The 4K for Cancer - 2009

Day 63: San Francisco, CA

2009-08-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU to everyone who has made the past 63 days possible for us!

Day 62: DAY OFF in Mill Valley, CA

2009-07-31T07:24:00.000-07:00

Day 61: Mill Valley, CA

2009-07-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

Day 60: Stockton, CA

2009-07-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Today was rider Christine Santos' birthday - clearly we helped her celebrate in style.

Day 59: Diamond Springs, CA

2009-07-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Members of the South Lake Tahoe bike club pointed us to this newly paved bike path on our way to Diamond Springs today.

Day 58: DAY OFF in South Lake Tahoe, CA

2009-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Day 57: South Lake Tahoe, CA

2009-07-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

If you look REALLY closely, there is a California state sign in this picture. While we were underwhelmed with the sign, we are overjoyed to have crossed our final state line!

Day 56: Fallon, NV

2009-07-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Today we had a unique water stop at the "Shoe Tree" near Middlegate, NV.

Here's an excerpt from the New York Times article about the tree:

"Mr. Stevenson's wife, Fredda, said the first pair of shoes was thrown into the branches about 20 years ago. It seems that a couple who had just gotten married in Reno stopped to camp under the cottonwood. The husband was angry with his bride for having blown their money in the slot machines. "He said it was her fault they didn't have any money," Mrs. Stevenson said.

The young wife grew annoyed with the henpecking and threatened to walk back to Utah. The groom told her that if she was walking back to Utah she was going to walk in her bare feet and threw her shoes into the tree. He left his wife standing there and drove to the bar for a beer.

"He was here for two or three hours," Mrs. Stevenson said. "I told him, 'With an attitude like that, you'll be fighting for the rest of your lives. Go back there and tell her it was all your fault.' "

The man did as he was told. The couple patched things up and the groom threw his own shoes into the tree as a sign of solidarity. A year later, Mrs. Stevenson said, the couple returned with their baby and threw his shoes into the tree as well."

Thanks to Craig's good aim, there is now a 4K for Cancer '09 pair of shoes hanging from the tree:

Day 55: Austin, NV

2009-07-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

Trying to stay cool: engineering our tarp at a water stop.

Day 54: Eureka, NV

2009-07-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today Raffi almost started the wakeup iPod playlist an hour early, but thankfully EA was cognizant enough at 4:30am to tell him to go back to sleep until 5:30am, the scheduled wakeup time. I guess this switch to the Pacific time zone is still being internalized.

After breakfast (during which Jackie and I ate insane quantities of the trail mix that Caitlin's mom sent . . . it is SO addicting) we headed out for our 77 mile day to Eureka, NV, continuing alone Highway 50, the Loneliest Road in America. This “loneliest road” title isn't quite what I pictured though. I assumed Nevada was going to look like the Sahara - nothing but sand and a few rocks. In reality, the scenery is much greener and we get some really nice views as we bike along.

Eureka's website says "If you like fresh high desert air, stunning mountain views, and no traffic congestion, you'll love Eureka." Certainly true - although traffic congestion hasn't really been a problem for us anywhere in Nevada.

Once we arrived in town, we set up camp in a school gymnasium, got showered, picked up a few things from the local grocery, and headed to a nearby park for a cookout of burgers and hot dogs.

Day 53: Ely, NV

2009-07-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

The day began in the sleepy town of Baker, NV. Wake up was a little confusing due to the recent time zone change and the lack of cell phone service to verify time with! But luckily the sun was bright by 6am and it wasn't to hard to wake up. Breakfast consisted of an assortment of cereals or whatever could be found at the small local store. We gathered for our dedication circle and the ride was dedicated in a large majority to Laura Dingles' Uncle who past away unexpectedly. From there we did our morning cheer, which is constantly being amended and changed!
Once we got on the road we met up with our new friends from Brown University. Pete, Jake, and Ed joined us on our journey on Highway 50, the loneliest road in America. The title seemed to be misleading considering we have certainly ridden on highways much more lonely than it!
From the beginning of the day we were climbing. After about 15 miles of climbing we had our first water-stop, it was at over 7000ft! There was a very nice descent afterwards which opened up to a large valley. It is amazing how depth perception and any sort of distance estimation is lost out here. A common game to play to pass time is to guess how far away something in the distance is. My group picked a clump of trees on the other side of the valley. Guesses were around 4 miles, 9 miles later we found out we were very wrong! It is also mind boggling how far the road goes. It is always fun to time the cars coming towards you. Today one of the cars took over 6 minutes to go from a small dot in the distance to zooming past us.
The second water-stop was at the bottom of second climb. Some journeyed a little farther up to a hunting lodge to take a break inside some air condition. Afterwards we started climbing, again. This climb wasn't as long as the first but was a little steeper. Once we made it to the top the thunderstorms were rolling in. Huddled under a makeshift tarp shelter we enjoyed our Subway sandwiches and Arby's Roast Beef sandwiches. After a few sprinkles fell and we digested we headed down another great descent. With less than 20 miles to Ely we were moving very quickly. The road was very nice and the clouds helped keep the temperature down.
Once we all made it to the place we had hoped to be staying that night, the bad news started! The middle school was not able to house us for the night because of a pipe burst and the dinner hosts didn't have any food for us. But luckily we manged to get in contact with someone at the high school and they opened the gym and locker rooms for us. We also got several dinner donations.
Hopefully we will all get a good night sleep and our ride to Eureka tomorrow goes smoothly!

-Travis

Day 52: Baker, NV

2009-07-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

I really cannot put into words how excited we are to be out of Utah, the land of the 4K plague. Only one more state left after Nevada!

Day 51: Milford, UT

2009-07-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Day 50: DAY OFF in Cedar City, UT

2009-07-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Day 49: Cedar City, UT

2009-07-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Day 48: Bryce Canyon, UT

2009-07-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Day 47: Escalante, UT

2009-07-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Two roads diverged in the middle of Utah, and the 4k took the one less traveled by. Unfortunately, it was less traveled for a very good reason: the lack of pavement. Unlike the nice paved road that could have taken us to Escalante, the 4k ended up on a gravel road that extended over 60 miles. And a very large portion of that road was uphill, which made pedaling extremely difficult. To top it all off, my two group members were both feeling rather ill from the 4k stomach bug that was being passed around. About six miles (two hours) into the gravel road, my group and another group stopped underneath some shade. The stomach bug had left part of my group feeling too sick to continue, especially because it was here that we met our savior, Andy. Driving by in a pickup truck, he stopped to see if we were alright. Taking pity on us, he put the ten of us in his pickup truck, bikes and all, and gave us a ride until we reached our van, five miles later. Conveniently, our van had decided that riders were too likely to fall on the gravel and had been about to come pick us up. We've had gravel roads before, but nothing like this. So sadly, the 4k was shuttled into the host, a very small but nice campground in Escalante.

Day 46: Capitol Reef National Park, UT

2009-07-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Day 45: Green River, UT

2009-07-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

Day 44: DAY OFF in Moab, UT

2009-07-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day 43: Moab, UT

2009-07-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day 42: Grand Junction, CO

2009-07-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day 41: DAY OFF in Paonia, CO

2009-07-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Day 40: Paonia, CO

2009-07-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

After a day off in the charming town of Glenwood Springs, we were geared up for a ride to Paonia. During the day off, I did (much needed) laundry and relaxed at the Spa of the Rockies. Rob kindly arranged a deal with the Spa and we were able to enter with a discount and enjoy the natural hot springs all day. Craig, Joe, Kristine, Steph and I relaxed in the therapy pool first, which was 104 degrees. We sat in bubble chairs in the pool but could only stand it for about five minutes. Then we switched to the other pool which stood at a cool 90 degrees! My bathing suit still sort of smells like sulfur, but it was totally worth it. With all that relaxing behind us, we were ready for Paonia. The ride was much talked about by the former riders, for reasons which became apparent to me at about mile 35.

The day was pretty typical, by 4K standards, which is to say that we did the usual – climbed a mountain and then had an all girl inspirational sing-a-long and threw an impromptu birthday party at almost 9,000 feet above sea level. Just a normal day, you know. The first half of the day was relatively flat and easy, although the thought of climbing McClure Pass kept butterflies in my stomach. On the way out of Glenwood Springs, we enjoyed a well kept and scenic bike path which enabled my group to ride side by side (much more acceptable on an empty bike path than on a busy highway!) and chat to pass the time. Then we kept riding towards the pass, through construction (as usual – we can't go a day without stumbling upon road work), and found a waterfall before the climb. My group (Kristine, Travis and I) decided to stop and climb around on the rocks and take pictures. I was surprised at how cold the water was compared to the hot springs I had swam in the day before!

Finally, we arrived at a sign which kindly informed us that we were 3 miles from the summit of McClure Pass. I figured 3 miles is a piece of cake, right? Well, not quite. This was probably one of the most intense 3 miles of the trip. It was a fairly steep grade and felt like it would never end! But the scenery of the mountain was beautiful and the motivation of my teammates kept me going until the top. Once we finished the climb, lunch was waiting for us at the top of the pass. As it was Mary-Lacey's 22nd birthday, the team was ready for her group's arrival at the lunch stop. We blasted Miley Cyrus' “The Climb” from the van and all of the girls sang at the top of our lungs, much to the boy's chagrin. Then, we sang Happy Birthday to ML and Shareef presented her with a beautiful cake. Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy the cake because Shareef smashed it in ML's face! I was a little sad, because I wouldn't want to be pied in the face, and also because I was looking forward to enjoying a piece of that cake!

After a continuation of the food fight (this time with burritos to the face) and some creative dancing, we set out on the descent. It was generally downhill all the way to Paonia, but we did encounter a fierce headwind which slowed us down. Finally, we arrived in town to the United Methodist church. There was mail waiting, which meant goodies and snacks for all and the community members left a 25 pound box of delicious cherries for us to much on! After eating ourselves silly, we took showers and went back to the church for dinner. We had a lovely meal and met Felix Belmont, a Johns Hopkins graduate of the class of 1940. Felix shared with us recollections of his days at Hopkins, when the campus was smaller and the cost of living was much lower. It was amazing to hear his stories of the school we've only known in a much more modern day. To finish the wonderful day, we went out to celebrate Mary-Lacey's birthday in the cute center of town. We were glad after the long day and long climb to get to sleep in and rest in Paonia the next day!

Day 39: DAY OFF in Glenwood Springs, CO

2009-07-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Day 38: Glenwood Springs, CO

2009-07-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

Day 37: Kremmling, CO

2009-07-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Day 36: Grand Lake, CO

2009-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Day 35: Estes Park, CO

2009-07-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

It begins. Left Hand Canyon was quick to greet us this morning with the infamous climb up to Ward and the Peak-to-Peak Highway. We've acquired a few new passengers: Eric, Sarah, and Greg, three riders from my old 2007 team, had come out to Boulder to ride with us for the Rockies and suited up this morning to climb. I rode with a small group today, with Craig and Nicole – two fast riders who would keep me on my grind going up the hill. The climb was business as usual until the final five miles into Ward, when the grade goes up over 10%. It was right about then that Eric and Chris, who had started a little while after me, ran me down. Nicole was right on my back tire, and I tried to use the momentum of Eric and Chris next to me to accelerate a little. I held with them for a third of a mile and couldn't hang on any longer. This burst did however put me and Nicole within striking distance of Travis, who, upon inspecting his attackers, declared that he would not be beaten up the hill by a 240 pound man and took off, with Nicole in hot pursuit. It didn't take long for me to give up the notion that I could beat either Nicole or Travis up the hill, so I settled back down into my cadence and dredged up a little anger in my stomach to push me up the last stretch of hill. The top came soon enough and it hit me – a climb I had been thinking about since the last 4K ended two years ago was once again over. The Utica Street Market gave us free Gatorade and also sold some of the best chocolate chip cookies ever, but the owner was strangely insistent that I not take any pictures. C'est la vie. We had some quick snacks at the top of the climb on the intersection of Peak-to-Peak Highway and headed out to lunch. Now, a common mistake amongst the 4K newbies is that the top of Ward must be the top. After all, that was the climb, right? Oh Peak-to-Peak, how you love to crush fond notions and innocent dreams. The climbing does not end there in fact, but resumes after a nice downhill right before lunch. Lunch, like on many other days, was well deserved. I fell asleep in the van for quite some time I imagine, because when I woke up, most of the other groups had reached the lunch stop. We had been the first into the stop, and awoke to find the other groups as well as some rather unfriendly looking clouds. The descent down into Estes Park came shortly after lunch and is the kind of harrowing descent that makes mothers worry for their children. It's a veritable chute with a double switchback that rockets you down into a little valley in the mountains, and we made it down just in time. When we reached the bottom, with all the other groups yet to start the descent, the skies erupted on us. There was lightning in the distance, but very cold raindrops and hail coming down directly on us. My group made a beeline for the YMCA where we were staying, but still arrived soaking wet. Tom and I came through big time and got dinner donated by the YMCA there for the team. The rooming arrangements needed no work however, coming through in fantastic style with me, Greg, Eric, Tom, and Raffi all in one room. Male bonding can be a beautiful thing, but it may occasionally scar those who witness it.

Rob Attorri

Day 34: DAY OFF in Boulder, CO

2009-07-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Day 33: Boulder, CO

2009-07-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

The day started like many others. We woke up at the not so bright and very early hour of 4 am, most of us unable to exit our sleeping bags without a good amount of effort. Finally we were all up and dressed, sufficiently awake to start our 90 or so mile day into Boulder. With a day off coming up the next day and the beautiful (albeit intimidating) view of the Rockies in our sights all day the day seemed like it would be a breeze, however my group consisting of Mary Lacey, EA, Richard, and Christine started having some problems almost immediately. Our easy day into Boulder started with rolling hills which were just a tad more uphill than they were down and most of us were not feeling 100%. At mile 40, however, everything changed. At our 40 mile water stop EA had the brilliant idea for our group to all dab on some lipstick as a way to raise our spirits and also so that we could be the prettiest things on the road, especially Richard. We refueled at the stop and then swiftly started to try to spy a place to get our lip paints. About a half of a mile away we viewed Sally's Beauty Supply shop and quickly brought our bikes to a stop in the parking lot. We each purchased the shade that would complement our skin tones and face shapes best and then continued on our merry ways, waiting to apply the 'stick until we got closer to lunch, in order to surprise our fellow teammates and of course dazzle them with our beauty. Unfortunately, about a mile away from Sally's, I finally got my first flat and thus forced my group to postpone the moments until beauty bliss for another half hour or so. Because of the time my flat took up, we arrived at lunch just in time to see the last group bike away and so could not share with the whole gang our beautified lips. But we did not even care that the group could not see our makeover because we just felt great and had been having a great time ever since we bought that tinted balm and stick, we forgot the bad start that had been our morning and turned it into a great ride. From lunch we only had about 30 more miles to go, and so we placed our helmets on our heads and reapplied our lucky lipsticks and off we went, passing the time with the “screaming game” and free protein shake samples from a Starbucks about 13 miles outside of Boulder. Our final reapplication came at our final water stop, this time each of us applying our lipstick in whatever style we pleased. I went with a subtle cupid's bow while EA went with a red liner filling the inside with a pale pink, going for more of a bozo the clown look, Richard also decided to go more of a clown root and decided to try to imitate the Batman villan, the Joker. When we finally arrived at the church where we were staying in Boulder, we were dirty, we were smelly, and we were tired, but goddangit our lips looked purty.

-Rebecca

Day 32: Wiggins, CO

2009-07-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Day 31: Yuma, CO

2009-06-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Day 30: DAY OFF in Benkelman, NE

2009-06-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Day 29: Benkelman, NE

2009-06-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today we rode from Arapahoe to Benkelman, Nebraska. It started off
cool in the morning and riders were getting out their arm warmers. I
was happy because cold weather in the morning (hopefully) meant that
it wouldn't be 100+ degrees later in the day.

Nicole handed out directions for the day and we noticed that it was a
92 mile day with about 91 miles on the same road. Safe to say, nobody
would get lost today! We started our ride as the sun rose behind us.

Everyone agreed that the first 60 miles were pretty easy and the ride
to lunch was pretty uneventful. Lunch was at Massacre Canyon which had
a monument to the last battle between the Pawnee and Sioux Nations.
The monument is about 20' tall and shaped like an obelisk with two
stoic looking Indian chiefs carved into the side. On her way to the
monument, Kate walked across the grass on the way to see the monument
and noticed a "Rattlesnakes are native to this area sign". She quickly
re-routed to the sidewalk. There was also a nice little store by the
monument where you could buy Native American crafts and arrowheads and
a number of other items.

After lunch riding was hard as a head wind started to pick up.
Everyone was pretty miserable and then Grasshopper Apocalypse! There
were grasshoppers all over the road jumping onto our bikes, on us and
getting run over. Jackie screamed every time one of the grasshoppers
hit her, which was about every 5 seconds. I tried not to run them over
but some of them jumped right into my spokes and got caught there.

We pushed until mile 80 where we had a lovely waterstop which Diana
had set up next to roadkill! When we got there everyone was looking
around confused at the horrible smell until we noticed the huge pile
of road kill right by the van. Needless to say, it was very easy to
get us to leave the waterstop in a hurry.

During the last 12 miles the headwind really picked up and even going
down hill I had a hard time. A number of us wanted to throw in the
towel, but fortunately everyone made it in. When we got to Benkelman,
we made our way to "Jitter Connection" a diner owned by Chris and
Carolyn Crossett. There we had sandwiches waiting for us and there was
a smoothie machine which they taught us how to use. We experimented
with a variety of flavors ranging from plain raspberry to Rob's
raspberry-Dr. Pepper-chocolate. An awesome ending to the day!

Laura Dingle

Day 28: Arapahoe, NE

2009-06-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

We woke up bright and early to an assignment of sorts: the 2009 4K first edition Scavenger Hunt. The parameters for the quest were prepared the night before by a few select individuals, including directors Chris Louie and Tom Hintze. After morning circle, the day's teams dispersed and prepared for the short (57 mile), yet trying journey ahead of them as they attempted to rack up points by completing a full white board's worth of tasks until Arapahoe. The dedication was surprisingly profound throughout the course of the day. Several teams were lucky to have brave and willing souls (inc. Anne and Kristine) down live fish in one gulp. Other tasks included throwing surprise parties at water stops, as well as throwing other “surprises” at 4K leadership (i.e. “you must get a leg leader in the face with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich”). Much was accomplished throughout the ride and into Arapahoe, where we were greeted by our home stay families from the church. Before dinner, we separated into groups and were led by our families to their homes where we were treated to showers and the most generous hospitality you can possibly imagine. I was fortunate enough to arrive early with Mary-Lacey, Tom, Craig and Shareef. Although we personally didn't participate in the scavenger hunt festivities, we soon found out that our early arrival would be rewarded when we met Mrs. Virginia Cookson-Wroot. At first appearance she seemed like a kind older woman, but nothing in particular stood out. However, as soon as we got in her car she excitedly introduced herself to us and expressed how happy she was to have us in her home. I asked her how long she had lived in Arapahoe, and she proceeded to tell us her history of raising her grandson in this town, then tragically loosing him in a car accident four years ago during his senior year of high school. Doing the math I immediately realized that he would've been the same age as myself if he had lived. She also mentioned that along with losing her grandson, she had also been widowed twice and lost one of her husbands to cancer. Despite the severe tragedy throughout her lifetime, she brought us into her home without reservation, as if we were her own. (This was only fitting since her nickname throughout the town was “Grandma.”)

After a refreshing shower, we all went back to the church and joined the rest of the team for a Cream Can Dinner. The way this worked was as follows: they threw a ton of vegetables and sausages into a cream can, placed it over a fire with enough water inside to steam and boil until everything was cooked, then poured the contents into a trough-like serving container. As strange as it sounds, it was absolutely amazing and completely dispersed my own preconceived notions of what it would be. The rest of the evening involved mass quantities of food (per custom), a presentation by Joe and Craig, and then we went back to our host families until the next morning.

When we came back to Virginia's, we initially hoped to lay back on the couch and turn on the television until we passed out. However, the lure of homemade brownies and a cold glass of milk quickly changed our minds. As we all sat around her dining room table, she showed us pictures of her son's home in Hawaii and his bed and breakfast that she frequently helped out in during extended periods throughout the year. We also learned more about her late grandson, Sam, and how his life and untimely death had inspired her to continue serving young adults in the community. I will not forget one thing she told us that Sam had asked of her...“Just make sure you give back.”

The days we have off of the bike are usually the most memorable, because you have the time to sit down with community members and learn about their history and how they came to where they are today. However, despite our shorter visit in Arapahoe, it will remain the most cherished day for me (thus far) on this trip.

Jackie Sofia

Day 27: Franklin, NE

2009-06-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Today began with the less-than-enjoyable 4:30am wake-up in preparation for our 106 mile ride into Franklin. Raffi made sure to celebrate the life of the late Michael Jackson by playing some of his hits on the iHome this morning. I’m not much of an MJ fan, but I must admit that I busted out a few “Thrillers” and a moon walk to keep in the spirit of the morning. Breakfast was, as always, overwhelming; and our dedication circle this morning was backlit by fantastic lightning heading towards us.

We were lucky in that Nicole’s re-route around construction lead us south of the storm, and we didn’t get rained on all day. I rode with Nicole, Mary, Jackie, and Dan… who jinxed the beginning of the day by saying “I hope we don’t have any flats today”. Well, two miles in, Jackie flatted and we took 20 minutes to fix it, so we named ourselves Team Cinderella Story, as we would have to make up all that lost time in order to get Nicole into the host to fulfill her leg leader duties. Our name was very appropriate, and we were back with the full team after 15 miles, and were the second group by the 40 mile mark. We were averaging about 22 mph the first 60 miles, which was incredible, and we hardly felt tired at all.

Then, as Steph would say: Things started to get freaky

After passing a sign that said “Abortions cause breast cancer”, our team came to a construction zone and had to wait in a line up of cars for the pilot car to come escort us. When we stopped, we realized that we were surrounded by a swarm of hundreds of bees! It was pretty nerve-racking, but we were able to stay there for about 10 minutes without getting stung. We then had to cross freshly laid pavement, which began to melt our tires. We then came across Rob, Raffi, and Chris at the side of the road, and Rob displayed a pretty terrible road rash on his upper thigh. As the story goes, Rob was riding and a construction worker raised his shovel to head height and, in an attempt to not get his face beaten in, Rob ducked under the shovel and fell into freshly laid tar, not only scraping himself but also burning his hands and thigh in the molten asphalt (the sunny side to the situation is his epic roar of pain, which any member of the 4K can demonstrate at your request). Rob spent the rest of the day off the bike except the last 11 miles, which he rode in.

We weren’t able to get a lunch donation today, but luckily we had leftovers from breakfast. This lead to a sausage eating contest. Long story short, it was gross, greasy, and in an epic David and Goliath tie breaker, Joe defeated Rob by the smallest of margins. I was left burping sausage for the next 20 miles. At the end of the lunch stop, Raffi joined with Team Cinderella Story as we started conquering the rolling hills of Nebraska. Seriously, the last 46 miles of the trip were hell. Steep hills, tough head winds, variable cross winds, and immense heat made the going slow, and we noticed that the terrain changed from lush green fields to a more dry and yellowed landscape. I only got up the hills by attempting to keep up with Raffi, and by thinking of my uncle, who was returned to the hospital when his chemo sent his white blood cell count to zero. Hopefully, everything is back on track for him.

It’s important to note that today, Mary saw a roadrunner, there was a dead coyote on the side of the road, and our 80mi water stop had remnants of jaw bones at it. We are now truly in the West.

But we all managed to survive and made it to the United Methodist Church in Franklin, and promptly chugged Gatorade and passed out on the floor for a quick siesta before showers and dinner. The entire community here has been incredibly hospitable and fun, while at the same time very touching. We were all very moved by the stories we heard, and I plan on riding tomorrow in support of Janette, who has been through 3 separate battles with Colorectal cancer which has returned for a 4th time in the form of a metastatic lung tumor. She and her husband will find out her prognosis tomorrow.

So now the team has a little free time before bed. Tomorrow is about a 55 mile ride into Arapahoe where we will be staying in HOUSES!!!! Hopefully, my sleep on tonight’s pew will be more comfortable than last night’s, but if it isn’t, I have a bed/couch to look forward to tomorrow night!

Craig Sadler

Day 26: Fairbury, NE

2009-06-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Day 25: Frankfort, KS

2009-06-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Day 24: Lawrence, KS

2009-06-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

Day 23: Paola, KS

2009-06-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

What a way to start the second leg. Wakeup was 4 am, with the mileage on the day being 112 miles. Now, two years ago, I remembered this particular day as being what I described to my group as “a soul crusher.” It's hot, it's long, it's hilly, and it's just plain psychologically testing well after you're physically spent. The day would prove to be as tough as I remembered – my first two flats of the trip came less than two tenths of a mile apart on the unexpected gravel roads that started a few miles into the day. Since having poorly inflated tire will lead to a pinch flat almost immediately on gravel, we had to stop and wait for a van, and during our wait, a big gray ominous cloud rolled overhead and surprise! It started raining. Well yay hooray. Once the gravel ended we picked up our pace again and got into the water stop pretty easily. There was a large enough shoulder that we could ride two abreast and talk to pass the time, and that took us well into the lunch stop. The group was me, Dan, Zac, Kristine, and Jackie (nicknamed Team Mmmmmmm after Coach's favorite rallying call). It proved to be a good group since we caught up to the groups we fell behind when I flatted and ended up being the second group into the lunch stop. A food fight erupted at lunch when Diana, refusing to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous directors any longer, nailed Shareef in the face with cake covered with ants and busted Tom right in the chops with a well-aimed rocket of apple sauce. Tom retaliated with pickles. Lunch was a nice reprieve while it lasted but getting back out on the road was difficult. The sun was very high in the sky, the humidity was nice and ripe, and it was hot. With no sign of any more rain clouds in the sky, we pressed on, and by about mile 75 we were all starting to slow down. Those are the times when people start breaking out their emergency fuels: Shot Blocks, Clif Bars, and any other energy/electrolyte products they have in their jersey. Maddie was on her game that day, because greeting us right at the century mark, mile 100, was free ice cream from Sonic. While we there, I treated my group to their first Route 44 strawberry limeade ever. Refreshed, we set out to tackle the last rolling hills that led into Paola. We caught a second wind around mile 105 once we realized exactly what we had accomplished and that the white water tower growing larger in front of us was the Paola water tower and started mashing up the rolling hills. Exhausted and strung out on heat, humidity, and adrenaline, we were slamming out 16 and 18 mph climbs up these rolling hills in our second chain rings. We definitely all sighed in relief when we pulled into the parking lot of the church that was hosting us in Paola, and found nice cool showers and the best western style baked beans we've had all trip waiting for us. It was a trying day, but we passed with nearly flying colors and only a few flat tires. People will learn how tough the west is though – a quick pat on the back and a fast dinner were all we had time for, with another long day into Lawrence starting at 5 am reveille the next morning.

Rob Attori

Day 22: DAY OFF in Sweet Springs, MO

2009-06-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

Day 21: Sweet Springs, MO

2009-06-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

Day 20: Fayette, MO

2009-06-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

It was the morning after our first night of camping. We had a long day ahead of us, 88 miles in the blistering heat. The team tried powdered milk with cereal for breakfast. To be honest, I was a bit suspicious of it but it ended up being surprisingly good? We went about our usual routine, packing vans, sun-screening, pumping up our tires, and dedicating our rides. However, today was a little different. We were placed in random groups of riders. I rode with Rebecca, Tom, Jackie, Dan and Richard. Our team name was Team Golden Girls! As soon as our team headed out of Lazy Day Campground, we were hit by a wave of heat and humidity. Temperatures were in the high 90s and the largest storm of the year was headed our way. As the miles passed, the clouds became darker and more menacing. The headwinds became stronger and we struggled to reach the 20 mile water stop. After re-fueling, we braved the elements and rode another 20 till lunch. The van drivers had gotten donuts, cold cuts, pizza and McDonalds breakfast sandwiches. The next water stop at mile 60 was at a local gas station. As we pulled into the stop, we noticed some peculiar weather. The skies turned from blue to dark grey and large, menacing clouds sprinted towards our direction. Some groups ahead of ours had called in warning us of lightning and thunder ahead causing two groups, including ours, to try to wait out the storm. We watched as the downpour settled in and bought some snacks to pass the time. We all tried Richard's Jalapeño flavored beef jerky and split Twizzlers and Starbursts as we sat and chatted on the cold, linoleum floor. After an hour, the pouring rain transitioned into a light drizzle so we put on our helmets and headed out to ride the last miles till our host, First Baptist Church. Though it was a long, tiring day, we had a great evening talking to everyone from the community. Every single person there had a close tie to cancer and cancer survivors shared their stories and triumphs. I can safely say that our team went to bed inspired and uplifted that night. Thank you Fayette, MO!

Diana Lee

Day 19: Montgomery City, MO

2009-06-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Day 18: DAY OFF in St. Louis, MO

2009-06-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

Day 17: St. Louis, MO

2009-06-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Weather: 70s, rain early, sunny afternoon

As Raffi’s comical muppet voice drifted into my dreams of a lazy summer afternoon at home in Virginia, I opened my eyes.

“The birds are chirping, and it is a great day for biking,” he informed us over the intercom system of the dorm building. We had spent the night in the College of Illinois, which meant we had our own beds. This is a rare and valuable comfort on the trip. Consequently, my roommate Shareef and I were slow to leave our toasty nest of covers and jump into our spandex.

Soon enough everyone had assembled out front to load up the vans and we headed to the dining hall for a proper breakfast. Lots of fruit, cereal and some sausages fueled our stomachs for the morning. Eyeballing the ominous clouds and sparse raindrops, many of us donned our ‘wet weather gear,’ which in my case was a poorly constructed camping jacket purchased on the road at a Target in Pennsylvania. My team members for the day were Rob, Richard, and Laura, aptly dubbed Team Robcondingledick.

The first stretch of slowly rolling hills were made relatively unfun by the constant rain and Rob’s unexpectedly quick pace. After some speed adjustments, we fell into a nice rhythm and reached our first water stop. Due to the open landscape and general lack of civilization, our stop was simply a side road with a farmhouse and barn nearby. We considered squatting the barn, but a reconnaissance mission by Laura revealed impassable terrain. Fiddlesticks.

The middle of the day passed uneventfully. We were all looking forward to crossing the river, which was made easier by the revelation that a bike path would be involved around mile 65! Another welcome luxury on the 4K is the inclusion of bike paths in our route. This particular path was enjoyable for its nice paving and location on a raised berm next to the highway, allowing some excellent views of nearby ponds and interesting industrial equipment. See the photos if you are curious. When the mirror smooth pavement gave way to gravel, we were a bit disheartened, but the mythical Chain of Rocks Bridge was so close we could feel it- Just a little farther.

The leadership decided it would be best to have the team meet up in full strength to cross the Mighty Mississippi, so we had another stop near mile 75 in the parking lot adjacent to the bridge. Those of us who arrived early enjoyed an indulgent extended break with lots of food and napping. The ‘4K Family’ was also fleshed out at this stop, which involved the creation of a fictitious family in which each team member played a characteristic role. I’ll let you guess who the mommy is. Hint: he is a director, and not Chris.

Crossing the Mississippi was really great. There are certain times during the trip that we feel a palpable sense of progress, and this was certainly one of them. Essentially it is very exciting to us when we cross a geological formation that you would find on a typical map of the United States. When you reach a checkpoint on that large a scale, it feels really gratifying. Midway across the sparkling water, we stopped at the old route 66 sign marking the state line division to take photos and celebrate our progress. Then we set off in our teams to crank out the final 15 miles into the city.

St. Louis reminded me of Baltimore. The eastern part of the city, which we biked straight through, exhibited some of the more poverty stricken parts of the city and gave me a jilted impression of the place at large. The surprisingly aggressive hills also gave me pause, but we powered through with unstoppable Rob on point. Rolling into Washington University first and flopping down on the picnic tables in front of the dorms was so nice. It was time for much needed rest.

Conor Kevit

Day 16: Jacksonville, IL

2009-06-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Coming soon!

Day 15: Bloomington, IL

2009-06-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

We awoke early on Sunday morning (5:30 am to be exact) for a long day from Kankakee to Bloomington. The early start was made a bit more tolerable by the fact that we, as a team, for the first time on the trip were going to wear our new (and stylish) 4K jerseys! It was exciting to finally look like a team. People we met along the way obviously felt the excitement from our jerseys, too. Later in the day, at our last water stop at 80 miles in, a man approached us and asked if we were a team of cycling Germans. We said no, explaining that were just from Baltimore. He nodded his head and said, “Oh. The sides of your jerseys look like the Bavarian flag. I thought you were a bunch of Germans!” I think that was a stamp of approval on our new jerseys.

Fueled by the excitement of our matching apparel, we were able to spend a lovely day biking. Raffi was one of the van drivers, and he helped us along the way by marking all of our turns on the road in chalk. It doesn't sound too crucial, but it really was a big help to be able to have guidance to decipher the directions. One group (Christine, Maddy, and Mary) must have missed one of Raffi's chalk designs and accidentally took a 20 mile detour! They were in it for the long haul. One of the water stops (at mile 40 to be exact) was facilitated by a kind man named Bill. Most of the day was spent traveling through farms and fields, so there weren't many options for our water stop's location. Luckily, Raffi happened to stop in Bill's driveway and asked if we could use his lawn for our break. He agreed and it turned out to be the most wonderful water break of the trip! He let us borrow his guitar so we could have a musical interlude, he showed us (the most adorable) kittens which his “CatDog” had just given birth to two weeks prior, he gave us Powerade and water and Creamsicles and even made a monetary donation to the 4K! We really appreciated his generosity, it was a wonderful break from the long day of cycling. Chris and Tom – our fearless leaders – however, did not get to experience Bill's wonderful water stop as they were attempting to break the 4K “no hands” record. Chris succeeded with 39 miles of continuous, no hands biking and Tom was close behind with 33 miles. While those numbers are impressive, I'm still not sure it was worth missing the new kittens and Creamsicles at Bill's house!!

Shortly after Bill's water stop, my group (Joe, Kristine, Conor and me) biked past a sign advertising the sale of hay. Let me preface this by saying that we see a lot of hay fields while biking. And we also like to greet one another by saying “hey, hey, hay”. This sign was a perfect amalgamation of the two. It read “HEY HEY HAY For Sale”. We had to stop. The four of us wanted a picture with the sign, so we climbed off our bikes and through a tall field of hay to reach the sign. Joe set up a makeshift tripod with his bike and we were able to get the perfect picture. Unfortunately, the farmer's resident guard dog was not as excited for our venture into his field. In fact, I would say that he was a bit upset that we were in his territory. So as we got back on our bikes, he began to chase us from the field towards the road! I thought he was running strangely, but assumed it was because of the tall grass. Turns out, after a glance over my shoulder, this was a three-legged dog! Needless to say, we were able to out-run him.

We proceeded to bike on Historic Route 66 and were 9 miles from our host, the Bloomington YMCA, when we encountered what can only be described as a “Parking Lot Party”. There was loud music coming from a live band in the parking lot of a restaurant appropriately named “Kicks” (get it? Get your kicks on Rt 66!) We decided that since it was such a long day and we'd come so far, we might as well stop to see what was happening. Turns out, it was a fundraiser for a local library. The band announced what we were doing on the 4K and people were really friendly and glad to hear about our journey. We met many cancer survivors and I know that I, for one, kept their stories in mind as motivation for tomorrow's 113 mile ride to Jacksonville.

Caitlin Leach

Day 14: Kankakee, IL

2009-06-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

Coming soon!

Day 13: DAY OFF in Chicago, IL

2009-06-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Day 12: Chicago, IL

2009-06-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

After a crazy night of exploring Trinity Episcopal Church in Michigan City the team awoke to find “monsoonish” weather outside. It was raining so hard that it was hard to see outside and the streets were actually flooding a little bit. After the team was dressed and ready to get on the road Chris and Tom decided to shuttle the team into Chicago for safety reasons. Since we had all our gear still in the vans the two van drivers, Maddie and Nicole left with Christine and Rob to go drop off the gear and bring empty vans back from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Meanwhile, the rest of the team ate breakfast. A nice gentleman who the some of us had met the night before came to breakfast to bring us a gift. Before sharing the gift I guess its important to preface the story he wrote with some context. The night before at our community dinner we were discussing the power plant that we saw as we entered the city and how it looked like a nuclear power plant. The gentleman explained that visitors always make that mistake but the plant is in fact a coal to natural gas plant. So, without further delay, the story read as follows:

"A souvenir of Michigan City prepared exclusively for the Johns Hopkins Cancer Riders June 2009

It must be challenging to be a good Franciscan sister at St. Anthonys. Imagine this scenario:

A lad of 17 is being treated for several injuries and charges after an incident involving minor consumption and fleeing and eluding. Sister enters his room, acts sternly, and addresses him: “I imagine you have been asked this before, but just what can you do?” He stirs in his bed, hangs his head, and rolls away from her.

“Yet the question can be put differently!” she says. “Like this! What can't you do?” The boy looks at her with growing interest and becomes attentive. “For example, if you studied construction demolition and design, perhaps you could blow up a modest older building here in town, abandoned, and supervise the building of a new better one!”

He shifts around, looks quietly and trustingly at her for a minute, and says “But that's not what I really want to do!”

With joy, that she may have brought him to express his hearts' desire, and perhaps find a trade, she inquires: “Then what is it you want to do?”

“I would really like to learn to operate the nuke on the lake at Michigan City!” he replies.

She does not miss a beat. “Then you have just a bit more to learn, don't you think?”"

After breakfast the vans returned to shuttle all the bikes and most of the remaining riders to Chicago. The remaining 6 riders camped out in the church for a little while before walking the streets of Michigan City to kill time. After some exploring they found themselves in a TopDog where they sampled their first “chicago style” hot dogs. Meanwhile the rest of the team unpacked in Chicago and proceeded to do laundry.

After the whole team arrived in Chicago we ate dinner which was kindly donated by former 4K director Katie Ross. Katie talked with the team about her 4K experience and insisted that we tape Raffi to the Missouri state sign on the Chain of Rocks bridge.

Later the team relaxed before their day off in Chicago.

Day 11: Michigan City, IN

2009-06-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today the team woke up at 6:30, although some of us were up at 4....thanks Coach, for a short 59 mile ride. The outlook for the day was scattered showers which would break giving way to clear skies. Despite this forecast the morning was especially chilly, which was made worse by wet jerseys from the day before. Our host as always made a feast for us to eat. After fully gorging ourselves on two types of egg casserole, scrambled eggs, fruit, and yogurt we circled up to say goodbye to Elkhart and rode out on our newly fixed bikes, thanks again to Mark and Steve they are running better then ever!

During the first 20 miles there were many interesting occurrences. A kitten sensing Diana's fanaticism and love for cats ran across two lanes of traffic to follow part of the 4K team. Raffi, noticing the danger the kitten was in and with no thought of the danger he was placing his own life in, ran into the middle of the street and scooped up the kitten into his arms. It was love at first sight. Sadly the 4K could not support any animals outside of college students and the kitten was handed over to a nice lady who said would find a home for it shortly, more to follow on the chronicles of Shipshewana.

The 4K team also took a slight detour on the way to Michigan City. Unknown to the 4K team our route was planned on a stretch of road that was not bike accessible for 5 miles. During this five mile stretch two of our teams were pulled over by a very nice police man who informed us that we could not bike on the road. He understood our situation and offered an alternative route around the bike prohibited portion. While this route added an extra 5 or 6 miles it took the riders on a picturesque tour of the farm lands of Michigan, interesting fact Michigan's motto is “if you seek a pleasant peninsula look around you”. The route was mapped out in advance by the van drivers in chalk so that the riders did not have to memorize the new route. Not to worry everyone made it into our hosts with plenty of time to shower and clear both our bikes and the vans, which were filthy, before dinner.

Our host for the night was the Trinity Episcopal Church. The church itself was 175 years old, something around that at least, and was really nice, although some of the team was convinced that the church was haunted. Our hosts provided us with a delicious dinner and the most amazing rhubarb berry cobbler, so amazing that Craig proposed marriage to the lady who baked it.

After dinner the team made its way to some sand dunes next to lake Michigan for some team bonding. As part of 4K tradition, members of the team took part in a polar bear dive into the lake...it was very cold. The dunes themselves were massive, almost as big as some of the mountains we had biked over. It was defiantly difficult to walk up after biking. That's all for now - stay tuned for more!

Day 10: Elkhart, IN

2009-06-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

This morning did not start like the rest.

This morning our wake up time was 5:45am and I woke up to Kate's voice, “Wake up, We're running late!” It was about 6:00am and now I found myself with only 30 minutes to pack my bags and get them out the door. As I looked around the room I saw a bunch of tired, exhausted and groggy 4kers. The combination of cycling 99 miles yesterday and an early wake up time took a bite out of everyone. But this is the 4k. The day was just getting started.

During breakfast we had an unexpected route change that took us onto a state road in Michigan for most of the day. After bidding adieu to our wonderful hosts in Fayette, we circled up to begin another adventure. Today's riding groups were decided by a random Twizzler drawing. Christine cut up a bunch of differently colored Twizzlers, put them into a bowl and each rider pulled a piece out of the bowl. Riders who chose the same color were on a team together for the day.

I pulled a purple Twizzler out and was teamed up with Mary, Madeline and Laura. In honor of our purple Twizzlers we named our team the “Purple People Eaters.” Today's ride was a relatively easy 91 miles, but nothing comes easy a mere twelve hours after cycling nearly a hundred miles. Team Purple People Eaters left in a flash but not in a hurry. We had trouble maintaining 10 mph and it felt like we were climbing an enormous mountain even though the roads were flat. I was expecting other 4kers to quickly pass us but after looking back it was clear that the 27 of us were tired and still trying to wake up from our early start.

Just a few miles in Maddy crashed into Laura. Honestly, I'm not sure what really happened but she landed on the same knee she hurt yesterday. They're both fine and after a few minutes we started up again. We soon caught up to Christine's group who previously passed us during the fiasco. A few members of her group weren't feeling well, but continued to push on. It felt like it took a lifetime to get to our first water stop at mile 20 but it was a great feeling to make it there especially after such a slow start. The water stop was at a little restaurant on the side of the road and after a few minutes we continued on our was to Elkhart. Team Purple People Eaters was a very efficient group today and before very long we unintentionally found ourselves to be light years ahead of everyone else. Lunch was at mile 40 where we had leftovers from yesterday. Rob suggested we should only be at lunch for 30 minutes and we agreed. As it turns out Rob fell asleep and didn't tell anyone else this. The end result was other groups spending an hour there and grew further apart from them. Mile 60 was another very quick water stop. Our average speed had increased to about 15 mph and we felt as though we easily last for a 120 miles.

Shortly after the water stop we entered Amish country and stumbled across a horse and buggy sign in the road. Since we had ample time on our hands we decided to stop and take a picture of the sign. During this time Laura spotted a horse and buggy pulling into a gas station. A gas station? Really? We had to check this out. So Laura and I ran down the road to the gas station to find a traditional horse and buggy. We approached it to get a closer look and saw an Amish gentleman who was wearing traditional Amish attire. Laura proceeded to talk to him and we both ended up have an interesting conversation about how the Amish fertilize their fields using organic products. It was just a reminder that there are many different ways of living life and many cultural differences within our own country.

The rest of the ride was uneventful and we arrived in Elkhart at about 6:15pm approximately an hour before anyone else. By 7:30pm most of the other groups arrived and we all met downstairs to have dinner with our generous hosts. The food was delicious!

Right now I find myself downstairs watching game 3 of the NBA Finals. Go Magic!

Day 9: Fayette, OH

2009-06-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

We awoke at 5 am to an interesting selection from Raffi's ipod which sounded like a book on tape narrated by Dr. Seuss. I got up, still slightly off balance from the previous night's trip to Cedar Point, stuffed my sleeping bag, rolled up my sleeping pad, and got ready for the day's ride. I was feeling apprehensive about our first “century” of the trip. I didn't know how I would stay motivated and keep pedaling for 100 miles. Before the 4k I had never ridden longer than 20 miles.

After our morning circle I started the ride with a group of six who became a group of three as Christine, Laura and I picked up the pace. I had a lot of energy at the beginning of the ride, so we managed to make it to the first water stop just as it started to rain.

During the ride, songs from my visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland played in my head to the rhythm of my pedaling. Every ten seconds or so the song would change like an ipod controlled by my subconscious. I imagined everything from Smashing Pumpkins to The Righteous Brothers during the day. The songs I thought of weren't always ones I liked, but imagining that I was listening to music helped me push on. I also thought of the morning circle and all the loved ones my fellow 4kers dedicated their rides to. I thought of the generous hosts who cooked food for us and provided us with a place to stay to show their support for what we are doing. I thought of my third grade teacher, family friends, a friend from college, my grandparents, and patients I cared for while studying nursing. I thought about how many people around the world must be affected by cancer because I know so many people who have been affected by this disease, yet I know such a minuscule portion of the world's population.

When my group got to lunch we were still feeling good and maintaining a good pace, but after the last water stop I lost the rhythm that had kept me going before. Suddenly pedaling seemed unbelievable hard. I kept pushing. And kept pushing. But it didn't get better. I asked Christine and Laura if I had a flat tire, I did. I got off my bike flipped it over and started changing the tire while Christine called for Joe to bring us the floor pump from the van. Once I got back on the bike we encountered several miles of grated road, which makes for an extremely bumpy and uncomfortable ride. The four or so miles when I was on the grated road seemed longer than all the miles I rode earlier in the day. When I finally got back on pavement I was relieved, but found that there was a bulge in my newly inflated tire so it made a bump with every revolution of the wheel. When we got to the church we had gone 99.something miles, so we rode around the building to make an even 100. We were the first group in, so we talked to the hosts for a while and I worked on fixing my wheel while the rest of the team kept riding. It wasn't a bad day for me, but it certainly was challenging. I'm thankful that the biggest problem I encountered was a flat tire because I'm sure riding injured would have been far more difficult. Our hosts served us a wonderful dinner, which provided fuel for us to get up the next morning and do it all over again.

Mary McQuilkin

Day 8: Sandusky, OH

2009-06-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was, thankfully, one of the easiest rides thus far. The weather today was gorgeous, the terrain mostly flat, and the road conditions generally good (except a 5 mile section of grated road that was ready to be resurfaced). The downtown Cleveland crew from our day off dedicated the ride to Isador Hawkins, the son of a man who took photos of us chilling on the giant “FREE” stamp near the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Isador is a six year survivor of pediatric cancer. Riding teams were decided today by choosing M&M's, and my blue team consisted of: Mary-Lacey, Laura, Caitlin, and Kristine.

Notable occurrences from today's ride:
1- Raffi baptized Mary-Lacey into an old and secret religion by christening her forehead with the peanut butter half of a PBJ at lunch. Her admission into the gas station restroom to remove the peanut butter from her face was subsequently denied.
2- The team destroyed carrots at Raffi's request that we maintain good eye health.
3- Blue Team (minus Mary Lacey) took a side trip to a public beach and enjoyed the cool water of Lake Erie after braving the sweltering heat of the sand. Caitlin believes her feet are blistered.

We're staying at Sandusky Middle School, which looks like a school out of a 1950's horror movie. The gym floor is recessed below stadium seats, so we're essentially sleeping in the floor of the Colosseum. After the ride, the team went to the pool under the gym to play water polo (the pool is much like the pool in the movie “Ghost Ship”. Check it out) and let me tell you, Rob is a total beast at water polo. Dinner was donated by Sandusky families, and there was SOOOO MUCH FOOD! The team was crazy excited by it.

The day ended with a trip to Cedar Point. Tom and Chris made it their goal to make Shareef vomit (which he didn't). I got to hang with Joe, Maddi, Laura, Steph, Caitlin, and Kristine, and together we rode all the major coasters there. If you're ever at Cedar Point, definitely ride these 3 coasters:
1-Millenium Force (my new favorite roller coaster EVER)
2-Top Thrill Dragster (120 mph in under 3 sec, 410ft vertical rise and fall)
3- Maverick (deceptively intense, with a 70mph acceleration and 95 degree drop [aka, beyond vertical])
Returning to the vans, I couldn't think straight after all of the rides. Many people in the group decided that any more adrenaline would kill us.

So now I'm about to go to sleep, looking forward to a 98.8 mile ride in the rain tomorrow with a 5am wake-up (it's 11:14pm now). Keys to tomorrow's ride will be wearing layers, actually wearing a rain coat, and getting focused with select tunes from MyPod. Goodnight!

Craig Sadler

Day 7: DAY OFF in Cleveland

2009-06-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Week 1 Photos

2009-06-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Photos from Baltimore to Cleveland are up! You can view/download them here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/4kPhotos

Rider Conor Kevit also has great pictures at his website:

http://nikkorglasses.smugmug.com/4K%20for%20Cancer%202009

Day 6: Cleveland, OH

2009-06-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

How fast it all comes back to you – waking up at 7:15 am and saying that's sleeping in, eating half a box of cereal, a bagel, two bananas, and a granola bar and calling it a light breakfast, then sitting on top of a bicycle for 70 miles and feeling like it was a relaxed day. That was the turn of events for our day into Cleveland. Because Ohio is rather flat we got to sleep in, which was fantastic after the crushing couple of climbing days that open the trip. I felt good getting back in the saddle this morning. My hindparts are a little sore, but I cleaned Evey (my bike) last night for about an hour, so she was nice and sparkly, and I knew we were going to caravan the last stretch into the city. Chris and I are of the same opinion here, we both love caravaning, although I don't know why. We go kind of slow, but we get to holler the entire way while we're lined up, and it's fun to get to ride with the entire team while completely ignoring red lights sometimes.

I rode with Team 20 Questions today: Raffi, Kate, Maddy, and Diana. We played 20 questions to pass the time, although it quickly descended each time into us talking about random tangents of our game. Raffi and I tried to pull the line a little faster today since we were aiming to be at the caravan rendezvous spot by 3:30, and it was absolutely bloody fantastic being able to roll along at 18 mph. It's so nice to be out of the Appalachians. Ohio is one of my favorite states, partly because it's a nice flat reprieve to the mountains of the days before, and also because I can yell out “O-H!” just about whenever I want and have someone yell back “I-O!” It's good to be back in the Buckeye state. It's also good to have vans with satellite radio in them, because today at our last water stop, we found some great rock and roll and a little bit of funk and just blasted it in this parking lot. Two Princes by the Spin Doctors, Brick House by the Commodores, and Build Me Up Buttercup by the Foundations were a few noteworthy tunes. We had the van doors open, windows down, and volume way up, and we just sat there and sang at the top of our lungs. I love having music at the water stops; it keeps you pumped up, which is so important, especially as the days are getting longer in mileage. We're all strong enough to finish the day, but staying positive and focused enough to actually hang in there long enough is a different story. I'm glad we have people like Raffi on the trip too, because he's always hilarious at water stops, and as we all know, laughing increases oxygen in the body, so Raffi is actually medically good for us. Who'd have thought.

When we met up at the rendezvous spot at mile 67.2, the local NBC branch had sent a reporter out to us to get some interviews and to tape us coming into Case Western. He interviewed Tom, Chris, and Nicole, and the story actually ran as the front story on the night's evening news. They even followed us all the way to the Case Western campus and the anchorman himself donated money to the 4K. Case Western has such a great campus, and they're always so good to us. Two years ago when I was here they went well out of their way to get a doctor at their student health center to take some stitches out of my face. This year they went out of their again to get us all dinner at their dining hall, despite the fact that it's closed for renovations this summer.

Overall, I'd have the say today was another good day. It was the first time I got to ride with either Raffi or Kate, the heat wasn't bad, there wasn't much headwind, and the snacks at the lunch stop were top notch. Swedish fish, pretzels, kettle chips, and cold cuts? Yes please. At any rate, I'm off to go sleep in a bed, a REAL BED! Cleveland rocks.

Rob Attorri

Day 5: Youngstown, OH

2009-06-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a really great day on the 4k! It was in my opinion, and I think most of the other riders would agree, the first easy day, at just short of 50 miles and no real mountains to speak of. Tom, Anne, Maddy, Caitlin and I rode together as Team Lost in Thought, due to the fact that we were all pretty much silent until the first water stop. I'm not sure why; maybe none of us like mornings.

The day started out with a long hill but it was ultimately nothing compared to what the team had done in the previous days. The ride was really pretty. There were lots of fields, farms and horses. We reached the first water stop before we knew it, where a number of the groups met up. A group of the 4k males decided that they are having a beard-contest. I am still unclear on the details of the judging of the contest, but from what I gathered they all shave tonight and try to grow the longest or most creative beards possible. Again, I am foggy on the details.

The conversation for Team Lost in Thought picked up after the first water stop as we played a rousing game of 20 Questions. At around 33 miles into the ride my group was hailed to the side of the read by a couple of the other groups. They had stopped at a bike shop where the owner wanted us all to sign one of his bricks, alongside a couple of other cross-country cyclists. He was very nice and even gave flashing bike lights to a couple 4kers. Lunch was originally supposed to be at 35 miles but all the groups were making such good time that it was pushed back to the Ohio state line.

It was pretty amazing to cross the line into Ohio. I can hardly believe that in just three days we've biked from Baltimore all the way to Ohio. Everyone took some pictures at the line before riding a couple hundred yards more to lunch. The whole team took over a couple of picnic tables at a local convenience store. The owner came out and started talking to us and ended up donating a whole bunch of pizza to us, which was pretty awesome, because I know that I was still hungry before the pizza and I'm sure I wasn't the only one on the team who was.

We arrived at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Youngstown, Ohio to find their whole community waiting for us. They had welcome signs, a children's bicycle parade around the parking lot, some members of the media, and a HUGE dinner! Seriously, there was so much food! It was delicious and we definitely appreciate the generosity of all the community members who cooked us that dinner.

Kate Barry

Day 4: Butler, PA

2009-06-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

‘Twas cold. ‘Twas wet. ‘Twas the kind of rain-cold assault that makes one’s teeth chatter, knees buckle, will deflate.

But the day had started like many others in 4k lore. We spent the night at the YMCA of Greensburg, PA, an impressive three story structure complete with a gym, locker rooms, fitness rooms, offices, a childcare center, and an emergency youth shelter. Like many years past, the 4k was given the entire third floor – complete with pool table, Sound of Music VHS, and stunning vistas of downtown Greensburg – to relax and sleep.

The childcare center a floor below invited us for breakfast that morning. Before entering, we dawned our thinking caps knowing that the incisive philosophical ruminations of the toddlers would challenge our assumptions about consciousness. With bananas and cheerios consumed, the discussions began.

4k’er: Why are stickers called stickers?

Philosopher-Child of Greensburg: Because they’re sticky.

4k’er: Why are they sticky?

Philosopher-Child of Greensburg: Because they’re stickers!

Astounding, I thought. They must have some sticker-related super brain powers. Envious, I put a banana sticker on my forehead before the ride in hopes of boosting my intellectual prowess. And soon I would be put to the test.

Tom, our director with hair far longer than necessary, had recently put me in charge of organizing our snack and lunch foods into separate bins. The driver of the day before, Kristine “The First Test Tube Baby In The World” Casey, had scored mountains of ham sandwiches from Wallet’s, an establishment that boasted such customers as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Smell inspections revealed that the sandwiches needed to go. I don’t like to toss food out before trying to give it away, so I took to the streets of Greensburg looking for takers. I waved down a taxi and before I could offer him the meat, he asked for the purpose behind all these spandex-laden people clomping around their town. I told him about the 4k, and he told me about the many cycling treks he had undertaken, including a cross-country ride many years back, and a recent tour around ten countries in Europe. He directed me to his blog which I highly recommend, http://cyclingsimmons.blogspot.com/.

The rain began early that morning and would not relent for a moment. Our route took us around Pittsburgh towards Butler, PA where we found a painful lack of back roads. At one point we accidently found ourselves on an interstate going through a narrow two-lane tunnels. Cars zoomed by as we did our best to avoid getting side-swiped or just plain squished.

Then silence. I looked around and noticed all the cars had vanished. Was it some sort of divine sign? A symbol from above? It was. We saw flashing lights and a man in a neon-orange vest stepped out of an oversized pick-up and told us they had shut down the tunnel to traffic because cyclists are not allowed inside. We threw our road hogs on the back of the truck and were dropped off in town where we adjusted our route and pedaled on.

Like I said, the rain was relentless. We were sopping wet by this point and had hit our final 30 mile stretch for the day on a road infested with angst-ridden drivers in a rush to a place that was clearly important enough for them to justify rolling their windows down to show which of their fingers best expressed how they felt about us.

Fifteen miles away from our destination, the elements had overpowered one of our riders. We pulled into the parking lot of the Two-Bit Tavern and waited under an awning for our support van. As cold as we were, getting off the bicycle only made us colder as our muscles stiffened and energy declined.

While we stood shivering, a woman pulled over and rolled down her window. She had an uncanny resemblance to one of the riders on my team that day, Rebecca. “Are you Rebecca’s mom,” I asked.

“No,” she answered. “But it looks like you guys could use some help.”

We would learn her name was Stef Scarlett, that she had Multiple Sclerosis, and that she insisted we sit in her heated car to warm up while we waited for the van to arrive. We learned many things about Stef, that this wasn’t the first time she offered to help cyclists caught on the unpleasant roads just outside of Pittsburgh on a rainy day; that she fought the debilitating symptoms of her condition to help others too weak to access their medications alone; that she had an incredibly positive outlook on life; that her nurturing demeanor immediately comforted us from the traumas of an unpleasant day on the road; that her generosity and attitude inspired us more than she can understand.

I stepped out of the car to run into the tavern’s restroom. The looks I got on my way out clearly indicated that these bar-goers rarely saw cyclists run into their establishment. “Where you going,” one man asked.

“San Francisco.”

He asked me why. I told him about our mission. He collected the money he had put out on the counter and handed it to me. “My wife died of lung cancer two years ago. Remember her.”

The woman next to him turned and spoke. “I lost my father to melanoma.”

These were the words that got our team through the next 15 miles into Butler where the rain fell harder and cold blew more than earlier that day. Stef offered to drive behind us for the remainder of the route with her car hazards on to deter impatient motorists from speeding up to us and laying on their horns. Her generosity and patience with us was inexplicable and affirmed to me that there are still great people in this world. I will remember her fondly as the challenges on this ride grow.

Thank you, Stef.

Raffi Wartanian

Day 3: Greensburg, PA

2009-06-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the second of our back-to-back difficult days through the Appalachians. We started off with that knowledge, and my mind was a little uneasy about how things would go. I happened to be in the first group today — starting off with Chris and Jackie. We really pushed ourselves the first fifteen miles—descending off the tops of the rolling hills quickly, and plowing through the next... over and over again, one after the other.

By mile fifteen, we had pedaled so furiously that we needed the water stop pushed up – from mile 20 to 15. I remember there was a WONDERFUL view at the water stop, and I thought out loud - “I can't believe we've come this high with ONLY OUR LEGS!” It was a great feeling. Chris and Jackie agreed. After a long water break, we set off again, our legs a bit tight from the prolonged break. That time in between the water break and lunch was the toughest part for me. The hills just kept coming! We'd get to the top of what seemed like the last one, and another would appear, again and again. There were some parts I felt like I might not be able to finish.

At those times, I'd look down at the names I've written on my bike—the names of people who've really suffered from a debilitating disease, specifically Mike Rastelli, the person I rode for today—and we just kept plowing on, and concentrated on my breathing. It worked. Before I knew it, my group was in Greensburg! Seeing the Greensburg sign was one of the most satisfying experiences I've had in a while. I was so proud of the rest of the team when we all eventually arrived at the YMCA here, and got settled in the upstairs youth emergency center, where there are BEDS! (We got really excited over this).

We were shuttled to the house of a local alum, where a feast and a pool were waiting for us (along with a great, big flag of Italy waving in the wind behind the freshly cooked meatballs and lasagna). The generosity of people we've met even in the first few days has absolutely blown me away. I'm looking forward to encountering even more generosity and stories along our journey through the ups and downs of America.

Nicole Pangborn

Day 2: Bedford, PA

2009-06-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

To all 4K Supporters, Family, and Friends,

The team woke up in Waynesboro, PA with a 6:00 AM wake up call. Music blasted in the center of the gym we slept in as the team bustled around packing the van, washing up, changing into our riding clothes and filling our bottles with water (to the brim!). After the usual morning routine, we all pigged out on bananas, cereal, donuts, coffee cakes, desserts (cakes, brownies, pie) from last night's dinner, granola bars, etc. The hosts provided us with plenty of food! Thanks Waynesboro! After getting fueled up and grabbing extra snacks for the road, we started on the ride.

The ride today was from Waynesboro, PA to Bedford, PA which is 63.5 miles long and two mountains away. In other words, it was going to hurt... The day started off well enough. It was 20 miles of small rolling hills till the first water stop. The first stretch wasn't too bad considering that the downhills provided good momentum to climb the hills. I rode with Tom, Shareef, and Ryan. The first mountain was the James Buchanan mountain, with a summit of 1265 feet. The ride up was slow but steady all the way up. We didn't stop for breaks because it turns out that it's actually more exhausting to start biking again after resting. Our legs throbbed in pain as we pushed up the mountain but we all ended up making it up to the top. We took pictures of the beautiful view and after catching a breather, headed down the mountain to grab lunch.

Lunch (at 35 miles) was Subway (Thanks Subway at Mercersville, PA) sandwiches! Some of us took quick naps while others stuffed themselves with food to have enough energy to climb the Blue Ridge mountain with a summit around 2195 ft. This mountain was even more painful than the first because it was much steeper. We pushed through the long climb and made it to the top. We reached the second water stop at 50 miles and chomped on granola bars, dry cereal, water, and cookies.

We breezed through the rest of the ride and arrived at Bedford, PA where the hosts greeted us with smiles and treated us to a delicious, homemade dinner with beef stroganoff, spaghetti and meatballs, corn, salad, couscous, cole slaw, and other amazing pasta dishes and endless varieties of cookies and cake. Thank you everyone at Bedford and at Bedford Presbyterian Church! We loved it here!

Sincerely,

Diana Lee

Day 1: Baltimore to Waynesboro, PA

2009-05-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

People always tell nervous brides that rain on their wedding day is a sign of good luck. If the same holds true for the 4K, then I think we'll have plenty of luck to carry us all the way to the west coast.

Send-off day started at 5:30am with the team huddled under a tree near Shriver Hall at JHU trying to stay warm and dry amidst a torrential downpour. There was no lightning, however, so we packed up the vans and started carvaning down to the Inner Harbor. We have one van drive in front, one in back, and in between all 27 cyclists ride in 2 single file lines- the whole thing moves as one unit through the city streets, like our own personal motorcade.

It was fantastic to see so many family and friends at the send-off ceremony in the Inner Harbor despite the inclement weather (which had mostly cleared up by the time we got downtown). After the speeches by representatives from the American Cancer Society, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and the Baltimore Hope Lodge, we circled up for our morning dedication to those for whom we are riding.

After our team cheer, we broke up into smaller groups to begin the ride. I was with Kate, Maddy, and Mary-Lacey, soon to be known as Team Disaster. Every problem that could happen to our bikes happened - we had 4 flat tires, 2 malfunctioning derailers and chains falling off, one fall, etc. It was so great to have some 4K alumni helping out with support, driving out to us whenever we had a problem.

By the time the lunch stop came around, I was ravenous and ate 3 turkey sandwiches, chips, a doughnut, fruit, and pretzels. I took a quick 15 minute nap, which made me feel so much better, and I was good to go for the rest of the day. After lunch, there were a few more hills on the roads them before, but I'm happy to report that everyone on Team Disaster ended up at the host in 1 piece after having biked the entire way.

The members of Otterbein Presbyterian Church gave us so so much delicious food, which we scarfed down before showering.

Day 1 on the 4K was hard but extremely exciting - can't wait to see how sore I am for day 2!

Anne Smedinghoff

Relay for Life

2009-04-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 17, the 4K for Cancer participated in the Johns Hopkins Relay for Life. Relay is a 12-hour event, from 7pm on Friday until 7am Saturday morning. Relay honors cancer survivors, remembers those who have passed away, and raises money to fight for a cure. 4K riders kicked off the first lap by cycling around the quad, and continued spinning throughout the night. For more information on Relay for Life, visit the American Cancer Society or the Johns Hopkins Relay website. If you'd like to buy an "I CARE" shirt from The 4K for Cancer, click here.

The 4K Relay team.

Shareef and Anne selling t-shirts.

Nicole and Craig ready to get started.

The first lap of Relay - dedicated to cancer survivors.

Nicole, Jackie, and Craig line up at the start.

Jackie and Dan spinning the night away.

Setting up another spinner.

Relay for Life luminarias on the Gilman steps.

Hope Lodge Haiku

2009-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hope Lodge is always
A great place to go; People
We meet - the very best.

We made sweet smoothies
And doused the kitchen with Spam;
Yum yum yum yum - Spam.

There was soy sauce too
On top of the Spam, wrapped in
Seaweed. T'was not bad.

CONGRATS to Dennis
Reed and Cindy Coelho:
finished their treatments!

-Raffi

Will Pedal for Pizza

2009-04-12T19:43:00.001-07:00

I threw on my jeans and jacket, strapped on my silver clippie shoes that made my feet look elfish, and rolled up my right pant leg. I didn’t think about it until after I had hung up the phone with Rob, and all I could think about was the feeling of stupidity in the pit of my stomach. There was no more room in the car for me to go to the Hope Lodge for dinner that evening and so he proposed that we ride our bikes over. I imagined some kid running up to me at a red light and pulling my bike right out from under my legs, then leaving me on the ground sobbing; the tears originating from the very real possibility that some punk could sell my bike for more money than I currently had in my own bank account, regardless of the fact that I would be left in streets of inner-city Baltimore with shoes that I couldn’t even walk in.

That didn’t happen, though. I managed to ride my bike to the Hope Lodge in one piece. Luckily, I had Rob riding in front to block the wind that seemed to have it out for me. One lesson I learned is this: size doesn’t matter when you’re on a bike. Rob is a fairly tall, solid guy, hence, the wind blockage. Even with him shielding me from the weather’s wrath, I was left behind, huffing my way up these itty bitty hills while Rob simply charging ahead. He was a machine and I was… not. (Note to self and others: do more hill workouts to avoid falling backwards down mountains on the 4K and thus, avoiding shear embarrassment.)

Once we got to the Lodge, we made some delicious homemade pizzas! Rob had wielded his cooking skills the night before and made the dough pies, so all we had to do was spread the sauce and get creative with the various toppings. Of course, once the pizzas were in the oven, we had a slight build-up of Italian cooking mania in our systems. With extra toppings leftover, including cheese and sauce, Craig and some others took the liberty to create “no crust pizzas.” (I can’t recall if this was the name they came up with, but it seems logical.) The recipe is extremely complex, scientific, and requires a cook who really knows what they’re doing. First, you put a bed of cheese in the palm of your hand, and then a dollop of sauce. Not too much! Otherwise, it’ll just seep through your fingers and completely destroy the dish. You then scatter on a few pieces of each additional topping- a mushroom or two, some chopped peppers, and pepperoni if you so choose. The final step is complicated, so please pay attention closely and follow the directions…

Shove it into your mouth as quickly as possible, without dropping everything all over yourself.

According to Rob’s internal clock, the pizzas were soon hot and ready to eat. We ended up sharing a wonderful meal with some wonderful people. At this point, I had practically forgotten my amateur cycling spree through the city streets when we started introducing each other and the patients were sharing their cancer stories. My favorite person of the entire night was this lady from Hollywood, Maryland. (Yes, we’ve got Hollywood, too…It’s right near California, Maryland. Seriously.) I feel terrible that I cannot remember her name, but what I’ll never forget are her smile and her spunk. She had lost all of her hair from the chemo, but both her and her husband didn’t seem to be phased. He would rub and kiss her head, while she smiled and joked about needing to remember sunscreen up there. She was an absolute delight. She struck me as a tough cookie. She didn’t retreat into her chair after she talked about her cancer; she just kept going. I could imagine her on a farm down south somewhere to match with her sweet, southern twang. She was absolutely bold and beautiful. I assume she is now home with her husband, hopefully enjoying the wonderful life that they seemed to deserve.

At the end of the evening, I clacked through the hall of the Hope Lodge in my elfin shoes and hopped on my bike to follow Rob out of the driveway. Despite the dark streets and my severe lack of reflector gear, I felt slightly more confident, and a bit faster with the wind at my back. The air was much cooler as the traffic lights glowed up ahead.

-Jackie

Baked Potato Night at the Hope Lodge

2009-03-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

Dear communal 4K diary,

On February 28, we had our second Hope Lodge event of the semester - the much anticipated Baked Potato Bar!

Here are some thoughts on the evening: 1) everybody loves a baked potato, 2) a large group of people can eat a whole lot of something they love, and 3) always buy more Hormel chili for those baked potatoes, because it's a dollar a can and goes much faster than expected. I really was quite impressed with the volume and speed with which the food was eaten, especially since I had to shop for all of it. Sure did look like a lot in the shopping cart. The shopping cart was pretty full too, considering there were 17 riders in total who came this time, which I think might even be a regular season record, so to speak, for a 4K volunteer event. Now, some of the people on the team who already have gotten to know me have probably been able to figure out I lack a high amount of organization - planning and organization are virtues to which I aspire but do not possess in full. Imagine my surprise then, when I found out that there were 17 riders coming. I got a lot of RSVPs quite close to the date, so in a very short amount of time, I had to alter my shopping list to accommodate thrice the number of half-starved feral college students than previously expected, and also try to make sure I had enough vehicles to get us all down there. It's amazing how much history repeats itself, for as much as I try to plan ahead of time, I'm always running around when it comes to the 4K. We're high-energy people, what can I say?

At any rate, when we got there, I had already been baking the potatoes in my own oven for about an hour and a half (but remember the sudden increase in number of potatoes), yet they still weren't cooked. The team quickly set to work readying all the toppings for the potatoes, and me and a few others fired up all four ovens and all four microwaves, desperately trying to finish cooking the veritable cornucopia of (nearly) baked potatoes. We had to run a little interference and distract both ourselves and the residents from the smells of food wafting from the kitchen by doing our introductions before the meal instead of after. The introductions are something we've been doing for as long as the 4K has been going to the Hope Lodge, so this year, in an effort to spice up the routine a little bit, each time we've gone around, I've asked the riders and residents to all share a small fact about themselves. This time, it was who you would want to meet, past or present, dead or alive. The answers were varied, to say the least. I went for someone obscure (Tycho Brahe, the famed Danish/Swedish astronomer), while a lot went for some of the great figures of the past: Da Vinci, Mozart, Isaac Newton, Jesus, Vincent van Gogh, and the like. My personal favorite was a sweet old lady who stood up and said she'd love to meet Jesus because he was such a prolific man in the course of history, but if restricted to modern day, she sure would love to meet Beyonce too.

Despite the tardiness of dinner, it still went over well, and all 40 some odd potatoes disappeared, along with all the toppings, except for the butter. You know, in retrospect, I should've gotten way less butter... How much did I think people really ate in one meal? I was happy so many riders came down for the event. I did the ride two years ago, and I was the volunteer coordinator then too, but I only got to know a small portion of the team. We have so many more people who want to come to the Hope Lodge now, and it really is great. Not only do we get to know each other better, but I'm glad everyone is getting to know the people at the Hope Lodge. It'll hit them just like it hit me, somewhere between Baltimore and San Francisco, just how much the Hope Lodge meant and just how much they loved it. It's a shame you don't fully appreciate it until after all the events are done, but c'est la vie.

Until next time,
Rob Attorri

*Rider Conor Kevit took the pictures at the event - to see more, click here.