The first full day of cycling begins with a 178 mile trip from Chicago to Springfield. There was drama in the 90+ degree heat of Illinois as one team got badly lost and one of the cyclists came off.

The RVs are named after 3 children – Rowan, Robert and Keira – from Hope House Children’s Hospices as a poignant reminder of why we’re here. Each day the cyclists and support crew are rotated to create different teams and allow everyone to ride out with the full Hope House team.

The big fun and games were experienced by Team Rowan with the cyclists taking a wrong turn and the support crew of Al, Paul and Matthew losing touch. By the time the team realised they were lost, they were over 20 miles from the RV. A couple of hours were lost as the RV tracked back to pick the team up and put them back on the correct route. Along with a few puncture delays the team didn’t get back to the hotel until 7.30 and missed the restaurant.

Leon Day (Team Rowan) was the first rider to come off when he hit some gravel at the side of the road, somersaulted and landed on his head. Luckily with the protection of his cycling helmet he was OK, just a few bruises and some damaged pride. Others suffered mild heat stroke as temperatures soared in the afternoon.

But, Hope 66 was never going to be easy and that’s why all the training and hard work fundraising means so much. The team are still in high spirits for further challenges ahead. Today’s DOD award went to Dan Gill for showing off and riding without his hands on the handlebars. Tut tut.The support of everyone back home means so much to the riders, so if you haven’t sponsored the team yet,