Graham Crawford, Andrew Bubblitz, and I chose to be sweeps on this ride so that we could be in the front of our arrival into our home city of Chicago. After our daily circle up we got on the rode for our short 20 mile ride into the city. Riding through the suburbs and the city, there were a ton of turns to be marked within such a short distance so the cyclists were a bit worried that we would have several red flags in order to regroup, but our crew members did an outstanding job and made the ride as quick and smooth as possible.
It was unbelievable being able to ride through these suburbs and this amazing city that I’ve grown up in with 35 of my best friends! Once we made it to stage up before arrival we had a huge lunch waiting for us provided by Eric Almquist. Thanks Eric! However, stage up took a little bit longer than usual because we had several news teams that we had to wait for to get to our arrival location at the Neumann Association.
Our arrival into the Neumann Association was unreal. Several blocks away we could hear the hundreds of participants, staff, and family cheering us on as we rolled in. At the friendship visit we played basketball, showed them the north team way of getting down to Uptown Funk, and hung out with some amazing people! After showering and getting geared up we took a stroll through the city to the Ancien Cafe where John Shumaker had a great dinner waiting for us.
It was awesome being able to relax and hear some of the stories that past Journey of Hope riders had about their rides years ago. With a late wake up the next morning as well, I got to show all the guys around this amazing city and stop at some of my favorite local food joints. I couldn’t have asked for a better day with these guys and I still can’t believe that I’m going to have to say goodbye to them in just two short weeks.
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