It has been a crazy few days seeing family and friends in the Chicagoland area! Our ride on Saturday morning was dedicated to a young woman named Gina, who is a patient of Marc’s father. Gina is currently battling stage 4 adrenal cancer, and doing so with the attitude of utmost optimism and strength. Gina is 23, which is very close to the age of everyone on the team. We don’t often have the chance to hear from people our age about their journey, so it hit extra close to hear of her battle. Gina was initially told that she would not survive her diagnosis, but a year and a half later, she is still fighting hard and has even gotten to go back to work. It was an honor to bike into Chicago in dedication to her.
The ride was only 20 miles, and for the last 10 we had the privilege of riding along with some friends and family! We all arrived safely to the bean and were greeted with cheers, food, and a banner. There were even several members from past Bike America teams who came to support us and give us some advice and share stories about their year.
Yesterday we had a rest day in Chicago where we got to recharge and see family and friends. I personally did a lot of laundry and a lot of sleeping in. We begin our trek out west today! Coming from New York, every day we were biking closer to home. Now every day we bike, our goal is San Francisco. More updated of today’s journey to Wisconsin will come when the team is safely stationed in Lake Geneva for the evening!