Day 6: Florence to Keene, miles 136-196

I’m writing from the comfort of a friendly face in an unfamiliar town. My whole body hurts in a good way. I slept like a baby.

We’re full on hearty burrito bowls, spiced just to our liking. The hostess, future doctor, Alaina Johansson, had reached out to request our spice tolerance ahead of time. She really nailed “spicy, but still have to bike the next day”. Her boyfriend, Zach, welcomed us too, with a sign and a huge smile. He took the day off from his job as a New Hampshire State Trooper, docked out of Keene, NH. It is great to see them both.

I’m kind of in disbelief that we have reached triple digits already on this trip! I have never been so far or worked my body so hard. I’ve been wearing a Fitbit, and have confirmed that my body is doing things it has never done before. I feel muscles popping, and tightness in new places. Stretching and rolling helps. I got a demo today from Mary Kate and Talia, our resident athletes.

This evening, we were discussing the soreness. It’s new to me, but we all come to this trip from various levels of fitness. Personally, I’ve been “mildly active” for the past few years. I try to get the CDC recommended 30 min a day of formal exercise but rarely shoot for much more. Then, I take the chance to be outside and active as often as possible (stairs instead of elevator, walk/bike to school sometimes, etc). I was drawn to this trip because I love being outside and I loved biking around to commute when I lived in Boston. Today Talia, a former D1 Track athlete, told me she likes this trip because it was a lot of fun to exercise all day. I’ve never exercised all day before, and that doesn’t sound fun to me, but I’m loving this. We have very different motivations, very different levels of fitness, and together we are all experiencing the thrill of moving, exploring, and counting the miles together.

On today’s miles, here are the highlights:

-Northampton to Amherst: stopped in Amherst for brunch (the meal we now eat after breakfast and before lunch). Another art-filled street and funky shops and good smoothies.

-Roadside stop for cucumbers.

-free sherbets! We didn’t want to eat ice cream because we had a giant hill coming up. When we asked a person at the ice cream stand to fill our water bottles, he insisted on giving us sherbet. A previous customer had given him money as a gift card to spend on the next “bike travelers” that came through. That was us! The sherbet was delish and the cool off we needed before our climb.

-then we hit the hill. I’m still emotionally recovering. It was hard physically too. If you know how hills work (I didn’t before this trip!) this one started with a 15% incline, and then continued around 8% for 2 miles. Actually this was the hardest workout I can remember. Talia and Mary Kate nailed it and Kelly and I said we’d meet them at the top. Admittedly, there was a bit of walking involved. Every time we turned a corner and they were not there, disappointment set it. I realized I had more to go, and had to find the energy somewhere. But when it was over, we got to go down it. Weeee!

At the bottom of the hill, Forest lake was waiting for us to cool down. Google maps sent us to, what the locals called “a secret swimming spot”. Public access among private access. The water was just what we needed.

-our first off-roading adventure. 7 miles of gravel trails. We learned to keep our eyes on the front tire, and tolerate the bouncing around. The shade was very welcome. We were alone on the trail and listened to throwback jams.

Today was our first sunny day. The road was hot and we kept sweating off our sunscreen. We need to buy aloe, but we’ll be stronger and tanner when you see us next.

-then, after our swim, we rolled into Keene. A welcome to Keene sign at the end meant we had a chill night ahead of us.

Up next, we get to go back up the hills but it’s going to be a gentler climb and a shorter ride. Which means, we get to hang back and have pancakes for bfast. Luxury!

-SG