Oh man what a ride so far. Today was surreal.Around mile twenty we picked up the route I took to school every day last semester, and the change of context was jarring for me at first--probably similar to how it felt for the rest of the team to ride into Chambana. Tingly, kind of!The ride itself was nice--Lake Michigan and all--and I found a pretty sweet goose-feather to put on Debra, and at one point we passed the beach on which my profile picture for the I4K website was taken. The humidity was oppressive but it was a gas, us sliding into the Blues Fest/Blackhawks fanfare as a team, and showing off our gorgeous tan-lines and deep-V's (much love to Sean Laude) and taking categorized pictures based on gender or chore partners or etc or etc! The Bean was as reflective as ever but we could not lay under it because it was cordoned off, so no excitin' upward stares from beneath.But we didn't care! We had wonderful representatives from the American Cancer Society with us, and wonderful alumni riders (much love to Centurions) who made us a cake shaped like America with bikes going across it and everything! There were even brownie mountains. So now we can think, the next time we are challenged by arduous climbs "I already ate you, mountain, and you were delicious."From there the team rode to UIC's Marie Robinson Hall (which I never lived in; I was in Courtyard my freshman year) for the assignment of rooms and the distribution of teams, and the crossing of paths with the 4K for Cancer team (MRH is the dorm of choice for cancer-fighting-country-crossing-cyclists).Next, a mass exodus and more things to do in the next 36 hours than we can collectively shake two, even three sticks at. Spectacular first thousand or so miles. Good to be home.