We woke up at 6, packed our bags and got ready for breakfast. Today, breakfast, which included egg casserole, was sponsored by Kevin Kelley’s parents. 
We hit the roads and started rolling. The roads for the most part were pretty good. We were on highway 12 for majority of the ride until we hit Saline, Michigan. In my paceline was Alex (Illinois), Jason (George Mason), and Chris (Michigan State). Chris and I had a lot of people waiting for us at Ann Arbor, so we wanted to get there as fast as possible. Chris also was teasing me a little, by putting a bunch of Michigan State stickers all over my bike. Luckily, I found them all before it got too embarrassing but it was close.
Halfway through our 75 mile ride, we had a sponsored snack compliments of the Michigan Mom’s and Dad’s Club, ran by the parents of U of M alum, Ben Luster. They had some of Michigan’s specialty, cherries. The cherries did remind me of my time spend in Traverse City, the cherry capital of the world. After the snack we booked it, and raced to Ann Arbor. There were 5 mile stretches where we were reaching speeds of 27-28 mph on flats, pushing my limits to a level I have never gone before. Before we knew it, we were in Ann Arbor. It felt really weird to be biking on a path I knew like the back of my hand. We went down Main Street hitting the nice touristy part of Ann Arbor, eventually passing the Big House, taking a left of state to pass the Law Quad, and Yost Ice Arena. Finally, we arrived at a house on Granger Street, a few streets down from the Pi Kapps house. Our lodging today was provided by the Ramptons, whose son, a University of Elon alum, rode Journey of Hope the past year.
Since we were the first group to arrive at lodging, I took my paceline to the Pi Kapps house and gave them a quick tour. Coincidently, we arrived at the house the same time that an alumnus showed up to visit the house. He was a graduate of Michigan in ’93 and he now lives in Toledo. After the short tour, we headed back to lodging for lunch. Lunch again was provided by the Michigan Mom’s and Dad’s club who gave everyone a T-shirt and a bag full of trail mix for the rest of the trip. For lunch, they served us beef and cheddar sandwiches and fruit.
We unpacked our bags, I got to claim a couch for the night (score!), and showered up. After everyone was cleaned up, we took a couple vans to REI, the exact place where I bought most of my equipment for the trip. I bought a way-overdue tire which should get me to DC (knock on wood).
We headed back to the lodging and got ready for dinner. Dinner today was to be hosted at a baquet hall with the Eisenhower Center, a facility that works with people with traumatizing brain injuries. There was a western theme with cowboy decorations all over the walls. In addition, many Pi Kapps from my local chapter attended the event, including Matt Po, Satish, and Frank and a few alumni’s as well including Dziuba, Jordan, and Spotts, a Pi Alpha. It was interesting to see my two “fraternities” mix, my U of M chapter and my Journey of Hope chapter. After the sloppy joe dinner, a dance broke through. The dancing was different than anything we’ve encountered because most of the dances had a lot of rhythm to it…nothing close to a western themed dance that was promised. Regardless, it was a lot of run and a great way to let loose after a solid day of riding. 
Once we arrived back at lodging, I led a van tour around Ann Arbor, hitting all the major buildings and facilities. It made me really appreciate the school, and made me especially appreciate the state for pouring so much money into the school.
Once we arrived back to lodging, I took a third of the guys to the Pi Kapps house to see the house and for us to hang out. My chapter brothers taught them the house’s favorite tailgating game. Overall, it was a blast and made me really miss Michigan and really excited to live in the house this upcoming fall. Thanks again to Matt Po for setting up everything up including the rides there and back. Before we knew it, curfew was fast approaching and we headed back to lodging. It was by far may favorite day of the trip so far and made me really proud to be a Pi Kapp.
No comments:
Post a Comment