JOH is Coming to Spokane 6/13/09!

Spokane will be hosting the TransAmerica team this weekend as they cyclists begin their journey. Call me or check the Push America website itinerary if you are interested in meeting up with the team. Take care!

Big Thanks!

One final note to say that this will be the last entry to my summer blog. I thank each of you who were so faithful to enjoy my adventure with me and truly appreciate all your prayers and words of encouragement. Things are back to busy here in Pullman but rest assured that I will never forget this summer of incredible friends and memories!

Also, some good news, I was recently appointed as student representative to the Pi Kappa Phi national council for this coming year. I was quite honored when I learned that I was selected to serve the fraternity in a capacity that only one student throughout the entire nation gets to experience each year!

Finally in DC!

Okay, okay, I know some of you have been waiting for this last page for quite some time. In case you were wondering, I did in fact make it to DC on August 12th! As the team woke up that final morning together everyone was a mix of emotions ranging from excited to nervous to sad. We rode the 15 miles together which was the first time that the entire team stayed together the whole day. Once we got to DC we met up with the other two teams and the Build America guys at Washington Circle. From there we all paraded on to the capital building. That mile stretch was so difficult with all the emotions flying high and everyone getting jittery it was all we could do to get our legs to keep pumping! It was pretty awesome seeing over 500 people cheering us on as we rode to the capital lawn. Once there we lined up in picture formation one last time as we were welcomed and congratulated. Mom, Dad, Jacob, Trent, Cara, and my great buddy from WSU, Shawn O'Leary, were all there to see me arrive. The next hour was packed with hugs, smiles and pictures as we all reunited with our families. Cara was kind of excited to see me, she only about knocked me over with a bear hug once we were released following the welcome! Good thing my legs had become stumps over the summer, making me able to handle the surprise attack! At right is a picture of Luster, Mulch, and myself with our ladies. We were all fortunate enough to have women who came all the way to DC to see us. It was great seeing the family again though, two and half months away from home is a long time! The picture at left is of myself and Ceasar Garcia. We were the only two on our team to cycle every single mile. It was pretty cool to think about that accomplishment. I am so thankful that my bike performed amazingly well and that my health remained strong all summer. Not once did I have to take my bike into the shop and all summer I only had to replace one tire due to regular wear. Oh, and I had two flats, both of which were minor ones caused by rumble strips! The final picture at right is of Luster, Brent, Winston, John, and I.We rode together most days, especially during the latter part of the summer and tended to always push each other to finish the days first while always enjoying great conversation. After getting to the motel and cleaning up, I went to lunch with the family before we headed to the evening banquet. The banquet was nice and proved to be a great recap of the summer. This day was a very fitting conclusion to an incredible summer. The day was so full of emotion as we all came to the realization that our summer of memories was over and not knowing when we would ever see each other again.

Potomac, the eve of our arrival!

This morning we awoke to great weather and everyone was excited knowing that today would be our last true ride since tomorrows would only be about 15 miles. The ride from Hagerstown to Potomac was pretty rolly but a nice ride nonetheless. For the most part the team rode together for the day and took our time, savoring the passing minutes as we know in the back of our minds we will be saying goodbye in only a day. Once we arrived in Potomac we ate lunch at the Bullis School where we would also stay for the evening. That afternoon was spent just hanging out with the guys and savoring our last hours together. We also took some time to organize our bags and clean up the vans to make the arrival a bit smoother for all. In the evening we headed to a campground to meet up with the other two Journey of Hope teams along with the Build America team for BBQ dinner. It was nice seeing them again but after that event it only reconfirmed how blessed I was with the team that I had. It was easy to see the teams' different personalities and I felt that ours had hands down the best dynamic and teamwide respect. Later in the evening, we all signed each other's jerseys to have as a constant reminder of what we had experienced this summer. Many of us stayed up late into the night enjoying each other's company through countless stories and laughter.

Ah, Hagerstown: 75 miles

This morning we awoke to an intense rain storm. We ate a complimentary breakfast at the motel consisting of a piece of fruit and toast. Much of the team chose not to ride today due to the fact that they were feeling the hilly roads would be unsafe with the water added to them. Regardless, the half that did choose to ride had a wet and chilly ride but thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and challenging hills. The picture at left is atop one of the climbs. Despite the rain, this was probably one of the most beautiful rides of the summer. We stayed in Hagerstown at a center for people with disabilities. We had a friendship visit with many of the residents, all of whom had severe mental disabilities. I had the priviledge of feeding a woman named Teri dinner. While this was a first for me, it was actually much easier and more enjoyable than I had expected. After dinner we circled up for our final team meeting where we all shared our thoughts and feelings on the summer. It was great to see everyone reflecting on how positive of an experience it had been for them. Following the meeting we were surprised by a special visit by the Grand Island Ladies who were in DC for the banquet a couple days early. It was great to talk with them and share our memories of the trip. Just before bed, many of us jumped in the vans and headed out to grab a snack and ended up going to a Sheetz Gas Station. I share this with you because I discovered a machine that will change the lives of all of us who love milkshakes. This machine is mounted atop a small freezer. First, you pick a flavor out of the freezer and open the top. You will notice that the cup is only half filled but that is when you place it in the machine and select your thickness. At that point the cup disappears into the machine, makes some crazy noises (which I presume are the stirring and mixing of milk into the concentrate), and reappears as a tasty fresh shake! Ok, ok, I thought it was cool...

On to Maryland, our final state!

Wow, only 3 days to go from here. It is so amazing to think about how we were actually in San Francisco 60 days ago! Today's ride was probably our most hilly ride of the trip. We had roughly 60 miles of ups and downs. There wasn't a bit of flatness to the ride today. These climbing days make me feel old which is sad, I know. The view at right is atop our first big climb of the day, looking back down upon Uniontown, PA. I made it though and got to soak in the hot tub at the Best Western which was actually very nice lodging. (Mom and Grandma, don't read this next sentence :) )One upside to the hilly day is I was able to set my speed record of 54.3 mph! For the afternoon we visited the Brandenberg Center. This facility is government funded and serves 22 clients who all have servere mental retardation. These facilities are always the toughest visits for the team because it is so incredibly sad and it is hard to interact with these people. Nonetheless, it was great talking with the loving individuals who work there to see the passion they have for what they do. The bulletin board at left is one they made for us and was pretty neat to look at. It was full of pictures, blog entries, and a map of where we had been. For dinner we were sponsored by the local Rotary Club with an amazing catered ribs and chicken meal. They were very kind and interested in what we were doing. For the evening we had a team meeting to decide which visit across the country had had the most impact and would be awarded the Jason Tirado Grant from Push America. Due to all the impactful experiences we have had, we debated over this topic for quite some time. Finally we agreed to give the grant to Independence First in Milwaukee, the organization that sweet little Gabi is a part of. I am sure they will put the money to good use. Well, Cara and the family flew into DC this evening and will be there waiting for me until Saturday!

Stay tuned!!!

Don't worry, I plan to finish out the blog in the next few days. I have had a very busy week back at school for recruitment. I havn't forgotten about all of you faithful followers this summer! Keep an eye on the blog to see if I made it to DC or not ;)

Day 59! Uniontown, PA 50 miles

Despite the constant rolling hills, the ride today was pretty nice. I rode with Woody and we just talked and laughed the entire time as the miles passed by. After eating some Subway sandwiches, we went to the movies since we could not set up lodging in the YMCA yet. The only movie that fit our time frame was "John Tucker Must Die" and it was a terrible chick flick. If you want something to laugh at, I recommend it, otherwise don't waste your time! For dinner we were hosted by the local Knights of Columbus for some great Italian sausages. The evening was pretty relaxed since we have a tough ride tomorrow. We spent the evening exchanging gag gifts which was hilarious and lots of fun. I got a bunch of "old man" stuff since I am engaged and all, it was pretty fitting. Ask about that story later! The picture at right is of Scott and his shoes. The story was that since he is the shortest on the team, a mere 5'4" I think, that he might have trouble being allowed on rollercoasters. So if he is ever in that situation where he is too short to ride, he can just slip on them shoes and ride away!

Pittsburgh, the Steel City

The ride into Pittsburgh was pretty long and I sort of had an off day on the bike. Nonetheless, I made it successfully. However, there was a point when we were in two tight lines trying to safely get the entire team through a narrow, one lane construction zone. There was a transition onto some fresh pavement that caused a parallel lip and when Winston tried to merge over it he wrecked very hard. Luckily he only suffered minor scrapes, the jersey barrier caught him, and the rest of the team avoided a "pelaton pile up". Once in Pittsburgh we grabbed some lunch at Qdoba and headed for the Holiday Inn. Later we celebrated Andrew Abbott's bday with a dinner at a Brazilian steak house. They feed you endless amounts of meat, 14 different types, and it is all cut directly onto your plate at the table. It was awesome and we all ate a ton of food! All in all the day was pretty light on programming but tomorrow would be much different.

We started our day off in Pittsburgh with a friendship visit and lunch with the UCP, a city Cerebral Palsy organization. We were hanging out at their center and ate some pizza with them. Above is the guy I talked with the entire time. His name is Vince and it was pretty amazing getting to talk with him along with the other two guys there, Wes and DJ. He had no motor skills and would use the wand on his head to type letters on his keyboard to make words and sentences. It was truly amazing to see his level of intelligence released through a computer. Although I would ask a 10 second question and he would take 10 minutes to type an answer, they were all complete sentences with high levels of intelligence. I could sense frustration on his part with the board but was fascinated to be able to catch a glimpse of who he was and what was going on inside his malfunctioning body. Quite the experience! The leader of the organization also awarded us with their annual Humanitarian Award normally given to a community member. What an honor that was. For the afternoon we were treated to free tickets at Kennywood Park. This amusement park was very historic, one of the first in the country, but was quite weak compared to Cedar Point just days ago. Apparently Cedar Point is THE best one in the nation!

Youngstown, OH 60 miles

The ride today wasn't too bad as we meandered through rolling hills. We stayed at Fairhaven School for the Disabled and enjoyed a great lunch at Olive Garden courtesy of the school. After lunch we all enjoyed a dance with students and alumni of the Fairhaven school. The picture at right is of the team doing the YMCA dance, pretty funny stuff. From the school, we spent the afternoon at the mall shopping for gag gifts for each other. That was definitely a lot of fun! After dinner at Max and Erma's grill, sponsored by Saturn, five of us decided to attend the "Scrappers" minor league baseball game. We had a great time and even got asked by the promotional staff to do the "Cha Cha Slide" on top of the third base dugout! The picture at right is Mulch, Wade, and myself on the dugout. Great memories. Anyway, for those who are counting, there is only 1 week left! It truly has been an incredible summer and it is crazy to think about how fast it has gone.


The picture at left is of Bri, the little girl who had a ball deflating our mattresses in Cleveland. Pretty cute!