Day 59 - 3,332 Miles To Date - Austin, NV

As the trip continues to wind down, I'm beginning to realize that we should not be sad it's coming to an end, because it's also (cliche as it may be) the beginning of the rest of our lives. For most, it's finally time to start living in the real world outside of college, for some it's time to continue where we left off in the real world, and for some it's to get back to class working towards the real world. Whatever it may be, where ever we may end up, this team will always closely share this experience no one else will understand. As I sit here in Austin enjoying the breeze, staring at the gorgeous purple mountains as the sun sets, I look back on everything this team has accomplished. Believe it or not, we met each other 59 days ago and set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Little did we know we would become inseparable best friends. There have been challenges along the way as in life, but we have always all been there for each other and always will be. It's a pretty amazing feeling knowing you have a best friend in each of about half of the fifty states in America. I give credit to Emma for making me realize all of this, because before she said anything I was only thinking of all of these people I would miss and how I could possibly go about my normal life after this trip. Yes, it's gonna be lonely for a little not waking up on a gym floor next to 29 other friends, but as a team we've biked over 3,000 miles, met countless amazing people, stayed in over 60 different cities, dedicated our days to hundreds of family members and friends, helped out many important local cancer centers, and most importantly we've spread awareness at each stop we've made. Every gas station, city, national park, McDonald's, etc., we've spread what we're doing and why. If we keep in mind all we've done and what this summer meant to us, it makes the end a little bit better. And who couldn't be excited for the moment we cross the Golden Gate Bridge and see our friends, family, and that beautiful Pacific Ocean we've been dreaming of since Kansas?! I've made some of the best friends ever and met possibly some of the most inspiring, selfless people I will ever in my life meet, and for that I am forever grateful I came on this trip. For a short update on the past two days, we rode a total of 60 miles yesterday before shuttling 18 due to thunderstorms and today we rode 72 into Austin. We went out into the desert to find some natural hot springs which were AWESOME, until we saw three scorpions. At that point, we took a group pic and got the hell out of Dodge (middle of the desert, Nevada.) Tomorrow we head to Fallon, a 110 mile day, but hopefully not too hot, windy, or hilly. Now that I've said that, it probably will be all of the above. It should be a fun day though, our riding days are winding down, Harry Potter day and South Lake Tahoe are soon, and we have other fun festivities in store. Goodnight from the pacific time zone! I will probably do another update on our rest day. 

Day 57 - 3,200 Miles To Date - Ely, NV

It feels pretty awesome to finally see civilization again! Don't get me wrong, Baker, Nevada was great and all but I missed my shower and laundry and roof over my head. 4k Christmas was a huge success, including a meal from Jeff's grandma, secret Santa exchange, milk and cookies, a performance by some of Santa's elves and Kevin G from mean girls (aka Harshini.) It was a lot of fun and I love how much our team is spirited and loves doing all these crazy things together. We also received our invitation to the Harry Potter Yule Ball because of the upcoming Harry Potter day, and though I know nothing about the books or movies I was told I am Remilda Vane (we were all assigned characters.) Yesterday was another state line and also our first night legit camping. It was really exciting getting to our last state line before California! Also super crazy that we're this far and only have 13 days left. Now I'd be lying if I said I love camping, so I was not super excited to get off the bike all sweaty and have to sleep outside. It definitely was better than expected, though, and I ended up getting 9.5 hours of sleep! We heard there was a creek to rinse off in so we trekked through the woods and even met a cute little kid that showed us the path to the creek. I think we were definitely expecting a little bit bigger of a creek, because this one was about two feet wide and ten feet long of space we could actually use. Believe it or not, I felt a lot cleaner after rinsing off and finally using my 18 in 1 Dr. Bronner's soap. After that, we ate some pizza around the campfire and I eventually went to my tent at 8:30 pacific time. Wake up was at 6 since it wouldn't be light enough for us to do anything before then, and we headed out for our 50 mile ride into Ely. For this city, Landis' parents are hooking us up with some meals and they provided an awesome lunch at the top of our second climb. I'm currently sitting at the laundromat excited to have more clean clothes and discussing seeing a movie or going to a casino tonight, because we are in Nevada after all. Tomorrow we head to Eureka I believe and it'll be about 80 miles again. Even though we are kind of biking through the desert, I do really love the mountains in Nevada. They're like a mix between the Rockies and Appalachians and have a lot of cool textures. I notice a lot on these long, straight highways. I also really love the climbing every now and then, it changes things up and now having 3,000 miles under my belt it's a lot of fun.

Day 54 - 3,060 Miles To Date - Milford, UT

Today was great. Our host family fed us well as usual and we got eight wonderful hours of sleep in the most comfortable bed ever. Harshini and I shared again because we are inseparable. They had a beautiful white, fluffy dog that made the stay that much more enjoyable. There was a pot luck at the church for dinner with delicious Alfredo pasta and in the morning, pancakes, eggs, and bacon...most importantly coffee. Not only did we get coffee at the host's home, there was a coffee shop in the church that made us amazing iced mochas. With eight hours of sleep and a lot of coffee, I was ready to roll. We had a nice, easy 50 miles into Milford with the wind at our back and flat, downhill roads. My body feels really refreshed and ready to take on the next set of mountains. I even got a sno-cone today during the ride, as if my day could get any better. Tonight we exchange secret Santa gifts for 4k Christmas and everyone is in the holiday spirit! Tomorrow we head to Nevada!

Day 54 - 3,010 Miles To Date - Cedar City, UT

I've decided that I love every rest day for different reasons. Each city or town has so many but so many different things to offer. I loved Moab for all the activities we could do, but I loved Zion for how much we were able to relax. Both places were absolutely gorgeous in their own ways. First of all, Bryce Canyon was pretty cool. I didn't personally go to the actual park, but biking through some of the canyon was awesome. There was a hard climb towards the end, but it was definitely rewarding. Once we got our stuff set out, we went to a buffet for lunch and checked out some gift shops. The sheriff let us take his ATV around a little bit which was pretty fun and eventually that night we went out to a cliff in the middle of the woods to look at the stars. They're unbelievable out here! I thought Blacksburg had amazing stars but they are nothing compared to some of these national parks we've been in. I would try to show you some pictures Holden or Erica got on their fancy cameras, but you honestly just have to see it yourself. After a chilly but fun night enjoying the Bryce stars, we headed out in the morning to Zion National Park. We've lucked out with getting beds on this trip because we were technically camping in Zion, but we had bunk houses. That was pretty fun and reminded us all of summer camps. The ranch/bunk houses backed up to a pond filled with paddle boats and canoes we were all able to use. We took those out as soon as we settled in and eventually made a campfire to cook our dinner later. As far as riding, I've been pretty tired still on some of the harder climbing days. The Zion rest day was definitely necessary, but even more necessary was making sure I didn't do too much physical activity like we usually do. We still went for a two mile run...but oh well. Otherwise, we went into town for a delicious breakfast and just hung out a little bit. The closest town to where we stayed was about 45 minutes away, but it was totally worth the drive through the park each time. I got a really good breakfast burrito and topped it off with a bumbleberry milkshake, probably the best milkshake I've ever had. There's a whole story that goes along with it, but basically the bumbleberry is a plum with cinnamon and sugar, SO GOOD. I heard the bumbleberry pancakes were quite delicious as well. I picked up a few stickers and souvenirs then we headed back to the ranch. We took the canoes out again and then started a campfire to cook some more hot dogs, beans, and s'mores. The ride today was nice and very enjoyable. I wasn't tired at all anymore and we were able to stop in the town outside of Zion again for breakfast. We also stopped in Virgin, UT to check out the neat little shop and petting zoo. They had homemade ice cream so we stayed and hung out a little while before continuing our ride. The views were awesome, still enjoying all the red rock and canyon-like mountains. It was hot but there wasn't any headwind and it was mostly downhill and flat. Tonight we have home stays again in Cedar City! Tomorrow is our last full day/ night in Utah, we can't believe how fast this trip has gone by. Today I rode for my Aunt Amy's friends Kathy and Becky. 

Day 50 - 2,910 Miles To Date - Escalante, UT

So I have a lot to blog about, it’s been about four pretty eventful days. I tried to blog a couple days ago but we haven’t had any service, and as I’m typing this into a word document I’m wondering when we will have service for me to post this. But, wow Moab was amazing! It’s not exactly my kind of climate and area as far as living, but it definitely has a lot to offer and explore. We rode out of Grand Junction knowing last year’s team encountered some road issues on the way to Moab, so we were prepared to possibly have to shuttle. We arrived at the Utah state line about 33 miles into our trip and the water van discovered the bad roads from last year. There was also a large portion of interstate we would have to travel as the only way to Moab, so we came to a group decision to shuttle to a spot and pick back up on our biking through Arches National Park. We hiked to the Delicate Arch viewpoint then biked down through the park at sunset. It was absolutely beautiful as the sunlight lit up different portions of the red rock. Once we got back to the host, we hung out a little bit but eventually called it a night since we had to wake up for skydiving at 4:30 (Jeff and I of course HAD to run beforehand.) There was a mix of emotions across the board, nerves, excitement, fear, and definitely the need for coffee. Whatever the feelings before we hopped in the tiny propeller plane and climbed 10,000 feet above sea level, every single person that went had the time of their lives. It was easily the most amazing thing I have ever done in my entire life. I will admit, I was kind of nervous but I think more excited. I decided there was no reason to be scared and if anything was going to go wrong, it would for a reason. Luckily, we all safely landed. The flight was absolutely gorgeous; flying over all Moab has to offer in national parks as our tandem partner pointed out all of the landmarks. Draper decided he wanted to jump out of the plane first, so as we arrived at 10,000 feet the door was opened and that was my only “holy shit” moment. I was honestly pretty calm the whole time, nervous but calm, until that point. Draper and his partner jumped out and we followed soon after. In the 35 seconds of freefall, we did a backflip, waved goodbye to the plane, I drooled a lot (and apparently no one else did) as you’ll see in my video, and then the parachute opened and we had an enjoyable descent into a sandy landing. Absolutely amazing, and the day had just begun! Draper’s family reserved a few ATVs for some of us to go ride, so Jeff, Elliot, Draper, Michael, and I got picked up by his aunt and uncle (and parents that surprised him) and headed to the trails. I kid you not, riding in that ATV with Jeff was definitely scarier than skydiving, which brings me to a very good point – everyone always hypes up skydiving as being dangerous, but all of the things we do in our everyday lives are definitely more dangerous, including this trip. So if you haven’t gone, I definitely recommend it! (I’m in the process of convincing my dad.) Anyways, the ATV tour was so much fun. It was about two and a half hours and the tour guide stopped a couple times to show us some cool monuments and famous rocks. We stayed in the back on our tour so we were able to wait and go as fast as we could on the flat, straight parts. Eventually, of course, we went to fast and hit a curve and spun out (getting a flat that we found out about later.) It was really awesome nonetheless, and I got the almost-flip all on gopro video. After, Draper’s family treated us to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, my favorite. Needless to say, it was an incredible rest day. We went back and hung out for a little while, a few people went golfing, but dinner was at Draper’s aunt and uncle’s place they rent in Moab. We had amazing barbeque and a really fun evening. The next day, day 48 I believe, Rachel Eddy and I had a van day, which ended up being semi-eventful but not super stressful. There was absolutely no way to Green River without taking interstate (I guess last year’s team took I-70) so we shuttled again. It wasn’t too bad with water van’s help. We mailed a few packages in town, got coffee then headed out to pick up a couple teams and take them to Green River. Once settled, Jeff, Draper, and I went for a run and came back to some awesome pasta and veggies cooked by our teammates. Everyone took a hose shower (I believe our third of the week, they’re getting pretty normal) and headed to bed because we had another century in the works for the next day’s ride to Capitol Reef. That ride was definitely a rough one, it was hot, windy, and a lot of unexpected climbing – not to mention the century part. It was also set to be our first night of camping, which we just knew would be super stressful with the chores we do in the morning and not having showers, etc. I believe we were at about mile 50 of our really tough day when we got the group text from Harshini. “No camping for us! We got 7 hotel rooms, so we have showers, beds, and complimentary breakfast donated!” You do not understand how excited I and all of us were after reading that. To have a long, hot, hard day and go camp would just be very miserable. Of course – this trip is all about being out of your comfort zone and you could say we got spoiled, BUT it was awesome. On our day to Capitol Reef we also met a guy WALKING across the country. He started in Delaware in March 2013 and is making his way to San Francisco as well. You may think he could walk quicker but I think he's just taking his time and seeing all the country has to offer. Major props to him, biking is hard enough. Today, which will likely not be today when I am finally able to post this, is day 50. Only 20 more days, we are getting pretty sad about that part. Especially with rest and van days left to go, each of us only has about 15 more riding days. What are we going to do without each other?! Escalante was one of the days the alumni warned us about. Trail Ridge Road was so hyped up that we forgot there are in fact more mountains after it. We had 65 miles, but 6500 feet of climbing and it was definitely harder than Trail Ridge Road. I wouldn’t say it was my hardest day mentally or physically, but it sure was a tough one. The scenery was absolutely beautiful though, continuing with the crazy red rock. We had a long descent into a really cool canyon towards the end of the ride, of course we had to climb back out of it, but it was fun! There were definitely A LOT of climbs today, my legs noticed every single one, but as one of our hosts said at dinner tonight, life is good. His main point was for us to remain positive even on the hard days, so I will definitely try to keep that in mind as we continue with the hard climbing. We arrived finally to the high school in Escalante, which is a really nice big setup with AC and showers (I don’t ask for much.) We cleaned up and went to the local pizza shop where our dinner was being hosted. The homemade pizza was so delicious, definitely one of the best I’ve had. The homemade red velvet was the icing on the cake (no pun intended.) Now, I plan on having an early night as I write this at 9pm in my bed (sleeping pad and sleeping bag.) We get to sleep in tomorrow!!! Wake up is at 6:15 because we have a short day, lots more climbing, but only 52 miles. I will probably continue on this post after tomorrow, fingers crossed for wifi! My skydiving video link will be at the bottom of this along with amazing Moab pictures! Goodnight from Escalante, UT.

Skydive video: http://youtu.be/uZp4euZaZx8