Picture: Here is Kim, she was so sweet and wouldnt stop smiling
Today I road in the van all day with Jay who is always the first to arrive at our destination for the day because he is responsible for everyone and is the one who talks with lodging as well as scouts our route for the next day. There were some rain clouds in the sky from last night which brought in some intense thunder showers. Today included a little climb to start the day and a total of about 60 miles. Another scenic route of course as Montana has been proving every time we set out to ride. It was great riding in the van with Jay and getting to know him better, he is a really great guy and leader in his chapter and on this trip. I went with him so I could get to the nearest bike store and repair my spoke, without a bike shop repair I am not able to ride my bike.
I helped him navigate the route today which really made me realize how much the crew guys riding these vans do for us. They are always in communication planning pit stops and making sure we are safe on the roads ahead. Arriving in Butte we found our lodging for the evening at the YMCA, a huge facility with an indoor waterslide, probably the nicest YMCA I have ever been too. We then tried to get the spoke of my back tire fixed at two different local bike shops but they both were closed because it is Sunday. I am beginning to get really frustrated because I would much rather be out on the bike then sitting in the van and its unfortunate to have to sit because of a mechanical problem. The rest of the team cycled in a few hours later and we all had lunch and got to play in the pool, hot tub, and of course waterslide. After showering up we headed to our friendship visit.
Arriving at the park for the friendship visit we were greeted by a ton of people from the local disability center. All the disabilities we saw that day were ranged from down syndrome to mental retardation to anxiety disorders and many others. I sat down at a table with Kim, Richard, and Lynn who all had different disabilities. Richard often had anxiety attacks and would grunt and use hand signals to communicate. He was very shy so it was a challenge to try and get to know him. Lynn was very sweet, she is around 45 years old but is still at around 10 years old. She informed me that she is the lead arts and crafts woman at the center and shreds paper and sweeps at her job at the Good Will. Then there was Kim who was so sweet, she was hard to understand and though her real age was 28 she was only at about 3 years old. She was a handful and sometimes hard to talk to because she loved seeing what everyone was doing and wanted to be a part of every conversation. She was so sweet though, she loved to give hugs and even gave me a little back rub. Oh and she wouldn’t let anyone forget about her new pink shoes which she pointed out to every person who walked by.
Tomorrow is a 105 mile day and I want to be out there so bad. I think what I’m going to do is keep my bike on the rack and if anyone has any knee problems or starts to hurt bad enough to rack then I’ll use their back tire on my bike and ride the rest of the day. I am hoping everyone stays safe tomorrow and that I’ll somehow be able to ride, I hate sitting in the vans when I could be out on the bike.
I helped him navigate the route today which really made me realize how much the crew guys riding these vans do for us. They are always in communication planning pit stops and making sure we are safe on the roads ahead. Arriving in Butte we found our lodging for the evening at the YMCA, a huge facility with an indoor waterslide, probably the nicest YMCA I have ever been too. We then tried to get the spoke of my back tire fixed at two different local bike shops but they both were closed because it is Sunday. I am beginning to get really frustrated because I would much rather be out on the bike then sitting in the van and its unfortunate to have to sit because of a mechanical problem. The rest of the team cycled in a few hours later and we all had lunch and got to play in the pool, hot tub, and of course waterslide. After showering up we headed to our friendship visit.
Arriving at the park for the friendship visit we were greeted by a ton of people from the local disability center. All the disabilities we saw that day were ranged from down syndrome to mental retardation to anxiety disorders and many others. I sat down at a table with Kim, Richard, and Lynn who all had different disabilities. Richard often had anxiety attacks and would grunt and use hand signals to communicate. He was very shy so it was a challenge to try and get to know him. Lynn was very sweet, she is around 45 years old but is still at around 10 years old. She informed me that she is the lead arts and crafts woman at the center and shreds paper and sweeps at her job at the Good Will. Then there was Kim who was so sweet, she was hard to understand and though her real age was 28 she was only at about 3 years old. She was a handful and sometimes hard to talk to because she loved seeing what everyone was doing and wanted to be a part of every conversation. She was so sweet though, she loved to give hugs and even gave me a little back rub. Oh and she wouldn’t let anyone forget about her new pink shoes which she pointed out to every person who walked by.
Tomorrow is a 105 mile day and I want to be out there so bad. I think what I’m going to do is keep my bike on the rack and if anyone has any knee problems or starts to hurt bad enough to rack then I’ll use their back tire on my bike and ride the rest of the day. I am hoping everyone stays safe tomorrow and that I’ll somehow be able to ride, I hate sitting in the vans when I could be out on the bike.
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