Today I let one of the crew guys, Matt, use my bike to do a ride along with the team so I took his place as crew. The first picture is him riding up to my crew stop on my bike, he is the only guy taller than me so my bike doesn't quite fit him and looks pretty awkward but he made it the whole day with the team, Buddy was also doing a ride along and stuck it out as well. It was awesome to see a couple more crew guys on the bikes. The roads were not bad, pretty flat, small rolling hills but there was one section of really nasty roads that gave Matt a flat on my bike. It was another 60 mile ride and we had a stage up for an arrival. Our stage up was at a church near our friendship visit and a guy working there came out to ask what we were up to, after we told him he asked if he could take some pictures and videos so he opens his trunk and pulls out a go pro quadcopter so he got some really cool videos of us leaving the parking lot for arrival. It was weird riding in the van for an arrival but not that bad. I was expecting a typical friendship visit but the organization we went to, Outside the Box, blew as away, as we turned the corner to pull in I see a huge crowd and a giant tent in the grass, it was so awesome. We all lined up to meet everyone and introduce ourselves then headed to the tent where they had a big picnic set up for us with Chick-fil-a sandwiches, crazy amount of fresh fruit, chips and cookies, it was so great. After we ate I went to go see their building, they have an amazing facility, I was especially impressed by their art studio. In the front lobby they had a big display of a lot of art that their clients have made, I was so tempted to buy a piece but didn't end up doing it. The rest of the time I ended up playing mini golf. When I started I noticed a guy off to the side just watching and invited him to play and gave him my putter because they had no more left. I helped him play a round and had a blast, his name was Ross, really quite guy but was so happy when he was playing with us. As I was about to walk away a girl came over and asked if she could play too so I turned around and played a round with her. Her name was Tracey and was full of smiles and so fun to talk to, she was hilarious. She could only use here left hand to putt so I was helping her set her ball up and hang on to her water bottle, she was just so full of joy I couldn't stop smiling. We just barely squeezed in a full round before we had to leave which was disappointing because we were having such a good time. She asked if she could be next to me for the group picture so we walked down to the lawn to go get in the picture. On the way there I met another guy, Cody who needed some help getting down the curb and through the grass. I helped him down and pushed him through the grass so he could get in the picture, he was so friendly so Tracey and I sat with him for the picture. This was such a fun friendship visit, met such great people and was so impressed by the staff and facility. They have great programs and their clients were so happy, they are really doing something right.
We loaded up the vans to get from Outside the Box to lodging which is at Marian College, we are staying in dorm rooms there, and our cycling coach that was with us in the beginning of the trip is the head coach for the team there. The team he coaches is one of the best in the country and has had many riders compete and win international titles, they are insanely good and one of the most equipped teams as well. His office is at the velodrome called the Major Taylor Velodrome which is next to a BMX and skate park. For dinner the coach, Dean, got us a catered meal at the velodrome so we could go and watch some amateur racing. A lot of guys have never seen a track race before, I have a long time ago but don't remember much of it. These guys were fast and I loved their bikes, track bikes are so sleek. Dean sat with us for a bit and explained a little bit about the race and the strategy. Before we left he showed us the tool room and bikes, we walked in and saw the walls covered in track bikes, incredible track bikes, then he says those are just the rental, he opens another door in the back and it is just all team bikes, such nice bikes it is crazy, we picked up one of the carbon wheels and it seriously felt like I was holding a round piece of cardboard, it was insanely light weight. This got me even more excited about getting into racing.
Once we got back to lodging everyone just hung out for a bit and went to bed, wake up isn't until 8am because we have the day off.
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