Jacob's Ride Finale

Carolyn Smaka: Jacob Landis is a cochlear implant recipient from Annapolis, Maryland and has just finished an interesting mission to help afford others the same opportunity he has had to receive a cochlear implant. We covered Jacob’s Ride over the summer, now the Ride has ended and Jacob is back to tell us about the finale.  Tell us about Jacob’s Ride.

Jacob Landis: I started Jacob’s Ride to raise money for people who need a cochlear implant but cannot afford it.  I am a huge baseball fan and often watch Orioles games in my home state.  I decided to put two of my passions together, baseball and cycling, and try to raise money.  I just completed a cross-country cycling trip to all 30 baseball stadiums.  But I am still raising money to help others receive a CI. Donations can be made on my website, www.jacobsride.com or by texting JACOB to 50555 for a $10 gift to the Hearing Loss Association of America.

Carolyn: How was the HLAA convention in Portland?

Jacob: I'm so glad that I was able to attend the HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America) Convention in June. Biking from Seattle to Oakland was one of the hardest parts of the trip, in both miles and terrain. I was riding nearly 100 miles per day, into the Cascade Mountains and it rained almost the entire time. The logistics were also complicated because I cycled into Klamath Falls, OR, and then had a 75 mile drive to Medford, where I flew with my sister, Sarah, to Portland for the Convention. I was only in Portland for 1 night, when we arrived in Medford the next day, we had to drive 75 miles back to Klamath Falls to begin riding again but it was well worth it.

The convention was amazing. I met so many people with hearing loss. I delivered a speech at the opening night ceremony, and I believe that helped the Ride start to gain momentum. Before the convention, we were only attracting a few dozen people to the ballgames with the exception of the Boston Red Sox game, but after the convention, most of the games had over 100 people attend to support my Ride. I will definitely be attending next year's HLAA Convention in Austin and will be part of Austin 100 Young Adults. I can't wait to see a lot of the people I met again.

Carolyn: What was your experience like in California?

Jacob: I spent a lot of time in California. I hit the hottest weather of the Ride during a massive heat wave in the Central Valley area. It was nearly 110 degrees by 3pm every day. Cycling into Oakland was a major relief because it was the hardest leg in California. Plus Oakland was really hilly. I had over 15 categorized climbs (3% grade for at least 1 km) on the last 30 miles to the ballpark.

In San Francisco, I met the pitching coach of the Giants, Dave Righetti. One of his daughters, Nicolette, has a cochlear implant. Dave signed my scorecard and told me that it should be me giving him an autograph instead. That was a proud moment for me.

Leaving the Bay Area and heading to Los Angeles was a pretty good ride. Crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I climbed my first category 1 climb (anything harder than category 1 is considered 'beyond category'). LA was relaxing because I had 6 days off the bike for the All-Star break.  I was able to stay with my brother who has been living in LA for about 5 years. The highlight of the LA trip was the opportunity to meet my cochlear implant surgeon, Dr. John Niparko. Dr. Niparko rode his bike with me for about 20 miles as part of a bike-along by Jax Cyclery. The next night, he took my sister and me out to dinner. 

Also in California, I spent a day at Advanced Bionics headquarters. Advanced Bionics really helped get the Ride started with their sponsorship, so it was great to meet the people in Valencia that have supported me from the beginning.

Carolyn: What came after the two Los Angeles games?

Jacob: The ride to Phoenix was not as hot as I had been warned. It was hot, but the Central Valley of California was hotter. What was worse was the mountains. Anaheim is dominated by big hills, and then the ride to Palm Springs, 29 Palms, and Joshua Tree was very hilly. It never really flattened out until I crossed a bridge into Arizona. It was 4 days of 100 miles each to get to Phoenix. This is where I began getting a lot of flat tires. Almost two flats a day between Phoenix and Denver. 

Carolyn: What was it like cycling in the Rockies?

Jacob: I loved cycling the Rockies. Because of their reputation, when I designed the Jacob’s Ride schedule, I doubled the amount of time that it would take to travel to Denver. It was really nice to go from riding nearly 100 miles a day to only about 60-75 miles daily. The mountains were hard climbing, but with minimal pressure. Getting to the top of a pass and seeing the Summit sign made me feel on top of the world. A typical 20 mile leg (breaking the 60 miles into thirds) would be about an hour and a half of climbing the first 13 miles, and then 10 or 15 minutes to complete the last 7 miles. There were more valleys than I imagined. After the Cumbres Pass and La Manga Pass outside of Chama, New Mexico, we were in a valley for almost two days as we rode through Alamosa, CO. 

Carolyn: I heard you had quite a big turnout in St. Louis.

Jacob: Yes, St. Louis was incredible. I met so many kids with implants at three deaf schools I visited. We had nearly 300 people come out to the Cardinals game, and I believe that there were nearly 75 kids there. I have never signed autographs before, but every kid wanted me to sign their shirt. It was really fun. I was kicked out of my seat by an usher because of the attention I was receiving! I had to sit up at the top of the section after that happened. Meeting all of the kids was very rewarding because they are the next generation. If they know that although they are different, they are very well-equipped for life, they will succeed.

Carolyn: Tell me about your visit to Kansas City.

Jacob: In Kansas City, I had the opportunity to meet many deaf people because I was invited to attend a special open captioned drive in movie event  and was introduced to the crowd.  Everyone was using sign language, and I am not fluent in sign any longer. I am very familiar with signing though and I pick it up quickly. I met a lot of people with cochlear implants who use sign language. It was really awesome to meet all of them and have their support. I'm glad the capital-D folks and implanted people are really coming together. I used the basic signs that I could remember in combination with mouthing and lip-reading to communicate effectively with everyone there. At the Kansas City Royals baseball game, we had over 200 people supporting me which was the biggest crowd of all the games. I did not sit with the supporters during the game because the Royals honored me with a special front row seat called the Buck O'Neil seat in honor of a Negro League catcher. It is a tremendous honor to sit in that seat so I could not turn them down.  Usually I would prefer to forgo the good seats to sit with the supporters in the bleachers. But, I did have the opportunity to meet the supporters at a pregame tailgate party.

Carolyn: Congratulations on making it to every stadium, despite obstacles, like the accident near the end of your Ride. What happened?

Jacob Landis finishes his ride in Miami

Jacob: I don't actually remember the accident because I fell off my bike and had a concussion. I was cycling on Route 27 South between Tampa and Miami when the mirror of a tractor trailer truck clipped me. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance and suffered the concussion, a broken nose, fractured both cheeks and hurt my arm.  It's been 8 days since the accident and I'm still limited to using just one arm and hand. I’m slowly improving. The scrapes and road rash on my face are almost all cleared up but my left arm is in severe pain. I'm incredibly thankful that I was hit at the end of the Ride and was able to complete over 10,000 miles. I was able to raise a lot of awareness and donations before the Ride ended. I was driven the last 180 miles of the Ride to the final ballpark in Miami, so I did make it to every stadium, I just didn't bike to the last one. I'm thankful that my cousin, Jack was with me on the road.  Jack drove the chase van for the entire Ride but decided to cycle with me the last few days

Carolyn: How was the Jacob’s Ride finale in Miami?

Jacob: The finale was great considering the fact that I was still very much recovering from my injuries. The night I arrived in Miami was very memorable because I saw my parents for the first time since May. I also visited with Eileen Jones, Founder of the Gift of Hearing Foundation who worked tirelessly to make the Ride a success. Whole Foods Market North Miami held a party in my honor which was truly special. I received a $10,000 check from Advanced Bionics, the manufacturer of my cochlear implant, and met so many wonderful people.

Honestly, I am just glad I was still alive to be there! I arrived back into Annapolis on Saturday night, it's just good to be home.

Carolyn: What's next for you?

Jacob: It's too soon to say. The cause is not over, I think I will be working on raising awareness about cochlear implants for the rest of my life. I know for sure that I am not going to ride 10,000 miles again soon. I still have a lot to organize and put away from the Ride. I need to start earning money again in the near term. As for cycling I have been thinking about a ride from Key West to the top of Alaska.

Carolyn: Thank you, Jacob.  You've been an inspiration and best of luck to you on your future adventures!