Day Eight- Done (Over 625 miles)

July 28th- I woke up early this morning so that I could ride the 108 remaining miles to Gary, Indiana. I really wanted to make it out to the Hammond (and others) Rotary Picnic. I was making great time and got in contact with Jim McNabney to let him know I was on my way. I took another one of those jittery energy shots and was yet again flying (I agree with the Surgeon General, pregnant women should not take those).

I travelled around seventy miles by 1 pm. Unfortunately, fifteen of those miles were directed by construction workers playing a trick on me. They said, "You're not allowed to ride on this road." I said, "I know. I'm trying to get from highway 20 to 2." They told me, "Well, keep heading north on 31 and you'll see it." I was thankful for their kindness. As I crossed into Michigan (not on my route) I became skeptical. I broke a spoke on the bike from riding on the bumpy road. I pulled off the road to a gas station and repaired the spoke on my own.

I called Jim, who I was supposed to meet in one hour, and told him where I was. He told me I was 25 miles in the wrong direction; over 60 miles from his house! The construction workers had sent me the wrong way. I sat on the side of the road discouraged beyond belief. I told Jim not to worry about getting me and he was hesitant to not get me, but I insisted. With my head down and helmet off, I leaned against my bike for over ten minutes; myself broken.

After I had mustered up the desire to ride again, a police officer "pulled me over and arrested me." He put my stuff in the back seat, my bike in the trunk, and me in the back, too. He then drove me down to the border 15 miles back where I came from and dropped me off at the gas station. I called Jim from the car and we were back in business. Thanks to Officer Peek (see picture) my spirits were once again on high.

I waited for Jim underneath the 80/90 and 31 interchange. After he drove an hour, we met up and continued back about 80 miles toward Cedar Park. We made it about an hour late to the picnic, but it wasn't the worst. I was introduced to some amazing Rotarians and the like. After eating and mingling, Jim introduced me and had me talk about the trip. I was long winded, as usual, but most of the people there didn't seem to mind too much. At least they didn't let on. I answered some of the usual questions again. I was asked by Corene Buchanan if I would stay the night with her family. I was honored to be their guest.

Before leaving, one of the Rotarians named Hans had taken up a collection for donation. Jim drove my bike and I to Jim and Corene Buchanan's house (see picture) where I spent the night becoming fascinated with their stories, paintings, and kindness. I ate again, Corene washed my laundry, and I headed off to sleep while talking to my "roommate" for the night, their grandson Jim. I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "he must have forgotten their names and wrote Jim over and over." Not true. It just so happens that Jim/James is a great name to have.

Daily Lesson: Don't ever give up; just figure out a different way.

Please support the cause at http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Weekly Bonus- The Cause

Although I have no immediate connection to anyone who has suffered or continues to suffer from Polio, I still feel strongly that it is a cause of great importance. It is a disease which can be killed off completely; meaning no one will ever suffer from it again. There are many people still living with Polio today in the United States.

If you're within 10 years of my age and reading this, you definitely had a vaccination as a child. The problem is that not all countries are giving out the vaccine. Iran is a big problem right now, as its people suffer in many ways; one of them being lack of proper vaccinations. Even with Rotary offering to do the vaccination themselves, Iran has not allowed it. Other countries have citizens who are suffering from Polio as well.

In 2007, Bill Gates made a pledge to donate 355 million dollars if Rotary could collect 200 million in donations by 2012. Here's the great news: Rotary is over halfway toward reaching that goal in less than half the time. Amazing!

I'm not the sort of person to sell someone something they don't want. I'm not going to do that with this cause either. You either believe in it, or you don't. Even if you don't want to donate, or already have, I know there is someone you know that hasn't heard about this. I know that when we have eradicated Polio, I will be proud to say that I had a part in it.

http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Day Seven- Done (Over 550 miles)

July 27th- I rode as fast as I could today because I wanted to make it to Gary, Indiana early the next day. I hadn't even crossed into Indiana yet and it seemed like the cornfields were just repeating themselves.

I got to the Ohio/Indiana border after around 30 miles of riding. It was around lunch time, so I stopped at the Subwayand proceeded to devour a foot long cold cut combo. It was the first time I had a sub on the trip. Normally, I eat at McDonald's because I can use the internet while I eat. I did get to charge my laptop, camera, and phone while at the subway. I met many people as I was sitting there for over an hour. Jeff and his daughter had driven from Illinois across Indiana into Ohio just to say that they have been to Ohio. Jeff also loved what I was doing and donated.

Another family of three had me take a picture with"Flat Andy," I beleive. They said it was a thing the children at school were asked to do over the summer to show where they've been. A group of teens from a band camp were there as well. Some of them said they were going to do a trip like this in the future. Hopefully they will.

I left Subway recharged electronically and physically. As I started off, I realized my front tire was flat. It took over a week for a tire to go flat. Not bad! There is an Auto repair shop right at that stop, so I tried my luck and asked if I could repair it in their shop. Sure enough, they let me.

As a matter of fact, Matt helped me most of the way through it, even giving me some pieces of patch and pointers. Mitch stood by and offered advice, too. We patched the tire, reinflated it, and I was on my way. I left the border heading inward toward Angola, Indiana. I saw an American Legion (Post 31) off the road a little. It was beautiful, so I had to stop in. As soon as I walked inside, they all asked me, "why are you wearing that get-up?" After telling them most of the story, I was told not to go anywhere because they were getting the newspaper to come and take my picture at the Legion. I waited with a group of three who were playing Gin Rummy before the Bingo game at 6 pm. The paper showed up, took my picture and asked me the normal questions again: "Why?" "From where to where?" "Where do you sleep?" and so on.

I left and headed up a long hill. That's when I saw the McDonald's that my brother looked up to find out if they had WiFi. He was getting sick of not being able to read what was going on in the trip and wanted to find a place for me to download my writing. I did and then I rode, right after getting bumped in the bathroom door as I opened it. I have a lump on my head tonight. Oh well. I took an energy shot to get my butt in gear, since I had many miles to travel. That energy shot did it's job because I rode over forty miles in under four hours before stopping for the night at a truck stop. I think my top speed was 27.3 MPH.

Daily Lesson: Help will show up in the most random of places. It's amazing how much more people know than just their job.

Look for the WEEKLY BONUS titled "The Cause"

And as always, feel free to donate to eradicating Polio at http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Day Six- Done (Over 470 miles)

July 26th- What a day I had today! I have so many stories for my readers. I hope you all enjoy reading about this day as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.

I woke up in a house; that was a great start. I also had the chance to sit down with family and eat breakfast at Bob Evans. My cousins Rachel, Bryan and Louie were there along with my Uncle. We joked, talked, joked some more. It was a great morning. When we finished eating my Uncle took me back to the spot he picked me up at the day before. I nodded off a couple times in the car; result of my motion sickness. When we took the bike off the car, I put the kickstand down and soon realized that it was in the same rut that I made the day before when I got picked up. How nice. I didn’t have to worry about cheating on my miles after that. We hugged, took some pictures, and I started riding.

I decided to check my tire pressure. That didn’t work so well because the tool I bought wasn’t working properly and it just let air out of my tire. While trying to pump the tire back up with my working pump, the kickstand folded under pressure. It ended up breaking off a few miles later. I was heading straight into the wind for about two frustrating hours on top of the other two gems. I was pedaling sixteen miles per hour, but only going eight. In an annoyed state, I took a break on the side of the road. That’s the first thing I did right that morning.

A guy by the name of Tom happened to be riding his new bike around on that same road, highway 20. He stopped to ask if I was alright and I explained my frustration. We shared some laughs and stories. After about an hour of chatting and explaining bike parts to each other, we rode to the flea market up the street to look for a kickstand.

While we were at the flea market (which was one city away from being called the cockroach market) we had no luck finding a kickstand. However, I found a bronze tiger that the owner offered to me for just $5. When I explained where I was going, he said he would ship it there for free. So, I have a tiger waiting for me when I get back to California.

Tom and I headed out to Target after that. Target happened to be out of kickstands. Go figure! But, low and behold, Walmart was in stock. I bought Tom a couple energy bars as a thank you and we parted ways so that I could continue my journey. He said, “If I had a couple days notice, I’d ride with you the whole way. Next time, I’ll hold him to it.

A few miles down the road, and in much better spirit after meeting a nice guy, I rode by Perrysburg House of Refuge, also known as the Zoar Lutheran Church. They were having an outdoor picnic with a band playing. One of the members waved me over, and I said, “I’d love to, but I have so many miles to ride today.” Almost immediately, I thought how silly that was. An excuse not to meet people is not my style at all. I turned right around and the gentleman walked over to me. I told most of them my story and turned down all offers for food except a bag of pretzels. I talked to almost 15 people, some who have biked before and others who had done long walks of the same extreme nature. The music was great and the company was just the same. I had to keep riding though. I rode by the Maumee River (see picture) which was beautiful.

After hours of riding with a top speed of 21 MPH, I was out of water and out in the middle of Western Ohio. Lucky for me, a gentleman named Bob checked on me and gave me an option to ask for water. He obliged quite nicely and while he was inside I had a chance to talk to his son and granddaughter as well as his wife and another guy I’m not sure how he was related. They warned me of riding in the dark and how far I had to go before the next town.

I ended up about three miles down the road at a parking area which was closed. That’s just my style though, so I set up the tent and had a good night’s sleep (see picture).

Daily Lesson #6: Sometimes a break is exactly what you need to keep going.

(Sorry if the spacing between paragraphs is off, I've tried to fix it 3 times now!)

Day Five- Done (Over 420 miles)

July 25th- It’s hard to find time to write with the heavy bike load, but I’ll do the best I can. Please be patient if it takes a couple days for me to post my daily journal. Some cities are far between.

I started out the day a little late, in hopes that the police would be on full beat, so that I wouldn’t get fully beaten. I was also dreading leaving as it was raining. I don’t know whether to say it was still raining, or raining again, because I don’t recall it ever stopping.

Well, my destination was Toledo, Ohio. There wasn’t much going on at all on the road today. My top speed was only 23.4 MPH. It was pretty calm; pretty boring. That brings me to my first “oops.” I was incredibly bored with the anti-climactic day that I had gotten into a riding zone. That’s all well and good if I was just riding on the side of a highway, but I was heading through a town. I ran a red light. The lady looked at me like I murdered someone. I quickly responded with the “you almost killed me” face.

I made it to about 30 miles out of Toledo and was greeted by my uncle Bill. He propped the bike up on the back of his car and we headed to his house. I got a great night’s sleep and a delicious spaghetti dinner at close to midnight. What would we do without family to do the unnatural for us? We chatted over the meal while he washed my laundry. Thank God he did, too. My laundry was starting to stink from rain damage.

I opened up a package my mom sent me and found some McDonald’s cards in there. After Cleveland, I saw them falling into the hands of some lucky bully. However, I’m going to protect them with my life. If someone comes at me and tries to take my McD’s cards I will scream, “No! My mom gave me these!”

Daily Lesson #5: If you head towards the sun at the same speed from dawn to dusk, you’re likely to end up at the same point.

Day Four- Done (over 360 miles)

July 24th- The ride today was beautiful. Sun, sun, sun! Well, after I waited for two hours to get started due to the rain. But, once I rode ten miles, it was sunny and smooth sailing.

My quest was to find a McDonald’s that had WiFi (internet) and an outlet for me to charge. I didn’t have any such luck, hence why you all have had to wait an extra day for these updates.

I made it into Ohio without any problem. It was a peaceful ride all day. I was quite thankful as I needed an upturn of weather to cheer me up. Not that I wasn’t in a good mood, but I really didn’t want to have to scream again at the Indians on the side of the road doing rain dances. (That is a double edged joke as I was riding into Cleveland, home of the Cleveland Indians.)

The day was pretty normal, nothing extraordinary occurred. I received more donations from curious people, handed out the website to a few others, and enjoyed a short nap by the side of the road. I even took my first sunset shot. It’s beautiful. Judge for yourself (see picture). My top speed was a meager 29.1 MPH as there were very few hills.

As I was riding closer and closer to Cleveland, I noticed a change of scenery. I started getting people calling me names from cars, others yelling at me, and then the worst, a group of teenagers trying to steal my bike. One of them jumped out and swung at me. Lucky for him he missed, because I’m like a rock now. He might have shattered his fist on my stone solid bike riding muscles. “How did you know they were trying to steal your bike?” you might ask. I think what gave it away was when one of the other teens said, “I like your bike. Give it to me or I’ll kill you.” Yeah, that was probably it.

Have no fear though; I did end up getting a hotel room to stay safely for the night almost immediately after that incident. But, I made sure it was far enough that the “mangy” teens couldn’t see me. The hotel had a lock on the door, so it was worth the $38 they charged. It would’ve been nice to have a trash can in the room, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. I propped the table against the door as an extra safety precaution (see picture). Also in that picture, you might notice the conversation written in permanent marker. I love it. Now I know “who’s playin’ who and who is the B#@%*”. I can’t wait to get to Toledo tomorrow night.

Daily Lesson #4: Drew Carrey was wrong; Cleveland doesn't rock, it throws rocks!

Day Three- Done (over 250 miles)

July 23rd- It was a rough ride today. I’m really looking forward to a better one and soon. It rained almost the entire day. I got a late start due to heavy rains from 6 am when I woke up until 8 am. The rains let up a little and I was on my way.

I stopped and ate breakfast at a restaurant. I was eating within 3 minutes of sitting down. The owner came out after a few minutes and asked me some questions about what I was doing. He gave me some tips on which roads to take. I’ve noticed people love to do that. As I was heading out, the waitress told me that the meal was on them.

I rode north on 353 because that’s where the signs directed me. The problem is, the next sign that was supposed to direct me wasn’t there. I continued north in the pouring rain not knowing I was going the wrong way. But, boy was I riding hard. When I finally got sick of not seeing signs and the rain got so bad I had to pull to the side, I looked at my map, had a short freak out session, and decided how I was going to get back on track without turning around. 62 N to 39 E to 20 W was the answer. It was all for the best though as I received a free tomato at a vegetable stand.

I stopped to refill my water bottles in a quaint little town, where I met Amy. She told me of her husband, and how he used to ride while she followed behind. She wished me luck heading up Sheridan Hill, which I then looked at, and took a deep breath (see picture). I asked her and her friend not to laugh if they saw me jump off my bike heading up it, they promised, but I made it without stopping.

I rode into Pennsylvania and attempted to snap a decent picture with the rain coming down (see picture). My destination was Erie, PA. On the way there, I reached my top speed of 34.3 MPH for the day which was right before I slowed down in a 30 MPH zone. I was going 33.7 in the 30 zone! What a rebel!

The sun set while I was en route, but the rain was still pouring down. So, I didn’t take a picture. If you’re wondering what it looked like, refer to last night’s sunset and just add a bunch of rain drops. I took a picture of a beautiful rainbow earlier in the day to take its place.

When I arrived to Erie it was late at night. I stopped at American Legion Post 700. I could go on for hours about this group, but I think the picture says it all (see picture). We had a blast. They gave me extra waters, orange juices, chips, and jerky to send me on my way. The manager, Sheila, made sure I felt at home. They took up a collection and donated to my trip. After a few waters and some much needed good conversation, I headed out to find a place to sleep. (We all agreed that I needed to write a play called Post 700).

I realized that there is a reason the town is called Erie. It’s because of the feeling you get when you are trying to find a place to set up your tent. After about twenty minutes of bike riding at almost midnight, I found the perfect spot behind a shipping and receiving warehouse.

Daily Lesson #3: A storm won't last as long if you're pushing through it. (If you truly love storms, keep in mind that there's always more storms to push through)

(I'll patch this up later when I have time... the websites take so long to download pictures)

Day Two- Done

It feels good to write done. It’s as if I’ve finished something that was on my “to-do” list. Alright, let’s get to the nitty-gritty.

Today, July 22nd, I was surprised by two enormous hills which I didn’t even see coming. They are sneaky little buggers. I had a pace of 4 MPH up them which lasted about twenty minutes both times. Quite draining! Which isn't a bad thing, because I still had some rain to leave behind. Top speed today was 34.3 MPH in a 35 zone. I almost got a ticket. Not really, but that would've been an interesting talk with the officer. 

I made a couple friends today. I met a cat (see picture). I believe the people at the store said his name is “Mangy Cat.” I bet when I left they called me “Mangy Man.” Other than all that rain, I haven't showered yet. Something tells me that you won't be the only ones knowing this though. The other friend I made today, coincidentally is Rain. She sent me the following message on the other blog page, “I had the most awesome pleasure of meeting you today at the Acorn store in Andover. You are an inspiration and I admire what you are doing. After you walked out of the store, I was explaining to my co-worker how you had touched my heart, as tears began to roll down my face. As I told you, my father had polio as a child. May God be with you & bless you on your journey!! I will never forget this day I met you! God Bless!! **Rain**” 

Later on in the day, I found myself in a race with an Amish cart and horse. By no means did I sign up for this, but there I was. I finally passed them after about an hour of riding. It must've been hilarious to the carts heading the other direction. About an hour later, another cart was heading in my direction and I'm fairly certain the horse wanted me dead (see lesson of the day). The man driving the cart had swerved all over the road, but maintained control. I took a picture of the cart (without stealing a soul).

Toward the end of the night, around 6 pm, I felt a little drag on my rear tire. As I was riding, I saw a sign for a bicycle repair shop, go figure. I stopped in and about 3 hours later was ready to go, thanks to Chris. He taught me a few things about bikes while I was there. That's how I learned that my spokes were a little worn, a couple of them popped loose. On my way out, he pointed me in the direction of Allegany American Legion #892.

When I got to the Legion, I brought my bike inside (which they were nice enough to allow), and sat down at the bar. I was greeted with some sly comments, but warm hearts. Gene kept the jokes coming, Ed offered me the pizza he made that day at the golf course (which I ate, of course. Not the golf course, the pizza!), and Anne Marie kept a grandmother’s eye on me. I was offered a drink, and when I replied, “I’m not drinking any alcohol on this trip,” they insisted. So, a bottle of water went down the hatch. They gave me a place to sleep, a shower, and a great memory (see picture).

Yet another cloudy sunset, but I’ll share it anyway.

Daily Lesson #2: Dogs really don’t like bikes. Either that or they don’t like cyclists. Either way I’m out of luck. 

Donate at: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rotary.org%2Fen%2Fendpolio%2FPages%2Fridefault.aspx&h=b4a7c27c91270ddb80c4758e52d2404b

Day One- Done

Today wasn’t the easiest ride by any means. I found myself asking the question, “Can I actually do this?” After arguing internally for a few minutes, I determined the answer was yes. Thank God the answer was yes because I’m doing this either way.

It had rained sporadically for a total of 40 minutes during the ride, which wasn’t unwanted. I actually enjoyed the sprinkle as I hit a daily top speed of 35.1 MPH. I might have been able to go faster down that hill, but fear kept me from pedaling into the downhill. The clouds blocked the sun, and in turn the sunset. But, I think I got a good daily sunset picture to toss in anyway.

Keep in mind that I'm not using any digital navigation devices. So, when it rains and the map gets tucked away, I'm at the mercy of my memory and the kindness of signs. Needless to say, I got lost for a few minutes.

I found a resting spot at the corner of a corn farm beneath a billboard (see picture) just past Addison on the 417. As I lay here typing from within the comfort of my 5’X6’ juniors’ tent, my legs are aching slightly, my mind is racing, and the sky is getting darker. It warms me to think of all the support I have in this endeavor. Tomorrow, I’ll allow the IcyHot to warm my legs as I attempt to make it to Salamanca.

I have decided to do one last thing, and that’s my daily lesson. Daily Lesson #1: You cannot ride faster than the clouds can rain.

Feel free to donate at: http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

If there are problems with this page in the future, I also load the same story and pictures at http://davidsalai.livejournal.com/

Day 1

I don't know what else to call today other than Day One. I have millions of emotions running through my bloodstream right now, along with the sugar from the orange juice I just drank. I'm at the McDonald's right next to the Holiday Inn Express off the Owego exit of Interstate 81. It's not as peaceful as the back patio of the Treadway, so I'll head back over there after I finish writing this.

The bike is all set and waiting for me to mount up after the Owego Chapter Rotary lunch meeting. I have spent hours minimizing my load to the necessities, which for some reason includes more "quick snacks" than I thought I would bring. But, I do have spare parts and tools for the bike, a few changes of clothes (which I'll wash periodically, I promise), energy gels, and my trusty laptop. A picture of the bike will follow soon...

I'll normally need to put in about 90 miles a day to get to California in the amount of time I want. Since I'm starting late in the day today, around 2 pm, I'll only be travelling sixty miles. That will put me in Bath, NY. I'm excited to see who will be riding out with me this morning for a "few" of the miles, as I've heard rumors. There is a tremendous amount of support that I feel, and words can't express how thankful I am.

Thank you all for your support again,
David Salai

I'll be posting the donation link at the bottom of every blog, just to make it easier for those who are just tuning in. http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx

People ask many questions when I tell them of the journey I'm quite soon to embark on. One of my favorites is, "Are you crazy?" My reply often is balanced by the level of respect the questioning party might desire. But, in a nutshell, "I think crazy is letting other people tell you that what you're attempting to do isn't possible." Anything is possible.

That's where I am today; sitting just over a hundred hours away from the start of a life changing trip that others feel isn't possible. My original intentions of the trip were entirely selfish; get to know myself better. Now, after countless conversations with many different people, I have come to realize that it's not all about me. This trip is much bigger than me. That is why I made way for what it was always meant to be; a fundraiser for Rotary's Polio Eradication Campaign.

Being a Veteran, college student, and political enthusiast, there were many options for me to raise funds for specific programs. When I told people that I was doing the ride for Polio some of them said, "Polio doesn't exist anymore." Those responses solidified my belief that this is the best cause possible for me. People aren't aware of the truth; that Polio is still out there. But, those people did give me hope as well, that one day we'll be able to say just that, "Polio doesn't exist anymore!"

I welcome you to come along with me on this journey of ours across the gorgeous country in which we live. If you're not from here, I hope you see this as an opportunity to read and see what the United States is from one man's fair perspective. Enjoy the ups with me, and I'm more than welcoming for you to share the downs. And please, feel free (all pun intended) to donate to the cause, ask questions about the trip, read the blog, and look at the beautiful pictures I will post up from time to time. If you have any questions you can contact me at sly.salai@gmail.com. Thank you for all your support,

David Salai

To Donate: Follow this link http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx and make sure to mention I sent you. Thanks again!