Hilly 100 Challenge

October 14 & 15, 2000

"I Told You I Was Going To Do It!"

Thought I had better start this with a quick view of the "deadly duo...plus one" as they started the first day. Yea our Allie was 17 days old and was recognized as the youngest participant at this years event. I will be looking for copies of the pictures that were taken on the reference web sites, and will let all know if I locate them.

For those unfamiliar with the Hilly100, this is an annual 100 mile ride sponsored by the Bloomington Bike Club in and around the Bloomington/IU area. The tour is through some of the most gorgeous areas in Indiana and includes parts of Brown County and goes through Nashville, Indiana. The fall colors were approaching their peak and this 33rd tour had two days of absolutely PERFECT weather.

Obviously Gene and Lisa did the ride while mom, Allie and I raced from SAG stop to SAG stop (there were 6 for the two days) and met them. We drove the "LUV BUGGY II" which was a dream. I know it is hard to accept our Gino as a family man with the station wagon, but there it is. No scratches resulted and only one instance of hitting the "Panic Button" on the door opener and trying to look cool as you try to figure out how to stop the horn.
Mom grabbed a welcome lunch while Gino did the dad thing. Allie was an absolute doll the whole day and slept for Granddad and Grandma whenever the car was moving. She came to expect to be fed whenever the car stopped (or seemed to) 'cause mom was right there with a snack.

At the stops Grandma perfected her baby two step. She took "baby dancing" to a whole new level. Although Allie doesn't look all that happy here, this was definitely an exception.

Now after sleeping in the car the whole first day, I understand she "entertained" dad and mom most of the night, but that was across the hall and well out of hearing.

A shot of rest stop #2 gives a small feeling for the crowd that participated in this ride. I understand they limit riders to 5000, and have sold out the last MANY years. We always parked as close as we could and "hooked up" with the biking duo every time.
A shot of our team at the last SAG stop with something like 11 miles to go. Lisa was smiling because she thought there was only 7! Regardless, she made it and she wasn't even walking all that carefully.

A final shot of the Hilly 100 Team (less one). Someone always has to take the pictures.

A great two days, and an amazing feat. Lisa had been planning to do this ride since the spring and we all thought she was nuts planning it only 5 weeks or so after Allie's scheduled birth. Then she was late... So here we have a 18 day old Allie and her amazing mom. Dad was no slouch either, but we have come to expect this kind of stuff from our Gino.


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