I'm home!

Outside of a fun & easy shoot & a little editing, I slept the entire weekend and then some. I did not realize just how tired I was after the bike tour until I went to bed at 11:00 on Friday and woke up the next day at noon. And, the only reason I woke up was because I was hungry. After lunch and some candy corn to top it off I went back to bed at 3:00 only to wake up at 6:30 just in time for dinner. Pitiful. 

But, I'm back in Cincinnati and I'm feeling much better! 

Overall, the bike tour was incredible. I feel so blessed to have been asked to play such a fun role in it all. After it was all done, we watched a video that Robert busted his butt all day long to put together and I surprised myself by basically bursting into tears. Looking back I think it was party due to a total lack of sleep, but nonetheless I was touched by it all. I just hope it will work out for me to do it again next year. 

Friday

Crossville > Knoxville

Jesse (the bike tour coordinator/director/everything) had commented that he didn't like bending down to read his folder with a bunch of THP sitting behind him. As he kept talking to the riders, they quietly got off their bikes and blocked the sun for him. ;) We all had a good laugh. 

Jim giving me a good laugh...

Preparing for the escort through Knoxville

Hard at work.

Coming down Middlebrooke...


And, finally...riding into the World's Fair Park to end the week with a celebration...

The Young Guns, providing us all with some good ol' rock & roll. 

Also, I wanted to post a few pictures from a shoot I did in Memphis before leaving for the bike tour. Brothers! The shoot is a surprise to their mom, courtesy of their wonderful & beautiful aunt. 

On the road... (day 4)

I know that when I heard 433.7 miles I thought, "wow", that's a long ride, but then you see them - mile for mile, pedaling through thunder storms as fast as they can only to be sprayed with water by the passing cars and semi-trucks. Pedaling with achy knees, tight muscles and sore throats. Pedaling up East Tennessee hills that seem as if they'll never end. Pedaling with nothing, but the next pit stop in mind. Just to get through each mile. All for the sake of bringing awareness to adoption for foster kids still waiting for homes. And, they've done it. I have been amazed at the buzz that has been created by these pedaling fools. 

It has been such a fun week for me. I have never worked so much - waking at 6 to take shots of them as they prepare to leave in the morning, tracking with them along the roads, documenting their hard work, and then spending my evenings sorting through and editing so that the BLOG can be updated for friends and families wondering back at home how it's all going. Tonight I was put on a tight deadline, but it made me work that much harder and I'm happy to say that It's not even 11:00 and I'm getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow is our last day. I can't wait to get into Knoxville with 50+ riders and multiple vans and cars full of the support crew, all the while bypassing red lights thanks to the Tennessee Highway Patrol's escort. I can't believe just how long they've all come. When we got started in Memphis Monday morning, Knoxville seemed so far away. 

Wednesday: 

Dickson > Lebanon

Pulling into Centennial Park, Nashville, TN

Traveling down West End Avenue, Nashville, TN

Thursday

Lebanon > Crossville

7:15 a.m., outside the hotel

The first of many monstrous East Tennessee mountains to climb...

The ever occurring flat tire...

Michael decided to take a break from biking to yell at everyone with a bull horn and then give them a little push as they rode past. 

Patrick Lawler, the founder of Youth Villages

They made it...  (the tour's support team)

....to the top of the Cumberland Plateau!

I'm definitely going to be choked up when I lay in bed tomorrow night, thinking through the week...all I've learned and experienced. I'll be sad it's come and gone. Until then I'm going to bed tonight in this roomy Comfort Inn suite with a smile on my face and a small burn on my foot because I accidently hit the muffler of the Tennessee Highway Patrol officer's motorcycle when he took me for a ride tonight.  :)