What a day. We all started the day with a 5:00 a.m. wakeup which no one was happy about. At circle up, I distinctly remember Heath Gilbert telling all of us “Today is a perfect day to have a day”, which really got the cyclist pumped up. The first 10 miles of cycling was done in the pouring rain, so turns and crew stops were much more difficult to carry out. When we arrived at our first Friendship visit, held at Guardian Angels for Special Populations in Cape Coral, Florida, everyone was frustrated and glad to be off the bike. This friendship visit was a pivot point in our day. Up until the friendship visit, everyone was tired, frustrated and soaked. However, the dance party that we had with those people with disabilities changed our entire outlook on our day. To top it all off, the mayor of Cape Coral declared Monday, May 14, 2018 as Gear Up Florida Day! This was the highlight of my day because at that moment, I knew what I was doing and what I was a part of was special. Sure, we had a rough morning. But we are not here just to cycle. We are here to better the lives of peoples with disabilities, and today we did that. So in my eyes, we had a day.
Allen Rogers- Gamma Psi, Augusta University