Columbia, MO

We had a 75 mile day today and it was extremely hilly.  We arrived at the University of Missouri Pi Kapp chapter house which is our lodging for the evening.  That afternoon I put a new chain on my bike.  My old chain was stretched out and started to skip gears so it was time for a new one.  That night the guys barbecued us burgers and hot dogs.  Once again we all hit the hay early so we could wake up at 5 am again.

Sedalia, KS

Today we had a long 105 mile ride into Sedalia.  It was extremely hilly which was nice to use the momentum to get up the hills.  That evening we had a hog roast and friendship visit where I played in a huge game of volleyball with everyone.  Once again we called it an early night for another 5 am wake up.

Olathe, KS

Today we had a 60 mile ride into Olathe, KS.  We arrived at City Hall where the Mayor of the city proclaimed July 19, 2010 to be Push America Day.  We departed City Hall to the Kansas School for the Deaf which was our lodging for the next two days. After showering up we went to Marc Cameron's house to get a tour.  When Marc was in his 20's he had a diving accident and broke his neck.  His entire house is accessible through buttons that he can press with his head on his wheelchair and through a lift system.  Seeing the house really opened my eyes to how someone who is quadriplegic can live independently.  That evening we had a huge steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse which was delicious. 

The next morning we had an omelet breakfast followed by an awesome friendship visit at a local therapeutic center for children.  That night we had a tailgate dinner and went to the Royals game.  Scott, Eva, and Nick joined us for the Royals game and it was great to see family.  Before the game the team was recognized on the field in-front of the crowd.  We went to bed pretty early as we have three 5 am wake ups in a row.

Topeka, KS

We woke up today to the normal Kansas weather we have been accustomed to, 100 degrees and extremely humid.  We had a short 60 mile ride into Topeka.  We arrived at the Topeka ARC for lunch and headed to the hotel to get all set up.  That night we headed back over to the ARC for a friendship visit filled with karaoke.  After the friendship visit, we were invited back to one of the ARC members house for dinner and pool time.  It was a great way to finish the night.  We're heading up to Kansas City tomorrow and I'm excited to see my brother Scott, his wife Eva and my cousin Nick for the next two days.

Emporia, KS

Today we had a 105 mile ride into Emporia, KS.  It was 95 degrees with almost 100% humidity which made the ride feel a ton longer than 105 miles.  We arrived at the local recreational center.  That night we had a great sponsored event with a huge dinner.  We enjoyed the pool tables and ping pong tables in the rec center before heading to bed for the evening.

Wichita, KS

Today we had an 80 mile day into Wichita. We had another great arrival to a friendship visit where we played Bingo and had lunch. That evening we had a sponsored meal from a parent of a 4 time Journey of Hope member. That night we went out on the town to enjoy our night off. In the morning we had a sponsored breakfast. This is the best meal to sponsor because we are used to a half or bagel, half of banana, and a small cup of cereal. So to have a nice home cooked breakfast was wonderful. From there we went to an afternoon friendship visit and lunch. Brandon and I left the friendship visit to go talk about the Journey of Our Talk. Our Talk is a local afternoon talk show. We were on live air for about 8 minutes talking about the mission of Push America and the Journey of Hope. We had the afternoon off so I took a glorious nap. That evening we had a friendship visit with a local organization that aids people with disabilities to become independent. I met a woman who was just able to purchase a walker from the funds that we donated to the organization. It was very fulfilling to see that the hard work that I put into fundraising has made a difference and allowed a woman to continue to live independently. I also met the CEO of an organization called Lose Your Training Wheels. The organization teaches people with disabilities to ride bikes. They hold camps around the country each summer and I am looking forward to seeing when the camp is in Indianapolis to see if I can volunteer there next year. That night we took a quick swim in the hotel pool and called it a night. We have reached our mid-way point and most southern point of the trip here in Wichita. From here we start heading north and start counting down the next 2000 miles till Washington, DC.

Pratt, KS

Today we had an 80 mile ride into Pratt, KS.  With this 80 miles I crossed the 2000 mile mark.  James and I are still 2 of the 3 cyclists who have every mile and are lucky no to have any bike problems thus far.  We had an arrival at our friendship visit and had a great lunch.  We all sang karaoke and play Wii all afternoon.  That night we had an awesome steak dinner with the local archery club.  After dinner we got to test out our talent with the bows.  Let’s just say that I am very happy that we no longer rely on bows and arrows for food because I would not survive.  That night we had a small team meeting and then headed to bed.

Dodge City, KS

We had a short 50 mile day today into Dodge City. The heat wave we have had the past week has been incredible. It had been over 100 degrees each of the last 5 days on the bike and overnight lows of 75-80 degrees. We were stopped for about an hour on the road for construction and had to rack in the last 10 miles to make our friendship visit. We had an awesome friendship visit and lunch with Arrowhead West. I had the pleasure of playing bingo with Roger. He was a huge NFL fan so we had a great time talking about how the Colts were going to beat the Chiefs next season. That night we went to Old Dodge City, a replica 1870’s cowboy city. We toured the city, watched the gun show, had dinner, and enjoyed the old western show. After a day full of events its time to ‘get the hell outta Dodge’ and head to Pratt tomorrow on an 80 mile day.

Garden City, KS

Today we rode 105 miles into Garden City, KS. It's nice to get to a new state but honestly Kansas does not have the greatest scenery and is especially not the most aromatic state in the country. We arrived at a huge pool and got about 2 hours to swim. Tonight, the team went to Golden Corral which was incredible. We are all taking it easy tonight after the 4:30 AM wake-up this morning and heading to bed early.

Lamar, CO

We had a short 60 mile day into Lamar today. Most of the ride was slightly downhill which made it easier. We stayed at the local high school again and had the afternoon to enjoy the pool. That evening we had a sponsored dinner with beef and chicken burritos which were delicious. We head into Kansas tomorrow on a 105 mile day and it should be exciting to enter another new state.

La Junta, CO

Today we had the longest day in JOH history of 133 miles. We left around 6 AM and got in at 4:45 PM. We spent about 7 of those hours riding and the other time at crew stops or lunch. It was a really good ride and we averaged about 20 mph. We arrived at the local high school and showered up to head to the park for a sponsored dinner from the Lion’s Club. Overall, it was a really satisfying day being able to complete the entire 133 miles.

Colorado Springs, CO

We woke up to cool weather in Denver to depart on our 70 mile day to Colorado Springs.  Bruce Rogers rode with the team today which was really cool to ride with the man who was the inspiration for the Journey of Hope.  We arrived at the Alex Roth's parent’s house for a sponsored lunch.  Alex is the Director of Team Services for Push America and the man responsible for getting most of the team together this year.  We had an awesome lunch and departed for Colorado College for lodging.  The team has another night of beds (we are getting spoiled).  That evening for dinner we met with the Dean of Colorado College for a huge barbeque on the campus of the college.  That night we were all tired from the ride so we took it easy and headed to bed early. 

The next morning we woke up to a wonderful sponsored breakfast with great breakfast burritos.  Around noon, we departed for the Olympic Training Center.  John Pierce sponsored the event.  He is one of the men who organized and rode in the first Journey of Hope, sits as a board member for Push America, and is the liaison between the Olympics and their television partner NBC.  We had lunch in the dorms with some Paralympics athletes.  The tour we got of the facilities was incredible.  To see the training environments that the Olympians have was a great experience.  That evening we had dinner at John Pierce’s house and enjoyed some ping pong and Wii.

Denver, CO

Today we all woke up very excited to get into Denver.  We had a short 25 mile day and the weather was perfect.  The team arrived at Invesco Field with the North Team cheering us in to the arrival.  James and I got to see some friends who we have met through other Push America events who currently cycle for the North team.  It was also nice to see some people that were a part of my brother's Trans team last year.  Both teams got a tour of the field and took tons of pictures.  After the tour both team ate lunch and prepared for our arrival to the State Capital Building.  We had a police escort from Invesco Field to the Capital for the entire 5 mile ride which was awesome.  We arrived at the Capital to cheering parents, friends, and sponsors.  The Governor of Colorado spoke about the initiatives the state had embarked for people with disablitlites and came around to thank each one of us individually for the work we are doing.  After our huge arrival we departed for lodging which was at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Denver.  Lodging was provided by Bruce Rogers, one of the founders of KRG Captial, Journey of Hope's title sponsor, and the man who rode his bike across the country in 1987 to raise money and awareness for Push America's mission.  Bruce is the inspiration for the Journey of Hope and it was incredible to meet the man who started it all.

That evening we had one of biggest friendship visits, Peddle for Pennies sponsored by KRG Capital and Push America.  At the event, cyclists from the teams join up with Special Olympics athletes and ride laps around a pond in a local park.  The Special Olympics athletes are sponsored for each lap that they ride.  I rode with a 24 year old girl named Emily.  Together we completed 10 laps around the pond and she was ecstatic.  We all had dinner together and had a huge dance afterward with all the athletes and the Push America staff that flew in for the festivities.  That evening we had a chance to go out on the town with the North team and enjoy each others company.

We woke up early the next morning to go watch the 30th annual Paralyzed Veterans of America Wheelchair Games.  We watched table tennis, nine-ball, and the slalom, which was essentially a huge obstacle course meant to mimic the daily obstacles that one in a wheelchair encounters.  Watching the slalom was really inspiring and once again showcased the incredible abilities of one with a disability.  That afternoon we traveled to Craig Hospital (I know, great name) which is one of the top 10 rehabilitation centers in the country for spine and brain injuries.  We toured the hospital which was extremely interesting to see the medical advances in the field.  After our tour we got a chance to take on the local quad rugby team.  Quad rugby, or murderball (should still be called this), is a 4 on 4 game where athletes who are quadriplegic try to advance a ball down a court to score through a goal line.  Jason, a Gold Medal quad rugby player from the Beijing Olympics, taught us the rules and we jumped in the chairs to play.  It was 2 JOH members and 2 quad athletes per team.  We each played for 5 minutes and those 5 minutes were exhilarating.  There is a main strategy to set blocks for the player with the ball.  To set a block you literally get going as fast as you can and the chair and hit the opponents chair as hard as you could but at first was scary but then became fun.  Some guys got hit so hard that they got air in the chair and one of the guys actually had his chair, which is about 50 pounds, knocked over by a hit.  The teams then split and it was our best four versus their best four.  We scored first and then they went on a 10-1 run and won the game 10-2.  This sport is part of the total rehabilitation for patients at Craig Hospital and once again showed that no one should be defined by what they can not do but rather by what they can do.

That night we had a sponsored dinner at Chipoltle and headed over to Coors Field to watch the Rockies play the Cardinals.  As an avid Cubs fan I obviously rooted against the Cardinals.  During the both teams joined together to start the wave which lasted the entire 7th inning.  The Cards were up 7-4 in the 8th when the Rockies scored 4 to tie the game. The game came to the bottom of the ninth when the Rockies hit a walk off home run and everyone went crazy.  It was a great way to end an awesome two days in Denver.  We said our goodbyes to the North team and headed back to lodging knowing we had an early wake up to get to Colorado Springs in the morning.

Boulder, CO

The team had a short 50 mile day to head to Boulder from Fort Collins. We arrived at the a local rec center to meet with some paralympic athletes who race wheelchairs.  One of the men there is a former Boston Marathon winner with a time of 1 hour and 30 minutes.  There were two racing chairs set up on rollers for the team to race each other.  Each person had one minute to see how fast and far they could go.  Needless to say, after that one minute my arms were dead and I was extremely out of breath.  This was a great friendship visit that really showcased the abilities of people with disabilities.  The media was out at the event and you can read the story and see the video they took from this link: http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_15444552.  We had a friendship visit with Sky'z the Limit where we had dinner, and played basketball, softball, and yard games.  That night our lodging fell through and Jessi, a member of the 2008 Trans-America team let us all stay in his apartment.  We crashed in the garage which was a funny site to see 20 guys pile into a garage.  We are all really excited for tomorrows huge arrival into Denver and to meet up with the north team.

Fort Collins, CO

We had a nice 60 mile ride into Colorado today. We stopped at the state border to finish lighting off the remaining fireworks as Colorado has a ban on all fireworks. The team had its third crash of the trip and a few guys had to go to the hospital to get head scans for concussions. Both the cyclists are doing great and will hopefully be back on the bike soon. We had lunch sponsored by the Zeta Phi chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Colorado State University. The team hung out at their chapter house for the day and relaxed. Dinner was sponsored by parents of one of the chapter brother’s parents at a local restaurant. The team went out on the town for the night and enjoyed the company of the Zeta Phi Pi Kapps.

Cheyenne, WY

Today we had a 75 mile ride and since we did not make the rack point the day before, 6 of us decided to be the first paceline and push through the day to try to get to lodging in time.  The ride was mainly rolling hills and we gained about 1500 feet over the course of the day.  We finished the ride in 4 hours and had some time to relax before lunch.  Lunch was provided by the Lady Cowbells of Wyoming which is the same group as the Cattlewomen’s Association.  We ate in a barn at one of the most famous bull seed ranches in the country.  We toured the ranch which was really interesting and was really the first time I’ve ever been on a ranch.  That evening we had a friendship visit with the Arc.  They provided us with a delicious spaghetti dinner and I spent my visit playing on the jungle gym with Riley, an 8 year old boy with Autism.  We got back to lodging with high spirits and played some intense volleyball.   A lot of team members live in states where they have law prohibiting fireworks so many team members went out and bought outrageous amounts of fireworks which we lit off in the parking lot to end the night.

Wheatland, WY

We woke up this morning to beautiful Wyoming weather with no clouds in the sky. We had a 125 mile day ahead of us and due to some schedules mis-communications we did not leave lodging till 8 AM. We had 25 to 30 mph side and head winds for almost all of the ride. The team ended up making it 100 miles before having to rack the bikes so we could make dinner. The Cattlewomen’s Association provided us with dinner. We drove to a huge ranch to have dinner. The team is always extremely excited to learn in the morning that the Cattlewomen are providing dinner because they know how to feed a small army of cyclists.

Casper, WY

The team woke up to gorgeous sunny weather to start another 105 mile day.  This morning at breakfast, we met members of the Texas 4000 cycling team who are riding from Austin, TX to Anchorage, AK to raise money for MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.   It was exciting to meet a group of individuals who are participating in a similar event and share stories from the road.

The day ride was long and the team arrived at lodging 8 hours after we began.  It was a scorcher again in Wyoming with temperatures in the 90’s most of the day.  There were not many problems on the road and the only thing that slowed us down was a nice, constant side wind.  We all arrived safely at the Kelly Walsh High School and had an hour to shower up and get ready for the friendship visit.

That evening we had an awesome friendship visit and dinner with NOWCAP whose motto is “Creating opportunities for people with disabilities”.  This was the first time that the Trans-America team has met with the organization.  We all enjoyed some Pizza Hut pizza and after dinner we went to the rec recreational room to play Wii, Pool, and tons of other games.  This was an incredible friendship visit and there is a very high possibility that the Journey of Hope will be meeting with NOWCAP in the years to come.

The next day in Casper we had our first Kids on the Block puppet show for the Boys and Girls Club.  I did not get to my skip because the kids were getting restless and we only had time for two skits.  That evening we then had a friendship visit with the Arc.  We had a huge barbeque and played lawn games for the rest of the night.

Shashoni, WY

Today we had a 105 mile day and it was gorgeous. I rode with the first paceline and we had no problems through the day and finished in just over 6 hours with lunch. It got up to 98 degrees by the end of the ride and everyone was drinking as much water as they possibly could to stay hydrated. That night we had dinner at the local senior center and everyone headed home to get a good night sleep for another 105 mile day tomorrow.

Doubouis, WY

Today we started our long trek of over 500 miles in 5 days of riding.  We had an 80 mile day and it was nice and sunny with no clouds in the sky.  We biked through the Grand Teton National Park and the Grand Teton National Forest which provided great scenery for the route.  We had to rack the bikes for about 10 miles due to construction on the pass.  The team had a 15 mile climb today which brought up so the highest point we will reach throughout the summer of 8750 feet.  My legs felt great on the climb but my lungs were struggling in the high altitude especially when all my training was done below 1000 feet.  Today we crossed the 1000 mile mark of the trip making us 25% of the way complete.  There are 5 cyclists that have ridden every mile and James and I are representing Purdue well by being 2 of those 5 cyclists.  This evening we had dinner sponsored by the local Cattlewomen’s Association and as you can probably guess it was delicious.  We practiced our Kids on the Block puppet show for the Cattlewomen.  I play the part of Brenda who interacts with Ellen who has Down Syndrome.  The puppet show is meant to teach young children how to interact with people with disabilities and to learn that one should never be defined by what they cannot do but rather what they can do.  I spent the night cleaning my bike, re-taping the handlebars, and putting on a new front tire due to a piece of glass that did not get along with my old tire.

Each morning the team has a circle up to talk about the ride that day.  We also have a presentation by one of the team members called the “disability of the day”.  I gave the first little presentation on spina bifida.  Spina bifida is a fetal birth defect that causes an incomplete enclosure of the spinal cord.  When a baby is born with spina bifida, their lower spinal cord nerves are severely damaged and they have trouble using their lower extremities.  The prevention for this disability is for women who may be pregnant to take a prenatal vitamin that contains folic acid.

At circle up we also dedicate the ride to someone we met a friendship visit or someone who has affected our lives.  James Loy dedicated a ride to Donovan Higgins, a good friend and Purdue fraternity brother of ours.  Donovan was supposed to join us on the trip as a cyclist but ten days before we were to fly out he had a severe cycling accident.  The accident left him in the hospital for over a week with injuries to his tongue, elbow, and hand that he is still recovering from.  We are very hopeful that he will be able to join up with the team sometime this summer.  This past week I dedicated a ride to David Feltner.  David is another Purdue Pi Kapp who is currently fighting his third bout with cancer.  He is an incredible inspiration to everyone who knows him.  He keeps a high spirit and great attitude while fighting this horrible disease for the third time.  David shows a desire to live life to its fullest and motivates others to do the same.  Each day that we dedicate the ride to someone, we always keep them in mind while cycling.  We remember that while there are numerous challenges each day on the bike, these challenges do not compare the hardships that the people we dedicate the ride to are facing on a daily basis.