Grand Island – 50 miles (minus 40 due to lightning)

July 12, 2010

We woke up this morning to a light rain storm, but hopped on the bikes anyways and started our ride to Grand Island. After 10 miles and a lot of rain, the lightning set in, and didn’t let up. Unfortunately, for safety reasons we had to rack up the bikes and drive into town.

Grand Island is a big stop for the Journey of Hope, and despite the rain, we had a crowd waiting for our arrival. It was great to see some familiar faces, especially those of Tammy, Sue, and Andrea, some of the best sponsors we have on the north route. These ladies work year round to get sponsors lined up for our stay in Grand Island, as well as to line up friendship visits with local groups that serve people with disabilities. Even as we rolled in, they had organized slushies from Sonic for us after what would have been a 50 mile day. They also organized the Hotel we are staying at tonight, and once we got showered up there, had a big steak lunch waiting for us at Tammy’s house. We spent a lot of time there, chatting, and looking at photos from years past. I even managed to find the photos from 2002 and reminded myself of what it was like to have a little more hair!

Once we finished up there, we headed off to a dance and friendship visit with a few local organizations for people with disabilities. The special Olympics are coming up soon in Nebraska, and we had the pleasure of meeting many of the Olympians who will be competing in the coming week. It was a great night for everyone, and good start to the most memorable stop on the north route.