First State, Last Final
On the second morning I woke up in a stranger’s house, the first of many times on this trip. I went downstairs and found a note wishing me good luck on my trip and a few boxes of energy bars. I was in awe of the complete generosity and trust from a stranger. John, my host, told me he bought the bars for me, and that I should take as many as I needed. I stuffed as many of the bars in my food bag as I could manage, then placed the rest in random other pockets in my panniers and front bag. Yesterday I was much hungrier than I thought I would be, and I didn’t want to go hungry on the road again. These bars would last me almost two weeks. After making myself some eggs and hummus that John said I could eat, I was off. I peddled away from John’s house filled with gratitude to kind strangers (and with granola bars).
I made last-minute plans to stay with family friends that night. Amy and Danny welcomed me into their home like I was one of their children. I have stayed at their house dozens of times for holidays and celebrations, and the familiarity is comforting. The exhaustion was getting to me, so I took a two-hour nap before dinner, which was delicious fettuccine alfredo with salmon and broccoli.
The next day was the toughest of the trip so far, although the “toughest day” title would be reassigned many times throughout the trip. I had 64 miles to bike through the Berkshires. The Berkshires were beautiful and brutal. I was not in good enough shape to climb the never-ending hills, so I had to walk up many of them. After many cereal bars and even more hills, I finished my first state. I was excited to complete this milestone and even more excited with all the new states I’d get to see. With tiny Massachusetts conquered, it was time to tackle the gigantic state of New York.
By 5pm I made it to Victor’s house. Victor was my roommate in college, and I hadn’t seen him since he graduated a semester earlier. While Victor made dinner, I had work to do. I had one take-home final that I did not have time to complete before leaving for my trip. Not wanting to delay my trip further, I decided to leave and do my final on the road. On the first few days of the trip, I attempted to finish my final, but I was too exhausted and distracted to get any work done. That night at Victor’s, the final was due, so I had no choice but to finish it before heading to bed. I struggled to focus on something that seemed so pointless compared to the trip I was on. But I finally finished the final and was able to enjoy dinner with Victor and his parents. I didn’t feel particularly proud of my work, but I was definitely relieved it was behind me.
It felt great catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. We talked about school, life plans and the current chaos in the world. It was almost as if Covid no longer existed, like the universe kindly decided to wrap it up just in time for my trip.