#4k4ever

[nat-attack14]

Day 15 - Slow Motion

Sandusky, OH to Toledo, OH

Chey and Shelby left with the second van and a few people to move all the gear to the new host in Toledo. We would be staying at a YMCA and moving all of the gear we normally had in addition to all the bikes was a lot of work. They left around 10:30 AM and the rest of us, including me, stuck around to watch the stuff and because we wouldn’t fit. I was fine with it and actually got a lot of work done. In fact, Eric decided to go for a walk at one point and returns only to say, "Hey, I got us three pizzas!" I have no idea how he continually gets us free stuff so easily. It doesn't make sense but it was awesome. We went a little later to pick up the 4 pizzas and I was so happy. The Pie Factory was awesome and I would recommend to anyone that they stop by and grab a piece at some point.

However, 3 hours later and still no van…I was wondering how long we would be there. But eventually, the van got us and we made our way to the new host in Toledo. Toledo was interesting, it almost felt like a ghost town and very sketchy but you could kind of tell it once was neat. I went with a group to the Laundromat to do my laundry for the first time in a long time and it was incredible. While we waited for our clothes to finish, Rachael, Jess King and I went to Toledo Bikes!, a really cool non-profit that allows people to come in the shop and work and use all their tools in order to promote biking in the city. It was very cool and I’m glad we got to stop there. The YMCA was really cool and unfortunately was under construction but I think it made it even better because I was exploring and found some really cool places, including a ladder to the roof which was really neat! Leave it to me to find a place like that.

We went back to the Laundromat and finished up before heading back to the host. We had a great team meeting upon our return where we not only went over the typical chores and logistics but talked about how we were feeling and what our plans were for tomorrow, our first day of riding since the accident!

After dinner – Laura got us Jimmy John’s!!! – I convinced Dana and Elli to return to the Laundromat with me because I forgot some laundry. We went to the first laundry place again but it was closing so she suggested another. A minor detour later and we got to the other laundry place but found out they were not in fact 24 hours but were closing soon…oh well. We returned to the YMCA, dirty laundry in hand and I went to bed shortly after to get ready for the next day of riding.

[nat-attack14]

Day 13 -

Parma Heights, OH to Sandusky, OH

Leaving the Hope Lodge, I was excited to get biking again even though it had only been one day! Back at Elli’s grandma’s I found myself rushing around and not at all ready. My chain needed to be cleaned and re-lubed and my back tube was flat so I needed to either patch it or change it AND my clothes were still wet and hanging all over the place. I’m not one to freak out or get super stressed but I was on edge at this point for the first time in the trip. I ran over to dedication circle in the middle of changing my tire and then joined my Superman group. We had split into groups in what I thought was super heroes and villains and I thought I was in joker but clearly not…so my group became me, Evan, Adrienne, and Jess King.

We were doing fine riding along and made it to the first water stop. While we were eating we hear this huge release of air pressure, someone’s tube had popped. We look at the bike and it was Jess’ so she patched it up and we got ready to finish our break. Maybe 3 minutes later we heard the same sound…same tire. This time Jess got a tube from a different group and changed the whole tube. But, kid you not, it popped AGAIN. So Jess had to hop in the van until she could figure out the tire situation and the three of us pressed on. We literally killed the next 10 miles to the lunch stop. There was huge gusts of wind coming at us and we still crushed it. We even named our team “Team Eat My Gust”. We got to lunch and didn’t eat much because we had just had the water stop so we got going pretty soon after. We were moving so fast and had passed all the groups shortly except for Chey, Bailey, and Shelby. But shortly we came upon them.

They were frantically waving us off the road and telling us to get off our bikes. They then had us call the other teams and have them pull off the road and wait to be shuttled as well. Evan, Adrienne, and I had no idea what was going on...it was kind of scary and frustrating at the same time. We ended up waiting a long time. I was concerned for my team at first. Kyle had returned to the hospital but he was doing okay so I thought it might have been a different teammate but we were calling all of them...so I talked to a friend on San Fran and he said their team was all okay but hadn't heard anything yet. Eventually, the van reached us and we packed our stuff up into the van. People were crying in the van and there was an air of general confusion. Sobs were the only sound to break the general silence as we drove on to the host in Sandusky. We arrived at the Columbus Ave United Methodist Church and our hosts immediately embraced us and surrounded us with kindness.

I had found out about Jamie’s accident from a friend but we were called into a team meeting and the directors went over what had happened. It was quite tough for our whole team and many people seemed unsure how to handle it. I decided to journal a lot after that and think over what was going on. It is a lot to take in and I was not only thinking about Jamie and her family but my own teammates and my family. I could not imagine something like this happening to my own team and my heart ached for Team Portland and the Roberts family.

The rest of the night was kind of a blur, we weren’t sure what the plan was and were told we would be joined by a member of the Ulman Cancer Fund tomorrow. I was so happy to hear someone would be joining our team during this time and especially happy to hear Laura Scruggs would be joining us. Thank you Laura because you were a welcome person in a tough time. Our team hung together for some of the night as people drifted off to sleep at different times. I’m finishing up some journaling and blogging upstairs with Eric but feel so distracted it is hard to write. I know this will go up later and I can only hope that the main takeaway from this post is how much Jamie was loved and how far her own love spread. The amount of support I felt from other people who knew Jamie and wanted us to continue in her name is unbelievable. The entire Team Seattle extends our love and support to all those who knew Jamie and were touched by her. We continue to ride in her honor and those she rode for in addition to our own. We will ride to Seattle with Jamie alongside us. Although we are not riding tomorrow, Jamie will still be in our thoughts. Time never stops and we will keep going, but so will Jamie.