It's been awhile since I've been able to blog. A lot has happened since Greenwood at the Bartholomew's house. That morning I rode with Linsey, Lee, Jan, Connor, and Manny and we pushed it hard. We rode through a refreshing rain and faced some little hills in the woods. We arrived first at the stayover and Manny, Lee, and I roamed around the nearly empty town. That night we had a team meeting and exchanged our white elephant gifts. We also ate dinner with some of the people from the church. Linsey and I found 2 couches to sleep on!The next day we were all anticipating the ride to our stomping grounds, Champaign. I rode with Jan, Linsey, and Sean and we booked it there. Upon arriving we jumped in Homer Lake to cool off and kick back before the rest of the team showed up. Then we all rode together to the Alma Mater. I got interviewed by ABC Central News! I found it pretty funny that I was wearing my pink Bulls hat on a tv interview. The adrenaline was pumping as we realized we had made it all the way back to U of I, where this whole journey began, from New York. Later for dinner Ellie's mom provided us a HUGE meal of Papa Del's pizza, fruit and gatorade. I swear we are treated like kings and queens. That night a bunch of us met up at Josh's apartment and we were all overcome with tiredness.The next day I rode with Connor, Linsey, and Katie. We had an easy ride to Clifton where the church had booked the pool for a youth pool party! We all had a blast jumping off the diving board and enjoying each other's company. Linsey, Cristian, and I had a nice walk back to the church after swimming.A highlight of the past week was the ride to Homewood. Along the way we stopped at Manteno Lake, where Linsey's mom had pulled some strings to let the whole team in. We stayed and swam for about an hour and a half. The best part was seeing everyone's silly tan lines. I looked like I was wearing white shorts! 7 miles later we stopped at Linsey's house for the best bbq I'd ever been to! The food was all homemade. While the food was excellent and Mrs. Rock bought my favorite chips (thanks!! :) ), talking with Linsey's friend Lisa was very inspiring. Lisa was diagnosed with brain cancer during her freshman year of college and was forced to come home to get surgery and treatment. Right now she is re-teaching her left side how to function normally. You would think after going through that a person would be depressed, but Lisa is a very positive, funny, and motivated person. It makes any  problems I have had seem so small. Our whole team has been thinking of Lisa since we met her.The next day will easily be one of the most memorable days of the trip this summer. It was the ride to Chicago. After an early wake up at 5:45 am, we sat down for some french toast provided by the church ladies while a storm was raging outside. We went outside for Manny's mosher, which was to get us all pumped up for the ride home to see our families at the bean. We danced to one of Manny's favorite songs "Push it" by Salt and Pepa and then chanted "everywhere we go..etc". I started off riding with the Poo Crew, Sean, Linsey, and Connor Yanz and about 10 minutes into the ride the storm was back in full force. And what do you know I get my first flat tire. Thankfully Connor and Sean have become experts in the flat tire field and helped me out in the pouring rain. Then we came upon some flooded streets where the water came up to our knees. It was quite the experience. Some floods we were able to ride through and some we had to literally pick up our bikes and carry them over our heads. Soon we met up with the other groups and carried on as an entire team. Travelling with 28 people through the city was one of the most exhilarating experiences ever. After about 10 miles we reached Connor Yanz's house where his family provided a great rest stop with snacks and warm towels. Again, I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity and genuine kindness towards us.Then we rode another 15 miles to the Bean at Millenium Park and I literally was smiling from ear to ear when I saw my dad standing there with a camera in hand. I hopped off my bike and gave him a huge hug. Then I glanced right and saw my best friends Nicki, Olivia, and Clinton! Thanks for coming guys. It means the world to me to have your support. I have never felt so blessed in my entire life! I will cherish this experience forever. My dad took a bunch of pictures, some of which he sent to the Daily Herald! They printed an article in the main section of the paper that has a huge distribution area! I am grateful for the publicity for the organization and the mission to fight cancer. Literally our organization thrives off of the support and generosity of others. So thank you everyone for your donations, prayers, comments, and support. You have made my experience so eye opening and amazing.There is more to come but Linsey needs to use her computer so I will update in a bit!