We started the day having breakfast with Brother Ed Bennett. He shared the story behind Winston Churchill’s quote:
“Never never never never never, give up”
The quote was fitting for where we are in the ride. The end is in sight, but plenty of miles before the Capital building in D.C.
Half our days go to reaching our next destination. This has now become our day to day routine. All the personal needs of each team member have been realized at this point. It takes something different for us to mentally and physically get though these rides. Lucky for us, we have the friendship visits that break up the hours we spend each morning to afternoon on the road. The visits are what make the day and bring life to the cities we stop in.
Today’s ride was beautiful. We enjoyed some rain on the way to the campus of Lynchburg College.
Lynchburg College President Kenneth Garren, Xi (Roanoke), met us for lunch. He inspired the team by sharing the story of his life and career path.
A friendship visit followed lunch with plenty of dancing and volleyball. Back to the Challenged Sports Exchange on the Lynchburg campus. This was a great set up for the team. Lots of space can make a 38 man team more comfortable. That evening we had dinner and a friendship visit at the local ARC. More dancing and volleyball plus stuff me kickball took place thee. Two friendship visits in a day are both draining and extra rewarding.
Author: Scott Finney, Cyclist (Alpha Iota Chapter, Auburn University)