Washington D.C.

8.14.2010

Just typing that blog title gives me chills. I’m writing this entry a few days afterward, after I’ve had some time to reflect on the trip. Thinking back on that last day of riding, that last 30 miles that marked the end of my journey, and the guys I was riding with (in an illegal 20 man double pace line the whole day), it really summed up what the summer had been. I made a special play list for the occasion, and we were rocking out to every cheesy pop song you could imagine. There was one point where our whole team was stopped together at a red light, singing and dancing to California Gurls in the middle of the street, much to the amusement / terror of passers by. I was looking around at all the men I had just come so far with, thinking about how close we had all gotten, and realizing that tomorrow we would all be so far apart. The entire experience was just so surreal.

It didn’t really hit me when we were riding down Pennsylvania Avenue and saw the capitol building looming up ahead. It started to hit me when we were standing on the capitol lawn and I looked over and saw my parents. When it really hit me was when we were all gathered at the banquet, looking around at all the south route boys, rocking our new tank tops and some killer tan lines. They put on a slide show with a bunch of pictures that had been taken this summer. The last picture to come on the screen was one of the whole team standing on the capitol lawn. That was the tipping point. All I could think to my self was, “That’s it. That’s the Finish Line.” I cried like a little boy who fell off his bike for the first time. It was like no emotion I had ever experienced.

The Journey of Hope has given me insights that no other experience could provide. It has taught me more about my limits, my patience, my personality, my attitude, and my relationships than any other single event in my life. It has given me an appreciation for the good fortune I have been blessed with. The biggest problems I’ve ever had to deal with in my life are pale in comparison to the hardship that some people experience daily. I am so happy that I was able to keep this blog, to remind me of each person I’ve met and each of their stories. Their strength is something I can look to for inspiration.

Here’s to the good old southern boys. Best summer of my life.

Manassas, VA

These are the only random pictures from the day...



8.13.2010

Today’s 90 mile ride is another one of those that I’ll always remember. It was our last full day of riding on the bike. It was the last chance for all of us to kick it as a paceline one more time. I was riding with some of the usual suspects, Mo, Dodge, Tyler, Lawrence, and Troy and we were just reflecting on the trip’s memories the whole day.

About halfway through the ride the skies went from overcast to black, and the rain opened up on us. We could see in the distance the “Wall of Death”. This is the demarcation between wet and dry pavement on the road ahead that indicates you’re about to go into a rain storm. I covered up my ihome and shoved my camera and phone into my back pockets and hoped for the best as we plunged into the rain. It took all of about 5 minutes for all of us to be completely soaked but we really didn’t mind. It was sort of a fun little challenge on the last day of riding, because we had never been more than drizzled on in the past 60 some days. Fortunately at the next crew stop a lot of us were able to ditch our cameras. Foolishly, I held onto mine and proceeded to take exactly zero pictures the rest of the day. Totally not worth almost frying it.

Another cool thing about the day was that we got to ride along with a guy named mark, who works as a pilot for KRG capital. He had flown Bruce Rogers out to Virginia from Denver, and was riding along with us until Bruce was finished his business in D.C. He was a really laid back guy, and it was the first time on the trip that I felt totally relaxed and normal when a ride along was with our pace line. We were all just thinking back on our good times and he would ask questions about some of the stories and inside jokes.

When we got to lodging nothing felt different. When we ate dinner with all the other routes nothing felt different. When I was unpacking my bag for the 68th time this trip, nothing felt different. When we got out our old jerseys and passed them around to be signed, however, it was a little strange. I was just looking around at every person who wrote their name on my uniform and couldn’t help thinking to myself how weird it is that after tomorrow I probably wouldn’t see half of them in person again. We are going to Washington DC TOMORROW. Just teaches you to appreciate every second you’ve got, every day.

Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville, VA

8.12.2010

Today was a beautiful ride. The plan was to go about 80 miles on the day, even though the town was only 50 miles away when using the interstate. I didn’t mind that we were taking back roads the whole day, because the scenery was gorgeous, and after all we don’t have too much more time on the bike. We were very lucky too, because Bruce Rogers was doing a ride along with our route today. Bruce Rogers is the man who served as the inspiration for the Journey of Hope. He was the first Pi Kapp to ride his bike across the country to raise money for Push America and today is one of the trip’s biggest sponsors. The legend himself was riding in our pace line, and we got to find out all about how he did the trip when he rode. It’s incredible how he made it the whole way without a crew supporting him.


Unfortunately for him and for the rest of us, we had a record distance wrong turn today. We went an absurd 20 miles in the wrong direction. There was one crew stop where we made a left turn instead of a right turn and just kept going for another hour or so. We were getting suspicious when we saw our shadows in front of us at 9:00am, but we figured we were just headed a little west to get through a mountain pass or something. Soon we saw the Blue Ridge mountains looming in front of us, and we were sure something was wrong. We discovered that after riding for 45 miles, we had gone a total of 10 miles outside of Lynchburg. It was really frustrating, especially for Bruce who flew out from Colorado to meet up with us. Eventually we got back on track though and hammered out the last 20 miles to lodging. It was a frustrating day, but the chipotle we got at the end of the ride made up for it a little.


The friendship visit that night made me forget about the day’s frustrations. It was at the Charlottesville Arc center, where we had a huge spaghetti dinner followed by dancing. I met a 14 year old girl named Victoria who was hearing impaired, and I was able to communicate her a little bit using the sign language I’ve managed to scrape together over the summer. I think she got bored with my three year old level of English after a while, but it still felt good for me to be able to try signing a little bit.

It’s our last day of riding tomorrow. It feels so weird that this is coming to an end.

Lynchburg, VA

8.11.2010

Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m savoring the rides more now that the trip is winding down, but for the past few days the riding has been really nice. I was sweeping (last man in) today, with Zach Wilcox. Zach is a true southern gentleman. We talked for a little bit about deer and duck hunting, as well as the sex appeal that comes with having a southern accent. The conversation seemed very fitting as we rode through Virginia tobacco fields. The road was pretty hilly in the beginning and Zach was having problems with the Tendonitis in his knee. He made it to mile 45 before the pain became too much and he had to rack up.

Steve brought me up to the next crew stop, and I was able to meet up with the last pace line and continue riding. I made it about 5 miles with the new group before I blew a spoke in my back wheel. We stopped to check it out, and Hurvey described it as “A big pringle”. I couldn’t ride any further on it, and had to rack up my bike to lodging. It’s at the bike shop getting fixed right now. I ended up doing about 50 miles on the day, out of a possible 70. That means I’ve got some extra pushups to do tonight.

When we got to lodging I did an interview for ABC News on channel 13. Hopefully it will be on the internet and I’ll be able to find it later, because we don’t have a TV where we’re staying tonight at the local High School. It would be a cool thing to have to remember the day, in addition to the pictures I took of the scenic ride.

Our friendship visit was at the Lynchburg ARC organization. We had a huge pasta dinner and some dancing later on. I was sitting at a table with two 4 year old twin boys, who spent most of dinner pretending they were robots. It was one of the few chances I’ve had to interact with kids on the trip, so I had a lot of fun. Avery ran on alternating current, and had to be plugged into the wall every once in a while. Averit had batteries that ran for maybe 5 minutes at a time and needed to be changed regularly. When we got out on the dance floor, I got to dance with a girl named Tammy who was in a wheelchair and a girl named Sarah who had been coming to the ARC for 2 years. Tammy was the conductor of our “Soul Train” conga line for a little while, and Sarah explained to me that this was her second favorite dance so far. Her favorite was one time last year where the news crews came to cover the dance. I’d say we are doing pretty well when stacked up against that one.

Danville, VA

8.10.2010

The ride today was about 60 miles, and we crossed the state line into Virginia. Today marked the official beginning of the end. We have no more days off before we get to Washington D.C., it’s a 4 day push of 60 then 70 then 80 then 90 miles. The next day we get to D.C. I knew it had to end eventually, but part of me just thought it would go on forever. Today my odometer clicked over to 3,750 miles. It’s unreal.

The first 10 miles of the ride were pretty tough, but I have no idea why. The terrain wasn’t different, the roads were smooth, and there was no wind. The worst feeling is when you’re confused about the reason your legs hurt. Whatever the reason, the riding got easier as the day went on and before we knew it we were at the Virginia state line. We were way ahead of schedule, so we goofed off for a good half hour just taking pictures. From there we headed to stage up, and proceeded to have the most interesting arrival of the trip. The good part was that the participants at the Stonewall Therapeutic Center came out to cheer us on at different turns along the way. The bad part is that the arrival was super hilly, and the cop who was pacing us was alternating between 8 and 20 per hour the whole time. The stop and go pacing made it impossible to gain any of the momentum that was necessary to climb the hills. Just adds to the challenge I guess.
The friendship visit was a bunch of fun, and came in two chunks. They served us lunch during the first part, where we got to meet the participants for the first time. I got up to get some food, and a group of the girls I was talking with took some pictures on my camera that I just discovered.

Later we came back for a pasta dinner and more visiting. I was speaking with a man named Danny about his home made “Liquid Love” fragrance. Apparently it doesn’t work on everyone, only on girls who are well suited to your personality. It was a fun conversation, and after dinner we got up to do some dancing. The dancing visits are always my favorite, and it got me pumped up about getting back to school.

Chapel Hill, NC

8.9.2010

Today we had a day off in Chapel Hill. We had to be ready to leave lodging by 11:30AM, so naturally my room woke up at 11:15AM. From there we went to lunch at subway, and we got not only some money for lunch, but money for the breakfast we slept through. Thanks Push!

From there we headed over to a friendship visit at Extraordinary Adventures, a day camp for kids with disabilities. A few of us were playing “The Price is Right” on the Nintendo Wii with a boy named Ewan. He was parading around the room acting like Bob Barker, holding the Wiimote up to his mouth acting like it was a microphone, asking people if they would like to spin the giant wheel.

After hanging out with Ewan for a bit, I made my way over to where they had a karaoke machine set up. I started talking with a guy named Quentin and his caretaker. I asked him if he was going to sing and he said no, but he told me his favorite singer was James Brown. He heard me beat boxing to one of the songs and asked me if I knew how to rap. I faked it for a little bit while he spit me a hot beat. I then proceeded to apologize to him for my lack of street cred. He had to leave kind of early, but hanging out with him was some of the most fun I’ve had at a friendship visit this trip.

When we were done at Extraordinary Adventures, we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then later went over to the Kappa house of Pi Kappa Phi for a pig roast dinner. It was cool to see a bunch of the guys that I had met last night again, and to meet some people I hadn’t got the chance to before. The people you meet along the road are really what makes this trip special, and the men of Kappa chapter are a perfect example of that.

Chapel Hill, NC

8.8.2010

We rode about 70 miles today through more North Carolina countryside. There was one point where we were riding through some fog, which made for a really pretty scene with the forest on both sides of the road. Starting when I woke up this morning I decided to attempt a challenge where I would remain silent for the whole day. That lasted until about mile 10, when I involuntarily called out the signal “Standing” on the way up a hill. It was completely involuntary, but I’d been used to doing it every time I’ve stood up on the bike this summer. It’s kinda funny how the mind works, I feel like one of Pavlov’s dogs.

When we finished up the ride, we arrived at a local Pizza Hut for lunch and a friendship visit. We helped out with a car wash being held to benefit The ARC, an assisted living center and camp for people with disabilities. I got to stand on the corner by a red light holding a sign and heckling people to come get their cars washed. I felt like I was back on Ho Plaza handing out quarter cards, except now if someone wanted to ignore you and walk by they would be breaking traffic laws. I was able to guilt about 16 bucks out of various drivers, in addition to the ones I convinced to go to the car wash. It was a lot of fun

Tonight we’re going to hang out at the Kappa chapter of Pi Kappa Phi here at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. It’ll be cool to meet some guys from Sandberg’s chapter.

High Point, NC

8.7.2010

Our ride today was about 93 miles, and was comparable to the first long ride I did while training. The distance was pretty much exactly the same, and the scenery was beginning to look a lot like the northeast. It was sunny outside, but the temperature was pretty cool all day. We rode through pine forests, and past lakes and livestock pastures. I decided around mile 10 that I was going to do my best to try to “pull” the pace line the whole day. This means I would be riding in front of our four man group and taking most of the wind resistance, as if I was riding by myself. This made the three other guys’ jobs a little easier by giving them a little bit less wind to deal with.

I was able to stay out in front the whole day, and when we got to our friendship visit, it definitely felt like I was working a lot harder than I had been the other days of the trip. That could have been because we had a headwind for probably half of the day. It got a little easier towards the end of the day when we started playing with my “Would You Rather” cards. Best impulse buy I’ve ever made.

Random Big Chair Monument

We also got to a point on the road today where we held a moment of silence for a man named Todd Porterfield. He was a member of the Alpha Delta chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Washington who died while riding on the Journey of Hope South Route. He was hit by a truck while riding with the four other members of his pace line. He spent his last summer living for others, as he had in the rest of his life. It was a reminder how wrong things can go, even if you’re following all the rules.

Our friendship visit today was at the High Point Museum. I did a scavenger hunt with a man named Bill who was explaining to me a bunch of things about growing up on a farm in the 1920s. He told me about riding in a horse drawn buggy to school, and the change for his family when they got a Ford model T. He was a really great guy, and we placed 4th in the scavenger hunt.

There are officially only 7 days until we’re in D.C. I’m super bummed.

Charlotte, NC (Day 2)

8.6.2010

Today we woke up at 7:00am to start our layover day. We had a breakfast sponsored by the national office at Bojangles in the morning, with all the biscuit sandwiches we could eat. Afterwards, we drove over to a Pi Kapp alumni’s lake house to unwind for a bit. While we were there we went swimming out on the lake, rowing in the kayaks, and even went out on the speed boat for a bit. They had one of those big inflatable rafts that you could hold on to and get towed behind the boat. Unfortunately there was no water skiing, but the raft was a huge blast. Hurvey and I got bucked off going about 35 miles per hour, and took a few skips across the top of the water before we stopped moving. I couldn’t stop smiling.


After the lake we went to dinner at Matt Sandberg’s house, where we got a chance to meet his family and try some of his mom’s barbecue. We also got to goof off for a bit with his two golden retrievers. It was nice to play with a dog again. From there we headed over to the mall to pick up some secret santa style gag gifts for other members of the team. Each person has another cyclist’s name, and gets a joke gift to give to him when we arrive in Washington D.C. It should be a fun thing to do to wrap up the trip.

Bed time. 90 mile ride tomorrow.

Charlotte, NC

8.5.2010

Today’s ride was 80 miles from Spartanburg, SC to Charlotte, NC. I honestly don’t even remember what happened on the ride, the biking is definitely not the most memorable part of this trip anymore. What was cool about today was the fact that we got to ride to the Pi Kappa Phi nationals office. There they had a museum with relics from the founding of our fraternity. We saw Andrew Alexander Kroeg’s brotherhood pin, the Nu Phi fraternity original meeting minutes, and even sat down at the table our constitution was written on. There was even a room that had beer steins from each fraternity chapter on a shelf. Inside the steins were little messages that brothers from each corresponding fraternity had written over the years. I read some words from past Pi Alphas and Psi chapter brothers, and left a little message myself.

After our stop at the nationals office, we had dinner and a friendship visit at a nearby church. They had a Christian rock band, a bunch of dancing, and I met some truly incredible people. There was one woman who at the age of 18 was hit by a semi truck fully loaded with slabs of concrete. When her parents arrived at the hospital they were told that she had no chance of surviving. They were told that if she did survive she would be a vegetable for the rest of her life. I was talking to her and she was perfectly mobile, all there mentally, and she was telling me about the black diamond skiing trails that she had done this past winter. Certainly doesn’t sound like a vegetable to me.

There was another woman who was currently 86, and had been caring for her disabled daughter since she was born 66 years before. Her husband had died in a farm accident several years ago, and she has been going it alone ever since. That woman’s strength is something I can’t even begin to understand. She told me that each morning she and her daughter pray for strength to get through the day. It’s pretty amazing what religion can do for people.

That night we went out into the city to see what fun could be had. I was walking around with Ryan Dodge and Mike Hurvey just people watching and talking about life for 2 and a half hours. It was one of those laid back nights that was a total blast.

Spartanburg, SC

8.4.2010

I felt like I actually exercised today for the first time in a while. Our rack point was pretty tough, which meant that we would have to keep a solid pace in order to finish on time, and the bros in my pace line were pretty much the fastest guys on the trip. Fortunately the roads were smooth, but the hills and 108 degree heat index made up for this little luxury. We eventually joined up with a second group to make an 8 man pace line, and were pushing at speeds around 25 miles per hour on the flats. Our average pace for the day was exactly 20.0 miles per hour, which was tough to keep going on an 85 mile day. Riding in that big group at that speed made me understand how awesome it must be to race bikes where you’re riding in a big Palaton. It’s hard to pinpoint why, but riding with more people is just all around more fun.


We were received for lunch and a friendship visit at 1:00pm. We had a pizza lunch with some of the organization’s clients, and took a tour of some of the classrooms. The clients went home around 2:30p.m. , and we headed out again on a 3 mile ride over to lodging. I decided to ride over in my flip flops because the heat had gotten my socks soaked in sweat, and I didn’t particularly feel like putting them back on. We had a little down time, so Brent, Soup and I decided to go get our hair cut at the local barber shop before dinner. The cut wasn’t terrible, but let’s just say I’m happy that my hair grows back in pretty fast.

Dinner was sponsored by the Carolina Miracle League, the same youth baseball league that we played with in western Alabama. This group was far more organized, and had an established batting order with “Buddies” assigned to each player. Another cool thing was that each time the offense would get a hit, the first and third base coaches would toss two more balls on the field, so that the game was more interactive for the defense. My buddy was a boy named Mark. Mark was nonverbal, but I was still able to talk to him about the game, where to stand, when to bat, etc. I could tell that he could understand what I was saying, even if he couldn’t speak. One problem that Mark had was that instead of running to first base when he got a hit, he turned around and ran directly towards his family who was cheering him on. We had a great time, and the barbecue dinner we had after the game was just icing on the cake.

Clemson, SC

8.3.2010

Today’s ride was pretty tough. We had a hilly 85 mile ride to deal with, and our pace line had 3 flats in the beginning of the day. We were a little bit behind, so we decided to kick it with the sweeps for the rest of the ride. As we got going we caught up with the pace line in front of us. These guys were attempting to complete the Milk Man challenge. Around mile 10, they each took the maximum recommended daily dose of Milk of Magnesia. The challenge is to travel an additional 50 miles without intentionally or unintentionally relieving oneself. They were struggling a little bit, but we hang out with them for the rest of the day.

Eventually we stopped at a bathroom, and the guys who were doing the challenge were able to take care of business. I was looking for a way to entertain myself while they were inside when I noticed a boat dock leading into a nearby lake. The next obvious choice of action was to ride my bike full speed into the lake. The soggy shoes I had to deal with the rest of the ride was well worth the fun it was doing it.

We got to lodging at Clemson Outdoor Camp, a facility that puts on summer programs for the vision impaired. Since we were sleeping there, we didn’t have to get in the vans to drive to our friendship visit, which meant we had plenty of extra time. We started out with a game of Frisbee golf around the premises of the camp. I was talking with a guy named Marvis, who in addition to throwing an awesome Frisbee, was a sweet breakdancer. He had a good sense of humor too, we were making golf jokes about Tiger woods the whole time.

After dinner, we broke up into smaller groups of 6, and moved around from station to station playing camp games. We started with face painting, where I decorated my visage with a bunch of #9’s. While I was getting my ink done I was talking with a group of teenage girls about what it is like to be blind, about using their canes, etc. One girl named Joanna said that a lot of the kids in her school used to try to jump on her cane when she was using it in the hallway, and that one boy took it and hid it from her. I think that story really emphasizes why it’s so important for our organization to spread awareness about what it is like to live with a disability. I enjoyed hearing about the girls’ pets and hobbies, and we ended the day with an ice cream sundae.

By the time it was time for showers and bed, we were all exhausted from a long day.

Athens, GA

8.2.2010

Today’s ride was about 90 miles, but we had to be at our friendship visit by 9:30. Obviously this rack point was not going to happen, so we ended up racking to our friendship visit at about mile 50. Our visit was at a camp for kids with disabilities. It was just like I was back in my boy scout days. They had a lake with paddle boats, horseback riding, a rock wall and ropes course, and a huge buffet style dining cabin. We assisted the camp’s 35 female counselors in helping the campers do various activities. The rock wall had a harness that could be used to hoist up people in wheel chairs, and once they were at the top, they could be attached to a zip line to come down. We helped out by providing muscle for the hoists, and by simply spending time and having conversation with the campers.

I met a guy at the camp named Ricardo who had cerebral palsy and used a motorized wheelchair to get around. He was one of the first campers on the trip to ask me about myself before I had a chance to ask about him. We got on the topic of Journey of Hope, and he said “Whoah, you guys are fighting for us! Come here!” and he gave me a big hug. It was literally the best feeling I’ve experienced the whole trip. We went on to talk a little bit about his love for reading and country music singer Hank Williams. He even went on to sing me a few bars from the song Jambalaya. I met up with him again at lunch, and he had just found out that a girl he had met at camp a few years ago was coming through the area and wanted to stop by to visit. He told me that he could barely drink his lemonade his heart was racing so much. Ricardo is really a fantastic individual, and someone I’ll always remember from this trip.

After lunch, it was time to get on the bikes (oh yeah, that’s what we do on this trip) and pound out the last 40 miles to lodging. It was a hilly ride, and we were definitely feeling the time out of the saddle. I kept my spirits up by playing acapella music the whole day.

We got to lodging and got showered up before we headed out to dinner at Harry’s Pig shop. There we met up with the famous Darius from the movie we watched in Arizona State University, Darius Goes West. He’s a man who suffers from Duchene Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that will eventually kill him. A few years ago he made a documentary about his journey to see the USA while he was still able and his mission to spread awareness of his condition. Unfortunately he was not sitting at our table, but I still got the pleasure of meeting him briefly at the beginning of dinner. We found out that he plans to complete another journey to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday. That one probably won’t be recorded on camera.

When we got back to the hotel, the good times kept rolling. A few of us founded a secret fraternity within Pi Kappa Phi, called Iota Beta. The details of the aforementioned good times are of course guarded secrets.