day 9: i want to give the person who invented the wheel one million kisses on the head

day 9 is done!!! done!!! this day has been looming over me for a few reasons: it was my longest distance day, the forecast showed rain, and i’m getting pretty dang tired lol. i’ll tell you all about what went down in this blog post! (excuse any weird formatting, im writing on my phone instead of my laptop - details below!!)

• this AM i did my LAST interview of the series!!!! hooray! another varied and interesting perspective! i really feel like we covered so much ground in these interviews, and i’m getting excited to get back and start editing! i can’t wait to share them all with you! another HUGE thanks to everyone who took part!
• because of the reasons listed above (distance, rain, ailments) i decided to do today via bike rather than foot….and WHAT a GREAF decision that was!
• it RAINED. pretty much from the time i left my interview to the time i met my mom at a pizza place near my hotel…it RAINED. beyond that, it was cold and windy - which already wasn’t brilliant on a bike (especially near the water! i have begun to see water!) but would have been much LESS brilliant on a 9-hr trek.
• speaking of 9-hr treks, i was able to cover the same distance on my bike in a little less than 3 hours - which has given me ample to time to relax, stretch, take a warm bath, get cuddled up, etc.
• mysteriously!!!! my room at the hotel got upgraded which has really cracked me up. it’s HUGE and there are two rooms with a bed in each room? i’m only staying for one night? what do i do with all this real estate lol???
• as far as the aches and pains go, biking really did what i thought it might as far as taking some of the pressure and impact off my ankle(s). i’m not going to jinx myself by saying i feel any certain way, but i’m hopeful that i’ll have energy and recovery enough to get back to the road tomorrow!
• another AWESOME development is: because my interviews are over, i was able to unload a BUNCH of equipment from my backpack! my mom (thank u 💕) came to meet me out east to drop off/pick up my bike and she also was able to unload some of the heavy nonsense i’ve been lugging around for over a week: like my laptop (thus the phone-style blog) and a WHOLE ASS TRIPOD HAHAHA.
• finally: yes, i caught a glimpse of some water today! a tiny sliver of coast, if you will. it really hammered home that - despite the rain and the aches, i am getting closer and closer to that finish line!!! 

if you’ve made it this far in my blog, you get a special little piece of trivia! obviously, long island is 118 miles long. i have been telling everyone who will listen lol but - because of the interviews and the zig-zagging from here to there - my walk will be MORE than 118 miles…….HOWEVER! today, when i arrived at my final interview, i’m happy to say i hit the 118 mile mark of my specific journey since leaving brooklyn!!!!! i can’t believe it!!! keep that in mind when you leave your guesses on the total mileage……

​see you tomorrow!