Wednesday, June 29th, 2016

We’ve come a long way from training rides back in March. Distance wise and physically. Everyone on the team will always remember day 3 as an awful day. There was no way to be prepared for the climbs considering we train in central Illinois. We had a similar day last week, headwinds and hills, yet we conquered that day so much better than day 3.

We left New York City 32 days ago. It doesn’t feel like we have crossed 7 state lines and have covered over 1700 miles. The first week or so I felt like I was still doing training rides and now everything is becoming routine and feeling like the real deal. Some days are better than others and we all have days that we question why we are out here. It’s not hard to remember why we are here once we talk to people and realize how widespread cancer is.

We meet so many amazing people every day. One reason why we take 72 days to cross the country is so that we are able to interact with the communities. Hearing people’s stories about their experiences really puts life into perspective. Everyone has a story, everyone’s story is different in it’s own way but there is common ground among each story. Today Sara and I went to a bakery and we sparked a conversation with the cashier. Her dad had cancer and she generously gave us 5 free donuts. The amount of generosity we receive is amazing. The other day Dunkin Donuts donated 15 dozen donuts!! We have had people stop us at gas stations and give us donations. Crossing into Wisconsin, my group stopped at a bike shop for fun and the owner gave all 5 of us free socks. This trip has reassured me that there are good people in this world.

It may only be day 32 and we may not even be half way done but I have already learned so much and have grown as a person. I’m learning about myself, life skills, and things you may not expect to learn while biking (like how intense a game of my cow can get). Also I will never take ice water for granted again. Can’t wait to see what the next 5 weeks have in store.

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