Danny’s Ride

1,000 People
$30 Donation
$30,000 Closer To A Cure
Danny’s Ride has set a goal of raising $30,000 for cancer research by June 6th,2009.  This is a big goal but we have a big challenge – finding a cure for cancer.

Sponsors names will be presented on a certificate with the check for the total amount of money raised.

Please be one of 1,000 people who have had enough with the hurt and destruction cancer has caused.  Thank you.

FACT: Cancer is now the leading cause of death in the United States.

Miles: 81.08 Total
Biking Time: 6 Hours, 14 Minutes, 40 Seconds

Total Trip Miles to Date: 1,792.13

Flat Tires: 19
Drew: 15
Danny: 4

Today was one of the best biking days of the trip.  This says a lot considering how many terrific biking days we have had so far.  The day started as we climbed into the motor home at 6:00 a.m. and headed to the CBS affiliate in Monroe – KNOE.  As soon as Danny arrived, they put him right on the morning show for an interview.  The interview went fantastic!  The anchors asked terrific questions that led Danny right into all the details of the trip and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

KNOE had even called the CBS affiliate in Shreveport, where Danny had interviewed on Tuesday, and had film which they showed while Danny answered some of the questions.  They could not have used Danny’s time any better.  We arrived around 6:15 and left around 6:45.  This allowed us to get an early start on the day.

The weather for the day was absolutely beautiful.  It was relatively cool for this time of year in Louisiana.  There were plenty of clouds with sun shinning through and a light breeze.  We could not have asked for a better day.  By 7:10, we were on the bike and heading east.  We continued on Highway 80 and were treated with light traffic and beautiful scenery.  We biked through heavily wooded areas with swamps on both side of the road at times.  We even saw our first live snake (which we accidentally ran over with our bikes because we didn’t see it in time).

About twelve miles into the ride, I got yet another flat tire.  We quickly changed the tire and continued on our way.

We did not stop for lunch until we were 53 miles into the day.  We stopped at the town of Tallulah.  It was a small town with some of the friendliest people.  Everywhere we went, we made a new friend.  While we were relaxing before getting back on the bike, Greg was stretching beside the motor home with his shirt off.  Two young women, Candice Collins and Pam Knight, pulled up in their car to make a donation.

It turns out, Candice saw Greg with his shirt off and pointed him out to Pam.  When Pam looked at Greg, she saw the motor home behind Greg and said, “Hey!  I saw them on TV this morning!”  So, they pulled the car over and each wrote very generous donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  THANK YOU CANDICE AND PAM!!!

A problem we were going to run into was Highway 80, which we were biking on, did not have a working bridge that we could cross.  In fact, the only bridge in the area was Interstate 20.  In both Louisiana and Mississippi, bicyclists are forbidden from riding on the interstate.  So, as we sat in the Popeye’s Chicken parking lot, I called the Louisiana Highway Patrol.

After explaining what we were doing and why, I told her where we were headed.  “Where are you right now?” she asked.  When I told her, she said, “Oh, we are right next door.  I’ll come out and talk with you.”

So I hung up the phone as I walked around the restaurant I found it was located right next to the Highway Patrol office.  We talked for a couple minutes in person and she said the highway patrol would be happy to provide an escort across the Mississippi River into the state of Mississippi.  We were thrilled and biked another 15 miles before a Highway Patrol car pulled behind us with its lights on.

With the Highway Patrol officer following us and Ken boxing us in from the front, we cautiously biked on Interstate 20.  It was past 4:30 on a Friday afternoon and as you can imagine, people wanted to get home after a long week!  Despite the traffic rush, when drivers saw “Cancer Survivor Biking Across America” on the motor home, we got many supportive honks and waves.  The Louisiana State Patrol guided us across the Mississippi River and we had a beautiful view of the river overflowing its banks.  The State Patrol officer took us to the first exit in Mississippi where we came to a stop at the Mississippi Welcome Center.

Now, we had another another problem.  We still had to get to Highway 80.  Highway 80 did not pick up right on the other side of the Mississippi River.  It was still nearly 5 miles away from where we were.  So, the Louisiana Highway Patrol called the Mississippi State Police and within minutes they were at the Welcome Center to guide us further down Interstate 20.  Vicksburg Police Officers Charles Higgins and Chris Tankesly came to escort us down the busy interstate.

We were exhausted from nearly 80 miles of biking in the sun and had little energy left so our pace, by this point, had dropped considerably.  We expected Officer Higgins and Tankesly to follow behind us in the right lane as the Louisiana Highway Patrol did.  However, the Mississippi Police Car blocked the entire interstate!  By now it was 5:30 on a FRIDAY!  There were hills that slowed us down to 5 mph at times.  After just minutes, vehicles were backed up as far as the eye could see.  So, we kept pedaling.  The officers were extremely professional and had obviously done this before because they knew exactly what to do.  They stayed behind us driving in the middle of the interstate and would speed ahead to stop on ramps as we approached.

As you can imagine, the backup on the interstate continued to grow.  We biked for nearly five miles, which took us approximately twenty-five minutes.  By the time we arrived at our exit, it was around 5:45 p.m. (did I mention Friday evening?).  As we turned onto the exit and cars were allowed to drive past us, there were many honks and gestures that might not have been of the supportive nature.

In fact, one of my favorites was a pickup truck that as it drove by gaining speed, a young man was clapping his hands out of the window.  I thought he was genuinely being supportive of our trip and our mission.  Just before I lifted my arm to wave and thank him, he made a gesture to demonstrate his feelings for his delay.  We had to laugh.  We could only imagine their frustration.

We biked right off the exit to a beautiful new La Quinta hotel.  After hearing Danny’s story, they donated two rooms for the night.  Thank you to La Quinta!  We are taking tomorrow off to rest.  We have covered a lot of miles in the past six days and it is time to listen to our bodies and rest.  We will be back on the bikes Sunday morning.

To view the pictures from today, please click here. The pictures are well worth viewing!