Before I begin, I will start with
the idea that everything seems to be coming back to:
It is fun to be part of a team
because everything is more important than the individuals. On The Ride of Hope,
the mission was bigger than even the team.
Saturday’s
opening ceremonies were amazing. We were so lucky to have so many families of
missing children whom were willing to come and take part. Jonnie Carter on
behalf of Bethany Markowski, Amy Marchbanks on behalf of Sean Googin, Lisa
Buske on behalf of Heidi Alen, Gary Plunket on behalf of his neice Sabrina, Pam
Riley on behalf of Laquanta Reily and Mary and Doug Lyall on behalf of Susan
Lyall. In addition we had our first team, along with the Sauquoit Valley class
of ’99, present our first set of designated riders. Dick Jordan, one of the founders of the ride and only rider to complete all three rides to Washington, introduced us to the story of Lauren
Spierer followed by a member of Sarah's class to tell the story of Sarah Ann Wood. After the emotions of finishing
my first full CNY Ride on Friday, my mind was completely preoccupied when we
left on the bikes, to the point that not a single thing was bothering me
physically. The opening portion of the ride included a police escort from the
New Hartford Rec center all the way to Oriskany Falls. Thank you to both the
New York State Police and Town of New Hartford police for something that we all
certainly appreciated. It was a mix matched day for our team, named by most,
Team Hammer. Ryan had to leave early due to a prior engagement and DT broke a
spoke and had to head to Binghamton early to avoid having to ride for a couple
extra days on a bad tire. I joined on with Jim and Becky and they were kind
enough to pull me along for a while. After some miscommunications, we
re-grouped a couple miles outside the hotel and were able to roll in with much of
the group together. For an 87 mile day, the ride was pretty uneventful, which
is definitely a good thing.
Sunday’s
morning meeting opened with a bang. Ahmad Rivazfar gave us all a beautiful reminder of why
we were riding and really set the tone for the rest of the ride. The opening
presentations were given by the teams to honor Sara Rivazfar, Elizabeth Smart, Trenton
Duckett, Ivory Green, Heidi Allen Sean Googin and Tammi McCormick, our
designated children of the day. Pennsylvania definitely tested the patience and
endurance of all the riders. I don’t know if we rode on a well paved road the whole time we
spent in that state. Add on to that, the ups and downs of the emotions and
landscape and it was truly a test. It was today that the gravity of what we
ride for really hit me. As we climbed what I believe was our largest hill of
the trip (right before crossing the river) I kept thinking, there is a sag with
us you can just pull off and catch a ride up. Then it hit me, my lungs were
burning, my legs were screaming, and my back was sore, none of this mattered.
We were riding for families whose pain is so much more, no one was going to
have a bit of sympathy for me and my “aches and pains,” nor would I be
deserving of any of it. I kicked it up a bit and fought to the top of the hill.
I will take a moment to enjoy that, as I believe it was the only time I caught
DT and Ryan and beat them to the top of one. We got into the Wilkes-Barre
hotel, fittingly at the highest point of the city after 88 miles, a bit before
the other teams and were able to talk to the media briefly as one of the
reporters was in a hurry to get on to another story but wanted to be sure to
cover ours. I went back out as each of the other teams came in to cheer them
in. Doing this was one of my favorite things as you get to witness the
accomplishment on everyone’s faces as the pull into the destination.
Ah, Monday. This was by
far the most physically demanding day of the trip. Top mileage of any day, plus
a tight deadline on our two school appearances. Of course, as with Sunday, the
terrain didn’t cut us any breaks. From the start we had some logistical issues,
the plan was to drop everyone off at a starting point outside the city limits
to avoid some rough road and rush hour traffic. However, not everyone had space
yet to fit all the people and bikes, which don’t work too well without both
parts present I hear. The morning designation was done for Mary Opitz and
Bethany Markowski and then we were off. A group of about 10 of us left a bit ahead on
bikes to make room for others in the SAG vehicles. The smaller group was
definitely a good idea, we had some of the worst roads we encountered the whole
trip on the way down though the city. Once we met up with the rest of the
group, we were on our way to our first school of the trip. Our arrival was
amazing! The students of Orange St Elementary, many of whom ride their bikes to
school, were all outside cheering when we got there. They brought in the band
as well to play some pep music to liven things up. After slapping hands and a
cheer contest (brought upon by DT and Joe, who’s surprised?) we went into the
class rooms to share safety tips, bike tips, and answer some questions. Once we
were done, we got our team photo in front of the school and were on our way, a
bit later than anticipated but we did ok. Lucky for us, the next school had
pushed back our arrival half an hour. We had to cover 20+ miles in an hour and
a half to get to the next school on time. We traveled mostly as a group on our
way to Danville Elementary and got to ride through almost immediately upon
arrival. We broke apart into the classrooms, sharing our messages again. Afterwards
the children had to continue with their regular day, we all regrouped again for
the presentations of the day’s designated riders. We left the school and
stopped for some Burger King, the benefit of riding so much is that even a BK
hamburger tasted amazing. Once we took off again we still had about 70 miles to
the hotel and the rain cloud could be seen in the distance. Once we hit the
highway, with the wind at our backs, we took off. The three of us averaged
about 22-23 miles per hour over a close to 30 miles stretch. It took everything
I had to keep up with these guys. We were able to keep just ahead of the storm,
coming close enough to feel the temps drop and then getting back ahead where it
warmed up again. Somehow, we avoided it all. Other groups weren’t so lucky and
did get a little wet. We got to the “end” of the day at 101 miles but didn’t
see anything prohibiting us from continuing on so we did. Thanks apparently to
an alternate route than what the rest of the group took, we rolled our bikes
122 miles in 11 hours and 45 minutes, into the hotel parking lot. I was part of
the 2003 Whitesboro hockey state championship hockey team, this day of the ride
had me on a more emotional and physical high than I’ve ever been on, including
that state championship. It was simply amazing. Cleaning out the vehicle looked
like a recycling center with all of our Gatorade and water bottles from the
day. We got back and got a nice dinner and followed along with the Comets game
only to hear them fall, forcing a game 7 we knew we’d be watching on Wednesday.
Tuesday was a great day to ride.
After our morning dedication to Elizabeth Collins, Lyric Cook, and Laquanta
Riley as well as a special presentation by Wendy to Tracy King, we were ready
to take our time. The temperatures started a little more comfortably and we
knew there were was no itinerary for our 38 mile day. It was also the first day
that Ana Rivera, our awesome reporter (teamed with her camera woman Christa Calcari) got to get on
the bike. She got some quick lessons around the parking lot before we took off
and had the luck to ride with Team Hammer to open up. Yes, we even forced her
to ride up a hill that she wanted to give up on. With no time restrictions, the
groups were much bigger for this ride. We of course got a picture at the
infamous guard rail crossing. One of the highlights on this leg, with hardly any
convenience stores, was riding by a church and asking for bathrooms. Of course
we were welcome in with open arms. Before being allowed to leave we were
blessed with a heartwarming prayer. The rest of the ride in was methodical and
cheery, it was nice to chat with riders I hadn’t spent time with yet. Upon
getting there I made my biggest mistake of the trip. I showered up and prepared
for the rest of the day. After resting for a bit, a bike trip (we’re all crazy, I’m aware) was suggested and a dozen of
us rolled around Gettysburg led on tour by history buffs Jeff Hudson and Joe
DeCola. I of course forgot to re-apply sun screen and in the 2 hours we were out
got completely roasted. The history in the area is amazing though, I will be
visiting both Gettysburg and Washington again someday, as this was my first
time to either place. The family aspect could be seen growing at this small
Gettysburg hotel. Many of us sat around that night in the lobby, drinking beer
and sharing our stories. A true bonding experience.
Wednesday morning was our first
cooler morning, a good thing too since it was another day with time
restrictions. Our team presented our children, Brian Sullivan and Craig Frear,
in the morning and Wendy introduced Raymi, Amaru, and Ork'o Frisancho,
whose father, Augusto would be meeting us in Gaithersburg that night. She also
introduced us to Gabriel and Anastasia Hunkovic, whose father was scheduled to
meet us as the hotel but had an emergency which kept him from doing so. A small
group left early to insure that everyone got to carry the plaque bag for their
portion of the trip and it could be done on time. Once the rest of the group
departed we were on our way to another school. We were assured of another hilly
day, as we rolled past our first Maryland sign and up a nice steady hill. As we
rolled past St Mary’s University, John Walsh Way was
pointed out, dedicated to the co-founder of the Center for Missing and
Exploited Children. It was a touching moment to say the least. We re-grouped
outside of the school, did a couple loops around the parking lot then went in
to talk to the students in their class rooms. After, it was our teams turn to
take the plaque bag. We left a few minutes early knowing we would have a couple
extra stops on the way to exchange plus the hills which weren’t looking kind based
on the elevation maps. As hard as we pushed, we arrived at the next school stop
just 15 minutes before we were supposed to. We waited for the rest of the
groups to arrive, then rode in unison into the basketball courts where the
children were all waiting, screaming at the top of their lungs. Luckily the
school was able to be flexible with their scheduling due to the late arrival.
Karen gave an extremely enthusiastic presentation to the entire school which
even got the riders excited for the message she was giving. Once she was done,
we got to mingle with the students, handing out stickers and pencils, which the
students found a variety of uses for but all loved the same. Wendy and crew
ordered some pizzas for us to eat before heading for the hotel, I for one was
excited for some solid food. At departure we were only 7 miles from the hotel,
an exciting idea for all. The welcome to the hotel at Gaithersburg was both
unexpected and amazing. The entire crew from the hotel was outside to greet us,
as well as a city councilman and Augusto. They had prepared an excellent buffet
of hamburgs, pulled pork, salads, and most excitingly they had a huge cooler
filled with CHOCOLATE MILK! After getting to meet everyone a big group went
down to the train station to help record Ana’s
live shot at 6. From there we went to Dogfish Head Ale House (are we seeing a
theme yet), for dinner. The server was great, being a wise ass he fit right in
with the group, plus once he heard our story, he wore one of our stickers on
this sleeve for the rest of the night. The news crew also met us at the
restaurant where we got to tell Ana’s parents how
great she was (not that they didn’t already know). Upon our return, there was a
group in the hotel lobby watching the Comets game on a laptop screen, I was
cheered upon entering since everyone knew I had brought the TV hookup with me.
All the season ticket holders on the trip, plus many more gathered in the lobby
and we cheered loudly as we realized he hadn’t missed the last home hockey in
the AUD. Another great night of bonding with the group, we all stayed up late
knowing it would be our last night together.
Thursday morning rolled in and the
weather wanted to be sure it made in impact on the whole group at least once. I
was mocked for excessive layers early but after our morning dedication to Suzanne Lyall and Colin Gillis as well as Wendy’s
dedication to Jackson Miller and Joanne Seaquist, most people joined me in an extra layer and rain
clothing. We also got to hear a special message from Gary Plunkett about how
this ride has gotten him that much closer to his niece Sabrina. We got a late
start to the day again, but only due to the amazing stories being told. We hit
the road with an amazing, and completely needed, escort from the Gaithersburg
police. They took us out to the city limits where we were on our own again. The
rain was intermittent early, eventually becoming steady as the temperatures
dropped. It became eerily similar to my first CNY Ride for Missing Children
just a year before. Luckily the rain never got that heavy. We hit the trailhead
where we gained some tree cover which helped a bit as well. Once we got near
the city, the trail changed and we missed a couple turns. In good weather this
would have been fine as we got to see some different things. Luckily we had
some riders who were light hearted to remind us that getting lost and being
cold had no impact on our mission, which helped to keep everything in line.
Eventually we arrived in the streets of Alexandria, VA and everything started
to build. Every worker lined the road outside of headquarters, in the rain to
cheer us in. You couldn’t help but be excited for what we had just achieved
(even if we still had 15 miles to go to officially finish the ride. Once we
entered, we got dry towels (who would have guessed that would be most
exciting), drinks, food, and a goodie bag with NCMEC stuff in it. We also
received pins with the new “forget me not” stamps on them. The group from
headquarters presented to us everything that they do and are working on. A
great way to celebrate the 20 year anniversary. We weren’t done yet, it was
finally time for Skip to turn over the plaque to the center. Along with the
plaque, there was a signed jersey for them as well as one for Ed Suk. Even
without standing next to him, it felt so great to be a part of the presentation
which summarized what it was all about. Once we wrapped up with some pictures,
we took back to the trail to finish our journey (mainly because we didn’t have
vehicles to get us back). It was a nice relaxing ride, except the gravel road,
knowing that our journey was over and every single one of us played a role in
it.
My favorite parts of the trip was
the bonding between us all and naturally the kids. Every kid that we are in
front of gives us a chance to make a difference in their life. There is nothing
more important than that.
I only have two regrets from this
trip, the first is not bringing all of my pins with me for Thursday’s ride into the center. While our team was dedicated
to Brian and Craig, every time I pull the jersey over my head, I’m riding for each and every child that I’ve represented (and will going forward). The other was
not having my jersey signed by each person in our family. It was an honor and
privilege to be part of it with you. I hope we can organize a picnic this
summer to ensure that we all keep in touch.
Just to wrap up a few thank you’s. First to Doc, Joe, Chip and Bob for being the
driving force behind this ride. Second, to the sag drivers, we couldn’t have
done it without you guys. Dave Hogan for his magical morning prayers. Also, to
the Ana, Christa, and WUTR/CNY Homepage in general for helping us get our
message out there. To my team, DT, Ryan, Daryl, and Ting. You guys were awesome
to spend a week straight with. Finally, to anyone who doesn’t fit one of these
categories, thank you. Great things like this don’t
just appear out of thin air. It take a lot of time and effort by everyone
involved to get them done, even if it doesn’t go perfect. This was truly more
than a team, it was a family with a mission;
“To make our children safer…”
For pictures, videos, and stories from the trip please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheRideOfHope/
