October 9th-The Curse of The Dean!

Oct 9th was my second worst day on a bike ever! The only reason it was not the worst was a nice tailwind with 30 miles to go. Both days did have many things in common....cold, rain, rain, rain and DEAN!
Starting with Thursday night until Friday Morning, he tried to come up with something that could get him out of riding. At 8 am he went to the mechanic and said his shoe cleat was broken. Obviously no bike stores are open at 8 am so clearly had had thought his bullshit story out thoroughly. As he was peeling off his cycling jacket i told him to just try it in the pedal and see what happens....clip in clip out....clip in clip out!!! Viola! It works. Who knew! I knew...Dean the master of embellishment...king of the Tall Tale....Wizard of the obvious...CAUGHT AGAIN!!

I really should have let him stay back. I think if i did, the sky would have been clear and the rain would have stopped. He did make it and I'm glad he did. Under all that hair and feta cheese smell is the generous heart of a man who cares about these kids! Cheers BIG GREEK!

Many well wishers came out to the Ace Corporate office in Oak Brook IL to send us off. We got the pre ride instructions from Jimmy Alexander, Ace VP and the guy who signs off on this event every year. I know he is up every night at 2 am worrying about the safety of the riders. Thanks Jimmy.
First stop was 3 miles away at a local school in Oak Brook. Student at this K-8 school made up banners for each of the Childrens Hospitals the riders will stop at along the way. Heartfelt wishes from strangers. They dont know these kids in Chattanooga. They are not thier friends on their FaceBook pages! They are not Tweeting them. All they know is that these kids are sick and they want to do whatever they can to make them feel better. That is as raw and basic as you can get.
The whole school came out and i asked who the Valedictorian was in the class. They all shouted some kids name that i couldnt pronounce but he raised his hand. I stood for a photo op with him and told him I too was first in my class when i was his age. What i didnt tell him was that it was first in my class at the St. Charles Home for Boy's (Charlie Town as locals called it). I think every mother told her mischevious boy that if he didnt shape up he would end up there. HA! idol threats for many a Lombardian Hoodlum.
We pushed on and hit our lunch stop at the Ace Hardware paint plant in Matteson IL. Only about 32 miles but 32 miles with aquairiums for shoes is plenty. The Ace Paint team let us into their lunch room had towels for us and a great meal. At one point a bunch of plant workers were looking into the room from the windows outside. They were laughing and pointing like we were monkey's with the pink butts at the Brookfield Zoo. What they really were laughing at was that the torrential rains had soaked our spandex to the point that it left nothing to the imagination. What is most funny to me is that they will have bad dreams about what they saw. Me i have a clear mind knowing that i did a good job Manscaping before the trip.

With a tailwind we put our heads down and ramped up the speed to finish out the day. A couple stops at local Ace Hardware stores...coffee...pee breaks and then we end up finished for the day at the hotel. As is customary with the end of the ride, One of us quickly runs out and gets some beer for the group. Everyone does some laundry and we have few before dinner. When the waitress asked what i wanted i said "Ill have a cherry lime rickey and a hard boiled egg" She didnt get the humor nor was she a Bill Curtis fan.
After dinner we sat in the lobby and made fun of each other for a while. One of the riders, Kelly Masco, local rep in Chicago, was called out by Dean and I as a Svenghouli look alike. Kelly is from Chicago, grew up here and didnt know Svenghouli. you have got to be friggin kiddin me! We quized him on other 60's Chicago Lore-BJ and Dirty Dragon..nothing, Hard Rock Cocoa and Joe...still nothing...The Magic Door....come on dude...still nothing. God almighty this freak must have been home schooled by Mennonite Parents. But at the end of the night i knew he was from Chicago as he drank the cooler dry. Good boy Kelly.
Got a great nights sleep and woke to the sun. a welcome sight. It did start at 30 degrees but compared to Friday who cares. The main group headed to Lafayette IN while Dean and I headed back to Naperville. A wonderful clear ride, a few wrong turns but back without incident. The 2 day test was successful and i will meet up with the group in Louisville on Weds to ride the 500 miles to Atlanta. Good luck fellow riders, stay safe and I will see you there.