Miles: 2 Steps: 5,665 Vertical gain: Strava Knows! Liquid consumed: 120 oz. Wildlife: Couple dogs, lots of humans Faith in Humanity: Mr. H really was amazing! Big thanks to him and all the students and faculty at Milford Elementary! It was awesome to stop by and talk with everyone! Chase your dreams! Today I woke up knowing I was going to present at Milford Elementary and I was excited! I took a shower, reviewed my notes one last time and walked the 1/4 mile to the school. I finally got to meet Brian H, the principal, face to face, and he was fantastic! Such a cool guy! He let me send 3 packages to him (including a bike!!), let me present in front of the whole school, fed me lunch, and even hooked me up with a bunch of tasty snacks, not to mention the 3nights of lodging! Ridiculous! Sometimes I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. (I also want to note that sometimes I feel like the most tortured human: freezing cold, exhausted, alone, and it can be really really really hard. Just want to make sure y’all understand that! I am a very positive person, but this trip, is HARD!). The presentation went really well I think. K through 6th grade was there and the kids sure did have a ton of questions! We talked a bit about my trip, answered questions then each audience member wrote down some goals and says they can achieve those goals and then some presented to the rest of the group. It was a little chaotic at times, but really fun! I had such a good time and was really energized by everyone’s enthusiasm and the sheer number of questions! So much fun, I hope I can arrange many more! Next I was introduced to my bicycle! I’ve really only ever ridden it maybe a 1/4 mile so this’ll be interesting! I organized some gear and got the bike set up and Mr. H invited me to eat lunch with the students. This was quite a fun affair! I love the way elementary aged kids look at things. Sure, they sit with their friends at lunch, but they seem quite open minded and friendly. Not to say that older students aren’t open or friendly but there’s something that gradually gets lost with age a bit that I don’t know how to describe. Innocence? Anyway, it was fun to be popular and do many kids wanted to sit next to me and talk. So many more questions and it was great. I’m super inquisitive at times myself and love answering questions. Lunch was a super tasty Mac n cheese, grapes, clementine, small salad with ranch, and a Rice Krispie treat for dessert. Thanks again! Next I went to the hotel and organized some more, but really I was waiting for another package: BiKase was nice enough to send me a bunch of gear for free!!! This included: 2 sets of panniers, a top tube mount iPhone holder, a water bottle holder that attaches to my stem, and a T-shirt ! Thank you so much, BiKase! My first sponsor hooking me up with completely free gear! Sweet! Use promo code walktheparks to get 15% off at BiKase.com Now I was in a frenzy: get all of my possessions onto the bike before sunset so o can go for a quick test ride! I accomplished my goal and nothing fell apart or anything so I called it a success! Big day tomorrow! I had dinner at the Diner and it was a very tasty bacon cheeseburger, mmmmmm! I got some more items crossed off my to do list, watched Boiler Room, which I love, and went to bed! Big day tomorrow: Bike The Parks begins!