riding into the capitol

walking up to the capitol

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

Manassas, VA

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

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.

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

08/09/07 Farmville to Richmond, VA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 & 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

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.

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

the narrow road to Kamiah, Id.

happy birthday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
.