6/17- Amherst to Pittsfield

“Today's climbs are the result of Chuck Norris descending somewhere else”

Today was some of the hardest riding I've ever done. Exhausted from the previous two days of hard riding, I was hurting a little bit today, but apparently not enough to go head to head with Dave Miller, Jane Wolcott, and Jose the "Soul-Train of Pain" Soltren. It was another extremely hilly ride, with another 4,000 feet of climbing in 51 miles and grades reaching up to 17%. The ride today might have better been a collegiate road race instead of touring ride on a sixty two day bike trip. Although there was supposed to be thunderstorms, the weather actually held up quite nicely, and we enjoyed some of the best weather of the trip so far with moderate temperatures and mostly sunny skies.

I think had I been fresh, today still would have been very difficult, as the climbs were long sustained efforts that took alot of perseverance. The ride also featured some fantastic descending that we were able to take at the 45-50 mile range.

I've been utterly amazed and inspired by the rest of the group so far. While I was a little nervous about the group at orientation, people have been unbelievably positive. What they might lack in physical strength they have more than made up for in heart and determination the last few days. There has been no complaining about the difficulty of the terrain or the constant rain we've faced every day, but rather upbeat attitudes all around.

We stayed at the YMCA in Pittsfield, where we found showers and open access to their pool. We ate dinner nearby at a meal provided by one of our group leader's former scout master.