The End of the Beginning

 

"Why do we fall? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up."- Best Movie Ever. About three years ago, to this day, I was out biking and training for my triathlon. I was biking on the Hudson Trail, ready to clock in 60 miles of solid riding. The trail ran north of my school's campus into Westchester. It was a bike path that was lined by trees and it was a hot humid day. I was lost in thought biking until I passed a little girl crumpled by the side of the path. She was trapped underneath her tricycle and crying. The girl couldn't been older than 6 years old but I couldn't see any parents nearby. I clipped out my pedals and immediately helped pull the bike off her. As I pulled her up, I dusted the dirt and twigs off of her. She stopped crying, wiped her tears off, and smiled up at me. Without a word, she got back onto her bike and went back down the path. I thought about this moment a lot on the ride. About how on our first week, we biked up Mount Soledad. I was in the group that didn't know how to clip out my pedals in time. I fell for my first time in a long time at the top of the peak, before I could make a left turn. How a girl on the team literally vomited three times but kept going. We all made it up to that summit. I thought about that moment when we were in Kansas, in the windiest state of the country, biking headfirst into 20-30 mph winds. When we finally biked into DC, smiling and tired from our 3,700 miles journey. 

I think what I will miss the most from this ride will be meeting the people along the ride. Whether we were in the smelliest state, the windiest city, the smallest town, the prettiest part of the country, people have treated us with kindness and generosity. They opened their homes, churches, schools, gyms, hospitals and housed, fed, and hosted us. I will remember Boulder Utah, the cabin with the zip line and rocking trampoline, the church with the awesome karaoke bar nearby, the Tecopa experience. No picture can capture how welcomed we all felt across the country. 

This may be TSG of me for saying this but I too will miss a lot: the riders, eating for two, wearing the same clothing every day, working on my T-shirt tan, Clara Ruiz dance party, listening to good music, exploring cities. I want to thank everyone who has followed us on our journey and supported us through it. We couldn't have done it without all of you. 

-Jess

Mission Accomplished!

Well folks, it's all over. Now back to the real world. Boo-hoo.

Our ride through West Virginia was great, with some pretty nar-nar climbs and descents. I even laid off the breaks on a few of them and really enjoyed the speed and wonderful views.

We had a great time at the County Fairgrounds in WV, and bid Ellen and Claire farewell in true R4WH fashion. The ride through Virginia the next day was great, and it was fantastic rolling up to the Lincoln Memorial with a cheering crowd and hundreds more perplexed tourists.

The ride to Bethany Beach the next day was everything we had hoped for, and it was great to dip our tires (and ourselves) into the Atlantic Ocean. It was tough saying goodbye to everyone, and the east coast traffic ensured that some of us got to spend a few more hours with eachother before reaching Columbus, OH with the vans.  Still, we will all take away fond memories and lasting farmer's tans from our amazing experience.

Who would have thought that biking across the country would have been so much fun. Next time, maybe Alaska to Patagonia?  What do you think guys?

We’re in Ohio!

Hey all - Jeff here.

We made it to Ohio - it is great to be back in the "Heart of It All"!

Monday morning we woke up in Graysville, IN and had a relatively short ride to Bloomington (I think it ended up being about 70 miles). I feel like I write this every time, but I am continually surprised at the number and frequency of hills in the midwest.  There we're some short but steep climbs, which made the ride exciting.

Nevertheless, it was a great ride and we got to Bloomington in the afternoon. Bloomington is the home of Indiana University, and they have a beautiful campus. We we're joined by two R4WH riders who were away for a couple days - Dr. Ben Meyer and Dr. Hadley Trotter, two recent graduates from medical school.  Congratulations!

We rode to a dorm building where Tim, an avid cyclist and friend of R4WH, donated apartments for the night so we could have hot showers and many of us were able to sleep in beds (Yeah). He also had pizza, salad, and sherbert waiting for us, which tasted delicious.

After unpacking the vans and securing the bikes, we we're met by a group of IU students who are part of a global health interest group. We gave them a short lecture on global health, and relaxed a little bit that evening before turning in for the night.

Yesterday morning, we left our sleeping quarters and rode a couple miles to a bicycle track where the 1979 film "Breaking Away" was filmed.  The story is based off the Little 500 bicycle race that is held there in Bloomington. Tim met us there with a couple track bikes, and most of us took a lap around the track.  Although I was not being timed, I don't think I quite reached the speeds that bicycle racers typically reach on the track (haha). Nevertheless, it was fun.

We left Bloomington and had a long and hilly ride into the outskirts of Cincinnati. It was a difficult route to mark, and a few of the riders, including Alissa, Sebastian, Hadley, Brandon, and Kami, got lost and ended up doing an additional 8 or 9 miles yesterday.

Nevertheless, after 117 or so miles from Bloomington we finally reached our destination at about 6:30 last evening. We racked the bikes, and Monica's parents were kind enough to host and feed all of us for dinner. It was a delicious spread, with cheesy potatoes, hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh fruit, and beans. To top it off, we enjoyed some Grater's ice cream and cookies baked by Monica's grandmother for dessert.

Last night, some of us stayed with Monica's family, while others were spread out among some wonderful hosts from the Cincinnati University COM. This morning we reconvened at the Cincinnati COM where we delivered a lecture to a group of medical students.

This evening we convene at a local pub for journal club, where we will be joined by a number of medical students.

Tomorrow we leave for Columbus. Cheers!

Can’t believe we’re in Indiana….

 

Hey all. Jeff here.

Friday evening I got to have dinner with my cousin Cliff, his wife Jami, and their son Lliam.  It was great to see them again and visit for awhile. 

Yesterday we left St. Louis for Kinmundy, IL.  It was a beautiful ride through downtown St. Louis yesterday morning, and not a lot of traffic because it was a Saturday.  We passed right by St. Louis University and the "Arch", and rode along the Mississippi River along a bike trail. 

We crossed the Mississippi River over a one-mile bridge that used to be the old Route 66.  It was ironic because we spent so much time on the old Route 66 in California at the beginning of the ride.  The view of St. Louis and the Mississippi River was spectacular.

The ride yesterday ended up being long - about 107 miles - but it was mostly flat and the weather was perfect.  If we were tired by the end, the pizza, salad, and cookies provided by the Kinmundy Community Center quickly rejuvinated us.  Robby provided some well-needed laughs.

This morning I was on support, but the rest of the riders rode about 94 miles.  Although we marked about 30 miles last night before bed, Kami and I took off in the cargo van about 8:30 this morning and spent the majority of the day marking the road.  It was pretty confusing - between what Jess google-mapped last night, the directions in the big binder, and our GPS, we managed to find a route that avoided most gravel roads and was under/around 100 miles.  

Jess deftly handled a couple flat tires while he was in sweep, and Monica did a tremendous job as the lead van for the day without great directions or a gps (we actually had to call her with the correct directions along the route when we had cell phone reception). 

This evening, a pair of wonderful women from Graysville made us a delicious dinner of lasagna, texas toast, cole slaw, and freshly-baked pies.  With our bellies filled, most of us are ready for bed. 

We have two lectures tomorrow morning here at Rural Community Academy (where we are sleeping tonight).  Apparently the kids are really excited for us to speak, and we are happy to be here.  After the lectures tomorrow, we have a relatively short ride of under 70 miles to Bloomington, IN.

Take care.

In the Shadow of the Mighty Mississippi

A group of us at the Missouri state capital building.

Hey everyone. Jeff here.

We are enjoying an impromptu day off here in St. Louis. We got up at about 6:00 this morning, were ready to go a little after 7:00 for a short fifty-something mile ride when lightning appeared in the sky. We will ride in most conditions, but not in a heavy snow where the roads are slick, and not during thunderstorms.

We racked the bikes and were going to drive ahead 20 miles to see if things would clear up. During the van ride a National weather advisory came on warning of thunderstorms, dime-sized hail, and winds approaching upwards of 60 miles-per-hour.

The general vote was to not risk the ride and drive the full way to St. Louis. Of course, I dissented and stated that I wanted to ride, knowing full well that we would not be riding. I was able to keep up a facade of toughness (if only for myself).

We arrived in St. Louis and unloaded our bikes and gear just before the skies erupted. We had a medical school lecture at noon here at Washington University SOM, with about 70 first and second-year medical students in attendance.  Sebastian and Leah did a fantastic job.

The past few days since I blogged in Sedalia have been pretty uneventful. On Wednesday we rode from Sedalia to Jefferson City, which is the capital of Missouri. It has a population of less than 40,000, but is a pretty neat city.

The ride was hilly, and we arrived a little bit before dinner. I think this was the day that Rachel and a few other riders got chased by a goat. Her name was Buttercup. They took pity on the poor animal, and stopped their bikes to help it back to her owner, who was very relieved to find it safe.

Some of us took a tour of the state capital, and poked our heads into a House and Senate committee meeting. The politicians in attendance looked pretty bored.

That evening Jess and I searched every dining establishment in "Jeff City" to see if we could find someone playing the Chicago Cubs baseball game, but our search was fruitless. I still have yet to catch a Cubs game this season.

Yesterday we rode from Jeff City to Washington, MO. While we were not chased by any goats, we were by at least two dogs. One looked a little bit mean. The incident went something like this:

-All the riders leaving the rest stop at the same time and descending a short hill, only to be confronted by a mean-looking dog.

-Dog barks at riders and Sebastian takes his water bottle out to spray dog.

-Owner yells at dog to come back but does not get it.

-Rachel asks owner to come get her dog.

-Owner replies "NO".

-Jeff responds that "there are a bunch of riders coming down this hill and we don't want any riders to get hurt".

-Woman responds that dog won't bite.

-We ride off and mean-looking dog gives up the chase.

Tomorrow we cross the Mighty Mississippi on our way to Kinmundy, IL. We have a little more than two weeks left and we will be in Washington, D.C. Hard to believe.

Take care.

To Kansas and Beyond

Hey everyone, Jeff here. The last time I had a chance to blog, we were staying in lovely Denver, CO.

After a couple of relatively flat days in eastern Colorado and western Kansas, we hit the hills of Kansas. Yes, Kansas is not as flat as a pancake as they say. In fact, it is one of the hilliest states I have ever been in.

After driving out through Kansas a couple years ago on I-70, I thought Kansas was flat. It appeared to be, but I failed to glance sideways at the hills that surrounded me on the ride.

Well that is neither here nor there. By the time last thursday rolled around, we were ready for a pleasant journey through Kansas. Ness City to Lyons was long (about 94 miles) and very windy - we encountered what felt like 20 to 30 mile per hour headwinds through out much of the ride. The next day from Lyons to Herrington was pretty much a repeat (about 96 miles).

By the tune we got to Herrington, we were ready for a break. The ride to Topeka on Saturday started off with really nasty headwinds and crosswinds, and it was chilly. But by the afternoon, things warmed up and the winds died down, and it turned into a great ride. I think we rode about 96 miles through a very beautiful part of Kansas.

The ride from Topeka to Kansas City was virtually perfect, with some of the steepest hills we have encountered throughout the whole ride (although they were very short). My legs were pretty tired, and Ryan (with his ailing knee) pulled me through much of the latter half. By the time we got to Kansas City and settled into our accomodations, we were ready for a rest.

We stayed at the University of Kansas Medical Sports Complex, with access to locker rooms, pool, and hot tub.

Sunday night we went out for Cajun food, and listened to some live music at a restaurant that was only a couple of blocks away.

Monday we had our event at the University of Kansas Medical School, with two excellent speakers. The first was the medical director of Village Health Works (one of our beneficiaries), and the second a physician from Wichita with much international health experience.

This morning we left Kansas City and quickly entered Missouri. After a wrong turn that tacked on an extra ten miles, the riders rode over a hundred miles through what they described as great conditions.

Tomorrow we leave for Jefferson City, and travel quickly through Missouri, reaching St. Louis on Friday.

Take care and keep following our progression.