Quick Recap of Week 10 (6/18 - 6/24)
We crossed 4 state lines in week 10, making our way through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, finally arriving in Maine (our final state!) on June 24th.
We really loved our time at home in Connecticut. It was so fun to see our friends and family and sleep in our own bed. A big thank you goes out to my mother who was up at the crack of dawn to drive us to our starting point each day, and to my brother and sister-in-law who did the same when we stayed with them once we reached Rhode Island. The best part, of course, was seeing my younger kiddo, Little Isaac. It had only been a couple of months, but he already looked more like a man. Please note: I will continue calling him Little Isaac for the foreseeable future.
Some thoughts about the trails
The trails we were on this week were awesome! I mean, the varied terrain of the entire Greenway has been great, doling out something new day after day. But New England has brought longer and more continuous off-road segments. The Farmington River and Airline Trails in CT and Washington and Blackstone River trails in Rhode Island were pleasant surprises. We also enjoyed the Holliston Rail Trail and the Mass Central Trail, in Massachusetts. I did have some frustrating moments on rougher sections of the Trestle Trail and again when I pushed my luck towards the end of the Mass Central Trail, but the Charles River Bikeway through Boston made up for it. I had a big smile once we arrived in NH; spending time along the beach in New Hampshire brought back a lot of memories from my teenage years. It's a short segment of the ECG, but watching the sunrise along the beaches on route 1A was a great way to start our day. Definitely two thumbs up for the trails this week.
Some fun facts from Week 10
Miles this week =
Shan (running) - 305 miles
Josh (cycling) - 286 miles
Total Miles = 2624 miles
Money raised for ECG = $12,000
Week 10 Highlights
Most delicious meal: Dinner outside at Tempo in Waltham was amazing. But Reilly's homemade chicken fajitas deserve a mention, too.
Cool people we met:
Sheila treated us to breakfast in Putnam, CT while we did a radio interview for WINY radio. You can check out that story here. Thanks for breakfast, Sheila! It was really great to meet you.
Allison, Eric, and David met up with us as we made our way to Waltham. Allison, a regional ECGA team member, rode to meet us as we made our way to Holliston Rail Trail. She and I rode together and shared a lot of stories about our bike tours/trips and about trails (of course). Eric met Shan to run a few miles once we finished on the Rail Trail, and David came in to run Shan into Waltham from Natick. Thanks to everyone for your company! We look forward to sharing the trails again someday.
Peter, an ultrarunner and race organizer hosted us in his home in Salem, MA. We really enjoyed our conversation over dinner (thanks again, Peter!) where we talked about races and training and all things running. It was a lovely evening. Thanks, also, to Jeanne, who introduced us to her dear friend.
Ariane, a runner/cyclist who caught wind of our trip on Facebook, set up an aid station in Swampscott, MA! We met her and some town officials who took time out of their day to come out and cheer us on. Thank you so much for your support, Ariane; the snack mix was needed (by me) and the water bottle with the town name on it was a great gift, too. You're the best!
The hardest day: We had a 50-mile day coming from Rhode Island to Waltham, with a few sections of pretty tough terrain. For me, this was the toughest day of the week. I struggled with my beloved trailer, pushing it through loose gravel and sandy stretches of trail and also detaching it a few times in order to get across an old railroad bridge. Shan seemed to be fine, even with the longer distance, but that's just how he rolls.
Favorite stretch of trail: The Washington Secondary bike path in Rhode Island was really nice. It's a 19-mile stretch from Cranston to Providence that winds and rolls along the Pawtuxet River. It was very peaceful. One thing to note - in Rhode Island, the bike paths have pedestrians traveling on the left and cyclists on the right. This makes it so walkers/runners can see cyclists coming, reducing the number of "on your left!" yells that are usually prominent on other bike paths. Rhode Island is the only state along the ECG that does this.
Most exciting animal encounter: We saw and filmed a turkey or two, but we saw many bunnies. The bunnies were too fast to get on film, but I was still able to yell, "Hi bunny!" at each and every one of them. If I was feeling grumpy or cranky, yelling "Hi bunny!" always made me smile.
Most interesting site: Super cool sand castle art along Hampton Beach (see link here to learn more about it)
Best weather: We had a really nice week of almost perfect weather. Not too humid, with no rain, and no scorching temperatures either. Being along the coast in New England is awesome.
