Wednesday August 10 2016 – Frederick
Today we will stay on the bike all day and I will be part of a dozen riders. Before I get to the honorees Shawn Madden and Caden Cozzolino, I have to thank The Bicycle Escape in Frederick for putting up a large team of rider including Tim DuFour. He rode the route yesterday and made the corrections around Main St. in Ellicott City as our hearts go out to a affected by the recent flood. This will be a hot day, but we will grind it out together as the mountains are behind us. We will be styling in our Hill Hiller cycle shirts. These are on sale with all proceeds going to Cool Kids Campaign. See the link below…
Maps for today… Track us live on my Trek Page
We are in the middle of my trek and it is bitter sweet. Here are contrasting stories of memory and survival. Two years ago when I began this, I was supposed to have my friend Shawn Madden as my crew chief. He was fitness, winner many shows and owner two Gold’s Gym franchises. I became friends with him and his wife Heather. He and I had known each other from our TV days… he was a weekend sports anchor for WJZ. But that was a small part of him. He has a love of people and life. But on August 1st in 2014 he died suddenly of a heart attack. It was a disease he knew, but didn’t know how bad. Needless to say it was a lot to regroup for my trek and his wonderful wife Heather to carry on with two small children and their two gyms. She embodies survival and the overwhelming positive spirit Shawn had. That is why I want to focus today to be about survival. It would be what Shawn would have wanted… I do an all day bike today for this part for Heather and their children. We will have a tribute to him with her at Gold’s Gym in Eldersberg around 11 AM.
Then we will pass through Sykesville where we will enter a street festival for our team of 10 and Caden Cozzolino. He was a Cool Kid and is cancer free. His uncle John Rodenhausen reached out to me online and we quickly became friends. He is riding today to celebrate life and family.
Caden Cozzolino – Survivor
From Caden’s parents:
Jon Mueller and John Rodenhausen, will be joining a portion of Justin Berk’s Trek Across MD to benefit Cool Kids Campaign. By taking to our bikes, we will raise awareness and financial support for children battling cancer. Cool Kids Campaign does not endeavor to cure cancer but they are able to help make life a little more bearable for children and their families who are working through the toughest challenge of their lives.
Your generous donation will help Cool Kids to provide a better quality of life for children who are struggling with cancer and their families by giving gift packages, adventures in Baltimore, a vacation at the beach, family mentoring and much more. This is a cause that hits close to home. John’s nephew, Caden, was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. During his three and a half year treatment he and his family fought with all their might.
Thankfully, Caden is now cancer free and he remembers the support received from Cool Kids Campaign. When things were hard, tickets to an event in Baltimore or apparel with the “Cancer fears ME!” motto reminded him that someone cared about him and his fight. These were fun times that gave them a much needed break from doctor visits, medications, fatigue and the relentless burden of fighting this horrible disease.
Now is our chance to give back to those who helped John’s nephew persevere and beat cancer. Background on the riders: Jon and John are no strangers to rides for good causes. In 2011 Beth McGee and John Rodenhausen circumnavigated the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to raise funds for clean water and better health. Jon joined them for the leg that followed the Appalachian mountains from upstate New York to central Virginia. Traveling by bicycle, the Watershed Ride covered 1300 miles in three weeks and touched all 6 states in the watershed. Thanks to our friends and family we were able to donate over $22,000 for the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the American Diabetes Association For many children the fight against cancer continues each day. We hope that you will help a child with cancer to find a reason to smile by making a donation to Cool Kids Campaign today. Thank you! John and Jon
Note that the donation page I am sending you is my portion of the team. This is a collective effort and every penny goes to Cool Kids Campaign for programs that benefit pediatric patients and their families.
More About Why I Do This Trek
By the Numbers: Why 14 and 41 play such a big role
Video: My come from behind track victory 3 years after almost losing my leg
Get A Trek Hill Killer Jersey
All proceeds will go to Cool Kids Campaign
Today’s Trekkers
John Rodenhausen
John works at The Chesapeake Bay foundation. He reached out to me to get involved with the 10K across the Bay Bridge race, but I had to rope him into this trek first. It turns out that he already did a long ride… 1,300 miles long around the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. Plus, since we are honoring his nephew, it was a perfect fit. You want to read about an incredible journey? Check out his blog on this ride here.
Jon Mueller
Jeff Dalik
Team Frederick: The Bicycle Escape
Roger Rinker
Tim Dufour
Carolyn Baker
Wendy Conley
Ed Adams
Tri Sports Junction
Robert Muhl
Jamie Sullivan
Track our Trek
- Trek Home Page– includes live tracking and more background stories.
Live broadcasts will be on Facebook. Most photos throughout the day will be posted on Twitter and Instagram. Videos will be posted on YouTube.
- Twitter: @JustinWeather
- Instagram: justinweather
- Facebook: Justin Berk, Meteorologist
- YouTube: Justin Berk
Big Thank You to our headline sponsor Ledo Pizza
Get the award winning Kid Weather App I made with my oldest son and support our love for science, weather, and technology. Our 3 year anniversary of the release and our contribution to STEM education is this November. It has been downloaded in 60 countries, and works in both temperature scales. With your support we can expand on the fun introduction to science and real weather.