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| (The Sunrise Rangers - Timon and Pumba!) |
Today was one of those days where I felt very ambivalent about riding. On the one hand, I was all snuggled up with my boys in bed and it was so warm when the alarm went off at 5:00 am. All I wanted to do was roll over and sleep for a few more hours.
But I also remembered that today was the day when I would be riding for the Rangers of Sunrise Day Camp - the Timon Boys and Girls and Pumba Boys and Girls. For those of you not indoctrinated into the organization of Sunrise, these are our first and second grade campers and they are some of the most enthusiastic and upbeat kids you'd ever want to meet! Even those who are fighting cancer right now have such a positive outlook and are always such balls of energy. As a drama specialist it was always a challenge to keep up with them.
So with those thoughts in my head I quickly got ready, got my complimentary breakfast of a waffle and coffee from the good folks at Super 8 and headed on the road to Cave-in-Rock, IL, a mere 87 miles away!
As I rode, I thought of the Rangers and how much they would enjoy all of the nature I was seeing so I made a video of the lake I was passing;
And I thought how much the Rangers would enjoy seeing so much natural water, especially in the heat they were experiencing.
And then I rode on and for the second day in a row, I came across another one of these guys;
If this keeps up I'll have to open a sanctuary for rescued turtles! I headed on my way with the idea of meeting up with my family sometime after Goreville for a much needed water and food break. However, since I was low on cold water I stopped at a small truck stop outside of Goreville and that's when I received three text messages from Deanna that made me cry. The first was of her guy on a bicycle that was to represent me and where I was on my journey. The second was full page shot of the map and it looked amazing (of course, since she is such an an incredible and creative artist) and the third text simply said, "rangers...cheering and thanking u! be safe!" and that's when I started to sob. Just knowing that they were with me and they knew I was thinking of them made my day and renewed the flagging energy in my legs. It has been two days of hellatious up and down climbing but that was like the biggest jolt of caffeine to my system. So much so that Amy and the kids didn't catch up with me until about mile 64, about 24 miles from the end of today's ride!
It was fortuitious that they did so since we met another cyclist coming the other direction and climbing the hill I was about to go down. We offered her some ice and water and we compared notes about the roads ahead. Her name is Ariel and she has just graduated from NYU with a degree in Journalism. She's heading back home to Golden, CO and has had some harrowing adventures on the road. Of most interest to me was the fact that she had been bitten by a dog in Eastern Kentucky! I've heard the warnings and so far I've been able to scare the dogs away by yelling at them and squirting them with water (although the one who came after me today took some doing before he backed off). However, I do have some pepper spray if that non-violent method doesn't work. But if I'm riding with Sarah and they come after us, no more mister nice guy - its right to the spray.
I continued riding after we parted and went our ways and took my next rest in Elizabethtown, MO known as E-Town to the locals. I stopped at the local gas station/grocery and had some Mountain Dew and talked a little about Sunrise and why I was riding. She was very impressed and said she'd be keeping our campers in her prayers. While waiting outside I got into a discussion with the Hostess delivery man who was making his rounds. And then Amy and the kids drove up! Apparently, they had just had lunch on a converted barge there in E-Town. And as they drove up I got one of the best gifts of all - he handed me a box of Twinkies and said, "a gift from Southern Illinois" and what a gift indeed! I can't wait to eat them - of course I have to share them with the kids! Immedieately following that, the lady came outside and asked us if we wanted some slushies - on the house! I didn't but the kids availed themselves of the offer and thanked her profusely. I am sure going to miss the wonderful, friendly and supportive folk of Illinois!
And then it was off for the final 13 miles of my journey. It was more of the same, 23% grades that were short but killer in this heat. But as I rode I thought again of our Rangers and how they were at that moment going home to be with their families after a great day at Sunrise! I hope that through this journey we can make that possible for just a few more!
And now I'm finishing up this blog while overlooking the Ohio River. There are hummingbird feeders on the windows behind me and I can hear them buzzing back and forth as they feed and flit on. A little while ago I heard a thump and looked over and saw a small hummingbird lying on the ground just five feet from me. I saw it was still alive so I picked it up and took it back to the cabin so it wouldn't become a meal for some animal. As I called for Amy and the kids to come outside and see the poor stunned creature it suddenly revived itself and flew into the open door of the cabin. There were a few moments of panic as we realized we couldn't find it and how frightened it must be. It was then that I noticed it had stunned itself again by running into the wall and was lying on the carpet. I carefully picked it up again and took it outside making sure to hold it so that it wouldn't take off in the cabin again. This time only a few moments went by before it began to stir and took wing - our little hummingbird was okay!
And now, its time to eat some dinner, enjoy some Twinkies and watch the Olympics. I have a rest day tomorrow but on Thursday I'll be riding to Owensboro, KY and riding for the Thunder Boys and Girls!
And today's report;
FFL - 1 Rabbits, 1 Skunk, 1 Possum, 4 Squirrels, 1 Fox, 6 UFO's, 1 Turtle (I couldn't get to him in time)
RRL - Two couch cushions, one really cool throw pillow and what appeared to be one XXXL pair of men's underwear (I don't want to know)
Stay well and I'll update more from the road!
For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com/
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/
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