The team spent the rest day yesterday… actually resting? We truly all were able to relax and recharge on the rainy day off. Some teammates met up with friends in the area, others went to coffee shops, others simply napped and took another warm shower. It was a really great day and a much needed rest before our longest ride yet that occured today!!!!!!!
Our longest ever ride was dedicated to Doriette Gauci. Doriette was the grandmother of Viraat’s friend Stefan and she unfortunately lost her battle with colon cancer. We kept Doriette in our thoughts all throughout the day.
If you are familiar with Minnesota you might be thinking, isn’t Rochester a little bit far away from Minneapolis, even by car? The answer is yes. Are you wondering, did the team absolutely crush all 119 miles of the journey, even on bikes? The answer is a HUGE yes! We may have had a few flats today, but every single person was able to complete the ride, and in good time. We set out for Minneapolis at 6 this morning and rolled up to the stayover at 6 this evening. A big deal when we have long days are taking fast rest stops. The team gets a rest stop every 20 miles or so – today we aimed for 23-25 miles between each rest stop, because those few miles really add up! Teams did a great job keeping stops under 15 minutes today. Everyone also did an amazing job supporting one another and going into the ride with a positive mindset, and finishing just as strong.
We have another (extremely necessary after today) rest stop tomorrow, and are so blessed to be staying in Zane’s Aunt Debbie’s beautiful home. She has provided us with meals on our rest day as well as our own mattresses to sleep on (complete with pillows and blankets!!!) (very important because a lot of our sleeping bags kind of smell like feet at this point in the ride…). We are so thankful and can’t wait to take a rest on the lake tomorrow.
Today Cari is getting a shout-out! Cari was one of the riders today who unfortunately got a flat tire. When she went to change the tire, she could not quite get her wheel off. Several teammates tried and also could not budge the wheel! However, Cari kept trying and had other riders try, and finally Marc was able to help her. Instead of giving up and getting in the van on our longest and most challenging day, she sought out a solution and got back on the bike and did that century!!!!
Someone can fact check me on this, but from what I understand, today was the longest ride in Illini 4000 history. There are professional riders who do not ever do 120 miles in one day like this. To say that I am proud of this team is an understatement! The day was filled with so many smiles, stories, and genuine goodness despite how challenging the day was.