Sunday, June 20, 2010

Day 51: Biking bliss

After a sedentary night spent watching a movie and laying low, I awoke with renewed vigor, ready to take on the day and break out my bicycle!

We decided to bike from where Laura lives (on the outskirts of Edgartown) into the downtown area. What I love about Martha's Vineyard is how bike friendly it is. There are long and winding bike paths all over the place, just begging to be cruised!

The trek was mild, with a few hills and a bunch of super-annoying stop sign intersections. Something I really need to work on is learning how to stop and start quickly. I normally have to readjust my pedals to the right place before I can resume biking, and it is quite frustrating for me and the people who are waiting for me to cross the road. I'm working on it!

We parked our bikes in the downtown area without locking them up. The entire time we were walking around, I felt nervous that someone was going to steal my bike. Of course, it was still there when I returned, but I'm not used to living in a place where people actually *gasp* respect your belongings.

We walked around for a mile or so, hung out at the beach (witnessed a beach wedding!), ate lunch, got ice cream and then decided to bike over to Oak Bluffs, where we had heard there was a festival going on.

Laura started to feel sunburned, so we decided to take the bus to Oak Bluffs, and it's a good thing we did, because the ride was much longer than we anticipated! We shopped around some more, each bought a bottle of wine, and headed back to our bikes for the trek home. I was feeling really energetic and kept getting ahead of them. At one point, I looked back and they were both sitting on the side of the road. Apparently, Retha hadn't been shifting gears at all! No wonder she was mad tired!

We headed back to the apartment, made dinner, and then Laura and I decided to go for a night bike ride, taking the same bike path in the opposite direction (toward West Tisbury).

I kid you not when I say this was a magical bike ride.

It was dusk and temperate. The path was a perfect mix of hill and coast. We pushed ourselves and made it to an airport, watching the lights twinkle and a plane land. On the way back, it was starting to grow dark, which made us a little nervous. But our spirits were very high. We were so happy to just be on that path, riding our little hearts out!

We were surrounded by a canopy of trees and shrubs, and on either side of us, dozens of fireflies twinkled and lit our way. We tackled a crazy hill and both realized that it wasn't hard at all, which made us super proud! By the time we returned to her apartment, we were both tired and happy.

Total mileage = 12

It was a great day!

2 comments:

  1. "I was feeling really energetic and kept getting ahead of them. At one point, I looked back and they were both sitting on the side of the road."

    WHOA dude!! I guess I'm lame for being a good friend and letting someone rest!! Geez lol

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  2. Ooh sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way! You know I'm super pumped about our bike rides together! I just meant that I was so into it I didn't really think about the fact that you guys might not be behind me...until you weren't anymore! :( I didn't mean to downplay your skillz in the least!

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