No Good Deed.........

There is a philosphophy that you can be one of two kinds of people and there is no in-between.  You can be either an optimist and join groups like Optimist International while listening to songs like "Optimistic" by Radiohead;



or you can be a pessimist and move to Greece while spending your time listening to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 while drowning your sorrows in pints of Guinness Ben and Jerry's.



Now it is well documented that I am fairly mostly Irish in my lineage and some would say demeanor.  As it so happens, I have a magnet on my refrigerator that states, "An Irishman has an abiding sense of tragedy which sustains him through temporary periods of joy" and my wife would pretty much agree.  In the past I have had a great tendency to look at the negative and always think the worse outcome possible is going to happen.  For instance, during much of the Ride Across America I was convinced I would either be hit by a truck/car/RV or be viciously attacked by some rabid (or at least REALLY angry) stray dog.  It would often preoccupy my thoughts so much that I would be physically exhausted and stressed by the end of the day.

I'm glad to say that neither happened.  I actually did have to spray a few dogs (read my previous posts) but I didn't get bitten and all was well.  And I didn't really have any close car/truck/RV calls until twenty miles from the end - when I reached Manhassat!

But while I rode for sometimes 10 and 12 hours a day on the bike this summer I had the chance to do a lot of contemplating of many different things and one of them was my outlook on life. 

I saw a lot of people who were going through hard times.  Coal miners who were out of work and not likely to get any in the near future.  Women in their 50's who had been laid off from their jobs and were now working in convenience stores because that was the only job available.  Farmers who had to make the choice between watering their crops or watering their livestock.  The town of Joplin, MO which is still struggling to recover after the tornadoes of last year.  A young couple in Southern Virginia who are stuggling to work multiple jobs and pay the medical bills to help their 8-year-old battle neuroblastoma.

It made me realize that no matter how things get here in Northport, I can't complain.  I have a good job that I love to do.  I have an amazing wife that loves me and supports me (even in my mad quixotic pursuits).  I have children who are healthy, bright and loving.  And I have a beautiful home that we love.  I have a lot to be grateful for and a lot to be optimistic about.

And herein lies the problem.  My family and I spent the summer trying to do something to make the world a little better for other - the children and their families.  One of the major hurdles we had to cross was to find someone to watch our cat Lily (you can read about her in Amy's Blog entry).  We finally found someone we could trust and we left for our journey secure in the knowledge that our home and cat would be well taken care of.  However, only a few days into her house sitting for us the young lady was bitten by something while sleeping in our bed.  She and her parents were very nervous (I guess with all the horror stories of bed bugs it's understandable) and she said she couldn't sleep over any more but she would be willing to come by during the day and take care of Lily.  Since we really needed someone here at night we starting sending out the word to find someone to replace her.

My mother-in-law had an acquaintance approach her and said her son was recently let go from his job and was going through a divorce and although he was staying with her, he stays up late at night and he's not loud but it keeps her awake and was wondering if maybe he could stay at our place for the summer and look after Lilly.  Joan met with him and said he seemed quiet and nice.  I think she said he might have been a little odd but okay.  We were relieved!  Thanks to Joan and her Mahjong Mafia we were able to get a replacement house sitter from 3,000 miles away.

The fact that we could never get in touch with him (he didn't have a phone or a computer or a job) should have been our first clue.  The only way we seemed to be able to get in touch with him was through Joan.  Since we couldn't get in touch with him we didn't get our mail when we needed it, we didn't really know how Lilly or the house were doing.  Every now and then we'd get an e-mail saying Lilly was doing okay.

So finally with a little more than a week to go we asked Joan to check in on things.  That's when she told us the house was a wreck.  Well, maybe not a wreck but it was filthy.  To make a VERY long story short, the garbage hadn't been taken out in weeks.  Well, it made it to the side of the house but not to the curb.  His children apparently had been staying at the house (children we knew nothing about, if we had we would have said, "Fine, but here are the things we would like them not to touch) and ALL of the beds and bedrooms were a mess.  The rugs were filthy and the kitchen was extremely dirty.  Aaaaaaannnndddd, apparently he had run out of garbage bags for the kitchen trash can but didn't buy any so he was just dumping it in the trash can and then dumping it outside.  When Joan went to throw something away fruit flies went everywhere!

So we were now officially freaked out!  We spent the last week of our journey not sleeping and worrying about what condition our home would be in.  Our house sitter - let's call him Joe A. - had told us that he was going on a week's vacation (a vacation that kept getting put off because his car was in the shop and he didn't have the money to get it out yet) and would be back the Monday before we returned home.  After discussing it with Joan we decided that we would tell him we were having the place cleaned and that others would look after the place when he returned so he didn't have to stay until we got home on Friday. 

Yes, we were getting the placed cleaned - by my in-laws.  They are truly saintly people and if ever we have been more grateful to anyone I can't remember when it possibly could have been.  So Joe A. gathered his things and our friends Carla and Rita took care of Lilly until Joan and Mort could take over.  My in-laws cleaned everything.  My father-in-law fixed the broken fans that he could (there was one beyond repair), scrubbed the kitchen trash can, took all the garbage out to the curb and took all the recycling to his recycling center.

My sainted mother-in-law did something she rarely does at home - cleaned!  Of course I'm kidding (since I know Joan will read this!), but she took care of getting as much of our home back in order as she could, making beds, cleaning floors, scrubbing, etc.  On top of that she slept in our home so Lilly would have company.  All above and beyond the call of duty!!!!

We rode in and finished our journey, had dinner and then we tried tackling some of the mess before we went to bed.  We didn't really get far and we decided to put it off until Saturday. 

And that's when the FUN began.

We knew we had a mess to clean up but we started discovering things.  Ground up candy in the floor, candy between the floorboards, crunched up potato chips in the seat and couch cushions, spilled jello shots in the freezer (yes, that's right - using our children's medecine cups)!  "Okay," we thought, "maybe he had a party and forgot about them".  And then we started noticing the odd things.

8 bags of frozen corn.  I love corn as much as the next person but 8 bags?????

ALLLLLLL of our food was gone.  Okay, not ALL but ALMOST every scrap of food we had left in the refrigerator, the freezer, and the pantry was gone.

Our neighbor Kathleen told us about the rats.  Apparently a problem that we have never had in the nine years we have lived here has surfaced - rats in the yard.  Our neighbor loves her bird feeder and told us Saturday morning that she hadn't been able to feed them because rats showed up about two weeks ago.  Her landlord put a rat trap out back but she wasn't sure it was working.

And then Amy saw a rat!  While she was in the kitchen she saw a rat run into the drainage pipe built into our retaining wall.  It came out and then ran into another pipe further down the wall.  Now we are used to the chipmunks doing that but rats are another thing.  So I immediately went down into the basement to look for signs of rats down there.  If they were in the house that would be VERY bad!

And I found the plastic bag.

Since the cedar closet was right next to where all the piles of trash had been I started my search there.  Right in the middle of the floor was a plastic bag.  "What the hell is this?????"  So I looked inside and I found and empty gallon container from a cheap brand of vodka.  Hmmmmmmm.  So I went upstairs and I asked Amy, "Were you saving this for some sort of project for the kids?"  Since she replied in the negative we could only assume one thing - Joe had been hiding empty alchohol bottles in the basement.  Back down I went to see if I could find any more.  No such luck.

Now when we had gotten home on Friday we had noticed an empty wine bottle in the recycling.  Apparently it had been on the counter so Joan or Mort put it in the recycling after Mort had already taken everything away.  But now we began to be curious so we looked in the area of the pantry where we kept our alchoholic beverages.  As far as we could tell the wine was all there but there we noticed the tequila bottle (which had been about half full, left over from the chili party last December) had only about an eighth of an inch left.  And then we noticed that two pint bottles of gin which were extra bottles I had left over after giving show gifts for Thoroughly Modern Millie were still on the shelf but empty!  And as we perused more of the shelf space we made a chilling discovery and we had to ask ourselves;



And then by simple deduction we started to put it all together from all the behavior and we thought we had the answer, perhaps Joe A. drinks a little - at least all of OUR stuff.  Its not that we are big consumers of hard alchohol but when we see five bottles of it gone plus an empty bottle in the basement and all the leftover jello shots (yes, we finally tasted a bit of one and it was VERY potent) we began to think that maybe he drinks A LOT.  It is sort of the only answer we can think of for all of the behaviorisms that were being reported to us.

And we cursed the spider that bit Claire!

So this week has been one of trying to clean up the mess that Joe has left us.  I spent all of Saturday cleaning the refrigerator (which was disgusting but made easier by the fact that it and the freezer were EMPTY) and the microwave (in which something was cooked and apparently exploded in a Mythbusters type experiment).  Amy, the kids and I spent the next two days cleaning floors (Sarah even got down on her hands and knees with a straightened out paper clip to clean non pariels out of the floor boards).  I spent an entire day on the bathrooms while Amy scoured the pantry and repapered (which once again was easy since there was no food).  I went to Home Depot and got plugs to block up the entrances of all the weep holes (the drains in our retaining wall).  Sadly, it would mean that the boys' sleepover would have to be indoors instead of in a tent as they so badly wanted.

We also had estimates from three exterminators who confirmed our suspicions that the rats were MOST likely drawn to our yard by the accumulation of garbage - a veritable smorgasborg right next to our house. We found out it would be about $750 to get rid of them by using bait traps for a year.  At least they confirmed my observation that there were no rats in the basement or the shed.

And we started tallying up the costs of our house sitter from hell.  Between food eaten, alchohol consumed, fans broken, trash cans needing to be replaced, light pulls needing to be replaced, various other broken items and the cost of the exterminating - a bit over $1500! 

And we began thinking, NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED, AND we cursed the spider that bit Claire!

But we had to count our blessings.  We were home and it was still standing and after some diligent extermination our rat issue will be gone!  Our fridge and freezer are cleaner than they have been in years and we've been able to do the spring cleaning that we forgot to do (in the spring).  Our family is healthy, we made it back in one piece, the van is still running and our cat is thriving and happy to see us.  Life is good.

One of the wonderful things about the summer was watching the summer Olympics on television (when we weren't watching Chopped, Cupcake Wars, or Food Star) and the closing ceremony allowed me to introduce my children to one of my favorite songs from a Monty Python movie.  However, instead of the version we all saw at the Olympic closing, I choose to share with you dear readers the original and remind us all to look at the glass half full and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life";



And so we clean, I get to do some more riding this week and we get to spend a little more time bonding as a family before school begins again - and that is the glass being half full!

Stay well and I'll see you on the road!

Manhattan to Northport - Now What?

Total Miles Ridden Today - 60.77  Average Miles Per Hour - 15.7

The tears had been coming off and on since I started crossing the George Washington Bridge, and no it wasn't because I was heading East and the sun was in my eyes.  When I looked South and saw the Freedom Tower and the rest of the Manhattan skyline I knew I was only 60 miles away from a journey that started ten weeks and almost 3700 miles ago.  The realization that I might actually do this, the gratitude I was feeling for my family who suffered with me through this journey, and the knowledge that something that had consumed me for almost a year would soon be finished all rushed together to hit me with a Tsunami of emotion.  This tidal wave of emotion would ebb and flow all day long, sometimes hitting me harder than I ever imagined it would.

As I crossed the bridge my family drove slowly in the right hand lane with Sarah in the front seat filming my progress across the bridge for the documentary Phil will be putting together of our journey.  Of course, I don't think they captured the moment I missjudged one of the sharp little bends around the support girders and hit that steel beam.  Ouch!!!!  I have a really nice red gash on my back.  Not too deep but enough to remind me of the perils of not paying attention. 

Before I knew it I was on Broadway and 177th Street heading South!!!  IT WAS SO FREAKING COOL!!!!!!!!  You see, when I lived in Manhattan I never owned a bicycle.  I did rollerblade down Broadway on my way from midtown to Goldman Sachs in the mornings but its not quite the same as rolling through the streets at 20 mph and actually rolling through the red lights (ala Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver, or Joseph Gordon Levitt in Premium Rush), I felt like such a scofflaw. 

To be honest, I crossed the GWB at 6:30 because I thought it would take me an hour and a half to get down to the WPIX Channel 11 studios on east 42nd Street.  I made sure to take video at key stops along the way, Upper Manhattan, Barnard College, Columbus Circle, Times Square among others. 

Before I knew it I was at the studios and getting prepared to be the Friday Forecaster!!!!  My family joined me shortly after I arrived and the children immediately discovered in the Green Room an electronic Monopoly set - they set themselves right to the task of playing in their usual cutthroat style!

I was soon wired up and ushered in to meet Linda Church for my blocking and directions as Friday Forecaster.  We were sitting there all relaxed and prepared for to go on at 8:45 when we were told there was breaking news and we had to go on in two - good thing I can handle a little improv!!!  We were a little rushed for time but it came out great as you can see here.  It got the name of Sunrise Day Camp out on everyone's minds and hopefully it may have generated a donation or two.

And then it was time to hit the road for the final push into Long Island.  In my brain dead state (read yesterday's blog and you'll see why I was completlely groggy and bleary-eyed upon waking up this morning) I had forgotten my Garmin Edge in the hotel so Amy and the kids had to go back and get it after filming me crossing the bridge.  They then had left it down in the van which was on East 23rd so I had to go down and retrieve it before heading across the Queensborough Bridge.  By now we were into rush hour and the cycling commuter match race was on.  I'm sorry, I couldn't resist spanking a few of these commuters on their home turf as I breezed by them heading uptown - I was on a mission to get home and could not afford to take any prisoners!

Of course, once I crossed the QBB my Google Maps directions were useless as was my Garmin.  Too much detail to deal with and I was too brain dead.  So I hopped into a local bike shop and got a copy of the official NYC bike map.  That turned out to be a blessing since now I had a safe bike route through Queens and Flushing.  I connected with Northern Boulevard/25A and I knew I was on my way - 40 miles to go!!!!!  I managed to get through Douglaston unscathed into Nassau County - and here is where the fun began.

Now I have cycled across the country in all types of terrain and on all types of road surfaces with all types of traffic.  I was nervous and frightened in New Jersey but it was nothing compared with what faced me once I hit the Great Neck/Manhassat area.  It was as if I was wearing a sign on the back of my jersey that said "I DARE You To Hit Me!!!!" since I was closely buzzed (as in closer than THREE feet) about six times and almost right hooked once.  The only thought in my head was "really, I survive 3680 miles only to get killed now?!?".

Eventually I found the blessed relief I was looking for - Brookville Road!  I knew I was only 20 miles from Sunrise at this point and the tears began flowing again.  Suddenly I had new energy and the 3% steady inclined felt as if I were going downhill.  I KNOW THESE ROADS!!!!!  This is my turf now, roads I have ridden in the Gold Coast and with the Huntington Bicycle Club.  And then I made the left onto Muttontown Road - almost to Syosset!!!!  Before I knew it I was there on Cold Springs Harbor Road heading for Stillwell Lane.

And the tears continued to flow.  I was in familiar territory, roads I commuted and trained on so many, many times.  As I sped down Stillwell Lane I could barely see for the tears of joy and gratitude streaming down my face.  I was going to do it!!  After years of talking about it, soliciting sponsors, hoping and praying for donations, working so hard to try to help the kids of Sunrise, I was actually going to finish this!

I crossed over into Plainview and headed up Hartman Hill Road and once again I thought of Amy Hartman and how we always try to connect when she's in Manhattan and still have yet to do so.  I do so want to make that happen.

And then I was passing down Sweet Hollow Road, this was my uber long commute route and I knew every twist and turn coming up.  And during all of this time I'm constantly trying to ride and talk on my cell phone with my mother-in-law who had called earlier and told me the folks from Channel 12 News were trying to catch me so they could get some footage of me riding on the road.  It was only when I called Amy that I found out they were with her at our rendezvous point.  Now the time trialing began!  I had to get there, I was running late and people were waiting on me - I HATE to keep people waiting!

There was one last hill to conquer - the one that heads up Bagatelle Road to the LIE Service Road.  It's short, its steep and it has always been a pain in my butt when I train.  This time I cursed my way up the hill - cursing cancer the entire short, punchy way - "come on you BITCH, you want a piece of me?!?! - Take this, and THIS!!!"  and I punched my way up the hill and over the LIE!  I headed down the hill on the other side and there they were, my family!!!!!  And waiting with them were the crew from Channel 12 News!  I pulled over, put my bike away and started to cry again as I hugged my beautiful and long suffering wife.  My wife who made this entire thing possible.  Because of her all I had to do was focus on getting up and pedaling every day.  Because of her I wasn't slowly dessicating in a ditch in Arizona somewhere.  Becuase of her I still had some of my sanity left.

So after hugging her (and crying some more) I was wired up by the Channel 12 cameraman so he could get all the audio of me crossing the finish line.  The kids and I then lined up and the Channel 12 van rode in front of us to get footage as we rode the last two miles to the camp.  As usual I was herding cats on a bike, telling Sarah to speed up and William to slow down and sit down (for some reason he likes to ride standing up, even with the padded shorts) but as we neared the finish line Sarah told me to take the lead.  As I rounded the corner to where everyone was I started crying again and saw a banner stretched across the drive that said "Finish Line" (courtesy of my mother-in-law I think).  And what were the words that came out of my mouth that were captured on the Channel 12 broadcast?  "What happens if I crash?", ah words for posterity!

And then when I finally stopped my bike, turned around and saw who was there, you guessed it - I started crying even more.  Tears of joy, tears of gratitude, tears of exhaustion (mental, physical, emotional), and tears of sadness that this was over.  There were friends old and new, family, students (my ACT family - I love them), Sunrise staff, Sunrise Campers and parents, and media.  It was a bit overwhelming to say the least.

I was incredibly grateful that my sister-in-law Laura and brother-in-law Mark were there because I know how difficult it was arranging crazy schedules for them.  I was (and am still) so incredibly grateful and humbled that they believed enough in me to make this a priority in their busy lives.  I am so thankful to Amy, Leah, Emily and Deanna for not only being at the camp but also for making this little homecoming possible to be held at the campgrounds.  And I was overwhelmed by the love shown to me by my ACT family and friends.  After 3713 miles in the saddle, it was a blessing to have all of these people there.

After saying a few words of thanks and hugging everyone I could find, the media had questions and interviews for us.  Again, something I had to thank my wife for setting up.  She sent out press releases constantly and they finally fell on fruitful ground!  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not thankful of the publicity for my own sake.  I really didn't do any of this so that people would look at me or read about me and say, "what an amazing person he is, he is so wonderful, he is a great person" or any other such thing.  To me, and especially in this economy, its all about getting people aware and hoping that folks will step forward and make donations to Sunrise.  As of right now we're still $5,000 short of what we realistically hoped we could raise in this journey and we're really at a loss to figure out how to raise those funds.

Now I hate to be cynical but it seems that because its not one of my own children suffering from cancer we can't seem to get people to give.  My ACTers (past and present) raised so much through charity fundraisers, various groups at SHS also chipped in and many family and friends have donated but it just doesn't seem to be "sexy" enough for others to give.  We've met incredibly generous strangers on the road who have dipped into their pockets and handed us 20 or 30 dollars on the spot and said things like, "I just lost my father to cancer and I know what this is about, give this to the kids" and other similar comments.  Yet despite the press, the facebook posts and other social media people seem that they couldn't be bothered.  I know the economy is difficult but these kids (and their families) REALLY need this.  Its not a luxury, its a summer that can really mean THE difference to these families and their children.  I just wish I knew a way to appeal to the right audience.

And then there was Gina Mayer.  She was one of the campers that was there at the event.  At the end, after most of the interviews were done her mother Katherine brought her over and Gina handed me an envelope.  Katherine told me, "it was all Gina's idea".  I thanked and hugged her and honestly thought it was a thank you letter.  It wasn't until later on when I opened the envelope and discovered money inside that once again I lost it and the tears flowed down my face.  Here was a little girl who had been battling this disease, whose family was a recipient of the mission of this camp, and yet she felt that it was important for she herself to make a contribution.  If only the rest of the world who has read and seen my story could react the same way.

After we said our final goodbyes and loaded the kids' bikes back on the car, there was one final thing to do - I had to ride the water's edge at the end of Bergen Avenue in Babylon to dip my front wheel in the Atlantic ocean.  The journey started 64 days ago with us all dipping our rear wheels in the Pacific and with only eight miles to the ocean I couldn't walk away without doing it.  It wouldn't be coast to coast otherwise.

We arrived at what Google maps said was a clear access only to find there was no access to the water.  A restaurant near by had a floating dock so we started to take our bikes there when we were told it was a private dock and we needed to move our bikes.  We then explained what we had done (and the kids started handing out brochures) and that we just wanted to dip the front wheels in the Atlantic to finish the job.  They relented and were very supportive (an incredulous) about what we had done.  We dipped our wheels, chronicled it for Phil, thanked the folks and reloaded ALL the bikes onto the van for the very last time!

Time for food!  We drove back to Northport, still marveling at the surreal feel of it all and the odd sense of loss I think we all felt that this was now really over.  We enjoyed a great dinner at Sweet Mama's (one of our favorite restaurants) and headed home.  Only to be met with a nightmare of a mess.  We had been warned but the reality was something completely different.  But that will be fodder for another post!

For now, we are home, we are safe and we are grateful for everyone who has helped us make this possible!

And today's report;

FFR - 3 possums, 1 Beaver (On Long Island of All Places!), 10 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - Curiously, nothing out of the ordinary - I would have expected more from the middle of Manhattan.

Stay well and I'll see you on the road (this time on Long Island)!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/





The Penultimate Ride - Fear and Leaving in Fort Lee!

 

Miles Ridden Today - 118.3  Average Miles Per Hour - 15.6

 

Last night I couldn't sleep.  I was dreading the ride that was to come today and what kept playing over and over in my mind is an image of my bicycle looking like the tangles mess above after my being hit by some crazed New Jersey motorist.  On the best of days driving in New Jersey makes me leery, now add in the fact that I was going to be amongst these semi-professional demoltion racers in an unarmored state made me feel a little like this;

 



(Is it just me, or is there a breeze in here?)



That's a naked armadillo for those of you not up on your zoology!  I also didn't want to become another statistic of my own Flattened Fauna Report.  At the very least, I felt I should wear a big sign on my back that simply said;

 



But in the end my sleeplessness and worry was for naught.  Except for the 15 miles through the Camden area (Philajersia to those of you who don't know your Geography of the Garden State) I didn't feel too threatened from the traffic.  It's funny in all the years Angela and Per have lived in Swedesboro I have always said, "I need to bring my bike and ride the roads down here" and now that I finally get to I ride in the area where I'm scared to death. 

 

Of course, added to the sheer terror of riding during morning rush hour in Camden, NJ on a twenty pound piece of metal was the fact that I had a serious mechanical malfunction in Cinnaminson, NJ.  The short version is the connecting link for my 9-speed chain popped off and the spare I had in my saddlebag didn't fit as it was for a 10-speed!  Oy Vey!!!!  Fortunately, Amy hadn't passed me yet so I called her, told her where I was (the Cinnaminson Animal Hospital Parking Lot) and sat down to wait.  My shining savior arrived, I put on one of the used ones from one of my chain replacements, dug out another spare (just to be sure) and got on my way.  Only to be met by the fact that my gears were now so misaligned that my chain got caught between the cassette and my spokes - a potential dangerous situation in traffic.  I pulled over and Amy just happened to pass me for the second time.  She pulled over, I put the bike up on the rack and made my adjustments.  Finally I was off again and it was the last time I would see the family until Fort Lee!

 

The rest of the ride until Newark was pretty much a blur - literally!  I looked down and realized that my average speed from Swedesboro to Newark was 17.0!!!  AFTER 86 MILES!!!!!  I'm sorry but that was pretty damn good!  And as I looked down I knew why.  Today I was riding for Talia, one of our cancers who is once again battling her neuroblastoma.  As I rode today I constantly saw her face in my mind's eye and it drove me to pedal faster and harder hoping that every pedal stroke would send out to the universe some positive energy that she so desperately needs!  So every time I felt as if I was flagging I would think of Talia and pedal harder! 

 

Eventually I arrived in Newark and once again I was frightened for my life but in a different way.  I have heard stories of the crime issues in Newark for years and here I was riding along some of the most neglected streets in the city - while wearing spandex!  I'm pretty sure I was the only lycra clad individual many of the residents have seen rolling through their fair domain and maybe the last.  I truly had no idea where I was so I stopped at a hot dog vending cart and bought a Diet Coke.  While drinking my Coke I asked the vendor for directions.  The nice man, his name is Paul, actually set me straight and told me the way I wanted to go would most likely see me smooshed.  He gave me directions, made sure I wrote them down and after a nice conversation about sports, the evils of diet soda, his nephew the cross country skier, road bikes, old Peugots, his son and a few other items I thanked him and headed off on my way.  Before I knew it I was indeed across the Passaic River and into Jersey City - only 20 miles to go!!!!!

 

I finally hit John F. Kennedy Boulevard and headed north.  My first real taste of urban cycling and IT WAS AWESOME!!!!  It makes me truly excited for tomorrow to ride across the GWB into Manhattan.  Along the way I saw some girls selling lemonade for Alex's Lemonade Stand and that made me stop.  I mean c'mon, you know how I am about fighting Childhood cancer and to support that and get some lemonade to boot?  And since my own daughter is such a lemonade mogul, I decided to sample the competition.  The three young ladies, Brianna, Brittany and Madison were being supported by Madison's mother Nacy (I hope I spelled that right) and as we chatted I shared with them my family's mission for Sunrise.  We exchanged information and talked about how its up to all of us to do what we can to help those who are the hardest hit by this disease - the children.  Once again, I thanked these folks for the conversation and the kind words and with Talia's face once more in my mind, I headed my bike north for the last ten miles.

 

And before you know it, I was here in Fort Lee!  I had spent some time in my youth living in Edgewater, NJ so I knew the environs well but I wasn't prepared for how much it had changed or how busy the traffic was when you're on a bicycle!  Getting around all of those shiny metal boxes rushing to be the first across the GWB I barely made it to the exit ramp unscathed.  God was surely with me!!!! 

 

I pulled into the parking lot of the Best Western (with a pursuing car hot on my tail at 32 mph) and gave it a once over - no mini van!!!  I had beaten the family to Fort Lee.  Now in all fairness, they had gone to Verona, NJ to visit my sister-in-law, niece and nephews but still - I WON!!!!

 

And that was my day of suvival on the roads of New Jersey.  Not as bad as I had feared but I think I still sprouted a few new grey hairs nonetheless.  And since the family down the hall was keeping me up I decided to write this blog instead.  I now have to try to get three and a half hours of sleep before we have to get up and cross the GWB before rush hour tomorrow since I have to be in midtown Manhattan by 8:00 in the morning.  Why God, why?  Because yours truly will be the guest weather person for WPIX Channel 11 News in the morning!!!!!!!!  It was all due to a connection made by my sister-in-law Laura and I cannot thank her enough for the opportunity to bring this message of Sunrise and all it does to the greater metropolitan area! 

 

I just hope they have something to cover the huge bags that will be under my eyes!!!!

 

 

And today's report;

FFR - 6 raccoons, 1 possums, 1 Beaver (I kid you not!), 10 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - 3 pairs of work gloves, a trowel for spreading on plaster, a CD with Aaron Copeland music on it (don't know if it works yet)

Stay well and I'll update more from the road!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/



 

Nervous and Jittery - It's New Jersey!

(Notice!  Severe Lack of Official Cycling Roads!)

I haven't really been posting on my non-ride days during this journey mainly because I've been using those days to try and recover from some of the long rides I've been putting in.  In the last two weeks I've done way too many 100+ rides and my body has started rebelling.  I wake up in the morning and everything just hurts.  Not a sharp, jabbing "I WILL hurt you if you get on that bike" but rather a dull, throbbing "You ARE going to get on that bike but I'm going to make it hell for you" kind of pain.  Its all centered in my lower back and legs and it just serves to remind me that 3700 miles is a long way to go.

All this is just to say that I have a lot of partial and half finished blogs that I WILL at some point complete and post - most likely next week.  But for now I wanted to just give a synopsis of the last few days and share my fears about tomorrow.

The last few days have been glorious and brutal at the same time.  Some VERY long days in the saddle but it has all been in the name of trying to finish this quest in the time allotted.  We need to get home.  I can see in myself how I have become short tempered and prone to bouts of despondency, mostly off of the bike.  While on the bike all I can do is keep pedaling and pedaling.  There is no more zip left in my legs for climbing because they just ache all the time.  It seems every since the day of climbs from Damascus to Floyd my legs have just never recovered.  I somehow managed to get up the wall from Vesuvius - mainly because I had the images of my Sunrise Leadership/CIT and Staff in my head to give me strength.  But every since then I just can't power climb like I used to.  My body is just worn out.

But what really has had me irritable and sleepless for the last few nights is the prospect of riding 2/3 of the length of New Jersey in a single day.  At 6:00 tomorrow morning I will roll out from my sister's house in Swedesboro, NJ with the goal of reaching Fort Lee before it gets too dark for me to see anything!

Now I've ridden blind before (one of my yet to be completed blog entries talks about how I had to find my way to Fredericksburg) but never to this extent and for this long of a ride.  There was the section from Cameron, AZ to Four Corners where I was off the map but then once we hit Colorado I was good.  Now I'm trusting to the interpretations of Google Maps, the New Jersey DOT map and dumb luck to get me through some of the most congested roadways in the country if not the world.

I'm very nervous.  I've made it 3500 miles thus far unscathed (well, except for the accident I had where Sarah knocked me off my bike at 18 mph - again, part of another blog that has yet to be completed) and I would love to finish my last 200 miles that way.  I'm scheduled to be the guest weather person on WPIX Channel 11 News on Friday morning where I'll get to talk about Sunrise and the incredible work they've done there - I just hope I don't do it in a cast!

So, this is not a pity party for Connor - it's basically a plea to all of you out there who have been following my journey please say a prayer, offer sacrifices, send positive energy, chant a mantra  - whatever it is that you do in your own spiritual practice - that I will make it safe and unharmed over the 130 miles I must travel tomorrow.  If you tune in to Channel 11 on Friday at 8:45 in the morning and you see me there, you'll know your prayers were answered!

And if you haven't responded yet to our invitation to join us at Sunrise Day Camp between 12:00 and 2:00 on Friday (yes, after the broadcast) consider this another invite - please join us to celebrate a safe return and hopefully making a difference for the kids of Sunrise!!!!!

And one last piece of news that I would like to share.  Throughout this ride I have ridden for various Sunrise groups and for some individuals, including Elijah Dalton, the young man I met in Virginia.  However, tomorrow I will be riding for one very special young lady.  Talia is a young girl whose face has stuck with me throughout the years.  She is always bubbly and vivacious and always willing to embrace life.  She has been battling cancer since she was seven years old and although she had been winning her battle, I just found out that her cancer has come back rather aggressively.  She is an amazing young lady and tomorrow I will be riding for her.  Every turn of my pedals, every hill I have to go up, every scary descent and every mile I pound out will be in the hopes that she gets better - in the hopes that someone will read this post and donate so that children like Talia can have the joy of Sunrise Day Camp - in the hopes that together we can make a difference in their lives.

But for now I'm going to go for a ride with my son William.  Every since he wasn't able to do the extra four miles that Sarah and James did on the Mount Vernon Trail he has been upset that he wouldn't be able to finish his 100 miles.  So he and I are going to ride to Grandma and Grandpa Connor's new house here in Swedesboro, NJ and make sure that he gets his extra four miles to make him even with James.  He's a trooper and he wants to do his part for Sunrise.  With inspiration like that, maybe I CAN make it to Ft. Lee tomorrow after all - just remind myself that William would never want me to give up.

There is no daily report since I didn't really ride today but since this is New Jersey, I'm sure I'll have lots tomorrow!!!!!

Stay well and I will (hopefully) update more from the road!!!!!

For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

Battered and Bruised (But NOT Down and Out) to Bel Air

(Just Cruisin' Past the White House!)

Miles Ridden Today -      Average Speed -

 

Today was a day that we have anticipated for many, many days.  The kids are very anxious about completing their riding goals and with the finish line so close this was the day we had planned for them to complete a large chunk of their goals.  The plan was to ride at least 15 miles but perhaps more if we could.  As it turned out, due to all the thrills and spills fifteen was all we could handle. 

 

The day dawned somewhat inauspiciously in that there was wet and drizzle going on.  Now you have to understand, due to the nature of where we were staying for the last two nights in our little slice of Alexandria, all the bikes had been kept inside the hotel room.  Quite frankly, we didn't want them to get stolen.  When you go to retire to your room at the end of the day and people are just sitting outside of their rooms hanging out and you can catch a whiff of someone in the complex indulging in large quantities of the wacky weed, you get a little nervous for your personal property.  And we were extremely nervous.  Especially since we knew the phone didn't quite work as it should. 

 

To make a long story short, we had to get everyone up even earlier than usual in order to get everything reloaded onto the van - all five bikes, much of our clothing and all of the electronics (including the computer).  This took about 45 minutes and by the time we finished the drizzle had stopped so the kids would be able to ride with me.  The deal was (which the kids were NOT pleased about) was that if it was still raining when we got to the park where we would begin our ride, they wouldn't be able to ride with me that day.  So imagine the great cacophanous joy that sounded when we got to the park beside the Potomac and the clouds were clearing up.  It was still gray and dreary but no more rain.  We unloaded the bikes, pumped up the tires and headed North along the Potomac river along the Mount Vernon Trail; 

 

 

And the view was AMAZING!  It was early in the morning yet we had seen a fair number of cyclists on the path ahead of us.  Unfortunately, it was shortly after this video was taken that we got or first bruising of the day.  James was crossing a section of railroad track and as it was wet and the crossing had wooden sections his tire got caught in the track and he went down.  As it would happen William was following closely behind him and ran into him.  At first I was a bit frantic (and it came out a bit snappish at the boys) because I thought William had run over Jame's hand.  It turned out to be alright in the end but James had a nice bruise on his cheek and William had chain marks on his legs from where he went down.

 

Eventually we got back on our way and although we saw some lovely town houses with views of the river, nothing could compare to riding along the river and seeing our Nation's Capital from this angle; 

 

Before we knew it, we were crossing the Arlington Memorial bridge; 

 

 

 

And after negotiating some rather busy roads (it was rush hour in D.C.) we crossed over and managed to ride on the plaza in front of the Lincoln Memorial;

 

 

 

Now I'm sorry, but how many nine and thirteen-year-olds can say they've ridden their bikes in front of the Lincoln Memorial?  And then we (okay, I) proceeded to get lost as we tried to find the Rock Creek Park Trail.  As a subscriber to the Adventure Cycling Association maps, I for one wish they would mark the twists and turns to get across the Potomac and onto this section just a little more clear.  We wasted a good fifteen minutes before we finally asked a cyclist and a motorcycle policeman for directions.

 

Eventually we made it onto the Rock Creek Park Trail and as we were traversing this winding path we came across a motorcade speeding by;

 

 

 We never did find out who it was but we enjoyed a lot of time postulating who it might be.  And it was shortly after this filming that we had our second (and biggest) mishap of the day.  The paths we had been traveling were all wet from last night's rain storm but the kids had been (for the most part) fairly good at regulating their speed and keeping themselves in check.  However as the boys and I climbed and incline we heard a crash and a loud "Owwwww!" from Sarah up ahead.  As we got over the rise and headed down we saw her on the ground and she didn't look like she was in good spirits.  There was a small (but substantial) tree branch in the path and when she tried to brake to avoid it her tires had slid out from under her and she had gone down.  She had scraped up her leg and was in a bit of pain.  I felt sorry for my little road warrior who had had these great plans of trying to ride 25 miles with me today.  Unfortunately, we were in a dead spot and I had no cell phone service and there was nothing to do but press on for another five miles to reach the meeting place Amy and I had agreed on earlier that morning.  This didn't sit well with Sarah and I'm afraid I next snapped at her a bit letting her know that she HAD to go on because there was no other way.

 

So patched up, and at a significantly slower pace, we all got back on our bikes and slowly made our way to the park entrance where Amy was to meet us.  She got the kids all bandaged up, gave me food and my rain gear and she and the kids headed off to Bel Air North where my brother-in-law Per had booked us a room in the Hilton Suite there.  I was once more on my own.

 

After following the Adventure Cycling Maps for a while I got very bored and very tired of traversing the Rock Creek Trail so I decided to head off on one of my patented "off the grid" rides.  I'd been lucky so far so I figured it couldn't be too bad.  As it turned out, I was able to cut across a section of the route and knock off about ten miles of what was going to be a long day anyway.  I reached a place called Glenelg, MD on the Triadelphia Road (not really sure what that name means) where I stopped at a gas station for lunch (my usual modus operandi) when I noticed that I had shared my lunch spot with an unsuspecting guest;

 

 

 And then it was back on the road.  I was back on the Adventure Cycling Association maps and I would stay that way until Baltimore.  Riding through Baltimore was a bit surreal I have to admit.  It seemed like the southwestern part of the city was ringed with a very economically depressed area - lots of boarded up houses, lots of people sitting on their steps in the middle of the day, a sort of urban version of what I had seen in much of Kentucky and Western Virginia.  And to top it off, I was conspicuously conscious of the fact that I was the only white person around - and I was wearing spandex.  I'm sure many of the residents probably thought I was some rich white guy who was just sight seeing in Baltimore.  And to top it off, I missed my turn to get out of the downtown area once I finally got there (of course, it could have been becuase I was too busy ogling the concrete barriers and metal fencing that had been installed for the Grand Prix race which happens on Labor Day) so I ended up losing three of those hard won miles.

 

But eventually I found myself to US - 40 which was my route to get to Bel Air North, MD - it was already 5:00 in the evening and I still had a good 25-30 miles left to go.  And the clouds were starting to roll in.  Fortunately, US-40 is an official bike route and there were signs all over proclaiming it as such so I wasn't too concerned about the safety, just whether or not I would make it before I got rained on.  So I kept pushing and watching the clouds coming at me from the West. 

 

Suddenly, the sky turned dark and the wind picked up about five miles from the hotel - and the race was on.  Could I make it before the rain started pouring?  I kept at it and about half a mile from the hotel I realized it was going to be incredibly close - and lo and behold, the hotel was uphill!  This time I couldn't blame it on Amy and her penchant for booking us in accomodations that had me end in an uphill finish, this time it was due to the largesse of my brother-in-law.  It was a Hilton Suite and even riding up to the front of the hotel I could tell it was going to be an amazing place to stay!  While I was riding up to the van to put my bike up the day manager was just leaving but asked me if I was the one who was riding cross country.  I told him I was and he told me how amazed and in awe he was of what we were doing. 

 

I still really don't know what to say to people when they say things like that.  Despite the tiredness and the near dehydration (and the days like the one on the way to Larned) I don't really see it as being that unusual or that amazing.  I'm just trying to do something to help some folks that really need the help - families who can't afford any other way to take care of their children in the summers and children who so desperately need and deserve the type of experience Sunrise can afford them.  It's my hope that more folks like the day manager will feel inspired to give a little then it will all add up and maybe we can send another camper to Sunrise.

 

I made it in the hotel just as the rain started coming down and went upstairs to one of the most amazing rooms we have stayed in on our journey - THANK YOU UNCLE PER!!!!   But I didn't get to stay long as I needed to change so we could go and partake of "The Best Crab Cakes in Maryland" according to the manager.  They were huge - the size of baseballs!  And were they the best?  I'm not sure but they were pretty damn good and they hit the spot. 

 

Now it's time to hit the hay and get up to ride to Swedesboro, NJ tomorrow!  We're so very, very close and I can't wait to see my family (and have a day off!) and know that we'll only be two more rides from our own home!

And today's report;

FFR - 2 deer, 2 raccoons, 2 possums, 10 birds of indeterminate species, 1 cat, 6 UFO's
RRL - Oddly enough, nothing really to report here.  In such a huge urban journey I saw very little - weird!

Stay well and I'll update more from the road!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/



Climbing Every Mountain to Charlottesville



(Doe, a deer, a female deer!!!!!)

Miles Ridden Today - 81.01  Average Miles Per Hour - 12.58

I will admit I have been dreading today's ride for days.  It has been haunting me for days.  You see, normally I don't take much credence anymore in the horizontal profile printed on the back of the Adventure Cycling Association maps.  When I first started the Ride Across America I believed in them religiously and they did seem fairly accurate at first.  And then I came to that stretch where they either didn't really reveal all the big climbs that were really there, or they seemed to show climbs to be much steeper than they actually turned out to be.

However, the climb that would hit me from Vesuvius, VA to the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed to be a monster.  Not since Wolf Creek Pass, CO has there been a profile like this.  Everywhere I researched the agreement seemed to be this climb would be a monster.  I heard stories of Eastbound cyclists giving away their possessions to Westbound cyclists just to lighten the load they would have to carry up this mountain.  The profile seemed to indicate a rise of 1700 feet in the space of 3 miles and lots of switchbacks.  And it didn't help when I heard from a few local cyclists in Lexington that it would be a killer. I got an early bed time and I made sure to eat a good breakfast to give me some energy.  Because of the climbs, Sarah would not be joining me today for the beginning.  We were hoping she could join me after the descent from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

But I also had some serious motivation to ride today.  Since we have a rest day tomorrow in Charlottesville, VA and we're going to visit Monticello, today would be the last day I would be riding for the campers of Sunrise Day Camp.  Don't get me wrong, I will still be riding for the campers and hoping to raise more money for the camp, but today is the last day that I will be riding for a specific group - or rather groups.  Today I would be riding for the Boys and Girls of Leadership, the CIT's, and the staff!  So with images of the faces of so many of these campers and counselors running through my head, I mounted up and headed out.

After an initial flat that lulled me into false complacency the hills began - a steady 2% that went on for ten miles leading into Vesuvius.  I turned right to head up the hill and immediately tackled a 15% rise!  Ugghhhh!  I stopped at the parking lot of a local church to collect my wits when a woman stopped and asked me if I needed help.  I had really been hoping for a gas station to refill with water but she told me that was five miles away.  However, there was a place just down the road called Gerties Country Store that was open and they served hot food!  There was the ticket.  Turns out it is a place where cyclists usually stop and even camp out in the back!  I had an egg and bacon sandwich (with mayonnaise, yum!), some coffee and refilled my water bottles - NOW I was ready to tackle the beast.

I won't go into the mundane details of the next hour and a half here except to say I am Irish and as my wife can attest, I have a stubborn streak as wide as the Irish Sea!  I was determined not to do two things - 1) stop until I reached the top and 2) walk my bike at all up the hill.  That only meant one thing - I was going to have to keep pedaling!!!!  And I did.  I kept pedaling and I kept thinking of the kids of Sunrise and every time I came around another switchback to see the mountain still climbing before me I just dug down deeper and I thought of another face of someone for whom I was riding.

Eventually I reached the top, totally covered in sweat, totally wiped and with half empty water -  but I had reached the top without stopping.  Being such a big musiacl theatre geek, all I could see in my head was Julie Andrews dancing in the Alps as the song "Climb Every Mountain" spun through my head.  So, since no one was around excecpt the wildlife, I starting singing at the top of my lungs.  Sorry, the video was destroyed on the grounds I looked totally stupid!  But I did manage this one instead;

Eventually it was time to push on.  I knew there would be more climbs today but the big one that I had been dreading for days was done done.  I headed out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I'd been hearing and reading about this magical route for years and how amazing the ride was, despite the constant up and downs.  Since I had the advantage over my fully laden bretheren and sisteren I decided to have a go at it.  Its amazing to find yourself pedaling and look out to the side and see that you're cycling above the clouds like this;

  I guess that's why they feel the need to put up signs like this one;

(Wheeeeeeeeeeee - splat!)

But eventually the family caught up with me, replenished my supplies and since it looked like rain decided Sarah would not ride today.  They went on ahead to prepare the way of the room in Charlottesville and I put the pedal back to the metal and cranked onward.

Eventually, I arrived not too worse for wear and extremely happy with the prospect that I have now finished the last of the major climbs I'll be doing in the Ride Across America.  It's heartening but also sad at the saem time.  I'm so excited to see everyone at Sunrise Day Camp on Friday, August 24th but I'm starting to feel sad that I won't be seeing much more from my three foot high perch.  Its been a journey, I've met some incredible folks and if it will help the kids of Sunrise (or others like Elijah Dalton) then I have indeed done what God intended.

And one last note, as I was doing a little mechanical work on the bikes outside in the parking lot of the English Inn this evening a couple starting talking to me about the Ride Across America and what we were doing.  It turns out that they are retired High School teachers and they felt so touched by what Sarah and I are doing that tthey made a donation on the spot to Sunrise.  So my thanks to George and Dorothy Lilly of Grosse Pointe, MI and to all the others we have met along the way who have made spontaneous donations - we will forever be in your debt!  Thank you for helping us inch just a little higher up the mountain!

And today's report;

Flattened Fauna Record - 2 deer, 6 raccoons,46 possums, 2 turtles, 10 birds of indeterminate species, 1 fox, 1 cat, 6 UFO's
Random Refuse Log - 3 half full bags of dog food (I'm starting to see a pattern here!)

Stay well and I'll update more from the road!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

Living Every Moment of the Ride to Lexington

In Lexington, VA there is a cemetery that contains the tomb of one of the most brilliant generals of the Civil War.  Whether his cause was "right" or "just" is immaterial - the bottom line is that General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was one of the most intelligent and gifted military strategists of his or any other age.  I only know this because it is contained in what my wife likes to call my "font of useless knowledge".  As I rolled into Lexington, KY today imagine my delight at riding right past his tomb and the cemetery that bears his name.  I also rode right through the middle of the Virginia Military Institute campus only moments later.  For a former Civil War "enthusiast" it was a moment of heaven.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not one of those that likes to display the "Stars and Bars" (read my earlier blog posts about the "Bubbas" of Eastern Missouri) and I don't think we should go back to the tumultuous times that caused more American bloodshed than any other conflict our nation has endured.  However, as a young man growing up in Georgia and later Texas, I was fascinated by what driving forces would cause a nation to rend itself apart pitting father against son and brother against brother.  I read the book The Killer Angels a few years back and while it gave brilliant insight into the most famous of all the battles that horrible conflict, it didn't really shed much light on the rest of the story.  But what constantly stands out is the brilliance, gallantry, honor and commitment of men such as Stonewall Jackson.  Whether he agreed with the politicians or not, he was a consummate professional and brilliant at what he did.

Another person who I feel is utterly brilliant is my wife Amy.  While she might not see it in herself, she is one of the most intelligent, witty and insightful people I know.  I constantly find myself reflecting on what moment of sheer insanity must have gone through her head when she agreed to become my wife. How could someone so magnificently intelligent have made such a tactical blunder?  But I'm glad she did for without her this Ride Across America could never have happened.  Like a brilliant general she organized this trip, planned the logistics and made sure Connor's Army has continued to be provisioned throughout this campaign.  Today she made one of her many brilliantly insightful comments that was so natural and made so much sense because it was so obvious.  But it took Amy's perspective to see it clearly and her voicing of this simple truism made it all coalesce and brought me to tears - but more on that later.

Yesterday found us relaxing in Floyd, VA at the home of Jack and Ginny Russel.  Two transplanted New Yorkers who are very close and dear friends of Amy's parents and whom Amy has known almost her entire life.  They opened their home(s) to us as well as their pool and the children were in heaven.  They also have two adorable dogs that gave William quite the fix and perhaps we won't hear "can we get a dog" for a while.  They took care of us, fed us, allowed us to do laundry and made us feel as if we were part of their family for a brief 40 hour span.  It was heaven and just what we have needed after so many days on the road.  Of course, to get there I had to endure 114 miles of grueling climbing to get there.  'But the amazing dinner of clam fritters, corn on the cob and cucumber salad more than made up for it!

My day off saw me driving up to Blacksburg to replace my cycling shoes that were damaged as a result of my accident and also doing some much needed maintenance on Pearl.  The folks at East Coasters Bike Shop were incredibly helpful and made sure I got a great deal on a pair of Shimano M087 mountain bike shoes.  If you're ever riding the TransAm and find yourself in the Christiansburgh area needing bike work or supplies, go there!

Today dawned earlier than I had wanted it to.  It has been getting more and more difficult to get myself out of bed and on the road in the mornings.  All I really want to do is sleep for about twenty hours as my body is slowly breaking down from all of these 100+ mile rides.  Today was to be another one of those rides.

But today I had two things motivating me to get going - the first was I was riding for the Sea Boys and Girls of Sunrise Day Camp.  These are the eighth graders of the camp and they are the same age as my daughter Sarah.  Usually Sarah joins me for the first 20 or so miles of my ride (well, she has since eastern Colorado) but today was going to be a brutal start as the ride started with over three hundred feet of elevation in the first 3/4 mile.  She's still recovering from the mountain she climbed out of Damascus so we agreed she would join me after I got the major climbing done for the day.  It was a shame she didn't start with me because only thirty minutes into the ride I hit the 3,000 mile mark for this cross country journey!!!!  I would have loved to have shared this with her as she has been with me for so many momentous events on this ride (including my only crash to date).

But I was riding for my beloved Sunrisers so I told myself to suck it up and get going!  But there was another reason for me to push harder today.  At 2:00 I was to meet an eight-year-old boy who is battling cancer.  He has neuroblastoma and we had set up a meeting through a member of the local press to meet with him at the Troutville Town Park today.  I had to really try to push hard as it was 64 miles away from Floyd and I wanted to make sure I was there on time.

However, when the family joined me in Catawba (which is where Sarah would be riding with me) I had already had to stop twice for mechanical problems and I was beat - emotionally, physically, mentally, mechanically, ecumenically.  I sat down on the ground and told my wife that I wasn't sure I could go on - today, tomorrow, at all.  I was really that beat.  It has been getting harder and harder to push up these hills and to get out of bed in the morning.  But I looked up at Sarah who was decked out in her cycling clothes and in the process of making me a peanut butter and honey sandwich and I knew I had to go on.  There were kids her age depending on me - and a little boy only twenty miles away who wanted to meet me.  So I did the mechanical repair, prepped Sarah's bike and off we went.  And it was a joy!  Riding behind my daughter reminded me to enjoy the ride and to experience every moment of it for what it was.

Before I knew it we were in Troutville, we had found the park, and we met the lady who had set up the meeting for us.  After answering some questions and giving her some of our story Amy and the boys showed up and as we all chatted Elijah and his family arrived.  We really didn't know what to expect with Elijah or what he was interested in but last night Amy and I created what William called a "goody box".  I took the boxy my new shoes had come in and we placed inside a Sunrise Day Camp water bottle, t-shirt, wrist band and one of my (new and unused) cycling jerseys which I had signed.  William added to that one of the Home Depot wood kits that Jack had given him as he left this morning. As I gave the box to Elijah I asked him if he liked to ride his bike.  He opened up the box and looked at the jersey and I leaned down and told him, "I know this doesn't fit you now, but you WILL get better and you'll get bigger and you can wear it when you ride your bike."  And I know he will.

Elijah and his young brother Mason are two amazing little boys, much like my own two children.  There parents are two young people in their late twenties who are struggling to meet the costs of the expenses for Elijah's treatment and they are doing there best in an economy that is less than perfect. For them, a camp like Sunrise would be the perfect way for them to make sure their little boys can have a summer like other children.  And that's where our talk turned to as the afternoon wore on - how this little corner of Virginia, which has had its own rash of children suddenly fighting this heinous disease, could use a place like Sunrise, a place where children could go and just be kids.  A place where they could play with others like themselves and so they could network and create a supportive community.  I told them I would help them get in touch with Michele Vernon, the Executive Director of the Sunrise Camps and from there who knows.

And this is when Amy leaned over to me and said, "even if you don't raise another dollar from your ride, if your being here and talking about Sunrise can help get them motivated to start a camp like that here, then you will have done something very special for these kids."   And the waterworks came!  Don't get me wrong, I would still love to raise the funds to send more children to Sunrise.  I think unless you have experienced the indefatigable joy those children exude you can't know what it means to get there.  I hope I can reach at least half of my goal.  And yet, across the country I have talked to folks about how incredible Sunrise is and I've handed out brochures and I've talked to papers.  And maybe, just maybe, if another place can be created where kids fighting this deadly disease can go to feel safe and where the parents can send them without worrying about one more thing to pay for, then maybe I have found the reason for all of this.  The reason for the 115+ heat, the 110+ mile days, the long climbs, the crashes, the mechanicals, the exhaustion, being chased by dogs and forced off of the road by land yachts pulling SUV's.  All that will become worth it.

In the play Our Town, Emily asks the Stage Manager, "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?"  To which he replies, "No.  Poets and saints maybe...they do some."  Well, I'm not a poet and I'm not a saint but one thing I do vow to do is to live every moment of the next 600 miles.  I owe it to the kids of Sunrise and to the Elijahs of the world.

And today's report;

FFR - 2 deer, 4 raccoons, 6 possums, 2 turtles, 8 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - 1 bag of dog food (really?  feed those animals!), 1 small Swiss Army knife - the kind that goes on a key ring (I appropriated it and added it to the other tools from the journey).

Stay well and I'll update more from the road!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

Floundering to Floyd OR How Our Journey ALMOST Ended Two Weeks Early!

(St. Paul Fleeing Damascus in a Basket)

Miles Ridden Today - 114.00   Average Miles Per Hour - 12.71

So we didn't really sneak out of Damascus in a basket, however Sarah and I did head out bright and early this morning with a rather inauspicious start.  We knew we had some climbing to do and we were hoping she would be able to keep up with the climbs.  But before we did that we had to check out the offerings of cycling glasses at the local bike shops.  Due to a mental lapse on my part (I seem to be having more and more of those lately) I inadvertantly left my sunglasses on the bike rack on the way to Breaks (those are the breaks?) when Amy and the kids met me on the side of the road and I've been wearing some cheap dollar store sunglasses that I bought during one of my fueling up stops.  But they are just not cutting it so I knew I needed some new ones.

Now one of the things you have to understand about Damascus, VA (not the biblical town of much reknown or the current city in Syria) is that it has become incredibly popular with mountain bikers in the last few years.  Its a long story but apparently a developer and other local organizations have worked extremely hard to make it a mountain bike friendly place - so much so that they like to bill themselves as "Trail Town, USA".  I can't tell you anything about that from personal experience but I CAN tell you that their attitude towards road cyclists is not as generous. 

However, they do have a lot of bike shops - seven to be exact.  Considering the fact that the 2010 census listed the population at 814, that's basically one bike shop for every 116.2 people.  But of course, the shops are for all those folks who are riding the trails. 

So Sarah and I stopped by a few of the shops that were actually open on our way out and I tried on glasses then phoned Amy and told her which shop and which glasses to pick up as I didn't have enough money with me.  She would meet me later on the route and I would switch out my cheap sunglasses with her.

However, we had a long way to go and many mountains to climb.  I would be diverting from the Adventure Cycling Association maps today as I would be relying on the advice of my mother-in-laws friend Ginny Russel who had relocated to Floyd from Long Island with her husband Jack (yes, Jack Russel like the terrier - and they have one!).  She had given us directions that she said would be a shorter route than the one I had been given.  I only wish I had looked at the topography first - but more on that later.

So we would be heading out on the same route as the ACA maps, namely US-58E, otherwise known as the Jeb Stuart Highway, which apparently is the longest numbered route in Virginia.  I didn' t know that at the time but I was able to enjoy this view with Sarah as we started our journey outside of Damascus.

Ahh, sweet tranquility.

And then I found out something else about my darling daugher - she is competitive.  My in-laws have a little saying they like to use when they are out sailing with others.  Even though its supposed to be a leisurely "cruise" there is always crowing rights for those who get to the destination first but you don't want to appear to be trying to get there first so they always say, "not racing".

Well, on our way outside of Damascus we saw there was a bike trail that ran parallel to US-58 and it was on the other side of the stream.  As we were leaving town a family of five was also wending their way in the same direction but they were on the bike path (The Virginia Creeper Recreational Trail).  Sarah, as usual, was in the lead (I always do that so traffic behind us will see me first and go around - I'm her buffer) and I could see her see them.  She began subltely at first, just picking up the pace a little from 13mph to 15mph.  Although the had originally had a bit of a lead on us (about 1/4 of a mile) from Sarah driving the pace we started slowly but surely reeling them in.  Sarah could smell blood.  She began ducking her head and slowly but surely we began to catch them.  However, the incline was also slowly but surely increasing - that never deterred my beautiful girl who just cranked away steadily.  Before long we had pulled even with them and they noticed us!  For a while they kept the pace up with us and it was a bit evident that they were "not racing" also.  However, we had a bit of an advantage - I had already ridden about 2300 miles and Sarah has but in 200 miles, much of it in "rolling" terrain like this.  Soooooo, we continued "not racing" and before you know it we were leaving them behind.  We weren't sprinting, my competitive daughter just set a steady blistering pace that left them behind.  It was at that moment I realized that if she ever wanted to start seriously training for it, she would be a hell of a bike racer!

However, all that "not racing" did have a price. Unbeknownst to either of us, there is a large mountain outside of Damascus that we needed to climb.  A mountain that had 16 percent inclines and had one section that was about two miles at 8 percent!  I followed behind Sarah and kept telling her that we didn't have to do this, that we could stop, or that we could rest but she would have none of that.  She wanted to conquer the mountain.  She reminded me that I never stopped and I never walk up the hills, that I was doing this for the kids who couldn't stop their fight and she was going to do the same.  I actually started to tear up hearing my little girl exhibit such determination.  It actually made me realize that what I was seeing in her was what I've been doing for six weeks now and although I'm starting to feel weary, seeing my daughter fight her way up the mountain made me realize that I can finish this - I can make it all the way!

We finally reached the top of the hill after an hour of climbing and we took a short break or, as Puck would say about Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, we "entered into a break".  Unfortunately, we didn't have any toilet paper with us.  Sarah went back amidst the ferns and did what she had to do, rested up, ate a snack and then we were back on our way down the backside of the mountain.  Now up to this point we were still loosely following the ACA maps but as we were going to follow Ginny's directions we made a right at Konnarock Road, diverging from the map.  About a half an hour later, disaster struck! 

I don't even know what town we were in, since many of these smaller towns don't have names posted but I think it might have been "Green Cove" - again, I'm sort of operating without a map here.  Anyway, Sarah has this habit of looking around when she rides.  Don't get me wrong, I love that about her.  It is one of the things that has been amazing about our rides together is that she reminds me how fun it is to just ride and not worry about my mph or how fast I need to go (I know, ironic considering our earlier encounter where she felt the need to dust the other family).  Watching her enjoy herself on her bike takes me back to my summers in Germany when that's what we did.

But sometimes her enjoying the ride gets her distracted and causes her to forget to hold her line as it did today.  She was looking at something off to her right, not anything in particular, just enjoying the view and I was following behind her about two feet back when I looked down to grab my water bottle.  She chose that moment to slow down and veer off to the left.  The result?  She clipped my front wheel and I went down.  HARD.  So hard that I managed to break the buckle on my right shoe.  Of course, here I am sprawled in the middle of the road but fortunately we're on the backroads of Virginia in the summer so there wasn't a whole lot of traffic.  I peeled myself off the tarmac (yes, there was some road rash involved here) and made my way over to the grass on the side of the road to ascertain the damages to Sarah first, the bike second and me third.

First of all, Sarah.  She was fine as she was able to maintain control of her bike and didn't fall over at all.  For that I was very grateful.  Me, I can take it but I didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere (once again with no cell service) and not able to get in contact with Amy.  But she was feeling terrible.  I could see that she felt guilty and she was so worried that I was going to be hurt.  I tried to assure her I was okay (although at first I wasn't so sure) and that it wasn't her fault, too much.

Next, the bike was okay.  The front right brake lever was a little twisted and scratched but not too bad (my right arm took the brunt of it) so I got that fixed up.  Shifting was fine, wheels still true, brakes worked okay.  Just a bit of scratching and road grunge, "easy enough to fix when we get to Floyd," I thought to myself.  The good people of Green Cove reminded me of why I want to move out to this part of the country.  No less than ten people in the space of twenty minutes stopped to ask me if I was okay.  So the next time all of you Yankees are deprecating about those racist Southerners, just remind yourself that they are lot more caring of strangers than many of your Northern compatriots.  I think most particularly of the time the van "right hooked" me and then just drove off.  So I was the victim of a "right hook" and a hit and run!  In case you don't know what a right hook is, here ya go;



Anyway, I took stock of the rest of me and realized that I had broken the strap off of my right shoe!  What the heck am I going to do now?  I don't know how long it will be before Amy catches up with us and I don't have a spare!

DUCT TAPE TO THE RESCUE!!!!!!  One of the smartest things I ever read was the tip to always carry duct tape in your saddle bag/handlebar bag.  I had read this a few years ago and as a matter of fact The Day I Made God Laugh (which, incidentally up until this trip was the last time I tried to ride a century) I was contemplating patching myself up with duct tape when the EMT's arrived.  The doctor was pretty sure I was in a mild state of shock.

But back to the task at hand, I took the broken pieces and dut taped them together which seemed to hold for a while.  We eventually met up with Amy and made the transfer of Sarah back into the van after first stopping at one of the numerous small convenience stores that you can find on the backroads of Virginia.  They have sustained me on many of my rides thus far.  We got Sarah some food (and of course the boys as they are like little nine-year-old locusts) and rehydrated her and then we said our goodbyes for the day as Amy and the kids were going to go ahead and maybe spend some time with Ginny and Jack in Floyd.  I reapplied the duct tape that had been coming loose and went on.

That left me and my somewhat sketchy shoe to make it the next what I thought was 70 miles by ourselves.  My reasoning was when I got to Jack and Ginny's maybe I could find a local bike shop and get a replacement shoe.  However, I learned a number one rule of getting directions from people who don't ride - they have no idea how far things really are or how difficult the roads!  When you get directions from Google Maps you should always plug in the bicycle option!!!!  I'm sure Ginny was very consciencious in plugging in the shortest route from Damascus to Floyd and by Google Maps it does show it to be only 102 miles but it doesn't take into consideration that it is on roads that wind up and around mountains and rivers!  At one point I was in a place call Mouth of Wilson and I was only two miles and a river away from North Carolina!!!!  Of course upon hearing I was in the Mouth of Wilson, all I could think of was the character from Home Improvement and that started me laughing and giggling for about five miles - I think I was delirious!

But the most trying part of the journey was the fact that I wasn't yet finished with the Bubba Dogs!  I spent a lot of time today on back roads and climbing up steep inclines and every one of these inclines seemed to have an unleashed dog on it waiting around some bin.  I used the yelling, aggressive technique on some and that seemed to work.  As loath as I was to do it I sprayed a few others with my water bottle.  Some I simply out rode but a few I had to resort to the pepper spray.  I thought I was supposed to have left these guys behind in Kentucky!!!!  Oh well, the pepper spray works and at this point in my journey I really have no sympathy for these damn dogs or their owners.  After the one tried to chomp on Sarah and made her ride into the opposite lane I'm of the mind to spray first and explain later!

As you can see from my average mph for the day it was slow going.  There were not nearly as many downhills as I would hope in this mountain studded area and I found myself stopping at many rest stops along the way to rehydrate and refuel.  The energy bars are great but they start to taste like sawdust mixed with glue after a while and I just need something salty - like barbecue pork rinds (shhhhh, don't tell Sarah - she'd freak out).  I think I hit one of the lowest points of the day when I got to Galax, VA.  Now granted, it's supposed to be "The Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains" and according to it's website it is;

rich with tradition, shopping, recreation and scenic beauty.
A visit to Galax, Virginia offers everything from quaint downtown shops to
exploring trails by foot, bike or horse.
Galax, Virginia is home to the largest Old Time Bluegrass Fiddler's Convention as well as the New River Trail.

And you know all of it's true because it's listed on its website.  However, it was all I could do in the heat of the day (the sign outside a local bank stated it was 98 degrees!) was think that I had 45 more miles of this crap to endure!  My foot was cramping up a bit because in the heat it had swelled up a little but I didn't want to try to adjust it because I didn't have that much duct tape left and I might need it for emergencies so I decided to just suffer.  I stopped at a local service station to get me some caffeine and a big salty bag of potato chips.  Hey, at this point I'm burning off something like 4,000 calories a day so I decided to treat myself.  Finally after half an our of propping my foot up and pigging out on chips and Mountain Dew I saddled up for the last three hours of the journey. 

The bad part was it was now about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I could tell from the terrain that my up and down rolling was not finished.  So I ducked my head down and gritted my teeth, grateful for the caffeinated fruit chews I had score at the gas station.

Finally about 6 o'clock (and a few bubba dog encounters later) I found myself about ten miles outside of Floyd, VA.  I looked up and low and behold there was a black mini van headed my way with a blue tarp bungee corded to the top - it was Amy!!!!  I breathed a sigh of relief because I knew if nothing else I was getting close.  After passing me she turned around and caught up with me.  She told me all about the kids settling right in at Jack and Ginny's and how gorgeous the place was, how we had our own guest cabin and that it wasn't that much further.  However, she warned me, the last bit of the road was a gravel road so I wouldn't want to ride on it after the 104 miles I had already ridden.  She told me to just call her when I got to the bridge and she would come and get me.

Almost an hour later I reached said bridge in the gathering dusk and here is the site that greeted me;

Damn, I look rode hard and put away wet!!!!

Moments later, Amy picked me up, we rode to Jack and Ginny's, I peeled the duct tape off my shoe, I showered 12+ hours of road grime off my body, and we had a fantastic dinner prepared by Ginny and the kids - William is particularly taking all the "Chopped", "Cupcake Wars" and "Next Food Network Star" shows to heart as he concocted a fabulous salad dressing from ingredients in the kitchen and his own imagination.

And after some great dinner conversation with other adults it is time to now finish this journal and get it off to you my readers then a chance to sleep in a bed with my wife and no children in the same room!!!!!

Tomorrow, its off to Blacksburg to see if I can find some new shoes!

And today's report;

FFR - 6 raccoons, 3 possums, 4 squirrels, a deer, 10 birds of indeterminate species, 8 UFO's
RRL - a toilet (looked usable), some bags of dog food, a kiddie pool, two coolers and three pairs of mixmatched shoes spread out over 30 miles.

Stay well and I'll update more from the road!


For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/