Wednesday, June 15th, 2016

This morning brought some rain. Luckily, it was short lived. Not so luckily, heat and humidity followed. It was a long, hot 79.4 mile ride. Today was the first day where we really felt the heat of summer. It was the kind of hot that just hit you when you walked outside. I would say everyone had a moment of thinking, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can do this,” but we all persevered. It really helps me to think about the challenges that people go through while they’re battling cancer. It puts a lot into perspective as well as makes our task at hand seem much more doable.

I realized that I have not been good about writing who we have dedicated ride days to. Yesterday we dedicated the ride to Max, Rachael’s cousin who has beat leukemia.

Last night, Rachael received a bunch of cards from Mrs. Del Real’s third grade class. Her mom works with Mrs. Del Real at Wegner Elementary School in West Chicago. The cards were adorable and made all of us smile and laugh. We were even quoting some of them on our ride today to lighten the mood at times.

When we rolled into First United Methodist Church in Rockville we were greeted by some of the kindest people. They have hosted the Illini 4000 for over five years now and take great pride in providing a comfortable experience for us. We had access to showers and a pool, as well as fruit, cookies, and muffins waiting for us. They did laundry for us, and provided an unbelievable dinner of pulled pork, Italian beef, ham, mac and cheese, green beans, veggie lasagna, veggie pizza, deviled eggs, cottage cheese, and fruit. They did an amazing job planning for the vegetarians and the gluten free members of our group. Desserts included homemade angel food cake, cookies, gluten free banana bread, and brownies. We are as full as you would imagine.

Lastly, we were provided with some special entertainment. Dorothy, an 89 year old member of the church, came and performed a tap dance routine for us. She was so cute and so enthusiastic. Her routine also included a tambourine.  We loved it.

We ride into Champaign tomorrow and could not be more excited!

DR