Written by: Monica Busby
4:46am: I hear my name being called out, I jumped up out of my bed hearing Lou’s concerned voice, “Wake up Monica!” I got 14 minutes left to get my luggage ready for the trailer crew. I woke up two hours earlier with my head pounding and couldn’t go back to sleep til 3:30am; I had signs of altitude sickness along with my own cough and sore throat from the day before. I also had withdrawals not having my FCBA crew sleeping in the same room (we all had our own rooms at Las Vegas Highlands University).
“I’m off to a great start!”I bulleted thru the bathroom, packed my luggage, and still had 5 minutes to spare. Alright! I got this! Breakfast for me was done in 10 minutes as I just grabbed a yogurt and stacked it with berries. My clean up crew had our work cut out for us this morning as we had two buildings to check, including three floors, over 25 rooms and two bathrooms. Lou and I were trash machines as we cleaned up those three floors in 20 minutes! Yes! Now time to prep the bike, get my water bottles, Garmin and speaker on point! What a start to a 4th of July!
Loved everyone’s red, white, and blue face tattoos, socks, bandanas, and t-shirts! Especially, loved Steve’s very own one-of-kind costume as he attached an American wind-sock on his helmet and a huuuge flag on his backpack! Bruce Springsteen’s “America” on the background as we pumped those tires. We are ready to celebrate with a century!
Off we go at 6:30am, bumping to “God Bless America” on my speakers. I was feeling good after two days of being sick. Just glad to be back on the saddle. I planned to take it easy today, and was very happy to have completed 67 of the 107 miles. Boy, the route was stunning; we rode when the sun greeted us, the wind behind our backs, and my legs warmed up earlier than anticipated. Great sign, great sign. Let’s push this! I was able to be in front of the pack with 
Macy for the first 47 miles…feeling good, feeling good.
We went on 104 E Hwy most of the way. It was fun to see Macy start a cow frenzy as she zipped by, and then out of nowhere two elks jumped over the fence right in front of her. They were just beautiful to see! A few miles later, we anticipated the three mile, nine percent descent carving the side of a mountain. I loved seeing the buttes and mesas in the Land of Enchantment! Come on legs! Come on Tanya (my bike’s name)! The support crew came thru with shade, fresh fruits and Phil’s cold soda pops! Boy! Did all this help! Everyone made it in safe and before the storm too! Woohoo!
After some down-time, dinner was being served and out comes Bri yelling “Monica!” as I surprisingly gave her a big hug! I didn’t know Connor, Jessica, Richard, Bri, and Melissa from the West Coast crew were arriving just in time for dinner! How awesome is this!?? They sure made my day!
Now we are off to see some fireworks. Cross-country and West Coast crew—what a great way to end the day! Happy 4th of July everyone!
