Longest post ever...

So, that spill I took the day into New York had more consequences than expected. I tore up my left knee pretty badly, and have been spending quite a bit of time in the van because of it. After multiple hospital visits (only because the tiny towns we've been in don't have MRI machines), I've received a diagnosis of bad tendonitis in my knee, probably triggered by the fall, but made worse by riding. The recommendation was rest for three weeks, lots of ice, and ibuprofen. Well, the ice and ibuprofen are going well. Resting for three weeks really isn't an option, so I checked with the doctor to make sure I wouldn't be doing any long-term damage, and I won't, so I'm just trying to ride through the pain. There are definitely days when I can't do it, though. I try to make myself useful in other ways; for instance, going with leaders to pick up other riders, helping pack/unpack lunch, helping guide the van to the trailer when we have to hitch, dating food in the coolers so we know when to throw it away, making phone calls, etc. So, here's the breakdown since my last post:

6/20/08 I was supposed to ride sweep with Jose today (which was a little intimidating, since he is the strongest rider on the trip), but by mile 10 I could tell there was something wrong with my knee. I tried to ride through it, but Jose and Jane made me stop and get in the van. Before that, though, we crossed the Hudson River, which was awesome. Also really cool was that there were suicide prevention signs on the bridge and a hotline phone in the middle for people to call. I made it 22 miles total, then went to a walk in clinic and hospital to have my knee checked out. No MRI available, and x-rays were fine, so I just wrapped it and decided to see what the next day would bring. The van stranded us for awhile (Devon came with me since she was also in the van), so we went out to dinner and bought some group toys at the Family Dollar to make the best of our time in Middletown, NY. We ended up in Port Jervis, NY for the night.

6/21/08 Spent the whole day in the van, so it was a 0 mile day. We went to a coffee shop in the morning and hung out for a little while because we had to wait to get the van inspected, then got free Subway for lunch. We made it into Mt. Pocono, PA in the afternoon. I missed crossing the NJ and PA state lines on my bike, which was sad, but probably best for my health. Lynn (another rider)'s dad looked at my knee when we got there, and the swelling had gotten worse and spread to my ankle, so he recommended I go to the Pocono Medical Center ER. No MRI again, so we still didn't know anything. Frustration over spending money for no results!

6/22/08 Again, a 0 mile van day into Berwick, PA. I rode a mile and a half around the parking lot when we got to the host (and flew the new Optimus Prime kite off the back of my bike), and my knee felt okay, so I decided to try to ride the next day. Highlights of the van included videotaping the riders "bike dancing" as we played music next to them.

6/23/08 I got up this morning and got ready for our first century into State College, PA. The leaders wouldn't let me ride, though, so I got to do another 0 mile day. At this point, you should realize, I was about ready to strangle someone if it would let me ride. The leaders were just concerned that, since I still couldn't get an MRI and we didn't know what was wrong, I would be doing lasting damage to my knee and end up having to go home if I rode on it. Anyway, we stayed at the Penn State cycling team president's house, which was a new kind of host for us. We usually do churches or YMCA's, so it was cool. We also went through Amish country, which was quite interesting. The leaders called me into their secret leader meeting and told me not to ride tomorrow, but I convinced them I would stop if it got too painful, so they said okay.

6/24/08 30 miles! Certainly not the whole route, but my knee started deteriorating around mile 20, and given my promise to the leaders, I decided to stop. I took the van the rest of the way into Johnstown, PA, where we stayed at this beautiful old house that had been converted to a YWCA. I also got an MRI set up for Pittsburgh so I could stop worrying about all of this knee stuff.

6/25/08 3 miles-disappointing, but at least I got some riding in. My knee just started aching immediately, and I decided that with an MRI set up for the next day, I shouldn't push it. We got into Pittsburgh and unloaded the entire trailer, then cheered for all of the riders coming in. It was a hard day of riding, especially after the previous few days. The next day was a day off, so we stayed out late (well, like 10, which is late for us) and rode the Monongahala incline and overlooked the lights of the city. It was much prettier than I expected.

6/26/08 Day off! No worrying about not riding or how far I should go. I got an MRI early this morning, then spent a lot of the day dealing with the bureaucracy of American healthcare trying to get the results. I didn't get them, but didn't let that ruin my day. We went to a local diner for breakfast, Pamela's, where I got amazing banana chocolate chip hotcakes and homefries. I got a new saddle at the bike shop because mine was way too wide for me, then we went to the OmniMax (which is like an IMax, but actually dome shaped) and saw Wild Ocean. We ran through the Science Center trying to see things, but only had 15 minutes, so we didn't get to see much. We walked by the stadium where the Steelers play and the stadium where the Pirates play. We also walked to the point, which is where the three rivers in Pittsburgh meet (Allegheny, Monongahala, and Ohio). We dipped our feet in each river, then just hung out at the fountain for awhile. We ate dinner at a place called Dumplinz (I got pierogies), then I worked on my bike for awhile and went to bed.

6/27/08 41 miles! I did the whole ride from Pittsburgh to Steubenville, which was awesome. I finally got the results of my MRI (see above), so I knew I would be in pain, but my knee would be fine. When we got in, we ate lunch, did bike maintenance, and I took a nap. We did a compliment train (where everyone goes through the line and receives a compliment from everyone else), then I went back to sleep.

6/28/08 48 miles-not quite the whole ride, but I finished the route. I got picked up and taken from mile 16 to lunch because I was supposed to "ease my way back in." We took pictures by a big fake giraffe and stopped at a produce stand to get fruit. Also, when we got into Newcomerstown, they asked us to be in their Cy Young Parade, so we rode in it. (Cy Young was born in Newcomerstown, OH and they have an annual festival honoring him.)

6/29/08 Today we got into Suckeye territory (Columbus, where Ohio State University is located). I only rode 18 miles; I can give you more details about this if you would like them later. I got a new water bottle that says "ride like a girl" since one of mine started leaking pretty badly. I then went with Jose to get the trailer from the lunch stop and didn't get back to Columbus until late, so we just ate and pretty much went to bed.

6/30/08 60 miles! I rode the whole route from Columbus to Yellow Springs today, after doing half a build day with the Habitat chapter in Columbus. My knee is sore, but it's well worth it. I found a 1981 racquetball trophy on the side of the road and decided to keep it. I carried it with me all day, but it now lives on the dashboard of the van. We stopped at McDonald's and got french fries, and right before sunset, we saw a deer running through a cornfield while a hawk circled overhead. It was very picturesque. When we got to Yellow Springs, we went to a lady's house down the street to shower. It was built in 1842 and they just recently finished restoring it; it was gorgeous. The shower was massive-definitely the best shower on the trip so far, and it was nice to sit and talk to them. We went and got pizza at a local pizza place, too.

7/1/08 83 miles! So, I didn't finish the century today, but I did my longest ride so far. After 83 miles, I couldn't bend my knee to clip back in to my pedals after we took a break. So, I called the van to get taken the last 17 miles. However, two other riders had just crashed, so the van couldn't get me. So, (Mom-stop reading here) these two guys in a pickup truck came and got me and took me to the host location. Turns out, they were volunteer firefighters who were on the scene of the bike crash, which is how they knew about us and where to come get me, but the riders I was with at the time were a little sketched out by the situation. We crossed the Indiana state line today into Rushville and showered at a local nursing home. Overall, it was a good day.

7/2/08 0 mile van day. :( My knee still wouldn't bend today, so I took the van the 85 miles into Bloomington, IN. Not a bad day, but frustrating not to ride at all. We did get video of a lawnmower robot we saw, stopped at a flea market in Gnaw Bone, IN, where I got 5 VHS tapes for $5, and then I unloaded all of the bags out of the trailer. We got all of our mail drop stuff, ate dinner, and I helped clean up. We watched Breaking Away, a movie about cycling that was filmed in Bloomington last night, and I went to bed.

7/3/08 Today is a build day, but they couldn't use all 31 of us at the same time, so we got broken up into morning and afternoon crews. I got on the afternoon crew, so I got to sleep in (yay!) and update this. Facebook is not working, so I still can't upload pictures. I might get to the library tonight and try to do it there, because I'm not sure if it's Facebook or our internet connection. I promise I have lots of pictures and some video, I just can't get any of them onto a computer. I don't know what we're doing at the build site, but we'll see if I can update sooner next time.

So, we've conquered quite a few mountains, and now have a new enemy-headwind. The headwind on the plains is constant, but I like it better than mountains (I'm surprised by the number of people who disagree with me).

Everything is going well still. The people are great-pretty much everyone is supportive, even when I have to take van days. I think I'll have a couple of really close friends from this trip, and that's awesome. I really enjoy our build days and getting to know different people better. I've gotten to ride (both in the van and on the bike) with new people, which is fun. The alumni network is still just amazing to me (we've met a few more), as is the generosity and support of our hosts.

I'm hoping to ride everyday from now on. We'll see how it goes; as long as my knee doesn't bother me too much, I'll be just fine!