Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 12 - June 8 - Sodus Point, NY to Spencerport, NY - 68.2miWe were expecting to wake up to rain this morning, but were pleasantly surprised when there was none. It was a bit on the cold side, so I bundled up in my arm warmers, jacket, tights, gloves, and booties before rolling out. The ride to rest stop 1 took us through the rolling hills of the New York country side. Still some headwinds, but not as bad as yesterday. After rest stop 1, we started riding on the Erie Canal Trail, which we will be on for the next two days. At Pittsford, the town where rest stop 2 was supposed to be, we got word that one of the cyclist in our group had been a minor crash (he's fine, don't worry), and that rest stop 2 would be cancelled. Because of this, we ended up eating lunch at an amazing Greek restaurant called Olives, and then getting cupcakes for dessert. The last 20mi were fairly easy, and the time passed quickly. We saw a deer and two fawns on the trail, as well as tons of geese and their goslings. On the way into Spencerport we came across a Tim Hortons, which I had been waiting for since we got to New York. It is surprising how many people on the trip had never heard of Timmies. Regardless, I introduced Catherine, Alison, and Vikki to the goodness that is a Tim's donut, and taught them that the proper terminology is 'timbit' not 'donut hole'. Staying in another church tonight. A very generous BTUSFMS alumni came by with dinner and ice cream for all of us, which was fantastic. Day 13 - June 9 - Spencerport, NY to Lockport, NY - 53.1miWoke up to breakfast provided by the church - eggs, sausages, pancakes, and Tim's donuts! Pretty sure it's impossible to have that good of a breakfast, and then have a bad day. Before taking off, we took some pics of the ladies posing with Frank, as Frank's Fleet. It was then an easy ~25mi along the bike path to the first rest stop. Sharon tasked everyone with finding out something new about everyone else in the group, so I had some great chats with everyone along the way. We stopped for lunch about 10mi after the first rest stop, and I ate with Chandler and Jen at a diner, while some of the other cyclists stopped at a pizzeria. After lunch we all regrouped, and headed to camp. Some very kind people at the church drove us to the YMCA when we got there so that we could shower. They also cooked us a fantastic dinner, complete with cheesecake, brownies, and peanut butter cookies for dessert. I'm sleeping in the sanctuary of the church tonight, right next to the pews, which is pretty cool. On to Buffalo in the morning! Day 14 - June 10 - Lockport, NY to Buffalo, NY - 32.4miThis was one of the days I have been looking forward to most on the trip. After eating an amazing breakfast prepared for us by the church, I set off on my own, off route, for a quick 32mi ride to Buffalo. Everyone else in the group was doing about 50mi, but since I was planning on bypassing Niagara Falls, I took a more direct route into the city that involved a quiet highway, and a nice bike path along the water. I made it to the hostel in record time, getting in just before noon. I ditched my bike, grabbed some pasta at Expo, and then met up with my family, who drove all the way down to see me! We had a second lunch at Dinosaur BBQ, and then planned to head to a bike shop to get me some new shorts. Just as we were about to leave, I got a text from Austin saying that he had arrived, so we went over to the hostel to find him. As we pulled up, Aust started to drive away, but was stopped at a red light, so we sent Ben out to get him. Ben got out of the car and hesitantly walked up to Austin's car, but thought it wasn't him and came back. Eventually Austin saw us and we all headed over to the bike shop. Shout out to Handlebars Bike Shop in Buffalo for being super helpful and generous! Later in the evening, we stopped by the hostel quickly so Austin and my family could meet everyone. Then, we met up with the Wakils for a fantastic dinner - quite an improvement over the usual camp stove food I prepare for dinner. The Wakils even brought us some Our Mom's Cookies to have for the trip! All in all, an amazing day with amazing people. Day 15 - June 11 - Buffalo, NY to Brockton, NY - 67miToday was windy. Have to pedal to make it down the hill kind of windy. Austin and I said our goodbyes at the trailer before we set off on our bikes at around 8:30am. Stefanie, the BTUSFMS alum who got dinner for all of us a few night ago joined for part of the ride today, and ended up getting a flat tire a little bit before the first rest stop. After the first rest stop, we swung by a friend of Vikki's house to take a pic, and then headed on. We stopped for lunch about 6mi from rest stop 2, and got a $50 donation from the cashier! The wind got really bad after the second rest stop. Having this invisible force pushing against you all day really mentally and physically drains you. I was on my own for most of the last 20mi into camp, and it was really tough. I was completely wiped when I rolled into camp, and apparently everyone else was too. The biggest thing that got me through the last 10mi was knowing there was a Wakils cookie waiting for me at camp when I arrived!
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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