Day 34 – Pizza delivery woman.

Morris, Illinois to Valparaiso, Indiana

Man-oh-man we had a noisy night. Our campground was a public campground complete with car campers looking for a good place to drink alcohol around a smoky campfire with music blaring. I was just waiting for one of our riders to go over there, but I guess no one was up for the confrontation. Fortunately someone had the responsible idea of calling the police, and they were shushed up before midnight. The four of us decided to have a slumber party in Sean’s huge Taj Majal of a tent last night, with huge screened panels that allowed us all to “sleep under the stars” in a bug-free zone. It was great. When we woke up, people in our group had vowed to be as loud and obnoxious as our neighbors had been the previous night. They got a grand 5:30 a.m. wake-up call of cheering Big Riders. An unnamed Big Rider even rode his bike through the neighbor’s area with his alarm ringing, and we sang loud rowdy Christmas songs as we rode out of camp. It was great, I thought us kiddos were supposed to be the immature ones :)

We actually had a dry day today, no rain although it looked probably all morning. By the time that we got to the first waterstop, it was apparent that it was going to be a chug-chug-along day. Riding 13 out of 14 days in a row, including 600 miles in the past week, can make a person a little tired. The thing is, my body and my muscles are totally capable and trained by now to do it. But I sure don’t have the spring in my pedaling like I did earlier in the week. This rest day will be good for us.

MacDonalds was our coffee stop today, along with hashbrowns and other such breakfast goodies for the others. I talked to Pollie a little bit tonight about how everyone’s riding styles and perspectives have changed so noticeably since the first couple of weeks, and stops like these are indicative of how ours has evolved. We still ride at a pretty good pace, but we stop long and often. There’s really not a whole lot that’s going on at the campsite, so we figure we might as well enjoy the stops along the way. Sit for some coffee. Talk with some locals. Smell the flowers. Take some pictures. As ride director, Pollie gets to observe everyone at a little distance from being an actual rider, and she told me that even the speedsters in our group have evolved to the point that it’s not really about the cycling anymore. It’s hard to put into words or to convey to those outside of the ride, but it’s a humbling thing this community and this journey.

As we boxed around the Chicago area we found ourselves in more populated areas with busier traffic and bumpy bumpy roads. There was no Indiana sign to mark our next state line, so we used Ane’s arm instead. Let me tell you, Indian sure has some potholes. By the time we got to Kathy’s stop we were hungry, and she had boxes and boxes of leftover pizza from last night’s dinner. Ben and Sean had the brilliant idea of bringing some on the road with us, and replaced Ane’s rack pack with pizza boxes, ducted taped on for security. Ane’s Pizza Delivery, delivering pizza across the country within 48 days. We got some good pictures, and we snacked all of the way into camp from her bike.

Around mile seventy today we were warmly greeted by yet another Rider’s family waterstop. David Lambert’s parents and sisters had a tent with food and drinks set up for us, which was such a nice break. No one wanted our pizza though. The rest of the ride was going smoothly until the cable for my back gears broke and I was stuck with just my hardest gear in back. So I had two gears: hard and harder. With only seven or so miles left to go, it wasn’t too bad. And I was honored that Ben and Sean decided to shoot their knees with me by riding in the same high gears up hill and down. We got to the dorms in Valparaiso and Dave was able to just replace my cable.

I actually got ice cream tonight at the Dairy Queen tonight, which ruined my appetite for the cafeteria dinner, for shame. It was a totally tranquil night night for me, which is exactly what I needed. Ane and I played Sweet Honey in the Rock in our room for Jody to listen to, and we just surrounded ourselves in rest and relaxation. I’m ready for a recharging rest day, and then a short four day week next week. I can’t believe that this is all passing by so quickly. Everyday feel long and full and satisfying, but all of the sudden there are 34 of those days behind us and not enough in front of us.