Chicago in the rain

Mud. Lots and lots of mud. It was a spectacularly wet, muddy day of riding from Iowa City to Chicago, and no one experienced this more than Tim Patton, Terry Ervin, and Michael O’keefe.

They were supposed to ride the fourth leg of the day, which was a 50 mile ride with some native Chicagoans through the outskirts of Chicago. What they didn’t know was that at least half the ride was on unpaved, muddy bike trails. After trudging and drudging through the pudding-like trails for miles, they reluctantly had to pack it in and take their bikes to the shop for complete tune-ups.

When the cyclists came in they all looked like they had just finished the Paris-Roubaix. Terry got it the worst, when he fell in the mud shortly after boasting that someone else was going to eat it on the trail. Fortunately, all of the riders from Chicago finished half the abreviated half-century, though they were equally caked in mud.

Team Patton wasn’t the only team that had a rough day. Phil, Garrett and Kelvin had a brutal 74 miles through unending wind and rolling terrain. They walked into the event, and it was like a scene from Night of the Living Dead. Phil was a little spooked, since he nearly got creamed by a truck on the highway. He almost lost control of his bike on the “rumble strips” while navigating around the team van, and if he fell he certainly would have been run over. “Angels were definitely watching over me” he said after telling the story.

Community Fellowship Church inWest Chicago were warm and generous hosts that did an awesome job of food, music and atmosphere. We are very thankful for their kindness and the people who turned out and responded to our presentation.