Today's is a big day. John and Jamaal will be heading out of Virginia into Washington, D.C. and then north to the Baltimore, MD area. Their ride today is dedicated to the following individuals...
June 19 (Day 18): Alexandria, VA through Washington, DC to Hunt Valley, MD
Dedicated to:
Claire Morris – 50 miles
John Ellis and Jamaal Warren from Mrs. Maness - 20 miles
Mr. Clancy
Believe In The Cure Cycling Tour
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 17- Sunshine Skies with Raincloud Eyes.
Nothing felt real today. As if I witnessed everything from outside of my skin. I heard the news early this morning. Far before anyone is mentally prepared for anything, let alone the news that I received. I didn't believe it at first. I didn't want to believe it. My best friend's father passed away and I still can't believe it.
Mr. Patrick Clancy was one of the only father figures I have ever had. He was always well dressed and had some bit of wisdom to spread every time he saw me. His bow tie and suspenders made me feel like I could relate to him because of his quirky sense of style. When I spoke with him, he was one of the only adults that actually made me feel like he was listening. Just before I left for the ride, I talked with him in length about the tour. He asked questions of concern, and spoke to me as if I were his own son. I will miss him as I am sure many others will. I would like to dedicate tonight's blog post to Mr. Clancy and the entire Clancy family. I am incredibly sorry for your loss.
I find it odd how something as grievous as this can occur, but yet the sun can shine brighter than any other day. Maybe this is an attempt to console us. That when we are feeling our lowest, the sun shines bright to keep our spirits from falling any lower. We rode today from Tappahannock to Fredricksburg on more of the most beautiful roads we have been on the entire trip. In Fredricksburg, the traffic into D.C. began getting heavy so we hopped in the van to pick up Jamaal's mother from the Reagan National Airport. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel in Mount Vernon, Virginia where we met with Melanie Groft. She was in the city and stopped by to discuss the final days of the tour with us.
Tomorrow we will be staying just outside Baltimore, so I believe Jamaal and I are going to do some riding in downtown D.C. to see the sights. Tonight we got a taste as we drove through the downtown area, and I absolutely fell in love. There is so much to see and so much going on that just the sight of it all makes me happy to say that this is the capital of my country. Taken with the good and the bad, I am looking forward to being in D.C. tomorrow. Well, take care folks. I ask that you might pray for the Clancy family, if you would.
Love,
John and Jamaal.
May you be happy soon and forever, Mr. Clancy.
Mr. Patrick Clancy was one of the only father figures I have ever had. He was always well dressed and had some bit of wisdom to spread every time he saw me. His bow tie and suspenders made me feel like I could relate to him because of his quirky sense of style. When I spoke with him, he was one of the only adults that actually made me feel like he was listening. Just before I left for the ride, I talked with him in length about the tour. He asked questions of concern, and spoke to me as if I were his own son. I will miss him as I am sure many others will. I would like to dedicate tonight's blog post to Mr. Clancy and the entire Clancy family. I am incredibly sorry for your loss.
I find it odd how something as grievous as this can occur, but yet the sun can shine brighter than any other day. Maybe this is an attempt to console us. That when we are feeling our lowest, the sun shines bright to keep our spirits from falling any lower. We rode today from Tappahannock to Fredricksburg on more of the most beautiful roads we have been on the entire trip. In Fredricksburg, the traffic into D.C. began getting heavy so we hopped in the van to pick up Jamaal's mother from the Reagan National Airport. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel in Mount Vernon, Virginia where we met with Melanie Groft. She was in the city and stopped by to discuss the final days of the tour with us.
Tomorrow we will be staying just outside Baltimore, so I believe Jamaal and I are going to do some riding in downtown D.C. to see the sights. Tonight we got a taste as we drove through the downtown area, and I absolutely fell in love. There is so much to see and so much going on that just the sight of it all makes me happy to say that this is the capital of my country. Taken with the good and the bad, I am looking forward to being in D.C. tomorrow. Well, take care folks. I ask that you might pray for the Clancy family, if you would.
Love,
John and Jamaal.
May you be happy soon and forever, Mr. Clancy.
June 18th - Virtual Mile Marker Dedication
John and Jamaal's ride today is dedicated to the following people. Enjoy the ride to the Washington D.C. area!
June 18 (Day 17): Tappahannock, VA to Fredericksburg, VA to Lorton, VA(90 miles)
Dedicated to:
Cary and Deloris Ellis – 24 miles
Lili Chambers – 22 miles
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day 16- Happy Birthday Hills !
After two days of little riding at all, we woke up itching to get on the bikes. Jamaal sported his new jersey and his new gloves that my mother and I bought for his birthday. I am not going to lie, I was kind of jealous. He looked very comfortable riding in it and has yet to take it off all day. Before this trip is over, I WILL get a cycling jersey. Anyways...
Today was the most beautiful ride of the trip. I thought South Carolina was beautiful, but Virginia has topped that. We've passed some of the most beautiful farms, and in between, there are large forests that rise up into high ridges and dip into low gullies. The trees don't even stop for ponds, as they grow out of the water like spindly fingers. We had quite a few hills to climb, but our focus was drawn towards our surroundings so we didn't mind the climbs much at all. The shoulder was so large that it was almost like we had an entire lane reserved for us. Jamaal should have had a birthday long before because it seemed like everything went in our favor today.
Jamaal promises me that he has a couple of videos in the works so maybe tomorrow when we make it to D.C., he will get a chance to upload them. Also, Jamaal's mother is flying in to meet us tomorrow, and she will be riding with us the rest of the way. Sorry that there isn't much to say tonight, but I think that could be a good thing. It means things went pretty smoothly. Alright, well, Happy Birthday Jamaal. Hope you had a good day, and I hope everyone else had a wonderful day as well.
Here we come Philly!
John and Jamaal.
Today was the most beautiful ride of the trip. I thought South Carolina was beautiful, but Virginia has topped that. We've passed some of the most beautiful farms, and in between, there are large forests that rise up into high ridges and dip into low gullies. The trees don't even stop for ponds, as they grow out of the water like spindly fingers. We had quite a few hills to climb, but our focus was drawn towards our surroundings so we didn't mind the climbs much at all. The shoulder was so large that it was almost like we had an entire lane reserved for us. Jamaal should have had a birthday long before because it seemed like everything went in our favor today.
Jamaal promises me that he has a couple of videos in the works so maybe tomorrow when we make it to D.C., he will get a chance to upload them. Also, Jamaal's mother is flying in to meet us tomorrow, and she will be riding with us the rest of the way. Sorry that there isn't much to say tonight, but I think that could be a good thing. It means things went pretty smoothly. Alright, well, Happy Birthday Jamaal. Hope you had a good day, and I hope everyone else had a wonderful day as well.
Here we come Philly!
John and Jamaal.
June 17th - Virtual Mile Marker Dedication
John and Jamaal's ride through rural Virginia today are dedicated to the following person...
June 17 (Day 16): Yorktown, VA to Tappahannock, VA (52 miles)
Dedicated to:
Claire Morris – 50 miles
Monday, June 16, 2008
Day 15- Smoked.
Acres of open fields, fields of never ending, sun-kissed plains surrounded us as we rode out of North Carolina into Virginia today. Riding was smooth and easy going. The weather was cooler than it has been and Jamaal and I felt so comfortable that we rode without our normal shorts over our cycling shorts.
We reached a bridge, probably a mile or so long, with decent elevation. The elevation reminded us of the hills we encountered in the first week of riding and allowed us to approach the speeds we topped in the first week too.(I topped out at nearly 28MPH going down this bridge.) After the descent though, as with every hill, I began to slow and I attempted to coast on the speed I reached as far as I could. Jamaal, however, pedaled through and tried to reach the highest speed he could. A well disguised pot hole thwarted this attempt, though, causing Jamaal to slide baseball style while still attached to his bike. His fall looked pretty gnarly to say the least and I was actually genuinely worried, but he was on his feet as quickly as he fell and managed to come out with only a couple scrapes. He brushed himself off and we were on our way again.
After reaching Virginia we encountered what appeared to be fog, but after breathing some of it, we discovered it was smoke. Yeah, no kidding. Smoke. I assume this is smoke blowing from North Carolina into Virginia, but it ruined the rest of today's ride. It was so bad that we saw a few, unfortunate pedestrians walking with bandannas over their faces to keep from breathing the smoke into their lungs.
Tomorrow we ride from Yorktown to Tappahannock. I have been informed that there isn't much there so tomorrow should be interesting. However, the day after we will be riding through D.C. and Baltimore. How we will go from nowhere to the U.S. capital from one day to the next, I will never know.
Tomorrow is Jamaal's birthday, so I am sure he would appreciate it a lot if you could leave him a message for after tomorrow's ride. Thanks everyone. Take care and be safe.
Love,
John and Jamaal.
We reached a bridge, probably a mile or so long, with decent elevation. The elevation reminded us of the hills we encountered in the first week of riding and allowed us to approach the speeds we topped in the first week too.(I topped out at nearly 28MPH going down this bridge.) After the descent though, as with every hill, I began to slow and I attempted to coast on the speed I reached as far as I could. Jamaal, however, pedaled through and tried to reach the highest speed he could. A well disguised pot hole thwarted this attempt, though, causing Jamaal to slide baseball style while still attached to his bike. His fall looked pretty gnarly to say the least and I was actually genuinely worried, but he was on his feet as quickly as he fell and managed to come out with only a couple scrapes. He brushed himself off and we were on our way again.
After reaching Virginia we encountered what appeared to be fog, but after breathing some of it, we discovered it was smoke. Yeah, no kidding. Smoke. I assume this is smoke blowing from North Carolina into Virginia, but it ruined the rest of today's ride. It was so bad that we saw a few, unfortunate pedestrians walking with bandannas over their faces to keep from breathing the smoke into their lungs.
Tomorrow we ride from Yorktown to Tappahannock. I have been informed that there isn't much there so tomorrow should be interesting. However, the day after we will be riding through D.C. and Baltimore. How we will go from nowhere to the U.S. capital from one day to the next, I will never know.
Tomorrow is Jamaal's birthday, so I am sure he would appreciate it a lot if you could leave him a message for after tomorrow's ride. Thanks everyone. Take care and be safe.
Love,
John and Jamaal.
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