This is the last slideshow that shares our tour up until we reach Austin. While the music on this show is very upbeat and high energy, there was a lot going on emotionally at this point in the trip and I cannot get through this one without the tears flowing. And speaking of music, these slideshows would not be complete without the Wobble song!! Riders and support were extremely sleep deprived, sore and craving a real meal. What many may not realize about the vans for the riders is that they were VERY cramped. Imagine being very cramped after riding 100 miles! Too all the teams: you are simply AH-MAZING!! A shout out to support…Maribel was always taking care of her peeps. I knew she was exhausted but she managed to put together a quick sandwich for her riders to help them recover after a ride. Keith’s bed consisted of a hammock on the bus and was handed McDonald’s when we were able to drive it by him. Jerry ALWAYS had a smile no matter how tired he was and was so good and cheering his team on. Cara & Jennifer…well need I say more??? Uhm, awesome! Sally wore that pink cancer cape everywhere and wore it proudly..you go girl! Dave was just steady eddie, which is a darned good thing. Jeff & Dawn, did you two ever require sleep? I never even saw you complain ONCE! Mimms & Tom, thanks for the many giggles along the way. Kelly was simply amazing at getting everyone their massages when needed and did so with a smile 🙂 Taylor is the Energizer Bunny x4 and when he hit the wall, he hit it hard. This was about the time that I said it was time for me to drive – no questions. And yes, I had my moments too. But a moment I didn’t expect to have was a very emotional one. The midnight to 6 am shifts had one night of In Honor of Miles and then the In Memory of Miles. We were connected by radio and the names started to flow and then silence while they rode in the dark. Well, you can only imagine the intensity of emotions at that time. There were WAY TOO MANY names mentioned during those miles. But that is why we are here. Yes it is fun & games, giggles & tears, music & beer, miles & pain, accomplishment & some defeat. But it all boils down to one thing…we want to find that DAMN cure for cancer. This is why we ride.

Stay tuned for the final show that shares our Austin experience 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to view all of these!

~lisa

Just as the song starts this slideshow out, it’s steady as she goes! We are well into the ride and we are finding that Mexican food has not been our favorite on this trip, we miss Starbucks (but our trusty dusty Garmin led us to ONE on the entire trip), and McDonald’s is something we look forward to. I mentioned to Taylor & Kelly that I don’t think I have ever eaten McDonald’s twice in one day. BUT it’s either that or we eat the packaged snacks we brought along and those are starting to taste like cardboard. Somehow the carrots and sweet peppers I brought along in BULK didn’t get munched on too much. Oh well, we at least had the right intentions. This is also about the time in the trip that I must have said a million times over “Are we going to be able to cover each team equally? I’m getting nervous!”. Kelly reassured me over and over that we would without a doubt. Taylor had me Shazam’ing each song he played because it not only got us pumped up, but kept the riders pumped up too. Hanging out of a car while shooting is now becoming second nature. I laughed and said that I would not know how to ride in a car normally anymore.
The riders are peddling hard toward the Nachez Trace which we would be on for a very long time. The Dream Team lit up the Trace with their uber cool neon-lit bikes. When I worked to get the right photo at night of all the colors, I realize that I could see all the stars in the backround. Too cool! We had a little rain along the way and we were all starting to feel the effects of working hard and little sleep. But not to worry, there was always someone amping up the energy by a funny prank or just overall silliness.
Thinking I could do one big slideshow went out the door pretty quick when I realized there was no way to fully tell the story in just a few images. So yes, there will be more shows!! WAY TO GO EVERYONE!

I’ll be back with more!

~lisa