I'm here in Poughkeepsie, New York, in Vassar's cathedral-like library, stealing their internet. I just ran into Emma's roommate Claire, and managed to scare the **** out of her by actually just yelling "Claire!" Luckily, with an introduction, she seemed to relax a little bit. I thought you'd warned her we were coming, Emma...
Yesterday was our longest ride yet, about 74 miles from Agawam, MA to Kent, CT. I rode sweep with Nate, which was nice for a long while-- lazily bringing up the rear for all the other riders, hanging out at Dunkin' Donuts and a beautiful park in Suffield (which has some ridiculous houses...) and generally enjoying conversation with Nate at the back o' the pack.
But then we hit the hills.
The combined vertical for the day was more than 6000', including one hill that stretched on for about 3 miles. I can handle hills. In fact, I really enjoy 'em. But at 4 mph, they rapidly get frustrating. I didn't even know that you could stay on a bike going 4 mph. Nate and I practiced our pedaling (circles, rather than pushing down), pedaling one-footed, and would take periodic bike-maintenance breaks to let the stragglers get out in front of us. At 4 pm (when we were supposed to be in Kent) we were 27 miles away. And working our way up a monster hill.
We sheltered on the porch of a lake house in Cornwall during a torrential thunderstorm (luckily, it passed) and then pressed onward, with the OK from our leaders. Finally, we were 10 miles away, tearing down a great hill, and I started to feel the terrain through my seat a little bit more than normal. I thought it was just rougher pavement. Then I scoped out my back tire, to find that it'd been deflating for about 200 yards. I stopped at the bottom, watching everyone cruise on up the coming hill, and busied myself changing my tire.
At this point in the day, I was running out of juice, and so was my phone. I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of rural CT, and I didn't know what to expect. The sweepers, after all, don't have their own sweepers. Anyways. I changed my first tire, avoiding panic, and cranked up the hill to find, to my joy, Nate, Elle, and Win, all waiting for me and chatting with a volunteer fireman. Everything was in order, and we cruised the last dozen-or-so miles down into Kent, along rolling hills and verdant pasture. We were greeted, at 6:45, by cheers and hamburgers at The Kent School (their campus is nicer than Brown's, I swear...) and I took out my somewhat-pent-up frustration in a game of Frisbee w/ Amelia, Logan, and Nate. I'm glad I rode sweep, but I don't want to do it again for a lil' while.
Today, on the other hand, was short (32 mi.) and sweet (one gnarly uphill and then miles of cruisers into the Hudson River Valley). We left Kent at 9 or so and made it into Po-town by noon. I like riding fast, I like feeling my muscles burn, I like pushing myself to make it up the hill without stopping. And this is really (really) beautiful country.
We're heading over to another part of Poughkeepsie now, to St Martin's church, on Mansion Street. Apparently, Mansion St's sort of a misnomer, as it's in one of the most impoverished areas of the city, but... life's funny sometimes.
Over 'n out, thanks for reading, and thanks for your comments-- they make me smile.
'Til later...
-S
3 comments:
sam! mansion street is like 3 blocks from where i work - new hope community center! go there and say hi! well i guess it's actually way too late. but if you get a chance it's on hudson ave., off of 44/55 and smith street. pretty much any kid you see in those houses knows Miss Emma. i'm kind of a big deal.
sorry about the claire confusion. she is easily flustered. say hi to the Po for me.
Hey--Great to read your stuff and I love looking at the map on the main site, checking your progress. Don't forget to check the post office tomorrow for an Express Mail package from your Mum..xoxo
sorry to read about your fellow rider who had to drop out after his fall. be careful out there, and keep an eye on the road.
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