Well, the day has finally come. It is day 67 from Bethesda, MD to Washington DC. We woke up at about 7 am to a soundtrack of our favorite songs from the summer. Since we didn’t have any bags to pack, we just got dressed and made our way outside. I put my uniform on for the first time since Cleveland and for the last time as a Journey of Hope team member. At our last Crew Chief breakfast, we were instructed to eat everything, and so, we did. We then got on our bikes and quickly made the ten mile trip over to the campus of the George Washington University.

We spent the morning walking around a little bit as we waited for the other routes to join us. I walked over to the G.W. Pi Kapp house with a couple guys. It was really nice. After a while, we made our way back to the courtyard and the Trans route arrived shortly afterwards. We spent some more time talking to those guys, and around 10:00, the South guys showed up. We took some pictures with them before having our last team circle up of the summer. I could not believe that by the end of the hour, I would be standing on Capitol lawn with my bike held high over my head. The teams lined up in our double pace-line formation with the North team in the back. We all had American flags in our helmets with red, white, and blue grip tape on our bikes. Before we knew it, we heard the chirp of the sirens from the police cars ahead followed by the cheers from the cyclists in the front of the line. We were moving.

Not even a block away from the university, we turned a corner to see the Washington Monument peaking over the trees. It was incredible. We were surrounded by some incredible buildings that you don’t see anywhere else in the country. Libraries looked like castles and banks looked like fortresses, but the Capitol still was not in sight. We had passed the Washington Monument on our right, along with multiple Smithsonian museums, but I did not know the layout of DC, and therefore, I could not figure out how far we were from the end. The pace line made a right turn, and as soon as I got onto the street I saw it straight ahead; the Capitol building was just three hundred yards ahead. I immediately got goose bumps. As we got closer to the building, I started seeing the crowd of people. They told us that there would be a lot of people, but I was overwhelmed when I saw the crowd. It was incredible. As we pulled up to the lawn, I saw my mom emerge from the crowd. She ran out into the road as if she wanted to grab me off of my bike and hug me right then and there. I had to keep going.

When we got to the lawn, the team lined up for pictures. Chad Coltrane, the CEO of Push America, spoke to the crowd along with the teams’ project managers. As we stood on the lawn, I couldn’t help noticing my family push their way to the front of the crowd. I knew that my mom and sisters were coming, but I did not expect to see Joe, Granny, or Aunt Nene. By the end of the speeches, another unexpected face pushed its way through the crowd. After weeks of telling me that she wouldn’t be able to come, Courtney had decided to surprise me in DC. My mind could not process all of these familiar faces after going so long without seeing any of them. All I could do was smile and fight back the tears of joy. We then spent some time taking pictures in front of the Capitol before making our way over to the hotel.

At the hotel, I boxed up my bike, checked into my room, and showered up before going to lunch. We walked over to Union Station where we found a restaurant called “America” which seemed very fitting for the occasion. We walked over to the Air and Space Museum after lunch. Back when I last came to DC, it was my favorite museum, and it was really cool seeing it all again. We then got back to the hotel and got ready for the banquet.

At the banquet, multiple people spoke, and many were thanked. The Grand Island ladies were recognized for their last year of 19 long years sponsoring the North route. They recognized the top fundraisers of the summer for their hard work (the top two were from TCU). And then they presented the Bruce Rogers award to a member of each team. When they got to the North Route, our Project Manager started telling a story about a Deaf guy named David in Fallon Nevada who found someone to communicate with. A wave of emotions immediately came over me, and when he announced the name “TJ Howard” my heart was beating like a drum. My speech was not the best, because it was so unexpected, so I looked around the room and thanked whatever people I saw. At the end of the banquet, I walked around the room hugging everyone in sight. The team then made our way to a room, where everyone had a chance to say one last thing to the team. After spending every waking moment together for the past 67 days, we realized that this would be the last time that we would have the entire team in one room. Some people would be leaving early in the morning, and so, we said our goodbyes. It was a very emotional night. I was with some of the closest friends I have ever had, and tomorrow, we will be hundreds of miles apart. Tomorrow is 0 miles on the bike…back home.

(Please stay tuned for my final update. Coming soon)

Day sixty-five began with our normal 6:00 wake up. We ate the continental breakfast at the hotel, and then got onto the road. I road in Tink’s van, and it was good to be back on the road, even though I am still off the bike. The terrain looked tough, but the cyclists did really well. They rode through four passes, and they were surrounded by some incredible views throughout the day. I was extremely jealous. It is weird to think that back in California, hills were the enemy, and now, I would give anything to be riding my bike up the side of a mountain. We set up lunch at a park about halfway through the ride and tried to get the cyclists moving through quickly so that they could make it to lodging with time to shower and relax before our friendship visit.

We arrived at the Potomac Center in Hagerstown mid afternoon, and the cyclists arrived shortly after. We spent some time packing up our bags and getting things ready for our arrival in two days. We were told that our duffel bags will be taken to the hotel tomorrow night, and so everything we will need tomorrow and the following morning will need to fit in our backpacks. I spent the afternoon running some errands, and then made my way back to lodging for our friendship visit. We had a great dinner of hot dogs, beans, and macaroni and cheese with some of the clients at the Potomac Center. It was nice getting to know them. After dinner, Tyler, Hamrick, and I went on a mission for ice and water. We went to a McDonald’s who filled one of our coolers with ice. Then, the KFC next door said that they would fill the rest of our coolers, but then proceed to fill them a quarter of the way. The hoses at lodging ended up not working so we drove around looking for hoses. We found a lady sitting in her front yard petting her cat, and asked her if we could use her hose. She replied, “My grandkids cut the thing last week, but if you can get it to work than go for it”. We got it to work.

When we returned to lodging, we had a team meeting followed by team ritual. The time gave us a chance to reflect over the summer and our time with each of the people on the team. Over the last sixty days, we have gotten to know each other so well, and I cannot believe that this trip is coming to a close. Tomorrow is the last full day of riding as we make our way to Bethesda, MD, just miles from DC.

Day sixty-four began with a slow wake-up and pack. I put my bike on top of the van, ate breakfast, and met with the crew before the cyclists hit the road. Today, I rode in the van with Drayton, our beloved Project Manager. The PM rides the whole route to the next town and messages back whether anything needs to be changed. He then spends his day getting lodging and meals squared away. We rode ahead to the Cumberland Best Western, which has been sponsoring the Journey of Hope for about ten years now. They showed us their file of pictures from the past years. We checked in, and put together the rooming assignments. Afterwards, we unloaded everyone’s bags to be ready for them to pick up upon their arrival to the hotel. I had no idea what was going on with the cyclists, and I did not like it. Every once in a while, we would get a radio call about certain people struggling and when and where lunch would be, but I did not like being off of the road the whole day. Finally, around 1, all of the cyclists got to lodging.

They all had a feeling of accomplishment since they had all gotten through such a tough ride, and it made me miss the bike even more. They all settled in and showered up. A big group went to the mall to put the finishing touches on their gag-gifts to be exchanged tonight. I, on the other hand, scouted tomorrow’s route: lots of ups and downs. We got back to lodging in time to leave for dinner. We rode to a park at which a group of people from the Cumberland Rotary Club had set up a nice chicken dinner for us. After we ate, the people had us all introduce ourselves and to include our biggest fundraising strategies and our total fundraising amount. It was weird to me that after 64 days together, this topic had never come up in conversation. The other guys on the team have raised impressive amounts of money in incredibly creative ways. I was surprised that barely anyone on the team raised only the minimum. They all went above and beyond for this great cause.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel where we had our gag-gift exchange. Every single gift was hilarious, and I felt like I was laughing the entire evening. Even the guys that I did not expect a whole lot from came up with some creative gifts. Any outsider would have thought we were out of our minds because the exchange was fueled by our team’s countless inside jokes. It was a great night. Afterwards, I went upstairs and went to bed. Tomorrow is about 75 miles to Hagerstown, and the cyclists have four Appalachian passes to get through – our last day of climbing.

On day sixty-three, I woke up a little bit early to go through the morning routine of the crew. I packed, put my bike on the van and ate breakfast before any of the cyclists. While the cyclists ate, I joined the crew meeting to go over the directions for the day. I was informed that I was driving today, so I became nervous about the day ahead. After circle up, I got on the road. I drove ahead to mark my turn. I had a little bit of trouble finding it, but I eventually got there, and set up my first official crew stop. I marked the turn, provided water and snacks, and got 25 cyclists safely through mile 14.

At mile 25, we pulled up to a tiny red shack on the side of the road with a sign reading “Little Red Caboose”. Apparently, this little hot dog place on the side of the highway is packed everyday at lunch time. Today, they were closed down, and were cooking up a bunch of hot dogs to feed 30 guys – I had four chili cheese dogs. Their generosity was incredible. After eating, I drove back down the road to mark my next turn, the day had gotten much hotter, and the hot dogs were not making things easier for the cyclists. In addition, we are starting to get into the heart of the Appalachians, so they had quite a bit of climbing to get over.

At my last crew stop of the day, I waited for almost two hours for them to get to my stop. We had two ride-alongs today, and they were greatly slowing down the back groups. By the time they actually got to my stop, I could tell how exhausted they were. The heat of the day had gotten to them, and all they wanted to do was get through the next 5 miles to lodging. I got them back on the road, waited for them to make some progress, and then jumped ahead to the Uniontown YMCA. When I got there, I unloaded the van. Everyone else had showered and gone to the mall to shop for gifts for our gift exchange. Therefore, I took a group over to the mall and shopped around.

After a while, we made our way over to dinner, which was a big spaghetti feast sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. We ate at a place that used to be the site of a huge mansion modeled after a castle. There were still towers and pillars in the area showing what used to stand there. It was pretty cool. After dinner, we went back to the YMCA where I showered, scouted tomorrow’s ride, filled the water jugs with ice and water, and then went to bed. Tomorrow is 60 miles to Cumberland, and it is right through the heart of the Appalachians. I wish I could be out on the bike because the guys are going to have a really tough ride.

Day sixty-two began when my alarm went off much earlier than everyone else’s. I quickly got dressed and walked across the way to the University Medical Center. I was stuck waiting for a couple hours, but when I finally saw the doctor, he decided that I should probably take a couple of days off the bike (we only have four days left). I was extremely disappointed by this because now I will be about 300 miles short of the trip total, and will not have ridden across the state of Pennsylvania (I apologize to all of my sponsors). To make matters worse, due to my three hours stuck in the doctor’s office, I missed our friendship visit for the day. I made my way back to the hotel and fell asleep while I waited for everyone to get back. At about noon, everyone got back to the hotel with stories of the friendship visit. They spent the morning with the UCP Association for people with cerebral palsy. I couldn’t believe that I missed a friendship visit, along with the last two rides. I was not having a great day.

We drove over to lunch at the Bicycle Café. It was a cool restaurant and bar that was bicycle themed. The furniture, light fixtures, and wall decorations were all made out of bikes. It was pretty cool. The owner of the restaurant heard about our trip and decided to sponsor our lunch. The food was great, and the generosity of the staff was impressive. After lunch, we made our way back to the hotel for some free time. I didn’t do much. Most of the guys went over to a bike shop, but I had no need to since I won’t be on the bike for a while. I just relaxed at the hotel.

Dinner was at the Pittsburgh Dave and Busters. One guy who rode back in the early years sponsored our evening. He paid for a great dinner along with some game cards for us. It was fun running around and playing games for a while. We then went back to the hotel where everyone got things ready for the ride tomorrow. I honestly do not know what city we are going to, or how far away it is. I did not have to get my bike ready for a ride so I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I feel bad that I am not riding.

After 74 tough miles, the cyclists finally made it to the outskirts of Pittsburgh where we ate a quick lunch and they lined up for our arrival. The police led the way through the crazy streets, and from the van I got to witness the angry drivers of the city. The police escort was not very good because they took off ahead of us while cars dangerously wove in and out of the cyclists. It made me very nervous. To make matters worse other cars were yelling at the vans while making awful gestures out their windows. Some people need to relax and realize that there are bigger things in life than the little things that make them angry. When anger rises, people lose sight of the truth in the situation. They did not realize what the thirty of us are doing, but instead got angry that they had to wait an extra ten seconds for us to pass. Take a deep breath.

We arrived at a small hotel on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh where we will be staying the next two days. Our rooms were not ready so we waited in the parking lot. Most of the cyclists fell asleep on the sidewalk, while the crew unloaded all of the bags and gear. After getting our rooms, everyone showered and got ready for dinner. We drove to a nearby bowling alley where we had a sponsored evening by the parents of a guy who rode two years ago. We had all we could eat pizza along with two hours of bowling. I felt out of place bowling with just the guys on the team. We don’t have many evenings that aren’t friendship visits, so we had a chance to relax and have a good time. It was great.

After bowling for a while, we went back to the hotel. After today, I am not really feeling much better, so I looked up a Medical Clinic across the street that I will be stopping by bright and early tomorrow morning before our friendship visit. Everyone else gets to sleep in until 9:30, but I will be waking up at 7:30. It’s going to be a good day off.

I rode in Trevor’s van the rest of the day, and we had a pretty good time. We passed multiple Amish communities, which was really unexpected. We saw a boy mowing his lawn with a horse, multiple carriages on the road, and people with long beards and dressed in old fashioned clothing. It seemed like we made our way through a time machine. I helped direct the other cyclists through the rest of their turns, and before I knew it, we were arriving at Fairfield School in Niles.

Everyone showered up, and got ready for our friendship visit that began at 2:00. We had yet another dance party. It was different than the other dance parties because there was a guy singing instead of a DJ. We danced to a lot of Elvis along with other songs from the 60s and 70s. It was a good time. After the friendship visit, we went to a sponsored dinner at Olive Garden. We had salad, pasta, and lots and lots of breadsticks. It was great.

After dinner, we went back to lodging for the evening. A group of us went over to a nearby movie theater to see Inception. The movie was incredible. We then made our way back to lodging for the night where I went straight to bed. Tomorrow is about 70 miles into Pittsburg.