Today’s ride was dedicated to Sandy. Sandy is a close friend of Steven’s mom, and is currently battling renal cancer. She is staying incredibly strong fighting the fight with her family right by her side. We thought of her and her family and friends all throughout the day as we biked.
Today was 72 miles from Mullan to Plummer Idaho entirely on a trail!!!!! And this trail was paved and absolutely beautiful. We had a fun treat today because we got to play music out loud on our bikes due to the fact that we were exclusively on a trail and therefore did not have to worry about any cars around us. Of course we kept it to a reasonable level so that we could still hear each other, and it sure made the day go a lot faster! Along the way, we say an old mine, a moose, and a lot of kind people.
Tonight we are staying at Lakeside High School in Plummer. We were able to shower, swim, AND use the hot tub at the Marimn Health Wellness Center thanks to Terry who is a local and was able to talk to the staff there. We were really excited to get to relax and swim and take our time there. We are also getting various food items from generous nearby restaurants who donated to us! The team has gotten pretty good at calling for food donations: this evening everyone was on the phone making 109 calls (but who’s counting) in order to make sure we had enough food for the team! It was a really fun team effort.
It is so weird/sad/exciting to say that I am getting down to the last couple of weeks of posting on the blog each day. I love doing the rider shout-outs, and I’m going to switch it up a little bit and do some longer posts about each rider starting today and continuing until we cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe these posts will reach them, and maybe they won’t, but I want all of you out there to know a little bit more about each of these very special teammates of mine:
The first rider to be written about is going to be my good pal and honorary lil’ brother Zane Inman. Zane is from a small midwestern town just like myself, and he understands how important Casey’s gas stations are and is able to be confused about the Chicago suburbs just like I am. Zane does not like biking. Which is really funny, because this is, after all, a cross-country bike tour. Zane joined the Illini 4000 under the impression that it was a casual cycling club. Zane’s dad passed away after battling cancer when Zane was in high school. His dad enjoyed casual cycling and so Zane figured he would try out a cycling club. When he found out the mission of the organization was to fund cancer research and patient support services, he knew it was fate and that he had to do this trip. Hearing about Zane’s dad from him & his mom during a portrait back in Paxton IL really impacted me and several others on the team who were present. Zane still does not like biking. Nevertheless, he puts himself out there every day and does the thing. When I ask him how the day is going, I know he is going to be real with me. Sometimes he says “not that great” other times he says “today is a good day.” There is value in being positive, and there is also value in being real with one another and sharing our struggles and how we are doing and what keeps us pedaling every day. I’m thankful to have spent all of this time with Zane and have loved hearing about his dad and all of the great memories they have together. I also like his jokes even though sometimes they really aren’t that good (sorry buddy). Big shout-out to Zane’s mom & aunt, who I know give him a lot of strength on hard days.
Stay tuned for more rider info over the next couple of weeks! We are already leaving Idaho tomorrow and entering Washington state on the west coast. I am already sentimental about this team if you can’t tell!