The last two days have been so incredibly scenic - more than I ever could have imagined. America, the beautiful, indeed!
On Tuesday we started in Middletown, NY, rode about 7 miles in New Jersey, and crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania where we had a lovely lunch break on the water. We spent much of the day riding through the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area which was so beautiful.
It started down pouring shortly after lunch to the point where it was kind of difficult to see. We were soaked and hyper aware due to the rainy conditions. I actually felt pretty badass cruising through the pouring rain, not gonna lie.
We rolled into Stroudsberg, PA pretty early due to the relatively shorter ride day (57 miles) and easier terrain. The host church was so incredibly amazing and they fed us so much delicious food. I was so grateful. Since the church was right downtown we also had the opportunity to hit the town. We went to a fun bar with giant jenga, pool, and a juke box and danced around with what little energy we had left. It's amazing what one beer can due after riding all day.
Yesterday we had our shortest ride day yet (41 miles) and the terrain and weather was beautiful! For most of the first half we were riding along the mountains. We even stopped to frolic (probably in someone's yard?) and channel our inner Julie Andrews.
Towards the end of the ride we were able to procure some "donation magic". Donation magic is when we are able to get food donations from businesses. We went to a wonderful ice cream store called Nuts About Ice Cream in Bethlehem, PA and the owner was so nice. He was immediately willing to donate a scoop of ice cream to all of us. I had salty caramel and it was amazing!!
Given that it was our fourth ride day in a row, I was surprised by how "alright" I was feeling. I was definitely sore, but I felt like I was cruising in the end. We got to the host early again and it was nice to have some down time. I was so tired though that I fell asleep at 8:30. It was the best sleep I've had this entire trip.