Davenport, Iowa

It is sad to think that we are almost out of another state on this awesome Journey. From California we have gone across Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, and now Iowa and in two days we will be in Illinois. Every time we see a Pi Alpha they tell us to enjoy every second of the trip because it goes by fast and I am definitely seeing that happen.

Wake up was at 5:45 this morning and after a pretty good night of sleep I was ready for the day. During training never did I think I would see a 60 mile ride and think it was a shorter day but now that we have numerous days over 90 these sub 70 days seem like nothing. I was excited to get out of the road, try out my new tires and finish the 60 miles with two guys I have not rode an entire day with. Today I rode with Kevin Dubbins and Kyle Marpe. Both guys have had different problems on the trip which have made certain days tough for them so we were pumped to get a full day in. Kevin is the guy I mentioned earlier in my blog with the broken hip, and last time we rode he couldnt finish because he was in to much pain. Kyle has had countless bike issues and the last time we road together we got 89 miles into our ride and one of his back tire spokes broke so he couldn't continue. We were one of the last pace lines to leave lodging today and we decided to just take it easy and cruise through the 60 mies. After about 3 1/2 hours on the bike we arrived in Davenport and received a very nice surprise.

Luke got a little sleepy after our ride into Davenport 

Coming into today we knew that we would be staying in a hotel but that wasn't even the best part. Normally when we do get hotels we are two guys to a bed but that wasn't the case for tonight. The city of Davenport sponsored our lodging and they paid for us to each get our own beds. I don't think I have seen some of my teammates as happy as they were when we found that out all trip, and when I got into my room with Blake the first thing we did was collapse on our beds. The team had about an hour to get showered up before going over to Happy Joes for lunch. A former Pi Alpha sponsored the meal for us, which was a pizza buffet. I don't know how business stay in business when we come to town because 35 guys sure can put down a lot of food. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal and once done eating all I wanted to do was take a nap.

I got into my bed for a nap at about 2:15 and next thing I know it was 5:30 and time for dinner. Riding everyday has become a way of life, but our bodies still take a beating and these naps are what the guys look forward to any chance we can get them. For dinner and our friendship visit we went to a local water park and unlike the one in Marshalltown, there were plenty of clients for us to hang out with. They group we were with brought out close to 100 clients and speaking for our team I know we had a blast. I was involved in a hand stand competition with a few people for a solid 30 minutes and then I took advantage of a few of the slides for a while. We sat down and ate hotdogs, cookies and chips and while there I talked to Michelle, Karen, and James. Michelle was very interested about our trip, and was worried about our safety everyday. We assured her that we were staying safe everyday and she reminded us to always wear a helmet and watch out for traffic.

After two hours of fun everyone said their goodbyes and we made our way back to lodging. Although I took a long nap I am still pretty excited for bed tonight and my bed I get all to myself. After two shorter days on the bike the team faces a 95 mile day tomorrow. This evening during circle up we were told that the first pace line to finish tomorrow will get a prize. With the pace line I have tomorrow there is a good chance we could finish first and I am definitely going for it!