We rode from Lander, WY to Dubois, WY which is about 80 miles. The ride was beautiful and fun. I was riding with Allie, Bonks, Chey, and Ashley. We decided that we weren’t going to rush ourselves so we went with the pace of a snail. We had an amazing downhill half way through the ride. I decided to video tape it as I went. This seemed to be a great idea when the downhill began, but once I got moving I realized I needed my full attention and both my hands. The rest of the ride was beautiful. The scenery in  Wyoming has never been boring. When we arrived at Dubois I decided it was time to clean my bike. Clayton said he would supervise me, but wouldn’t get his hands dirty. I was extremely successful if you ask me my bike was working perfectly after trying to put it back together twice. Once I was finished I needed to shower because I was literally covered in grease. Naturally I wiped some of it on Clayton because he was just too clean compared to me. After I showered the whole team went square dancing!! It was great. I danced with a man named Bill who is originally from New York and has lived in Dubois with his wife for the last 9 years. He taught me the dance and then after the first set I partnered with Nate who needed to learn the moves. He picked up on them very quickly. The whole night was a lot of fun! We are all anxious to ride over the mountain tomorrow!!

We were told that the mountain began as a level 3 and would switch to a level 1 the rest of the way up. I wasn’t over pushing myself because I knew that as soon as the level 1 came around I would need all of my energy. The sun was shining and I was loving every minute of the climb. Even when a really dark cloud came over me and it began to drizzle I kept my spirits high. I was singing every song I knew and I even think I was talking to myself. I had no idea how many miles I had gone but my legs were beginning to feel it. I could also feel the wind get cooler, which made me happy because it let me know that I had made it up a nice chunk of the mountain. The curving of the roads made it easy, and almost exciting to ride because I never knew what was ahead and I would have to ride there to find out. I came to an area where cars were allowed to park, I thought that maybe the water van would be there because it flattened out a tiny bit. But there was no water van and my only option was to keep going. I didn’t want to get off because I was afraid of the bears and mountain lions that could attack me.

Then I saw some snow. I had a smile on my face the whole time, I wasn’t going to let the cold air and the wind ruin my day. I was also thinking about the people I was riding for and how my struggle couldn’t even compare the theirs. They are so strong and inspiring. When I saw Luke and Nancy in the distance I got really excited because I was waiting to hear the words “You’re almost there!!!” Well those words didn’t come, instead I got “Everyone is spread out, you have less then 10 miles to go, give me your water bottles but don’t stop pedaling!” Luke used his ninja skills to lean out of the window grab my water bottles, fill them up and return them to me all while I kept riding. It was great to hear their cheering voices, without them the day wouldn’t have been perfect.  As I began to sing “Hey baby” I noticed that there were people singing with me, yes a car had pulled up heard me singing and joined in! Definitely a highlight of the day. The wind really picked up after another few miles and I could see one hill that stood in my way of what looked like the top of the mountain. This was the hardest part of the day. Once I reached the top I saw other riders, we all cheered hugged and took pictures. After hanging around at the summit for a while we decided it was time to ride down the mountain. We stopped for more pictures before continuing to find the lunch van. Before we reached the lunch van the skies opened up with rain and hail. YAY! After eating we had about 29 more miles to go of what we thought was going to be down hill, but no when has anything ever been that easy? More rolling hills, wind, and rain. Seeing the sign for Saratoga made me have tears of joy. Reaching the school we were sleeping, and showering felt great. This day even though the end was annoying, was one of the best days of my life.

After speaking to some of the people who graciously fed us in Cheyenne we were all prepared for pretty much everything that was coming our way on the ride. A few hills, a mountain, and then an incredible 8 mile decent into Laramie with amazing scenery. My group was moving quickly through route and we took pictures whenever we got the chance. I had no idea Wyoming was this pretty, and bug infested. It was the craziest thing because I could see the water van at the top of one of the longer hills and it looked like the van drivers were dancing outside (this isn’t what got me confused). Seeing Stephen riding back down the hill towards me was the weird part. Once he reached me he told me that as soon as we hit the water van mosquitos will attack and the best option is to pedal as fast as I can. He wasn’t lying. I had about 10 mosquitos on my arms and legs within seconds. This explains the weird dancing the van drivers were doing! After quickly filling my water bottles I hopped in the van to wait for the rest of my group to do the same. Once we were all ready we jumped back on our bikes and sped off to the mountain. The best part of the day was the 8 mile decent because the scenery was truly incredible. One kind of scary parts was that we were riding on the interstate (which is legal in Wyoming). We showered at the local high school, ate an amazing dinner, then went to sleep because tomorrow will be a long, tough, and amazing day!

It was challenging waking up after having an amazing day off in Arapahoe, and after an incredible nights sleep on the most comfy couch I have ever had the pleasure of crashing on. Breakfast was delicious and we were all ready to ride 101 miles into Benkelman, NE. We picked groups based on the number of letters in our first names so I was happy to be in a group with Valerie, Brandon and Clayton. The wind was pretty strong from the beginning and as the day got hotter (103 degrees) I began feeling a little unusual. I wanted to keep pushing but my body was telling me other wise. Once we reached mile 40 for a much needed water stop I went into the gas station for a few minutes and by the time I was out I saw my bike on the rack at the back of the van. I was furious because finishing the ride was so important to me. My group wouldn’t let me ride any longer and I reluctantly climbed into the back of the van. I’m glad I stopped when I did because it turns out that I was dehydrated and had heat exhaustion. After about an hour of being in the air conditioned van Chris Young realized that I had stopped sweating and still had no relief from the shakes, dizziness, and nausea. To the hospital I was sent. After getting poked in four different spots by the nurse they finally got the IV in and I was able to get the two liters of fluids in me. I felt great by the time the last fluid bag was finished but I wouldn’t be able to ride the next day. I want to thank my riding team for sticking with me while I was riding and Jane and Jenna for bringing me to the hospital and hanging out with me while I was there. It was great to see the whole team together when I got back seeing them smiling and hearing their stories about the ride really made me happy.

Destination: Fairbury, NE

Today we attempted to have a scavenger hunt during the ride. I started out the day the only girl on my team and we called ourselves the eagles. We had loads of great ideas about how to win the scavenger hunt and we were all really excited to start the day. After riding for about 20 miles we came to a group of our riders on the side of the road after wondering what had happened. We quickly realized Bianca had taken a little spill, ok it was apparently an epic fall. She was in great condition and we were all thankful that nothing but a few cuts and bruises came out of the whole thing. Once we were ready to begin riding again we had to adopt two other girl riders into our eagle group. Once we got to the water stop the guys told us that they would be the eagles and the girls would be the bunnies. I was a little angry since it seemed as if I had been demoted to a bunny but then I titled myself the Queen Bunny and everything was better again. Now we had a group of six and as we were riding through the rolling hills the eagles thought it would be fun to try and get a better workout for their calfs. Soon after the eagles pulled the bunnies up the hills which was amazing because I’m not a huge fan of hills to begin with! Once we reached our host for the night we were welcomed with brownies and cookies. This was just the beginning of the most amazing and filling dinner I have had in a while. I ate so much that I wasn’t physically able to lift my hand up to pet the dog. Sleeping on a comfy air mattress was icing on the huge cake that I basically ate for dinner.

Last week a few of us decided that we wanted to try to get across America without doing a century. Today I ended up in a group with all of them, so we were all really excited to create a plan to get out of doing the century. We came up with a few ideas while we rode and they all would work very well. The day was off to a great start, the first and second water stop came and went without any troubles. We took pictures with corn fields and other fun things we saw on the route. Once we got to lunch which was at a point on the Oregon Trail. After stuffing our faces Chey and I decided to play the oreo game where you can only use your facial muscles to eat the oreo. It is extremely funny to watch. Once we were finished playing two people drove up to us to see what we were doing, so we took pictures with them and told them our mission. They were extremely generous and kind to us. Once we were back on the road the rolling hills really began to pick up but team “No Century” kept trucking through it all with smiles on our faces. We were singing and dancing on our bikes which is a skill that we have all picked up since the ride began. As we got closer to our destination we were getting more and more excited to reach the big 100 miles. As soon as Ally’s bike computer hit 100 we pulled over and took more pictures. We were all so excited to finish the day even though we started out planning on not finishing. Dinner was amazing, all of the people we met were extremely nice and it was fun to listen and tell different stories.

The ride started out on nicely paved roads…but that didn’t last for long. We rode on gravel roads after gravel roads for basically the remainder of the day. While riding on the gravel I heard dogs barking and as I looked into the field to my left there were two angry dogs chasing me. I couldn’t ride away fast enough because of the gravel so I just started screaming. Nate had to come back to save me by getting off his bike and scaring them away. After that every time we saw a dog I made sure there was someone closer to them then I was. The wind picked up at the end of the day but other then that the ride was pretty nice. Once we arrived in Lawrence I went to the bike shop to find that my tire was bent, and after another two hundred miles I will need new break pads. Luckily we have two centuries lined up for the next two days! The town of Lawrence is very nice and has lots of cute stores. I had a lot of fun walking around today.

When we realized we were 30 miles south of the other 3 teams we didn’t know what to do. I was still phone-less but I would like to personally thank Apple for inventing the iPhone. Today we were riding on the Katy trail going from St. Louis to Montgomery City, MO. About 45 miles into the route we experienced yet another exciting thunder and lightening storm which we were very lucky to find shelter in a bike show on the trail. While we waited with another group that had taken the wrong way, we ate some ice cream, bought ponchos, and I took a quick cat nap on the most comfortable bench I have ever encountered. Noticing that the storm wasn’t going anywhere any time soon we decided to take a break from the gravel trail on the bike path and venture onto the streets. With both groups combined we started the next part of our days journey by having a mini team circle where Valerie gave us an extremely motivating speech, once we were on the road and getting even more soaked by the water being sprayed on us from the tires of the person in front of you, Chris Lipinski began to scream out 4K morning cheer. This got everyone excited and ready to keep on going. Who ever said that everything after the Appalachians was flat all the way to the Rockies lied because we definitely climbed about 7 mountains today, along with some pretty intense hills. After hitting the first town we had seen in a while we stopped for lunch at the Dutzow Deli and Restaurant. I had an amazing sandwich called the “Naked Piggy” with some chili and cheese fries. Followed by some delicious chocolate pie. YUM!! After lunch we jumped back on the Katy trail because the rain had stopped and we didn’t want to see any more hills/mountains. Time began to fly because everyone was talking and sharing stories. We didn’t realize that it was already 5pm and we still had about 50 miles to go until we reached our destination. It was a race against the sun at this point. we finally came to the end of the trail and got back onto the sweet paved road. We still had about 2o miles to go and we had NO idea what we were in for. Once we were on a quiet road Chris Lipinski and I decided to show everyone the new skills we have acquired along the trip. First we had a booty shake off followed by a synchronized bicycle dance to the music “Waltz of the flowers.” This continued until we made our next turn onto yet another gravel road that lead to a gravel mountain YAY! I got about half way up the mountain until my tire road through some mud and rocks, I bet you can all guess what happened next…yup I fell, and then Chey fell on top of me! A few cuts and bruises later we finished the climb with our feet. The race against the sun was still on, it was about 8pm now and we still had about 10 miles to go. We all were pushing as hard as we could over the last two mountains of the day and we finally reached our camp ground at 9pm. Sleeping in tents was exactly what we all wanted to do after 13 hours of riding. I would also like to thank those who had our tents set up for us when we arrived. Even after going through all sorts of challenges today our spirits remained high.

Today’s ride was a lot shorter then we all expected. At our second water stop we saw a sign that said 9 miles to Sweet Springs! The last nine miles were hills after hills, but the motivation of sleeping in beds at a hotel made them go very quickly. The beginning of the day was great, there was a riding with no hands competition going on between myself and Clayton because he is convinced that he can ride with no hands for longer then I can. At the first water stop he said that he rode for 5 miles with no hands so I obviously had to beat that. 10.7 miles later I was back in the lead! I was able to hold my place as number one for the remainder of the day. Once we arrived at the hotel some people went to a local pool while other relaxed and watched a movie. What a great day!

I personally love feeling like I am peddling as hard as I can and getting nowhere. We should have decided to start in Portland and end in Baltimore because the wind would push us there. The best part of the wind and riding on roads where 18 wheelers drive past you is that sometimes if you are really lucky they pull you with them. Today was fun my group started off at a nice casual pace until we realized that we made a wrong turn and were on a road that ran parallel to the one everyone else was on. This explains why we hadn’t seen the water van in a while. After finding a shady spot and hydrating we kept on going at our slow and steady pace. I found some time before arriving in Lebanon, Missouri to test my riding with no hands abilities. 3.5 miles which was stopped because we had to take a picture with the sign, and because there was a nice hill about 30 feet away. The day slowly began to get hotter and hotter, so we stopped in a church parking lot and waited for the lunch van to find us. We also decided to create our own route for the rest of the day so we would have less miles to do. We shortened the trip by 7 miles! Once again the winds were annoying but seeing the arch was what motivated my team to keep on trucking. Once we arrived in the city my feet forgot what they were supposed to do and instead of clipping out of my peddles at an intersection I fell over. I didn’t have time to check my wounds out because the lights turned green basically as soon as I hit the ground. Valerie and I had a great laugh for the last 5 miles of the day. Once we arrived at the Hope Lodge we were thrown straight into cooking dinner for the guests. Valerie and I were chopping bell peppers, which probably wasn’t the best idea because we were delirious from the long day. We were singing, laughing and fooling around the whole time. Having a day off was super exciting and the idea of sleeping in was amazing.

3.5 miles with no hands.

This morning we had an amazing breakfast of pancakes, and sausage. This was a delightful change from the usual bagels, and peanut butter. After eating as much as we could and having a very powerful dedication circle we were all ready to ride. Then it started to rain…good thing I bought a water proof jacket. Oh wait, I didn’t. The beginning of the day wasn’t too bad the rain was surprisingly nice to ride since we had been used to battling the heat. After a while I quickly realized that my jacket wasn’t waterproof because at the first water stop when I went to clean my sun glasses on my “dry” jersey it was soaked. At lunch we all got an amazing surprise which motivated us to finish the day in a quick pace. WE WERE SLEEPING IN A HOTEL!!! Once we got to the hotel it felt so good to lay in a comfy bed and take hot showers. I got super excited when I saw slurpees at the gas station next to the hotel what an end to a day that was almost ruined by the rain.

Yesterday I dedicated my ride to Jungle June (June Morgan).

The ride today was tough, I was not expecting Kentucky to have so many hills! At least the horrible sunburn I got the other day has begun to turn into somewhat of a tan because riding with an aching and a burnt back is really no good. We were on the right route when we came across construction leading up to a bridge. Thinking nothing of the construction my team began riding on the road when we were told that we couldn’t get over the bridge because there was a hole in it. After turning around we waited for the water van to find a detour for us. After riding down the “New” route we realized that the only way to continue on to Lexington was by getting on the interstate (which we are not allowed to do.) A new route needed to be made, so as we waited to find an alternative direction while we had a water break. Upon finding a new route which would only add 4 miles on to our 90 mile day. The new route had a nice surprise in store for us. Since we all really missed climbing mountains we were excited to arrive at the unplanned one on the detour. NOT. The rest of the day was mentally challenging for me because the hills just kept coming and taking a break wasn’t really an option because that would mess up the speed the group needed to continue to make it over the hills. The sun was getting very hot towards the end of the day and we were all excited to get to the Hope Lodge where we were sleeping. After we all showered we headed to the Lexington Relay For Life. I had an amazing time talking to cancer survivors and other people who were supporting their loved ones. I met two survivors Ted and Kathy who after hearing their stories I was very happy to dedicate a day to them. While at the relay they had many fun activities such as the “Mr. Relay Contest” and the “Star Search Contest” a few of the boys on the team signed up to model in the Mr. Relay contest where they dressed up as girls and did their best model cat walk. I signed up for the star search, I sang a song called freedom, which is supposed to be a two person song but I made it work. After that it was close to 130AM which is WAY past all of our bed times and we were all ready to sleep and to see what our day off would bring.

Our day off started by sleeping in an extra 4 hours!! We woke up at 9AM and headed to Kesmarc which is a horse rehabilitation center. The owner showed us all the different physical therapy tools they use to help the horses get back on their feet. We were allowed to test one of them which made our legs vibrate and get our circulation flowing. After we went for breakfast at Alfalfa’s where I had an amazing meal. Later in the day I along with a few other riders got the chance to actually go horseback riding! It was a lot of fun and it really made everyone tired. By this point my sleeping bag was looking extremely comfy!

I dedicated my day’s community service to Jane Williams one of our fellow riders.

Today four riders got the amazing opportunity to help clean the Cincinnati Hope Lodge. The four riders were Natalie, Alex, Valerie and myself. We started out the day riding the planned route while the support vans chalked the directions, and got lunch. As our team cycled through the trail we came across a canoe shop on the Little Miami River. We decided to go inside to use their bathrooms and take a short break from the heat when the owner offered us a 3 mile canoe ride down the river. We decided to jump at the opportunity after asking how cancer had affected his life. His story was amazing, he lead us out to an area outside the shop where there was a rock garden telling the story of his extraordinary mother named June Morgan. After reading all about her life, how she helped people and the environment up until she lost her battle 12 days after she was diagnosed with Lymphoma we decided that we would be dedicating the next day of riding to her. The canoe trip was so much fun, it took us about an hour to get to the end of the river and then we got shuttled back to the shop where our bikes were parked. Once we got back we waited to be picked up so we could head over to the hope lodge and help out with whatever the needed us to do.

Upon arriving at the hope lodge we got a brief tour and history of the building which was very fascinating because part of the building was an old mansion which was turned into an all girls school after it was extended. Once we were finished with the tour we got down to business. I was put to work cleaning the carpets while the other girls were dusting and polishing the tables and wooden furniture. Once we were all finished we went back to the rest of the team gathered our belongings from the brothers of the Triangle fraternity from the University of Cincinnati who graciously fed us and let us relax with them. Then headed back over to the Hope Lodge where we were able to sleep for the night.

I rode for Grainne Harrington.

The ride today was basically down hill which was very welcomed after the mountainous first two days. It felt like we had just left Bedford by the time we got to the first water stop, we had already gone 18 out of the 44 miles and it wasn’t even 815 am yet. The rest of the ride went smoothly but the last ten miles of the day were very tough. I had no idea Frostburg was on top of a mountain and I was not prepared for it. Anyways mountain or no mountain I was grateful to have an easy day which ended by sitting in the freezing cold creek by the dorms we were staying in.

Day 4: Frostburg MD to Ligionier PA

I rode for my Brother Padraic.

Today I had the pleasure of riding with the fastest riders on the trip (Steve, Nate, and Arvind). I don’t think I would have been able to make it through the whole day without their help and motivation. We started off the day by climbing another mountain, I can’t believe we had to climb a mountain to get into Frostburg and then another one to get out, CRAZY and ANNOYING! That mountain was named Big Savage Mountain elevation 2900 feet. After that we had an extremely nice decent only to find more and more hills. Today for me was all about getting through each hill or mountain at a time and I always looked forward to seeing my teammates standing at the top waiting for me and cheering me on. Today was the most mentally challenging day for me because it was hill after hill and the elevation didn’t get any easier. At the very end of the day we faced yet another mountain. It seemed like this one was never ending but once we got to the top it was all downhill from there. Top speeds of the trip were reached on the decent into our host at the YMCA of Ligionier. Everyone on the team is really getting close and so far the trip has been challenging and amazing. I am having an incredible time!!

-Mo