Today the team was suppose to ride 70 miles from Bourbonnais to Elmhurst, Illinois. However, we only made it a short 8 miles before we saw several strikes of lightning. Upon protocol we pulled over and found the nearest shelter which happened to be a metal pavilion and a metal playground. Seemed to be the best option hehe. We all played on the playground for the standard wait time of 30 minutes, however the lightning was not stopping. The ride leaders made the executive decision to shuttle everyone to Kathy’s house for the time being to wait out the lightning. By the time all the people and bikes were shuttled,a few hours passed. The team occupied the time by watching National Treasure (shout out to Nick Cage). Also a big thanks to Kathy’s Mom for graciously taking us in with very little notice and providing us with food and letting us eat every ounce of food she already had in her house!! Once the weather cleared up we were then good to ride again. We rode from Homer Glen to Elmhurst with no formal cues.It ended up being a long 20ish miles with several reroutes but we made it! In total we ended up riding a solid 30ish miles today. We ended the day by attending a local Relay for lIfe. We talked about Illini 4000, dancing in a flash mob and played lots of games. A nice end to the day!
The ride dedication today was for Sam’s aunt, Carolyn Rakowicz, who passed away one year ago from cancer. Tonight we are staying at Matt’s house. His parents are awesome enough to let the whole team crash at their house! Tomorrow we will roll into sweet home Chicago. I’ve got to say I’m so excited to be home and see my family :)
~Tailwinds~
Mandy
Flat count: 0
Song of the day: Thunder -Imagine Dragons
Memorable moment: Making good use of time while waiting for the lightning to pass by making a music video (will appear on facebook)!!!