The ride in to Chicago pretty much sucked… It was supposed to be an easy 25-30 mile ride into the city, but we got super lost. After sort of finding our way on some not bike-friendly roads, I was riding behind Megan, who I've mentioned previously, and she slipped going over some large metal grate and wiped out, hitting the metal face first and knocking out half of her two front teeth. I slammed on the brakes and got her to the side of the road quick.
It was a lot less bad than it looked at first and luckily, she is one of the toughest girls around. She actually wanted to keep riding, but her helmet was cracked so we convinced her it would be best to wait for the van… So everone else went ahead and me and two other guys stayed behind and waited for the van with her. She was such a good sport about it, even when I handed her teeth to her in a zip-lock bag.
So that really just put me in a bad mood for the rest of the ride. We rode in to Millenium Park to a bunch of cheers from people's friends and family, since just about everyone on the trip is from Chicago or the suburbs, but it still wasn’t enough to cheer me up.
The rest of the time in Chicago ruled though. We stayed in the dorms at U of I-Chicago, which were really nice. We each had our own bedroom and each apartment had a kitchen and bathroom… most people went home to their families for the weekend though, which gave me and the few guys who stayed in the dorms even more free reign in the dorms.
Friday night we went out to eat at sweet place in Greektown and then got some more free ice cream. Saturday was a rest day and proved to be one of the better days of the trip. I wanted to sleep in, but my body is so used to waking up early so I rolled out of bed around 8 (still two hours later than normal) and went for a run around he campus area. I always like checking out college campuses whenever I can. Then, Jesse and I went to try and find tickets to the noon noon cubs-indians game at Wrigley. We got some forty dollar limited view tickets, which weren't bad- It was my first time to Wrigley Field and was such a blast. Perfect weather for baseball. We did it up right- peanuts, beer, hot dogs, and I even got a bloody marry, which was probably my biggest regret of the trip. That night we got deep dish from Giordanno's. Classic Chicago day.
Sunday we rode out of Millenium park to Highland Park. It was an easy 35 or so mile ride and a bunch of people's family and friends tagged along so the ride was pretty easy. Greg came out and rode with us so we had a good talk, which was super sweet. The ride was followed up with yet another huge meal, provided by relatives of Matt Strick.
Today was a great ride. We are so spoiled. For lunch we stopped at friends/family of another rider who had prepared a huge BBQ for us, complete with sushi. Getting back on he bike after that was not easy. Although the ride was really nice. Mostly on a trail.
Tonight we are at Brad's lake house on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. I went for a run when we got in and some of the houses around here are ridiculously huge. I need to figure out how to get rich. This lottery thing is not working. Two swims in two lakes in the same day- life is tough.
In case you were wondering, Megan got her teeth fixed that same day and is looking as good as ever, even with the major bruises on her face.
Ok, I think I might be making these too long, but there is so much to tell and I feel like I'm leaving out so much. I gotta go get some reading done. Gotta finish "Watchmen" before I get to Madison tomorrow so I can drop it off with David- pumped to see that guy.