Minneapolis
to
Chicago

...Bigger and Better than Ever
Mon., July 9
to
Sat., July 14

Day 2, Tuesday, July 10th
Menomonie to Black River Falls, 101.9 miles

      Time to rise this morning was 4:30 a.m. Why so early? The task in front of us today was to ride over 100 miles, and finish before dark, (arbitrarily set at 7:30, but extended past 8:00 p.m. to allow those close to finishing, to finish). Since each day we set up our camp at a different site, we need to break down our tent, pack our bags and deliver them both to a truck that transports them There is breakfast to be served to us and eaten by us. We need to obtain water and Gatorade for the first leg of our day's journey, as well as to participate in a thirty minute "group stretch." As well as attending to personal daily hygiene. We start to ride out of camp at 6:30 a.m. That two hours goes by very quickly!

      Today our day started by riding on two gloriously shaded bike trails for about thirty miles. The shade provided by trees was very welcomed. "Road Kill" on the bike path consisted of tiny mice! Butterflies seemed to be everywhere. Some were lemon yellow, others black and orange and some shades of gray and black. Red Winged Blackbirds and Gold Finches were plentiful in the country, as were sitings of Amish life, Rick managed to get a picture of one of their wagons. The Chippewa River was readily seen below, from the bike trail located above its banks. Beautiful and very peaceful in the summer sun.

      Rick Spaulding, our photographer, was hit in the head with a flying Cliff Bar! For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are energy bars that the Ride provides at "Pit Stops" to provide us with nutrition and quick energy. Will Rick ever look the same again? Time will tell!

      The day was challenging for many of us again today. As our own Mary McKenna phrased it, "Hill is a four letter word!" I'll leave it at that.

-edie


Crews often pick a theme for a given pitstop. SJA crew members did South Pacific at Pitstop 2 and pose for a picture.Echo Thoren, SJA Sunday and Wedding Coordinator serves up ice, a popular commodity
Even on a recliner 500 miles is tough on the bottom! This was a killer hill!!
The Chippewa River
This is a familiar scene

Edie Kalweit has been a St. Joan of Arcer for 24 years now. Now that her children are grown, there is time to participate more fully in activities taking place at St. Joan's.
Rick Spaulding is a photographer specializing in digital photography for the theater and works for National Camera Exchange. He is also an antique dealer and eBay afficianado who enjoys collecting marbles but his true joys in life are his two boys and his beautiful wife, Tinia.

Back to AIDSRide Index