07/28, 29 Oxford and Cincinnati, Ohio

The ride to Oxford was an interesting one. The grid said that we would have an 85 mile ride to do but we ran into a detour because of construction which would have made our ride 120 miles. No one was able to finish the ride because of the length and we were due for dinner with the Miami University of Ohio chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. Also, early on in the ride I broke a spoke and so I finished the ride using Andrew's bike. Anyway, our reception at the fraternity house was unbelievably big! The chapter held their annual alumni barbecue on the same day so there were tons of people there and lots of great food. We hung out with those Pi Kapps all night.

The 35 mile ride to Cincinnati began with a wake up at 5:30 am. Seems pretty early for such a short day but that's because we had so much to do! Breakfast was in Oxford at the fraternity house once again. They've got someone in their chapter that really knows how to cook. The ride was easy until the end when we ran into some up hills and some sharp, fast downhills. I stayed on my brakes most of the way down because it was so windy. We rode into lodging for the night (a recreational center) which was also where we got to play wheelchair football. After given 20 minutes to shower, we all took turns playing the game. I got burns marks on my palms because I played so long and they sting bad. I did score a touchdown though. This wheelchair sport was a lot easier to catch on to. From there we went directly to the Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs baseball game. It was so hot and humid. If you think I'm kidding, ask this guy! The game was kind of boring and the Reds lost 6-0. I was pretty excited though to see Ken Griffey, Jr. and Lou Piniella. The coolest thing at the park was the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame and Pete Rose exhibits. There was so much historical stuff and cool memorabilia I couldn't see everything or take pictures of all of the things I wanted to. We went to dinner at a park and there was an alumus barbecuing for us. Is it starting to sound like we have a lot of barbecue yet? Anyhow, being outside almost all day and working up a sweat during wheelchair football really exhausted me and I was all ready to take a nap which probably I wouldn't have gotten up from except Guitar Hero was found! So I played that, took care of some stuff like shaving and washing my jersey and shorts and then got to bed in the un-air conditioned gym. By the way, exactly two weeks from the 29th is our arrival into Washington D.C. and our journey will be complete. It's getting very exhausting and exciting as the end draws near. Keep checking up on us because we're trying our best to keep updating.