The Longest Day, The Hardest Day, The Most Memorable Day, My Birthday.

On June 14^th I turned 19.  My first thought on my 19^th birthday was, “oh my god, I’m going to die.”  Let me back track a little.

                On June 13^th we rolled into Berea after a very short day for a wonderful time at a great restaurant sitting in the AC having just come out of the Appalachians once and for good, watching the world cup.  We get to our camping location which is a field behind a fire station outside the town of Barea Kentucky.  The firemen were great, they let us use their shower, their AC and anything else we wanted.  Then when it came time to go to bed we painfully wandered to our tents in the not-so-sweltering 100% humidity cloud seemed to follow us through the first weeks of our ride.  As we get in our tents and brush our teeth we look up to notice a terrifying ominous cloud approaching our location.  I take two Advil PM to ensure a smooth night and prepare for whatever is to come.  Litteraly as soon as we all set settled we hear the first drops. Those drops multiply and soon we are in what sounds like a downpour inside of our tents.  I somehow fell asleep for maybe thirty minutes only to wake up completely convinced that I was in the middle of a full-blown tornado.  Two of the stakes staking down my tent got pulled up in the wind.  I haven’t been so terrified in my recent past, and this is when I thought “Oh god I’m going to die in a tent in the middle of a field in Kentucky” (I never thought that thought would ever cross my mind).  When the rain stopped my tent was flooded all of my stuff was soaked and there really was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep. So in my sleepy stupor I ditched my water-filled abode and headed for the trailer. The trailer, where all of the riders stuff is kept on a daily basis, has a wood floor and no ventilation, it was also the most best feeling ever to be in a solid walled dwelling. I finished the night sleeping, using my plastic bag full of dirty clothes as my pillow I got a total of maybe 3 hours of sleep.

                Waking up in the morning to someone coming into my temporary home to get their belongings at 5:15 in the morning to get an early start on a long long day.  We were in for a 100 mile day, in the blistering heat and headwinds of middle Kentucky. By noon we were about half way through running on fuel from a McDonalds breakfast, the second half would not be so smooth.  Caleb and I were riding together for the last 50 miles and we were quickly headed for delirium when we came to the last stop. The heat was sweltering, the wind felt like putting your face under a hand dryer, and you could literally feel the sun burning your skin. We somehow made it through together, and if it weren’t for caleb I literally do not think I would have survived the day.

                I have never been so happy to see a McDonalds with my wonderful grandparents inside!  That night was truly one of the most restful nights I have ever had, with a shower, washing our clothes in the bathtub and sleeping in a warm bed with NO humidity. Thank you so much to my grandparents for giving me honestly the most needed birthday present I could have asked for and that was a sense of comfort and relief.  It was the longest day of the whole trip, it was the hottest and hardest day of the whole trip and it was a birthday I will not soon forget. 

Eastern Kentucky is a Battlefield

So I first apologize for being out of touch for a few days, after we left Virginia we kind of fell off the map, and with the map went any hope of finding internet. Many things have happened since I last posted! First of all, we made it through all of Virginia!

In Breaks Interstate Park, the site of my last post we received a pin that signified our completion of bicycling across the state of Virginia, with a depiction of the state and our route from Yorktown to Breaks.  However apparently this is the last and only pin we receive throughout the trip for completing anything because other states just don't care.

Anyways, also since then we have made it through Eastern Kentucky, and let me tell you it was a battle.  Everything I've ever heard about Eastern Kentucky (with regards to this trip) has been bad. In fact, the only bad things I have ever heard about this trip have been about Eastern Kentucky.  So after summiting some of the hardest mountains of the trip in Virginia, the overwhelming feeling throughout the group was hope that the hard part was over, but first we had the battle through Eastern Kentucky... for 3 long days.
The first day, after crossing the border into the "Unbridled Spirit" state, the most overwhelming characteristic of Kentucky was poverty.  Appalachian communities are known for being extremely poor and very very sheltered, and thusly, very opposed to people who are different from them.  Ninety percent of the houses you see are trailer homes, some better than others, and some whose ability to provide shelter is questionable.  There are overwhelming amounts of trash along the sides of the roads and also in people's yards.  The communities, from what I could tell are very tightly knit, as evidenced by 10 mailboxes in a row all showing the same last name. Also, aside, Eastern Kentucky is very very mountainous... :(
The second day was full of climbing and vigorously threw me over the edge of tolerating any more mountains, it was so bad I was day dreaming about Kansas... Day two was truly a battle in every since of the word. We rode through pouring rain, extreme heat and extreme wind all while climbing nearly 5,000 feet of elevation. One particular incident seems to sum up the day accurately. While climbing a mountain, as usual, we come upon a trailer on the side of the road, as usual, with a four-wheeler on the deck, I don't know how it got there but not surprising, so as we grind away we get closer to the house and look into the window to find a Nazi flag hanging in the window behind a sign that says KEEP OUT, as Caleb and I look at each other in horror it is needless to say we climbed the rest of that mountain much faster.  On the way down from that same mountain we are chased by a very mean and very vicious pit bull, if that dog had been on the other side of that mountain where we were traveling 5 MPH it would have been game over. But day two ended and not soon enough.
Day three was a short 50 mile day that packed a punch.  The usual climbing, the usual running from dogs, ect... but today we FINALLY LEFT THE APPALACHIANS and it could not have come soon enough.  At the bottom of a giant mountain you could look ahead of you and see a flat horizon of blue skies and behind you the mountainous skyline I became accustomed too. This was a wonderful feeling.

It was great to get through what most said was the hardest most unpleasant part of the trip and get through it alive. Hopefully it will all get better from here. It was hard but the hardest tests are the ones that are the most gratifying to Ace. The right of passage should be over, now I can relax and enjoy the ride. Starting with a 100 mile ride tomorrow, on my birthday.

Today was “The Test”

                Today we traveled from Rural Retreat to Rosedale VA, an 80 mile ride through beautiful Mount Rogers National Park down into Damascus VA with more than its fair share of “ups and downs.” In Damascus a great friend of ours we met on the first day, Pepper, hooked the whole team up with 30% off everything in his outdoors store and also became an official team member when he agreed to sponsor next year’s team. After a huge (possibly too huge) pizza dinner in Damascus we set off to finish the last 30 miles of the day, only, in order to finish the day we had to cross Hayter’s Gap.

                Hayter’s Gap is one of the first things I heard about in respect to the trans-america tour, and what I heard about it was that it was THE hardest part of the entire trip.  Although we will climb the Rockies in a matter of weeks and cross Monarch Pass at over 10,000 ft above sea level, Hayter’s Gap is a brutal 6 mile climb with an average of around an 11% grade. This test that I have been talking so much about, was Hayter’s Gap.

                Taking a gel before the climb, and trying to tell my stomach to digest the massive amount of pizza it was filled with faster, I began the ascent in the 80 degree 100% humidity cloud that we were in.  All day, and in fact for several days prior, I had been psyching myself out in my head for this particular climb making it sound to myself like it would be the worst experience in my life so that, inevitably, when it was finished I would be pleasantly surprised.  My plan succeeded, however only by a little.  The climb started and it never stopped, switchback after switchback of constant relentless uphill seemed to never stop, but when I saw the van parked at the summit I cranked it into a high gear and grinded up to the finish.  We all waited and cheered on our fellow riders as they finished the last 300 yards or so of their ascent, then for a fantastic descent into Rosedale for a night in a church.

                According to most, that day is the hardest of the whole trip, so last night I fell asleep (very quickly) thinking that the hardest is over.  There is an amazing sense of accomplishment looking down a mountain and thinking “I rode my bike from all the way down there,” this is what makes the pain worth it.  However hard it may have been along the way, I never once thought of stopping and taking a break, I never once thought of quitting and calling for the van, and I never once thought I couldn’t do it. This was by far the hardest of maybe two challenges of the trip thus far, and knowing that I climbed 4,000 feet of elevation in 6 miles without stopping gives me the feeling I can do anything.  However, I’m sure Kentucky will test that feeling.

                Taking a rest at Break Interstate Park, eating ridiculous amounts of country fried steak and cornbread, overlooking an amazing view. Today marks our last day in Virginia, one state down.

Blacksburg to Rural Retreat: 85 miles

It was very emotional for everyone leaving this morning from Blacksburg, at least for those who have some sort of tie to the town. If nothing else, it is hard knowing there are no more “Comfortable situations” left for me. I have been through my home town shortly followed by my home away from home, but from now on I am on to uncharted territory, unmarked land that is new to me, also absent will be the feeling of comfort that comes from being in a familiar territory that in reality just makes it harder to wake up the next morning and move on. So from now on the grace period is over and I’m on my own.

                Lying in my tent at night after a long 85 mile day I reflect on the trip thus far. Though this experience, however fresh and new it may be, only 7 days deep, I am beginning to learn so much about what is important to me and what I like and want in my life. From simple things like the joy that comes from cooking a full meal on a stove that could fit in your pocket (which makes everything taste so much better) to big things like the kind of person I hope to be one day, and what is truly important to me as a person. Testing yourself in the wild is not only about proving to yourself your capability and the possibilities in your life, but also, to remove the luxuries from your life is to strip your life of things that make you the same as everyone else, leaving you only with what makes you unique. Experiencing this shows you more about yourself than you ever thought possible. The things that you love will reveal themselves to you and the materialistic things that you perhaps thought defined your life before will fall by the wayside. I do not expect to return home a changed person, if fact just the contrary. I expect to return home with a new understanding of myself and how I want to live my life, this is what testing yourself is all about and what I am currently experiencing on my grand adventure. 

To My Home Away From Home

Waking up early in Troutville VA from a wonderful night of sleep prompted by a horrible day of riding we were off to finish the first leg of our journey as we rode into Blacksburg Virginia, my home away from home. Twenty miles into the ride we stopped in Catawba, home of the Homeplace for all you hokies out there, where we met up with 20 or so more riders who were going to accompany us for our ride into Blacksburg. Another 20 down and we came upon Harding avenue. For those who don’t know, Blacksburg is on the top of a mountain, therefore in order to enter Blacksburg, you must first climb a mountain. Harding Avenue is one of the most notorious of these routes into Blacksburg known for its relentless 4 mile ascent. But with the motivation of knowing that a rest day awaits at the top, and not to mention an Espresso flavored energy gel, I did surprisingly well.  At the top we re-grouped and rode as a group together into downtown Blacksburg where a party of cheering friends awaited us. We ate and hung out at Champs Bar for a while before we went our separate ways to find housing for the night and our rest day.

                My group was sent to Mason and Leanna’s house where we were treated like royalty. Mason and Leanna, a couple who have been a part of Bike the US for MS since it’s birth have both completed the trip at least once and continue to be a huge part in the program. They have a wonderful, comfortable, home and they are two of the most kind and generous people I have met in the recent past. I look forward to getting to know both of them much better if they are so kind to have me back into their home during the school year.  They both show me a little bit what I hope to be like in my future. Thanks again to Mason and Leanna.

                We went as a big group to my favorite restaurant in town, Cabo Fish Taco for some fish tacos and “Epic Tuna Burritos” and back home for about 20 minutes of a movie before passing out asleep.

                Our rest day was exactly that, a rest day with very little to worry about. Waking up to a breakfast at Gillie’s is in my opinion the best way to start a day in Blacksburg, then to the Bike Barn where Yusef and Scott hooked up the whole team with free service to their bikes and for that I am extremely grateful! Back to Mason’s after that for a siesta then a team cookout where I ate the following: 2 cheeseburgers, a hot dog, roasted potatoes, pork loin, salad, and avocado. The rest day went by fast with the glooming notion that in only a matter of hours we would be back on the bike on to uncharted territory, at least for me.

We Were Wrong

                Today was a 66 mile ride from Vesuvius to Troutville, VA. We were for some reason under the false sense that the day after the hard day would be easy, as it turns out, the hard day will make the next day hard no matter what. We expended so much energy yesterday on long climbs that today we ran out of gas. It was a relatively smooth and easy ride it was just simply hard to maintain power after being drained the previous day. I rode with my wonderful riding partner Rose for the Last 20 miles of a slow 8 MPH average into Troutville. Beautiful scenery in the foothills of the Blueridge along a river bed made the ride bearable. After a huge pasta and chili dinner cooked on the camp stove and a quart (an entire quart) of orange sherbet, hopefully I can regain my strength and finish up the first leg of the trip into Blacksburg tomorrow, for our first rest day of the trip. Sorry to make it such a short post but here are several pictures I have taken along the way… Enjoy!

Dipping the Rear wheel in the Atlantic symbolically starting my journey to the Pacific, in two months I will dip the front wheel in the Pacific.

Dad and his boys.  Sending us off in style!

Overlooking the Chikahominy River on Day 2

Overlooking the railroad tracks in Afton... Used to be the most used travel hub in all of the North Carolina and Virginia.

 These Bike Route 76 signs have lead us through Virginia... The 76 route is the Trans-America Route that will lead us to California.

Today Was for You Angela

Today was one of the hardest days of the whole trip as far as climbing goes, this we all new prior and I think woke up in a state of depression/ intimidation because of.  We started the day with a short 10 miles from our house to the Chiles Peach Orchard which was SO good see, especially with my wonderful friends Courtlyn and Lizzy inside! We sat inside, at icecream and do-nuts psyching ourselves out for the climb in our very very near future.  Once leaving the peach orchard we headed for the enemy, Afton Mountain.  We headed for the hills, stopping one last time for a quick bite of bagel, then headed up the mountain. Now, I have climbed Afton before and it KILLED me, it was nemesis, so today I set out to destroy it and prove what I could do, and I crushed it.  Along the way, about ¾ of the way up the mountain we stopped at June Curry’s house. June Curry is the Cookie Lady, she lives along theTrans-America route and has been giving water and home-made cookies to riders since 1976. She is one of the sweetest and kindest people I have ever met and providing a much much much needed rest and refueling station for cyclists along the climb is appreciated by all who have had the pleasure of meeting her.

                After we finished the bit of the climb we met up with the Blue Ridge Parkway, thinking the climbing for the day was over, I was wrong. The Blue Ridge Parkway is full of very long climbs followed by fun descents, it was one of the hardest days of riding I’ve ever had but all along the way I thought of how much Angela (the MS patient we met yesterday) would give to be able to pant and grind her way up one of the hardest climbs on the trip. So today, was for Angela. At the end of the day we had traveled 60 miles, climbed over 5,500 feet of elevation, and burned about 6,000 calories… I slept better last night than the previous 4 days combined.

                We finished the day with an epic descent down Vesuvius mountain in to the town of Vesuvius where we got to Gertie’s.  I downed a double cheeseburger + an egg with fries without hardly taking a breath.  That night we camped in the field behind the restaurant and woke up for what we thought would be an easy day of riding.

We Head Home... For a Night

Starting in Mineral, VA camping out behind the largest fire station in the county of Louisa, we headed home (at least for us) to Charlottesville roughly 60 miles away. The day started off well with a short stage to Kent store, and then the day turned ugly. In a stretch of less than a mile, I got three flat tires, two from the same rock and my crank arm fell off while pedaling. It was definitely a rough patch that really put a damper on the day, I just wanted to get home to see my family and girlfriend.  But, we finally made it to Charlottesville where we met up at Bodo’s for some MUCH needed bagels.  Once we were all together at Bodo’s we rode as a group through UVA to the James Q. Miller Clinic in the UVA health System, this is where we are donating our over $85,000 we have raised so far. At the clinic we got to tour the facilities, ask questions about MS to MS experts, and actually meet a wonderful lady who is an MS patient at the clinic. Angela has had MS for several years but is able to function and enjoy her life with her husband and kids.  She told us that she would do anything to be able to join us on our journey, it had actually been a goal of hers prior to being diagnosed with MS. It was truly an inspiration to meet her and get to see, first hand, exactly where our money is going and more importantly the wonderful wonderful people that we are helping with what we are doing, this was truly what we are doing this for.

                Once we left, just missing a killer thunderstorm, we rode the 10 or so miles from downtown Charlottesville to our house. Once we got there my wonderful mother and her friends had provided an epic feast for us which was much needed. We were able to do our laundry and take showers and sleep in air conditioning; and to top it all off more Bodo’s and home-made breakfast in the morning, for this, every rider was immensely grateful . Thank you so much mom and dad for everything you did for us!

Into the Wild

“It is important in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Thats the way it is here.”

Into the Wild is a book/movie, written by John Krakauer, depicting a story of a man who had recently graduated from college and decided to test himself.  Giving himself a new identity, he burnt his social security card and all of his cash, ditched his car in the desert and hitchhiked himself across the nation. Once he had made his way across the country he decided to go to Alaska and live in the wild.

One of my favorite movies, Into the Wild was an inspiration for my participation in this trip. The above quote stuck with me, and this is my test.  If I am unfortunate enough to never get another chance to test myself in the wild I will always remember the summer we were able to test ourselves my biking across the country for MS. I truely believe in this philosophy. That to live without testing your limits is living without truly being alive.

Today we started our journey from Yorktown. We symbolically dipped our rear wheel in the Atlantic Ocean to officially start our journey west. Today was a great day, I would estimate an average of 80 degrees with solid cloud cover providing shade. A total of around 65 miles, as we finished at Willis Church outside of Glendale Virginia, were in my experience the flattest 65 miles in all of Virginia. I did however learn a very important life lesson today, wheat fields are far far far more windy than tree covered roads, however deceiving they might be with their long straight flat roads, biking in between two wheat fields can be harder than biking up hills. It was a beautiful day none the less and to top it all off we were fortunate enough to be offered an air-conditioned room at the church to sleep in tonight.  This turned sour however, when some of us fell asleep before others, and those who fell asleep, snore, VERY loudly... I ended up moving to another room. It was a wonderful first day of riding, only 59 more to go.

P.S. - I will post pictures soon!

We Prepare For Our Grand Adventure

As we leave for our journey pedaling across America tomorrow, we finish our preparation and gather our things, ever conscience of a very limited space restraint, and pack up our cars and our bikes and head to Yorktown.  As I drive from Charlottesville to Yorktown, a two and a half hour drive, I am reminded that I am currently moving in the negative direction, and what takes two and a half hours in a car will take 3 days to undo as we stop in Charlottesville on the 3^rd of June. Regardless of the melting pot of nervous, excited and terrified emotions in my head right now as I am only hours from meeting 20 new people I will spend the next 60 days with and officially starting the epic journey that is Bike the US for MS, I am writing to first inform any who may be concerned that Caleb and I both have met our fundraising goals of $3,000 each. We would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts all of those who have donated to give us the opportunity to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, and more importantly support an amazing cause. We could not be doing this if it weren’t for our generous friends and family who have supported us ever since we first suggested the ludicrous idea of bicycling across the United States.

We have been asked many times while discussing the details of the trip with people who are concerned, what does one take with them on a two month long bicycle trip from the beaches of Virginia to the San Francisco Bay? The answer we gave is, not much. With 24 riders and only one trailer and one van to support us, each rider is allotted a space about 3 feet wide 2 feet high and 2 feet deep. In this space we must keep, all of our clothes, all of our camping and sleeping gear, food, and any personal items like laptops, books , toiletries ect. The consensus advice was, bring everything you need, but only things you need. So here’s what I brought: 3 pairs of biking shorts, 2 cycling jerseys, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 t-shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 7 pairs of socks/underwear, my chucks and Vibram Fivefingers, camping towell/pillow, sleeping bag, sleeping bag, tent and groundcover, bike, biking shoes, toiletries, laptop and camera. Thats pretty much it. These items will be all I need to make my way on my bike to San Francisco. Luckily if there is anything I have forgotten I can pick it up at home when we ride through.

We have now been briefed on the every day procedure for our riding. In short, the trailer will be leaving every day at 8:00 AM, riders are on there own to leave either before or after the trailer leaves. The trailer will be stopping roughly every twenty miles along the route to provide some cold water, shade, and a place to rest for a while. It is up to the rider how much he/she wants to take advantage of this, they could leave at 5 in the morning and ride the whole way unassisted by the trailer or leave at 11 and ride alone. It might be a little hectic this first few weeks while we are still getting used to the process but in a month Bike the US for MS will be a well oiled machine. 

I would like to thank everyone again who helped us get to this point whether it be contributing to our fundraising or just giving a word of encouragement we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for reading, I assure you I will be posting more starting now. Tomorrow we leave for the adventure of a lifetime, two months from tonight we will be spending our last night together under the California sky. I am enjoying today, looking forward to the next two months and excited to finish what I have started. Tomorrow we leave for our grand adventure.