August 8 2009 - Cleveland - Niles

Today was the race of the vans!

Each van had its own pace line today and we all raced to our arrival point as quickly as possible. We didn’t really race, but we tried to get to Niles as quickly as possible and my van (Van 5) came in 2nd place!

When we got to the final destination we made an arrival at the local Saturn Dealership. They were kind enough to host our team for lunch and refreshments. While there, I was selected to give a TV interview for the local news channel. It was fun to give an interview and practice before hopefully making another appearance in Pittsburgh!

After our arrival we rode to our lodging and friendship visit which was at a local school for children with disabilities. When the clients began to arrive everyone started to get excited because they knew that this might be our last dance of the summer and we needed to go out with a BANG! The dance was a lot of fun and after the clients left we had about 30 minutes of free time before making our way to dinner at Olive Garden.

Dinner was really fun and relaxing. The owner of the Olive Garden in Niles actually ran into the team a few years ago in Nevada and was so thrilled with the idea that he has been hosting the team since. After dinner, we all came back to lodging and played basketball for a few hours. I have to say that basketball is not one of my strong suits, but I actually felt relatively capable by the end of the evening!

It’s late and we have an 80 mile ride into my home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania tomorrow!

August 7 2009 - Cleveland

Today was one of the last days that the team could sleep in!

We made sure to take full advantage of the off day by getting up around 8:45 am. We all made our way to breakfast, which was kindly hosted by the hospital. It consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and pancakes. While we were eating, we listened to a presentation about the hospital and the various parts which specialized in children with disabilities. The most memorable part of the day was when Jamie, a past client, spoke about her experience.

She was a healthy freshman high school student who played on the varsity basketball team, until the day of her accident. While training with the team she collapsed and lost all muscle function within her body. She was quickly rushed to the hospital where she was put into a medically induced coma to prevent further brain damage. When she came out of the coma, she was only able to blink her eyes. The doctors told her that she had a blood clot in her spine which damaged her muscle function and that she would most likely never walk again. Fortunately, through intense physical therapy she made an amazing recovery. She is able to walk and play sports, but with some difficulty in speaking. It is amazing to think about the impact that the hospital had on her life and it was great to know that our fundraising is going to improve the quality of life for people like Jamie.

After listening to Jamie speak, we were given tours around the facility and then hosted for lunch in the courtyard. At lunch, we met some more of the children in the hospital as well as some of the people who work in the facilities. At the conclusion of lunch, our team put together a presentation about bicycle safety as well as a KOB puppet show.

When the puppet show was over, the team got ready for dinner and I made my way to my dad’s house in Medina, Ohio. I was able to spend the evening with some family and return back to lodging in time for bed.

Tomorrow we make our way to Niles, Ohio!

August 6 2009 - Sandusky - Cleveland

Today we made our way into another big city: Cleveland, Ohio!

The 60 mile ride went by very quickly because the route was next to Lake Erie the entire way. There were beautiful views and homes all the way into the city, and we were all excited to see the skyscrapers of another big city on our trip.

We were supposed to have a big arrival at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but there was some confusion in the process, so we ended up riding there and just spending some time in the exhibits. When I came into the city I was greeted by family which was really nice. My dad and siblings came and spent an hour with me before I had to return back to lodging.
Our lodging was at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital in a somewhat questionable part of the city. When we arrived at the hospital we were greeted by some of the children with disabilities. We got to meet a few before showering and getting ready for a sponsored dinner in one of the city parks.

Dinner was really relaxing tonight because there was no programming at all. I played Euchre, wiffleball, and football while waiting for dinner to be prepared. Our evening was hosted by Jim Carlevick who is a past JOH cyclist and one of the men who was instrumental in creating the Journey of Hope as it is now. It was another fantastic meal and when it concluded I went out for another bite to eat with my dad and step mom. They returned me back to lodging in time to get to bed.

Tomorrow we have a free day in the city!

August 5 2009 - Toledo - Sandusky

Today was an absolute blast!

We left our lodging bright and early so that we could make it to Sandusky for our arrival at Double S Industries. Unfortunately, there was a tremendous amount of construction along the way so we had to rack our bikes almost all the way to Sandusky. We ended up having a 20 mile ride into town which made the day a little easier on us. Andy Hall (GT) and I volunteered to sweep today so when we made our arrival into Double S Industries, we were at the front of the double pace line.

As soon as we arrived, everyone was extremely friendly. They hosted us for lunch and an exciting friendship visit. While there, I played sponge tag, cornhole, and Frisbee. The afternoon was great, but the evening was even more fun because the whole team had the opportunity to go to Cedar Point and ride the roller coasters. The group that I was with rode the wicked twister, power tower, millennium force, and the raptor. When we left we were all bummed that we didn’t make it to every coaster, but we will definitely remember how much fun we had at Cedar Point.

It’s very late and I need to get some rest before our big ride into Cleveland, Ohio tomorrow!

August 4 2009 - Ann Arbor - Toledo

Welcome to Ohio!

We made our way out of Ann Arbor this morning with another new addition to the cycling team. One of our crew members, Evan Culp (USC Upstate), did a ride along with the team today. It was especially exciting since he is my van driver. Since we all knew that Evan was going to ride along with us today, our entire van wanted to ride together in a “Van 5 pace line”
We had a blast on the bike and Evan did very well for not having cycled at all. Unfortunately, we needed to go 60 miles today, but only made it 50 due to another arrival commitment. Our group, along with 2 other pace lines were racked up to our arrival point at the University of Toledo.

The arrival was absolutely magnificent! The mayor’s office, the university provost, and the chapter brothers of Pi Kappa Phi were all there to greet us into a new city. Each of our hosts shared some thoughts about our ride and then we had a sponsored lunch. The lunch was great because our hosts setup a projector with pictures from the ride. In addition, we all had the opportunity to sign a canvas poster of the country for our University of Toledo hosts.

After we finished up with lunch, half of our group went to a friendship visit at the Recreation Center for the University of Toledo. We played basketball with some clients at the recreation center and then made our way back to the University of Toledo dorms to shower and get ready for dinner. While my group was at the recreation center, the other half of the team was putting on a KOB for some children on campus. After they finished up we all met for dinner.

Dinner was hosted at Outback by a past JOH cyclist. Each meal included a steak, chicken, potato, salad, blooming onion, and bread. It was definitely a meal fit for a king! After dinner finished up, I met with my Grandma and Uncle to get some ice cream and catch up. When I returned home, I went to bed and got ready for the big day to Sandusky, Ohio and Cedar Point.

August 3 2009 - Lansing - Ann Arbor

On our way to the land of the Wolverines! (Michigan)

To add to the excitement of the ride, we had one of the team member’s dad ride along with us on the way to Ann Arbor. Jim Rampton’s (Elon) dad wanted to make the journey to his home in Ann Arbor with us today on his bike. Unfortunately for Mr. Rampton, today was a tough day with a strong headwind for most of the ride. As such, a few of the groups were unable to make it all the way today due to a shortage of time. Two of the groups that were unable to make it all the way today were Mr. Rampton’s group and the sweeps, which I happened to be a part of today. Since we were crunched for time, we were racked up to our arrival point. We had our arrival at Probility which is a physical therapy center. At Probility, the riders were able to get 10 minute massages and enjoy a sponsored dinner from Qdoba. I wasn’t able to partake in the massages because the line was too long and we needed to get showered and ready for dinner at Jim Rampton’s home (Elon).

I left Probility and went to Jim’s house to shower and setup for dinner. Jim’s family was kind enough to sponsor the team and put us all up in their home for tonight. After showering, we made our way to our friendship visit at a Traumatic Brain Injury center. The center was very nice and even included a professional swimming pool for therapeutic purposes. After checking out the center, we went to dinner at a local community center where we had music, board games, and general conversation. It was especially fun, because the party was pirate themed. I wore my eye patch and played “Guess Who” with my friend Jennifer.

After our friendship visit was over, we made our way back to the Rampton’s for free time. I went out with the guys to walk around the town of Ann Arbor. While fall classes hadn’t begun, there were still a lot of people out and about. We all made our way back around 11 pm and got ready for our big day into a new state tomorrow!

August 2 2009 - Kalamazaoo - Lansing

Today was so much fun!

We made our way from Kalamazoo to Lansing today. It was a great cycling day and we were the lead group until we were about 5 miles away from lodging. We stopped because there were no more vans to mark the turns ahead and so we had to sit and wait for some of the slower groups to catch up to us and the back vans could come forward. We were waiting for about 20 minutes when we were finally able to continue ahead. At this point, Dan Brown (Georgia Tech) grabbed his bike and realized that his tire was flat. Since we had to change the flat, we ended up falling back into the middle of the pack. After we changed the flat, we made it 1 more mile before Dan got another flat, pushing us all the way back to the last group. It was hilarious that we went from the first group to the last group only 4 miles from lodging.

We were warmly welcomed when we arrived at lodging. Upon arriving, we met “The moms and dads of Lansing.” The moms and dads of Lansing is a group of neighbors who all offer up their homes to house our team for the night. We all sat down to lunch and got to know each other. After lunch, we all received goodie bags and T-shirts from the sponsors. The T-shirt was really unique and was something that we hadn’t received from any of the sponsors in the past. Afterwards, we received our sleeping arrangements. All of van 5, my van, slept at Karen and Grady’s home. While there, we had some free time to do laundry and get ready for dinner.

Dinner was once again sponsored by the families and was in the neighborhood park. In addition to the families and the JOH team, we were also with volunteers from “Paws with a Cause.” “Paws with a Cause” is an organization of volunteers who raise assistance dogs for people with disabilities. I know that many of the riders were intrigued by the organization and had interest in volunteering in the future. After dinner finished up, Evan Culp (USC Upstate), Bryan Janzing (WSU) and I had a wheel chair race around the block. It was very difficult but I came out victorious after a long hard fought battle!

We had free time after dinner and our van had a slumber party in the living room and watched a movie (Alien vs. Predator) which was terribly awesome. It’s time to get some rest and get ready for our ride to Ann Arbor tomorrow!