Catching Up!

I want to apologize to all my faithful blog followers for not posting something the last couple of days. It has been very busy and we have limited internet connections. Read ahead and I will fill you in on what has been going on since I last posted an update...

June 12, 2009

Today we were able to sleep in until 6:30 am! We had a short 70 mile ride into Coulee City, WA. The ride was less extreme than yesterday's adventure through Steven's Pass. Today we encountered a 7-mile climb and a 3-mile climb at 7% grades.

Today's scenery started as deserts and canyons and by the end of the journey we were riding through arid, rolling hills. I enjoy the time we spend cyclying because it is great to bond with my fellow teammates. We use the hours on the bike to play games, talk, and learn about each other. We arrived in the small town of Coulee City this afternoon, there is a population of only 200 people. The team will be staying at the local high school. We enjoyed the afternoon off by spending our time relaxing and swimming in a nearby lake. Dinner was amazing tonight! I devoured the beef sandwiches and baked beans provided by the Cattlewomen's Association. The ladies were very entertaining and it was a pleasure to visit with them. It was very humurous at dinner because the local newspaper sent a photographer to take pictures of our team. The photographer was also the reporter and owner of the newspaper. This town is so small that it only takes one individual to run the enitre paper! This evening the team enjoyed a trip to the local icecream parlor, that was also a gas station, liquor store, bait shop, and restaurant. That is what you call "one stop convenience!"

June 13, 2009

Today marked our first "century" ride, which is 100 miles. However, we actually ended up riding only 97 miles. The team woke up early and rode a quick 5 1/2 hours to Spokane, WA. We made really good timing and arrived 1 1/2 hours earlier than we had planned. Today's cycling included rolling hills and plenty of wheat fields. Once again, my paceline enjoyed playing games while cycling. We were police escorted into Spokane. The team enjoyed dinner at Theta Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Washington State. It was comical when we were eating dinner outside and they forgot to tell us that the lawn sprinklers turned on at 7:30pm every evening. This made for a very interesting meal. We had the evening off and we spent time bonding as a team.

June 14, 2009

Today was our first day off so we slept in until 9:30 a.m. This was some much needed rest! We took part in an amazing frienship visit! Our team attended the Family Fun Day for individuals with Muscular Dystrophy. There was a carnival and lots of fun activities for the kids and families. A young boy named Thomas spray painted my hair orange, pink, and white. This was a sight to see! I played a game against my teammate Robby where we had to dig for three cherries that were burried in pudding without using our hands. Once we found the cherries, we had to get three marshmallows from a bowl of cheerios. In the end, our faces were covered and the kids loved it. I won the competition and left the visit with colored hair and food stuck all over me. We performed the "Kids on the Block" puppet show as well and this was very successful. The team enjoyed the night off. We caught up on some laundry, ate a great chicken dinner, and played four-square for the rest of the evening. It was very relaxing!

Below is a picture of Robby and I during our game at the MD family fun day.

June 15, 2009

And now I finally have you all caught up to today. We were only supposed to ride 35 miles, but this turned into 55 miles because of some very confusing bike trails. We crossed into a new state today! We arrived a little late at Camp Sweyolakan in Cour d' Alene, ID. The team was greeted by a patoon boat. We loaded our bodies, bags, and bikes onto the boad to cross the lake to get to camp. As we arrived, we were greeted by the traditional camp song. (it is tradition to be sung in and out of this camp) After lunch, we had the rest of the afternoon to explore camp. The team played at the lake on the water trampoline and the blob. There are no kids at camp yet, just counselors. Tonight will be very interesting. We are sleeping in a structure that is eight walls and four of them are completely open and exposed to the wilderness. I am pretty sure that a tent would provide more coverage than this hut. It should be an interesting night, so be sure to read tomorrow's blog to see how I survived my night in the wild........