Day 15: Starting on my tan line

Hi! My name is Evan. I just graduated from MIT (two days ago!) With degrees in physics and electrical engineering & computer science. After helping the rest of the team pack up the car and drive to DC two weeks ago I'm so excited to finally be here!​​ Since I've mainly spent the past few weeks hanging out with friends/family and eating food (and not exercising as much as I should have), I was a bit scared for my first day of biking. I started off the day biking with Caralyn and Edgardo in a misty rain and we were immediately met with some super fun downhills. Coming from Texas and only having biked in Boston, I haven't really gone down any hills before, but I think it's a lot like riding a rollercoaster! After just making it to the top of a big hill, you start to see the road turn downwards, continue creeping along, start shifting into higher gear, pedal hard, and hold on tight. A few seconds later, you start flying down the hill, wind in your face, chilled by evaporated sweat. Especially after slowly working up a hill, zooming down the backside is extremely satisfying (later I learned our top speed was 38.5 mph! fastest I've gone on a bike so far).

The end of a big hill (if you look really closely, you can see a steep road sign!)

On the other hand, uphills were fun for the first 2 or 3 hills, but after that, I started really missing the downhills. Unfortunately for me, I think this is also one of the hardest days the group has had so far, and this wasn't helped by a few unlucky decisions that meant we climbed an extra 1000 feet (compared to the other group). Apparently, these decisions meant we also missed extremely cute dogs.

Bill, Leah, and Maile with cute dogs

By lunchtime I was really hungry, so we stopped at a Family Dollar to eat lunch brought by Erin of random sandwich supplies and chips.

lunch!

By the end of the day, my butt and feet were sore (everyone else says that'll go away in a few days) and I really wanted to take a nap. On the bright side, I got started on my tan line!

Tonight, we're staying in Hazard, Kentucky at Harmony House Bed and Breakfast. The place is amazing, Sherry our host is really nice, and the beds look super comfortable!

(sorry my phone has a terrible camera)

Tomorrow, we'll be teaching for the first time this summer, so right now everyone is putting the finishing touches on all their workshops!