First Off Day

Hey gang, we just arrived in Pontiac, IL, about a 90 minute drive to Chicago up north.

My legs were really tired this morning, likely because of the 210 miles we pedaled a few days ago. Yesterday we had a 70 miler that felt like cake, which was nice. I went about as slow as I have all trip, taking my time seeing the sites (or lack thereof) and enjoy conversation with my comrades. Maintaining our football stadium kick, Kyle and I decided to bike over to the Purdue football stadium early Sunday morning, so Trevor, Suzanne, Jake, and Chris tagged along. The stadium actually wasn't that impressive, and we didn't get inside. Oh well, they'll all pale in comparison to OSU if we see more this trip.

I also had a good conversation with Raj on the morning ride, talking about the economic crisis and other political issues. Raj is a finance major and is going to Stanford this fall to complete a Master's in Decision Sciences ("I'm going to grad school to become an engineer because that's what Obama told us to do," he tells us), so we had a really interesting discussion for about an hour. We joined up with Chris and Kyle and coasted to lunch in convo. Good times.

The afternoon was pretty ho-hum, although I enjoyed talking with Eileen, Saskia, Beth, and a few other folks in a big group (check out the Bike and Build site for pictures and bios to go with these names if you haven't already). Towards the end of the day, I started feeling pretty lethargic because of the slow pace, so Kyle, Eileen, and I pacelined in to the church in Gilman. Overall, it was a great sunny day, with few headwinds and no hills. We were definitely out in the middle of the nowhere, however, so I didn't get a chance to hit a bookstore to gain some reading material. Dinner was fantastic however, with probably the best pulled pork I've ever tasted (sorry Mr. McCree) and some scrumptious cheese potatoes. Trevor and I have an agreement to watch what each other eats to control our portions, but it's very difficult when we keep having all this incredible thrown in front of our faces.

We have an off day tomorrow, so today's ride was a short one into Pontiac, only 42 miles. We got off to a very late start (I didn't hit the saddle until 9:55), but we trucked it throughout the day. Danny, Eileen, and I made great time in the morning, coming into lunch at mile 23 at about 11:20. It was the longest stretch I've pedaled this trip without getting off my bike for any break. We did the same in the afternoon, as I pedaled hard trying to catch the lead group (Shawn, Tino, Peter, and Scott). Battling a stiff headwind and probably the hottest temps we've had thus far, we averaged about 17 mph over the last 19 miles. We got in around 1:20 PM, giving me 42 miles in about 3 hours, 25 minutes, with a 45 minute lunch break. It was a very quick day.

Tomorrow, some of the gang is thinking about going to Chicago for our off day, but I'll probably stay in town. My grandparents are coming down, and I'm very much looking forward to catching up on sleep (haven't had more than 7 hours in several weeks). Gotta do some bike maintenance as well.

Also, just a quick Happy Birthday to Becks! I'm looking forward to hearing about your prelminary plans for our next B2 reunion if you've started thinking about it. And not to be forgotten, Happy B-Day to Schirmer on the 8th!