A Summer I Will Never Forget: Day 38: From Napoleon, OH to Sandusky, OH: 87 miles

So the road to Sandusky was rough, mostly because it was flat and all I could focus on was the cross/head wind that really continued the entire time. I rode most of the day with Nelle and she truly was my Savior that day with our conversation, which distracted me from what I was doing, and with her pull for the last stretch of the ride. We talked about everything from future bachelorette parties, to names we’d like to name our children, to how this ride has changed us. She said one thing that I didn’t realize until she said it but completely am in agreement with. This ride has taught me what my mom tells me every day, to take one day at a time. We started in Seattle, we need to get to DC, and that thought on Day 1 scared me shitless. But if I thought about it in a better way, such as we start in Napoleon and we need to get to Sandusky, both cities in Ohio, I seem way more relaxed. I guess I have always just had a bigger picture in mind.

Medical school lays out your undergrad, your grad, and your residency…a for the most part planned 10+ years with the end goal of becoming an MD. While I know the bigger picture, I am forced to focus on each step at a time. But what I didn’t realize is that I can break down those steps even further. I should not be concerned with where I go for residency during my first or second year of medical school. I should be concerned with the present,, .and not even how I am going to pass my next upcoming test because let’s face it, that test again is in the future and not in the ‘now.’ I will always be studious; I have no problem in preparing for a test in time. I have a problem taking each day as its own entity. I need to find the beauty in each day, each moment, each second. That’s easy when I am riding and have mountains and lakes in front of me but what about when things are not so pretty and are not so scenic. That’s the challenge, finding good in what I am doing right now, despite what it is, and I think I am slowly getting to this point.

My rest day in Cedar point was spent on coasters, water slides, and thrill rides at Cedar point. For those of you unfamiliar, here are some photos of the super steep, super fast, super crazy rides. I convinced Melanie to go on the Dragster (we were the only 2 who went) and like I said, she did not regret it and I even heard her talking about how awesome it was on the phone to a friend/family member. Guess my days of persuading people to try new things are not over. The group left somewhat early but I stuck around for another 2 hours to check out the swings (which are 400 feet high and much faster than your average theme park swing) and the new roller coaster The Gatekeeper. Definitely worth staying and I kind of liked exploring alone. It’s funny how I used to scream on coasters and while I still do, I find myself mostly laughing. It’s pure childlike joy and I hope I never lose that.

The Dragster (420 ft 120mph)