2015 Key-To-Keys Ride Day 2 (For JulieAnn)

It's day 2 of Key-To-Keys (K2K) and we'll be rolling into Wilmington, NC.  During today's dedication circle, I dedicated today's 50 mile ride to JulieAnn, one of my former cycling coaches and current friend.

A few years ago, JulieAnn successfully beat colorectal cancer.  However, she's currently engaged in a battle with cancer of the jaw.  An upcoming surgery and hospital stay are ahead for her.  JulieAnn has handled each of her cancer battles with grace, grit and determination. Go get 'em JA! Sock cancer in it's jaw! :)

Each day of the ride, they switch the van assigments so you get to know all the members of the team. However, I got van assignment 5 again which meant my team would ride from a point 50 miles outside of Wilmington into the finish at our team hotel.  Even thought I had the same van, I has three new team members and a new van driver and navigator.

Clockwise from left,  may I introduce your humble blogger, Annette, our driver Teresa, Patti, our navigator Wes, Brian and Janelle (my teammate from yesterday). We had an almost four hour van ride to our segment start today.   We had time for everyone to share their cancer connection.  I shared my story of how I came to be a part of this world via Team-In-Training and how that led me to UCF.  Powerful stuff.

Once we finally rolled out on our bikes, it was so looooooong (or at least it seemed so) due to couple of roads that seemed to go on FOREVER! We were so happy to see the lunch stop at mile 25!  And we had headwind and crosswind in every direction we traveled. It was tough.  But you know what? We kept peddling and it was so sweet when we finally rolled into the hotel. This is us at the finish:

An incredible day with an incredible group of people! :)

That's it for day 2.  Tomorrow, we head for Charleston, SC.  They are forecasing rain in Charleston so your humble blogger may be a little wet.  I'll report all the soggy details tomorrow. Until then,

CarBack!

Gary