T1 Day 60 (Kayla)

Millerton, NY - Farmington, CT

August 5th

I’ve been delaying writing this. Partly because I always delay writing these things, and partly because it means processing that this journey has come to an end. 

After Liz left with her dad the night before Keelin and I had biked the last mile to the campsite and then set up camp. It should have been just like any other day. We had set up camp so many times at this point it was like second nature, but nothing felt right. There was a palpable emptiness without Liz being there. Plus the felling that all of this was ending was really starting to sink in. The morning was no different. I heard keelin rustling at 5a, an hour and a half before our alarm. We were both experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, but we tried to play it cool. We went through our usual morning routine, I ate my last packets of oatmeal while keelin choked down a bagel with peanut butter (keelin has since sworn off PB for a good amount of time, saying that they need a “break” from each other). Then we hit the road. It was off to a bump start, literally and figuratively. Before even getting out of the campground my bike pump flew off my bike, which just added to what is now a laundry list of items that have taken flight from my bike in the past few weeks. Once we got going it was straight to climbing again. Unfortunately I was still faced with doing this without any of my easy gears. I tried my best to crank up the hills but maybe they were steeper today or I just didn’t have the energy I had yesterday, but it was a STRUGGLE. At one point I wasn’t making any forward progress on a steep ascent and was instead just wobbling around the road. I had no choice but to get off and push my bike up. A couple hundred feet later I decided I would try to get rolling again. The first attempt was a no go, so was the second. On the third I finally got the bike to move. At this point I will admit there were some tears and my legs were shaking, but I was going to do this, I just needed to make it a few more miles and then it was downhill. After 3,600 miles these 10 brutal miles weren’t going to stop me. A few miles later we came upon a farm stand, the perfect stop for a bathroom and a homemade pastry! Our favorite mid-morning pick-me-up! My lemon blueberry turnover had me feeling jazzed up and ready to conquer whatever lay ahead. Luckily it was only one more big climb and then it was all smooth sailing until Farmington. After New Hartford we were treated to a super fun downhill, the best we had had in a while since we had been on flat rail trails or in flat country for weeks. Okay I thought, maybe today would be good after all. Then I hear a familiar voice behind me, “I think I’m lost, can you help me?”. Keelin is screaming, then I’m screaming. It’s Graham! Our on-call bike mechanic, and more importantly Keelin’s boyfriend. He had been texting keelin to say he was sorry but he wasn’t going to be able to make it and just that morning keelin had convinced herself that that was true. But here he was! He had flown in yesterday then ridden his bike to meet us and hid in a driveway until we passed. Apparently he had been biking behind us for a mile! It was just the excitement we needed to stop from feeling down about things ending. Bonus, a 5 minute stop on the side of the road and Graham had my gearing fixed! A few miles later we reached Collinsville, and since we had time to kill we decided to stop for an extended lunch. There is a super cute cafe there that we had biked to before that was the perfect spot. Better yet lunch was on Graham! It was surreal to suddenly be back in a place that I knew and had biked before, I felt like I was dreaming. Flying to Seattle and then arriving home 2 months later by bike is not something that my mind can easily process as it turns out. From the bike path it was just one hill and then we would be there. We sent Graham ahead to make sure our cheer squad (aka our beloved families) were in position. I saw the school and then heard the cheers. OMG this was it, we had done it. I had to try to hold it together or else I wouldn’t be able to bike (I’m even getting emotional now as I sit in the airport writing this). I couldn’t believe it. I was so proud of us. Over the past 2 months Liz and keelin had become like sisters to me, we had overcome massive challenges together. We had laughed and cried together, slept shoulder to shoulder, even peed together. We got each other from

one coast to the other. We had done it. Unsupported. In the rain and the sun. With full body hives. On the days we felt amazing and days we wanted to quit. We did it despite the fact that we didn’t know a thing about cycling. Because of all of this and more I have such a love and appreciation for these women and who they have become in my life. In 2 days we would bike to hammonasett to finish our trip with the rest of the crew, and it would symbolize the end of this journey, but the way I see it it’s just the beginning for our friendship and this journey we are embarking on becoming doctors and dentists together.