ICIC

ICIC With two weeks left until Bike and Build (donate donate donate!) I decided it was time to bring my casual bike ride form of training to the next level by joining the MIT Cycling Club for one of the Best Ideas Ever Intercollegiate Ice Cream (ICIC) Rides. Basically, some kids with bikes from Harvard and MIT meet up on Thursdays for a nice bike ride to a new ice cream place around Boston. Did you HEAR that?! Ice cream, biking AND inter-collegiate-ness. If thats not the best idea ever, I dont know what is. Its meant to be an easy, social ride, which was good for me because it was my first time riding in a group, and Im still a pretty novice cycler. About halfway through, I was kind of tired and really looking forward to that ice cream. A bit afterwards, I began to realize we had gone pretty far and had passed several perfectly respectable-looking ice cream shops already. Hmmm Several miles later, I began to wonder if there really *was* any ice cream, or if this was some cruel joke by the MIT and Harvard Cycling clubs. Then there was this huge hill oh man, it lasted forever! I just had to keep going higher and higher and higher. I must have been going half a mile an hour to get up it. Ive never biked up a hill like that. Halfway through, I was thoroughly convinced there was no ice cream and wondered what I had gotten myself into, but I kept going because I really had no choice I had no idea where I was. I finally reached the top and- man, that felt good. The small part of my soul that hadnt lost hope about the ice cream half-expected the ice cream to be at the top of this mountain, because, well, we surely wouldnt keep *going* would we? But we did. Luckily and quite literally it was all downhill from there. We passed one of those machines that tell you your speed on the road about halfway down, and whizzing by, I clocked a speed of 24mph. Going that fast was a such a great feeling Im really excited about this summer! Not long after and much to my surprise, we actually did end up at an ice cream place- The Chilly Cow- and I had one of the most deliciously rewarding smoothies ever. The ride back was surprisingly only five miles (for a total of 18 miles). We didnt have to go up the Hill of Death again, but if we had, I think I would have been okay. I hope you are all enjoying your summer days as much as I am, and if youre not, go biking and get some sun and ice cream. =)