Day 32 - Springfield, IL to Champaign, IL - 92 miles - 919 feet of climbing - 5:34 hours in the saddle

A ride of anticipation.  Erika and my sister, Cync, were meeting me in Champaign, but there was still 92 miles to ride today.  And that was after an 108  mile ride yesterday, which really challenged me the last 35 solo miles.

To SAG 1 at 20 miles, I got in a pace line with Mark S, Mark B, Stephanie and a few others, who either went off the front or off the back.  After yesterday, I decided to pace myself and ride with other folks to conserve energy.  As a result of the staying in the pace line, I did not stop to take many pics today.

Leaving SAG 1, I rode with a couple of folks until Decatur, where the group fell apart due to stoplights, hills and bad roads!

From Decatur to SAG 2 at 53 miles, I was thinking I should have told Erika and Cync to meet me at SAG 2, so they could get that experience.  Little did I know that was already in the works.  They reverse engineered the Cue sheet to figure out the SAG was at a Casey’s Gas/Convenience Store in Argenta, IL. As the SAG came into view, I noticed 3 people whooping and hollering.  It was clearly Erika and Cync and then a 3rd male that I suspected was my brother-in-law, Chris.  Pedaling closer I quickly figured out that was my brother, Tom, who lives in Berlin, Germany.  I was grinning from ear to ear.  What an incredible surprise!

One of the riders, Christine, was originally from Hong Kong.  She and Tom spoke in Cantonese, while many of the other riders enjoyed the chairs that Cync had brought with her.  It is a rare treat to have chairs at SAG!

Mark S and I tag teamed the last 35 miles to Champaign.  With the aid of a tail wind and nice country roads, we got there in good time.  Peyton’s (the mechanic from Champaign) family gathered outside Champaign Cycle cheering us on and provided popsicles.

Erika and I met up with Cync and Tom at Collective Pour for a couple of beers and then dinner next door at Big Grove Tavern.  Very special evening.

Rest day tomorrow.  A day for cleaning the bike, recharging the bike batteries (and mine)!  As you can see from the map, we have made incredible progress and amazingly only have a couple more weeks of riding before we dip our front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean at Revere Beach in Boston.

Savor the Journey // Achieve the Goal