Day 62: Our 8th And Final Century Day

The day was brought on by a chilly morning which took a few hours to warm up to. We were heading to Farmville, VA which is a little over one hundred miles away. It is indeed our last century day of the trip, some of the guys are calling it the “last century of their life,” implying they aren’t opposed to the idea of not going 100 miles on a bike ever again. The roads were not bad at all, there was a lot of downhill and winding roads. This morning I changed my tire and was hoping to be clear for the whole day of flats, especially because the day was beautiful, clear of rain and debris. We were the first pace line today and almost to lodging when my tire tube blew with about .2 miles left into lodging. I almost expected it, after all I wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation of most flats on the trip. I think that brought my total to about 15 flats for the trip, way too many.

Lodging was at the Holiday Inn where the local disability center, STEPS Inc., has set everything up for us. They have been very generous in getting us lodging and a great dinner at a local all you can eat restaurant. STEPS Inc. is a company that hires people with disabilities to work at their warehouse where they sew and make clothes and bags for the people serving in Iraq. They were so appreciative of what we are doing that they devoted a hallway in their warehouse that is now full of pictures and plaques to Journey of Hope. Their CEO even flew back from a business trip to greet us and eat with us and some of the people with disabilities at the all you can eat joint.

After a hardy dinner we headed back to the Holiday Inn. Everyone has really been trying to soak up these last few days together. It is going to be tough when we come to a realization that this trip is over. Thankfully for now we are just enjoying every second we have left. Tomorrow we head into Richmond, VA, an 85 mile day.

Day 61: My New Friend Justine

Picture: Hotel Roanoke, beautiful building and ammenities.

Our day off in Roanoke was a busy one seeing that we had two friendship visits and a team meeting. Morning breakfast was the very selective buffet at the hotel sponsored by Larry and Betty Heaton whose son rode Trans a few years ago. We then left the hotel to Camp Virginia Jaycees, a camp for people living with disabilities. The camp had all the typical camp stuff like fishing, arts and crafts, swimming, and horseback riding. There I got to do crafts with Justine, Rose, and Elize. Elize was about 9 years old and in a wheelchair, she did not have any mouth control so her and I communicated with eye contact and pointing. Rose was an extremely cognitive girl who loved beating me in arm wrestling, she would get the biggest smile and laugh forever after beating me; and then, as if it weren’t embarrassing enough she would tell everyone all about how she beat “the world champion of arm wrestling.” Justine was my buddy for the day, she made sure that her and I sat together for lunch. She would continually have me reassure her that we were friends and loved to yell my name from across the room and point. She would get a little shy and red in the face after we laughed about something, very cute. I asked her to draw me a picture so she drew one of me and wrote both of our names on it, I’m sure it’s a picture Ill have for a long time so I can remember her and that visit. After eating lunch at the camp we headed back to the hotel for some down time.

Picture: Cameron gets to know one of the girls at the art area.

It was back in the vans at 4:45 so we could head to Easter Seals Virginia, another camp for families of people with disabilities. This camp had rock climbing, canoeing, hiking, and other fun activities that families would come with their children with disabilities for a week of fun and relaxation. After taking a tour of the camp grounds we got to meet about five families that had just arrived for their six day stay. After talking with some of the parents over dinner I found that many of the families their come this time every year to get together and reunite with the same families, only one family was new this year. It was neat to interact with the parents of the kids with disabilities because we get to see a different side and perspective as to what it is like to have someone in the family living with a disability.

Picture: Rose beats me once again in the arm wrestling championships.

This evening we had our last team meeting while on the road together, we promised our final one would be in DC after the awards banquet. It is amazing coming to the realization that we are in Virginia and only have 5 days left. Its also sad that it has to come to an end. At pass the water bottle tonight everyone homed on the fact that this amazing Journey is at its end and to soak up every last mile and friendship visit in these last five days. I just can’t believe it, words can’t describe the amazing experience this has been, I know there are going to be a lot of tears from everyone when we hit DC.

Picture: Justine and I are best of friends now. Here is her portrait she drew of me, see a resemblance?

Later Matt, Dan, and I once again took advantage of the fitness gym at the hotel to workout some upper body, I know my arms have definitely shrunk since the trip started. Afterwards everyone was glued to the TV to watch the Olympics. Tonight we witnessed Michael Phelps continue to dominate as well as the US and China compete in gymnastics. Tomorrow we have a 100 mile day to Farmsville, VA, our final century day.

Picture: Cameron and I in the vans on our way to a friendship visit!

Day 60: Fun Times At The Tumble Gym

You know it’s an unusual morning on the Journey of Hope when you have the option to wake up between eight and eleven thirty. Since our day yesterday was so tough they thought we wouldn’t mind having some time to ourselves this morning. I was up around eight to get breakfast at the cafeteria and many of the guys followed. Another reason we were able to wake up so late is because we only had a 40 mile day. We took off from Virginia Tech University around noon to Roanoke,VA where we will have a day off. After having such a tough day yesterday it was nice that the majority of our ride today was downhill. Today Jude road along with us, he is a graduate of Roanoke College 91’ and a Pi Kappa Phi brother. He was a good cyclist and really enjoyed riding with us.

It was a quick ride into the Roanoke Hotel who donated their rooms to us. This might be the nicest hotel we have stayed at, it has been around since 1873 and they pride themselves on being the best hotel in Roanoke. This evening we had a great time at Pump It Up, a tumble gym with blow up slides and obstacle courses. There we met up with the Down Syndrome Association of Roanoke who brought the kids and their families. We had a blast playing in the tumble gym and on all the blow up toys. I don’t know who had more fun, our team or the kids. I raced Clare about 5 times on the big slide and once on the obstacle course but she beat me every time, I told her I was convinced she had been practicing for this day because clearly she couldn’t be beat.
We ate pizza with the kids and then grabbed ice cream after. Tonight most of us stayed in and watched the Olympics. We have our last day off tomorrow before DC, I can’t believe the trip is coming to an end. Every memory made on this trip been incredible, I feel so fortunate to apart of something so impactful and life changing!

Day 59: Almost Hit By A Deer

It was a grueling day on the bike as we fought against the toughest areas in the Appalachian Mountains. Every steep downhill was followed by a long steep uphill. Today was a blast though because we got to fly down the backsides of these hills, today I hit my highest speed of the trip at 52 mph. Also, one of the craziest things I have seen all summer happened on our trip. We were riding in our pace line and a deer in the meadow to our right was startled and started bounding in and out of the tall brush with us. All of a sudden the deer sprinted ahead of us and darted into a wooded area where it disappeared. We too went into this wooded area and only 10 seconds after seeing the deer disappear we hear it charging at us and then see it bound over the guard rail and across the road only ten feet in front of us. We were all screaming and for the next 20 miles couldn’t stop talking about the wild experience.

The day continued to only get better as we worked hard on the hills to enjoy the quick descents. Today we crossed the border into Virginia which is supposed to have beautiful riding and is our last state before DC. Later in the ride we rolled through some beautiful rolling grass hills with endless views of relapsing mountains stocked with trees.

Over 6 hours of riding time we got into lodging at the Virginia Tech University around 4 PM. The campus here is very large and full of some beautiful buildings. Right when you come into campus you see the memorial representing the shootings that occurred just this last year on their campus. Tonight we had dinner at the cafeteria and I was starving, I had three plates of food it was so good. After a two hour nap everyone headed out to celebrate Cody’s 21st birthday. We have a late wake-up tomorrow so curfew wasn’t until 2AM!

Day: 58 Bad Roads, Fun Day

After spending the night in Charleston we had an 80 mile ride to Beckley, WV. We took some of the worst roads we have encountered all trip to get there. The ride today had many steep hills making it clear we were in the Appalachian Mountains. For 30 miles this road we took was full of large potholes, loose gravel, and so much overgrown brush that we would be limited to one lane, I was wishing I had my mountain bike to get through it all. Either way it was a great time adventuring through the ridiculous but scenic road. To finish off the day we had some very long steep climbs that reminded me of when we went through Montana and Wyoming.

It was a longer day on the bike so we didn’t get in until 3:oo pm. We are staying at Mountain State University where they put us up in the dorms there! Our dinner was at the MSCIL, a center that helps people with disabilities start living independently in their communities. Beckley, WV is a small town of about 20,000 and has a pretty little downtown. The mayor and chief of police both welcomed us and we feasted on a wonderful lasagna dinner while many of the guys were interviewed by the local news stations. While at the disability center I got talking to Miles and his mother. Miles has some mental disabilities and mood changes, sometimes he is very mature at his age of 31 and other times he acts only six years old. Talking with his mother I found out Miles was in a car accident ten years ago, so he was exactly my age when he became hospitalized and life changed forever. She told me how he has progressed a lot in the last ten year, he is now walking and has recovered from his brain surgeries in which they had to take out a part of his frontal lobe. In conversations like this I try to focus on the positive and understand what things have been like for Miles and their family; however, inside and I can’t help but feel so saddened by such a tragic situation. Again, another reminder to live everyday to the fullest, you just never know what can happen.

This evening I cleaned and tuned up my bike, I had another flat today so I had to patch some more tubes and change out my tires. Afterwards I did a bunch of updates to my blog and hung out with Dom and Rion. I can’t believe the trip is coming to an end I don’t even want to think about it. Tomorrow we have a real tough 100 mile day into Blacksburg, Virginia.

Day 57: Our First Baseball Game Of The Trip

It was the first time in a while that we made it to breakfast on time while staying at a hotel which meant good things considering being late means waking up 30 minutes early. The ride today was an easy 55 miles with steep rolling hills as we continued to push farther into the Appalachian Mountain Range.

At noon we had an arrival at the Children’s Therapy Clinic, a small clinic that focuses on learning with all type of disabilities in ages 2 thru 18. This visit was especially fun because we got to play with a bunch of the little kids that attend there. There were two boys I talked with; the 3 year old had down syndrome and the 6 year old had autism. Both of the boys were really well behaved and all smiles when we played. The clinic served us pizza for lunch while we hung out with the kids and talked about their favorite cartoons, action figures, and sports. It was a real fun time, I miss being a kid. They then showed us around to different therapy rooms where the kids are able to learn through mental games and physical play. The facility explained how they help people pay the bills that insurance wont on kids with disabilities. I was astounded at how little insurance companies will give for therapy sessions that are crucial in helping develop the kids. If insurance covers even most of therapy costs then your considered very lucky; one of the workers explained that therapy sessions run about $150 per session and can add up to $30,000 a year, that’s just crazy.

After a great session at the Children’s Therapy Clinic we headed over to lodging at the MLK Recreation Center. Dinner tonight was sponsored by Chuck Watt who rode in 1994; he was generous enough to take us all to a triple A baseball game and get us all tickets to the buffet line. He was a really nice guy and it was fun exchanging stories about when he rode compared to our trip thus far. That night the home team (West Virginia Power) won big. It was a really entertaining night getting to relax at the game as well as witness two of our cyclists duke it out in a boxing match with oversized gloves during the 7th inning stretch.

Everyone was real tired after the game and headed to bed quickly after returning. I had to patch some blown tubes as well as re-lube my chain from the water we encountered this morning. Soon after I joined everyone and fell fast asleep.

Day 56: The Kentucky Derby

Today was our last in Kentucky as we took to the road 72 miles to Huntington, West Virginia. The ride this morning reminded me of our second day in Skykomish, WA; it was overcast and misty out. The terrain was on a secondary highway that was lush in trees, grass, and overgrown plants. The ride today was very pretty until we jumped back onto the main interstate. This route is known at Push America as the “Kentucky Derby Day” because of all the dogs that chase you while riding. I don’t think there is a fence law in Kentucky so the dogs around here in the country roam free and can be vicious. They would bark at us and run with us until finally giving up, some of them only within inches of our wheels which was a little scary.

Everyone had a good ride today as we arrived at the Holiday Inn for lodging. Huntington is near Marshall College, a featured movie that shows a tragedy involving their football team in the seventies. For lunch a few of us ate at the famous burger joint Five Men, which had very good burgers and fries. After unpacking and showering we headed to our friendship visit at a local park with the Mountain State Center for Independent Living. They set up funding and help for people with disabilities to live on their own whether that be in a wheelchair or with a mental disability. They sponsored dinner with a catered meal from a local BBQ restaurant. I talked with some of the sponsors and learned a lot about who they were and why they joined that organization. They had a local radio station at the visit playing their live music and talking about Push America the whole time we were there. They interviewed a few of us and encouraged donations over the radio.

After dinner Sloan, Wallis and I lifted in the weight room and later Josh, Sean, and I went out for an hour and talked about how the Journey is going. Tomorrow we only have a 50 mile day, it should be fun as we head into the mountains around here.