Andrew and Jake McCaffrey's Journey of Hope

riding into the capitol

2007-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

walking up to the capitol

2007-09-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

A video/slideshow of our time in D.C.

2007-09-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Manassas, VA

2007-09-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I don't really remember the ride. By this time in the trip, I'm sure it was no big deal. There were no FVs since this was our last day together as a team. There was however a big dinner with all three routes of the Journey of Hope, Build America, Pi Alpha ride-alongs, and Push America staff. It was a way for everyone to come together and enjoy our last evening together before arriving in D.C. on the 12th. What you see in the picture is Andrew, Todd, and I from the Journey of Hope Trans-Am team, Shawn from the Build America team, and Charlie who interned at the Push America office in Charlotte this summer, all of us from WSU. This was actually the third time we met up with Shawn. Lodging was in a rec. center and we slept on the gym floor like usual, the last time though we would do so together.

Fredericksburg, VA

2007-09-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was supposed to be 80 miles but ended up only about 53 miles. The day was dark and much cooler than the past couple days had been, but I suppose that it was like this because we were finished riding so early. Once in lodging I had a nice shower and shave, washed both uniforms and caught up in my own journal. The Friendship Visit was a barbeque and dance out in the heat and humidity. Everyone was so sweaty! Many of the Push America staff and former cyclists of the team who would ride into D.C. with us were at this Friendship Visit which was very cool. It's always nice to chat with alumnis of the fraternity, especially ones who were involved like they were. In the evening we had a team meeting that wrapped up the trip for our team which got me very excited to finish, not in a bad way though. It was in a way that made me excited to see the trip completed after 2 1/2 months on the road. It looks to be an emotional last couple days.

2007-08-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

Pictures coming hopefully sooner rather than later... thanks for sticking with us!

08/09/07 Farmville to Richmond, VA

2007-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

The people from STEPS also new someone who was manager for a restaurant so we had a breakfast buffet to start off our morning. A woman from STEPS shared with us a story about a couple of clients and the impact we had on them. She shared one story about Elsie and how proud she was to show us where she worked and what she does there. She said “it made her feel special.” That's really cool to be able to give someone that feeling when all you think you're doing is being a good listener. Because of the big breakfast I didn't get on the road until after 8:15am. We had a big police escort waiting for us so we had to be moving fast. Even with our short crew stops, my group had to be racked up for the last 4-5 miles. I rode in the last group again because a tendon or something on the outside of my left knee had begun hurting on the day before. It was just as hot and humid but we got some big help from the trees as we were riding in the shade a lot more than the previous day. Also, the shorter day helped. The grid said 85 miles but it ended up only around 70 for the guys that finished the entire ride. Once we got into lodging and I had lunch and showered, I went with Andrew so he could pick up his bike from the bike shop. On the way home we got a little lost and made it back with just enough time to change into our team clothes and get off to dinner with the team. We went to a restaurant but our meal consisted of green salad followed by pasta salad. I couldn't believe that that was our entire meal! But it was sponsored so we put on a good smile for them. When we got back from dinner we did gag gifts which was a blast! Pretty much non-stop laughing and a great bonding event as our days wind down. After the gift exchange, Andrew and I and two others went to a big bowling alley and bowled two games. It was nice to do something leisurely and different than what we had done all summer. From there we went to a really nice mall and tackled the food court, hungry again from the lack of dinner earlier. Once back to the middle school where we were staying, I did some blog updating and then got to bed.

08/08/07 Roanoke to Farmville, VA

2007-08-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

This ride, which was supposed to be our last 100+ mile day though it ended at around 82 miles because of roads that are illegal for cyclists to ride on, was so humid and so unbelievably hot and took my group until 3:45pm to get to lodging at the Days Inn. Keep in mind that this ride began around 7:00am. I went without lunch so that I could shower and shave before an early dinner, which we left for at 4:45pm. Our dinner and friendship visit was with STEPS who both employee as well as help people with disabilities find jobs. A girl named Elsie showed me around the manufacturing workplace where we were eating (which is where she works). A big ball was getting bounced around by everyone in a group for a while and then, just as we were starting the dance party we had to go. Once we got back, a small group of us immediately went and did laundry (and I needed to so desperately). After that, I prepared my gag gifts and hit the hay.

08/06, 07/07 Roanoke, VA

2007-08-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Our two days in Roanoke had both busy and relaxing moments. The ride was even shorter than the 40 miles on the grid, closer to 35 miles. I rode in the first group so I and two others were the first to ride up to Hotel Roanoke. This place looked like it belonged in Europe with its castle-like features. Really a very classy place. After we did some media stuff, I got up to my room and showered and shaved. Andrew brought me back some Subway for lunch. I ate that in my room as the four of us in there watched movies and napped for a while before dinner and a friendship visit at the rollerskating rink. The Down Syndrome Association met us there, though most of the kids were too young to skate and would rather be playing in the play area. The ball pit was the main attraction I think. There was one boy in there who kept wrestling me and actually punching me hard in the stomach. I told him to stop lots of times but he just wouldn't. So I left and continued to skate. I did have one fall, not as bad as falling on a bike though. The downtown area of Roanoke offered a great, big sports bar with shuffleboard!

We had a 9:00am breakfast in the hotel's restaurant which was payed for by a former teammate's parents. It was small buffet style but good food! I had just enough time to shower between then and our visit to a camp for kids with disabilities. The Build America construction team was there working so we got to hang out with Shawn from WSU again. While there we had a lot of downtime to hang out with some of the campers. Before we left we ate sacked lunches prepared by the camp in an air-conditioned cafeteria which was much needed. It is so hot here and I feel wet all the time!!! After we got back from the camp we had our team meeting where Andrew was given the Team Member of the Week Award for bouncing back from his injury and, even though he can't ride anymore, has done so many things to contribute to the team. After, a bunch of us went to Wal-mart and the mall to do gag-gift shopping which is a tradition on the summer event teams. Dinner was at the Salem Avalanche minor league baseball game. Both were provided by the alumni of Pi Kapps at Roanoke College, an old chapter, fourteenth oldest to be exact. It was hot and humid and not really exciting but the home team won which was a first in the three games we had been to. At the beginning of the game we were taken out of the field and recognized which was really cool and one of our teammates threw out the first pitch! After I got off the phone on this night, I was walking back into my hotel room just as Barry Bonds' home-run ball was going over the fence. What do I think of it? Eh, whatever.

08/05/07 Ride into Blacksburg, VA

2007-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Now entering our final state of the trip, the first city we hit is the Virgina Tech campus and dorms for lodging. We actually have a teammate who just graduated from VT so he had a lot of friends there to greet us for our arrival. The ride was through the Appalachian Mountains which meant we had a lot of climbing to do but we were able to stay out of the heat for the majority of the time because of all of the trees that surrounded us. It was a struggle but we made it. Before dinner, I took a walk around the memorial set up to honor those who passed in the shooting just a few months ago. It speaks to the community's support to have the memorial set up in the middle of campus so that many pass it everyday and can remember what happened. I'm glad that I was able to take the time to view it and see how many friends and family have left things behind, mementos, for their loved ones now gone. Changing gears, dinner was a buffet at the school's dining center and there was a ton to choose from. I grabbed some ice cream to go and some of us headed to the football stadium and actually got to walk through the tunnel and on to the field. Whether or not we were allowed to, I don't know, but the gates and doors were open so we kept on going. It was huge! In the evening we went to a favorite hang out of the teammate from VT and then had to retreat back to the unairconditioned dorms of the campus.

08/04/07 Beckley, WV Last day in West Virginia

2007-08-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

The ride into Beckley was normal for what we had seen of West Virginia until the end when the hills became more steep and the humidity and heat were starting to wear on us. We stayed in the Mountain State University dorms which were nice and cool. The woman who had set up our lodging and was also involved for our friendship visit to come later in the evening perhaps the most delicious watermelon I had ever tasted waiting for us. Maybe it was just a great end to what had turned out to be a hot day. The friendship visit and dinner was with an organization that helped with independent living maybe (I can't quite remember). It was a good visit; I sat across from two older ladies who weren't involved with the organization or clients but just wanted to come see the guys from the Journey of Hope. One of their daughters was the woman who gave us the watermelon. Soon after dinner we found a fun, local place to hang out where the people welcomed us in like long lost friends and were just excited to meet new people, let alone guys doing what we are doing. Some great tunes during the night from the jukebox, just to name a few included Eric Clapton, CCR, and of course... Free Bird.

08/03/07 Huntington to Charleston, WV

2007-08-04T13:23:00.002-07:00

The ride was short and still a little hilly. I swept the group into Charleston for an arrival at a children's therapy clinic where we got a tour of their work place and met just a couple of clients. They gave us pizza and allowed us to play with some of the kids. Lodging was at a recreational center and once we were there, everyone was napping. I wasn't that tired but no one else was awake to do anything so I tried to watch a movie on a laptop but fell asleep anyway. When I woke up I did a bike cleaning and dinner was sponsored by an alumni who couldn't be with us so Andrew and our Project Manager went and picked the Olive Garden food and brought it back to lodging for us. In the evening after dinner, Chadd from UW was the only guy who wanted to go look around so we went to a nearby mall and then ended up at some cafe and got smoothies. I got to bed pretty early on this night.

08/02/07 Huntington, West Virginia

2007-08-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

This morning we ate breakfast at McDonalds which surprisingly hit the spot and then began our close to 80 mile ride to West Virginia. It was hot and very humid again and we did a lot of climbing. Should be a lot of climbing over the next few days until we get past the Appalachian Mountains. The ride ended with a long climb up to Huntington High School, like usual, lodging on top of a hill. This ended a tiresome ride but we weren't allowed to go into the gym or anything until media showed up and got their shots. We ate a late lunch and then media showed up again! It's good though to get that media coverage, just frustrating at the time. Finally we were able to shower and I got a short nap before dinner. Dinner was at a park with an organization that assists people with disabilities live independently. Half of the people there were employees of the organization. They set up Famous Dave's Barbecue to cater our meal which was great! When we got back to lodging we had a mail drop which I didn't even know was coming and so I was so excited to get a package of my favorite candy from Hailey and a package of cookies and power bars and a card signed by Aunt Becky & Uncle Don, Aunt Mary &amp; Uncle Tim, Uncle Robby & Thu, and Nana & Papa. It was such a great surprise!
We heard a while back that Kentucky riding always offers a chance to get chased by dogs... they weren't kidding! We got chased by so many dogs today and one time I almost crashed into one that cut between myself and the guy in front of me. Another time, just before the state line like in scary movies when you get one last scare, we had to stop at a red light and a pit bull-looking dog ran from its yard towards us and we were all screaming at him over and over again until finally the owner came out and got it but we were so lucky it didn't attack because we had no where to go!

Two days in Morehead, Kentucky

2007-08-04T12:47:00.001-07:00

07/31/07
I rode today mostly with just one other person in a two-man pace line which was great because it was with someone I don't spend a lot of time with. We battled the beautiful green hills of Kentucky together. We did two arrivals at places didn't have a crowd waiting for us, with the exception of Pi Kapps from Morehead State University. They brought us sandwich stuff for lunch and dinner was at a park. The visit wasn't my favorite because there were two couples at my table who were more concerned with talking to each other than me. Plus there wasn't enough food provided so we had to go to McDonalds right after. A girl working there gave me a free vanilla cone (score!). At the visit though, we got some whiffleball going as best we could.

08/01/07
I woke up on our day off at 9:30 am for a 10:00 breakfast at the dining center on campus (we were staying in the dorms by the way that look alot like prisons, inside and out) and everyone was in such a great mood! No doubt that our chance to sleep in had an influence on that. Everyone was in a good mood all day actually, finally a day without being busy and having a chance to relax. I got a haircut after breakfast and then a big group of us went to the Simpsons Movie for $3.00! Can you believe it? We made it back to lodging just as the pizza for lunch was being delivered. After, I got a short massage from a Morehead State Pi Kapp who did the Florida cycling trip and was a certified masseuse. It was relaxing enough that I took a nap before we went to dinner at a Buffalo Wings sports bar/restaurant place and I couldn't tell you why I ordered a burger when that's what we get so often for dinner from our sponsors but I did. After our team meeting I reorganized and repacked my bag for the last stretch of days coming up before the trip ends on August 12th. Then I got to sleep with five days of riding until our last day off of the trip.

Andrew trying to figure out how to work his chair, in a game of power soccer. the next para olympic sport.

2007-08-03T19:19:00.005-07:00

Jake learning how to shoot a bow, and slapping mosquitoes.

2007-08-03T19:19:00.003-07:00

the narrow road to Kamiah, Id.

2007-08-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

happy birthday

2007-08-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

just wanted to say happy birthday to heidi, thanks for always reading and keeping up. hope you have a great time at your party... it should be happening right about now.

07/30/07 Cincinnati, OH to Lexington, Kentucky

2007-07-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Up at 5:30 am again, like usual. Really starting to wear on me. Breakfast was sponsored by an alumnus but there wasn't a ton of food. So, I started my long day off with half a donut and a bagel with cream cheese. We racked out of the city and not even five miles into the ride I had another fall. This time it was in city traffic and I was pretty lucky there weren't any cars behind me. I was crossing lanes to the left but the streets had cracks lining each lane and the groove was lifted about an inch or so higher so that when I tried crossing over, I didn't. And my tires kind of got stuck in the crack and turning my handle bars only sent me over them. I was still riding Andrew's new bike but there was barely any damage to the bike. I landed on my hand hard, actually the same place I had a burn make on from the day before. I've got some scratches on my elbow, shoulder, and back as well. I rode the rest of the day though, all 82 miles of it up and down the big hills of Kentucky. How come no one told me that Kentucky has such giant hills/small mountains? This was also the most humid a day of riding has been and I was dripping sweat all day. We didn't eat lunch until after 3:00 pm because of the long day of riding plus some confusion on where lodging was. It was at a disability rec. center. Lunch was Qdoba tacos which is a great change from sandwiches with two slices of meat or the burgers and hot dogs we usually get. With about an hour and a half of time to shower and run errands we were back on the clock for a dinner and friendship visit with the organization that was hosting us. Back to barbecue for dinner! The visit was huge. Tons of people just kept showing up. We had a dance going and a few other activities. I danced my little heart out again like I always do at our dances. The night didn't stop hopping until around 8:30 pm which was exhausting for us, especially after a long, tough day. We rolled with the punches though and had a great visit. I decided that I needed some rest bad and got to sleep a little after 10:00 pm. This gave me around 8 hours of sleep. I'm trying as best as I can not to zonk out with so little time left. With a day off coming up soon and I'll just be trying to take it easy for the next couple of days so that I'm rested for the last stretch.

07/28, 29 Oxford and Cincinnati, Ohio

2007-07-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

The ride to Oxford was an interesting one. The grid said that we would have an 85 mile ride to do but we ran into a detour because of construction which would have made our ride 120 miles. No one was able to finish the ride because of the length and we were due for dinner with the Miami University of Ohio chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. Also, early on in the ride I broke a spoke and so I finished the ride using Andrew's bike. Anyway, our reception at the fraternity house was unbelievably big! The chapter held their annual alumni barbecue on the same day so there were tons of people there and lots of great food. We hung out with those Pi Kapps all night.

The 35 mile ride to Cincinnati began with a wake up at 5:30 am. Seems pretty early for such a short day but that's because we had so much to do! Breakfast was in Oxford at the fraternity house once again. They've got someone in their chapter that really knows how to cook. The ride was easy until the end when we ran into some up hills and some sharp, fast downhills. I stayed on my brakes most of the way down because it was so windy. We rode into lodging for the night (a recreational center) which was also where we got to play wheelchair football. After given 20 minutes to shower, we all took turns playing the game. I got burns marks on my palms because I played so long and they sting bad. I did score a touchdown though. This wheelchair sport was a lot easier to catch on to. From there we went directly to the Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs baseball game. It was so hot and humid. If you think I'm kidding, ask this guy! The game was kind of boring and the Reds lost 6-0. I was pretty excited though to see Ken Griffey, Jr. and Lou Piniella. The coolest thing at the park was the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame and Pete Rose exhibits. There was so much historical stuff and cool memorabilia I couldn't see everything or take pictures of all of the things I wanted to. We went to dinner at a park and there was an alumus barbecuing for us. Is it starting to sound like we have a lot of barbecue yet? Anyhow, being outside almost all day and working up a sweat during wheelchair football really exhausted me and I was all ready to take a nap which probably I wouldn't have gotten up from except Guitar Hero was found! So I played that, took care of some stuff like shaving and washing my jersey and shorts and then got to bed in the un-air conditioned gym. By the way, exactly two weeks from the 29th is our arrival into Washington D.C. and our journey will be complete. It's getting very exhausting and exciting as the end draws near. Keep checking up on us because we're trying our best to keep updating.

07/26 and 27 Indianapolis

2007-07-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wrapping our last two days in Indiana was Indianapolis. The ride in was short, between 40 and 45 miles but the last half of it was in pouring down rain. It was dark and a lot cooler than it has been lately. It was mostly flat however not too bad of a ride. Lodging was in the dorms at Marion College. When it came to choosing room assignments Andrew and I randomly chose the same room. Each person got their own bed and we had our own bathroom too! After a nice hot shower, just what I needed after a ride in the rain, we made our way to lunch at a pizza place. The weather was no longer cool and rainy but had become warm and humid now. Dinner was spaghetti and we played power soccer at a rec. center with a few individuals that use electric wheel chairs (that's what power soccer is). They use a bigger ball and have attachments on the end of the chair to hit the ball with. It was pretty cool but it wasn't something you could just pick up. They were alot better than us. Eventually, a small group of us went to White Castle! Not as exciting as I made it seem though. I didn't like the food and some old man came up to us and started singing songs and told us to take a picture of him because he would be famous someday. Then when we were leaving he asked for a dollar so it made more sense. I was up until 2:00 am this night working on blog updates. See the sacrifices I make for you guys?

On the next day I woke up at 7:00 am and took a shower before going on a live spot on Indianapolis' FOX station. It was only 4-5 minutes and all I did was hold a map of our routes. It was good media coverage though and we always appreciate getting on the news. Breakfast was pastries and fruit. Lunch was a barbecue with the Noble of Indiana. This was a big, fun friendship visit with lots to do. I however found myself in the percussion room which they use for musical therapy and relaxing. We just banged on drums and tambourines. I also busted a move in the gym to hits like "YMCA" and "You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog." One guy I was dancing with was Charlie who was having a great time. At the end we gave a grant and the CEO of the organization was there very thankful and very grateful. For dinner we went to the home of a mother of a former team member and had tacos. It was nice to have some chill time; we watched Home Improvement and Seinfeld. Some distant relatives of ours tracked us down and met us there which was a surprise to say the least. Really cool though that they had never met us and yet really supported what we were doing and were just excited to see us! They even brought cookies and some delicious home-made brownies!

07/25/07 Terre Haute to Bloomington, IN

2007-07-26T22:36:00.002-07:00

Today’s ride was odd and started out with a bang. We were literally a mile or less into the ride when my group stopped at a stop sign. Two cars back we heard yelling that sounded something like “get out of the way.” The first car drove by us once we were moving and followed by that car was an old man in a pick up truck, yelling and pointing at us. We yelled some stuff, not bad or negative, but sarcastic like “Sorry for making a difference!” He slowed down to a stop and as we got closer he spun his tires spitting dirt and rocks up at us. The guy in front of me got most of it but I caught a little of his wrath. We just kind of laughed about it, that someone is filled with so much anger to do that. The ride was hilly all day and I pushed it too hard. My quads and knees were sore at the end of the day. We had an arrival at an organization called Stonebelt. This organization planned their own picnic and activities around us coming so there was a ton of people waiting for us when we got there. We were served lunch and then some guys participated in the dunk tank, volleyball, and BINGO. As you might have guessed, I was drawn to the BINGO arena and it was there I played the game next to Frank. Frank is 60 years old and has Down Syndrome. I chatted with him a little bit and made sure he marked his card correctly. He was pretty friendly and I knew we were having a good time but I didn’t know how much of an impression I had left on him. When we got outside for the group picture we walked together and sat down in front. He needed a little help getting down and right before the picture was taken he rested his head on my shoulder. It just amazes me that we can have that much impact on someone in so little time, under an hour. There was another team member who made an impression. He spent the entire time with a girl who called him buddy and when we had to get ready to ride off again she started crying. She hugged him and went inside, but came outside in a couple minutes to hug him again and say good bye one more time. We stayed at the Pi Kapp fraternity house on the campus of Indiana University , which was enormous. The living legend Dr. Phil Summers made sure we had a great steak dinner at the house and gave us a small tour around campus (by car, not walking, I don’t think I could have handled that). On this night, I finally got around to cleaning my bike.

07/24/07 Effingham, IL to Terre Haute, Indiana

2007-07-26T22:36:00.001-07:00

The Rotary Club again catered a breakfast in the morning before we were on our way to Indiana . I swept, both because I was sore from the crash but also because Steve made a big deal to the team about riding with different people. We finished the 60+ mile ride and did an arrival at Indiana State University in their court yard next to a big fountain. It was a decent crowd, mostly of Pi Kapps from ISU. There was good media coverage though. We stayed at a giant house basically right on Greek Row with an alumnus. The place had like four stories including the basement. It was so big and clean I was a little creeped out. Plus there were old black and white photos and child-sized dolls that looked kind of real. Our dinner/friendship visit was with the Happiness Bag. We had a big dance and karaoke was available though not extremely popular. Dances are definitely the most fun friendship visits we get to do. It’s so great to have a lot of people come out. Plus media, there were three video cameras in our face when we showed up. There was one guy I linked arms with during the Chicken Dance and after about two seconds he told me he loved me and gave me a hug. Steve said that that was what the trip was all about. All of the people there had also made cards for us which I thought was pretty touching. It was pretty laid back when we got back to lodging. We watched a cycling movie called “Breaking Away” which was filmed entirely in Bloomington , Indiana , our stop for the following day.

By the way, Indiana puts us three hours ahead of the Washingtonians back home. It’s unbelievable to me that there are less than 20 days on the trip left and the states just continue to fly by. This really has been the adventure of a lifetime.

07/23/07 St. Louis, MO to Effingham, Illinois

2007-07-26T22:34:00.002-07:00

We left to Effingham which was supposed to be a longer ride than 90 miles but that’s what it ended up being. We racked out of the hotel to breakfast, sponsored again by Chuck Howard, and then out of the city to avoid East St. Louis and morning city traffic. The ride was long and straight, flat until the end where some rolling hills did pop up. I zoned out a lot, too much as it turned out because I had my first crash ever. I got too close to the edge of the shoulder and I think my back tire went off the little edge and I slammed down on my left side, dragging my left ankle on the edge and scraping my left leg more than half way up. My left hip has a small bruise and my right shoulder is sore. It’s not too bad though because I was only going about 15mph I think. The right handle bar was bent in but I fixed that. It hurt a lot more on the next day. My right hand also became sore. Nick was riding behind me and I took him down with me. Todd was able to stop in time. Nick got flipped off his bike because he ran right over me, leaving some bruises on my upper thighs. When we realized no one was seriously hurt, we all had a really good laugh about it. After a long ride and a quick shower at lodging, a church, we had dinner with a Rotary Club. They brought us a catered dinner with roast beef, chicken, and some amazing loaded mashed potatoes. The greatest part about the day though was the church had a hangout room in the back with Guitar Hero! I was able to show off my skills by playing a few songs. I actually played still in my jersey and spandex before taking a shower.

07/22/07 Day off in St. Louis, MO

2007-07-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 10:30 am on our day off and ate three donuts, donated by Chuck Howard mentioned earlier in the blog. That was our healthy, optional breakfast because we had a friendship visit at 11:30 that was supposed to be a lunch as well, but some confusion made for us not getting lunch. The visit was really cool though, held at the St. Louis Science Center . I wheeled around Jeff during the time I was there and looked at some of the different exhibits in the Science Center . He was funny and had a good memory. He also had a lot of abbreviations for things like “QU” for “quite unique.” I thought it was pretty funny. So, after the visit, we had another healthy meal, this time lunch at McDonalds. Right after we had some fun at an indoor go-kart place sponsored by Jay’s family (he’s from St. Louis ). It was fun. I was dead last out of about twenty people. Andrew was first, surprise. We had pizza there too so we went from really hungry in the morning to getting fed twice in an hour but we’ll take it. Dinner was pretty soon after go-karts and sponsored by a Pi Alpha (someone who has done a summer event before) who lives in the city. We went to Ozzie Smith’s Sports bar and Restaurant. It was really cool there because there was a ton of Ozzie memorabilia and framed photos and jerseys, signed balls, etc.

07/21/07 Union to St. Louis, MO

2007-07-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Today’s ride was unlike any other in that we had two arrivals to make and so the last half of our mileage was with a police escort with lunch in between the two arrivals. The first arrival was into the Saturn car dealership (Saturn used to be a major sponsor of the trip) and absolutely no one was there to greet us, that is except for a team member (Jay’s) family aka fan club. We ate lunch there and then got back on the road making our way through Jay’s neighborhood. Lots of people came out with signs and cheered us on. We got friendly honks constantly and it was one of the most fun and proudest days of the trip. We did an arrival in front at a park with fountains and the arch in the background. A decent amount of people came out. We had a proclamation like usual and then got in the cars and drove to the Marriott hotel by the airport. Very nice. Dinner was with the Build America team who are spending six weeks on the road driving to summer camps that serve people with disabilities and making renovations and parts of the camp more accessible. Shawn O’Leary, a Pi Kapp from WSU is on the team so it was great to meet up with him and the other guys and hear how their summer has gone so far. Dinner was excellent, provided by the parents of a former team member I think.

07/20/07 Jefferson City to Union, MO

2007-07-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

The roads were the absolute worst we’ve seen and Missouri is officially the worst state to ride a bike in. We rode on some tough hills with no shoulder, broken roads with pot holes and right in the middle of rush hour. I should have racked up but I kept telling myself it would get better, and it did I guess. At least the traffic thinned out and cars could pass us easier. After an 80 mile day we had cold pizza waiting for us at our lodging (a gym). Dinner was provided by the Rotary Club. There was a live band (composed of old people) and I was enjoying it and the hot roast beef sandwiches but Steve pulled us out after only about an hour. A bunch of us changed our clothes immediately when we got home and drove to the movie theater. We all saw different movies, Nick and I saw the new Harry Potter! We had an excellent time, loved the movie. We played the arcades for 20 minutes before and those are always fun.

07/19/07 Sedalia to Jefferson City, MO

2007-07-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

The roads were so bad today! There were lots of hills and little to no shoulder. We pushed it pretty until I got two flat tires five miles outside of stage-up (where we prepare for an official arrival). The heat wasn’t bad and it was overcast. The arrival was quite small but we were presented with two plaques and thanked for what we are doing. We ate fried chicken at a nearby church. We stayed at Lincoln University for the day. After a quick shower, we were taken out to ice cream by an alumnus named Chuck Howard. He’s one of the more involved alumni in the country and took really good care of us in Jefferson City and later on in St. Louis . Chadd Cockrell (UW) and I ate ice cream with two of his children who were really fun and crazy kids. Dinner was a barbeque provided by another alumnus in the area. It was kind of stormy with a little thunder and lightning.

July 18th, 2007 Olathe to Sedalia

2007-07-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

after being startled to death by Rodney running around banging on everyones doors to wake us up. Everyone packed up and prepared for what was supposed to be a more than 100 mile day. Well it ended up because of re-routing due to road construction to be about 130 miles. So at lunch all of the cyclists were racked in order to pass the bad road conditions and also to make it to dinner on time. Dinner was sponsored by a cyclist Josh Dondes family. He was very excited because his mother, who lives in NJ, few down to surprise him.

July 17, 2007 Day off in Olathe

2007-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

the day started off with a trip to the Mahafee farm and stage coach stop on the Santa Fe trail. We were served omletes by a former city council women, and then given a tour of the homestead. http://www.olatheks.org/visitors/mahaffie/ later in the day we ate lunch with the Lakemary center for a friendship visit. Lakemary was an awesome place because they provide so many great services for people with disabilities, everything from group homes, jobs, job training, help with job placement, and day time service and sometimes just a place to hang out. The wonderful people at lake marry cooked us lunch then gave us a tour of all of their sites before we chose one to hang out at for the remainder of the afternoon. Later we were able to hang out with Mark Cameron (teamcameron.org) a quadriplegic man who runs his own business as well as lives almost completely on his own. He worked really hard and did a great job setting everything up for us in Olathe. For dinner we attended a tailgaiting party for an Olathe T-Bones baseball game just before heading to the game. The T-Bones didn't win. After the game most of us called it a night, even though it was a “day off” it was more tiring than a normal day full of cycling
.

July 16, 2007 Topeka to Olathe, KS

2007-07-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Olathe was definitely one of the toughest rides so far. We had the heat as well as hard rolling hills including some VERY VERY steep ones. We rode through a part of Kansas University's campus so we stopped to take a picture outside of their basketball court.

The end of such a tough ride could not have been anymore perfect than our police escort arrival into Olathe. It was huge and their town absolutely loves us. It was the most I've ever felt like a rock star, it blew Guitar Hero away! When we showed up to the building, the pathway to the front door was lined on both sides by people, both with and without disabilities, cheering and holding up signs with their hands out for a high five. The atmosphere was just insane. Some speeches were made inside this big room I think that Olathe uses for meetings and we were endlessly thanked. They actually had the mayor there to speak which was the first time we haven't had someone filling in. After that, we ate lunch there and got to visit with our “fans.” The picture I have here is with Ralph,

an old man who was pretty difficult to hear and understand but you could still tell he was happy to be there. After lunch, we made our way to the dormitories of the Kansas School for the Deaf. We stayed here for the next two nights since we had a day off here. I definitely feel grateful for all of the beds we've been staying in along the trip. We were all told that we'd have about four hotels along the way with just a few more nights in a bed. Before dinner at the Texas Roadhouse (where I had prime rib!), I endured the most painful experience ever. A massage therapist and chiropractor met us at lodging and I asked for my quads to be worked on. Stupidest thing ever and I didn't realize until then that a massage and massage therapy are different. He worked out the kinks in my quadriceps and it just felt like endless burning and stretching. I got about nine hours of sleep that night because I was so tired from the long days we had put in lately and the big dinner I scarfed down earlier.

July 15, 2007 Emporia to Topeka, KS

2007-07-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

The ride was hot with mostly flat terrain, though we did begin to see the rolling hills we had been promised in eastern Kansas. We did an arrival and were greatly welcomed by the ARC of Topeka (TARC). They were great hosts, allowing us to to sleep in their facilities and provided us both lunch and dinner, with a friendship visit at lunch. I sat with Barbara and her cousin who drove Barbara to our visit. They were both originally from southern Alabama and Barbara kept calling me sir. It was rather tough to get any long conversations going with either women. Even though Barbara was smiling the whole time, she just wasn't a big talker I guess. We showered at the Topeka YMCA and then had a lasagna dinner with no FV. Andrew hung out a bunch with the two sons of Dawn, the woman who set up all of the TARC stuff. They played video games and ate dinner together, and played a little after dinner too. They seemed to be having a really good time together.

July 14, 2007 Wichita to Emporia, KS

2007-07-23T20:10:00.002-07:00

The morning we rode to Emporia marked the first of three days in a row we would be waking up at 5:00 am. It's not a very motivating feeling to wake up and begin moving around when it's still so dark out. Our grid reads 115 miles but I think that it was about 107 miles. Only five or six guys rode the whole ride because of both the need to be at a sponsored lunch in the middle of the day and some construction in the road that delayed everyone. The rest of us finished the ride with about 86 miles. Lunch was at a restaurant in Cottonwood Falls on the way to Emporia which is a small, historic town but for some strange reason has an amazing restaurant in it. Two families that had already done some sponsored meals in Wichita sponsored us together for lunch. It's very cool to see families for former team members continue to be involved and see there support in all the places across the country. This was also the first day we saw really hot temperatures in Kansas. It would become a trend as we saw it stayed true throughout the state. Lodging was at a Boys and Girls Club-type place and the Kiwanis Club brought a potluck dinner to us. They also provided a professional masseuse and self-massaging bed for our use. This was the first time I had ever received a massage from a professional and it was pretty good. It was really relaxing; I could have fallen asleep. During dinner, I chatted it up with some women that were both members and wives of members of Kiwanis. We had great conversation and laughter going the whole time. After, I did laundry and wasted some quarters on an arcade game from the 80s. I got to sleep early that night.

July 12, 2007 Pratt to Wichita, KS

2007-07-23T20:10:00.001-07:00

We rode to Wichita on the 12^th and had a day off on the 13^th. The terrain was mostly flat with some hills, if I remember right. It's pretty hard to tell these days apart. I was in the last group and we just took it easy as the time passed quickly because we were chatting for most of the ride. A team member's parents bought us lunch at Chipotle (a mexican fast food place) that has humongous burritos and other food but it was just too spicy for my liking. By the way, we were staying at a nice hotel and each of us had our own big bed! We had dinner at the Kansas Jaycee CP Ranch which was hosting a one-week camp for kids with disabilities. There wasn't one child that I especially hung out with for the evening but I still enjoyed floating around during the carnival-like activities. At the beginning, we found out that we all needed to choose nicknames and I randomly thought of Tiny Dancer. Later, I agreed to have a butterfly painted on my face as it was too a tiny dancer, perhaps even a insect representation of me. I had a great time during the 30 second whip cream eating contest. I may not have “won” but my plate was definitely the cleanest. I walked around with Marcus for just a little bit, a blind child. It was very interesting to walk with him as he navigated himself around benches and poles. This was also a mail-drop for us and I got a letter from Hailey (yeah!) and a jam-packed care package from Aunt JoAnn (thank you again!). The Starburst Jellybeans were gone in about three days. The three of us from WSU received an invitation to Ian's wedding and thank you guys for the invite but I don't think we'll be able to make it. I wish I could be there though and thanks again for all of your support!

On the day off we had breakfast at the house of a former team member's house. The house was amazingly big and the breakfast wasn't so bad either, pancakes and eggs Benedict among other things. Lunch was at Rainbows United which was like a summer school for kids with disabilities. There was a ton of kids there and a wide variety of disabilities. I hung with Jeffrey while each person in the room filled a jar with colored sand and made different designs in it. At lunch, I sat next to a kid who kept trying to steal everything other people had. He was non-verbal and continuously was reaching to people's plates trying to get their pizza. It was funny to me but it clearly happens a lot, I could tell by the way the caregiver reacted. Dinner was at an office building which was an independent living resource for people with disabilities. I sat with Jerry and two other women at a table of four so I was trying my best to keep the conversations going by myself. I can tell that I'm a lot better now than I was at the beginning of the trip.

updates

2007-07-23T19:53:00.001-07:00

well i am sorry we cant update it fast enough, we have been getting busier and busier as we get into parts of the country with higher populations. its not like montana and wyoming where we stay in town with 200 people. well be trying harder to update on a more regular basis. provided we have internet access. for those who dont know. i wont be needing surgery, so that is good news. the final report from the doctor is that i tore my gastroc nemius (if thats how you spell it) muscle pretty good, so now my right calf is almost twice as big my left. i also had a few fairly small tears in my achilles tendon, apparently nothing to worry too much about. im still pretty bruised up and a little sore, but i hope to be back on the bike in a week... i hope. as for right now i am an official member of the crew, i have to wake up 30minutes before everyone else with the crew as well as share a large number of the crew duties now. i even have an official crew polo.

how many people read this

2007-07-15T20:08:00.001-07:00

hey, we were just wondering how many people actually read this. so if you see this, please post a comment with your name in it so we know.
thanks!

Busy day off in Wichita

2007-07-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

Lots to do in Wichita

2007-07-13T14:49:00.001-07:00

NEW PICS to past entries

2007-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I paid $9.99 for internet access here at the hotel in Wichita so that I could upload pictures to some of the entries I just put up a couple days ago. Enjoy!

Slow internet AKA no new pictures

2007-07-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but the internet is too slow to upload pictures. Keep looking for updates soon!

July 11, 2007 Dodge City to Pratt, KS

The day started off with my first flat tire since the day we left Seattle. And then to make things better, I had some gear and chain problems which held my group and I back even longer. Eventually and 40 minutes later, I finally made it out of the parking lot and on to the road to BEGIN the 80 mile ride which just so happened to be into the wind the entire way. All in all, 9 hours passed between leaving Dodge City and getting to our lodging in Pratt. It was definitely my toughest ride so far. My back and butt were aching most of the day and the wind really adds frustration to the ride. It was overcast though for most of the ride so we didn't have to deal with the heat thankfully. I was also lucky that I wasn't in the group that got lost in the first 10 miles because they missed a turn. The crew found them and there weren't any other problems for the rest of the ride, aside from sore body parts.

For dinner we were served steak, baked potatoes, and homemade ice cream among other food and treats. We got taken out to an archery club which loved having us and allowed us to shoot bow and arrows. It was pretty exciting and something not very many people have the chance to do.

The fruit pizza was so good! After dinner we had a team meeting and then a few of us rode our bikes down the street to yet another Sonic which never ceases to serve its purpose of delicious drinks and fun atmosphere.

Today marks Day 40 and I honestly cannot believe it.

Kansas stinks, literally

2007-07-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2007 Garden City to Dodge City, KS

After a filling continental breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Dodge City for about a 50 mile ride. My butt was killing me after the 100 miler the day before. Again, it wasn't too hot but it was into the wind. I've found that there a lot of different smells on the road, most of them not very good. For lunch we ate at the Dodge City Community College cafeteria (aka dorm food) which I haven't had in a while and it wasn't too bad at all. Since the night was given to us for ourselves, a group of us went and saw the new Die Hard movie. It was a little over-the-top but entertaining and action-packed. The rest of the night consists of bike maintenance and relaxation. I was able to catch a little bit of the Homerun Derby last night but I don't think I'll see any of the All-Star Game.

In other news (since I haven't been able to update in so long): My wonderful girlfriend Hailey is coming to Washington D.C. along with my family and I couldn't be more excited! She is also equally or more so thrilled that the new Harry Potter movie is coming out in a few days and soon after the new book. :)

I have lost 10+ lbs and dropped one waist size.

I've never hated insects more than I do right now

2007-07-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2007 Lamar, CO to Garden City, KS

... and there were bugs all over me. I've found at least 15 bug bites on me already and continue to find more and more. Anyhow... about the ride. It was 102 miles into the wind for the most part though it wasn't too hot. It's the first 100 miler we've done in quite some time and I was pushing it pretty hard with six or seven other guys. This was also the ride that took us into Kansas!

So, one more state down and about nine days until we're out of Kansas. This ride, like the previous two, featured a crew member, this time it was the one in charge of finances. He rode the entire 102 miles but he was hurting. He did win a steak dinner from the Public Relations crew member though. He, like the others, did not have any experience riding bikes so we had to give him a lot of credit. We were all there waiting for him (in the last group) to ride into the Comfort Inn in Garden City.

For dinner we got taken to a buffet! I ate so much food and desserts! Andrew came too and I believe this was the first sponsored dinner Andrew came to since getting injured. I'm glad he's able to come because he's been missing out on a lot. We'll be in Wichita in two days and he'll get a check-up there to see if there are any new developments. At the hotel after dinner, Andrew, I, and a few others soaked it up in the hot tub and played around in the pool. I just relaxed for the rest of the night which wasn't too long since we lost an hour entering Central Time.

A strong wind ablowin

2007-07-10T19:04:00.001-07:00

July 8, 2007 La Junta to Lamar, CO

Once again, not a very long ride! Today's ride included a ride-along from our Community Relations crew member. Once again, not much of a cyclist but he really held his own.

The most entertaining part of the ride had to have been the Great Grasshopper Massacre of 2007 which occurred on this day in history. Grasshoppers, crickets or locusts, and even frogs lined our shoulder on the highway. Many lives were lost. When time for dinner came, we were taken to the home of a tri-athlete who wanted to sponsor us. He has no affiliation with the fraternity, him and his family just think that riding our bikes across the country is cool I guess. It was pretty much hang out and watch TV there. After dinner, we made another visit to our new favorite getaway, Sonic.

As we were outside waiting on our orders, we found ourselves amid a wind storm. As dirt flew into our eyes and spoons, straws, and receipts were blown away, we maintained our position and eventually got all of our orders. We headed back to our gym for the night which had bugs in it and the floor was really dusty. It was hard to sleep because I felt like bugs were all over me...

Here's a picture Todd Wright took of a grasshopper eating the head of another one.

Half way: Day 36 of 72

2007-07-10T19:03:00.001-07:00

July 7, 2007 Pueblo to La Junta, CO

Today's ride involved a ride-along from our Public Relations crew member. He is not, nor has he ever been a cyclist. It was pretty funny watching him on the bike. He fell over in the parking lot before we even left the hotel.

Today was longer than the day before but flat still which I'll never complain about. Dinner was provided by the Lion's Club (or more appropriately, their wives) and we enjoyed some good conversation with some people that really appreciate what we're doing. We had a big potluck where everyone brought their own meals, so there was a lot to choose from! At the end, everyone on the team shared a special moment they've had so far on the trip and it was pretty inspiring even hearing from my own teammates that they were having some pretty amazing experiences.

Pueblo = really fun

2007-07-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

July 6, 2007 Colorado Springs to Pueblo, CO

The ride to Pueblo was short (about 47 miles) and flat. We had a hotel which marked the fourth day in a row we all got beds to sleep on. We ate lunch at the Gold Dust Saloon... cheeseburgers. We had a long time between lunch and dinner with nothing to do so I watched TV and napped. For dinner, we walked 7 blocks down the street to Friday Festivals and were given 10 free tokens ($1 each) to eat with. I had tacos, pizza, and bread sticks. The real fun though started after everyone had finished dinner. A few of us hung out at the festival and listened and danced to the live funk music of Phat Daddy and the Phat Horn Doctors. They were actually really good and the few of us that stayed there had a great time. I also won a free shirt from a Pueblo radio station!

Day off... yeah right

2007-07-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2007 Day Off in Colorado Springs, CO

We woke up at 7:30am which is still an extra two hours of sleep but in no way did we want to get up that early. It was worth it though when we got to breakfast. We went to the house of the parents of someone who works for Push America. For lunch we went back to the Olympic Training Center but didn't eat in the cafeteria. Instead, we had a conference room rented out and the Easter Seals of Southern Colorado provided us lunch. They told us all about the programs that they are involved in and some that they are starting up. We gave them a grant as well.

The lunch was also a small Friendship Visit because I was able to spend time with Amy and her three year old son Mason. Mason has autism and I had a great time talking to Amy about what it's like to have Mason and what kind of therapies they do to try to intervene and shape his behaviors. It was fascinating learning from her and hearing her stories and the way she talked about him and interacted with him. He was a cute kid and fun to play with.

We ate dinner at John Pierce's house. John Pierce was a member of the first Journey of Hope team in 1988 and had a huge role in setting up the destinations and route of what is now the North route. He now works for the Olympic Games and was vital in setting up meals and programming while we were in Colorado Springs. Our meal at his house was set up to be more like a hangout and time to relax. We played pool and watched TV while a lot of guys played air hockey and bache ball with John's son.

Independence Day!

2007-07-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2007 Denver to Colorado Springs, CO

Since we had stayed at such a nice hotel in Denver, it was very difficult to get myself out of bed in the morning. Nevertheless, I got up for another day on the Journey of Hope. Breakfast was brought to us by the parents of Chad Small, a team member on JOH. The ride to Colorado Springs was pretty difficult because in the past few days, we had done a couple of 50 milers, had a day off, and done a 30 miler. So this 80 mile day seemed like it was really long. The hills didn't help but it was cool to ride with THE Bruce Rogers. Bruce Rogers was the person who rode the Journey of Hope for the first time, by himself, in 1987. It was just awesome to chat with him and pick his brain about the history of the ride and his time as a Pi Kapp.

When we finally finished the ride, we met up with some ParaOlympic athletes to ride into the Olympic Training Center with. These athletes all had physical disabilities (from missing arms and legs to birth defects to nerve problems) and were training for their Olympic games. We got to eat lunch with them in the Olympic Training Center's cafeteria which looked as amazing inside as the food was good. I ate lunch with Kelly whose right hand had a deformation. She was really fun to talk to and had a great laugh. I think that we all enjoyed lunch with these amazing people and athletes.

We ate inside because it had begun pouring down rain. Well, the rain continued and so we decided to skip out on the Colorado Rockies game and 4^th of July fireworks. This was a bummer because I was really looking forward to this but oh well, there will be other chances to see fireworks in the future. A group of us went and saw Transformers in the evening since our plans had been changed. It was alright, I thought it was pretty corny, but still entertaining. This was the second movie in a row that I saw in theaters in which I fell asleep toward the end. I just can't help it when I'm in a dark room with something remotely comfortable to sit in. Fun fact, it only cost $5.50 to see the movie!

Bittersweet

2007-07-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2007 Boulder to Denver, CO

What a scary and fun day! Since most of you know that Andrew was indeed hit by a car on this day and that he is okay, I (Jake) will let you know what else happened because there was a lot. The ride was actually only 30 miles, the shortest ride we'll get all summer. We had a big arrival with fellow Journey of Hopers from the North route to the Denver capital building but before that, we all went to Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium where the Denver Broncos play football.
We got to go out on the field and take some pictures.

Anyway, eventually we got to the capital building and we lined up in front of a woman representing the city who gave a speech about how happy they are to welcome us and how much they support what we're doing. Soon after, our very first puppet show was put on for a group of kids from the YMCA, the rest of our teammates, friends, family, and fans of the Journey of Hope. Kids on the Block (the puppet show) had been done by the North route guys at least five times already but it was our first. I actually did the part of Brenda Dubrowski and had a great time doing it. I started off pretty nervous considering both it was my first time and there were tons of people there watching. I got the hang out of it though and everyone told me I did a great job so that was pretty encouraging.

Later in the evening we attended an event called Pedal For Pennies which kids with disabilities attain pledges for themselves to ride laps on their own bicycles. We got to be there to ride with them, count laps, and encourage them as they rode for an hour. I rode with a boy named Nick who had autism. He got tired after about a half hour and said he wanted to quit but we were able to get him to stay on the bike. And at the beginning of the riding, he would get off the bike or pull off to the side and stop every time someone wanted to pass but by the end he just kept riding and stayed to the right. I think that that was a big step for him.

After the riding, we had dinner and some thank yous were issued along with some grants and special awards for the riders with disabilities. But after dinner, the dance started and they played all of those same songs that get played at weddings (YMCA, Macarena, We are Family) and we all had a great time. I really let loose and enjoyed myself with everyone else, just being goofy.

2007-07-08T19:45:00.001-07:00

This is an experimental mobile phone post...

Day 30 and 31 7/1 - 2/07 boulder

2007-07-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Wake up was at 5:30, we ate breakfast with our four ride alongs then headed out pretty quickly. The ride was mostly city type riding so there was a lot of stop and go. It was a short 55 miles to the chapter house at CU boulder. On the way there we met up with a red bull rep., a girl we met the night before. She stopped on the side of the road and gave us a bunch of free red bull. Once in Boulder we ate lunch and showered at the chapter house then prepared for murderball. Murderball is rugby for quadriplegics, an awesome sport. The players haven't lost all use of their upper limbs, but all do have some sort of limitation involving their arms or hands as well as completely paralyzed legs. This sport is tough, they took it easy on us and completely dominated us. Two of the team members play on the US para Olympic team and were also featured in the documentary Murderball. We were on our own for dinner, most of us went to the chapter house and cooked up some steaks and then headed to bed.

The next day was a day off. We didn't have anything to do aside from a sponsored breakfast at a local cafe. We decided to float the river in the afternoon. It is a river, changed using concrete to suit kayaking and kayaking competitions. It was scarier than white water rafting. Instead of rapids there were 3 and 4 foot waterfalls where you got sucked under and spit out seconds later. It was also really shallow in spots... A lot of bumps and bruises. After tubing we went and played campus golf... Which is really only an excuse to hit things on campus with a tennis ball using a golf club. After golf we returned to the chapter house to relax before our busy day in Denver.

Day 29-6/30/07 fort collins

2007-07-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

Wake up this morning was at 6 am with bagels and cereal for breakfast. The ride was short... Only 50 miles.

There was a beautiful horizon and an ugly road side view with cows on right and sheep on the left, as far as I could see. Lunch was provided by the Colorado state chapter, our first steaks of the trip. BBQ to perfection. After we returned to the senior center we made some bike shop runs and prepared for our friendship visit with Adaptive Recreation Opportunities, it was pool and pizza, which made for a fun night. We each were teamed up with a person from the organization and we competed tournament style.

After the friendship visit we relaxed before going over to the chapter house to hang out for the rest of the night.

Day 28-6/29/07 cheyenne

2007-07-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 5 am to a warm breakfast cooked by the Laramie bike club, it was great. Omelets and breakfast burritos and fruit. The ride started out great until we got to the pass we had to cross... 6 miles at a 6% grade, but once we got to the top it was more or less downhill. It was kind of a humbling ride because Laramie bike club members rode along with us, Marc and I rode with a woman around 60 years old and I was pushing up that hill nearly as fast as I could go. Once at the top it was more or less down hill we only had 35 miles from the top but it seemed to drag on forever.

We had our first fully organized arrival led by police, which is always fun because its the only time we get to run red lights and disobey traffic laws. We were led to a park where we were met by the ARC of Laramie county and the Laramie Cowbells, which is a division of the Wyoming Cattle Women's Assoc. The lunch was excellent and we were read a proclamation from the governor declaring June 29th Push America day in Wyoming. After we finished lunch we rode to Laramie County Community College where we showered and hung out until dinner, which was at the same place with the same people. After dinner we headed out to see the night life, ended up at the Outlaw Saloon. It was a good time, a country western bar with a live country band, line dancing and a ton of cowboy hats. They looked at us pretty funny when we walked in, but didn't give us any trouble like the taxi driver said they would. We all left at the same time and headed back for bed.

Day 27-6/27/07 Laramie

2007-07-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

We woke up a 6am to leave Wheatland middle school, and started on our 80 mile ride to Laramie, Wy. The majority of the ride was up hill until lunch time, then there was a short down hill into Laramie. The ride was actually kind of miserable, it was about 95 degrees and we were going so slow up the hills that the deer flies had no problems biting us repeatedly. We did however pass by an animal refuge where there were moose, elk and bison right next to the road. I did get charged by one of the male bison,

he was big, luckily he ran into the fence before he got to me. Once we made a left onto whatever highway took us into Laramie we started getting passed by 10 or 15 semi's at a time... Apparently they were all headed to Frontier Days (in Cheyenne) a month early, I guess its a big deal. The semi's were out of our hair once we got into the city, and it wasn't long before we wound up at our lodging, the Laramie Community Center. After showering up we all went out to Wingers for lunch, a restaurant I thought only existed in Moscow, Id. We were allowed to use the facilities in the community center which doest mean much because not many of us really felt like lifting or running after our ride, but we did make use of the hot tub. At 5:30 we packed into our vans and headed for dinner with the Laramie Bike Club. After dinner a bunch of us sat down to watch the Reno 911:Miami movie, which if you haven't seen it is pretty funny... Stupid funny. Then we went to bed.

so i got hit by a car. it hurt

2007-07-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

so i am kinda skipping a few days so i can let everyone know that i am alright. for those who don't know, i was hit earlier today along with 3 other cyclists. two of us actually went over the top of the car while our bikes went under. the other two got out of the way in time with just scrapes. here are the pictures

NEW PICS!

2007-06-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

There are new pictures uploaded to old posts so scroll down and check them out. One includes J Mack Daddy with developing leg muscles and super sweet tan lines!

The Past Few Days

2007-06-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

June 25th: Shoshoni to Casper
The ride was 101 miles according to my bike computer, a rough one following the 96 miles from the day before but we made good time. It was hot again but there were some clouds in the sky, as opposed to no clouds on the previous day. It doesn't really seem to be getting any cooler so I guess it's time to adjust. We hit some head and side wind early, but we also got some tailwind. Right at the end, we hit this big hill before we got to Kelly Walsh High School. My knees took it pretty hard because I didn't go to the granny gear, just powered up it.
For dinner, we ate with the Kiwanis Club of Casper. It was pretty normal and no friendship visit on this day. We did meet a guy with family in Puyallup though. We had brisket sandwiches and rhubarb pie. In the evening, a lot of guys went out and relaxed at Old Chicago, a local watering hole.

June 26th: aahhh... a day off in Casper!
Got up on this morning at about 9:30 but slept off and on between 6:00 and then due to some volleyball practice or camp going on. You could hear EVERY bounce on the ground and yell/cheer. Showered and ate breakfast and eventually made my way to the bike shop. It was a much needed stop because I had been having major squeakage for over a week. The guy at the shop made a bunch of little adjustments and cleaned a lot of the gear and lubed. No more squeakage! He only charged me 12 bucks too! Soon after, I was able to grab some lunch at Arby's, 5 items for $5.95 is a great deal!
After our team meeting (which we have every day-off) we headed to a park for dinner and a friendship visit. Immediately, the team was engaged in a wiffleball game with a bunch of kids. Well, kind of a wiffleball game. We made fools of ourselves in the field while about 4-5 kids cycled through hitting. A few others played catch with the football and frisbee and more continued to show up and chat. Definitely a very cool visit and we hadn't had one in a while so it was great to get out there and have some fun again.
When it was time to grab some dinner, I got a hot dog, chips, a cookie, and some water (a common meal) and headed toward a family sitting by themselves. I just kind of threw myself into the family (mom, dad, two adopted daughters) and had a great time. The daughters were 13 and 7 and fun to listen to. The parents were also very open and engaging and revealed a lot of the kind of stuff that has been going on. It's great when the parents want to talk to you about those things because you're always curious but a lot of times afraid to ask such personal questions. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for jumping out of my comfort zone and sitting down with complete strangers. It's something I've been working on, not needing another guy with me to help with conversation. After the great visit, it was off to another exciting adventure at the laundry mat!

June 27th: Casper to Wheatland
Well, what can I say? I've never experienced wind like this that lasted so long and always seemed to be in our faces no matter which way we turned. Rolling hills and some heat (plus the wind) piled on top of a 116 mile ride seemed unbearable. Only 7 riders were able to conquer the roads today (I wasn't one of them). Any small complication or drawback, when we had to be ready for dinner at 5:30pm, and it was gonna be tough to make up. It's not like you can get behind and say that you'll just push it harder to make up time. That just doesn't work too well into the wind. The day started out fantastic. A lot of the guys switched up pace lines to ride with guys they don't often ride with. I was real excited about my group and we had just started sharing random stories when we got hit with a slower rider who didn't want to stay at the head of the pack. Just coming off of a sickness, he kinda dragged us down. It sounds bad but we stuck together as long as we could. When he finally decided he couldn't go any further, around 80 some miles, we were in far too deep of a hole to make up the time. I have mixed feelings: on one hand, I really wanted to beat the road and the wind today but none of us were willing to leave a man behind. So, I didn't make it the entire 116 miles today... it's not something I'll be thinking about in Washington D.C.... or even tomorrow.
For dinner, we went out to a woman's ranch who is a member of the Cattlewoman's Association. We had dinner with members of the same organization already once but this was cool and unique in its own right. We got taken on a ride drawn by horses to see parts of the ranch and were fed some real good roast beef sandwiches, fruit and veggies, potato chips and some chocolate cake with chunks of cherries in it. It was a delicious dinner and great company. What an exhausting day though. I may or may not be enjoying a root beer float in about a half hour, so wish me luck. Thanks for reading!

It was a hot one...

2007-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

June 24th: Dubois to Shoshoni Wyoming
Boy oh boy. We woke up in Dubois at 5:30am and were off to Shoshoni by 6:30. My fingers were freezing. It didn't take long though to heat up. It got up over 95 degrees today, maybe even hitting 100. On top of that, it was a 96 mile day on the bike and we've got over 100 miles to do tomorrow to get ourselves to Casper. The terrain was a lot different than it has been, very desert like. We've been told to expect the same tomorrow. The road was actually pretty fast and we had some decent tailwind for most of the day which made the miles rack up quicker. That heat though, in my last 20 miles really took a lot out of me.
As soon as we got to the Senior Center which is where we are staying for the night, we packed up for the hot springs they have here in Shoshoni. We weren't allowed to stay in the 103 degree spring water more than 20 minutes. That is also where we all showered. Once we got back to lodging, Andrew and I played pool until we were served dinner by the kind women putting us up in the Senior Center. Great meatballs. After that, I played a little more pool and waited around for internet. No cell service here, at least for Cingular (surprise). A lot of guys are watching The Goodfellas and a few were playing poker. It was pretty relaxed here today, expected with the ride we had and the ride we have tomorrow.
The guys and I in Van 4 started reading Dean Koontz's "The Taking" aloud to pass the time on longer rides. Two of us have been reading but whoever's not reading usually starts to nod off for a nap. I've taken more naps on this trip than I have probably in my whole life. Alright, well that's about it for me. Not too exciting of a day and we haven't had a friendship visit in quite a while. Here's a few random pics from earlier days on the road.

June 23rd, day 22, hot and steep but fast.

2007-06-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today out of Jackson we woke up at 6:30, we got to sleep in an hour because we found out that we couldn't get into the school until 2 pm. the day started off steep with a 17 mile climb up a 6% grade.

on the other side of the hill, i got was able to hit 50.1 mph my personal fastest for the trip. after only 4 miles downhill we had to rack the bike because of construction. when we all unloaded the vans and got going we noticed and extreme tail wind, which was nice because of our climb earlier in the morning. we ended up completing the last 20 miles in 45 min. averaging about 37 mph on flat ground the whole way. we were able to break the 30 mph speed limit in Dubois and ended up missing our left turn to the school because we were going so fast, it was nice. after we showered and shaved some of us went and bought postcards and milkshakes at the malt shop then went back to take a nap so we could be up and hungry when the Wyoming cattle womens assoc. came to cook us a large home cooked beef dinner. after dinner we were all so tired from our 104 degree day we passed out, looking forward to going to the Shoshone hot springs tomorrow.

June 22nd, day 21, finally a day off after six with out.

2007-06-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

The day began at 8:15 when we woke up to the lion king soundtrack blasting from a small cd player. we went to breakfast at the Teton steakhouse, it was a delicious all you can eat buffet. i ate with Tim, a young man with down syndrome who has worked there for about 5 years and helped us get the meal donated. after breakfast we got to go to the snow king inn where we received lift tickets to go up to the scenic outlook as well as tickets to use the alpine slide, which basically is a water slide with a cart instead of water.

Brent, the 40 year old guy from London, also the oldest man to ever embark on the journey of hope was the only one who crashed. if you can imagine what it would be like to slide down a dry water slide at 20mph i am sure you would not think pleasant things. after the alpine slide we got to swim in the pool there until lunch, donated by subway. after lunch we had about 4 hours to hangout until out next event so some of the guys and i went downtown to look at the shops and such. after we walked around for 3 hours and bought nothing but postcards we decided to head back and get a nap in before our dinner show. dinner was at the bar j ranch, an all you can eat "authentic" chuck wagon meal. a little during and after dinner there was a concert/comedy show, the music was traditional western cowboy music with jokes thrown in all over the place. it started at 6 and ended at around 9:30, Jake was excited that he finished in time to get seconds, since that rarely happens, then after seconds he said that he couldn't enjoy the show as much as he wanted because every time he took a breath it hurt. we all just went back to lodging and went to bed after our huge dinner and long day.

June 21st, day 20, short and sweet to Jackson, WY.

2007-06-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

so apparently its illegal to ride your bike out of Yellowstone so we were forced to rack up out of the park. which made the day only a 50 mile day. after a short climb in the morning is was straight and flat with a nice smooth downhill into Jackson. all morning the Tetons were on our right as we rode. they were soo huge they looked like they were only a few hundred yards away. when we arrived into Jackson at around 9:30 our sponsor Jill Quinlan met us at the church we were staying in and helped get us settled. she was a great sponsor for us and the teams in the past, she works very hard to get everything we do donated. lunch was donated by McDonald's, and after that we went white water rafting down the snake river. that was a cool experience to see the snake near where it begins because while i was on the rowing team at Washington state we rowed on the snake only it was 500 yards wide and moving so slow it was nearly standing water. after rafting we returned to the church were donated domino's was delivered and bed wasn't far behind that.

June 20th, day 19, west Yellowstone, mt. to west thumb, WY.

2007-06-23T19:55:00.002-07:00

We started the day at 5:30 am on the cafeteria floor of the west Yellowstone school. Once up, it was bagels with peanut butter, cereal and bananas. We started off by waiting in line to get into the park, once in the park we took it slow.

I rode with Todd Wright, Nick Cramer, and my brother Jake. We held a smooth 13mph for the first part of the ride, it was mostly flat and we were trying to soak in the park. We stopped multiple times to take pictures, the first time it was for a pair of bald eagles and then their nest with chicks. Then there were multiple bull bison and small herds of elk to entertain us in our slow pace.

We eventually made it to a geyser basin where the whole team took a break and walked the trail around looking at all of the different pools and geysers. For me the most interesting pool was the painted mud pots, they looked like giant pools of boiling white paint. It wasn’t until after the geyser basin that we really got into the hills. These hills were tough, with constant and steep ups and downs. We actually crossed the continental divide three times.

Shortly after our third time, on one of many steep downhill runs we hit a spot of traffic, which in Yellowstone are known as bear jams. My pace line and I got off of our bikes so we could walk them on the shoulder past all of the traffic, trying to get to lunch soon because we knew the rest of the team was waiting on us, Todd and I were sweeps. As we approached the end of the bear jam we saw a few park rangers and a bunch of tourists looking and snapping pictures. We walked closer and saw that it was a female grizzly and her two cubs. It was an amazing sight but also a nerve racking one, I had just learned earlier in the day that a man, who had been mauled by a female grizzly rearing two cub, had died earlier in the week. We took a few pictures from a distance and called it good; we decided to let the “curious” people have the fun. As we were leaving we heard the ranger yell “NO RUNNING SIR!” when we all look over its Karl our historian scurrying around trying to get all of the pictures that he can, fifteen feet from the wild animal. We finally decide to get going, not wanting to witness anything tragic before lunch. It was a short ride from there to Grant Village where we ate lunch and got set for the night thanks to Yellowstone National Park Lodges and Xanterra. Most of the team got in the vans and headed out to visit old faithful as well as the other areas of the park before their all you can eat pasta dinner. I as well as Jake and Todd, the other two Washington State guys, are lucky enough to have a chapter brother giving guided horse tours in the park for the summer.

Jacob Turner drove along with the team all day and picked us (WSU boys) up after lunch and drove us to Roosevelt Corrals where we took a covered wagon tour of the immediate area while getting a history of the park. The tour stopped in a meadow for an all you can eat steak cookout. Then we took the wagons back to the corrals and watched the employees remove all of the saddles, and clean all of the horses. Jacob gave us a ride home by 10:30, and it was off to bed we went.

June 19th, day 18, from bozeman to w. Yellowstone.

2007-06-23T19:55:00.001-07:00

the day was supposed to be 90 miles but due to the amount of traffic and the narrow shoulders we decided to rack past 30 miles in the name of safety. it just happened to be to the top of a steep hill. from the top of the hill everyone thought that the day would be easy since we cut 30 miles out of the ride, but instead it was extremely hard. once we got going we ended up hitting a headwind that pushed us down to about 11 mph the whole way, so in the end it was kind of a good thing that we racked or we might not have made it in time for out dinner reservations.

west Yellowstone is a pretty small town based mostly on tourism. we stayed in the high school which was k-12, they had a graduating class of 11. not much else happened in west Yellowstone other that preparation for the next day.

June 18th, day 17 from Butte, MT to Bozeman, MT.

2007-06-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

the day started off well when we learned that we would not have to ride along I-90 to the entire day. instead we took highways 82 and 84... i think which shortened our day by about 20 miles. even though our climb was steeper,

we didn't have to breathe in all the exhaust smoke from the freeway. today was the first day we crossed the continental divide, sadly there were no signs because it was a back road.

the was a very beautiful ride, after the divide we dropped down into a very green farming valley where we rode up and down several times over rolling hills. we eventually hooked up with I-90, there were very large shoulders which made it nice to ride on, only occasionally there were guard rails that cut off the entire shoulder and we were forced to ride in the freeway lanes. the only happened a few times and before long were were in bozeman. our lodging was nice, we stayed in the high school wrestling room which is always nice because we have the mats to add padding. once we were showered Todd, Karl and i walked to Arby's where they had free wireless and a 5 for 5 deal on sandwiches. We made sure to make it back in time to change and prepare for our friendship visit. we went to a place called eagle mount, they have a 10 acre ranch where they provide hippo therapy for children and adults with disabilities. hippo therapy is horseback riding with a few tricks, it mimics human walking and improves balance as well as some other things. eagle mount also runs a ski program where they take people with disabilities up skiing with special equipment. after dinner we gave them a grant to go towards their adventure cycling program which enables paraplegic people to ride on hand powered bicycles. after the friendship visit we went back to the high school to get to sleep so we could get up in the morning and do it again.

well the days and numbers got all messed up...

2007-06-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

its Sunday June 17th, fathers day.
Happy Fathers Day!
wake up was at 5:30 on the day we left Missoula for Phillipsburg. the ride to Phillipsburg was incredible,

its so cool that we get to see the country at such a slow pace,

we get to see everything. it was 80 miles to P-burg where we stayed at Granite high school. I pumped out 100 push ups before showering because i am trying to catch up with the push america challenge where we do a push up and sit up for every mile we ride. right now i am about 200 behind.

once clean and fresh Jake, Karl and i walked over to the old fashioned soda shop for a milkshakes. at about 6 we left for dinner, which turned out to be the Granite County rib cook off. the Rotary club of Phillipsburg sponsored out tickets for the all you can eat feast. every type of pork you can imagine cooked in homemade BBQ sauces, it was hands down the best meal we have eaten this trip. after dinner we we back to the high school and played a few games of bump on the basketball court with the guys before heading to bed. we were allowed to sleep in an hour, so wake up was at 6:30. the ride to Butte was 80 miles with a 3 mile climb at an 8% grade to summit a pass that had no name...

but it passed right by Georgetown Lake.

shortly after i took this picture it started to snow. so we tried to make it down the hill quickly to avoid anything dangerous. we spent most of the day on Montana state route 1, getting on to I-90 for the last 15 miles. tonight we are staying at the YMCA here in butte which is great because we were allowed to use the hot tub. we got to head to our friendship visit at around 5, if was freezing cold but still tons of fun, i spent most of the time with Denise,

just hanging out and talking, i learned about her life growing up in Butte.
after the friendship visit we returned to the YMCA and just relaxed. hit the hot tub for a little bit, then got ready for bed early because tomorrow we have 105 miles to ride and 3 passes to summit.

Yes, we're still on Highway 12

2007-06-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Day 11: Woke up in Kamiah, ID and rode to Powell Junction, ID. It was 95 miles surrounded by trees as we followed the Clearwater River through the Idaho forests. It was a VERY long day with my personal max speed reaching only 29 mph. So, yes, the ride was long... but we made it! We made it to the Lochsa Lodge in Powell which was kinda like a log cabin camp/resort. It was well taken care of and there was an excellent restaurant right there where we had dinner. I had the country fried steak and Andrew had the roast beef. Both dishes were amazing! Later, I caught some down time with Chadd from UW watching some movies on his laptop. After that we got some huckleberry ice cream at the restaurant. The waiter gave us four scoops for the price of three! Some guys stayed up by the campfire but I was too tired. I got into bed early.
Day 12: Even though I got a good amount of sleep (IN A BED), I was still tired and my muscles felt tight. I'm not a big fan of that area of Idaho. There are scary old men and no cell/internet service. After a slow 8 mile ride to the stretching point, I felt better. I guess just preparing myself for the 4-5 mile climb. My group of three averaged 7-8 mph up Lolo Pass. We had all been told it was going to be a tough climb but at the summit, I had never been so happy for all of the stinking hills there are in Washington that I had been training on. It was tough, don't get me wrong, but after a few gulps out of the water bottle, I was fine and ready to go. After a photo op. at the summit sign reading the elevation

and the "Welcome to Montana" sign, we froze flying down the back side of the mountain. After that steep descent, it was mostly down hill til about 8 miles out of Missoula, MT. My group was cruising between 19 and 25mph for most of the ride. With the change to Mountain Time, we had less than an hour to get ready for a lunch with Adventure Cycling, the organization who creates cycling routes throughout the U.S. We got a good meal and some cool history on the organization. Plus, this cool sticker that says "I ride, therefore I Trans-Am." I took a shower and nap after lunch and prepared for an interesting and rewarding friendship visit/dinner at Opportunities Resources, an assisted living home for some people with pretty severe disabilities. Communication was hard at times and limited, but they were very excited to see us, that's for sure. We had some great tacos and chocolate cream pie for dessert, which I love! Missoula's definitely cooler than the isolated places we stayed in in Idaho. After dinner, I played a two on two game of basketball in the gym here at Hellsgate High School. Later, we enjoyed some nightlife at the Iron Horse. We've got a dayoff today, much needed before our six days of cycling which are awaiting. So, today, it's blog updating, laundry, a team meeting, and basically relaxation. Giving my butt and legs some time to rest. I having trouble keep track of places and days and it seems like it's already been so long, it blows my mind to think that there's still two months left. When we get a better connection, we throw some more pictures on here. Thanks for stopping by!

days 7,8,9 and 10

2007-06-12T15:41:00.001-07:00

day 7: from Richland to walla walla the road was mostly flat, we had a great look at most of the areas drainage ditches. the ride was only 50 miles that day so i offered to sweep, which means staying in the back of the group to make sure we don't lose anyone. along the way the other sweeper and i took a wrong turn and went 2.5 miles in the wrong direction. after we got back on track i ended up having trouble with my chain which put us behind the rest of the team by about 30 minutes. once we arrived in walla walla we settled in at the "dome" at walla walla community center. as soon as we were showered i got a ride to the local bike shop so they could work out the damage i did to my wheel during the previous day with chain trouble. then, we left to attend a friendship visit where dinner was served. when we returned, some of the guys went out to see a movie but i stayed in to ice my knee and get to bed early.
day 8: a day off, on our first day off we were allowed to sleep in until 10 am, a nice break from 5:30 am. we were on our way to lunch by 11 am to a local delicatessen. after lunch we broke up into groups, the laundry group and the store group and once everyone was back we held a team meeting just to get everyone on the same page again. for dinner we went to Jim Peterson's house, who is the VP of administration at walla walla community college, he helped us obtain the "dome" as a place to stay. his house was a lot of fun, he had a pool that we could swim in and chickens that some of the guys tried to get eggs from, and the food was great. after dinner we just hung out in the field at the college playing football and Frisbee. i helped some with the decals on the vans.
day 9: the first century day. the ride from walla walla to Lewiston was 100 miles. the ride was mostly down hill so that made the 100 easier to swallow. on the first hill, 6% grade for 3 miles i hit my top speed of the summer thus far at 47 mph, but wasn't able to top that on any of the rest of the hills throughout the day. we rode over Alpowa pass and then down through Clarkston and up the hill to Lewis-Clark state college where we shacked for the night in their new activity center. we had a couple of hours to hang out and shower before another great friendship visit, this time with opportunities unlimited of Lewiston. their organization provides training and instruction on being self supported and independent. they provided an excellent dinner with more than enough food, then after dinner gave some of our guys a run for their money in a game of basketball. as soon as we got back to lodging everyone got into their "go out" clothes to celebrate one of our team members birthdays.
day 10: the narrow road to Kamiah. we woke up at 5 this day instead of 5:30 in order to get a jump on some traffic in Lewiston. highway 12 on the way to Kamiah is extremely narrow, and its primary traffic consists of logging trucks and vacation RVs which made this ride an interesting one. Todd and i were first in today about 15 miles ahead of the pack, we held an oddly quick pace today. even as treacherous as it was, today's ride was still one of the most beautiful ones we have had so far. when we finished the short 65 miles we went straight to a friendship visit with the opportunities unlimited of Kamiah then traveled the short distance to the local community center where we all took freezing cold showers. we will all be going to bed early tonight because we have another 100 mile day tomorrow on our way to Powell, ID

days 5 and 6: the Pass and the ride to yakima

2007-06-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

these first two days of riding have been difficult but extremely gorgeous. we left Seattle with live news coverage from Olympic Sculpture Park and headed down Alaskan Way then we took a bike trail over Mercer Is. to Issaquah.

from there we received an awesome Issaquah Fire Dept. escort on to I-90. we climbed on I-90, taking every exit to be sure we weren't hit by cars exiting the highway. we exited just before the big climb for lunch and took a newly paved forest service road up to the top of the pass, though safer it was a much steeper.

from the top of the pass it was mostly down hill from there i personally hit 46 mph, very fast and fun. i was in the first group to head in to Easton, Jake didn't quite make it.

the route planners didn't quite anticipate how long it would take for the whole team to make to Easton and because we had a planned sponsored dinner with the Cle Elum Eagles Club they had to pull the majority of the riders to make it there on time. after the dinner a quick chain lube and off to bed after a tiring first day.

on the second day (Thursday) we started off with an amazing breakfast provided by our lodging Double K Christian Retreat. out of Easton we had an intense tail wind, we barely had to pedal to average 30 mph for the first half of the trip. once past Cle Elum we were on to Ellensburg and from there we took Canyon Rd. to Selah, this route had some brutally long uphill battles incorporated in with it. i tried to keep up with the first group most of the day, and after one of my riding partners had a flat, Jake passed me, and i wasn't able to catch the him or the first group the rest of the day.

for lunch we ate turkey and ham sandwiches and grapes. once in Yakima we arrived at lodging, Eisenhower High School, and prepared to stay in their yoga room. it was just a little awkward to be walking around a high school 24 smelly guys in spandex just as school got out, but we all made it through. for dinner we ate at a UW alum's house and had Mexican food prepared by his mother who was in fact Mexican, it might have been the best Mexican food i have ever had, tacos and tamales. after dinner i was picked up by my aunt Joann and she let me use her warm shower (the school doesn't have them for some reason, i was the only one on the team to get a warm one!) while i was at my aunt and uncles house their were incredibly nice enough to offer to have the whole team over for breakfast, the whole team is looking forward to a warm breakfast instead of bagels and bananas.

Day 4: the practice ride and kick off dinner

2007-06-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the big training ride! Here are some pictures of our wet, yet successful trip from Washington University's campus and around Mercer Island. I thought that I wouldn't be in riding shape but I did just fine and I feel like I'm even more prepared than some other guys. Andrew stayed toward the front of the group.
Some UofW alums brought us some pretty good pizza for lunch.

We did some interviews today too! In the morning before the ride, I went on camera for King 5 and answered some questions about the Journey of Hope. Hopefully I don't look like a fool. Andrew chickened out. But, later at our Kick-Off Dinner, the four of us from Washington did radio interviews that should come up on 710 Kiro tomorrow (Wednesday). I feel kinda funny talking with reporters and stuff, especially being on camera. I'm getting better at it though. We've also got more interviews for us lined up along the way. The P.R. has been really great so far and we think it will keep up at least while we're in Washington. We went to dinner at Buca di Beppos, an Italian place. The food was served family style, everyone at tables passed it around. It was really good, especially this meat ball I had. We had a decent showing of friends and family there. It will probably be bigger next year because this was the first time. Oh yeah! Us two plus Rodney (the Public Relations crew member) got our hair cut at Don's Daughter Donna's Barber Shop. It was nice to see her and she was only the fourth person Rodney (from Louisiana) had let cut his hair. Here are some more pictures from our trip to the barber shop and our Kick-Off Dinner.

Below is andrew and wes, wes is in charge of community relations along the trip. (thank you cards and things)

here are Jake, Nick and Chad in order from right to left. nick is from our Miami U. Ohio chapter and Chad is from our University of Colorado chapter.

The First Couple Days in Seattle

2007-06-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

These first couple of days have been moving kind of slow. we showed up at the best western executive inn in downtown seattle to get checked in. we received our jerseys and t-shirts for the trip, then we went off the the university of washington chapter of our fraternity to use their board room so we could go over some of the rules of the road and operating procedures. when we were done the alpha delta chapter house cooked us hamburgers for dinner.
wake up the next morning was at 5:30 am, we had to get up so early because we had to conduct a practice pack to make sure we had enough room for everything that we were bringing. after the practice pack we moved to the park under the space needle for "skills day" where we attempted to demonstrate that we had the ability to make the journey across the country.
among the skills demonstrated were flat tire change and the water bottle pick up.
Jake had some trouble with the water bottle pick up but I was able to move past the water bottle on to picking keys up off the ground.
after the skills training we moved on to lunch where we met some Pi Alphas (people who have done the ride before) for lunch where they provided excellent salmon and clam chowder. this was a huge treat for most of the team because they are mostly from the mid west and don't get to eat fresh seafood very often.

after lunch we took care of some more administrative things the went to our first friendship visit at gas works park. the dinner was pizza, and it was provided by our chapter from WSU. it was nice to see some of the guys that stepped up and came out to see us and the rest of the JOH team. after dinner about half the team was finished able to do what they wanted, and the other half went to practice the "kids on the block" puppet show that we use to educate younger kids with out disabilities about the abilities of of people with disabilities.

below are todd wright and josh donde two of our team members and clark one of our friends that came to visit.

here is jake with a couple more of our friends.

Tacoma News Tribune

2007-05-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to the TNT and Kathleen Merryman for printing an article about us. If you dont get the paper, or you just missed it, you can read it here:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/columnists/merryman/story/71647.html

Thanks!

2007-05-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far! if you havent donated yet, and want to you can donate to andrew or jake by clicking our corresponding links to the right.

training in pullman

2007-05-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

hey, here are just a few pics of a training ride near pullman along the snake river. we were almost knocked over by the wind that day. we went from cruising at 19mph to a puttering 6mph.

Routes are posted!

2007-03-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

today jake and i found out that we get to ride the route we preferred! which is Seattle to Wash. D.C.
http://pushamerica.org/events/routemap/?show_trans=yes

First Post

2007-03-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

this is just a test post right now. check back soon for updates.