Today’s ride was dedicated to Maria’s great-aunt Annie. Annie is a breast cancer survivor, she survived her diagnosis many years ago. She is currently facing some health complications unrelated to her cancer, but we biked today thinking of the strength it took for her to overcome her cancer diagnosis as well as her strength right now.

We had an amazing day today! The weather in Wisconsin was beautiful all day, sunny and 70 with a slight breeze. We had a long day in front of us with 85 miles, and it took us a full 12 hours to get to the stayover, but that was because we were exploring and making memories. We had lunch at a really cool park next to Bailey’s Diner – where some of the team got some delicious tacos! We also were able to eat some famous Wisconsin squeaky cheese curds and famous ice cream. It is a good thing that we burn so many calories throughout the day!

The second half of the ride was through a lot of really fun tunnels – one of them was a mile long and we couldn’t even see from one end to the other. We walked our bikes through that one with our lights on. The trail used to be a route for train tracks and trains, but now is a famous biking trail. We also had an adventure at our last stop where a cute dog emerged from the trail and we went on a mission to locate its owner! Luckily their owner was looking for them and we reunited the duo before heading to the stayover.

Our stayover tonight is the First Presbeteryian Church in La Crosse. We were greeted this evening by the smell of a grill and got to eat some delicious hot dogs and cheeseburgers tonight for dinner, complete with watermelon and potato salad. It really feels like summer here surrounded by good friends and good food :) we also got showers at the neighboring YMCA – some even took advantage of the steam rooms and other awesome amenities. Then, the church let us do loads of laundry! There is no better feeling than going to sleep with a full stomach, clean clothes, and clean hair!

Today Anisha is getting a big shout-out! Across the team, everyone knows that riding with Anisha is riding with someone positive. Today I personally overheard several people say that she is a great teammate to ride with because no matter what, she is just excited to be riding and taking it in. No matter if she is in the first or last group, she is always smiling and making the team laugh.