Hi again.
Today is a much needed rest day in Dublin Ohio. Yesterday was our hottest day so far. We finished the big hills and rode through our first corn fields.
One week from today we ride into Chicago. I look forward to seeing some of you then.
Matt
Today the team enjoyed its second rest day spending the day relaxing at Andrew Erikson's home in Dublin, Ohio. It was the first day that we have gotten to sleep in and while some riders took advantage of this to catch up on sleep others were up early having already adjusted to the early wake up schedule. After a trip to the bike shop this morning we spent the day resting, fixing up our bikes and catching up things that needed to get done.
Around 5:00 pm we got on our bikes and headed to a local park where we enjoyed a picnic style dinner with ColumbusareaUniversity of Illinois alumni and friends of the Erikson’s. We all left full and energized for tomorrow’s 110 mile ride into Indiana! The Erikson’s have been wonderful during our stay in Dublin providing with more than we could have ever imagined, it will be sad to leave in the morning but with another state checked off our itinerary we will be 110 miles closer to Seattle come tomorrow night.
We've arrived at the Erikson residence in Ohio. We're being treated to great meals, great shelter, and great company. After the 80 mile day, this is really welcome! I'm excited to have the rest day here. I plan to read a bit, and relax. My left knee has been hurting a bit, so hopefully the rest will allow for a speedy and full recovery.
The ride today was relatively flat, and the miles flew by. The weather was warm, but nice, and the scenery was beautiful!
Until then,
John
Hello! We are currently at Andrew’s house in Dublin, Ohio. We have seen a mixture of different things in the past few days with a wet and rainy day yesterday, followed by a hot and humid day today. The land had flattened out significantly in the past few days as we have made our way out of the Appalachian Mountains and into the plains of the Midwest. Today we spent a good portion of the morning riding on bike trails before hitting flat back country roads for the majority of the afternoon. With the change in landscape we also got our first taste of the Midwestern winds today while also experiencing hot and humid weather with the temperatures reaching near 90 degrees. I rode with the “green girls” and Steve this afternoon and felt fine until the last 10 (of 81) miles when the hot and humid weather started to get to me and zap my energy. We rolled into the Erikson residence late afternoon and were greeted by Andrew’s parents, our teammates, air conditioning and showers along with a lot of great food! Andrew’s parents put together an amazing dinner tonight and have gone above and beyond to put us up in their home here in Dublin. After riding all day in the rain yesterday – I can’t even explain how nice it was to have a warm shower today. They are doing our laundry while we are here as well and will make it nice to hit the road on Saturday wearing clean clothes. Tomorrow we will have our second off day of the journey, which I’m sure will be spent resting and relaxing. I’ll try to upload photos at some point tomorrow.
The team is currently at the Erikson residence in Dublin, Ohio. We arrived in Dublin this afternoon and were welcomed with an amazing meal and showers after a long warm day on the road. Today’s route consisted of just over 80 miles with temperatures nearing 90 degrees by late afternoon. We were on the road shortly after 7 am and followed different bike paths for the majority of the morning before stopping for lunch in Johnstown where we each enjoyed our own personal pizza courtesy of Pizza Hut. Pizza has been the theme of the past 24 hours after Jon and Nick got a number of pizza places in Zanesville to donate pizzas for dinner last night. With 30 miles to cover after lunch we got back on the road and headed toward Dublin. The land has flattened out significantly in the past day and we got our first taste of headwinds this afternoon along with intense heat and humidity. By 5:30 p.m. all of our groups had arrived at the Erikson’s where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. We are extremely grateful to Andrew’s parents for letting us stay at his house during our stay over here in Dublin. Tomorrow we have an off day which will be spent relaxing and resting up for the upcoming week when we make our way through Indiana and into Illinois!
Riding to Zanesville proved to be one of the hardest rides so far. The road coming here was filled with potholes and gravel. My group ended up getting a total of six flats, which includes the two from myself. The weather also didn't cooperate. It pretty much rained all day, which made the already gravely road slippery and muddy. Fortunately, everyone got here safely and we are all looking forward to the rest day in Columbus tomorrow!
Today it rained, we are now in Ohio, I’m the only girl in group one, we are staying at a church, yesterday I wiped out and cut up my entire left arm, I don’t know what else to write, I’m kind of board rite now, good by.
Today was another wet and rainy day on the road for the team as we made our way from Cadiz to Zanesville, Ohio. We were up and ready to depart Scott United Methodist Church in Cadiz shortly after 7 a.m. when the storms rolled in postponing our departure for about 45 minutes. When the thunder and lightning stopped we hit the road in the rain to begin our 65 mile ride to Zanesville. It rained off and on throughout the morning leaving the roads wet and slick. We followed US-22 for the majority of the day which contained many potholes that left us dodging puddles all day. There were a number of flat tires on the day including the first of the summer on our support van this morning. We stopped for our normal picnic lunch out of the back of the van at a CVS in Cambridge before finishing out the final 24 miles. The Central Presbyterian Church in Zanesville has kindly offered us shelter for the night and Xixi and Takaya are currently down in the kitchen preparing tonight's dinner. In the morning it's off to the Erikson residence in Dublin, Ohio!
Hello from Cadiz, Ohio! That's right, we've made it to Ohio! We're slowly making our way into the flatlands which changes everything about our daily rides.
Yesterday I had some amazing luck in fixing the problem with my bike. I had to replace the rear shifter which is one of the most expensive parts of the bike, also a very difficult part to replace. I was convinced that this would take a few days to find the part, find someone to put it on my bike, and that it would cost a lot. After compiling lists of bike shops around Pittsburgh along our route yesterday, I was set to explain my situation as many times as I had to and beg for donations, but I was not feeling very positive about this. At 8 am, I called Barry, a bike mechanic who had seen our group at the church the day before and gave us his number. Not expecting him to answer his phone so early, he did and directed us to his bike shop, which was closed that day. He met us there (us being Jay and me, Jay needed work on his bike as well) at 8:30 and spent a long time working on our bikes. He happened to have one shifter in the shop which was exactly what I needed and put it on my bike. In the end, he didn't even charge us anything! I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe the generosity I've seen along this trip. It amazes me every day how much people will help out when we're doing something for a cause.
I was back on the saddle today to face a day of hills with gravel and sharp curves at the end of them, causing 2 of our bikers to fall, and the last 11 miles of our trip biking on the shoulder of an interstate in pouring rain. And then I got 3 flats in a row on the shoulder in the rain. I ended up walking my bike the last mile since my group ran out of spare tubes. I guess good luck one day doesn't mean good luck the next. Hopefully tomorrow will be flat-free.
After a shorter trip of 65 miles and a quick downpour of rain that left us soaking wet when we reached our destination, Cadiz, Ohio. Today was filled with rain and sun, but we were able to reach a dry destination and most of us were able to take a quick nap which left us more refreshed. After a good dinner, a few of us went to a quaint ice cream shop that seemed to be the place of interest in the small town we are staying at.We are mostly out of the mountains now, but we still hit some pretty nasty hills, but we were able to climb the hills fairly easily. Since its the end of the day, we are all extremely tired and looking forward to our next rest day, on Friday in Dublin, Ohio.Still trekking on towards Seattle!
Hello! Today we left Pennsylvania, crossed through a small section of West Virginia and are now in Cadiz, Ohio. The morning part of today’s ride took us through some rather remote places on back roads before we passed through Stubenville, Ohio and finished the day riding on US-22. The weather consisted of cloudy skies for most of the morning before the clouds opened up in the afternoon soaking much of the team over the final few miles.Tonight we are staying at the Scott United Methodist Church in Cadiz. Xixi and Takaya made dinner of burritos followed by ice cream from the little stand across the street for many team members. Tomorrow it’s off to Zanesville!
mostly because the tool we use to update this blog is kind of difficult to use and we can't edit previous posts. really, check out my blogger! it's pretty nice.
http://jayhasabike.blogspot.com
also, i told barry at dirty harry's cycles that i'd say something nice about him on the website because he was AWESOME and fixed mine and amy's bikes for FREE! so if anyone's ever in pittsburgh's suburbs, look him up haha!
after leaving washington d.c. we have spent most of our time in pennsylvania. tomorrow will be out last day in pa as we head into cadiz, ohio. the last few days have been a challenge for everyone in terms of the hills we have been climbing, which have provided a stark contrast to the level land of illinois where we trained during the spring. however, everyone has definitely been pulling through, under both the hot sun and the gray skies that gave us our first dose of rain the other day.
part of the reason why everyone seems to being doing so well is, i'm sure, very much due to how much support and generosity we have been recieving from all of our stayover hosts as well as others that we have met along the way. the hospitality at each of our stayover locations has gone above and beyond what any of us had expected. a think a number of us had a menu consisting mainly of pb&j in mind when we signed up, but we have been served delicious and filling meals almost everyday from the church and community members. in addition, we have been able to interact with cancer survivors who volunteer time to share their experiences and give us a greater understanding of the purpose behind each day of riding.
one thing that has surprised me since beginning the ride is what i end up spending my time thinking about as i ride. before beginning i expected that i would have plenty of time to think about ideas that i have not thought all the way through and maybe even have some kind of epiphany. however, i usually find myself thinking about the road in front of me and communicating with my team mates that i am riding with that day -- both of which are very important. maybe as the scenery changes from tree-topped mountains to long stretches of corn fields on either side of the road, my thoughts will drift elsewhere and will no longer be strictly about the bike.
I am currently sitting in Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie, Pennsylvania typing my own blog for the first time since DC. My sister Kim has been updating it the past few days but with a short 30 mile day today I've found internet access at the local library and have photos uploading while I type!!
We spent last night in Murrysville, PA where the Calvary Lutheran Church provided us with an amazing meal. One of the members of the church then went out after dinner and bought us breakfast food for this morning ensuring we left energized for our ride today!
While we have not gotten the get-up-get-out practice down to an hour just yet we are getting closer and closer. Today we were up at 6am and had our bags packed around 6:45. Compared to many of our recent rides I felt today was rather easy although the fact that it was only 30 miles probably had some effect. Today was also the first day in about a week that my legs felt fresh on the bike so I'm hoping that means I'm getting stronger! We did not take a water break today as Amy and Jay needed to visit a bike shop and we were riding through areas where we could get water if needed so after a few stops here and there the group I was riding with arrived in Carnegie a little after noon. The church where we are staying has continued the streak of generosity and will be providing us with dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning. It's really amazing to see complete strangers go out of their way to help us doing everything from opening their churches and places of worship for us to sleep to providing us with meals and opening their homes for us to shower. I can't seem to say thank you enough for all that everyone has done in just over one week on the road.
Yesterday while I was waiting for dinner to begin I got a phone call from a Denise Richardson a staff writer at The Daily Star (my hometown newspaper). The story she wrote can be seen here however it was a question she asked me while on the phone that got me thinking. I can't remember just how she asked it but she asked me something about what this experience has taught me about cancer. In a way I really didn't know how to answer the question as I have a hard time putting the experience as a whole into words. When we meet people that have been affected by cancer and hear their stories day after day it’s a truly eye opening experience. It makes me realize that some of the things that seemed so hard in life really are not that hard after all. The one thing that I seem to find in common with many that we talk to is hope. They are all fighting the disease the only way they know how and they all seem to have faith that they will beat it! They are who I ride for and for the hope that soon doctors will find a cure so that even the toughest cancers will be beatable!
Tonight is our last night in Pennsylvania! Goodbye, Appalachian Mountains! Actually I have heard the mountains might stretch into Ohio so I might be speaking too soon. Tomorrow's ride will be bittersweet...my body (especially my quads) will definitley be happy to leave the mountains, but the scenery has been amazing! The hills have been so challenging, but they are really rewarding once you get to the top.
One of my favorite days of riding so far was 3 days ago (approximately) when Dana, Andrea, John, Brad and I jumped in a beautiful lake at the top of one set of hills! It was freezing cold, but once we started climbing again i remembered it was well worth it. I've been making it through these hills mostly with the support of Dana and Andrea.. They have helped push me through all the 80% inclines (thats what it feels like at least) and kept all the rides really light hearted and fun....EXTREME!!
I'm going to find some ice cream in Carnegie, PA now....Ciao!
Hi again. Today I'm writing from Carnigie PA. The hills here are incredible, luckily both today and yesterday were very short days, only 25 miles yesterday, and 35 miles today. Tomorrow will probably be around 70 miles.
Two days ago we had our first rain during the trip. It poured. It was also lightning for a while, so everyone stopped at a dollar store. Despite being cold, and making everthing somewhat muddy, the rain was nice. It also helped break in my Brooks saddle, which is now very comfortable.
I should be able to update this again in three days, if nor sooner. Goodby for now
Matt Cillick
After several days of 80+ mile rides, the team received an unexpected surprise when today's ride to Murrysville, PA was only 25 miles long. After a few short hills and some amazing views, the team arrived at our stayover location before noon. We were even able to sleep in an extra hour before we left!Once, we arrived in Murrysville, the good times just kept on rolling. The last of the team arrived just before the service at the church we are staying at got out. This was great because it allowed us to meet talk with many different members of the community and the congregation, which unfortunately is not always possible. As we were a this was going on, we also met a local police officer and fellow cycling enthusiast who was out on bike patrol and decided to swing by.After everything had sort of settled down, the team had a nice relaxing afternoon to fix up our bikes, stretch our legs, and catch up on some much needed sleep. At around 5 o'clock though, many of the people we had met that morning returned to the church and helped to prepare an amazing meal for us. The buffet table was enough to make even the most stalwart competitive eater question his confidence, and the deserts were amazing. However the best part was the company. The generosity kept on coming as people offered us places to shower and the opportunity to do laundry. Dee, one of the women we met, even went out and did our breakfast shopping for us and brought it back to the church!Perhaps the greatest aspect of our visit here in Murrysville, however, was the chance to sit down with three cancer survivors from the community who volunteered to participate in our Portrait's Project; a compilation of interviews and visual portraits of people we meet along the way who have been affected by cancer. After listening to Diane, Ken, and Kathy's stories, it really helps to put the ride into perspective, and to remember why we're doing it in the first place.
We sacrificed one of our rest days to split one of our long days in two. We rode 30 miles today and will ride 65 miles tomorrow instead of one 95 mile day. We are still riding up and down the hilly terrain of PA. Many of the groups stopped at Schenly Park in Pittsburgh since it was so beautiful and was perfect weather outside. Most of us arrived at the St. John Lutheran Church before noon. Pastor Bruce met all of us and graciously offered to buy us some groceries. He made great accommodations for our vegan team mate and even bought her some vegan ice cream. Most of the day was spent by walking around the very nice downtown of Carnegie and making excessive trips to Dairy Queen. Tomorrow we ride for Ohio with the sunrise!
Well I haven't done a very good job at updating this journal...let alone updating anything at all. But today was a wonderful day of rest in beautiful Murraysville, PA. An extra hour of sleep this morning made a big difference for me after a few days of climbing Appalachian Mountains (only 25 miles today!). We were so fortunate to be welcomed at the Calvary Lutheran Church with a delicious food and great company.
I had the opportunity today to participate in a Portraits Project, which is a really important portion of this journey that I haven't really focused aside from visiting the Walter Reed Hospital. A few of the riders and I sat down with Dorothy and her father-in-law as they shared their experiences with cancer.
I would like to share a lot more of my travels thus far-but I'll update next time I find a computer!
Hello we are currently in Murrysville PA after a short 25 mile ride this morning. Because of the days short milage we got to sleep in an extra hour this morning waking up at 7am instead of 6am. The United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant donated cereal and english muffins for breakfast and after packing up we were on the road around 8:30am. The ride today was rater uneventful- so short that we didnt even take a water stop. I rode with team out of state again plus Matt and after thinking we were lost about 17 miles into the ride we found our way and arrived in Murrysville around 11:15am. The ride included some hills including one very steep climb about 20 miles in however other then that it was pretty easy.
When we arrived at Calvary Lutheran Church in Murrysville they were in the middle of their sunday service so the majority of us waited outside playing games on the grass until they finished. I spent the afternoon catching up on things, writing thank you letters, drying my wet laundry from yesterday and journaling.
The Calvary Lutheran Church genourously provided us with an amazing buffet dinner that included hot dogs, salads, stuffed shells, chicken, fruit and much more. They then shuttled us to different houses to take showers before returning to the church for the night.
Im not sure where we are headed tomorrow but its west of Pittsuburgh. We will be riding on our off day in order to break up what would have been an extremly long day on tuesday.
I have been having my sister update my blog the past few days so if you have sent me an email in the past week I have not read it. I will get back to you next time I have acess to a computer. I will also try to add pictures to my photo album next time I have computer acess.
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