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Day’?s Verse:
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31
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Yesterday for the first time I rode directly from Worcester to Marlborough, with no train in between. This is the route I took. Total, I spent 1 hour, 37 minutes riding almost exactly 20 miles — not exactly speedy, with an average of about 13 miles an hour. But that includes the amazing number of times I had to stop to consult my maps, which I did at each and every turn, as well as a few other times when I just felt anxious. The route worked out great: Worcester sucked, as I expected, but once out of Worcester, it entered almost all flat/downhill rolling farmland and shady neighborhoods. I loved it. And I felt great when I saw the Welcome to Marlborough sign that told me I had nearly achieved my goal. When I got home I just about dropped from exhaustion, but I have unshackled myself from the tyranny of the train. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! I feel so accomplished and successful… not to mention dog tired still.
In celebration, here are a couple pictures illustrating how many miles I’ve ridden total as of today:
Zoomed in, you can see I’m only about 20 miles from home, if I could ride straight across the Great Lakes, Rockies, Cascades, etc., from Marlborough to Kirkland:
Congrats, you’ll be there in no time!
Just one more trip like that and you’re there! Amazing! Similar to how you use words like “rolling farmland” and “unshackled[from] tyranny” to make even sedentary folks like myself think wistfully about biking…
Well, we got 8 miles closer when we biked on Monday… and I expect that you’ll have arrived in Kirkland by sometime today. Bummer! I’ll be in LA for Nana & Colleen’s birthdays and for Heather’s wedding. Say “hi” to Carmel and Joe for me when you get to WA.
One additional comment: Katie, you have been living in MA for 5 years now, yet you still refer to Kirkland as “home.” This gives me great hope that one day it really will be your geographical home again!