Illini 4000

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Day 53

Never have our shadows been longer than when we wake up in the dark at 4:45. The dawn greeted us with a long climb (get climbing out of the way early in the day) into a desert farm - why anyone tries to farm in a place lacking rain is still a mystery to me. Surrounded by windmills and white picket fences, we continued to ride the Oregon Trail, this time apart from the Snake River. We were certainly relieved to have woken up at that early hour as the day didn't get unbearably hot until the early afternoon and we knocked out the first half of the mileage with mostly calm-ish tailwinds.Christy dedicated the ride today to several of her donors and their friends, including Nancy Scherer and Charnan Simon who both lost their battles to cancer, and Megan Miller who is a survivor. During our rest stop at the Boise Gun Club today, we met a kind woman, Gerry, whose mother had been a cancer survivor. She was extremely encouraging and glad to meet us. She shared the story of her mother and several friends she had recently lost to cancer. It is refreshing to know we can bring hope to the random strangers we meet along the way; it makes us realize though the connection of cancer and supporting each other, none of us are really strangers anyways.We have reached Boise after another week of riding. We are at the Cathedral of the Rockies. Zenergy, a local health club and spa, gave us free showers and I think I can honestly say that these are the most luxurious showers of our entire lives... The water came out of multiple faucets, 'nuf said. Kudos to Ryan for coordinating the showers. We visited bike shops, ice cream places, and various restaurants/breweries tonight. Sleeping in is the best!