Day 69-Charlottesville to Front Royal VA

Today was our victory lap, the most challenging terrain we have seen maybe but still a victory lap and it could not have been more perfect. I rode with Jeff and Preston which we have been planning for at least a week now, Jeff just told me we were going to do it with Preston so I was absolutely up for it. Morning started off perfectly, we were up at 5:30 and left lodging a little late because of some road delays but cycled just 4 miles to Whole Foods who was feeding us breakfast which was very filling and delicious plus they gave us a ton of organic energy bars for the ride. While we were waiting around to leave Bott somehow broke his front derailleur off, he was just standing there then rolled his back backward a second and it broke off. He really wanted to ride today so we took it off and taped the cable to his bike and just set the chain in his middle ring and he just went without a front derailleur all day. From Whole Foods the ride began and the first 25 miles were really not bad at all, similar to the last few rides we have had through the woods on small back roads. After that section we get to a turn and see the big Skyline Drive sign on the road and we realize the challenge is about to begin. Jeff has been talking about this ride since practically day 1 and has gotten me really excited about it. We were the second pace line to hit the hills and the 12 miles after that sign were intense, constant climb on a steep grade. Not even half way up we see the first pace line and they yell that Joe (AKA Wombat) broke his chain, I was really bummed that he was going to miss the ride. Finally after the 12 miles we get to the top and I remember that the ride goes through Shenandoah National Park, I had completely forgotten until we saw the park sign at the top of the climb. As soon as we rode through the gates of the park I lite up with even more excitement and wonder and never lost it through the entire 67 miles we were in the park. I loved every hill both up and down, but what really made the ride was not only that it felt like we were on a hike through the wilderness just on bikes but every half mile to mile there was a scenic overlook and the views were jaw dropping every single time. We were so high up we were looking down at the tops of mountains and ridges surrounding us, and they went on all the way to the horizon, we saw lakes and rivers below us, it was absolutely breathtaking. Around mile 50 we came up to a visitor center and I had to run in and look for a sticker to add to my bike because I haven’t added one since Colorado and this is the perfect place for the last one before Washington DC plus the one I found was too good to pass up, it has the quote “The mountains are calling and I must go” by John Muir with an outline of the Shenandoah mountains.
Right before we had stopped we had a dear walk out of the bushes and cross the road right in front of us as we were climbing, then on a downhill section we saw a family of deer in the woods right next to us, the wildlife was everywhere. Just after the visitor center we were headed down a hill and I heard some rustling in the woods and look over expecting deer and was pleasantly surprised to see a small black bear leaning up against a tree looking onto the road, I loved it but no one else had time to see it. 13 miles later at the bottom of one of that very fun downhill section, one of many, we hit lunch. I had almost forgotten about lunch because I was so distracted by the ride. Wiles picked a great spot for lunch too, it was a huge overlook parking lot so we made our sandwiches, grabbed some cookies, chips and an Arnold Palmer and walked over to the brick wall and sat there with the team eating lunch looking out at the gorgeous view, it was a perfect moment and that is when Scott said this was our victory lap and I could not have agreed more. This ride was the culmination of our Journey, no better way to go out than a 106 mile day climbing just over 9000 feet. After that the time just disappeared and the hills felt easier and we were on the final climb busting it to get to the top and hit that last crazy downhill section to take us all the way to town. On the hill we were just getting started when somehow my chain popped off so we coasted to the next overlook and stopped to put it back on, ended up being a great place to stop, the views to the right of the road were the best and this one was perfect.
Even after all that climbing we weren’t too beat and at the end of the hill we got to Matt’s stop who was actually asleep in his chair on the side of the road but it was clearly marked which way to Front Royal so we just made the turn and went for it. In town though, we just barely missed Ryan at his turn because he ducked inside to use the bathroom and we went on for a couple miles before we hit a T in the road with no one marking it so we called Wiles and turned around and found Ryan and road into lodging. I know we have technically two more rides after this I know they will go by so quick so this one really felt like the last hurrah on the bike and it was the last for a lot of things, we won’t be that high again, won’t have as intense of climbs or as long of downhill roads. Today was one of the best days on the bike.
The day kept being amazing after the ride too. Our lunch was sponsored by a guy who owns a Winery nearby called Naked Mountain Winery so we went to his Winery and they had the best pulled pork and fried chicken that we have had all trip and after eating those things so much this trip I never thought I could enjoy them as much as we did today. His winery was amazing and the weather was still perfect to sit outside and enjoy the view while we ate. On our way out a bunch of us bought some shirts from the winery because they were hilarious, you can make a lot of funny shirts when your winery is called Naked Mountain Winery. Mine has their logo and says “Drink Naked” with the name of the winery below it, he gave us a big discount and was very open and generous and invited us all to visit any time we are back in the area.
After dinner we had a team meeting to discuss more details about tomorrow where we have our all team dinner with North and South in Manassas and our last preparations for arrival. Once the logistics things were done we finished the end of the ritual from yesterday be talking about the last handful of guys including myself. It was really moving for me to hear what people had to say about me and how much I helped them on and off the bike and it really made me fully believe that the goals I set in my letter I wrote to myself I really did accomplish and what those guys had to say was the proof I needed for myself to really see that. I pushed people hard on the bike and pulled them when they needed it and slowed down for them when they were struggling. I killed it at friendship visits and made it clear that I was here for the right reasons, to make a difference in the lives of the people we met and I shared that with teammates, sponsors and reporters to help spread our message.

I don’t know what to expect out of the next 30 some hours of the Journey of Hope but I have learned that every second is amazing so I’m looking forward the last few moments I have with everyone this summer.

Day 68-Lynchburg to Charlottesville VA

The ride today was like a hike in through the woods but on a bike. That is the best way I could think of to describe it. A crazy amount of rolling hills but for 90% of the ride we were just weaving our way through the woods over steep hills and back down. It was a really challenging day with all the climbing we had, over 5,500 feet over the 75 miles. We also had a tough rack time so Evan and I were pushing ourselves hard on the bike and shot passed everyone and had the road all to ourselves. The downhill sections were super fun but we were on back roads so some of it was not very nicely paved and the corners don't have the speed suggestions so it is hard to gauge how sharp the turn will be and how fast we can take it. Nonetheless the downhill rides were a blast, I love leaning into the corners and getting up to some high speeds, the only downside was when we get to the bottom and are almost immediately punished with a steep climb, I swear we had maybe a mile or two of flat ground total today. We got red flagged at one stop early on and right as the dropped the flag we got passed by a pace line before we got on the bike, we passed them later on then got red flagged a bit later for a long time and were there until almost all the pace lines caught up to us, not to much later I realized my back tire was pretty low so I stopped and put a new tube in and got passed by the groups we were just red flagged with including our PM Stefan, I couldn't let Stefan beat me today so we took off after them and passed everyone that had just passed us, then I popped my chain off and had to put it back on and we were still crushing the ride. Even after all of that we got to mile 58 just before rack time when we were supposed to be at 65 but they didn't have enough vans up there to rack us because we were so spread out so they just let us keep riding with the intention to rack us just a ways down the road. Half way up a hill 7 miles down the road we see Ryan's van and stop because he said we were racked and after Evan had his wheel off and I had put the back rack up Ryan gets the message that they are letting us finish the ride just as the next pace line gets to us and they continue on up the hill. At the last red flag Bott was giving me grief about being the fastest pace line with Evan so I could not give him the satisfaction of us not rolling into lodging first so I told Evan we had to catch them and we took off up the rest of the hill and went all out with all the energy we had left which was very low at that point but we made it in first, fastest pace line around. In the last 10 miles we also ran into a news crew that was getting footage of us on the ride, they drove by a few times with a camera sticking out the window and a GoPro attached to the trunk, I hope we get to see that footage because I bet it looked awesome.

We staged up for an arrival into lodging with the Arc of Piedmont who is also feeding us dinner and breakfast and we have a friendship visit and dance with them tonight. At the arrival they had a their yard full of staff and clients to greet us and we walked around and talked to them before putting our bikes up in the house next door where we are staying for the night and grabbed our Jimmy John's boxed lunches at Gatorade.

After lunch we showered and a group of us walked to the historic downtown area of Charlottesville which is very pretty and has a walkway with shops on either side and restaurant seating in the middle. Our goal was coffee and Evan knows a place called Mud House so we went there and I had to get the signature Mud Cup which is black coffee with two shots of espresso, it was very tasty. We all hung out there and talked and did a little bit of planning for arrival.

Our friendship visit was a blast, we had dinner with the Arc and a bunch of their clients, a lot are from group homes they run. One guy that stood out to me that I got to talk to and dance with was BowWow, at least that is what he told me to call him. He had some awesome dance moves, he was just taring up the floor. Not only could he dance but he was also raping his own lyrics to the beat of a lot of the songs it was awesome.

The evening was a lot more serious but in a very good way. This was the last friendship visit which was a huge milestone and an appropriate time for a team meeting. We met downstairs in the house we are staying at and Wiles handed back to us the letters that we wrote to ourselves when we were in Seattle. I had completely forgotten about them but as soon as I saw them in his hand it felt like it was just yesterday that I had my pen to that paper. After reading it it gave me a sense of pride that the vision I had and goals I set for this summer that I explained in that letter I definitely accomplished. Reading this letter marked the beginning of the Pi Alpha ritual. To start we wrote another letter to ourselves that they will mail to us a year from now, I included a lot of goals and hopes that I would like to make happen in the next year including the team and my journey after the Journey of Hope. Tonight we all officially became Pi Alphas as a team. Before the night was over we had a chance to go around and individually thank people for what they have done for the team and for ourselves individually, it brought tears to a couple guys' eyes and made me realize just how appreciative I am for the team that we have and the contributions that people made throughout the summer in so many different ways. It also reminded me of a lot of amazing and impact-full moments that my teammates have given me the opportunity to have on and off the bike that I will treasure and remember for the rest of my life. The fact that I will be leaving these guys in just a few days is becoming more and more painful to accept but the last few rides we have together will be the best.

Tomorrow is our last century day with exactly 100 miles and it will also be a tough one I believe. We are on Skyline Drive for most of it which is very hilly, estimated 10,000 feet if climbing. Today was 4,000 in 75 miles and I was struggling. I will be conquering this last ride with everything I have alongside Preston and Jeff because after this we have just 80 or so miles until we arrive in Washington DC.

Day 67-Roanoke to Lynchburg VA

Super fun day today on and off the bike. Started with a 6am wake up in our motel and on the road by 7. I had to leave my original pace line because we needed to make a couple 2 man pace lines so I ended up with Jeff which was fine because we haven't ridden together in a while and I want to get a ride in with everyone I haven't been with much before the end of the trip. We took off as the last pace line before sweeps but started hauling from the start. We ended up passing up everyone one by one and really pushing to go fast. Jeff is a good cyclists when he is working hard so I was pushing him to put full effort in by pulling at fast speeds when I could. We were both pushing ourselves to the limits untill around 35 miles where we got red flagged and we realized we had made a pretty big gap between us and the next pace line. Once we left from there we were still moving as fast as we could, at 55 miles we realized our average was almost 18 mph and we wanted to push it even higher so we ended up sprinting the last 13 miles which we thought was going to be 10. We were flying up hills at 26 mph and up, it was insane, we were really going all out just for fun. By the time we got to the lights that slowed us down right before lodging we had brought our average up to 18.7 mph which is very impressive. I had a good time going that fast with him, he is awesome to ride with.

We did an arrival for our sponsor for lodging at Lynchburg College who is a Pi Kapp from Roanoke Xi Chapter. We ate with them and then showered and went down the street to our friendship visit with Challenged Sports where we played beach ball volleyball and mega basketball with an inflatable hoop and ball. I played volleyball for a while with Adrian who was in a wheelchair but if we served it to him in the right spot he could get a hand on the ball and hammer it. The smile and laugh he had every time he hit it was amazing. I also played basketball with Keton who was a little boy and we were picking him up and flying him around the court to slam dunk it in and he was hilarious and full of energy.

For dinner our friendship visit was with the Arc of Virginia. They had pasta for us and we ate dinner with a bunch of their clients. I ended up sitting with Kieth and Sarah who have been married for 20 years and met at a group home they were living at back then. They were such a cute couple, poking fun at each other and laughing. Kieth used to be a Special Olympics weight lifter and beat a few of our guys in an arm wrestling match. After dinner we pushed the tables aside for a dance party and Kieth pulled out some awesome moves for us.

Tomorrow we have 75 miles to do and supposedly a tough one with a lot more hills than we had today. Tomorrow we will also have out last friendship visit which we all plan on making really count. We only 4 more rides left, it is insane. Tonight we started preparing for arrival by clearing out vans.

Day 66-Roanoke, day off

It was a good start to the day because most of us decided to skip crew chief breakfast and went down the street to Waffle House to get breakfast instead which was amazing. After breakfast we packed up for the hike and headed to the mall for a little. I am giving a gag gift to Dean, we are doing it secret santa style so I found some awesome old man stuff at Spencer’s in the mall, I got him a cup that says “Old Man Drink” a fake old man driver’s license and a book titled “Sex After 40” and when you open up the book every page is blank. Can’t wait to give it to him. We headed straight to the hike after we ate lunch so we would have enough time to get to the top. It was not too bad of a hike, definitely a lot of elevation gain but it was a nice trail. Ryan, Hayden Wiles and I ended up taking off ahead of the bigger group, we didn’t know how long it would take us and were not going to let the time constraint keep us from getting to the top so we ended up getting to the top 10 minutes before the other guys and hung out and took some pictures. It was an incredible view, 270 degree view of the Appalachians and we could see the mountains rolling on all the way into the horizon, definitely one of the best views I have seen, it will be a very memorable one.

After we got back from the hike we had time to jump in the shower before heading to our friendship visit with Camp Easter Seals just outside Roanoke. This week the camp was for kids with visual impairment, many of them had Albinism and are able to see ok but have night blindness, some had no vision or some kind of impairment. We showed up and got a tour of the camp, this camp is also one the Build America visits every year and a couple guys on the team, Agerton and Wiles, had been to while on BAM and built some of the things they showed us, they also knew the director, some staff and a few of the campers. We ate dinner with the camp and then did their evening activity with them which was called Get Messy. It was exactly how it sounded, they had a counselor Sunday station, dumping all kinds of things on the counselors, paint fight and water fight. I was not too interested in getting messy at first and hung out with a kid, Paul, who was also avoiding the mess. I finally caved and ended up joining the water fight and got paint splattered on my face, it was a lot of fun. Before I left I hung out with Paul again who was sitting by himself. He has been going to the camp for 5 years and loves it, he said he loves the food and his favorite part is going canoeing, he was really cool. Everyone on the team was a mess, shaving cream and paint and chocolate syrup all over, it was great, we had to rinse off and most guys took their shirts off to keep the vans from getting covered in our mess.

Tomorrow we are back on the bike and I am very excited. We have 75 miles to Lynchburg and I am hoping we are still riding through the same beautiful scenery.

Day 65-Blackburg to Roanoke VA

Today was Rackman day, getting all my stuff ready I was actually a little nervous and curious how the game was going to go. I was hoping that I wouldn't bonk early on the ride and that we could really move as fast as possible and put my new cycling skills to the test and feel the good burn in my legs after peddling really hard. Before we got on the bikes we had breakfast at D2, one of the schools dining halls, which was a treat, it was all you can eat and they had every breakfast food you could think of, waffles, omelet bar where the big hits for us. Before we left Cam, Hayden and I filled up our bottles with milk just a little disgusted by an entire bottle of milk. After everyone was on the road we just sat around in anticipation watching the timer count down from 8 minutes until it hit 0 and we tore out of there like mad men with fire in our eyes, Cam started in the front then me then Hayden. Cam is much smaller than us so we told him to stay out of his drops so we could tuck in and get a draft off of him, it worked pretty well and he pulled us until we got through the city. After that it opened up to the same scenery we have seen the last few days, gorgeous hills and mountains covered in thick forest and our little two lane road weaving through them. When I looked down at about 3 miles we already had an average of over 22 mph including the stop and go through the city. We were getting anxious to see our first pace line, every time we turned a corner we were hoping to see the backs of some cyclists. Finally we turned a corner into a small downhill and saw the first one just barely ahead of us and we started screaming and yelling, it was so awesome, the pace line was Sam, Stassi and Max, we passed them at mile 6.3 so we were feeling pretty good. The next pace line we saw a ways ahead of us at mile 13, we could see them on the road on the other side of an open field so we started doing some short, minute long pulls so we could get our speed up. Finally we close the gap and as we are getting closer we turn a corner and see Dean and TJ right in front of the pace line we were chasing from the beginning. We passed Dean and TJ without a problem but once Jake, Joe, and Brentley noticed we were close behind they started breaking away and it turned into an epic probably 5 mile chase to pass them, we were putting everything we had into a sprint, I took lead and finally we got going at 34 mph on a flat to finally pass them, later Cam told me they were going 30 mph when we passed them, it was an awesome fight between the two pace lines, definitely the best one all day. After that we had 1 more pace line to catch and we knew the last two were pretty fast guys so we hauled it. Unfortunately climbing a small hill Hayden popped his chain off which set us back a little but we recovered as best we could and kept moving. At a little more than 10 miles out we were pretty worried, hadn’t seen another pace line for a while until we come screaming down a hill and at the very bottom we turn a corner and see a long strait away and Hayden yells from the back, “there they are!” and at the end of the strait away we could see their blinking rear lights. That gave me a second wind and we kept moving as fast as we could but I was worried because I knew we had to be getting close to the city which means turns, lights, and stop signs which could go either way for us. We closed the gap a ton in the next 5 miles but the worst happened, they were right in front of us at the bottom of a small hill that we had a turn on and their pace line barely squeezed through the light and we got stuck at the red and were set back a ton from that. From there we went as hard as we could but kept getting caught at lights and then as we get to the top of a hill we see them again just barely in front of us but they happened to get a chance to make a left off the highway and we got to the turn and had to wait for a break in traffic. Just after that, one of the vans passed us screaming “you lost” both the last pace lines on the road had made it to lodging. We came rolling in just after the last one and not too far behind the first pace line either. It was a tough loss to take but it was just so much fun that I couldn’t be mad, it was an awesome battle of the pace lines and I was happy with how we did on the road and happy with my performance and how good I felt at the end, we had an average speed of 21.3 mph, impressive for how much climbing and rolling hills we had. I felt like I could have probably ridden even faster and gone another 10-15 miles at the same pace, this ride got me really excited to race, especially with a team of cyclists as good or better than me. I gave all the guys that made it a high five, they really went hard today which was very cool.

Because we let two pace lines make it to lodging we had to do the gallon challenge which was absolutely awful, all three of us drank up and were just trying to get it over with as soon as possible. Cam finished most of his first and couldn’t hold it in and puked up mostly milk. I was second and Hayden was last and did the dragon and flapped his arms as he was puking, absolutely hilarious. The milk was not enjoyable at all though and left me very uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

After some free time we headed to dinner and friendship visit which was a very unique one. It was with the Down Syndrome Association of Roanoke which helps families by hosting activities and services. They rented out an entire Zoo for our visit at the top of a mountain. It was so fun to run around the zoo with the kids and families, there were these three little girls that were obsessed with us and taught us all a cheer routine. Two best parts of the zoo were the mini train that they had that went around the perimeter of the zoo and you could see a bunch of the animals from the train plus a gorgeous view looking down on the hills and mountains. The second best part was the Red Panda exhibit, they are my new favorite animal I think, so cute, they look like big cats and act like them too they were just hanging out and wondering around on the trees and sleeping, I loved them. The families were so thankful and meeting them was very fun, this organization has really built a strong support network for parents and families to come together. On our way out we stopped by the Roanoke Star on top of the mountain, the star has a live camera that we found ourselves on, Brandon and I and before we left we got to see it light up.

Once we got back a few of us including TJ the newest 21 year old went to the Mexican restaurant next to our motel to get us our first margaritas. We just had one and some chips then headed back to the motel to do laundry and relax. 

Tomorrow we have a day off and have no programming until dinner so we are going to the mall to do some shopping for our gag gifts. Ryan noticed on the ride today that we actually crossed the Appalachian Trail at the top of one of the climbs toward the end and it happens to be the most photographed point on the AT and it is only a 8 mile round trip hike from the parking lot so we are making time to hike it tomorrow before our friendship visit. I am really excited about that, I read a book by Bill Bryson about the AT which has made me want to hike it really bad so having this chance so unexpectedly is great.

Day 64-Beckley WV to Blackburg VA

Today we were on the road as soon as the sun was up. We knew it was going to be a tough ride and we were headed to Virginia Tech where a few guys on the team go to school so they did not want to have to get racked because of time. I rode with Hayden and Randy and we were the second to last pace line out on the road in the morning. The 3 VT guys led the pack all day, TJ, Sam and Evan and were really moving, they had a lot of motivation to get there. I was going to see how far I could get still trying to do the big ring challenge but as soon as we left lodging we started climbing hills and I could feel how tired my legs were from the last 4 days of the big ring so I switched down to my little one 4 miles in. The first 50 miles of the ride were absolutely incredible, it definitely has jumped to the top of the list of my favorite rides this summer. It was the same as the last half of the ride yesterday but even better, still had some really long challenging climbs and curvy roads through the Appalachians but we also had some of the most fun downhill sections we have ever seen. The first really fun one was toward the beginning of the ride, we get to the top of a climb and see our favorite downhill warning sign and below the sign it says “8% grade, 1 mile” it was a steep slightly curvy downhill and we got up to 44 mph. The second one was even better, we had a long climb that was really steep and as we get to the top we see the same sign but it was 4.5 miles downhill and the same grade. That ride was absolutely crazy, sharp switchbacks with banked roads and a couple hairpin turns, we couldn’t get up passed about 35 on the strait sections because we had to slow way down for most of the corners but leaning into the turns and screaming down the straits through thick forest and mountains was incredible, I wish I could ride those roads all the time. Afer 50 miles we get to a small town and turn onto a highway that we were supposed to ride on for 30 miles but my pace line and the lead one got to 20 miles in when our crew chief saw a sign that said bicycles were prohibited on the highway, for some reason that was not noted in their directions. We all racked on the highway and were driven to stage up because it was only a couple miles past the end of the highway. Our Arrival was pretty fun, we rode into campus and did a loop around the drill field and took a picture in front of some building on campus the VT guys told us we should. After that we rode through the campus walkways to the dorms we are staying at where the VT chapter guys were waiting for us and had a barbecue set up for us to grill and hang out. They were all really cool guys and we met the IFC representative.

After showers I went with some guys to a bike shop and campus bookstore just to explore VT a little, they have an amazing campus it is so pretty. Our dinner was at a place just off campus that we walked the place, The Cellar, and was sponsored by the family of a Pi Alpha who rode in 2011. They were so excited for us because of how close we are to the end and told us about how crazy and emotional arrival is. They said even if you don’t expect to get emotional about it, most guys do. I have heard the same from other Pi Alphas too, I have no idea what to expect or how I will react.

Once we got back we changed and all the over 21 year olds went to go meet up with some VT guys to hang out at one of their houses and walk to downtown. They go to this place called TOTS, Top of The Stairs, a lot and Sam and TJ turned 21 on the ride so they really wanted to go there. It was a very cool bar with an awesome balcony and dance floor and then downstairs in the back a cool area to hang out in where we were all night meeting the brothers and a few of their Rose Buds that came out and their Rose Queen. One of their Rose Buds actually has a brother going to ASU next year so I gave her my contact info to give to him in case he decides to rush. It was cool hanging out at a college bar with kids our age, we all had a good time, Evan bought everyone on the team that came a drink called a rail and we had a blast. When I got back I hung out with Evan and his friend in our room and talked for a while until we finally had to pass out.

Tomorrow is only 35 miles through the same kind of scenery and terrain which will be fun but too add to it, we are playing rack man. Hayden, Cam and I are going to be sweeps, we are a few of the strongest cyclists on the team and the way the game works is the pace lines get released like usual except the slowest first and fastest last. After the last pace line leaves us sweeps wait to leave and then chase after everyone else. If we pass a pace line then that pace line gets racked the rest of the ride. Our agreement made it a little more interesting though. The team decided that we would have to fill our water bottles with milk and finish the milk before we get to lodging but we got to leave 8 minutes after the last pace line, and if we let 2 or more pace lines make it to lodging without getting racked then we would have to do the gallon challenge where you try to drink a gallon of milk. I am super excited, it will be a super fun competition and I can’t wait to ride as hard as I can for 35 miles, I am really hoping we don’t have to do the gallon challenge though and I think it is possible to get them all or maybe just let one go.

Day 63-Charleston to Beckley WV

Today was one of the best, I rode with Brandon and David Stassi, two of the best guys to ride with because Brandon s super encouraging and funny, and if there was an award for the team clown it would easily go to Stassi. The ride started out pretty gross, some really run down areas and industrial districts coming out of Charleston. Eventually we got out of that area and ended up on a road going through a valley right next to a river and surrounded by hills and thick forest, as we got further down the road it got more and more amazing. We would ride for a mile through thick woods on either side in a tunnel of green then it would open up at the top of a hill and we had an incredible view down the middle of the valley and over the hills to more mountains and hills in the distance, which was a good sign that we would be climbing those hills later on. Some sections were covered in ivy, it draped over everything around the road from trees to telephone pools, for some reason the whole seen just reminded me of Jurassic Park. After we hit the halfway point we stopped at Matt’s crew stop for water and he warned us that it was about to get more hilly and we were getting into the real Appalachian roads. Sure enough right down the road from his stop we make a sharp hairpin turn to begin the first of many switchbacks. I was still in my big ring and worried at that point that I would have to shift down but was able to hold it all day still. That first hill was pretty intense but the views were just getting better climbing steep hillsides we glimpses of the river below us. It made me feel like I was in the Tour De France, I wanted to start racing up the hills so bad but I kept with Brandon and Stassi and helped them get through the hills. From that point on it was almost all either a gradual hill or a steep hill with a quick decent slowly working our way up in elevation over the next 35 miles. I enjoyed every bit of it, the climbs and especially the decents. There was one climb towards the end that was really fun, for most of the day we were pretty much on our own, didn’t see any other pace lines and we thought we had a pretty good gap between us and the next line behind us until we hit a steep hill. We were working our way up and suddenly Stassi yells “Look friends!” and I look back and see Bott and Dylan then around the corner comes Preston TJ and Brentley “More friends!” When Bott saw us he yelled up at us “Go bones!” and the other 7 of us yell the same back, it was really cool to see them and it got us all a little pumped up to finish that climb and the one after it which were both beasts of a hill. From there we powered through the rest of the ride and showed up to lodging a few miles short of what I expected which is always a nice little surprise. Our Logistics Coordinator Zack was also able to get us some better lodging, we upgraded from a church floor to dorm rooms at University of Charleston in Beckley.

We took showers then a van full of guys and 5 bikes went to get some fixes at a bike shop, the shop yesterday did not do a whole lot of good for me and other guys needed some checks and tune ups. They were an awesome bike shop, two really friendly mechanics, one of them was a TKE at a small school and friends with some Pi Kapps so he knew a bit about Push America and the Journey of Hope. They were super generous and fixed everyone’s bikes on the spot, setting their other work aside for us and they only charges us for parts and gave us a discount, I was especially lucky, they 3-4 times as long messing with my chain, taking links out so it was the right length, adjusting the derailleur and hanger and riding it around, making more adjustments and when I went to the counter to pay he just said don’t worry about it, so amazing.

Unfortunately before dinner while I was on the phone with Emily my phone was acting weird and kept freezing and turning off and right before we left it did it and wouldn’t turn back on, so for now I am without a phone which is really annoying because I use it mostly for pictures and my blog and we are about to hit some really amazing picture spots on the road and of course at arrival. I am looking into replacing it in one of the cities we stop in in the next couple days or in the worst case scenario I get a loner phone from a T-Mobile store when I am in Manassas right before arrival. I want a new phone anyway so this isn’t totally a bad thing.

Our dinner and friendship visit was with another Mountains State Center for Independent Living and was very low key. They had a few individuals in their programs come and hang out and eat with us though. I met Nora who was very friendly, she came over to us and brought her drawing books to show. She had a couple notebooks and folders filled with her drawings, some of them from 1998. She said she loves to draw anything, there were some cats, planes, flowers, hearts and she also had some drawings in there that she did with her niece and nephew who like to draw with her and they give her drawings to keep.

Tomorrow is going to be a tough day but exciting arrival. We are heading to Blacksburg Virginia, our last state before DC and have an arrival for the Virginia Tech chapter where TJ, Sam, and Evan go. The ride is 85 miles with supposedly 8,000 feet of climbing. It will either be tomorrow or the century day with 10,000 feet of climbing that I am going to ride with Hayden and absolutely kill our legs and go as hard as we can on the bike. It will have to be decided tomorrow morning but either day will be a blast as always.

Day 62-Huntington to Charleston WV

What a fun ride today, I was with Brandon and TJ who I haven’t ridden with in a long time. It was a really short ride too and an early morning, on the road by 7am and only rode 38 miles. It was a pretty 38 miles except for the one big downhill which was ruined by absolutely awful roads, bumps, holes and patchy asphalt all over, plus the roads were wet. Leaving lodging we knew it might rain a little and it started sprinkling pretty early so we were soaked all day, the last 10 miles it really started to come down. I didn’t mind it too much I kind of like riding in the rain, it is cooling and just fun, except for the water coming up from the guys’ tire in front of me. I did the big ring challenge again for the third day in a row now and powered through all day. We thought that today was going to be 45 miles but I guess that included a section we had to get racked for, at 38 miles we were red flagged and the second pace line to role in. There we all racked to get across a bridge that was too dangerous to ride on and because at that point we were so close to stage up we just drove to there and waited for a bit to ride into our arrival. Our visit was with a local organization called The Children’s Therapy Clinic. They offer therapy to kids with disabilities from helping kids with autism learn social skills to music and physical therapy. They have a small facility that is shared with the Red Cross but they make a big impact on over 60 families that they serve. We got to meet one family at the visit who were so much fun. Every year staff from both Red Cross and Children’s Therapy Clinic come to the visit and they were so excited to have us and expressed so much love for what we do and appreciation for the grants that they get from Push America. We ate Pizza there and got a tour of the building before we left and headed to lodging.

That was our only visit for today so we had a ton of free time so a bunch of us wondered over to the mall a couple blocks from lodging and got some coffee and did a little shopping until we came back to lodging for dinner provided by our sponsor here which was catered by Olive Garden so we got some great pasta and salad.

The rest of the night is just hanging out, we have the whole place to ourselves and we can turn the lights off and actually have a dark room. Tomorrow we have 75 miles and our last day in West Virginia. Only 9 days until arrival and I don’t think I have really accepted the fact that it is so soon. I’m making every second count from now until then, hanging out with the team and putting my all into every friendship visit as always.

Day 61-Morehead KY to Huntington WV

It was an early morning today, 5am wake up so we could make it to our arrival at the Huntington city hall. It was scheduled as a 75 mile day but in the morning the more accurate estimate was 67 miles so not too bad if a ride at all. The morning was rocky for me, I was getting ready out front and set my Chacos on the roof of Matt's van while I switched lenses for my sunglasses, ended up forgetting them there when I went to go eat breakfast, after that the van left with my chacos on the roof. Right before we left I remembered they were still on the roof so I was telling everyone to look for them on the road, Matt's van is always the first crew stop so he was about 8 miles up and when we got there he had found them, still sitting on the roof where I left them, I was very lucky. To add to it, about a mile in I looked down and realized I didn't have my bike computer on my bars and didn't know where it went, last I saw it was in my bike shoe walking down to the vans, luckily I found it at the end if the day in the luggage van, also very lucky.
I rode with Evan and Dean, the guys I did the pre JOH ride with, I realized last night that I don't think we have done a pace line with the three of us since thay ride so it was fun to ride with them on the bike again, Dean and Evan are hilarious we were having so mich fun that even though we stopped to deal with my shoe situation and we started as the second to last pace line we ended up passing everyone in 20 miles and not realizing it until mile 40. I was sticking with my same method, ride the whole day in the big ring and ride hard and fast, I was making some hills harder by staying on a high gear too, it was a blast, I was shooting up hills again and Evan and Dean were following right behind for most or I was chasing Evan up them. Dean has become an even better rider too, he may not want to ride as hard as we did today but he is definitely capable of it so it was awesome to push him to ride that hard. It was pretty much the same terrain, just rolling hills and flats with some more fun curvey downhills.

Finally we get to our stage up to meet up with the police escort, this one was awesome, 5 miles and no stops, blew through every light it was fun. We had an arrival at city hall to be greeted by lots of press and organizers for our visit. After that we got back on the bike for another police escort to lodging which was another 5+ miles and the high school we are staying at is at the top of a hige hill which I thought was funny and enjoyable, we never get to climb hills with the whole team and in a double pace line with a police escort, everyone was scattered all over, couldn't hold the double line, but we were joking around the whole time, it was great. The police made it even beetter, when we got to the parking lot at the top a couple of them parked their bikes and let us hop on and take pictures, I have been waiting for one of the police escorts to offer us this, it was so cool despite burning my leg on the pipes, totally worth it. We had a sponsor bring us lunch at lodging so we could relax for a while. A van full and I made a bike shop run, I needed to get my derailleur looked at and found out I needed a new chain, my old one was super stretched out which was causing my problems. After we got back we headed right back out to our friendship visit with Mountain State Center for Independent Living which helps people with disabilities live independently and find jobs in the community, we met the mayor there who proclaimed today Push America Day. It was one of the best dinners we have had, it was breakfast for dinner, eggs, biscuits, bacon, sausage, muffins, everything, so delicious. I sat at a table with Vincent who is quite the talker, he is a wrestler and from the sound of it a really good one toozhe has won a lot of titles, he was really fun and took lots of pictures of us. He was also telling us about the local team in Huntington too and the rivalries. Dinner was a blast and on the way back we drove through the Marshall University and checked out the football Memorial.

When we got back to the high school I see Matt cleaning my bike, he said he would clean it after I let him use it for the ride along but I wasn't sure if he actually was so that was a great surprise and he knows a good amount about bikes so he really got a good deep clean and I am excited to see how it rides tomorrow. Spent the rest of the evening hanging out, watched more band of brothers.

Only a 45 mile ride tomorrow to Charleston WV, crazy short and another arrival too. Should be fun as always.

Day 60-Lexington to Morehead KY

This morning we had a 6:30 wake up which was later than usual because CAKY was providing breakfast which was breakfast burritos, fruit and cereal, amazing breakfast to start a ride with. Because of our location they thought it would be safer for ua to rack our bikes a ways up the road to a safer place to drop us off, we ended up getting dropped off at a news station who actually interviewed one of the guys, not sure if that was planned or not. Beginning of the ride started out rough, we lost some time from racking so rack point
was pretty tight. It got worse when I realized my rear tire was slowly loosing air so Scott, Bott and I had to stop so I could put a new tube in, then I realize my rear brake is making an awful noise and making my bike vibrate so we stopped a few times for me to try to make adjustments which none of them helped anything but I noticed my wheel needs to be trued soon. It was still rideable, I just didn't use my back brake as much. After Scott and Bott pulled for the first 20 miles and I got up front I decided that I really wanted to make the end of this trip count on the bike, I want to put my all into every ride and build more strength and skill on the bike. So I challenged myself today to do the whole ride in my big ring, the big ring challenge. It was a blast, I was really going as hard as I could on the bike and shooting up hills, more than a few times leaving the guys far behind on a hill. We had a great ride together too, talking about the team and the trip and random other things as we rode through more beautiful farmland, nice houses, tiny towns and ran from another crazy dog trying to bite our feet. At our crew chief's stop he had a canes and baja blast challenge, we really needed to get rid of the stuff, it was eat canes and shotgun a mountain dew baja blast. I didn't go for the chicken but Scott and I shotguned a baja blast which was surprisingly easy and we felt the sugar rush after we got back on the bike. Because of all my bike problems we were right in front of sweeps for a while until I started pulling and hauling in hopes of making rack time, we eventually caught and passed a couple pace lines and then got red flagged, they were going to rack us but Randy who goes to school at Morehead called the PM and told him that we are finishing the ride, the arrival is for his chapter so being a little late is not an issue. I was glad he did that and we were all able to finish the ride. Before getting into town our average was 17.9mph which is real fast for the terrain we had, I was pulling on flats at 21-24 for a lot of the ride, we also had some really fun, steep and winding downhill sections.

Arrival was with the chapter here and they are really cool guys, they had lots of brothers out and some sorority women and school staff too, it was cool to have a big welcoming. They fed us a big pasta lunch before we headed to unload at lodging in one of the dorms. Very nice to have a bed again so soon. After showers we headed to our friendship visit with Horizon Village which is a group home and assisted living facility that the local chapter is very close with. It was an awesome community, many of the people there live in the apartments almost entirely independent and some live in a dorm style single level building. They were all very nice, I talked with Buddy for a while who liked writing letters, mostly to girls, so we helped him put the words together and put them on paper, it was hard to communicate with him bit we slowly got it. Another peraon I hung out with was Lilian who was an older lady but had a great sense of humor, she is well known as the comedian, we loved it.

The chapter brothers set up dinner for us at Buffalo Wild Wings followed by dessert at a froyo place, both were delicious and really hit the spot. Calling it an early night because we have a 5am wake up, kind of a bummer because the chapter invited us to a bonfire but I really need the aleep. 75 miles tomorrow and more hills, maybe another big ring day.

Day 59-Lexington day off

We got to sleep in until just before 8 because our breakfast was provided by CAKY where Igot to meet a very cute llittle puppy and our friendship dinner was for lunch. We got to hang out at CAKY for a bit after breakfast before I went to get some things at the bike shop and drop off a few bikes for repair. We met the rest of the team at our friendship visit with Latitude which is an art studio for people with disabilities. Some of the artists there have had pieces shown internationally, in Russia, Paris and France and sold pieces for thousands of dollars, these are some incredible pieces. It was very cool to see them work and gwt to know them, they love painting and drawing. One guy we didn't get to meet but had art all over has a kind of visual impairment but makes tapestry out of recycled platic bags and things in different patterns, it looks really cool and the piece he had in the making was even bigger. I really loved this visit because of the attitude and excitement from the staff and clients but also we got a couple awesome surprises. First, they had made a collaborative piece of 32 tiles that all the artists help make to give to us so we got to hang on to some of these talented artists work. Second, they combined our visit with an award presentation for a community organization making positive changes for people with disabilities, they presented it to Beep Ball of Kentucky which is a very new non-profit that is starting a Beep Ball league and is about to break ground on the first ever Beep Ball field in the world. It was cool to be there for that and meet the man, David Wickstrom who quit his job making a lot of money in the for profit sector to follow his dream of starting this league. As part of the presentation they gave him a piece of artwork, a banner, that was another collaboration from the Latitude artists, it looked amazing, I loved it. After talking to him for a bit at the friendship visit we wanted to see how beep ball is played so he offered to show us. After we left Latitude we met him at his house and went to a field behind his house, we didn't hav the right field or bases so we improvised. Basically the person with a visual impairment is at bat and a sighted person pitches a ball slightly bigger than a softball that beeps, the pitcher is on the same team and says when to swing. When the ball is hit they run to a nase that makes noise and it is random between two bases where 1st and 3rd would be on a normal field. The outfield has a sighted person that calls the name of the player closest to the ball who has to find the ball and raise it over their head before the batter tags one of the bases. We used hay bales and people to make noise for the bases but still had a fun time. We are hoping that he is able to sponsor the team next year on the new field they are making, that would be so fun. 

After that we had free time so we lounged around at lodging and hung out then most of us went to the mall to walk around and grab food and jamba juice. Ending the day with some more band of brothers with the team. 

Tomorrow is a shorter day, 65 miles to Morehead where Randy goes to school so he is excited to get there and I am pumped for the ride, I'm going to ride with Scott and Bott.