5 flats, 1 kind stranger named Gary, and 11 happy bikers later… let’s see.. where do we begin? We woke to wet tents (outside, not inside thankfully) and grumbling stomachs. Both were satiated with a good shaking and even better muffins and grapes. We then biked a whopping 22 miles to Twin Lakes, where we were greeted by a couple of ducks who wanted to partake in our late-morning feast. 8 miles on smooth country roads later, we arrived at our first grocery store and bought a hearty lunch as well as our next couple of meals for the road. Overcome by food comas, half of the group took naps and the other half played cards. As we packed up to roll out toward camp, we encountered not one, but four flat tires! Lessons in patching and changing a tire were doled out, and we were on the road! Coasting along the Empire State Trail, we suddenly hit our fifth flat of the day, only 3 miles from camp. But luckily, a local resident on the side of the trail (Gary) offered up his huge front yard as a nesting ground for the night. The roosters next to our tents will be a new form wake-up call the next morning, to say the least. Just goes to show, that every new challenge is simply an unexpected adventure.