It has been a few days since I have had internet access to update this, so I will do my best to fill everything in. On the 15th we left Greenwood, IN and headed for Rockville, IN. However, I was stuck driving the van for the day. I wasn't too excited to drive the van, but everybody has to take their turn. It turns out it actually wasn't a bad day to drive because the ride was not very scenic anyway. For those that did ride, it was a pretty easy ride because it was pretty flat, and the riders had a tailwind most of the day. We stayed at a Presbyterian church in Rockville, and most of us made a short ride to a local ice cream place, that was delicious.
On the 16th we left Rockville, IN for Champaign, IL. Shortly after beginning the ride it started raining, and not long after that we hit the first of many gravel roads. At about mile 25 we crossed into Illinois, but we were all disappointed to find that there was no "Welcome to Illinois" sign. We also thought that being in Illinois would bring the end to gravel roads, but we were very wrong. We hit some more gravel roads, and eventually made our own route to Homer Lake, where we were meeting up with everyone, to avoid more gravel roads. After meeting up at Homer Lake the entire team rode into Champaign where we were expecting to be greeted by media and other supporters at the Alumni Center. When we rolled up to the Alumni Center, we were greeted by about eight people, none of which were media. About five minutes after we showed up, a few news crews showed up for some interviews, but they missed the shots of us riding in together. The news crews did get a shot of us jumping into the fountain outside the Alumni Center.
On the 17th we left Champaign for Clifton, Illinois. We got to sleep in a couple extra hours due to the fact that we were in Champaign and everyone wanted to hang out with some friends/family they hadn't seen in a while. We had to ride with the wind in our face most of the day, which really slowed things down. Also, once again while riding in Illinois we found ourselves on gravel roads from time to time again. It was also a pretty boring ride, since it was so flat and straight, so we had to make up games to keep ourselves preoccupied. There was about a 40 mile stretch where we actually passed more tractors on the road than vehicles. When we finally arrived in Clifton, after what seemed like forever, we were happy to see that there was a public pool right across the street from where we were staying. After dinner, we went to the pool, and they let us all in for free, which was great. The water really felt good after a long day of riding.
Today, we woke up to a thunderstorm, which delayed our departure by about an hour. After getting on the road late, we had to battle the wind for about the first 35 miles. After the wind died down, things went pretty well. We are staying in Homewood, IL, the home of rider Jesse Krantzler. Once again we got in at the public pool for free, but this time it was after getting free Coldstone ice cream. Then the church we are staying at provided us with a meal. Last but not least, we went to Jesse's house for another meal. Needless to say, I am quite full. I want to thank everyone that povided any kind of food, pool, or place for us to stay. Everything was great.