Tour de Pink, Day 1

This is the most energizing, exciting, exhausting and inspirational day I can remember. We started at Hershey's Chocolate World (where we also had dinner last night - you should have seen the dessert table!) with a ceremony and presentation of a check for $300,000 from Hershey to the Young Survival Coalition. We were also asked to take part in a few photo ops - one of Hershey's PR people approached a few of us before the ceremony to ask if it would be violating any rules of bicycling fitness to partake of a pink-wrapped and -centered York Peppermint Pattie for the cameras before the ride - as it is indeed one of my favorite candies (apparently also the leading candy for women ages 18-34 - I'm so predictable!), I was happy to comply.

After a send-off from hundreds of employees and supporters, all dressed in pink, lining the starting line and cheering us on, we hit the road. Last night's rain burned off into a partly cloudy morning that turned into a stunning sunny afternoon. We pedaled through picture-perfect rolling Pennsylvania countryside, past farms and homes, through several small towns, and past several Mennonite churches and schools, where the kids waved and cheered for us.

This is an incredibly well-supported ride - we had police escorts through towns, motorcycles blocking traffic at many intersections, and three rest stops with peanut butter sandwiches and all the Lara Bars we could pack into our jerseys along the way (and, of course, more chocolate).

We also had hills, and lots of them. Last night, they had warned us about the two-mile hill at mile 33. I was riding with two women, one from Hershey and one fellow survivor from New York. We saw the ridge ahead and I had a sinking feeling that this was what we were going to be tackling - I mentioned it and they scoffed. But indeed, that was our hill - I was in my easiest gear for at least a mile of it, and kept promising myself I could stop and walk...once I made it to that tree...as soon as I got to that telephone post...when I passed from the sun into the shady spot. But I didn't have to - although I can't say it did anything good for my average speed, I am incredibly proud to have made it to the top, on the bike the whole way. (You can't tell how steep it was from this photo, but believe me, it was steep! I'm pictured here with Karen, who is such a rockstar that she made it all the way to the top, and indeed all 73 miles today, on a fat-tire mountain bike.)

There are 27 Hershey employees who have joined us for the ride, several of whom I credit for getting me through the toughest parts of the day. Bruce and Jim scooped me up when I had fallen behind (although not actually OFF the bike, luckily!) the girls I was riding with due to a little mechanical issue, and led me along at their blistering 20 mph pace for 8 miles or so til I caught up again. Brian came up behind me on another tough, steep section, motivated me to the top, then made the next 6 miles go a lot faster as he asked me about my story. And Lina was a fantastic pace setter and rode with me almost all day, and was certainly the reason that I made it back to the hotel before 4!

I will share more stories tomorrow, but first there are a few people at home who deserve a shout-out - Matt for getting me the awesome bike I am riding, Liz for her secret fundraising initiative today that pushed me up over $9000, Kyle at Equinox for putting me through jump squats and lunges the past 3 months in our weekly training sessions, Annelise and Andrew for being my "big ride" lunch destination earlier this month, and Michael for not minding losing me for a few hours every weekend to ride. And probably most importantly, I'd like to thank the state of Connecticut for being such an incredibly hilly place to train - Pennsylvania has nothing on you!