bikes are probably female.  I couldn’t say how they reproduce, though…. *Ahem* Anyway, in addition to the physical and mental strength the Bike the US for MS charity ride gave me last year, it also built lasting relationships among other cyclists, but more importantly, it introduced me to a whole new community of wonderful people living with MS.  It’s a disease that’s more common and debilitating than you might think.  Though I had met very few people with MS prior to this experience, my connections to others and this community deepened profoundly. Connections that I hope to never lose.

The ride I am participating in this year will be the Northern Tier route, which runs from Bar Harbor, Maine (yes, pronounced Bah Hah-Bah) to Seattle, Washington over the course of 69 days.  I can only take the time to participate in the first leg of the trip that goes from the start to Middlebury, Vermont, through the very hilly White Mountains of New Hampshire.  After last year’s steamy trek up Afton Mountain in Virginia, I feel that I can take any mountain.  I just need to keep doing my long rides and I’ll make it through, surely with some dirt in my teeth and perhaps wrestle a few bears along the way.  

Ready to ride!

Seriously, though, I couldn’t be more excited to meet new people and see new places, all while riding for a great cause.  As much as I am thankful that your funds allowed me to participate in the charity event last year, I am even more grateful that you chose to support complete strangers who are in need.  It’s a constant reminder to me to live every day in gratitude and to never take the blessing of good health for granted.  I am humbled and honored to ride for those living with Multiple Sclerosis.  

If you would like to support those who benefit from Bike the US for MS, please visit my cyclist page: http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727

Check back soon for updates as I get ready for the trip!  Orientation in on May 27 and I begin riding on May 28^th.  Yeehaw!