Steamboat Springs, CO 42 Miles

First of all, thank you to everyone for leaving comments. They really mean a lot to me and definitely inspire me to keep this blog up to date. Knowing that there are those of you out there reading this makes a big difference, THANKS!!!

Todays ride was really nice and a great change of pace before our toughy tomorrow. We rode 42 miles, flat most of the way, to Steamboat, another ski town but with a very nice small town feeling. This was hands down the most beautiful ride of the trip so far for me. Take a look for yourself though. Today I rode with Winston and Ben, we had a fun time just moseying along playing games, chatting, and even singing a few country songs. One of our riders, DJ Miller, took the day off so he could take some video to make a small presentation to be shown at Supreme Chapter in a month or so. That should be pretty neat knowing that they will all see what one of our days are like. Once in Steamboat we made runs to the bikeshop and bookstore for a bunch of guys. I re-wrapped my handlebars to have a bit more padding for the long tough ride ahead of us tomorrow. We have a lot of climbing PLUS 115 miles. Unfortunately my legs feel the worst they have all trip. Once I get stretched and warmed up in the morning I should be fine though. Today's friendship visit took place at a few different group homes, one of which a man named Kelly lived at. He was a riot though, he was so into his WWE wrestling and loved telling us all about it and his many travels as well. He was a very energetic, fun, and easy to talk to guy. Thats him and I in the picture. Following the visit we ate at a steakhouse that was pretty awesome. You actually buy your cut of meat from a butcher-style stand in the restaurant, then take it to the large grill and cook it however you want. It was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time. At dinner we also got to meet Mr. Bruce Rogers, the founder of Journey of Hope. He and a few of his friends will be joining us on our ride tomorrow and possibly all the way to Denver. He seems like a great guy and I am looking forward to riding with him tomorrow and getting to know him better. After dinner we got the cars all cleaned up so that they are looking sharp for Denver. We have basically just been relaxing for tomorrows ride since then.

Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Well, we had our third 90 mile day in a row which has definitely taken a toll on the team. Spirits are still really high but our legs are telling us otherwise! The ride was pretty nice with a lot of wildlife. We saw some deer and a ton of antelope, some that were very mature animals. Anyway, I'm sure most of you have seen rolling hills, well today was rolling mountains. It was pretty incredible how many up and downs we did today! We stayed in the local high school in Craig, which is a pretty nice little city. Pizza Hut hooked us up with some free pizza and pop in the afternoon and we all got a chance to go bowling before our friendship visit. The Friendship visit was a good time and was held at one of the local parks. The Lions Club cooked us taco dinner and we shared the evening with some people from Horizons Organization. One girl in particular was named Betsy. She is pictured at right and loved taking me around and showing me different things. She couldn't talk but her occasional nod and smile was good enough for me! Following the friendship visit we headed to the city park to check out the chainsaw carvings that were completed last weekend at some big festival they have every year. These things were incredible. Everything from penguins to mermaids to Pooh. The evening was concluded with everyone just relaxing or playing some pickup basketball in the gym. Needless to say, we are all looking forward to a shorter ride to Steamboat tomorrow!

Day 18: To Dinosaur, CO 90 miles

This morning we got to eat a great warm breakfast that was sponsored by the local cafe in Duchesne. The food was great and it was a very generous sponsorship. Today it dawned on us all that this stretch would prove to be very difficult. We have three 90 mile days in a row with a 115 mile ride through the mountains just two days after. BRING ON THE ROCKIES! The ride was pretty decent today though since there was quite a bit of agriculture land and small towns to look at. The heat was rediculous but we all made it, luckily we did not have such a strenuous time constraint as we did yesterday. To the right is a picture at what I believe is the edge of Dinosaur National Park. It was taken at a tourist stop within 10 miles of the Colorado border. We made it to Dinosaur, Colorado which is a very small town. We are staying at the local school and have dinner this evening sponsored by the local Baptist Church. This town is pretty interesting. All the streets are named after a dinosaur. Their "Main St." is called "Brontosaurus Blvd." We went down to the main drag for showers and milkshakes. Kind of a funny story, the showers are at a truck stop and each bathroom has one normal looking bathtub. However, in each tub there is a shower head on each side. I can't imagine the interesting trucker stories about that shower facility!

Day 17: To Duchesne, UT 90 miles

This morning was chilly but as you can imagine, it quickly warmed up. The ride was pretty tough since we were given a very limited amount of time. We really had to right hard to make it to lodging in time. Then it didn't help that we had 6 flat tires in our group! I had one and noticed that my rear tire was completely shot. I put a new tube in and luckily it got me through the day. The original tires made it over 1700 miles which is pretty good for a rear tire. Anyway, to the left is a scene not too far from Park City and was taken right alongside the road. As you can tell, it was a gorgeous ride. Once we got to Duchesne we went to Starvation Lake where a bunch of local men took us out boating for the afternoon. I had a great time tubing with Woodmansee and Dan Mulch. The water felt amazing with the air temperatures well into the 90s, maybe breaking triple digits for part of the day. Following the good times on the water we had a delicious home-cooked meal at the local park. The Lions club cooked us some great food and were very friendly.

Day 15 & 16: Park City, UT 30 miles

The day's ride was interesting. We first rode
about 7 miles to a summer camp for kids with disabilities. The camp was really cool and the staff fed us breakfast on site. Next, we rode up a beautiful, green canyon for about 10 miles. To the right is the view from the top. We rode a few more miles, put our bikes on the vans to get through the interstate, then arrived to lodging in Park City. The town is amazing, I can't imagine what it must be like in the winter when the three ski resorts are operating. Definitely a resort town though. Everything here is so green still that it just blows me away. For dinner we were hosted by the National Ability Center. This place was great to say the least. They are focused on providing recreational opportunities to people with disabilities. They do everything from horseback riding, to handcycling, to whitewater rafting for their clients. I really felt like this would be an incredible place to bring Mariah for a vacation since they cater to helping people to experience normal recreational activities in a special way. They serve over 25,000 recreational experiences per year for approximately 10,000 clients. We met a few grown men who were their for the handcycling camp and they ate dinner with us. We had our second mail drop and I was pretty pumped to get some mail from a few different people. Thanks to those who sent me mail, it really means a lot to know who is following the trip and is excited about what we are doing. We are staying in some sweet condos here in Park City with laundry and a kitchen in each unit. So we went and picked up some breakfast food to cook in the morning on our day off. To the left is the Olympic park from 4 years ago. Park City played a major role in the 2002 winter games. Notice the ski jumps up on the hillside. The next morning we went to the city park in Park City....sounds kinda funny....anyway, we hungout and ate lunch with some kids at the local summer camp. Once again, Adam and I got to perform our Kids on the Block skit and the kids loved it. The local newspaper was there and took a lot of pictures of us. We might be in the paper tomorrow morning. For the afternoon I finally got a chance to get some time on the internet and update this blog. I am doing my best to keep everyone updated with what is going on, it has been tough since the internet access is so hit or miss. This evening we have a sponsored dinner by a Push America board member and 1988 Journey of Hope participant who lives in Salt Lake. The day off has been great, just getting to rest and enjoy the nice lodging and beautiful city.

Day 14: 80 miles to Salt Lake

The ride was gorgeous today, winding through golf courses and alongside Utah Lake. We had a long paceline going today and made great time. We had a lunchtime arrival at Saturn of Salt Lake where we ate some great sub sandwiches. After getting settled into lodging we had a friendship visit with a recreation group for people with disabilities at the local waterpark, Ragin' Waters. The day was a blast getting to slide and tube with some great people. One of the guys' name was DeRay. He was cracking me up all day long. He acted like the bravest little teenager and wanted to go on all the rides but would chicken out at the last minute. We got tubes and waited in line for the tube ride for 15-20 minutes. Soon as we set the tube in the water to go he freaked and decided he couldn't do it so we walked back down the steps. Then we went to the wave pool. At first we sat in a double tube while the waves weren't going. We were in a foot of water but he felt like we were in the ocean. As soon as the waves started he freaked out again and jumped on me saying "I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown!" Compared to yesterday, today's visit was much easier and the clients were more functioning. Yesterday definitely challenged us and pushed our limits. For the evening we had complimentary tickets to the Utah Art and Music Festival from the Saturn of Salt Lake folks. It was held at the city library which had a great venue and ampitheater. The festival was incredible with some art like nothing I had ever seen before. One that stuck out in my mind was a guy named JD Hillberry. His art was incredible and can be found at jdhart.com. We also relaxed and listened to some great blues music. The 6 of us had a great time just hanging out and enjoying the culture. I was pretty impressed with the city of Salt Lake.

Day 13: To Payson, UT 80 miles

Today I was a sweeper with Bill Katt from Georgia Tech. This meant that we were designated to bring up the rear of the team for the whole day. We had to help and encourage the slower cyclists and ensure that noone got left behind. The ride was pretty decent with more enjoyable scenery than the day before. It seems to be a trend these last few days and a trend that I really enjoy. Today I was also riding with Tony Masias. We had a scary incident when Tony hit a railroad track at a bad angle, wrecked and hit his head. He rode the rest of the day but once at lodging it was found that he had suffered a mild concussion. He will be off the bike for a couple days but should be good to go from Salt Lake onward. Once in Payson, we attended a friendship visit at a Tiny Tot Center. It was definitely our toughest visit due to the severity of the children's disabilities. Our first reaction was wow, this is very sad. Then we tried to figure out how best to interact with them and try to bring a smile to their faces. Since we could not communicate it was very difficult. However, by being flexible, we were able to just hold their hands and have a one way conversation, finally resulting in a smile. One boy named Brigham has Autism and played basketball with us. To the right is Brigham, Simon Buchman, and I. Following the visit we had a sponsored dinner with Saturn of Orem. After dinner we made our Walmart runs and found a great place to snag some milkshakes, which seems to have become part of our daily routine.

Day 12: Delta, UT 105 miles

We crossed into Utah this morning. It is crazy to think that two states are already behind us! In the early morning hours of our ride we had a sweet experience of an antelope running alongside us for a few hundred feet. Eventually it crossed in front of us but it was pretty cool watching it "race" us for awhile. The ride was pretty enjoyable with more more scenery and pretty flat terrain. The last few days have been very hot but as long as you stay moving on the bike the breeze keeps it tolerable. Once again, I rode with Winston Allen and Josh Woodmansee. We had a great time rocking out the country music all day. Its pretty fun to just think of a song and the whole group will sing it making the day go by very quickly. Today as we got closer to Delta, UT the project manager, Josh Smith, pulled my group over and asked me to hop in his car to do a phone interview. It was pretty sweet knowing that my little 15 minute interview would be broadcast nationwide, helping to spread the word about what we are doing. The feedback from teammates was great too. Most of them got to listen to the interview live and said it was great and that I have a good radio voice, maybe I should reconsider my career path? I don't know. Anyway, at right is a picture of Josh that I took while we were riding. He is from Colorado-Boulder and has become a good friend of mine. We had a great dinner of chicken cordon bleu sponsored by a local organization the the county commissioner. Following dinner the second group of Kids on the Block performed for a local group of kids. The night was highlighted by a trip to the local shake joint, Leos Cafe and a trip to the movie theatres for a discount movie sponsor. We watched Cars and pigged out on popcorn which was awesome. It was cool to see the movie since right before the trip I got to tour Pixar Studios and learn about how the movie was produced.

Day 11: To Baker, NV 60 miles

Our ride today was much more scenic which made for a more enjoyable ride. By far my favorite part of the ride was seeing this antler arch across someone's driveway. It is made primarily of elk antlers and is quite a site to see!
Based on the terrain we were going through and talking to the locals, I'm sure all the antlers were found right there in the hills. We stayed in a small gym in Baker, population 60. After getting settled in to lodging we went to the Lehman Caves and saw some amazing formations. The cave tour was pretty incredible and something that I would definitely recommend to anyone who gets a chance. As you may notice, it has been awhile since we had a Friendship Visit or any sort of interaction with people for whom we are doing the trip. In some ways it is feeling like a general bike tour so we are all pretty excited to get back to some larger cities with more organizations that cater to people with disabilities. Dinner was sponsored by a local service group and at dusk we otook a drive up Mt. Wheeler. The view was stunning from near the top of this 13,000 ft. peak.

Day 10: 78 miles to Ely,NV

For today's ride we played the "Newlywed" game where we pair up and get to know another teammate as well as possible. Then, once we were to lodging we played a "Newlywed" style game to see who got to know their partner the best. I spent the day with Brett Buchanon and we scored a 10/16 which wasn't good enough for first place. It was great getting to know Brett since we hadn't really talked much up to that point. The game really helped make the day go by faster as well. Today John wrecked in the same way I did a couple days ago. Unfortunately, his bike is totalled. Luckily he is fine but will have to wait to get a new bike until Salt Lake. For lodging we stayed at Hotel Nevada. Built in the '20s, it was once a major attraction for traveling dignitaries. We had an empathy dinner with the local High School ASB students. For the dinner each person is assigned some sort of disability to simulate what eating might be like with the disability. I got to feed a girl her entire meal since her disability was that she did not have use of her arms. It was definitely a very humbling activity not only for the students, but for us as well. Following dinner we cleaned up the vehicles inside and out and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching game 6 of the NBA finals.

Day 9: 70 miles to Eureka, NV

The ride today was tough since we had such a long day yesterday. I rode with Winston Allen and Adam Solarz today and to make the time pass more quickly we played the "20 Questions" game. It was actually a lot of fun. The funniest one was watching them try to guess my object, Peter Pan. Anyway, the most exciting part of the trip was seeing the millions of crickets all over the roads. Many were squished while others were on the roads either crossing or feeding on their fallen comrades. Quite a site though.
To the right is a picture of our roadside lunch stops. We have this style of lunch for all of our longer days. Our crew chief Justin Humphries ("Hump") does a great job getting us fed and back on the road efficiently. Once in Eureka we ate burgers and later went back for shakes at a place called DJ's diner, an old fashioned hot rod diner. Once again, the town was very small but was the only civilization within 80 miles. For dinner, the local Lions club sponsored us with a Spaghetti meal. It was cool to talk to them and let them know that they aren't the only Lions club that supported me but that the clubs in Priest River and Pullman each donated hundreds of dollars to Push America. Winston and I also randomly ran into a Pi Kapp that was passing through town, he was from the Cornell (Psi) chapter.

Day 8: 120 miles to Austin, NV

This morning the south team rode on the right side of the paceline, the north team on the left. Within a mile of lodging, the two lines went there seperate ways, we will eventually meet back up in DC though which will be fun to hear how their journey went! The ride today was horribly long and seemed more difficult than Kirkwood a few days ago. Between the heat, the hills, the lack of visual stimulation, and the length, oh ya, and the heat, this day was pretty tough on the team. We had to go 120 miles because there was not a house, let alone a town, any closer than that! Hence the reason they call it the lonliest road in America! To the left is the "lonliest phone in America" which can be found out in the middle of the desert. The terrain was mountainous with vast expanses of sage brush............absolutely nothing else! I had my first accident today. I was trailing another rider in the paceline, he stopped pedaling suddenly, I rubbed against his back tire and wrecked off to the side. Few scrapes but I was able to finish the day no problem. In Austin we got to swim and cool off at the community pool and were treated to a great homecooked meal by the ladies of Beta Sigma Phi, a local service organization. The town of Austin is an old mining town that now has only 200 people or so!

Day 7: 60 miles to Fallon, NV

Today was a great ride and our last with the South team. The terrain was flat and we made excellent time. The most spectacular part of the ride was the wild mustangs we saw alongside the road. They were incredible! Once we arrived in Fallon we made our way to lodging which was in an old saloon that is on the local fairgrounds. It was a cozy little building, very hot but fun at the same time. (See the picture below.) This evening we had a dinner with Fallon Industries, a center and thrift store that serves people with disabilities. The dinner was delicious BBQ and included some hoppin' karaoke! Today I also passed the 1,000 mile mark on my bike, close to 500 miles for the whole trip. Tomorrow we split and have a 120 mile day, better get some rest!

Day 6: Carson Day Off Continued...

We had a good time hanging out with the kids at the Children's Museum. We did another Kids on the Block puppet show. Thats me and Adam Solarz doing our skit (Ben Luster is hidden in the middle and serves as our script holder) where I play a blind man named Renaldo. It was very funny and got a great reaction out of the kids and teammates alike! The kids asked some great questions and hopefully they will now feel more comfortable around others with vision impairments. Then in the evening we all drove up to Reno for a Friendship Visit with the ARC of Reno where we had a dance. The dance was a blast even though we outnumbered all of the clients 3-1. Its great to see all the guys set aside all inhibitions and just cut loose. J-Lo ain't got nothin' on these Pi Kapps! Afterwards we went to teammate DJ Miller's home in Reno for some volleyball, swimming and relaxing. The day off was great for resting our legs since we had a 9 day stretch ahead of us without another day off!

Day 5: On to Carson City

Today was a much needed easy downhill ride. We are all pretty tired after all that climbing yesterday but were fortunate to have only about 30 miles of riding. Then we had an arrival at the Boys and Girls club. That was a blast and included a Kids on the Block puppet show. The show is geared to teach children how to interact and notice the abilities of people with disabilities. The show was very funny and informative. We also did a bike safety seminar for the children. Following our lunch at the club, we played field games and had a blast with all these kids. I had a small following of little boys that played baseball with me. Then we became "Team Push America" for a leap frog competition. We won the competition and earned otter pops because of it. Below are the guys on my team, Jacob, Connor, Alejandro, and Spencer. We are the ones holding up certificates. Anyway, Carson City is very nice and warm. We are all pretty excited to have our day off tomorrow so that we can rest our legs and catch up on some stinky laundry! Hopefully the internet access will improve.

I am writing this on our day off which has been great since we were able to catch up on the past few days. Hope everyone is having an awesome summer. Our North and South teams split in a couple days which I am looking forward to.

Tonight we have a dinner up in Reno so that should be a good time of brotherhood.

Day 4: Kirkwood Pass

THIS DAY WAS TOUGH! We rode over 8000 vertical feet today over a distance of 83 miles! This is a picture of Tony Masias and I at the top of Carson Pass. The views and scenery were spectacular but like I said, the ride was brutal. All but a few men made it the whole way. The two of us were in the first group and rode from 7AM to 6PM! That is a long time on a bike seat if you know what I mean. What a great accomplishment though, we felt great after this ride. All in all, it was an awesome day that we will never forget. Due to the length of time we rode today we didn't have any other activities planned but definitely looked forward to our day off in Carson City.

Day 3: Sac to Jackson

Today was a pretty moderate ride out of Sacramento and into the Sutter Creek gold country. The ride was very beautiful and I really wish I had more time to explore the history of the area and the gold rush. We had an amazing arrival and were greeted by over one hundred people all cheering and waving flags. We all felt like celebrities when we learned how much they look forward to seeing us every year. After signing MANY autographs and doing some arm wrestling with a man named Chris (although he insisted we call him Elvis), I ate lunch with a boy named Josiah whose mom works with the people with disabilites. He was a great kid and we had a lot of fun. After they had left for a good 15 minutes he came back and gave me a cross necklace that he had made in VBS that morning. His mom said he insisted on giving it to his "new best friend". It was pretty neat. Thats us there to the right. Then for dinner we were hosted by the local Lions club and fed a great meal at Mel & Fayes Diner, a very classy old diner. The next day it was on to the mountains!

Day 2: Napa to Sacramento

Last night we had a BBQ with all of the teams in the Napa Little League special division. We had a great time celebrating their season with them. To the left is a picture of Winston Allen and our friend Adam. Earlier we were having fun dancing, limboing and just hanging out. All the players received trophies and the food was great! Then in the morning we headed for Sacramento. The ride was tough going up a pretty steep mountain pass. We fought our way through it and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Below is Lake Berryessa which we had a great view of. The ride through the Napa wine country was very nice! Following our arrival at the state capital, we went to a friendship visit with the Sacramento ARC. These people were very talented and put on a GREAT concert for us at their facility, it was a rocking good time! We were also treated to a pizza dinner and were given the opportunity to purchase jewelry and art that was made by the ARC clients.

Day 1 Behind Us!

As you can see, there is the Golden Gate Bridge. Our orientation in San Francisco went really well the past few days. We had our first friendship visit with the people at the Janey Pomeroy Center in SF. They serve hundreds of people with disabilities every day. We had a great game of basketball with them even though we got DESTROYED 34-2! It was a lot of fun and there were so many smiles that it made the night a great one. The weather in SF has been nothing short of horrible with cold winds all week. This morning was no exception as we waited for departure at the bridge. The ride across the bridge was awesome and the team's spirits are really high. The ride to Napa was very nice and we are getting ready for dinner and a softball friendship visit this evening. We have been put up in the Best Western for our first night so that will be pretty nice even after staying in the USF dorms the last few days. The last 24 hours has been pretty exciting as we were anticipating the first full day of riding. Last night was a rough night of sleep for most of us. While the North and South teams are going to be together for the next few days, I am really excited to get to know my North team better throughout the summer. I could not be happier with the caliber of guys that I have the priviledge of riding the Journey with this summer. Here is a picture of John and I as we arrived in Napa completing our first day of riding. After riding on city streets for the first 25 miles of the day, we were able to pair up and finish the other 35 miles together like the training days. Tomorrow I plan to ride with another guy from Michigan so that I can get to know my team better. Thank you to everyone for following my blog, hopefully I can post to it regularly enough to keep everyone informed!

She said YES!

Hi all. Just wanted to let everyone in on some recent GREAT news... Cara and I are engaged as of Friday the 2nd! Stay tuned for more details on that. Meanwhile, I'm already down in SF getting ready for the trip, we start riding on Sunday.