And we’re off!!! Following a long and fun filled day at the Kentucky Derby, we rose bright and early to attend Sunday morning mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, just east of Louisville. After the reception ended, a few members of our team quickly changed into their biking gear and met us for a light breakfast.
We then headed out to the church parking lot where the riders made their final adjustments. As we stood out in the rain, we all began to take in the moment together. All of our long and grueling hours of training, in addition to countless hours of fundraising for the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, boiled down to this much anticipated point.
Following just a few minutes of contemplating our journey together, our road warriors hit the streets from Louisville, KT to Cincinnati, OH, covering a total distance of 101.8 miles!
While some of us were brave enough to face a journey uphill and through pouring rain to Cincinnati, the rest of the team drove ahead to the destination. We had the opportunity to check out the local Rhinegeist Brewery and grab an amazing barbeque lunch at Eli's Barbeque!
Nearly 10 hours later, we met the day’s riders just outside Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The first day was complete, but our ESTEEM Legacy Bike Ride has just begun. We will continue on the next few days as we continue our expedition to Notre Dame. Please continue to check-in with our blogs and follow the rest of us on our journey.
And, of course, this blog wouldn’t be complete if I did not acknowledge this special day. From all of our ESTEEM class, we would like to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there!