The End of the Beginning
"Why do we fall? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up."- Best Movie Ever. About three years ago, to this day, I was out biking and training for my triathlon. I was biking on the Hudson Trail, ready to clock in 60 miles of solid riding. The trail ran north of my school's campus into Westchester. It was a bike path that was lined by trees and it was a hot humid day. I was lost in thought biking until I passed a little girl crumpled by the side of the path. She was trapped underneath her tricycle and crying. The girl couldn't been older than 6 years old but I couldn't see any parents nearby. I clipped out my pedals and immediately helped pull the bike off her. As I pulled her up, I dusted the dirt and twigs off of her. She stopped crying, wiped her tears off, and smiled up at me. Without a word, she got back onto her bike and went back down the path. I thought about this moment a lot on the ride. About how on our first week, we biked up Mount Soledad. I was in the group that didn't know how to clip out my pedals in time. I fell for my first time in a long time at the top of the peak, before I could make a left turn. How a girl on the team literally vomited three times but kept going. We all made it up to that summit. I thought about that moment when we were in Kansas, in the windiest state of the country, biking headfirst into 20-30 mph winds. When we finally biked into DC, smiling and tired from our 3,700 miles journey.
I think what I will miss the most from this ride will be meeting the people along the ride. Whether we were in the smelliest state, the windiest city, the smallest town, the prettiest part of the country, people have treated us with kindness and generosity. They opened their homes, churches, schools, gyms, hospitals and housed, fed, and hosted us. I will remember Boulder Utah, the cabin with the zip line and rocking trampoline, the church with the awesome karaoke bar nearby, the Tecopa experience. No picture can capture how welcomed we all felt across the country.
This may be TSG of me for saying this but I too will miss a lot: the riders, eating for two, wearing the same clothing every day, working on my T-shirt tan, Clara Ruiz dance party, listening to good music, exploring cities. I want to thank everyone who has followed us on our journey and supported us through it. We couldn't have done it without all of you.
-Jess