Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 5, 2006

Fayette, OH
Day 9: June 5, 2006
Sandusky, OH to Fayette, OH
~ 103 miles

What a beautiful day to ride our second century through rural Ohio! As we left our host in Sandusky with bellies full of delicious English muffins, sausages, and French toast, we left our mission statement with the eight graders of Jackson Middle School as well. After breakfast in the morning, Scott, the principle, gathered all his students in the gym and let us tell them what the 4K is about. Derek tried to win the middle schoolers over to our cause with his wit and all the perks of the 4K. It must have worked because by the time he got done, all these middle schoolers were swamping him for autographs! Some even came up to us so we could sign their yearbooks! And the 4K goes platinum! As much as they are amazed at what we do, I am continuously amazed at how receptive they, and our hosts are to a bunch of dirty, straggly bikers. So with that in my mind, I set off for my next century.

I have to say that Ohio is not the most exciting state. You’d think that we’d be happy biking nothing but flat land after hitting the Appalachians, but by mile 2, we had to deal with the never-ending asphalt roads flanked with rows upon rows of corn and wheat on either side. Not to mention the ridiculous headwind that made me wonder why we weren’t biking the other way, from west to east. At that point, I think I would’ve preferred trudging up those mountains instead of battling the horrendous headwinds. Oh well, there’s always a tradeoff. The miles of open road did give me a lot of time to think though. After the alphabet game we invented only got us to the first water stop (it’s where you pick a category and start naming things in alphabetical order), I started thinking about other things, like life, how incredibly generous our hosts have been, how the kindred spirit amongst communities was so much stronger than I ever realized, and how people are so good.

By mile 60 some, Ryan Slater’s parents confirmed all these thoughts by providing us with an amazing smorgasbord of food for lunch. I think it was the best lunch I’ve ever had! Can I just say that the sloppy joes, bratwursts, taco dip and banana bread was absolutely fabulous, and the list of the other foods they fed us goes on. Of course you can’t have a huge lunch without a huge dinner to boot, and that’s exactly what the church members in Fayette did. Let’s just say the desserts were incredible. You may think I’m spending a lot of time talking about food, but as a bottomless pit, I can actually say that I was stuffed yesterday. I also think that the food is one way people show that they care about eh 4K. I never really appreciated the availability and effort put into homemade food, but after chowing down on 400 donuts for 3 days, I fully fully appreciate the effort people put into making sure we are well fed.

The community dinner was so nice because all the riders got to meet and mingle with the church members, many of whom have been personally touched by cancer. There were several members who had lost spouses to cancer, but also several who had fought cancer and won. These stories always touch me deeply, especially since I haven’t really personally been affected. The strength and kindness of human spirit never ceases to awe me. After dinner, we did a brief presentation on cancer for them, just to give them a short intro to who we are and what we do. Everyone was so receptive, especially the little girls that accompanied their grandparents. Like the middle schoolers from the morning, it’s good to see how younger kids can take such an active interest in our cause as well. To me, that might be more encouraging than the enthusiasm we receive from adults. And although I was completely exhausted from a long day of riding and eating, I went to bed feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Yea I know that sounds cheesy, but I think today was my first real glimpse of what this trip is about – uniting communities and fostering hope amongst them.

-Lauren Jia