Pushed a total of 64 miles from Champaign, IL to Blue Mound, IL
6:00 a.m. CST – We got packed and ready to go. We left some thank you cards and spoke with people before we left.
9:30 a.m. CST – We met with Mayor Gerald Schweighart from Champaign. I presented the mayor with a plaque on behalf of the Kevin Saunders’ Health and Fitness Tour of America. I told him what an honor it was to be in Champaign, IL and what an incredible city it is. And that I was particularly impressed by the memorial at Parkland College. The memorial stands as a symbol of how each athlete worked past their personal obstacles to reach higher levels and pursue their dreams. This makes a very symbolic gesture of the purpose of our Tour because now we are pursuing health and fitness for all Americans one community at a time. We are currently going through a series of plateaus as I wheel across America with this message of health and fitness to provide the resources and tools for all citizens. I mentioned how I wanted to challenge Champaign, IL to be part of the campaign and start an ImShapingUp.com/ChampaignIL so that they can compete nationwide with other kids and adults.
10:00 a.m. CST – We immediately left and picked up where Illinois State Trooper David Tendrix had escorted us the day before. Monticello, IL was the next town we came to. There I met with Mayor Bill Mitze and presented him with a plaque from the Kevin Saunders’ Health and Fitness Tour of America. Officer Sergeant Mike Morstattwer led us out of Monticello towards Cisco, IL.
The local newspaper, Piatt County Journal-Republican, took some pictures of me today. This paper is distributed weekly on Wednesdays. I pushed on 7 miles west on Highway 48 to Cisco, IL. In Cisco, we met a couple of extremely helpful people: Roger Jebe and Lloyd Turner. Lloyd worked at a body shop and raced motorcycles. He helped us put on some slow-moving vehicle signs and a safety light on top of our trailer. It was very important for us to get these signs put up. Lloyd told us that when he came up behind us on his motorbike the he wasn’t sure what he was seeing and that he couldn’t tell how fast we were going. Because he owned a body shop and raced bikes, he thought that it was imperative that we put the slow-moving vehicle signs up high and he helped us rivet the light onto the trailer. We owe him a great deal of gratitude and thanks for all of his help. The people in the Midwest have really been good to us. It’s always great to run into friendly people who are willing to help.
I met Roger Jebe when he cycled up and met us in Cisco. He wanted to know if he could ride along. I told him that we’d love to have him with us. When I first saw him, I thought he was probably in his 40s, if not late 30s. He was in great physical shape (great muscle tone and very lean) and he had a great bicycle and gear too. It was only after wheeling the first ten miles with us that he told me he was 60 years-old. What a shock! He said he had gotten into bicycling in 1969 and never quit. Isn’t that a great statement for health and fitness when it has the potential to take over 20 years off a person’s appearance?
After we got into Decatur, IL, we went over Lake Decatur. We noticed that there were some people out being active on jet skis on the lake. I thought to myself how great it was that people were getting out and enjoying the day. It is important that people be physically active. It doesn’t matter what activity they use to by active, as long as they are active.
6:00 p.m. CST – We got a little break along the way when we met Mike Taylor from WAND TV ABC in Decatur, IL. He interviewed me and I told him that I was pushing across America to demonstrate that health and fitness was for everyone. I told him that we were a non-profit organization and that we welcomed any individual or organization who would like to support us in our efforts to bring resources and tools to help all Americans get fit. Immediately after the interview, I got through the city and turned onto Highway 48. I pushed 11 miles into Blue Mound, IL. Here we finished the push for the day around 7:30 p.m. We drove to the Baymont, one of our sponsors, in Litchfield. Here I met the hotel owners, Jane Douherty and Nancy Hyam, who are sisters. I gave them each a copy of my book and took a picture with them. Before we knew it, it was midnight and time to rest for the next day.
