Yesterday was our rest day in the amazing city of Bend! We all had a great time exploring, picking out Christmas gifts (Illini 4000 Christmas is on July 25th), and having some time to ourselves.

Today’s ride was dedicated to an individual that we had the chance to meet in Bend on our rest day, Al Hubard. Al is a cancer survivor who has also biked across the country from Virginia Beach to the Pacific Coast. He had a very inspiring story and we are happy to report that he is cancer free, and has an incredibly positive and uplifting attitude.

Today was a super short ride: only 47 miles into Crescent, OR. We got to the stayover before noon and were able to go to the market and get some food and relax. We all hung out for a bit before starting our ride in review meeting, which was a chance for us to reflect on the things that went great during the summer, and the things that could go even better in the future. After that, we all ate FREE Taco Bell for dinner thanks to a generous donation from the La Pine Taco Bell. We are staying in an abandoned restaurant/mall this evening. I promise it is way more awesome than it sounds! Free bowling all night and a lot of places to explore.

In short, today was a great day :)

A great part of my day was getting to watch a movie with Cari at the stayover! Cari is an awesome person and I am glad I have gotten to know her over the course of this ride. She has done all of the really cool artwork on our van which has allowed us to be more easily recognized no matter where we are. She is a part of the dinner chore, and does a great job portioning out food to make sure that everyone gets a fair amount. I also appreciate her passion for social justice and the fact that she will speak up and out when she sees or hears something that doesn’t feel right to her. I know that she was very apprehensive to do this ride (because who wouldn’t feel a little nervous!?) but she is absolutely killing it on the bike every day. She has taken some spills, but got back up stronger than ever.