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.
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