Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 27, 2006

Yuma, CO
June 27, 2006

Benkelman was fabulous! After the extensive festivities they had for us, we were greeted by a wonderful breakfast and many community members this morning. Marty loaned us his pump, since we broke our last working one this morning. Four of the boys, who spent a lot of money dunking the riders at the BBQ last night, rode the first 10 miles with us this morning on their one-speed bikes. We enjoyed their company and hope to see them join many 4Ks in the future and maybe even ride one day! Between the boys’ enthusiasm and the Benkelman community support, we were smiling all day long. Saying goodbye to Carolyn and Chris this morning was hard after all they did for us. Benkelman will forever have a place in my heart. We have already begun discussing the possibility of a 4K reunion in Benkelman, potentially when future 4Ks are stopped in the town.

Lucky for us, we rode into a town that easily rivals Benkelman with its hospitality. Our first stop in Colorado turned out to be a great one. In Yuma I experienced my first host family because in Arapahoe I was one of the “lucky” ones who stayed in the Arapahoe Motel, without a family. Katie Ross, Katie Young, and I stayed with Randi and Kit in Yuma. We knew they were fabulous from the start. We sat on their patio eating Dairy Queen and talking for hours. They showed so much interest in our lives and were equally interested in sharing their lives with us. Being in a home setting gave me great comfort. Having a house to stay in and adults willing to share their expertise on life helped me to feel like a part of a family again. They told us about their experiences with cancer. In 2004 Kit had a benign tumor removed from his brain, with very little side effects. He easily makes jokes about his slightly altered motor skills and realizes how blessed he is every day. His grandmother just turned 99 years old and has been a cancer survivor since she was 70. Hearing about her inspires me because not only has she survived cancer for nearly 30 years, but she still lives on her own. Both of Randi’s parents have battled cancer. Her mother has survived breast cancer twice and her father is currently fighting cancer. With all the cancer they have experienced in their lives, they have so much faith. I will take Randi and Kit’s constant faith and positive outlook on life with me and hopefully keep in touch with them in years to come.

~Erin

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Benkelman to Yuma
Mileage: doesn't matter :D

After 2 nights in Benkelman, it can be quite difficult to pick up and leave. The entire town loves to have us around and even though the area isn't a bustling metropolis, I still find the area just as fun as Baltimore. The morning starts off with us circling up at Striker's Restaurant and a group of kids and parents join us. To my amazement, a young guy by the name of Aaron dedicates his ride to me. I was stunned and honored all in the same moment; somebody, who I barely know, dedicates their ride to me. I hope someday he gets a chance to do the 4k and can see the US like I am seeing it this summer.

The entire group set out after the moment of silence and we had about half a dozen kids riding with us. To most of the rider's surprise, they kept up with us for a long time. The group of kids actually rode the first 10 miles with us and we didn't have to slow down a bit. We're on 27 speed road bikes while most of these kids are on bikes that only have 1 gear and remind a lot of the 4k'ers of their first bikes (except these ones were much cooler).

The rest of the day was a breeze. Seeing the rolling hills of brown and tan and a few trees strewn here and there really reminded me a lot of Scottsbluff, Nebraska (my birthplace). You can't really compare this part of the country to anywhere else in the US because it has its own natural beauty that can only be appreciated if you are taking it all in, mile by mile. It's not like we're travelling at 60 or 70 miles per hour, it takes us an hour to clear just 15 miles!

By the time we reached Yuma, we could understand why the eastern part of Colorado was/is listed as a National Emergency. Most of the crops were barely above a foot and it didn't look as though rain had fallen in about a year or two. When they talk about a 7 year drought out here, they really mean it. Even though all this is happening, people are still hopeful that rain will come and that they will come out on top. The midwest does develop one attribute in most people, perseverance. I respect that in each person I meet out here.

The First Presbyterian Church was so nice to have snacks and drinks for us and they also reminded me of my addiction to chips and salsa. I must've plowed through about a pint of salsa and half a bag of chips before I ran to get a shower. The dinner was almost too much, but I managed to make my way through about 2 and a half platefuls of food. Derick delivered his first (and probably not his last) presentation about the 4k and he did an excellent job. In just about every town we hit, we introduce ourselves to the community members and tell them our stories. The best part about the whole thing is listening to their stories, because no matter where we go, we always run into cancer survivors, patients, and caretakers. Everyone is dealing with cancer and we are offering them hope. Maybe they don't realize this, but they are giving us the strength to continue this journey. When we spread hope, we are spreading their hope and their strength to each town; we are just a medium in which this power can be transferred.

Well, now that I have started typing as though I am in a Physics class, I must stop myself before I get any worse. The cycling is amazing thus far and I can only imagine it will continue to get better.

peace,
Garrett

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Journal – into Yuma

Today was incredible. Apart from beautiful weather, no headwind, relatively flat land, and amazing scenery, I had a lot more energy than usual. We left Benkelman (this time I spelled your town correctly – sorry, Benkelman!), after essentially being treated like gods, with full tummies and high spirits. A group of the neighborhood kids rolled out with us and rode about ten miles, also contributing to the overall good mood of the day. It’s hard to leave a place like Benkelman in general, but it’s a lot harder to leave without feeling incredibly loved and content.

Within the first thirty miles, we crossed into Colorado, stopping to take pictures and get excited over the fact that, yes, we had actually biked to Colorado, and, yes, it was amazing, and oh, my, aren’t we just so buff. I think the pictures probably convey this feeling rather well.

Partway through the ride, Clare and I stopped and climbed up a rocky butte. The view was absurd – miles of pastures, rivers, trees, rocks, and blue skies. From the top we screamed like complete idiots every time a group of fellow 4k’ers passed by, aiming to encourage them, but probably just horrifying them. Ryan and Jake climbed up to get the view, but mostly left the idiocy to us.

After making sure everyone on the trip knew we were capable of ridiculous noises, we got back on the road, pushing to catch up with the last group who had passed us, and rode the rest of the way.

Now, Colorado may be beautiful, but up to the Rockies, there’s not a lot of variation, much like most of the Midwest. You start to notice things that might escape the attention of a more distracted (or quickly-moving) driver. For example, I’ve started to notice a serious decrease in roadkill size. In Pennsylvania, there were dead deer roughly every fifteen feet, and, while not necessarily smaller than the equally-frequent shards of deer, by Ohio, they had become bloated raccoons. Fitting with the trend, Indiana and Illinois were the land of dead bunnies, and by Kansas and Missouri, mammals had been abandoned altogether, the roads roughly paved with flustered-looking blackbirds. Nebraska was a series of tragic butterflies, but, miraculously, as soon as we crossed the Colorado border, my world became a sea of locusts. At each water stop, I pick dozens out of my gears and Velcro shoes. The only constant across the country has been the tiny gnats, to whom my chest, arms, and face seem to be some sort of flypaper. And, since I’m writing this journal a few days too late, I feel like I have the authority to claim that, in the mountains, there isn’t any roadkill at all, not even gnats, namely because the only life that can survive at such altitudes is a multitude of scrubby, tired-looking trees and certain species of RV’s, both of which are hard to kill with even the best-equipped Honda Accord. I’ll be interested to see if the trend continues downward, or if we’ll start smelling some larger beasts again after the continental divide.

Arrival in Yuma was exceptionally pleasant. The First Presbyterian Church provided us with delicious snacks right away, and one of the members, Angus, even drove Clare and I to Dairy Queen to satisfy the number one craving of the Hopkins 4k riders. After a pasta dinner that was apparently sent directly from Heaven, because nothing has ever tasted so good, we were sent out to stay with individual hosts who were, for some reason, willing to take multiple sweaty, smelly college kids into their homes and linens. Carol and Ray, my hosts, were amazing. Ray had just hunted a 1400-pound moose, and we were excited to hear his story about it and see the antlers (HUGE!). After letting us take showers and do some laundry, our hosts showed us a touching but uplifting video about their niece, Dana, who has a brain tumor but is fighting very hard with the help of her husband, Mark. It was amazing to see a story about someone who had been dealt the wrong cards, but was still making the most of her life and was still happy and positive. Clare and I made sure to dedicate our ride to Dana and Mark the next day.

In the morning, we got up early and had a ridiculous breakfast, prepared by the wonderful Carol. Homemade waffles, fresh-picked raspberries, sausage, orange juice, milk, and good company – what more could we possibly want?

After a lot of pictures and a lot of hugs, we said goodbye to our hosts, excited to ride to Wiggins but sad to leave such wonderful people (and the moose). Thank you, Yuma, for taking such good care of us, and hopefully we’ll see you next year!

-Emma K