Almost to Madison

So much has really happened since my last blog, but I'll try to cover most of it...

For our build day in Cleveland, we stopped just outside in a town called Avon Lake. Getting there was horrible, the roads were a complete mess and there was soo much traffic going through downtown Cleveland. We also went through some not so nice neighborhoods, and at this point I was biking alone which was not very intelligent. However, our stay in Avon Lake was amazing. The whole town was super excited to see us arrive and they prepared a huge cookout and a big party by the lake with a water trampoline and a blob type thing. We also got to stay in host family houses which was awesome because I can't express enough how much better it feels to sleep in an actual bed as opposed to the floor of a church. It felt a little bit awkward at first intruding in their home to stay 2 nights, but my family was really nice about it and it all worked out. I just felt really bad when they had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to take us back to the church so we could leave for Michigan. So far, our stay in Avon Lake has been the best of all our hosts, and probably will be the best of all, but all our stays have been really cool.. They also gave us soo much food that we could barely stuff it all into the trailer. We've had to go on huge eating binges just so that we can get rid of some of the food before it spoils. Thus, our trip is the best, because I've heard that on other routes they're at a shortage for food. I couldn't imagine doing this and not being able to eat whenever I wanted to and as much as I wanted. I'm literally soo hungry all the time that if there wasn't food I would be fighting with everyone. Thankfully, everynight I eat more than I thought possible, and I love it.

So our next state was Michigan and there wasn't too much to say about that... The only thing that I kind of remember is that at one of our host stays they brought in a bike shop that worked on our bikes for free. They helped me out a lot with all the weird sounds my bike was making and they re-adjusted my handlebars which has completely gotten rid of my lower back pains. For that, I am incredibly grateful.

Going into Indiana, and then leaving it on the same day, I missed both of the signs... so now I don't have a picture of me crossing the state line, which I'm pretty upset with eventho we only passed through in a day... Actually, that same day was our ride into Chicago, and it was a miserable 115 miles long. I'm still feeling the effects of that day. Our first 40 miles were pleasant, eventhough it rained on us, and then the next 40 was the worst part of it because we were on a busy highway with basically no shoulder. Plus, we were passing through Gary, Indiana which if you didn't know has possibly the worst roads ever created. It claimed many a tire. Once we got to Chicago, it took forever to get to our church, but we had a gorgeous ride going along the lake front bike path. So on this path there were probably like a million people, and it was crazy weaving around everyone, and I had to yell at a few people because they were about to jump in front of my bike and kill us all. O, and there was this one guy who made me completely furious. So, I stopped at an intersection and I pull up next to this old kinda chubby guy on probably a $10,000 bike completely decked out in some white French jersey and short. Even his water bottle was formed to be extra aero-dynamic and he was sitting there messing with all sorts of gadgets that he didn't need... So i pull up next to him and say hello, figuring just to be nice since we were right next to eachother and he did look at me. When I say hello, he says nothing but just gives me some idiot-like stare and then looks forward again. SO i was pissed, and I had already ridden 105 miles into Chicago, so I was extra-irritable. The light turned green, and he took off super fast. I was super angry and I just take off after him, hoping to pass him and crush his ego while I yell at him that I'd already been biking for 6 hours. I get up right behind him and I'm about to go for it, but then this little kid jumps out in front of us on a tricycle and we both have to slam on the brakes and I almost run into his stupid expensive bike and crush it. At that point I decided to give up and be a bit more responsible. It just made me really angry the attitude this guy gave me and he also shouldn't be riding around on his sweeeeet bike trying to be all cool going really fast when there are so many people/kids around. I learned my lesson, I hope he learned his (he probaly didn't tho because he took off right after again). When I told this story to a friend from home, he laughed and also pointed out the irony of the situation. Guys like him have all the fancy equipment and the expensive gadgets but don't need it, whereas the 30 of us are biking across the country with the basics and we're doing it just fine. Yea, i dunno, i just found that really interesting.

Chicago was awesome. After biking 115 miles, I went into the city with a couple friends to just explore and see the main stuff. I'd been there before so it wasn't anything particularly new, but it felt really weird being there and not having come from an airport or a car. Plus, everything looks a little different when your thoroughly exhausted and on the verge of having open-eye hallucinations. My only regret, or I guess the only downside, about being in Chicago now is that I couldn't really go out and do anything because I was soo tired. I would have loved to have checked out the night life and explore the city a bit more, but I couldn't do it. The next day tho was a day off so I went to Wrigley field to check out the cubs. We got there about 4 hours before the game and we were only able to get standing room only seat, but we did get free t-shirts which was awesome. The field wasn't as cool as I thought it would be. It was a lot smaller and pretty old. But there were sooo many people there. I'm not sure I've ever seen a baseball stadium so full, even when I would go to the Orioles playoffs games. We got standing room seats and we actually had to stand, which my legs were NOT happy about. I'm pretty sure at one point I fell asleep during the game while standing up, eventhough the game was really close and the stadium was cheering super loud. After the game all I wanted was food, so we went to go and get deep dish pizza. We ordered the DEEP DISH pizza and the waitress brought us thin crust. Uggh. Lame. But we ate anyways and then ordered another deep dish. Finished it off with the biggest chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake ever made and then I passed out into a deep hibernation.

Leaving Chicago was fun, it was only a 40 mile day, which seemed like nothing. We ran into another cyclist who had all the legit gear, but he turned out to be really cool and he rode with us for a little while. He also had the most monstruous legs I've ever seen on a human being. They looked like they belonged on a horse. But he was apparently trainign for a few 100 km races they were having in the area and apparently the day before he had won a 27 mile running race. Yea, I know, crazy right? He was from Atlanta and was coming up to the midwest to do all of these bike races. He also said he would follow us online and make a donation.

Today's ride was probably the most draining of all. I don't even know why. We only did 70 miles, but it felt worse than the 115 we did into Chicago. There was a lot of headwind, but not tooo much. At one point going into lunch I just wanted to get there sooo badly but I was only going 8 miles per hour. It was a long day. Then after lunch we saw one of those police scanner things on the side of the road that tell you your speed, and normally when I see those I try to go as fast as possible to see how high I can get the numbers. (its a matter of my ego I think). So today, I tried, and the speed literally read 11, 12, 13... and then back down. It was kind of depressing. Then I decided it was time to just get off my bike and take a nap on the side of the road under the tree.

Well, I guess its time for me to go to dinner now, but I'll keep working on the blog. Also, can't wait, mail drop tomorrow!

Sorry its been a long time since my last post. Its been a crazy last week... So yesterday was a mail drop again, and I want to give a special thank you to Titi Diana who sent me some ice cream money and a great card again. Its really awesome arriving after a long day of riding and getting mail. It made me really happy, and I'll be buying myself some ice cream tomorrow in Chicago.

So a couple of things before I go to sleep also... Tomorrow we have our longest day of the entire trip so far, 110 miles into Chicago. Our previous long day was 97 miles and into Bowling Green Ohio and I was dead tired after that. We had some brutal headwinds hitting us for the entire trip and I also had 2 flat tires, and I still managed to skip the second lunch/rest stop. I was pretty miserable, and I just wanted to get to the church on time.

I want to keep this post pretty brief, but let everyone know that I'm still alive and chugging along. I'm super tired right now and can't really think straight, so this post might not make much sense. I'll have a lot more free time in Chicago the next couple of days and I have plenty of stories to tell; some involving being stopped by police officers with a van load of laundry and then getting towed, and many others... I also have some riddles that I've solved while I've been biking, and I'll tell them in a later post to give everyone a chance to try...

Hasta luego

In Rochester now

It's been a while since my last blog, and plenty has happened.

Today we are staying on RIT campus in Rochester in some summer house dorms. Its really nice of them to open up the dorms for us to stay for free and they give us all the amenities of actual campus life here. Getting here wasn't so comfortable tho. We had our longest day so far on a bike. It was near 90 miles, and a few people got lost and actually surpassed that. The ride was beautiful but long today. I was really tired heading into the day, and like an idiot I stopped at a corner to help somebody pick up their directions sheet, and I didn't unclip my pedals which caused me to fall. It was pretty hilarious, because I just saw myself falling for a few seconds but couldn't do anything about it. Luckily, the only thing that got hurt was my ego.

So, for the last couple of days it has stopped raining on us. I am suddenly learning to appreciate being dry and not biking in the scary rain. But we sure did suffer before.

A couple of days ago, heading out of Silver Bay NY where we stayed at a resort (no joke it was sooo amazing) we headed out for a nice 70ish mile ride. Not only was it pouring on us, but there were some huge mountains that nobody expected. Worst of all, we didn't have anywhere to stay that night, so we planned on camping out. Getting to the campsite was tough, we all got lost in the rain, and when we finally arrived and set up all the tents and tarps in the rain, we got a call from a local church that would take us in. So we took everything down, and biked some more in the rain... It was an interestingly miserable day. I got my first flat tire, which wasn't too bad to fix, but then another rider got 5 flats that same day. The last people didn't arrive until 6:30 that night, and we all left around 8 in the morning.

With all my blog postings, I probably make this trip sound miserable. From other peoples blogs too, it probably doesn't sound like much fun. But so far I've loved every second of it. The people we've met along the way who have shown incredible hospitality towards our entire group have just blown me away. Also, I love the fact that my legs right now are numb with pain and every other part of my body is incredibly sore. It builds character, right? Plus, I get to eat so much food and not care at all.

Also, everything new thing about biking makes me love the sport even more. I can really see myself competing/practicing/participating or something in the future. Recently I've been learning how to pace line (which is when a bunch of riders get in a really tight line/group to block the wind and take turns drafting of eachother). I've also started feeling much more comfortable manuevering on my bike and going at higher speeds. I think it is a sport that I could be good at, and I really want to pursue it after I finish this trip. Plus, the mechanical aspects of it are also lots of fun. My bike is already making all sorts of wierd noises, but everyone's is and I look forward to fixing it tonight.

So yea, just about whats coming up next for me, we've got a build day tomorrow somewhere in Rochester (finally a break from 6 days of biking in a row -- which isn't even that much because we have a few stretches of 12 and 14) and then we're headed for Niagara Falls for the 4th. I'm really excited about that because we only have 20 miles that day, so there should be plenty of time to explore.

On a completely different note, one of my leaders asked me today if I used to be a football player because he said I looked like a monster in my spandex. I thought it was really funny and it also made me really happy. I guess I'm one of the bigger guys on the trip, but I like that he chose to call me a monster as he did some wierd flexing pose. I really enjoyed that... haha