Washington, DC

Its the last day of the trip and it is an incredibly bitter sweet feeling. We had 30 miles and the skies were clear the whole way. We arrived at George Washington University around 9:30 AM and had an hour and a half to wait for our arrival to the Capitol. We got to see two other Purdue Pi Kapps who now work for the national fraternity. 11 AM came quick and we got in line behind the vans and police escort to head up Pennsylvania Ave to make our way to the Capitol. It was 90 degrees but somehow I still got goosebumps. James and I rode third in line. It was an incredible feeling to just see the monuments and finally see the Capitol building. There were hundreds of spectators awaiting our arrival. We finally made it to DC and after listening to a few speeches and team pictures it was time to finally see my family and friends who came to see me. This was the summer of my life and an incredible experience that I will remember for my entire life!

Manassas, VA

Today we had a short 50 mile ride to Manassas. It was pouring rain the whole day but at least it was warm. Every other day it has rained this summer is has been under 50 which makes the rain even worse. We had another Chipotle lunch which was great. That evening we met both the North and South teams for an all team lunch. There we discussed the arrival. That evening we had to finish our team activity and headed to bed.

Fredericksburg, VA

Today we had a 50 mile ride to Fredericksburg. We have been having some of our best weather of the trip through WV and VA. We had a Chipotle lunch and had some free time to go to Walmart and bike shops. That night we had a friendship visit and dinner. We had a great visit and headed back to lodging for a team activity.

Richmond, VA

Today we had a 70 mile ride to Richmond, VA. We had another great day to ride. That afternoon we did our Kids on the Block presentation. Brandon, Dave, and I gave two presentations on bike safety to the little ones. That night we had a great dinner supplied by a Pi Alpha. James and I met up with two fraternity brothers we know from Purdue. It was great to see some old friends and enjoy their company.

Farmville, VA

Today we had our last century to Farmville, VA. It was a fun ride with great weather. We arrived at Longwood University and had a great lunch there. That evening we had a friendship visit and dinner at STEPS. STEPS is an organization that employs people with disabilities to work and make military uniforms. We had a great visit and headed back to our hotel for the night.

Roanoke, VA

This morning we had a short 40 mile ride to Roanoke. Before we started the ride the team rode over to the Virginia Tech memorial to pay our respects to those who lost their lives a few years ago during the tragic school shooting. The ride was mostly downhill which was nice because we were all extremely sore. We arrived at Hotel Roanoke and got ready for our friendship visit that evening. We hit the town that night as our days our coming to an end.

The next day we went to Rob Hamilton's lake house and enjoyed a day on the lake. We all got to tube, swim and kayak. It was a great day to just relax. That evening we drove to an Easter Seals camp where we ate dinner with the campers. We all called it an early night as this is our last day off and probably our last day to get a good nights sleep.

Blacksberg, VA

Today we had a 100 mile ride into Blacksberg, VA. It is weird to be in the last state of the journey. It feels like just yesterday when I was on a plane to Seattle. Today was one of the hardest days of the trip. The ride was just ascending and descending the mountains. The total ride took about 8 hours to complete. We arrived at Virginia Tech which where both Fred and Kenny go to school. That evening we had dinner at the dining courts and then hit the town.

Beckley, WV

Today we had a 70 mile ride to Beckley, WV. We started climbing the mountains today which are much different than the mountains we climbed out west. There are no switch-backs and its pretty much straight up and down with grades reaching 15%. It was a tough day but we all got through it. That night we had a friendship visit and dinner. After dinner we headed over to the local dirt track to watch some good ol' dirt car racing. It was a blast and after the races we all got to bed as soon as we could as we have head that tomorrow is one of the hardest days of the trip.

Charleston, WV

We had a short 45 mile day into the capital of West Virginia, Charleston. We arrived at a friendship visit with a local children therapy center. After the friendship visit we departed for a local community center which is where we were staying for the night. That evening we went to a single A baseball game which was a blast. We got front row seats and I caught two baseballs!

Huntington, WV

Today we had 75 miles to get into a new state and get to Huntington, WV. The ride was full of rolling hills which are a ton of fun to use momentum to get up and down the hills. We arrived at the Holiday Inn which means we get beds again. That night we had dinner and a friendship visit. We headed back to lodging where I cleaned my bike and hit the hay.

Moorehead, KY

This morning we had a 55 mile ride to Moorehead, KY. The ride went quick and we had a great lunch at CiCi's pizza. That evening we had a friendship visit and departed back to lodging where we had beds again! It was another early night as the whole team is getting pretty tired and sleep is a vital part of journey.

Lexington, KY

Today we had a 95 mile ride into Lexington, KY.  It was an extremely pretty ride the entire way with rolling hills going through the horse ranches of Kentucky.  We arrived at our lodging in downtown Lexington and headed to a friendship visit.  We ate and danced the night away with all the clients.  We headed out on to explore the University of Kentucky that night and then headed to bed.  This morning we woke up and headed off to another friendship visit where we painted and worked on art projects with the clients.  That evening we had a sponsored dinner at a local restaurant.  Since we haven’t had internet in over a week, I’m currently sitting at Starbucks typing up all these blogs to try to get everyone up to date.  Bedtime after this one is finished!

Cincinnati, OH

Today we had a 115 mile day into Cincinnati. The team made it about 80 miles and had to rack because the Reds versus Braves game got moved from 7 PM to 4 PM. We made it to the game just in time for the first pitch. Katie met us at the game and we ended up sitting almost as high as you can in the ballpark but it did have a great view. The Reds were down 2 late in the game and made a strong comeback to win 6-2 in an exciting ending. After the game I took my van to Skyline Chili so they could enjoy some delicious Coney Dogs and then headed back to lodging to get some sleep.

Indianapolis, IN

We had another short 50 mile day into Indianapolis today. Most of the day I rode along with Kyle Pluchar, a crew member from Purdue, who participated in his crew ride along. Each crew member is a encouraged to ride along with the cyclist at least once throughout the summer and Kyle was our first of the summer. We had an arrival with Outside the Box at a local park. This friendship visit was one I have been looking forward to the entire summer. In the past, the team did not have a friendship visit on their first day in Indianapolis. I was lucky enough to come in contact with Outside the Box and set up the visit for this year. We had a delicious lunch and then played kickball and everyone had a blast. That evening the team headed over to my house for dinner and then headed off to the local watering holes to enjoy the night.

The next day we headed over to Noble of Indiana for a friendship visit. This was by far one of the most organized visits we’ve had all summer. I mainly staying the art and disc golf areas and just hung out with the clients. It was great to have my family and girlfriend there for the friendship visits so they could see everything that we do on a daily basis for the summer. That evening the Kelly family sponsored a huge taco dinner. We had an early wake up the next morning so everyone went back to the dorms and fell right asleep.

Bloomington, IN

Only 55 miles to Bloomington today, which used to considered a long day but now is a very short day. I was very excited because my parents, grandma, and girlfriend were coming down to visit. We arrived at Stone Belt for a friendship visit and all the clients were outside awaiting our arrival. The friendship visit was great and had everything from dancing to basketball to bingo. That evening we were treated to a dinner at Scotty’s by Phil Summers, Indiana University’s chapter advisor. That evening Donovan met up with us and we headed out on the town to enjoy each other’s company.

Terre Haute, IN

We had a 65 mile ride into Indiana today and it felt great to be back in the home state. We arrived at Indiana State University, where one of our team members, Jared, studies business. That evening we had a huge friendship visit with Happiness Bag. We danced our socks up the entire night. We headed back to lodging where the team enjoyed a movie and then headed to bed.

Effingham, IL

Today we had a 115 mile ride to Effingham, IL. Once we crossed the Mississippi the terrain flattened out which made the ride much easier. After we arrived we had a sponsored dinner with the Elks and headed out on the town before hitting the hay.

St. Louis, MO

Today we had a short 55 mile ride into St. Louis.  For the last 25 miles of the ride we had a full police escort into the city which was incredible.  It took us about an hour to ride into the city passing through all the stop lights with the cops.  We arrived at the a park near the Arch and had tons of family and friends cheering us on.  That night we had dinner at an older alums house.  We departed dinner and headed over to Sky Zone.  Sky Zone is a recreational center where the floor is made of trampolines.  The team enjoyed an hour of trampoline dodgeball before heading back to the hotel for the night.

We all woke up for an awesome breakfast at the hotel and headed off to a friendship visit.  The whole afternoon I fished with some people from the Arc of St Louis which was a great time.  For dinner we headed over to Whitey Holt’s house, a member of the 2009 Trans-America team.  After dinner we headed to bed early again to try to catch up on sleep.

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.