Nebraska is a place where food is plentiful and I’ve learned my love for pistachio pudding. Arapahoe was perhaps my favorite place to be. We stayed at homestays with 4 kids, so great. They were the sweetest and very easy going and made us some mean pancakes on our rest day. This was the cutest small town id ever seen. With one main drag that consisted of a pharmacy, a silver theatre, hardware store, and a diner. We rolled up to the pharmacy and were greeted by an old fashioned soda bar. I got a cherry coke ice cream soda. DELICIOUS.
On our off day we went shooting guns and I got 4 out of 25 of the disks. Proud of myself!
After Arapahoe we hit a couple hard days. I had my first century into Imperial, Nebraska. I was so happy to finally hit that 100 mile mark. It was an amazing day in some amazing heat. It hit above 100. I felt so accomplished and proud of my team that day. We worked so hard and kept our morale up even when the heat and length of the ride was really tough. In imperial we had some amazing food and great people to greet us. They even had some boxing gear to get out some hostility if 11 hours of biking in the heat didn’t do it for you.
After Imperial we had another 94 mile day. Two century day in a row and waking at the crack of butt (4am) gets to your knees and your head.. and most of all your poor toosh. But I powered through it always with my motivation on my mind, pedalling on for those I know that fight a battle against cancer. The last 15 miles were brutal headwinds and intense heat. Delusional is an understatement. Z and I talked about favorite vegetables and worst classes taken to avoid thinking about, “is that water tower our destination?” Teammates can really get you through that last hard part of the day.
I’ve been keeping several people on my mind recently as I ride. I’ve been thinking of my Dad always. I’ve also been thinking of my cousins grandma Diane Downey who is currently battling uterine cancer. I have been dedicating my ride to her. Our family friend Wendy Walker has a sister Debbie McCarthy who is currently battling cancer as well who recently sent me some encouraging email.
We are in Boulder today. It’s a really cool town and we got to go out for a bit last night. Today we set up a car wash to benefit Jake, Chey’s pedal pal, who is an 8 year old with brain cancer. We raised over 750 dollars and it was a blast doing it.
The Rockys are in the skyline and I’d say I’m scared but my fear is more for my butt than if whether or not ill make it. We’ve done the mountains, the rain, the headwinds, the 110 degree days and the 120 mile days. We are ready. I am ready. All it takes is eachother and the remembrance of what you are riding for to get through any challenge we may face. Yeee Haw let’s goooo.