Day 59 Charleston, WV - Roanoke, VA

Day 59 August 8 Charleston, WV – Beckley, WV
After a small breakfast, it was to the road for an 80-mile day. Once again the weather was great but the ride was pretty tough. We rode along an old mining road that was overgrown with shrubbery and reminded me of the movie Jumanji. We had some pretty tough climbs as we got into some serious hills. We had a roadside lunch around mile 60 and got back on the bike for the last 20 miles. We arrived at our lodging at Mountain State University around 2:30. I did some bike repairs and took a quick shower before leaving for dinner around 5:00. We went to the local Mountain State Center for Independent Living and had a nice lasagna dinner. The local Congressman and Chief of Police came out to welcome us which was kind of fun. I had dinner with the father of a young lady who has autism. It was a good visit and a great dinner. After that it was to the computer and off to bed.

Day 60 August 9 Beckley, WV – Blacksburg, VA
We woke up at 5:30a.m. and walked over to a nearby building at Mountain State for breakfast. After some eggs, sausage and biscuits, we hit the road for a 105-mile day to Blacksburg, Virginia. 105 miles with hills = Game Day = Eye Black from our chains. For me, this was the 2nd hardest day of the trip behind our 115-mile day into Paradise, Montana. It was tough because it was our fifth day on the bike and we had some pretty serious climbs to deal with. It was another nice day of weather and was actually kind of cool. If it had been hot, half of us probably wouldn’t have made it through the day. Luckily, all of us made it and were extremely pooped from the day. We arrived at the campus of Virginia Tech around 4:00 and moved our stuff into our rooms. It was interesting being on the Virginia Tech campus and seeing the building I had seen on T.V. from the 2006 shootings. After showering up, we headed over to the dining hall and had an all you can eat buffet feast. It was great to replace all those calories I had burned for the day. (Average = 6,000 – 7,000 calories a day). After dinner I went to lay down for a bit before going out to celebrate a teammates 21st Birthday. Overall, it was a long day but those are typically the ones I remember the most.

Day 61 August 10 Blacksburg, VA – Roanoke, VA
Today was very unorthodox compared to the usual routine that we have become accustomed to. We had a short day riding and couldn’t check into our hotel in Roanoke until 4:00 so we didn’t have to be ready until 11:15a.m. I woke up around 9:30 and went to the dining hall at Virginia Tech. Once again it was all you can eat and it was pretty good food for a college. After breakfast, I went back to the dorm to pack up and get ready for the ride. We loaded the vans and went back to the dining hall to grab some lunch before hitting the road. It was a short day and mostly down hill so that helped the fatigued legs. Luckily it was a beautiful ride and it always helps knowing you’re riding into a day off. We arrived at Hotel Roanoke around 4:00 and went to our rooms to settle in and shower up. This hotel was extremely nice and rich with history so it was a nice treat for our last day off. For the evening, we headed to Pump It Up to hang out with the Down Syndrome Association of Roanoke. It was really fun because Pump It Up is an establishment with multiple bounce house type contraptions inside. So, basically all the guys ran around like a bunch of 12 year olds and had a blast with the kids. After the visit we grabbed some pizza with the association and went next door to grab some ice cream. All the activity left me pooped and hitting my nice comfortable bed early.

Day 62 August 11 Roanoke, VA –Day Off
Today was a great day off…the last one of the trip! I woke up in my wonderful bed at Hotel Roanoke around 8:30a.m. and strolled to the lobby for a sponsored breakfast. We walked right over to the hotel restaurant where we had a phenomenal buffet breakfast sponsored by Larry & Betty Heaton, the parents of a former rider. It was a great meal and we stuffed ourselves with lots of biscuits and gravy, muffins, eggs and omelets. After breakfast, we headed to our lunch and friendship visit at Camp Virginia Jaycees. Many of the campers were there for a week and were engaging in certain activities when we arrived. We had the option to jump in at any of the activities and interact with the campers. I headed to arts and crafts where I met a young girl name Jennifer. Jennifer was going into the second grade and was confined to a wheelchair from what I’m guessing is Cerebral Palsy. She was so sweet and so fun to hang out with. After painting a close pin to look like an alligator, we headed to the dining hall for lunch. All of us spread out to eat with both the children campers and the adult campers. I had lunch with my new friend Jennifer and after that we had to part ways. It was sad but it’s ok, we’re friends now. We headed back to the hotel where everyone had a few hours to do there own thing. I elected to do some journaling, which inevitably led to a nap. Some of the other guys made runs to the bike shop and Wal-Mart. Around 4:00p.m. we left for our friendship visit at Camp Easter Seals Virginia. After a scenic one-hour drive, we arrived at camp and went on a tour of the facilities. The folks currently attending the camp were families with a child who has a disability. I thought that was neat considering we hadn’t seen anything like that on the trip. After the tour, we joined the campers for a hamburger/hot dog meal. After dinner, we loaded up the vans for our long ride back. Once we arrived back at the hotel, we met out on the pool deck for a team meeting. We discussed the last few days of the trip and engaged in some share time. After the meeting, it was a little free time before heading to bed. Overall, it was a great day off before hitting the home stretch into D.C. I can’t believe we’re so close!

Day 54-58 Cincinnati, OH - Charleston, WV

Day 54 August 3 Cincinnati, OH – Lexington, KY

Today was a long day filled with lots of city riding and lots of rolling hills at the beginning. Around mile 18, I noticed there was some wobble in my right cleat. I thought my clips might be loose and that I would tighten them at the next crew stop. When I got to the van I looked at my bike and noticed that my whole crank was not right and that one of my arm pedals was extremely loose. I also lost a part in the process and had to rack my bike for the rest of the day and hope that I could fix it in Lexington. We all arrived at our lodging on the University of Kentucky campus around 4:30 and had to take quick showers before heading to our dinner and friendship visit at a local organization. It was a good visit but kind of overwhelming because there were so many people. Once again it was burgers, baked beans, potato salad and chips. That night, I went out with some of the guys to a Mexican restaurant to grab some chips and salsa and other Mexican dishes. It was a good fix.

Day 55 August 4 Lexington, KY – Day Off

This morning we didn’t have a sponsored breakfast so we were free until 11:45a.m. I slept in until 9:15 and rolled to IHOP with the guys who I ride with everyday in van 3. We’re the best van in case you didn’t know. It was great to sleep in and go enjoy a meal that wasn’t required. We came back to lodging and headed to our sponsored lunch at a local insurance company where a former Gear Up Florida rider, Ryan Huff, catered sub sandwiches and had some of his co-workers join us. After lunch, my van went over to a local organization called Latitude. There we were doing a mock arrival for the media and spending some time with the organization. It was really fun and one of the most unique organizations we’ve been too. It’s a place where people with disabilities can come several times a week to do their artwork. Several of the participants have traveled to New York to show off their work and even selling some of it for thousands of dollars. It was a really neat facility and a great concept. We headed back to lodging for a little bit before heading to our dinner at a local coffee shop. The man who owned Latitude cooked

us burgers and hot dogs and hooked us up with some coffee from the shop. When we got back to lodging, I went to a local place to watch the finale of American Gladiator. One of my brother’s co-workers, Tim Oliphant, was one of the contestants in the final battle and ended up winning it. He walked away with $100,000 and a Toyota Sequoia. It was really cool knowing somebody who’s pretty much famous now. After that it was off to bed.

Day 56 August 5 Lexington, KY – Morehead, KY

Before we left for Morehead, the parent’s of a former rider showed up at our lodging to cook us a warm breakfast. We set sail for an 80-mile day to Morehead and ended up getting re-routed along the way due to mowing along the road we were on. We finally got close to Morehead and hit a huge rainstorm. It was actually fun riding in the rain until we saw lightning and thunder 10 miles out and had to take the vans the rest of the way. We arrived at Morehead State University and were greeted by some school officials and Morehead brothers of Pi Kappa Phi. We ate a low-key lunch and headed to our rooms in one of the dorms. After doing some laundry and taking a short nap, it was off to a park for a friendship visit and dinner with the Morehead chapter. For the night I just stayed in and made some phone calls and caught up on journals.

Day 57 August 6 Morehead, KY – Huntington, WV

Today was an 80-mile day with lots of rolling hills but nice scenery. We took a lot of backcountry roads, which led us by lots of interesting homesteads, and lots of dogs that weren’t chained or fenced in. We coined this day The Kentucky Derby because we were constantly running from dogs. We decided to delay our roadside lunch so we could grab whatever we wanted in town. We arrived at our lodging at the Holiday Inn in downtown Huntington. It was the nicest Holiday Inn I’ve been to. I put my stuff in the room and headed straight to Five Guys; a burger and fry joint a block from our hotel. After a big juicy burger and a short nap afterwards, we loaded up the vans and headed to a local park for our friendship visit with the Mountain State Center for Independent Living. They catered Famous Daves for us. It was so good! I got to interact with several of the supervisors of the organization and pick their brain about what they do. It’s always interesting to hear all of the awesome things these organizations are doing for people with disabilities. After the visit, my teammate Matt Sartin and I explored part of the downtown mall they had and grabbed some ice cream at Cold Stone. After that it was some rest and relaxation in the hotel room before crashing for the night.

Day 58 August 7 Huntington, WV – Charleston, WV

Today was an enjoyable ride of 55 miles. It was a nice cool day with beautiful scenery. There were lots of big green trees and rolling hills/mountains. Towards the end of the ride, we had to be escorted by the vans over big bridge that goes over the Ohio River. We also had to make a huge climb up a steep hill that went for about a half mile. It was intense. We staged up and left shortly after for our arrival at a Children’s Therapy Clinic.
We took a tour of the facility and had a pizza lunch with some of the staff and families of the clinic. It was neat to see everything that they do with Children to help them with simple skills and other things to help them be independent. After the visit, we headed to our lodging at the Martin Luther King Rec Center. We took showers and most of us hit the sleeping bags for a couple hours of sleep. After waking from our slumber, we loaded up the vans and headed to the West Virginia Power game. The West Virginia Power is the 1-A minor league team for the Milwaukee Brewers. We had some hamburgers and hotdogs at the park and enjoyed the game that was sponsored by a 1994 JOH rider. Towards the end of the game, a teammate and I participated in an on field promotion. We had to box each other with gigantic boxing gloves. When he spun around for a roundhouse, I popped him in the back of the head and knocked him down to the ground. That helped me seal the deal on the victory. I won a West Virginia Power shirt and a Neal McCoy CD. It was a good time. Then it was back to the Rec for bed.

Day 49-53 Terra Haute, IN - Cincinatti, OH

Day 49 July 29 Terra Haute, IN – Bloomington, IN

We woke up and had a wonderful breakfast prepared by the Pontius’ who’s gigantic house we slept in that night. We hit the road for a 60-mile ride to Bloomington Indiana, home of the Hoosiers. It was a good day of riding with lots of rolling hills and greenery. Midway through the ride, I initiated a farkel. A farkel is where everyone participating throws a specified number and then I tally them up and count around the circle that many times. The farkel today was for the loser to wear a pair of sunglasses that we found on the side of the road and were missing the lenses for the rest of the day. We arrived in Bloomington around 1:00 and staged up for an arrival at an organization called Stone Belt. We weren’t expecting much but we arrived to a crowd of 80 or so individuals, most of whom are living with disabilities. We said our hellos and sat down to a brisket sandwich meal with the folks. After lunch, we joined in for some activities and games that they had prepared. I walked around with a woman named Denise who was excited to walk around and do some of the activities. After saying our goodbyes, we headed to our lodging at the Pi Kapp chapter house of Indiana. We got settled in and crashed for a few hours before heading downstairs to grab some dinner prepared by the house cooks. After dinner we gathered around the T.V. to watch America’s Got Talent. One of my teammates, Andrew Lewis is in a percussion group called “The Cadence” and they performed on the show and made it to the next round. It was really fun and exciting! We like to give him a hard time about his celebrity status. After all the excitement it was off to bed.

Day 50 July 30 Bloomington, IN – Indianapolis, IN

We grabbed a great breakfast cooked by the fraternity cooks and hit the road for a 55-mile day. What was thought to be an easy day into Indianapolis turned out to be a day of flats. I got 3 flats within the first 7 miles and decided by back tire was done for. I had to rack my bike and rely on buying a new tire in Indy. As the ride went on, the team had over 20 flats and we weren’t making any progress. We had a lunch to get to so the whole team racked the last 20 miles into the city. We took quick showers and headed to our sponsor lunch at local pizza joint. Our meal was put on by the step mom of a Pi Kapp who used to work for Push America. After lunch, most of the guys headed back to our lodging at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Most of the guys took a nap, but I made a run to the bike store with some other guys to get my new tire. For dinner, we headed to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indianapolis to grab some spaghetti and play wheelchair basketball with the Indianapolis Wheelchair Basketball Team. It was really fun but we got domina

ted. We got beat much worse than when we played wheelchair rugby in Denver. I spent some time with an older gentleman named Tony who was shot by another gang member when he was 15 and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. He now speaks to kids all over about the dangers of gang violence and other motivating topics. That night, a big group of us headed to downtown Indy to enjoy some entertainment at a Dueling Piano Bar. It was fun to get out of the daily routine and hang out with the guys.

Day 51 July 31 Indianapolis, IN – Day Off

We woke up around 9:45 (which was glorious) and went to the bottom floor of the dorm we were staying in to grab some bagels and fruit provided by the same lady who provided our lunch the day before. After breakfast, we went to our friendship visit at Noble of Indiana. It was a very nice welcome and well-prepared visit. There were Push America posters everywhere, brochures on the tables, etc. We enjoyed another brisket sandwich lunch and split off into groups to do specific activities with some of the clients of Noble. I got assigned to the Karaoke/Dancing room, which is always a good time. The Karaoke machine they had was purchased by the grant we gave them last year. After the visit, we went back to lodging to grab a few hours of sleep before heading to our dinner. We drove 20 miles out of the city to a woman’s house for a Mexican dinner. She is the mother of the young man who used to work for Push America. It was a great dinner and very relaxing to just sit and relax in a home. We’re not around too many homes on our trip. After dinner I spent several hours cleaning up my bike and putting on my new tire…then off to bed.

Day 52 August 1 Indianapolis, IN – Oxford, OH

We woke up at 6:00 and grabbed a bagel breakfast provided by some ladies who work at the university. We headed out of the city and got back into more country riding as we continued to come across more corn and soy crops. After the 85 miles, we got into Oxford and went straight to lodging at a log cabin type building on the campus of Miami of Ohio. We grabbed our shower stuff and clothes and headed to the Pi Kapp house to grab some showers and an early dinner. It was fun seeing another house and hanging out with the 20 or so guys who came out to see us. After dinner, I went back to the un-air-conditioned log cabin to do some blogging before heading out to hang out with some of the Miami guys. When I got back, I took my sleeping bag and thermarest outside because it was much cooler than sleeping inside.

Day 53 August 2 Oxford, OH – Cincinnati, OH

We woke up at 6:00 and packed up our things to ride a mile or so to the Pi Kapp house to have breakfast cooked by the guys. We hit the road just after 7:00 and encountered mostly city riding on our 40-mile day. It was one of our shortest days of the trip and it was nice. We arrived at a park and had lunch provided by a former rider who lived in Cincinnati. After the subway sandwiches, we got back on the bikes and headed to lodging at a local rec center just north of Cincinnati. We set up our beds in the gym and a few of us went outside to utilize the pool and cool off. After a quick soak and a shower, it was to the sleeping back for some rest. Around 5:00p.m., we headed upstairs for a pizza dinner provided by the rec staff followed by a karaoke friendship visit. About 20 clients came out for the bi-weekly karaoke night. It was really fun to see the guys get on the mike as well as the clients who were enjoying themselves. I sat in the back with two men named Tim and Bob. Tim was a really nice guy who was great to talk to but was just a little bit slow. I think he had some complications at birth but he was a super nice guy and really fun to sit with. Bob was a 33-year-old man with Down Syndrome. He was super nice and really liked karaoke. He loves country music and sang several songs while capturing the hearts of everyone in the room. The highlight of the night was probably the singing of the national anthem sung by some of the guys and the rest of the room while standing before the flag. Overall, it was a fun night and topped off with some reading and an early entry to bed.

Day 44-48 Jefferson City, MO - Terre Haute, IN

Day 44 July 24 Jefferson City, MO – Union, MO
Today was a pretty long day filled with some adventure. Midway through the ride we experienced a good ol’ Midwest rain shower. We saw the huge black cloud moving our way and kept going. Before we knew it, we taking mediocre cover on the side of the road and getting soaked. After letting the storm pass, we hopped back on the bikes and finished the day. We pulled up to Union HS around 2:00 and gorged ourselves on some cold pizza provided by a sponsor. After lunch, it was to the sleeping bag for the always-glorious afternoon nap. For dinner we headed to a local restaurant and had a nice meal provided by a few men of the local Rotary Club. We enjoyed a buffet of steak, chicken and other good dishes to fill us up for the evening. We went back to the high school and crashed for the night.


Day 45 July 25 Union, MO – St. Louis, MO
Throughout my night of sleep, I could feel my stomach wrestling with a few things. When I woke up, I decided I was going to get some breakfast and see how I was feeling after that. As we were getting ready to depart, I made the game time decision to stay off the bike for the day. I hopped in the van and helped the crew guys out along the road. When we arrived to the outer limits of St. Louis, we staged up with a police escort for an arrival at our lunch destination. I actually got to drive the lead van in the caravan and lead the guys to our destination behind the cops. It wasn’t the same as being on the bike but I felt like I was contributing to the team. We arrived at Vito’s Pizza & Pasta and met some families.supporters for a nice lunch. My stomach still wasn’t feeling all that great so I ate a few things and relaxed with the guys. After lunch, we staged back up for an arrival at Keaner Plaza in Downtown St. Louis. We then walked across the street to the ballpark Hilton where we were being put up by our Project Manager’s parents. After we got settled in, we headed to a former Pi Kapps home for dinner with his family. My stomach was feeling much better so I stuffed my face with lots of turkey, green bean casserole and cheesy potatoes. That wasn’t enough so I partook in several pieces of “oohee gooy butter cake.” When we got back to the hotel it was out for a night on the town with the guys. We found a place that had dancing and let’s just say, the 10 of us took over the dance floor.

Day 46 July 25 St. Louis, MO – Day Off
I slept in to 10 and went down to the lobby of the Hilton to grab some breakfast before heading to our friendship visit. We went to a local park and met up with the St. Louis Arc and the St. Louis Society. It was a fun friendship visit that consisted of lunch and some games afterwards. I enjoyed playing human basketball with a big ball and hula-hoops. I played with a young man named Craig. Craig had many physical problems but was eager about playing basketball. Towards the end of the visit, my sister in laws parents showed up. Mr. and Mrs. Rauch came out to see me and it was really fun to see them and catch up. After the visit we headed back to the hotel for a few hours before we headed to the Holley’s for dinner. We went to the house of Jay Holley, our project manager who is from St. Louis. His parent’s are also the one’s that put us up in the Ballpark Hilton. They are great! We enjoyed some down time and good food as well as some good fellowship with some of the Holley’s family friends. After dinner, it was back to the hotel to do some computer things.

Day 47 July 26 St. Louis, MO – Effingham, IL
Today was tied for the second longest day of the trip at 116 miles. It was a long day but it was flat the whole way so it was tolerable. The last 30 miles were tough because we were starting to fatigue and it was pretty hot. We arrived in Effingham around 4:30 and walked across the street to the Middle School for some quick showers. We were staying at the local ARC community center where people with disabilities come to do daily tasks and receive different services. They brought in some pizza from a local pizza joint and we partook while mingling with some of the folks involved in this center. After dinner, four of us went to the local ice cream joint to grab a nice cold treat. I got two scoops of their homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream and a small watermelon slush…it was delicious. After that I made some phone calls and called it a night, I was pretty exhausted.

Day 48 July 27 Effingam, IL – Terra Haute, IN
We woke up at 6:00a.m., grabbed a quick breakfast and hit the road for an 80 mile day into Indiana. The ride was consistently flat surrounded by corn and soybean fields. We got into Terra Haute around 1:00 and staged up for a small arrival at Indiana State University. We were met by some school administrators as well as some Pi Kapp brothers from ISU. We had a nice lunch in the school cafeteria and then headed to our lodging at Dr. Pontius’s house. He bought the old Lambda Chi house near campus and fixed it up. It was really big and had lots of rooms. We relaxed for the afternoon and then headed to our dinner and friendship visit at Happiness Bag. This was one of the biggest visits we’ve had thus far. We were outnumbered 4-1. It was multiple organizations from the city at this one event. After some pork sandwiches, it was karaoke time with lots of dancing. I chose to stay out of the dancing and converse with a nice couple that sit on the board at Happiness Bag. They told me that Happiness Bag is an old Korean folklore when you give someone a small bag with a little gift in it that is special to them. Anyways, it was a great visit that ended with us getting an awesome neon green Happiness Bag shirt. That night a big group of us went to see the new Will Ferrell Movie, Step Brothers. It was a good time.