Anywhere the Wind Blows

While complications continue for Team UW on days two and three of the week, all of the riders are continuing to keep their heads up and have recognized an increased need to deepen their prayers. The name of the game was wind (strange name for a game – we know) with points tallied in calories spent and lots of sweat. We were super blessed to have a great night’s sleep at the Graf residence on Tuesday before heading out for Peoria. The day started off innocently enough, but by the afternoon it became pretty obvious that things would not go exactly as planned. Jimmy had persistent stomach cramps that would not go away – and when he had to get off his bike to ride in the car, everyone knew something had to be up. It wasn’t just the continuous hills or 20+ mile an hour winds, but he had to go to the hospital later that night for dehydration. A few IVs later he was released, but for his own health and safety he is now a prayer warrior for the team – and offering his suffering for the unborn, their mothers and fathers. Thanks again to the Newman Center at Bradly for housing and feeding us – especially when we rolled in around 8:00 p.m. Winds continued all throughout the day from the south – which was just our luck since we were headed that direction! However, 100 miles were logged onto the bikes and all the guys have sunburns to prove it. Many many thanks to Vicki Evans for the great conversation and clean bathroom. She displayed true Midwestern hospitality when she opened her door to two strange men in biking shorts who were in severe need of a bathroom. Also, the night ended on a high note at the Brown’s house with plates piled with meat (check the whole crew out in the photo above). We also found out that doctors are very normal people (wink) – although maybe not that normal if they’ll let three smelly bikers stay overnight.