There From Here

Hi, I'm Eric Ford for Made Here.

There From Here directed by Jon Mercer and Tim O'Donnell from Amesbury, Massachusetts, follows a group of backpackers along the 2021 Vermont Super eight, a 640 mile bike route around the state.

It's not really a race.

It's more of a test of endurance and will as the competitors compete with fatigue, weather and bike breakdowns.

You can watch there from here and other great Made Here films streaming on vermontpublic.org and through the PBS app.

Enjoy the film and thanks for watching.

You can't quite comprehend 600 miles.

Imagine getting in your car and driving from here to someplace that's 10 hours away.

Imagine all of the land that you pass by.

There's no way in hell in the finished states.

180 miles to go with something really adventurous like bikepacking.

Your only option sometimes is to keep moving forward.

Even if you do want to scratch, even if you are done, you know you're in the middle of the woods and you're overcommitted.

You're like, Well, okay, I'm done.

As soon as I get to the next town, I'm going to scratch.

But you still have to get there.

You're out there in the world.

So even for the super competitive people in these events, like there's so much about the landscape and the people and the towns that you go through, especially in Vermont, that really, you know, that is really what stays with you as more of the character of the route than just the numbers being.

And I all we were going to do was go to a coffee shop and we're like, Oh, it's down this road.

And it turn into like a 40 mile ride.

I think that's when it really clicked for us to be like, Huh, we can kind of go far on these things.

When I was really little, I lived on like a dead end street and I would like ride my bike in the woods and be like, I don't think I'm supposed to have this back here.

But I just always wanted to keep going.

And like the adventure side of it, the first cool things I've done in my life since I'm talking for.

Right.

Like it's always been right around my bicycle.

You get out and you can go wherever I wanted to.

My friends, I can always do that.

I don't have to rely on people to drive me anywhere.

Your bike was like your vehicle for freedom.

I think something like a bike should be the exact replica of the person.

You should be able to look at a bike and be like, I get that person's vibe.

What I love about this is that there's no right or wrong.

It's just, you know, you know how you manage it.

The challenge is because I'm only five feet tall, my bike has a small frame.

It's fine in different places to put things.

I really had a hard time finding a road bike for my height, but I find that it's much easier with a gravel bike and also with a mountain bike to find something more suited to me.

Sometimes I have to go into a children's bike.

Bikepacking can mean different things to different people.

This is not mountain biking.

It's not road riding.

I would not call it gravel riding.

What do.

What do you call this?

Bikepacking is bike touring.

It appeals to a similar group of people as camping or backpacking because it's like saying, I'm going to get out in and sleep outside and I'm going to ride my bike to get there.

That's probably as good as it gets.

You can definitely detect a bike packer just riding around.

It's a totally different mindset I think from like gravel racing or, you know, road riding or even mountain biking.

There's just kind of this more free exploratory mind, I think that gets drawn to it.

You've got all your stuff on your bike and it's just weird.

People don't get it.

I wear what I'm wearing right now, you know, just like a flannel or some shorts.

You know, this is getting Kong rigid.

Single speed should be good for the Super eight things that you choose to have such a cooperation with.

You got a name.

And so like Comanche comes from the Comanche Native American Warriors.

You know, I just thought that relationship of a man and a horse, that is what I think is really.

Vermont Bikepackers is a volunteer operated nonprofit, and we're also a chapter of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association.

We're different in that we don't maintain actual trails.

We maintain data and information.

In Vermont, all the towns had to designate all of their roads, and all of that is public information, not kind of like spark for people and how to connect different types of bikepacking routes all throughout the state of Vermont.

I got to start with David Trombley.

He was the first president of the Vermont now Bike Association.

So he's been around for a while, although he definitely still acts like a child.

He got a hold of me and then he got Chris Denning, who lives in southern Vermont, and said, Hey, you guys want to help scout this figure eight.

And I never met Chris before, but we just met up to go on a like two night scouting ride together and just immediately hit it off.

So we would ride and ride a few different areas and kind of, you know, talk about what we wanted the route to be, which became the Super eight.

I rode the route and it was just amazing to see how they made it flow.

The Vermont Super eight is a 640 mile bikepacking route that travels through the state of Vermont in the shape of Figure eight.

It links together gravel roads, dirt roads, some pavement, and then some really rugged, ancient town highways.

It also uses single track in some areas.

It uses some rail trails.

In some areas it uses some community pads.

It's a bikepacking route across a variety of surfaces riding on these roads, like you're oftentimes riding on a piece of history that's over 200 years old and that's got a lot of appeal.

That's our clubhouse, though.

Entire state riders have three mileage options.

You can either ride just the north lobe, which is 260 miles.

You can ride just the south lobe, which is 380 miles, or you can ride the full eight, which is 640 miles, and that would be the north and then the south or the south and the north, however you want to do it.

I don't refer to it as a race because it's not a race for everybody.

It'll be a race for some people riding in the front.

But for most of the people riding it, it's more about, Can I take this challenge on?

Can I complete it?

It's hard to compare times because different things happen across different years.

And so I think that is going to push away people who care only about these comparisons and care only about competitiveness.

There has to be at least as much camaraderie as there is competitiveness.

If you're going to focus on finishing this event, you know, in writing for four or five days in a row, Dear Dan and organizers of the Vermont Super eight Grand Depart, I am writing to express my intent to participate in the Grand Depart of the Vermont Super eight from Montpelier on Friday, September 24th, 2021.

My plan is to tackle the North Slope.

Last year I had to call it quits in Ireland.

Fond Du to settle scores, got me a fancy new brook seat and look forward to spending more time to get ready for the event.

You know, you don't get much of a chance to ride 680 miles in Vermont during peak foliage.

But I'm going to do it this fall.

So that'll be one thing that I'll always remember.

I'm a cyclist and a triathlete out of New Hampshire March ten, I got hit by a car on my road bike.

I was pretty devastated when the accident happened.

So when I found the Super Eight, it kind of gave me something to look forward to.

I think I'm somewhere in between the bike vacation person and the high intensity like elite up front.

Like, I can't really decide what an amazing feeling to plan around and then give it away for free and then have all these people kind of do the same thing that you kind of were thinking about.

And now people are trying to post the fastest time on it.

I just think that's super awesome.

You know, I've been working on my own for so long towards being able to accomplish something like this.

And after doing it, I think that like mentally I'll feel like I'm ready to take on some of the bigger challenges that I want to do.

Oh, he got really tired here.

Many thanks for coming, everybody.

Thanks.

Yeah.

This is like, thanks.

Yeah.

This is like the biggest one we've had yet, which is really awesome.

Um, remember all the sacrifices you made to get here?

Like, everyone here, like, has a day job and is just, like, a regular person.

You know, give yourself a couple of chances to get over whatever kind of short term, you know, pain or like chafing or mental space that you're in after two or three days.

If you're new to this, your decision making ability is going to go down and you're not going to realize it.

Don't scratch at night, like don't scratch.

If you've just been riding straight for two or three days, you're not you're probably not thinking straight.

Give yourself a chance to get over it and then think about your decision again the next morning.

That's my only main word of advice.

Yeah, yeah.

I'd go got something back in the parking lot was like, where am I going to put the beer?

And I was like, in the portable backpack.

That's where you put the beer.

You know?

So I know that that's ridiculous.

It's all part of making sure I have fun this time, but I should take it only that.

And she left it on the bedroom floor and there was quiet in the corners.

There was trouble in the bag behind the door and know that I to have to beat it.

They were seated in the bowls upon the pause.

Now they don't let go diary at this time with me saying this maybe this scene said, Look at me, sit down beside me, finger facing me.

Now that will be I got a little, little body.

But here we go.

Men make you take my brother 140 miles two days ago, as I'm done.

But I still need a little more time to say, here's the situation.

We're like probably like five miles in and I say probably like maybe 10:00.

Real rough start.

Just down.

Rain, all the technicals and faithful companion is coming up.

Yeah, late start but we got high, high spirits.

I didn't want to lose the lead, but it's like I'm regretting my chain already.

I think that first dirt road just killed it.

Know?

Hey, I need to chain move for my belt.

I'll take a large cappuccino.

You guys out?

What do you guys want?

We got all.

Come on in.

Yeah, yeah.

He's got coffee, maple sirup, honey, raw water.

He was going to let race have tablet in there.

Yeah, yeah.

You go.

There's so much of this that sort of relies on the graciousness of communities that are out there.

Hey, I tried to tap on just water.

Just water, I think, for you.

How good?

How great.

You're good.

Yeah.

Thank you.

We're visitors and guests everywhere.

You know, I always talk about the people who come here.

They come this way with a little bit of effort, you know, on a bicycle or maybe through a bad storm and I think most of super appreciate, you know, coming through a beautiful state like Vermont and really appreciating every moment of it.

We bring a lot of people to Vermont, maybe for the first time when they're out on a couple of day, you know, bikepacking and they they fall in love with Vermont after one ride, they often will come back and buy a home here and maybe live and raise a family here.

And so it brings some awesome people here who want to stay and be part of it.

Right.

Okay.

Well, I call Colorado.

You've told me more than you are.

I drink dinner.

I'm new to Bikepacking.

I'm a female.

Not great at climbing still because my leg hurts like there's a lot of things that are not in my favor for this.

I don't want to waste time thinking about it.

I just want to do it.

You told me it was my dad.

He always kind of told me, You get out of life what you put into it.

He passed away ten days after my 20th birthday.

He loved life.

He loved skiing.

He loved being outdoors.

He loved his kids.

He loved his wife and he really pushed me to just do things I love and don't be scared.

Go all in.

And if you fail, you fail.

Just try harder next time.

Keep it.

See, sometimes you spend your life trying to find that one thing that makes you happy.

Like you have your kids and your family and your job and your life.

When you finally find that one thing, it's like, Oh my God, yes, I'm climbing up these hills and it sucks and I'm hot or cold or wet or whatever, but I love it.

Then you can read.

That's what I want my kids to learn.

I want them to know what it feels like to work hard and do things for yourself.

So that's kind of where that comes from.

With my dad.

No getting it right and means yes.

You no one.

Wow.

So cool to see everything spread out like that.

Look, look at.

Look at this line of of riders on the south lobe.

That's awesome.

Over there.

Down there.

Let's see, a lot of people spread out down by sort of the Stratford area, going up and over turnpike.

It's a really beautiful place for I hope everyone's having a good time.

It it's fast, but it's just super climbing.

The South low is super climbing and everyone's going to be pretty tired by the time they get to Woodstock.

The will get higher here.

I don't know when I got here.

What about this?

This might actually be better.

Yeah, this is a better stuff at there.

Just you eat a coffee.

Good, right?

Oh, my God.

You're carrying all these high.

Okay, initially, I.

For some reason, I thought it was going to be beer stops, so.

Yeah, you know what?

That's say it's all in one combo, but.

Yeah, yeah, it just, it just seemed like a really good ride and.

Yeah, yeah, I just wanted to check it out for quite a while and I guess now's a good time as any.

I, well I met up with Steph this summer.

I'm just talking about doing some big rides and turns out that this out an interesting point and then Justin just happened to tag along with us and you're all compatible so same pace and all that so we figured hey why not?

You know, oh, that's you smoke without fire and go need some marshmallows.

I mean, about two months ago, I started practicing sleeping outside.

I'm really afraid of the dark.

So I started camping outside the front door of our house.

We get used to it at my age, 53.

Like, I want other women to know that, you know, in your fifties you can still do challenging things.

I was always really active and enjoyed the outdoors and things like that.

Then I got married, my first marriage and and it really turned into like a very bad situation and it just kept getting worse.

But it was running.

That kept me grounded when my confidence was being torn away at home like it was something that when I went out to do to see what my body could do, like it gave me the confidence in myself that I never knew that I had.

I really believe that with what I was doing, it gave me the confidence to make changes in my life.

I was just like, I have to either, like live with my situation or I have to change it.

So pretty.

The air feels good today to me is changing so fast, like packing for me.

It's huge.

It's a big tool for introspection in our everyday lives.

It's really easy to get stuck in your routines and to be comfortable in what you know and what you do and so on.

These rides, when you're going out there for days and your body's aching and you're it just kind of gets to a point where it like frees your mind to really exit, you know, your everyday thought process.

The second time that I rode in 2019, I was prepping, prepping for the ride.

It was a summer.

I was down in Boston and I was taking off from work and this guy rode up behind me and he's like, Oh, hey, nice sandals.

And we were wearing the same sandals.

I told him about the Super eight and I was planning to do it and he got really excited about it.

He had never done that sort of riding before.

About a week later he texted me saying that he took time off work and was going to ride it and asked if he could join me, decided to go for it, and I'm really glad I did.

His name is Matt and he's one of my, you know, best friends at this point.

There's something about just riding for a really long time that's going to cause, you know, superficial reasons or even maybe negative energy to kind of burn off.

And that sort of extra stuff boils off over a really long ride.

And what you're left with is whatever it is that actually keeps people going, which, you know, I like to think is all the good things.

I think there is look good things can I?

Yeah, there were like six of us that rolled in at about the same time.

We're like a quarter.

Yeah, there was five of us.

Five of us from our nine.

It's just the three of us.

And then Tim rolled in, which was a pleasant surprise because I hadn't seen you all day.

You guys pulled away.

Like, in the very beginning, I was like, They're gone.

I don't know where they're going, but gendered.

But Glide had no idea that they made this stuff gendered.

And I'm telling you, it doesn't matter.

Works great for men to it works don't work it hurts our baby.

Top of the CC it's a beautiful site right there.

Oh yeah.

Topless is easy.

Oh yeah.

I think.

I mean, anyone's celebration.

Gummy worms.

We're stoked like.

Great, great, great.

How long it takes me.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

I slept in the night.

Know totally everything.

What?

Yeah, even with my bed, like my sleep.

Cause my wife was for what?

I know.

That's a little wet and soft.

That really is like, sign me up tonight.

So I'm just going to keep on and note from my daughter says, Go, mommy, go.

She made that for me when I did my triathlon it to make there's so much light.

You don't think I ever want to see my baby after she has?

Okay, I feel like 930, maybe ten.

And it's almost three.

So I've been going for 5 hours on a section that I thought would take me 2 hours because I just didn't know that the train was going to be like this.

So like, yeah, I'm glad I didn't do it last night, but like, as far as this morning goes, I'm just like, Oh my God, I want to just want to get to like the Quebec border and Newport.

And, you know, I had a I had a good moment of a whole cycle of despair and rebirth where like, I like kind of ran out of food and I thought I was screwed.

And then I made it to island pine before the tavern closed.

And they were like, How about a bowl of hot soup?

And I was just like, Yeah, okay, so that saved my bacon.

Hey, dog.

Hey, I've got one more.

Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, oh, well, what?

Oh, man, that.

That's the worst I've had so far.

So far.

So I haven't run Low Mountain in years, so it's kind of emotional for me.

It's like there's a lot has happened in my life since then and it's just such a beautiful section and it's such a nice time of year and I'm feeling good and I'm a little sleep deprived.

So, you know, all the all the feels are coming out.

So that's how this goes.

It's like therapy.

Oh, I've just been dealing with this.

Inside is like new for me the last two days.

I've been so good and, like, just coming out and, like, you know, where it's like you get away from it.

Like riding your bike.

Being out here is awesome.

It's like, you know where I'd rather be, but I just like, I don't know, it comes over like a wave.

It's just feeling like I'm stuck in a rut and I do stuff like this, and you feel like I'm going to, like, get out of my right and, like, break out of it.

And then, like, when you get back, like, inside the wall for your life, this isn't it isn't this isn't that's the fix.

So I know sometimes you get, you know, stuck in a bubble and can't see how to get yourself out of Covid's been really a difficult situation for most people.

People really had to stay in.

They had to stay closed off.

Some people were living alone and that was really difficult.

The isolation was hard, the anxiety was through the roof.

I've got close ones working in hospitals and really seeing how everything's going down and you know, like you really can't take for granted what you have and you don't know how long it's going to last.

When I was thinking of moving up here, I was talking to friends.

And, you know, one theme that I heard a lot from people was, Oh yeah, I think I would like to retire there one day.

To me, that just didn't really make a whole lot of sense, especially with like our mortality so at hand.

Why wait 20 years and hope that it's going to be there when you know, if you can identify it as something that's important to you and that you want, it's good to act on it, I think, and to be able to live the life that you want to live.

I don't want to be just retiring to what I enjoy.

I want to live that my whole life and co it.

I lost my dad to COVID.

So I think all last year Bikepacking was like what I had.

So I would just be like, All right, I'm just going to go in the woods and camp with friends.

We wouldn't talk about it and I would, you know, not in service.

And it was kind of that kind of mental escape where I just didn't have to think or talk to anyone.

We were just kind of riding together and having fun together.

For some people, the sort of mental benefits of a long endurance activity are really important.

I personally have used Bikepacking as almost a sort of escapism.

When I've been going through maybe some more difficult times in my life.

It forces presence.

It makes me be very present in my surroundings and that's really good for my head for that I heard a ping and then my rear disc was basically free spinning on the wheel, got up and you'd hear, It's not a great way to start, but otherwise it's going well.

You got five morning my bike actually better now.

It's not a great way to start.

Yeah.

You know and just going right through these brake pads and see if I can find the nearest bike shop.

There's a second set of brake pads that I've gone through.

I've had this bike for 15 years, and two weeks ago was the first time I had the brake pads in place.

I signed up in August.

Late August seemed to work out with the schedule.

So I have two kids.

I live in Philadelphia.

So when age ten and 12 to finish, the early years are long and fun with their long oh so fast.

So that's what's crazy about it.

I feel like it's over before I enjoy it.

It's like my mental health break.

That makes sense.

I've always been the primary parent for two.

My wife's an attorney and she works a lot, so instead of under four since they're talking.

So yeah.

Got you got to go.

Okay dog and hopefully test court today and you go all the way to Randolph yesterday I last probably 4 hours I had to get a table today for looking at her house.

Yeah, so that sucks.

But I had to make up some time, right?

You right?

Yeah.

And no idea where I am because everyone else but.

Well, finish what you do sometimes it's 434.

Congrats, bitch.

Eggs.

I'm very tired.

Oh, that's the most applause I've ever gotten.

Finishing here.

One person to clap for it.

Yeah.

Oh, man, I can't believe it.

This is like your.

This is like your first, like, big, like, bikepacking race or, like, ultra endurance riding forever.

Yeah.

And you crush it.

He's like a scientist.

He's, like, planning out everything.

And then everything goes exactly according to his plan, and he's never done it before.

I mean, it didn't quite go according to plan.

There was there was this like, I don't know, it felt like 100 miles of having to walk in the mud with my bike.

But that wasn't part of your plan.

It wasn't exactly part of my plan.

If it hadn't been for that.

Yeah, I been a long time ago.

That was a rough section, that's for sure.

You know, I was like, so I really, really enjoyed this ride.

So this is my third one of these to do this year, and this is one of my favorite, even though like.

And it's just because.

It's just because Vermont is awesome.

Yeah.

Both my right ankle and my right knee are in a lot of pain right now.

It hurts in the same way that it did my first Super eight.

So movement in pain.

Hi, how are you?

Hey, how are you doing?

Well, I called a little ahead.

I have nobody to help me out there.

No fun to have, no breaks.

Oh, where'd it all?

Thinking ahead.

It's just like 16 miles.

And how long has it taken you?

Like 6 hours.

This can't keep happening, like, every day, you know, every day I have to look for a bike shop and run there for ten miles.

So it's discouraging that I try to do things that are of concern to me.

Yes.

This part is going, you know, like this, but this one is like this or like this or other.

So it's coming in and then kind of twisting like that and it wears it funny.

If you're going to keep getting all this stuff on, that's your problem.

You know, it doesn't matter whose pads or whose brakes or whatever they you gave you guys $600 of hydraulic brakes on there.

And it's still the same friction material.

And you throw in water and heat.

Yeah.

And away you go.

Yeah.

Those are the roads I'll send you later.

Yeah.

All right.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

I am going to get the saddlebags on the saddle up.

I really appreciate you taking the last minute and 41 and get back on track.

Just go as far as I can see what happens to what unfolds on my feet.

Move on and think of all the rain.

I know what you're like.

And now I'm on to like so that it's it's just this one group.

Oh, for this book.

Oh, great.

Sure that's where we just for it's Burke.

Yeah.

And forget all that garbage I said about giving up.

We're feeling really good.

You know, Ash has been so good with being so positive.

She's been crushing it and keeping me.

Keeping me above board.

I'm not a mountain biker.

I ride gravel, and it's like it's some class sport, and that's as far as I'll go.

And having to haul up Burke today was like so out of my comfort zone and way longer than I thought.

And both of my first ten years actually broke those rocks and just unforgiving.

When I hit the gravel again, I felt really good.

But I mean, I was like a top for like wondering if I was ever going to get off of Burke and, like, trying to keep these on and yeah, that was my challenge so far today.

I think the other challenge will be like feeling good about wherever I end up camping.

Oh, oh, I'm going to stay at the campground tonight so I can stop early and get rest and do a lot of stretching.

So wake up tomorrow and it still sucks.

And then I might spend a whole day here and just like, hang out and do yoga and meditate and stretch and have, like, a chill day.

And then the next day I finished Montpellier and decided I'm going to keep writing or finish, but I can't ride like this.

So it's really slow going the whole day.

And then I started writing at 245 night last night, passed out, woke up 90 minutes later cause you just I can't.

I can't say.

The ground was all lumpy.

It smelled like manure.

And I think I was.

I was in a cow field learning out.

And then I went over and then just started going.

I think some of this is going in this to warm up and then I'll be fine.

I'll just keep going and you know, this is really hard, really, really hard to use, you know, sometimes I feel like you can't overstate need to be making it easy for you.

And look, Dunkin is the people refusing to run in the company.

I am like my wife is not like it's poppin.

You're you know I know it's a sun dappled perfect day like, I just finished this other look.

Yeah.

Wow.

That's why you look so clean.

Yeah.

Suspicious of this kind.

Cause I wasn't too far.

It just give me a field day that the person, then?

Yeah.

Oh.

How were you after that trial?

I just figured I'd turn a quick stop.

So you're going all the way, right?

Yup, I am.

I'm good.

You want a beer?

We got that.

Yes.

I say to you guys, we are so cool.

I'm busy.

Well, you guys were going to leave without.

Yeah, I don't know, man.

It's cool.

Oh, yeah.

That's what you need.

You want a big one, right here.

The bear in the woods.

Cheers to everyone.

Congrats.

Oh, baby.

Halfway big.

Little bit.

Yeah.

Next, the one load down one down that some really awesome people like you know I've raced triathlon and things like that and it's all fun and good competition thing you think about like all you have to do is bury your head.

Look at the next time you know, follow the arrow right get to your next aid station where it's all waiting there for you and people cheering you on.

And then you're out here and you're having to navigate.

And then sometimes your DPS works and sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it tells you that you're off track and you're really on track.

And so and that takes a lot of mental energy, but it's still like, all right, I'm figuring it out.

You know, I'm out here and I'm surviving.

You know, I'm I can take care of myself.

And I think that's I don't know, it feels very rewarding.

And to be able to do that, I got enough juice on everything to kind of get me to Bennington, but then that's where I'm going to call it, so I got to get my brakes fixed.

Nate was telling me that there's a gnarly descent up here, so it's going to be I'm going to have to walk it.

So it's not a bad day.

You when you're on your bike all day and you just keep rolling and keep riding.

And now it's nighttime and now it's like early in the morning, and then the air changes.

Just everything about it is, like, different than it was a few hours ago.

And then you keep riding and you start to see the sky get a little lighter, and then you have another change.

It's like those energies are like, I don't know.

I mean, it's deep because that's kind of the things I think about when I'm out there.

It's like driven to, like, connect to things that you can't explain.

You can't see anything but a little dot on the street from your headlight and you hear distinctively a moose like cross the road in front of you and like get up through the woods and you can't find it.

Nothing is just gone, you know?

It's like, what?

Put that there at the same time as me.

Why did that just happen?

And then why is it now gone like it never happened?

So yeah, it's 90.

Like, Oh, we're getting down this mountain that looks like it's going to flatten out.

And I'm looking for that little finish line icon on there, and then I switch back to the maps and it says off course and I'm like, We're in the woods right now.

Like we yeah.

I was just like, Oh, man, I'm so sorry.

Is it finished?

Just as chaotic as it started.

Yeah, every last bit of it is averaging like four miles an hour.

You know, I, like, keeps dying.

I keep play.

Where am I going?

Oh, my.

I rode for 27 hours straight to finish this.

So tired that like, I thought the trees were people and they were talking to me.

Usually when I'm in a really tough spot, it's my dad who I usually kind of like talk to and think about.

He connects with things and people that aren't even there.

They may not physically be there.

They're there, oh oh.

How are you guys going out?

I stay five foot three.

Oh, yeah.

Well, you take it in nice and easy.

It's not harder than I thought of it.

It's just.

I think it's the mud.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

That morning I'm.

I'm very.

How are you?

Yeah.

Get ready for school and miss you.

Yeah.

And I mean, just finish your bike race.

Thank God I love the city.

And that mean I didn't.

Sorry.

I look at all of and it's disrepair the ceilings I live off are no longer the there's like a wave of emotions that come after this.

It's hard, but I. I'm very fortunate.

And I got over a lot of years of stuff really to take care of.

Yeah.

This is.

Yeah.

What a great.

Have these guys come off to go with me for the meeting on my own.

I'll be back next year.

You go out and you do this crazy, amazing thing.

You finish, you come back to your car, you go home and you continue on with your regular life.

Well, parents and professionals and have y you know, be in my mind and I'll be thinking about it and trying to process what happened.

But I'm also gonna be a mom and go back to work tomorrow and all that too.

So it's interesting, the dynamic.

I taught myself to enjoy it, which sounds like really silly, but I think like this whole experience has been such a learning process and like that's what I love about it.

And it's just the Hey, I'm standing at the capital, I'm done.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

You're uncomfortable.

Your legs burn.

It's temporary.

It's all temporary, right?

I'm temporary.

We're all temporary.

And that's the beauty of it.

All right.

So.

Hmm.

You have to embrace them all, fully embrace it.

Hey, thank you for sharing it.

That was really, really good.

Are you watching?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I worked out.

Oh, yeah.

During the event, you're going to be wondering, why did I do this?

Why did I sign up for this?

What am I doing out here?

But then as time goes on, then maybe or four months down the road, people think back on it and they say, Wow, I the feel of your finger.

People were just asking like, oh, how's your ride?

You know, just kind of like and I was like, Man, that question alone is just so like, yeah, and complex.

It didn't turn out how I expected, but still had a really solid time challenging myself, writing in a way that I haven't before, which is like riding into the night riding is good fun, just starkly illustrated in how beautiful your surroundings are out there and how easily you can completely be lost or you can be oblivious to it because you're so worried about the future.

And I just thought this might be something to hold on to my is my deepest good bye.

When I was young, I would talk to my team throwing pineapples at cars in the street and I left the lights on but still cannot sleep.

But who knows if I ass in the house I got way too much food now with me.

Got older than would be probably the best stored stuff that I left my family for my near but see I. I found $410 for a luxury suite, a drive beat worth $400.

But I'd touch things and no one can see.

I done ride for sure.

I've been riding for the past hundred miles with no seats, and I couldn't to do so to I finish and done it had to go see on the other side something but oops another person no need to and anything that we say and not to worry about our clothes being dry tonight we're going home.

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