Day 1: Freeport ME, to Auburn ME

On day 1 I rode 56.5 miles from Auburn, ME to Freeport, ME and back. I climbed 3615 feet of elevation. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Today I rode fifty-six and a half miles for three thousand six hundred and fifteen feet of elevation gain. I rode from my parents' house in Auburn to Winslow Park in Freeport, Maine, where I dipped my tire in the ocean per tradition, and then I rode back home. It was a fun first day on the bike. It was really rainy today, and uh that was both interesting and exciting because I knew I had a warm shower and dry clothes and laundry at the end, um, but also a bit of a challenge because I got a lot of road dirt in my bike and um on my body, and uh the chafing began already, which is maybe a good sign. Um accustomed the body early. At the beginning of today's ride, I had a can of Coca-Cola that I drank while riding in celebration, and when I finished it, um I was about to come up on a stoplight. So when I got there, I was the only one in line, and I put the can down and tried to stomp on it with my uh balancing foot that I'd taken out of the clip. And the cleat on the bottom of my cycling shoe must have connected with the can in a not central way because the can went squirting out onto the other side of the road. And I didn't know what to do. The light was still red, so I kind of hopped my bike over to the side and bent down to pick it up. Then, of course, that's when the light turned green. So for maybe one or two seconds the opposing traffic was watching me pick up the scan and do a bit of a U-turn to get oriented on my bike again. So we shared a good laugh and wave as as I ended up going through the intersection. Um yeah. It's amazing how tired I am. I think I don't always do the most dedicated preparation before a big trip like this. I kind of just let the trip work its way. And um, you know, I ride my bike quite frequently, uh, but I don't always put the the big mile days down just in my daily rides. So I'm just kind of shocked at how tired I feel and um looking forward tomorrow and know that I'll be even more tired after tomorrow. One of the things I was reflecting on is that it's not just the capacity of you know your cardiovascular strength or um the training of your muscles, it's the ability to eat a lot, and that is very difficult when it's hot and humid, like it is and will continue to be, um, and is not a particular strength of mine in general. So I'm excited to see how things progress and uh am thankful for all the well wishes and excitement that I've received from my family and friends. So, yeah, that's day one.