Elle Cornman

Bike the US for MS Participant | Intramural Sports Official | Class of 2020

“I wanted to have some kind of adventure. It was my last summer really before my senior year, and I had a friend who had done it in the past. I just saw pictures of him doing it and I thought it was so cool.” 

During the summer of 2019, alumna Elle Cornman embarked on a journey across the country. With adventure on her mind and countless hours of training under her belt, she and 25 people began riding their bikes in Yorktown, Virginia with an end destination of San Francisco, California. 

The group rode with Bike the US for MS, an organization that organizes adventure bike trips in order to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis (MS). Having spent roughly two months on the road, Cornman fondly remembers her trip on two wheels.

“A lot of my favorite memories were really spontaneous things that kind of happened on the side. One time while we were biking in Nevada, we went past this sand mountain. This guy on his dune buggy let us get on and whip around on it in the sand, which was really cool because I hadn’t done that before.”

“[The coolest part was] everybody from all over the world coming together, meeting, and going on this wild adventure together. They were people that I normally wouldn’t have met otherwise if it weren’t for this trip.” 

Being on a bike for two months comes with its own set of hardships and obstacles.

“We would bike rain or shine, and sometimes being on the bike was the last thing I wanted to do. I would be super sore, it’d be pouring rain and cold, and I just wouldn’t want to do another mile. But, there’s always a way. We always found a way to keep going.” 

“What keeps you going is the fact that you are doing it for such an amazing cause. I don’t think I would’ve done it without an organization like Bike the US for MS.”

Sometimes even the hardest days end with the greatest outcomes.

“We went through Monarch Pass, which is the highest point at like 11,000 feet of elevation, so that was a really challenging day. It was so cool though because when you get to the top, there was snow on the top of the mountain in July. So, we had a snowball fight at the top of the mountain in the middle of July.”

Adventure can sometimes be paired with hesitation. Corman gives some advice to aspiring bikers to combat the uncertainty.

“[Something] to say to people considering doing it is, I had never biked like this before. I had gone on my family stroll with my cousins and whomever, but it’s really something that you can decide to do and if you have a good plan, anyone willing to set their mind to it can do it. It’s not a race; you’re just going out there to experience it.” 

Rounding out the life-changing trip, Cornman was able to reflect on the experience.  

“It gave me a sense of being stronger than I actually know. I think I am more of an introverted person, but the fact that I can draw strength from saying that I biked across the country makes me feel like I can really do anything. It’s something that makes me proud.”

Cornman, who graduated this past May, now resides in Blacksburg working as an optomoly technician. Still having a passion for riding, Cornman has aspirations of becoming a route leader for a different cross country ride in the future.