Rockford, Illinois

Waking up today I was still blown away by how much fun everyone had at the dance last night. The energy the team is able to gather out of every inch of their bodies is amazing and truly inspires me to continue to push myself in every aspect of this trip. We woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a long ride into Rockford, Illinois. Unfortunately the moment had come where we had to leave the state of Iowa, but it was also exciting to check out a new state I have never been too. After a wonderful breakfast in the dining hall of the camp, the team met for a group picture and joined their pace lines. I rode with David Iles and Alberto Minnocci today and we chose to sweep, which I was very okay with after a rough day yesterday. David and I always have a blast when we ride together and today with Alberto was no different. We talked a lot about making sure we stay in touch after the summer, which included us planning trips to each other’s schools in the fall. Everyone was going at a slower pace today due to being worn out from yesterday so we were a little bit behind schedule. We got to lunch around 11:30 and by that time we were in a time crunch to make it to our friendship visit in time. Mark racked as many people as he could fit on the few vans that were at lunch, but because we were sweeps David and I had to keep going until we made it to a crew van with open spots. We ended up riding about 15 more miles and we caught up to all of the vans and racked our bikes up.

We drove about 20 minutes away from our rack point and arrived at an indoor sports complex in Rockford. While there we were going to play some different games with a group that was using the facility as a daily summer camp. Upon arriving I met a girl named Christie, and we quickly bonded. Before I knew it, I had a new girlfriend and I was being introduced to all her friends as Christie’s boyfriend. The team split up into two groups and with the clients we wrapped each other in toilet paper to make mummies. My group wrapped Travis, and after everything was all said and done we were declared to have the best wrapped mummy. Everyone in our group was very excited, and after Travis escaped from his wrap we moved on to other games. To end our visit some of the guys volunteered to get whipped cream pies thrown in their faces. It was pretty crazy to see how some of the participants reacted. While some were very eager to pie our riders, others didn’t like the situation at all and refused to do it.

One of the craziest things I have seen all this trip happened at todays visit. While some of the guys were outside, there were still some of the clients, as well as my teammates hanging out inside. I went inside and met a guy who knew every single mascot to any college I threw at him. He went around the table and asked everyone what school we went to, and without hesitation he named the mascot. I even tried to trick him by asking smaller schools, which did not faze him.

Doug Meenan who is from Rockford set up most of the days events for us besides the friendship visit. He lined up the lodging location, dinner, and breakfast for us tomorrow. Doug took a poll of what everyone wanted to eat for dinner and after a very lopsided outcome the verdict was Chinese food. Everyone was super excited and when we got to lodging and it was time for dinner the guys went crazy! I think I ended up eating so much my stomach hurt but it was so worth it! To end the night everyone laid out there beds in the middle of the room and watched Borat together. Everyone has a lot of fun going out and doing different things but these kind of bonding moments are what make us more closer!

After a long day I was ready to lay down and get some rest for our last 90+ mile ride of the summer. It is absolutely crazy how quickly this journey is going and if I could slow it down I would definitely try. 

Can't believe we rode across another state! 

Dubuque, Iowa

After one of the best nights of sleep I have had all trip, it was very difficult getting out of the hotel bed this morning. We woke up at 5:45 and had to be outside with our bikes and bags by 6:15 for circle up. Once we got the business of the day out of the way we went back inside the hotel for breakfast and it was absolutely delicious. I filled up my plate with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and sausage gravy. After washing it all down with a cup of coffee I was ready for the 85 mile ride ahead of me.

Today my pace line consisted of Michael Brooks from The University of Houston and Jason Milliken from Miami of Ohio. Knowing we had the incentive to do well we made sure we were the first pace line out of lodging and pushed the pace all day. We started off the day great, and then we got to mile 20 and everything went down hill from there. Because of unexpected construction we were stopped for about 15 minutes which allowed the rest of the pace lines to catch up to us. They released us and once again we were back in front and no one was to be seen. Throughout the day we were red flagged 7 times due to the back pace lines slowing up the vans from leap frogging ahead. When you are going at a fast pace nothing is more frustrating than having to stop when you don’t want to. We did our best to keep a good attitude throughout the day but when things are out of your power it gets annoying.

Once we got to mile 80 we were very ready for the day to be over so we could relax and get our prize for finishing first. After an awesome down hill we arrived at Dan’s crew stop and found out that we had another 20ish miles to ride because of another reroute. This really put me in the slumps and the last thing I wanted to do was keep riding. And to make things even better, what turned into 15 miles were also some of the hardest 15 miles I have ever had to ride. Some of the hills we had to climb were very challenging but our pace line got over every single one of them. We made it to Jesus’ stop and from there it was almost all down hill. After over 5 hours on the saddle we arrived at the camp we are staying at and met Spencer. It was so nice to be done for the day and to finish first again. Spencer gave us our prize, which were hats. We hung out for a little bit and then got showered up. Today presented challenges that when put together some of us have never experienced. Not only was it a challenging day mileage wise, it was also very hot and humid, the road conditions were fairly poor and we had to ride fast to make rack point. On days like these we look for the crewmembers to keep us motivated and encourage us and unfortunately we did not get that from everyone.

Winning pace line 

How we really felt after our ride

After getting showered up we hung out for a little while and then loaded up in the vans for a team event. After close to a 20 minute drive we arrived at the location of the movie Field of Dreams, which was pretty cool. Although I have never watched the movie it was fun to hang out on the baseball field, walk through the cornfields and spend time with my teammates off the bike.

Around 6:00 we went back to lodging to eat dinner and get ready for our dance party. We had a filling dinner in the cafeteria and then went back to the gym for the dancing. The camp has a wide range of participants and everyone had a lot of fun. Although we had a very frustrating day on the bike friendship visits always put everyone in a good mood and I definitely cheered up. We danced for close to two hours and I am glad I found the energy to give it my all!!

Tomorrow we have another 100 mile day and I am excited to give it my all. Unfortunately we have finished another state as we enter Illinois tomorrow. We are going to Rockford, which is the home of our very own Doug Meenan. Should be another great day in the life of a JOH cyclist and I look forward to creating more memories.

Davenport, Iowa

It is sad to think that we are almost out of another state on this awesome Journey. From California we have gone across Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, and now Iowa and in two days we will be in Illinois. Every time we see a Pi Alpha they tell us to enjoy every second of the trip because it goes by fast and I am definitely seeing that happen.

Wake up was at 5:45 this morning and after a pretty good night of sleep I was ready for the day. During training never did I think I would see a 60 mile ride and think it was a shorter day but now that we have numerous days over 90 these sub 70 days seem like nothing. I was excited to get out of the road, try out my new tires and finish the 60 miles with two guys I have not rode an entire day with. Today I rode with Kevin Dubbins and Kyle Marpe. Both guys have had different problems on the trip which have made certain days tough for them so we were pumped to get a full day in. Kevin is the guy I mentioned earlier in my blog with the broken hip, and last time we rode he couldnt finish because he was in to much pain. Kyle has had countless bike issues and the last time we road together we got 89 miles into our ride and one of his back tire spokes broke so he couldn't continue. We were one of the last pace lines to leave lodging today and we decided to just take it easy and cruise through the 60 mies. After about 3 1/2 hours on the bike we arrived in Davenport and received a very nice surprise.

Luke got a little sleepy after our ride into Davenport 

Coming into today we knew that we would be staying in a hotel but that wasn't even the best part. Normally when we do get hotels we are two guys to a bed but that wasn't the case for tonight. The city of Davenport sponsored our lodging and they paid for us to each get our own beds. I don't think I have seen some of my teammates as happy as they were when we found that out all trip, and when I got into my room with Blake the first thing we did was collapse on our beds. The team had about an hour to get showered up before going over to Happy Joes for lunch. A former Pi Alpha sponsored the meal for us, which was a pizza buffet. I don't know how business stay in business when we come to town because 35 guys sure can put down a lot of food. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal and once done eating all I wanted to do was take a nap.

I got into my bed for a nap at about 2:15 and next thing I know it was 5:30 and time for dinner. Riding everyday has become a way of life, but our bodies still take a beating and these naps are what the guys look forward to any chance we can get them. For dinner and our friendship visit we went to a local water park and unlike the one in Marshalltown, there were plenty of clients for us to hang out with. They group we were with brought out close to 100 clients and speaking for our team I know we had a blast. I was involved in a hand stand competition with a few people for a solid 30 minutes and then I took advantage of a few of the slides for a while. We sat down and ate hotdogs, cookies and chips and while there I talked to Michelle, Karen, and James. Michelle was very interested about our trip, and was worried about our safety everyday. We assured her that we were staying safe everyday and she reminded us to always wear a helmet and watch out for traffic.

After two hours of fun everyone said their goodbyes and we made our way back to lodging. Although I took a long nap I am still pretty excited for bed tonight and my bed I get all to myself. After two shorter days on the bike the team faces a 95 mile day tomorrow. This evening during circle up we were told that the first pace line to finish tomorrow will get a prize. With the pace line I have tomorrow there is a good chance we could finish first and I am definitely going for it!

Iowa City

After a long day on the saddle yesterday the team was ready for a shorter day today into Iowa City. Because we arent able to take interstates we have to take back roads and highways a lot that often take us out of the way, even so today we only have 30 miles. The team woke up at 6 A.M. and went into the normal daily routine. Getting ready for a shorter ride though is sometimes harder because your mind isnt as into the day as it would be for a longer ride. I got dressed and put my duffle bag and backpack outside and then realized that I had a flat tire. The day before I noticed a hole in my back tire but was still able to ride the whole day on it without a problem, but I guess that caught up to me. Because it was such a short ride I didnt really worry to much about it and racked my bike for the day.

I rode with Mark to Iowa City and it felt like everyone made it there in less than an hour. I was pretty excited to go to Iowa City because we have two guys that go to the University of Iowa and going to another college town with guys who attend that school would be fun. We arrived at the old Capitol Building and were greeted by members of the Arc as well as a few media people. The team lined up in front of the building, met some people and then went to one of the residence halls for lunch. The dorm food at Iowa made the food at UT look so bad and everyone enjoyed a great lunch. Once everyone was  nice and full we made our way over to a recreation center where we would be staying the night. A lot of the guys took advantage of the pool, and some slept but I went straight to a bike shop to get new tires. The last thing I wanted to do was miss another day so I took advantage of the down time. It is ridiculous how much bike stuff costs sometimes but I got my new tires and put them on my bike.

Once I got back to lodging I still had a little while to get some rest before our friendship visit so i laid down for about 45 minutes. We got up around 5 pm and loaded up in the vehicles for our friendship visit. We went to the Arc of Iowa City to eat dinner and hang out for a few hours. We ate pizza and enjoyed great conversation with the clients there. One of the girls I ate lunch with was named Erin and she was the star of the show for sure. Erin attracted a lot of attention and I could tell she loved having all of us guys around. We all had a great time hanging out together and it was sad to say goodbye. Erin insisted on taking pictures with as many of us as she possibly could and I was glad to get one with her!

Because two of my teammates go to Iowa we took advantage and had them show us around a little bit. After the friendship visit one of David's chapter brothers came and picked us up and took us to their fraternity house. We spent a couple of hours there playing xbox, watching tve and relaxing. Breaking into smaller groups is necessary some times and it was nice getting everyone else's insight on the trip. We walked back to lodging and once we were there I was very ready for bed. Another great day in the books, and more memories made. Tomorrow we have another short day and we arrive in Daveport!

Something I realized while I was in Iowa City is how much I miss Knoxville. You cant beat being in a college town but no where on earth makes me happier than Big Orange Country. Although I am having the summer of my life I really look forward to a new year at The University of Tennessee and seeing all of my friends and brothers again. There is no place like Rocky Top. GO VOLS!

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

After such a great day yesterday in Des Moines, it was going to take a lot today to compete. When the alarm went off this morning at 6 it was very hard to get out of the comfortable hotel bed. After getting ready for the days bike ride I walked down stairs and the amazing smell of the hotels breakfast hit me. I could not wait to get my bike outside so I could sit down to some warm food. The team enjoyed eggs, sausage, waffles and yogurt, which was a nice way to start a long day. Once everyone was fed we went outside to start our morning circle up and then got on the road.

Today in my pace line I had Chris Stubel from Georgia Tech and Luke Millen from Purdue University. Both of these guys are very strong riders so I was excited to get on the road and get the 90 miles in the books. The three of us were the second group to leave lodging and it didn’t take long for us to jump in the lead of the pack. We put our all into todays ride and interestingly enough it slowed us down. At no point during any ride is a cyclist allowed to be in front of all the vans. There has to always be a van in front of and behind all riders and this sometimes creates issues when guys are going very slow during a ride. Today because we were going so fast it was hard for the vans to leap frog ahead in time so we got stopped a lot. In 90 miles today we ended up getting red flagged four times because we had to wait for a van to jump in front of us. This frustrated the three of us a little bit but at the end of the day we realized there was nothing we could do about it.

The road conditions were a little poor today but luckily we were able to get the majority of the ride in with cloud coverage, which made things much easier. Although the sun wasn’t shining the humidity was still there. I think today I sweated more than I have all trip even though todays ride wasn’t too physically demanding. After 5 ½ hours on the bike we arrived as the first pace line into Cedar Rapids and pulled into the parking lot of the Arc of Central Eastern Iowa. We not only had our friendship visit here today but we are also staying the night in the building. A YMCA is across the street from the Arc so we were able to go their and get showered up for our friendship visit at 6:00. Everyone hung out in a conference room for a couple hours until the employees in the building left so we could get set up and have our friendship visit. While in there I laid down on the very uncomfortable floor and took a nice 1½ hour nap.

I was woken up around 5:45 and went outside to meet the members of the Arc. Today at our friendship visit we had a dance party and dinner, which was a lot of fun. Although it was hot outside the whole team still had the energy to dance for a few hours and keep the clients entertained. I met a girl named Sarah early on in the evening and had a lot of fun hanging out with her throughout the visit. About half way into the night we stopped dancing to have dinner. We ate some great pork, potatoes, and baked beans along with Kool-Aid and cookies. The remainder of the visit was a lot of fun and all the clients left with big smiles on their faces.

So I will continue with what I did yesterday and talk about what I learned today. Although the cyclist get a lot of praise for what they do, the crew members do a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure our daily routine runs smoothly. On some days and in certain situations things don’t run as smoothly as we would like and we have to learn to accept it and move on. Today my pace line was red flagged 4 times and it frustrated Chris, Luke, and I very much because we wanted to keep riding. So from this I learned that I need to be more patient and not let things upset me as easily. Everyone is doing their best and without every member of the team we wouldn’t be the same group I have come to love. 

Marshalltown, Iowa

"There are days when you can just feel in your bones that something extraordinary is going to happen. There are other days when the extraordinary things in life surprise you." This quote really stuck out to me and I think it applies to my trip very strongly. We wake up every single morning knowing that we have to get on the bike and pedal for up to 115 miles and then get off the bike and still have enough energy to go interact with people with disabilities at different locations. This task wouldn't be that big of a deal if it was only once every so often but we do it every single day. Some of the moments that happen on a daily basis are so incredible it is almost hard to put into words, and understanding Journey of Hope is something that is very hard to do unless you experience it in person. 

Today we woke up and from the beginning I was in a good mood. Wake up was at 5:45 and we had our normal routine of getting our cycling clothes on, breakfast and then our circle up. Breakfast this morning was sponsored by David Adickes, the Pi Alpha that has sponsored our dinner the night before. Him and his wife brought us bagels, cereal, yogurt, and chocolate milk which is always a big hit for the team. During our morning circle up we were also accompanied by David's family which was seemed like a pretty cool experience for David and his family. Really made me miss my family seeing them hang out with us and made me extremely excited to see them in Washington D.C. Due to time issues, along with construction we had to rack our bikes to start the day. We took a detour around the city and ended up on the other side of Des Moines. i rode today with Michael Walton and Blake Neuman who both go to Texas Christian University. We started the day as the first pace line and that remained true for the entirety of the ride. After our reroute we only had to ride about 44 miles to get to our destination in Marshalltown. Blake started in the front of the pace line and set a great pace that the rest of us continued for the rest of the ride. We ended up averaging 18.7 mph today which is pretty fast considering the terrain we went over today. After passing the first crew stop at mile 10 we didn't stop again until we arrived at the Marshalltown Family Aquatic Center where we would be eating lunch and having a friendship visit.

After eating a great hoagie and hanging out with the team for about an hour the water park opened and the fun began. Unfortunately not a lot of the clients of the Arc came out to the water park with us but the entire team still had a blast. There were three pretty big slides as well as two diving boards that everyone got great use out of. While we were going down one of the slides that you had to sit in a tube for David and I were on a mission to flip ourselves when turning but we were unsuccessful after many attempts. After a fun few hours everyone loaded back up in the vehicles and went to our lodging for the night which is a hotel! I am rooming with Jason, Kevin, and Travis tonight which is exciting because we haven't been in the same room together since Park City. We had about 2 1/2 hours to get settled in, shower, and do whatever else we needed to before leaving the hotel to go to our friendship visit at 5:30.

Our friendship visit today was an absolute blast! We went to a bowling alley and when we arrived there was over 100 people there waiting for us. All of our team members split up between lanes and bowled with the different clients. David and I went to the far land and enjoyed a few game with Katie, Marisue, George and Kody. We all had a great time, despite me being an absolute awful bowler. I think after two games Marisue ended up being the best of the bunch and we called it quits. While bowling we ate a delicious catered meal which included pork, potatoes, and green beans. We also did our fair share of dancing with everyone, and Katie taught me a few new dance moves. It is days like today that make me realized how amazing this trip is and how extraordinary moments can come from the simplest things like a hug from a client or getting my butt kicked in bowling by a 65 year old woman with Down Syndrome. After a fun packed friendship visit we left the bowling alley and went to a local car wash to get the vehicles cleaned.

I never would have imaged I would have fun cleaning a car until I got on this trip. The five of us in our van try to make the most of everything we do and that doesn't change when we are at the car wash. Each one of us has a different job and we put all that we have into it. After I got done vacuuming the inside, Kyle and Michael got to work on the outside. The energy that the two of them have together is absolutely awesome and they are hysterical. About 7 minutes after pulling it into the port the SharkTank was clean. We examined all 6 of the vehicles and ours was not only the cleanest, but we had the most fun doing it by far. The team left the carwash and headed back to lodging where I ended up staying for the rest of the night. I did some bike maintenance for a little while and then laid down. 

Today was an absolutely amazing day and it is going to be hard to beat. Who would have known so many special moments could be made in Marshalltown, Iowa. From all that I have discovered in this trip, you really never know what you are going to get!