Day 17

This morning I got up and went to breakfast at the camp lounge which we thought was a buffet, but there was no buffet today. George, Ryan and I got a late start. We caught Lee and Rachel because Lee's bike had another broken spoke. Lee had to ride in the van to the first rest stop, and we added Rachel to our pack.

At the first rest stop we got some groceries and a bit of lunch, and we were the last group to leave. We made good time to the next rest stop, but took a long break. Once again we were the last group to hit the road.

We began to ride fast in a paceline as we saw a storm approach. Unfortunately, we could not outrun it. We ended up waiting out the storm at a gas station about 10 miles away from our destination.

When we got to the church, there werr showers and a ton of food for us. It was fantastic. We even went down to road to enjoy some live music for a bit.

Day 16: Surrounded By Dogs

Today was an easy day. I woke up with less enthusiasm than usual, and I chose to ride at a slow, easy pace. This also offered a chance to ride with Ike (The Mirage) and Amber on her final day of the trip. I dropped back from Ryan's group. Ryan thought that I was still there and was talking to Ethan thinking it was me.

I spent some time riding alone which put me in a sticky situation when I encountered a pack of five excited dogs. They blocked the path of some cars, causing me to stop. Then, the dogs went after me, barking for about 10 minutes. Only one dog seemed really aggressive, and a couple others were following his lead. They seemed to be calming down enough for me to take off, but then something excited them to the point that they started to bite my legs, so I took off. I had to protect my legs and avoid hitting the dogs as I rode with them keeping pace with me even over 20 mph as I left them behind with my first flesh wound of the trip.

I met the rest of the riders at the rest stop at the top of a steep climb right on the county line as well as well as our first time zone change crossing from Eastern to Central Time Zone. Dr Bridget bandaged my dog bite, and I continued riding to Rough River Dam campsite. Once we settled in, we all went to the lounge to raid the internet and the buffet. We'll need the fuel for tomorrow's 70 mile ride.

Day 15: Out of the Saddle

Today I woke up as rain clouds began to form. I got ready and left camp to find shelter with everybody in a nearby McDonalds. We waited out the storm there and raided the McInternet for a couple hours until the storm ended. The time setback was not a problem since today's ride was only 44 miles.

As I started riding I didnt want to sit because the seat was wet, so I joked about staying out of the saddle for the entire day. Then I thought about Brittany who had big saddle problems yesterday which gave me a reason to stay out of the saddle, FOR BRITTANY! I spent the entire riding day out of the saddle in the back of the pack with George, Amanda, and Ryan.

When we reached Hodgenville, we took a dip in the pool and went to dinner. Paula's Hot Biscuit wasn't open, so we went to a Mexican restaurant. Then we jumped a few tents and went to sleep.

Day 14: A Two Hour Drive

We had a 90 mile ride today, but I rode over 100. Ryan and I got a later start than most of the others, but we rode so fast that we passed almost everybody. We missed a turn and rode down a crazy hill where I reached 50 mph. Then we realized that we had to go back up the hill...

We passed everybody a second time and had a rest stop at the halfway point. We stuffed our faces at Lee's Chicken Buffet and then hit the road again with full stomachs.

We stopped to investigate the Lincoln Homestead State Park, and before we knew it, we were at our camp in Bardstown. Everyone was very excited to be in a town that served alcoholic beverages because we had stayed in a lot of dry towns lately.

Day 13: I Love Bees

The ride into Berea was about 40 miles short with mostly rolling hills. There were only a few difficult climbs. I almost didn't make it up the steepest climb of the day because I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe.

Everybody got to camp really early, so we got to hang out for a while, but George was stuck fixing our bikes which we greatly appreciate. We even got our Verizon hotspot device working so everybody can access high speed internet whenever the trailer is around.

I got stung by a bee yesterday and my allergic reaction caused the sting to be one very swollen and irritated. I had to make sure it didn't get too swollen or else my bike shoes wouldn't fit...

Day 12: Breaking the Habbit

Day 12 was another day of riding on dumb Kentucky roads. There were grueling climbs and fun descents and annoying head winds.

My credit card was declined at the first rest stop, so I may have some difficulty buying things like food for a little while...

We reached the church in Booneville fairly quickly, so we spent some time with random shenanigans, and I got to set up and play on the slackline. I'm the last person to get to bed which has been a trend for the entire trip. I will try to break that trend tomorrow.

Day 11: Welcome to Kentucky

I woke up ready to ride and fully fed from last night's buffet. The ride started with a nice descent right down to the Kentucky boarder where we got some nice group pictures. The rest of the ride was completely different from What we became used to in Virginia. The roads were full of pot holes and coal trucks, and there was rarely a decent shoulder to ride on.

I rode in the back again, but not at as slow of a pace. George, Amanda, Ryan and I were able to catch up to another group of riders but we werent fast enough to outrun the rain. We waited out the storm on the side of what appeared to be an abandoned old building. As we left, we discovered that it was a tanning salon that was open. We were also a VERY short distance from a Dairy Queen which would have been a much better place to wait.

After a very giggly meal at Dairy Queen, we got to the church in Hindman were we got to sleep inside.

Day 10: One State Down!

Today I rode at a nice slow pace in the back of the pack with Pepper, Dan, Dan, and Tara. The pace felt really nice after yesterday's climb.

We reached our destination at Breaks Interstate Park way after all the other riders, and we recieved sweet pins for having riden across the state of Virginia!

Then we went to dinner which was the first buffet of the trip. I stuffed myself with three fully loaded plates of food and then desert. I could hardly ride my bike back to camp are the meal.

Day 9: Sundawg Town

I rolled out of camp early because bike was on the van for the first shuttle up the unridable gravel road. Ryan and I were the first to reach the breakfast rest stop.

The beginning of the day was very fun easy riding, and the second rest stop was at the Sundog Outfitters where Pepper works. We got to check out his shop, and grab food down the road, and go grocery shopping. We spent hours at this rest stop.

George, Ethan, and I were the last to leave. We road through a small storm which knocked over a ton of trees leavingsome large obstacles in our path.

The end of the ride was the grueling climb up Hayters Gap and a nice descent down to the church where we spent the night and finally got to watch our first official TransAm video.

Day 8: Hot Hot Heat

Today was hot. Temperatures in the upper 90s and no shade for long stretches of the ride. The hills were small and rolling or long and gradual, so the route wasn't a challenge, but the heat was killer.

George, Ryan, Tara, and Bridget took some caffeine supplement called Trucker Speed as a joke. It did not help their situation at all. George and Ryan were already suffering from heat exhaustion.

After a long break at a rest stop, we had some cloud cover and the temperature dropped significantly when we got back to riding. We even got some refreshing rain showers.

As we got close to our destination, Ethans rear derailure exploded in an impressive way. Then as we got really close to camp, the rain became a pouring thunderstorm, so we had to take shelter for a bit. When we reached camp, we came to a gravel trail that was unridable, so we had to get shuttled in the van to camp. Overall the day was tough and some people were in a bad mood by the end of the day, but I think we are just getting used to the kinds of things that will happen to us during the rest of the trip.Tr

Day 7: Working Hard on a Rest Day

Today was our rest day, but we worked our butts off. I was doing some yard work for Nina Fraiser, who is the inspiration for Bike the US for MS. From 9 to 3, we cut down intruding branches and cleaned all around the house. The yard was completely transformed when we finished.

I got to spend the rest of the day hanging out with Tiffany and then went to IHOP for college night with the rest of the Virginia Tech crew that was in Blacksburg.

Day 6: Bike the Burg

I woke up today ready to ride. As I was almost done getting my things together, I noticed that I could not find my wallet. It took half an hour and the group had already left before I found it. I caught the group and we rode into Catawba where we were treated with breakfast.

Next we rode into Blacksburg where we got more food, live music and a small welcoming crowd at the Blacksburg Farmers Market. I got to have a little parkour jam with the VTPK guys. Tiffany arrived shortly before the other riders headed to their houses. Tiffany and I went downtown where I got a haircut and then we went to the pool.

Day 5: Sing Us a Song

I woke up behind Gerties in Vesuvius with tired legs from yesterday's climbs. The beginning of the ride was VERY flat comfortable riding, and the rest of the day wasn't too hard at all. We fueled up at a coffee shop in Lexington called Cool Beans.

There was quite a bit of singing during the ride. The song of the day was Bill Joel's Piano Man.

Later in the ride we stopped to fuel up again at a restaurant where I had a BBQ sandwich with mashed potatoes and mac'n cheese. When some of the group was preparing to leave we were sucked back in by excellent live music which kept us there for another half hour.

Tonight we're camping at a park with a neat playground in Troutville, and tomorrow we join forces with "Bike the Burg" as we ride into Blacksburg.

Day 4: Learning to Climb

The fourth day of the trip began with waking up, collecting clean laundry, and eating a supreme breakfast. I even collected the left over bacon to eat during my ride. We stopped to buy some peaches to give to June Curry, the famous "Cookie Lady." We did not actually get to meet her when we arrived at her house, but we did get to visit the incredible bicycle museum next door. The place is absolutely packed with postcards and bike parts and anything cyclists thought to leave behind. I saw several Bike the US for MS items, and I left a sticker of my own.

Now, about the climbs. The hills began slow at first, then they began to slow me down to a crawl. I didnt want to burn out, so I kept to a "comfortable" pace (It was actually painful, but maintainable). along with the slow climbs there were some very fast descents. My max speed for the day was 45.7 mph. Nearing the end of the ride, we gathered at the top of the last, longest, and sweetest descent. The descent into Vesuvius is 4 miles of curvy downhill awesomeness. You just have to watch this video that Pepper took last year to understand.



We have a few new videos this year that will be going online as soon as we can get them up. When I got to the bottom, I found George and Amanda gearing up to ride up the thing because they had been on van duty, so they didnt get to ride down at first. I stretched and fueled up and joined them just to see how far I could get up that monster of climb after a long day of riding through the mountains.

It was a grueling climb with many short stops. Eventually I got comfortable and found my rhythm. Before I new it, I was at the top absolutely stunned at the fact that I had really made it. The second descent was even more fun than the first since I got to ride with others, and we got sweet helmet cam footage of it.

We got food at Gerties almost immediately after we reached the restaurant. I ordered a triple cheeseburger with bacon and called it my victory burger. Eating that whole thing was a victory itself.

Day 3: Ride Hard, Fall Softly

Another great day on the road, riding from Mineral to Charlottesville and putting about 80 miles under my tires.

I had my first fall today, at a stop sign. I saw it coming too since I stayed balanced for a long time while trying to get my foot unclipped from the pedal. When I realized my foot wouldn't come out and I lost my balance, all I could do was control the fall and brace for impact. It was one of those slow falls where I went straight down sideways with my feet on the pedals.

Soon after the fall I, discovered that there was a problem with my shoe which made it impossible to unclip. I had to take the shoe off my foot before I could remove it from the pedal.

Later, the whole TransAm group gathered and we rode together to the James Q. Miller MS Clinic in Charlottesville. We got to hear about all the work they do and meet with an incredible MS patient. Cold drinks and snacks were there for us too.

Next, a few of us went to a bike shop where I got my pedal and shoe fixed. Then we continued riding to get free food in the White Hall compliments of Shannon and her fantastic family. On the way there, I came across a cool guy named Neil who showed us the way and gave a few tips.

We're spending the night at a house with Shannon's family, and they were so nice to offer us their lawn and showers and laundry machine. So far we've been completely spoiled. I will try to remember that while we hit the hills tomorrow.

Day 2: Too Fast, Too Furious

Today was an extremely fun day. I rode about 75 miles with Lee, Rachel, and Ryan and discovered that they like to keep up a fast pace going above 20 mph a lot of the time. Keeping up was rough especially because I was carrying way more weight than I needed.

It was tough but definitely worth it. We used the extra time to take various long breaks throughout the day. We sat down and talked with a few really nice folks in Ashland. We got to jump off a dock into Lake Anna behind Maria's house and had a play date with her son. We were given free ice cream at the final gas station on our route. All of these things were made possible by the fast and furious nature of the ride.

Tonight, we're camping out at a fire station in Mineral (Also known as Rock Town). Dinner was pizza which had more meat than actual pizza material. Right before getting ready for bed I heard the sound of someone taking a wrong turn in a car and ending up over 10 feet down a railroad track.

Tomorrow, I will reduce the weight of my bike and ride into charlottesville.

Day 1: Free Freeze Pops

The first day of riding was a good one. We began by dipping our tires in East Coast waters (not technically ocean waters, but close)

I brought up the rear with George and David. The first challenge of the day was finding the right way through Colonial Williamsburg. The second challenge was the heat. The heat was subdued by my summer sleeves as well as a surprise of free freeze pops that we encountered along the way.

We are spending the night in a church in Glendale with AC ind WiFi. Not quite ruffin it yet!

Orientation Day

I spent today in Yorktown, VA where I finally got to meet all of the other riders face to face. We got to learn a lot about each other in a short period of time, and I think this will be a great group of people to ride with.

We all went over basic maintenance and safety rules, and then George and I went swimming in the river. We returned for pizza, pasta, and stories about MS and the beginnings of Bike the US for MS.

Tomorrow we begin our journey across the country with a 65 mile ride to Glendale.

Welcome to Moes!

Thanks to everybody who came to Moe's for the Bike the US for MS fundraiser! We were able to raise $334.

In other news, I successfully landed some backflips today. This was my first time doing backflips completely unsupervised. It took me a long time to relax and gain the confidence that I would bail out. I should be able to do backflips for a fundraiser once that mental barrier is completely gone.

Also, I went riding today. I rode a total of thirty miles targeting hills. It was a tough 30 miles and I will be sore for a few days. I want to be very comfortable with hills while riding on the tour.
Take a look at my route here:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/29337074

Back on the Bike

My road bike hadn't been ridden in a while. Between the flat tire, the icy conditions, and my laziness, I let my road bike sit in the corner of my apartment for most of the winter. Its a fairly epic bike corner though...



Anyways, today my roommate George and I went on a quick ride, not more than an hour long. It had been a while since I wore my jersey, my padded shorts, and my clip in shoes. It was a great feeling and I cant wait to start doing more regular riding to get ready for the tour!

First Fundraiser Event!

I talked with the fine people at Moe's Southwest Grill, filled out some paperwork, and they have agreed to help me host a fundraising event at their restaurant.

Anybody who presents my flyer while purchasing food at Moes on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 between 5:00 and 8:00pm will have contributed up to 20% of their order to Bike The US For MS.

My goal is to get at least 200 people to participate. I need 200 people in order to get the full 20%. Here's how it works. If I get 0-99 people, we get 10%. 100-199 people is 15%. 200+ people means 20%.

Here is what the flyer looks like (and a link to the pdf for downloading)

Flyer

The Facebook event is here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178652495513152

Fundraiser Preparations

I have recently done 2 big things in preparation for a fundraiser that I will be running along with help from the Virginia Tech Parkour club.

Firstly, I've learned how to do backflips. I did my first outdoor backtuck on Saturday January 29th. A video of that may be added soon. This is very exciting for me because I have never been able to do backflips during our previous fund raisers.

Also, I have cut out massive letters from cardboard spelling BIKE THE US FOR MS. The letters are approximately 4 feet tall and will help gain the attention of passers by wondering what the fundraiser is for.

Raking For MS

Yesterday, I got in a van with some rakes and a few awesome members of Bike The US For MS headed for Roanoke. We visited 2 victims of MS who were unable to rake the leaves in their yards. We got our rakes out of the van and went to town. After about 5 hours of raking, the yards were leafless and beautiful.

The team after raking a gigantic yard with a beautiful view.

After all the raking was complete I could not help myself. I had to jump into the pile of leaves, with a flip of course.

Spring Cleaning!

Its been over a month since the first day of donations, and there have literally been no donations added to the account since then. Im heading back to school for the Spring semester tomorrow. When I arrive, I'm going to switch gears and make some progress.

I will do some hardcore Spring Cleaning and get organized. Then I will try to take a systematic approach to fundraising. I need to reach out in the right places in the right ways. I can take some time to think about it, but I must ultimately take action before time runs out.