During leader training Chris told me (Susie) a story about the guy who leads local rides out of the bike shop in his home town. His name is Bobby Mac and opens each ride by saying: “With love in your heart and a smile on your face, roll the ride!” We’re in full summer mode here at Apogee, and are proud to say that all of our trips are doing great as they keep full hearts, smiling faces and roll, hike, serve, paddle, and surf on. We are totally excited about all the progress our groups are making and we can’t wait to share the pictures.
Without further ado, and with the spirit of Bobby Mac, read on!
NEMC A: Last night Emma sent us another picture from their rafting trip yesterday. Looks like they are giving CQ a run for their money in pyramid-building prowess! Today they are doing their service project before a final day on the water sea kayaking Maine’s beautiful coast tomorrow. Chris went down to the farm to visit the groups while they were working and took some great pictures. What a great trip it’s been!
NEMC B: Matt and Victoria’s NEMC group took a lunch break near Brunswick today before doing their service project at a local farm. They met up with Susan Olcott and the little ones (also known as Apo and Gee) during lunch before rolling up their sleeves. Sweet day to cool off in the bay!
CI: After crushing some serious hills on the last major biking day, the Cape and Islands group is in Provincetown! Now that they have completed the bulk of their riding, they are heading to Boston! Let the celebrations begin! Here’s a group picture in Provincetown (we have also noticed that Rosa seems to be the photographer…we’ll try to get her to include herself in the next one!):
VM: I just got off the phone with Laura, who reports only good things from Quebec! She is having trouble sending pictures, but tell me they are cooking up some yummy stir fry and getting stoked to head into Montreal tomorrow. Allons-y!! 7 JULY UPDATE: Laura used her wiles to break through the 3G fog and snuck us a couple of great lakeside shots. As of 9:00 AM this morning, these guys are already well on their way towards Montreal….
DEX: Ahhhh, Acadia. What a beautiful spot. Here are a couple of shots from the group’s day hikes in the park. If you look very carefully, you can spot leader John pretending to be much smaller than he is. The lower photo is from yesterday’s sunrise hike up Cadillac Mountain where Izzy and John’s crew were some of the first in North America to see the sun! Next up, our Downeasters will be heading up north for their backcountry trek. Hike on!
CQ A: Lizzie and Ben’s group is just cruising northward now, enjoying the beautiful scenery of central Maine (their ride today was one of my favorites when I led CQ). It’s hot out there, but the ride is a bit shorter than usual, and our soon-to-be-Quebecois friends will get to do laundry this afternoon! Here are some shots from the road:
CQ B: Postyn and Posie’s CQ-ers rode up into beautiful central Maine today, though it seems they missed the cell phone service for sending pictures on the way! We’ll get those up as soon as they come in, folks!
MSA: Another DINO alert!! Apogee students seem to be making a habit of running into dinosaurs this summer! Our Montanans are still cruising cruising northward, with time to spare for dino sighting! The weather is still great, and everyone is just counting down the days until Going to the Sun!
It’s hard to put the caption on this – “Patriotic Youth Running, Some With Less Success, From Escaped T-Rex.” How’d we do?
CSA: After an awesome time at the hacienda, CSA is moving over to the island of Vieques. They’ve got an amazing adventure on tap for tomorrow – kayaking in the mangroves, snorkeling the coral reef, picnicking on the beach, and night-paddling in the Bio Bay! Here’s a shot of our gang waiting for the ferry to Vieques this afternoon:
PC A: Ally sent us a message during PC A’s mid-morning snack–sounds like everyone is in good spirits! The group is excited to be headed for Eureka where they’ll get to swim in a pool, do some laundry, and collect their first round of mail! Here are some shots from the road, including a sign that shows how close (ish) they are to San Fran! Roll the ride!
PC B: We were in touch with Mia and Jeremy today, and even though they’re having a great ride, the cell phone service hasn’t been good enough to send a picture. They are doing well and will send a picture as soon as they can! Stay tuned!
CMC: The airwaves (or satellites? How does technology work?) are not our friends today…we heard from CC and Jack that they are safely out of the backcountry and about to tuck into some celebratory pizza, but the service is still bad where they are camping–no 3G. Sorry, folks; we are also eager to see all the great pictures! Once the group is back in civilization (definitely tomorrow – we promise!!) we’ll post, post, post!
ACC 1: Alexis and Nick’s road warriors are just cruising along down in Alabama. This afternoon we got a picture of the crew on the Black Warrior River. Tomorrow is the next state line!
ACC 2: Mike might have set some kind of record today by sending us a picture at–wait for it–7:30 am!! Not only are these bikers up and at ’em super early, but they are also crushing state lines like it’s their job! This is Alabama, folks, the Heart of Dixie! Two state lines down, six to go! Here’s a shot of the group giving their toughest faces:
ECC: We unfortunately couldn’t get a photo from our ECC group today, but they are safely into their campground near Watten, France and doing well. Everyone is psyched to have crossed into France (Country #3!) and can’t wait to hit Paris in a few days. But first, plus baguettes!