Illini 4000

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Rockville, what a hoot!

If there was one word I had to use on to describe today I would choose: "fun".I had the luxury of sleeping on a couch last night. It was awesome. I4K stayed at the Bartholomew's last night. Dan Bartholomew is a former 09 rider and he was kind enough to host 11 at his house. The Bartholomews are such strong supporters of I4K ; people like that really help I4K keep moving and boosts our spirits. They provided so many yummy snacks for us! Dan joined us on the ride today and we munched on leftover snacks throughout the day. The ride to Rockville, IN today was around 67 miles. Mostly flatland with a few inclines sprinkled about. I really enjoyed my group today. Gabrielle, Maggie, David, Conner R., and Gregg are such a fun bunch--awesome conversation and great laughs. With about 30 miles left it started to rain. It wasn't so bad and it kinda cooled me off. We turned on our lights and blasted through green Indiana. It was quite scenic. However for about ten miles we had the bumpiest ride ever on a neglected hole ridden road. My hands and rear hurt just thinking about it.With just six miles left we got some ice cream. I was opposed with it but the group over ruled me. I'm glad that happened. I ended up enjoying a delicious peanut butter sundae. We arrived a the United Methodist Church of Rockville, IN. We were greeted by smiling church members and delicious snacks. My favorites were the fresh picked strawberries. It's amazing how much kindness has been shown to us throughout the ride. Random people we meet on the streets give donations. Vendors offer food, houses offer us cold water and a hose to cool off with, community centers give us showers.Even though it's only been two weeks we have come a LONG way. We are becoming closer as team, getting stronger, and passionately spreading words about our cause. Almost every day we meet a new person who in some way has been affected by cancer. This is something we are all in together. We may ride hard, long, hot days, but that's nothing compared to the struggles of battling cancer. I'm so excited about tomorrow because we finally ride into Champaign! I can't wait to see my very dear friends and sleep in a bed! Soon after that will be Chicago and I am so excited to see my family. I4k, I dig you so much...