Made it to Richmond

The ride today was awesome.  I couldn't believe how easy we made it through 110 miles so easily.  Ben rode with us again and did a good job of pulling us through the first 60 miles or so and then we kept on pushin it through.  We made it in at 2:45, which was way earlier than I anticipated, beating the next group, which still is dubbed the fast group by over an hour.  We did run into a small problem with about 5 miles left when there was a bridge out, but we asked the construction workers if we could just walk our bikes down and across the creek and after they gave a very nonchalant response, we just did it. 

The weather was perfect for a long day.  Low 70's and cloudy.

Amazing meal and showers here today and the church that we are staying at has cable so I got two solid hours of ESPN in.  Its also nice because now I wont have to go out to watch the game.  I'm pretty sure there are only like 2 other guys who are interested in the game tonight, but noone will be watching anything else- I mean, c'mon, its Game 7.

I have a bad feeling the Pens are gonna win it.

I can't believe they were in 10th place like 3 months ago and the Sabres were in 4th or 5th in the East... I'm sure you all don't read this to hear my NHL commentary, but I'm sure I do better than that versus bozo Brian Engblom.  Brendan, you know the guy

Welcome to the Hoosier State

Today we rode 108 miles from Columbus, Ohio to Richmond, Indiana.  Everyone made great time today because there were virtually no hills or wind in our faces.  My group had a few problems; Zernyu had 2 flats and Daniel had a minor accident that left his pride bruised, but when we actually were riding we were doing over 20mph for the majority of the trip.  Today was not only the longest ride the group has done this year, but also the longest ride I have ever done in one day.  Surprisingly though, I feel really good, and believe I will be ready for tomorrow's 96 mile ride to Greenwood, Indiana.  After riding 108 miles, my group stopped in at Wendy's for some delicious, greasy, food and frosties.  After a long day of riding, it really hit the spot.

110

Today the team had their longest ride ever of the summer. We finished the 110 mile journey from Columbus, Ohio to Richmond, Indiana. We were all pleasantly surprised by the ease with which we rode of the relatively flat terrain. After the ride, the team was greeted by te wonderful people of the First English Lutheran Church. They provided us with delicious hot food and great hot showers. Some of the riders took advantage of the cable TV to sustain their SportsCenter fix and are also excited to watch The Game tonight in the comfort of the Church.

Tomorrow's ride is a relatively shorter ride of 95 miles followed by the much anticipated rest day in Greenwood, Indiana.

Tune in next time.

Day 12: Wet

Left Zanesville OH this morning with predictions of heavy rains. The weather reports were accurate and shortly after crossing the only Y shaped bridge in the world the rain began and didn't let up until shortly after we arrived in Columbus.

The ride was fairly easy, with only a few minor climbs and very few cues to follow. While the roads were wet, there wasn't a whole lot of traffic so we got to enjoy some of the foggy scenery without much fear of an accident. After we arrived in Columbus I took out my phone and found that it had somehow gotten wet in the plastic bag I keep it in, and while it could still receive and send calls, the screen was blank. Hopefully it dries out and comes back to life.

In the evening the Columbus Illini Club provided an amazing meal with a spread including sandwiches, fruit, cupcakes, cookies, drinks, etc. We were all thoroughly stuffed which we thank them for.

Tomorrow we head 110 miles to Richmond, Indiana but cool weather and an early start should make it no problem. I think most of us are really looking forward to the challenge and really really really looking forward to the rest day that follows it in Greenwood.

Torvtown USA

After a good amount of ice cream in Cadiz we were off to Zanesville, OH, a solid 65 mile or so ride.  We all got in pretty early.  I got in at around 1245ish and the whole group was in by 130 or so, which gave us a good amount of free time.  I got in a good run, maybe 9 miles or so, mostly along this trail along the river.  Then I went out with a few other guys and we found this awesome candy shop.  Once the woman there found out what we were doing (people always ask cause we all wear these obnoxious bright yellow/green shirts), she started really pushing the free samples on us.... soooo good.  A good meal last night at the church followed by a minor scare: we had to take one of the riders to the hospital cause he had a 103 degree temperature, but hes feelin a lot better today.

Todays ride was actually pretty nice, despite a steady downpour for the last 45 of a 55 mile ride.  It was mostly made sweet by the presence of Ben Torvik, my roommate for the last 3 years at Syracuse, who got a ride out to Zanesville early this morning and rode into Columbus with us.  Eventually we will reunite and live together again- forever.  We got in pretty early again, around noon.  Shot some hoops at the church, got a shower, and then went walkin around the city.  Tonight we have an event with the alumni association where there is supposed to be sweet food.  Everyone is dreading tomorrow: a 110 mile ride from Columbus to Richmond, IN.  It should be nuts.  keepin my fingers crossed for nice weather, no heat and no rain would be nice.

Until next time, Go Bills.

A Short But Rainy Day

Today we rode into Columbus, Ohio from Zanesville and the ride was pretty easy except for all the rain we got caught in. However, once we hit Ohio the mountains seemed to have disappeared for a while and now we are getting into the plains of the Midwest. And I am ready for them. It's crazy to think that we'll be in Illinois in 5 days!

We've met some really generous people so far in gas stations and ice cream stands that see our team jerseys and just tell us their cancer story or pull out all the money in their wallet to donate to our cause. It's really something to see. If there is one thing to believe in it's that there is good in all people if you look for it.

I think I'll end this one with a joke. Ok here goes (and it's kind of lame, but hey, jokes are good):

What's round on the end and high in the middle?

Ohio!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Today we had a short 55 mile ride to Columbus, Ohio.  The ride went very well, except for the 35 miles of rain we encountered.  The rain today was not that bad though, because it was pretty warm.  Tomorrow we ride 110 miles, all the way to Richmond, Indiana, so I hope the weather cooperates a little better.

Columbus was a Beast, with many friends, to say the least

The team woke up ready for a nice short 55 mile ride to Columbus.  Cloudy skies greeted us early and shortly into the ride, we were in a pretty steady downpour.  Luckily, the ride was short and the temperatures were mild enough to make it a decent ride. 

The entirety of the team arrived by early afternoon to our stayover at Broad Street United Methodist Church in downtown Columbus.  After some free time in the afternoon we received an amazing meal from the Columbus U of I Alumni with some amazing cupcakes provided by Mrs. Erikson, a mother of a former rider.

Tomorrow is gonna be wild.  We will encounter our first century ride, with a 110 mile ride to Richmond, Indiana, taking us across all of Ohio in two and a half days.  Though we will leave behind the beauty of the mountains of PA and rolling hills of Ohio, we are all looking forward to some flat rides through the cornfields of the Midwest.

Tune in next time.

It's about time!!!

Today is a day that will go down in history! The world has been waiting. Time itself has slowed its relentless trip around the clock, in anticipation of this moment. Yes friends, the day has come.  The wait is over. The blog has begun!

Hello from Zanesville, Ohio! I’ve never been much of a blogger before, but then again, I’ve never been much of a cross-country cyclist either… so let’s hear it for killing two birds with one stone, and, you’re just gonna have to bear with me.

Today was a pretty fantastic ride. Other than about 9 miles of drizzle, during the last leg of the trip, the weather was pretty calm and agreeable. The roads were smooth, and we continued to make our transition to, well, FLAT. We are leaving the mountains behind, and entering the world of pastures-a-plenty. I couldn’t be happier. I’m sure I will start to miss the gorgeous geography we have passed through after a few days of Midwest farmland, but, for right now, I am looking forward to a few weeks devoid of 12-degree inclines.

The trip so far has been full of such a broad range of emotions, challenges, realizations, experiences, and growth. I can feel my body changing mentally and physically, and I am starting to see the effect the trip is having on not only me, but also the people around us. I spoke a lot about bringing hope to those struggling with cancer, and inspiring those without to join in the fight against cancer with us before I left for this trip. And it’s really amazing just how those two aspects of the trip have come to fruition.

Shoot. I’m going to have to leave this first post here… The one problem with blogging is that you need the internet to do it, and the library where I have found free wireless, just announced that it will be closing in 10 minutes. I will continue my thoughts in my next post, ASAP.  Hopefully I will find some Internet somewhere in Columbus Ohio.

I want to quickly thank all who have made this trip possible. I love you dearly, and I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t wait to see you, and share with you all I have gained and experienced on this trip!

To those of you in Chicago… I’ll see you soon! I can hardly wait. I’m quite literally shaking with excitement.

Ciao! For now!

OH-IO

Today's ride was pretty awesome, we rode 65 miles from Cadiz OH to Zanesville OH, and the weather stayed nice enough so that we could make it into our destination, the Central Presbyterian Church by about 1:30PM.  We are also almost entirely out of the mountains, so it is nice to not have to worry about that for a while.  I was telling my riding group today, I am glad we had those big mountains early, because all of these hills in Ohio seem like flat lands, they are so much easier to ride than the mountains from Pennsylvania.  Matt S and Adam made today's ride especially fun, they spent the entire ride singing random songs and telling jokes, so they made the day go by much faster.  The I4K likes to get our rides done, but having fun while we're doing it is always a huge plus, and I think this group is really coming together as a fun-loving unit.

Once we got into Zanesville, we just relaxed for a little bit, then, since we were there so early, decided to go catch a movie, and made it out to see The Hangover before dinner.  The movie was pretty funny, not as amazing as I hoped it would be, but still very funny and well worth my $4.50.  After that, the church made us dinner, another amazing meal of pasta, salad and tea, so I was nice and full by the time I headed to the library to write this up.  I also want to give out some more thanks to the Ohioans who have been so kind in donating so far, I think we got $80 today alone in donations from random strangers who just wanted to learn about our trip and help us out, so it's been really amazing in the Midwest, it seems like everyone is so friendly and willing to help.  I also got to talk to a few of my good friends in the last few days, so that was really great, and I'm so excited to be heading to Homewood in about a week where I will get to see all of  them again!!

States traveled through:9(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH)
Distance today: 65 mi
Total Distance traveled: 795 mi

The Buckeye State

Today I find myself in Zanesville, Ohio.  The ride to get here, although not extremely scenic, was one of the best so far.  Rather than having to deal with urban drivers or mountains, we had a pleasant 65 mile ride over mostly rolling hills in rural areas.  Zanesville has a bridge that is the intersection of 3 roads over 2 rivers, forming a "Y".  According to locals it is the only "Y" shaped bridge in the world, or "the only bridge you can make a left on," as I have been told many times.  I went to the post office today to mail some stuff home that I won't be needing, and the lady behind me in line gave me twenty dollars on the way out, just because she read the back of my jersey.  I continue to find myself impressed with kindness and generosity that complete strangers have to been showing to all of us.  I think it just goes to show how big of an impact cancer has had on so many people.

Its about time...

Today is day ? of the ride and I am just getting started on blogging. In my defense, it very well could be day 1. All the days and places we stay seem to blend into one mass of emotions and events that I will remember in the future as "I4k summer".

Anyway, back to the specifics. Today=Zanesville, Ohio which is famous for its "Y" bridge and not much else. A trip to the candy shop, however, would make a tourist happy to be here. The ride today has been my favorite so far even though we were sprinkled near the end. We didn't have any climbs that were pure torture, it wasn't a scorcher, and it lasted less than 12 hours. What more could a girl ask for?

Dinner! and that's being provided for us by wonderful people at the Presbyterian church.

Out of the mountains!

Today's ride took us from Cadiz, OH to Zanesville, OH which was a distance of about 65 miles.  The ride today was pretty smooth compared to most days, we had smooth roads the whole way, the weather stayed nice until the very end, and the whole team made it in to our destination by about 2PM, so it was a shorter day.  We are also happy to see that the mountains still seem to be receding behind us and we think that the worst of the hills are behind us (at least until the Rockie!).  We are staying the night at the Central Presbyterian Church in Zanesville tonight, and they made us a wonderful meal to keep us fully nourished for our journey.  We always really appreciate being able to go to bed with full stomachs and a warm place to sleep. Finally, we would like to thank the people of Ohio who have been especially kind to us so far, to all those who have donated in the past days, a big huge "thank you" from all of us!!!

Finally

It's nearing the end of day 11 and I've finally found the time and energy to write everything down before I forget everything.  This is also the first place since leaving New York where I've found an Internet connection too.  Anyway, here's a rundown on what my trip has been like so far (some things might be out of order or didn't actually happen in that state - time and memories have blended together.  11 days isn't much, but it feels like I've been on this trip for weeks already... I can't imagine what day 50 is going to feel like.):

Falls on my bike:

1. Stopped in a parking lot and not unclipping my feet in time.

2. Trying to jump over a pothole in front of a McDonald's parking lot and jumping into it instead.  I've got a huge elbow scrape to show for it.

3. Going over an extra slick puddle.  I probably slid about 5 feet and left a wake behind me.

Bike problems:

1. Left rear mirror ripped off

2. Bottom bracket worn out and replaced

3. Bent and destroyed front derailleur

4. Snapped shifting paddle off. I'm stuck on the little ring :(

5. 3 flat tires

6. Gears so dirty, they stopped spinning in the middle of a ride.

I'm starting to fall asleep so I'm only going to write about what I remember from the first day, riding out from Central Park, New York City to Hillsborough, New Jersey.

Day one was hectic and exciting; I would finally be going on the trip I've been waiting almost a year for.  65 days of seeing the sights of America from a bicycle seemed unreal to me, and it still is.  We have to write down our directions on flash cards and that day we had 72 cues to write down since there are so many turns leaving Manhattan and just as many riding through Newark.
In those 67 miles, we already passed through so many environments: going from the busy New York streets, crossing the George Washington Bridge, riding through a dense Hispanic urban area, going through the Rutgers University campus, dangerously weaving through Newark traffic, passing by a tree-lined golf course, and finally ending up in a suburban neighborhood made the day feel like it had already been several days. 

After crossing the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey together, the team split up into smaller groups depending on each rider's preferred speed.  There is a huge difference between the lead and last group; there are several hours between them at the end of each day's ride.  Since it was the first day, not all the kinks were worked out and the support vehicle was shuttling between the groups trying to get everyone fed for lunch.  By the time the van reached my group, we had been biking for about five hours running off of a bagel, a bowl of cereal, and probably a granola bar.  Since I was starving, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had way too much peanut butter and jelly.  Half of the sandwich ended up leaking on the ground.  In the end, about half of the team ended up riding together and we rolled into our stayover in Hillsborough, New Jersey completely exhausted from being out of shape.

We stayed at the Thakkars' house; their son had done the trip in previous years.  We were all served an endless supply of food and drinks.  It was incredible.  Despite being worn out from the day, some of us got a game of ultimate frisbee going before having dinner and passing out for the night.

More to come soon!

Day 11 - Beefy Cheesy Glory

Carnegie, PA to Cadiz, OH

This morning I had the mosher, which I have mentioned before, but never really explained.  The mosher is a tradition within the Illini 4000, which started when the first team found a lost ski pass on thke side of the road with a hilarious picture on it.  The pass was for a guy named Eric Mosher, and for the rest of the ride, having the "Mosher" became an honor.  So, fast forward three years, and now, having the mosher means that each morning immediately before the ride starts, the person who has the mosher has a few minutes to do what they want in front of the entire group.  Some people make everyone give each other hugs, most people give some sort of speech about their reason for doing the trip, or an inspiring speech of some sort.  It has become a sort of game to secretly give the mosher to someone else after you have done it, and some people like to make it a challenge never to get caught with the mosher.  Mr. Mosher apparently found out about this tradition by googling his name two or three years ago, and loves the tradition, so much so that he sent in a replacement ski pass when it was lost during last year's trip.

Anyways, thats the story as far as I understand.  I had the mosher this morning, so I used the opportunity to talk about two different reasons as to why I really love this trip.  First, I really love that we have the ability to inspire people.  I love talking to people and telling them what we do, and hopefully, not only will some of these people donate to our cause, but my hope is that they will ask themselves if they are doing everything that they can in order to help the causes that they care about.  If they see that 25 kids from Illinois can ride their bikes across the country in 64 days, maybe they can donate blood, or bone marrow, or work on their own organizations, whatever they may be.  Maybe their little kids will grow up and remember us and realize that they too can do something as ridiculous as riding across the country for a summer.  People are capable of amazing things if we just push ourselves.  The important thing is that people realize that every little bit helps, and everyone can make a difference. 

The second thing I love about this trip is that it is very relatable, and I mean that in a few different ways.  Not only is the trip fun for us most of the time, it can also be pretty terrible at times.  When we have been lost for three hours and have to ride up another super steep hill thats 4 miles long, I feel like stopping, I want to quit, we all get frustrated, etc.  For me, I liken the ride to the life of a cancer patient, and I know there will be good days, like when we are only riding 40 miles on a beautiful day, but also, other days will be awful.  We might ride through terrible weather up and down huge hills and the only thing I can think about is stopping and waiting for the van because there is no way that I could possibly make it another foot up this hill.  Cancer patients face the same sorts of rollercoaster rides every time they go through chemo.   But I also made a promise to myself to never give up on this trip, to never walk a single step of this journey, just like my father and all of the other cancer patients in the world who never gave up fighting for their lives.  Cancer patients have good days and bad days, the same as us, and I try to think of that as I go up every hill, and just try to remember that whatever I am feeling, however hard it is for us to ride up these hills or through inclement weather, it is infinitely harder to go through chemo.  For them, there is only the threat of death, with no support van to pick them up if their legs get tired.  These cancer patients go to the hospital knowing that the nurses are about to try to push them as close as possible to death and then bring them back, so that their good cells can recover, and then repeat until hopefully, none of the bad cells remain.  Cancer is terrifying, and the most devastating thing most people have ever encountered, and nearly everyone has been touched in some way by it, which just makes this journey that much more important for me.

In other news, today's ride was pretty uneventful, hills weren't too bad once we left Pennsylvania, and other than the awful roads we encountered in Ohio, the ride was pretty nice. We passed through West Virginia briefly and ended up in Cadiz, Ohio, at a beautiful church.  Tomorrow we ride another 65 miles to Zanesville, OH, and are once again hoping for easier hills. Pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8300819@N03/

States traveled through:9(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH)
Distance today: 65 mi
Total Distance traveled: 730 mi

Heading West

The last two days since I have updated have been nothing short of beautiful.  We have continued to ride through the steep hillsides of the mountains out here, but at the top of each there is a fantastic view of the countryside.  One morning, as we left Mt. Pleasent, we rode through some awesome descents through the morning fog.  Its a great opportunity to see some of these places by bike before many of the citizens are even awake.  Unfortunately, I usually find myself sweating before they awake also.

Yesterday's ride was only around 65 miles, yet the most confusing route yet.  We have discovered that many of the roads are not labeled in PA, and also that many of our directions are incorrect which led to some confusing moments during the ride.  After finally arriving to our stay over, we were shuttled over to the Fishbeck residence where we were served a great meal.  We also had the chance to learn about the Bone Marrow Donor Database.  This is something that I have registered for a few months ago, but I didn't really understand how important it was until what I learned last night. 

Today's ride was around 65 miles with some great weather to accompany us.  About two miles in one of our rider's, Tim, had an unfortunatre flat and we had to pause for a while.  This gave us a chance to verify our route thanks to the leading groups and saved us time in the end.  After a short water break, our group (called group 2) was reunited and it was smooth sailing from then on. Now we are in a town called Cadiz, OH staying at a church near a great ice cream place and resting for the upcoming rides.

1 Day, 3 States

Today we left Pennsylvania, and with it the Mountains.  Although there are more mountains to come we were happy to see them go, at least for the time being.

Yesterday, the ride to Pittsburgh was awful.  What we thought was going to be an easy 55 mile ride turned into an all day fiasco.  There were plenty of hills to climb, and worst of all, our directions were all screwed up, which resulted in an abundance of stops to figure out where we needed to go.  The ride took about 4 hours longer than it should have.  We did, however, end the day with a great meal and inspiring story.  We learned of a 16 year old girl, named Amy, who has had leukemia for 6 years now.  She needs a bone marrow transplant, but to date, a match has not been found.  The family and friends have started an organization called Amy's Army (amysarmy.org) in an attempt to find a match/donor.  The organization has added over 10,000 people to the national bone marrow registry.  Although a match for Amy has not been found, due to the 10,000 people added 25 other people who have been waiting for a transplant have gotten it.  This was very inspiring to me  because I had no idea so many people were in need of a bone marrow transplant and couldn't find a donor.  It is a big commitment, and can be very painful to donate bone marrow, but it has inspired me to join the registry in the hope that I too can save someone's life.

Today was a great ride.  We left Pennsylvania (1st state) and the mountains and found ourselves in West Virginia (2nd state) for a grand total of seven miles that culminated in crossing the Ohio River into Ohio(3rd state) on a bridge that was closed.  A road block for cars isn't very effective on cyclists.  There were a few hills, but nothing like in the previous days. We ended in Cadiz, Ohio, where the people have been extremely nice.  We were given four pizzas by the local Domino's, 8 tacos from the Taco Bell/KFC, a donation from a local teen who gave us everything in his wallet, and I got my hair cut for free.  I would like to thank Barb from the local barber shop for a great haircut and inspiration for the ride.  It turns out that Barb is a cancer survivor who has been in remission for 5 years.  It is great to hear stories like hers, and reminds me of why I am doing this ride.

Headed out (mid)West

I apologize for not updating sooner but it has been more difficult than I expected to have internet, have a computer to use, and stay awake. To all my supporters and donors, thank you so much. I was able to reach my fundraising goal of $2500 and have had more donations coming in. I am constantly amazed at the number of people that come up to us and give us donations or words of encouragement; our cause is a powerful one that touches people from all walks of life across the nation.

Although we are only 10 or so days into the ride, it already feels like months or weeks have  passed. Constantly changing scenery, never sleeping in the same place twice, being constantly exhausted all contribute to a sort of time warp that the team is traveling through. Before we know it we'll be back on campus and shortly after at home for a brief visit with our families.

Starting in Central Park in NYC we headed out of the city into New  Jersey, for the first time witnessing the speedy transition from congested and at times intimidating urban traffic to the wide open spaces of the country side that we have all come to know well. Travelling from city to city along the east coast we have gotten used to all sorts of riding  conditions. In Jersey we witnessed the famous pot holes but also some gorgeous country riding. In Deleware we rode in highways with Petroleum plants on both sides with rough roads and wheel eating storm drains but ended up staying in a quiet little town in the hills. In Maryland we started to get a real taste for the hills we would get used to over the following days.
One of the highlights of the trip so far for me came during an especially frustrating day. As we rode through parkland in maryland, and into D.C. I was beginning to enter into a sort of end of day exhaustive haze, having spent a good portion of the day getting lost. Crashes, wet pavement, and flats had driven moral down, but as we began to roll into the city it all became worth it. Riding past the incredible architecture, through Dupont Circle and right past the Lincoln and Washington monuments was awe inspiring, even though we hit downtown right at rush hour.
To top it off, the following day the team headed to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where we recieved a tour of their breast cancer center and heard a powerful story from an Illinois alum and patient. Some sight seeing and a bit of rest helped a bit in preparing us for the monster climbs we were about to head up in Pennsylvania.
Most of the days following D.C. were half beautiful scenery and 40-50 mph decents and half seeming endless climbs through the mountains. As we climbed up the mountains, our legs burning, hearts pounding, and will slowly breaking, I thought over and over that what we were going through was nothing compared to what cancer patients had to endure day to day. If they could withstand the pain and discomfort of treatment day to day, then I owe it to them to do the same.
Today we left Pittsburgh and have been seing less of the soul crushing mountains and more rolling hills. What a welcome relief that is.
 In the next few days we will pass through Ohio, into Indiana for a rest day, then onto Illinois and the beautiful west. I hope to update more often in the coming days and fill in some details of the past few days.

PA was beautiful

Been meaning to write on this for awhile.  Right now we are in Cadiz, OH.  After leaving DC, we were out of internet for awhile in the small towns/churches we were staying at and if we weren't, i was too lazy to figure it out.

The ride out of DC was miserable.  Steady downpour for the entire 85 mile ride.  Riding super slow.  The church we stayed in was basically just one huge room and we had dinner on our own- some sort of weird rice and bean concoction one of the riders made that left something to be desired.

The next day was probably my favorite ride of the trip.  An 80 mile ride (that my group made 90 by missing a turn) from Boonsboro, MD to Everett, PA.  Getting over the Appalachians was not easy.  Some of the climbs we had were ridiculous and would bring even the most manly man to a walk.  I managed to stay in the saddle the whole time though. Even though the climbs sucked, the reward at the top was well worth the effort: amazing views of the mountains and farmland all around you.  Made me feel so small- and I'm a giant.  That night we had an amazing meal prepared for us by the church we were staying at.  I ate tons obviously.

The next ride also had plenty of long climbs and beautiful views, but my legs weren't feelin as hot so I think I enjoyed it just a little less.  Pennsylvania is not for the weak.  Again though, huge and sweet dinner waiting for us in Mt. Pleasant, PA... I really can't believe the sheer volume of food I'm consuming.  I normally eat tons, but I have taken it to a new level, just non stop eating all day and never getting full.  I am in a donut eating contest with another rider- Caroline.  She doesn't stand a chance.  Right now I've had 12 and she's had 10 over the course of the trip.  Loser buys donuts in Portland.  I'll win.  I wish it would of been an ice cream easting contest though because that is what I'm really craving on these hot days.

Yesterday was sweet, for the most part.  We got pretty lost making our way into Pittsburgh.  Our directions are pretty much always wrong.  Luckilly, the 3 guys I was riding with made it to 5878 Darlington where we met up with Zachary Madden, who gave us PB & J and served as our tour guide for the next 15 or so miles on his newly assembled bike, which ruled (the ride, not the bike).  After getting to our stayover, I pretty much bounced immediately and went for a nice easy run with the wonderful Jillian.  Then I got my first shower in 3 days.  Jill will attest to the fact that I needed it.  Side Note: I've been really gassy lately.  So then last night I got an amazing pizza dinner with Doc Madden, Jill, Zach and Shay- with a guest appearance by A-mulcs.  Then I helped Zach's disgrace of a kickball team lose in the first round of the playoffs.

Today the ride to Cadiz was ok.  Some ok views through west virginia.  crossing the ohio river on a bridge that was closed was cool i guess.  The roads were so beat up and it was super hot.  Got another nice run in today.  I like checkin out the towns via run once we get in.  Loosens out the legs too.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Patty Reid, back in North East, who I've been thinkin about a lot lately.  Shes been battling cancer for quite some time now and I've decided to dedicate my ride this summer to her.  Gotta keep on fighting through these long days on the bike, just like her and many others fight cancer every day. 

I'm gettin hungry and I gotta try to find somewhere to watch the hockey game tonight.  all the "go pens" signs around Pittsburgh were starting to make me sick so I think I'm pulling for the wings to win it in the burgh.  I all of the pens fans faces. bye

A Pennsylvanian Hiccup

Today's (Jun-08-09) route was only scheduled to be 55 miles in length, however due to some confusion in our cues, many of us ended up spending quite a bit of time figuring out where to go next. In the end, everybody made it to Carnegie safely with minimal technical problems. After our ride we went to the Fishback's and were provided with an extravagant dinner. Along with dinner we also learned about Amy's Army, an effort to get people on the National Bone Marrow Registry. You can help find out if you can help somebody with leukemia by signing up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. They are currently running a promotion where testing kits are free if you order them before June 22nd, so order one today.