LIFE ACROSS AMERICA 2010

Wow, what a day!  It’s started out early … I woke up at 4:00 a.m., packing and then breakfast at 5:30 and we loaded at 6:30 a.m.

105.5 miles with a 17.2 average.  Today Adella rode at her own pace and I rode the 1st 50 miles with Phil, Rick, John and Kevin.

After the 1st SAG I was contacted by Channel 2 News and Channel 7 News (out of Dayton, OH) which were contacted by the Community Blood Center on behalf of Life Across America.

Tony and Wade had a lot of “well wishers” from his company at the 50 mile mark to cheer them on and even his brother and lots of friends were there.  Channel 2 news showed up and interviewed Tony and took a lot of pictures of the “Ohio State Buckeyes”  tail gate party that was in effect.

I was interviewed there and then rode on … a few miles up the road … Channel 7 news contacted me and Steve Baker … took some footage of myself and other ABB riders and then followed up with an interview about Giving Blood and Life Across America 2010.

In St Paris I stopped and took a picture with the Chief of Police, JR Pence, Jr., who was nice enough to talk to Rick and I for a few minutes.

From there on … I rode with Kiwi Rick for quite a while … then we were joined by Scott and we rode together to the 2nd SAG.  At the 2nd SAG we were joined by Kevin … and … we rode the final 30 miles into Marysville together.

On the way into town we were running out of water so we stopped at a small store and I bought a gallon of water which I shared with George, Kevin, Scott and Rick.

When we finally cycled into Marysville … we were looking for an ice cream place … and … Scott said that God had brought him to a new ice cream store named, Farmhouse Ice Cream Parlor right on the main drag.

It is owned by Bill and Janet Howard … and … we met Cathy, and Jack while we were there.  We asked if they were open and they said no not yet, however they said that their air conditioning was broken and couldn’t be  fixed for a week … so they offered us free ice cream as a gesture of kindness and hospitality.  Yes … we did gladly accept their ice cream!

After that we decided that if a little ice cream was good then … more would be better … so we went to the Dairy Queen to buy a milkshake. (I’m pretty sure “addicted” to DQ might be an appropriate term here.)

At the DQ we might two very nice ladies … Cathy R and Diane … who asked us why we were riding so far and in such hot weather … their question led to a discussion about the nation-wide blood drive, Life Across America 2010, and I gave them a LAA 2010 business card and thanked them for donating blood.

After Cathy left … we talked to Diane and she let us take a picture with her next to her USPS truck, she told me that her friend, Neil/Neal? had been donating blood for a long time … so I asked her to tell him “thank you” for me.

Then we rode to the Holiday Inn Express and helped unload the luggage … Adella arrived later and said she had ridden about 7 miles extra because she had made a wrong turn somewhere.

Later at the hotel I received a very nice email from Cathy R … thanking us for sharing our story with her.

ABC updates:  Lots of contact now with blood centers … confirming our schedule and our stops.

• A quick note to thank Sher P and her staff … they did an amazing job to make sure that the news stations were apprised of the nation-wide blood drive Life Across America.
• We are in touch with New York Blood Center … and … everything is working out for our appearance there. (thanks Keith)
• Thanks to Jen and Abbey for all the followup phone calls and emails to the blood centers … it is much appreciated.
• I’ll talk to you later or tomorrow since we have another 102 mile day tomorrow from Marysville to Wooster.

Another good riding day … 75 miles from Indianapolis to Richmond.   Mostly level, flat riding with a few hills.  Adella and I started out with Kevin, Phil and Kiwi Rick … yet … we decided to stop and see the Hoosiers Gym, so had to let them go.

One amazing stop we made today was in Knightstown at the “Hoosier Community Gym” where the movie, “Hoosiers”, was filmed.

We met Reid Brennan and Mike who are caretakers at the gym.

Reid actually went to school there and played basketball in the gym during his early years.  He gave us a tour of the gym, locker rooms and a historical background about how the movie was filmed, etc. (Check out the Facebook pictures)

After we left there … Adella and I caught up with Robb and Lester and rode with them until Big John and Oklahoma Rick came along and then we rode with them for awhile until Adella ran out of steam! (at a 22-23 mph paceline, that’s understandable)

Pretty soon Lester and Robb came back up to us and I was pulling for awhile … then Robb decided to pick it up and I decided to ride with them … make was he flying, especially on the pulls up the “hills” … in fact, we caught back up with Rick and Big John … but only because I think they had stopped for some reason.  We then rode the rest of the way into Richmond together!

Once we arrived in Richmond we first stopped at Wendy’s for a bite to eat. (And took our bicycles into the restaurant with us … the manager questioned it at first and then said OK … however this was the first time he had seen that, in his 26 years of the business.)

Then I received a call from Adella saying there were people at the hotel looking for us!

So when I made it to the hotel … we were met at the hotel by employees of the Community Blood Center-Richmond, Indiana … Tracy and Andrew, Sher, Melinda and then later we met Amy and other staff over at the blood drive.

Also Steve Roger … a reporter from Pal-Item.com, Richmond, Indiana, newspaper, http://www.pal-item.com/ was there taking some photos of us for the newspaper.  (Thanks Steve!)

At the hotel we took a few pictures and then we rode our bicycles about a mile over to the blood drive at the Richmond Blood Center at 4450 Garwood Placed, it was great to meet the staff who greeted us as rode up to the blood center.

As soon as we arrived at the blood drive, there was a donor named Angie who was leaving … yet, took the time to talk to us and take a picture with us.

After a gracious greeting, we were given the opportunity to meet the donors.

One of our first donors that we met, since he had just finished giving blood, was Rich Lemming (who had recently moved to Seymour, Indiana, yet had driven all the way back up here to donate).  The staff thought that was great because I was from the Seymour area.

Fred Obermyer who was donating today, was there with his wife, Peggy, who was also retired law enforcement.  It was great fun talking to her about LE and saying “thank you”  to Fred for donating blood.

And another donor, ??, was their with her daughter, I thanked them and  her daughter said that she would like to donate when she’s old enough.

We are now back at the hotel, loaded with lots of goodies from CBC-Richmond, IND,  for the other ABB cyclists on our trip to Maryville, Ohio, tomorrow.

A special thanks to Sher and her staff for the incredible “gifts” they gave us … you are an amazing, compassionate, giving group of people and we want to thank you for all you do!  (Thanks Sher … great job!)

We’ll probably see them tomorrow along the route … probably somewhere near the 1st SAG … since she said the media wanted to interview us and take some photos.

So until then or later this evening …

What a great rest day!  We were able to “sleep in” and then we were picked up by the Indiana Blood Center van by Pete Lux … who transported us and our bicycles to 3450 N. Meridian … and … we were able to visit with blood donors and IBC staff.

Yes Abbey it’s true they have an amazing group of staff at IBC … Adella and I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed talking to and “thanking” the donors who were present … I took the opportunity as a blood recipient to individually shake hands, thank each donor, and if they didn’t object … we took a picture with them.

Then CEO Byron B … took us into a staff meeting and introduced us and gave us the opportunity to speak to the tele-donor recruitment staff … that was a lot of fun … and they had some great questions about “why” we would be cycling across America?  When we finished we did a group picture with lots of hugs and handshakes as we said our goodbyes.

After that, Channel 59 Fox News … reporter/photographer Jamie and Noel (an intern) came in to interview us and do a local news piece, as we talked to the blood donors, a husband (Chris) and his wife who were donating at the same time … this is a newscast which we are looking forward to seeing and then sharing the Fox 59 news link with the ABC members.

Later we met with Byron, B, Tyler Rice, Dan Waxman, Michael Parejko, Mark Beltz and Pete L gave us a “drive by” scenic tour of the Governor’s mansions on our way to lunch.

Adella and I took lots of pictures which should be uploaded to Facebook later this evening. (Enjoy seeing the “faces” of some amazing donors and the incredible IBC staff who take care of them when they come in to donate blood.)

We even stopped in downtown to take a picture of the War Memorial at the center square … my connection is my grandfather, who fought with the Indiana 66th Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.

Indianapolis is an amazing, growing, lively city where the “night life” just starts to come alive at sunset … lots of incredible war memorials and interesting buildings that have some amazing history to them!

We had a blast and want to thank Indiana Blood Center for their gracious hospitality.

To Bob Wise … I didn’t meet Dawn (she was on vacation) however I did get a picture of your name and Perry’s name on the Team FPOL cycling jersey which was in a frame on the lobby wall.

Tomorrow is another 75 miles to Richmond, Indiana … we’ll talk to you later.

It was a great day … only 65 miles and through some very scenic and gorgeous countryside … it was foggy this morning when we started … yet after the long night of thunderstorms and heavy rain, we were very happy that it wasn’t pouring!

Adella had a tough start when the room key would not work .. so she went to the front desk and their “master key” wouldn’t work either … and her bicycle was still in the room … so they called maintenance and he was there in a few minutes and everything worked out OK.  We were loaded and on our way.

She was feeling good today and we decided to try to catch up the the first group of cyclists.  It took us awhile yet by working together we were able to catch up with Phil, Tony, Wade, Fran, Kiwi Rick, Mark, George and Joe.

We were then able to relax a bit and give us a chance to “recover” from the chase.

The rest of the day was awesome … we rode together and then stopped at the “Roark” Custom Metal Fabrication factory where they make “ROARK” bicycles.  We were given a tour of the factory by Charles “Ted” Roark, President of the company, it was very interesting to see how their bicyles were fabricated and assembled. (check out the pictures on the album on Facebook)

We then rode our bicycles over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and after sharing the Life Across America nation wide blood drive and what we and our ABB cyclemates were doing … we had the opportunity to take our pictures with Rick Phillips, Security Supervisor with 34 years of experience in law enforcement and the offical Brickyard 400  Pace Vehicle.  (check out the pix on Facebook)

After that we rode together over to the Major Stanley Velodrome and all of us cyclists had a blast pretending that we were more than “wannabes” on the banked track!  It was awesome! (I’m sure my son, Aaron, will remember his day on the Velodrome in 1996)

I was very proud of Adella … even though at first she was very apprehensive about riding on the Velodrome … she did it anyway and found out that it was a lot of fun and I was able to watch her self-esteem and self-confidence grow by leaps and bounds as she became bolder and bolder!

Finally we finished our 65 mile ride by cycling into downtown along the canal area … it was a very pretty ride.

Adella had one of her best days yet … 16.8 mph average and her most enjoyable part of the ride was when she was able to ride with and paceline behind Phil (one of our strongest and classiest cyclist on this tour) … and she was in cycling heaven!

ABC update:

• I received an email from Marsha S., in Bethelem, PA., letting me know that she was putting the final touches on our scheduled visit there.
• I rec’d an email from Betty B., in Pensacola, FL, letting us know that Pensacola has some incredible things planned for our 17Aug10 visit there.
• I received a phone call from Danny at Indianapolis Blood Center … confirming the time 9:45 a.m. pick up time for the blood drive tomorrow.

After route rap and mechanic’s hour … we all went to eat dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown … it was very good although they were very packed!

Talk to you tomorrow on our rest day.

I woke up early, said my prayers, and read the scriptures … had an early breakfast after loading our luggage, and then I decided to take off by myself for a leisurely ride in the early morning hours.

Since today was another 82 mile day, I thought it would be easy and yet … I had an incredible day of cycling and finished  in 5 hours and with an 18 mph average.

The first fifteen miles I rode by myself and then I caught up with Lester and Texas John for awhile.

Then Boston’s Big John caught up with us and I asked him if it was OK for me to ride with him … a quick “yes” was sufficient and we were off to the races together.  (his average turned out to be over 20 mph average)

It was unbelievable because he was riding like he was on a “personal mission” to create his personal best, and as any  ”big man” should ride …. hard, strong, fast, never letting up,  and very consistent.

Lucky for me, I was able to hang on … to the finish.  (Thanks John for making an old man … feel young again and helping me “relive” the feeling of “being utterly exhausted” in a good way!)

Adella was riding by herself and took the time to stop at church today and partake of the sacrament. ( It was meant to be because it turned out to be a ward where one of her friends had served a mission … so everyone was really friendly to her.

After we arrived at the Quality Inn … my nephew Gary A and his wife Helen … came by for a visit and took us out to Appleby’s for a very nice lunch.  (Adella really enjoyed talking to them and wanted to know all about my childhood and some of the crazy things we used to do … she loved hearing the “war stories” from Gary about Vietnam and the Marine Corps from someone besides myself … since Gary had served there also in the USMC.

After they left … Adella took a much needed nap and we are now getting ready for route rap and dinner.

I’m still waiting to hear from Indianapolis Blood Center and find out what is planned there?  Danny said he would get back to us on Monday.

Tomorrow is going to be a shorter day … only 65 miles! (I can’t believe that I’m saying “only 65 miles” … are you kidding me?)

Tomorrow should be a lot of fun … plus the next day is a “rest day” … Whoopee!

Talk to you later.

Hi Everyone,

Another incredible 98 mile day … Wow!  (and a 16.9 mph average)

I ended up riding most of the day with Phil, Big John, Kiwi Ric, George S., and part of the time with John Nixon.(check out the pix taken on the “fly” on Facebook)

It was a beautiful ride among fields of corn at least 6 – 8 feet high. (Awesome!)

This year’s 2010 route is on the backroads of America, through some of the most beautiful areas of the countryside that you could ever want to visit.

I must admit that during yesterday’s ride there was a prevailing ”attitude” of “get off my roads” day from the drivers toward our cyclists. (Not sure why … except maybe they just don’t like cyclists riding on their beautiful roads, I guess?)

Today was a lot of fun … although very long (98 miles) with lots of turns and very tiring … yet it was fun riding with this group of cyclists because we don’t get to ride together very often. (since we usually start at different times!)

Lauren crashed today … luckily not hurt bad, just a lot of “road rash”.  Get well quick, Lauren!

I left a message for Danny at the Indianapolis Blood Center and received an email from him saying that he would get back to me later today about our stop in Indianapolis, Ind, on Monday and Tuesday.

I also received an email from Celeste  (NYCBC) asking to do a voicemail donorcast for them.  (I will be working on that over our “rest day” in Indianapolis.

A special note to Gail … “it was nice to hear that you and Anna had so much fun at Girl’s Camp this week!” (And a thank you to D.C. and Anna for driving our truck to Portsmouth … they leave in a few days.)

Adella was able to upload yesterday’s pictures until this evening … she is now working on it!

To Abbey in D.C., thanks for the email … lots of good things are happening now … an answer to your specific questions … no nothing yet.

Tomorrow is another 82 mile day … from Champaign to Crawfordsville, Ind. … then we’ll be in the “Hoosier” state.

Talk to you later today or tomorrow.

Note:

Today we rode to Springfield, Illinois … Abraham Lincoln’s hometown!  “Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew up in Indiana and came into his own in Illinois.  There are some amazing things to learn about this complex, shrewd and wondrous man!”  (And you can do that by visiting some of the available attractions listed below:

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, make sure you spend enough time to understand “The Journey”  (allow about 3 hours to visit this)
• Illinois Vistor Center at Union Station
• Union Square Park
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site
• Old State Capital
• Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices
• The Lincoln Tomb
• Lincoln’sNew Salem State Historic Site
• The Great Western Railroad Depot
• Lincoln’s Church
• Lincoln Ledger

These are just a few of the items that you should take time to visit if you’re ever in Springfield … it’s obvious that you won’t be able to visit them all in just one day … so prepare to spend a few days in the state capitol.

(Now back to our wonderful ride today)

Wow another 106 mile day!  With a 15.7 mph average.

Up at 0430 hrs, ate breakfast at 0600 hrs and then loading at 0700 hrs.

On the road and then at 0735 hrs did a phone interview with Jim Leach at WMAY radio … we had a lot of fun talking to him, and listening to Anna McFarland who was helping to coordinate the blood center arrangements.

Adella and I rode together early in the ride … then I hooked up with Big John for awhile and finally with Larry and Don.

Then I had to make sure we made it to the news conference at 4 p.m. at the FitClub South at 3631 South 6th St. in Springfield.

So Don and I did lots of hard riding with a fair amount of crosswinds, yet we made it on time … and … had a few moments extra to stop at the Bike Tech shop in town … where we met the owner, Bob and saw a poster about Life Across America.

At the FitClub South (manager is Geoff)  is where they held the blood drive and … they had a “mobile” donor coach open for blood donations. (see pictures on Facebook)

While we were at the news conference we met David Parsons (CEO), KathleenK, Tara M, and ? Richey all from the Central Illinois Community Blood Center. (As always, the highlight for me was meeting the blood center’s staff and the blood donors!)

Also we met Illinois State Police Trooper … Mindy Carroll (Safety Education Officer) a very nice lady, officer and a blood donor.

Eric Kirbach and his wife(is the lady Aaron and I met back in Life Across America 1996) … Eric is the Chief of Police for Divernon Police Department.

We were interviewed by two reporters, Chris from Channel 20 news, WICS-TV, www.wics.com and Steve from Channel 3 news.

Jim Nelson from the State Journal Register was also there at the news conference.

We were presented a Proclamation from the Mayor of Springfield by David Parsons … declaring today as “Life Across America 2010 Day” in Springfield.

A special “thank you” to Lee Milner and Anna McFarland from the blood center for all the hard work they did to coordinate this event and bring it to life.

On a personal “Acorn” level, I received a very special phone call from George G tonight … congratulations to him and to his family.

Well, tomorrow we ride up to Champaign, Illinois … another 96 mile day!

I’ll check in with you tomorrow.

Today was a 97 miler … luckily it didn’t rain on us, yet it was very hot and very humid.

Lots of “Missour rollers” … even to the Illinois state line … where Adella and I were able to cross the mighty Mississippi River on a ferry boat, along with some very huge trucks, we took a lot of pictures of Phil and Rick (Oklahoma) who rode across the swollen and flooded river with us.

After all the Missouri hills and rollers … our 1st 25 miles in Illinois were “flat” and under a very hot afternoon “sun”.

The first thing we did in Quincy was to check into our hotel and then ride over to the Steak and Shake for a wonderful milkshake and a steak burger.  It was awesome!

A quick update from ABC blood centers:

• I talked to Lee M(Springfield, ILL) today and he is working on setting everything up for tomorrow’s blood drive in Springfield … it is a 108 mile day for us, and we are being invited to talk to a couple of the local radio stations on the way in to town. After route rap tonight I will be talking to him again trying to firm up the exact route into Springfield. (Thanks a lot Lee for all your hard work!)
• I also talked to Sher P, (Dayton, OH) she is working hard to set up everything for Richmond, Indiana,blood drive and is working hard to co-ordinate the different media outlets they have in their area.  (Sher you are awesome!)
• Our stop in Richmond will be following our “rest day” in Indianapolis, Ind.

A special thank you “The Trek Store” in Santa Rosa, CA, and to John for helping out Freddie (a fellow cyclist) to get the parts that he needed … awesome customer service from a distance … way to go Brett’s crew!

I’ll talk to you later.

Today was another 82 mile day … with threatening rain and thunderstorms all day long … however, it seemed to hold off until we made it to the Holiday Inn Express in Kirksville.  (Later when we went out to dinner at Napoli’s … it poured and luckily we were inside.)

What a day!  We rode through an area that it called the “Thousand Hills State Park” and believe me when I tell you … they started out with Missouri “rollers” that continued to get steeper and steeper.

I again rode with Kiwi Rick from New Zealand … since we have a similar riding style … he is a good climber(by my standards) and I’m a good descender (by his standards) so it seems to work out well for both of us.

Yet I must say that by the end of today’s ride … I was not only tired and exhausted … “I felt OLD!”  (Both physically and mentally).  So tired that I took a shower then “crashed” for a 90 minute power nap … and … it was so hard to wake up for route rap and dinner!

Because of the current wet conditions … I didn’t take many pictures today.  Have you noticed that there always seems to be some kind of challenge … mountains, wind, rain, etc.? (Yet what pictures we  did take will be on Facebook)

John Hurley(from Boston area)  is a  good climber and was in  front of us on a hill and was able to take an incredible photograph of Shawn and I climbing and cresting a hill with all the “rollers” on the never ending highway behind us … (if you’ve never been to Missouri, it probably won’t mean a lot … yet, if you’ve ever ridden a bicycle through the “rollers” on Missouri highways … then this picture has “Missouri Rollers’ written all over it!)

We heard from Dan D (from Erie, PA stop) he has booked radio remote with a local radio station WCTL 106.3, and we are to call in next week.  (Thanks Dan for your “heads up”.)

We also heard from Sher P (from Dayton, OH area) and she it trying hard to make connections with ABC and FOX … looking forward to hearing more from her.(Thanks Sher!)

Also heard from Lee M (Springfield, Ill. stop) and he is working on connecting us with a couple of local radio stations … so that we can do the interviews by cell phone … along the way.  a special thanks to Lee.

Also heard from Mistie H (Augusta, GA stop) and she brought us up to date on the many things they have planned in Augusta, GA.  Too many to list here … yet, we need to say “thank you” to Mistie and her crew for all the neat things they are working on.

Also Jen checked in to let us know that NYCBC has some great events planned and have moved us to lodging in the Times Square area … a special thank you to the crew at NYCBC for their support and also to  Jen for everything she is doing to help us keep track of each of the scheduled events.

Also a special “thank you” to Shawn for riding with us today and the kind words he said to me after we finished.

An interesting sidenote is to observe how we come together as “30 complete strangers” and 30 days later we have become “family” … and it’s amazing to watch the diverse personalities come together and watch how even the very strong and fast “cyclists” are willing to kid around with the rest of us and in their own way really do care about us.

Two of our strongest riders … Phil and Ric are obviously competitive by nature … yet today were willing to stop and help a “damsel” in distress … in this case, Adella, who had a flat tire 1 mile from the hotel.  To understand this sacrifice and the compassion of this act of kindness … you need to understand that Phil is almost always “first” to the hotel.  (So to Phil … a special “thank you” award for helping Adella change a flat!)

Tomorrow the ride to Quincy, Illinois, will be another 97 mile day … with threats of thunderstorms, rain, and flooding … in fact, part of our route tomorrow will have to be changed because our scheduled “ferry ride” across the Mississippi River … is cancelled because the ferry boats are closed because the river is too high.  (So they will have to “shuttle” us across a different bridge which is not open to cyclists.)

The ABC staff have done an amazing job of helping all of us … literally “weather the storms” of a “cross country challenge” … so thank you to Michelle, Gerard, Pam, Judy and Alex!)

Talk to you tomorrow.

Whew! Another 90 mile day … with lots of Missouri rollers and lots of threatening rainstorms.

We lucked out and was hit by the rains the last 5-10 miles into town.

I rode with “Kiwi” Rick all day today … he is from New Zealand and is a very strong rider.

Adella had a fabulous ride today and made it through the whole 90 miles with no real problems … Gerard, the mechanic had to tweak her shifting at one of the SAG stops yet that seemed to cure the “jumping out of gears” for her.

Once we arrived in town … we stopped at the Dairy Queen for a snack.

Then we cleaned up both of our bikes … so we’d be ready for tomorrow’s ride of 82 miles into Kirksville, MO.

There are supposed to be “lots of rollers” tomorrow.  And maybe some more rain.

Big John Hurley … one of our strongest riders is good friends with Dan Harrigan … who rode with Aaron and I in Life Across America 1996 … (small world eh?)

Lots of “flats” today … like the one we witnessed when we were riding behind Robb on the road … his rear tire blew wide open and completely ripped the tube apart and blew the tire right off of the rim … instantly! (It sounded like a shotgun went off next to us!)

Rumor has it there is a “media blood drive” tomorrow in Kirksville, MO.,  although I haven’t heard anything about it yet?

First, I’ll have to pedal over there to see what’s happening?

Not many pix today. Talk to you later or tomorrow.