By Madelaine Murray, Trekker:
"Of all the anticipation and preparation, the Maine Coast trip finally takes off!
From the early 6AM alarm to the final conversations and laughter at dinner this day was action packed and succeeded my expectations, and cruising though the heart of Boston to pick up the last members of our team! Given the first day jitters and unfamiliarity of our peers the day was a complete success, honestly I was very nervous to begin the biking trip just because I didn't know what to expect, but after all the get-to-know activities and bicycle safety orientation I felt a lot more confident!
Once we really got to start biking up to Salem, Massachusetts it was so exciting to see the waterfront and the beautiful properties along the shore I forgot I was biking! I can't believe we did so much activity in one day including hanging out at the beach and celebrating a birthday!
For all the months of preparation I tried to imagine what this experience would be like but I could never have anticipated clicking so well with my Leaders and becoming instant friends with all of these people from all different backgrounds! I just can not wait for what the future holds in this adventure, with no more expectations and just pure willingness to live out every moment of this opportunity!"
From the Leaders: "The Group has been meshing extremely well with one another, and instantly became respectful of not only the rules of the road, but towards one another. The group is biking with the Drop System (physically marking turns and stops for the person behind you) and the Buddy System (pairing weaker and stronger cyclists together). Together, these methods are working incredibly well! it has been impressive to see how well everyone is biking, especially for the first day.
The first day was a whirlwind, and the group is already united and having a blast."
Over and out!
