Day 68: Washington D.C. Rest Day (Puja)

footage of nancy procrastinating writing her blogs

Today is the LAST DAY of spokes! This has truly been the most wonderful summer of my life and I’m so sad it’s ending :(

The first half of the day was spent cleaning out Vector and packing the U-box with our bikes and other gear that needed to be shipped to Stanford. Some of us cleaned, some of organized, some of us fixed bikes, and some of us yapped. We even discovered a couple leftover juice boxes in the cooler!

Then Adam saw this poor dog and said “That dog looks ridiculous. Holy shit.”

Then the parents cooked us a giant dinner filled with so many kinds of meat (yum protein) and then we went to our airbnb to celebrate our last night together as a team. We went through our Spokes 2025 Route spreadsheet and reminisced about each day and all of our wonderful hosts, and then we played Sasha’s Spokes Jeopardy (which had a whole category for Adam ofc) and enjoyed some juice boxes and cards! 

Day 67: Bristow, VA to Washington, D.C. (Sasha)

Wow. Today is so incredibly bittersweet because today is the last day of riding of Stanford Spokes ‘25. We started the morning in our cozy beds and had a delicious breakfast with pancakes and sausages and milk. In true fashion, Nancy slept through breakfast but that’s one of the many things I’ve grown to love about Nancy because she can eat in 10 seconds when it takes all of us 30 minutes and we all laughed about who was going to wake her up- even on the last day, some things never change.

We get ready, load up the car and start biking with Margaret- our lovely host. She is fast! On her E-bike, she is zooming but nonetheless we all bike together through the city. As we depart and say our goodbyes, we only bike a few miles before we see her across the street yelling at us that we went the wrong way! We end up all riding our bikes together as we take several detours across the city and go down lots of mini rabbit holes and once even, this random forest trail in the middle of a neighborhood.

We finally make it after 25 miles to Merrit Academy, where we were excited to teach for the last day at Matthew’s old school! This was so exciting because we were greeted by a lovely crowd of warm cheers and excitement- to our complete surprise, many of our families and parents came to the school full of laughter and posters and the rest of our parents on FaceTime as we rolled in! For the first time in 10 weeks, we are finally seeing parents and more than that, people that love us so much and the warmth and happiness that it brought me was immeasurable.

We had a great day of teaching to the kids and all 6 of us taught different workshops: first me and Nancy did ice cream, then Puja did CPR, Daniel and Adam did Physics skyscrapers, and Nancy and Matthew did YGA. Teaching has been one of my favorite parts of the trip and I will deeply miss it- the look of excitement on the kids’ faces, their endless questions about biking and wanting to learn more, and everything else makes me feel so privileged to have had such an incredible education and hope to share that for many years to come.

After being surprised with custom jerseys that Daniel’s dad made us with our names on each jersey, all 6 of us biked (for the first time all together since usually one of us is always in the van) to our last stop: Washington Monument. Personally, this last 15 miles was one of my favorite rides of the trip- the biking community is so vibrant in Washington DC and we passed so many bikers on the bike trail we went on (which was beautiful- it was lots of mini ramps and slopes and bridges and a forest scene). Before we made it to the Monument to greet our parents and the whole entourage, we got one last picture on the bridge crossing into DC over the river where it was just the 6 of us- and for a moment, I really took it all in- this was the last time we will be biking together after almost 3 months on the road.

I was so sad but so incredibly happy. Rolling into the Monument, we were greeted by posters, balloons, smiles, and warm friendly faces. We took pictures and celebrated with some delicious sandwiches in front of the Monument and reveled in the wonder of finishing.

After biking to the AirBnb close by, we passed through the lovely city and met some funny bikers including a GrubHub biker who Adam decided to provoke- once again, some things never change. We all took showers and went out for dinner at a local downtown bar and restaurant and then explored the rest of the city in various ways. We finally headed back home eventually and slept after a long day! Last day of biking complete!

Extra content:

There are no words I have for the journey that SPOKES was for me. I started off this blog with Day 1 and I remember writing how much I struggled on those hills in San Francisco and internally thinking, Wow- this is going to be hard. I don’t think the Sasha that started in June could ever imagine the things I did on this trip- the 100 mile days, the Continental Divide climb, the dogs, the driving of crazy roads in crazy weather, the biking with a group of people who are so accomplished and talented at biking when I was definitely much less experienced. I feel so grateful for this opportunity to push myself to new limits, try new opportunities, and experience new things. We met so many incredible people along this journey, people across the whole spectrum of life, and throughout this 10 weeks, I experienced kindness in ways I could never have imagined and ways I could only hope to pay back in the rest of my life. The hosts, the strangers who bought us drinks and food and gave us breakfast, the people at RV parks and gas stations, and the families who supported us after the van flipped over.

Lastly, there are no words to express my love for every single person on the Spokes team. There truly could not have been a better group to push me in every way along this journey. I learned so much from everyone and no matter how different we all are, I cherished each moment.

Nancy- thank you for always fixing my never-ending bike issues, flat tires, and staying with me on my hardest days when I was biking alone. I could never forget the days you waited for me at a turn so I wasn’t alone, stayed with me on the first day of Spokes when everyone else was ahead till the very last.

Puja- you were my rock and bed buddy throughout this journey. You constantly kept me sane and listened to my stories and laughed with me- I could never thank you enough and got so lucky with you and glad we could bike together in the last few weeks of Spokes (special shoutout to you for letting me train with you before we started)

Matty- I loved how kind you were to everyone we met and how social you were. I always thought I talked too much but it was so relieving to have someone else talk to strangers and do it so excellently. I also loved being photo-buddies with you- I didn’t realize it but we always took pictures of each other whenever we went to a capitol building, national park, cool monument, and that fun car ride in the middle of Utah when we explored those random rocks.

Daniel- you were truly the funniest person on this team and even when I was feeling very down, you were someone who constantly could put a smile on my face with your outlandish jokes and ridiculous comments including, but not limited to, Vector, our car, our hosts, and everything in between. You also made some amazing judgement calls that I definitely would not have and it saved us many times.

Adam- As much as we were clowned on, I loved our talks, car rides, and jokes together. It was awesome to have someone that I could tease on equally while talking for hours. Also shoutout to you for always waking up early and making us breakfast. As annoying as you are, my Spokes journey would not have been the same without you, your awful music, and making fun of each other.

My top 5 moments of Spokes 25

1. Almost dying in Utah after flying off my bike on the highway

2. Larry (Kentucky) and our campfire

3. Hiding Puja in the cargo bag in the EconoLodge

4. The Continental Divide Climb day- the hardest day of the trip and somehow the best day. All 6 of us finished the mountain and got matching shirts.

5. Descending down Shenandoah national park- that mountain was incredible

Day 66: Bentonville to Bristow (Adam)

The end is near. After arriving in Front Royal and hitting Shenandoah National Park, DC feels like its only a stone’s throw away. We woke up and rolled out of the hotel nice and late - we only have a 42 mile ride today so there was no need for an early wake up. Fortunately, our hotel was right across from the finest dining establishment in town - Spelunkers, a simple no frills burger and custard joint that never fails to satisfy. We were the first ones in the door at 11am, scarfed down our breakfast/ lunch, and hopped on our bikes for the second to last ride.

The ride was smooth and simple - we hugged the frontage road along the highway for pretty much the entire day. Just as I was feeling warmed up, I passed through Marshall, a small weekend town, and the seductive smell of pastries drew me into a local bakery. I stopped for a quick espresso and cookie while the rest of the team biked on. Margaret, our host for the evening, wanted to meet us and ride for a bit, so we stopped to rest and wait for her at about the halfway point. She zipped up to us in her e-bike with the clip in Keens - the classic retirement bikers setup.

She took point and navigated us through her local roads back to her house, taking a far more efficient route than I had originally planned. We rolled into her neighborhood nice and early and had plenty of time to plan our last few days in DC. Margaret cooked a fantastic dinner while we discussed her four kids, extensive bike packing experience, and the data centers of Fairfax County. Ready for a nice and easy final ride into DC tomorrow!

Day 65: Front Royal Rest Day (Matthew)

In our second rest day in the Front Royal/Bentonville area, we decided to bike skyline drive! The morning started with us packing up camp in Bentonville to embark for Skyline. Using the U-Haul, we shuttled about 20 minutes to the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center in Shenandoah National Park. We unloaded there to begin our epic ride!!

This ride was gorgeous, with rolling mountains and beautiful valley’s from side-to-side. Sadly our ride got cut short because of fog. Once reached about 3,000 feet of elevation, we met thick fog which made it unsafe to bike on. At this point we decided to turn around towards Front Royal. This part was sooooo fun, as we got to descend several thousand feet with beautiful views from Skyline Drive.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, except for one thing…. SPELUNKERS! This Front Royal restaurant provided the second best meal of the entire trip. Their burgers were to die for, the fries were otherwordly, and don’t even get me started about the custard. I am hungry for Spelunkers while sitting in my bed writing this right now. We dined at this fine establishment for lunch, then rotted in bed, then dined there for dinner. That was the rest of my Front Royal rest day. I love Virginia.

Day 64: Bentonville Rest Day (Puja)

Today I got up around 10ish and was happy to discover that the bugs had evacuated Vector and gone into hiding for the day. We spent the morning sitting around in the river where we reflected on the movie Paul (Danny’s all-time favorite movie and a Spokes classic, along with Despicable Me). If you haven’t seen it, it features an alien that is strikingly similar to Adam.

Then Nancy and Paul drove the U-haul to a gas station and got groceries (including firewood and hot dogs, and chicken dogs for me and Sasha). Meanwhile the rest of us had a scrumptious lunch of pepperoni rolls (thx Lesley) and bread and Nutella. Then we took a wonderful post-lunch nap in our tents. I think Daniel and I both went into REM sleep lol 

the shrimp is hard at work!

After Matthew woke up, he started making a fire. I collected wood for him, but the fire didn’t quite meet our fire master Daniel’s standards. We quickly cooked our hotdogs and chicken dogs over the flames before it went out. Adam donated one of his hot dogs to keep the fire going. Jk—it just fell off his stick.

Luckily the fire lasted long enough for us to make s’mores too. Daniel inspired me to make a cup of whey protein juice. He did two whole scoops, so of course I had to copy him. Since I hadn’t drank whey protein in a while, my tolerance for its flavor and fragrance was quite low and it was not a fun experience. 

Then Sasha and I went on a walk along the river. We reflected on the entire Spokes trip, all the things we’d learned, and how sad we were that it would be ending soon. In the middle of our walk, Daniel sent me a doordash request for more firewood. I collected a bunch of sticks and brought them to the fire. On the way, I saw this especially funny looking stick.

With the fire master back at work, our fire became quite good. As we sat around the fire, we discussed logistics for our rest day tomorrow (skyline ride!) and Sasha figured out our next teaching site. After Daniel and I extinguished the fire (one of my favorite parts of camping), we got ready to sleep in our tents. We sent some Paul memes in our spokes group chat (featuring my incredible photoshop skills), and then I wrote this blog. The end!

Bonus Material: here is a slightly incomplete list of the things that each of the Spokies glaze!

-Sasha: Taylor Swift, TSITP, ice cream

-Daniel: Costco pizza, Braum’s, Paul

-Adam: The Valley, gushers, Domino’s

-Matthew: Mama Sully; Vienna, Virginia

-Nancy: cheese balls

-Puja: Brownie, maltodextrin

Day 63: Elkins, WV to Bentonville, VA (Danny)

Up at 4am, we all got ready for today’s elevation record breaking ride. Lesley was very nice and went to Mcdonald’s to get us all breakfast before we left. We said bye to Lesley, David, and her mom for one last time before we got rolling :(((

On the road, there were coal trucks passing by, and the shoulder wasn’t the best on the highway so we attempted to share the lane when needed. This was scary but we ended up making it out okay.

Once it got light out and tensions eased, we rolled over the Appalachian Divide, splitting water that goes into the Gulf vs Atlantic.

Downhill from there, we quickly made it to Seneca Rocks, which i called a “walmart yosemite” because it was similar except with only one sheet rock and a lot of trees. It was still amazing to see though!

After Seneca Rocks, we rolled mostly downhill into lunch at Mcdonald’s! A nice nom and nap later, we were ready to tackle the final couple climbs into Virginia. Sadly for me though, nature had other plans as I blew out a tire on a steep descent after running over glass. The tire and tube popped like a balloon, and Sasha had to come give me a new tube and tire to replace so I could keep going.

Once I caught back up to the group, we rode to one last stop before the steep climb into Virginia. Before we knew it though, we made it to the top and celebrated.

From there, it was downhill to Front Royal, where we decided to have Mexican for dinner before shuttling to Bentonville.

In Bentonville, we stayed with Matthew’s friend who lived on the river where we camped. When we arrived there were so many bugs we were not having a good time, and got right to sleep, hoping they would be gone in the morning.

Day 62: Elkins Rest Day (Sasha)

This rest day was so restful and importantly so, because there was a huge day tomorrow. We started off with an incredible breakfast in the morning a belgian waffles, sausage and bacon, fruit, whip cream, etc. It was insane.

Then the mayor of Elkins came to the home to meet us, take a picture with us, and hear about our story!! So cool! After that, we all chilled for a bit around the house and Puja and I took a nap and woke up around 2 to go to the river. We went to a couple different spots before finally landing on a good area in the river to put the tubes down. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a stream so we just stayed in place but it was relaxing nonetheless and Daniel even took a little nap!

Then, we got into the hottub and enjoyed the river next to the house. Finally we got back and played some more baseball with Albert’s bat and we took turns swinging and hitting into the giant green grass they had.

We had some delicious pasta and classic pepperoni rolls before it started raining and pouring so we ran into the cabin for refuge. We had to sleep early since we were waking up the next day at 4am for the massive 10k day! Thank you to Lesley and David and everyone in Elkins who made our trip so fun.

Day 61: Flatwood to Elkins (Puja)

We woke up, ate breakfast at the motel, and started our ride. It was a pretty hilly and hot day. Matty gave me water and cheez-its at the first van stop and told me about how he hit a bird but didn’t want to get it off the front of the U-Haul. I grabbed a stick and knocked it off the bumper so the surprisingly intact bird would no longer be on Vector’s nose. 

Then Nancy caught up and we rode together the rest of the way. We were happy to see David cheering us on from his car as we biked on the side of the highway! 

When we got closer to Elkins, Lesley treated us to some delicious WV hot dogs (doughnut buns filled with sweet cream filling and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar! 😋 

I drove the rest of the way to Elkins and Sasha tried my bike and I drove past her almost falling on a hill because she wasn’t used to the electronic shifting 😬 

At Elkins, we met more of Lesley’s generous family as well as Adam’s friend Albert who was quite interesting. We had a delicious dinner of pepperoni rolls and went into the house to watch Daniel’s favorite movie Paul with David. The movie was so good that David didn’t want to leave when Lesley tried to pull him away. Then we went to sleep, excited for another relaxing rest day!