Dubuque, Iowa

After one of the best nights of sleep I have had all trip, it was very difficult getting out of the hotel bed this morning. We woke up at 5:45 and had to be outside with our bikes and bags by 6:15 for circle up. Once we got the business of the day out of the way we went back inside the hotel for breakfast and it was absolutely delicious. I filled up my plate with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and sausage gravy. After washing it all down with a cup of coffee I was ready for the 85 mile ride ahead of me.

Today my pace line consisted of Michael Brooks from The University of Houston and Jason Milliken from Miami of Ohio. Knowing we had the incentive to do well we made sure we were the first pace line out of lodging and pushed the pace all day. We started off the day great, and then we got to mile 20 and everything went down hill from there. Because of unexpected construction we were stopped for about 15 minutes which allowed the rest of the pace lines to catch up to us. They released us and once again we were back in front and no one was to be seen. Throughout the day we were red flagged 7 times due to the back pace lines slowing up the vans from leap frogging ahead. When you are going at a fast pace nothing is more frustrating than having to stop when you don’t want to. We did our best to keep a good attitude throughout the day but when things are out of your power it gets annoying.

Once we got to mile 80 we were very ready for the day to be over so we could relax and get our prize for finishing first. After an awesome down hill we arrived at Dan’s crew stop and found out that we had another 20ish miles to ride because of another reroute. This really put me in the slumps and the last thing I wanted to do was keep riding. And to make things even better, what turned into 15 miles were also some of the hardest 15 miles I have ever had to ride. Some of the hills we had to climb were very challenging but our pace line got over every single one of them. We made it to Jesus’ stop and from there it was almost all down hill. After over 5 hours on the saddle we arrived at the camp we are staying at and met Spencer. It was so nice to be done for the day and to finish first again. Spencer gave us our prize, which were hats. We hung out for a little bit and then got showered up. Today presented challenges that when put together some of us have never experienced. Not only was it a challenging day mileage wise, it was also very hot and humid, the road conditions were fairly poor and we had to ride fast to make rack point. On days like these we look for the crewmembers to keep us motivated and encourage us and unfortunately we did not get that from everyone.

Winning pace line 

How we really felt after our ride

After getting showered up we hung out for a little while and then loaded up in the vans for a team event. After close to a 20 minute drive we arrived at the location of the movie Field of Dreams, which was pretty cool. Although I have never watched the movie it was fun to hang out on the baseball field, walk through the cornfields and spend time with my teammates off the bike.

Around 6:00 we went back to lodging to eat dinner and get ready for our dance party. We had a filling dinner in the cafeteria and then went back to the gym for the dancing. The camp has a wide range of participants and everyone had a lot of fun. Although we had a very frustrating day on the bike friendship visits always put everyone in a good mood and I definitely cheered up. We danced for close to two hours and I am glad I found the energy to give it my all!!

Tomorrow we have another 100 mile day and I am excited to give it my all. Unfortunately we have finished another state as we enter Illinois tomorrow. We are going to Rockford, which is the home of our very own Doug Meenan. Should be another great day in the life of a JOH cyclist and I look forward to creating more memories.