I have been accepted to the Gear Up Florida 2009 Team. In May of 2009 I will be cycling from Miami to Tallahassee to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. If you would like to make a donation, please follow the link to my online profile at PushAmerica.org

I at the Sunrise Community Center in Lakeland with the Gear Up Florida Team.

We ate lunch at Webster Memorial Baptist Church. They are pretty legendary for their hospitality to the team. Pat Foster and other members of the congregation really pull out the stops and make an awesome feast of down home cooking.

This was my fourth year visiting the church. I first met everyone while I was on the 2003 GUF team. I spent some time talking to Chad Foster, who I met 4 years ago now. He seems to be doing well and says that he is headed to camp next week near Brandon, Florida.

We have a little downtime at the Community Center and then we will be heading out to another friendship visit. I have an old friend named Tracey that I met 4 years ago. We have kept in touch via email and I just heard from her last week that she will be at the visit so I am looking forward to seeing her. I’ll post some pictures later.

It has been a little rough getting back home and I have promised to get up some new pictures. Here they are in one big bunch. I’ll go back and catch up on journal entries later, hopefully this weekend.

Day34-ColoradoSprings
Day35-Pueblo
Day36-LaJunta
Day37-Lamar
Day38-GardenCity
Day39-DodgeCity
Day40-Pratt
Day41-Wichita
Day42-Wichita
Day43-Emporia
Day44-Topeka
Day45-KansasCity
Day46-KansasCity
Day47-Sedalia
Day48-JeffersonCity
Day50-StLouis
Day51-StLouis
Day52-Effingham
Day53-TerreHaute
Day54-Bloomington
Day55-Indianapolis
Day56-Indianapolis
Day57-Cincinanati
Day58-Lexington
Day59-Lexington
Day60-Morehead
Day61-Huntington
Day62-Charleston
Day63-Beckley
Day64-Blacksburg
Day65-Roanoke
Day66-Roanoke
Day67-Lexington
Day68-Charlottesville
Day69-Fredericksburg
Day70-Manassas
Day71-WashingtonDC

It is actually cool enough this morning that a few of us are wearing jackets again. We will be on the road soon.

Rob Raesemann
[Posted from Treo 600]

We finally caught up with all of our journal entries for the Push America web site. I chugged a soda so I had enough energy to post all of them to this site tonight so there is quite a bit to digest. I’ll try to get some more pictures up over the next couple of days.

It cooled down last night. We had a group of thunderstorms move through with the cold front and it was about 35 degrees cooler as a result which was VERY nice. It has pretty much been near 100 everyday and we have been doing 75–101 miles. Everyone has been doing fine with the heat. We have not had anyone get sick but it does make the rides seem very long. The wind in your face feels like it is coming out of a hair dryer and you feel like you might burst into flames at any moment. Is there any such thing as Spontaneous Cyclist Combustion?

I am finally getting pretty beat up. I crashed a few days ago in Missouri. The roads there are terrible and my front wheel was caught in a rut and threw me off the bike. I’ve got some nice road rash on my left arm and left leg along with a huge bruise. I hit my head pretty hard on the road which was protected by my helmet. It still hurt and left a mark but I would have had some pretty bad skid marks without it. My neck also hurts because it was stretched out when my head hit the ground landing on my left side.

To add to that, I crewed today so that David Shanklin, our crew chief, could do a ride along. Shank is a very athletic guy who road JOH 2 years ago. It has been driving him nuts watching everyone else cycle while he sits by the side of the road. He does lunges, push ups, and sit ups at the crew stops and often runs in the evening. It was good to see him on the bike today. I was doing ice and filling the coolers with water for the day last night. I forgot that the bike rack was on the back hatch of the van so when I pushed it shut, the bike rack came down and hit me in the face leaving a nice long gash in my forehead, a cut under my eye, and some big lumps from the impact. I almost knocked myself out. Combine that with the heat rash and I don’t look real pretty but some of the guys say that I am starting to look mean with the bald head and cuts.

Anyway, I’ll suck it up tomorrow and get back on the bike. The crew thing was fun but I’m not all that good at it. I had the headlights on because we got a little rain. I forgot to turn them off at my crew stop so after all of the cyclists passed me and I went to leave the car wouldn’t start. Joey had to come back to jump the van, meanwhile all of the guys were waiting red flagged at Mattliff’s van for 45 minutes. We were running behind schedule for our arrival and so we had to scramble to change stage up and all of the guys had to cycle pretty hard to make it. We made the arrival on time. I was really impressed that the cyclists just hunkered down and rode fast, the crew guys just rolled with it and scrambled to change our plans, and everything worked out. You can’t ask for more from a team.

Crewing is a very different experience from the cycling. I’ve always said “God bless ‘em cause I don’t ever want to do it”. My experience today reinforces that. The cyclists get all of the attention at the events and the crew is pretty much just the help. I don’t think that anyone means anything by it but that is just how it is. Crewing is pretty lonely because you are in the van by yourself driving, you stop and set everything up by yourself, and then you only get to spend a few minutes with the cyclists. As a cyclists you often get a little time off to relax. The crew always needs to drive someone to Walmart or the bike shop or they have to go scout. I really appreciate the guys who do the work in service of their brothers. It is a pretty selfless act. I will of course start giving them grief first thing in the morning. My favorite saying is “The crew is getting pretty slack, they need to tighten up.” I hope they know that is how I tell them that I love them.

Today was a pretty special day. It was extremely hot and we rode about 77 miles. We passed a few thermometers at banks that all read over 100 degrees. We staged up at a little convenience store called Casey’s Grocery on the outskirts of town. One of the ladies working there asked what we were doing and when we told her she told us to come in and grab some Gatorade and snacks on the house. We all grabbed a couple of things and sat out on the shady side of the building and enjoyed it.

When we went to leave we took a team picture outside. I went inside to ask the ladies for their email address so that I could email the picture to them. One of the ladies gave me a small photograph of her granddaughter Karley who has down syndrome and said “Let this be your inspiration. I appreciate what you are doing.”

We had dinner with an organization called the Happiness Bag in the evening. They have all sorts of programs for children and adults with disabilities. The thing that makes them different from other places that I have visited is that they open the programs to siblings and families of their clients. This means that if a brother and sister, one with a disability and one without, need after school programs, they are able to go to the same place and do it together. I have not encountered this at any of the other organizations that I have visited and I think that they are really on to something. One of the problems that they have is that many of the organizations who will fund programs for the disabled do not want to fund the programs for the siblings and families.

At dinner I spoke with one of the volunteers and her husband. When I asked her how she became involved she told me that her daughter who had CP used to go there. She lost her daughter in ‘91 but Happiness Bag meant so much to her and her daughter that she continues to work there. Her younger daughter completed a degree in Special Education and now works there as well. I think that says a lot about what kind of a place this is.

After dinner we went out to play some softball. I sat and spoke with one of the care givers named Jackie. She told me that she worked there part time and was disabled herself. She is bipolar and has had a lot of trouble over the years which resulted in the breakup of her marriage and the loss of custody of her children. She is doing well now with the newer medications that are available but she says that the experiences and hardships that she experienced help her to relate to and empathize with others with disabilities. She said that some of her friends give her a hard time about not having a life because even when she is not on the clock she still helps and hangs out with the people that she cares for taking them shopping, to the movies, out to dinner, or anything that they need. She is just one example of the incredible people that we meet on the trip. I always feel bad when people make a big deal about what we are doing because I always think of people like this who devote so much of themselves and their time to people with disabilities and in comparison what we are doing doesn’t seem like all that much.

Rob Raesemann

Rob Raesemann

Today was a looong day. We woke up at 4:45 to be out of the Athletic Center by 5:30. We travelled down the road to the Channel 5 building 2 miles away. Channel 5 is one of the largest and most watched channels in St. Louis and has an area outside where the reporters come outside to talk to the fans or whoever is up and out at 6am. (It’s kinda like the big fenced off area outside of Good Morning America or The Today Show.) There were two other groups that wanted air-time and some random fans as well this morning. We got in line and waited along the fence until it was time for the camera to come to us. When the cameras got to us at about 7am, we were able to get a solid 5 minutes airtime about who we were and what we were doing. After that, we rode another mile or so through the city of St. Louis to the City Grocer. The City Grocer is a contemporary grocery store that has a small restaurant and coffee shop inside it. There, we had a sponsored breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, sausage, and potatoes. It was excellent. After breakfast it was nearing 9am and the temperature was nearing the low 90’s. This wasn’t that bad except for the fact that we were still in St. Louis and we still had 100 miles to complete. We started to head down the road until we were stopped at mile 10 by some reporters from Channel 5. They were so intrigued by our trip that they wanted to get some interviews from us and some “ride-along shots.” For another 5 miles or so, they rode in front, behind, and beside us and filmed us riding.
We entered into the state of Illinois and the first town we arrived in was the town of Collinsville. Although it was obviously not my home town, it looked similar and it was cool to ride through a town with “Collinsville” everywhere. For a brief second, I felt as if I was getting real close to home although “home” was still 800 miles away.
The roads today were real rough and halfway through the day I hit a patch of rough asphalt in the shoulder and blew my tire out. It was my front tire that blew and it was actually quite the violent flat tire as I had to brake very quickly to prevent from losing control. I went to patch my tube and noticed 4 sizeable holes had resulted from the blow out so instead, I replaced the entire tube.
Our lodging tonight is in the auditorium of the Effingham High School. The air-conditioning is not very strong so it seems like it will be another night with no need for the sleeping bag and only shorts while sleeping. Although we don’t have a friendship visit planned for this evening, we have some programming with the Rotary Club.
For dinner tonight, the Effingham Rotary Club came out to our High School and brought along a professional cater with them. We had an amazing grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and Italian pasta meal. The Rotary Club was very accommodating to our hunger needs and provided us with some great company for the evening.

Dan Heaton

Today was another scorcher but fortunately we didn’t have to ride. We slept in until 8:30 and then we had a breakfast provided by the St. Louis Bread Company, a sponsor setup by Chuck Howard.

After breakfast we had a little free time. A few of us went down to the arch to see if we could ride to the top. We hoped that the extreme heat would keep everyone else at home but there was still a crowd and we were pretty sure that we couldn’t get up and back in time so we just walked back to the hotel. We were pretty much soaked in sweat when we got back.

Kevin O’Grady from the 2003 Trans Am team sponsored lunch for us. He is a great guy who rode with us yesterday. It was good to get to meet him and hear stories about the last team.

We had a friendship visit at the St. Louis zoo with some folks from the local ARC. It was pretty hot so the penguin house was our favorite attraction. They don’t smell good but it was about 50 degrees inside which felt really good after being in the heat. Unfortunately the effect wears of almost instantly when you leave. We also tried the primate house but the lower primates are smart enough to stay inside when it is so hot.

Jay Stuckel, a local Pi Kapp, hosted us for dinner. He had his family were excellent hosts and provided for our every need. We felt like part of the family. They also hosted the Build America Team. It was good to see those guys. We met them about 3 weeks ago in Ft. Collins right after their orientation. They are about half way through their trip now and had a lot of stories about all of the cool stuff that they have built. It was a lot of fun catching up with them.

Rob Raesemann

Talk about another scorcher today. It was already humid out when we woke up this morning and it only got worse as the day went along. The day started out with a breakfast provided by Mike Zolezzi, an alumni of Delta Delta. We had six ride-a-longs today as well; five guys from Truman State and one from the University of Memphis. The ride was relatively short today (50 miles) but with the heat as bad as it is, the day seemed to drag on for a while. Along the way, Chuck Howard took a wrong turn and got lost for a little while, but he was able to get back on track very quickly and make it to the first stage up. We staged up at a BP gas station right outside of Wildwood and had a police escort to take us to Saturn of West County. The cyclists arrived to Saturn at about 10:30 am to cheers from family and friends, and the people from Saturn. The general manager provided a quick lunch for us before we headed on our way to the second stage up. At the second stage up, we had a second escort to get the guys to the Riverfront. Nick and myself arrived early to make sure everything was ready for the guys. Even more family and friends showed up for this arrival. As soon as we arrived, the mayor of St. Louis read us the proclamation, declaring it “Push America Day” in the city. After some pictures and a brief visit with family and friends, we were off to the Missouri Athletic Club, our lodging for the next two nights. We ran into some minor problems at the hotel. They accidentally booked us in rooms that were already occupied by guests. After this all got straightened out, we found out that most all of us had a room to ourselves in the hotel. A quick shower and a change of clothes later and we were off to dinner at Nick Cloud’s house. You could tell Nick was excited to see family and friends that he hasn’t seen since he left for Charlotte to work on the route. Seth gave an advocacy presentation to the people at Nick’s house, and then it was time for dinner. The Cloud’s provided a steak dinner for all of us and it filled us all up for the night. After leaving Nick’s house, we went back to lodging where we changed and went our ways for the night. Most people, including myself, had family in for the weekend and visited with them. Everyone else stayed in to catch up on sleep or walked around the riverfront. Well, that’s all I have for now. It’s getting late, and we have a busy day tomorrow. Goodnight.

Matt Ratliff (Truman State University)

From Jeff City, the first 20 miles on the road were pretty intense with traffic. Also, I am not loving the Missouri roads. Please, petition your state politicians for better roads if you live here in Missouri. There are too many bumps here! It was a pretty hilly ride today and it was hot, hot, hot! I focused on just getting the ride done as quickly as possible. I also focused on physics a lot today. I always tried to get as much momentum built up on the down grades to carry me up the next hill. We talked yesterday about the strategy and physics of attacking rolling hills, and I think a lot of guys felt like they improved their riding on hills today.

We were done at about 80 miles. The first group got in right before noon and the last group at 1:30pm. I fell asleep in front of one of the fans as soon as I got in. It was definitely triple digit heat index and maybe even heat by the end of the ride. That heat will wear you out!

We had two Pi Alpha ride alongs today – Kevin O’Grady and Jeff Pearlman (aka Pearl Jam), and they gave it a valiant effort. I was thoroughly impressed with their riding on one of our toughest days. Pearl Jam did look a bit too crusty with salty sweat, but he made it fine.

Chuck Howard, who rode along the last couple days, crewed along today in our new van, the Ford Windstar. He is such a servant and example for our team this week he is spending with us.

We had a really relaxed rest of the day in Union. We had a wonderful dinner with the Rotary Club, and then we went to wash our vans for our big arrivals into St. Louis tomorrow. We have a big day tomorrow in St. Louis!!

David Holland

Today was a pretty tough day for the team. We had to overcome many obstacles during the course of the day really challenged the resolve and attitude of this team. We left from Sedalia early in the morning and there were plenty of hills along the route. The day before was probably one of the hottest of the trip so the team was still feeling the affects from the ride the day before. Even though the ride was about average length, rolling hills and tight traffic made it for a pretty difficult day. To top things off, Matt Ratliff got into an accident with his van on the way to Jefferson City. Thank God that no one was injured. We had to go get a new van in Columbia, MO and cancel our plans to go to the Lake of the Ozarks with Nick Cloud’s friends.

After the wreck and the long day on the road, we finally arrived at the capital building where the mayor’s assistant read a proclamation declaring July 21, 2005 PUSH America day in Jefferson City. After the arrival, the team headed back to our lodging at a local college. That night some of Nick’s friends drove an hour and a half to bring a nice home-cooked meal that included barbecue chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes, and rolls. After the dinner, we had a team meeting to discuss the events for the upcoming week and go over safety issues. Finally at the end of the night, some of the team members took some time to find some much needed relaxation by going to see the movie Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

I am extremely proud to be a part of this team because we did not let some of the negative events of today affect the moral of the group. Everyone was really supportive and just thankful that we had arrived in Jefferson City safely. Even though it was one of the hardest days for me personally, I am very proud to be a part of such a cohesive and tight team that is willing to go the extra mile for a team member in need. I’m sure the hot weather will continue but the team proved today that we are are very strong group that can overcome many things to reach our goal.

Side note-there was no programming events or friendship visits today but in St. Louis we will be visiting with the St. Louis society at the City Zoo.

Will White

Today has been much cooler than yesterday. We have some cloud cover.

Rob Raesemann
[Posted from Treo 600]

Today was the hottest day of the trip without a doubt. You have probably been reading about the record high temperatures and things are forecast to get worse. We had to reroute this morning to avoid some unsafe highway conditions. It was a good call but it made the ride a little longer and we ended up finishing the ride near 100 miles at 4pm today. It was over 100 degrees and I’m sure it had to be 110 on the road if not more. The asphalt was melting on the road and sticking to our tires. Everyone stayed hydrated and we were all happy today. The gym where we are staying is nice and cool and everyone else is sleeping.

We are getting up early tomorrow and will be on the road at 6:30am. It is only a 65 mile day so I expect that we will probably be finished by 10am so we should be off the road before it gets too bad. We are supposed to be hanging out at a lake tomorrow so it should be much better.

Don’t worry about us. We were running low on water today but the crew will get more if we run out and everyone is staying smart and hydrated. It isn’t easy but we can handle the heat.

I’ll post pictures later. I’m trying to make sure that I get an entry in everyday and I am starting to post snapshots from my phone. I know that the pics aren’t all that great especially when the phone is in my back pocket and gets all sweaty. I can’t keep the lens clean but I figure that they are better than nothing.

We are about 2800 miles into the trip and we only have about 23 days left. It is really funny that when we look at pictures from the beginning of the trip it seems like so long ago. We have done and seen so many things in our six weeks together that it seems like we have been together forever and yet it also seems like the last six weeks have flown by. I’m sure that it will all be over too soon.

Today was probably the worst ride of the trip so far. We were scheduled for an 80 mile trek but we had to take a detour to avoid unsafe road conditions which turned it into a 100 mile ride. It was also about 100 degrees outside. I was pretty wiped out at the end of the ride. The younger guys seemed to do better but nobody had an excess of energy.

Chuck Howard rode along with us today. I rode with Chuck on the GUF 2004 team last year. He is an amazing guy and the one that I would pick if I had to pick someone who was closest to the ideal brother. Chuck lost 100 pounds so that he could ride last year and raised $10,500 because he inspired so many people. Chuck is just full of energy and has spent a lot of time over the past few months setting things up for our team and the Build America team who will be in St. Louis at the same time that we are there. He setup 6 sponsors apiece for each team. Like I said, he is amazing.

The team did a KOB for the Boys & Girls Club in Sedalia. Unfortunately I missed it because someone had to stay to watch the bikes because we could not secure our lodging. It was just as well because I was exhausted from the ride and needed the recovery time.

Time Freeman of the Boys and Girls Club hosted us for dinner at Golden Corral. Unfortunately this one didn’t fair much better than the last one that we visited and if you own stock you may notice a dip in the price as we did a fair amount of damage to the buffet. 16 guys who just rode 100 miles can really sock away some food.

Rob Raesemann

Anyone know how to get out of KC? We are about 25 miles into our 80 mile ride and still have about 80 to go.

Rob Raesemann
[Posted from Treo 600]

We are leaving KC this morning. Chuck Howard, the local regional governor is riding with us this week. I rode with Chuck on Gear Up Florida last year. He lost 100 lbs training and raised over $10k for Push. He is an awesome guy

Rob Raesemann
[Posted from Treo 600]

Finally, we were able to sleep in until 9am. Although because of waking up at ungodly hours in the morning so frequently, we were not able to sleep in until 9. Regrettably, before we left for my house, the heavens opened up and our trip to Oceans of Fun was placed in jeopardy. However, soon before arriving at my house for brunch, the rain abated. We were greeted by “Feesh” (My mother) and her small cadre of assistants which showered us with warm cinnamon rolls and plates overflowing with steaks. After stuffing ourselves beyond capacity, we departed for a local water park called Oceans of Fun to meet up with the Special Olympics. All of us had a great time. My group composed of Rob, Zell, Deuce Dub and Eric rode the Monsoon five times. After a tiring day at Oceans of Fun we retired to Merrill Lynch, where we were treated to Jack Stack BBQ, which was amazing.

Mike Finn

I finally got Bryan Eichler on the North Team straight with his blogging software. He is going into law school so he is worthless with technology issues but will make a lot more money and probably be much more influential than me in the years to come so I try to help him out as much as possible. You will see a link to his blog on the margin to the right.

I caught up a little on the site tonight but I am turning in before finishing. I am up to Colorado Springs so there is still a lot of work to do (14 days). I am using Picasa now to post the pictures which is faster than inserting them into my blog software. I hope that this works for everyone.

I have received a lot of compliments on the site so I feel bad about the lack of updates recently. I will keep working to get caught up so keep checking.

I hope that you enjoy the new pictures and keep the comments coming.

Gotta go now. Wake up is early tomorrow and we have 80+ miles to go with a lot of programming in the evening.

I am in Kansas City with Ryan and his brother Matt. We are getting ready to play wheel chair basketball.

Rob Raesemann
[Posted from Treo 600]

We woke up early to depart for Lawrence, KS to enjoy a hearty breakfast at the Pi Kappa Phi chapter house at the University of Kansas. Just as the last of the cyclists pulled up to the chapter house, to our good fortune, rain began pouring. After touring the luxurious chapter house and eating a multitude of food, we departed for Kansas City, my hometown. I never realized the abundant amount of hills surrounding Kansas City. We reached Kansas City and were greeted with an extremely warm welcome by Mrs. Allison. After a tremendous lunch, we departed for the Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park. Later that night, our team traveled to the Kansas School for the Blind, where we played Wheelchair Hoops with the KC Thunder and Goalball with Campfire USA. After the festivities ended, my brother (Boss), his girlfriend (Mini Boss) and I (Mega Boss) departed for Ameristar Casino where I gambled for my first time. I played blackjack and lost $50, which dampened my spirits. (In St. Louis I later recouped my losses.)

Mike Finn

Well I made it home! Despite sleeping pretty terribly last night in Emporia, I definitely had no problems waking up this morning, for I knew that I would be riding to see some familiar faces. I’m one of the number of guys on the team that has the privilege of riding through their hometown and can tell you first hand what a special experience this is. But as for the ride… it really was pretty uneventful; one of the simpler one’s we’ve had in awhile. We made the 78 miles without any problems, excluding the few guys who took a detour without telling anyone and were temporarily missing. They knew where they were though and made it on time to our lunch at Walgreen’s. The Sneed’s, family friends of mine, hooked the team up with Jersey Mike’s subs which were fantastic. My parents also helped out, so I suppose I should give them some credit too. Afterwards we had a fantastic arrival to the Capitol building. What made it so great was that we had motorcycle cops give us an escort and they were definitely having fun speeding around us, swerving in and out of traffic and blocking intersections. There was a little bit of media at the arrival which is always a plus, and we were lucky enough to have the mayor read a proclamation on our behalf. Immediately afterwards we headed to the TARC to get cleaned up. Unfortunately there was only one shower so to speed things up I took some guys to one of my friend’s house to shower. The guys who didn’t go with me never realized that they missed out on fresh lemonade and cookies too, but what they don’t know can’t hurt them.

The highlight of the day (excluding seeing my friends and family) was the friendship visit we had that night. We were taught how to play Beeper Baseball by the Topeka Gofors and Kansas All-Stars. Beeper baseball is essentially baseball for people who are blind. The game was incredible, and to give us the full experience they provided blackout glasses for us to use that definitely accomplished their purpose. It was really bizarre to put on the glasses because it felt like you were in a different world. I know for me it really made me realize how much trust I needed to have in the people around me. But how the game worked was that a pitcher would stand about 10 feet in front of you and tell you when he was pitching the ball. The ball had a beeper in it to help you gauge where it was, but I know for us rookies it was simply luck whether or not we hit the ball. After hitting it you would run to one of two bases out in the field that resembled tackling dummies with buzzers in them. If you could get to the base before the fielders picked up the ball then it counted as a run. It’s really difficult to explain and words do not do the game justice. It was so much fun and the people that taught/played with us were absolutely amazing and inspiring people. We all had a great time getting to know them when they joined us for diner at the TARC afterwards. Without a doubt this will be a day that I and many other guys will never forget.

Chipper’s de George

Today we were spoiled worse than we could ever hope to deserve. The Buchanan’s set up breakfast for us in the parking lot of the hotel. Their son Dave is a Pi Alpha who also PM’ed Gear Up Florida this year. They have been long time supporters of Push America and the breakfast was great.

Dave rode along with us and proved that he has still got it. We rode about 80 miles into Cottonwood Falls where his parents hosted our lunch at the Grand Central Hotel. We ate like kings and Mr. Buchanan insisted that we get dessert which was also very good.

We made up for the extra calories by finishing up our 112 mile ride after lunch. It was getting pretty hot and the last part of the ride dragged out a little. We were all very glad to get to lodging in Emporia.

The Kiwanis Club of Emporia sponsored our pot luck dinner. We have been very fortunate to get a lot of home cooked food which helps to make you feel more like you are at home than on the road. Many of the Kiwanis members wore the team t-shirts from 2003 when they sponsored that team. It is always great to see that we have inspired people enough that they want to continue to help. We made sure that they had some new 2005 t-shirts after dinner.

One of the club members arranged for us to have free massages from a local therapist. The poor guy probably sweat more than all 16 of us did during the ride. It isn’t easy to work the knots out of 16 guys who just rode 112 miles. He was very generous to devote so muck time and energy to us. It really made us feel special and it definitely led to a good night’s sleep for me and everyone else on the team.

Rob Raesemann

After a wonderful night of sleep at a hotel (the Comfort or Hampton Inn), we went to the home of Adam Argetsinger to be treated to a fantastic breakfast. The Argetsingers went all out to fulfill our breakfast eating dreams. Here I personally had my first eggs Benedict ever, and it was wonderful. My family and my brother-in-law’s family also came to breakfast so this time was real special for me.

From noon to 2pm, we hung out with people from the Rainbows United program. This was a great friendship visit for us as a team because they had everything so planned out for us as a group. We split into groups for 4 and went to interact in different rooms for the 2 hours. Personally, this visit was intense, humbling, and very encouraging for me. I mainly hung out with the group of 16 year olds. The main friend I made was Laura. She had cousin named David so she really liked me a lot. We sang songs. We made some art with powder paint and ice, and then we ate lunch. Laura is in a wheelchair, and I think I obtained my wheelchair driving license from her. I forgot to let the brake out once, but she forgave me for it. I helped feed her and was her hands in creating the art. Laura blew me away with her smiles and joy. I was so humbled with her kindness and humility and dependence and trust with me – a complete stranger who became her friend in 2 hours. She had such a good attitude about everything!

In the afternoon, some of us got to nap or go to the bike shop. For dinner, we went to Outback Steakhouse. Mr. Terry Keller helped set us up with Mark Siffring of Outback in Wichita. Mr. Rudy Steiner also helped sponsor this meal by providing special meat for us. We had an awesome dinner all in all! Thanks so much to these men for helping us eat so well! At times I think this trip should be the Journey of Eating because we have to eat so much to cycle.

David Holland

The White Stripes said it best when they sang, “I’m going to Wichita!” Today was full of excitement, and required a little improvisation. We woke up at 5:30 and headed out of Pratt around 6:45 today was only supposed to be a total of 77 miles but with a little improvisation after hitting west Wichita we were lucky enough to travel 15 extra miles, 5 of which were on the busiest road we have seen on the trip yet. We rode into the west side of Wichita around noon on highway 400 or Kellogg as it is known in the city. Like I said earlier this was the busiest road we have attempted to travel on to date, which is probably why it is illegal for cyclists to be on it, a fact that a few of the cyclists almost had to find out the hard way. The first group arrived in Wichita and headed up to the planned exit. But after facing the traffic they were met by a police officer as they were getting ready to get take the exit. She proceeded to ask them for their driver’s licenses and informed them that there was a $200 fine for cycling on this road, luckily they were able to talk her out of giving them a ticket and proceeded to the stage-up. Meanwhile the rest of us, about 12 of us, got the news that we were no longer allowed to take Kellogg up to our exit so I volunteered to get the guys off the highway and take a different route to the stage-up point, even though I am not too familiar with all of the roads on the west side. Fortunately, after a small amount of back-tracking we got back on course and made it to the stage-up point about 15 minutes before we were scheduled to leave for our arrival. It was a tough ride for a lot of the guys because a 70 mile day was turned into a 90+ mile day but I loved every minute of it. I was able to lead the team through some of downtown Wichita as well as by my high school and the neighborhood I grew up in. Even though I know most of the team just wanted to finish the day, I had a blast, and it was sweet to be home. Our arrival was at Saturn of Wichita on the East side and I thought it was one of the better ones we’ve had on the trip thus far. There was media, channel 3 (they rock), and there was a lot of friends and family there to support us as we cruised on in. After the arrival we all headed back to out hotels to get cleaned up and then shortly thereafter we drove to the Kansas Jaycees Cerebral Palsy Ranch in El Dorado, Kansas. It was an amazing place and it was awesome to see how much the camp supports Push America. This very camp previously hosted a GAP Weekend in the Fall as well as a Push Camp in the spring before we had a chance to come through and the people there were so generous. I spent most of our dinner with Boeding, Dope and my girlfriend Rory talking to two young kids named Robert and Joel. Robert didn’t have a disability and was a little shy, while Joel was just chillin’ in his cruiser having laugh attacks every time one of us would say something. He bet Dope that he wouldn’t eat and potato chip, pickle, baked bean and mustard sandwich and about started crying because he was cracking up so much when Dope made the concoction and quickly ate it. He told us how excited he was that we were going swimming after dinner and proceeded to tell Boeding that he was going to dunk him 4 times when they got in the pool, which he did. This was really an amazing visit because it had been a while since the last time we had the opportunity to hang out with kids with disabilities; it was a very refreshing experience. Later that night we went over and hung out at my house for a little bit, watched the minute-long news spot of our arrival that my parents had recorded earlier that evening and caught a little bit of the Tour de France recap of the day on OLN. All in all it was and eventful, but great day.

Adam Argetsinger
University of Kansas

Today was just not my day. For the full 77 miles, I had very little energy and strength. Although I kept up with the 23 mph pace of my line…it took a lot out of me to do so. My line even slowed the pace down a bit for me towards the end of the day and for that I was appreciative. When we arrived at lodging, we showered and had 3 hours to nap. I could only nap for a while….the rest of the time I threw frisbee. For dinner tonight, we joined the Ninnescah Valley Archery Association at their lodge. While they were grilling our steaks, we had the opportunity to test out their bows. I shot well and some of the other guys did also. After a big steak meal and our advocacy presentation, we were shown a “running target.” For the running target, they attached a 3-D target to a zipline and sent it flying down a slope. Standing 20 yards away, three of the club members took aim as it came around a tree in front of them and were all successful in killing it. After we all finished awing at their skill they reset the target and gave us a shot. The first group of cyclists stepped up and the target was released…and all of us missed it by 5 feet. After a quick reset, the next group (including me) stepped up and we all missed it as well. It was only after I changed bows from a 57 lb pull to a 50 lb pull that was able to hit the target (with a “kill shot” I might add.) Shanklin later had a kill shot also.
Our time spent with the Archers was very pleasant and relaxing.

Dan Heathon

After a night of fun and mischief in the aptly titled Comfort Inn, we all piled out into the parking lot to prepare for the upcoming day. It was another fairly balmy day and we could just tell it would be plenty warm as the sun made an appearance. Following circle up, we hit the road out to Dodge City, home of the famous western law man Wyatt Earp. The hills gently rolled along and before we knew it, we had reached an old rusty metal sign marking the beginning of Dodge City. After a few quick pics, it was back on the road and into the city traffic.

All the while around this time, the team’s game of “Assassins” is in full force. This is the game in which players are “killed” by having water squirted or sprayed on one another in various ways. There are also a few “safe zones” and other rules that govern the action. For example, no on can “die” while they are with another person who is alive, just as long as that person is not their assassin. Throughout the day, team members scurry around with paranoia and plot to “kill” each other. In an odd way, it actually seems to promote team unity because members don’t want to end up all by themselves and ultimately “dead”. So I suppose many of us were accustomed to traveling in packs after a while.

When lunchtime came, we were picked up in a seriously spacious and luxurious tour bus. Many of us noted to Shanklin that we needed one of those for the Crew Chief vehicle. Soon we were over to the Dodge City Community College (DCCC) for a delicious college cafeteria-style lunch. It really reminded me of some old days in the “caf” at school in the dorms. The meatballs were a team favorite!

Everyone had more than their fill at the DCCC, courtesy of Fran Durant and Phi Theta Kappa. So naturally, upon arrival back at the DCCC Center’s VIP Room, we all crashed into our sleeping bags very quickly.

After all of that hard work napping, it was time for yet another meal! This time we headed over to the Marchel Ranch Chuckwagon Café for our grub that was to be provided by the legendary Buchanan’s. Having been in the Bar-J Chuck wagon in Jackson Hole, I think that everyone had somewhat of an idea what to expect. The meal was a western hearty meal with a tart slice of pie for dessert. Meanwhile the show was very spirited and unique. Several different acts took the stage and made it a new experience for us. All things considered, everyone had a knee-slappin’ good time. Then just like in the old west, we all went home to our VIP air-conditioned room for some shut eye.

Ryan Boeding

Last night was interesting. The gymnasium where we stayed did not have any A/C. It has been very hot and the gym did not cool down at all during the night. We had both doors to the building propped open all night and around 2am someone decided to throw fire crackers in the door and wake us up.

We rode with Jim Hallberg in the morning for the first 35 miles. Jim hosted us for dinner last night and he is a competitive triathlete at pulled us all the way. It was pretty humbling to see what a true athlete is capable of. We have been getting pretty full of ourselves because we have been riding hard for the past 38 days but a serious athlete like Jim has been training like that for years and it shows.

We had to finish the rest of the 100+ mile day on our own. We had a head wind for most of the day so it was a lot of work and we were very glad to get to the BIG pool. We stopped at the largest municipal pool in the country for a dip to cool off after the ride. This pool was huge and was a depression era government project. I ended up sleeping for a few hours to make up for the lack of sleep the night before as much of the team did after getting to lodging.

Grant Elpers who was a Pi Kapp at KSU hosted us for dinner at Golden Corral. The place probably won’t make any money this month after we cleaned them out. If you ever own a buffet style restaurant and see a bunch of dudes with shaved legs and goofy tans coming, lock the doors and pretend that you are not open.

Rob Raesemann

Lamar

We’ve come so far
In so many ways
Cycling into eastern Colorado’s Lamar
In the midst of our dwindling days.

We’ve become a group of brothers
Lending a caring heart and helping hand
Sharing and giving hope to others
Throughout this great and enormous land.

Tonight we find rest and relaxation
Together cleaning our bikes
And singing songs that make like vacation
‘Cause a century looms in the mornin’…Yikes!

To our bewilderment and surprise
We are rudely woken at 2 in the mornin’
By a stranger’s firecrackers lit beneath starry nighttime skies
Outside the open gyms doors where Uncle Rob was snorin’.

This is the end of my little poem
But our Journey continues strong
Another 34 and we’ll be home sweet home
After 71 days of singing this hopeful song.

Spencer Thomas

One of our first “hot” days was encountered on the way into La Junta. We were used to the nice mountain air and some of us were not prepared for the heat; however, we endured. The ride, from my perspective, seemed uneventful. We arrived at Koshare Kiva Indian Museum, our first lodging at a museum. The museum seemed to be very cozy, until 100 boy scouts showed up and we realized they were also staying there for the evening. We left for our arrival at a local Municipal Pool. We had a great time swimming, diving and sliding down a real big waterslide. After coming back to the museum, we left to go have dinner with the Lions Club. I had a great time chewing the fat with the Lion’s Club. We departed for a festival at a Catholic Church in La Junta after dinner. We had fun throwing hallowed eggs with confetti in them at each other and Nick Cloud. But, when we arrived back at lodging, we were faced with a quandary regarding our sleeping arrangements. We (all 20) were confined to about a fifteen square foot rectangle while the boy scouts obtained the run of the house. Before we went to bed we were treated with a rendition of “Taps” by a boy scout with a harmonica. Peace.

Mike Finn