Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, hosted one of our best press conferences ever! And of course, Philly Cheese Steak. Along with that, we also made our video to Ellen today!

Anyways…

On the outside, we may appear to just be a group of 25 kids from around the world, biking across the nation, but we are actually much more than that…we’re like elves! Here’s the story:

Our bus driver is named Rob. Rob is like a dad to all of us. Not only does he bear the responsibility of driving the big bus everyday that tows all of our bikes and the command center, he also gives us all personal nicknames and laughs with us, not to mention he also teaches us many valuable lessons, while at the same time telling us stories we will never forget! Long story short, we love Rob.

As you may or may not have read before, the condition of our bus is very bad. It is very old, and it is a miracle in and of itself that the bus was able to make it across the country. The drivers seat especially is very hot, and Rob’s feet as always in a constant temperature of more than 100 degrees.

We noticed this, and finally decided that we must do something to show our appreciation for our dear father figure. Laurene and Annie were the first ones out for the mission. They both entered Robs room last night, and while Annie distracted him by talking about money for the laundry machine, Laurene tried on his Crocs and took them out into the hall- quickly taking them off and checking the shoe size, then sneaking back in the room and switching into her own shoes again. All without him knowing 😉

Then, to double check once again, Rob and a few riders went to Kristine’s room to grab some late night snacks that were leftover from dinner. There, Kristine nonchalantly asked everyone in the room for their shoe size, thereby confirming Rob’s size for our gift.

During the day, the boys and girls vans all collected some money to purchase a new pair of shoes for our kind driver, and we surprised him with them later! Everyone then gathered in the parking lot of the mall to strut down “the aisle” and show off their fancy (dirty) clothes, but mostly, it was just about Rob’s new shoes 🙂


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