Almost There!

I am one day away from the end of my journey, and things are going well. I made it to Kewanee, Illinois yesterday (Sunday) after riding 96 miles. From Kewanee, my goal was to ride into Muscatine, Iowa. Along the way, I planned to meet up with cyclist David May, whose son, Matt, is a Cedar Rapids Supervisor. David and his wife, Sandy, were kind enough to offer to put me up at their home in Muscatine for the night, so that is where I am tonight.

After we met up today, we rode into Muscatine, where I met with a reporter for the Muscatine Journal. Hopefully getting even more coverage for the ride outside of King of Prussia and Cedar Rapids will help with increased funds. I am happy to report, though, that we are at $7,049, so we are very close to 75% of the goal!

Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting some Cedar Rapids employees, who are also cyclists, on my ride in from Muscatine. They are going to help guide me around some of the flood areas and closed roads. Thanks to Cedar Rapids' employees, David Glandon, Brian Boyle and Rocky Burmester, for offering to come out and help make sure I make it through without any problems. Thanks again to the Mays for their hospitality!

I am really excited about arriving on target, completing this ride and for all we’ve accomplished as a group. Having all of you work together to raise this money, especially during the difficult time Cedar Rapids has undergone recently, is inspiring. Thank you to everyone in King of Prussia and Cedar Rapids, not to mention your friends and family who donated, for making this possible. Thanks to all of you, we are able to help the Lance Armstrong Foundation and are helping to make it possible for others to LiveStrong!

I am looking forward to seeing you all in Cedar Rapids tomorrow. Once again, thank you all, in both locations, for your support!

Thanks,
Justin

Pushing On

After my 80 mile day on Wednesday, I made a great deal of progress over Thursday and the long weekend. I managed to ride 98 miles to Huntington, Indiana a hot Thursday. Then Friday, I did my all-time record of 124 miles to end up at Rensselaer, Indiana. I was really proud of that ride and it got me right where I wanted to be. The day included fixing my fourth flat of the trip.

While fixing the flat, I realized some of my bike spokes were broken, which basically could create a domino effect and destroy the whole wheel. I’m not sure where I broke the original spoke—quite possibly back on the hills of Pennsylvania—but it started doing damage to some others. If I continued on, I’d really run the risk of damaging the bike’s wheel.

After 124 miles of riding, I was beat anyway and was pleased to find that Rensselaer had a bike shop in town. Since it was the Fourth of July, and pretty late anyway, they were closed, so I made plans to go there first thing on Saturday morning.

The next morning, I had to walk to the bike shop which was about 4 miles away. They had the parts I needed but the guy there didn’t know how to fix the problem, so I bought the parts and fixed it in the shop, which isn’t really all that uncommon in shops. Most bike shop owner and employees want to help whatever way they can.

This all got me started late—at noon—so I was really pleased to see at the end of the day that I’d done 109 miles. Also Saturday I rode from Indiana all the way to Pontiac, Illinois.

My goal is to hit Muscatine, Iowa by Monday night so I can arrive in Cedar Rapids by Tuesday afternoon. I am on target for this to happen.

I am happy to report that, including checks, we have raised approximately $7,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation! We are extremely close to 75% of our goal!

To make a donation, please go to www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/1300milesforhope

Thank you to everyone, once again, for your support in its many forms!

Thanks,
Justin

Headed towards Toledo

I wrote this yesterday as I passed through Fremont, Ohio and will be happy to have Ohio behind me after today, since I should hit Indiana by the end of today.

I started out yesterday near Clyde, Ohio. Aside from hitting several bouts of torrential downpours and a strong headwind, it was a good riding day. I got in 109 miles, which is the second highest amount of this trip so far.

I came across a flooded road yesterday, but I was told it had nothing to do with the rain in the Mid-West and that the road had been almost entirely flooded since November. That was a relief. I traveled next to Lake Erie almost the entire route through Ohio. I’m just about past it now since I’m about 30 miles away from Toledo.

Physically I’m feeling pretty good today. The numbness in my feet has lessened significantly. My knee is somewhat sore but, otherwise, my legs are feeling okay.

Including checks, we are up to $6,050 in donations, which is 60% of my original goal. If you or a family member would like to make a donation, please go to my LiveStrong page at www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/1300milesforhope.

Thanks to everyone for the continued well wishes and to those who helped me to plan my route through the flooded roads in Iowa. Due to the magnitude of the flood damage, bike route repair is last on the list, so mapping out a safe route through Iowa was a challenge.

Below you can see a map of where I am at today. Also, in King of Prussia, check out the map outside of the Human Resources office. With over 700 miles cycled, I am more than half way through the trip. I am looking forward to picking up some ground on the flatter terrain of Indiana and Illinois, especially after the mountains of Pennsylvania.

I will have more to report later today. Thanks, once again, to everyone for the support!

Thanks,
Justin