Team Photo

Here is a picture of our team, plus expert bike fitter and our biggest supporter, Dick Drummond. The cyclists are, (from left to right) Sarah, Ellen, Ellie, Gwen, Brendon, Parker, Renzo.
This is the day we got our bikes! Dick fitted each of us separately for our bikes, adjusting all kinds of things that we didn't even know were important. Thanks to him, our rides will be much more comfortable!

First Ride Ever!!

As we all stood around making the final adjustments for our first ride together as a team, the excitement was palpable. I looked around at my friends: Parker, Renzo, Brendon, and Ellen (unfortunately, cyclists Gwen and Sarah were missing) and thought about the long day ahead. Our tires were pumped, our saddlebags were full of energy bars, and our legs were ready for a workout. We hopped on our bikes at 8:45 and began our nine-hour trek from Concord, NH to Sudbury, Massachusetts.
To me, these first twenty miles into Goffstown, NH were the hardest of the day. All I could think about were the 80 miles that lay ahead of me... How long it would take, how tired I would be, how hot it was, the big hills I would have to face. I quickly finished off two huge water bottles, and the day’s heat had barely even begun to set in. We arrived in Goffstown in a little under two hours. Brendon got there first, about fifteen minutes ahead of the rest of the group (if you haven’t met this kid… you should. His thighs are as big around as my torso, he pulls a mean 2k, and his determination is sometimes scary… I’m not surprised that he’s leaving us all in the dust!!). We pulled up to the Goffstown gas station to see Brendon sitting on the edge of the sidewalk munching on some trail mix. After about fifteen minutes there: working out some kinks on the bikes, filling up our water bottles, and figuring out the remainder of our route, we set off once again.
We spent the rest of the day cycling through some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. Never before have I appreciated New Hampshire and Massachusetts so much. It was a gorgeous day: highs of 90 degrees, the sun on our skin, and a slight wind at our backs all day. It was a very hilly ride, with almost no flat stretches. One section stands out particularly in my mind as one of the most stunning views I have ever seen. After a few miles completely surrounded by woods, we emerged over the ridge of a long, rolling hill. On each side of us, there were huge expanses of open, untouched fields, with miles of green mountains in the distance. It was the first real taste of spring that I had gotten this year, and I was overcome with excitement. I can’t wait to experience the beauty of the rest of the United States: this huge country that I have seen so little of.
After nine hours total, including a long lunch break and multiple water, snack, and bathroom breaks, we arrived at our friend’s house in Eastern Massachusetts. Thank goodness for Mrs. Stoner’s delicious cooking and Mr. Stoner’s skill on the grill, because we were a ravenous and exhausted group. After relaxing for a little while, watching half of “Blues Brothers”, and eating our hearts out, Ellen and I crawled into a big, comfortable bed and crashed. Ten hours later, we woke up, almost completely refreshed… but not quite!

Learning Curves

I hope that what happened during my first experience on the road with my new bike did not foreshadow events that will occur on the bike trip this summer. I pedaled all through March break hooked up to my dad’s “bike trainer”, watching invigorating movies such as Lord of The Rings and Braveheart in order to keep up my motivation for hours at a time in our drab, cold basement.  Since the snow and salt on the roads in Northern New Hampshire prevented outdoor riding, I returned to school with Hobbit-songs stuck in my head and a newfound resolve to use all of my free time for training OUTSIDE. However, the excitement of crew and senior spring took over, and I found myself 7 weeks out from the start of our trip without having ridden.  Naturally, when an hour of time opened up between classes and sports last Tuesday, I jumped on the opportunity to take a spin outside. 

 

Let me set the scene for you: 87 degrees, little wind, humid.  I ran back to my dorm after lunch to check my tires only to discover my front wheel lacking considerable air pressure.  My first opportunity to pump up my tires!  A few pumps in, I heard a loud hissing sound, and the tire went flat… I popped the tire.  Thanks to the preparation of others (I’m giving the credit completely to my dad on this), my bike pouch contained a spare tire and within a few minutes, I was out on the road.  The heat was barely noticeable with the wind in my face, and the first half of a 40-minute ride was flawless: I even almost broke the speed limit on a slight downhill. 

 

About 3 miles out from the finish, I unexpectedly encountered a dirt road.  But the battlefield of spikes and rocks couldn’t hinder me in my obligation to get to crew practice on time, and I rode through it.  The next challenge didn’t come from the outside environment but rather from the bike itself.  Powering up a long hill, I found it harder and harder to get the leverage I needed in order to keep my wheels moving.  When I reached the top and tried to carry my speed down the other side, I realized my seat had fallen into the seat post, and I now mimicked an overgrown adult on a child’s bike.  I felt like Dorothy’s evil neighbor from the Wizard of Oz, you know, the one that gets accompanied by the “dun da dun da dunn dunn” music.  Well, apparently the person driving the maroon Chevy Impala in front of me didn’t hear me singing, or see my goofy-stance on the bike, and became a bit over-zealous in his reverse driving.  Thank god for good brakes.  I would have been little more than a speed bump under a tire.  As it was, I didn’t make a big deal out of the situation, but a very vocal Concord biker behind me had other ideas and volleyed a few well-chosen curses in the driver’s direction.

 

Overall, it was an eventful first ride… I expanded my vocabulary (thank you, random biker), and I was introduced to just a few of the unseen dilemmas that are sure to pop up along our 7-week trip. We will all have to be prepared for dirt roads, popped tires, broken chains, and bad drivers along the way, and I’m grateful for scenarios like this past Tuesday… it’s all in preparation for the long journey ahead of us. 

 

The SPS Cyclists

We are the SPS Cyclists! We're a group of seven students biking across the country this summer to raise money for the Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. If you're interested in donating, check out our website at www.spscyclists2009.org and it gives more detail on how to do so. It also includes bios of each of the riders, our sponsors, and a wishlist for the trip.
On this blog, we will each be writing updates along the trip, and hopefully uploading lots of pictures and information on how we are doing. We hope you continue to follow us and support our cause!