I survived the first day!

We have officially started the 2009 Journey of Hope! We woke up at 5:30 am this morning to depart for the kick-off breakfast. After months and months of training, I was anxious to get on my bike and start the trip! A few families and friends of my fellow teammates joined in to see the team off on our journey. We left Seattle at 8 am and rode 75 miles to Skykomish, WA. We were on the rode for approximately 8 hours; however, we were only cycling for about four hours or so. We spent time eating lunch and stopping at crew stops. The ride was amazing! It was so beautiful. I felt pretty good on the ride today. I struggled a bit going up a large hill after lunch because I was not stretched out enough for the intense climb.

We arrived in the small town of Skykomish this afternoon. When I say small, I mean about a population of 250 people! It is a beautiful place. The town sits in a valley between mountains. Our lodging is being provided by the local high school. It's not quite a hotel, but after the long ride anything will be nice, even my sleeping bag on the gym floor! Tonight is a community get together at the high school, so we are going to hang out with the townies and play some sand volleyball.

I am off to shower now and get ready to head to dinner at Buca di Beppo. This is the second night we have had the privilege of eating big pasta dinners and the carbs really come in handy for our long rides.

So I must share one last thing with you before I sign off for the night: Last night, I joined the rest of the team, and I shaved my legs. I know you are probably thinking that I am crazy, but it is highly recommended for cyclists. If a cyclist falls, they receive road rash. It is very painful to get road rash and have hair on your legs. Therefore, I took one for the team, lost a bit of my manhood, and now I have smooth legs.

On today's blog, I have posted a picture of my team. They are a great bunch of guys. I will try to post more pictures on my blog as the journey continues. The second picture is of myself and David Stinnette, my fraternity brother, training partner, and Journey of Hope teammate. It is nice to have a friend on the cross-country trek.

Friendship Visit and Practice Ride

This is a good picture of me and Paul, the very fun and enthusiastic 8 year old that I got the pleasure of meeting at our last friendship visit.

Today was our our practice ride! We had great weather, about 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We hear from the locals that we should not expect that much longer. We had a great 25 mile ride around a beautiful lake with many hills and a lot of construction to practice around. I was the one of the two "sweeps" for the ride today meaning that we were the last 2 cyclists to make sure that no one got behind us. After our trip we had the opportunity to ride in a velodrome (a cycling track). Our cycling coach took us on the track and taught us how to ride on it. It was a ton of fun to be on the track and you can really get going after a couple laps. We get a great dinner tonight from Bucca De Beppo to get us ready for our kickoff and 75 mile ride tomorrow.

Policies and Procedures

June 7, 2009

Today we woke up at 7 am, which is actually sleeping in compared to the rest of the summer. We headed to REI, a large sporting goods store similar to a Dick's Sporting Goods. REI donated conference rooms for us to hold our meetings in. We met about team goals, Push America advocacy and marketing, safety management plans, and policies and procedures. There are tons of policies and procedures for our trip! They will keep us very uniformed and professional throughout the journey.

This evening we met with the Arc of King County for our first official friendship visit and dinner. It was really special to visit with individuals with disabilities. I spent the entire evening playing with a young boy named "Paul." Paul was attached to my side throughout the event and was sad when I had to leave. We played games and ran around together. Tonight was really special for me and I enjoyed experiencing the true meaning behind the "Journey of Hope." I am looking forward to our other frienship visits along the trip.

We returned to our hotel and learned the "Kids on the Block" puppet show that we will be performing in different cities. This puppet show was designed to teach children how to interact with other children who have disabilities. It was a great bonding experience for our team.

Two more days until I am off on my bike! Good night!

Arrival in Seattle

June 6, 2009

Today has been an exciting, but very long day. I left Indianapolis at 7am this morning for my first official day of "Journey of Hope." I was greeted at the Seattle airport by some of the crew members. We grabbed lunch and then headed to our hotel. I was eager to unpack my bike and make sure that it survived the long plane ride. I spent my free time this afternoon putting it together and then relaxed a bit.

We received our cycling jerseys today. They are navy blue and white with the words abilities, teamwork, empathy, and integrity on the front. The Pi Kappa Phi star shield is also on the chest of the jersey. After receiving my uniform, everything is starting to become more of a reality...in a few days, we will begin a cross-country journey! I am anxious to get on my bike and start riding.

Based on what I have seen so far, Seattle is a really neat city! Our hotel is right across from the needle. It has been fun meeting the 20 other cyclists and 6 crew members that will be on the TransAmerica route this summer. I can already tell that this will be a great adventure and I am looking forward to spending more time with these guys.

This evening we visited the University of Washington Alpha Delta Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. After dinner, we visited with the chapter members before heading back to our hotel. I am really tired from traveling today, but I get to sleep in until 7am tomorrow. (Compared to the rest of the journey, 7am is now considered sleeping in!)

Thanks for following my blog. I will keep you all posted on the progress of my trip!

Last Day at Home

Today is the last day at home.... I don't know if this whole thing has sunk in yet.  I fly out tomorrow morning at 7 am from Indianapolis to Seattle.   From there we will have 4 days of training before we hit the road on June 10th.   

Thinking about what I am about to begin blows my mind.  We (and I say we because it does include me) need to remember what the trip is about.  Sure it is a cycling trip across the country but the real point is to raise awareness for people with disabilities.  So if you ever find yourself talking about the trip please remember what Push America's mission is: To build leaders of tomorrow by serving people with disabilities today. 

I can't tell you how excited I am to begin this journey.  Thank you again to EVERYONE who has helped me to get to this point!  Seattle... Here I come!

Push America Video

This video gives you an idea of what Journey of Hope is all about!!!!

Less than two weeks!!

It is now less than two weeks before I leave for Journey of Hope.  I can't tell you how excited I am!!!  I will be flying to Seattle, WA on June 6th and will leave for the trek on the 10th.  For all of the family and friends, I will be in Indianapolis on July 29th and 30th.  I will post more information on where we will ride in and where we will have visits later in the summer.

I would like to personally thank everyone that has helped me to this point so far.  My sponsors have helped me raise $7921.50 to date for people with disabilities!!! I can not thank my sponsors enough!  Their generosity is unbelievable!    

I would also like to thank David Stinnette, my fraternity brother, training partner, and fellow Journey of Hope team member.  David and I have pushed each other over the past year to train countless hours for the trip.  Our ability to work together on training has really helped the two of us to get in shape for the physical demand of the trip.

Thank you again for all of the support and I can't tell you how excited I am to start the journey.  I will be updating the blog as often as possible with journal entries and pictures so please follow along! 

Kevin