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

Greetings from Ohio!

I am taking a quick break while I wait out a hail storm. Over the weekend, I followed the bike path up from Pittsburgh north to Erie since it’s the only route out west. I am glad to be out of Pennsylvania. I knew it was going to be some of the toughest riding I was going to come across and an unwieldy route.

Today, I have been following Lake Erie and will be for at least the next day since the bike route travels along it. It’s a really scenic route and it’s really interesting to be so close to one of the Great Lakes for so long.

I got a lot of riding in this weekend, but the funny thing was I almost didn’t even realize it was the weekend until Sunday. From not having a regular routine, all of the days kind of go together.

Still feeling physically okay for the most part. However, I am starting to get what marathon runners refer to as “runner’s foot.” My toes have been feeling numb for the past few days, but that’s to be expected after the exertion they are going through.

I got in 94.5 miles yesterday, even with the rain, so I am pleased with that progress. Hoping to make another dent in Ohio today and be into Indiana by mid-week.

Yesterday I got another flat tire, but I fixed it up pretty quickly. Today I am going to stop at a gas station along the way to verify tire pressure and pump up if necessary. The last gas station I stopped at was owned by a cancer survivor who had had a liver transplant, so it was nice to chat with him and get his good wishes.

Speaking of good wishes, thank you to everyone who has passed on a good word to me. I really appreciate it.

I will try to send through some photos later today, so you can see some of what I’ve been seeing on the road.

Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support. If you’d like to make a donation, please go to www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/1300milesforhope.

Thanks again!
Justin

Pushing On - Days 3 and 4

Days 3 and 4 are behind me, and I’m making some pretty good progress, despite a flat tire, tons of hills, and one minor wreck after climbing a hill for a solid hour when it dropped back down to flat surface. I think I just must’ve been tired at that point.

Wednesday was a long day where I got in 83 miles despite a ton of hills. It was definitely more hills than I’ve ever ridden through. It felt good to complete them all.

Today (Thursday) I made up some ground though and rode about 117 miles.

I met some people at a rest stop who set out from Philly on Sunday morning, and they were pretty impressed that we were at the same place even though they left a day and a half before me. That made me feel good because I feel like I’m keeping a good pace.

I rode through Schwenksville, PA today, where one of the 9/11 planes went down. I’ll be in Pittsburgh tomorrow and plan to be through Ohio over the weekend. I am staying in Perryopolis, PA tonight. I got in pretty late so I am feeling like I’m going to get a good night’s sleep tonight. I’m feeling good but pretty beat. The sun beating down on me makes me feel like I’ve been at the beach all day.

Physically I’m still feeling okay. My legs are sore at night but not when I’m riding, which is good. So far, I have gotten in almost 350 miles, which is very close to 100 miles a day since I left at 4pm Monday. I’m feeling positive about that.

I’m also feeling positive about the great comments people have been sending through to me. It’s really keeping me going, so are the additional donations coming through.

As a reminder, you can donate on my Lance Armstrong Page at www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/1300milesforhope.

I will report on Day 5, as well as the weekend since I plan on riding through Ohio, next week!

Once again, thank you to everyone for your support!

Days 1 and 2

Well, Day Two is done, and I’m about half way to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. With a shortened riding day Monday after the send off event, I made it safely to Lancaster, and felt pretty good about getting the 62 miles in.

Today, Tuesday, was a fun but challenging day. There was very little coasting, and I’ve been pedaling hard the whole time.

It felt like I rode past hill after rolling hill, today, and I have been hitting some of the highest climbs I’ve ever done. Plus, I’m used to a 21 pound bike. With my equipment and water, my bike is currently weighing about 60 pounds or more.

Tomorrow should be another challenging day, since I’m set to hit even more hills, but I’m excited about it. My goal is to hit close to Pittsburg and be out of Pennsylvania after tomorrow.

I’ve been passing a lot of scenic Americana, like apple orchards and a family swimming in a creek. It was almost like a Norman Rockwell painting. I can’t imagine all of the other things I am going to see along the way. I’ll be sending through some photos once I hit Pittsburg.

I have been talking to people along the way, even getting some life stories from some of them! One of the great things about meeting people is that I’ve gotten some great recommendations for local services. Restaurants and sandwich shops have been great about letting me fill up my water containers before I head out, too. Everyone I have met so far has been really great.

Right now, I am spending the night in Chambersburg, PA, which is past Harrisburg, PA, about 15 miles north of the Maryland border. Today, I probably would have gotten even more riding in, but I had to stop around 5pm, instead of 7pm or 8pm, because the next 40 miles were so rural, it would have been a while before I hit a town to stay at for the night.

Physically, I’m feeling okay. My back is a little sore, and my elbows are too, so I put some Flex-all 454 on them tonight and am hoping the night’s rest will help!

You’d think riding solo all day would make me feel lonely, but I’m feeling really good. Most of the time, I do 90% of my riding on my own anyway, so this is nothing new to me. I’m perfectly fine on my own and am enjoying talking with people along the way.

I have been meeting some really great people who have expressed interest in donating, which is really encouraging. Our current total of $5,290 is encouraging as well. We are at over 50% of the goal, and I cannot thank you all enough for your donations.

Please keep the donations coming in to my Lance Armstrong Foundation site at www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/1300milesforhope.

With the support of you all, I really think I can raise the last $4,800 and hit our $10,000 goal! The Lance Armstrong Foundation really does so much to help people get through living with cancer and for cancer research, that just knowing we can help them is what’s pushing me through each mile.

I am really excited to reach Cedar Rapids and hope to find the city in its first stages of recovering when I arrive. Even with the challenging times going on out there, I have gotten a great deal of encouraging emails from Cedar Rapids’ staff members, and I genuinely appreciate those kind messages!

Thanks everyone, for everything! I will have more to report tomorrow!

Cycling against cancer

Justin Nikodemski is cycling from King of Prussia, Pa., to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on a journey to raise money for the fight against cancer. This is his story.