New Years in July

Something I realized after February rolled around and the couple of New Year's resolutions I'd made had started to fade was that January 1 is a lousy time of year for making resolutions. The weather for the next 2-1/2 months pretty much stinks and a lot of keeping up resolutions comes down to our emotional state at the time. I thought to myself, "If only the first week of April was the time when our civilization decided what they were going to change, I bet we'd see a lot more people keeping their resolutions." Certainly not 100% of us would keep them but I bet a few more would. So here's your chance!

I'm challenging each and every one of you to change something in your life. Specifically, I'm asking you to look at your spending habits and find something that you're spending money on that is neither good for you nor really truly makes you happy. For me, it's energy drinks/ candy at work. I like it but it's really not good for me nor does it really make my day. Maybe for you it's a daily lunch at McDonald's or Taco Bell. Or maybe your 5 cups of coffee every morning. Or something more extravagant, perhaps. Maybe you feel compelled to go see movies every weekend. Or your video game addiction. Maybe you keep buying apps for your iPhone or Android. Whatever it is, here's what I want you to do: figure out how much money your addiction/habit costs you each month, resolve to set that money aside, and at the end of July (or several times during the month if that's helpful) give that money towards finding a cure for ALS.

This money does NOT go to help me out on the road; it's going to help people who are dying of a terminal disease; people in many cases who do not have good insurance and this disease is costing them money they don't have. By giving up your entrenched habit you are becoming healthier AND helping a person that literally can't help themselves. And this doesn't have to end on July 31st! I would really encourage you to continue this on an ongoing basis. But at least for 1 month. It won't kill you and it's literally helping to save lives. How about it, guys? And if you need accountability, email me at wrosselet@yahoo.com for ongoing morale support! Together, real change is possible.

PS: Donations can be made directly on the right side of my blog at the link "Donate to Wes' Cause". This page goes directly to my 3rd party event page on The ALS Association's website. All that money goes directly to find a cure and care for ALS patients.

Vlog #2: A Ride to Gettysburg and an Experiment

Vlog #2

 

Ahhhhh... the peaceful Pennsylvania countryside

 

The Majestic Theater in Downtown Gettysburg, PA

I'd never been to this area of G-burg before. Only the National Military Park and Visitor's Center.

Something Worth Fighting

Ya know that stuff that you do every single day but don't even think about? Stuff like walking, talking, giving a hug, chuckling, burping, sneezing and all that? We all do it without even thinking. It's just normal, everyday stuff that almost every person on the planet does. When we see something hilarious on TV we let the laughter ripple out from us. When our friends have a bad day we give them a hug and a chance to vent to us. When we're wanting to get out and enjoy nice weather we go for a walk or a bike ride or a drive through the countryside with the windows down. Now take just a second and imagine with me. No seriously, imagine with me. Imagine that all those things were gradually taken away from you. Little by little, you lost your ability to walk. Then one day your speech started becoming slurred and it was a little harder for people to understand you. And then you started having to write down what you wanted to say. And then your hands stopped working and the only way you could communicate was with your eyes. You couldn't walk or laugh or tell someone how you were feeling. Gradually, you became sealed in between your two ears. You were fully aware of everything going on around you but couldn't express yourself at all. You couldn't eat any of your favorite foods. You couldn't scratch a mosquito bite. You couldn't even wipe yourself in the bathroom. Can you imagine someone having to accompany you into the bathroom to wipe you? This is what people with Lou Gehrig's Disease deal with every single day. But not only this. They also have the knowledge that death is coming quickly. They don't know what day might be their last and they aren't able to tell anyone that they love them or that seeing them made their day better. They are a mind trapped inside a body which knows that death is coming and nothing will prolong their life.

This is something worth fighting. Give an ALS patient some hope and some help today and donate to the search for a cure.

http://webwpawv.alsa.org/site/TR/3rdParty/WesternPennsylvania?team_id=283063&pg=team&fr_id=10596

What I Did This Week

Here's a list of what I did this past week to prepare:

1. I had a tutorial on clipless-pedal bikes from a cycling friend.

2. I arranged for 100 paper brochures to be printed from Minuteman Press on Carlisle St. to aid me in my fundraising ventures.

3. I practiced riding around town on Sunday then rode out of town on Carlisle Rd. (altogether about 10 miles, I think)

4. Contacted REI about corporate sponsorship but was turned down on the basis of health/medical issues not being one of their areas of focus.

5. Contacted Liberty University's Alumni Relations Office but the management was out. Will follow up on Thursday if I haven't heard anything from them.

6. Had my picture taken by York Daily Record for a story they will be releasing shortly.

7. Rode from Hanover, PA to Manchester, MD and back for a total of about 22 miles.

8. I bought candy for fundraising and gloves and sunglasses for riding.

I know what you're thinking! Booooooooriiiiiiinnnnnngggggg! Life isn't always glamorous. I'm still learning to enjoy the mundane aspects of life. There are many of them and they can be wonderful beyond words! For instance, feeling the sunshine and wind on my face as I rode downhill just past the Maryland state border? Inexpressibly wonderful! This trip isn't about getting to San Francisco as much as it is about enjoying riding across the US and seeing people's lives changed as research funding and awareness of ALS are raised. And that's what is great about a bicycle! It keeps things moving slowly enough that very few simple pleasures are missed along the way.

Momentary Darkness

Well after picking up the bike on Sunday evening, I was pumped and ready to start training! I got up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning to ride to work on my new vehicle. That's when the problems began. Riding on the way to work wasn't hard but I realized that this was going to take some practice. My body is in a completely different position with this bike than with any other I've ever ridden. I don't understand how the gears work. And my shoes clip onto the pedals so when I'm coming to a stop, I have to unclip or fall over on my side. Going home was a nightmare. Firstly, I was tired after being at Walmart for roughly 9 hours. Secondly, it was hot outside and I was in my Walmart khakis and navy blue shirt. Thirdly, Hanover's roads were packed. Cars everywhere. I got to a gas station about a 30 minute walk from my house and pulled onto the sidewalk. I was fuming at myself. So angry, irritated and bitter. I stood there for probably 10 minutes just letting negative thoughts spiral out of control while I pissed and moaned on a Facebook status. But eventually I gave myself a pep-talk and decided to walk the rest of the way home. I unclipped my cleats, stuck them in my backpack and headed off for home. The pep-talk helped a lot so I was in a relatively decent mood coming home although I was still sweaty as all get out and stressed about the phone interview I was going to have with The York Daily Record when I got home (which went pretty well if you're wondering).

All that to say, this isn't all super-fun, exciting, thrilling, and inspirational. This is a hard thing I'm doing and I truly realize that. I've been told that it's a rite of passage to go from the kind of bike which I *was* riding to a really serious road bicycle. And a friend told me that if you haven't fallen over with the clipless pedals, you haven't yet joined the club of serious cyclists. So I feel accomplished. I came close to falling over a couple of times on Monday and went all the way once. I'm giving myself a chance to acclimatize to this new style of bike and I'm getting some help tomorrow night from my cycling friend. I am sure there will be more than a couple of times on my cross-country trek when I want to throw in the towel and give up the tour but I'll make it by the grace of God and the help of my friends!

A bike! A bike! My kingdom for a bike!

Well I now have the bike I will more than likely use for my trans-American trip next year. And if I had to sum up the story of how I got it in one word, it would be this: grace. Sheer grace is how this worked out. I didn't realize it going in but this entire thing is literally just bathed in grace. Unmerited, undeserved, reckless. Let me share:

Late last year (I've forgotten exactly when), the bike I was given by my folks suffered setback after setback after setback. Rusty gears, bent wheel frames, popped tire after popped tire. I finally ran out of money to keep fixing it so I gave up and walked to work for a few weeks until a guy at my church lent me his just so I wouldn't have to be walking all winter long. It was only a temporary solution, though, and he'd need it back once the weather started getting nice again. So when this trip idea suddenly came up I thought to myself, "You've only got a temporary bike. You should keep your gym membership so you can keep working out there until you can afford a good touring bike." Now for those of you who aren't aware, new touring bikes *usually* run about $600+ for a decent model. If you want one that is really good quality, you should be prepared to spend $1100 or thereabouts. I hoped that I could maybe get my hands on a second-hand one from a friend for $400ish but my hopes weren't high. So just as I'm thinking about all this a guy from my church posts about a bicycle that he's selling so I decide to pursue it and see if it would meet my needs. It wouldn't. It's a racing bike. BUT, his wife is selling one that probably would and she's more my size too. We talk about it and I do my research and it looks like a really good fit! The only qualms I had were about the money. I've only got $150 and the model of this bike (when new) can run upwards of $1200. This one was only 2 years old so I feared I might have to back out of negotiations due to the prohibitive cost. But when money came up in the discussion, the owner just said "I'll give it to you for $150." Words can't even express my internal reaction. I mean it was almost like giving someone a Lamborghini for a day's work as a janitor! And that wasn't even the end of it. This kind of bike needs cleats. They threw them into the deal without asking for anything more. Those cleats cost about $100 brand new! And even THAT wasn't the end of it! "You need a real helmet; not a Walmart one." Again, no charge! So now for $150 I have a top of the line bike, riding cleats AND a helmet that won't make me sweat my brains out on long stretches! Remember my first post? "It is the Lord!" Yeah. That again. Literally just bewildered right now. Thanks for reading, guys!

Vlog Entry #1: Inspirations

My first vlog entry; wherein I describe my inspirations and reasons for riding my bicycle across the United States for Lou Gehrig's Disease research.