Monday, July 13th, 2015

Start/End: Honeyville/Pocatello, UT
Mileage: 103.1+
Weather: Sunny and hot, with some late afternoon showers/hail

This morning was another morning with a long day ahead of us. Typically we wake up an hour early, but this morning we were dependent on the the timing of the sun…which would not be up before 5. So we started our day at 5:30 as the sun was starting to brighten the world :) As usual with camping, we had very generous helpings of milk and cereal.

Today’s ride was dedicated to Bill, a classmate of a few of our teammates. bill had a type of brain cancer as a young child and beat it, which is awesome. What many people may not know about beating cancer is how much it can still impact your life afterwards. Every year, Bill needs to go in and get some medical testing to make sure that it has not come back and that time of the year has returned. While there are no reasons to be concerned more this time, it can still be stressful, so today we ride for you, Bill. Congratulations on being cancer free for 18 years and we hope this winning streak continues.

In the morning, we started out in the shade of the mountains. The sun had not yet gotten tall enough to get over them, so this was very nice. Along the route, we found that there are a lot of horses in Utah and Idaho! In addition, there are a lot of adorable baby horses! They were so cute and most people enjoyed seeing them. We did see some baby cows, which are pretty adorable when they kick up their heals and run.

It was not too long into the day when we escaped the shade of the mountain and were on our way. The landscape really was not much different from what it had been the previous few days, with a very dry valley and mountains in the distance. As we came upon our first rest stop, we reached a new state: Idaho! We were on a frontage road for a highway, so unfortunately we did not have a very big sign, but alas, we took pictures and savor the moment, all hoping we would eat some potatoes soon….

As the day grew on, we definitely started to realize the challenge of the day. Not only would we be doing over 100 miles, but we would do over 3,000 ft of climbing while dealing with some heat. We did well to stick together in our groups and go at a pace that was comfortable for everyone. And we of course strived to stay hydrated. Before lunch, we started to do our major climb for the day. It was gradual at first, but then took on a very steep climb. Thankfully lunch was in sight and we kept moving along. We ate near the Devil Creek Reservoir which was a beautiful sight to see. There were even some baby ducks swimming on the water!

The rest of the day was pretty non-eventful. We had a very enjoyable downhill after our climb, but the rest of the ride was all up to our strength: physically and mentally. Some groups did encounter some light rain and others experienced hail (not fun on a bike), but we all made it through to an amazing stayover.

We cannot speak highly enough about our very generous hosts tonight. when we arrived, they had some fruit, veggies,McGee and crackers and drinks available for us to eat once we arrived. After that, they began shuttling us to the Idaho State University athletic facility where we got to shower! And how could our day get better? We returned to a pulled pork, chicken, potato salad, greens salad and some other awesome dishes ready for us to eat. And did we ever eat! By the time we were all full, they brought out some brownies and ice cream and we were just overwhelmed with their generosity. Somehow we found space for it all and we are all very satisfied this evening. Some of us have already slipped into a food-coma like state, while others are playing cards, journaling or just relaxing. We cannot thank our amazing hosts enough, whom this has been their third year hosting Illini 4000!

Well, I am definitely feeling my eyelids getting heavy and should make my way to bed. Here is to hoping we are not too sore tomorrow!
-LAH