Day 28: A Snow Day with our Soccer Mom

Monday’s weather forecast called for cats and dogs mixed with thunderstorms, and as the team closed their eyes on Sunday night, excitement was like that of an elementary school snow day: Homework was left unfinished, the heat was turned up, and everyone expected to have a relaxing day off. “I’m going to balance the checkbook all night since we don’t have to wake up early!” exclaimed the usually conservative Zane.

However, like many failed forecasts of the past, the rain held off and the riders were forced to pack their brown bags and go to school. “In my day, we never missed a day of school and we had to walk 10 miles to the bus stop,” reminisced the elderly Mike.



With flat roads ahead, the team wasn’t too dismayed by the surprise, taking their sweet time on their way out of the comfortable Holiday Inn. With Mike and Kirsten off to their usual early start, Claire, Sanford and Shane road out to catch them, and Jason attempted to get another five minutes of beauty sleep – unaware that he would need much more than sleep to fix his beautification issues.

Just as the riders were discussing the ease of the ride, Mother Nature had a chuckle and threw down a ferocious headwind that would surprise even Herman Melville's Captain Ahab. After 40 miles in the wind, the team took a break for lunch (offsetting their Sonic tradition with Subway) in downtown Gibbon, Nebraska. With another 40 plus miles ahead, the heavy hearts of the riders were lifted as they left Kearney and discovered that the wind had subsided.

Upon reaching Grand Island the team showered up and quickly headed out to grab some dinner. The exhausting 90 miles had taken all day, and the only thing on their minds was a scrumtrulescent meal. Pilled in the van, Momma Fish practiced her soccer mom skills and drove the team to Pizza Hut after their big ride. Handing out awards, pizza, and pop, Claire’s motherly colors shone brightest today, as she is now FACE AIDS certified to step into any PTA meeting and command charge.

Lincoln, Nebraska and a alumni home lie just under 100 miles away from our team, and after catching up with the world (and the blog) via the hotel’s internet, the team called the night early. Except for Sanford, who is still doing crunches and push-ups as I type these final words from the comforts of my bed.

Night mom.