Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 24, 2006

Arapahoe, NE
Red Cloud to Arapahoe + a little story into Benkelman

Today was quite a wonderful day. We started the day off on a good start by eating breakfast with the Red Cloud community at there "Opera House." Not only did they feed us a nice breakfast, but they also allowed us to stay at there community center the night before. The original plan was to camp out at the city park, but luckily we were cordially offered a roof over our heads for the night. It ended up working out for the best because there were thunderstorms during the night that would have made for a rough camping experience.

I would like to start this journal entry off with a wonderful memory coming into Red Cloud that I will remember forever. Yesterday, about 20 miles outside of Red Cloud, Rafi and I were biking together enjoying a nice brisk pace. We saw a dog ahead of us in the distance and thought, "Oh great, not another dog." Our experience in the past with dogs on this trip has been somewhat of an annoyance. But this dog was really different. He seemed to be a Lab mix of some kind, but looked incredibly unhealthy. He had a high-pitched- yelp that sounded very worrisome. My heart immediately went out for this dog. I couldn't leave him. He was trying so desperately to keep up with Rafi and I, and I just felt like I was abandoning him every time I would try to ride away. The dogs ribs were showing and he appeared very unhealthy. Rafi and I decided to ride very slowly so that they dog could keep up, and perhaps he could come to the next water stop with us and we could do something for him. Along came a car, and the driver of the car got out to see what was wrong. We told the woman what was going on and she offered to take the dog to Red Cloud's animal shelter for us. Once the woman drove away, I was really sad. I wondered what would happen to the dog and if we had done the right thing. About an hour later, while Rafi and I were approaching Red Cloud the woman came driving by again. She told us that the Sheriff of Red Cloud liked the dog so much, that he decided to adopt the dog. Rafi and I were so happy that we were able to help this one dog. It made us realize that, bit by bit, we can make a difference.

The day started out with a nice start. It was a cool morning so we riders were able to cycle our fastest without getting too exhausted from the heat (unlike the Appalachian Mountains in PA). The terrain was hilly, but yet not too exhausting. I decided to push myself as much as I could, so that I could better prepare myself for the scary Rockies looming in the distance. We arrived to Arapaho at around 5:30 that night. The United Methodist Church in Arapaho was amazing. They hosted us for dinner and fed us one of the best pot luck dinners we have ever had! We then were privileged to enjoy the luxury of staying with different hosts. Lauren, Fumi and I stayed at Lila Adam's home and had a wonderful stay. We were so touched by her warmth and generosity. All of the other riders enjoyed their stays just as much as we did. We all agreed that it felt so wonderful to sleep in a real bed! After a wonderfully filling breakfast in Arapaho, we set off for our next destination. We will carry all of the hope and stories from Arapaho with us and are very grateful for all of its help!

-Lauren S

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Arapahoe, NE

Day 28 (I think)

Miles: ?

I've never been to Nebraska. I never expected having a reason for entering the state claiming to hold the location for "where the west begins". But when you are on the 4k, you have the privalege of seeing places and meeting people you never imagined you would encounter, and end up all the better for it. Arapahoe, Nebraska was one of these places.

We started our day in Red Cloud, where we were invited by a local town administrator to the opera house in "downtown" Red Cloud. The size of downtown Red Cloud roughly resembles the distance between thirty-seven neatly stacked dominos: small, dainty, and majestic.

4k'ers entered the opera house to a pleasant surprise: a clown serving mimosas. For those who do not know, a mimosa is an eloquent mix of orange juice, and fine champaigne. One 4k'er raved, "Mimosas? My pallet is delighted."

It turns out the clown was the town administrator who invited us to the opera house. The event being held was a town-hall style meeting, attended by Red Cloud's nobility. The clown hosted. He delivered an impassioned speech, focusing on words that began with the letter "C", which highlighted the qualities that could make Red Cloud a wonderful place. Cohesion, Care, and Collaboration were all discussed as riveted 4k'ers tore themselves from their seats to attend to the day's ride.

On this day I had the joy of riding with "Team Asia" (Fumi, Lauren J., Eric, Jess, and Ken), but with an Armenian blend added to the mix, we certainly expanded Team Asia's reach. I have gotten a lot out of a personal challenge to ride with every single biker on our trip, at all different speeds, and all different mentalities. My fellow riders teach me a lot, and I look forward to the long stretches of flat roads where we can talk about how our life is an allegory to the human reproductive system, and other stimulating discussions which make the miles fly by.

It was good to ride with Ken for the first time since Pennsylvania. He broke his collar bone on day 2, and we were happy to have him back. We worked on strength, endurance, and raising his number of riding days above the number of flat tires he had gotten.

After a delicious dinner at the church in Arapahoe, the 4k'ers had the privalge of our first home stays. For the first time on our trip, members of the community volunteered to house between 2-5 riders in their homes overnight. Myself, Ersin, Ryan Slater, Jake, and Eric had the opportunity of staying with the Crawford family.

The Crawfords were unable to attend dinner, so we weren't sure what to expect as we were shuttled to their house and found smoke billowing from the backyard and a perfectly calm matriarch welcome us.

It turns out we couldn't have asked for better hosts. They offered us beds, showers, laundry, an extra dinner they made on the barbeque (which explained the smoke), the most incredible strawberry-lemonade I've ever tasted, and a wonderful living room in the basement where we sat down and swapped stories about football (Nebraska, we found out, loves football), water-skiing, biking, family, and adventures on the road.

As the state sign reads, Nebrasaka truly is "the good life".

~Raffi Wartanian