A recap of today starts with 7:30 am wakeup in our Florence, KY Airbnb. For some reason, I’ve been waking up a little before the alarm goes off—it’s like a weird sixth sense, that forces me into unwanted consciousness—and even though I’d appreciate my body letting me get the extra sleep, I’ve found that I enjoy the peace and quiet before everyone stirs, too.
Parth’s chain broke yesterday, so they had already planned to be in the car with me so they could head to a bike shop to get it fixed. But we unexpectedly gained an additional two car-riders, Aja and Sophia, for the first leg: when they heard that I was planning to go to Sam’s Club and/or Costco and/or Walmart to get groceries, they abandoned their bikes without a second thought and joined us, weak to promises of bananas, sandwich Belvitas, almond milk, and non-stale tortillas. This left Timothy and Joel as the sole bikers, who self-supported the first and second legs.
We drove to meet them, Parth’s fixed bike and plenty of snacks in tow, at the second stop: Bella Sweets, a gelato shop. I got a scoop of berry gelato as a chaser to a ham sandwich. Afterward, I laid on the grass under the shade of a tree, relishing in the cooler weather we’ve been having recently. Parth also got gelato: orange dreamsicle, I believe. And Timothy got pistachio.
For our next rest stop, other members of the team, some of whom hadn’t indulged in gelato at the former stop, got their fix. That’s because we chose to pause at Mr. Frosty’s, an ice cream shop serving a variety of soft serve flavors in towering swirls. Aja, Joel, and Parth all got sweet treats. Aja chose cheesecake flavored ice cream, topped with mysterious crunchy stuff (apparently as delicious as it was mysterious) and rainbow sprinkles, while Joel and Parth got vanilla with cherry dip. We chatted and laughed while sharing baby pictures, as the bikers got ready to ride the last leg into Dayton, OH.
We ended the day of biking at our Warmshowers’ host’s place. She made us a delicious dinner, I spent some healing moments with the cutest cat named Elliot, and the team watched Spirited Away before bed. It was the perfect way to cap off a pleasant day.
I’ll copy Joel and also answer a few questions submitted in our Q&A form to wrap up my blog post:
How are you guys doing today mentally physically and emotionally? Best wishes to all.
Thanks for the well wishes :) That’s a big question: but the short answer is that personally, I’m doing well! Many aspects of the trip have been and will continue to be difficult. I learned the hard way that I should take better care of my physical health; and even though I’ve always considered myself a mentally resilient person, I’ve come to realize that if I similarly don’t maintain my mental state, I become a lot less able to weather difficult emotional times when they come by. In some ways I’m excited for the trip to be over soon, and get back to what I might call “normal” life. But I’m also becoming more aware of how special this time is, and how I’ll never experience something quite like this ever again.
What are the Spokes’ MBTI types?
Hm, I forgot and would have to ask everyone again. Soorryy. But I’m ENTJ (apparently).
What has been Katherine's quarantine discovery (a new movie, book, TV show, or self discovery, interpret this however you want!)?
I started watching a Korean drama called Extraordinary Attorney Woo over quarantine that 1000% got me through the whole thing. I mentioned it in my last blog post, and since then, I’ve blown through twelve episodes. And another discovery I made is that each day passes really quickly when you’re looking forward to something, and also when you sleep for half of said day.
Regarding Katherine’s Day 34 Sketches: Did you use paper/pencil or are these digital? What are your favorite brands for paper/pencil, or if digital, what software/app and platform (iPad?)? Finally, how long does a sketch typically take?
I use my iPad! It’s just what’s most convenient on a trip like this. I used the app Procreate for my blog sketches, and each sketch took me between 15-45 minutes, depending on the level of detail. But I also really miss the feeling of graphite on paper and having more time to spend on a work of art.
why are y'all so cute?
I don’t know! we just are!
Katherine