Day 4

The team has made it to Dallas! We have been staying at my parent's houses yesterday and today during our rest day. It took us four days of riding to get here, but so far so good!

On Day Zero we had our first official ride dedication circle with the entire team. We were all very emotional. We were so excited to start our ride, but as everyone went around the circle and dedicated their rides to loved ones, it was incredible to see the way one person's tears affected the entire circle. Seeing our teammates crying brought everyone to tears. We were lucky to have friends and family around our circle that morning to share that experience with. 

We officially began the ride from the UT campus and rode between motorcycle police escorts to the Texas capital to take team pictures. We then had a send-off lunch at the Jack & Adams Triathlon store and rode 30 miles out to a middle school in Cedar Park. The next morning was our ATLAS ride. There were hundreds of people riding with us in support and as a final send-off for the 2010 team. Daniel rode the 50 mile route with me, and so did my roommate Taylor and her boyfriend Chas! We all had a great time and there was BBQ and live music afterwards. We slept in a little storehouse on a vineyard and T4K alumni riders camped there as well that night so that they could cook us a big breakfast the next morning at 6 a.m. I was so excited that my aunt Eloise was able to make it all the way out to Lampasas to see me off! It was sad to say goodbye to everyone. The ride really became a reality when our loved ones left and the Sierra and Rockies routes split.

The next day was a long one. We got lost for the first 20-25 miles and it was hard to mentally prepare to continue on for another 90m. It was hot, but we made it through the day. I had my first fall crossing over some standing water. My friend Kristen and I both lost traction and skid across the water. We are both okay and there was no damage to our bikes.

Today is our rest day in Dallas. We have been booked from 8:30 this morning until late this evening. We had a program at a middle school this morning, made a quick trip to Target with the girls, lunch in a park with our executive director, a tour of UT Southwestern Medical Center, a happy hour fundraiser downtown, and tonight a team fajita dinner. Tomorrow we have a 90 mile day to Lindsay, Texas. It will be our last day in Texas before we cross into Oklahoma.

Everyone is getting so close already and rarely does 10 minutes together go by without laughter. We've invented some games to make things more fun, such as rest-stop charades and "the sandwich game". Internet is often hard to come by, but I will do my best to post some updates from my phone and the team computers when available. 

It's not too late to make a donation! Please visit http://www.texas4000.org/give/give to find out how you can help.