Along with being day 6, today was Margaret and I's birthdays! We got woken up at 5 AM with lots of birthday wishes as we got ready for the day's ride. We were put in the same ride group for that day and so Jamie, Margaret, Victor and I became "team birthday". We had a 75 mile ride day to get us out of PA and to Youngstown, Ohio. Thanks to DJ Jamie I heard the Katy Perry "Happy Birthday" song about 20 times because she played it every time we stopped to take a break, change a flat, drink water, etc. Emily also made Margaret and I take water shots to celebrate at the water stops. :)
The route was fairly flat and easy and the weather was beautiful! Only bad part of the day was when I took a nasty fall crossing over some old train tracks. When you're on a road bike with skinny tires like ours, you have to be careful and cross over train tracks at the most perpendicular angle as possible. I didn't do that, got my tire caught in the tracks and when I frantically tried to turn my wheel to get out I ate it straight into the loose gravel on the side of the road. I got some gnarly scrapes on my thigh, elbow and palms but only shed a little blood and broke no bones or parts of my bike! It put a little damper on my day but luckily we reached the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line soon after and took some fun pictures which brought my spirits up!
Then we finished our last 25 miles to get to our host, The United Baptist Church, where they welcomed us in and shuttled us to the nearest YMCA for some much-needed showers. They also provided us with an awesome potluck dinner and we got to talk to many of them while they ate with us. During dinner, Dan and Emily gave Margaret and I the cookie cake they had gotten us while on water van duty that day! They decorated it with farm animals and gravel roads like the route we had just rode through in PA/OH that day. The whole team/ hosts sang happy birthday to us and we got to each blow out some candles! To make the day even better, the host church had tons of couches that we got to sleep on that night which is so so so much better than my sad, uncomfortable sleeping pad I usually use. Despite my wipe-out on the bike, I had an awesome birthday! I loved being able to share it with Margaret and my team :) Also a big shoutout to my parents and all of my friends for their loving calls/texts/pictures to wish me a happy birthday! Never before did I expect to spend 8 hours of my birthday on my bike...but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! Glad to have made it to Ohio safely and in one piece. Next up: Canton, OH!