Location: Lake Stevens, WA
Okay guys, I apologize for the lack of posts. The last week or so has been awash with emotion, anticipation, and activity and devoid of internet access.
I can't begin to fully describe the tail end of the trip, but here's a quick recap: The Virginias were absolutely gorgeous. Green, rural, and the weather was surprisingly mild (an anomaly, say the locals).
It was all really a blur until the Saturday arrival. Before that we had lots of team events and trying to get the last bit of bro-bonding in before we had to part ways. The guys from my team are seriously some of my best friends now; it's amazing what two months at such a trying expedition will do to a group of young men. We exchanged stories and memories, compliments, and advice. Many choked up and/or cried near the end when we knew we were heading off to our last ride into the capitol.
We rode into DC with the two other teams at precisely 11:00 and arrived on the front lawn of the capitol building, greeted by hundreds of friends and family. After some speeches and lots of picture-taking, we headed to the hotel to disassemble the bicycles that had (for the most part) carried us so loyally across the nation. After that, my pop and I walked around toward the Lincoln Memorial, but it was way far away and we made it as far as the reflecting pond in front before taking a cab back to get ready for the banquet.
The banquet was more speaking and congratulating -- but mostly it was each team trying to show how much cooler they were than the others. Trans-America definitely took the cake with the frattiest matching outfits, a bluegrass song, gifts for PMs and Push Staff, and having the most and best pictures from the summer. Oh, and did I mention that we were the only team to not lose even a single member over the course of the summer? Yeah, we rock.
Last night in DC we got to hang out one last time with the team and with some family. We went to the Dubliner to celebrate and had a blast. We stayed out late, hoping to soak up some last-minute camaraderie -- and hugs. In the morning, it was more or less everybody heading home. I got on my flight(s) to Seattle which would take the better part of the day, and while it's certainly nice to be home in beautiful western Washington, I'm sad I had to leave those guys and probably won't see many of them for quite a while.
I can say that for me, the summer served mostly as review of my own character. I had the pleasure of spending just over two months with incredible gentlemen -- each of whom had at least one trait or gift which I really want to adapt into my personality. I'm always striving to figure out exactly who I am and how to make myself a better man, and I think these guys have helped me see the changes I want (need) to make in my life, and did it in an incredibly short period of time. I love those guys, and I'm going to miss them. Everyone needs to experience something like this in their lifetime; I'm so glad I did. Now in ten years we have to do the route again -- but this time on motorcycles.
TA = BA
Jay Holley
Alex Rosell
Jesse Kornblum
Matt Wulff
Nathan Whelan
Matt Sloan
Ryan Dixon
Sean Richardson
Joel Abbott
Josh Schoenfelder
Jason Child
Jamie O'Brien
Cody Compau
Dan Cariello
Stephen Sanger
Cameron Sparks
Ryan Shippy
Dan Wallis
Paul Vulcan
Matt Sartin
Kegan Fielding
Andrew Lewis
Dom Valenti
Karl Heideman
Grant Tanabe
Max Maier
Ben Kaufman
Erik Farrar
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
A little taste of Bourbon (County)
Location: Lexington, KY
Another state down! We crossed into KFC-Land yesterday on our ride from Cincinnati to Lexington. And in doing so, we found some more hills once again. But no matter! It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL ride -- especially when entering Fayette County, where we are now. Huge plantations with mansions and perfectly groomed pastures, big ol' tobacco plants, horses... Pretty fantastic. And we definitely went through the home of bourbon whiskey, although I hear that it's actually a dry county? Go figure...
The weather was actually probably some of the most comfortable we've had, at least for me, since the Rockies. It wasn't too hot, and not too humid either...especially when riding, the breeze actually felt cool. (Different story when we stopped though, and when it got later into the day.)
We had a friendship visit that quickly turned into a dance party at the Community Alternatives of Kentucky (at least I think that's what it was called). I started with a game of cornhole -- which amounts to basically just standing in the sun -- but was perspiring a good amount by the end, so I headed inside for the rest of the time. I worked up a bit of a sweat bustin' some moves too, but at least there was AC in there.
On another note, Kentucky marks the third-to-last state we'll pass through on our way to DC; we're less than two weeks from our destination. Looking back, it seems like it's been both an eternity and no time at all -- and I know these past dozen days or so will fly by pretty quickly.
Another state down! We crossed into KFC-Land yesterday on our ride from Cincinnati to Lexington. And in doing so, we found some more hills once again. But no matter! It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL ride -- especially when entering Fayette County, where we are now. Huge plantations with mansions and perfectly groomed pastures, big ol' tobacco plants, horses... Pretty fantastic. And we definitely went through the home of bourbon whiskey, although I hear that it's actually a dry county? Go figure...
The weather was actually probably some of the most comfortable we've had, at least for me, since the Rockies. It wasn't too hot, and not too humid either...especially when riding, the breeze actually felt cool. (Different story when we stopped though, and when it got later into the day.)
We had a friendship visit that quickly turned into a dance party at the Community Alternatives of Kentucky (at least I think that's what it was called). I started with a game of cornhole -- which amounts to basically just standing in the sun -- but was perspiring a good amount by the end, so I headed inside for the rest of the time. I worked up a bit of a sweat bustin' some moves too, but at least there was AC in there.
On another note, Kentucky marks the third-to-last state we'll pass through on our way to DC; we're less than two weeks from our destination. Looking back, it seems like it's been both an eternity and no time at all -- and I know these past dozen days or so will fly by pretty quickly.
Friday, August 1, 2008
In the true spirit of Indiana...
Location: Oxford, OH
So after spending only a day in Illinois, we've already blown through Indiana like bats out of hell. (Well, it's the midwest...so close enough.) Or at least NASCARs around the speedway.
In Terra Haute, we had a fun karaoke and dance party friendship visit at Happiness Bag, Inc. and we even got these obnoxious yellow shirts with their logo on it. They're pretty sweet, not gonna lie. It's funny how sometimes I will not be in the mood for a visit, but then once we're there you can't help but have a ton of fun.
In Bloomington, we got a chance to stay at the Alpha Psi chapter -- the thing was HUGE. I think they're rolling like 150 guys deep in that place (only 95 in the house, but still). Makes me a bit ashamed at how teeny and decrepit our house in Seattle is... They even have six full-time staff during the year. Namely, a maintenance guy which would be AMAZING to have at good ol' Alpha Delta chapter. We also met an initiate from 1933! That's an old Pi Kapp.
We've also had a great visit with the Stone Belt Arc, complete with lunch, crafts, waterballoons, and games (bingo!). But perhaps even more impressive was the incredibly organized and well-executed visit at Noble of Indiana. It was so structured and we weren't used to that, they had something for everyone to do and it gave us a chance to see almost everything they did at the facility. I was lucky enough to be on Team #2 with the seniors and we made some sort of berry pound cake with tons of sugar and Cool Whip which was de-lish. And did some bean-bag tossin', as well.
We also had two days in Indianapolis -- the second of which was a day off the bike and a 9:30am wake up. Talk about sleeping in! So a bunch of us went to the Howl at the Moon dueling piano bar. That was a lot of fun. We even had a couple of our guys get up on stage and play:
Ryan Shippy busted out a solo on the piano to the amazement of the crowd and the members of the band. (We were kind of amazed too; he's usually pretty shy but looked pretty at-home up there on stage!)
And Andrew Lewis played a few songs on the drums. He's actually our TV star: he's a member of a percussion act called The Cadence and is competing on America's Got Talent. (We got a chance to see him for the first time on Tuesday at the Alpha Psi house -- he hasn't been able to tell us anything because he's under contract, so it was really cool to see him on television!) You can see his act from this past week on YouTube by clicking here. I highly recommend it, even though the act itself was 90 seconds. He's the clean-shaven blond guy on this episode. They actually got a really long portion of the show, which was really neat. Spoiler: they made it past this round so keep watching and voting for him if/when the time comes!
We left the IUPUI (pronounced "ooey-pooey" apparently) dorms this morning (thank goodness...they were kind of crappy) for the Ohio border, so now here we are! The ride today was so much better than the last one into Indy -- we only made it 30 of the scheduled 55 miles due to flats and bike troubles that day -- although I know it's only going to get more humid.
Anyway, Cincinnati tomorrow! I'm excited to go back to the place where I won national medals back in high school (most notably, the gold). I want to try and go back to William Harsha Lake where the races were just to see it again, but I doubt I'll be able to. It's a really short day tomorrow, but I'm beat nonetheless so I'm off to bed. Until next time!
So after spending only a day in Illinois, we've already blown through Indiana like bats out of hell. (Well, it's the midwest...so close enough.) Or at least NASCARs around the speedway.
In Terra Haute, we had a fun karaoke and dance party friendship visit at Happiness Bag, Inc. and we even got these obnoxious yellow shirts with their logo on it. They're pretty sweet, not gonna lie. It's funny how sometimes I will not be in the mood for a visit, but then once we're there you can't help but have a ton of fun.
In Bloomington, we got a chance to stay at the Alpha Psi chapter -- the thing was HUGE. I think they're rolling like 150 guys deep in that place (only 95 in the house, but still). Makes me a bit ashamed at how teeny and decrepit our house in Seattle is... They even have six full-time staff during the year. Namely, a maintenance guy which would be AMAZING to have at good ol' Alpha Delta chapter. We also met an initiate from 1933! That's an old Pi Kapp.
We've also had a great visit with the Stone Belt Arc, complete with lunch, crafts, waterballoons, and games (bingo!). But perhaps even more impressive was the incredibly organized and well-executed visit at Noble of Indiana. It was so structured and we weren't used to that, they had something for everyone to do and it gave us a chance to see almost everything they did at the facility. I was lucky enough to be on Team #2 with the seniors and we made some sort of berry pound cake with tons of sugar and Cool Whip which was de-lish. And did some bean-bag tossin', as well.
We also had two days in Indianapolis -- the second of which was a day off the bike and a 9:30am wake up. Talk about sleeping in! So a bunch of us went to the Howl at the Moon dueling piano bar. That was a lot of fun. We even had a couple of our guys get up on stage and play:
Ryan Shippy busted out a solo on the piano to the amazement of the crowd and the members of the band. (We were kind of amazed too; he's usually pretty shy but looked pretty at-home up there on stage!)
And Andrew Lewis played a few songs on the drums. He's actually our TV star: he's a member of a percussion act called The Cadence and is competing on America's Got Talent. (We got a chance to see him for the first time on Tuesday at the Alpha Psi house -- he hasn't been able to tell us anything because he's under contract, so it was really cool to see him on television!) You can see his act from this past week on YouTube by clicking here. I highly recommend it, even though the act itself was 90 seconds. He's the clean-shaven blond guy on this episode. They actually got a really long portion of the show, which was really neat. Spoiler: they made it past this round so keep watching and voting for him if/when the time comes!
We left the IUPUI (pronounced "ooey-pooey" apparently) dorms this morning (thank goodness...they were kind of crappy) for the Ohio border, so now here we are! The ride today was so much better than the last one into Indy -- we only made it 30 of the scheduled 55 miles due to flats and bike troubles that day -- although I know it's only going to get more humid.
Anyway, Cincinnati tomorrow! I'm excited to go back to the place where I won national medals back in high school (most notably, the gold). I want to try and go back to William Harsha Lake where the races were just to see it again, but I doubt I'll be able to. It's a really short day tomorrow, but I'm beat nonetheless so I'm off to bed. Until next time!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Got my kicks!
Location: Teutopolis, IL
Today was a long one. We left St. Louis early and headed east over the Mississippi River via the Chain of Rocks Bridge which is part of Historic Route 66. We stayed on or near the Route for a grand total of about 116.5 miles, which is either the longest of the trip thus far, or at least up there. Thankfully, it was very flat compared to what we had seen towards the end of Kansas and in Missouri. Also, the weather was considerably nicer.
I think the total time it took to reach our lodging (with stops) was about nine hours. We were supposed to be in Effingham, IL, but apparently something fell through there, so we had to continue a few more miles down the road to here.
It's nice to be out of Missouri -- and as much as I rag on it, even that state was pretty neat. (Although it was sort of scary to cycle through some of the slums this morning...but it was Sunday morning and either nobody was up, or they were at church. Or it was just all abandoned, which is probably closer to the truth.) This is our only stop in Illinois; tomorrow we head right over the border to Indiana and cross into the Eastern Time Zone. So I'll be a full three hours ahead of Seattle. Whoa.
I looked at a map of where we were in the States the other day, and it was really crazy to look at all the places we've left behind. It's sad to realize that we have less than three weeks until it's all over...
Today was a long one. We left St. Louis early and headed east over the Mississippi River via the Chain of Rocks Bridge which is part of Historic Route 66. We stayed on or near the Route for a grand total of about 116.5 miles, which is either the longest of the trip thus far, or at least up there. Thankfully, it was very flat compared to what we had seen towards the end of Kansas and in Missouri. Also, the weather was considerably nicer.
I think the total time it took to reach our lodging (with stops) was about nine hours. We were supposed to be in Effingham, IL, but apparently something fell through there, so we had to continue a few more miles down the road to here.
It's nice to be out of Missouri -- and as much as I rag on it, even that state was pretty neat. (Although it was sort of scary to cycle through some of the slums this morning...but it was Sunday morning and either nobody was up, or they were at church. Or it was just all abandoned, which is probably closer to the truth.) This is our only stop in Illinois; tomorrow we head right over the border to Indiana and cross into the Eastern Time Zone. So I'll be a full three hours ahead of Seattle. Whoa.
I looked at a map of where we were in the States the other day, and it was really crazy to look at all the places we've left behind. It's sad to realize that we have less than three weeks until it's all over...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
JOH meets inclement weather.
Location: St. Louis, MO
Alright so probably the highlights of riding the past couple days have been the weather. And boy has it been horrible.
Leaving Lincoln University, we got the word that we might hit some stormy stuff. Well, we did. At about thirty or forty miles (I don't remember) we stopped at a a crew van for a quick rest, and looked out to the northwest to see a HUGE wall of ominous, black cloud racing toward us like a tsunami. I'm not kidding you, that's what it looked like. Thinking, "Oh, s***, that's coming right for us," we hurriedly continued on our way.
About five miles later, the front line of the clouds rolls over us and it turns from day to night. Then one of our guys gets a flat, so as we're waiting for him to change it I'm looking up at the swirling, angry-looking clouds, fully expecting a funnel to form. Then: lightning, and thunder almost immediately following. Almost as if on cue, rain starts coming down in buckets, so we all ditch our bikes and run for cover under some trees. Yeah, probably not the smartest idea but comparing the probabilities of getting soaked versus getting electrocuted, we figured we try. We got soaked anyway. Fifteen lightning-and-rain-filled minutes later, a van shows up only to tell us that the lightning was "far enough away" that we could continue riding. (Joy!)
We later found out that the line ahead of us made it to some good samaritan's mansion where they were able to wait out the rain in his garage while drinking piping hot coffee. And the line before them made it to the next crew stop and stayed dry in the van. I guess that's just tough luck for us!
The next day (yesterday) it started raining almost immediately after we hopped on the bikes. I had a jacket on this time, but it didn't help much, save for keeping me from being as cold as I could have been. I still got soaked.
So, dirty and wet we arrived in St. Louis to a restaraunt owned by someone one of the cyclists knew. Good Italian stuff. Then we did another arrival into downtown where we got some pretty epic pictures and a proclamation in front of the old courthouse and famous Arch. Perhaps better though, we're staying at the Ballpark Hilton which is a-maz-ing.
Today was filled with friendship visits with the St. Louis Arc and St. Louis Society (lots of board games, specifically mancala). It was hot again, so we went for a swim at the Country Surf Swimming Club pool where our project manager lives, then dinner hosted at his house with his family (and friends/neighbors). So, for a "day off," it was friggin' busy.
A couple random things:
Alright so probably the highlights of riding the past couple days have been the weather. And boy has it been horrible.
Leaving Lincoln University, we got the word that we might hit some stormy stuff. Well, we did. At about thirty or forty miles (I don't remember) we stopped at a a crew van for a quick rest, and looked out to the northwest to see a HUGE wall of ominous, black cloud racing toward us like a tsunami. I'm not kidding you, that's what it looked like. Thinking, "Oh, s***, that's coming right for us," we hurriedly continued on our way.
About five miles later, the front line of the clouds rolls over us and it turns from day to night. Then one of our guys gets a flat, so as we're waiting for him to change it I'm looking up at the swirling, angry-looking clouds, fully expecting a funnel to form. Then: lightning, and thunder almost immediately following. Almost as if on cue, rain starts coming down in buckets, so we all ditch our bikes and run for cover under some trees. Yeah, probably not the smartest idea but comparing the probabilities of getting soaked versus getting electrocuted, we figured we try. We got soaked anyway. Fifteen lightning-and-rain-filled minutes later, a van shows up only to tell us that the lightning was "far enough away" that we could continue riding. (Joy!)
We later found out that the line ahead of us made it to some good samaritan's mansion where they were able to wait out the rain in his garage while drinking piping hot coffee. And the line before them made it to the next crew stop and stayed dry in the van. I guess that's just tough luck for us!
The next day (yesterday) it started raining almost immediately after we hopped on the bikes. I had a jacket on this time, but it didn't help much, save for keeping me from being as cold as I could have been. I still got soaked.
So, dirty and wet we arrived in St. Louis to a restaraunt owned by someone one of the cyclists knew. Good Italian stuff. Then we did another arrival into downtown where we got some pretty epic pictures and a proclamation in front of the old courthouse and famous Arch. Perhaps better though, we're staying at the Ballpark Hilton which is a-maz-ing.
Today was filled with friendship visits with the St. Louis Arc and St. Louis Society (lots of board games, specifically mancala). It was hot again, so we went for a swim at the Country Surf Swimming Club pool where our project manager lives, then dinner hosted at his house with his family (and friends/neighbors). So, for a "day off," it was friggin' busy.
A couple random things:
- I've been on the computer here in the hotel for almost two hours, mostly trying to design the team t-shirts.
- I checked my grades finally...not good. The whole confliction with finals week and the beginning of JOH didn't bode well for me.
- I'm looking for some research/lab work in Seattle, and the researcher at one of the labs I'm really interested in mentioned that there might be some opportunity for me! Exciting. Hopefully it's for pay because I'm almost dead broke. So, happy and sad today.
We cross over into Illinois tomorrow -- for likely the longest mileage of the trip. It's in the books for 110 but that's subject to change, and as we've found out...not always for the shorter. Oh well, hope for mild weather and flat road! But now I'm going to go up to my nice hotel bed and relax.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
This state is Missouri-able.
Location: Jefferson City, MO
The past few days of riding have been incredibly hilly and muggy; it doesn't allow you to get into any sort of rhythm, and being wet the whole time is incredibly uncomfortable. Crossing into Missouri yesterday didn't change much, save for the condition of the roads. (No shoulders and apparently they don't like smooth pavement.)
Also, we got an excellent Missouri greeting when some redneck in his little pickup decided to harass one of our pace lines. He pulled up real close to the tail-end rider and after a while blew by with a friendly, "GET OFF THE F***ING ROAD!"
But that's not all! A little while later, we had a crew stop at a Qwik Trip gas station/convenience store, and this guy pulls in -- for a coffee, I think. Anyway, one of our crew members meets him as he's coming out and asks him to stop messing with our cyclists, and the guy promptly explodes into a flurry of cuss words and threats and lectures about how we don't belong on the road. (He especially didn't like being told what to do "in his own state.") Mind you, there's about twenty Pi Kapps about fifty feet away ready to pummel this guy if he gets out of hand. He wasn't too bright. Obviously we weren't going to do anything rash, wearing all of our Push America gear as we were, but it seemed like he was ready to toss his scalding coffee or throw a punch at our crew member. Eventually, after a lot of empty talk he got in his car and he and his five- or six-year old son sped off. Yes, his son was in the passenger seat. Excellent role model.
And have I mentioned it's humid? I guess I have, but by golly I could do without being soaked the entire day! At least it's pretty. We're going through lots of rural area, lots of corn and soy, I think. At every stop today, I wrung out my gloves and they were sopping wet every time. Yuck.
On a tangent, we have several guys on the team who are from this part of the country, so we've had a lot of friends, family, and girlfriends hanging out and sometimes sponsoring meals and stuff. That's all good and well, but it's kind of sad for me to see everyone meeting up with their loved ones and then there's nobody for me! Oh well. I did find out, however, that my dad is going to be flying to Washington, DC to see the arrival, so I'm excited for that...except I told them not to spend the money on it!
Lastly, brief recap of today. Yesterday's 80-mile ride turned into 107, so today we were all a bit sore and sluggish, especially with the hills and humidity factored in. We had to re-route past some real crappy roads in favor of some back country stuff, so our ride today would have been 20 miles longer as well, except we didn't quite go fast enough to meet our rack point. So at mile 50 we had to pack up the bikes and drive into Jeff City where we had a police escort and an arrival at the capitol building which was strictly scheduled. We had a fried chicken/mashed taters lunch (I know what I said earlier about fried chicken, but I must be over it because it was delicious) at a nearby church, then set up shop in the Lincoln University gymnasium. After a little reading and a wonderful nap, we headed to dinner and back. Not too exciting but I think after so much activity in the past week, it was much needed.
Up next: Union then two days in St. Louis!
EDIT: Holy crap, I totally forgot probably one of the coolest things. We had a couple days in Olathe, KS after my last post which was just swell. We had an arrival, proclamation, and lunch at the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and then went to lodging at the Kansas School for the Deaf where they put us in the rooms there (I had one to myself). We had a couple friendship visits that were packed in and more or less unorganized, so that was difficult...but everything was organized by a gentleman by the name of Mark Cameron, and I'll tell you about him now:
Mark broke his neck almost four years ago by diving too deep into a lake while trying to swim out to a friends boat. He's now quadripelegic, but was determined to overcome some almost insurmountable obstacles so that he could be able to live as independently as possible. He invited us over to his house to visit and check out some of the neat gadgets he has that helps him in is daily life, such as his lift which will get him into/out of bed, the shower, etc. He also has voice commanded electronics and some cool modifications to his computer system so he can type emails and such...
But I think one of the most amazing thing was hearing him talk about his injury and rehabilitation. He is so positive and upbeat, and has such a great sense of humor and outlook on life that it really hit me to think that if something similar had happened to me, would I have the same attitude and resolve to do the things Mark has done and continues to do? For example, doctors had him on a ventilator or some type of tracheal tube thing to help him breathe (I think one of his lungs is paralyzed). They said he'd never be able to breathe without it. But he found a "bicycle" that he can pedal with the aid of electrically stimulating pads worn on the legs or arms -- and now he has some pretty massive muscles for one who can't fire them himself, and his lung capacity increased exponentially with the exercise so that he was eventually able to remove all the assistive devices. He also has invented a couple of his own little gizmos that help out in his home, and just always seems to see the silver lining in everything. He basically lives on his own with some assistants who will help him out of bed and get him fed and everything, but that's about it. And actually, he said he has been getting some sensation back in his feet/toes, can twitch a muscle on his right leg about 50% of the time, and also has some twitching in his palms. Doctors are dumbfounded, but he says he thinks it's because of the bike and electrical stimulation. Pretty neat!
Anyway, I thought it was incredibly inspiring and think you should check out his website, http://www.teamcameron.org/. "Why dive? Make a splash!" (Haha!)
The past few days of riding have been incredibly hilly and muggy; it doesn't allow you to get into any sort of rhythm, and being wet the whole time is incredibly uncomfortable. Crossing into Missouri yesterday didn't change much, save for the condition of the roads. (No shoulders and apparently they don't like smooth pavement.)
Also, we got an excellent Missouri greeting when some redneck in his little pickup decided to harass one of our pace lines. He pulled up real close to the tail-end rider and after a while blew by with a friendly, "GET OFF THE F***ING ROAD!"
But that's not all! A little while later, we had a crew stop at a Qwik Trip gas station/convenience store, and this guy pulls in -- for a coffee, I think. Anyway, one of our crew members meets him as he's coming out and asks him to stop messing with our cyclists, and the guy promptly explodes into a flurry of cuss words and threats and lectures about how we don't belong on the road. (He especially didn't like being told what to do "in his own state.") Mind you, there's about twenty Pi Kapps about fifty feet away ready to pummel this guy if he gets out of hand. He wasn't too bright. Obviously we weren't going to do anything rash, wearing all of our Push America gear as we were, but it seemed like he was ready to toss his scalding coffee or throw a punch at our crew member. Eventually, after a lot of empty talk he got in his car and he and his five- or six-year old son sped off. Yes, his son was in the passenger seat. Excellent role model.
And have I mentioned it's humid? I guess I have, but by golly I could do without being soaked the entire day! At least it's pretty. We're going through lots of rural area, lots of corn and soy, I think. At every stop today, I wrung out my gloves and they were sopping wet every time. Yuck.
On a tangent, we have several guys on the team who are from this part of the country, so we've had a lot of friends, family, and girlfriends hanging out and sometimes sponsoring meals and stuff. That's all good and well, but it's kind of sad for me to see everyone meeting up with their loved ones and then there's nobody for me! Oh well. I did find out, however, that my dad is going to be flying to Washington, DC to see the arrival, so I'm excited for that...except I told them not to spend the money on it!
Lastly, brief recap of today. Yesterday's 80-mile ride turned into 107, so today we were all a bit sore and sluggish, especially with the hills and humidity factored in. We had to re-route past some real crappy roads in favor of some back country stuff, so our ride today would have been 20 miles longer as well, except we didn't quite go fast enough to meet our rack point. So at mile 50 we had to pack up the bikes and drive into Jeff City where we had a police escort and an arrival at the capitol building which was strictly scheduled. We had a fried chicken/mashed taters lunch (I know what I said earlier about fried chicken, but I must be over it because it was delicious) at a nearby church, then set up shop in the Lincoln University gymnasium. After a little reading and a wonderful nap, we headed to dinner and back. Not too exciting but I think after so much activity in the past week, it was much needed.
Up next: Union then two days in St. Louis!
EDIT: Holy crap, I totally forgot probably one of the coolest things. We had a couple days in Olathe, KS after my last post which was just swell. We had an arrival, proclamation, and lunch at the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and then went to lodging at the Kansas School for the Deaf where they put us in the rooms there (I had one to myself). We had a couple friendship visits that were packed in and more or less unorganized, so that was difficult...but everything was organized by a gentleman by the name of Mark Cameron, and I'll tell you about him now:
Mark broke his neck almost four years ago by diving too deep into a lake while trying to swim out to a friends boat. He's now quadripelegic, but was determined to overcome some almost insurmountable obstacles so that he could be able to live as independently as possible. He invited us over to his house to visit and check out some of the neat gadgets he has that helps him in is daily life, such as his lift which will get him into/out of bed, the shower, etc. He also has voice commanded electronics and some cool modifications to his computer system so he can type emails and such...
But I think one of the most amazing thing was hearing him talk about his injury and rehabilitation. He is so positive and upbeat, and has such a great sense of humor and outlook on life that it really hit me to think that if something similar had happened to me, would I have the same attitude and resolve to do the things Mark has done and continues to do? For example, doctors had him on a ventilator or some type of tracheal tube thing to help him breathe (I think one of his lungs is paralyzed). They said he'd never be able to breathe without it. But he found a "bicycle" that he can pedal with the aid of electrically stimulating pads worn on the legs or arms -- and now he has some pretty massive muscles for one who can't fire them himself, and his lung capacity increased exponentially with the exercise so that he was eventually able to remove all the assistive devices. He also has invented a couple of his own little gizmos that help out in his home, and just always seems to see the silver lining in everything. He basically lives on his own with some assistants who will help him out of bed and get him fed and everything, but that's about it. And actually, he said he has been getting some sensation back in his feet/toes, can twitch a muscle on his right leg about 50% of the time, and also has some twitching in his palms. Doctors are dumbfounded, but he says he thinks it's because of the bike and electrical stimulation. Pretty neat!
Anyway, I thought it was incredibly inspiring and think you should check out his website, http://www.teamcameron.org/. "Why dive? Make a splash!" (Haha!)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Squishy socks and a football game?
Location: Topeka, KS
So I'm going to update you real quick on the past couple days...
Yesterday from Wichita to Emporia, we got rained on. Like, a lot. I was soaked through and was able to ring probably a gallon of water out of my socks the next time we stopped. Thankfully it was really warm, so wasn't too uncomfortable besides the whole "wet" thing. I also got my first flat since last August. Correction, I got TWO flats yesterday. Ugh.
But despite the rain and the inconvenience of changing out a couple tubes on the side of the road, the ride was very nice, and actually it seemed pretty easy for the "longest day of the trip." (In actuality it was about 105 miles instead of the scheduled 115.)
AND it was even better because we had a scrumptious lunch in the middle of the ride at a hotel whose name I have forgotten, and then potlatch dinner by members of the local Kiwanis club -- complete with massages for all the cyclists. Aww yeah.
BUT WAIT, there's more. The whole team had been anxiously awaiting the release of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, so we piled in the vans and saw the 8:00 show. It was basically amazing, and the late Heath is spectacular as the Joker.
We slept fitfully, constantly interrupted by passing trains on the nearby tracks, then woke up at 5:00 this morning for the capitol, Topeka. We took some more back-country roads with rolling hills and less shoulder, but it was a lot more interesting and a really nice, fun ride. No rain this time, either.
We had lunch and dinner here at the TARC, and afterwards got to make the opening coin toss at the Kansas Koyotes arena football game. We got to watch the game, which was cool, but I guess I'm old fashioned: I like real football better. (The rugby club played at halftime and that was way more interesting.)
That's about all I have for ya right now. We're in Olathe tomorrow, then a day off there, then we head into Misery, I mean, Missouri. As much as I'll be relieved to be out of Kansas, I'm not sure Missouri's going to be much better...haha.
So I'm going to update you real quick on the past couple days...
Yesterday from Wichita to Emporia, we got rained on. Like, a lot. I was soaked through and was able to ring probably a gallon of water out of my socks the next time we stopped. Thankfully it was really warm, so wasn't too uncomfortable besides the whole "wet" thing. I also got my first flat since last August. Correction, I got TWO flats yesterday. Ugh.
But despite the rain and the inconvenience of changing out a couple tubes on the side of the road, the ride was very nice, and actually it seemed pretty easy for the "longest day of the trip." (In actuality it was about 105 miles instead of the scheduled 115.)
AND it was even better because we had a scrumptious lunch in the middle of the ride at a hotel whose name I have forgotten, and then potlatch dinner by members of the local Kiwanis club -- complete with massages for all the cyclists. Aww yeah.
BUT WAIT, there's more. The whole team had been anxiously awaiting the release of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, so we piled in the vans and saw the 8:00 show. It was basically amazing, and the late Heath is spectacular as the Joker.
We slept fitfully, constantly interrupted by passing trains on the nearby tracks, then woke up at 5:00 this morning for the capitol, Topeka. We took some more back-country roads with rolling hills and less shoulder, but it was a lot more interesting and a really nice, fun ride. No rain this time, either.
We had lunch and dinner here at the TARC, and afterwards got to make the opening coin toss at the Kansas Koyotes arena football game. We got to watch the game, which was cool, but I guess I'm old fashioned: I like real football better. (The rugby club played at halftime and that was way more interesting.)
That's about all I have for ya right now. We're in Olathe tomorrow, then a day off there, then we head into Misery, I mean, Missouri. As much as I'll be relieved to be out of Kansas, I'm not sure Missouri's going to be much better...haha.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I know why it's abbreviated KS...
Location: Wichita, KS
So, our first couple days in Kansas were flat, featurless, hot, windy, and smelly (thank you beef industry and roadkill). I thought at first, "Kansas Sucks."
However, I'm highlighting the bad and there's plenty of good. For one thing, everyone I've met in this state is absurdly nice. I'm serious. Even the honks from passing cars are more pleasant. And the highways we've been on have had enormous shoulders -- room to roam! Keep in mind that this stretch (until today) has been our longest stretch without a day off, so some smooth, easily navigable roads are very pleasant on the ol' backside...
Also, the ride from Pratt to Wichita was actually very pretty. Lush and green. With trees, even!! One of our crew members, who is from here, rode the whole day...he's going to be hurting tomorrow, I think. Haha.
And we had an awesome friendship visit at a camp for kids with cerebral palsy. They were absolutely adorable and had a blast with them in their pool. After experiencing an 80-mile day turn into 95, all I had on my mind was napping...but when we got to the CP Ranch, the kids just had so much energy and were so excited to see us, it was easy to forget about how tired I was or how much I just wanted to curl up into a corner and snooze.
Even better: we get to come back to a really nice hotel and we have our OWN BEDS! Nice. And we have a day off tomorrow -- at least from the bikes. We have a lot planned and I think I'm going to hit the hay.
So, our first couple days in Kansas were flat, featurless, hot, windy, and smelly (thank you beef industry and roadkill). I thought at first, "Kansas Sucks."
However, I'm highlighting the bad and there's plenty of good. For one thing, everyone I've met in this state is absurdly nice. I'm serious. Even the honks from passing cars are more pleasant. And the highways we've been on have had enormous shoulders -- room to roam! Keep in mind that this stretch (until today) has been our longest stretch without a day off, so some smooth, easily navigable roads are very pleasant on the ol' backside...
Also, the ride from Pratt to Wichita was actually very pretty. Lush and green. With trees, even!! One of our crew members, who is from here, rode the whole day...he's going to be hurting tomorrow, I think. Haha.
And we had an awesome friendship visit at a camp for kids with cerebral palsy. They were absolutely adorable and had a blast with them in their pool. After experiencing an 80-mile day turn into 95, all I had on my mind was napping...but when we got to the CP Ranch, the kids just had so much energy and were so excited to see us, it was easy to forget about how tired I was or how much I just wanted to curl up into a corner and snooze.
Even better: we get to come back to a really nice hotel and we have our OWN BEDS! Nice. And we have a day off tomorrow -- at least from the bikes. We have a lot planned and I think I'm going to hit the hay.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
It's hot.
Location: Lamar, CO
Today is our last day in Colorado. The scenery isn't much, but the weather is certainly throwing in its punches.
Going into Pueblo, it wasn't too unbearable. (Still really hot though; upper 90s.) Especially considering we got to stay at another hotel/motel...so real beds again after having them in both Denver (for two days) and Colorado Springs. Air conditioning is spectacular, by the way.
The ride into La Junta, however: scorching. Thankfully, it wasn't windy and we hauled butt on the bikes, frequently topping 26-28 miles per hour for fairly long stretches. I think we topped out at 104 degrees, and the gym we stayed in didn't have air conditioning. As you can imagine, it was a bit uncomfortable for this Seattle native. Playing four or five rounds of volleyball before going to bed didn't help either. I didn't get great sleep, and actually had to transfer from my air mattress to the floor because it was a degree or two cooler. One has to take what one is given though.
Oddly enough, today's ride was pretty chilly and took place under a pretty thick layer of gray clouds. And it was windy, so we had to fight that the whole time. Not so fun.
On another note, while I was doing fundraising, I was a bit discouraged to see how many people weren't willing to donate even a little bit to the cause. But out on the road, with all the people who open their homes and wallets to feed us, as well as the strangers who pull over at our crew stops to ask us about what we're doing is just really neat.
I think this is the shortest interval between posts, so there's not much -- especially since there hasn't been much programming. I have been doing a lot of sleeping though. So that's good.
Today is our last day in Colorado. The scenery isn't much, but the weather is certainly throwing in its punches.
Going into Pueblo, it wasn't too unbearable. (Still really hot though; upper 90s.) Especially considering we got to stay at another hotel/motel...so real beds again after having them in both Denver (for two days) and Colorado Springs. Air conditioning is spectacular, by the way.
The ride into La Junta, however: scorching. Thankfully, it wasn't windy and we hauled butt on the bikes, frequently topping 26-28 miles per hour for fairly long stretches. I think we topped out at 104 degrees, and the gym we stayed in didn't have air conditioning. As you can imagine, it was a bit uncomfortable for this Seattle native. Playing four or five rounds of volleyball before going to bed didn't help either. I didn't get great sleep, and actually had to transfer from my air mattress to the floor because it was a degree or two cooler. One has to take what one is given though.
Oddly enough, today's ride was pretty chilly and took place under a pretty thick layer of gray clouds. And it was windy, so we had to fight that the whole time. Not so fun.
On another note, while I was doing fundraising, I was a bit discouraged to see how many people weren't willing to donate even a little bit to the cause. But out on the road, with all the people who open their homes and wallets to feed us, as well as the strangers who pull over at our crew stops to ask us about what we're doing is just really neat.
I think this is the shortest interval between posts, so there's not much -- especially since there hasn't been much programming. I have been doing a lot of sleeping though. So that's good.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Olympians abound!
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Hey everyone! The days are all blurring together, but I think I can pick up where I left off last...
After Fort Collins (where we got to hang out with the Zeta Phi guys from CSU), we headed to another college-oriented town, Boulder, where we were greeted by more Pi Kapps, this time by the local Eta Gamma guys.
Our friendship visit in Boulder was one of the most exciting to date: we got to play wheelchair rugby (a.k.a. quad rugby) with the Denver Harlequins, a couple of whom were/are Paralympians and star in the 2005 movie, Murderball. It was so fun, they mixed us in and we got to play some scrimmages -- although I have a feeling they held back. It's brutal and full-contact for sure; at one point a chair teetered delicately on its side after being slammed into. (The chairs, by the way, run upwards of $4000!) As time ran out, we were reluctant to go, but were pleased to present the team with a grant from Push America. It's always nice to see the money that we raised go to the organizations we visit!
That visit was very humbling as well, and hit home more than the others we have had so far. Most of the athletes were quadriplegic and had varying degrees of control of their hands and arms. At the beginning we got to hear how they ended up in their wheelchairs: several car accidents, one diving into a shallow pool, cerebral palsy, and even being bucked off of a mechanical bull. Who's to say one of us is on a bicycle on day and in a Murderball chair the next? It was very sobering to realize how quickly and easily your life could be so drastically changed. Needless to say, I felt more than a bit guilty about being able to get out of the chair and walk away...but I wish them all the best as the next Games approach!
The next day in Boulder was a day off the bike, and we kicked off by a scrumptious breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Or Original House of Pancakes. Something with pancakes, which is all that really matters. And boy did I enjoy some of those fluffy, flattened treats! It was glorious.
After breakfast, we thought it would be a great idea to float Boulder Creek. Well, the weather turned out to be pretty horrible, as it rained on us intermittently. And also the "creek" turned out to be more of a raging river than I expected. I banged up my legs on countless rocks and feared for my life on a couple occasions...but hey, it was fun! I think about 30 of us went in at the beginning and 8 floated out in one piece and/or on a tube.
Despues de Boulder, we headed to good ol' Denver. It was just a hair longer than 30 miles, and we got to meet up with the North team for an intricate arrival. We double-pace lined it all from near Invesco Field to the capitol building where we had media and some of our KRG Capital sponsors. For example, the "R" in KRG is Bruce Rogers, who was the inspiration for the Journey of Hope when he cycled cross-country in 1987.
Later that day, the friendship visit was a joint one with the North team: Pedal for Pennies. It was another KRG-sponsored event in which some of the local Special Olympians cycled laps to raise money. We did some ride alongs, dinner, and ended with a bumpin' dance party. It started out pretty slow with only a few people but quickly filled up and ended up being incredibly enjoyable, especially the dancing; we did a rhumba line, Macarena, sing-alongs to the Backstreet Boys and Sweet Caroline, etc. etc.! Good times. One of the Special Olympians who was cycling earlier (Emily!) started crying because she was so happy. That was especially heartwarming. They told us that they waited all year for the "Journey of Hope boys" to come visit! I'm glad we were able help out and bring some more joy to the day.
Yesterday was a day off in Denver, and I took advantage of the downtime to sleep in the wonderful Mariott beds until 11 o'clock, then shop for some new sunglasses (I lost a pair in the swollen "Creek") and goggles for the hotel pool. (The previous night, I had started to do laps but without protection, the chlorine didn't agree with my eyeballs too much.) In an attempt to keep some upper-body tone, I lifted weights and then did some more laps. Then a nap and some reading, and bike maintenance took most of the rest of the day. Pretty chill.
Today we left Denver for Colorado Springs with some KRG and Pi Alpha ride-alongs. We fought through a heavy headwind the entire day and it was both painful and frustrating. But our spirits were lifted soon enough, as our stop was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. They fed us amazing food, gave us a tour of the incredible facility -- and we even got to see some of our Beijing Olympians! (The women's volleyball players are absolutely GIGANTIC. I felt so insignificant as we watched them lift weights...I probably came up to most of their belly buttons. Just kidding. But almost.) It was pretty darn American, that's for sure, and darn impressive too to know that some of our country's greatest athletes had come and gone through that facility (or are training there right now!).
We're staying at Colorado College right now at really nice residence hall, and the dean, Mike Edmonds, was kind enough to provide a catered meal at his house here on campus. Beautiful campus and good food made for a nice end to the day. OH! And I almost forgot: we were on the local news here in probably our best TV spot so far, check it out at FOX21 (I don't know if they'll put the TV spot online or not?).
I'm sorry my posts are so long! I have to cram a bunch in. You can read them in chunks, that's okay. That's why you've bookmarked it...right? Anyway, we're out of Colorado in a couple days and into Kansas. I can't wait. Except I think I forgot my ruby slippers at home. (Mandatory Wizard of Oz Kansas joke.)
Hey everyone! The days are all blurring together, but I think I can pick up where I left off last...
After Fort Collins (where we got to hang out with the Zeta Phi guys from CSU), we headed to another college-oriented town, Boulder, where we were greeted by more Pi Kapps, this time by the local Eta Gamma guys.
Our friendship visit in Boulder was one of the most exciting to date: we got to play wheelchair rugby (a.k.a. quad rugby) with the Denver Harlequins, a couple of whom were/are Paralympians and star in the 2005 movie, Murderball. It was so fun, they mixed us in and we got to play some scrimmages -- although I have a feeling they held back. It's brutal and full-contact for sure; at one point a chair teetered delicately on its side after being slammed into. (The chairs, by the way, run upwards of $4000!) As time ran out, we were reluctant to go, but were pleased to present the team with a grant from Push America. It's always nice to see the money that we raised go to the organizations we visit!
That visit was very humbling as well, and hit home more than the others we have had so far. Most of the athletes were quadriplegic and had varying degrees of control of their hands and arms. At the beginning we got to hear how they ended up in their wheelchairs: several car accidents, one diving into a shallow pool, cerebral palsy, and even being bucked off of a mechanical bull. Who's to say one of us is on a bicycle on day and in a Murderball chair the next? It was very sobering to realize how quickly and easily your life could be so drastically changed. Needless to say, I felt more than a bit guilty about being able to get out of the chair and walk away...but I wish them all the best as the next Games approach!
The next day in Boulder was a day off the bike, and we kicked off by a scrumptious breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Or Original House of Pancakes. Something with pancakes, which is all that really matters. And boy did I enjoy some of those fluffy, flattened treats! It was glorious.
After breakfast, we thought it would be a great idea to float Boulder Creek. Well, the weather turned out to be pretty horrible, as it rained on us intermittently. And also the "creek" turned out to be more of a raging river than I expected. I banged up my legs on countless rocks and feared for my life on a couple occasions...but hey, it was fun! I think about 30 of us went in at the beginning and 8 floated out in one piece and/or on a tube.
Despues de Boulder, we headed to good ol' Denver. It was just a hair longer than 30 miles, and we got to meet up with the North team for an intricate arrival. We double-pace lined it all from near Invesco Field to the capitol building where we had media and some of our KRG Capital sponsors. For example, the "R" in KRG is Bruce Rogers, who was the inspiration for the Journey of Hope when he cycled cross-country in 1987.
Later that day, the friendship visit was a joint one with the North team: Pedal for Pennies. It was another KRG-sponsored event in which some of the local Special Olympians cycled laps to raise money. We did some ride alongs, dinner, and ended with a bumpin' dance party. It started out pretty slow with only a few people but quickly filled up and ended up being incredibly enjoyable, especially the dancing; we did a rhumba line, Macarena, sing-alongs to the Backstreet Boys and Sweet Caroline, etc. etc.! Good times. One of the Special Olympians who was cycling earlier (Emily!) started crying because she was so happy. That was especially heartwarming. They told us that they waited all year for the "Journey of Hope boys" to come visit! I'm glad we were able help out and bring some more joy to the day.
Yesterday was a day off in Denver, and I took advantage of the downtime to sleep in the wonderful Mariott beds until 11 o'clock, then shop for some new sunglasses (I lost a pair in the swollen "Creek") and goggles for the hotel pool. (The previous night, I had started to do laps but without protection, the chlorine didn't agree with my eyeballs too much.) In an attempt to keep some upper-body tone, I lifted weights and then did some more laps. Then a nap and some reading, and bike maintenance took most of the rest of the day. Pretty chill.
Today we left Denver for Colorado Springs with some KRG and Pi Alpha ride-alongs. We fought through a heavy headwind the entire day and it was both painful and frustrating. But our spirits were lifted soon enough, as our stop was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. They fed us amazing food, gave us a tour of the incredible facility -- and we even got to see some of our Beijing Olympians! (The women's volleyball players are absolutely GIGANTIC. I felt so insignificant as we watched them lift weights...I probably came up to most of their belly buttons. Just kidding. But almost.) It was pretty darn American, that's for sure, and darn impressive too to know that some of our country's greatest athletes had come and gone through that facility (or are training there right now!).
We're staying at Colorado College right now at really nice residence hall, and the dean, Mike Edmonds, was kind enough to provide a catered meal at his house here on campus. Beautiful campus and good food made for a nice end to the day. OH! And I almost forgot: we were on the local news here in probably our best TV spot so far, check it out at FOX21 (I don't know if they'll put the TV spot online or not?).
I'm sorry my posts are so long! I have to cram a bunch in. You can read them in chunks, that's okay. That's why you've bookmarked it...right? Anyway, we're out of Colorado in a couple days and into Kansas. I can't wait. Except I think I forgot my ruby slippers at home. (Mandatory Wizard of Oz Kansas joke.)
Friday, July 4, 2008
Colorado!
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Whew! Finally out of Wyoming. Not that we all didn't enjoy it -- it just got a bit...bland...after a while. As the national parks faded into the distance behind us, we entered a very flat, very windy, not-very populated stretch of the state. (Basically most of it.)
And it's HOT. I'm from Seattle, and I don't do hot well. We've only hit a couple days of iffy weather -- mostly thunder/lightning storms here in the past couple days -- so that's nice. It rains differently here than in Seattle, too. Back in good ol' WA, you get the gray mist, then a drizzle, then rain. But here, it's lightning and thunder, downpour of huge raindrops for five minutes, then everything passes over. It's weird.
I haven't been in the weather that much though; I've been off the bike for a couple days (if you've been checking out the photos on the Push America website, you may have noticed). But I should be back in top condition and ready to hit the road again here in the next day or so. In the meantime, I've been helping the crew do all their duties. And for the most part...it's boring as hell.
But! I've gotten a lot of time to read and have finished five novels so far in the three weeks or so that we've been riding. They are as follows: The Art of Racing in the Rain, A Clockwork Orange, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Of Mice and Men, and State of Fear.
Yesterday, we had a friendship visit with the Arc of Laramie County. It was really fun, and for a while I was speaking with a gentleman named Jeff. Jeff has Down syndrome, and was hearing but also liked to sign. So we spent some time learning how to sign some stuff. That reminded me that I'm going to be taking American Sign Language this coming year in school, so afterwards I headed to Barnes and Noble in Cheyenne, WY to find an ASL book to get an early start. I got one, but also ended up walking by one of the random tables they have and saw George Orwell's 1984. It's on my imaginary list of books I want to read before I die, so I snatched it right up and started it today. Yay for reading! (I used to read a lot in middle/high school, but with college comes a drastic increase in other obligatory readings...i.e. textbooks. So now I'm taking advantage of this downtime!)
So we're in Colorado. And it's the Fourth of July! Happy birthday, America. I don't know if we have anything planned as far as celebrations go, but I'm sure we do. I'm kind of along for the ride so we'll see. My grandparents used to live in Colorado, and I faintly remember visiting a handful of times, and I'm excited to be back.
I hope I've been posting regularly enough for all of you! Enjoy your Fourth, read all warning labels on your pyrotechnics, and I'll catch you later.
Whew! Finally out of Wyoming. Not that we all didn't enjoy it -- it just got a bit...bland...after a while. As the national parks faded into the distance behind us, we entered a very flat, very windy, not-very populated stretch of the state. (Basically most of it.)
And it's HOT. I'm from Seattle, and I don't do hot well. We've only hit a couple days of iffy weather -- mostly thunder/lightning storms here in the past couple days -- so that's nice. It rains differently here than in Seattle, too. Back in good ol' WA, you get the gray mist, then a drizzle, then rain. But here, it's lightning and thunder, downpour of huge raindrops for five minutes, then everything passes over. It's weird.
I haven't been in the weather that much though; I've been off the bike for a couple days (if you've been checking out the photos on the Push America website, you may have noticed). But I should be back in top condition and ready to hit the road again here in the next day or so. In the meantime, I've been helping the crew do all their duties. And for the most part...it's boring as hell.
But! I've gotten a lot of time to read and have finished five novels so far in the three weeks or so that we've been riding. They are as follows: The Art of Racing in the Rain, A Clockwork Orange, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Of Mice and Men, and State of Fear.
Yesterday, we had a friendship visit with the Arc of Laramie County. It was really fun, and for a while I was speaking with a gentleman named Jeff. Jeff has Down syndrome, and was hearing but also liked to sign. So we spent some time learning how to sign some stuff. That reminded me that I'm going to be taking American Sign Language this coming year in school, so afterwards I headed to Barnes and Noble in Cheyenne, WY to find an ASL book to get an early start. I got one, but also ended up walking by one of the random tables they have and saw George Orwell's 1984. It's on my imaginary list of books I want to read before I die, so I snatched it right up and started it today. Yay for reading! (I used to read a lot in middle/high school, but with college comes a drastic increase in other obligatory readings...i.e. textbooks. So now I'm taking advantage of this downtime!)
So we're in Colorado. And it's the Fourth of July! Happy birthday, America. I don't know if we have anything planned as far as celebrations go, but I'm sure we do. I'm kind of along for the ride so we'll see. My grandparents used to live in Colorado, and I faintly remember visiting a handful of times, and I'm excited to be back.
I hope I've been posting regularly enough for all of you! Enjoy your Fourth, read all warning labels on your pyrotechnics, and I'll catch you later.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Grand Tetons and City Slickin'
Location: Shoshoni, WY
Okay, so I have to remember where I left off on my last post...Ah yes, national parks and such.
We got to cycle through Yellowstone National Park. It was pretty amazing, and I'm glad I can say I did that. I was amazed at how much wildlife there was, and how little each animal cared that there were cars and people everywhere. We saw two bald eagles, a handful of elk, countless bison (one of which decided to shuffle slowly in front of us for a good distance so that we couldn't get by), and even a wolf.
The scenery was different than I expected. Still rugged, but there is a lot of new growth from after the wildfires of 1988. So there was this weird dichotomy of new, 7 to 8-foot trees coming up between the charred, skewer-like remains of the old trees. So it looked empty, but not, all at the same time.
Probably the coolest part, obviously, is the geothermal activity at the park. We went by a bunch of thermophile-rich pools and geysers and other such oddities of nature, but didn't see Old Faithful until we drove there later that night. (The notorious geyser was somewhat of a tease -- spurting slightly for 20 minutes past its "scheduled eruption time" until blasting hundreds of feet in the air. Pretty spectacular!)
Probably the best part of the night was staying at one of the lodges in real beds. Oh, and the buffet dinner. Mmm.
However, as cool as Yellowstone was, nothing could have prepared me for the Grand Tetons. Oh. My. God. They are breathtaking. And pointy! The ride that day was short and flat (read: easy) and absolutely gorgeous. I'd say it was the best ride of the trip thus far.
But wait! There's more. We arrived in Jackson, WY and had a police escort to the town center where we were greeted and congratulated by the mayor. (We got cool Jackson pins too.) THEN we went a short distance to the Snow King Resort and spent a few hours on the alpine slide -- which is basically a 2500 foot fiberglass slide that you go down on while riding a sort of luge/sled. It was pretty fun. Okay, it was freakin' fantastic.
But we're definitely not through. After alpine slide and pizza, we departed Jackson Hole and drove west to Driggs, Idaho to stay at Twin Creek Ranch, owned by the Cushman family. Pete Cushman is a Pi Kapp alum from University of Colorado - Boulder, and rode the Journey of Hope back in 1999. He was there with a few of his buddies from the same chapter who had also cyclied JOH in the late 90's. The ranch is a slice of heaven: property bordering a national forest, three houses (all beautifully built and furnished), great food, a pool and hot tub, tons of planned activities, and real comfy beds made for an extremely spoiled Trans-Am team. We had a day off there, and I got to go horseback riding (I rode Cricket and he kept grabbin mouthfuls of lush grass almost the entire time) and canoeing, with some eating and pool-swimming in between. It was almost as tiring as a day on the bike! Our (old) Pi Kapp brothers were excellent hosts and we all had a blast. I could have stayed another week or two, easily.
After the ranch, we went to Dubois, WY which was pretty forgettable, besides the fact that our 100+ mile trip turned into a little over 60 due to construction and crappy roads. And we hit our highest (posted) elevation: 9,631 feet. We paid for the shortened trip today though: our 80 miles turned into 96 in very hot and very nondescript Wyoming countryside. It was relatively flat though, so we averaged a good speed (over 20mph compared to our usual 15-16). So now I'm here and our historian is bugging me to get the journal entry for the Push America website done, so I'm going to do that.
Okay, so I have to remember where I left off on my last post...Ah yes, national parks and such.
We got to cycle through Yellowstone National Park. It was pretty amazing, and I'm glad I can say I did that. I was amazed at how much wildlife there was, and how little each animal cared that there were cars and people everywhere. We saw two bald eagles, a handful of elk, countless bison (one of which decided to shuffle slowly in front of us for a good distance so that we couldn't get by), and even a wolf.
The scenery was different than I expected. Still rugged, but there is a lot of new growth from after the wildfires of 1988. So there was this weird dichotomy of new, 7 to 8-foot trees coming up between the charred, skewer-like remains of the old trees. So it looked empty, but not, all at the same time.
Probably the coolest part, obviously, is the geothermal activity at the park. We went by a bunch of thermophile-rich pools and geysers and other such oddities of nature, but didn't see Old Faithful until we drove there later that night. (The notorious geyser was somewhat of a tease -- spurting slightly for 20 minutes past its "scheduled eruption time" until blasting hundreds of feet in the air. Pretty spectacular!)
Probably the best part of the night was staying at one of the lodges in real beds. Oh, and the buffet dinner. Mmm.
However, as cool as Yellowstone was, nothing could have prepared me for the Grand Tetons. Oh. My. God. They are breathtaking. And pointy! The ride that day was short and flat (read: easy) and absolutely gorgeous. I'd say it was the best ride of the trip thus far.
But wait! There's more. We arrived in Jackson, WY and had a police escort to the town center where we were greeted and congratulated by the mayor. (We got cool Jackson pins too.) THEN we went a short distance to the Snow King Resort and spent a few hours on the alpine slide -- which is basically a 2500 foot fiberglass slide that you go down on while riding a sort of luge/sled. It was pretty fun. Okay, it was freakin' fantastic.
But we're definitely not through. After alpine slide and pizza, we departed Jackson Hole and drove west to Driggs, Idaho to stay at Twin Creek Ranch, owned by the Cushman family. Pete Cushman is a Pi Kapp alum from University of Colorado - Boulder, and rode the Journey of Hope back in 1999. He was there with a few of his buddies from the same chapter who had also cyclied JOH in the late 90's. The ranch is a slice of heaven: property bordering a national forest, three houses (all beautifully built and furnished), great food, a pool and hot tub, tons of planned activities, and real comfy beds made for an extremely spoiled Trans-Am team. We had a day off there, and I got to go horseback riding (I rode Cricket and he kept grabbin mouthfuls of lush grass almost the entire time) and canoeing, with some eating and pool-swimming in between. It was almost as tiring as a day on the bike! Our (old) Pi Kapp brothers were excellent hosts and we all had a blast. I could have stayed another week or two, easily.
After the ranch, we went to Dubois, WY which was pretty forgettable, besides the fact that our 100+ mile trip turned into a little over 60 due to construction and crappy roads. And we hit our highest (posted) elevation: 9,631 feet. We paid for the shortened trip today though: our 80 miles turned into 96 in very hot and very nondescript Wyoming countryside. It was relatively flat though, so we averaged a good speed (over 20mph compared to our usual 15-16). So now I'm here and our historian is bugging me to get the journal entry for the Push America website done, so I'm going to do that.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Big Sky and a National Park
Location: West Yellowstone, MT
Hey everyone! This post is going to be a bit short(er) since someone is waiting for the computer. (It's the only one with a satellite connection so it works when nobody has wifi.)
So I'm not going to bore you with how amazing the scenery is. Even though it really is. Yesterday we got a tour of Bozeman's Eagle Mount facility, which was incredible. They have recreational and therapeutic activities for people with all sorts of disabilities; from swimming to horseback riding to downhill skiing (and so much more), they have tons of programs and as many ways to get people involved no matter what their disability might entail. I was pretty impressed, and they loved what we were doing -- it was the Journey of Hope's fourth time through there. After dinner and a tour, I got to pet and feed some horses. I felt like I was twelve. (Awesome creatures, those.)
I guess what I've yet to mention is how a typical JOH day works:
I also don't have a camera with me, but we have a team historian and he's taking lots of 'em. We also have journal entries for every day on the Push America Website.
Journals (Click "Team Journal Entry" on the right):
http://pushamerica.org/events/te_itinerary.cfm?ride_code=JOH&route=Trans
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pushamerica/collections/72157604901121186/
(...the journal entries also have links to the photos from that day.)
Okay I've spent time enough. We have a day off soon (I hope) so I'll write more then. I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say about Yellowstone National Park -- we get to ride through and do some sightseeing tomorrow!! I can't wait. Well, if it means a few more hours of sleep, I can...
Hey everyone! This post is going to be a bit short(er) since someone is waiting for the computer. (It's the only one with a satellite connection so it works when nobody has wifi.)
So I'm not going to bore you with how amazing the scenery is. Even though it really is. Yesterday we got a tour of Bozeman's Eagle Mount facility, which was incredible. They have recreational and therapeutic activities for people with all sorts of disabilities; from swimming to horseback riding to downhill skiing (and so much more), they have tons of programs and as many ways to get people involved no matter what their disability might entail. I was pretty impressed, and they loved what we were doing -- it was the Journey of Hope's fourth time through there. After dinner and a tour, I got to pet and feed some horses. I felt like I was twelve. (Awesome creatures, those.)
I guess what I've yet to mention is how a typical JOH day works:
- We usually get up early, about 5:30 or 6:00, and get 30 minutes to pack up our things and get dressed.
- Then another 30 minutes is dedicated to breakfast which usually consists of off-brand cereal, an off-brand toaster pastry, half of a bagel, a splash of juice, and...if we're lucky...part of a banana. Not fancy by any means but it's loads of carbs and cheap (we don't have much of a budget I guess).
- We circle up for briefing about the day's ride where we learn about the length, terrain, checkpoints (if any).
- After that, we have Disability of the Day where someone researches a disability and tells the team about it.
- The Dedication comes next, where we name someone we've met or someone we should be thinking about when the ride gets tough. For example, one day happened to be a team member's friend's last day of chemotherapy, so we dedicated the ride to her; or also we heard about a Bob Mortimer who is cycling cross country as well -- only he is a triple-amputee and has a specialized bike which he cranks with his arm. (He was just north of us on Highway 2 the other day when a friend of his pulled up to our crew stop and we swapped stories. Kinda makes one feel lame to be bitching and moaning about how hard the ride is when one has all four limbs still!) Most often, though, it's someone we've met at a friendship visit earlier in the week.
- Then we take volunteers for the Sweeps positions. They're the two guys in the very back; they wear orange vests that say "Cyclists Ahead" on the back, and no cyclist falls behind them. Helps to denote the end of the pack.
- Then we split up into our pace lines of four or five guys and we're off! The pace lines are sent separately so we don't all get bunched up into one long mass of cyclists.
- There are crew stops about every 10 miles where we can fill up on water or grab a Clif Bar or packet of cheese crackers. It's also a good chance to rest the legs or stretch, so the days aren't as bad as they COULD be.
- If we have a long ride, or if nobody is sponsoring lunch, we have another crew-provided lunch: a sandwich (either PBJ or processed meat-and-cheese), chips, and sometimes a treat like an Little Debbie oatmeal cream pie. Or a ton of fried chicken that was leftover from a friendship visit like we've had for the past couple days. (I'll be happy not to see another piece of fried chicken until after the trip.)
- Lastly, we arrive at lodging and set up our things, get showered (we've had no warm water in our showers the past couple days...) and head out to our programmed activities, whether it be a friendship visit or a sponsored dinner. Then it's back to lodging where we have some free time to do whatever (I like to read)...then lights out and ZzZzZzZzZ...
I also don't have a camera with me, but we have a team historian and he's taking lots of 'em. We also have journal entries for every day on the Push America Website.
Journals (Click "Team Journal Entry" on the right):
http://pushamerica.org/events/te_itinerary.cfm?ride_code=JOH&route=Trans
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pushamerica/collections/72157604901121186/
(...the journal entries also have links to the photos from that day.)
Okay I've spent time enough. We have a day off soon (I hope) so I'll write more then. I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say about Yellowstone National Park -- we get to ride through and do some sightseeing tomorrow!! I can't wait. Well, if it means a few more hours of sleep, I can...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Panhandles and Hot Springs
Location: Missoula, MT
Today is our day off in Missoula, Montana. We spent a couple days in Idaho: Camp Sweyolaken in Coeur d'Alene and then Kellogg. I thought the camp was fun; some other guys were a bit taken aback by the quirky camp traditions and what not. But we had a pretty relaxing day there, or at least I did. I fell asleep reading A Clockwork Orange in front of Lake Coeur d'Alene and the setting sun. Niiice.
From Kellogg we had an 85-mile trip to Paradise, Montana. Yep. Paradise. Only that 85-mile trip turned out to be 105, much to our dismay. (It also included a few thousand feet of climbing through two passes.) But we made it through and got to stay at Quinn's Hot Spring Resort, where we enjoyed pools of different temperatures and DE-LUXE cabins with our OWN BEDS! So 105-mile soreness, plus cushy beds and climate-controlled rooms made for a very difficult wakeup the next morning.
But on a similar thread from my last post, the scenery we've seen this past few days has also been amazing. I thought Washington was as good as it was going to get, but clearly I was wrong. Lake Coeur d'Alene is amazing in its convoluted and tree-filled shorline, and Montana is just plain rugged. It's awesome; exposed rock and mountains that look like they had just been forced up at an angle just the morning before...I'm glad I get to see this on a bike going at about 16 miles per hour instead of a car going at 60+.
Side note, we're staying at Hellgate High School in Missoula. So we went from Paradise to Hellgate. Hahaha.
I'm using a crew member's computer right now (Ben Kaufman) and we're at a pretty nifty coffee shop not too far away. Missoula is actually really nice, nothing like I expected. Of course I've never been to Montana before so it's all pretty surprising. It's a beautiful town.
Speaking of beautiful: a bunch of the 21+ year-old guys went out last night and found the Iron Horse Bar and Grill (or something like that) and it was PACKED with college kids. Namely, college girls (most of whom were absolutely gorgeous). The ratio of girls to guys was through the roof in our favor. We were there to hang out with each other though (a.k.a. "bro-ing out"), but nevertheless it was refreshing to see.
So Missoula, you get high marks in my books. We had a really good friendship visit yesterday too with Opportunity Resources. I actually met a couple Washingtonians, one from Aberdeen and one from Whidbey Island, so that was cool to be able to talk to them about that and why they moved out to Montana. They had the same sentiments as me about the scenery. I guess if you've got to move out of Washington, Montana ain't a bad choice!
We're going to be moving through Yellowstone National Park in the next couple of days -- so I may regret not bringing a camera with me even more than I do now. Actually, I just remembered that I packed a digital camcorder that also takes photos...so maybe I'll toss that in my jersey pocket for this special occasion. I can't wait!
Today is our day off in Missoula, Montana. We spent a couple days in Idaho: Camp Sweyolaken in Coeur d'Alene and then Kellogg. I thought the camp was fun; some other guys were a bit taken aback by the quirky camp traditions and what not. But we had a pretty relaxing day there, or at least I did. I fell asleep reading A Clockwork Orange in front of Lake Coeur d'Alene and the setting sun. Niiice.
From Kellogg we had an 85-mile trip to Paradise, Montana. Yep. Paradise. Only that 85-mile trip turned out to be 105, much to our dismay. (It also included a few thousand feet of climbing through two passes.) But we made it through and got to stay at Quinn's Hot Spring Resort, where we enjoyed pools of different temperatures and DE-LUXE cabins with our OWN BEDS! So 105-mile soreness, plus cushy beds and climate-controlled rooms made for a very difficult wakeup the next morning.
But on a similar thread from my last post, the scenery we've seen this past few days has also been amazing. I thought Washington was as good as it was going to get, but clearly I was wrong. Lake Coeur d'Alene is amazing in its convoluted and tree-filled shorline, and Montana is just plain rugged. It's awesome; exposed rock and mountains that look like they had just been forced up at an angle just the morning before...I'm glad I get to see this on a bike going at about 16 miles per hour instead of a car going at 60+.
Side note, we're staying at Hellgate High School in Missoula. So we went from Paradise to Hellgate. Hahaha.
I'm using a crew member's computer right now (Ben Kaufman) and we're at a pretty nifty coffee shop not too far away. Missoula is actually really nice, nothing like I expected. Of course I've never been to Montana before so it's all pretty surprising. It's a beautiful town.
Speaking of beautiful: a bunch of the 21+ year-old guys went out last night and found the Iron Horse Bar and Grill (or something like that) and it was PACKED with college kids. Namely, college girls (most of whom were absolutely gorgeous). The ratio of girls to guys was through the roof in our favor. We were there to hang out with each other though (a.k.a. "bro-ing out"), but nevertheless it was refreshing to see.
So Missoula, you get high marks in my books. We had a really good friendship visit yesterday too with Opportunity Resources. I actually met a couple Washingtonians, one from Aberdeen and one from Whidbey Island, so that was cool to be able to talk to them about that and why they moved out to Montana. They had the same sentiments as me about the scenery. I guess if you've got to move out of Washington, Montana ain't a bad choice!
We're going to be moving through Yellowstone National Park in the next couple of days -- so I may regret not bringing a camera with me even more than I do now. Actually, I just remembered that I packed a digital camcorder that also takes photos...so maybe I'll toss that in my jersey pocket for this special occasion. I can't wait!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The First Few Days of JOH, or, The Two Faces of Washington
Location: Spokane, WA
Hey everyone! So this is the first post from the road. There's actually a ton of stuff I could write, but I don't know how much patience you have, or how much battery Ryan Dixon's laptop has (he's letting me borrow it for a little while). It's really weird being without a computer attached to my fingertips...
Anyway, I want to start of and saying that I love this state. I mean, I'm a born-and-raised Washingtonian, and I'm still amazed at how beautiful everything is. I mean, granted we had clouds and cold and wet on the west side of Stevens Pass, it was sunny and eighty-five degrees on the other side. And yes we rode on both sides in the same day. Talk about odd -- I had to take off almost all of the cycling gear I had put on in the morning so I wouldn't overheat as we reached the other side.
But I digress. Back to Washington and its amazing-ness. Almost all the guys have been awestruck at the natural beauty of the WA countryside all along our route (mostly Highway 2). Every once in a while in a pace line, I'll hear the guy in front of me say, "God, look at that!" And I'll admit, even Eastern Washington has a particular terrain that is spectacular in its own right: undulating farmland and sporadic canyons. Not to mention a significant reduction in the amount of rain that fell on us...
Changing gears: the trip has far exceeded my expectations already. Yes, we're sleeping on a lot of floors, but I haven't had trouble sleeping at all. (The air mattress helps. So does the 100 miles I rode earlier that day.) I'm actually eating VERY well (especially for summertime; the past couple years I've lived on my own at the fraternity). The people sponsoring our meals and activities are so generous and wonderful. The guys are all great (and I think I've got almost all their names down now!); I've been laughing so much and having a blast. The teamwork and unity are what I enjoy about the fraternity life -- and here on the road it's so much stronger. I guess JOH just attracts a certain type of gentleman to which I can relate very well.
We've had a couple friendship visits, and they've been fun. Today we visited with a group started by a mother with a kid with muscular dystrophy. Her son was there; his name is Matthew and he's ten years old. I spent a good amount of time talking with him. He is surprisingly intelligent and mature for his age. And the visit was especially exciting because we had lots of activities and our first Kids on the Block puppet show. KOB is a show we do where we get to tell kids (and parents!) a little bit more about some common disabilities and how people who have them just go about things a little differently. Our three skits involve Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and blindness. They're informative, but hilarous too because, well, it's us behind the puppets doing things like making girls' voices and accents and screwing up our lines and coming up with things on the spot. Hopefully we get to do that a lot.
Just a few miscellaneous things...
I've been keeping a journal for myself. I've never done that before, and hopefully I stick with it so have something to look back on. I regret not bringing a camera, so hopefully the journal will suffice. (I really don't like taking "Cheese!" pictures anyway, and besides the other guys are taking tons of pictures for me. And I didn't want to bring/bust my super-nice and expensive DSLR.)
I finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Like my dad, it got teary-eyed at the end; what a beautiful book. But it only took a handful of days to go through, so I'm starting "A Clockwork Orange" now.
Speaking of my dad, I feel bad that I'm out here on the road and can't do much more than call (which I did). I hope he knows how much I love him and appreciate everything he's done for me, as costly or pain-in-the-ass-ly my endeavors may be. I am seriously lucky to have such an amazing father, and I only hope that what I'm doing here on the Journey of Hope, in college, or whatever, makes him proud. And I think it does, and that means a lot. Happy Father's Day, pop!
Hey everyone! So this is the first post from the road. There's actually a ton of stuff I could write, but I don't know how much patience you have, or how much battery Ryan Dixon's laptop has (he's letting me borrow it for a little while). It's really weird being without a computer attached to my fingertips...
Anyway, I want to start of and saying that I love this state. I mean, I'm a born-and-raised Washingtonian, and I'm still amazed at how beautiful everything is. I mean, granted we had clouds and cold and wet on the west side of Stevens Pass, it was sunny and eighty-five degrees on the other side. And yes we rode on both sides in the same day. Talk about odd -- I had to take off almost all of the cycling gear I had put on in the morning so I wouldn't overheat as we reached the other side.
But I digress. Back to Washington and its amazing-ness. Almost all the guys have been awestruck at the natural beauty of the WA countryside all along our route (mostly Highway 2). Every once in a while in a pace line, I'll hear the guy in front of me say, "God, look at that!" And I'll admit, even Eastern Washington has a particular terrain that is spectacular in its own right: undulating farmland and sporadic canyons. Not to mention a significant reduction in the amount of rain that fell on us...
Changing gears: the trip has far exceeded my expectations already. Yes, we're sleeping on a lot of floors, but I haven't had trouble sleeping at all. (The air mattress helps. So does the 100 miles I rode earlier that day.) I'm actually eating VERY well (especially for summertime; the past couple years I've lived on my own at the fraternity). The people sponsoring our meals and activities are so generous and wonderful. The guys are all great (and I think I've got almost all their names down now!); I've been laughing so much and having a blast. The teamwork and unity are what I enjoy about the fraternity life -- and here on the road it's so much stronger. I guess JOH just attracts a certain type of gentleman to which I can relate very well.
We've had a couple friendship visits, and they've been fun. Today we visited with a group started by a mother with a kid with muscular dystrophy. Her son was there; his name is Matthew and he's ten years old. I spent a good amount of time talking with him. He is surprisingly intelligent and mature for his age. And the visit was especially exciting because we had lots of activities and our first Kids on the Block puppet show. KOB is a show we do where we get to tell kids (and parents!) a little bit more about some common disabilities and how people who have them just go about things a little differently. Our three skits involve Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and blindness. They're informative, but hilarous too because, well, it's us behind the puppets doing things like making girls' voices and accents and screwing up our lines and coming up with things on the spot. Hopefully we get to do that a lot.
Just a few miscellaneous things...
I've been keeping a journal for myself. I've never done that before, and hopefully I stick with it so have something to look back on. I regret not bringing a camera, so hopefully the journal will suffice. (I really don't like taking "Cheese!" pictures anyway, and besides the other guys are taking tons of pictures for me. And I didn't want to bring/bust my super-nice and expensive DSLR.)
I finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Like my dad, it got teary-eyed at the end; what a beautiful book. But it only took a handful of days to go through, so I'm starting "A Clockwork Orange" now.
Speaking of my dad, I feel bad that I'm out here on the road and can't do much more than call (which I did). I hope he knows how much I love him and appreciate everything he's done for me, as costly or pain-in-the-ass-ly my endeavors may be. I am seriously lucky to have such an amazing father, and I only hope that what I'm doing here on the Journey of Hope, in college, or whatever, makes him proud. And I think it does, and that means a lot. Happy Father's Day, pop!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
And they're off!
Location: Seattle, WA
The team kicked off today from Olympic Sculpture Park downtown after a super tasty breakfast from the Porterfields and Pascals. KING 5 news was there and ran a short story. We trucked on up the Burke Gilman and then some back roads to Monroe where we stopped for lunch. That's also where I stopped for the day...although the rest of the team continued to Skykomish, WA.
My folks picked me up and transported me back to Seattle so I could take my last final. It was for biology, and I hadn't really studied for it. Needless to say I didn't do very well. (My math final yesterday will probably have lower marks than I'd hoped for as well.) I don't regret losing study time to JOH, but I'm a bit sad that the quarter had to end on a low note, since I was doing very well academically.
Oh well. Only thing on my mind now is cycling and spreading the Push America message!
The team kicked off today from Olympic Sculpture Park downtown after a super tasty breakfast from the Porterfields and Pascals. KING 5 news was there and ran a short story. We trucked on up the Burke Gilman and then some back roads to Monroe where we stopped for lunch. That's also where I stopped for the day...although the rest of the team continued to Skykomish, WA.
My folks picked me up and transported me back to Seattle so I could take my last final. It was for biology, and I hadn't really studied for it. Needless to say I didn't do very well. (My math final yesterday will probably have lower marks than I'd hoped for as well.) I don't regret losing study time to JOH, but I'm a bit sad that the quarter had to end on a low note, since I was doing very well academically.
Oh well. Only thing on my mind now is cycling and spreading the Push America message!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Tossin' Fish
Location: Seattle, WA
We had a team meeting at REI today; we've been having those and skills assessments, and even a friendship visit yesterday which I missed in order to finish a paper. Sad.
Afterwards, we walked through the rain to Pike Place Market. After all, it's pretty much a must-see for those out-of-towners. Hell, I even enjoy it. Every time I go down there I regret that I haven't gone there MORE.
A few of the guys got to throw/catch fish at the infamous fish market. To quote one (I'm still working on the names), "That was probably the coolest thing I've done...in a long while." Haha.
I'm glad they're getting to experience some of Seattle's highlights, as tourist-y as they are. We went to Kerry Park yesterday for our team picture in front of the entire Seattle cityscape. (Mt. Rainier was obviously obstructed by clouds.) The gigantic REI, Pike Place Market and fish-tossin', and of COURSE the original Starbucks.
And what is Seattle without our super weather? It's been gray with the rare sunbreak...but mostly rain. Honestly, I think most would be disappointed to go to Seattle and not get rained on. That would be robbing them of the whole experience...right? Hahaha. Anyway, I should be studying for the two finals I have yet to take, so until next time...!
We had a team meeting at REI today; we've been having those and skills assessments, and even a friendship visit yesterday which I missed in order to finish a paper. Sad.
Afterwards, we walked through the rain to Pike Place Market. After all, it's pretty much a must-see for those out-of-towners. Hell, I even enjoy it. Every time I go down there I regret that I haven't gone there MORE.
A few of the guys got to throw/catch fish at the infamous fish market. To quote one (I'm still working on the names), "That was probably the coolest thing I've done...in a long while." Haha.
I'm glad they're getting to experience some of Seattle's highlights, as tourist-y as they are. We went to Kerry Park yesterday for our team picture in front of the entire Seattle cityscape. (Mt. Rainier was obviously obstructed by clouds.) The gigantic REI, Pike Place Market and fish-tossin', and of COURSE the original Starbucks.
And what is Seattle without our super weather? It's been gray with the rare sunbreak...but mostly rain. Honestly, I think most would be disappointed to go to Seattle and not get rained on. That would be robbing them of the whole experience...right? Hahaha. Anyway, I should be studying for the two finals I have yet to take, so until next time...!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Meet the team
Location: Seattle, WA
The Trans-Am team has arrived in Seattle and will be heading over to Alpha Delta Chapter (my house!) in about an hour. So I get to meet the guys I'm going to be spending the summer with! Cool stuff.
On another note, I'm still trying to frantically finish a paper and study for two finals. Both my finals were scheduled for Wednesday, but I get to take one of them on Tuesday. The other...well they won't let me take it early so I actually have to come BACK to Seattle after cycling the first day of JOH. It's frustrating, and a complete waste of time, but it is what it is. Cross your fingers for me. I'm not even packed yet, nor do I even have everything I need I don't think. Ugh. For relevant biological information, see caffeine and cortisol. Can't wait to get on the road...!
The Trans-Am team has arrived in Seattle and will be heading over to Alpha Delta Chapter (my house!) in about an hour. So I get to meet the guys I'm going to be spending the summer with! Cool stuff.
On another note, I'm still trying to frantically finish a paper and study for two finals. Both my finals were scheduled for Wednesday, but I get to take one of them on Tuesday. The other...well they won't let me take it early so I actually have to come BACK to Seattle after cycling the first day of JOH. It's frustrating, and a complete waste of time, but it is what it is. Cross your fingers for me. I'm not even packed yet, nor do I even have everything I need I don't think. Ugh. For relevant biological information, see caffeine and cortisol. Can't wait to get on the road...!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Two Weeks!
Location: Seattle, WA
"Wow, the clock is ticking, and this thing is really going to happen."
Since that realization has set in, I've started preparing myself and my bike for the trip ahead. Over this Memorial Day weekend, I went out and replaced my tires with kevlar-lined All-Condition Armadillo tires from Specialized. Hopefully that will stave off most potential flats this summer. They're a bit slimmer and have red sidewalls which look sweet on my bike. The coolness factor is really important, of course. I also took a little time to swap out my stock brake pads with some Kool-Stop pads. Now I can stop.
While I've always tried to fit rides in, they've been shorter than I'd like. But today I went on a pretty nice one: a 50-miler around the south-end of Lake Washington (through Renton) and back up to Kirkland, then back to UW across I-90. It was gorgeous and warm, and all-around satisfying -- except for the part where I ran over a squirrel on campus. (Please join me in a moment of silence...thank you.)
I'm a little behind on my fundraising still (not counting the $1200 coming in through UPS though), but I feel like I'm ready to take on the world. And I'm excited to start with the United States.
"Wow, the clock is ticking, and this thing is really going to happen."
Since that realization has set in, I've started preparing myself and my bike for the trip ahead. Over this Memorial Day weekend, I went out and replaced my tires with kevlar-lined All-Condition Armadillo tires from Specialized. Hopefully that will stave off most potential flats this summer. They're a bit slimmer and have red sidewalls which look sweet on my bike. The coolness factor is really important, of course. I also took a little time to swap out my stock brake pads with some Kool-Stop pads. Now I can stop.
While I've always tried to fit rides in, they've been shorter than I'd like. But today I went on a pretty nice one: a 50-miler around the south-end of Lake Washington (through Renton) and back up to Kirkland, then back to UW across I-90. It was gorgeous and warm, and all-around satisfying -- except for the part where I ran over a squirrel on campus. (Please join me in a moment of silence...thank you.)
I'm a little behind on my fundraising still (not counting the $1200 coming in through UPS though), but I feel like I'm ready to take on the world. And I'm excited to start with the United States.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Welcome to the first of many!
Location: Seattle, WA
Hey everyone! Welcome to my Trans-America 2008 blog, where I'll hopefully be adding updates on my Journey of Hope progress. (That is, whenever I can get on a computer.)
I'm going to keep this short and simple, as the good stuff is yet to come. The kickoff for the Trans-America route which starts in Seattle, WA is June 11th. You're more than welcome to come down and see the team off on their first day of cycling.
More about the Seattle kickoff:
http://www.pushamerica.org/events/joh/seakickoff.cfm
Trans-America route itinerary:
http://www.pushamerica.org/events/te_itinerary.cfm?ride_code=JOH&route=Trans
Keep checking in for more updates. Thanks for visiting!
Hey everyone! Welcome to my Trans-America 2008 blog, where I'll hopefully be adding updates on my Journey of Hope progress. (That is, whenever I can get on a computer.)
I'm going to keep this short and simple, as the good stuff is yet to come. The kickoff for the Trans-America route which starts in Seattle, WA is June 11th. You're more than welcome to come down and see the team off on their first day of cycling.
More about the Seattle kickoff:
http://www.pushamerica.org/events/joh/seakickoff.cfm
Trans-America route itinerary:
http://www.pushamerica.org/events/te_itinerary.cfm?ride_code=JOH&route=Trans
Keep checking in for more updates. Thanks for visiting!
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