We stayed in Lebanon again last night after a full day of volunteering at a build site in Vermont with an affordable housing/home repair group called Cover. Since there are so many of us, the group was split up and each group went to a different project. Myself and eight others drove a half hour into Vermont where we sided a trailer home that was in desperate need of repair. We got so much done and I was so proud of our efforts. I got to use a skillsaw for the first time. I have to admit, I felt pretty cool.
When we got home around 5 pm, we ran to the showers at the nearby community building and returned just in time for a lasagna dinner. It was delicious. Afterwards, one of the church members who had made us a pancake breakfast earlier that day suggested that we all participate in a sing along. A few of us were weary of the idea at the beginning, but it instantly became one of the highlights of the trip and a memory we'll never forget. We sang John Denver's "Country Road, Take Me Home" at the tops of our lungs and swayed back in forth arm in arm. The relationships I'm building with the people around me are amazing. After only a week of knowing each other, I feel like some of these people are my best friend. We get along so well, and it is amazing to see us having the time of our lives - every day! I truly feel so lucky to be a part of this group. :)
Anyway, back to today. We woke up at 6 am this morning to start our 42.1 mile trek into our first new state of the trip - Vermont! The first 30 miles were great - pretty flat and some downhill and absolutely beautiful scenery. Pictures below! :)
Then at lunch (around 9:45 am), I had the crazy idea to plan on getting ZERO flats the entire trip. Lesson learned: stop making goals; if you're me, Murphy's law always seems to apply. Not surprisingly, I ended up with not one, but two flats and a nice hole in my tire all of two miles down the road. Fortunately, my fellow and awesome B&B'ers stayed with me while I changed my tubes and waited to "Mom"gela to come to the rescue in the van. After two tubes and new tire, I was all set to climb.
The first couple of miles went just fine. Obviously a climb, but I was able to push through it. Then, about three miles in, hills like I'd never seen before appeared. I'm pretty sure the mere encounter of the hill in front of me was enough to eject me from my bike. I gave it a go, but I was off my bike in no time, pushing it uphill. I'm slightly disappointed in myself for not having biked up the whole thing (as some of the riders did), but I wholly subscribe to the idea of not torturing myself, and climbing that steep of an incline seemed brutal, and honestly, I think I walked my bike up just as fast.
At the top of the hill, we all breathed a celebratory sigh of relief and got ready to white knuckle our brakes for the 4 mile descent. Some people reached 53 miles per hour on their bikes! I'm a bit of a chicken, so I only hit 37 (my highest of the trip has been 41.5 mph). As soon as we arrived in Rochester, VT, a few of us headed to the river to 'shower' off. The water was ice cold, but it felt so good!
It's only 4 pm, but I think if I had it my way, I'd be headed to bed by 6.
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