Today we had the honor to dedicate the ride to Mike’s Grandma Rotter, who was also affectionately known as Mike. Mike told us that no matter how much pain his grandmother was in from her treatment, or how tired she was, she would always make his favorite meals when he came to visit. She also always held a positive mindset no matter how tough things got. She lost her battle with esophageal cancer, but inspires Mike every day, especially on the difficult days.

Today was a 72 mile day. After eating a delicious breakfast provided by our stayover, we started the morning with 90% chance of thunderstorms all day in both Watertown (where we left from this morning) and in Redfield (our destination). Thankfully, it only rained on us for a couple of hours and it never did lightning or thunder! We did have extremely strong winds, but luckily for us they were tailwinds. The wind is a HUGE factor for us when we are riding and can determine our pace significantly. The 20 or so MPH tailwind allowed us to finish fairly early today despite the rain, which meant more time hanging out at the stayover.

Our stayover tonight is at the First Congregational UCC. They are treating us so well and are so incredibly friendly!!!! We arrived to a full refrigerator and freezer of food to make for dinner, so many great places to sleep, a place arranged for showers, and suggestions for fun things to do in the area. Huge shout-out to Becky for being so wonderful and friendly and making us feel right at home. After eating so much food, the team spent some time either hanging out, napping, or going to the local bowling alley for some friendly competition. It was really awesome that we got to get in so early and spend so much time together.

Today’s rider shoutout goes to Sisi. Sisi is a great teammate to have – she always knows what to say to cheer you up and always can make you laugh even in the middle of a rain storm like today! I personally love when she gives me a fist bump every time she sees me. It never fails to make the day better!