New York! We made it to New York, our 12th state. We've also made it to our 4th and final rest day tomorrow. I'm ready for a day off the bike, an evening where I don't have to prepare for the next day, and a morning where I can leisurely eat breakfast (and preferably not eggs, everywhere we go they serve us eggs). I'd like say a day to sleep in, but that never happens. Maybe I'll sleep until 6:30am, which is better than 5:30am.
Today's ride was harder than yesterday. On paper today should've been easier. The distance was the same, the elevation gain was less, and the individual climbs today were easier. The main difference today was that the wind was definitely less favorable. Fatigue in the legs and anticipation of the rest day may have also played a role. Nonetheless, I made it through another day.
Despite the day being a bit tougher than I anticipated, it was still a good day. It started out chilly, in the low 40s, and very foggy. Once the sun came out it warmed nicely and we had beautiful scenery. We could even see the beginnings of the leaves changing color.
The highlight of the day was a bear sighting. We spotted two young black bears on the side of the road as we were approaching. When they saw and heard us (because several people yelled, "bears!") one ran across the road and the other away from the road. Unfortunately, it happened so quickly none of us could get our phones out fast enough to take a picture. But it was super cool, definitely something I'll remember.
Day 39 stats:
distance: 101.96 miles
elevation gain: 4961 ft
nutrition:
breakfast: eggs, danish, muffin, yogurt, banana, NuGo protein bar
lunch: yogurt with granola and honey, potato salad, chocolate covered pretzels, 1 small coke
post-ride: 1 recovery drink, 1 small coke, 2 large slices of cheese pizza,1 La Croix
gels: 3
bloks: 1
78 oz skratch superfuel
Day 40 details - Rest day in Corning, NY
planned distance: 0 miles
planned elevation gain: 0 ft