Day 23: Tempe, AZ

Great day today for the team! We got up and rolling quickly, meaning we get the opportunity to sleep in tomorrow (or try to). The ride went rather quickly, and for the first time in a few days I was feeling healthy and my legs felt fresh the whole way. Today's ride also featured an awesome police escort for 8 miles, ride into the heart of downtown Phoenix! Police escorts are always fun because we get to watch traffic back up as we roll through intersections feeling like celebrities as people take pictures with their phones of the giant flock of cyclists. We arrived downtown at the ASU campus there for refreshments and some nice AC (it was 100 degrees by 8 this morning). After that, we all crammed our bikes onto the light rail train for the short cruise to Tempe. It was hilarious, commuters didn't know what to think. When we arrived at our ASU dorm, we were greeted by our sponsors, members of the Pi Kapp chapter here, and some lovely Gamma Phi Beta girls from here that made us all goody bags. It was like Christmas morning! Everyone got a goody bag, and a huge bag of In-n-Out burger for lunch, plus, it was a mail drop day. Many, including myself, received care packages from family and friends. We then settled in, and prepared for a friendship visit at Peter Piper's Pizza (similar to Chuck-e-Cheese). It was a blast! We all had a great time playing games and getting to know some wonderful people. Afterward, we had a little downtime in the dorms, and the few of us under twenty-one spent our night off checking out the campus and grabbing sandwiches at Jimmy Johns...this place is huge! 60,000 students go here from what I've heard. It's 11:30, the latest I've stayed up all trip, and I am absolutely exhausted. Ready to sleep in. Here are some pics of the train and our downtown Phoenix arrival.

Day 22: Wickenburg, AZ

Feeling a bit better again today, but not quite 100%. At about mile 80 today, I had to throw in the towel in hopes of being able to ride into Tempe tomorrow. It was a long ride though! It was on what we call a "false flat," or
an uphill ride that at first glance looks completely flat. Also, winds were tearing up everything. The headwind slowed us down and visibility was low due to all the dust and sand in the air; reminded me of the dust bowl pics of Oklahoma! We were all covered with a salty/sweaty layer of dust and sand from head to toe. At lodging, we had a little time to rest, but we had to go clean up the vans before dinner at the Elks Lodge. The lasagna was scrumptious, and a few guys played our puppet show, "Kids on the Block," to some special guests. Here are a few pics of me (1) riding into Arizona (2) on the cover of the paper and (3) surrounded by dust on today's ride.

Day 21: Parker, AZ

Interesting day today...I was really hungry ate some sketchy spaghetti out of a fridge at the Havasu Aquatic Center late last night. Let's just say I didn't get much sleep. Today marked my first day to be "racked," or not ride at all. I had a solid streak, making it about 1,000 miles from San Fran. But I chose a solid day to miss because it was only a 40 mile ride, straight south along the Colorado, which is a snaking oasis in this barren country. It's tough watching your friends suffer their way up a steep desert hill in 110 degree hit, so I plan on joining the team again for our 115 mile to Wickenburg tomorrow. Anyway, when we arrived in Parker, we had a sponsored lunch at our lodging, the Parker Senior Center. Afterwards, we headed down to a RV park on the river to shower up. Back at lodging, I got a lot of rest and threw down a lot of liquids. I'm feeling much better now. I even cleaned my bike frame, chain, and gears tonight! I looked like a grease monkey afterwards, however. Dinner was sponsored at lodging, delicious subs. I miss some home cooking though, that's for sure. I'm looking into a way to upload pics to the blog, so expect that soon. Night y'all!

Day 20: Lake Havasu, AZ

Day off today, and it went great! We all slept in till about 7 (although it felt much later), and were offered a feast of a breakfast by the local Knights of Columbus. While at breakfast, I was given a newspaper and realized I was on the front page shaking an officer's hand. My first time in the paper that wasn't for high school basketball (which to be honest wasn't too often). Everyone throws food at us here in Lake Havasu; I could get used to it. Afterwards, we hung out and had a wonderful friendship visit making cards at the New Horizons Center. A lot of the clients were at our banquet last night, and everyone had a grand time. We then had a little free time before an all-afternoon pool party/BBQ (I left my phone at the aquatic center, so that's probably why you didn't here from me, mom). The ribs were finger-lickin' good. And after catching some rays, I caught the Walker Texas Ranger Marathon with my British teammate. Needless to say, he's a huge WTR fan. I plan on taking him to the bar they hang out at in the show; it's in the Fort Worth Stockyards, one of my favorite places. Lake Havasu has been more than gracious and hospitable when it comes to making the South Route Team feel at home. We will miss Havasu!

Day 19, Lake Havasu, AZ

The 5:30 Wakeup came quicker than expected, and we all woke up in a pool of sweat because it was already 90 degrees outside and we haven't had air conditioning at lodging in a few days. However, spirits were high because we were excited to leave California after almost 1,000 miles! On about mile 2 of today's ride, we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. It was like a weight off our shoulders. Finally, progress could be felt. About 12 miles outside Havasu City, we met up with some ride-alongs at a gas station. I ended up riding with a police officer/triathlete to our stageup. He had some cool stories; I never knew Lake Havasu was such a crazy party destination. After the 12 miles, there was a rendezvous at Walmart for our police escort into town. Walmart even provided drinks, fruit, and shade, which is more than wonderful in the 110 degree heat. Police then escorted us to our lodging, the Havasu Aquatic Center. After a quick sponsored lunch there (complete with gift bags), we hopped on a houseboat provided by the London Bridge Yacht Club. Who knew the London Bridge was out in this desert oasis city? Anyways, the yacht was massive, and fit all 35 of us with ease. We anchored in a cove and played around for a few hours; such a huge relief from the heat! Plus, we all got free yacht club hats. Afterwards, we had a sponsored dinner/friendship visit at the Aquatic Center. We all made some great friends. It was a blast! They even had a cover band play after dinner, and soon enough the place turned into a big sing-along concert. I would say it was one of the most fun times the team has had. Our visit just ended, and these are the first free minutes I've had in the past 16 hours. I'm exhausted, but am in love with the hospitality this town has shown. Can't wait for our day off tomorrow!

Day 18: Needles, CA

When the 4am Wakeup call arrived, we were all dreading today's ride. We all knew it was going to be long and hot, but it went surprisingly well. A had some great guys from
Cal and George Washington in my paceline; we talked and stayed active the whole time which helps the ride go buy much faster. After rolling out of lodging at first light, we saw a daunting sign reading "Next Services 100 Miles;" it might as well have read "Good luck surviving out here, idiot." After about 20 miles we topped a huge hill leading into a valley, and as far as the eye could see, no signs of civilization other than the road could be spotted. My GW friend screamed , "Manifest Destiny!" at the sight of the purple mountains majesty in the distance. We even broke out in a rendition of "God Bless the USA" as we cruised down the mountain at top speeds that would bring Lee Greenwood to tears. It was a patriotic moment to say the least; these were the vast expanses our founding fathers boasted of. It was a beautiful moment. After that moment our ride hit cruise control and the 100 miles went by quickly. It was 114 degrees when we got off our bikes! As we rolled up to shower at the Naples Marina, a few friends and I immediately jumped in the river. BEST DECISION EVER. It was nice cool, the break we needed. We are staying at the Grace Lutheran Church here, and they graciously supplied us with a spaghetti and meatball dinner. Our team is so thankful for such wonderful people like them.

Day 17: Twenty-nine Palms, CA

The ride today went very quickly. We made a wise decision to rise up early to beat the heat, and the heat was beaten. We arrived at the high school we are staying at late in the morning, and played some basketball with our spare energy. Again, no friendship visit today due to the lack of civilization out here. Instead, our team had the oppurtunity to go grill out and hike at Joshua Tree National Park. I had a great time, and highly recommend checking it out. The park had lots of huge rock formations, mountains, and was ridden with Joshua Trees, weird hybrids between cacti and palm trees. A few friends and me went and hiked up the largest formation in view. The sights on top were magnificent. You could see anything for miles, and the barren landscape for some reason is very beautiful to me. At one point, we saw three big horn sheep scaling one of the formations, making it look easy. On our way back, we solicited the local Denny's for some ice for tomorrow's ride. It took some convincing, but after telling them our mission they gladly agreed. 4am Wakeup tomorrow followed by a 125 mile ride. Wish me luck, should be difficult with the heat but we plan on giving it our all.

Day 6: Yucca Valley, CA

Wakeup was early this morning, but I got over it quickly when we watched the sun rise. Watching the sunrise in the Mojave is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen: something I could definitely get used to. The mountains and lack of civilization make it a unique sight. And when I say there is nothing out here, I mean it. We rode for 75 miles and didn't even see grass. But the fact that there isn't anything out here isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's still a beautiful place, and something happened to me for the first time ever today. At about mile 30 a guy in my paceline had some mechanical issues, causing us to stop about a half mile apart from eachother. I dismounted, looked at the beautiful emptiness, and noticed I was in absolute silence. No voices, no traffic, no wind; it was like someone hit the mute button on the desert. It was crazy, something I have never experienced. Unfortunately, we didn't have a friendship visit today and won't have one tomorrow. People are so scattered across this desert, making it difficult for people with disabilities to gather. However, we all had the oppurtunity to catch up on some sleeping and reading, which is always nice. Dinner was sponsored by Matthew Callardo's parents. He is the president of his chapter at George Washington University. We are getting ready for bed, and some of the guys are freaking out because we have to leave a door open to the Yucca Valley High School gym and think snakes are going to crawl in. It's pretty funny.

Day 15: Victorville, CA

Welcome to the Mojave! Tough day today, a lot of the team struggled, but almost everyone who started, finished the 75 miles. We haven't quite had a day like today; the first 40 miles were uphill at various grades. As we left lodging (with an awesome police escort I might add), we headed straight for a mountain range. Soon enough we were surrounded and headed right into them. My buddy Adam from Seattle described it as "walking to the gallows." The climb was tough toward the end, all in all we went from about sea level to a mile high. But reaching the top of that desert mountain pass felt great. The next 20 miles were all downhill, cruising at about 35mph. It reached 108 degrees today so that entire downhill stretch was reminiscent of when you open a 400 degree oven and the heat rushes over your face. The rest of the ride went smoothly. Later, we had a friendship visit with a local organization in a gymnasium. It was a blast! First of all, they served us fried chicken, which I have been craving ever since arriving in San Fran two weeks ago. After dinner and a few
conversations, the gym turned into a dance party; we were all drenched in sweat when it ended from having so much fun. The night ended with a much needed trek to Baskin Robbins, and here I am on the gym floor of the High Desert Church. I'm wooped but ready for some more desert adventures!

Day 14: Ontario, CA

Today's fifty miles went rather smoothly, with everyone that started the ride finishing. We arrived at the Double Tree of Ontario late in the morning to be greeted by the mayor, a Pi Kapp brother from USC. He hooked us up! The hotel is very nice, and we are always happy to have beds. The team walked down the street for a quick lunch at In N Out, which I still believe is thoroughly overrated. Californians don't know good beef.
Unfortunately, our friendship visit this afternoon was cancelled by the center, but we had one more exciting activity planned. After a delicious sponsored spaghetti dinner, we were all presented and awarded a certificate at the city council meeting. It was an interesting process. An elderly lady accused the council of having "fat pockets," after which asked the lady to "get her facts straight" as she strolled out of the hall with her walker. After that, our project manager described the Journey of Hope and how it benefits people with disabilities. After the meeting, we rolled back to the hotel, where I am about to open a new book I just bought called, "The Heart of the World," by the British explorer Ian Baker. It's right up my alley.

Day 13: Rosemead, CA

Today started out great: nothing was scheduled until our 2 o clock friendship visit. We all had the oppurtunity to sleep in, which we happily did. My friend from Cal, Ethan Wicklund, announced his mom would be sponsoring IHOP for brunch, which absolutely fired up the team. I ordered the breakfast sampler; I could hardly move I was so full. We then took the cars to the wash and prepared for our friendship visit with Ability First of LA. It was a blast! I was unaware Push America was sponsoring a carnival for the center, and we were all excited when we rolled up. I probably had 4 bags of popcorn with some great new friends. Afterward, I was exhausted. We rolled back to lodging for dinner, which was a sponsored Mexkcan feast. I seriously think I have gained weight on this trip. Right after dinner I went and saw the movie "Super 8" with some guys. I'm absolutely exhausted and ready for tomorrow's ride to Ontario.

Day 12: Rosemead, CA

4:30am Wakeup call in Thousand Oaks this morning, our earliest day yet. However, it was a great day. We started up in the hills north of Los Angeles, riding down into the valley the city lies in. It was a 65 mile ride, but went by rather quickly because of all our interesting surroundings. I mean, we rode right through the heart of LA on a Sunday morning, seeing all sorts of interesting characters: hippies, dogs wearing sweaters, and worst of all, Lakers fans. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the dirty city; it smells bad and is filled with liberals that all need baths. However, it is relatively flat, which is wonderful for an Okie cyclist such as myself. We arrived at our lodging, a Christian youth center, around noon and had delicious sponsored sandwiches. A very fun friendship visit ensued with the Down Sydrome Association of Los Angeles. The director, a lovely lady, finds jobs for the clients in the entertainment business! Essentially, we were hanging out with movie stars. My new friend, Blair Williamson, has appeared CSI, ER, and even Glee, where he has become good friends with the cast. He was a hoot, and started a dare contest with me. He wanted me to ride my bike off of the roof of the building and do a backflip. Not a chance that was going to happen so I made a deal with him that involved our team doing hundreds of pistils. After the visit, we showered and headed to a delicious sponsored dinner. We are all currently stuffed so full we can hardly move. Day off tomorrow with two friendship visits, beyond excited!

Day 11: Thousand Oaks, CA

Waking up was rather tough this morning, due to the fact that we had the challenge of getting up out of a plush hotel bed. However, we were on our bikes at 6:30 ready for the 85 mile day. It was an interesting day, I feel like I witnessed a whole change in ecosystem from the beginning of our ride to the end. It started off rather forresty, taking the first 40 miles to pass through a lush mountain pass. It eventually leveled out I to a valley, and my pace line saw a hawk swoop down and grab a bird off a barb wired fence when we first entered the valley. It was like something straight off the discovery channel! Things went smoothly until about mile 70 when we encountered a four mile climb with a very steep grade leading up to the high desert where Thousand Oaks sits. Several of us threw our bikes over our shoulders and ran to the top, it was incredibly frustrating, easily the toughest climb yet. They should rename the town "Thousand Hills." Arriving at the YMCA was a huge relief; we were all offered snickers bars and gatorade upon entering. Dinner was brought to us and was very delicious, it seriously reminded me off a dish my mother makes. Unfortunately, we had no friendship visit today, but I hear there will be plenty in Rosemeed! 4:30 am Wakeup call in the morning...goodnight y'all!

Day 10: Day off in Santa Barbara!

The South Route Team has worked very hard this past week, so today's day off couldn't have been more appreciated. To start it off, we were fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Hampton Inn! It was a nice change of pace. And although we didn't have to ride today, we got to do something way more exciting: teach some awesome kids with disabilities how to ride their bikes! Push America helped sponsor a yearly camp that helps kids lose the training wheels, and we had the wonderful oppurtunity to help out. It was a very rewarding experience to watch those children smile as they pedal off on their own. Later, we had a friendship at a state park on the coast with the Alpha Resources Group. They were there for a weeklong campout and we thought we'd stop by for s'mores and good conversation. We all had a lot of fun, whether it was throwing the football or frisbee, or throwing marshmallows at the gophers (my personal favorite). It was tough leaving when the sun went down because we all felt like we had met some great new friends, but we need some sleep for our 85 mile ride tomorrow. We will miss our Santa Barbara friends for sure!

Day 9/10: Santa Barbara, CA

These last two days have been a blast. Santa Barbara is truly a beautiful place. Our ride in started with a 6:30 am departure from Santa Maria. The ride started off with miles of strawberry fields. The smell of the fresh berries taunted us for nearly half an hour until we cruised into a valley filled with vineyards. It was like a miniature tour of the wine country for 20 miles; it was beautiful, with very limited traffic as well. We even snuck up on a few deer early on the ride, which was a lot of fun. Soon enough we began climbing hills that got exponentially larger. I was completely unaware we were going right over the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was a beautiful, but difficult climb over lush, green steep hills. After a few hours of climbing we reached the peak of our ride over the mountains and were forced to rack the bikes on the vans due to fog and traffic on the other side of the pass. It was a huge bummer! Once over the pass, we rode two by two through Santa Barbara to complete the 70 mile ride. Our friendship visit was at a very unique place called the Jodi House. It was started years ago as a support group/family for adults who have survived brain injuries in honor of a woman named Jodi who suffered a brain injury when she was 19, and whose family struggled to find a place for her. Her mother, Donna, began organizing events for families and people like Jodi and eventually it grew into the program it is today. Jodi passed away in 1991. We all had the privilege to sing "The Rose",our fraternity's sweetheart song, to Donna, it was an amazing experience. The Jodi House now has many members and programs and also also has a fantastic art program the Push America helps fund. It really was a touching thing to see where the money we fundraised goes. The people there really appreciate it.

Day 8: Santa Maria, CA

Last night when we went to bed, we all assumed today's 75 miles to Santa Maria would be a piece of cake compared to yesterday's 115 mile mountain climb. However, when we got out of bed our legs could hardly function; I seriously felt like my legs had been exchanged for a corpse's. It was a chilly morning (again), and the clouds initially spat on us for a few hours. As the day went on the clouds parted and the sun began to shine. It was a fairly hilly ride, mostly agricultural. But I learned a very important thing today. After a long ride, you need to hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate. I failed to do so after yesterday's century and paid the price today. At around mile 65 I began to feel really chilly, even though it was eighty degrees. My friends kept pushing me to the finish and by the time I arrived I hardly knew where I even was. My friends threw there bottles at me and soon enough I was back to normal, right on time for our friendship visit at the Special Olympics Center of Santa Maria. I met some pretty incredible people, many were superb athletes. Taylor, a 19 year old multi-sport competitor, was telling me about her trip next week to go see Celine in Vegas for her birthday. I immediately told her about the story where my parents dragged me to a Cher concert in Vegas. The concert was a miserable experience for me but Taylor loved the story. Tomorrow we have a steep 70 mile ride to Santa Barbara, which I am more than excited for because of the friendship visits and the day off!

Day 7: Cambria, CA

To say today was exciting is an understatement. We woke up at 5:30 in Santa Cruz, and departed around 6:30. I did not get off my bike until 6:30 that evening...to be honest I did not think I would do as well as I did. We rode the most beautiful ride for 115 miles and over Big Sur. It was very frustrating...we probably went uphill from about 6:30am until about 1:00 pm. It was brutal but the spectacular views made it worth it and kept me going. In the early hours, there was a thick for and nothing but mountains to our left and a cliff to our right several hundred feet about the ocean; the land seemed almost prehistoric. I seriously felt like I was in Jurassic Park or on Skull Island from Peter Jackson's King Kong. Through the fog we climbed for hours near the top of a hill the first sight of sun was spotted. We grabbed our cameras and ran to the nearest cliffside (don't worry mom there was a small guardrail). What we saw was magnificent: beautiful coastal mountains to the north and south and we were completely above the clouds! I kept telling myself: "This is God's country." And it truly was. The next 50 miles consisted of a lot of rolling hills, however at mile 90 (back around sea level), we saw a heard of elephant seals on the beach. I envy them, they just lay around all fat-like and jiggle around and throw sand at each other all day. When we arrived at our lodging, Cambria Middle School, we had some pizza and I was about ready to pass out. Unfortunately, we didn't have a friendship visit today, but I'm not sure if I wouldve been able to stay awkake. I'm just happy I survived today's ride, which ended up being a blast.

Day 6: Monterey, CA

Wake up was at 5:30am this morning, which was nice compared to yesterday's 4:45.
We all woke up in the gym of Santa Cruz high and began our speed pack in preparation for breakfast and our departure. Our ride today was fairly quick, 50 miles and it was all knocked out by 11:30. We all staged up and rode in double paceline formation to our friendship visit. The visit went well, lunch was provided and was delicious to say the least (all food tastes 100 times better after several hours on a bike). After meeting some new friends and snagging a few hot dogs, we headed over to lodging which is an old Infiniti Dealership converted into a school office building. It's not too shabby. Needless to say, I immediately fell asleep for a couple of hours, right on time to wake up for our sponsored dinner: burritos! I'm sure there will be a battle for the few bathrooms later this evening. Anyways, tomorrow should be interesting. We have from sun up to sun down to ride 115 miles and over the largest coastal mountain in the United States: Big Sur. I'm sure it will be beautiful though. I'm very nervous.

Day 5: Kickoff

Very few of us got much sleep last night in anticipation for our leaving of San Francisco. Many of us were nervous, eager, anxious, and had no idea what to expect of the coming days. But we all knew that sometimes we just need to step out of our comfort zones and take a leap of faith, and the Journey of Hope is no excuse.
Wakeup this morning was at 4:45, ouch! However, we soon geared up and headed north to the Golden Gate Bridge to meet our families for the kickoff breakfast. Everyone of us cyclists is so blessed to have such loving and supporting families and mine could not be any better. My mom really toughed this morning out, I could tell she was holding back some tears. At around 8am, we crossed the bridge heading south, something I will never forget. The fog made the top of the bridge out of sight, but we could still see Alcatraz to the east. And boy was it chilly, 45 degrees when we crossed the bridge. We then proceeded to head south on highway 1 which offered some stunning views to say the least. Lots of climbing and steep hills, but it payed off when you got to fly down at top speeds with nothing but a cliff leading the pacific on your right and mountains and berry farms on your right. Today's ride lasted about 50 miles due to traffic cutting us a bit short, but racked up and rode into Santa Cruz for out 5:30 friendship visit with the Easter Seals of Central California. They couldn't have been more hospitable! There was plenty of food to go around: grilled chicken, chili, garlic bread, macaroni salad, and others, all homemade. The peole there were very special too. One man, Donovan, was a multiple gold medalist in the Special Olympics. And another man, Todd, shared nearly identical movie interests with me. All in all it was a fantastic day and I am looking forward to this summer greatly . Wakeup at 5:30 tomorrow, goodnight everyone!

Days1-4: Orientation in San Francisco

Orientation was a very hectic time for us all, to say the least. Our schedules were jammed full from about 6 am to midnight but we all had a great time getting to know each other. First of all, we arrived late because someone (cough cough mom) confused our itinerary into Sf, causing me to fly into Sacramento and take a 2 hour cab ride. That aside, orientation went smoothly. It was filled mostly with waking up early for practice packs (to get us packing up quickly in the morning we ride this summer), learning the rules of cycling and the road, skills, assessments, and a wonderful friendship visit to the Janet Pomeroy Center near the GG Bridge. The people there were awesome, smiles filled the room and we all had a blast during the basketball game,although the Pomeroy Wildcats beat us 100-5. One woman, Susan, led us in singing and cheering for quite some time. Overall, orientation went smoothly, but we are all ready to hit the road.