People's generosity. I sent a few emails, spoke to some people about it, and asked to have a notice put in the church bulletin. So far, my total is over $2,800. I would have never guessed that it would have reached that amount, and I'm humbled by that.
Also, I not only made the first day's 100 mile ride (104 miles, actually), but I rode the entire "75" the second day (82, actually)! And, while I didn't get on the bike again until a couple of days later, I was not really all that worse for the wear. We had a great time with our small team, led by WXRT DJ Jason Thomas (who finished the 100 mile ride on Saturday in record time). He promises to do it again next year, and have a bigger team (with jerseys, maybe??).
Not being willing to not be sore, I went hiking with my brother the next weekend (this past one). We strapped on our new 40 pound packs and hiked every trail they had at Mississippi Palisades State Park in Savannah, IL. NOW I'm sore... There are some pretty significant inclines there, with the big bluffs and all, and of course declines to go with it. We didn't end up staying in one of the "primitive" campsites, but it's not like we hung around our campsite all that much anyway. Check out the photos at http://tinyurl.com/69y585.
