Illini 4000

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Western Time

The team had a 96 mile day today from Pierre to Kadoka. Before starting the ride, Matt Soltys dedicated our ride to Debbie Holden, a family friend, who passed away from ovarian cancer. Everyone kept her in mind during our long day of riding. The beautiful weather and scenery made the day go by quickly and was a fun ride for the team. We were also lucky enough to have tailwinds for part of the day which, was a nice change from yesterday’s weather. Along the ride, the team stopped in Murdo, SD where many of us stopped for ice cream and snacks.While taking a break at a gas station, we met Yolanda Campbell. Yolanda has had several family members diagnosed with various cancers including breast, lung, thyroid, pancreatic, and prostate. Many of her family members were not diagnosed until the cancer had progressed to stage four, and they died soon after. The death that hit her the hardest was her Uncle Jonny. “He was like a second father to me. I was so upset when he died. But Uncle Jonny also knew how to live. He would take off and go traveling around. That’s how I want to live my life. You don’t know how much time you have, so you need to do everything you can.” She also spoke about her fear of getting cancer. “Don’t be a chicken like me; get yourself checked. I don’t want to, because I’m so afraid that they’re gonna tell me that I’m gonna die. But you need to get yourself checked.”Before we hit Kadoka, some riders stopped at the 1880’s Town, a collection of antique buildings that were preserved and moved to create a western town. Once we finally hit Kadoka, the time zone switched to mountain time, giving us an extra hour of sleep.  Aside from the time zone, it has become more and more clear that we are in the west with the sprawling fields of grass, distant mountains, and long distances between towns. We can’t wait to see what else the west has in store for us. We also have to thank the Presbyterian Church in Kadoka for hosting our team!