Finally getting around to making this post. For starters, I decided to do this 2 weeks before I did. I revived a “sponsorship” from a non profit in my hometown. They didn’t really sponsor me with anything but I raised money for their non profit which is called earn a bike. They supply bikes and education to children in underserved areas to empower them and help better equip them for the future. This was a massive honor. And very simple. All I did was post everyday on social media. I raised $3500 in 18 days. Then when I got home, I got to build the bikes we bought with the kids for them to take home. Full circle moment. Onto the trip report. This will be long. I started in the roaring fork valley in Colorado on September 9 and rode to Denver. Cottonwood pass, vail pass, Loveland pass. 3 days, 2 nights camping and one hotel in Idaho springs. I was very impressed with how well the Colorado leg went getting from basalt to Denver. That was the best riding I did with my first day being 75 miles, 5725ft gain in 7h and 10m. When I got to Denver, I stayers with a friend then hopped on a plane to Boston. I flew with my bike. This was a whole ordeal as I was alone and had no car. I went to the Rei in Denver and they gave me a box, i dismantled it there, shoved all my gear in the box with it and pushed it out to the curb to catch an Uber that took me to the train station. Pushed my 65 lb box thru the station and onto the train. Thru the airport and upstairs to check it. It was technically over sized (flew JetBlue. Bike box was 89 total inches and max size allowed is 80) but they didn’t question it at all. This was a miracle. I resolved to sleep on my flight. 5 hr overnight flight to Boston. I was delayed 2 hours and then got sat in the exit row where you can’t lean against the wall. So I did not sleep. I arrived in Boston around 7am. I got my bike box and opened it up and put that shit together right there in baggage claim and nobody bothered me expect to say I looked like I was going on an adventure. Navigating out of the Boston airport on a bicycle was a big challenge and it took me over an hour. Almost all the exits take you to a highway, and not one airport worker or police officer could tell me where I should exit. I finally did. I hoped on the east coast greenway route and rode about 75 miles trying to get to Providence, RI but I broke my smaller front chain ring by slamming the pedal while the chain was tangled. It was getting dark and I was in a sketchy area outside of Providence. I called an Uber and hid in the dark until he came😂 I stayed at Michie hostel in providence. Cool place. Scary part of town. You have to carry your bike up a spiral staircase. Do. Not. Leave it. Outside. The other people in the hostel were super nice and cool. I would suggest selecting the all women’s room if you are femme and that makes you feel more comfortable. I went to Dash bicycle shop to get my broken chain ring removed, as they did not have any replacement parts. I ended up ordering a whole new crankset to my friends house in NYC, and riding over 100 miles with only my 46T ring. Connecticut had some beautiful trails. I saw my friend who goes to Yale. I got hit by a car in New Haven. Side swiped by a guy that almost crushed me between him and a parked car, rushing to get to a red light. I was fine. I caught up to him and yelled and banged on his window and he wouldn’t even turn his head. I followed to east coast greenway to NYC. Once you get close enough to the city you can hop on transit if you want. It gets pretty hectic. I did this and then just took a nice ride thru Central Park and then to my besties house where I stayed for 4 days. Haven Bicycle shop in ridgewood installed my new crankset and sold me a new seat for a total of $38. I think they were stoked on my fundraiser and solo trip. The kindness of strangers on this trip was extremely moving. A lot conspired. I rode to DC. I saw the museums, stayed a day. The last leg of the trip was on the C&O Canal, a 185 mile gravel hike and bike path with free camping all along the way. They even have an app with all of the waypoints. This was an amazing trail, but unfortunately it was a three day downpour. This left me completely soaked, and everything was covered in mud. Bike, legs, clothes, shoes. My power output was going down significantly. The trail was very bumpy. It was pretty intense, and extremely physically demanding. I had by that time terrible saddle sores and no dry clothing left. The mosquitos were insufferable. I made it to Cumberland, MD on Sept 27 and decided to hop on the Amtrak and come home to Texas. Bike: Cannondale topstone 3 Tires: maxxis ravager tubeless. NOT ONE FLAT LETS GOOOO Shoes: diamondback gravel shoes with the shimano clippies. Yeah yeah. Idek what they are called. They’re not the clunky road cleats, just the tiny metal thing. Clothing: Rapha bibs and one of her pair of velocio padded shorts. Fleece, rain layer, mini puff. Only used that once on Loveland pass. T shirts. Town outfit. No rain pants. Bags: 2 Ortlieb 20L water proof saddle bags, a water proof bag i kept my tent and other stuff in and bunjied to the middle of the rack between the saddle bags. 15L ortlieb handlebar bag. Tiny frame bag for tools, top tube bag for snacks, 2 Fanny packs I could wear or clip onto the back.

And that was Lilly’s big bike adventure for charity and fun. Thank you for reading.

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