Marshalltown, Iowa

"There are days when you can just feel in your bones that something extraordinary is going to happen. There are other days when the extraordinary things in life surprise you." This quote really stuck out to me and I think it applies to my trip very strongly. We wake up every single morning knowing that we have to get on the bike and pedal for up to 115 miles and then get off the bike and still have enough energy to go interact with people with disabilities at different locations. This task wouldn't be that big of a deal if it was only once every so often but we do it every single day. Some of the moments that happen on a daily basis are so incredible it is almost hard to put into words, and understanding Journey of Hope is something that is very hard to do unless you experience it in person. 

Today we woke up and from the beginning I was in a good mood. Wake up was at 5:45 and we had our normal routine of getting our cycling clothes on, breakfast and then our circle up. Breakfast this morning was sponsored by David Adickes, the Pi Alpha that has sponsored our dinner the night before. Him and his wife brought us bagels, cereal, yogurt, and chocolate milk which is always a big hit for the team. During our morning circle up we were also accompanied by David's family which was seemed like a pretty cool experience for David and his family. Really made me miss my family seeing them hang out with us and made me extremely excited to see them in Washington D.C. Due to time issues, along with construction we had to rack our bikes to start the day. We took a detour around the city and ended up on the other side of Des Moines. i rode today with Michael Walton and Blake Neuman who both go to Texas Christian University. We started the day as the first pace line and that remained true for the entirety of the ride. After our reroute we only had to ride about 44 miles to get to our destination in Marshalltown. Blake started in the front of the pace line and set a great pace that the rest of us continued for the rest of the ride. We ended up averaging 18.7 mph today which is pretty fast considering the terrain we went over today. After passing the first crew stop at mile 10 we didn't stop again until we arrived at the Marshalltown Family Aquatic Center where we would be eating lunch and having a friendship visit.

After eating a great hoagie and hanging out with the team for about an hour the water park opened and the fun began. Unfortunately not a lot of the clients of the Arc came out to the water park with us but the entire team still had a blast. There were three pretty big slides as well as two diving boards that everyone got great use out of. While we were going down one of the slides that you had to sit in a tube for David and I were on a mission to flip ourselves when turning but we were unsuccessful after many attempts. After a fun few hours everyone loaded back up in the vehicles and went to our lodging for the night which is a hotel! I am rooming with Jason, Kevin, and Travis tonight which is exciting because we haven't been in the same room together since Park City. We had about 2 1/2 hours to get settled in, shower, and do whatever else we needed to before leaving the hotel to go to our friendship visit at 5:30.

Our friendship visit today was an absolute blast! We went to a bowling alley and when we arrived there was over 100 people there waiting for us. All of our team members split up between lanes and bowled with the different clients. David and I went to the far land and enjoyed a few game with Katie, Marisue, George and Kody. We all had a great time, despite me being an absolute awful bowler. I think after two games Marisue ended up being the best of the bunch and we called it quits. While bowling we ate a delicious catered meal which included pork, potatoes, and green beans. We also did our fair share of dancing with everyone, and Katie taught me a few new dance moves. It is days like today that make me realized how amazing this trip is and how extraordinary moments can come from the simplest things like a hug from a client or getting my butt kicked in bowling by a 65 year old woman with Down Syndrome. After a fun packed friendship visit we left the bowling alley and went to a local car wash to get the vehicles cleaned.

I never would have imaged I would have fun cleaning a car until I got on this trip. The five of us in our van try to make the most of everything we do and that doesn't change when we are at the car wash. Each one of us has a different job and we put all that we have into it. After I got done vacuuming the inside, Kyle and Michael got to work on the outside. The energy that the two of them have together is absolutely awesome and they are hysterical. About 7 minutes after pulling it into the port the SharkTank was clean. We examined all 6 of the vehicles and ours was not only the cleanest, but we had the most fun doing it by far. The team left the carwash and headed back to lodging where I ended up staying for the rest of the night. I did some bike maintenance for a little while and then laid down. 

Today was an absolutely amazing day and it is going to be hard to beat. Who would have known so many special moments could be made in Marshalltown, Iowa. From all that I have discovered in this trip, you really never know what you are going to get!