Headed to Montana!!

Today our bike ride was from Kellogg, ID to Thompson Falls, MT, which was 72 miles.  Every morning we circle up and talk about the days events.  It’s when we find out how many miles we have for the day, when our rake point is, where our sponsored lunch and dinner is, and if we have any friendship visits or any other activities.  Also every day we do a disability of the day where someone researchers a disability and informs the group about it and we do a dedication for the day where we dedicate the ride for the day to someone that one of us knows.  Today we were able to dedicate the days ride to my Uncle Rich.  Like stated in previous blogs he had a stroke about two years ago and is now a person living with a disability.  So we said a little prayer for the day and us and Rich and his family and then we all keep him in our thoughts while we bike.  This makes us push ourselves knowing that there is someone out there that would love to take our place and that the tiredness or soreness we feel is not that big of a deal when looking at the whole picture.  It was really awesome that I was able to make the dedication today for him.  Today we not only entered into our 3^rd state which was Montana we also were able to switch from Pacific Time Zone to the Mountain Time Zone, which brought our time zone closer to the time zone back at home!  Other than that the ride consisted of two mountain pass climbs.  One pass was about 4 miles long and the other one was 6 miles long.  They were pretty tough but still nothing compared to the two mountain passes that we had to climb on day 2.  After getting up the first mountain pass we stopped and took a break at the top of it before descending down.  While up there we took pictures of the great viewpoint we had.  As we were descending down the hill we were going around this curve when this loud bang happened! It sounded like a gun shooting and it made us all jump.  It turned out to be my tire popping while I was going 25 MPH.  It was a little scary and I almost wrecked and was able to stop before falling.  I changed it just for it to pop again.  So we had to walk up to a van to get a new tube and the pump so I could change it again.  Then we started going down the hill and around the same corner where it popped the first time and it popped again!!  Trying not to get frustrated I just stopped and changed the tire for the third time! Then we got going again and made it about ¼ of a mile before it popped for the fourth time.  Not wanting to give up and rack my bike I searched over my bike looking for the problem to find out that my brake was pinching the tire every time I tried to brake.  So we adjusted my brakes changed my tire and I was on my way again but for the rest of the ride I didn’t use my front brakes to avoid getting another flat!!  We got up the second pass in about an hour and then we went downhill for about 20 mills before we got racked to go to lodging.  Since it took an hour and fifteen minutes to fix my bike we had to rack to lodging so we wouldn’t be late for our sponsored meal.  I missed out on only 10 miles but this was the first day that I didn’t do all the miles.  It was disappointing but alright because it wasn’t me racking myself and it was due to timing issues.  As long as I can keep pushing through and not give into the pain and tiredness and rack myself I will be happy.  But so far so good but I have two months to go!!  Other than the bike issues the ride was amazing and we had beautiful scenery.

Bike Trails!!

Due to unsafe riding conditions we had to rake our bikes and drive 45 miles to where we could start biking safely.  After that we had a 45 mile ride into Kellogg, ID and it was all on a paved bicycle trial that used to be railroad tracks.  It was around a lake and was absolutely beautiful.  Since we didn’t have to worry about traffic for the first time on the trip we were able to be more relax and have a little more fun while riding.  We stopped and took pictures of the lake and surrounding scenery.  Since we didn’t have to worry about traffic we were able to make 6 men pace lines instead of the normal 3 that we were used to!  We also played different games while riding to make the time go faster.  We were riding a little slow just so we could enjoy the ride and have some fun but it started pouring down rain on us with about 15 miles to go.  And since it was 45 degrees outside we instantly all started freezing so we booked it as fast as we could to our lodging so we could warm up and get out of the rain.  The last part of the ride was pretty miserable but fun at the same time I was just so relieved when we got off the bikes.  We ate lunch and then played some full court basketball.  At 5 we went to a local pizzeria for dinner that was sponsored by Wes Clarkson’s parents.  Wes is our Crew Chief for the summer, or as we like to call him our mom!  We then went to a local McDonalds for some ice cream and free wifi so we could do our blogs!  

Twin Lakes Camp!

Today was our easiest day of the trip.  We woke up at 6:30 and started our bike ride to Rathdrum, ID.  We had a day off so we were all feeling really good and rested.  Also we had only 35 miles to bike today so it was a very easy day.  It’s kind of weird thinking that we a 35 mile day is nothing compared to when I first started biking and thought 25 miles was a long ride! It just shows how far we have come!  But since it was a short day we all stopped at the Washington and Idaho border and took some pictures.  Besides the 45 degree weather, the ride was a piece of cake.  When we got a half a mile outside of Twinlow Camp, which is where we were staying for the night, we all staged up and rode in 2x2 behind the vans.  When we got there a bunch of kids were there cheering us on and clapping for us!  Since we had no friendship visit for the day we just unloaded the vans and had the rest of the day free.  We all took a little nap and then headed to Red Robin for lunch.  For dinner the camp sponsored us and cooked a meal for us and it was delicious.  In return we helped them with the clean up.  After that we went to a little place called the Lighting Bar so we could watch the Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and play some pool!! While there we talked to some locals and got a donation which was pretty awesome.  Then we went to a campfire that was put on by the camp counselors.  We just hung out for awhile and talked.  After about an hour and a half we said our goodbyes and went to bed.  It’s crazy the number of people you meet and can just sit down and talk to for hours but then have to say bye and will probably never see again!

FIRST DAY OFF!!! :)

Today was our first off day!!! And it felt amazing to finally be able to sleep in until 7:30!!  Yeah who would of even though that I would think 7:30 is sleeping in! lol It was a great change of pace from waking up at 5 and 6 in the morning.  We started the day off by hopping in the vans and going to the ARC of Spokane for breakfast and a friendship visit!  While we were eating breakfast the regulars of the ARC started filling up the building.  Over the next few hours we played games, put together puzzles, danced, and watched the variety show they put on every year.  We even were able to help them make a travel journal where we talked about every place they have been and every where they would like to visit.  The people there were so excited and happy to see us it made us feel really good and special.  This one lady Joan walked around asking us all to write her a message on a piece of paper so she could remember us.  Then she spent the rest of the time telling us how awesome we were for visiting them, how long they have been waiting for us to get there, and how happy they are that we are finally there.  It feels amazing to make so many people’s day like that!  But at the same time it’s kind of sad that they make us seem so great just because we are willing to spend some time with them.  But it’s just because they want to feel like they belong and not like they are different from everyone else.  There was another little girl there that I spent a lot of time with making puzzles and she would constantly tell us how happy she was that we were there.  When it was time to leave we all said our goodbyes and took a few pictures to remember the day but in the end I was a little speechless from all the gratitude we were shown there.  After the great friendship visit we headed to lunch which was sponsored by the local Lion’s Club!  They had a great buffet with grilled chicken and amazing cheesecake for dessert!  After being stuffed we headed back to lodging for some free time.  We used this free time to go to the bike shop for and bike maintenance needed and to Wal Mart for anything else we might need!  Then we had a dinner sponsored by the Nelsen’s family.  We were welcomed to an amazing house and landscaping.  They had tennis courts, a basketball court, volleyball, corn hole, hillbilly golf, and ping pong all waiting for us when we got there.  And as if that wasn’t enough they also had a wonderful meal catered from Panada Express!  We had an amazing time there and were able to talk to their and some of his friends that were Pi Kapps at Washington State University.  We were sad to leave the fun filled house that they had provided for us.  It’s amazing how families are so willing to open their homes to 28 complete strangers to provide them a mean and an evening of fun!  For the rest of the night some people went to the movies while others went back to lodging to relax!  "The only disability in life is a bad atttude."

Washington State University

This morning we woke up at 6AM and headed to the Washington State Pi Kapp House where the made breakfast for us. They had bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and omelets ready for us. It was all very delicious! After breakfast we had a 75 mile ride to Spokane, WA waiting for us. So we got on the bikes and hit the road. We mixed up the pace lines again and did even more amazing today, and beat the rack time by almost 2 hours! You can tell that we are all getting way more comfortable on the bikes and we are all slowly getting in better shape! It is amazing to see the progress we have made from just 6 days ago! Having better success on the bike has made the team more excited about the summer and biking every day. You can tell that it is slowly bringing us closer together and making us a better and better team! Ten miles outside of Spokane the Pi Kapps from Washington State University brought us pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. Lunch tasted great and we are greatly appreciated for both meals they sponsored for us. When we all got done eating a police officer came to do our first arrival. We were all very excited about it and couldn’t wait! We set up in two pace lines of 11 riders and then had one van in front of us with the other three behind us. It was amazing to be escorted into the town and made us feel even better about what we are doing. Escorts like this are a lot of fun but also bring us a lot more attention from the city. We were escorted all the way to the Christ Redeemer Church where we will be staying for the next two nights. The building was very old and cool looking. It had all sorts of hidden rooms and secret hallways in it with a basketball hoop in the main room, which we all enjoyed very much! For dinner we were fortunate enough to have the Sear’s family invite us over to their wonderful home right outside of Spokane. They had amazing food including lasagna, which is my favorite! They also let us enjoy their pool and hot tub! "The only disability in life is a bad attitude"

Making Vast Improvements!

Since we have been having problems with tons of red flags and slow bike riding we were looking for ways to improve.  While we know that it is impossible to bike every single mile, we still want to bike every mile that we can!  So last night we had a meeting to try and decide the best ways to improve our efficiency on the bike as a team.  One major issue that kept coming up is that the strong riders kept together and the weak riders kept together.  We decided that we needed to mix up the stronger and weaker riders more so that we would have less red flags and the pace lines would wouldn’t get so spread out.  So we split the strong, medium, and weak skill level riders up and mixed them all together to make our pace lines.  And it shocked us all how much we improved.  From yesterday to today it was a night and day difference.  The pace lines were staying close together, everyone was biking harder, there were no red flags, and everything was running so much smoother!  And it was a perfect day to be clicking so well together because we had 115 miles to ride to Pullman, WA!!  This was the longest of the trip so far and for most of us it was the most miles we have biked in one ride! We did so well that we beat rack point  by over an hour and we made it all 115 miles to lodging without having to rack!  It was a huge team booster and you could tell how excited and pumped everyone was.  We all helped each other through it and pushed each other to finish.  It was amazing how 22 people that just met each other nine days ago were working so well and hard together to encourage each other to finish the ride.  It was the first century that we have finished and you could tell that the spirits of the team were high.  Today showed us all that we have what it takes and it definitely brought us more together as a team.  It was an amazing ride!!  After the ride we all went to lodging and got ready for another friendship visit.  We got there and they had karaoke and pizza for us.  So naturally after we got done eating we started singing and dancing with the kids.  We all had a great time!  By the time we got back to lodging we were all exhausted and it was safe to say it was the best sleep we got all summer.  Overall it was a huge milestone day for the Journey of Hope Trans America Team today!!

Bike Every Mile or Cange Lives??

With a 5:30AM wakeup call we were on our bikes and headed to Walla Walla for a 75 mile ride.  Our rack point was 60 by 11:30AM, which we didn’t make.  Due to rough riding and some flats we got red flagged a lot and were not able to bike as many miles.  Five miles into the ride we got red flagged because of a flat and when I stopped I heard medal fall from my bike.  I looked down to see that the screws of my pedal came out and part of my pedal was laying on the ground next to my bike.  Not wanting to rack I took a screw out of my other pedal and put it in my broken one hoping it would last the day so I could fix it tonight, but it didn’t.  About four miles later it broke again.  So I had to decide to either rack my bike and call it a day or bike the rest of the day with only one clipped in shoe.  And again the power of motivation, teamwork, and the Journey of Hope came through for me and I naturally decided to bike with only one clipped in shoe.  That day I was in a pace line with Joe Konnerman, and after about 20 miles of biking with one working pedal it started getting very hard and started hurting really bad.  But Joe kept telling me to push through it and that I would be disappointed with myself if I racked myself, and he was right.  He didn’t care that we had to go slower than others all he cared about was keeping my mind off my one burning leg and foot that was doing almost all the work.  But I pushed through it for 40 miles, and then we had to rack due to timing and all the red flags we had that day.  We have rack points for when we have programming during the day.  Because even though it is awesome that we are biking across America that isn’t really what our summer is about.  Helping improve the lives of people with disabilities dwarfs our personal goals of biking every single mile everyday.  The biking is just a means to an ends of our goal to change lives across the country during the Journey of Hope.  And even though we may not bike every single mile every day we realize that we can still say that we biked across the country because the route we take is far from straight.  The most direct route from Seattle, WA to Washington DC is only 2,700 miles, the distance from coast to coast is only about 3,200 miles, and the route we take consists of over 4,100 miles!  So as you can see we can miss a few miles in order to change lives and still bike across the country!!  But overall the days ride was amazing and it was awesome to see myself do things and push myself through things that I never thought I could!  After we racked we headed to lodging at the Sustainability Center at the Walla Walla Community Center.  Form there we went to a sponsored lunch at Jim Peterson’s house.  He had amazing food that filled us up and even allowed us to swim in his pool and sit in the hot tub to relax.  When lunch was over we had little time to get back to the Community College to get ready for a friendship visit at the Lillie Rice Center.  We were overwhelmed by their hospitality. It was great again to spread the message of Push America with new people. It brings a lot of joy to them hearing of fraternity men doing what we’re doing.   We ate dinner their while talking to the guests that were there.  It was a lot of fun but after dinner we had to head back to lodging where we got nice and greasy.  We all went outside to clean our bikes, which they needed it badly, under the instructions of Branden Sowers!  Then we were able to relax and enjoy a movie on a projector before going to bed.  Today was an amazing and very important day.  It again showed me that nothing is impossible with the right teamwork and motivation!  It also made us all realize that in the big picture the miles we bike are not as important as they lives we change!!