RAAM Late Day 8 and Day 9 – Mississippi River to Greensburg– 298.5 Miles

Mickey successfully made the cut-off at the Mississippi River by almost 2 hours after a huge 24 hour 381 mile ride.  Everyone was exhausted and Mickey wanted to freshen up, and enable the team to have some quality rest so we checked into a basic hotel for 7 hours. It’s the first time Greg’s had to ask “How much is it for a room for a few hours”, but apparently not the first time for others in the crew.

We unpacked the RV, showered in a real shower, and went to the toilet in a real toilet.  This is important as Celine has been feeding us Prunes and Raisins ad nauseum, but hadn’t allowed for the fact that there’s no toilets for us to go…….

 Meanwhile Mickey was blissfully in a very deep sleep, needing rest after a hard day. He worked really hard during the day, and demonstrated a new level of mental toughness and resilience – even for Mickey.

We then crashed for a priceless 4 hours sleep. Clean clothes are running at a premium and Greg accidently put on Stan’s shirt as it was the cleanest item of clothing around. Dave had a go at Greg for wearing other men’s clothes, which was pretty ironic as Dave had borrowed Roger’s undies, and reckoned they were a bit tight!

We all felt clean and fresh and ready to tackle the rest of the race, even though we woke up at night (which felt like morning) and were ready for Mickey to rejoin the race at 10pm. He looked great and in the best shape of the whole race. We headed off in the dark with a long night ahead. Mickey rode to Greenville and then onto Effingham, arriving in the dawn light after a quick nap in the van whilst stopped on the side of the rode enroute. He looked good – really good.

 We all had breakfast together before splitting into our roster crews for the day. We also got to talk to our loved ones (the ShaCrew) whom were at race central at the Wallaces in Oatley. It was a bit hard to hear on the phone, but we thought we heard that the ladies have bought some new outfits for when the boys get home. The MickRooCrew don’t mind as we’re all desperate for new clean clothes, any clean clothes.

 To get Mickey warmed up again we had a quick team chat and an impromptu run, albeit only about 100m long.  It was a bit of fun, and the most exercise most of us have had for a while.

The countryside and farms in Illinois and Indiana were really pretty, and very green. We still can’t work out why so many people have statues of animals on their lawns, rather than having real animals. More than once Celine mistook real dogs for fake ones, and vice versa.  Now she studies them carefully looking for signs of movement before making a call on “real or fake”. It’s a bit like being in L.A.

There were lots of rolling hills through the farmland, however the narrow roads made it quite frustrating as Mickey needed to pull over very regularly to let traffic through. It was very scenic with lots of creeks, river and woods – and lots of pushy drivers with big pick-ups. Celine hit the caffeine hard to stay awake, whilst Rusty moved from his lounge-room in the Chrysler van to his bedroom in the Chrysler Van (both rooms are the same seat) to get some well deserved rest. We drove past a plethora of churches, allowing Mickey to connect with his deeply spiritual self. There seemed to be more churches than houses in some towns. The towns themselves were great and many of us would easily feel at home there.

We made Bloomington by late afternoon after Mickey had chalked up approx. 235 miles already for the day. Mickey continues to look strong and relatively fresh, and after a quick stop to refuel with food and change crews, he was on his way. He went hard in the leg to Greensburg to get ahead of another competitor, and it was probably a bridge too far as it sapped his strength for the day. He needed rest to recuperate and focus on completing the remaining miles of the race. Mickey is in good spirits but tired.

Also the RV was renamed Glen today, after the boys took a big detour to find somewhere to pump out the RV, meeting Glen whom helped get the RV sorted – enough apparently the have the RV christened after him.

Thanks again for all the messages of support Mickey and the MickRooCrew continue to receive.   Please also support the Cerebral Palsy Alliance whom Mickey is supporting in this race. To donate, go to gofundraise.com.au/page/RideAcrossAmerica. Over $19,000 dollars has now been raised by Mickey including $1,000 in the last 24 hours, and he really is working hard for every dollar.  Your support is fantastic and greatly appreciated.