Letters from NJ@KT Camp – Friday Funday
Greetings Friends and welcome to our final full day recap. Campers woke this morning to a crisp and inspiring 58 degrees with sunny skies. After enjoying a hearty breakfast with Chef Nate and packing bagged lunches for the day, all ride groups set out for a full day of stoke and fun with friends. The temps quickly climbed into the low 70’s, and the forecast called for a dry day.
The varsity boys group enjoyed a later start to ride and hang out with local pro Cody Phillips, then promptly set out to climb Pinkham Road to access the East Haven Side of the network. The varsity girl’s group started the day with Ashlyn Phillips, Cody’s wife and also a very accomplished athlete, to ride some of the choice trails in the network. After great rides all around and a pizza party in town, Cody set out onto the trails with the varsity girl’s group. They worked on some root filled off-camber corners and had a blast!
Later in the afternoon, Cody met with a large group of students in the dining hall for an ice cream party and discussion regarding life and riding post NICA. It was super well received, and both Ashlyn and Cody commented on the great attitudes and fun on display at camp. Tremendous thanks to the Phillips’ for spending the day!
The joy and ride stoke around town today was palpable. It was so wonderful to hear campers reflecting on their rides and planning tomorrow’s routes. Some groups spent a lot of riverside time, others took mid AND post ride ice cream breaks, and others spent time at the skills area honing the skills they’ve learned through the week. What a wonderful time to be a NICA student!
Chef Laura served some tasty burgers for dinner, in both the beef and bean varieties, along with some hand cut fries and a slammin’ good kale salad dish. After dinner, two campers, Noga M. and Victor R., earned camper of the day awards for their unwavering support on this week’s rides. They are both kind, encouraging and helpful to their teammates, and we are super proud of them. Congratulations!
The highlight of evening group activities was the Inaugural NJ@KT Mountain Bike Biathlon Laser Tag Extravaganza! Campers challenged themselves by riding their bikes on a marked course, while stopping at stations along the way to hit laser targets. Congratulations to the newly crowned champions of the universe in MTB Biathlon – Maya T. and Brian L. in the U16 category, Nic D. and Zach M. in the 16+ category.
As of press time, campers are enjoying the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies, out playing laser tag, or taking some free time to get ahead of packing and cleaning their dorms before tomorrow’s checkout. We are looking forward to a fun day of riding before parents and guardians arrive.
Wishing those of you who are travelling a safe trip, and we’ll see you tomorrow afternoon!
