Day 1: Thursday, October 2

Today's Stats:
Point of Origin: Southborough, MA
Destination: Sturbridge, MA
Trip Distance: 52.75 miles
Time: 4 hours, 22 minutes
Average Speed: 12 mph (Matthew also walked a mile...in the rain)

This is Matthew speaking with Diana taking dictation (the comments in brackets are Diana's additions to Matthew's ruminations):
I love maps--they are an amazing invention. I was able to map out my first four days just drawing a line across a page full of streets and highways. The only problem is that I always forget to remember that street maps aren't topographical maps and that north isn't uphill and south isn't downhill, so I plotted a route leading me uphill regardless of the direction I was heading [ew, yuck]. I could also say it's probably the reason why I biked sixteen miles out of my way, but I think that has more to do with being bad at reading road signs that it does with maps.

My first surprise for the day was seeing a sign that said, "Caution Cyclists: Grooved Pavement Ahead" just outside of Worcester. Not wanting to get a flat on the butchered pavement, I walked my bike for about a mile; unfortunately, during this time, the ominous dark cloud that sat on top of the city began to shower me with liquid sunshine. Before I left, my aunt asked me for a worst case scenario, to which I replied, "Well, I can get rained on, and I can get lost." So about 2 hours into my trip, I already experienced one of my two worst case scenarios. The rain was light and continued sporadically for the next 20 miles or so, and the roads got very wet. However, it was still a beautiful day, and somehow the sun and blue sky were still in full view even though I was getting wet. Also, just outside of Worcester, I saw the most amazing rainbow that I have ever seen, and I followed it for about five miles [to the pot of gold!].

Because I am such an excellent map reader but such a poor road sign reader, I ended up going farther south on Route 12 than I anticipated and ended up in Oxford. So here, 20 miles into my trip, I could check both worst case scenarios off of my list. While this was a beautiful part of the trip, it was completely unintentional and around this time, it began to get fairly dark and cold. Because I had absolutely no idea where I was, I pulled up to a gas station and asked for directions [thank goodness!]. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to put a map of the area into my hand and send me off in the right direction, which saved me from certain disaster. While there, I put on a nice long-sleeved shirt that my aunt helped me pick out and mounted my light to ward off the encroaching darkness.

I got back on my course and did some of the most beautiful riding of my life (even though it was mostly uphill). At the top of one hill (the beginning of Carpenter Hill Road), I passed a farm where there were no streetlights on the road, affording me an amazing view of the stars, which were the clearest and brightest stars that I have seen in a long time. Standing at the top of the hill and looking up at the stars without seeing any lights around reminded me why I decided to bike instead of take public transportation to Philadelphia.

For the next 10-12 miles, it was like hiking through the woods, except on a bicycle. There was a very narrow road, and the trees formed an archway above me. I made just 2 more fairly significant wrong turns (or more specifically, lack of right turns) and finally managed to make my way to Sturbridge. I passed every single hotel that I looked at but didn't book on the way to the one I did. I plopped down on the bed, did some stretching, talked to my baby, and am in the process of eating a black olive and onion pizza [he promised to eat 8 slices for me].

Finally, there are numerous people that I need to thank for helping to make this trip possible. Thank you to the kind soul who gave me the map of the area, otherwise I would be in deeeeep trouble [and we don't want that]. I would like to thank Dr. Susan Tomassino for fixing my faulty glasses prescription so I can see again. She also helped me find a very nice pair of glasses that not only stay on my head but also keep the sun out of my eyes. I'm almost certain that if I did not have these glasses, I would not have made it to Sturbridge. I would like to thank all my homies from Starbucks and my manager Megan who chipped in to buy me a cellphone so that I could keep in touch [you guys are awesome]. I would like to thank my aunt and my uncle for doing everything for me, including taking me into their home, driving me around to purchase last minute items for the trip, and feeding me so exceptionally well that I probably won't run out of calories for the next three days. Thank you for your help and support in making this trip possible [you guys are incredible]. Last of all, I would like to thank my sweetheart Diana, without whom I would have no reason to make this trip [aw].

So now I'm off to bed to ready myself for Day 2!