Salt Lake City has proven to be an oasis in the desert state of Utah. With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and no shade in sight, it looked like Utah was going to be rough. Fortunately, our stay over at the Newman Center at the University of Utah is an air-conditioned godsend, especially on an event day. Most of us can’t remember the last time we got over 6 hours of sleep, but boy was it glorious to not be woken up by the mind-numbing drone of 22 individual alarms. Our event day took us to the Huntsman Cancer Institute just off the University of Utah’s campus where we meet with three researchers who were beneficiaries of Damon Runyon Research Grants. We discussed research triumphs and ideas over tacos while meeting the future of cancer research. It was incredibly inspiring and motivating to meet the researchers who are using our hard earned fundraising dollars directly. After a brief tour of their labs and an invitation to visit next year, we ventured back into the Utah sun.Our last week of travel has been marked by a pungent odor that I can only assume has been the direct product of hard biking, sweat, and camping. Luckily, there was a laudromat within walking distance and the team was able to round out the afternoon and evening by doing some laundry and checking out some local college town eateries. (Emphasis on the oreo cheesecake shake and bacon bleu cheese burgers at B & D burgers). Concluding a brief team meeting and a shocking realization that we have less than 1000 miles left in our journey, we all relish the air conditioning at the Newman Center knowing full well that the unforgiving heat and sun await us tomorrow.
