I know every mile will be worth my while

Today we rode our first century as a team! We rode 105 miles from Columbus, OH to Richmond, IN. We were greeted wonderfully by First English Lutheran Church and a few of us attended their Saturday evening service. Afterwards, we had a delicious lasagna dinner! We have been seriously spoiled..Anyways, back to the whole "riding a century today" thing. We had quite a lot of time to think today. I spent a ton of my time with the song "Go the Distance" from Hercules stuck in my head. This was thanks to Jacqueline who led us in a singalong of this song a few days ago. I came to realize that the refrain of this song could not fit i4k more perfectly. So because I do this for almost any song I love, I'm going to dissect the lyrics in relation to Illini 4000!I will find my wayI would say we get lost at least once a day. Today was a bit of an exception because we were on US-40 for the entirety of the route, but this is not typical. Getting lost is a part of everyday life in an i4k summer. Yet we always find our way and get back on the route!I can go the distanceThis is a pretty self-explanatory one. Sometimes the distances we ride seem unfathomable, but at the end of the day, every group rolls into the stay over. I'm sure the whole team would agree though that the last 5-10 miles of every day somehow feels more like fifty.I don't care how far, somehow I'll be strongThroughout the day, I find myself switching between being physically strong and mentally strong. At some points, the terrain is kind and my legs just glide. Though I may be feeling mentally weak, my physical strength carries me through. However, this is not always the case. At times it feels as if my legs are about to declare independence from my body and just give up in that very moment. At that time, we must be mentally strong. We must remind ourselves of why we're riding. The battle of those battling cancer is a much more daunting mountain than the Appalachians we're struggling through.I know every mile will be worth my whileI mentioned this above, but keeping the reason we're riding in mind is very powerful. Not a minute goes by during the day where I don't think about the horror of cancer. However, I am propelled forward by the hope of something better. By the hope of a world without cancer. This makes every mile worth it.I would go most anywhere to feel like I belongEvery time we enter a new town, we are greeted with such open arms. Honestly, I would say there is no p,ace where I feel we don't belong. I could not be more grateful for the communities that have welcomed us and really brought forth a sense of belonging, day in and day out.