Monday, July 17, 2017

After getting to know Mr. Adickes pretty well over the past few days, he sent us off in the morning with chocolate milk and Casey’s Breakfast Pizza. No, it’s not a typo; we had pizza for breakfast. I was a bit reserved when I first saw it, but after tasting the sausage and egg pizza I was pleasantly surprised. After a tasty breakfast and a warm send off, we were escorted out of town by two police cars. We were able to ride in a double paceline for almost 20 miles under the police escort which was really unusual and fun. From that point I knew that the day would be a good one.

I swept with Chase and Krisko which was nice because we got to go at a more relaxed pace since we were required to stay at the back of all the cyclists. We had great conversations that made the 60 mile ride feel a lot shorter. We arrived quickly at the waterpark and were immediately greeted with ice cold Gatorades. We ate lunch with the ARC of Marshalltown County and I had great conversations with a few of the kids. After lunch, we all headed to the waterpark to cool down from the warm weather. We spent several hours at the park speeding down slides, balling on the water basketball court, and lulling down the lazy river. To say that we had a blast would be an understatement.

After a fun-packed day, we headed to lodging to take a quick nap before dinner with the ARC. After a quick snooze, we headed to the local bowling alley for a few rounds and dinner. I had a great time bowling with JD, Damian, Brandon, his girlfriend Sarah, and her sister Becca. Brandon and his girlfriend met at workshop and they seemed very compatible. We had a great time and the night flew by.

Marshalltown was a beautiful city full of incredible people. They were all very kind and welcoming and we all had a blast. Although the day may have seemed long because of all the activities we did, I can assure you that it felt incredibly short. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

-Mack Mackey, Cyclist, Arizona State University