Anyway, we finally made it to our residence for the remainder of our pre-ride journey. We are staying with a Fiji Graduate Brother named Jeff here in Oceanside. He is the man and we are so fortunate to have a place as nice as this to stay! We all made a trip to the grocery store this evening and bought some food to cover our meals over the course of the next few days and then feasted on some of Jeff’s home-cooked spaghetti. I cannot explain how nice it was to have something besides gas station snacks or fast food for the first time in 3 days.

Tomorrow we are all going to contact some cities along the route and try to find lodging, as well as go out on a 50 mile training ride. We have a busy couple of days before the ride begins and I cannot wait to dip my rear wheel in the Pacific Tuesday as we begin the venture of a lifetime!

Tyler

The days are counting down to the official start of the ride next Tuesday, May 25th. All of the guys are excited for what this summer has in store for us and all of the opportunities we will have to spread our cause across the nation. Currently, 5 out of the 7 guys are trekking across America in a Chevy Suburban while hauling our support trailer. The other 2 will fly out on Thursday to meet the group. Our pre-ride plans include a couple training rides, going to LA to watch the individual team time trial stage of the Tour de California (can’t wait!), enjoying a day at the beach to relax, as well as a kickoff event in Los Angeles in hopes to raise some money for the cause and gain some media attention.

While driving with our support vehicle/trailer and signage today, we had several people at gas stations ask us about what in the world we were doing. It was neat to share our story with them and hand out some informational cards. One man in Texas even gave us a donation! If we already have people taking notice before the ride has started, I can’t imagine the potential this ride will have to spread awareness for Alzheimer’s disease this summer.

Tyler
Keep up with us and we’ll keep you entertained! This is going to be a trip to remember.

My father, Barrett Cummings, was a retired fireman who served at Ft. Breckinridge and Ft. Knox. He was a builder. He was a loved husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather. He was a deacon at Northside Baptist Church. He was Mason dedicated to his lodge. The most important of those to me is… he was my Daddy. To Tyler, who dedicated this ride to him, he was his Papaw.

We lost who he used to be years ago. Although he was here with us physically, he wasn’t the same man he used to be. He knew us all to the end. And for that, we are so thankful. The last 4 years of his life we spent taking care of him and spending time with him even though he couldn’t relate to us as he used to. Alzheimer’s took that ability away from him.

There were many people that supported my dad and our family during the last 5 years or so. The stress of daily living with Alzheimer’s is something one can only understand after they have lived it. Bathing, eating and other normal daily routines are no longer routine. The person living with Alzheimer’s needs constant care. The stress on a family to go about necessary things such as jobs etc compounded with constant care giving is enormous. Life is no longer the same. Vacations, holidays, family get-togethers are all different. My dad couldn’t leave the house and be comfortable. Therefore, we adapted to his needs. The constant care that’s required takes a toll physically and mentally on the family.

The time it took to take care of my dad wasn’t a choice. He always took care of us and it was a “no-brainer’ that we would take care of him. Seeing firsthand the decline in his health was very hard. I thank God that he was able to know us all until the end. The memories we have of him are wonderful but were gone in what seems like an instant. It’s hard to remember him as he used to be. Looking over old photos reminded me of how he used to be. He liked to think he could play the guitar. He bought me one for Christmas one year and we would strum the chords and sing like we were great. When Tyler was about 4, my dad played the same guitars with him. We have pictures of each of us with him. Those are the memories that remain.

My hope is that these young men will raise money to help in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. There have been many new developments in the fight for a cure. I pray that other families will not have to endure the heartaches that this disease causes. Alzheimer’s touches so many lives. I applaud these guys for taking on such a monumental task. I thank them for dedicating the ride to my Dad. I hope that you will support such positive efforts by young people that want to make a difference in the world. Whether you have a personal relationship with our family, one with another of the riders or have been touched by this disease in your own family; I hope that you will support these guys and this cause. Thanks, Lori Jury

As of Sunday at 8:25 EST, we are in 12th place in PEPSI voting.  We need YOU”RE HELP to get back into the top ten and the money.  Go to http://www.refresheverything.com/fijisacrossamerica to cast your vote.  You can vote once a day for the rest of the month with each email account you have.

Thanks,

Cameron

Don’t Forget to vote for us at www.refresheverything.com/fijisacrossamerica

We also have been having some great success in raising awareness to the people of WKU. A few fraternity brothers, special shoutout to Bo Armstrong and Erin Pennington, set up a booth in the Downing University Center and were able to tell people about the ride and get them to vote on their laptops for the Pepsi Refresh challenge.

The ride is approaching quickly and we certainly are doing our best in spite of being in college to raise as much awareness as we can and also train our bodies for the rigorous journey. Don’t forget to do your part by voting for us in the pepsi challenge, check out our website, donate time or money, and also just send us encouraging notes about what this ride has meant to you. As Wade Haga says, “You don’t have to ride your bike across the country to make a difference,” so help us out and find a way to invest in the Fijis Across America trek across the US for Alzheimer’s.

Sincerely,
Chaz Vittitow

Over the past couple weeks I have been growing more and more confident about our cause.  I have received emails from people i’ve never met telling me how much they appreciate what we are doing.  It is pretty obvious to me that the growing number of people contacting me about the ride corresponds to the increased media attention we have received lately.  My thanks goes to Erin Holaday, a member of UK’s marketing and news staff.  After a twenty minute interview with her, we showed up in two newspaper articles and several internet information pages.  Check out these and other media attention on our media page or below.  I also want to thank everyone who has contacted me about the ride.  Your support motivates me to keep training and getting the word out to raise some much needed cash for Alzheimer’s research.

-Cameron

P.S. KEEP VOTING!

KY Kernel Student Newspaper

Kernel Editorial

Art-to-Art Palette Blog

UK Facebook Page

UKNOW Story

To vote for Fijis Across America on www.refresheverything.com .  Go online every day in April to vote with every email address you have plus with your facebook account.  The idea is currently in 9^th place, so keep voting to keep them in the running for $25,000!