We rode through Hell and back today. Literally. There is a small town a ways off of the path between Lansing and Ann Arbor called Hell. The singular road winds through a dark and hilly forest and is riddled with potholes, bumps, and debris. It is one of the worst roads we have ever ridden on. That’s saying a lot considering our connoisseurship in American roads. The town itself was miniscule, with less than one hundred people, and seemingly void of interest besides its name.
Beyond that, our ride was rather smooth despite a hold up at the front of the groups because of a ride-along (Jim Rampton’s dad) who was struggling in the back on his mountain bike. There were strong headwinds today and difficult roads, so it was a peculiarly challenging day. Because of our leapfrog system with the vans, it was impossible for the further groups to advance without the last groups making it to the next crew stop (this happens quite a lot by the way).
We arrived for a lunch at Probility, an organization that sponsored one of the riders on the team (Jim again). They had a great taco lunch ready for us and one of their physical therapists was kind enough to give out quick massages for the team. This was our first time ever getting massages—I wish we had a mesus for the team!
After dropping our stuff off at Jim’s house (where we are staying for the night), we went for a friendship visit/dance at the Brain Injury Association of Michigan. It was a great time and we learned a lot about the physical therapy involved in the rehabilitation of someone who has had a spinal chord or brain injury. The dance was a lot of fun too, although I spent most of my time watching one of the clients, Andy, playing chess against people from our team. He absolutely destroyed all of his opponents—expect me. I brought my A-game and won although I had a lot of trouble with a few near-losses. It was a great game (I have a picture with Andy below)!
Right as we were about to leave, an alumnus of Cornell and fellow Pi Alpha (and now plastic surgeon at the University of Michigan), Jeff Kozlow, came to greet me. We chatted for a while about the trip and he kindly drove me back to lodging so we could talk. It’s nice to talk to a Pi Alpha for the simple reason that they are the only people who truly understand what it’s like to be a part of the Journey of Hope. He told me about how difficult it was to characterize this trip to others and how it felt like after returning to the real world. August 16th is going be an interesting day.
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