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| Who still uses xanga?! So i clicked on subscriptions and the only person apparently is aznye1. What a loser.
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| so i got back from the bike trip...it was an awesome experience. one of the best ones of my life so far. it soon didn't feel like an experience, it felt like a lifestyle. waking up to the morning sun, start pedaling with one goal for that one day - getting to the destination, eating PB&J every (and i mean every) day, getting into the stayover, eat, sleep, wake up again. put that on repeat for 72 days and that was my summer. i once said that getting to seattle was a fantasy, but what happened two weeks ago..the entirety of it all seemed like a fantasy. it felt like one big gigantic dream. but i know it had happened. the people i met along the way were real. the cancer survivors and patients that we interviewed were all real.
one thing i learned was interestingly who we were as a bicycling group and how our group can bike for cancer research...all 20 of us could've gotten jobs over the summer, earned lots of money and donated it to the american cancer society, but instead all of us chose to devote one whole summer to this biking journey, which raised about $60,000. it might have or it might've not surpassed what we could've earned if we held typical summer jobs. however, the point wasn't to see which one had raised more money. what we did this summer had moved people to give. the biking portion made the difference between "maybe next time" and actually taking out the wallet and giving a bill or two. what each of us had sacrificed and been able to do were catalysts to the generosity people were able to show.
some last remarks:
-buy a bike jersey, they got back pockets, easy acess! and sweatless.
-go find a hot spring on a cold morning
-don't eat PBJ everyday. its actually really bad for you
-MT,WY,ID - most beautiful states
-if you ever need food donations, ask panera. simply amazing.
-onions will never be the same
-strawberry cheesequake at DQ is really good. i had way to much to count.
-america the beautiful
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| hey all, for those who's following me on my journey, refer to illini4000.org to follow my blogs. thanks for the support, y'all. xixi | | |
| so i realized my bike wheels are bigger than dubs. that's snazzy.
anyways, several things i realized when i'm riding:
- i have a lot of time to think when i'm riding, and i really don't think that much. i just zone out and think about how hot i look when i ride uphill or how fierce i look when i ride in the rain or how i want to ride behind myself so i can check out my calves. it's pointless. so i was thinking that maybe i should start thinking about more important things like how this trip can be made more meaningful if i just think more about meaningful things when i'm riding. i came to the conclusion that my pool of vocabulary or my level of intelligence decreases as i am riding to seattle 'cuz again, i don't think much. so i'm gonna start tomorrow during my 107 mile day to indiana.
-riding uphill is all in your mind. theres several ways to think about this: for every uphill, there is a downhill, which is nice. but then for every downhill there's an uphill, which is bad. either way you think about it, you kind of have to embrace both - that's the best option you have.fill your mind with optimism and positive thoughts.
-facing the appalachians is 90% mental and 10% physical. it's all in your mind. after you go up a very very very long incline and you're tired as heck, you see another mountain you have to climb, that's really hard to swallow, and your mind is saying no, your body wants to quit. but you just have to force yourself to keep peddling. you have to force your mind to be positive.
-i found another meaning to the romans 5:3-4 verse. when i'm riding uphill, it really is suffering. i mean, i'm suffering. my quads are burning. my muscles are sore. my knees are kickin in. it hurts to ride uphill. but then it produces perseverance. and as i persevere the appalachians, it produces character. i become mentally stronger. my mind knows that my physical body is more capable than i originally thought. and as i become stronger, it gives hope to cancer survivors/patients. when they see me perservere, it gives them hope to keep pushing uphill.
reporting from dublin, OH. whooo chicago in 7 days!
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| So I'm kinda scared about this summer. Going on an awesome stellar 4k bike ride from NY to Seattle for cancer is quite a feat. But what's even more difficult is keeping the faith alive for 72 days, you know. So if you're eager to really pray for me, I got a list here! :
1. We'd be safe for the ride and nice old people would house and food us.
2. Persistent in my qts and sermon listening and prayer and reading.
3. See God work across the US in cancer patients and noncancer patients.
4. See God through the tough rides and times.
5. Being able to evangelize to my newly made biker friends.
Click here to see where I'll be going and where I am for each day of the summer!
So that's why I'm reviving xanga, so I can keep you fans posted about my life.
Remaining days til I'm gone: 19!!
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