Day off in Lexington

August 3rd

We got to sleep in again!  We went to a rally at noon in downtown Lexington.  The rally was called stay out late and was put together to advocate for accessible bus services to run later at night.  Right now in Lexington they accessible busses stop at 8 PM therefore if someone in a wheelchair wanted to go out at night or had a night job they would not be able to take pubic transportation home.  I thought it was really neat because the organizer said that the majority of time people with disabilities rarely get to advocate for themselves.  The rally was primarily people with disabilities at a park downtown talking to state officers about the situation and what they would like to see changed.

After the rally we went to Latitude for lunch,  Latitude is an art studio for people with disabilities.  The studio provides people with disabilities the opportunity to do whatever they wanted artistically.  They have had art from the studio displayed in New York and Paris.  It was amazing to see some of the work and to see how creative everyone at the studio was.  After lunch we had the afternoon off and a few of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings because we have been craving some good wings all trip. 

We had an amazing sponsored dinner at the Tin Roof.  The sponsor was a huge IU fan so I made sure to rub in how well Purdue basketball was doing compared to IU’s program.  It was a relaxed meal and the first time that we went to a restaurant and got to order whatever we wanted!!!! The place had live music that night which a bunch of us came back for. 

Lexington, KY

August 2nd

The 95 miles today went really quick and was pretty painless.  Our pace line was in no rush so we just took our time and had some good conversations.  We had a crew chief lunch, which has been very odd recently with all of the amazing sponsored lunches that we have had.  Our lodging today was at a church right off of KU’s campus.  I took advantage of the afternoon for a nap.  We had a great friendship visit for dinner and dance.  I met a woman named Mary who was in a wheelchair and non-communicative.  She still wanted to dance, so we went to the front and just swung our arms back and forth. It was amazing to see how happy she was about the smallest things.  I had a great time hanging out with her for the majority of the friendship visit.  I found it really neat that we where able to still communicate with each other even though she could not talk.  It definitely took extra work and additional yes and no questions but I could tell that she was so happy that someone was spending time getting to know her.  

Cincinnati, OH

August 1st

I can’t believe that it is already August!  It seems like just yesterday that we were in Seattle preparing for the trip.  Today’s ride was nice and short, only 35 miles.   We were honored to have Trevor do a crew-ride-along today.  Although he had not been on a bike for years he was able to crank out the miles without too much pain. He did collapse at lunch when he rode in because his legs hurt so badly.  The team had a good laugh watching him fall over as he rolled in!

We arrived at lodging provided by the Cincinnati Recreation Association.  After the quick ride we had the afternoon off.  Many guys took advantage of the onsite pool while other just relaxed and napped.  We had an amazing friendship visit with the adaptive recreation division.  We had the opportunity to play wheelchair football with many of the local athletes.   They did not take it easy on us.  It is full contact and a couple guys got knocked out of the wheelchairs.  We had pizza with the team afterwards and got to hear about how they adapt the rules of many sports in order to play them in wheelchairs. 

We got sponsored tickets to the Reds game tonight.  The game was awesome and we had perfect weather for baseball.  Unfortunately, the Reds lost to the Rockies but the game was still fun.  We have a long ride tomorrow so it is time to blow up the air mattress and head to bed.

Oxford, OH

July 31st

It seems like we are crossing states lines left and right as we move east.  The ride was set on paper for 80 miles but we turned it into 100.  JT did a crew ride-along today with my pace line.  He hadn’t ridden a bike for more than 30 miles before so we told him we would take our time and just crank out the 80 miles.  Although there was a decent amount of complaining from him he rolled into the Pi Kapp house after a total of 90 miles on the road.  Since he was so close and so many guys on the team had doubted him, we rode down to the football stadium and went around the parking lot until he reached 100.  It was pretty inspirational to the team to see a guy who hadn’t been on a bike for years finish 100 miles. That night we had an amazing T-bone steak dinner provided by the Pi Kapps at Miami of Ohio.  The guys were in the process of changing houses and they still took a good amount of time out of their day to cook and hang out with us.  We had a team meeting and went over safety on the road as well as our recent experiences at friendship visits.  

Day off in Indy

July 30th

We got to sleep in today which was a nice change of pace.  We had one of the most organized friendship visits in the afternoon with the Noble of Indiana.  They had lunch waiting for us when we arrived and then we were split into teams for different activities.  My mom, grandma, and Tracey came to the visit to interact as well.  I played bicycle bingo for the majority of the time but finished the visit with some karaoke.  We had the afternoon off so I headed home for a much needed nap.  We went to the Kelly’s home for dinner.  Mrs. Kelly cooked the most amazing taco dinner for the team.  It was one of the few dinners that we have had where there was left over food!  We met up with our cycling coach, Dean Peterson, downtown.  We hadn’t seen him since Washington so it was good to see him again.  He is by far the best cyclist I have ever met and he has been so helpful to the team.  

Indianapolis, IN

July 29th

Today was a quick 60 mile ride into Indy.  The first 10 miles were gorgeous and then we hit highway 37.  The first 5 miles of the road were by far the worst road conditions of the trip.  Franscis managed to get 2 flats at the same time because there was so much debris.  Our paceline yelled “every man for themselves” and gave the person in front of them 10 yards so that each of us could look for our own path through the minefield.  We had our first crew ride-along.  We give the opportunity for a crew member to cycle for a day to give them the experience of riding with the team.  Drayton cranked out the 60 miles with us today without too much trouble. 

We had a 10 mile police escort into IUPUI.  I want to thank everyone who came out to support the team at the arrival.  The support from my chapter brothers was amazing.  A couple chapter brothers, our chapter advisor, and an alumnus joined the team for lunch at Beauzbaux.  We had the afternoon off and I spent the day at home with the family.  We had an amazing dinner at the Stinnette’s house sponsored by his parents and my parents.  After dinner we met up with a ton of chapter brothers in Broad Ripple for a couple drinks. 

Bloomington, IN

July 28th

Today was a very hilly and scenic ride into Bloomington.  I crossed the 3000-mile marker today on the trip.  Looking back at the trip, I can’t believe that it has already been 3000 miles!!!! Time flies!  We arrived at Stone Belt, an organization that serves the developmentally disabled.  My parents, grandma, and Tracey greeted me at the arrival.  It was awesome to see my family after a long two months.  There were over 100 clients outside and the second that the first bike was in sight they started cheering.  It was one of my favorite arrivals because of their excitement and enthusiasm.  We had lunch with the clients and then played tons of games. 

After the friendship visit we went to the Pi Kapp house at Indiana University.  We were greeted by Dr. Summers, a 50 year alumni and past national president.  He showed us around the house and treated us to an amazing steak dinner.  That night we hung out with the guys from the chapter and then called it a night.  

Terra Hautte, IN

July 27th

Back home again in Indiana!  Today’s ride amazing… almost completely flat!  The ride was about 60 miles and we knocked it out very quickly.  I rode with Dick and Deb, the two sponsors from last night.  They were a ton of fun to ride with and took us a different route to cross over an old covered bridge.  We arrived at IUPUI and were greeted by a ton of ISU Pi Kapps.  The president of the university greeted us and I was interviewed on the channel 2 news.  We had lunch in their cafeteria and then went to the ISU Pi Kapp’s chapter advisor’s house.  The house was the old Lambda Chi house and they remodeled it into their home.  For dinner that night we had one of my favorite friendship visits of the summer.  We met with Happiness Bag for dancing and karaoke.  The clients were so happy to see us and I could tell that we made their day.  

Effingham. IL

July 26th

We crossed the Mississippi River today, which has been on of my favorite parts of the trip so far.  We crossed over the old Route 66, which has since been converted into a pedestrian bridge.  The rest of the day was flat and the mileage totaled 116.  We had Panera Bread for lunch on the road which was my favorite lunch so far.  We stated at the local Arc and went to the CEO’s home for dinner.  They were great sponsors and let us use their home as if it was our own.  We watched a bit of the last stage of the Tour de France which they taped for us.  I was exhausted from the ride so the air mattress felt great! 

Day off in St. Louis

July 25th

A 10 AM wakeup!!!! That is the latest wake up we have had all summer!  We went to the local Arc for lunch and got to play a ton of games with the clients.  I played connect 4, bocce ball, and table hockey with the clients.  After the visit a ton of us went to the zoo.  It was a huge zoo and completely free and open to the public.  We went to Whitey’s parents house for a pool party and dinner.  I had three full servings of food.  It seems like I can honestly eat anything I want and just keep eating!  We have our 2^nd longest ride of the trip tomorrow so I called it an early night.

St. Louis, MO

July 24th

We had a nice short 65-mile ride into St. Louis.  The county police escorted us for 19 miles to the city limits and then the city police took over and brought us to a huge park where we had lunch.  I got to see Tracey today for the first time in 2 months so that was pretty exciting!  We had lunch and then arrived right in front of the Arc in Kaiser Plaza.  Right before stage up I checked my tires and one was completely flat.  I had to change the tire quick only to find that the other tube had a hole.  So I had to change 2 tubes in less than 10 minutes just to be able to ride in.  At the arrival we had 2 proclamations presented to us.  The city declared July 24^th 2009 Push America day in St. Louis!  We had an amazing dinner at a local alumnus’ house and they treated us like kings.   We had more homemade food than we could handle!

Union, MO

July 23rd

Today was one of the most difficult rides of the trip so far.  We rode 105 miles and throughout the day had about 4800 feet of climbing.  The climbing was some of the steepest slopes we have seen all trip.  I was in the saddle for over 6 hours and over 8 hours on the road.  I hit a max speed of 48 mph today and was over 45 mph at least 10 times during the ride.  We had dinner at a local restaurant and then Drayton’s family sponsored us to go to Diary Queen for desert.  I called it an early night because I was dead tired after the ride today.

Columbia, MO

July 22nd

Today I swept with Bobby at the back of the pack.  It was a very long and hilly day!  Who knew that Missouri was not flat?  In the middle of the ride we had to walk our bikes across a newly paved bridge, and by newly paved I mean that the steam-roller was working right next to us as we rode over it!  We got in pretty early from the ride and had time to shower and nap.  We went to a Pi Alphas for dinner and got to hear about his experiences on the team and how things have changed over time.  

Bike Trouble

July 21st

Today was tough day on the bike for me.  At mile 18 my chain snapped and luckily didn’t get caught in my rear wheel on its way off my bike.  I could have totaled my bike if it would have got caught!  I had to rack for 30 miles to re-rivet my chain together and get it on the bike.  I biked a total of 62 out of the 92 miles for the day and it was the first time I was off the bike for a mechanical problem.  Once I got back on the bike, it was on-and-off rain for the rest of the day.  I scouted the route for the next day when I got in and then went to the bike shop to get my chain fixed.  That night, a couple local sponsored had done a full hog roast for us and we had some of the best pulled pork that I have ever had in my life!  

Day off in Olathe

July 20th

We had a jam-packed day of programming on our day off in Olathe.  We started with a made-to-order omelet breakfast followed by a tour of the Deaf Cultural Center.  I learned a couple really neat things about deaf history.  First of all, the first football huddle was started at the Kansas School for the Deaf when opposing teams would hire interpreters to steal the signs of the other teams.  Also, baseball signs originated on the Yankees when they had a pitcher who was mute and deaf and the manager required his entire team to learn simple sign language.  We had the amazing opportunity to visit Tim’s house.  Tim was in a diving accident, which left him as a quadriplegic.  We had the chance to see his home and the technology that he has that has increased the quality of his life significantly.  Without the ability to move anything below his neck, he is able to surf the web, write emails, completely control his movements in his chair using his mouth, and control all electronics in his home.   It was very amazing and inspirational to meet him and see how positive he was about his life!  We had a friendship visit with a local pre-school that serves people with disabilities.  I worked in a classroom for autistic children under 5 years old.  It was the youngest group we have worked with so far on the trip and it was really interesting to see the work they do with the children even before grade school begins.  That night we got to go to the Royals game.  We were supposed to get on field recognition and have great seats but unfortunately the game was completely rained out.

Olathe, KS

July 19th

Another hilly ride through the center of Kansas ended in Olathe which is a suburb of Kansas City.  We were surprised with Chipotle for lunch which was amazing!  We had a police escort into the Heritage Center with a warm welcome from the city and the Counsel for People with Disabilities.  We explored the living museum which is the only current full running stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe Trail.  Olathe is a top 10 ranked community for people with disabilities to live.  The mayor of Olathe declared July 19^th, 2009 as Push America Day!  The community has really hooked us up for our stay here!  We are staying at the Kansas School for the Deaf and all of us get our own beds!  They treated us to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and I got one of the juiciest steaks I have had in a long time.  It was an amazing dinner!  They have a huge day planned for us tomorrow on our day off so I called it an early night and made sure to catch up on some sleep.