Today's ride took us from Cadiz, OH to Zanesville, OH which was a distance of about 65 miles. The ride today was pretty smooth compared to most days, we had smooth roads the whole way, the weather stayed nice until the very end, and the whole team made it in to our destination by about 2PM, so it was a shorter day. We are also happy to see that the mountains still seem to be receding behind us and we think that the worst of the hills are behind us (at least until the Rockie!). We are staying the night at the Central Presbyterian Church in Zanesville tonight, and they made us a wonderful meal to keep us fully nourished for our journey. We always really appreciate being able to go to bed with full stomachs and a warm place to sleep. Finally, we would like to thank the people of Ohio who have been especially kind to us so far, to all those who have donated in the past days, a big huge "thank you" from all of us!!!
Finally
It's nearing the end of day 11 and I've finally found the time and energy to write everything down before I forget everything. This is also the first place since leaving New York where I've found an Internet connection too. Anyway, here's a rundown on what my trip has been like so far (some things might be out of order or didn't actually happen in that state - time and memories have blended together. 11 days isn't much, but it feels like I've been on this trip for weeks already... I can't imagine what day 50 is going to feel like.):
Falls on my bike:
Stopped in a parking lot and not unclipping my feet in time.
Trying to jump over a pothole in front of a McDonald's parking lot and jumping into it instead. I've got a huge elbow scrape to show for it.
Going over an extra slick puddle. I probably slid about 5 feet and left a wake behind me.
Bike problems:
Left rear mirror ripped off
Bottom bracket worn out and replaced
Bent and destroyed front derailleur
Snapped shifting paddle off. I'm stuck on the little ring :(
3 flat tires
Gears so dirty, they stopped spinning in the middle of a ride.
I'm starting to fall asleep so I'm only going to write about what I remember from the first day, riding out from Central Park, New York City to Hillsborough, New Jersey.
Day one was hectic and exciting; I would finally be going on the trip I've been waiting almost a year for. 65 days of seeing the sights of America from a bicycle seemed unreal to me, and it still is. We have to write down our directions on flash cards and that day we had 72 cues to write down since there are so many turns leaving Manhattan and just as many riding through Newark.
In those 67 miles, we already passed through so many environments: going from the busy New York streets, crossing the George Washington Bridge, riding through a dense Hispanic urban area, going through the Rutgers University campus, dangerously weaving through Newark traffic, passing by a tree-lined golf course, and finally ending up in a suburban neighborhood made the day feel like it had already been several days.
After crossing the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey together, the team split up into smaller groups depending on each rider's preferred speed. There is a huge difference between the lead and last group; there are several hours between them at the end of each day's ride. Since it was the first day, not all the kinks were worked out and the support vehicle was shuttling between the groups trying to get everyone fed for lunch. By the time the van reached my group, we had been biking for about five hours running off of a bagel, a bowl of cereal, and probably a granola bar. Since I was starving, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had way too much peanut butter and jelly. Half of the sandwich ended up leaking on the ground. In the end, about half of the team ended up riding together and we rolled into our stayover in Hillsborough, New Jersey completely exhausted from being out of shape.
We stayed at the Thakkars' house; their son had done the trip in previous years. We were all served an endless supply of food and drinks. It was incredible. Despite being worn out from the day, some of us got a game of ultimate frisbee going before having dinner and passing out for the night.
More to come soon!
Day 11 - Beefy Cheesy Glory
Carnegie, PA to Cadiz, OH
This morning I had the mosher, which I have mentioned before, but never really explained. The mosher is a tradition within the Illini 4000, which started when the first team found a lost ski pass on thke side of the road with a hilarious picture on it. The pass was for a guy named Eric Mosher, and for the rest of the ride, having the "Mosher" became an honor. So, fast forward three years, and now, having the mosher means that each morning immediately before the ride starts, the person who has the mosher has a few minutes to do what they want in front of the entire group. Some people make everyone give each other hugs, most people give some sort of speech about their reason for doing the trip, or an inspiring speech of some sort. It has become a sort of game to secretly give the mosher to someone else after you have done it, and some people like to make it a challenge never to get caught with the mosher. Mr. Mosher apparently found out about this tradition by googling his name two or three years ago, and loves the tradition, so much so that he sent in a replacement ski pass when it was lost during last year's trip.
Anyways, thats the story as far as I understand. I had the mosher this morning, so I used the opportunity to talk about two different reasons as to why I really love this trip. First, I really love that we have the ability to inspire people. I love talking to people and telling them what we do, and hopefully, not only will some of these people donate to our cause, but my hope is that they will ask themselves if they are doing everything that they can in order to help the causes that they care about. If they see that 25 kids from Illinois can ride their bikes across the country in 64 days, maybe they can donate blood, or bone marrow, or work on their own organizations, whatever they may be. Maybe their little kids will grow up and remember us and realize that they too can do something as ridiculous as riding across the country for a summer. People are capable of amazing things if we just push ourselves. The important thing is that people realize that every little bit helps, and everyone can make a difference.
The second thing I love about this trip is that it is very relatable, and I mean that in a few different ways. Not only is the trip fun for us most of the time, it can also be pretty terrible at times. When we have been lost for three hours and have to ride up another super steep hill thats 4 miles long, I feel like stopping, I want to quit, we all get frustrated, etc. For me, I liken the ride to the life of a cancer patient, and I know there will be good days, like when we are only riding 40 miles on a beautiful day, but also, other days will be awful. We might ride through terrible weather up and down huge hills and the only thing I can think about is stopping and waiting for the van because there is no way that I could possibly make it another foot up this hill. Cancer patients face the same sorts of rollercoaster rides every time they go through chemo. But I also made a promise to myself to never give up on this trip, to never walk a single step of this journey, just like my father and all of the other cancer patients in the world who never gave up fighting for their lives. Cancer patients have good days and bad days, the same as us, and I try to think of that as I go up every hill, and just try to remember that whatever I am feeling, however hard it is for us to ride up these hills or through inclement weather, it is infinitely harder to go through chemo. For them, there is only the threat of death, with no support van to pick them up if their legs get tired. These cancer patients go to the hospital knowing that the nurses are about to try to push them as close as possible to death and then bring them back, so that their good cells can recover, and then repeat until hopefully, none of the bad cells remain. Cancer is terrifying, and the most devastating thing most people have ever encountered, and nearly everyone has been touched in some way by it, which just makes this journey that much more important for me.
In other news, today's ride was pretty uneventful, hills weren't too bad once we left Pennsylvania, and other than the awful roads we encountered in Ohio, the ride was pretty nice. We passed through West Virginia briefly and ended up in Cadiz, Ohio, at a beautiful church. Tomorrow we ride another 65 miles to Zanesville, OH, and are once again hoping for easier hills. Pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8300819@N03/
States traveled through:9(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH)
Distance today: 65 mi
Total Distance traveled: 730 mi
Heading West
The last two days since I have updated have been nothing short of beautiful. We have continued to ride through the steep hillsides of the mountains out here, but at the top of each there is a fantastic view of the countryside. One morning, as we left Mt. Pleasent, we rode through some awesome descents through the morning fog. Its a great opportunity to see some of these places by bike before many of the citizens are even awake. Unfortunately, I usually find myself sweating before they awake also.
Yesterday's ride was only around 65 miles, yet the most confusing route yet. We have discovered that many of the roads are not labeled in PA, and also that many of our directions are incorrect which led to some confusing moments during the ride. After finally arriving to our stay over, we were shuttled over to the Fishbeck residence where we were served a great meal. We also had the chance to learn about the Bone Marrow Donor Database. This is something that I have registered for a few months ago, but I didn't really understand how important it was until what I learned last night.
Today's ride was around 65 miles with some great weather to accompany us. About two miles in one of our rider's, Tim, had an unfortunatre flat and we had to pause for a while. This gave us a chance to verify our route thanks to the leading groups and saved us time in the end. After a short water break, our group (called group 2) was reunited and it was smooth sailing from then on. Now we are in a town called Cadiz, OH staying at a church near a great ice cream place and resting for the upcoming rides.
1 Day, 3 States
Today we left Pennsylvania, and with it the Mountains. Although there are more mountains to come we were happy to see them go, at least for the time being.
Yesterday, the ride to Pittsburgh was awful. What we thought was going to be an easy 55 mile ride turned into an all day fiasco. There were plenty of hills to climb, and worst of all, our directions were all screwed up, which resulted in an abundance of stops to figure out where we needed to go. The ride took about 4 hours longer than it should have. We did, however, end the day with a great meal and inspiring story. We learned of a 16 year old girl, named Amy, who has had leukemia for 6 years now. She needs a bone marrow transplant, but to date, a match has not been found. The family and friends have started an organization called Amy's Army (amysarmy.org) in an attempt to find a match/donor. The organization has added over 10,000 people to the national bone marrow registry. Although a match for Amy has not been found, due to the 10,000 people added 25 other people who have been waiting for a transplant have gotten it. This was very inspiring to me because I had no idea so many people were in need of a bone marrow transplant and couldn't find a donor. It is a big commitment, and can be very painful to donate bone marrow, but it has inspired me to join the registry in the hope that I too can save someone's life.
Today was a great ride. We left Pennsylvania (1st state) and the mountains and found ourselves in West Virginia (2nd state) for a grand total of seven miles that culminated in crossing the Ohio River into Ohio(3rd state) on a bridge that was closed. A road block for cars isn't very effective on cyclists. There were a few hills, but nothing like in the previous days. We ended in Cadiz, Ohio, where the people have been extremely nice. We were given four pizzas by the local Domino's, 8 tacos from the Taco Bell/KFC, a donation from a local teen who gave us everything in his wallet, and I got my hair cut for free. I would like to thank Barb from the local barber shop for a great haircut and inspiration for the ride. It turns out that Barb is a cancer survivor who has been in remission for 5 years. It is great to hear stories like hers, and reminds me of why I am doing this ride.
Headed out (mid)West
I apologize for not updating sooner but it has been more difficult than I expected to have internet, have a computer to use, and stay awake. To all my supporters and donors, thank you so much. I was able to reach my fundraising goal of $2500 and have had more donations coming in. I am constantly amazed at the number of people that come up to us and give us donations or words of encouragement; our cause is a powerful one that touches people from all walks of life across the nation.
Although we are only 10 or so days into the ride, it already feels like months or weeks have passed. Constantly changing scenery, never sleeping in the same place twice, being constantly exhausted all contribute to a sort of time warp that the team is traveling through. Before we know it we'll be back on campus and shortly after at home for a brief visit with our families.
Starting in Central Park in NYC we headed out of the city into New Jersey, for the first time witnessing the speedy transition from congested and at times intimidating urban traffic to the wide open spaces of the country side that we have all come to know well. Travelling from city to city along the east coast we have gotten used to all sorts of riding conditions. In Jersey we witnessed the famous pot holes but also some gorgeous country riding. In Deleware we rode in highways with Petroleum plants on both sides with rough roads and wheel eating storm drains but ended up staying in a quiet little town in the hills. In Maryland we started to get a real taste for the hills we would get used to over the following days.
One of the highlights of the trip so far for me came during an especially frustrating day. As we rode through parkland in maryland, and into D.C. I was beginning to enter into a sort of end of day exhaustive haze, having spent a good portion of the day getting lost. Crashes, wet pavement, and flats had driven moral down, but as we began to roll into the city it all became worth it. Riding past the incredible architecture, through Dupont Circle and right past the Lincoln and Washington monuments was awe inspiring, even though we hit downtown right at rush hour.
To top it off, the following day the team headed to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where we recieved a tour of their breast cancer center and heard a powerful story from an Illinois alum and patient. Some sight seeing and a bit of rest helped a bit in preparing us for the monster climbs we were about to head up in Pennsylvania.
Most of the days following D.C. were half beautiful scenery and 40-50 mph decents and half seeming endless climbs through the mountains. As we climbed up the mountains, our legs burning, hearts pounding, and will slowly breaking, I thought over and over that what we were going through was nothing compared to what cancer patients had to endure day to day. If they could withstand the pain and discomfort of treatment day to day, then I owe it to them to do the same.
Today we left Pittsburgh and have been seing less of the soul crushing mountains and more rolling hills. What a welcome relief that is.
In the next few days we will pass through Ohio, into Indiana for a rest day, then onto Illinois and the beautiful west. I hope to update more often in the coming days and fill in some details of the past few days.
PA was beautiful
Been meaning to write on this for awhile. Right now we are in Cadiz, OH. After leaving DC, we were out of internet for awhile in the small towns/churches we were staying at and if we weren't, i was too lazy to figure it out.
The ride out of DC was miserable. Steady downpour for the entire 85 mile ride. Riding super slow. The church we stayed in was basically just one huge room and we had dinner on our own- some sort of weird rice and bean concoction one of the riders made that left something to be desired.
The next day was probably my favorite ride of the trip. An 80 mile ride (that my group made 90 by missing a turn) from Boonsboro, MD to Everett, PA. Getting over the Appalachians was not easy. Some of the climbs we had were ridiculous and would bring even the most manly man to a walk. I managed to stay in the saddle the whole time though. Even though the climbs sucked, the reward at the top was well worth the effort: amazing views of the mountains and farmland all around you. Made me feel so small- and I'm a giant. That night we had an amazing meal prepared for us by the church we were staying at. I ate tons obviously.
The next ride also had plenty of long climbs and beautiful views, but my legs weren't feelin as hot so I think I enjoyed it just a little less. Pennsylvania is not for the weak. Again though, huge and sweet dinner waiting for us in Mt. Pleasant, PA... I really can't believe the sheer volume of food I'm consuming. I normally eat tons, but I have taken it to a new level, just non stop eating all day and never getting full. I am in a donut eating contest with another rider- Caroline. She doesn't stand a chance. Right now I've had 12 and she's had 10 over the course of the trip. Loser buys donuts in Portland. I'll win. I wish it would of been an ice cream easting contest though because that is what I'm really craving on these hot days.
Yesterday was sweet, for the most part. We got pretty lost making our way into Pittsburgh. Our directions are pretty much always wrong. Luckilly, the 3 guys I was riding with made it to 5878 Darlington where we met up with Zachary Madden, who gave us PB & J and served as our tour guide for the next 15 or so miles on his newly assembled bike, which ruled (the ride, not the bike). After getting to our stayover, I pretty much bounced immediately and went for a nice easy run with the wonderful Jillian. Then I got my first shower in 3 days. Jill will attest to the fact that I needed it. Side Note: I've been really gassy lately. So then last night I got an amazing pizza dinner with Doc Madden, Jill, Zach and Shay- with a guest appearance by A-mulcs. Then I helped Zach's disgrace of a kickball team lose in the first round of the playoffs.
Today the ride to Cadiz was ok. Some ok views through west virginia. crossing the ohio river on a bridge that was closed was cool i guess. The roads were so beat up and it was super hot. Got another nice run in today. I like checkin out the towns via run once we get in. Loosens out the legs too.
I also wanted to give a shout out to Patty Reid, back in North East, who I've been thinkin about a lot lately. Shes been battling cancer for quite some time now and I've decided to dedicate my ride this summer to her. Gotta keep on fighting through these long days on the bike, just like her and many others fight cancer every day.
I'm gettin hungry and I gotta try to find somewhere to watch the hockey game tonight. all the "go pens" signs around Pittsburgh were starting to make me sick so I think I'm pulling for the wings to win it in the burgh. I all of the pens fans faces. bye
A Pennsylvanian Hiccup
Today's (Jun-08-09) route was only scheduled to be 55 miles in length, however due to some confusion in our cues, many of us ended up spending quite a bit of time figuring out where to go next. In the end, everybody made it to Carnegie safely with minimal technical problems. After our ride we went to the Fishback's and were provided with an extravagant dinner. Along with dinner we also learned about Amy's Army, an effort to get people on the National Bone Marrow Registry. You can help find out if you can help somebody with leukemia by signing up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. They are currently running a promotion where testing kits are free if you order them before June 22nd, so order one today.
Ice Cream and Fried Food is never a bad choice
Today we passed through three states as we left the Pittsburgh metro area and headed for Ohio. In the process we spent about 8 miles in West Virginia, traveling across the most northern tip of the state. Today was also the first day of exiting the Appalachian Mountains, so we saw a few more downhills than uphills, however there were plenty of hills thrown in there to remind us that we weren't in the plains yet. Except for a bit of construction near the end, our ride was fairly uneventful. Everybody made it into Cadiz well before dinner, though many of us opted to visit the soft serve and fried food stand across from our stayover location. Too bad that the property is up for sale and may not be around for next year's team to enjoy.
Day 10
Today we rode from Mt. Pleasant, PA to Carnegie, PA which was supposed to be a distance of only 55 miles, but ended up being 60 miles and took way too long. The cues were wrong all day and we had to keep waiting for Brad to figure out what was the right way to go, so that was frustrating, but eventually we all made it into the church in Carnegie, which is a small town just southwest of Pittsburgh. We did ride through Pittsburgh, which I always love doing, I think the city is one of my favorites. We also met some fun people along the way, I always love meeting new people and seeing their reactions after they find out what we are doing, and today a woman had us take a picture with her two little kids when we stopped for lunch, which was really funny and cool and I think she donated to the cause as well, I don't know her name, but thank you!!
The last few miles into the Pittsburgh involved one HUGE hill, which of course came just minutes after Conor commented that "its great that they brought us into the city this way, we just missed all these huge mountains!" So thanks to Conor for jinxing that for us, huge climbs in the last few miles is always really tough. There were lots of hills today, but the weather was nice again, still 75 and sunny, and my knees weren't too bad, so It was alright.
After the ride, we showered in one of the creepiest showers I have ever seen, it was basically outside, and was open to the outside world, and then headed to the Fishback's house for dinner. DInner was once again amazing, there were appetizers, fruit, fajitas, brownies, ice cream, and tons more, I could not possibly eat any more, and I am beginning to feel spoiled, I am sure we will not have receptions like this every night out west.
We also had a great talk with the people from Amy's Army, at www.amysarmy.org, an amazing organization that recruits people to join the National Bone Marrow Transplant Registry. Their daughter is Amy, she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at age 10, and they have exhausted the 8 million person database looking for a marrow donor match, and decided to create this organization six years ago, and are still looking for a match for Amy to cure her. If you want to help or learn more, visit their site, or marrow.org/join to get an at-home swab kit. These kits are usually over $50 but if you register now, you can order a kit to your home for FREE!!! but only if you do it by June 22, so check it out now!! The kit only consists of a simple mouth swab, so it is really easy and you will be saving a life.
Finally, Sean told me the other night that I had hit a new high point in my donations, I have now raised enough for TWO riders, my donation total is $5,187.50, so once again, thanks to everyone I know for all of the amazing support, it's been amazing, and has far surpassed what I ever expected from this trip.
Tomorrow we head to somewhere in Ohio, about a 65 mile ride, so hopefully we can make good time and avoid all the huge mountains between here and Chicago.
States traveled through:7(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA)
Distance today: 60 mi
Total Distance traveled: 665 mi
Day 9 - Bloody Mountains
Everett, PA to Mt. Pleasant, PA. Check out pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8300819@N03/ Today's ride was again 80 more miles, and once again, it was a very mountainous ride, although today we didn't take any detours. I once again hit a new record speed, and broke the 45 mph mark, pushing my bike up to 45.3 mph. For the second day in a row, the weather was hot and sunny, and no one had a flat tire, so our ride was smooth again, other than me crashing again at the 60 mile mark. Once again, i came away with only scrapes, but take it from me, scraping your hands bloody does not make climbing the next 20 miles fun. Just so you know how awful these mountains are, we had multiple climbs of over two miles at really steep grades. I was about ready to cry by the time today's ride was over.
However, we met a lady at the lunch stop named Tomalyn who told us jokes and donated to the cause, so thanks to you if you are reading Tomalyn(and sorry if I spelled your name wrong)!! Tonight, we are staying at the United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant, and once again, the amazing people here made us another spectacular dinner, so we have eaten like kings the last few days.
Tomorrow we finally have a short ride, only 55 miles into Carnegie, PA, right outside Pittsburgh. I am in a decent amount of pain from my knees just climbing these mountains, and scraping them up in the fall today did not help, so I'm hoping tomorrow is not too bad of a ride. I picked up a big tub of IcyHot today at a CVS, so hopefully, that will help my knees for the ride tomorrow also.
States traveled through:7(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled: 602 mi
Interesting animals: 1 deer, 1 groundhog, 1 skunk, 1 dead turtle, 1 chipmunk, 1 snake(Tons of roadkill too!!)
Day 8 - There's the Mountains!!
Boonsboro, MD to Everett, PA. Today we rode another 80 mile day into Everett, but we were in the first group, and missed a turn, so our group of riders did an extra 10 miles to make it a 90-mile day, which was not very fun. The ride was incredibly beautiful, and I got a ton of pictures and a few videos too( http://www.flickr.com/photos/8300819@N03/ ), but the hills were killer, and i think we can now officially start classifying them as mountains. We also stopped in a Dairy Queen at about mile 70, and met Chuck, who asked us what we were doing, and donated to our cause, which we really appreciate, so thanks a ton Chuck!! People in Pennsylvania have been great so far, everyone is interested in what we are doing and wants to help us out. So far, PA is giving Maryland a run for its money in both ride beauty AND awesome people!
Tonight we are staying at the United Methodist Church in Everett, and the awesome people here made us a delicious dinner and we have carpets on the floors AND we have two showers, so tonight's sleeping arrangements will be especially comfortable. People like these make our trip so much better and more fun to be on.
I am slowly realizing that having to ride more miles does not mean that the ride will be easier. Our 40-mile day was really easy, and all of these 80-mile days are straight through the Pennsylvania mountains, which means they are great and beautiful for half of them and awful and exhausting for the other half. Tomorrow is another 80-mile mountain day to Mt. Pleasant.
States traveled through:7(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA)
Distance today: 90 mi
Total Distance traveled: 522 mi
Interesting Animals: The smallest baby deer I have ever seen, 1 groundhog(Punksitawny Phil??)
Day 7 - Food Lion...Food Lion!!
DC to Boonsboro, MD. This morning, we rode from Matt's friend Ben's place in Arlington to meet up with the group for the day's mosher speech. During Christa's speech, we met the I4K T-Rex, which is now our official mascot. I will be posting pictures soon, I'm sure you all will love him. Today's ride was not too exciting, we rode an easy route from DC to Boonsboro, but the only problem was that for the first 40 miles of the ride, we were riding in freezing rain, and no one was prepared for the cold, so we were all pretty miserable. When we finally got to lunch, and the van caught up with us, I dug through my bag and found my underarmor and was much warmer for the rest of the ride. The ride through Maryland was very beautiful, I am leaning towards saying that so far, Maryland is challenging Pennsylvania as my favorite state so far just since its so pretty and the people are so nice as well. Tonight, we are staying at the St. Marks Church just outside Boonsboro MD, right near Antietam, which if I am not mistaken, is the site of the bloodiest day in American history, an especially brutal battle during the Civil War. Tomorrow we ride to Everett, PA, so we are hoping for minimal hills and as little rain as possible.
States traveled through:7(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled: 432 mi
Days 5 & 6- Wet and Wild
Baltimore MD to Washington DC. The scenery was nice, but the ride today was probably worse than yesterdays. For starters, our destination in Washington DC decided to pull out, and so we were once again scrambling for places to stay, and we ended up splitting the group into three different stayovers, so Matt C, Justin, Zernyu, Conor, Tim, David and I rode together into DC. The first part of the trip was fine and I passed the 40-mile top speed mark, getting up to 44.8 mph, but when we got to the second half, things started to go really wrong. We were supposed to take a path from Maryland all the way into DC, straight past the Lincoln Memorial, but just one turn into the path, we found out that the roads were not in good condition, and were extremely slippery, so Tim wiped out hard, Matt went into him, I went down and slid into Tim and a tree, and Conor went down behind us. Luckily, everyone and their bikes were ok, I only had a few scrapes, and Tim got the worst of it, getting some scrapes and eventually pulling rocks out of his arm hours later once we got to our stayover. So, we continued down the trail(slowly), and Zernynu and Tim went down again a few miles later, but no one was hurt too badly again. Eventually, the trail turned into a dirt path, we finally figured out how to get t o the end of it, but got lost on the roads in Rock Creek Park north of DC, and got stuck in pouring rain, but with the huge help of a few really nice cyclists that took pity on us(Thanks John!!), finally made it into Matt's friend Ben's place (actually right outside DC in Arlington, VA)at around 7 PM. Ben was an awesome host, making us all the brats and burgers we could handle, and we went to bed exhausted around 9 PM. Ben also has a hilarious bulldog named Frank, who entertained us all evening by humping Conor and trying to eat everything in sight, including Conor's sandals, Matt's sleeping pad, and any human ears he could find.
The next day was a rest day, we had a hospital visit at 11 at Walter Reed Medical Center and then the rest of the day was ours to do what we wanted. The tour was very cool, the facility was HUGE and everyone was very nice and informative about answering all of our questions about the Breast Cancer Clinic at Walter Reed. After the tour, the Mulvaney's talked to us and gave us our first group portraits project, which was really cool and awesome to hear how Mrs. Mulvaney has battled cancer successfully for so many years. After the talk, we had lunch at the hospital and then headed to the National Mall for the rest of the day. Matt C, Conor, David and I met up with another of Matt's friends and we went to see the American History Museum, the Washington Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial and ended with dinner in Chinatown.
States traveled through:7(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled: 352 mi
Awesome Adventures
Wow, what a crazy few days its been! It seems like since our short 40 mile day I wrote about earlier its been harder everyday. Each day has been around 80 miles, which isn't too hard, but its the hills out here that have been wearing me out.
Our ride to Baltimore was one of the first days with some serious hills, but it was nice to get into the city where we stayed with a past rider, Ben Horns. My thanks go out to him for putting all of us up in his apartment. That day gave me a chance to see a different part of the city, and also have a great burger down the street.
After Baltimore, we headed to Washington D.C. which ended being somewhere around 80 miles by bike. I traveled in the group with the longest ride that evening, and unfortunately got caught in the rain right in the last 10 miles. We rode through the rain and were rewarded with some great food from Matt Cady's friend Ben, whose apartment we stayed at. The next day was our first rest day which we spent exploring the D.C. area. We also had the opportunity to visit the Walter Reed hospital in D.C. and got a tour of their breast cancer ward. In addition, we had the opportunity to hear from Mr. and Mrs. Mulvaney, which really connected us to our cause. Its easy sometimes when were tired, hungery, and busy to forget why we ride and the stories we hear really inspire us to keep going.
After D.C. we rode out to Boonsboro, MD, through a full day of rain. We all slept soundly that night. The next day we had another full day of riding out to Everett, PA. This was a particularly difficult day for me because of the crazy steep hills, and because as my group neared Everett we missed a turn and made an 80 mile day into a 90 mile day. I have to say, those 90 miles have been the most beautiful miles yet. Honestly, its a conflicting feeling to enjoy the surrounding landscape so much while my legs feel so much pain. Even with the added milage, my group pulled in second out of everyone and were very hungery for the dinner that the church had generously served us.
That brings us to up today. For the last two days the roads have turned from hills into full-on mountains. The route was very tough with all of the inclines, but to every uphill there is a downhill. One downhill in particular had me travelling 45 mph, a very exciting ride indeed. My group arrived here in Mt. Pleasent, PA around 6ish and got in just in time for dinner. There's nothing better than a great meal after a tough ride, and the church here provided us with a wonderful feast that left everyone full. There is such a great difference from when we try to cook for ourselves after riding all day and when our hosts cook for us. After dinner I headed out to a festival that the town is putting on, and enjoyed some great weather and music. So far Mt. Pleasent has been nothing but pleasent and I hope for more of the same in the future.
Thanks for reading!
Day 4
Newark DE to Baltimore MD. Todays ride was pretty hard, definitely the hardest of the trip. We had to ride on lots of busy highways, there were tons of hills, and we didn't have a lot of room to actually ride, since we had to make sure that the cars that were passing us at 60 mph weren't going to hit us. Then, on the way into Baltimore, our group had 3 flat tires and a broken derailleur within the last 8 miles into the city, so it took us over two hours to make it into the city. I also hit my all time record for fastest speed, my cyclometer recorded me going 39.4 mph. Baltimore was not my favorite city(it was pretty dirty and homeless at night), but we did get discounts on food from Five Guys Restaurant (Best burgers in Baltimore!), and the people in Maryland were awesome. Tons of people asked us what we were doing, and we ended up getting $42 in donations from random people on the streets and also another couple bought us two pizzas at a rest stop about 50 miles into our trip!
States traveled through:5(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD)
Distance today: 80 mi
Total Distance traveled: 272 mi
Mountains!
It has been a few days since I have been able to update so I will try any and catch up. Leaving D.C. was a hard day for everyone. It was cold, rainy, a 90 mile ride, and we got our first round of big hills. The first 45 miles or so went by pretty quick as it was all on bike path and my group had no problems. However, stopping for lunch turned into a three hour ordeal at Trails End bike shop because Zernyu was having bike issues. After sitting/warming up for 3 hours it was hard to get back in the saddle and finish the remainder of the ride, but we managed to make it to Boonsboro, MD where we stayed for the night.
The past two days have been spent riding primarily in Pennsylvania, which is beautiful, but we have hit the Appalachian Mountains which make for tough riding. The climbs are a test for everyone, but the descents are great. Today I hit 51mph which is faster than I have ever gone. We have spent the past two nights at United Methodist Churches which have provided us with great meals; not like what we eat when we cook for ourselves. I am a little mad at myself because I broke my camera yesterday, which couldn't have come at a worse time because we are just starting to hit the really scenic parts of our ride. Tomorrow we head out for Carnegie, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It is only a 55 mile ride, which is very welcoming after three straight 80 plus mile days.
Trail Blazin' (Day 7, 8, and 9)
We left D.C. early Friday morning amidst rain, wind, and cold. Our groups reunited at a Holiday Inn in Arlington, VA, and then spent the next 40 miles on the nicest bike path we'll see all summer. It would have been bike heaven if the weather had cooperated. Special I4K thanks to the Trails End Bike Shop in Purcellville, VA for offering a sheltered lunch stop, and lending us a hand with some crucial bike maintenance. In the afternoon we got our first taste of the Appalachians, before rolling tired, wet, and hungry into St. Marks Episcopal Church.
Our first real climb day! Saturday began under cloudy skies, but soon became warm and sunny. The hills were high, but our spirits were higher as we entered farm country. Bikes and bodies are slowly getting into the spin of things. We were lucky to have lunch lakeside in a state park. There was even a beach and ice cream to help cooling off after our first long climb. We would like to recognize The Mercersburg Inn of Mercersburg, PA for kindly letting our riders use the "facilities", as well as Charles Banks for helping some hungry riders out at the end of a long day. And a very big thanks to the United Methodist Church of Everett, PA for all their warmth and hospitality.
On Sunday, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise through morning fog, and another 80 miles spent wrestling with some difficult terrain. If today's route was drawn on a topographic map, it would have looked like a heartbeat. A steady set of steep climbs each followed by an even longer descent. Arriving in Mount Pleasant, the United Methodist Church welcomed us with a much needed (and appreciated!) meal. Afterwards some of the riders walked down to a concert in a local park honoring America's Veterans. It was a great way to relax after a long day's ride. Thanks to Domino's pizza for discounting prices for our riders for lunch, and to Tommy-lee Alfrada Schaeffer for her wonderful donation and humor.
Gettin hurt
Tonight I write you from the comfort of the apartment of Ben Kuchta and the lovely Sarah Frontino- great North East friends, for those of you who don't know. Our D.C. stayover fell through so we had to scramble to stay anywhere. Me and 6 other guys ended up here. Sarah and Ben were awesome, with tons of food and cold beer waiting when we got in.
Getting here was not so easy. I won't go into details, because I really need to get some sleep, but it was the worst ride in the history of the world. We were on the road for over 9 hours, lost and asking for directions a whole lot, riding through muddy mountain bike trails on our road bikes in the pouring rain, wrecked on multiple occasions (I have some nasty road rash, but nothing like my man Tim does) and didnt get in until 630-7.
The rest day in DC today was great. First we had a tour of the breast cancer clinic at Walter Reid Hospital, which was really nice and interesting. Then we met with a current cancer patient and U of I alumni, who shared her story with us. She has been battling cancer for about 6 years now and still has the most positive attitude- and was super psyched about all of us. After all the craziness the last week, it was nice to really get down to what the purpose of this whole ride really is- fighting cancer.
After that we hit the monuments and the American history museum, followed by a dinner at a restaurant/brewery that was way too nice for us. Kurt BD Conner joined in on the fun too, so obviously it was sweet.
Thats all for now, there are many terrible/hilarious details about yesterdays ride, but I just need to sleep.
85 mile ride tomorrow to boonsboro, md. Its supposed to be pouring rain all day- this should be interesting.
It has been unbelievable how many technical difficulties we have had so far on the trip. To me it just seems impossible that I will be able to make it all summer without a bike problem of some sort- but the Cadex (thats my bike, a lovely gift from David Madden) seems to be holding up ok for the most part.
Wish this ride tomorrow could be rain delayed, but we don't work like that. Bye
Rest Day in D.C.
Today we had a rest day in D.C. and woke up in 3 separate parts of the city. Some of us were lucky enough to meet Patrick the Preacher who had an impecable sense of direction. Thanks for your help! We all met up at Walter Reed Hospital and received an amazing tour of the facilities and Mr. and Mrs. Mulvaney shared their personal cancer stories with us. They were a pleasure to be around and our trip to the hospital ended on a sweet note with free ice cream. After the visit, the group split up and took advantage of the free admission to the city's museums. It was a pretty great way to take a break from cycling.