Peru, IL

Easy 55 miles today. At one point in my life, that was quite an accomplishment.

Julie, Michael, Jeff and I had a great easy going paceline for a while. Lunch was really ridiculously early, as we had actually started off our day an hour early to get to a pool party (!) early. (Thank you Katherine, for waking me up.) Some of us also spelled Illinois with our bodies - I was half of the O.

We kept up the paceline for a while, with Lisa and Hannah joining us. Julie and Michael take steady 15-16 mph pulls ... and then Mark just GUNS it at 18-19 mph, dropping everyone but myself ... oops. We sang "My Humps" and chit chatted the rest of the way and tried to keep up with Katherine (didn't fly). There was hardly any wind though, and a beautiful day to ride. I was sad I forgot to bring extra batteries because the lighting was so great for photographing the corrugated metal grain silos ... but more of those to come, I hear.

The pool party was hosted by the grandparents of the girlfriend of a guy who did Providence to Seattle in 2005? I think. It was super relaxing.

My feet are in the awkward teenage stage with the new shoes. I'm still adjusting the cleats to fit just right. It's easier each time I get a new pair, but it does take a few tries even so. The material is much more supple than my last pair though, so much better already.

Iowa tomorrow!