Day 15: Westerly to New London, miles 467-490

I hate the heat. I cannot stress this enough. An ideal world for me includes one where it maxes out at 75 degrees. So knowing that today was going to be 90 degrees left me a little bitter going to bed last night. I was sleeping great, blissfully in dreamland, when I woke up to some slight drizzle on my face. We didn’t put up rain flys because it wasn’t supposed to rain and the breeze was a necessity. I thought “maybe this is a just a passing drizzle” and then came the rumble of thunder. I was extremely displeased. I jumped up, ran to find the rain fly, and put it on in a frantic, sleepy haze. As soon as I got back in my tent, it started to pour. Not a great way to start the morning.

After waking up for the second time (much less abruptly), we were all pleasantly surprised by the lingering clouds. The air was still heavy and hot, but at least it wasn’t scorching yet. We got packed up and treated to a lovely breakfast by Anne, Kate, Janne, and Nellie.

We then set off to see my CLIC preceptor, Dr. Doerwaldt, conveniently located 3 miles away just over the border in Pawcatuck. It was a nice flat warm up that ended with snacks and friendly face. I can now say I’ve biked to CLIC! I can’t wait to be back at the office as a student, though (and by car).

We hopped back on the road and passed through some rolling hills on our way to Mystic. We were very fortunate that the clouds stuck around. Once in Mystic, we stopped at Sift Bakery and had a quick snack. We biked around the center of town and stopped at the Maritime Museum to see some old ships. As we departed Mystic, we were greeted with hot sun and big hills.

And boy, that combination was really killing me today. My quads were burning. Sweat was dripping from every inch of me. The sun was beating down on my from above but also getting me from below, as it reflected off the pavement. I was very grateful that we had minimal mileage for the day.

Just when I thought it couldn’t be worse, we had to cross the bridge connecting New London and Groton. Despite there being a dedicated pedestrian lane, the I-95 traffic still felt uncomfortably close. The pedestrian lane was also very narrow, thus taking all my concentration to keep from careening into the barriers. We were also hundreds of feet up. And did I mention it was hot? My hands ached as we made our way off the bridge from clutching my breaks. It was a very tense experience.

But the bridge meant we were close to Justin Salm’s, our destination for the day in New London. The knowledge we were almost there was the only thing keeping me sane. That and the dramatic temperature drop as we got closer to the shore.

As you can imagine, I collapsed on the lawn immediately, basking in the shade and soft grass. The day really turned around, then. Justin and his mom fed and watered us. They also very graciously accepted their lawn takeover (we extra sprawled today as we had to dry our soaking wet tents from the morning’s surprise thunder storm).

We made our way to the beach and spent the day swimming, paddle boarding, and just lying around recovering. Dinner guests Mitch and Colleen joined us as we ended our day with a massive meal of homemade black bean burgers, marinated chicken, and veggies galore. Justin, truly, is an exceptional chef!

It’s funny how you can go through so much pain in a day and nearly forget it happened. Now that it’s hours after my ride, after the beach, after dinner, all I can recall is a lovely day at the beach. That is, of course, until I attempt to get up from seated and my quads scream at me.

So, despite my grumblings, I end the day with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Gratitude for all those who have fed us, let us take over their lawn, cheered us on as we climb hills, donated to us, etc. Our days, no matter how miserable at times, are punctuated with such acts of kindness that it’s almost overwhelming. So thank you all who are here reading this, your support means the world to us. We are grateful for you all.

— MK