Today marks one week until the beginning of our ride.  There has been a lot of necessary prep work for the trip.  Equipment had to be purchased (i.e. bikes, helmets, tires, cycling shoes and shorts), the route mapped out, meal planning, hotel reservations, and of course, updates for the website.  We thank the Lord that things have been coming together.

Even though we have a map of our overall route, we are still working out the exact distance to be traveled each day.  Our most challenging days (on paper) appear to be days three through five, where we will take on the Appalachian mountains and the hills of Virginia. Thankfully, our house in Syracuse is located at the top of a hill, so anywhere we go, we get practice riding hills.

Since we’re only a week away from the start, we’re beginning to taper (reducing the amount of miles ridden) in order to be adequately rested for the actual trip.  This last weekend we completed a 60 mile ride, but now we are focusing more on cross training by lifting weights and running.  It’s hard to believe a week from today we’ll be out on the road for real and starting on our journey.

We don’t begin our trip for almost two weeks yet, but to be able to bike 476 miles in five days, we’ve been putting in a good deal of time training.  My brother Brian and I (Andrew Koch) began training about 6 weeks ago when we determined we would ride our bikes from our home in Syracuse, NY to church camp in Harrisonburg, VA.  While we are always up for new physical challenges, we wanted to do more than just challenge ourselves physically.  We decided that we would dedicate our ride to a particular cause and ask friends and neighbors to sponsor us by the mile in order to raise money for this cause.   As we thought and prayed about what our cause should be, one in particular came to mind.

For several months our church has been praying for a young woman, Karah, who is the daughter of missionaries in Brazil.  One day she began having eye pain, which gradually became worse and worse, until she had difficulty functioning.  She came to the U.S. seeking a diagnosis.  It took many months to diagnose her illness.  Eventually, she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Unfortunately, there is no known cure for EDS. Standard “treatments” involve combinations of pain management techniques, therapy, home modifications, mobility aids, and support group attendance. While Karah was eventually able to gain some measure of relief from her symptoms and return back to her family in Brazil, she has on-going medical treatment needs which require financial support.

If you would like to partner with us in helping Karah, we ask you to make a donation per mile ridden by us on our way to church camp, or you can contribute any amount you’d like.

Miles	Donation per Mile	Donation Amount
476	.01	$4.76
476	.05	$23.80
476	.10	$47.60
476	.20	$95.20
476	.25	$119.00
476	.50	$238.00
476	.75	$357.00
476	1.00	$476.00