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!