Day 63-66 Roanoke, VA - Manassas, VA

Day 63 August 12 Roanoke, VA – Farmville, VA

We woke up at 5:30 and grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel we were staying at: Hotel Roanoke. We got on the bikes and set off on our last century day of the trip. It was a 110-mile day but it was the easiest one so far. I don’t know if we were just so used to riding the bike or the fact that it was a beautiful, mostly flat ride. Whatever it was, we had an awesome day on the bike and arrived at the Hampton Inn in Farmville, VA around 3:30. An organization in Farmville by the name of STEPS put us up in the hotel. After a quick shower and some time on the computer, we headed over to steps to see their operation. After seeing their facilities, we headed to dinner at Country Kitchen, which was also provided by STEPS. It was delicious buffet type meal with good interaction from the nice individuals from STEPS. After dinner it was back to the hotel for sleep.


Day 64 August 13 Farmville, VA – Richmond, VA

We woke up at the Hampton Inn and had the continental breakfast before hitting the road on a 70-mile day to Richmond, VA. It was a tough day because the legs were tired from the 110-mile day before but it was another beautiful day marked with rolling hills and lots of trees. Getting into Richmond was kind of stressful because there was lots of traffic and the roads were narrow. When we finally arrived at our destination; St. Benedictine HS, we took showers in the athletic locker rooms and went to the parking lot where a friend of a former Pi Alpha was cooking us ribs and barbeque. After a delicious lunch, I made a run to some bike stores to pick up some last minute parts. I also grabbed some blue and black handlebar wrap and made a really cool weave with both colors. For dinner, we went to a local restaurant where our meal was provided by a former JOH rider. After dinner, we got back and had a team gift exchange. We each drew another name out of a hat and had to buy a “gag” gift for that person. It was a really good tim
e and really funny to see who got what and why they got it. After the exchange, I met up with an old friend from camp; Bryce Humphrey. I hadn’t seen or talked to Bryce in 3 years so it was good to catch up with him and talk about life. After spending time with Bryce, I met up with the rest of the team for some fellowship.

Day 65 August 14 Richmond, VA – Fredericksburg, VA

We woke up this morning at 6:00 and grabbed a bagel breakfast provided by a former JOH rider. We hit the road for 50-mile day to Fredericksburg, VA. It was another beautiful ride through the country of Virginia. I could just feel the civil war history as we road through some of the plains and could see some of the historical markers along the roadside. We arrived at Fredericksburg Christian HS around 11:30 and showered up for heading to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. One of my teammates parents bought as whatever we wanted at Ruby Tuesdays. It was a nice treat because, not only did I get a good meal, my long time neighbors, Bob and Diana Ryan came out to see me. It was such a blessing to see them and have lunch with them. Diana, who is going through Cemo and Radiation, was such an inspiration to me. Her sweet spirit and never quit attitude were extremely humbling for me and caused me to put my daily struggles into perspective. After saying goodbye to them, we went back to the HS and I took a nap. After a great nap we headed our friendship visit at the ARC of Rappahannock. It was an incredible friendship visit with tons of participants. It felt like there were people everywhere! There was some music and entertainment as well as a huge potluck dinner. After our last friendship visit, we headed back to the school for some team events and off to bed.

Day 66 August 15 Fredericksburg, VA – Manassas, VA

We were woken up this morning to a live performance from Jamie O’Brians parents who were playing a banjo and a standup bass. It was a bluegrass wakeup! We got to sleep in a little bit this morning and stroll outside the school for some breakfast provided by the O’Brians. After breakfast, the O’Brians performed a song they had written about the Journey of Hope. It really meant a lot considering Mr. O’Brian was not supportive of his son Jamie participating in the event in the beginning. After reading all the journals and looking at all the pictures, Mr. O’Brian had become so much of a supporter that he was writing songs about us. It was really cool! After the awesome performance, we hit the road energized. It was a 45-mile day and it seemed like it flew by. We pulled into Manassas around 2:00 and settled into our lodging at an Aquatic Center. We packed up some of our bags so they couldn’t be taken to our hotel in D.C. We left for a team dinner at Red Robin around 5:00. It was a good last event for us all to be together and enjoy each others company. After that we headed back to our lodging to pack up and have one last team event together before heading to bed. I can’t believe we arrive in D.C. tomorrow!!!