Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 1, 2006

Youngstown, OH
June 1

Greensburg, PA to Youngstown, OH

103 miles


This morning we woke up bright and early with mixed feelings all around. We had ahead of us the task of riding 103 miles from the hospitable and comfortable Greensburg YMCA to Youngstown, Ohio, a new state on our journey. Most of us had never completed a Century before (including me) so we were motivated, excited and nervous all at the same time.

We woke up to have breakfast with the pre-Kindergarten class at the YMCA. It was a group of about 10-15 children, shy and slow-to-warm-up to 26 super cyclists in their cheery classroom, but soon I was taken by little Kaleb over to the breakfast table. He helped pick a “yummy breakfast” for me to eat before my long ride; it consisted of Froot Loops, an apple, a banana and an oatmeal bar. We sat on the rug and ate together while he showed me pictures of the children dressed up at Halloween. Eventually all the riders were in groups eating, reading, building blocks and talking with little kids. A boy named Curtis drew a picture of him on a bike for us to take on our journey. The children were so excited about our ride and could hardly believe that we would be riding our bike from breakfast until bedtime!! In order to get 103 miles in, we had to get on the road.

Around 9am we headed outside with the pre-Ks and held hands with them during our daily moment of silence. I could feel the energy from the children and combined with the dedication of todays ride to the cancer patients we saw at the Arnold Palmer Pavillion we had many reasons to help us get through the Century.

I set out with a group consisting of Erin, Katie Y. and Raffi. We kept a steady pace of about 10 miles per hour including the first water break at around 22 miles. The terrain was a lot different from the giant mountains of the days before. We were riding over rolling hills that would slowly descend into Ohio. Though the hills were small and had nice downhill breaks in between, hour after hour of it was tiring. We rode through tiny sprinkles of rain, but were never soaked and we saw strange little towns along the way.

At the lunch stop (mile 66), we caught up with the group ahead of us and swapped Raffi for James. I was getting pretty tired, but knowing that we were more than half-way there, I knew giving up wasn’t an option. Clare provided us with tasty leftovers, yummy lunch meats and bread donated by a grocery store. I was waiting for my second wind to hit me and when it did, we hit the road, praying that the last 40 miles would be flat and less rolling. And they were!

The highlight of the ride came when we turned left on Brent Road. It was freshly paved (the lines hadn’t even been painted yet) and it was 9 miles of heaven. It turned and twisted through the country-side and James told us that “THIS is what Ohio was going to be like” even though we were in the last few miles of PA. On Brent Road we passed corn fields and wetlands and we even saw a marsh area with a few dozen box nests set up for birds. It was a quiet and peaceful part of the ride.

The last 20 miles were tiring but we were driven by the determination to complete a Century. It was getting closer to 7pm and we were passing horse and buggies in the Amish Country alongside tractor trailers and giant 18-wheelers trekking down the road. In one day we had seen so many different landscapes. The peace of the countryside made me think of the cancer patients and survivors we’ve met along the way. Usually we think of them in hard times, getting over huge mountains, using their strength to help beat down the desire to give up. But today in the peaceful fields and quiet wetlands, I thought of my mom and where she is resting now. I thought of the people fighting cancer at this moment and I hoped that they would win their battle. I hoped that the cancer would leave them to enjoy and celebrate the simple things in life.

We just wanted to get to the Youngstown YMCA as soon as we possibly could. We passed the Welcome to Ohio sign, slowed down for a moment and decided to ride on. The last highlight of the trip came when we noticed in chalk on the pavement “HAPPY CENTURY!!” written by a fellow van driver. Glory! We had made it! We rode 100 miles and just as it was getting dark we pulled into the Youngstown YMCA where we were treated with another “best dinner ever.” A number of riders had made a few wrong turns and some had to be shuttled back to the Y because it was getting too dark. Regardless, we made our best effort and that is all that matters! 103 miles will be great training for the 150 into Vegas!

--Nicole Silva