*Note: This was written last night but is getting posted today because we didn't have wifi last night! (This will be a common theme)*
Mileage: 71, but got shuttled the last 12
Weather: Varied, was hot and humid at some points, cool and windy with cloud cover at other points, and also a huge downpour
Well, today I’m writing from the gym floor of a church in
Waynesboro, PA, where it’s 10 pm and I’m literally fighting to keep my eyes
open! I apologize if this blog entry is boring or downright incomprehensible. I also apologize for the lack of pictures.... due to the stress of the first day I didn't take any!
Day 1 was filled with ups and downs, both mentally and
physically. I got about 2 hours of sleep last night due to the excitement and
stress. We had to be in Baltimore at 5:30 to pack the vans and get ready to
leave. At 7 the send-off ceremony began and at 7:45 all four 4K teams rolled
out of the Inner Harbor. Saying goodbye to my family was hard as I have never
been away from my family for that long, and my parents are very nervous about
me. So nervous that they interrogated Dan and Andrew (our ride directors) and installed
about 10 flashing strobe lights on my bike. Before pulling out of the harbor,
we all dipped our back tires into the Harbor. When we arrive at our
destinations on the West Coast we will dip our front tires into the Pacific
Ocean :).
I’m not sure I have the energy to go over the details of the
day, so I’m going to say two things that really stuck out to me.
1. This ride is going to challenge me in ways I’ve
never been challenged before.
To say this was clear today is an
understatement. Today’s ride was physically, mentally, and emotionally
challenging – and it was only Day 1. I think today was the hardest workout I’ve
done in the past 4 years. We faced rolling hills the whole way, which I was not
accustomed to from my training. In addition, grueling obstacles such as falls,
flat tires, hot sun, and a downpour all made appearances (I won the award for
first flat of the trip at mile 13!). There were moments when I definitely
thought there is no way I can do this for 70 days. My group had to get off the
road at mile 60 and shuttle the rest of the way because the downpour was
getting worse and the storm was expected to throw 70-mph winds and hail at us.
I ended the ride with a delicious mixture of sweat, sunscreen, and rain running
down my face and into my mouth, and with grime all over me. I’ve done
challenging things before, but this is different. After it’s over you don’t get
to go take a shower in your own shower and sleep in your poofy bed and have a
relaxing day the next day. No, it’s sleeping on a floor and getting right back
up to do the same thing the next day. It’s spending 70 days with people I just
met, and we’ll undoubtedly run into some disagreements along the way. It’s
going to be a challenge but I am up for it. When there are challenges we have
been instructed to think of the person we are riding for and imagine them, who
could not give up on the fight against cancer.
We would not have made it through
this day without the support of no less than 10 Team Portland alumni, who both
rode with us and supported us in the vans and their personal cars. Each riding
group today had an alumni. While most of the team was pretty quiet, likely due
to nerves and the fact that we all just met each other, the alumni chatted on
and on about their experiences and how much fun we are going to have. Alumni
passed by in the vans and cars with 4K written on their windows, honking the
trademark 4K van honk (a bunch of fast beeps), slowing down and yelling out the
windows, cheering us on. Some alumni even had a drum they were playing out the
window as they drove by. They encouraged us at parts they knew were
particularly difficult, such as long stretches and the hills! They also took
care of driving the vans, getting our food donations, and loading the bikes
onto the vans when we had to shuttle, taking a lot of stress off of our team,
which was very welcome as we already had a lot to stress about on Day 1.
2. The 4K community is amazing and inspiring and I
am honored to be a new member of it.
Coming into the water stops and
lunch stops, all the alumni and team members cheered for each person.
Everyone’s attitudes are just so positive and encouraging, and it’s really
inspiring. I also was thankful for the members of my riding group, who cheered
for each other on the hills while we were riding. I fell behind on several of
them but my teammates were very supportive and I always made it. It reminded me
of cross country in high school, when we would place ourselves on the hills of
the course and yell encouragement at each teammate. That made me realize how long
it’s been since I’ve even done a team sport, and that I’m glad to be back into
the atmosphere where teammates have each other’s backs and support each other
every step of the way. It makes me confident that when one of us is having a
hard day, we will be able to get through it. I am really excited to be
surrounded by such great people and can’t wait to really feel a part of the 4K
community.
Other random comments:
- Pretty sure I drank more water today than I have any other day of my life, but it was 100% necessary
- No idea how I’m going to re-pack my suitcase in the morning (my mom did it for me at home)
- Going to have to learn how to re-do a hair tie with cycling gloves on.. actually pretty difficult
- Roadkill…something you THINK you notice in a car, until you’re right next to it on a bike… yuck!!
- Ziploc bags = best thing that ever happened to my iPhone when it’s in my pocket during a rainstorm
- It was really a bummer that I didn’t get to finish Day 1, but at the same time, I’ll be better prepared for tomorrow, which is rumored to be the hardest day on the entire trip.
Tune in for tomorrow’s edition: Team Portland takes on the
APPALACHIANS!!
XOXO,
Mary
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