Rewind to 3 days ago when we rode into Pittsburgh. Never expect a day to be easy, even if the distance is only 47 miles. I’ve learned to always expect the next day to be harder than the previous, or to not have expectations at all because usually they are not correct. Arriving at the stayover at 2:15 was amazing though. That is the earliest I have ever gotten in. That night some of us (Linsey, Sean, Jan, Connor Yanz, and Gedion) went to see Hangover 2, which was not as funny as the first. But for most of the day we just hung out on our sleeping bags and relaxed. Oh and we played Blokus, it’s the only game we have besides cards. The next day was a much needed rest day after conquering the mountains of Pennsylvania. We slept in until 9:40! When the lights went on I thought it was 5:45 am though. We had a team meeting at 10, which ended on a positive note with everyone going around and telling their favorite moment so far or something they appreciate. I loved hearing everyone’s individual perspectives. I was also very touched by Connor Canaday’s response. He was such a big help the first week! I don’t know how we will get by without him! Good thing he left behind so much knowledge and wisdom, but he will surely be missed. After the meeting we all walked over to a park where a past rider from 2009, Matt, set up an amazing barbeque with TONS of food. I think we all ate more that day then we do on riding days. After the bbq was a highlight- Sean, Connor, Linsey, and I escaped the heat in a public fountain. We wanted to swim so bad but that was the closest we could get. It was so fun/a relief! We watched little kids use a ripstick- very impressive. Back at the stayover, we just chilled out on our sleeping bags (the best place to hang out during free time) and found out that Taylor, Christian, and Yang had asked for food donations at Chipotle and we were all getting free burritos and drinks for dinner! I know, more food! So we all walked over there around 7:30. As usual, I gave the rest of mine to Jan (he’s my personal vacuum cleaner). The next day (yesterday) we rode 92 miles to Cadiz, Ohio. The day started out with a steep climb, we were all glistening with sweat in the first 20 minutes of the ride. Getting to the top was amazing though because we had a great view of Pittsburgh and the river with all of the bridges. I rode with Linsey, Jan, and Manny. We called ourselves Team Swass. Soon the route turned into a gravel bike path that was extremely uncomfortable to ride on and kind of brought the morale down. We met up with another group and a man had told them a “shortcut” which was “just up the hill”. So we went off the cues and climbed another massive hill. We stopped at some sort of market and had our typical pb and j lunch. Now is where the day turns around. After napping under a tree, it was already close to 3 pm and we still had 50 miles to go! Luckily, 30 miles were on a nice, paved bike path. Along the way we stopped at a creek and cooled off. Any time there is a body of water to jump into, Linsey and I get super excited. We carry our bathing suit bottoms with us at all times during the ride just to be ready. Later in the day we met up with a bunch of the groups at McDonald’s and filled up our water bottles with ice cold water-another thing that easily lifts the spirits during a long hot day. We still had 20 miles at this point, so Jan told our group that we had to push it. And we did! We averaged about 15 miles per hour over the last 20 miles of rolling hills and were the first group to arrive at the stayover! It was one of my favorite moments, rolling into that driveway. We even exchanged sweaty hugs at the end. I have never been so grateful for a shower in my life! Yesterday was easily the dirtiest I have felt on the trip so far. After eating a meal of leftovers the church graciously provided, I talked to my mom and dad for a good amount of time and then went to sleep. Today we rode 63 miles to Zanesville, Ohio. Lauren was the van driver and she did a great job finding rest stops! The first rest stop was at a lake- all of the groups met up and swam for a good 45 minutes. It was so refreshing and fun to hang out with everyone. We sang the shark song that Christian did for his mosher the other day. It was a great start to the day. My group decided to take it easy today. We called ourselves Team Skinny Tires because at one point we hit construction and the police kept referring to us as the skinny tires over her walkie-talkie. I rode with Linsey, Katie, Maggie, and Taylor- the first time I rode with all girls! We had a nice, relaxing day. Linsey and I must have been used to pushing it from the night before, because we would just ride and realize that we were way ahead- not something I am used to. We made up songs along the way which I will share now: To the tune of “do your ears hang low?”: Do your legs feel like jello? Do they wobble when you walk? Does your butt get all chafed up when you ride your bike a lot? Can you tell you’re I4K when you sleep in churches every day? Do your legs feel like jello? Our original: Dirty pb and j’s (the K-L way!) We make them everyday (the K-L way!) We eat them like they’re gourmet (The K-L way!) Ain’t got no crunchy, ain’t got no wheat, but we eat them anyway! (the K-L way!) We were lucky to get to shower at a nearby gym and there are cots at this church! The church ladies also provided a great meal of spaghetti and salad and bread with lemonade and cookies! Then Linsey, Sean, Jan, and I hung out on the cots and played some more Blokus. I am sooo tired right now. But it is only 8! Usually we don’t even arrive to the stayover until like 7:30. Maybe it will be an early bedtime tonight. I am still feeling lively and upbeat and loving every minute of this experience! Thanks for reading! P.S. my skin is reacting really strangely to the sun, I get a heat rash like every day despite applying mass amounts of sunscreen! Any suggestions all you Moms out there??