This here's my last chunk of words + thoughts from the east coast. Tomorrow 7am I'll be taking off from Boston Logan International Airport en route to Seattle. After returning from dropping my stuff off in New York last weekend, I'm without my computer and iPad and have been relying on the local library for daily internet usage to wrap up planning, check emails, etc. (Ooh, which reminds me: I'm so excited to activate an auto-reply message on my email. FREEDOM.)

I have a guest library card and can use the computers max 2 hrs/day, which is hardly anything for planning, so the rest of the day I usually spend walking around town, reading or writing thank you letters. My little campaign thing I started up just two days ago has blown me away; I am stunned at how much support I've gotten. I'm hugely grateful for everyone's encouragement, be it verbal, monetary or physical (so many hugs during my NY visit ^_^). Special thanks to my momma, grandma, Auntie Terry, Matt Magee, Rachel Beeman, Renee Mao, Andy Berster, Christina + Nathan Murphy, John Bailey, Maureen Dai, Jennifer Alley, and Jasper Curry for their generous contributions. Y'all rule.

On my last day here in Boston, I'm feeling a lil' weird. Like, all my stuff is -- I have no stuff! I'm boarding the plane tomorrow with a small day pack and a tote bag and my helmet. That's all. It's strange to be without the little things that, together, compose a daily routine. Singularly, they may seem inconsequential and non-essential, but when you build your days from these tiny masses, their absence is loud. Like, ok, makeup, my wallet (right now I'm using an ultra classy snack-capacity ziploc), essentially unlimited underwear...these are little things that won't be in my life for the next month. And, yeah, of course my computer, too, which also means new music. I hate even bringing up the makeup thing, but hey it's true. Makes getting ready in the morning a lot quicker, that's for sure. Also helps that I only have one outfit to choose from. I kept a simple black skirt and black sleeveless top that roll up real small for my four days in Seattle, then considering shipping that and a few other stray non-essentials back to the east coast before I leave. Might be a good idea to keep the casual wear though for when I want to take myself out to dinner and dress like a normal human (read: non-lycra-clad).

As far as the tour gear goes, my bike luggage has been in Seattle since May, and FedEx is telling me my bike's currently in Auburn, Wash., so I'll be meeting up with it in Seattle. I've really made progress with the whole packing/unpacking my bike thing. It only too me two-ish hours to pack it this time around! I'm pretty proud of myself (vs. the 7-hour meticulous process that was Round One). I packed + shipped it the last day of the Harvard program using one of the mega handy bike repair stations around Cambridge. This one was conveniently located right in front of the Graduate School of Design; I've see others around, too (just outside of Harvard Yard, in front of Whole Foods).

Repair stations include a quality air pump, stand and a bunch of tools secured to the stand by cables: pedal wrench, phillips head, screwdriver, multi-tool, two tire levers, and 5- and 6mm hex wrenches. 412 points to the City of Cambridge for instal… — Repair stations include a quality air pump, stand and a bunch of tools secured to the stand by cables: pedal wrench, phillips head, screwdriver, multi-tool, two tire levers, and 5- and 6mm hex wrenches. 412 points to the City of Cambridge for installing these stations. & I've heard people appreciating 'em almost every time I've passed by one or have been using one myself. People notice and appreciate. Good move, City. Here's a list to all stations in Cambridge: yay!

And good thing it was the last day of the program 'cause y'all know I went back in the GSD and ravaged the shit out of all the recycle bins and repurposed all y'all old projects/drawings/everythings as box padding. I thought everyone had left studio, but my friend Ashish caught me mid-pillage, peered up over his desk like, "Lily?"

"I need this."

My bicycle's safety in its cross-country FedEx voyage shall be ensured by no less than the ideas and visions of my peers.

"We see people don't like to help other people here, huh?" Observation + help from Armando, Farhat + Alexis. Thanks, guys!

This is Thuy and she's so cool and nice and strong go Thuuuuuuuuuuuy!

Hauling the farm box + wheel box half a mile to FedEx was...sweaty. But bearable thanks to some helpful folks. I had the wheel box squeezed between the 59" long farm box and my hip, which, along with my wrist, was getting pretty bruised up. A few blocks through my neighborhood and then into Harvard Yard, these boys yelled out "Hey, hey miss!" and came running up to help. It was really sweet of them 'cause I was on the real real struggle bus at this point. They were doing a summer study abroad program at Harvard, coming over from Pakistan + Mexico. I told 'em I was going pretty far with the stuff, but they still insisted on carrying the boxes to at least where they were going, CVS. I thanked 'em excessively upon departure and right as I was saddling myself up with the boxes to finish the last few blocks of the trek, the woman hopped up from the curb and offered to help. I did the whole no-it's-really-okay-I-got-it-thankyouthankyouthankyou-okay-fine thing. She was waiting for a bus with two friends and the bus pulled up just as she picked up a box. She told her friends, "wait, let me just help this girl," and that was, like, so nice of her. And in this moment I was just like DUDE THANK YOU EVERYBODY WHAT IS THIS. I guess I'm just not used to people being so helpful and stuff. Also I can't tell if it's creepy I took pics of the people helping me carry my shit. I don't think so, right? It's fine.

And um, okay this is the end of this here now so yes okay bye talk to y'all in Seattle!

So, let's start off with some bio basics: I'm just finishing up undergrad here at UF [insert school-spirited chant here, I guess]. Majoring in environmental science, minoring in sustainability and the built environment and Chinese. I'm the editor of a neat-o lil' independent magazine called The Fine Print and I love it -- it's tough work and I don't get paid for it, but I consider my salary one of...uh, warm fuzzies. When I get to hear from our readers how much they love The Fine Print and they thank me and the other editors for everything we're doing, I know it's right. And it makes me incredibly happy. And I remember why it's worth the lost sleep and that sixth cup of coffee. If only our economy ran on warm fuzzies.

But yeah, long story short: I'm happy with these last four years of my life, proud of myself for all I've done, better off from the mistakes I have made, humbled by the people I've met. It's been a good run. As a graduation gift to myself, I'm going to take myself on a bike ride. Seattle to San Francisco, baby. It's been something I've been dreaming about for a while...probably took seed after an impromptu (and hellishly painful) 24-mile ride through the Oregon coast cliff tops almost four years ago. It's resurfaced in my mind-escapes here and there since, but really began consuming my thoughts around six months ago. What if I actually could do this? Nah, I def can, it's totally possible. Ok, with whom, though?

And I'm still kind of mulling that over, actually. I've been keeping up with one of my friends the past few months, and we're definitely entertaining the idea of doing it together, but I guess we'll see how things turn out down the line. For now, I'm just planning as I'm I'll be doing this thing solo. (To any family reading this: dude, it's all right. You know I'll be fine and safe. Please recall 2012 summer coupled with my current status of existence. No, no -- I know it's all out of love. I love y'all, too.)

This trip'll be the first of its kind for me -- I'm a commuter-and-just-because cyclist: I ride my bike to classes, to the grocery store, to run errands, or I'll pedal around town, blithely weaving through Gainesville's pockets of historic neighborhoods to take advantage of a day's sunshine and breeze. Basically, I'm casual. I'm not, like, some insane-o cyclist who's just like, yeah, just another bike tour. Here, let me tell you about it all with bike lingo and other cool-sounding stuff.

I'm straight up herpderpin' my way through this from ground zero. And here's the ground zero I'm working with:

It's an old Trek, steel frame. Bought it from a gal named Kentucky and she's taken it on two tours before, so good to know it holds up well. It's incredibly light compared to my old Cannondale hybrid, which I sold. It was weird...I'd been eyeing this bike on Craigslist for a while and finally decided to just throw my bike up there and see if I got any bites. It was test ridden and sold within 20 minutes of the posting. This was in the evening and I arranged to test ride/buy this Trek early the next morning, but from the moment I'd sold my old bike to the second I adopted this guy, I felt so...incomplete and naked and and helpless. Even though I knew I wasn't going to be using my bike in the interim, I was having some serious separation anxiety. Is this what people who don't own bikes feel like all the time? Christ.

Anyway, it's definitely a solid frame to build off of and upgrade. I'm thinking I'll definitely need to get a brake lever added to the handlebar tops, probably new wheels, and new handlebar tape for sure. Taking it to the dudes at this great local bike shop, 8th Ave Bike + Coffee House, to see what they think. They're real helpful and honest guys; I trust 'em with this stuff.

I'll keep y'all posted on the entire process of getting this new ride in shape. And, yeah, myself, too. I honestly don't even know if I'm physically equipped to do a legitimate hill at this point. Yeesh.