Ryan's Journey of Hope

Day 62: Our 8th And Final Century Day

2008-09-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Day 55: Are We On The Tour De France?

2008-08-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

The riding today was gorgeous as we headed to our last stop in Kentucky, Morehead, KY. We were served a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, granola, and fruit sponsored by Dick and Barbara Darmek who had a son do the Journey of Hope two years ago. The ride today led us through some beautiful country roads. It felt like we were on the Tour or something with many maroon and purple overgrown flowers lining each side of the narrow road. The road was full of hairpin turns as we weaved downhill through arching trees at 30 mph, leaning into every turn while admiring the beauty of our ride. It was overcast all day and we eventually encountered thunder showers. We made it about 60 miles today until we had to rack into Morehead to avoid the dangerous weather.

Lodging was at Morehead State University and lunch was put on by the Pi Kappa Phi chapter here. We were greeted by the vice president and dean of the school who were both very excited to have us. We are staying in one of the dorms here which is a nice change from my air mattress. Tonight we had a friendship visit at the park with Horizon Village Riders who brought about ten of their clients. I sat with Debbie, a very social lady who enjoyed poking fun at everyone she talked with. She was very entertaining and quite a loving lady, she had a bit of a speech impediment but was very cognitive of who she was. Dinner was spaghetti with red or white sauce and breadsticks.

Later that evening a bunch of guys went to Buffalo Wings for some discounted wings and to watch Andrew Lewis on ABC’s Americas Got Talent. He is currently in LA doing a photo shoot and some filming with his team of drummers. We definitely miss him on the trip but understand that he can’t break his contract.

Tomorrow we will be in West Virginia as we approach an new mountain range!

Day 54: People With Disabilities Sell Art For Thousands

2008-08-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today was our day off in Lexington, KY. We were on our own for breakfast and so my van went to IHOP for breakfast. At 11:45 we headed over to PWM Insurance where Ryan Huff, a past cyclist for Gear Up Florida, and his coworkers came out and to chat and sponsor the meal. We ate deli sandwiches from a local sub restaurant. They were very nice people and I got to talk with their president John who owns some race horses. After talking a while he invited me to sit in his box seats anytime I’m in the area again. I was laughing inside, I was a little overwhelmed with his generosity.

After lunch half of us left for Latitude Arts, an organization politically and personally supporting people with disabilities by giving them opportunities to seek out their artistic skills. They asked us to do a staged arrival for them and the media there. The building is basically a garage that has been extended and made into an art studio. They have about 30 artists with disabilities and are very active in pushing the city for more wheelchair accessible areas. After everyone was introduced they shared with us about how some of the people there have art pieces that are displayed in art shows for thousands of dollars. Becky, one of their artists with down syndrome paints pictures that are going to be displayed in Paris next week. The art at Latitude was very colorful and abstract; it was amazing viewing the beautiful work that the people there created. One of the artists was blind and deaf and made quilts out of cloth, and plastic shopping bags, his pieces go for upwards of $1500 because of how unique they are. A skill and hobby that was once looked down upon in his household is now art that is seen as prestige’s and beautiful at Latitude and in art galleries. It is a powerful thing when you change your mind set to see things in a more positive light; that was so very evident at Latitude today as we looked around at the art.

The rest of my day was spent at the bike shop and later I cleaned and tuned my bike. Dinner was put on by Latitude art at a local Café. The people there were very nice to us and served everyone a free coffee. Tonight we had a team meeting, the realization that there are only 12 days left is pretty unbelievable. During pass the water bottle all the guys talked about how much fun we are having and how the trip has flown by. It was a constant reminder to enjoy everyday and every mile as we get closer into the Appalachian Mountain range.

Day 53: Horse Stables In Kentucky

2008-08-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a long 90 miles to Lexington, Kentucky. Entering into a new state we found the first half of the ride to be full of steep inclines followed by steep downhills which made the ride tough because of all the effort you put into the inclines. We had a great rolling lunch put on by a Pi Kapp who graduated from Appalachian State University. He made all of us thick sub sandwiches with candy bars and chips, it was very nice alternative to the typical two slices of meat wrap that we usually have when there is not a sponsored lunch.The second half of the ride was amazing though. It flattened out a little as we rolled through some very beautiful country. We passed about 30 miles of horse stables which featured enormous estates and beautiful grass fields. Some of them had crops of corn or tobacco but for the most part each stable would hold many expensive horses that will be used for racing and breeding. Properties were marked by black fences as the main road would sporadically be lined with large trees. Rides like these take the mind off the distance you’re traveling.

We arrived in Lexington, KY, one of the larger downtowns in the state and stayed in a church that put us up for the next two nights. We had some down time after arriving so Sloan, Cerelo, Eric and I went to Starbucks for some iced mochas. We don’t drink much coffee on riding days because it dehydrates you so a Starbucks run was perfect.

That evening we had dinner and a friendship visit. There were about 30 people at the disability center and they served us burgers, coleslaw, and baked beans. We then had a dance and of course enjoyed letting loose with the people with disabilities there, let’s just say the dancing abilities are endless at these kinds of dances.

Afterwards we explored the city which I wasn’t too impressed with, it’s a very different culture out here compared to Seattle and even the other cities we have been too. The University of Kentucky is nearby but we never got a chance to visit it. One thing this state is crazy about are their horses. There are names of streets, statues, and pictures all over the place of famous derby horses.

Day 52: Karaoke Night!!

2008-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

This we awoke at the University of Miami in Ohio as we prepared for a short 40 mile ride to Cincinnati, OH. It is funny how short today felt, I remember training and considering this long of a ride as one of my longer training rides. After riding all these miles a 40 mile day seems like a warm up in comparison. It was indeed a short day on the bike and a pretty one at that. The day got hot fast and soon enough we were at a park for lunch. At this park Robby Eisenstein bought subway and power bars for all of us. The lunch was a nice finish to a short day.
We then headed to lodging at one of the Recreation Centers in Cincinnati. There was an outdoor pool and 10 of us did some swimming which felt great with it being so warm out. A few of us played a friendly game of “sharks and minnows” with some of the local kids that were begging us to play.

Dinner was pizza sponsored by Anne Stuart and the disability organization that we sang karaoke with. It was a full two hours of Karaoke, some of the people with disabilities had some beautiful voices. We always have a good time when karaoke is involved, everyone starts singing all the oldies and bringing back the songs that were such a huge part of our lives in middle school.

Soon after our visit I quickly hit the pillow for some shut eye. Tomorrow we will be heading into Kentucky, now that the states are smaller we have been entering and exiting states rather quickly, it’s very exciting!

Day 51: 100% Humidity

2008-08-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today we awoke in Indianapolis, IN after having a great day off. Everyone’s legs are usually feeling fresh after a day off, making it a little easier to cycle through the day. Wake up was at 6AM followed by a sponsored breakfast put on by Lisa Swiontek which included bagels, coffee, fruit and pop tarts! It was a hot one out today with 100% humidity and a high of about 87 degrees. The terrain was beautiful as we took the back country roads to make our way to Oxford, OH. The ride today was 85 miles but with the tail wind made it feel even shorter. A lot of us were cruising at about 25 mph for much of the day. The countryside today went for miles landscaped with corn fields and soy bean plants giving the appearance of thousands of acres of rolling green hills, very pretty.

Today we had a road side lunch with which included the usual turkey wraps with chips and Gatorade. We arrived in Oxford around 2 PM and headed straight for lodging at Miami of Ohio University where the local Pi Kappa Phi chapter found a lodge for us to stay in for the night. After everyone arrived we headed over to the Pi Kappa Phi chapter for showers and dinner. They served up some hot dogs, burgers, beans, and pasta salad for the whole team. It was cool to see that about 25 of their chapter brothers showed up to support us even though only 5 are living at their chapter house for the summer.

Tonight we were able to hang out with some of the other Pi Kapps from this university and really get to know them better. It was a very enjoyable night for everyone, even though it felt like 95 degrees because of the humidity here. Tomorrow we will be heading to Cincinnati, OH in one of our shortest days of the trip, 40 miles.

Day 50: Noble Friendship Picnic

2008-08-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

We all got to sleep in this morning because of our day off in Indianapolis. We had a bagels and orange juice from Pinero Bread Inc that was sponsored by Tammy Shanklin who has a step-son that did the Journey of Hope. We then left for a friendship visit at the Noble of Indiana
There they had many signs made for us and were very excited to have us there. These kinds of visits are always more fun when the center is organized and sets up a lot for us to do. While we were there we had guys playing whiffle ball, bingo, karaoke, doing art, and gardening with the people with disabilities. I was in the Bingo group and my table had Allen, Stephen, Wndy and Randall who all didn’t talk much because of their disabilities. It is sometimes a challenge to have individuals like this but I finally got Stephen to crack some smiles by joking around with him as I helped them all play bingo.

While there we had a surprise visit from our cycling coach Dean Peterson who had ridden with us for the first few days in Seattle. He lives in Indianapolis coaches for a local college that has the best cycling team in the nation. Unfortunately he had some appointments that day so his visit was short lived, either way it was great seeing him.

Dinner was sponsored at Marry Kelley’s house, a mom to a cyclist that rode in 2006. She cooked a great Mexican dinner which is always a popular craving between the guys. We also had a mail drop this evening in which I received a package from my girlfriend Katie which was full of snacks and some new cloths! That will be a nice change from the same stuff I have been wearing all summer as well as the same snacks at crew stops.

Tomorrow we wake up at 6 so we can make our way into Ohio.

Day 49: Wheelchair Basketball

2008-08-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

We awoke at the Pi Kappa Phi house on the University of Indiana campus to lots of rain. This morning we had eggs, bacon, and fruit for breakfast and were greeted by Phil Summers, former National President of Pi Kappa Phi and winner of the prestigious Mr. Pi Kappa Phi award. He had just flown in from Supreme Chapter, one of Pi Kappa Phi’s biggest awards receptions, in Denver where he updated us on how the Build America trip went. He then talked about the importance of Push America and Journey of Hope for our organization and for the people we touch. He was a very good speaker and it was an honor to get to have him join us for the morning.

We then headed out to a very rainy day that would thankfully be a little shorter than normal. Our route took us 55 miles to Indianapolis, IN as it rained for much of the morning. Even though it was a wet one many of us were just thankful it isn’t 100 degrees with 100% humidity because that is very tough to cycle in.

Lodging is at Indiana University and Purdue University of Indiana, a school combining the universities as an alternate campus with specific majors. We stayed in the freshman dorm lounges and were excited to have a day off in Indianapolis and explore.

The best part of the day was when we headed to a community recreation center that had a basketball court. There we met up with the local wheelchair basketball team. We got to have a spaghetti dinner with them and hear some of their stories. The league they play in is two below the professional level in their respected sport. Many of them had only been playing for 3-5 years and yet were good enough to travel as a team to different tournaments around the country. They were telling me they travel locally and out of state and recently were in Las Vegas for the biggest tournament of the year. These guys were real cool, one of them played in the Olympics in Sydney, he was incredibly quick and obviously no one could come close to guarding him. The ages of the team ranged from 15-45, all the guys were really good and when faced against the Journey of Hope team we didn’t stand a chance.

I got to talk with a 15 year old kid named Ryan who was the youngest of everyone and swatted me multiple times while he was on defense. He was a really neat kid and told me he is trying to do better in school and stay out of trouble so that he can get back the basketball wheelchair that the team had loaned him until he found himself being disciplined at school. It’s always inspiring to watch those with physical disabilities engage in sports because its such an outlet for them. They really get into it and take pride in the abilities they have even though they are in a chair; I love seeing how motivated they are.

Since we have a day off tomorrow we were able to go explore the city. We had a great time at one of the Piano bars downtown. I had never been to one and so it was a blast hearing song requests from the crowd that were then played by dueling piano players on stage. It was a great night and tomorrow we got to sleep in until 9 AM!

Day 48: University of Indiana Hoosiers

2008-08-11T10:56:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful ride and misty morning on our way to Bloomington, IN. We once again made our way through the flat and green country roads. I got another flat today which was a little frustrating and I ended up needing a new tire because I had worn it until it was no longer usable. Our 70 mile ride took us to Indiana University, home of the Hoosiers, where we would stage up for our arrival at a friendship visit with Stone Belt.

When we rolled in there were a ton of clients and staff of the disability center welcoming us. They served a cafeteria style lunch for everyone as we got to know the people there. I spent most of my time there hanging out with Joy who was an older lady in a wheel chair with some disabilities I am not sure about. She was very aware of everything but seemed a bit slow. Her and I played all the activities the center had set up like bean bag toss, bowling, duck fishing, and bingo. After every activity she would say, “thank you thank you;” she was so sweet and very enjoyable to be around.

After the friendship visit we headed to lodging which was at the Pi Kappa Phi house on the Greek Row at Indiana University. The university here is 30% greek which is enormous especially for a school of its size (about 35,000 students). So as you could imagine all the greek fraternity and sororities are large mansions. I could not believe how many houses there were and the size of all of them. The Pi Kapp chapter was enormous as well and I heard it’s the biggest chapter house of Pi Kappa Phi in the nation. Inside and out the house was very elegant and clean. We slept in the beds provided on the top floor and also ate dinner there as well.
After eating steaks we watched the show America’s Got Talent because one of the cyclists on the team (Andrew Lewis) is competing in it with his drum team. They did really good and the judges voted them to stick around for another round. That show was a recording so Andrew is still cycling with us but its possible that he may have to leave us for a few days to do some recording for the show.

Tonight Joel, Sartin, and I rode our bikes and toured the campus; it was a very different feeling being on the bike at a leisure state plus the campus was really neat. Tomorrow we will be in Indianapolis, IN and have a day off.

Day 47: Happiness Bag Inc.

2008-08-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

I was off the bike today because of my broken spoke that wasn’t able to be repaired in the small town of Effingham. I rode with Jay today so I could make sure I got my spoke fixed by the end of the day. He and I had a fun time in the car; he doesn’t have anyone ride with him for the most part so I think he was really enjoying some company. Jay and I rode ahead of everyone to Terre Haute, Indiana where we dropped my wheel off at a bike shop and set up arrangements with the police escort and lodging. The guys rode 80 miles today and I heard the ride went great.

Jay and I met up with the team at stage up and soon after we rode into Indiana State University for a sponsored lunch and some media interviews. We had sandwiches at one of the cafeterias there until we had to leave for lodging only a few blocks away. Tonight we stayed at Mr. and Mrs. Steve Pontius’ house who own a spacious home that once was a Pi Kapp house. They have owned the house for many years and acquired it after the Pi Kapp chapter there was shut down. Steve works on the board for the university and is a Pi Kapp alumnus. Their house was beautiful and big as you can imagine; they showed us before and after pictures of all the remodeling they did.

In the afternoon I picked up my bike wheel from the shop, the guy told me I was about due for a new one. I sometimes forget how much stress we are putting on these bikes because of riding them at high mileages every day.

Tonight’s friendship was held at the Happiness Bag Inc. They sponsored a pork sandwich dinner and had about 30 people with disabilities there for us to hang out with. Tonight’s entertainment included karaoke and dancing. They hired a DJ and we sang songs and danced for almost two hours. It’s so funny dancing with the women there because many of them ask if you will be their boyfriends. Personally I had 3 women with disabilities either say they wanted to take me home with them or be their new boyfriend. Its really quite funny some of them are very aggressive and some just want to slow dance and hug! The team always has a blast at the dances we have, it’s a great way to interact with everyone. There were some hilarious solos that some of our guys got up there to sing. Dancing and singing is a great way for people with disabilities to really let loose and have some fun, some of them get really into it and other just love to bounce in place and smile! The Happiness Bag sent us on our way with some T-Shirts which I will definitely add to my collection of various T’s given to us at other organizations.

That night Ben, Grant, and I were a little hungry and found our way to a nearby Pub with half price appetizers. They are both guys on the crew so it was good getting to hang with the both of them for the night. We all reflected on how the trip is going and some of our favorite things about it. This summer is really hard to beat, it’s truly the best summer I have ever had. I am thankful to ride tomorrow and get back into the mix of things, we will be going to Bloomington!

Day 46: Another New State, Another Broken Spoke

2008-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today we left St. Louis in pursuit for another state. Our 110 mile ride would lead us to Effingham, Illinois. It took a while to get out of the city until we were close to the border of Missouri and Illinois. We crossed into Illinois over a large bridge built over the Mississippi River. This bridge was a “biking only” bridge which we thought was pretty cool, this section of the Mississippi was pretty wide and you could see St. Louis in the background. Immediately crossing into Illinois we encountered a ton of corn fields and soy bean farms. I am still amazed at how much corn our country produces. Thinking about it now though most foods have corn in it, also soy bean is an excellent and healthy source of protein so its no wonder there is so much of it.
The ride today was extremely flat, unfortunately I was only able to ride 80 miles of it. I broke a spoke on my back wheel again and so I had to rack the rest of the day. It was a beautiful day though and lunch was sponsored by one of the moms of our crew member, Jesse. She ordered us sandwiches from the Panera Bred Co., a very tasty sandwich. About mile 90 the day was getting really hot, I was just sweating standing outside. The guys rolling into the crew stops were looking exhausted so we tried to encourage them to keep the finish in sight, it was so close!

Everyone made it to Effingham and after showering we unpacked at Grant Coordinator Arc of Teutopolis where we would have our friendship visit and be staying for the night. This small town didn’t have a bike shop so it was looking like I wasn’t going to be able to get my wheel fixed and would have to rack tomorrow as well. I had the pleasure of meeting the president and his wife of the Arc who are both cyclists themselves. They were a very nice couple, they tried calling all their friends looking for someone to help me but were not able to find anyone. I appreciated their help and really enjoyed getting acquainted with them.

Dinner was pizza and a friendship visit at the Arc and I with a guy who told me all about his family and their farm. I never realized how much work goes into keeping a crop profitable and managed. That evening we had a team meeting and had an easy going night at the Arc. A few of us caught some ice cream late at night with a little DQ Blizzard! It looks like tomorrow Ill be off the bike again which really kills me, its so much fun being on the road with everyone. We will be going to Terre Haute, Indiana making it a very short visit in Illinois. Our stop in Illinois is in the southern part of the state; I was really wishing we could detour up to Chicago, I’ve heard it’s a very lively city.

Day Off In St. Louis

2008-08-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Before heading to the friendship visit we ate at the breakfast buffet at the Hilton. Jesse’s aunt sponsored the breakfast which was very generous of her seeing that it was very expensive. Our friendship visit was at a local park with the St. Louis Arc and St. Louis Society. We played human basketball, washers, whiffle ball, and some board games. Karen and I got to know each other really well, she lives on her own and is in a wheelchair. Her and I played lawn basketball and had a great time even though it was very warm out. They provided a subway lunch and soon after a bunch of us headed to a bike shop for some repairs.

This evenings dinner was put on by Jay’s family, they had about 50 people at their lovely home and served a catered dinner. Jay’s our project manager and his family has deeply embraced Push America and the Journey of Hope. It was inspiring talking to his dad and mom about what the Journey means to them and how much time they have become involved in it. I love hearing about stories like these, they get me excited to support great organizations in Push America in the future.

After a wonderful visit at the Holley’s house we had some down time. There was a free outdoor concert only 6 blocks from us that just so happened to be a band I really enjoy known as One Republic. Dan, Max, and I headed to the concert and caught the last end of it. Afterwards was a one of the best firework shows I have ever seen!
Tomorrow we will be entering the state of Illinois! I cant wait!

Day 45: 22 Flats!!

2008-08-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Rain rain rain. All day it poured on us as we headed into St. Louis. Before beginning our 55 mile day we Nathan’s parents sponsored our breakfast by making eggs, bacon, homemade donuts, fruit, and juice. Shortly after leaving the rains came pouring down. It was so rainy that at times the visibility was only about 15 feet at best. Regardless, we had a great time going riding in the rain; it kept us cool and took our minds off the difficult times in the ride. With the weather acting up for the whole day everyone seemed to be getting flats, I had two today. Total by the end of the day there were 22 flats between everyone which easily set a record for the most in a day.

We had a large arrival and escort into St Louis as much of Jay’s family and friends were there, along with a few other family of guys on the team. I didn’t get to ride into the arrival because I got a flat in the very first 2 minutes after stage up and had to quickly pull over and throw my bike on the van so we could keep moving with the police escort. Lunch was an upscale pizza feed at Vito’s Pizza, sponsored by Dominic’s parents, a cyclist on our team. After we headed for lodging at the Hilton in downtown St. Louis right next to the famous Arch. Jay’s uncle is in the hotel business and was able to hook us up with rooms in the Hilton.

Dinner tonight was provided by Jay Stuckel, a University of Missouri grad and very active and committed member of Pi Kappa Phi. He and his family made some wonderful homemade food and were very hospitable. That night we went out and explored the downtown nightlife. St. Louis was a pretty fun and active city. Tomorrow we have a day off, I’m excited for a friendship visit at the park.

Day 44: T-Storm Warnings

2008-08-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

It was a wild day for myself and all the guys as we headed to Union, MO. Our ride today was 80 miles however I only rode the first 10 of them. I had to rack after my clip broke; see last night I tried to replace them so I could have new ones for today but found that I had bought the wrong ones. So this morning I tried to ride on them and within the first 10 miles the plastic broke, forcing me to rack because I kept coming out of the clips every time I took a pedal stroke. It was defiantly frustrating having to rack, it is always more fun being on the bike. That was my crazy part of the day, the team however would encounter some of our harshest weather yet. There was a thunder storm warning this morning that was heading straight for our path. It wasn’t until mile 50 that the storm came in. The guys had to get off their bikes and get in the vans as the thunder and lightning rolled in quick. Some of the pace lines were far to far from the vans so they had to take ditch their bikes and take cover; one pace line was invited into a very generous man’s house. They stayed very warm, and got coffee! The storm passed right over us as we heard thunder going off immediately after lightning strikes, it was really exciting. The storm lasted about 30 minutes and the guys got back on their bikes after we hadn’t seen lighting for about 20 minutes.

It sounded like the rest of the day was really fun, we passed many brick houses that made up the area outside Union. I tried to encourage the guys all day at the crew stops since I couldn’t be on the bike. Lodging today was at Union High School and pizza for lunch was sponsored there by the Pi Kapp Chapter from Truman State University. I went to the bike shop again to get those new clips I needed but they didn’t have the style my pedals fit into. Thankfully Matthew Sartin had an extra pair and let me have them, Matt is a great guy and has some incredible life accomplishments and stories he has shared on the trip with us like how he lost 60 pounds a few years ago. Hopefully in the next town I can get him some new ones if the bike shop there carries them.

Dinner tonight was sponsored by some very nice men that were a part of the Union Rotary Club. They brought in some catered food that we ate at this restaurant in oldtown. We didn’t have a friendship visit tonight so we headed back to lodging where a bunch of guys got on the computers and did their laundry. Tomorrow we leave for St. Louis!

Day 43: Rollin Into The Capital Of Missouri

2008-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

It was another overcast morning as we left Sedaliea, Missouri heading for the capital in Jefferson City. Our 70 mile day was full of hills and views of old large estates sitting on huge green farms with man-made ponds. I rode with Nathan who is from Missouri and he said there is a lot of old money in many parts of Missouri mostly because of the railway that used to run through Missouri as well as these large farm estates. We also passed through many tiny towns of 300 people or less, many of them seem about half abandoned. It is kind of creepy rolling through these tiny towns; it feels like we are trespassing or something. We were also chased by about 5 loose dogs today, Nathan said people around here just don’t have fences and let their dogs roam free. He also mentioned a lot of problems will come of neighbors dogs fighting to the death resulting in some sort of lawsuit.

During the ride today we caught two of the crew guys sleeping in the van at a crew stop so we decided to get them good. We opened the door of the van and started yelling as loud as possible at these guys, trying to scare them. They were so freaked out they jumped out of the van and started screaming themselves. It was quite hilarious and even better to relive in the video we took of it. Arriving a mile from the capital we met up with the police who then escorted us into Jefferson City and the capital. Many people from the disability center greeted us as well as representatives from the capital. The media interviewed a bunch of the Missouri guys and then we headed for lunch.

Lunch was sponsored by Richard Nagel at the St. Peter Catholic Church. They served us fried chicken, mashed potato, and biscuits a very hardy meal. We then headed to lodging at Lincoln University of Missouri where we stayed on the floor of their gym. After showering I headed with a bunch of the guys to the bike shop for some repairs and tubes. I had another flat today and have needed to repay other guys with tubes as well as stock up myself, I can hardly go every other day without a flat.

Dinner tonight was sponsored by Jerry Dowell, a representative of the Pi Kapp chapter from University of Missouri. We had the typical summer bbq, burgers with chips and potato salad. Tonight I had to replace my clips on my cycling shoes so I can ride tomorrow and stay clipped in while riding. The gym is air conditioned so we should get a comfortable sleep; tomorrow we head for Union, MO.

Day 42: A New State with New Terrain

2008-08-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

This morning started off great with a sponsored breakfast courtesy of Ozan Kumru a Kansas University grad who rode in 04’ and was looking to support the team with a good breakfast. After eating some delicious bagels, fruit, and orange juice we had our daily circle up in which Jay went over the mileage, route, and terrain for the day. After a morning prayer we all buckled up our helmets and prepared for a police escort out of Olathe, with how well the city treated us in our time spent there it was only fitting they led us out in style. The day called for 90 miles into Sedalia, Missouri and most everyone was feeling up to it after yesterday’s rest.

The ride today was very interesting full of surprises and new encounters. Weather was humid and warm; however, the occasional clouds would roll in, giving us a break from the blistering sun. We were told that entering Missouri would be quite a different experience from the other states we encounter all summer. Jay said we would be chased by stray dogs, near run over by angry drivers, and the roads would be crowded with debris. By the end of our day all three of these had come true. One group was chased by a dog but luckily they scared the thing away, soon after we were repeatedly yelled at by an angry driver who seemed to think cyclists were of the devil, and later in the day the shoulder on the interstate seemed like a 40 mile booby-trap as we dodged the debris and rocks. The final surprise of the day was when Jay called and notified us that our 90 mile day turned into 105. The miles were longer than expected but everyone had a great attitude and finished without any complaints. Lunch today was sponsored by Rion Shippy’s family; Rion is one of the cyclists on the team and we got to eat lunch at his high school and share delicious cold cut sandwiches and other homemade goods.

We arrived in Sedalia at 4:30 making it one of our longest days on the bike, 6:30AM - 4:30PM. Our lodging is in a large multi-purpose building at the park and recreation center. After a quick shower we had a chicken and pork dinner sponsored by a local bike shop and disability center. The food was great and it was nice to be able to get to interact with the people in this community. After dinner we headed as a team to get some ice cream, one of the more popular things we do together. Returning from ice cream guys were passing out quickly. Everyone was exhausted from the long day. Tomorrow we have a 5 AM wake-up so it is crucial to get that beauty sleep needed on the bike for the next day. Hopefully the roads won’t be as bad and if they are then we will get through them as a team, just like we have been doing the whole trip. What a fun summer!!

Day 41: Incredible Come-Back Story

2008-08-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

This morning we awoke at the school for the blind where 8 volunteers made us hot omelets, they were all very friendly I can’t get over how hospitable the Kansas community has been to us. Many of the women there were at our arrival and work for the city in supporting people with disabilities within their community. We then started our busy day off by jumping in the vans and heading to a friendship visit that had about 30 people with all different disabilities. I got to know Steve and Jewels who both had mental and physical disabilities. We had a fun time playing food bingo with 5 others. Steve was the reigning champ, really no one could stop him after shutting the rest of us out by three games. They sponsored us a lunch and then we headed to another friendship visit at a different center where we played Bingo. We were there for about an hour and a half until we rushed to our next event.

The next part of the day had me just amazed for the rest of the day. We went to Mark Cameron’s house, he set organized our whole day for us and has an amazing story. He is a quadriplegic that basically lives independently. He was out at a boys weekend when he jumped off the deck head first into three feet of water. He instantly broke his neck and became paralyzed; that was 4 years ago. Since then he has made an unexplainable amount of progress that even the doctors don’t understand. It was clear to me how he did it though; he was most of the determined guys I have ever met. I left Mark’s house wanting to be more like him. His doctors told him he would never live independently and now he does; he has someone sleep with him at his house to help him roll over at night but that is it.

His house was revolutionary, everything is accessible for him, and he is paralyzed it’s just amazing. His TV doors, computer, and lights are voice controlled. He surfs the web with a dot on his head that reflects onto the screen so he can control it with the movement of his head. He types using the pointer of the mouse on an on screen keyboard. He can move easily through his whole house by using a pulley system he invented in which he sits in a chair that is strung to the ceiling which allows him to move from room to room because of the tracks that are drilled into the ceiling. Mark was a true example of what it looks like to battle adversity and make the best of life and the situations that arise, however hard or easy they may be. I could talk about Mark and what an inspiration he is for two more pages; the guy has heart, we should all try to find things in our life to motivate us like Mark does, a positive makes a world of difference. Another cool thing he had was a bike in which he uses electro-stimulation to move his legs while sitting on this expensive adaptive bike. He exercises for 2 hours 4 times a week and his doctors can’t believe how good his lunch capacity is, they never thought he would come off a breathing tube after the first two years, so rad.

That night we ate at Texas Road House, a popular steak house. We were sponsored by Mark for dinner and had a great time eating great food and square dancing with the waitresses, an hourly tradition at the Texas Road House. It was a delicious meal and real fun day. This trip is so fun I can’t even begin to describe it. All the guys on the team are outstanding individual which makes the trip all the better. Tomorrow we head for Missouri, another new state!!!!

Day 40: Olathe…The Friendliest City

2008-08-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

Today we were very busy on and off the bike. We left Topeka this morning and got into Olathe 75 miles later, one of the friendliest cities we have visited thus far. The ride was a very scenic and green full of rolling hills and steep climbs. Today was an exciting one for the KU guys on the team. We took a little detour and made our way to Lawrence, KS home of the KU National Champions. Their greek houses were huge and the campus, though hilly, was really nice. The KU guys showed us around their nice house and gave us some history about the campus. It’s really interesting seeing other college campuses and comparing them all to each other and to WSU. Some of the KU cyclists had family in Olathe so some of them set up one of our crew stops and stocked it with fresh fruit and baked goods, this was quite a treat!

We then jumped back on the bike and headed to Olathe, KS. This town really went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and welcome. It all started with a large welcoming of about 100 people waiting for us. As usual the media was there and I had an opportunity to be interviewed by NBC! They had a banquet style set up awaiting us with cold cuts from a local sub shop. Before eating a representative for the mayor made a big speech welcoming us to Olathe and thanking us for the awareness we are raising. I guess this town has a high population of people with disabilities and they really pride themselves on where they live and how they treat others. They declared the day (July 20th) as Push America day which really showed their appreciation for our organization and how much they believe in it.

After lunch we toured a building and outdoor area dedicated to the Santa Fe Trail. This place was one of the original stopping spots for the Santa Fe trail back when they would travel in covered wagons. After checking the place out I couldn’t really imagine living in those times, either way it was a cool attraction to visit.

Lodging this evening was at the Kansas School for the Deaf, the largest School for the deaf in the US. There they had dormitories set up for us to stay in. They also brought in some muscle therapy professionals that massaged wherever we had aches and pains. I had the guy do my calves and hamstrings and I wanted to scream bloody murder it hurt so badly. It was good though, he got rid of a bunch of knots.

That evening Matt Wulff’s family hosted dinner for us at their house. They had a beautiful place in an urban neighborhood. Matt is one of the cyclists on the team that goes to KU and has grown up in Olathe almost his whole life. They served some very beefy steaks along with some of the best twice baked potato’s that I have ever had. A bunch of us went downstairs to eat in the entertainment room followed by an immediate nap while watching Ocean’s 11.

Tonight we have a day off so half the team drove downtown to explore Kansas City. We walked around the Electric and Light district, a brand new area in the city that is real popular. The place was really neat and you could tell very new from the looks of all the restaurants and bars in the area. Tomorrow is our day off and we get to sleep in until 8:30!

Day 39: What A Beautiful Country

2008-08-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Picture: Typical terrain for the day.

Today was one of my top 5 favorite days on the bike thus far. We traveled 70 miles today from Emporia, KS to Topeka, KS. We took the back country roads today which are always a nice breather from the typical business of an interstate. The country out here in western KS is beautiful; our route took us through the beautiful area known as The Flint Hills. It’s not the same beauty of the mountains in the Northwest but has its own beauty of open country. Here there are large grazing farms with a ton of cows, I guess this side of the state gets more rain so the land out here is very green with lots of rolling hills and trees. It is a nice change from the flatness of eastern KS, getting to vary speeds keeps the ride more interesting. This morning was a little cloudy but the sunrise was unreal, the sun was a deep orange ball just barely peering over the horizon. Its mornings like this that make this trip addicting, getting to be out in the country with not a soul out and all you hear are the shared noises of the birds waking up and your wheels humming on the pavement as the sun rises at 6AM, sometimes it feels like we are the only ones seeing the sun at this hour.
Picture: Dom and I in the early morning.

Today we had a ride along, Tim has been riding with the Trans Team on this particular day since 2004. He works at Kansas State and I think everyone had a good time talking with him; he was an advisor at K-State when there was a chapter there.

Picture: Joel, Me and Paul enjoying the countryside.

With the tail wind we were able to have a faster day on the bike and in no time we were in Topeka. We had an arrival at the TARC, an organization serving people with disabilities in their area, where the staff and some of the KS guys had family that greeted us. Hot dogs and chips were for lunch followed by a shuttle over to the local YMCA so we could get showered up.
We then headed back and a bunch of the guys took a nap. I was exhausted because of how busy we have been the last few days, lacking sleep I accidentally took a 3 hour nap but I guess my body needed it. The TARC then served us some tasty Mexican and pasta dishes for dinner with Wendy’s Frostys for dessert, mmmm good. After dinner everyone headed to watch the Topeka Coyotes play Iowa in an arena football game where we flipped the coin to see who got possession first. I have never been to an arena football game so it was a fun experience for me and all the guys.

Picture: Cheese, Cameron, Eric, Cody, and Myself rolling into the last stretch of the day.

We have 5AM wake-up tomorrow as we head to Olathe where we will have another day off! I’m looking forward to the day off so I can catch up on some blogs and get that extra sleep I have needed.

Picture: It was an intense moment in the game when the Push America team came out onto the field to flip to see who got ball first!

Day 38: Some Heavy Rains

2008-07-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Picture: Morning breakfast.

As usual it was tough waking up at 5AM after having a comfortable bed to yourself. Breakfast this morning was sponsored by the Rosells which included quiche, fruit, and cookies! The roads this morning were a little wet and it looked as though we would have some overcast weather to start the day. Today we traveled from Wichita, KS to Emporia, KS which would add up to 110 miles at the end of the day. A few guys including myself had flats in the morning which seems unavoidable when the roads are wet and you’re biking on the shoulder of unkempt roads. The rain held off until mile 40 when we biked right into a downpour. The rain was so thick that it was getting tough to see ahead, this was heaviest rain of the trip and everyone was drenched. We were having a blast riding through the 20 minute storm as everyone started singing a little Journey – “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Picture: Right before the downpour.

It was a nice change of pace when we took a right off the interstate and went to down a very country road. We rode through a small abandoned town and a bunch of corn fields on this cracked and sloped road. It’s fun being on these roads sometimes because you feel like you’re the only people out there. Shortly after being on the unbeaten path we stopped for lunch at a sponsored restaurant in the tiny town in Cottonwood Falls. I don’t recall the name of the place we ate but it sure was good, I had a pork burger with a salad and huge potato fries.

Picture: Cameron and I about to indulge on a great lunch.

Getting back on the bike after that was a little challenging, I was so full and my legs were tight but by then we only had 20 miles to go so the ride wasn’t too bad. We rolled into Emporia where we stayed at a community recreation center. The people in Emporia that sponsored us from the Kiwanis Club were exceptionally nice. While eating dinner they had a masseuse come in and give ten minute massages which was not nearly long enough but felt great all the same.

That evening we went as a team to see The Dark Night, the new Batman movie that just came out. It was a great movie I highly recommend it if you love action movies or superheroes!

Picture: Kiwanas Club

Day 37: One Of My Favorite Friendship Visits

2008-07-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day off in Wichita that started at Jack and Pat Argesinger’s house, their son rode the Trans Route in 2004. They had a beautiful house and spent hours preparing our breakfast. They served a ton of fruit, quiche, sausage, yogurt, toast, and juice, it was an amazing feast. They turned on the TV downstairs and we got to watch the Tour De France on the big screen, those guys are ridiculous riders.

Picture: Enjoying a breakfast and watching the Tour De France.

After being treated like Kings we left for a friendship visit at Rainbows United. This disability center had a large number of patients with most of them ranging from ages 5 to 21 years old. The kids there were so much fun to work with; they were so excited to see us. We had about 30 kids and staff cheering for us when we walked in. Right when we got there they presented us with a large framed collage of pictures they pieced together of past friendship visits and pictures of themselves. They then sang two songs for us in their choir uniforms; so many of them light up and get so excited when they get a chance to sing, it really brought a smile to my face. At our visit I played with Bryan, Kevin, and Katie all of them between the ages of 5-8 with different disabilities. After serving us lunch a food fight broke out with the whip cream from the desserts, it wasn’t long until people were spraying cream cans everywhere and on everyone. During the sugar high from dessert everyone played some karaoke, all the Pi Kapps would sing a song together then the kids and staff at the disability center would sing, the songs ended with a joint effort from everyone in, “The Hokey Pokey.”

Picture: Rainbows Untied Choir singing in their unifoms.

After the sugar wore off I worked with Sam and Brad in one of the activity rooms. There we made worms in dirt made from pudding, gummy worms, and graham cracker. Brad was blind so Paul and I helped him get all of his ingredients together so he could then prepare his worms and dirt. Brad was a very polite boy and would feel my arm and compare how hairy it was to Paul’s “naked” arm.

Picture: "Why dont you build me up, buttercup..."

It was pretty funny seeing his reaction to the difference in our arms. I also helped Sam with his worm and dirt creation, he was very excited about eating these worms and assured me over and over that they were in fact not real. He kept asking me to count him down when he ate the worms so I would start it 5…4…3… and by then the whole room would join in 2…1… and he would proudly eat those worms like it was the grossest thing anyone had ever seen. We would all cheer and he would feel so brave and funny for what he would did, it was a really fun time and was one of my favorite friendship visits.

That evening we went to the Witchta Independent Living Resource Center where they help families and individuals with disabilities by getting them in contact with other organizations that can help as well as other resources. We didn’t work with anyone there but they did serve us some burgers. That night we got to bed around 11 to get ready for our 5 AM wake up.

Picture: Max and Jesse eat with Andrew at the friendship visit.

Day 36: Kids With Cerbral Palsy

2008-07-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Picture: Here is Mike in morning circle up, he raised over $300 in one evening!

The ride was a long one today as we headed into Wichita, KS where we will have a day off. We have been cycling 8 days straight and it’s been very exhaustive on the body. Today was 92 miles as we started out of Pratt. Thankfully the wind held up and we were able to withstand the hills. We primarily stayed on highway 54, the further we headed East the more hills and trees we encountered. The weather today was warm as it reached about ninety degrees by noon. We had two guys riding with us today that normally don’t, one was Alex Rosell, he is one of our crew van drivers and wanted to ride into Wichita because it is his hometown. Crew guys are allowed to ride as long as they are comfortable enough on the bike. The other ride we had was a local guy named Mike from Pratt who heard about us and was really interested in our cause. He was so excited about the Journey of Hope that he went out and raised over $300 that night for Push America. Its stuff like this that make the Journey so cool, just a random guy that really care about giving and believes in what we do. This guy was a stud; he knew none of us and had never heard of Push America yet he literally went door to door to raise that money.

Picture: Coming into the last stretch of the day.

Getting into Wichita was tiresome and I had the hardest time getting motivated the last 20 miles, I felt like I had nothing left. We did make it and had an arrival into the North Rock Suites where the Rosells welcomed us! Its going to be so nice to stay in another hotel, we are so spoiled. To make things even better the Rosells hooked us up with a free water bottle, gel shots, and cliff bars from the local bike shop! That evening we headed out to the Kansas Jaycees Cerebral Palsy Ranch where they hosted dinner and we got to play with the kids there. The CP Ranch is a camp for kids with Cerebral Palsy; the kids there get to go fishing, swimming, do art projects, and much more. I had the opportunity of getting to know Cody, a ten year old who LOVED fishing. He still had a lot of physical functioning and was a very social guy.

Picture: Cody and I discussing some fishing tactics.

He told me all about the fishing he does in rivers and lakes in the area. I then shared with him the salmon fishing Ive done with my grandpa in the Northwest. Cody was pretty sure he wanted to come fishing sometime out in the Pacific to see what it’s like to catch a salmon. After eating we then got a chance to all go swimming. I didn’t swim but got to sit with Mary, she was limited in the amount of functioning in her arms and legs. She loves to read and loves CP Ranch, we talked for almost an hour. She was so sweet, she couldn’t stop smiling, what a great attitude.

That evening a bunch of guys just watched movies and others went out to the bar. I was just ecstatic about sleeping in a comfortable bed. Also, we had a mail drop today. My dad sent a package from the family with a bunch of goodies. Its great getting something from the fam, it really brings the trip back to reality a little, reminds me that home is still there.

Picture: Mary and I ponder what her favorite book of all time might be.

Day 34: How Can It Be So Flat?

2008-07-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

It’s clear why they call it Big Sky country, as we head east it seems like we can see Missouri it’s so flat which really does make the sky look enormous. On a clear day like today the sky engulfs the land, Big Sky country. Today we experienced our first feed lot of the trip. Feed lots are huge plots of fenced land that hold cattle to prepare them for slaughtering. The smell of these lots is a wonderful mix between manure and a dirty wet dog, very pleasant to bike by. Talking with a local lady whose husband works at one of the feel lots and she explained to how they would slaughter anywhere form 5-6 thousand of these cows a day, that’s a lot of beef! We continued east on highway 50 combating the winds coming from the South West. I hate going into this side wind, it’s almost harder than having wind coming straight at you because you can’t have a straight pace line with the front taking all the wind for the back.

Picture: 6 AM!

During our ride we saw a group of about 20 cyclists heading the opposite direction. They were all carrying their gear on their bikes and had long flags attached to the back of their seats so they would be more noticeable to cars. They screamed from the other side, “California.” We later found out they were a group from Georgia cycling to California for fun. None of them had jerseys so I assumed they were a bunch of friends looking for an adventure this summer.

We rolled into lodging at the Garden City Community College gym floor where they hosted a lunch room meal for us. We then headed to a very active friendship visit at Arrowhead West, an organization serving people with disabilities, who had an array of things we could do including whiffle ball, volleyball, bowling, ring toss, and a fear factor challenge.
Picture: One of many feed lots we saw.

There were many people there with disabilities which is nice because it enables us to have more individual time with them. I was able to get to know Tina, Kenny, and Paul who all had mental disabilities with very little physical disabilities. The three of us played in a huge whiffle ball game that a bunch of us joined in on. Kenny was hitting home runs everytime he was up to bat. I couldn’t believe it and I don’t think he could either, he did really well. Tina’s swing was a little awkward but after some coaching she picked up on it and hit on base twice, she was so excited. Paul was kind of a jokster so I gave him a hard time when he would get a strike but he seemed to love it and fire right back with a sarcastic comment. The three of them were a fun bunch to hangout with. It is neat seeing them come out of their shell and really open up to having a good time, some of them think negatively about their disability and don’t want to participate; however, with a little encouragement and a few jokes they seem to hop right in and really let loose, I just love seeing it.

We were at that friendship visit for quite a while until heading back to lodging for a quick nap. For dinner we went to one of the cyclist’s grandmothers house where her and a bunch of the neighbors BBQed for us. They were all very nice people in an older community, I don’t think I have ever seen so many baked goods for dessert as they brought. They made sure we had a chance to go swimming and play horseshoes while we waited for food.

Picture: Play Ball!

Tomorrow we will be in Wichita, KS making it 8 days straight on the bike; I’m ready for a break. Everyone is looking forward to our day off as we will be staying in another hotel. I hear the terrain starts to be a little greener with more trees and hills which is good because I’m definitely getting a little stir crazy with all the flat land around here.

Picture: Kenny and I getting

Picture: Paul and I say our goodbyes

Day 33: Steak For The 1st Time

2008-07-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Picture: Another day another sunrise

Picture: Good morning Kansas

It was a beautiful morning as we started another day with the sun rising over the horizon. Today we headed to Garden City, a 102 mile ride that would finally take us into the state of Kansas. The ride today went well accept for the couple of flats that plagued a few guys. I had many tire problems myself and had to really push it today to make rack point because of the two flats I got on the road. We have been going for quite a few days without a break and my legs were feeling especially tired today. After crossing the border we were assured we were in fact in Kansas by the smell and how flat it was. One thing that was really nice were the roads, the shoulders are excellent and well kept.

Picture: Cody, Me, Nathan, Joel...the 3rd paceline of the day

After a road side lunch put on by our crew chief we fought the winds coming from the south-east as we headed straight east to Garden City. Without a cloud in the sky it proved to be another warm one on the open road. We finally made it and had a quick stage up to where we then double paced into a pool. This pool was apparently one of the largest “free” public pool in the state, it had three water slides and a huge stretch of open pool area. Arriving at the pool was a nice way to cool off after a long hot ride, all the people there cheered and welcomed us.

Picture: Arrival formation

After everyone had their fun in the pool we headed to lodging, tonight we are staying in the Comfort Suites which is a definite treat. Dinner was sponsored by the The Corral, a popular all you can eat restaurant which shows up quite a bit in these Midwestern states. Here I had my first steak of the trip followed by 3 other plates of a variety of foods, I love buffets!

That evening a few us went out to Applebee’s for a few beers before heading to bed at about 11PM. The next day we will be heading to Dodge City, it will be good to get a taste for Western Kansas and see if it’s really as flat as they say it is.

Picture: Thats a BIG pool

Day 32: I Love Homemade Snacks at Crew Stops!

2008-07-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Picture: Our paceline enjoying some of those amazing homemade goodies...thanks Grandma and Carol!!

We awoke to a cool overcast morning, very opposite of yesterday’s 103 degree weather. We had a sponsored breakfast from some locals that heard about Push America on their local news and decided that they would love to do something for the team. They served us biscuits and gravy with eggs and juice, a nice change to the typical cold cereal and half a bagel we usually get. We then started our 65 mile ride towards Lamar. Our ride the whole day was about 15 degrees cooler than normal and had a strong head wind so we tried to keep the pace lines very tight. Everyone enjoyed some of the terrific snacks that my Grandma and Aunt Carol had made. They were the perfect salty, sugar, carb load snacks for the road, the guys devoured all the snacks by the fourth crew stop! It was nice having what seemed like a shorter day as we rolled into Lamar High School around noon, our lodging for the night. We were on our own for lunch and a bunch of us went to Sonic, an old fashioned drive in burger restaurant.

After lunch we showered up and had some time to nap before dinner, always very valued time in the day that is if we have it! Dinner this evening was sponsored by two ladies who run a lot of triathlons and know Push America because of the past teams who have rolled through Lamar. They made a Mexican feast and left us with plenty of leftovers for the next day. That evening at the sponsored meal I met a guy named Kyle who was very interested in our Journey. He had never heard of it and wanted to join us tomorrow on our ride. I thought that was pretty cool, he was a UCLA grad so we had a little to talk about being Pac-10 residents!

This evening we went to a pool that had a huge water slide, you can just imagine the chaos when a team of 21 year olds show up at a pool and there is a big water slide. Before the pool I got to catch up with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins in WA, it’s so great to get to talk stay connected with family throughout the trip! Tomorrow we will be in Garden City, KS and I’m defiantly looking forward to it. After the pool we headed to a nearby drive-in and grabbed some late night burgers! So far Eastern CO has been pretty flat and boring, these last three towns have been interesting to bike through but I would never live around these areas. Kansas will hopefully be some new scenery with a different feel and more friendship visits.

Day 31: Goodbye Mountains

2008-07-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today we headed from Pueblo, CO to La Junta, CO which is a smaller town of about 7,000 people in the desolate area of South Eastern Colorado. We got to sleep in today until 7 AM which was the perfect for the amount of sleep I neede to catch up on. The ride today was flat and there were no signs of mountains, it was clear that we were heading out of the beautiful Colorado that we had come to love and into some new terrain. The ride was also the hottest it has been all trip as it reached a high of 103 degrees. I was drinking a water bottle every crew stop for the 75 miles that day and half at least half a water bottle in between stops. I was really starting to struggle as the day went on, this Seattle boy only sees heat like that maybe once or twice a year let alone rides bikes with it being that hot. A very nice gesture of generosity happened today when a lady pulled over and asked we were doing, after explaining our Journey she invited the team to have a crew stop at her house a few miles up where she provided fresh peaches and cold water. The lady and her husband were very nice and it was a great change of pace from the normal crew stop. One of the advantages of days like today were the wide shoulders because it makes it possible to double up in your pace line and talk with the guy next to you. We had great conversation all day with the guys in my pace line, it makes the day seem shorter and I love getting to hang out and chat with these guys every day.

Arriving in Lamar was a relief, well sort of. It was great to be out of the heat but without an air conditioned gym it made the rest of the day a little stickier and hotter than usual. After a nap we headed to dinner where the local Lions Club hosted a wonderful feast of food. They were all very nice people with their home country town hospitality. During our time spent there we got to share of our favorite memories thus far. There are too many amazing memories to count but I shared about our day after Yellowstone in WY when we cycled at the base of the Grand Teton Mountain Range and ended in Jackson Hole, WY one of my favorite cities on the whole trip. It was great reflecting on everyone elses memories as well.

We then headed back to the gym and played a volleyball tournament at the gym we were staying at. I love doing fun stuff like this with these guys, it seems even though everyone is beat from the day we still find a way to have fun and mess around whether it be a game of volleyball or whiffle ball.Tomorrow we head for Lamar, CO as we move even farther East and into another smaller town

Day 30: Seeing Family in Pueblo, CO

2008-07-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today was another early morning out of Colorado Springs as we headed to Pueblo, CO. Today’s ride was a fun one because of all the downhill and flatness of terrain. Early in the morning we saw four deer grazing near our second crew stop, another reminder of how much open land there still is in beautiful Colorado. Soon after our route took us downhill for about 7 miles as we cruised at 33 mph, I think I pedaled about four times the whole downhill because I was drafting off all the guys in front of me, very fun! The steepest part of the downhill was full of construction so we had to slow, luckily the very end of the hill was clear and we all pushed it to 50 mph the fastest I have been all trip. The rest of our ride was flat as we cruised down into Pueblo, the day was getting hot so I was thankful we made it there early.

I have been looking forward to getting to Pueblo for quite some time because my grandparents were going to be there along with my Uncle Mike and Aunt Carol. Carol is my grandma’s sister and her and Mike are farmers over in Oklahoma but they have a cabin in the mountains about an hour from Pueblo. My grandparents planned to come out to the cabin around the time I was entering Pueblo, it worked out perfect to see them in CO! I was expecting to call them after our sponsored lunch so we could all meet up but instead I they surprised me at the restaurant we had our sponsored lunch at. I was so pleasantly surprised to see them; it was so exciting to see family after having been away for over a month. Getting to spend time with them was so refreshing, especially seeing Mike and Carol because it is rare we get to spend time together since they are in OK and I in WA. I had a big burger at the restaurant and we had wonderful conversation talking about the trip thus far and how everyone is doing at home. They got to hear all of us introduce ourselves, where we are from, and what school we attend as well as take a picture with us after the dinner.

After lunch we checked into our hotel which grandma and grandpa were able to get a room at and we unloaded. Grandma and Carol made me and all the guys some treats that were delicious, chocolate rice crispy with pretzels in them as well as dessert bars filled with tasty jelly. The team is going to devour the home cooked goods! During our break after lunch I accidentally fell asleep and took a long nap until dinner, I guess I needed it.

Dinner was sponsored by a pretty good Mexican restaurant. It was so nice to once again hang out with the family and talk. Following dinner the five of us went to a local farmers market and walked around the booths. Once returning to the hotel we said our goodbyes to Mike and Carol and then I hung out with grandma and grandpa for a while. They extended me some things my mom sent with them to give me which included some much needed soap, some pictures, and stuff for my knees. It was a great night and the time spent with family today was so fun. It meant so much to get to see all them seeing that I won’t see any family until DC.

Tomorrow we have we head for La Junta, CO. We finally get to sleep in until 7 AM, glorious!

Day 29: Cycling with Our Biggest Sponsors

2008-07-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Picture: Cameron gets interviewed after we gave his friend Eric a grant for a new wheelchair

Well today we were off to Colorado Springs, CO. The early hour of 5:30 felt like it came much faster than normal after sleeping in those comfortable hotel beds. I had the hardest time getting myself up and ready with such a great lodging setup. But today was a little unique because we had 6 guys, some Pi Alphas and some guys who work for KRG Capital, riding with us. It’s a unique opportunity to ride with the guys from KRG because they are our biggest sponsors, getting to put a face to a name is so cool. These guys donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to Push America each year. Among those riding was Bruce Rogers, original guy to complete and raise money for people with disabilities. This was huge for all of us, to be able to ride with Bruce and the sponsors. All of them were great guys who all love to ride bikes, a few of them actually race and have some real nice bikes. We had 70 miles to complete on this beautiful day and for the first part of the day it felt like our day was flying by. Once we hit mile 40 the head wind had picked up and was very strong. Soon we were only traveling 12 mph on flat ground and everyone was fatiguing pretty fast. Since we had a sponsored lunch at the US Olympic Training Center we were pressed for time. The day was getting longer and longer and soon we all had to rack, we were going to be late if we kept on cycling. Our final mileage for the day was 70, apparently the total mileage ended up being 90. So we racked the last 20 miles and headed to the Olympic Training Center where once again media, family, and friends were waiting.
Arriving at the training center was real neat. The facility is all gated and is basically a campus for Olympic athletes to train and prepare for their up and coming competitions. On campus is a cafeteria, housing for the atheletes, and a building for virtually every Olympic sport you can think of: Track and Field, Swimming, Gymnastics, Shooting, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and more. Everything there was state of the art, I was hoping to see some athletes but most of them are already in Beijing. Upon our arrival we were met by Eric, a 36 year old, who has Cerebral Paulsey. He is a good friend of Cameron’s, one of the cyclists on our team. We were able to give Eric a $750 grant and take him around with us for the day. His brother’s company is going to match our grant and the money will go to get him a new wheelchair, the one he currently is in he has had since he was 12 years old. Getting to tour and eat at the Olympic Training Center was quite a treat, I know I wouldn’t mind spending a few weeks there to train for a sport before heading to the Olympics.
After spending about 2 hours at the facility we said our goodbyes and thank yous to the sponsors who rode with us and headed to lodging at the dorms at Colorado College, a small liberal arts school. The Dean of students hosted us for dinner along with a few other faculty members from the university. They catered a turkey burger and dog dinner with big soft brownies and sweet tea. Later I tuned my bike and tried to get to bed early, we had another 5:30 wake-up and I was already exhausted from the day. I am excited for tomorrow because my Grandparents will be in Pueblo,CO along with my Uncle Mike and Aunt Carol!

Day 28: Day off in Denver

2008-07-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a very low key day that no doubt everyone took advantage of. We are staying here at the Marriot in Denver which means comfy beds and relaxation. Without any programming today until 5 PM I don’t think anyone got up earlier than 9 AM and most guys awoke at the later hour of 11 AM. Days like today are somewhat nice because we get a chance to hang out and get some things done that we usually don’t have time for. A lot of guys did their laundry, tuned their bike, or updated their blogs. There are a few guys on the team with friends and family in Denver. I know a few guys went to ESPN Zone for lunch as well as the Cheesecake Factory, both a nice change from the usual cold cut sandwich and chips! For lunch I was one of the guys who headed to The Cheesecake Factory where I met up with one of my good friends from college, Brandon, who Ill be rooming with next year. He is working at a Young Life camp in Colorado so thankfully it worked out for us to meet up in Denver. Its always refreshing to see a friendly face and catch up with good friends. With so much time on our hands many of us walked up and down 16th Street Mall, the main shopping and restaurant strip that runs through the city. It was a beautiful day in Denver and I was surprised at how many people were out, the streets were packed with business men and women grabbing a quick bite before returning to the desk.
Everyone has had a great time in all the places we have stayed in Colorado and it is cool getting to experience another big city like Denver. The culture here is so different from other places we have been, it seems as though everyone loves the outdoors and that there are more bikes than people. The rest of the day guys ran errands and took naps. It isn’t often that we get so much down time so a lot of the guys like to take advantage of the extra R and R that comes with a day off. Once 5 PM rolled around we all got dressed in our shirts and headed to the sponsored dinner. Tonight a guy from the University of Colorado Boulder sponsored our meal at Chipotle. He was a former JOH cyclist on the South route in 2006 and was more than happy to help out the team by paying for our meal at this very tasty burrito restaurant. After dinner about half the team went to see the movie Hancock, featuring Will Smith. All the guys on the team get along and seeing a movie was a great ending to the day off to just hangout and grow closer to the guys on the team.
Tomorrow we head for Colorado Springs which should end up being a 70 mile day. After a day off all the guys get eager to jump back on the bike and head to the next town. Wake-up is at 5:30 AM and should be another incredible opportunity to continue to increase the camaraderie on the team as well as impact the lives, families, and organizations of those people with disabilities. This summer just keeps getting better and better with every day being a new adventure full of challenges and fun!

Day 27: Pedal for Pennies

2008-07-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

It was a short 30 mile ride today from Boulder to Denver. We had a few steep hills those first 15 miles but nothing we couldn’t handle. Today is a pretty big day for the team because we will be meeting up with the North route as well as meeting some of our biggest sponsors at the friendship visit. With only about 10 miles to go a rain storm came into the Denver area and didn’t let up unto the afternoon. It’s the first big rain we have had riding since Seattle and I was quickly reminded how unenjoyable riding in the rain can be. Our stage up was at the Mile High stadium where we waited for the North team to arrive.

Picture: Eric (Middle) and his dad, we had some great conversations while riding those laps.

While waiting we had a sponsored lunch by Chipotle and were able to warm up some from the fresh burritos. The North team arrived shortly after and it was neat getting to cheer them in! I didn’t know anyone on the North route but there were other guys that had friends in their chapter who were on the route so it was good getting to know some of them. After everyone ate we all got a partner and lined up behind the police escort who took us into the city. This was no doubt our biggest arrival as we had about 8 police blocking traffic and intersections so we could pass through. Everyone stared and many were taking pictures as we rolled up to the capital. There were about 30 people waiting for us at the capital, mostly friends, family, sponsors and reporters. After some pictures and media opportunities we headed to the Marriot in downtown Denver, definitely a change of pace from schools and gyms we have been staying in. The hotel was extremely nice and I felt a little undeserving of the luxury of it all.
That night we had a one of my favorite friendship visits, Pedal for Pennies. What happens is about 15 people with disabilities get people to pledge a certain amount of money for however many laps they do around this small lake. We got to ride with them and cheer them on as they completed their laps. With so many people there we had about 30 people at the finish line cheering them on as others got to ride along with them. I had the opportunity of riding with a boy with Autism and his dad who were on a tandem bike (two seats). Eric could not communicate so it was a great opportunity to talk with his dad and learn how Autism has affected their family. It is amazing the strength of Eric’s dad and others with children with disabilities; they have so many things they have to fight with the schools and society just so Eric can have equal opportunities. Every time Eric came around the corner to where all 30 guys were cheering he would get a huge smile on his face and take his hands off the handlebars.

Picture: Bruce Rogers, first guy to ever think up and do the Journey of Hope. Very nice guy.

Being able to be a part of Eric’s day in that way means so much, there are so many more abilities that people with disabilities have then many of us will ever know. For example, Eric loves to ski and bike, what a stud.
Later in the evening awards were given out to the people with disabilities and the head of the Special Olympics spoke. Among all of our big sponsors from KRG Capitol was a man named Bruce Rogers; Bruce was the inventor of Journey of Hope and made the ride solo in 1987, starting Pi Kappa Phi’s own non-profit philanthropy. Bruce is a great guy and gave $5,000 of his own money to the organization that night. After everyone was fed there was a huge dance that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. It was a great time making fools of ourselves as we all danced with the people with disabilities to some of the best oldies hits! The night was so much fun and the people with disabilities loved it, one girl was crying she was so happy.The friendship was a great example of how rewarding it is to be on this trip interacting with these very special people. Tonight we were able to go out and explore the downtown area. Tomorrow we have a day off in Denver, should be fun and relaxing, I can’t wait to sleep in a comfortable bed.

Picture: Gary completed 7 laps and loved getting his dance moves on.

Day 26: : Tubing the River

2008-07-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Today we awoke in Boulder with a day full of fun events. Our day off could not have started better with a sponsored breakfast at The Original Pancake House. The guy sponsoring the breakfast works for Case Logic, a company who used to sponsor JOH, and has always been so impressed with the teams and the cause that he bought breakfast for everyone. In this type of setting where we eat at a restaurant the place will sponsor our meal or give us some sort of discount, but today this guy paid for all of us. There are so many sponsors along the ride and I am astounded at some of the generosity that I have seen. I had an amazing sausage, spinach, and cheese omelet with fresh orange juice. After breakfast all of us got in our swim trunks and headed down to the gas station to buy tire tubes for us to use to float Colorado Creek. Once we got to the river the plan was to float it until we reached the burrito place that was sponsoring our lunch. Before starting our adventure downstream we all jumped off the rope swing which swung out over the river. We were informed that the damn had just been opened and the river had some rough spots but with 28 guys we weren’t about to let that prevent us from floating the river. As we headed down the river many of us began to figure out what exactly those people were talking about. The river was indeed much deeper than normal and some of the drops send you off your tube. There were lots of big rocks and guys were losing each other fast. I only got about ¼ way down the river when I called it quits after getting knocked off my tube multiple times and finding the sharp rocks a little intimidating. My buddy Dan who I was tubing with hit is back on a rock so we both walked the rest of the river as did about half the guys. No one got hurt too bad, just some scrapes and bruises. Though the river was a little rougher than we had anticipated everyone still had a great time, it will be a fun memory to look back on.
Lunch was sponsored by a Big City Burrito where everyone got these enormous burritos, pretty tasty. We then rushed back to lodging to get ready for a friendship visit with Sky’z the Limit, an organization that works with people with disabilities at the local high school. The CU Boulder chapter has worked with this organization before and so some of the kids knew our guys on the team. It was a great time playing volleyball and bbqing hotdogs and hamburgers. I had the opportunity to sit with and get to know Matt, one of the kids with disabilities who had some mild mental retardation. This kid was so friendly, he has worked at Safeway for 6 years and was giving me some advice on the best ways to keep a job. I thoroughly enjoyed his company as we talked about how important working hard and respect is in a job. Matt really had has his head on straight and was a very neat guy who also knew a ton about sports. After talking sports for 20 minutes he was really stumping me on some sports facts, he then informed me that his favorite TV show is ESPN, aw that explains it.
That evening I updated my blog at the CU Boulder chapter house and later met and hung out with the guys staying there for summer school. I really enjoyed Boulder today and look forward to getting into the city of Denver tomorrow.

Day 25: CU Boulder

2008-07-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Oh what another amazing day in Colorado. Today our short 50 miles from Fort Collins to Boulder took us along some really cycle friendly roads with views of farms and the Rocky Mountain Range. There was this one road that we cycled with a shoulder wide enough to ride three deep, that is just unheard of in the other states we have been. Colorado is so biker friendly and the cars respect you when on the road. One of the roads we were on we saw about 150 other cyclists, it was amazing. It’s so cool seeing so many other cyclists out enjoying some physical activity. There was one cyclist in particular that was riding and got a flat near our crew stop. He came over and asked us what we were doing and pretty soon we were all talking for about 20 minutes. He is a pilot for International Airlines and loves it in Boulder, CO. He said that there are anywhere from 500-1000 cyclists on the road we were traveling on a weekend and usually a couple hundred on week days. He went on to tell us about how great Colorado is and how much he loves it here. This got me really excited to go through Colorado and see what each community is like. Rolling into boulder we soon made it to the University of Colorado – Boulder. The campus in Boulder is beautiful; it sits inside a mountain range that spans across the Rockies. The community here is all about the outdoors and I was told there are more bicycle shops per square mile than anywhere else in the country and everywhere you look there is an outdoor sporting store full of backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, biking, river rafting, canoeing, and all other outdoor gear.
After showering at the local Pi Kapp chapter house we headed to lodging at a local church where we set up for the next two nights. In the afternoon we headed to a gym where we met some very special people that play a sport known as Murderball or quad rugby. This was hands down the most fun friendship visit we have had. We got to learn how to play rugby in wheelchairs. Its played on a basketball court and the rules are you have to dribble every ten seconds and must cross the half court in 15 seconds. To score you must have both wheels roll over the “end zone” line with ball in hand. The score does not count if you catch the ball while in the end zone. Watching these guys play was intense because the game is so physical and just like any sport there is a lot of different strategies in both offense and defense. All players had physical disabilities because of damage to their spinal cord, many of them were fully functional before they became paraplegic or quadriplegic. One individual broke his neck while riding a mechanical bull, another dove into a shallow pool, one woman had Muscular Sclerosis. Some of them have more function in their arms and hands than others. All 12 of the individuals were astounding people, all of them fully functional mentally there. After watching them play a game they invited us to play with them. We all took turns playing 4 on 4 and it was one of the coolest things we have done all trip. They really didn’t ease up on us at all, I went head to head against their big man and he knocked me backwards on my wheelchair onto the ground. Everyone watching got a good laugh out of it and I couldn’t believe how physical they get. Two of them are going to be attending the Olympic Games in Beijing and were extremely quick and physical players. Once everyone got to play they then challenged us to a game of our best 4 against their best 4. I was one of the lucky ones to represent our team! They had no mercy on us and burned us a few times; however, we held our own and scored on them twice. They said it was the best a random group has ever played against them. After the game I was sweating and my heart pounding. This was such a fun opportunity to get to know these guys and play their sport. It’s once again the perfect representation of the abilities of people with disabilities. I am continually learning that just because some of us look different or are born different, we all have abilities. Some of us more strengths than others but none the less, each of us are individually made with different unique abilities.
Leaving the friendship visit none of us could stop talking about how cool those guys were and the game they played. Getting back to lodging a lot of us were hungry for dinner. Some of the local guys recommended a pizza place down the road. All of us sat down at this home-made pizza parlor and ordered some great dishes of pizza! After dinner a bunch of us went to the bars in Boulder to get a feel for the culture around here. It was a great day and I’m looking forward to our day off tomorrow in Boulder to explore.

Day 24: Happy Birthday America

2008-07-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Aw finally in Colorado! The next 4 or 5 days are going to be great because we have some short riding days with time off in between. The reason Colorado is a little more laid back is because Push America has developed a lot of good relations with the disability centers around here. Also, there are Pi Kappa Phi chapters in Fort Collins at CSU and CU Boulder which are only an hour apart. We get to visit both chapters as well as do a bunch of programming in the areas. The ride today went great, it was funny thinking that a 50 mile day felt short but I guess after doing a couple of 100 mile days prior made today feel like a breeze. The weather was nice and we had a little tail wind in the morning so we were just flying down the road at about 25 mph. Since we were riding on the fourth of July we couldn’t help but light off some fireworks! Right before crossing the WY-CO border the pace line I was in stopped just short. Cameron had bought some smoke bombs and insisted we light them because we were at the border and the whole team was stopping for pictures. All five of us lit the smoke bombs and then proceeded to ride with them in our hand towards everyone! We were all yelling in celebration of America’s Birthday while leaving our trail of smoke! It was pretty funny and I think everyone enjoyed the little celebration. After getting pictures at the border we started downhill at a fast pace. We were traveling at about 30 mph when I got a flat in my back tire. It’s never fun having to stop when moving at a pace like that but flats happen. Luckily my tire only went flat, later in the day Cameron’s tire completely blew out. It’s easy to tell when this happens because it usually sounds like a shotgun going off. His tire had a huge hole in it due to all the pressure built up, this usually happens due to too much wear of the tire or from too much air in the tire.
It is nice to be back in some civilization, Fort Collins is hot and beautiful. The CSU chapter hosted our lunch, it was cool meeting some of their members and touring their chapter house. Their house is pretty big and is one of the nicer Pi Kappa Phi chapter houses I have seen.
Later we left for the church where we stayed for lodging. Dan Wallis, one of the cyclists on the trip, is from Fort Collins and his family came out to see him and meet the team. His dad is a chiropractor and offered to adjust us if we liked. I had him adjust my back and neck which felt great and loosened up the stiffness I had from keeping it in the upright position all day. He was a really great guy and adjusted guys for almost two hours. After some down time we headed to our sponsored dinner Noodles, a pasta restaurant that served some delicious varieties of pasta and salad.
Later tonight everyone got to go out and celebrate July 4. There was a local firework show that all of us wanted to check out. Walking over to the park there were hundreds of others attending the same firework show. I couldn’t believe how many people have bicycles around here. It seems like there are equal number of people on bikes as there are cars. They put on a great firework show and we all had a great time just hanging out with each other. A few of the older guys headed to the bars before hitting bed. It was a really fun fourth and great memory getting to hang out with all these cool guys on a holiday!

Day 23: 4:13 AM Wakeup

2008-07-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today we left Wheatland, WY and headed towards our last stop in Wyoming, Cheyanne. The day was really tough, everyone’s body was so fatigued from the 115 mile day yesterday. Last I checked I wouldn’t be jumping back on the bike the next morning after going over 100 miles the day prior; however, this is the Journey of Hope and pushing our bodies to their limit is part of the trip. Also, the early wake up due to one of the guys missing curfew the night before didn’t make things any better. The sun wasn’t even up when we awoke and we were on our bikes starting our day at 5:15 AM, I call that crazy. I could tell that everyone was struggling today, my body was repeatedly saying no and the mind saying yes. To make matters worse we had a steady head wind all day that gradually picked up every hour. Guys were racking because of knee, ankle, and achilles pain. Sometimes we will have a rack point for the day, this means that if the team doesn’t make it to a certain mileage by a certain time then the team will be racked. This only occurs if we have a sponsored event that we can’t be late for. We have had rack points in the past and thus far the team has always made rack point, meaning we get to finish the day on the bikes because we were still on schedule to be on time. Today was different though, rack point was set for 70 miles by 11 AM. Even though we got an extra early start the combination of the strong head wind, fatigued muscles, and little sleep the guys just weren’t able to push through. We were averaging 12 mph for the day which is sluggish at best. The rack point was 60 miles by 10:30 which in normal circumstances is an easy task. The day was just so tough though, the team hit mile 50 at 11 AM so we were all forced to rack. Even though the day was tough everyone was in high spirits. After getting all the bikes on the racks we all piled in the vans and drove the rest of the way to Cheyanne.
We had a scheduled lunch with the Cattle Women at a local ranch. The lunch was pushed back an hour because of our late arrival. After showering we headed to this famous ranch where the Cattle Women hosted a feast for us! The ranch is known as Wyoming Hereford Ranch and is famous for showing and producing prize winning Bulls. The place was established in 1883 and used to own 1 million acres. As you could imagine the amount of history here was ridiculous. The ranch was notorious for having some of the best Bulls in the country, people would come from all over to buy a Bull from them and only the wealthiest could afford it. Currently they have a herd of about 100 and the ranch is open to the public. The bidding room where we ate is no longer used because of how the evolution in buying Bulls and cattle has progressed. It was a great stay and the Cattle Women there were really neat people and all had some very interesting stories while living in Wyoming.

Picture: Here is Mary, she made sure we were good friends by the end of the visit!

Later this evening for lunch we met the The Arc of Cheyanne who is a disability organization that combines a bunch of different disability communities together. All together The Arc has about 135 people total and many of them were at the park! I got to meet many of them and we all had a great time joking around and getting to know them. One lady, Mary, is 46 years old and is very cognitent of her disability. She told me I was lucky not to have one and she wished she could be more like me. It is tough hearing these kinds of things sometimes beause there is nothing I can do about it but be an encouragement. She went on to tell me her mom was an alcoholic and was drunk when she birthed Mary. Her dad had diabetes and refused to seek medical help for his condition. Now she lives three roommates and has some mental disabilities that she is very aware of. She is a slow learner and has a hard time comprehending. What a sweet lady though, she really made me think about how important it is to be there for my family and friends. What a great visit!
Tonight I tried to catch up on some blogs and get my bike tuned for the next couple of days. I am really excited to get into Fort Collins, CO tomorrow. Getting into a new state is so exhilarating for some reason. Oh yeah I almost forgot, today we had one of the crew members return to the team. Half way through Washinton he had to go home because he was breaking out in hives. Its great to see him back with the team and now healthy. Also, Dan recked today and was rushed to the hospital. Thankfully he was ok and only had some road rash. He hit the ground when he rubbed the back tire of the guy in front of him, he and his bike was alright. Safety is the number one thing out here on the bike and seeing that the crew guys are taking care of us is encouraging. They have been doing a great job sticking to protocol when someone is injured or sick.

Day 22: 115 miles, Longest Day of the Summer

2008-07-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well Jay told us it was going to be 125 miles but ended up only being 115, I was just fine with that! It was a day full of hills, head wind, and distance. The day started great with my pace line being very upbeat and talkative. It seemed like the first week of the trip when we were in Washington everyone was always talking while riding and getting to know each other; however, recently there has not been much conversation because everyone knows about each other which made today great because we talked the entire first 60 miles of the ride. Holding conversation really makes the ride go faster and days like today are perfect for it. Once we hit about lunch time the head wind really started picking up making it harder to talk. As the conversations died down the ride started getting tougher. At about mile 80 Matt, one of the guys in my pace line, was really starting to struggle. I headed to the back of the pace line to encourage him up the hills. Him and I were a little ways from the rest of the pace line and I started talking to him to get his mind off the ride. His responses were short and sometimes he wouldn’t even say anything back. I figured he was really trying to concentrate and wasn’t in the mood to talk. At the next crew stop one of the crew guys was talking with Matt and noticed he was dehydrated. After taking a look at the color of his face and eyes I realized how dehydrated he was. We advised him to rack and sit in the van to get hydrated and cool off. It was good he did because talking to him after the ride he didn’t even remember me saying things to him when he was struggling before the crew stop; something Ill look out for with other riders and myself on these upcoming hot days. About mile 100 we just about ran into some T-storms. The crew was thinking about racking the whole team but after seeing the lightning storm pass quickly they determined it was safe for us to ride. Those last 15 miles were tough but I finished them, later realizing I had a slow leak in my front tire leaving me 50 PSI short of a fully pumped tire. All who finished felt very accomplished for the day and were ready to go to bed immediately.
Once again the local Cattle Women sponsored a wonderful dinner of tender beef, fruit salad, salad, bread, and home backed desserts. I had two huge plates full and was pleasantly satisfied after leaving their ranch where we ate. We stayed the night in the local middle school and all popped in a movie, most everyone had fallen asleep by 9:30. Tonight was it was actually really important to get to bed early because we had an extra early wake-up the next morning. Last night one of the cyclists missed curfew buy 17 minutes. One of the punishments for missing curfew is that he whole team has to wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal plus the amount of time they were late. Tomorrow we are scheduled for a 5 AM wake up which is now moved back to 4:13 AM. The reason everyone suffers is because we are a team and everyone is supposed to keep others accountable. This guy will not be able to ride tomorrow for being late and also the whole team has to get up early. I think it’s a pretty fair rule and if anything will remind everyone not to be late for curfew for the rest of the trip.

Day 21: Day Off in Casper, WY

2008-07-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great day off in Casper, WY which started with some much needed sleep. Last night I got about 9 hours of sleep which was the most I have had all trip, it was great feeling so refreshed in the morning. We started the day with by heading to the Boys and Girls Club where there were about 250 kids, ages 4-10, all wanting to play with us and eager to see our puppet show. We started with the puppet show which includes 3 different skits and 6 different puppets, some with disabilities and some without. Through the puppets we educate the kids on disabilities like down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and what it’s like to be blind. I played the character of Brenda Dubrowski, a woman who picks her dog Muffy up from the Vet and comes to find that a girl named Ellan Jane Peterson has been helping with the doctor and taking care of the dog. Ellan has down syndrome and Brenda is very curious as to what it is and why she has it. At the end of each puppet show the kids get to ask questions about the disability. It’s a great time putting on the puppet shows because the kids and adults both love them. We had lunch there with the kids and then got a chance to play with them. I played pool with Michael who challenged me while eating lunch. He was the champ last year and was certain that he could beat me. Now I’m not claiming to be good at pool but I did have to beat this kid because my dance moves were on the line. We both agreed that the loser had to do a crazy dance and I wasn’t about to get embarrassed by all these little kids. It was a fun time there and the kids I was playing with wanted me to promise to come back tomorrow but unfortunately I had to let them know we were heading to a different town.

Picture: Here is Michael, he was 6 and loved playing pool, what a stud.

Later on that evening we had a friendship visit with a local disability center at one of the parks nearby. This friendship visit was much more interactive, they brought a ton of frisbees, footballs, a huge soccer ball, and whiffle ball. It was a really great time spent with the people there and I got to know Chad really well. Chad has down syndrome and loves to play sports and was really active the whole visit. Him and I first pretended the playground toy was a huge ship and he seemed to have no problem being captian and pushing all the buttons. We later played soccer and I kept telling him his leg was going to be sore because he would kick that ball as hard as he could everytime. He would always respond with a smile on his face saying, “yeah I know but I love soccer.” What a great guy. There was another girl named Alex who loved to swing, I don’t now her disability but she clearly had some physical and mental diabilities. She wanted to play hide and seek which only lasted about 30 seconds because she would keep her eyes open when I would go to hide. She was difficult to talk to but as long as you held her hand she seemed to be ok just hanging out. It was really a fun getting to know Chad and Alex, they both were having a blast the entire day.

Picture: Here is Chad playing a little soccer with me and the guys

Later on that evening we had a team meeting which lasted a little longer than usual. We talked about things to improve on in our riding skills and pace lines. We also talked about the itinerary for the next 5 days or so. We will soon be in Colorado which is an exciting time for the team. I guess through the entire state we have a lot of programming as well as many of the guys from the local CU Boulder chapter come out and support. We have 5 guys on the team from CU Boulder and they said Colorado will be a blast because of all their chapter brothers supporting as well as great sponsors and friends and family. Tomorrow we supposedly have the longest ride of our trip, 125 miles. I am eager to meet the challenge as is a lot of the guys here. Hopefully everyone will be able to finish another long day on the bike!

Day 20: 105 Miles 98 Degrees

2008-07-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

It was a hot one from Shoshoni to Casper, WY today. By 10 o’clock the temperature was already 80 degrees. By lunch it was 93 degrees and this has no doubt been the hottest day of the trip. It was a definite taste of what is to come as it gets hotter and work towards states like Kansas and beyond. Everyone had sore legs at the start of the day so it was going to take some teamwork and encouragement to go the 105 miles ahead of us. The terrain today was flat with hills and there is literally nothing out here in this part of the state. We passed a few oil machines in the ground but otherwise in the horizon you could only see desert shrubs and dry flat land there isn’t even any type of farming out here. There are a ton of rabbits and many of them become victims to cars, something we were constantly needing to call out in our pace lines today. My knees were feeling sore but I didn’t have to take any pain relievers all day which was a pleasant surprise.
The day was tough but so I just tried to focus on 10 miles at a time because that is usually how the crew stops are spaced. It also helps to take your mind of the mileage by just talking with the guys. Cody and Joel were a huge help in taking my mind off the long day, just shooting the breeze with the guys on the bike is an awesome way to continue to bond with the guys and keep the spirits high.
Arriving in Casper, like all arrivals after a long day, are so rewarding and feel great. We are staying at the local high school and our dinner was sponsored by the Kiwanas Club or “Key Club.” They are like most rotary clubs who serve to promote positive change within the community and work with all different age groups in the community to better others. They provided a nice variety of food in the buffet and all of us introduced ourselves and mentioned where we were from.
That night about 15 of us went and saw Pixar’s new movie Walle which was pretty good. Tomorrow is our day off and we will get to put on a puppet show for the kids at Boys and Girls Club and later do a friendship visit.

Day19: Getting Flatter

2008-07-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

The day to Shoshoni, WY felt long. We left the little town of Dubois early in the morning as usual. The first ten miles of the day were tough, it started with a head wind and was surprisingly cold. In my opinion the first 10-20 miles can be some of the hardest of the day because it still feels like you are waking up and your joints and muscles aren’t warmed up and you somehow have to find the excitement in pushing your body another 70-100 miles. After the first 10 miles the winds changed and we caught a head wind. A head wind will truly make the day great because it’s the difference in going 7-10 miles an hour faster. The winds out here in Wyoming can really pick up and we were traveling between 23-25 mph which is an excellent pace on a bike. As the day went on everyone started to comment on terrain. The roads here aren’t kept up very well and include lots of gravel, rumble strips, and cracks. We were clearly out of the mountains now, heading directly East on highway 26 we have seen the last of the beautiful terrain the mountains offered. The other thing everyone noticed today was the temperature, it is definitely getting warmer out forcing everyone to break out the sunscreen.
Even with the sun beating down we were able to find a hay shelter to eat lunch in, courtesy of Jesse Cornblume our Crew chief in charge of feeding us when there isn’t any sponsors for our meals. Shortly after lunch I was leading my pace line and as we rode by a large farm there were these two horses that started running with us, on their side of the fence of course. It was pretty cool, they kept up with us for about a ¼ mile.
Rolling into Shoshoni Senior Center we all about collapsed in exhaustion after the 98 miles ridden. After showering up we had a sponsored dinner by the senior center. None of the senior center members were there but they did allow us to use the game room. This senior center was pretty nice, the game room had three pool tables, darts, cable, and internet, oh and not to mention the sweet Johnney Cash records that we played all night. Later on after a couple of competitive games at the pool table I headed out with Paul and Jay in search of a belt. Through the window of a store known as Gambles we saw some belts; however, this store was clearly old and someone had definitely tried to break in. There was a number on the door to call to be let in so we decided that the place still sold all the stuff in the store. To find out the deal about this general store we headed into the bar across the street to ask about getting in. The only two people in there were an old couple who owned the bar and were clearly locals. They talked our ear off for about 40 minutes, it was clear they probably don’t get out much because they told us everything about them and about the town. They also informed us that the store across the street used to be a very famous store in the area until it was shut down 30 years ago by the fire marshall for not abiding by fire code. They said the owner was so frustrated that he just boarded up the place, left everything on the shelves, and shut the whole thing down. Only in a small town like Shoshoni, WY would you hear a tale as crazy as this one. There was of course a lot of drama and gossip about the whole store and its shutting down. The old couple seemed to be all wrapped up in it and it was pretty funny hearing them talk about the store and the town.
After our little adventure we headed to bed, I was so exhausted I could hardly stay awake at 10 PM. Tomorrow is a 100 mile day and will be quite a physical test.

Day 18: Long Climb

2008-07-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day back from our day off in Driggs at the ranch. The day was supposed to be 105 miles however this morning we all racked the first 30 miles because of dangerous roads through a steep pass. It was actually kind of nice because I was able to sleep in the van the whole 30 miles. It always feels good getting back on the bike after a day off, it is fun getting to a new city and experiencing a new place almost every day. On the way we saw a bunch of antelope some wild Buffalo. The terrain was pretty flat for the first 30 miles and then we hit the pass. We climbed for about 30 miles today with some very steep sections to conquer. It is the longest climb I have ever done which made it all that much more rewarding when we made it to the top. There were, however, two spot we had to rack through because of the construction going on. They were doing some blasting and repaving so we had to throw our bikes on the racks and hop in the vans for a few miles during the climb. It all worked out though as usual and everyone riding that day finished to the top. Once reaching the top there was a sign that read “Next 9 Miles 6% downgrade.” This is a cyclists dream!! We flew down the other side of the mountain at about 40 mph and literally came out of the mountains and headed toward flat land. The top of that pass was 9,658 feet and after those 9 miles we were sitting around 6,000 feet, a pretty crazy ride.
Arriving in Dubois, WY we arrived in lodging at the local middle school, it was back to sleeping on mattress pads and sleeping bags! That evening the local Cattle Women once again sponsored our dinner, preparing some very tender beef with salad and dessert.
So today started as a 105 mile day and ended up only around 65 miles, the large pass however made it feel longer. Tomorrow we head for Shoshoni, WY which has a population of around 9,000, pretty big for Wyoming.

Day 17: Feels like Vacation

2008-07-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Our day off was a ton of fun. As I already mentioned this place is unreal, they have all the toys and their property borders National Forrest and overlook a valley which then escalates into the steep beauty of the Tetons. The 4 prior Pi Kapps who were hosting us all did the Journey of Hope in 98’ and 99’. The guys were really nice and made sure we felt at home. All of them graduated from University of Colorado Boulder and are still best friends to this day. The main guy whose family has owned this ranch for 30 years is a guy by the name of Peter Cushman whose father is John Cushman owner of Cushman and Wakefield, a very successful real estate agency. It is very interesting learning some of the faces of other graduated Pi Kapps around the country; I can hope to contribute back to Pi Kappa Phi and Push America just like these guys are. They cooked us some amazing food this weekend like eggs, bacon and breakfast sandwiches for breakfast, cold cut sandwiches for lunch and pork and mexican for dinner. But today was all about the activities, they planned for us to sign up for two activities today, one being in the morning and one in the afternoon. We could choose following: horseback riding, fly fishing, canoeing, hiking, skeet shooting, or golf. All of them sounded a ton of fun but I signed up for canoeing and fly fishing. So that morning we were served a great breakfast and I then headed off with a group of guys to go canoeing down one of the flooded rivers very close by. The canoeing was a lot of fun and the river was very calm. Our canoe tried to hide in the bushes from the others but I think Joel’s yellow shirt gave us away.
After lunch I was scheduled to do some fly fishing but it got canceled because the river was too muddy. I did a bunch of fly fishing last summer and was really looking forward to doing it again today so it was unfortunate they had to cancel it. I ended catching up on my Blog as well as catching up on some reading. I also went on a hike with a couple of guys and checked out the area, we were hoping to see some wildlife like a moose or something but were unlucky so we settled for the view!
That evening they had real good bike mechanic come in and look at our bikes. This dude was crazy about bikes and has had 3 generations live in “the valley” as he called it. I basically got a free tune up and some great advice on how to keep up on my bike with the long tour we are having. After my tune up we had dinner and then found our way into the hot tub, a perfect ending to our day off. Tomorrow we have 5 AM wake-up and are scheduled for a 105 mile day that should take us into Dubois, WY.

Day 16: Ride Along the Grand Tetons

2008-07-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today had to be one of my favorites of the whole trip. This morning we got up and everyone racked about 20 miles until we got out of the park because we only had a one day pass to ride our bikes through the park. So the start to our ride today went along a large lake that I can’t recall the name of. Basically we were riding along this beautiful lake and across from it was the base of the Teton Mountain Range. This ride really was incredible, I felt like I was riding in Europe or something, it just didn’t seem real that the mountains were only miles from us as we practically rode at the base of them. What made the ride even more fun is that we were cruising the whole was to Jackson, WY. We averaged 20 mph which meant on flat ground we were going about 23 mph and down hills we would hit 30 mph. I love consistently going that fast. We took 2 minute pulls so none of us would get too tired and to maintain our speed. Since we only had 45 miles that day it was nice to be able to just fly and not worry about conserving energy like you do a 80 or 100 mile day.
When we arrived into the city of Jackson we stopped about 10 blocks short of our arrival location for a stage up. When we stage up it means that we usually have a police escort and follow them into the city in pairs as they stop traffic. These are always fun because people stare and wonder who we are and what we are doing, its great publicity for the Journey of Hope and Push America. As the police escorted the 22 of us to this main park we were greeted by some fans from the disability centers holding signs and cheering for us. It was a very cool site to see, especially because one of the kids with disabilities got to ride his bike with us into our arrival. Upon arriving the Mayor greeted us and was very appreciative of what we were doing and how we were supporting people with disabilities. He was a real nice guy and seemed to really love Jackson, WY. He gave us some Wyoming pins, a nice little reminder of our time there.
Our sponsors love us coming through here and had a fun day planned for us. They fed us pizza for lunch and then took us over to one of the local ski mountains where we got to go up the ski lift and ride down on these roller carts that sat on a fiber glass track. A bunch of us went up about 4 or 5 times and would race to the bottom, a few of the guys over turned their carts and got some pretty nasty burns from the track which made for some great stories later.
The day continued to get better as we all road into Driggs, ID where we were staying on a ranch for the night. This place was incredible and sat on about 2,000 acres with their border being National Forrest and a full view of the Teton Mountain Range. I was overwhelmed at how nice the 3 log cabins were on the property. Virtually everyone has their own bed and we get to stay here a whole day!

Day 15: Lots of Wildlife

2008-06-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Picture: The Divide was haunting us today, we were constantly climbing and descending

Today was really fun we went through Yellowstone Park and had no obligations for arrival so we got to take our time taking a ton of pictures and stopping at the different attractions. Push America paid for us to cycle through the park where we have seen more wildlife than any other route so far. The first animal we saw was an elk grazing right next to the road, it actually ended up walking right across the street and we were about 10 feet from it as it seemed to have no problem with the humans or cars rolling by it. Later we ran into some Buffalo and got real close to them as well, you always know when there is something to see when all the cars have their brake lights on and people are swarming around an animal and snapping pictures. The Buffalo were huge and according to the park ranger were typical of charging observers so I definitely kept my distance. Later we spotted some bald eagles sitting on their huge nest, I think there were about 50 people trying to look at them. Towards the end of our ride we ran into some steep terrain and ended up crossing the Continental Divide about three times. I was surprised at how

Picture: The park was very beautiful

tough the climb was, I had a hard time catching my breath but then I remembered the elevation. We were around 8,000 feet and I could definitely feel it.
We arrived in Grant Village which is located inside the park. This place was like a cabin/hotel and it was once again nice to relax somewhere that has a bed. For dinner we were sponsored by a restaurant that sat on a huge lake. They fed us lots of pasta, meatballs, and dessert; it was pretty good. After dinner we all rode to go see Old Faithful. I guess Old Faithful erupts every hour and a half, give or take a few minutes. The water shot up about 60 feet in the air and I think I saw about 200 flashes go off, so many tourists.
Tomorrow we head for Jackson, WY and will get a day off after tomorrows ride. I am looking forward to some down time for sure.

Picture: Old Faithful in all her glory

Day 14: The Beginning of Yellowstone

2008-06-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today we got to sleep in until 8 which was so refreshing after being up at 5:30 for the last two nights. Our schedule said that we were supposed to be going 90 miles today to West Yellowstone, WY but during circle up this morning Jay informed us that we were going to rack the first 30 miles. He scouted the route last night and said the road had no shoulder and consistently wound up and around corners with fast logging trucks approaching. He said it was just too dangerous and didn’t feel comfortable putting us on the road for those 30 miles. So we all packed the vans and put our bikes on the racks and road towards the mountains. The river following the road was had a ton of river rafters, kayaks, and boogie boarders (something I have never seen). I noticed all of them wearing helmets and lifejackets because of the intensity of the river. The views in those 30 miles were amazing and I was eager to get on the bicycle and bike through it all.
Finally after a while in the car we got out to start our day on the bike and headed 60 miles towards West Yellowstone. It is always exciting getting into a new state; it makes it feel like we are moving fast through the country. Wyoming is beautiful as well the scenery continues to get better and better. I am excited to go through the park tomorrow; we are expecting to see some wildlife, hot springs, and famous geysers. On our route today everyone was keeping their eyes peeled for some wildlife. It wasn’t until the end of our ride that we saw a moose on the road. It was running the same direction as us on the opposite side of the pavement and everyone was going crazy trying to get their cameras out. It was really cool to get a chance to see one, I have seen them before and am always astounded at how huge they are. We got about 25 feet from it before it darted into the woods and I would say it was about 7 feet tall, just enormous.
Arriving into West Yellowstone I was surprised as to how touristy it is. All the restaurants were over priced and there were unlimited gift shops, we meet people visiting from all over the country. Seeing that West Yellowstone is about half a mile from entering Yellowstone Park I can now understand why there were so many tourists. So far we’ve had friendship visits every other stop and tonight we don’t have one. Once we get into Colorado we will be having them almost every day from there on out.
Im excited for tomorrow, we will be going through the main part of Yellowstone Park and have an easy 50 miles, there should be lots of pictures taken.

Day 13: Finally, Back on the Bike

2008-06-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Picture: Beautiful Montana

I dressed in my jersey this morning in hopes of using someone’s back wheel later on in the day. The guys had a 2 mile climb in the very beginning of the day so there was a high chance that someone might not be feeling good about the day and feel the need to rack. The second crew stop was at the top of this climb and sure enough Joel’s knee was acting up. He decided it was best for his body to rack so I checked out his back tire and it was same size and speed as mine so I attached it to my bike. This was really exciting because I only missed the first 15 miles of the day. Starting from the top of that climb the rest of the terrain was a steep to gradual downhill for about 25 miles with only two little hills. We actually ended up crossing the divide which we will be doing many more times when we get into Wyoming and Colorado. The ride went great and it was nice being able to get on the bike after two days of rest. The ride today was 105 miles which meant I completed about 90 of them.
We arrived in Bozeman after riding for about 6 hours and rolled into the high school where we are staying for the night. Immediately after unpacking I headed to the bike shop to get my back wheel spoke fixed. The bike shop guy said this type of thing happens more than often than people think and he was able to easily replace the bad spoke and then true my tire.
We then headed to a disability center known as Eagle Mount. They sponsored an amazing BBQ for us with all the toppings. All of us were starving for some good food and this place went above and beyond, I had two helpings of the homemade burgers, mixed green salad, homemade potato salad, and strawberry shortcake. Eating a meal after cycling 90 miles really makes the food extraordinary! But this place was so cool, there weren’t any people with disabilities there to work with because they do day camps but they told us all about their organization. They work with all kinds of people with disabilities and have some great opportunities for them to get involved with the outdoors. During the winter they take people with disabilities up skiing and teach them how to ski depending on their disability. They have ski chairs for those who can’t use their legs, use ropes to guide those with a mental disability, and a vocal spotter for those who are blind. Last year they had 170 participants, all people with disabilities hitting up the slopes through their program. During the warmer months they take people water rafting, kayaking, and to their indoor swim pool that has a ramp for wheel chair use, so cool. They also own 20 horses to take people out on rides and through courses. This place just blew my mind, families come from all over the nation to this place and plan their spring breaks and summer vacations around the opportunities here for people with disabilities.
With my bike now fixed tomorrow I’ll be able to ride my bike with my own back tire. We will be heading to West Yellowstone, MT and entering Yellowstone National Forrest!

Note the wheelchair access on the left of the pool. This place was amazing

Day 12:Athletes from the Special Olympics!

2008-06-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Picture: Here is Kim, she was so sweet and wouldnt stop smiling

Today I road in the van all day with Jay who is always the first to arrive at our destination for the day because he is responsible for everyone and is the one who talks with lodging as well as scouts our route for the next day. There were some rain clouds in the sky from last night which brought in some intense thunder showers. Today included a little climb to start the day and a total of about 60 miles. Another scenic route of course as Montana has been proving every time we set out to ride. It was great riding in the van with Jay and getting to know him better, he is a really great guy and leader in his chapter and on this trip. I went with him so I could get to the nearest bike store and repair my spoke, without a bike shop repair I am not able to ride my bike.
I helped him navigate the route today which really made me realize how much the crew guys riding these vans do for us. They are always in communication planning pit stops and making sure we are safe on the roads ahead. Arriving in Butte we found our lodging for the evening at the YMCA, a huge facility with an indoor waterslide, probably the nicest YMCA I have ever been too. We then tried to get the spoke of my back tire fixed at two different local bike shops but they both were closed because it is Sunday. I am beginning to get really frustrated because I would much rather be out on the bike then sitting in the van and its unfortunate to have to sit because of a mechanical problem. The rest of the team cycled in a few hours later and we all had lunch and got to play in the pool, hot tub, and of course waterslide. After showering up we headed to our friendship visit.
Arriving at the park for the friendship visit we were greeted by a ton of people from the local disability center. All the disabilities we saw that day were ranged from down syndrome to mental retardation to anxiety disorders and many others. I sat down at a table with Kim, Richard, and Lynn who all had different disabilities. Richard often had anxiety attacks and would grunt and use hand signals to communicate. He was very shy so it was a challenge to try and get to know him. Lynn was very sweet, she is around 45 years old but is still at around 10 years old. She informed me that she is the lead arts and crafts woman at the center and shreds paper and sweeps at her job at the Good Will. Then there was Kim who was so sweet, she was hard to understand and though her real age was 28 she was only at about 3 years old. She was a handful and sometimes hard to talk to because she loved seeing what everyone was doing and wanted to be a part of every conversation. She was so sweet though, she loved to give hugs and even gave me a little back rub. Oh and she wouldn’t let anyone forget about her new pink shoes which she pointed out to every person who walked by.
Tomorrow is a 105 mile day and I want to be out there so bad. I think what I’m going to do is keep my bike on the rack and if anyone has any knee problems or starts to hurt bad enough to rack then I’ll use their back tire on my bike and ride the rest of the day. I am hoping everyone stays safe tomorrow and that I’ll somehow be able to ride, I hate sitting in the vans when I could be out on the bike.

Day 11: Racked

2008-06-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well the day started normal with an early 5:30 AM wakeup and Jay blasting his “wake-up” CD which usually consists of old horrible songs that no one likes which motivates everyone to get out of bed and pack up their stuff to be on time for breakfast. After breakfast every morning we circle up and talk about what the day is going to look like, what the terrain is going to consist of, the mileage, weather conditions, and any other precautions that need to be brought up. There is then a “disability of the day” that someone volunteers to educate us on, it can be any disability that the person would like to talk about. We then dedicate the day to someone, it can be anyone. On Father’s Day we dedicated it to our father’s but usually it is someone that we encountered at a friendship with a disability. So when the day gets tough, the lactic acid is unbearable, or you’ve got a negative attitude think about who we are riding for that day and our purpose for riding. We then pray for the day and depart. It was a little chilly to start the morning and my knees took a little while to warm up. About 20 miles in we had just gotten on I-90 when Lewis mentioned my back tire was rolling wrong. We pulled over and I checked it out, it was apparent that one of my spokes on my back tire had broke and there was no way of repairing it without a new spoke. This really was a bummer because it meant that I would have to rack the rest of the day. I had made it a goal to ride every mile, body permitting, but I did not take into account the reality that my bike may not function right and force me to sit the rest of the day. It was a frustrating racking for mechanical reasons but I guess that’s just how it goes, it could be worse, I could be sitting because of injury so for that I’m thankful.
About the same time I was fixing my bike the first pace line was about ½ a mile ahead. They were experiencing some worse problems than my own. Keagan’s chain locked up while he was riding and he took a good spill going at about 17 mph. He was ok but they rushed him to the hospital to clean up his road rash. We were all thankful he was fine, he suffered a little road rash on his leg and a gnarly gash on his right arm that is defiantly a deep wound. The rest of the day went well, I helped the crew set up pit stops and tried to encourage guys at each stop. It was very hot out and all the guys on the bikes were saying it was the hottest on the road thus far.

Day 10: Our Second Rest Day

2008-06-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day in Missoula, MT where everyone enjoyed a day off. Today consisted of a lot of free time, most guys did their laundry and cleaned their bikes. I ended up going to the mall with Max, Matt, and Dom so that Matt could get some new cycling glasses because he previously broke his the day before. I also updated my blog as well as responded to many e-mails.
There really was not much else that happened today so this blog will be short. I want to thank everyone for all their continued support through comments on my blog, emails, and phone calls. Also, I have been getting continued financial response from more of you who are donating. I am almost at $12,000 raised and it still amazes me how generous so many of you are, thank you. You have no idea the positive impact that your donations make on so many of the people with disabilities that we encounter, their families, and the organizations involved. This trip has been amazing so far and every day is always a new adventure full of opportunity and challenges!
Tomorrow we head for Phillipsburg, possibly the tiniest dot on the make. Should be an exciting 75 miles.

Day 9: Some Mental Toughness

2008-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

The 5:30AM wake up came way too early, we have switched to mountain time so we lost an hour of sleep but what made it really tough trying to pry myself out of that comfy queen size bed. The day was chilly until the sun found its way into the mountains. Starting the day was tougher than I thought it would be. My body was clearly expecting a rest and all I gave it was another 70 miles. Ill try and break down how tough these last two days were: When we did the 105 miles we started with 21 of the 22 riders and ended the day with 19 guys finishing, pretty good. Now, today we started the day with 16 of the 22 guys riding and only 13 finishing. It just goes to show how tough today and yesterday were. As for me, I had the most mentally challenging day of my trip thus far. Starting out the day it took a while to really warm my body up and get my knees going. Once getting about 20 miles out of Paradise, MT we jumped onto I-90 which was a horrible road, it had all sorts of debris, sand, and rumble strips in the shoulder where we were riding. The head wind was strong and a slight uphill slowed us to about 10 mph, which can be agonizingly slow. I got to about mile 40 and my body really started hurting, it felt like me whole body was aching and my knees were still giving me problems. Guys were racking every other pit stop and I was seriously thinking about throwing in the towel for the day. As I said, the day was mentally challenging, I just kept telling myself to take it one pit stop at a time. The pit stops are every 10 miles and are marked by the vans which provide water and Cliff bars (one of our sponsors). The toughest part of the day came around mile 40-50 however became even more mentally challenging when we were on the highway for a stretch of 15 miles with no shoulder and huge semi log trucks were zooming past us at 65 mph. It is hard to describe but think about if you were trying to concentrate on a goal and you have these huge loud trucks flying past you, some of them only 4 or 5 feet from you, almost blowing you over as you attempt to stay cool and collected. It was tough, my pace line had to stop twice to gather ourselves. Dan was freaking out a little and kept telling him we were close and going to make it, Matt had a great attitude which I think helped all of us to keep plugging away at the day. Making it past that tough part of the interstate and arriving to the van at mile 55 was exhilarating. With only 15 miles to go we weren’t about to call it quits. Soon after leaving that pit stop the greatest thing of the day happened, the road turned into a 6% downhill for about 2 miles and a half and we finally got to cruise at about 30 mph and actually gain some significant ground. Everyone’s spirits were lifted after that, it was the perfect boost to get motivated to finish the day.

We arrived into Missoula in a double pace line and through the city which is always fun because we are in a huge group and everyone stares us and want to know who we are. Our first stop was at a famous cycling no-profit organization called Adventure Cycling Association, they sponsored lunch for us and had a huge bbq waiting for us. The people here in Montana are really nice and love the outdoors so they really appreciated what we were doing for the summer. The place puts out a magazine and holds hundreds of maps of bike routes around the world. We are staying at local Hellgate High School and after showering up I couldn’t help but take a well deserved nap. Soon it was dinner and we headed for a local nursing home that hosted dinner for us as we got to work with the people with disabilities there. A few of them were born with their disability but many had been in accidents. I got to talk with Dale who had been in a motorcycling accident when he was young. I found out that his brain functioned fairly well but his speech was hard to hear and he could not hold things with his hands. He could no longer use his legs and he had bi-polar disorder. I talked with him almost the whole time we were there which was touch because he was on a really big low. He was not too responsive and it was challenging to be interactive with him, I helped him eat and drink and turned the pages for him when we wanted to read his favorite magazine, Newsweek. There were a few other at the nursing home that had been in motorcycle accidents or suffered other head trauma. It was a great reminder to live each day to the fullest because we just never know what could happen to us. It was a wonderful opportunity to get involved in their lives and find out who they are and where they come from. That night everyone went out, it was a great time to spend with the guys just relaxing…a well accomplished day.

Hanging with some of the guys after a long couple of days. From left to right: Me, Joel, Cody, Sean, and Paul.

Day 8: Our First Century Ride...and then some

2008-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

At the top of the first ascent

Today was our toughest day. We went 105 miles, through two mountain passes, and spent 7 hours on the bike. We had more elevation gained today than we did when we went through Stevens Pass. The views today were amazing, the best on the trip, going through the the pan-handle of Idaho we made our way into Paradise, Montana. Like any hard day, it didnt come without some difficult physical and mental tests. The two passes we went up were steep, only traveling at about 5-7 mph. Some of they guys were having aches and pains and two of them racked themselves, one for knee pan and one was having tendon pain by his calf muscle. It was real hard for both those guys to rack themselves because they really wanted to finish the day but I think it was best for the long run. We followed along a river all the way here and going through the two passes you can just imagine how beautiful the terrain and surrounding mountains were. We were traveling through huge open valleys and only passed through 3 tiny towns the whole day.

At the top of the second ascent...quite the accomplishment!

Arriving to lodging felt really good, accomplishing a challenging day like today was very rewarding. The place we are staying has some hot springs which everyone used. It was the perfect ending to a hard day. I dont know how but Push America some how got hooked up with this lodging. We all have beds and were served some very tasty bison burgers for dinner. Tomorrow we will be heading toward Missoula, Montana. I am not sure of the mileage but Im sure it will be difficult because of how tough today was. I am going to sleep so good tonight!

Media

2008-06-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Go to http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_061108WAB_journey_of_hope_LJ.1ff5d36a.html
to watch me in an interview for local news station King 5 in Seattle

Day 7: Dangerous Roads and Flooding

2008-06-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Our outdoor sleeping quarters from last night at Camp Sweylanka

Today started great with a hot breakfast courtesy of Camp Sweylanka, our first hot breakfast of the trip. Unfortunately today we found that we were going to be racked for the first 25 miles of our ride. Being racked means you’re in the vans and the bikes are on the bike rakcs. See how it works is our Project Manager, Jay, who is in charge and makes all the calls scouts the routes the day before and makes a decision on whether or not we are going to take that road or not. All of our routes we take are planned before the trip and many times are chosen based on past route usage or if it is a new part of the route, like this one, it is chosen based off local Pi Alphas or cyclists in the area. Unfortunately this route was not as great as the local cyclist had said, Jay said the highway was too busy and narrow, also the roads were bad with gravel and holes. This will happen sometimes and so what we did was rack the first 25 miles and from that point we got out and finished the last 45 of 65 miles we were supposed to do that day. The ride was very scenic from there, being next to the lake and mountains the land had lots of trees and open green fields. At one point we cruised down a 2.5 mile 7% grade downhill which I would say is half the fun to riding the bike, getting to fly down the hills that you just climbed. Our route followed along the Courd A’lane river which was surprisingly clear and blue. One thing we also noticed was the flooding around the area. The rivers right now are very high and it was not unusual see owner’s pastures with two feet of water across several acres, even part of our bike path we were supposed to ride on was flooded and which forced us to detour.
Once we got into Kellog, ID I noticed that I had been here before, the local mountain known as Silver Mountain is one I skied last winter. It is only about an hour or two from WSU. We are staying here at the local high school. After unpacking and showering up I tuned up my bike, it had been making some noises on my ride today but after degreasing and lubing it up I was able to get rid of the noises. We are getting really good at understand how our bikes work and how to keep them newly functioning. That night a sponsored dinner by Dave Smith, your number one car dealer in America apparently, was complete with a huge steak, potato, salad, and soup. Another great sponsored dinner. There wasn’t a friendship visit tonight; however, there should be one coming up soon in Paradise, Montana, our next destination, or Missoula which is also in Montana.

Day 6: ...Lost

2008-06-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see, we were very lost

Well today was supposed to be a nice easy short 35 miles but that just didn’t happen. We were supposed to be on a bike trail for the first half of our trip but I think the guys wanted a little bit more of a challenge. Well, truthfully we were big time lost. We had taken a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until we did not see a van at the 12 mile check point that we had arranged to see it at. We gave the crew guys a call and they had to escort us across some really busy highways to get back on track, it’s pretty funny watching 22 guys in biking shoes try to run across a highway with their bike in hand. Finally, after some minor detours we arrived at our destination, Camp Sweylonka. The camp is across Lake Courd A’lane and we had to take a little shuttle boat to get t

1 state down, 14 to go. The Washington - Idaho bordero the camp. They greeted us in song and we quickly found that the camp sings upon someone’s arrival, departure, and meals…very interesting. The camp serves kids all summer and devotes two weeks to kids with disabilities. The place sits on 300 acres but they only use about 20 acres of it. Our sleeping headquarters were underneath a roof in these wooden “bungalows” if you will, it felt a little bit like camping. The staff there was all very friendly and treated us to lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next morning. Though there weren’t any kids there we still got to give them some grant money which is not done at every visit. It’s really neat when we give out grants because we get to see the money we raised go right into the hands of the organizations we are working with, they are always very appreciative and of course get a little teary eyed.
That night we built a fire and hung out for a while, I was pretty exhausted though and ended up going to sleep around 9:30. Tomorrow we head for Kellog Idaho, 65 miles.

Day 5: Finally, A Day Off

2008-06-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Above: Some of the puppet shows we put on for the kids

Today was great, we got to rest our legs and attend a friendship visit. The morning came early with a 6:30AM wake-up and jerseys on so we could do an interview with the local Spokane News. After that we had an active day of events including a sponsored lunch and dinner. Lunch was at a local park where we met up with kids who had Muscular Dystrophy. It was great getting to meet the kids as well as their families, many of the children were in wheelchairs and after talking to Andrew who was only 7 years old it was tough hearing that he once could walk and is now limited because of MD. These friendship visits are a consistent reminder to live each day to our fullest, that it is important to put your all into what we are given and use the abilities we have to the fullest. What amazed me the most about these kids was how strong they were, even though they knew their bodies are progressing down they still had great attitudes and the biggest smiles on their face. The MD center had games like race cars, Gunny sack racing, and other carnival games for the kids to win toys. Everyone had a blast and I think the highlight was the puppet show we put on for the kids. These puppet shows are called Kids on the Block and they feature puppets that we make come to life through girl and foreign voices that explain a disability and inform the children of disabilities like down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. The kids are able to then ask questions after and understand more about what the disability is and why people have them.
That evening we went to this beautiful house out in the country that sits inside a green valley. The people there sponsored an amazing dinner and we got to swim in their pool and use the hot tub, it was a well deserved day off and there could not have been a better place to spend it. Once back from the sponsored event we had a team meeting. After every 4 or 5 days we sit down and go over what the up coming 4 or 5 days are going to look like. After discussing safety issues to work on as well as communication on the bike we then did a little thing called “pass the water bottle.” At this time everyone gets a chance to say something they saw someone do well in the last 4 days. It’s great for the teams cohesion and is a nice opportunity to give someone some positive feedback. Tomorrow we have a short 35 miles to Courd A’lane Idaho.

Above: Me and a couple of the guys at this beautiful country home.

98 Miles

2008-06-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Above: Sean, Ian, Myself, Andrew, Jake, and Max during the almost 100 mile day. GO COUGS!!

Today has been our longest day so far on the trip and defiantly the longest I have ever cycled in a day. We traveled from Coulee City to Spokane and the terrain was similar to yesterday, a lot of rolling hills and flat terrain the entire trip. I think everyone was looking forward to today so that we could get through it and have a day of rest. Today we had two extra riders with us who are Pi Alphas (guys who have done JOH in the past) and friends and fraternity brothers of mine from over at WSU. It was great seeing them and getting to ride with them, I thought it made the trip a little more bearable having them there. The day started normal with a little bit of side wind definitely slowing us down a few miles per hour. Making it to lunch we hit the 50 mile mark and the Turner’s sponsored an incredible subway lunch with some of the best homemade coconut cornflake cookies I have ever had. By this point there were a lot of guys starting to have knee pain, including myself. The rest of the ride went well and everyone had a great attitude, it was a great feeling rolling into Spokane knowing the day was over and we did it!
Lodging was at Gonzaga University and we were hosted a BBQ dinner by the Theta Iota Chapter (my chapter) so it was great to see a bunch of the guys. That night we all got to hang out and look forward to our first day off, I can’t wait!

Below: Typical Eastern Washington wheat fields, rolling hills, and blue skies.

Day 3: A tail wind and some change

2008-06-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today has been my favorite day of riding so far. I have never experienced riding quite like today’s was. Besides an 8 mile climb the terrain was rolling hills with lots of steep downhill. After our 5:30 wake-up we headed East back onto Highway 2 towards Coulee City, another small town on the eastern side of Washington. Before we even started the day my tire popped on a small rock in the parking lot, man that’s annoying. Today’s weather was a warm 78 degrees and high winds. But was made this ride so fun was that the wind was facing our backs, we were flying down the road averaging 28 mph on flat ground and 35 on the downhill. My max speed for the day was 48 mph and I can’t even begin to describe how exhilarating it is to be going that fast on two of the skinniest wheels you have ever seen. In all the day was 65 miles and we made it to lodging earlier than expected.
There wasn’t a friendship visit tonight but we did have a sponsored event that the Cattle Women put on. Apparently there is a group of women out here associated as the “Cattle Women” and they promote beef, go figure. Despite their humorous name the shredded beef sandwiches’ they took an hour preparing were delicious. After dinner our evening consists of getting our bikes tuned for the next day as well as getting to bed early so we can tackle the next day. Tomorrow we head for Spokane and will be our first 100 mile day. Tonight I iced my knees and have been stretching often, that lactic acid build up is really starting to get to me. I am eager to get into Spokane because we will get a day off there, also, many of my fraternity brothers from WSU will be there to greet us and host the dinner.
…100 miles here we come.

Above Picture: I rode with Cody and Joel almost the whole day, we had some fun times flying down the steep hills. Here they are enjoying a little Eastern Washington wheat!

Climb! Climb! Climb!

2008-06-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today we had quite a challenge ahead of us. Wake up was promptly at 5:30 AM and I think everyone was eager to face Stevens Pass! The morning was very foggy and cold as we started our ascent. The first 16 miles of our 75 mile day was all uphill, we gained 3,000 feet. The top of the pass still had snow on it as it was about 37 degrees and foggy. It was crazy coming down the other side, there is nothing like going 40 mph on a bicycle. Once we headed down the weather immediately changed and all of the sudden it was 70 degrees and not a cloud in the side, welcome to the east side of the mountains. The rest of the ride was breathtaking, filled with “oo’s” and “aw’s” as we glided down towards Levenworth and Wenatchee. The road follows a river that is set between mountains filled with evergreens that make perfect picture opportunities. Everyone finished safely however I think the worst of luck came to Dan who had four flat tires that day. Looking back now it is pretty funny because he was stopping and going all day with because of those flats, poor guy just couldn’t get a break.

Once we made it into Wenatchee we had lodging set up for us in one of the local churches. That evening we worked with one of the local disability centers that sponsored a pizza feed. We got to talk with a lot of people with disabilities, many of which were athletes in the Special Olympics. Every one of them are so interesting to talk to, after talking to them you get to know their interests and some of their favorite things to do. It is a blast getting to be a part of their life for a day and I always feel refreshed and blessed for the abilities that I have. It makes you realize how fortunate we are to have two arms, two legs, a high IQ, or fine motor skills.

Above: Where we stayed in Wenatchee.

Right: Larry and I did a little rap together at

the disability center...California Love,

his favorite song

Day 1: 77 miles and sore legs

2008-06-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today we headed east out of Seattle, beginning the first of the 4,000 miles we will travel. For the last four days we have been training as a team, learning how to ride well and communicate better. Surprise, it rained all four days during training. While being in training we got to work with some people with disabilities, all of them adults who had numerous disabilities ranging from down syndrome to mental retardation. It is amazing working being able to get to know them, after talking with them you begin to realize the abilities that they have. It was a surprise to hear that many of them hold jobs and own apartments. I will try to get some pictures up from that event.
The Bike today was difficult, no one said it was going easy heading up a mountain pass. We had a police escort out and the vans have been helping alot to keep us safe and get us water and snacks at our stops. We had about 4 flats today, I unfortunately blew a tube as well. Today was a great test for the team. There was alot of teamwork involved, its very good to see everyone working well together, our pace lines were tight and the communication was great. Tonight we stay in Skykomish, town of about 200 people. We are staying in the local high school/middle school/elementary! Tomorrow we will make it to the very top of the pass and then head for Wennatchi, another 80 miles!

Thank You Sponsors: $11,650 raised!!

2008-06-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give a big thanks once again to all of my sponsors and supporters. You all helped me raise $11,650 for people with disabilities. That is over $6,000 that Push America requires an $4,000 over my goal!! This summer is going to be incredible and I cant wait to see the impact made when we finally get to present the money to the disability organizations as well as get face-to-face with the people at each disability center.
Today I leave for Seattle where I will be meeting all my 25 other teammates, Pi Kapps from all over the nation, who all have raised money as well and will be riding with me across the country. We will spend 4 days in Seattle doing some testing, team building, bonding, and go over all intinerarys for the whole trip. We depart from Seattle on June 11th! I will try and be updating this site every couple of days.
Thanks again to everyone who has supported me and supported Push America. We all can make a difference!

Welcome!

2008-02-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this website is to keep everyone informed of the progress of my trip! This blog will act as an online journal including pictures, text, and video allowing everyone to follow me across the country. Official journal entries will begin June 11th which is the scheduled date we leave from Seattle to start our summer. Go to the bottom of the page to see dates, maps, and mileage of where we will be this summer.