Today’s ride was dedicated to John Nelson. We met a woman at Mount Rushmore who saw our jerseys and asked what we were riding for, and then shared the story of John who passed away after a battle with cancer. We had several meaningful interactions with people yesterday at Mount Rushmore alone. Cancer is truly a universal experience and we are thankful that we can raise money and awareness to this cause.
Today was an absolute breeze compared to yesterday! We had a forecasted high of 90 degrees which was not ideal, but we were met with some surprising cloud cover and an air temperature that was almost chilly when not on the bike. The elevation wasn’t quite as flat as Illinois, but compared to yesterday was no challenge for this team. We had an awesome day and made it to the stayover so early! It’s always nice to have some time to hang out and just relax.
Our stayover tonight is amazing!!! We are at the First United Methodist Church in Gillette. We were greeted with a snack bar, ice cold water, and ice cream as soon as we arrived! Then we were spoiled with grilled burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, salads, and other desserts. We ate until we were full and will have food for tomorrow too! The wonderful people of the church also drove us to showers at an awesome rec center AND did our laundry tonight. They are saints because after these long hot days, our clothes don’t smell the best. They also took a group of us to see the local coal mining facility and tell us about the history of mining and the town. It’s amazing to see the unique aspects of all of these cities/towns that we go through. Every person and place has a story that we would not otherwise get to year if it wasn’t for being a part of the Illini 4000. I am very thankful to be a part of this team and to be staying as such a wonderful place.
Today’s rider shout-out goes to Jonathan. Jon always makes me laugh a lot throughout the day with his humor and sometimes outrageous antics. Today he needed a little boost and filled up a water bottle with iced coffee (he had already chugged a bottle of straight up water and chugged another right after – so fear not he was plenty hydrated!) and also stopped at a Wendy’s along the route. Jon reminds me to take time for small but fun things along the ride, and we all appreciate him for his spirit!