Yellow jerseys riding the back country

The bike trippers gathered yesterday and leave today! We went over rules and procedures, program and how to's. We had a practice ride to figure out everyone's pace (guess where I'll be!) and we slept on center campus in tents. The lunch was good, their dinner (pasta) was so-so....

I'm super excited for this adventure, even though adults have more driving responsibilities than riding opportunities. The course takes us through back roads and Amish country to the point that sometimes we won't see a car pass us in 30 to 40 minutes (so don't worry: we'll be safe!). The expectation is that students will be totally disconnected from their electronic devices and really appreciate the landscape, the nature, the quiet. I won't go through withdrawal like some students, but I will miss talking with Matthew.

The weather looks fantastic, though it's raining a bit this morning with sunshine this afternoon. That still means our butts will be wet and muddy from wheel spray, but that's all part of the fun!!

A typical riding day is this:
-Breakfast and break down camp
-Ride for 1.5 hours
-Break for snack
-Ride for 1 hour
-Break for lunch
-Ride for 1.5 hours
-Break for snack (at this point, the lunch crew goes to the store and buys that night's dinner for 30 people, the next day's breakfast and lunch and snacks... with $250!)
-Ride until to camp and set up

Another adventure to witness: students not having a clue about how to plan a meal, how to write a grocery list of ingredients, how to chop and cook veggies/meat, etc.... it's quite empowering for them when they succeed. When they don't succeed, we have to eat it anyway! Hahah!

Here's Pat, pep-talking the kids.

 Some of my colleagues! Next to me is Alison, Caitlin and Taylor.

We're going to have fun, fun, fun!!