Day 30 - 1,756 Miles To Date - Salina, KS

Wow! Day 30 already and I actually cannot believe how fast this trip is going by. It's even so much fun that four of us are talking about creating a team for Race Across America - a week long relay event from California to the east coast. I'm not going to bore you with details since I haven't blogged in a while, but my bike problems have been resolved since getting some great rim tape (still crossing my fingers it's over.) I only got 25 miles in on day 26 before calling it a day until I fixed my flat problem, I think I have the record for our team with 6 flats in one day. Kansas City is definitely a cool city and we just happened to come across this awesome outdoor concert, live music is always a great time. Leaving from Kansas City, I had van day number 3 of the trip. It was pretty stressful for a second because everyone took different routes, but it was a short day and everyone figured it out on their own so everything worked out. The headwind is such a real thing and I would totally take climbing mountains over that. Our ride into Manhattan was about 90 and we stayed in the same church as bike and build which was pretty cool. We definitely both have different team dynamics so it was cool meeting another group doing a similar trip. The next day, we took off for a 75 mile ride into Salina, KS and it was a good group that just pace lined the whole way. I always love being in front and challenging myself until I want to drop back. Last night we had a huge dinner with the community and some cancer survivors in the area which was pretty cool. Today was a much needed rest/service day. We went to a cancer center in Salina and toured the facility learning about chemo and radiation. We were able to mingle with patients and tell them about what we were doing as well as hear their stories. I'm writing this as I sit and do laundry with the entire team, we get really excited when we see a laundromat. I think we're going to a local water park in a little bit which should be fun. I love this team and what we're doing so much! Tomorrow I'm in water van again for about a 90-100 mile day so it should be pretty interesting. We're going to be on our way to Wichita for our next mail drop, I've heard we have a lot of packages waiting! Ps - I still really want to see a tornado. 

Day 25 - 1,566 Miles To Date - Sweet Springs, MO

So bike problems suck. Luckily they just started for me on day 23, but unluckily for me all of them came at once. Since beginning the Katy Trail and my spoke breaking, I've had 9 flats. The rides have been awesome, I've loved my groups and the terrain and the ride itself, but it's super disheartening hearing your tire go flat and also holding up your team. I replaced the rim tape last night, but it slides around and doesn't cover the holes of the spokes which is why I got flats today, so this afternoon I taped it in place - hope that holds up tomorrow! Today was fun otherwise, we had a short 50 mile ride (58 but I got picked up after so many flats.) We got in by 1 and had lunch provided by the church then headed to the pool, it's always so nice to get pool time! The past two days were pretty uneventful other than my many bike issues. Tomorrow we head to Kansas City, which is big and will have plenty of bike shops. Hopefully we get go the host in time for me to get new rim tape and all of the tubes I owe everyone. I'm not too worried about this though, riding 4,000+ miles on a bike is bound to cause problems eventually. Looking forward to our next service day in Salina and also crossing another state line!

Day 23 - 1,430 Miles To Date - Montgomery City, MO

Home stays are AWESOME. Okay but first, the ride. It was AWESOME as well, for the most part. I did start my day with my first flat of the trip - such a stupid mistake too, I just pushed too hard on the valve when I pumped it up a few minutes before. We rode almost entirely on the Katy Trail that runs through Missouri. It was about twenty miles to the trail, then we were on it for another 60 and it was completely flat which was nice. We also got the shade we desperately needed after all the dehydration of the past few days. The miles went by pretty fast in the morning as we super grouped (a 4k term for a few of the groups riding together.) It was fun riding with everyone and chatting. The host van hooked us up with food. BBQ sandwiches, Indian food, wraps, tons of fruit, and trail mix for lunch. After lunch we had to play some 'would you rather' and other games to pass some time, but it was a pretty nice ride overall. It was set to be a century, but of course because I told everyone I had no bike problems this far, I did in fact finally break a spoke too add to the flat this morning. I think I hit a stick on the trail that got stuck in them and the spoke popped right out, my wheel was also very untrue - I will be learning how to fix all of those things in the near future (thanks Adam.) But, it was not a huge deal as my legs were tired from the 5k, I had already knocked out 80 miles which I was content with, and most of the team had to be shuttled anyway due to a dangerous road. When we finally arrived to the church (I stress the word finally because shuttling takes forever,) we were split up into our groups for home stays. Basically families that are willing to host us just contact the church and we are dispersed to each house. When we arrived we were offered showers with towels laid out. Dinner was a nice home cooked grilled chicken, bacon brown sugar green beans, potatoes, and strawberry or lemon pie (Linnea and I tried both of course.) We had a nice conversation with our hosts over dinner and it felt just like being at home, so comfortable. We also realized how much we appreciate chairs and just having a tv show on. Bed and laundry are always a plus as well, and we are so appreciative of this stay and our generous hosts! For breakfast in the morning, blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, and...COFFEE. As you can tell I'm already excited. I think we have about 85 miles on deck tomorrow with some hills as we head into Booneville. 

Day 21 - 1,350 Miles To Date - St. Louis, MO

Yesterday's ride was pretty awesome. I ended up with a really fun group and we cruised the 82 miles at 16mph into St. Louis. It was a really nice route with not that much traffic for the majority of the ride. Not having a century allows us to get into the host at a decent time and we arrived at 5 and had some time to hang out, shower, eat dinner, etc. St. Louis is a really cool city, I love the active atmosphere and all of the parks - our last five miles went through Forest Park which was a huge park with a bunch of bike paths. Late last night, Jeff, Liliya, and I decided to join one of our teammates' friends in a 5k in the morning. We woke up at 7 and headed over to the park where it had been pouring rain all morning, along with some lightning. We stood under an overhang for about an hour as it continued to pour. The race was slated for 9am and the sky cleared at about 8:58am - pretty crazy because we totally expected it to be cancelled. The race went on however and it was a lot of fun! With all the biking, it was nice to get out and run fast. I really love Missouri honestly and it reminds me a lot of Virginia, so running here was really nice. After the race, we had time to change and get breakfast before we went over to check out the arch. I couldn't decide at first if I wanted to just look at it or go up to the top, but it was only ten bucks and it ended up being very cool. We were able to see all of St. Louis and take a bunch of pictures - touristy stuff. After the arch, we got some stickers and post cards, got frozen yogurt, and headed over to a local bar & grill for the USA game. Overall a pretty fun and relaxing rest day! Tomorrow brings another century, but the rest of the week looks very doable. 

AHAATd

Day 20 - 1,268 Miles To Date - Farmington, MO

Trying to catch up on blogs as I wait to take off on the bike towards St. Louis. On day 19, I drove the host van, which was probably a good choice as I saw the pain on everyone's face! (Of course I would have rather been out there with them.) I got up and ran with Jeff at 4:30, because we just can't take days off, I think it's an addiction. Host van is in charge of delivering bags to the host and finding food donations, at first I was a little nervous but it was so fun. Evan and I were able to get 30 sausage biscuits and hash browns from McDonald's, 5 pounds of homemade local BBQ with buns and sauce, KFC, subway, breadsticks, and tons of pizza. It was stressful but definitely a lot of fun and we were pretty successful I would say. We also got to take the bikes and vans on a ferry across the Ohio river which was super cool. I was excited yesterday to get back on the bike and say goodbye to the hat trick of centuries. The day started off pretty slow for everyone, the lack of sleep and mileage is finally catching up. I was honestly really tired for the first 40 miles or so and just went through the motions (I'm not sure why seeing as I drove the day before.) It was a really nice day so far though, compared to the boiling hot day before. After lunch I was feeling a little more energized and we were out of the long twenty mile stretch of cornfields. Lunch was at the state line and we got to cross the Mississippi River, which I don't think I've ever been to before. Yesterday also started all of the states I've never been to before, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, so I was a little more excited than the beginning of the ride. We continued to ride and it continued to get hotter outside. Everyone was definitely feeling the dehydration and heat beating down on them as we rode through no shade for a while. Eventually I realized my geography teachers in elementary school should have done a better job, because it was yesterday I realized Missouri does in fact have a mountain range. We went from 0 elevation to about 2,000 probably over the course of the last 30 miles. We climbed a hill into shady woods after the second to last water stop and then heard thunder. We knew we had to stop and put our bikes away from us because of lightning and we called the vans to pick us up. From this point on the day was really interesting. We dropped our bikes at a random person's house on the road we were on so we could meet up with the rest of the team down the road. (We asked nicely to leave our bikes of course.) After a lot of arguing about what to do because everyone was anxious about the storm and finishing the ride, we decided to shuttle everyone to the nearest shelter. I was in the first load and we drove about a mile down the road and Holden got out and knocked on the door. A man graciously let us stay on his porch as we waited out the storm and awaited the rest of our teammates. We definitely couldn't have continued riding because the lightning just got worse and worse. The man's name was Todd and he lived in the middle of this huge forest with his four dogs and wife, Donna. (We sat on the porch for two hours so we got to know them pretty well, they were super nice!) Eventually the vans dropped the bikes and clothes at the church about 45 minutes away and came back to pick all of us up. We had dinner around 9:30, showered, and went to bed - Erica let us sleep in til 6 this morning! The hosts were awesome and fed us taco salads, which was something different from what we usually have, and cereal and fruit for breakfast. We are now about to do a short 70 (never thought I'd say that) with more descent than ascent which will be nice. Again, maybe I'll edit as I remember more from yesterday, but it's always a blur since we have about 18 hour days. 

Day 19 - 1,180 Miles To Date - Marion, IL

First off, I apologize for not posting in a few days, it's been a busy few days! On our first day back riding, each team decided to shorten their rides and shuttle to the host. Each team did it differently, I think Seattle did about 58, San Diego maybe 70 or so, we did a short 30 and shuttled to Nashville, and Portland did 20 because Jamie was their number 20. It was a little weird getting back on the bike after a few days off, but we eventually warmed up to it and remembered what we were riding for. Huge shout out to Brian Satola for being with us the three days after the accident. He was such a father figure to us and awesome to have around and help us out. On the shorter ride towards Nashville, we decided to stop at a park to have lunch and then take the vans back. When we arrived, Brian was already there and told us they were going to let us swim in their community pool and that hot dogs and burgers were on the grill. Such a nice surprise! We hung out at the pool for a few hours then shuttled into Nashville with enough time to check out the live music and BBQ which was also awesome! Nashville was a nice change from all the small towns we have been in and was probably the biggest city since Baltimore and DC. On Tuesday we had a service day at the Nashville Hope Lodge. It's basically a place similar to the Fellowship Center and Ronald McDonald House, where patients or families or both stay during treatment. The Hope Lodge is typically a shorter term place for people to stay and they have a few locations in many different places across the country (including Hawaii - future volunteer?) The cool thing about those places though are that they're completely run on volunteers except for two employees provided by the American Cancer Society. We were able to talk with some of the patients in the lobby while we did our project. For a couple hours we decorated luminary bags for relay for life in honor or memory of patients. It was nice to chat with everyone and the team while doing something nice for the lodge. We were able to check out Nashville a little more and just chill with each other that afternoon which was nice not being on the go for a little bit. Our first normal ride back was in fact a century. Honestly, the days are so long that I can't always remember what goes on exactly, but it was nice to be back on the bike for good. We were supposed to have about a 103 mile day and we ended up miscommunicating and getting lost and ended up at a total of 124 at 15mph. Such a power group of Steph, Sarah and I and I was really impressed by all of our will power! The last few miles hurt but we got through. If I remember more things from the day I will update but it's hard after the long week we've had! 

Day 15 - 925 Miles To Date - Smithville, TN

I've always taken a while to get comfortable with people. You could call it shy, but I'm typically never close with any group of people until spending about at least two months with them. Today as we shuttle to Smithville, TN on day 15 I can confidently say this 4k team is my family. The thing is, unless you've been a part of 4k, you will never fully understand the bond that all of us share. I could try and explain it to you, but all you really need to know is that it is a truly amazing thing. As we reflect on the events of the past two days, we have only become stronger and closer. It is not only 4k San Fran 2014 that has become closer, I feel that I share a special bond with all of the other 4k teams this year and also any other team in previous years. Each person is on the 4k for a different and incredible reason. Every one of my teammates has shown me some of the most courage I have ever seen in my entire life and I am so proud to call these people my family even only two weeks into this adventure of a lifetime. Words cannot describe how saddened we all feel by the loss of Jamie Roberts. Though many of us on 4k San Fran 2014 never even met her, we know the amazing and special person she was to be a part of this family. We mourn the loss of one of us and my deepest condolences go out to the Portland team and her family. As we begin to ride again and make our way to the Pacific, we ride every single day for Jamie. Please pray or keep in your thoughts, her family, team Portland, and all of us as we continue tomorrow. Today will be another day off of riding to honor Jamie and her family and tomorrow we will ride or shuttle into Nashville with a beautiful angel watching over us. We are 4k. 

Service Day 2 - Knoxville Fellowship Center and Ronald McDonald House

Since there were few injuries, a short ride, and some much needed rest, the past two days have been pretty uneventful. We rode 60 miles into Knoxville yesterday (60 miles is now a rest day.) We were done by 2 and arrived at Saint James Episcopal to a wonderful dinner of hot dogs and burgers, finally not pasta! A huge thank you goes out to Jan Mobley for accepting our mail for us up until now, I felt like Santa bringing the probably 50+ packages into the church. After dinner and team meetings we were able to check out Knoxville a little more since we arrived early. It's a pretty cool town and we got to see some live music at Market Square. Today we split in half and did different projects at the Fellowshp Center and Ronald McDonald House. I worked at the Ronald McDonald House doing some yardwork. The entire property is based on donation, so they need all the volunteers they can get. It is a home for families of patients in the hospitals of Knoxville. The house allows people that travel from from far away to stay near the hospital as long as they need to. Up to 65 people are able to occupy the house and it is $5 per room per night, as it has been for the last 29 years. The fellowship house is similar but it houses the actual patients too. It was really great to help out and hear about the amazing things these people do and services they provide by working at these houses. They also provided us with a delicious lunch of wraps, pita and hummus, and fruit...a nice change from our bojangles yesterday. We're excited to move on to our next town, Jamestown! 

Day 11 - 695 Miles To Date - Newport, TN

I decided to make this post eleven things I've learned the past eleven days. One - I don't discriminate between bottled water, tap water, hose water, etc. Two - Washing laundry in a sink is normal. Three - Gas station bathrooms are a luxury. Four - I really enjoy when we get to eat vegetables. Five - Downhill truck warning signs are your best friend. Six - Unfenced/unleashed dogs are actually terrifying. Seven - There isn't any food you can't eat with your hands. Eight - There is a such thing as too many bagels. Nine - Sleeping on a couch is a blessing. Ten - The five second rule does not apply to us. Eleven - Bojangles chicken and biscuits is great until you still have 25 more miles to bike. 

Day 10 - 628 Miles To Date - Asheville, NC

Today was set to be another one of our hard days, but I've come to realize I enjoy the hard days. As I've become stronger and stronger at climbs over the past ten days, I actually look forward to seeing a warning for six miles of switchbacks. It's also nice team bonding because even though we might all not climb the mountains at the same pace, we all accomplish the same thing. Yesterday we had 84 miles of rolling hills from Kingsport, TN to Asheville, NC (no one is really sure why we went down to North Carolina and then back to Tennessee.) There were two climbs. The first, steep switchbacks for about a mile and a half, the second was about four to five miles of long gradual switchbacks. The great thing about the second climb was that the state line was at the top, state lines are awesome and show you that yes, you actually are getting somewhere. It was a long, hot day for everyone and there were a few bike and injury problems along the way, but I can already see our team getting stronger both mentally and physically. After the last climb, as I zoned out and finished the final rolling hills, I realized each day of riding is a parallel to life - as cliche as it may seem. There are going to be mountains, as there are going to be obstacles all throughout life, but if you do not climb that mountain then you will not get to your destination. Yes, yesterday was tough and we had a final ascent measurement of about 6,000 feet, but it was on our way to Asheville and the only way to get there was to climb. If you do not face obstacles in life, you won't reach your goals. People struggle every day, cancer patients deal with different mountain climbs every day of their treatment, but the only way to reach their destination is to reach the top of the mountain. Day 9 to Kingsport was pretty uneventful, I was exhausted from the century so just took it easy for a cool 64 miles. I also rode today for my great grandmother Katie Cario who passed away of stomach cancer, I try to pick the tougher days to ride for someone because when I am suffering I can remember why I am riding. 

Day 8 - 480 Miles To Date - Chilhowie, Va

Where do I even begin? First off, yesterday was so awesome being in Blacksburg and having a short ride. 32 miles seems like absolutely nothing now. We got to pick our groups for that day and it was a lot of fun taking pictures and enjoying the rolling hills of Virginia Tech. A lot of my track friends were still there so it was nice introducing everyone and having all of my friends hang out together. When we got to Blacksburg we did a mini service project with the New River Valley Bike Kitchen. They find old and used bikes and either repair them or sell the parts to make bikes for people that cannot afford transportation. They were super nice and it was a really cool experience and we learned a little bit more about bikes. Shout out to Pizza Hut and Subway for their generous help in giving us dinner and lunch in Blacksburg, and also Panera for all of the bagels for breakfast! It was also wonderful having another mail drop in Blacksburg, especially the randomly assorted things from my dad.  My favorite gift thus far however, are the handmade cards from Renee Snyder’s daycare class! They are so cute and I am so happy that they are tracking my way across the country on their map. Also, special thank you to all of my friends that were super generous and let us use their houses and showers in Blacksburg, we appreciate it so much!

Today was super eventful I probably can’t even remember everything. We started off around 7am in one group, and eventually split into two hybrid groups of two original groups around 30 miles. For the first part we rode as a big group pushing each other along. At one point, we pulled off to wait for everyone to group back up and a man offered us bottles of water, which was super nice! We took off, but a few miles later he was following us in his truck and pulled off to talk to us. His wife and son were with him and he opened his trunk and said he killed this rattlesnake that was right where we were sitting! We were all pretty freaked out, because if something had happened it would not have gone well at all. He showed us it for a little while then we were on our way again. A few miles later, Draper, Evan, Holden, and I took off at a little bit faster pace to try to get cell service for the vans to pick up one of the girls with a knee injury. We rode about 10-15 miles and still couldn’t get service and then we saw lightning, so we pulled off and went up to a man’s house to use his land line phone. He told us to take shelter from the storm on the porch, but it only lasted about 10 minutes. We got in touch with a van and told them to pick up the girl a few miles back. We continued when the storm stopped and arrived at another water stop that turned into a lunch stop at about 45 miles. We chilled out for a while and got our energy back and took off once again, only to be met by a 3.5 mile gradual climb up a mountain. I was feeling pretty good after lunch and took off at my own pace on the climb and it felt pretty nice.  We got to the top and it was awesome, we were greeted by a band playing bluegrass, a beautiful view, the vans, and ice cream/stickers we could buy. At this point, we were at 62 miles and it was down to three of us because Draper broke a spoke on the way up the climb. Draper let Holden use his wheel the day prior, so Holden returned the favor and let him finish out his first century using his wheel. We barreled down the other side of the mountain after taking a break at the top and tried to avoid potholes while still trying to go fast. The views down the mountain were beautiful! Just miles of mountains and rolling fields full of cows, my favorite animal. Draper got a couple flats along the way, but we had a great run of about 30 miles just drafting off of each other and each taking turns taking the headwind. We were cruising! I think draper clocked 14 minutes for 5 miles on some part of that stretch, and into a headwind is pretty impressive. Eventually we got to another water stop where we stocked up on water and granola bars for the final 23ish miles. We wanted to chill out on the last part a little bit because our quads were killing us and we were just completely drained in general. There were still several long, gradual hills left before our final destination, but eventually we got to the church in Chilhowie, Va. The final clock read 108.08 miles with a speed of 13.8mph which I was pretty proud of for our average. I think a total of 18 people completed the century, with 4 van drivers, 2 bike falls, several knee/hamstring injuries, and a few flats and broken spokes. It is still our 8^th day and hopefully the entire team will have a century in the books soon! Even though a lot happened, the ride was absolutely beautiful in the mountains and valleys of southwest Virginia. If I think of anything else, I’ll edit this post…but for now I need sleep and to get excited for only 60 miles tomorrow! What a treat. Thanks again for donations and keeping up with my blog, you all are awesome and I’m having a great time so far!