End of a Journey

Charlotte (Day Off)

We began our day off in Charlotte with a late 9:30 wake up. But, by now, we have realized that these later wake-ups serve no additional benefit because we stay up much later the night before and it is only for one day so our body doesn’t get used to it. We headed to the mall first, but being a Sunday, the mall was still not fully open. A quick change of plans took us to Panda Express and Chipotle for a brunch around 10:30. We returned to the mall later and had an opportunity to purchase “gag gifts” for our secret team member. Next, we departed for a friendship visit at a local lake where we had the opportunity to go on boat rides and had fruit sundaes (they made a change to fruit from ice cream this year, unfortunately). To cap off the day, we had dinner at an Alumni’s house in a Charlotte Suburb. Our fraternity CEO, Mark Timmes was there and we had a chance to talk to him for a while. But, the highlight of the night was getting to watch most of Transformers there and relax for an hour or two.

Charlotte to High Point

Today we had a ride along from Chad Coltrain, Push America’s CEO. The ride was a little on the longer side (>80 miles) but remained manageable the whole time. We arrived at the Arc of High Point and spent about half an hour with the people they service. One kid, Bradley, loved my bike and playing with the brakes. We then departed to lodging at the local YMCA where we had plenty to keep us entertained once again. After, we had dinner with the Arc once again at a facility that teaches kids about health matters and their body. We had an absolutely fantastic time there and the best part was the Gross Encounters show that was intended for a much younger audience, which made it that much funnier. This was a great day and we hope the coming days are just as good!

High Point to Danville, VA

The ride from High Point to Danville was originally billed in the grids as a short 50 miles, but we learned that morning that the route would in fact be 68 miles long. But, due to time constraints and an earlier than attainable rack point, the team was racked at mile 45 to make it to the friendship visit on time. We had a fantastic lunch in Danville and then headed to lodging at the Best Western. Later, we returned for a dinner and dance that went from 4:30 to 6, which was absolutely perfect. This early bird dinner allowed a few of us to get out to the movie theater and see Pineapple Express, a fun break from the monotony of our average days. We returned to the hotel around 9:30PM, watched some of the Olympics and went to bed.

Danville to Lynchburg

For this 65 mile ride, I let a crew member do a ride-along on my bike. So, I had a break day. At our first stop (mile 10), the crew member Erich came to a very slow speed and forgot to clip out sending him falling towards the van and barely missing another rider’s bike. It was very funny until I realized the next day that this fall caused my gears to shift only to 6 of my back 8 gears. Luckily, the problem was remedied by a quick trip to the bike shop and some simple adjustments. For dinner in Lynchburg, we had a dinner and dance at the local Arc which was a great time.

Lynchburg to Charlottesville

Everything about this ride that could go wrong went wrong. We got off to a late start because of a bad route choice. This left us about 3 miles away from our starting point for over half an hour. Then we got a frantic call from our Project Manager: he had forgotten that we had a sponsored breakfast that morning. We arrived to that breakfast 5 miles away over 2 hours late. This was embarrassing to say the least. From there, we headed towards US 20, only to realize upon our arrival there (3 miles away from our second breakfast) that bikes are illegal on that road. Next Choice: US 20 Business Route; Too bad it had construction that made it a two lane highway with virtually no shoulder. We stopped a few miles up that road due to safety. After a long time of trying to find alternate routes, we ended up racking the team at mile 10, which was a good decision because of an unusually early arrival. We arrived at the Arc in Charlottesville around 11:30 am, which is where we would be staying that night as well. Over the past few days, I have been in touch with Reg Hubley, a close friend of my grandfather’s, and we managed to meet up shortly after my arrival. Although we only had about 45 minutes, he gave me a tour of the pedestrian mall and we talked about the trip, business, and my grandfather. It was a great break, as this is the first family or friends that I have seen in over two months. After saying goodbye to Mr. Hubley, I was off to a wheelchair basketball game. I think I may have finally gotten a knack for this game: I scored 4 points in my 30 minutes of play time. But, regardless, we got completely obliterated in both games we played against the home team. Next was dinner and our last friendship visit at the Arc of Piedmont. This was a fantastic finish and drew a very large crowd (it was scheduled at the same time as their annual meeting). Manassas is tomorrow and despite the 90 mile ride to get there on the horizon, we can’t wait.

Charlottesville to Manassas

The ride to Manassas is widely considered the last “real ride” of the trip, being a robust 85 miles. Surprisingly, the day went by fast (under 5 hours on the road) and was relatively simple with slow rolling hills the entire time. We stayed at the Antioch Church that night, our last lodging of the trip. The moment of arrival there was almost surreal, knowing that we were doing everything for the last time. That night, we were “initiated” as Pi Alphas (people who have completed an event) and got to hang out with everyone one last time as a group. We signed jerseys, maps, t-shirts and anything else there was to be signed that night, seeking to capture the team in one last way possible. That night, we had dinner at Hooters which might have been good, but the food took close to an hour and a half to come out and our stipend of $7 was hardly enough. We were ready to get to DC. Everyone stayed up until after midnight, trying to enjoy the last real team moments of the journey and hardly worrying about the 5:15 wakeup the next morning.

Manassas to Washington, DC (FINAL DAY!)

We began the day as we did any other day of this trip, with a circle up and breakfast. But, this day was different: no one looked tired, no one looked sore, no one had that distant stare of “why am I here?” We were ready. That morning we rode a fast 45 miles, despite some of the largest hills we have seen in a while. We reached stage up at George Washington University last of the 3 teams, thanks to the most indirect, inefficient route our Project Manager has found so far. But, we arrived on time. We spent close to an hour there, seeing friends from the other teams, taking pictures, and getting ready for the best time of the trip and our lives. We then saddled up and were off in a paceline of 90, led by police and a crew van. These 2 miles were undoubtedly the best of the trip. The capital came into view and then we heard the roar of the crowds there which was inspiring. The meaning of the trip, the reason for all of the pain, and the things we have been missing instantly came into focus. The emotions were overpowering and I was rendered in a state of disbelief. Had I really made it here? How did I make it during those rough days? Well, upon arrival, all of those days instantly became worth it. I feel like I have accomplished something that is so big that I still can’t entirely grasp it. I hope that in the coming days, weeks, years, I will gather more of the value of this experience and see how it shapes and directs my life. I have finally finished the Journey and it was and remains the best experience of my life.

Side-note: Thank you to all of my sponsors: You made this dream possible, you helped me to keep going, and you have made an investment in the people who need it most.

Sincerely,

Alex Mitchell