Day 21: Woodbridge to Farmington, Miles 644-679

Today feels very bittersweet. The first half of our day was a normal Lady Biker Gang day, and the second half brought us back to our normal lives, stationary and indoors.

We woke up in the yurt, after a cozy night on mattresses on the floor with air conditioning. Sarah’s yurt is even more special and amazing than I imagined it to be. We had leftover cake for breakfast with yogurt loaded with fruit and granola. Delicious, fresh, and perfect fuel for our mileage!

We started off with some beautiful downhill miles to get to the rail trail. Nobody was out on the roads- there were probably less than five cars in the ten or so miles it took us to get to the trail. We were surrounded with beautiful woods.

We biked at quite a leisurely pace through the rail trail, weaving through the many other people there, and planning out our 10 year reunion cross country trip. If we have spouses and children, we’ll make them come along in a trailer and their job will be to keep us fed and hydrated the whole time.

Not too long after the rail trail was over, we took a right turn onto a hill none of us were ready for. We walked/biked our way up the long and monstrous hill. Kelly led us from there, since it was the area she lived last year. We knew we were getting close!

We had one last hill before getting to Uconn Health- a long and steady one, that we got through easily together. I’ll really miss working hard up hills with my friends. It’s really special to work together and to see how far we’ve come in terms of fitness and unity in these 16 days. The four of us basically form one small vehicle when we’re on the road.

My favorite part of high school and college was the daily act of working out with a group of strong women that felt like sisters on my track team. I didn’t realize how much I missed that this year, but the community and daily mundanity of cycling on this trip brought me that same feeling of joy. We grew closer and stronger, and had so much fun along the way.

Getting home to Uconn Health felt so odd! It was a Sunday so the academic entrance parking lot was deserted, and it used to be bustling when I would park there on the weekends to study. I felt a pang of how much I miss going to school every day pre-covid and how much I’ll miss this trip.

And just like that, our trip is over. I can’t believe how lucky we are. In March/April when it was hitting us that going cross country was not going to be possible this year, we were crushed. But we couldn’t have seen how special this trip would be. It wasn’t quite a full on bike tour and it wasn’t (completely) vacation with friends, but it was a balance of both, sometimes leaning more on one side than the other. We are so grateful for our truly once in a lifetime experience. All the challenges, laughs, ice cream stands, unplanned diversions, and most of all, time spent with our friends and family along the way will stay with us in our memories forever. We are so thankful to everyone who’s helped us on this journey. We love you all.

Last minute pitch: We are still raising money for the Adaptive Sports Program, so if you feel inclined, we are always grateful for donations.

– Talia and the biker gang