I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier

Nolan is the jokester of the group. Well...a select few got him back. ahem.

The dance party into Chicago.



LOVE HER!

Hmm...I love me a good manstache

One of the funniest moments when we finally realized that we matched.

On a bike path into Chi-town

Trav...looking real good.

Steph getting Josh on his B-day with water balloons.

Ride into Soldiers Grove...Mark pulled me going almost 24 mph. It was awesome.

Trav and I are obviously obsessed with cheese.

Build day in South Bend...we were sodding. (is that aword?)

Wisconsin was a really beautiful state to bike through. Some high lights include:

Madison day off: Dan Carmody from NC2SD '08 came out to say hello and joined our whole group later at a local brewery. There was pool, shuffle board, darts, and a TON of beer. The following day we started with breakfast at a diner and that's when my hang over kicked in. The rest of the day was spent exploring Main street near the college and doing some impulsive shopping. I got a new camera though. I was mistaken for a homeless person when I fell asleep on a bench outside of a sporting goods store that Kelly was shopping in for 2 hours...that was nice and hysterical. Mind you I was wearing a fancy new dress I just bought and had my aviator sunglasses on. Homeless?...sure.

Soldiers Grove: This was a century ride, 103 miles, and I was riding strong. The terrain was hilly but really nice. We had 2 lunches at ranches in the middle of nowhere. Kelly handed out water guns which were a huge success. Once we got close we were riding through apple orchards which the town is known for. I rode in with Micheal, Josh and Steph to finish out the ride. We stayed at our first school.

Onalaska: We got a late start today due to crazy fog. I think most of us appreciated it though. It was a sad and frustrating day for all of us. I rode by myself for some of the morning and then Sam caught up with me which was a nice distraction. The terrain was really hilly and my legs felt like jello. We re-routed onto a road that was really beautiful with rolling hills and by that point we were with Travis, Josh, Stephaine and some others. To pass the time, Travis asked us to think about a meal that we could have prepared by anyone we wanted, a guest to invite, and a location for the meal. Everyone started talking about food and we got really hungry, really fast. I think my meal would be prepared by my mom. I love her pasta putanesca and homemade white pizza with Gorgonzola and onions. We would be on my grandparents farm in Italy and I'd hope to share the meal with both of my parents. My dad is opening the restaurant again. Its bittersweet for me. I miss them. Our stay in Onalaska was really great. The hosts and community members were amazing and the dinner was really, really delicious.

Pepin: It was Josh's Birthday today! I drove the van today and it was raining but the riders loved the ride and it went quick for most of them. Once we got into town the rain had stopped and everyone ganged up on Josh with water balloons. Today was also mail drop. Another letter from Emily and Tom. I love them, thank you so much. I also got a package from Mal-thanks so much!