July 5, 2004

Naperville, Il

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As we prepared to leave Rockford and get back on the road riding the bicycles, Jamal greeted the morning through half-closed eyes and a questioning look on his face.  Renee', nearly hidden in the rays of the sun, was on hand to assist Jamal in figuring out which bike was his to ride.  So many to choose from and they were all on the road today.  

As the sunshine peeked over the roof of the motel, these fearless road warriors exited the parking lot and headed down the road, leaving Richard behind in Rockford waiting on parts for his van once again.  He will rejoin us as soon as the parts arrive and are installed, which should be in a day or two.  We will miss his exclamations and gestures and will look forward to him being with us once again.

Today's ride had seven riders on the road.  Jamal, his mother Rhonda, Linda, Renee', James, and guest riders Renay and Glenn head off into the Illinois farmlands.  Kip, having some problems with his leg, drove Glenn's rental car and provided support for us.  We miss having him on two wheels where we can get at him.

The riders are in a single file, on the right side of the road by the white stripe, and bunched pretty closely together.  Joe will either have a heart attack or bust with pride at having whipped us into such fine examples of riders.

Looking out over the fields of Illinois on a bright sunny day.  However, as the day progressed, the clouds continued to build and the humidity rose.  The temperature stayed down and the group was able to complete 40 miles before noon.  It was a beautiful day for riding through the countryside.  After our arrival in Naperville, Illinois, Jim Delong, a 2003 rider, and his wife Trish joined us from Ohio.  Jim, being as old as he is and being so worn out from letting his wife drive all of the way, slept as the rest of the group went to dinner.  For some reason Trish would not let us take a picture of Jim sleeping to record this event and post on the site.  Party Pooper!  Welcome to Jim and Trish.

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