“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”  – Title of the last M*A*S*H  episode

It is absurd to think that I could say everything I want to through this blog. Try as I might for hours to come up with the perfect words to say to you, I realized that it would be impossible to tell you what this trip meant to me.

I have seen things that I never thought my eyes would witness. On this trip, I saw people time and time again offer their house to five strangers for the night. I have seen a woman cry because her family was too poor to give us any more money than every bill she had in her purse. I have seen a man crippled by alcohol addiction, sober up and give his life to God. I have seen a group of friends take a dream and turn it into a reality. Lastly, I have seen how God uses those who are available to be used.

At the beginning of this trip, a lot of people who are close to me did not understand my decision to take a risk on this bike trip. The normality of our society lends me to get an internship and prepare myself for the future. The cliche “What are you thinking?” was asked to me many times prior to the trip. The only reason I could come up with was derived from something my mom told me, “In everything you do, be available for God to use you!” This mentality stuck with me throughout the trip, even when times got hard. It was my motivation up the Cascade Mountains, through North Dakota’s plains and along the Hudson River.

With this focus in mind, it was incredible to witness the impact this trip was making. The most ironic part of our journey was that people were under the impression that everything was centered on a group of guys doing something good. However, the essence of our trip changed and the people who read our blog could see it. We began to realize how our trip provided others with an opportunity to do something good for us. This phenomenon was something I tried to track across the country and the number of people who thanked us for blessing them (after we had devoured every bag of spicy Doritos and burgers in their house) was staggering.  Every day I was blown away by the generosity people across this country showed us. This statement is supported by the fact that we almost doubled our financial goal. You people proved something very profound to me this summer. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. It gives us a sense of belonging and need which in turn, springs hope in ourselves and in those around us.

It was hard adjusting back to a life style where every day I was blown away by people. It took a couple days of beach time to fully process what had happened this summer. By the end of my vacation, I had realized one simple fact; everyone who had asked me at the beginning of the trip, “What are you thinking”, was asking the wrong question. I realized the question they should have been asking was “What are you seeking?” I discovered that, like the bike trip, we are on a journey find something. I was seeking how much God could use me, but instead, I found how much God can use an idea like Team GCC. Team GCC represents all of us who signed that shirt, who housed us, fed us, donated, and prayed for us. The idea that all of us have made a reality is not only inspiring but life changing. We have changed the lives of many students forever, and if that doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling than I don’t know what would.

Thank you all for being a part of this idea, and making a difference in the world, no matter the size.

As for me, I am now a Senior Electrical Engineer at GCC, playing Rugby and working on the next big thing, my senior design project. I am very excited for the chance to further my close relationships here at Grove City and begin to search for jobs in the real world! Although this year will involve a lot of hard work, I have learnt to focus one pedal stroke at a time. With this and a little faith, anything is possible.

God Bless!

- Love Loosy

As of September, I moved to Vienna, Virginia where I have an hour and a half commute to “The Hill” where I work in the Capital as a Press and Media intern for Senator Coats from Indiana.  They are long hours this time of year in the political world, but I love DC and love my program even more: Capital Fellows Program.  As I talk to people in the office, it’s very common for me to lead the conversation in a way so I can talk about the bike trip.  You’ll hear me say, “Oh! Did you know I biked through your state this summer??”  Actually, it is quite easy to seamlessly slip that comment in.

My Office

As I look back, there is nothing like life on the road.  I know we often joked about it, but, really, when we were in these towns across America, we felt like rock stars.  Well, rock stars that wore really tight shorts.  I could have never fathomed the response that people gave us.  No matter big/small, east/west, cornfields/skyscrapers: people related with our mission.  I believe it is innately in us to cling on to people attempting good.  Now I understand we can debate on what is “good”, but a genuine attempt to help your neighbor is something everyone can believe.  The irony is we set out from Anacortes back in May with the intent to do our part in helping others, but little did we know how many blessings were going to come our way.

As you can well imagine, tangents are very possible when it comes to talking about the trip, so here’s a little structure.  I have found there are 2 questions that most people ask:

1)      How many miles did you do a day?

“60 to 70 miles a day” is the short answer.  But we all know that this trip was way more than just about the biking.  I think when it was all said and done we took over 2 weeks of non-riding/rest days so that puts us at under 9 weeks of riding to  complete 3,500 miles.  Do the math and you get just over 60 miles a day to get from coast to coast.

2)      Do you miss it/would you do it again?

Yes and no to both.  On one hand how could I not miss jumping on my reliable brooks saddle with a humming/singing Mack to my right, a giggling Loosy and Ryan to my left saying that they like Butt Butter WAY more than they like DZ nuts (its competitor), and Jamie honking as he passes in the Grover Rover rocking out to an Adele song?!  The team and the people are what made it.  But on the other hand, I feel like God has given us this trip not only as an awesome experience, but to equip us.   Each one of us was part of the team to learn particular lessons.   Things we needed to learn so we can go prepared for what God has for us.  “To where much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48)

As I look back, I remember Mack saying to the reporter in Battery Park where we finished, “permanent”.  I find myself stuck on that word.  The scholarship is permanently endowed, the friends have permanent memories, and God moved in permanent ways through this team and the people who touched it.

Thank you all who helped change me through your words and actions, permanently.  Who knew pedaling could be so cool?

The Capital Fellows class of 2012-13

Click to enlarge

A lot of people on campus have asked me what it is like to bike across America. Honestly, the actual act of riding my bicycle across America this summer seems so insignificant in relation to everything else that was accomplished. A bicycle is the means to get across the country but the journey is made up of the experiences you have in meeting new people and experiencing new things. Being the only team member with previous extended cycling experience I remember the guys and a few of my other close friends telling me before the trip I must really love biking to go across the country again. I told them then, and my view is still the same, I actually don’t really enjoy biking. For me it’s not about the biking at all. This summer I had the opportunity to do something that would change lives to come, invest in the friendships with the guys on the trip and meet people across the country that I could try to impact, but even more so be impacted by. That is the reason I went on the trip.

A couple of days ago I was sitting in Mark Jacob “Loosy” Loosararian’s room talking with him and reflecting a bit about what we learned from the trip. He asked me, “Do you think you now look at things differently after the experiences we had?” My first response said in a semi-joking tone was, “Yes I now feel an overwhelmingly large urge to help people who are wandering and homeless.” But in all seriousness it is hard to put into words how a trip like this can change you. I think that the largest, big picture idea that I took away from this trip was that no matter what people say and think about the people in America, there are a lot of incredible people here. People from all over the country went out of their way so many times and in so many different ways for us for no reason at all. They did not owe us anything or feel obligated at all to help; they simply wanted to do something nice for us. The first week we got back to school we each had to write a paper about some concept or topic that we found appropriate for the trip. The title of my paper was “Altruism in America.”

So here we are. The trip is over and the blog posts are coming to an end. I know I speak for the rest of the team though when I say I don’t expect this to be the end of “Team GCC”. It is out hope that other Grove City College students step up to the challenge of making a difference and doing big things for this school and others. I am excited to see what others come up with and hope to help them along in the process.

As for me personally, lacrosse has started up, I am learning how to cook food for myself (thanks to the help of my beautiful girlfriend Monica) in my on campus apartment and I have just begun searching for a job. I have no idea where I will be 1 year from now and I am kind of excited about that. If you leave doors open God can show you some pretty incredible opportunities, just like he did this last summer. You guys are the greatest, thanks for following along all summer!

Ryan R. Herman

I honestly mean that. The blog provided an appropriate forum for reflection. The opportunity to look back on what happened and give it the appreciation, or lack thereof, it deserved. For instance, I went to a birthday party for a dog this past weekend.

Part of me wishes I was lying, but the other part of me wishes it had happened during the trip, because that’s exactly the kind of weird, where-did-that-come-from moment, that made writing the blog so much fun.

Yes, after a month off, it feels natural to write about Team GCC.

This reminds me, there’s some things I forgot to tell you.

1)      Frank – During the trip, Loosy received daily phone calls from banks/credit collectors inquiring about an individual named Frank. Depending on the day and his mood, Loosy’s responses would vary. Sometimes he would inform the caller that he was not Frank, sometimes he would complain and demand that the companies stop calling him, and by the end of the trip, Loosy was determined, one way or the other, to hunt Frank down and demand restitution for months of harassment. Frank, if you’re reading this, please pay your bills and update your contact information, people are looking for you.

and

2)      I’m officially the winner. By winner, I mean that I’m the only member of Team GCC without a flat tire. 50 miles biking, 10,000 miles driving, and 0 flat tires, that’s roughly 16 less than the rest of the team.

There are some other things, but their inclusion would make this post terribly long, and then none of you would buy the tell-all behind the scenes book we plan on publishing in five years.

I was instructed to write a “where are they now piece” so I’ll begin by answering literally. In a physical sense, I am back at Grove City College, on the Okie hall, located on the third floor library side of Hopeman, where my senior year began three weeks ago.

I spend my time going to class and being thankful that I don’t have to find a new place to sleep and shower every night. To compensate for my lack of blogging, I write inspirational emails to my IM sports teams. Lacrosse practice started last week and we have a lot of talented freshman on the team this year, so we’re excited to see what the season has in store for us. Practice means that my exercise routine has changed drastically. Now instead of watching people ride bikes, I’m running, lifting, and doing other activities that don’t involve driving minivans. My body is slowly but surely adjusting.

In addition to playing Lacrosse, I’m also serving on the team’s officer board as the Director of Communication.

This means that I will be blogging and partially responsible for fundraising. Too bad my summer internship didn’t provide me with any transferable skills for the position.

Beyond classes and lacrosse, I spend my time finding creative ways to annoy people with stories from that one day I spent in Glasgow, Montana or Iroquois, Illinois and telling freshman girls that I “biked” across America (*I don’t actually do this. I tell every girl I biked across America, not just freshman).

No one can separate this special bond.

In other news, I pass the Grover Rover on a semi-regular basis and I’m touched with a pang of nostalgia every time I see it. One time I walked all the way over to it before I realized that I had neither the need nor means to actually drive it anywhere. Real smooth on my part.

I’m also in the process of reading the blog. When we made it to the east coast, I would occasionally meet devoted followers of the blog, and they would ask about certain events, and I would have no answer to elucidate their points of inquiry, let alone any recollection of ever recording them. It has been an enjoyable experience to go back and relive moments, refresh memories, and enjoy a good laugh over ridiculous experiences.

I have to admit, there have been times where I made myself laugh out loud. Anyone who knows me knows that it’s not necessarily hard to make me laugh, but if I do say so myself, I impressed myself at moments.

I also noticed a couple posts where I wasn’t impressed and the blog felt a little off, and for those subpar posts I blame the cyclists. I feel bad throwing the cyclists under the bus like that, so I’ll take some of the blame. I have enjoyed looking back and convincing myself that this was real life.

As much as I’ve looked back, I’ve realized that upon completing an adventure like ours, it is tempting to refuse to let it go and do everything in your power to hold on to it. To desperately try and prolong it because you were comfortable, and you can either grasp for something that is never going to be the way it was, or you can focus pouring your time and energy on something new, something else that has the potential to make an impact.

You can talk about your one success, or you can try again and believe that you have something else to offer the world.

Homecoming is an opportunity to look back in a healthy way. To celebrate what was accomplished, reunite with friends we made along the way, and share with people who weren’t aware of what happened this summer.

I’m excited.

Reading Mack’s blog yesterday just reminded how great this weekend is going to be. So I guess the answer to the question, “where am I?” is that I’m in a great place. The bands getting back together, how could I not be?

It’s no secret that coming back to “real life” is a lot busier than a life of wandering.  Granted, we were wandering towards a known goal, but how we got there didn’t fully matter (except for the whole bicycle thing – that was a must).  But busy isn’t better.  And when I say “real life” – what is that anyway?  I catch myself saying it as I explain the story to people.  It can’t simply be the album title of every new graduate on facebook.  What about the raw forest?  The yellow fields?  The jagged mountains?  It’s a strange feeling to come back to a pace of life that is faster, but where less actually happens.  Probably because that, in fact, is the truth.

The day after the trip ended my family went for a week at the shore in New Jersey.   It was a relaxing, abrupt change, but it gave me time to decompress and slowly try and re-learn society.  Alright, maybe not that drastic.  But it was weird still falling asleep at 9pm and waking up at 7am while on vacation.  I also saw a lot of nice triathlon bikes in the mornings when I went exploring.  I had to learn to control my drooling.  A week at the beach for me consisted of reading a book a day on the beach, sketching, and watching Shark Week.  Unfortunately the water was pretty cold and I forgot my wetsuit.  The waves were non-existent though which made me not regret forgetting the wetsuit.  It was a comfortable way to ease out of life on the road.

Since then, I’ve been working on several things.  For one, the return home has meant that the job hunt has commenced.  I’ve mainly been targeting creative agencies in the NYC area and would love to work in the realm of creative or strategic planning for brands.  If anyone has any contacts in the area let me know!  I had done an internship two summers ago and absolutely loved the experience of the city.  Applications and cover letters take considerable time though, and I’m learning why the job hunt is so frustrating given the amount of time going into each application.

If you don’t know me too well, I was a business major at GCC, but I also have a passion for art and design.  In the weeks following the trip’s end I have been compiling the photos and blog posts from the summer into a book.  It’s taking a lot longer than I originally anticipated, but I’ll be sure to announce it when it’s done.  It’s a very exciting process and I really enjoy the work.  It’ll more than likely be around 250 pages and cover each day of our journey through the writing of Jamie and through my camera’s eye.

There’s also been a local friend and café that has asked me to showcase some of my photography from the trip.  It’s exciting because although I dabble, I’ve never had anything displayed to the public.  It’s exciting nonetheless and maybe we can show some photos from that when it happens.

I’m looking forward to this coming weekend and being able to see the team again, as well as other friends on campus.  Even some of the families we stayed with this past summer will be there!  What a great time that should be reconnecting with them.

It’s been a little over a month since the trip itself ended.  But it’s very clear there are many great opportunities that will continue to spring from this great experience that I’m still discovering.

I don’t think I’m going to bike back for homecoming though.  Especially now that I know what central PA looks like.

Each day this week a different team member will update you on what they’ve been up to since the trip has ended.

Although end of the trip was abrupt and coordinating became increasingly difficult with all of us all over the east coast, we didn’t think we provided much closure for our loyal fans .

We thought it would be nice for you to hear from each of us what has happened since our journey came to a close, and we will have photos from this coming homecoming weekend up on our facebook page from our first official reunion.

At the moment, Jamie, Loosy, and Ryan are all back at GCC, Mack is in Philadelphia, and Will is in Washington D.C.

The universe as we knew it for the past 3 months was coming to an end.

That wasn’t a depressing thought, but it did make us appreciate what had become monotonous and routine.

We said goodbye to the Hanna’s, the last of several incredible families to open their home to us, and packed into the Grover Rover for the last time as a team.

We arrived back at the park in Fort Lee where we ended on Wednesday night and were pleased to find free parking. How did they know that we love free things?

(That saying has become one of our favorite sayings this summer. We will miss saying it as we expect to use it less when we stop biking across the country.)

It was fitting that while we were in the parking lot preparing to leave that we were finalizing directions and scanning forecasts predicting massive thunderstorms.

We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

It was also exciting because our riders doubled for the day. When we finished in Battery Park, we would be riding eight strong.

In addition to Monica Cady and Hannah Williams, Loosy’s older brother was going to meet up with us, and Jamie borrowed a bike so he could finish the trip with the team.

After finalizing directions, we biked out of the park and started across the George Washington Bridge.

We contemplated the idea of taking a ferry and pedaling stationary bikes the entire way across, but after consulting the official cross country cyclist handbook, we decided that would violate the integrity of the pedal stroke rule we had followed stringently across the country.

While we were biking across the bridge, making sure not to crash into cyclists coming the other direction or run over pedestrians, we looked out at the Hudson Bay. We could only see a couple yards because of the rain and fog that obstructed vision, but we couldn’t suppress smiles knowing that on the other side of the bridge was New York.

When we reached the other side we had 4 blocks of actual riding through city traffic until we reached the bike path. With the confidence of veteran cyclists, we were able to make it to the bike path without being struck by any motorized vehicles.

Once we were on the bike path we would just follow that for the next 12 miles straight into Battery Park.

After a couple minutes we reached Loosy’s older brother John, and after riding a couple minutes with him we ran into Loosy’s parents who were standing on the side of the path with cameras and umbrellas. We were excited to see them, but since unexpected delays set us back a couple hours, we had just enough time to arrive at Battery Park at 2:00  p.m. They left to meet us there and we were back on the path again, every pedal stroke bringing us that much closer to our destination.

Shortly after leaving Loosy’s parents, we came to a poorly labeled section of the bike path and mysteriously ended up in private parking lot with a gate and a security guard demanding to see identification.

We could see where we were supposed to be and as long as the lady would let us out of the parking lot, we could be right back on the path.

Initially she wanted to make us turn around and ride all the way back to where we mistakenly left the path and go around, but Jake was able to convince her to just let us leave, and after hearing that we started our trip in Seattle she finally relented.

Back on the path nothing could stop us.

The rain was still falling and since the path was right next to the street, cars would drive through puddles occasionally sending muddy showers our way.

Before we knew it we were in the city, passing skyscrapers and monuments. We passed 43^rd street where we would return later in the day to celebrate at the Heartland Brewery in Times Square. A block away from Battery Park there was construction.

On the bike path.

Even when he’s not driving the Grover Rover, Jamie attracts detours. It is uncanny and patently absurd, slightly thrown by the detour to a bike path, we were able to follow the signs and resume our route to Batter Park.

Our detour brought us in the back way, completely surprising our family members and the other people waiting for us. We then had to bike around and find the people who were expecting us to come in the other direction.

We found everyone’s parents, except for Will’s. Unfortunately, his family had to attend a wedding and couldn’t be there, but his friend Larissa, who he worked with at a summer camp, and her brother showed up to surprise him.

Also in Battery Park was Randy Cole, the man who was there when we began our journey in Seattle. After spending a couple minutes reuniting with family, we had a short interview with Amber Browning-Coyle, a woman who has her own video series on her website ABC Coast to Coast.

Team GCC Sea to Shining Sea

There was also a photographer who came to take some photos for the school’s alumni magazine (look for us in the next Gedunk magazine!).

After ending, we were disappointed to find out that we wouldn’t be allowed to put our tires in the water. Fortunately at that time, one of the ships shuttling tourists back and forth to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was coming to dock right at that moment and it brought a wave up the incline creating a puddle. We all put our tires in the puddle, including Jamie who had logged approximately 14 miles on his borrowed bike, and called it a victory.

We then ceremonially  poured the water bottle filled with Pacific Ocean water in the bay. After sitting in our van for 11 weeks it smelled bad and as we watched it trickle out, we felt a sense of mission accomplished.

The only thing left to do was celebrate.

After 77 days, exactly 11 weeks on the road, we had biked across the country, raised over $40,000 , and discovered first-hand the unique community of alumni Grove City College has.

We reached our goal and people simply continue to give. The trip has been over for a week and a woman just gave us a check for $500. This was a unique opportunity to be a part of a movement, of people coming together to achieve something unbelievable and people are still donating so they can be a part of it.

Every donation goes to the benefit of a future student and helps ensure that Grove City will continue to be a place that develops people who will leave this world a better place.

There’s no other way to say it, we’re blessed.

We went to the Heartland Brewery where over 50 friends, family, and alumni gathered to help us celebrate the unique adventure we had just completed. We were excited to see that Jeff Prokovich, the person mainly responsible for making our idea for this trip become a reality, had finally been able to get a flight to New York and made it to the final celebration.

Storms had canceled all flights the night before and delayed several flights the next morning. Luckily, Jeff was able to make it, it wouldn’t have been the same without him there.

The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, and surrounded by so many great people, the night could not have been any better.

When the night finally ended, we gathered our belongings from the Grover Rover and said our goodbyes.

To one another.

It was over. Everything built to this moment and now it was here. It was a surreal moment. Loosy closed us out the way we started every day, with a prayer, and then we went our separate ways.

All things come to an end, but if they change you, if you allow yourself to be molded by the experience, then it lives on in everything you do.

We were challenged every day by the kindness of people we barely knew.

We constantly asked ourselves the question, if the roles were reversed, would I do that?

We’re not biking any more, but the memories will last for a lifetime. There will always be opportunities to love your neighbor, to do something good, and in that sense for us, this trip will never end.

The final destination for the trip of a lifetime.

Start: Hillsborough, NJ

Finish: Fort Lee, NJ

Distance: 65 miles

Total Distance: 3,495

Track of the Day:

Hours Jamie has Spent in the Van: 285

The team woke up in Bethlehem after having the event at Jamie’s church the previous night. They slept in later than they wanted and by the time they made it back to Hillsborough it was early in the afternoon.

They received a call from Andrew, Jamie’s brother, informing them that they had forgotten everything. Clothing, electronics, and even shoes.

Loosy was the culprit this time and due to the distance they traveled from Jamie’s house, he would have to ride until lunch without biking shoes.

This is one of the last times Team GCC will spend their days like this.

He had a tough decision to make between riding in his Vibrams and his sneakers.

He decided to ride in his Vibrams.

Since we haven’t gotten an exclusive interview in a long time and there’s only two more days left in the trip, we decided to go back under the helmet and hear some straight answers directly from one of the bikers.

Q: “So what’s it like wearing fingers on your feet and trying to bike?”

Loosy:” It was a surreal experience. It was a freeing experience, but debilitating in many ways. My feet were free to move around. However hills caused me much grief.”

Q: “What was the biggest challenge?”

Loosy: “Keeping my feet from sliding off the pedals, this was especially treacherous on hills.”

Q: “Are bike pedals slippery?”

Loosy: “They rotate very easily, so if my feet were not set and applying constant angled force on the pedal, my feet would slip, causing misdirection of my bike.”

Q: “Misdirection in front of cars?”

Loosy: “No, but my cadence was impeded.”

:“I don’t think that’s appropriate to put in the blog.”

Loosy: “No, cadence is the constant up and down stroke that one uses when pedaling, usually measured in rotations per unit of time.”

Q: “Do you use the metric system for that?”

Loosy: “I do, but most Americans don’t.”

Q: “What would you say to those Americans, if given the opportunity?”

Loosy: “Expand your horizons.”

Q: “And bike in Vibrams?”

Loosy: “No I can’t say I would endorse that, however, I do want to challenge vibram to come out with a five fingered clip in bike shoe, call me for further questions on a patent.”

Q: “I was about say, by challenging someone else to do that are you giving up a chance to make millions?”

Loosy: “I’ve been in constant contact with Vibram throughout the day and they’re very interested.”

: ”You know nobody believes that.”

Loosy: “Fair enough.”

Loosy fought through the early portion of the day like a champion and was able to persevere through the difficulty.

It was especially difficult going uphill, but on the downhill Loosy was able to enjoy the freedom of not having his feet clipped in.

He experimented with putting his legs into various positions and eventually he realized that he invented a new sport, downhill bike gymnastics.

Or DGB as he likes to call it.

He expects the new sport to be trending on twitter and become a popular attraction in eastern European countries, as well as Armenia. By 2028 he believes it will be in the Olympics. Due to the sport’s physical demand the duration of a career is very short (approximately 14-22), but Loosy plans to represent America in his game at the age of 37, as the rest of Team GCC cheers from the stands.

The thought of that is inspirational and as soon as the blog is posted we will be contacting Universal about turning the future event into a film. Just another day for Loosy.

While Loosy was inventing new sports, the rest of the team was noticing the size of the houses they were passing. Houses might be an inadequate term, these were mansions. We thought about what it would be like to live in houses like that.

1)      We probably wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor

2)      We could probably afford to eat more than peanut butter and jelly.
OR

3)      All five of us would be living in the same house and we wouldn’t have enough money to eat anything besides peanut butter and jelly.

The daydreaming was interrupted by an explosion.

Loosy had been taking a picture with the GoPro camera and he didn’t see a giant pothole that was located in the middle of the road.

He hit the pothole with a tremendous amount of speed which jostled a water bottle from its perched position in its holder towards the unforgiving pavement.

The collision between ground and plastic dislocated the cap from the top of the bottle and water exploded everywhere.

Mack was able to retrieve the cap that was rolling down the hill, but Will was unable to grab the bottle before it rolled into the path of an oncoming car.

The vehicle witnessed the explosion and slammed on his breaks, desperately trying to avoid the renegade water bottle as if was an explosive device programmed to detonate on contact.

Through the motor vehicle operator’s impressive driving, the water bottle made it to the other side of the road unscathed.

Will cautiously made his way across the street, but the bottle was still rolling and he noticed that it was aiming straight for the gutter. It was like watching Nemo trying to throw himself in a drain to get to the ocean. Will realized a moment too late that the bottle was seconds from a successful escape.

The water bottle made a daring and successful escape.

Will was still 5 yards away when the team watched the bottle disappear into the drain.

Ryan was very upset, explaining that the drain is only for rain and other substances can be harmful to the environment.

The bottle, gone forever, remained unapologetic.

It wasn’t a devastating loss because it wasn’t one of the five polar water bottles, but Loosy was now down a water bottle, so there was a high probability he would be thirsty until the met up with the Grover Rover for lunch.

With less water and wearing vibrams, rumors were starting to circulate that Loosy was going to crash before the day ended, but Loosy was able to defy the odds.

The rest of the ride until lunch was hilly, an experience the team was not expecting in New Jersey, but passed without incident.

They stopped at a small restaurant with authentic cold-cuts called Fratelli’s Deli. It was a great meal and as the team was getting ready to leave, we realized that none of us had paid for the meal.

We just assumed that someone would have said something to us when we were walking out the door that they would appreciate payment.

Ryan walked back in and worked through everyone’s order and paid what was due. When he walked back out we wondered what would have happened had we just left.

Half of us thought the police would have chased us down and demand restitution for the small business while the other half believed we would have just gotten a free meal.

We guess we’ll never know.

Loosy was thankful for the Grover Rover providing relief in the form of biking shoes, and he now has a deeper appreciation for his biking specific footwear.

The rest of the day was less enjoyable for the team. It was very congested and navigating was difficult. Jamie was also not enjoying the traffic near New York City, especially after an accident up ahead brought traffic to a standstill.

The team made it to Clifton, but realized that if people were going to ride with them the next day, it would be better to finish at the start of the bike path, instead of worrying about leading everyone through busy roads with small or no shoulders.

Ryan and Will had to use their sharply honed navigational skills to make a split-second decision, and they discovered a route that would take them to the foot of the George Washington Bridge where they could pick up the bike path in the morning.

This meant the team would finally get to participate in a night ride. This was exciting because it was one of the last bucket list items the team had for the trip.

It was annoying because it was probably the worst possible time to do a night ride.

We were staying that night with an alum who graduated in ’98, Claire Hanna, and continuing forward meant they would not arrive until after 9:30.

It was also one of the busiest areas the team biked in the entire country and shoulders were nonexistent.

The team was able to make it to Historical Park at the foot of the bridge safely and on their way they caught a glimpse of the NYC skyline.

New York City.

All summer we told people we were biking there and now we could see it. The concrete jungle in all its splendor across the bay. Unreal.

Mack snapped some pictures of the historic moment.

Team GCC can see New York City.

The team finally arrived in Fort Lee, leaving themselves a mere 12 miles to finish on Friday when they ride in to Battery Park for the grand finale.

The team also found out that they officially raised over $25,000 towards the scholarship so it will be endowed!

The team was excited to reach their goal before the trip was over, but they are continuing to try and raise funds that will grow the scholarship and benefit the future of Grove City College.

With the great news that they eclipsed their goal, the team drove to the Hanna’s house where they had food waiting for us and showers with our names on them.

We had a great time talking with them and after watching Misty May and Kerri Walsh make Olympic history, we went to bed.

Tomorrow would be an “off” day as we make our final preparations for Friday. We have one more day and then this journey comes to an end.

It’s finally starting to sink in, we’re preparing for a whirlwind finish.

Start: Pennsburg, PA

Finish: Hillsborough, NJ

Distance: 55 miles

Total Distance: 3,430

Track of the Day: Hands Down ­by Dashboard Confessional

Hours Jamie has Spent in the Van: 280

The team reconvened at the McDonald’s in Pennsburg after having the weekend off. It was an emotional reunion after Jamie spent his first full day away from the team and it felt right to have the team back together.

Jamie got there early in the morning, but the guys slept-in a little later than usual, so Jamie had some time to observe the restaurant.

Not that it was abnormal for Jamie to spend hours at a time at McDonald’s.

We don’t know if they were inspired by the Olympics, or if Pennsburg is just known for going hard in and around the area of the paint, but they set a world record for most smoke breaks in a single morning.

Every five minutes one of the employees would file out the back door where Jamie was stationed for a quick smoke. Sometimes two at a time.

Eventually the manager came out and yelled at one of the employees.

For not returning her lighter after he used it.

It was impressive to watch, both the quantity of employees who utilized the break periods, and the number of times they took advantage of smoke breaks.

I do not put this in the blog to judge the act of smoking or the people who do it, it’s merely that we’ve been in a lot of McDonald’s venues over the summer and this had never happened before, so it was an atypical experience that might interest people as much as it interested us.

While Jamie was being impressed by the smoking habits of McDonald’s employees, the rest of the team was cycling out of Pennsburg, away from all the hills they ended on the previous Friday.

After cycling for a while the team came to OWOWCOW Creamery.

Riding across the country, we’ve had to train ourselves not to be distracted by every enticing object we pass. We finally quit reading every plaque we pass and we’re pretty good at riding past shiny things now.

But ice cream shops still get us every time. Especially when they have signs that say OWOWCOW.

Admit it. You’re intrigued. You don’t see a sign that says OWOWCOW and don’t stop.

Not unless you want your life to be characterized by missed opportunities and regret, until one day you wake up and realize that you had the chance to be something great but were too scared to take the leap, so now you’re at the end of your life and realize that you never took the time to live.

Since that type of life sounds like the worst to us, and we have the attention span of toddlers (which we compensate for by having the leg strength of greek gods)  we stopped at the creamery.

OWOWCOW (I will write that as many times as possible) is a premier ice cream shop that specializes in blowing people’s minds with their exotic flavors.

They said they couldn’t give us free ice cream (always worth a shot) but they were very generous with sampling. We each had at least 5 samples, with the exception of Jamie who was of course at McDonald’s watching people smoke.

Mack was eager to try the Indonesia Vanilla, and to no one’s surprise, said that it was his favorite.

There was a guy named Joe there and after hearing about our trip and our love of free things, asked if we wanted the 5 scoops for $5 deal. We told him we were definitely not opposed to that idea. Joe picked up the tab for us, proving that he is the man, and everyone had a scoop of their favorite flavor.

Team GCC at OWOWCOW with Joe

They shared the fifth communal scoop and dedicated it in memory of Jamie.

When he found out about it he was less than touched by the gesture.

During the time the team was in OWOWCOW, a large crowd of people started to come in, and the team proudly took the credit for attracting people to the store. Even though we they didn’t give us free ice cream, we felt like we made friends with the employees and we left on good terms.

Except for Loosy, after seeing Mack enjoy his Indonesian Vanilla he was furious that they didn’t have an Armenian flavor.

Seeing how upset he was, the team didn’t make any jokes, even though the opportunity was there.

From there the team was getting close to the Easton area, and Mack suggested the team bike along the Delaware River. The route was one of Mack’s favorite drives to make, and taking in the sights at much slower speeds on a bike heightened the experience.

During the ride, the team saw a fellow cyclist going the opposite direction. They called across to their brother and encouraged him to change the direction of his forward progress and enjoy the fellowship of like-minded men in the pursuit of cycling pleasure.

The man was agreeable to this proposition and decided to ride with us. He introduced himself as Trent and he rode with us all the way to French Town, before turning around and continuing to his original destination. It was a similar situation to Larry riding into Carlisle with us, and the team was excited for another person to turn around and ride with us.

The team stopped outside a small café where they started a conversation with a couple girls who were impressed by Will’s beard. Will has had some mixed reviews on his facial hair, and the last couple reactions were not positive, so we were happy to see someone give him some positive reinforcement.

The café was closed so the team continued onto the River Blue café. The team enjoyed a great meal with good food, but the highlight was the sparkling birch beer. It was so good that the team tried to convince Jamie to break his 8+ weeks of soda sobriety to try it, but Jamie was resolute in his goal to stay strong until the finale in New York. He wasn’t going to give up four days short.

That would be like the rest of the guys shaving their beards before the end of the trip.

Well, not Ryan, but you get the idea.

After lunch the team was back on the road and riding in the direction of Hillsborough. There was more traffic now and the team was enjoying the ride less and less the further they got into New Jersey.

During their ride after lunch, the team was stopped at a red light when Loosy looked over and noticed a jeep with a plastic hula girl on the dashboard. He began waving frantically to get the driver’s attention. Clearly he had a vitally important message to tell him.

When he successfully got his attention, he told the driver that the figure reminded him of Lilo and Stitch, the film of classic Disney lore.

With that brilliant conversation opener, Loosy then played the old game called, “bet you can’t guess where we started biking”.

He couldn’t.

The first section of New Jersey was a pleasant ride. That would soon change.

When Loosy told him we started in Seattle he started going nuts, and there were high fives all around. He attends college in USC and loved to hear that we started on the west coast, he told us to keep on riding and we were almost there.

After looking at a map, we verified that his statement was accurate. We were less than 100 miles from New York City, a thought too weird to comprehend at the moment.

The light turned green and he drove past, honking and waving. He was quickly caught in traffic though and he expressed his displeasure when we rode past him laughing and hollering at him.

That wouldn’t be the only car interaction on the day.

A car of girls drove by and they rolled down their windows to yell encouragement to us. One girl stuck her head out of the sunroof to yell to us.

We couldn’t ascertain the verbal messages they transmitted in our direction.

Luckily, Will was a volunteer for several years at a school for the deaf (no he wasn’t) and can fluently read lips (only as much as the average person) so he was able to translate for us. He told us that they said, “Go Team GCC, we love the blog, we hope you raise $25,000 dollars”.

It was a succinct message, as most are when you are traveling at speeds of 40mph and are screaming out the top of a sunroof, but we appreciated the words of encouragement.

The team ended for the day and bought team slurpees for a day of hard work. They didn’t get an extra one for Jamie, but they thought of him while they consumed their icy beverages.

Once again, Jamie was unmoved by the sentiment.

While the team was waiting for Jamie and the Grover Rover, they met a woman who was a professional blogger. She just happened to focus on philanthropic adventures, which described our trip pretty well.

We snapped a picture with her and then headed to the great town of Bethlehem, PA (which is most famous for being the scene for the opening scene of the second Transformers movie and the birthplace of Jesus), where they would stay with Jamie’s family.

When Jamie got home, the team met the family, and then promptly jumped in a neighbor’s pool.

It was quicker than showers.

After dinner, the team went to bed and looked forward to their day off on Tuesday with Friday and New York City drawing ever closer.

Donations through August 10th when we end in NYC will continue to be matched and every donation will help Grove City students!

There are so many people that went into making this a reality and we are humbled to have done our part. Thank you for being a part of this journey and making a difference in the lives of future students for years to come.

This story is much bigger than 5 guys and bikes. It’s a story about thousands of people coming together to do something amazing. Thank you!