John Robinson's Blog, page 37
July 2, 2016
Day 5 – Journey to Camillus – #JourneytoWork
Day Five – Our biggest fans made a surprise visit at the ends in Camillus. Our friends from the Thomkins County ARC 
came out to join us. There were fifteen people who cheered and greeted us at the end. They made congratulations signs and placed them along the canal. What a great treat ton have surprise fans! It made the end of the 37+ miles journey very special.
We started the day at Clyde NY along Route 31 and rolled through farm land. I love this part of the trail. It has great views of New York and is paved! After four days of stone dust, it is nice to roll a little. But, the trade off is there are large hills to climb. As we rolled along, we made our annual stop at a mennonite farm stand for Strawberries and home made goodies. We make sure we have money in our bike bags knowing we have the farm stand. The hosts of the stand recognized our crew this year. One of our group on Day 5 is Sharon Roegiers – long time friend from Wayne County. She is 5′ 11″ and the mennonite recognized Sharon! I am jealous of her height!
Sharon also had the best wildlife moment on the trip to date. We normally see wildlife along the trail and Day 5 was no 
different. We saw turtle, deer, cattle, vulture, eagles and snakes. It is normal to see garden snakes along the path but on Day 5 we had a special encounter. Sharon went up to take a picture of a different-looking snake (below) and as she approached, it started to coil and wiggle its tail. Yes, New York has some rattlesnakes!
A great day with our biggest crew. We finished in Camillus at 3pm and have now finished 176 miles – more that half way to Albany.
July 1, 2016
Day Four on the Journey Along the Erie Canal – #JourneytoWork
By Priscilla Maddock – Day 4 of the Journey: Fairport to Clyde – 35 miles.
Another glorious day – blue skies and sunshine and low humidity! Our lunch stop was in Newark and lunch was provided 
by the Wayne County ARC – a delicious box lunch – a very kind thing for them to do. We experienced a bit of everything on the trail today – some smooth pavement and beautiful views of the canal, some thick stone dust through the woods, some hills, and a few miles along Route 31. This is such a great group of people to ride with: a true team effort where people take care of each other and provide assistance as needed, each sharing strengths to provide a seamless coordinated whole – for a successful ride.
We stopped in Lyons to visit the Trail of Hope. Mark DeCracker designed and built a trail through multiple garden creations for people of all abilities to enjoy. His initial inspiration came after a friend’s daughter was critically injured in a car accident, confining her to a wheelchair. His vision continues to evolve as he meets and touches people’s lives and hears their stories. The Trail of Hope is now one of the missions for “A Week of Hope”. Through church youth groups and other organizations, individuals can sign up for “A Week of Hope” – an opportunity to do mission work. At the 
Trail of Hope, they learn about gardening and working in the earth, and they can add their own unique touches to the gardens. It is a very, very special place, offering peace, comfort, and hope to all who visit. As the archway at the end of the Trail states, “There is always hope.”
June 30, 2016
Day Three of the Journey Along the Erie Canal
Day three of the Journey Along the Erie Canal, Spencerport to Fairport, is in the books. Today was an easier day for the 
group, as we only did 27 miles on mostly paved trail. What slows us down, and beats up our bodies are the stone dust sections of the trail. Luckily, we have not had rain, so those stone dust paths are not muddy quagmires. Still, they are rough and don’t give John and Doug a chance to coast, so they have to work even harder on this trails.
Each day tends to take on a Groundhog Day quality, as we start where we ended the night before and go through the same routines every morning of unloading the truck, pumping tires and rolling out along the trail.
I’ve never ridden in this part of New York state and I’m very pleased with the beauty of the landscapes. The canal cuts 
through a variety of farms, with fields of golden wheat, corn, onions and apples. You also get to see a variety of birds, turtles, chipmunks and geese. The geese are really unfriendly!
As we roll along, you spend the day riding along side different people. You spend a few minutes talking about a variety of subjects and then you roll onto the next person. We have a really interesting collection of core riders this year, some are strong riders while the majority are only riding the bike to be supportive of Doug and John. But they are all great people and fun to talk to.
The best part of the day for me is when I get to peel off my bib shorts, (it’s not a onesie Andrea!) and jump in the shower. After riding for three or four hours, you are covered in sweat and road dust. You emerge a new person, ready to eat huge quantities of food and hopefully get some solid sleep.
June 28, 2016
Small Towns and Loyal Supporters – #JourneytoWork
By Pam Hamlin – Blogger and Doug’s Biggest Supporter
As a guest blogger I chose to write about the section of the trail between Medina and Spencerport. It is absolutely one of 
my favorite sections to ride! I love riding with the original Canal to my right, the growing cornfields and picturesque wheat fields to my left, and talking to some of my favorite people as we ride our bikes in between.
Today we left from Medina at 9:30 am. It was already a warm 70 degrees with few clouds overhead. A group from Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled from Buffalo made the ride to Medina to see us off. We loved their signs and their enthusiasm and thanked them immensely for their support. It is always fun for us to receive a send-off!! Two special points of interest along the way were the Medina Culvert (the only culvert built under the Erie Canal) and the blue historic marker indicating that we were passing the northernmost point on the Canal. I love reading the town names on the bridges as we ride by, seeing the beauty of the farmland and enjoying being outside in the summertime. We stop to eat our usual lunch of pb&j sandwiches along the trail in Hulberton where my brother-in-law, Steve, also replenishes our supply of cold water. It’s important to 
stay hydrated!! As we continue on our way my right calf is slowly getting sunburned (a unique problem when pedaling the Canal from west to east!). We arrive in Spencerport mid afternoon. I love seeing the white gazebo on the Canal, the local Erie Canal Museum and the Hometown Hero banners on the town lampposts.
This is my fourth year riding with Our Ability. I continue to enjoy the camaraderie of this wonderful group of people, the spectacular beauty of New York State, and the history of the Erie Canal. It continues to be a special ride, with special people, for a special cause.
New trails, new riders, new speed records. #JourneytoWork
By Doug Hamlin, Our Ability – see more on Facebook
The second day of Journey 2016 was awesome! Senator Ortt, Kevin Kerins from the Canal Corp, Community Services 
for the Developmentally Disabled and Opportunities Unlimited were there to see us off and remind us just why we do
this thing!
High praise for the Canal Corporation for trail upgrades between Tonawanda and Lockport. We got to our lunch in Lockport is a record (for us) two hours. Nothing wrong with Lake Effect Ice Cream before noon. This was my sister Priscilla’s first full day on the ride with us. She did a great job. Now we have to break it to her that we do it all again tomorrow (and the next, and the next …).
Trish’s friend Mark joined us today as well on his way cool recumbent bike.
Our trip from Lockport to Medina was HOT! Good pace though, nice hard packed stone dust and great conversation made the time fly. Many thanks to the Medina Chamber of Commerce for greeting us with cold water and great enthusiasm.
Finally, our very good friends Trish, Paul and especially Rosie Zdep (the chef) made us an awesome dinner at their home.
Moving day tomorrow (to Country Inn in Rochester) as we make our way from Medina to Spencerport.
June 26, 2016
Prologue for Journey 2016 – #JourneytoWork
Day one was the opposite of last year. While it rained last year in Buffalo, today we had a beautiful sunny day leaving Canalside Park. We cycled the 14 miles along the Niagara River in the 
mouth of the Erie Canal with 15 people. As we approach the end, we realized how hot we will be in the next few days.
Much like life, we had our obstacles. We had our first injury of the morning with skinned knee and sprained ankle. Doug lost his brakes completely halfway through today’s ride. Thankfully we were in a flat area and the fence was able to “break” is momentum.
We arrived at our destination to find our kids jumping in the river. Summer fun for all.
Our evening was capped off with a wonderful party as it always is at John and Priscilla Maddock’s home in Amherst New York. Priscilla is Doug Hamlin’s sister. Priscilla will be joining us on all 12 days this year!
Tomorrow we are joined buy friends from Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled in Buffalo and will be kicked off the meet and greet with New York State Senator Robert G. Ortt.
Follow our videos on Facebook or our own Journey page.
June 24, 2016
Margarita Elizondo
My ability is to inspire, inform, break down perceptional barriers, and create ability awareness through my professional success and as an active advocate and speaker.
June 18, 2016
Ideals and Ideas for the Millennials
Last month, I took an opportunity to speak in front of a hall of business professionals. This event was designed for audience members to learn about young people and their role within the workforce. My purpose at this event was to advocate and represent the ideals of the millennial generation. That’s over 75 million individuals.
Liam Ouellette – Millennial Expert
I was born in 1994. I study Communication Theory and Broadcasting at a New Hampshire university. I’ve held a variety of jobs and internships since I was 13. The first decade of my life was spent outdoors. The second decade was embraced with an iPod in my hand.
This was the first speaking gig that I’ve had in a professional setting. I felt excited to help stimulate a conversation. Far too often I overhear people talking about a certain set of flaws, which are possessed solely by millennials. You know these claims. “Millennials are lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and unreliable”. So, people say these things but obviously it doesn’t apply to every individual born after 1980. That would suggest a pretty bleak future.
While I began delivering my thoughts, I could tell that these people were genuinely interested in what I had to say. I don’t think that the ideas I chose to vocalize that day were significant. I’m saying that I could see true engagement with the audience. What I saw was mutual misconceptions being broken and corrected.
Here’s some of the questions I was asked:
What do you want socially and economically? What are your dreams?
A person’s aspirations are truly personal and will reflect other aspects of their life. However, I do think there is a trend for young people to desire new forms of happiness. For one, there is a ongoing shift away from traditional consumerism. If people do not fixate on physical ownership, they can learn to find enlightenment elsewhere. Personally, I do not have dreams of financial wealth. I see myself living comfortably with a garden, family, and a little extra time to go fishing.
Have you heard these perspectives (everyone gets a trophy), and what is your reaction to this? If you don’t want a trophy, what do you want?
I have only heard the ‘trophy’ concept a few times. My understanding of this belief is that the people my age need constant praise for a job well done. This is a misconception. 15 years of public school has taught me to follow directions, ask for help, and expect feedback. Characteristics of this system are likely to carry over. When I am working a new job, I want to make sure I am performing adequately. I also find comfort in knowing that my work is beneficial to the company. I can only improve if I know where my weaknesses lie.
Liam at Conference
Leadership is a very big challenge for our future. Do you want to lead, and if so what are your expectations around that?
As an Eagle Scout I was fortunate enough to be exposed to leadership at a young age through scouting. Through community service and winter camping expeditions, I learned that community is at the core of leadership. A leader is great when they can empathize, communicate and inspire a group. Government leadership will not be the same in the future. Online, everyone holds the same hierarchical potential. In the modern world, one person cannot effectively represent the ideas of a whole nation.
Liam Ouellette Media Consultant | Millennial Expert | Inbound Marketing for @grapevinemktg.
