Hello again!
I haven’t posted on here in a long time! I’m considering writing stuff on here again.
Tracks
Sorry, forgot to end this. 6 months later.
Hello followers and future fans,
I just wanted to say that I did indeed finish.
My last post from the glorious day that I biked into San Francisco is below, but first a short news-flash:
Six months later, I am one of the few on my team of 26 that still bike. Last week I cycled ~30 miles near Baltimore, where I attend college at UMBC. I still have my tan lines. I haven’t eaten a Cliffbar since returning, and the thought makes me want to vomit, although I have eaten two peanut butter sandwiches. My jersey, signed by all of my friends, hangs on my wall. Career-wise, I have around a year left, and then I will be hopefully beginning my medical school applications after graduating with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This year in terms of the 4K, I will be mentoring the new 2012 riders, trying to help them get acquainted with their new cycles and illustrious lifestyle.
Thank you once again for all the support. I will update this blog with more articles later on.
Last post from my 2011 ride is below:
“Hello Everyone,
I would like to thank everyone who supported us monetarily or emotionally throughout this journey of a lifetime. I had the opportunity to see the Midwest as well as the Old West of America, and it was splendid! Perhaps in the future I may see moving out to the Midwest as more of a possibility. I really enjoyed seeing the simple lifestyles that those people lived in, in contrast to our multifaceted lives as residents of Maryland.
Although biking was tough the first few weeks, the group pulled together and strengthened to the point where we were hitting 28 mph in some areas. My group one day completed 20 miles in under 54 minutes, which is pretty fast on a bike. (Basit/Ganesh/Zach)
As we went on we learned that the bike ride was more than an adventure: it was an opportunity to learn about the rest of America and also about the cancer patients everywhere. Anywhere we turned, we saw cancer evoked response from anyone present. It affects everyone, and no one is resilient to its eventful grasp. We spoke to patients, toured cancer facilities, and learned how the disease is more of a life-changer than anything else. Patients in the Midwest would have to drive over an hour to go to cancer treatment facilities.
We dedicated our days to our donors and family, thanking them/ thinking of them in our times of need whilst climbing mountains and biking through the worst atmospheres teeming with bugs and heat.
However, in the end we knew that we had just biked across the country, “biked across the @#%@# country”, as some of my peers would put it. It was more than the destination, it was the journey that mattered the most. 27 bikers, brotherhood runs deeper than friendship. I was glad that my team was so close!
Thank you everyone once again.
-Omar Bukhari”
PS. Three places I would consider living in.
1. Boulder, Colorado.
2. Marion, VA.
3. Austin, NV.
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We got hotel rooms donated for two nights!
Yum!
It’s that time again! The time when I upload the past week’s pictures and (attempt to upload) videos! In the past week we have traveled from Kansas to Colorado, and are currently in Boulder enjoying two days off.
Norton. St. Francis. Yuma. Boulder!
Norton was a quite nice place to stay. The local Lion’s club made us a pancake breakfast before we got up at 3:45 AM to start biking. The night before, Pizza Hut had donated to all of us a chance to dig into their buffet; this was quite an experience because I had never gone to a Pizza Hut and not eaten pizza…
Anyways, the ride to St. Francis that day was quite berserk because of its distance and heat. The ride was approximately 105 miles long, and in the weather, which went up to around 105 Fahrenheit, we as a group had an extremely tough time finishing the ride. It was a great feeling though when we finished and showered at the St. Francis Junior high school, where I met the principal, who was ecstatic about us staying at his place.
The next day on the ride to Yuma, we had a much more enjoyable day. Here, we crossed into Colorado, and also had a fun time with our hosts. I fell off my bike, but I was fine so I continued to bike on. The hosts at night were great; this was our first time having home stays with our hosts. What this means is that we stay at our hosts private homes. My host was a quite scientific character who enjoyed Harry Potter. He spoke to us about this subject at length and then decided to just leave us be in his basement, where his cat subsequently jumped up onto us and did not leave until the night. Before we had gone to this host, we had showered at another person’s home, which was absolutely gorgeous. He had two pianos!
Yesterday’s ride into Boulder was also interesting; 13 miles en route we saw the mountains staring up at us like gates into the final level of a video game! Here we were at around 4000 ft above sea level. As we got closer to our goal, the mountains loomed over us high above and were absolutely stunning! These were the Rockies! I took a ton of pictures, having to be the group photographer, and we carried on through this new pathway. On this day I had a flat tire, and total my team had 8 flats throughout the day.
It was great finishing this ride, as we had the chance to meet the Portland team! This team is going towards Oregon! I had a great opportunity to meet up with my friend Chris Lubas from UMBC, who I had been looking forward to meeting since the beginning of the trip. We spoke at great length about everything that had been going on, and as both of our teams ate dinner together at the church where my team was staying, Chris and I had a good dinner with others from both teams, including Alex Turowski, Greg and Brian (Portland).
After the dinner, both teams went out to celebrate.
Today I went to a July 4th barbeque! The food was great and I thank the parents who are helping out with our ride! They are such a great addition, and their help definitely takes a brick off our ride director’s backs.
Boulder, Colorado is a stunning town! Its just like the prime outlets back home in MD, but even larger! And this is with a huge mountain in the background! The town is also a haven to many cyclists, and I believe I see more cyclists than cars. I will most likely be considering CO for medical school!
Anyways, tomorrow is another day off and then we head into the Rockies! Hopefully they will not be too rough, but I have heard about altitude problems that some past riders have had.
We’ll see…
Today we rode 66 miles to Yuma Colorado from St. Francis KS! I am so tired I could sleep right now. Anyways, I am now in Mountaintime (est -2) and this is a video of the dude driving us to the church after he let us use his showers! His house was soooo nice!
We stayed at the First Presbytarian Church member’s homes in Yuma!
Video blog post from day 30!
4k new records
Ganesh Swaminathan biked without touching the handle bar for 77 miles, Rosemary Patterson rode without having a water break for 87 miles, and me stood up biking nonstop for 80 miles.
4k records!
In Alma Nebraska!
Today we biked 90 miles to Alma, crossing the Republican river to this town of 1,200 folk. After our arrival, we stopped at a Dairy Barn to celebrate doing the ride in less than 7 hours!