2011 "Pushing it to the Limits" Bike Ride: I finally feel like a true cyclist...

All of you who have been following along with me on this journey may remember that I've had some difficulties with the downhills. While there have been some interesting downhills over the past few weeks, there was nothing too significant to talk about. Today was the day I had been waiting for...Today we rode 79 miles from Latham, NY to Brattleboro, VT. We had 6200 feet of climbing. One climb alone was a 10 mile climb of 2000 feet in the Green Mountains. With all of the climbing came 4200 feet of downhills. I DID IT ALL!!! Even when the sign said - 8% grade for 2 miles, truck ramp to the right. I got up to speeds of 35 MPH. It felt GREAT!!! Even though we still have 2 days of riding left - I feel like today was graduation day and I passed the final exam with an A+. I did not do this alone. Every person on this trip has been encouraging me, teaching me and motivating me to get me to where I am today!!!

As if the day could not get any better, waiting for me in Brattleboro when I got in were my great friends, The Koppelman's - Karen, Dave, Matthew, Rachel and Jack. They drove up from Long Island and we explored Brattleboro, did some shopping and had a great dinner. They met everyone, came to RAP, and now know the whole routine. It was awesome to spend time with them!!!

Another highlight of the day was crossing into a new state - Vermont. Wow, looking at the map, we are so close now to the Atlantic Ocean.