Day 9 Pullman, Washington

First off I would like to congratulate the Roncalli Rebels’ baseball team for winning their Regional Championship in the Indiana state tournament last night.  You ay wonder why I am giving a shout out to them, but besides the fact that I am a Rebel baseball program alum, my brother, Keith, is the head varsity coach.  It is a very special time for him and my family and the Roncalli family.

Over the course of this summer, the Trans team will complete about fifteen century days, meaning we have fifteen days of riding at least 100 miles.  This being the fifth day of actual riding, it is also the second century ride that the cyclists will have to overcome already.  Like yesterday, the weather was perfect when we woke up.  Although is was a little cold, the sun was out and we knew it could only get warmer as the day goes on.  Of course we were right in that the temperature would rise, but as the day got older, the wind pick up significantly.  At times, the cyclists rode into a heavy headwind that made it hard to go even downhill.  As we got closer to our next destination, we could tell that we were entering cougar country (Washington State University).  Billboards and signs were all over the place advertising the school.  Because of the winds, the ride was extremely difficult for the cyclists and made them go slower than normal pace.  Because we had a deadline to meet, we were forced to rack all the riders at rack point, which means the cyclists have to meet a certain mile by a certain time.  Once we racked all the guys, we set out for the Pi Kappa Phi chapter house at Washington State University where the brothers were waiting for us with snacks and drinks to have while we showered and prepared for the night.  Since I was not on the bike that day, a shower was not necessary; therefore, I was able to spend time with some of the brothers there.  They were all extremely nice and fun to talk with about their experience at WSU. 

That night, we had an impromptu friendship visit with a local church and some of the WSU guys joined us.  There was a pizza party, karaoke, and arts and crafts.  What I really liked about this event was that they had one of those rainbow parachute things we played with in gym class in grade school.  I completely forgot how much fun those things were.  There is no way I could play with it and not do the whole, “everyone raise it up at once, get under, and sit on it.”  It was great because once everyone was sitting on their respective part of the chute, you looked around and everyone was laughing and having an amazing time.  After some songs on the karaoke machine such as “YMCA” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we packed up, talked to the WSU guys some more, and set off for lodging at Pullman High School.  Because we got back relatively early, we were able to play some games of knockout, throw the Frisbee around, and play catchphrase.  I love staying in places that are open and provide more activities because one – I do not like to be bored and just sit around – and two – it gives me the opportunity to interact and have fun with all of the guys.  Catchphrase was hilarious, as one would expect, and definitely ended the night on a high note.