Last June 2011 Ride

So, I finished the month of June with a 54 mile ride in just over 3 hours.  Felt great through-out the ride.  Brady met me along the route with some water at about 29 miles and then at about 47 miles Julie and Brady met me for a refill again...I had been out of fluids since about my 41 mile mark.  Seems like I am consuming a lot of fluid but one of my bottles had some issues so in that 12 miles I only had one bottle to sip from...
So, what sort of critters would one expect to see in Central Illinois when riding?  Deer?  Yup, plenty of deer sightings every ride.  Rabbits and Squirrels?  Of course.  Turkeys?  Yup, see the same pair in the same general vicinity on each ride.  Snakes?  Well, unfortunately I've had my share of snakes along the route...yuck!  Lions, Tigers, Elephants, or Monkeys?  Not exactly.  So, what about a Ferret?  Seriously, would one ever expect to see a Ferret in Springfield or Chatham, Illinois?  Well, as serious as could be, I witnessed a ferret and there were a bunch of birds giving it heck.  That may end up being the nuttiest thing I could see during a ride!
We were published in the Chatham Clarion today.  We have a great 1/2 page article and picture on page 6.  And to get us a bit more excited, we (Gary and I) will be meeting with Trey Paul from WICS-Springfield some time next week and hopefully be on the morning show and in the evening news.  Now if we could figure out how to get The Today Show, The Regis and Kelly Show, and Good Morning America to do a piece on Kailey's Krew!  That would be pretty cool!  Anyone know Conan O'Brien?  Ha-Ha!
So, in June I was able to get on my bike 17 times this month.  On two of those rides I encountered flats and after fixing the flats, cut my rides short...one of which I ended up with a double flat and ended up throwing the tire into the recycle pile.  With that, I still managed 587.89 miles for the month.  I'm good with that.  Hopefully I wont be overly busy in the month of July with work-related issues...natural disasters, man-made disasters, etc. and will be able to ride on 20+ days.  I know I have a few trips planned for both work and family that will allow me to hit some good hills and add the miles.  Woo-hoo!
I want to close with a thought or two of what this blog is really all about.  My participation in the Leadville 100 is just a small endeavor in the scope of what Kailey's Krew is all about.  Kailey's Krew is focused on building a foundation of "Hope" for those families that may have the unfortunate experience of going through a trying time with a sick child.  Our way of providing a sense of "Hope" is to be able to provide that family with some financial assistance and hopefully relieve some of their stress...allowing them to focus on what is really most important, the health and wellness of their child and the family.
And finally, I want to simply say that I can not begin to describe how this simple idea to do this race in support of Kailey and Kailey's Krew has become such an all-encompassing thing for me.  My family, both immediate and extended, has grown together and this truly is a "WE" or "OUR" mission as opposed to me or I.  God truly does do things that many times we do not understand or may not agree with or believe in, but as we step back for a second and take a different view through a wider lense, well, it may not yet make sense, but there is a purpose and a reason and one day we will understand.  Kailey has already touched so many of our lives and will continue to do so...even for those that had never been fortunate to have met her or her family.
Dig Deep, Ride Hard, Stay Strong, and once again, when you think it hurts, it doesn't.  That's just a reminder that you are alive and well and it's time to suck it up and give some more!
TNT OUT-