It comes with bittersweet feelings that our trip has reached its successful end. After some tough riding in Georgia and some of the heaviest rain we encountered on the trip, we reached the Atlantic Ocean on the beach in St. Simons Island on Thursday. Unbeknownst to us, we crossed the bridge to the island and were given a police escort to the beach. What an amazing way to end the trip, but I must say we were all sucking wind as the officer was driving 20+ miles/hr the whole way! Thanks to all that showed up to the beach that day and a special thanks to Joe’s sister (and friends) for creating a banner which we rode through and then tumbled off of our bikes in a mad dash to the waves. With a few days to relish the trip in St. Simons at the Lariscy compound (thank you for the accommodations!) we had an opportunity to put our thoughts together on the journey.

From Greg:

Early this year when Joe and I discussed the possibility of riding across America, it was all theoretical – we had no bikes, no charity, and certainly no conditioning for a trip of this magnitude. It was a good thing though, there were no grandiose expectations of what was to come or how it should be done – we started fresh. Beginning with the charity aspect, we could not have chosen a better organization than the Make-A-Wish Foundation. While there are countless organizations with admirable causes, Make-A-Wish’s simple mission caught our eyes and our hearts. Working with those involved in the organization at both a local and national level was a true pleasure and they have my sincerest admiration for the work they carry out. The most touching moment (and I believe I speak for the three of us) was meeting Jamie, a Make-A-Wish recipient, at our St. Louis fundraiser. To see the embodiment of our efforts was motivating and further solidified the true purpose of the journey. In the same vein, our effort would be nothing without action – thank you, thank you, thank you for all of those that contributed to Bike For Wishes. Given the economy and multitude of charitable causes we are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we received.

Now onto the trip itself. A two month journey is a not only logistically complicated, but there were many variables that had to work in our favor for it to be successful. I am certainly grateful for the weather as we went one month without a drop of rain and while there were some scorching days and freezing nights, the temperature was generally perfect. If it were not for our good weather fortune, I believe the second variable, health, would have been compromised. Two months with the worst injury being a scratched eye (and Leigh got some serious pity in the form of a free lunch for having a bummed eye) is pretty lucky given the circumstances. Mechanically, the flat tires were about the only thing that slowed us down. We had amazing bikes and good gear that kept us running the entire way. Lastly, I would be crazy not to mention the people we met along the way. On the first day, we joked that we should take a picture of all the people we encountered on our journey. Let me tell you, this undertaking would fill a computer’s hard drive worth of pictures. What an incredible country we are blessed to live in where we can cross state borders freely and meet people from California to Georgia that truly care and were interested in our undertaking. Thanks for following us here and best wishes to all!

From Joe:

Though I’ll never know what it feels like to win an Olympic medal or a tennis Grand Slam, hitting the beach at St. Simons, at least for us, must be as close as we’ll ever come to such a feeling.

I’ll start by thanking Make-A-Wish and all of the people that make this incredible Foundation’s mission possible.  We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to do a small part in supporting this organization through our journey.  Next I must thank Greg for his full commitment from Day 1 to what him and I originally discussed on much more casual terms.  As many ideas come and go in passing, we both instead hit the ground running and felt strongly about supporting a great cause, ultimately of course being the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Having the opportunity to meet a couple families, one of which with 5-year old Jamie, a Make-A-Wish recipient, truly enriched the entire experience more than words can describe.  In terms of the trip itself, we faced numerous questions from the beginning.  We were lucky to have Leigh join the endeavor and his many skills and resources, and I’m thankful for the friendship we developed along the journey as well as his enthusiastic commitment across every one of the 3,600 miles.  Whether mountains (we must have climbed somewhere between 30-40), headwinds, freezing cold or pouring rain, we faced our share of obstacles.  We were incredibly lucky to have had few serious mechanical problems and no real sicknesses whatsoever.  This is a life experience that will stick with me forever.  For all of the warm and generous people we met along the way….Thank you so much.  Whether saving us from a freezing night outside or simply saving us from added expenses, you made the trip special and are the reminders of why this country is so great.  We flew American flags proudly on our bikes through the journey’s end.  Lastly, a special thanks to all of you following our journey and contributing to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  We hope this may inspire you as much as it has inspired us.

From Leigh:

It’s been a week since we’ve finished and I’m still waking up ready to break down camp and hit the pedals to the next town. Bike touring is a genuine adventure, a welcomed change from the finance culture, and has proved to be a great transition to the next step – whatever that may be. Needless to say, the journey has certainly left a lasting impression and I will carry it with me in future pursuits. I’m fortunate to have been invited by Greg and Joe on this endeavor, enjoy the company of their families and to have met such great people along the way. Supporting such a worthy cause as Make-A-Wish is a reward like none other. A huge thanks to all those who supported us whether raising funds or providing a warm bed and a hot meal.

The three of us got talking and we really hope that the Bike for Wishes Adventure will not end here. Let this be the start to recruiting the next generation of Bike for Wishes riders so we can all continue to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Pass on the word!

Stay tuned for the last update…the photo album.

This past week we rode about 520mi in 6 days, our most productive week of the trip.  Thanks to David Allen and his roommates for opening up their house in Chattanooga on Wednesday night.  Thursday morning we crossed the final border into Georgia.  The East Ridge bike shop in Chattanooga was incredibly generous in servicing our bikes for a huge discount.  My back tire was not going to get me to the ocean.  The climbs through the Appalachians were never longer than a few miles. We camped in Talking Rock, outside of Jasper, Georgia on Thursday night.  Greg and Leigh were introduced to Brunswick stew for the first time at Bigguns BBQ.  For me, Friday was all adrenaline, knowing I would be at my folks home that evening.  We had 95mi in total, plenty of traffic, and some scattered showers.  I was ahead of the other guys who had to stop on a few occasions with the multiple flats they endured that day.  We were welcomed by the family and some great food that Friday evening.  Last stop…St. Simons Island.  See you there and go Dawgs!

It didn’t take long to get back to the swing of things. Actually, after our longest break of the trip, getting back on the bikes was quite grounding. With that said, the ride from St. Louis to Athens has been a grind. In the past three days we’ve gone about 275 miles – around 70 miles of which were at dark. Our new longest day was our ride from Murray KY to Nashville – 116 miles. Thankfully we rode into the warm welcome of Joe’s cousin Katie who put us up wih the essentials – carbs, beer, sugar, and fruit.

This morning we’re pushing off to Chattanooga with great anticipation of the Appalachians.

Going back to Tuesday, we left Larned en route to Hutchison (“the Hutch”).  Near the end of the day we were snacking near a market behind a wall blocking the cold wind.  A man approached us offering some jerky and going into the story where he and a friend canoed the entire Mississippi River…now we have something else to check off the list one day.   We stayed in a free hostel/church with hot showers, tvs and a kitchen and met other bikers and their pet kitten, E.T.–picture the cat on the front bike basket.

From Hutchison we rode into Chanute, our easiest day of the week.  Greg’s Aunt and cousin drove down to take us out to eat and put us up in a hotel–thanks so much!  We caught the playoffs on the big screen and played in the seriously competitive trivia night, where Linus emceed and entertained the crowd.  He announced our trip to the restaurant giving us some added publicity.  Thanks again for the generosity and we may be back for the next round. 

The last two days have been no joy ride.  Thursday (Chanute to Pittsburg, KS) we rode through steady rain the entire day.  The original plan was to end in Golden City, MO, but the loss of feeling in our toes and fingers convinced us to pull up short.  On either side of the road, farm after farm was flooded.  A herd of cattle looked almost trapped on an island of grass at one point.  We devoured Subway footlongs and multiple white chocolate macadamia nut cookies as the extra calories were necessary to keep some body heat. 

From here we head to St. Louis, Greg’s hometown.  A couple rest days and a fundraiser await us.  Wish us luck through the Ozarks.

Kansas is true to its geography with an even mix of grain farms and elevators, feed lots and grazing fields, oil derricks and pump jacks, haystacks and John Deere tractors. The small towns in between the vast farmland are wild about their high school football and serve up chicken fried this and gravy’d up that.

Most towns have nice city parks that our map makes specific mention of. Now that we’re off the national park route of Utah and Colorado there isn’t much in the way of camping. Tonight we found shelter in Larned KS City Park under a pavillion. It’s an impressive layout with a little train, skateboard park, swan pond, massive pool and playground.

This morning is our most threatening with dark clouds and strong winds. It’s going to be a long one. Joe and I just decided it’d be easier spent in the holding pen in Larned. We’re gonna wait out the storm in here.

When: Saturday, October 17th from 3:00pm-6:30pm 
Where: Llywelyn’s Pub (17 W. Moody Ave., Webster Groves)
Other information: Llywelyn’s will generously donate 25% of your bill to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Come on by for a drink, meal or whatever fits your schedule!

A special thanks to Lorenzo d’Aubert for designing the marketing materials for this event.