Week 2: Live Like Jamie

WEEK TWO

Day 8

Warren, OH-Cleveland, OH

Cleveland

Sick. Sick all night long. I had what I assumed was food poisoning, and got to sleep outside the bathroom in the hallway, causing a serious fire hazard.

The next day we circled up in the lawn of our wonderful host, Joan, and most of us dedicated our day to the Cancer to 5K race that was taking place that day. Cancer to 5K is a program put on the by the Ulman Cancer Fund that trains cancer survivors for a 5K race. It is a program designed to empower cancer survivors and strengthen their mind, body, and spirit.

After being sick all night, I was not feeling especially strong in any of those ways, but I was proud to ride in the van and recover in honor of the great individuals who are cancer free and those who volunteer to coach survivors. Our host that night was Case Western Reserve Dormitory. We all had our own dorm rooms, and REAL BEDS! I went to bed at 6:45pm. No joke.

Day 9

Cleveland, OH-Mansfield, OH

June 13^th, 2014 was the day when Jamie Roberts, a 4K for Cancer Portland rider, was struck by a car and killed instantly. According to her fellow riders that year, she was the most caring, genuine, and craziest person they had ever met. What happened to her was a freak accident, but we make sure we follow very strict safety protocol every time we stop on the side of the road. That morning, we donned Jamie Roberts tattoos, and read a eulogy written by one of her teammates that included a checklist of ways to be like Jamie that day.

Advice from a 4k Alum on how to Live Like Jamie:

JR-Jamie Robers temp  tattoos

“The 4k is a whirlwind. You could do the 4k a hundred times and never experience it the way you will this summer. You only get this one chance during this one summer to be on this one team in this one place during this one specific moment in time. Ever. No take backs. No do overs. SOOO sing loud, dance crazy, smile lots, play with dogs, YOLO, moon as many of your teammates as many times as possible on and off the bike (#sorrysashaskylarmaevenicole), don’t shower (you’re just wasting time not doing epic shit), have FUN, jump in lakes, pet horses, flash state lines, learn to bike with no hands, celebrate at the top of EVERY hill (you earned it!), fly down mountains, moo at cows, eat EVERYTHING, climb hay bales, play dress up, be proud of your goofy tan lines (4k farms hard!), hug EVERYONE, take pictures with strangers, take naps in weird places, enjoy EVERY view, remember the first time you looked up and actually saw stars, be kind to others, be kind to yourselves, remember those you ride for, watch as many sunsets and rises as you can (they actually aren’t all the same) learn from your teammates, share with your teammates, help each other through the days, soak in absolutely every last moment this summer gives you. Do these things and so much more everyday this summer. But especially today, live like Jamie.”

-Walt PDX2014

We didn’t come close to fulfilling this entire list, but my ride group made it a point to stop, enjoy the views, take epic photos, talk to strangers, take the slow route, listen to bird calls, and, of course, get lost. Who knew that Cleveland has miles and miles of forested bike trails complete with wild deer and the beautiful Rocky River. At one lookout over a gorge, we talked to a man whose wife has been fighting breast cancer for four years. “She is the strongest person I have ever met. She hasn’t cried a single time.” We had a great talk in a beautiful place about a beautiful person.

Day 10

Mansfield, OH-Columbus, OH

Doug Ulman at his house in Columbus-we found him on
the back of a Wheaties box-fun fact!

Our second rest day. We stayed at the Columbus School for Girls and were very well taken care of by a local bike group called Pelatonia. I saw bike group, but that name is insignificant to what they are. Every year Pelatonia holds a bike ride in Columbus, OH to fundraise for the James Cancer Research Hospital. They raise 100’s of millions of dollars to fund high risk and high reward cancer research. Coincidentally, their CEO is Doug Ulman, the same Ulman who founded the our very own Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

At nineteen, Doug, who played soccer for Brown, was diagnosed with cancer. He found there was a serious lack in support for young adults battling cancer, so when he became cancer free after his third round with cancer, he and his family started the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

He then moved on to start Livestrong with Lance Armstrong and served as the foundation’s CEO for 15 years. He now is the CEO of Pelatonia. Doug had devoted much of his life to the support of cancer research and cancer patients through biking.

Pelatonia riders took us under their wing for two days, feeding us, showing us around, and taking me to the urgent care.

I forgot to mention earlier that this was my third day battling what I thought was food poisoning, but seemed to actually be a stomach bug. I had barely been able to eat or drink for 3 days and was still trying to complete all my biking days. By day 4 it was time to figure out what was going on, and we had a rest day so it was perfect timing. Naturally, that was the day the sickness ran its course, so I am fine and back to eating a drinking again. Yeah!

Day 11

Columbus, OH

Rest/doctor’s day while the rest of the team toured the cancer research hospital and did a bone marrow drive.

Day 12

Columbus, OH-Upper Sandusky, OH

Van day. The team needed more chalk to mark our routes and fruit to balance out the excess amount of pasta we consume. My job was to go from store to store and ask for donated gift cards so we didn’t have to spend our precious funds we raised over the year. I walk in with a donation letter, explain our cause to the manager, and talk loudly in case a generous bystander decides to intervene and buy us apples and chalk. About 9/10 times, they say NO. It can be a depressing job, but we did get apples from a very grumpy store manager who seemed like he didn’t care a bit about what I was talking about, and wouldn’t look at me. However, he told me to grab some bags of fruit, and when I went to the cash register he pulled out his own wallet and payed for it himself. He gruffly waved away my thank you and tax ID number, and walked away. Generosity comes in many flavors.

Day 13

Upper Sandusky, OH-Perrysburg, OH

Head winds. Flat. Corn. Ohio. Need I say more? Just kidding.

We had a community dinner put on by some wonderful people. Ben (my co-director) who takes on all the public talking stuff, gave a wonderful speech about the goals and achievements of 4K for Cancer. Some of the ladies from the Church where we were staying at greeted us with lunch, drove us to the YMCA for showers, made wonderful food (including vegetarian options!!), and then Ginger brought her two BEAUTIFUL golden retrievers over for us to play with.

Today I rode for Anne Friedman, a good friend of my Grandma B and Grandpa Bill. She passed away a couple of months ago from cancer in California. I only met Anne a few times, but her warm smile is ingrained in my memory.

Day 14:

Perrysburg, OH-Ann Arbor, MI

Recognize that green sweater, mom?

We are flying through states! For the third time in a row, there was no state sign on the rode we biked in on, and we had to make our own welcome to Michigan sign. Since it was a Saturday morning we were able to fulfill one of my ultimate goals…go garage sale-ing. We ended up meeting Maria, a cancer survivor, and she donated to the Ulman Cancer Fund. Connor bought googley eyes and a green flower sweater (the same one that my mom has, actually), Gino bought a wicker basket that he taped to the front of his bike with neon orange electrical tape, and I bought a high riding denim vest. Liz informed me old ladies’ jean vests are coming back in style. She is in a sorority and knows all. We then continued to dally the rest of the day, making the other teams wait for us as we took photos of lawn art and bought ice cream. We actually met and talked to a few more cancer survivors between ice cream and yard sales stops. This is exactly how I wanted to bike across the country, slowly, thoroughly, and collecting as many inspiring stories as possible.

Aaron-king of flats

Ann Arbor was a special night because we had dinner at the community cancer service center with young adult cancer survivors. We laughed over how weird it was to pick out a wig from a week cataloged, and browsed hundreds of informational pamphlets on how to navigate cancer. Dinner was provided by Gino’s parents who drove from upstate New York to feed us sushi, quinoa, and salad. Thank you Mike and Laurie!