It's still not a real thing...but it's close....

As I'm writing this blog I'm sitting on my couch at my house in College Station. There's quite a few reasons that this is a weird feeling considering I spent my whole sophomore year in this house. A lot of great and not so great memories surround it but that isn't the weird feeling I'm getting right at this moment. The weird feeling I'm getting now is one that involves the future and not the past. The next time I'm in this house, on this couch, will be in July. It'll be our last night of the trip before we arrive in Georgetown and though it seems pretty far away at this point it really isn't. The next time I'm in this house I, as well as the two other riders and Davis, will be roughly 100 miles from our destination, which is weirdly kind of scary. At that point we'll have 1700 miles of road behind us, experienced 21 different state parks, multiple flats and hopefully (fingers crossed) no accidents. Everything we have worked for and built up to for two years will have become a memory and something complete rather than something unknown.

Quite honestly I feel like that day will never come and will probably feel that way until I'm sitting on this very couch again writing a blog about the day and how we covered x amount of miles in x amount of time and can't wait to see our families the next day. But until then I continue to sit and wonder just what that day will feel like. July 6th of 2013 is nothing but a dream, something in my imagination, until we actually get back here.

But until then here's what's to come in the next week or so. We are still gathering everything we need in order to make this trip happen, and after a 40 mile ride in the wind yesterday I'm confident in the machine I'll be riding. All riders are in Georgetown and can't wait to depart on this adventure, or journey, or whatever you would like to call it. Our truck and trailer logos are in and ready to become an icon for 30 days.

Remember that this blog will become a daily thing after our last pre-ride post next week. Weekly we'll be uploading videos as well so you can see some of the scenery we'll get to enjoy and all the crazy camp sites we get to stay at. Lastly, keep an eye out for one last video before the trip that Davis Emmert will be uploading fairly soon. We always get excited about his work and so should you.

Since the beginning...

Hey everyone, my name is Evan Hibbs, and I am another one of the riders going on the cycling journey. Laine and I are the two individuals that brainstormed up the idea for this bike trip. He and I share a sense of adventure and affinity for endurance sports that combined with our desire to do something for others on a large scale, which snowballed into a cross-country cycling trip. After Mrs. Melikian passed it became obvious to us what our cause was going to be centralized around, cancer. After struggling for a few months on who we would be riding for and where the proceeds would, Laine told me that he had been giving a lot of thought to a new direction he wanted to go. A few weeks after that Wendie’s Wish was official and our ride now had a purpose and a cause to benefit. All in all, I have been in this journey with Laine since the beginning. However, my contribution to the workings of the organization has been minimal. The organization is Laine’s brainchild, and he has done very well with it to this point. I have worked primarily with the Ride for the Wish, trying to organize that and make it as simple and feasible as possible.

As the past few months have gone by and the trip gets closer I have been thinking about why, besides my love of adventure, do I want to do this. What has been motivating me? Laine and I are very close friends, and I know that it was a difficult experience to have his mother pass at such a young age. I can’t imagine how tough it was, and I want to be there for my friend when it counts. That has been something that has motivated me since the beginning of our journey. The best example of what really lights my heart on fire for our cause is our newest beneficiary Charlie. Charlie is a four-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with leukemia. In my opinion, letting something as meaningless as money keep a four-year-old boy from getting life-saving medical care is indescribably inhumane. I want to do everything I can to make sure that people like Charlie, that can’t make money for themselves, have a way to overcome the financial obstacles that our society places in their way. I use that to keep my emotional fire going.

I’m finding that my motivation is building, as the trip gets closer too. I cannot wait to get out on the road with my friends and teammates. This experience that awaits me is going to be something that sticks with me and benefits me for the rest of my life. I hope to take what I learn with my friends on our trip and use it to make bigger and better events that will make a bigger and better impact on good causes.

Wendie's Third Son

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Hey guys, my name is Cameron Foreman and I am one of the four riders going on the bike trip!  Ever since Laine and Evan told me about this wild idea two years ago I’ve been longing to be a part of it.  I’m really excited for the adventure that awaits us as well as the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself.

I want to take this time to tell you about my relationship to the Wendie’s Wish cause.  Laine and I have been best friends since the 1^st grade and I’ve been very close to his family these past 13 years.  The news of Mrs. Melikian’s illness hit very close to home because of the constant interaction with her and the Melikian family I had growing up.  I can still remember the paralysis that overcame my body when Laine told me how little time the doctor’s had given her.   It is easy to see why Wendie’s Wish is something I want to support as much as I can, and I feel that spreading awareness through this bike trip is the least I can do.

As the ride gets closer I’m becoming more and more anxious to get in the best shape possible and be as prepared as I can be.  I also look forward to the adventure and fellowship that lies ahead with some of my best friends.  It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to do something so crazy with the ones you love, so I’m going to enjoy this trip as much as I can and try be as much of an outlet to the cause that I can be.

Middle: Cameron Foreman

For the first time in a long time I'm doing nothing...

Today has been a weird day and this week will be weird for a lot of college students. In college this weird thing happens where your parents send you off to college and you spend all this time making new friends. However, you forget that in May all those people will go back to where they came from and you will do the same. No more tests, homework, quizzes, all nighters, or tireless meetings with professors.

Two years ago when Evan and I first planned this trip I wasn't thinking about this awkward phase we call summer. Last summer I came home and immediately started working as an intern at First Baptist Church in Georgetown. I took no down time and I liked it that way.


This year is different. This year I left College Station and all my friends and on the two hour drive here I thought to myself "I have nothing to do..." I have no 9-5 job, scheduled class, youth ministry meeting, or date night with my girlfriend. Thinking about it kind of scared me honestly, because I love being busy. Outside of intense training, getting my eating habits back on track, one wedding, and a few days in Sanger, Texas I have nothing to do with my life until June 9th when we leave on this trip.


But this is a good thing. Because the truth is, I have so much to do until we leave still! I will finally spend my time looking for sponsors for the trip, gathering all the supplies we need, working on my bike, getting designs for the truck finalized,  and DELIVERING YOU GUYS YOUR SHIRTS. I'll get to focus on something that I love so much and is so dear to my heart and can fully focus on this one thing without distractions of school or business.

So what does this mean for you guys? It means that I am finally fully focused on the people we want to serve. That all the things and ideas that have been set aside will be looked at and monitored. It means that you will frequently see a shirtless kid with tattoos all over his back running around town and you're just going to have to accept it.

Lastly I just want to continue to ask for your prayers. Prayers for the riders, for sponsorship, for continual donors, and lastly for the Lord to continue to bring us more people to help. This week we were fortunate enough to interview with someone else who needs our help at Wendie's Wish. I can confidently tell you there is no greater blessing than to hear the stories of these people and know that we can be a small answer to their own prayers.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures and media. Be on the look out for one more video before the trip!)