6/26/2008 Day 20: Fort Collins, CO to Laramie, WY 65 miles

Mikey trying to get down from some rocks he was napping on at a rest stop.

Peter is clearly upset about the rumble strips. Although they are great when you are running off the road and they make drivers aware of it they are not pleasant when you are on a bike. the area we where in had rumble strips all the way across the shoulder...there was no escaping them. Luckliy the sign was wrong and they lasted for less than a mile.

Todays ride was difficult, we climbed about 2000 feet with hills that lasted for several miles. Just when you thought you were reaching the crest there would be more. Most of the hills were long and gradual but lasted for the first 40 miles of the ride. As soon as we crossed the state border into Wyoming the road was pretty flat but wind was awful. My host, Janice has told me that the winds are constant in WY...something none of the team is looking forward to.

Stella and I are staying with Janice. She made us homemade ground buffalo and veggie lasagna which was amazing. We had a large variety for our salads and a boston cream cake with cherries on top. We were able to do laundry, take a long shower and talk with an amazing person. Janice has much knowledge and insight on life and Stella and I truly enjoyed spending time in her home.

Today I rode for a man I met this morning in Fort Collins Tim Ricketts. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer five years ago and had just gotten back from MD Anderson last night. He also just found out that yesterday was his last chemo treatment. His story is amazing, he inspired everyone on the team that was able to hear his story.

6/25/2008 Day 19: Boulder to Fort Collins, CO 43 miles

This bike was on the wall at the brewery. It turned around a chain ring and produced energy to power the lights in the room. It was pretty neat to watch it spin until we all started getting dizzy from it.

Todays ride was short and sweet. The weather was cool enough to keep us from sweating too much during our ride. Upon arriving in Fort Collins half the team headed to New Belgium Brewery to take a tour. It was really neat to learn about the company and see how some of my favorite beer is made. After the tour we headed back to our hosts house Margee and Bills house for dinner. they had roasted turkey and chicken, lasagna, homemade ice cream and blue berry cobbler. They also had a local massage therapist and bike mechanic. Most of the team received amazing massages and a tune up for our bikes. After dinner and dessert three of our teammates gave a presentation followed by many questions from the neighbors that helped with the festivities. I am truly amazed and appreciative at how each community we stop in is supporting us in this journey we are taking. This trip has helped me realized how giving people can be.

Today I rode for my teammate Katherine's mom. Her mom died when Katherine was only eight years old from a brain tumor. Over the past few weeks I have gotten to hear more about her moms fight and Katherine's quest to learn more about her mothers life. I know Katherine has been thinking about and missing her mother a lot this summer. I also know that her mother would be so proud of what she is doing for her.

6/24/2008 Day 18: Boulder, CO 0 miles

elk

a yellow bellied marmot

At the top!

My dad flew in to meet me in Boulder for our rest day. This morning we went to rocky mountain national park and drove up above the timber line. It was a great day, Bill and Mary Jo hosted dinner for half of the team. They have done so much for us the past few days and the team is truly appreciative of their generosity. I love Colorado, everywhere we go is beautiful, it will be sad to leave this state but we have a lot to look forward to.

6/23/2008 day 17: Denver to Boulder, CO 40 miles

Although todays ride was only 40 miles it seemed much longer. Driving through downtown Denver would be stressful but riding our bikes through it was incredibly stressful. Once we made it out of downtown we were still in a high traffic area for the majority of the ride, but we all made it safely to our destination tired from all the stress. Half of the team participated in "Rockies challenge 2008." Which consisted of a 140 mile ride from Denver to Boulder but also climbing Mt. Evans. All 10 riders made it to the top of the mountain and it then started snowing. They were not able to ride down the mountain for safety reasons and had to catch rides with people who were descending the mountain by car.

Today I rode for a Robs girlfriends dad who passed away from cancer last year.
MILES TO DATE: 1228

6/23/2008 day 17: Denver to

6/22/2008 Day 16:Colorado Springs to Denver, CO 60 miles (drive day)

Stella riding

Another group of riders

We stopped to take pictures of our beautiful surroundings 

Dane and I working at a rest stop. Dane decided to spice things up

by wearing a speedo and goggles!

Although driving is a welcome rest for my body I find I dread drive days because I would rather be on the road riding my bike with the team. 

Today I rode for Papie, my moms dad who died from kidney cancer.

6/21/2008 Day 15: Pueblo to Colorado Springs, CO 60 miles

The mountains at a rest stop

More mountains

Mountains

Before entering the Garden of Gods

Mountains from inside the park

Garden of Gods

shadows

More rocks

The ride today was absolutely beautiful. Mountains were in view the entire ride, the farther we were in the ride the closer they became. The Marriott hotel is letting us stay in a conference room, if you walk out the back all you see is mountains. The weather has been amazing, it is in the upper 50's-low 60's in the morning and in the 80's in the afternoon. We were only on paved road for 20 of the 60 miles today because some Texas 4000 alumni took us on a route that was 20 miles of dirt road and 20 miles of gravel paths. Although this would have been really fun if we had mountain bikes...we dont and it was therefore rather unenjoyable on our road bikes. The 20 miles of paved road was amazing though. The scenery is amazing, the air is clean and the heat is bearable. I cannot imagine being in the heat of the desert as the sierra team is on their route now.

Once everyone was showered after the ride today much of the team headed up to Garden of Gods. The views were amazing and as always we had a great time.

Today I rode for Mamma my moms mom and my inspiration for applying to Texas 4000. Although the gravel was tough and I bonked* for the first time this summer I was able to finish the ride with Mamma in my thoughts.


*Bonking: also referred to as "hitting the wall" basically when you run out of energy to burn...its not fun!

Day 11, 12 13, & 14

6/17/08 Day 11: Buffalo, OK to Dodge City, KS 96 miles






6/18/2008 Day 12: Dodge City to Syracuse, KS 108 miles




6/19/2008 Day 13: Dodge City, KS to Las Animas, CO 86 miles





Today we made it into Colorado. Although we are in a different state the scenery is pretty much the same as it was in Kansas. Kansas was not good to us. We passed several feed lots that smelled awful we were almost run off the road several times by semis and the semis that were passing were filled with live stock. We are all happy to be out of Kansas and cannot wait to see the mountains. In Las Animas we were hosted by the First Baptist church, several families took us in to their homes and provided us with breakfast. Katherine and I stayed at Pam and her familes church. She was a chiropracter and adjusted both of us before we went to bed. We woke up refresehd and ready for our ride. It was really nice to be able to interact with a lot of families in the community we were staying in. On day 14 the local sheriff, Cliff gave us a police escort out of town.

6/20/2008 Day 14: Las Animas to Pueblo, CO 86 miles

I started off my day with two flat tires in the first five miles. I thought the day was going to be a complete disaster but it proved me wrong. Later in the day we rode by a lavender field that smelled amazing. So far Colorado is making up for the nasty smells of Kansas. Today I also saw the mountains for the first time. We have climbed about 4000 ft since we left Austin two weeks ago. We are currently at 4600 ft. I also saw several prairie dogs on the side of the road today. So far Colorado is proving to be awesome!

Day 7, 8 ,9, &10

6/13/2008 Day 7: Edmond, OK 0 miles

Today was our first rest day, it was great to finally sleep in. I took a nap this afternoon and Oklahoma Christian University provided lunch for us. It was a great day!

6/14/2008 Day 8: Edmond, OK to Watonga, OK 75 miles

MJ riding ahead

MJ, Stella and I

The team during no skating time

Peter skating

At the skating rink with Velda Chain

This morning was beautiful after the storm that blew through last night. The weather was cool with a nice breeze. I haven’t experienced goose bumps due to cool weather in a couple of months so it was a welcome change. Julio and Katherine were driving today and they had water balloons ready at the first rest stop, also a welcome change.

In Watonga we stayed at Watonga Christian Church, they fed us dinner and then we went with their youth group to a skate party. It is amazing that we manage to ride hundreds of miles on our bikes with only a few minor injuries but put us on skates and we are going down left and right. I managed to stay on my feet the whole time but several of my teammates were not as lucky. During the limbo contest we met a woman, Velda Chain who is known for her limbo skating abilities. She has been on Jay Leno and was so nice to our team

When we got back from the skate place several of us sat in the sanctuary of the church and listened to Scott play the piano. There are several people on the team who play instruments, I am loving all the listening time I am getting.

6/15/2008 Day 9: Watonga, OK to Woodward, OK

Today the entire team was ready to leave Watonga by 8am but there was a huge storm cell that was sitting over the highway we were going to be traveling on the entire day. We delayed our departure to 11:30am. We stayed dry all day and had a great tail wind pushing us along. This morning during the delay Scott and I gave a very informal presentation about Texas 4000 to church members before their bible study started and tonight the team gave the first official presentation. It was a little rough but Im sure they will get easier as we give them throughout the trip.

Today I rode for my great grandmother Bernice Spruth who had breast cancer.

6/16/2008 Day 10: Woodward, OK to Buffalo, OK 35 miles

Abby, Katherine and MJ getting ready to eat at the Pizza Pub

Today we were able to sleep in because we had such a short ride. It was short and not so sweet. We had a cross wind that was continually taking me into the lane of traffic.

While we were riding there was a sign that said "US Department of Agriculture Oklahoma Experimental Range." On this land all we saw were the huge windmills that are in the pictures above.

Once we arrived in Buffalo we stopped at Pizza Pub, owned by Dave. He provided the entire team with lunch and dinner free of charge. He was so generous to the team, we really appreciated him.

Today I rode for my teammate Dylan Leblanc who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in February and is still riding this summer on the sierra route.

Day 6: Ardmore to Oklahoma City, Ok 118 miles

Me during the climb to the top of the mountain.

Turner Falls

There were a lot of tarantulas in the first 20 miles, Stella caught two and then set them free!

Katherine and I at the falls

A castle hidden in the trees

Ivan stretching at Turner Falls

Although today was a very long day, we were in the sun from 6:30 am until we arrived in Edmond ( a suburb of Oklahoma City) at 5:15 pm we had a really good ride. Our first rest stop was at Turner Falls, OK. We climbed our first mountains getting there but they were not too bad. We had a steady climb for a couple of miles and the rest of the ride was relatively flat. The ride was really beautiful today.

We are staying at Oklahoma Christian University in furnished apartments, we all have our own beds and are very grateful to not be sleeping on the floor. We have day 7 off and will be staying here for another night.

Today I rode for Delma who died from brain cancer that was stage 4 when they found it. I met her husband in Lindsay at St. Marys Catholic Church.