Day 15

Day 15 was from Salt Lake City to Park City in Utah. We woke up a little later and went to McDonalds for breakfast. After breakfast we went to a local park to meet up with Trails, which stands for Therapeutic Recreation and Independent Life Style. This was a organization the focuses on bringing sports to those who have various pysical disabilities. For example today we would hand cycle. One of the cyclists Roberto took off fast so we thought no swear.

Wrong, dead wrong, I rode with people normally whom were close to giving up a little way through and when I did it I was dying from how hard it was to cycle with your hands. It really put alot into perspective for us. After that we had our lunch at whole foods which is an organic store and then off to do 30ish miles to park city.

I rode with Jeff, and Kyle as sweeps. We climbed a huge hill to take a team photo at the end. After our decent we were racked to transport across a freeway. Once we unracked our project manager noticed the time and had us rack again to quickly go to lodging and get ready for dinner. Dinner was at the Wastch Brewery and it was fantastic. They had some great root bear as well. Afterwards I headed back to lodging to hit the hot tub and for once in 10 days, a bed.

Day 14

Salt lake city, day 14 from Payson. Today I rode with Jesus as a crew member and really got to spend time to understand and learn from him. We had a good heart of heart as well. Today also had two ride along cyclists today.

The team went through a couple of cities as well as some changes in scenery that were well needed. Lunch as provided by the United Methodists Church and by the President of Utah's CTF chapter. CTF is The Childrens Tumor Foundation. She spoke to us of her son Travis whom was awesome and had been diagnosed with NF.

Many of us were on there verge of tears when she was speaking and he touched us so much. He also came by to everyone and handed us candy and bracelets. After lunch we headed to lodging and to the bike shop. I was so excited to get a seat even though it was my third choice. Thank you so much Alex for helping me pick one out. We headed quickly to dinner at Iggy's grill and it was phenomnial. It was sponsored by out ride along Jeff.

We then headed to the Mormon temple to take pictures and learn a little. When we got back to lodging I directly went to installing my bike seat and testing it out. Tomorrow will tell if it helped or not.

Day 13

Day 13 was from Delta to Payson Utah. We got up early again and proceed out for a 80 mile day. Today was a tight day with a quick rack point. Today I rod with Matt and Luke who I never road before. We talked too much about food and it ended up making us really hungry. Because today was so tight I racked myself to allow them to finish on time.

the team finished only to wait for the rides of CAF which is the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and one of their daughters who has epilepsy as well as CP. They were all females which was a change in pace for an all guy group and we ended up as a huge pace line at the end. At lodging we had a meal prepared by prison workers which was delightful.

There was free time and we had subway for dinner and and a team meeting afterwards. We spoke about a couple of things including interviews and safety on the bike, we started to slack on that in the desert in which I almost had a major fall that day as well.

Tomorrow I am racked but the good news is I will be getting a brand new saddle which should help me.

Day 12

Today was the lovely day 12 and the ride into Delta Utah. We woke up early per the usually and got ready to enjoy a 96 mile day with an added 4 miles to make it a century. I rode with Travis and Doug today during one of the most boring rides ever.

The desert is real cool once you are it and then your hate for it gets higher each mile you go. Not to mention Utah has a bad habit of just pouring gravel over their roads instead of repaving then. This made for a bumpy ride in which rocks were flying everywhere.

I finished today through the pain for my first century, this was great news for me and we had a team dinner at a Mexican restaurant and had team vehicle cleaning. Needless to say van 1 was the cleanest and best van out of them all. Not because I'm in it or anything.

We headed back to lodging and rested up for the days ahead of us.

Day 11

Day 11 was from Ely to Baker Nevada where we doubled the population of the town. Literally. So today we enjoyed a lovely breakfast but something was different for me with the 65 mile day. I saw it from the other side, there crew side.

I was racked for the day to recover and I road with Sam, a crew member for the day. This was fun to see it from the other side and see how much effort the crew puts into helping is along the way. Now we arrived to the town where there was very little, but with a little town came a refreshing sight.

At lodging we ended up napping for a while until one of the crew members hit the fire alarm and set it it off, by mistake of course. We went for a stream activity which was a tour of the Lehman caves. It was very interesting and fun, but most guys were in love with the fact they had cheap and amazing ice cream there. Afterwards we took a ride 10,000 feet up to take a team photo in front of the huge mountains behind us.

We had dinner with the towns people of Baker and they were really amazing. They had some amazing food and gave us a small lecture on waster supply in Nevada and the issues that are arising. We went back to lodging and enjoyed a night of no cell phone service. Sadly that meant families were in the dark today. Tomorrow we ride into Utah!

Day 9 & 10

Day 9 the trip from Austin to Eureka. We work up at around 5:30ish to leave for a climb to Eureka. Uncertainty nothing much happened today as its going to be slow until we hit Utah or Colorado,

Dinner was provided by the lions club and it was fantastic. Its always really nice to meat lions from across the country.

Now day 10 had more to offer and it was the trip to Ely Nevada. We had a later wakeup and enjoyed our normal crew chief breakfast. Today was an easy 80 miles but the wind was against us today. This made the bride 100 times harder.

I pushed myself as hard as I could but  I was racked today and went to a home shop for a new saddle but sadly there was nothing for me. We were greeted at lodging which was a highschool by then student council. They provided dinner for us and we had to wait a while to finally move into the gym for logging.

Many of the guys went out to see the man of steel but I passed because I promised to see it with my better half when I come home. I hung with kyle and Doug for a while before passing out before tomorrows ride.

Day 8

Day 8 is special as its our first century ride. A century ride is a 100mile ride and we actually were doing a little more than 100. We enjoyed a crew chief breakfast and headed off. We were heading from Fallon to Austin.

In the desert you are fighting many things which makes cycling in a flat area painful. First would be dehydration and the second would be not eating enough. With a long ride you can't eat enough on the bike to restore the calories we burn riding. The third is mental fatigue. Nothing changes and there isn't much scenery to occupy the time. Talking is hard when the wind is hitting you at 20mph so you are stuck doing nothing by spinning along.

Sadly I was unable to finished, I was riding with Buae and Chris and at mile 86 I wasn't doing ton well with pain and I didn't want them to not make it so I ended up racking myself. It hurts but I can't let my teammates fail because of my inability. Sitting in the saddle gets extremely painful for me late on and nothing seems to help it. It just drains me so quickly.

We finished and stayed at a local church, to which after resting and showering at a local pool showers we headed to then park for a very special dinner from the Austin ladies. We arrived t the smell of something amazing and later we found out that they had a thanksgiving dinner for us and it was amazing. To thank them we sang the rose for them and then proceed to head back to lodging to rest from the long day.

Day 7

Today was day 7 and we were heading from Carson to Fallon. We woke up really early, by that I mean 4:30. We enjoyed some pancakes made by the Kiwanis club and my god I've never missed pancakes so much in my life. They also had tons of fruit which was amazing. After the breakfast we headed onto us 50. Some people may recognize this road as its the most loneliest road in america.

We had a 65 miles ride and it was quite brutal in the desert.  I road with Doug and matt and it was a very fun time. Doug is actually pretty awesome for being the oldest guy here and matt is a character. It hit 103 degrees and the air was so dry, yet the team pushed through and finished early so that allowed so well deserved free time which I spent sleeping and talking to my better half.

At 6 we went to a friendship visit with the humble shedders which is a company which helps people with disabilities get jobs and teaches them job skills. We stayed for a long time because we were having a ball dancing and singing karaoke. Some of the team members sang some funny songs that actually fit them very well.

So we were greater at the end by our project manager who was absent because his van, and the van I'm assigned to got a flat in the desert. He radioed into every van and said that we were heading to Walmart for van mascots. We all rushed inside to find our mascot and we chose a shark because we had the two top dogs in our van. Yet ad soon as we all head to lodging van 5 stole all the mascots and then begin the mascot war. The shark tank will not be defeated.

Day 6

Today was day 6 and we left from lake Tahoe in California to the capital of Nevada, Carson. We were happy to hear of a rather late wake up and a short ride of 30 miles, we were even more surprised after we learned we would be heading to two friendship visits to preform our puppet show dubbed kids on the block. We packed up and enjoyed our lovely crew chief breakfast

I left that day expecting a crazy difficult day but after climbing I was granted with a yellow sign that almost made my heart explode of excitement. 9% grade for the next 8 miles. It was the most beautiful thing zipping down a mountain at 40mph, that is until we hit a sign that said "fresh oil". After speaking with the team we almost all freaked out when we saw that because there are a few things you don't want to see when going down hill and that is one of then. After the lovely downhill we hit the green flat plains of Carson and enjoyed a quick and easy ride.

We first headed to the boys and girls club which is a summer and after school program and we enjoyed a lovely lunch of pizza and salad. Then we spent time playing with the children and eventually watching our own puppet show. For a bit of rehearsing, our guys did amazing. And the one of the funniest part of the day, our own funny man Jack, showed bicycle safety to the children. He was telling them to check their brakes and he was flailing his bike around. We also learned a clapping cheer called "energize".

The second friendship visit was at the children's museum, which makes it seem even worse that we had so much fun playing like kids. Eventually we ended up watching the puppet shown again and then watching Jack explain safety on the bicycle again.

We enjoyed a huge and amazing dinner at the house of Billy a rotary club member. The food and house was amazing and we enjoyed the whole time we spent there. Afterwards we had a team meting and people were presented awards for being awesome. After that we all ended up heading to bed as we were all tired from the long day.

Day 5

Today was day 5 and a rest day for us. In the morning we woke up late (8 am for us) and a bunch of us went for breakfast at Denny's. It was my first time and it was alright. Then at around 11:30 we went paddle boarding. Me + water = not a good mix. The whole team including myself had a ball and enjoyed our time at lake talaho.

Afterwards I ended up getting a new phone as mine was really stopping me from enjoying some aspects of the trip. The team uses a chatting program to enjoy some banter and my phone dies quickly when using service. This also meant I couldn't take as many photos as I wanted. Shout out to Mark for being patient and driving me to the store. And beau also helped take care of my laundry so I could get the phone. I also sent home things I didn't need to lighten my load.

At night we had dinner at the Blue Angle restaurant. It was fantastic and I enjoyed speaking to Jeff the owner's wife and hearing his story. He was really knowledgeable as well as generous to feed us and set up the paddle boarding activity.

Today was a great recovery day and a great bonding time for the team. Tomorrow is a short day but we do have many places to go to. I'm getting my excited by the day.

Day 4

Today was day 4 and it will be a short entry. I was racked around mile 60 of 95, and I did almost all the climbing. Today the saddle pain was too much to overcome.

It was very beautiful climbing the mountains but it was very difficult. I ended up switching pace lines for a bit because sweeps were changing to let everyone have a chance to make it.

After lunch I was a sweep with Kyle and he was extremely motivating yet the pain was just too much. I stayed with it until the crew determined we could no longer make it and continue. I thank my team so much for their support and I am kicking myself that I couldn't make it. Tomorrow is our rest day at lake talaho.

Day 3

So we road from Sacramento to Jacksonville today and it was really on the struggle bus. I had stayed up late trying to adjust my bike which also meant I woke up even earlier than needed to get ready form the ride. We actually had a sponsored lunch yesterday and breakfast today from the same lovely lady. She made these egg and bacon hand tarts which were so good!

We road out today and for some reason my saddle was really affecting me for the worst. I was tight and in so much pain. We went over how dangerous this road we were taking could be because of a narrow shoulder as well as many big rigs traveling on it. When a big rig comes by it can actually suck you in which could be Scary if there is someone behind them.

We only road 46 miles or so, it was also relatively flat. We had one huge hill at the end but we overcame it together as a team because by that point we were all close together in pace. We enjoyed lunch at a visit we rolled into and the feeling could not be explained.

I shook the hands of 100 people and they were happy to see the team and I. Yet the feeling was that I was happy to meet them and hang out with them. I met some real true characters and generally couldn't stop smiling. Apparently they had the best chili dogs ever but I skipped those. Real bummer. When we were leaving one guy did some of Elvis' moves as he was named Elvis and we all cheered him on. Afterwards he  hugged one of the team members and exclaimed that he loved him. It was such am experience.

As we were leaving we get warned when we turned left, be in our smallest gear. We were all worried and then came to a 18% grade hill. They name it hotdog hill as usually there are leftover hotdogs we take and bring back after the visit. I went slow but I didn't stop up the hill. After that we washed up and rested till we went to Mel's dinner.

The lion's club as been hosting our dinner and breakfast for our journey for many years now. All the men and their wives were very fun to talk and get to know. They know a lot and have done a lot in their time. They told us they do fundraisers all the time and one of them they sell bear in a small town. They sell 140 kegs in 4 days. That is insane! I can't wait to see what they have in store for breakfast for us.

So tomorrow is Kirkwood and it will be the hardest ride we have. 95 miles and 12000 feet of climbing. For some reason its getting hard to sit in my saddle so I'll see how tomorrow pans put.

Day 2

Today was day two of our journey and the team was excites to get out rolling. Yet we got ready late and it caused us to start off a little late. Not to mention i washed my cloths and the didn't dry all the way through. We had our normal crew cheif breakfast and stretched for a hilly day. I rode with a brother named Alex who has a lot of experience cycling.

Boy was the route amazing, until we hit mile long hills at a high income. Alex kept pushing me and encouraging me to push forward and not stop when I was really tired and annoyed at climbing what Dean calls hill passes. They seemed more like mountain passes as we saw many hills cut in half for the road. Very neat, however it does as a bit of danger to the trip at hand

Now I personally developed my cycling quite a bit due to Alex's help. I got the right seat height finally. Was able to learn how to ride 4 inches from the wheel of the person in front of me. He really pushed me to my max and it was really motivating.
After cycling something like 67 miles we got in our formation for an arrival at Sacramento, California. Our arrival was our first and I ended up getting half wheeled and falling down. Whoops. Yet many of the students from The South Side Art Center came to our arrival to see us. We headed to lodging and prepared for a visit to the center.

We arrived at the center and got a tour from one of the students. Their art was everywhere and if I had enough money I would have bought them all. Not to mention the pieces that are in galleries around Sacramento. After dinner the students sang and played many funky songs that really brought us back. It was truly mindblowing how amazing they sounded. I kept humming the songs in my head through the rest of the night it was so good. I was sad to leave, but alas it was time for the students to leave.

Before the visit I went to the bike shop for new gloves as mine had holes and some new tires. These tires have kevlar in them to stop the inner tube from getting punctured and giving me a flat. The team had its first community sleep over in a gym and had to get up extra early due to taking so much time to get ready. Tomorrow we hit Jackson ville, something our project manager has been hyping.

Day: 1

Today was the kickoff of our journey at the golden gate bridge. Many of my team member had family and friends come visit us and cheer us on. It was really cold in San Francisco. I think it was below 47 degrees and super foggy. It was so foggy that is was misting a little around us. After a special crew chief breakfast we needed north across the San Francisco Golden Great Bridge. It was actually kind of scary when it is wry and the wind is hitting you on your side.

It was last in the line due to volunteer end to be the sweeps or the guys who make sure everyone gets through. I had a brother Jeremy's volunteer to be my partner and boy we had a blast. We did end up taking a couple of wrong turns here and there but it was to be expected. We also spent quite a bit of time enjoying the beautiful land to Napa. We had a few cyclists end the day due to injuries. Yet on the bright side we all finished the route for the first time in 6 years. As the sweeps we really pushed our teammates to make is past the rack time and eventually to the lodging.

After our ride finished we headed to our friendship visit. It was a BBQ and a party to celebrate a couple of teams who play softball. I first went and spoken to a Johnathan and his mother and they were very interesting. He was a real huge sports fan and loved the giants. After eating I ended up playing volleyball with many of the softball players as well as other people attending the celebration. Boy I had a blasts and some of those softball players really now how to play other sports. They did some really amazing serves and spikes. All and all even though I was tired I had a ton of fun and would have liked to stay much longer. One person I met, who's name escapes me really enjoyed to trick us by tapping our shoulders and we would always blame each others. Another player was hysterical and called us the Journey of Whimps. He also considered children over the age of two to be old timers. Not sure what that made himself then. He also drives! Which scared me a little but he seemed to be a really safe and defensive driver.

All and all today was hard but we were excited to finish our first day and kick off. Tomorrow holds new and even greater challenges for me but I know that I will overcome them. Tomorrow we get up around the same time to do it all over again!

Orientation

On June 5th 2013 I left from LaGuardia airport to Oakland California for the 2013 north route orientation for the Journey of Hope. I flew with my good friend and brother Sanjeev and we were greater at Oakland by my good friend Benny and the crew member Kyle Roth. I arrived at the hotel and got settled in and relaxed for a while before we started our meetings. I got to know some of my teammates very well and they are hysterical and just all around amazing. Each one not us has something to bring to the table and it just really makes us a strong group all together.

The second day we went over more information and got ourselves settled in. We practiced getting our stuff together and packing up in the morning. Mark, one of the crew members is the "team mom" and provided us with some really good breakfast.  After all that we headed over to the Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center. We had played a basketball game against the wildcats and it was unreal. I wasn't very good but I had a blast and really connected with the participants there. One player, number 33, was insanely good and was sinking 3 point shots like it was nothing. Another older man, number 47, was constantly stealing the ball and making 2 point shots. We got a tour afterwards and the place was beautiful and had such character to it, Push America had actually built a play unit here in the late 1900s and it was really nice to see a price of Push's history.  .

Day three was skills assessment. We actually went to the area where mythbusters is filmed but we had to leave due to an error with permits. Yet it was still very cool to see. I ended up doing second worst in the balance test but I know I'll improve in time. Afterwards we had a lovely lunch and headed over to  the golden gate bridge to take our team photo. It was really windy but I got an awesome photo of my chapter brother Reggie and I highfiving in front of the bridge. We then went to cliff bar headquarters to meet one of our corporate sponsorships. It was really cool inside and their work atmosphere is absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed meeting the people who make sure we have good energy bars on the road. They work with all organic material so i know I'm putting good stuff inside of me.

On day four we set off for our practice ride of 27 miles in a very hilly area of California. We climbed a total of 1600 feet which is a quarter of what we will do at kick off. The whole team finished in a timely matter and we know we'll have to work hard to tighten up our lines and cycle a bit faster. We had a very awesome friend of push america, Dean, help us fix our forms and learn to ride in a pace line. He also made sure all our bikes were good enough to get across the country in one piece. Afterwards at night we had our kick off dinner and so much family came out to support us. It was a great sight to see.

Tomorrow I wake up at 5:15 to start our kick off at the golden great bridge in San Francisco in California. We will cycle 70 miles tomorrow. I am a little nervous and excited to kick off and ride so many miles in a one day. I know this journey will be tough but it will be all worth it. Please make sure to read our team journal at pushamerica.org as I will be writing very soon!

To my friends and family thank you so much for your support and encouraging me to push further in life and it means so much to me that you all do. To my better half, thank you for believing in me and giving me the strength to push on.

(Sorry if this is very hard to read, typing on a phone is not easy!)