Day 9-6/24 Updates
John's Day 9 Journal: The Final Assault through Pittsburgh
06/26/08 11:05
Route:
Mechanicstown, OH, to
Chambersburg, PA
Total Miles: 182
Miles I Road: 84
To-Date Total: 912
Weather: 60-80 degrees; high humidity; another beautiful day
Highlights
Today we awoke knowing this was our final real day of riding, but we were going to have to work for it. With the rest Team Will ahead in Washington D.C. for a CureSearch event, Team 1 was asked to handle a double shift of roughly 230 miles, double our daily miles. We were told, though, that a group of riders would come to provide relief later, if possible.
After some discussion we decided to split into two groups of three riders, Team A and B. With lots of climbing scheduled for the day, Team A was made up of Jonathon, Ray, and John, who had been pulled from Shift 2. The slower climbers, me and Don, and the injured Mark (knee problems) made up Team B.
In view of a rural setting with fog bleeding through the fields and as the sun rose above, Team A headed out in the first two-hour shift. As we started to enter the southern outskirts of Pittsburgh, Team B began to ride through a town that is NOT biker-friendly. After three shifts of getting lost, working with no shoulders, crazy drivers, and shuttling forward a short distance for safety issues, we finally broke through the Pittsburgh area and into the Alleghany Mountains. At some point during the day we received a call from other teams they where sending a couple of big guns back to attack the route from the other direction.
Finally, with my final real ride at hand after nine days and nearly 3,000 miles behind me, I hopped on my bike to begin the mostly uphill climb. While slow, I still had some legs. I found it amazing on this trip how your body can handle just about anything. In the end, the climbing paid off as we hit the top of the pass and saw a sign that read “Six miles, 8% downhill grade ahead.” A rider’s dream.
Flying down the hill I realized this was about it, the final descent on a long climb that started months ago with the blessing of my lovely wife—thank you, Piper! I LOVE YOU!—to step out of my ordinary life and begin the greatest adventure and challenge I have ever experienced. All my planning and training and all the sacrifices by my family had lead me to this blazing-fast downhill in the middle of the Alleghany Mountains. In light of a late afternoon sun, Mark and I reached the flatlands and rode together, enjoying a moment of reflection as we rode to our final stop. In the end, all the climbing was well worth the sacrifice.
Total Miles: 182
Miles I Road: 84
To-Date Total: 912
Weather: 60-80 degrees; high humidity; another beautiful day
Highlights
Today we awoke knowing this was our final real day of riding, but we were going to have to work for it. With the rest Team Will ahead in Washington D.C. for a CureSearch event, Team 1 was asked to handle a double shift of roughly 230 miles, double our daily miles. We were told, though, that a group of riders would come to provide relief later, if possible.
After some discussion we decided to split into two groups of three riders, Team A and B. With lots of climbing scheduled for the day, Team A was made up of Jonathon, Ray, and John, who had been pulled from Shift 2. The slower climbers, me and Don, and the injured Mark (knee problems) made up Team B.
In view of a rural setting with fog bleeding through the fields and as the sun rose above, Team A headed out in the first two-hour shift. As we started to enter the southern outskirts of Pittsburgh, Team B began to ride through a town that is NOT biker-friendly. After three shifts of getting lost, working with no shoulders, crazy drivers, and shuttling forward a short distance for safety issues, we finally broke through the Pittsburgh area and into the Alleghany Mountains. At some point during the day we received a call from other teams they where sending a couple of big guns back to attack the route from the other direction.
Finally, with my final real ride at hand after nine days and nearly 3,000 miles behind me, I hopped on my bike to begin the mostly uphill climb. While slow, I still had some legs. I found it amazing on this trip how your body can handle just about anything. In the end, the climbing paid off as we hit the top of the pass and saw a sign that read “Six miles, 8% downhill grade ahead.” A rider’s dream.
Flying down the hill I realized this was about it, the final descent on a long climb that started months ago with the blessing of my lovely wife—thank you, Piper! I LOVE YOU!—to step out of my ordinary life and begin the greatest adventure and challenge I have ever experienced. All my planning and training and all the sacrifices by my family had lead me to this blazing-fast downhill in the middle of the Alleghany Mountains. In light of a late afternoon sun, Mark and I reached the flatlands and rode together, enjoying a moment of reflection as we rode to our final stop. In the end, all the climbing was well worth the sacrifice.
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"Reach the Day, Conquer Childhood Cancer" Event in D.C.
06/25/08 09:51
The Ride to Reach the
Day 2008 blog has great coverage and photos from
yesterday's Eighth Annual "Reach the Day, Conquer
Childhood Cancer" event in Washington, D.C.
Check it out here.