July 6 2009 - Empire - Denver

Today was the absolute best day of the trip!

The morning started off extremely chilly as we made our way through the end of the Rocky Mountains and into the plains of eastern Colorado. As we peaked over the last mountain, we were taken away by spectacular views at Lookout Mountain (Check out the Picture Link to the right). The last descent into Golden, Colorado was so much fun as we had a 3 mile downhill through switchbacks and tight curves. When we arrived into Golden we rode by the Coors factory and smelled the amazing aroma of beer being brewed.

We continued cycling through the suburbs and stopped at Invesco Field (Denver Broncos) where we met up with the TransAmerica Route Team. We had the incredible opportunity to walk out on the field as the big screen read “Welcome Journey of Hope.” After we snapped pictures, we started our arrival procedures to the Capitol Building in downtown. We had all 70 cyclists ride together to Downtown with a police escort. The police shut down the highway into town as we rode through, which created significant attention for our event. We arrived to a sizeable crowd in the city center who were eager to ask questions and find out more about the Journey of Hope. I had the opportunity to talk to some families from all across the country and share information with them about our incredible Journey.

After a few hours downtown, we made our way to lodging. We were all so excited because we would be staying in a hotel for the next 2 days. It has been such a long time since we have had the luxury of hot showers and clean sheets!

Next, we went to a park in the city for the annual Pedal for Pennies Event. Pedal for Pennies is an event sponsored by the Special Olympics and Push America where athletes and JOH cyclists ride laps around a 1 mile loop. As a helper, I kept track of the number of laps for my team which included Emily, Evan (JOH), and Adam (JOH). I was extremely pleased when our team finished 2nd overall with 9 laps! After the cycling was completed, we had a really fun dance with the athletes. I would have to say that my favorite songs of the night were the Cuban shuffle and Shout!

Tomorrow is our day off and mission #1 is to find a place to get my haircut!

July 5 2009 - Breckenridge - Empire

We reached our highest point on the ride today!

While it was only a 40 mile ride, we had one of the most difficult climbs to the peak of Loveland Pass (~12,000 ft.) When we reached the summit, we all took amazing photos of the snowcapped mountains! Afterwards, we enjoyed one of the best downhill sections of the trip. We were able to cruise at 45 mph down the sides of the mountain until finally reaching Empire, Colorado.

After 40 miles of riding we made our way to our lodging at Rocky Mountain Village Camp. We had a few hours to nap and relax before our dinner and friendship visit with the campers. When we sat down for dinner I was paired up with the Ponderosa Lodge. The counselors for the “Pondo” lodge were lots of fun to meet and after eating we made our way to the outdoor theater for skits and songs.

Our skit was a spoof of the Little Shop of Horrors. According to our script, there were too many campers and so we decided to feed them to the plant so that we could shrink our numbers in the Pondo Lodge. Sadly, I played one of the campers who was eaten. After we finished our skit we spent an hour or so singing hilarious camp songs. The evening came to a close with a final song and we made our way back to lodging to rest up for the next day to Denver, Colorado.

July 4 2009 - Steamboat Springs - Breckenridge

Happy Birthday America!

Something equally exciting, however, is that I completed my first century ride today (Over 100 miles)! Our ride from Steamboat, Colorado to Breckenridge, Colorado was absolutely beautiful. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful ride so far on the trip. We had a steep climb to start off the morning, but it was followed by a nice long downhill stretch in which we could recover. After the initial climb, the scenery was green pastures amongst the rolling hills. If you would like to see some of the pictures just check out the link on the right.

When we completed the day, we noticed that we were staying at an amazing place for lodging! The Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center was on the side of the mountain next to the ski slopes and a beautiful lake. Not only was the placement crucial, but the accommodations inside were absolutely great. Almost all of the riders got their own bed with clean sheets and towels provided (a great luxury).

For dinner, we made our way to the Country Boy Mine where we received a tour and amazing BBQ. Bruce Rogers’ Family sponsored the dinner and tours for the team. (Bruce Rogers’ company, KRG Capital, is the largest sponsor of the entire trip) – He also was the founder of the event over 20 years ago.

To finish off the day, we made our way down to the town to watch the fireworks and celebrate the 4th. I have to admit that they weren’t as great as Pittsburgh’s fireworks show but it was definitely entertaining. After an eventful day, we made our way back to lodging to get some rest.

Tomorrow we head to Empire Colorado!

July 3 2009 - Craig - Steamboat Springs

Today was the easiest cycling day of the trip! We started out our morning at 5am in order to make our sponsored lunch by 11:30 am. As it turned out, the ride only took around 2.5 hours and so we were able to have an abundance of free time in the morning. When we all arrived into Steamboat Springs we made our way to the hot springs.

It was absolutely fantastic to swim in the warm pools and relax our muscles in the hot tub areas. I decided to leave the hot springs early so that I could walk around the town with Jimmy. We walked around to some of the stores and I picked up some new bike gloves. In addition we got to visit F.M Light and Sons leather and cowboy store! (Backstory on F.M Light and Sons)

{Starting at the border of Colorado (over 150 miles ago) our cycling group began to see signs for the store. The signs come up about every 5 miles and so we have been making jokes about how awesome the store must be.}

As it turns out, we arrived at F.M Light and Sons on an anniversary of one of their Stetson Reps. The store owner’s family and others were there to celebrate with cake and banjo music. Jimmy and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit since we there was so much build up surrounding the store.

We also had a great friendship visit lunch when I spent most of my time getting to know Disco Debbie. Disco Debbie got her name because she loves to disco dance. She graced us with her moves and we all clapped along. The visit was lots of fun, but we needed to return to lodging in order to prepare for dinner.

Dinner was just what we needed for our 110 mile ride tomorrow. We had unlimited beef, pork, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, bread and baked beans. We all ate like kings and returned home to rest up for our big day tomorrow into Breckenridge, Colorado!

July 2 2009 - Dinosaur - Craig

I have officially completed the longest bike ride of my life today! We started off the morning bright and early out of Dinosaur, Colorado. We were told in the morning that we would have a very tight “rack point” today. Rack point is a mile marker that you must pass by a certain time in order to continue the ride into town. Today we had 6 hours to go 80 miles, which is a very aggressive goal when you consider the amount of stops that need to be made.

My pace line and I were moving at a very quick pace through the rolling climbs in order to make it. As it turns out we made the rack point by 5 minutes and we were the 2nd of 5 groups. Since we made the rack point, we were able to ride the full 90 miles into Craig.

When we made it to Craig we had an official arrival into the Boys and Girls Club. We spent the afternoon playing Frisbee and Football with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club. We ended the afternoon by putting on a Kids on The Block show which was so much fun. In the evening, we had a friendship visit dinner at one of the local parks.

Tomorrow we have a nice short ride into Steamboat Springs. See you then!

July 1 2009 - Duchesne - Dinosaur

The easiest bike ride of the trip!

Today we woke up and started the day as we normally do. However, as we were getting ready to embark on our 100 mile trek, our project manager informed us that there was really bad construction ahead. As such, we had to rack everyone into the vans for 90 miles! Once we were out of the construction we all hoped back on our bikes for our 10 mile jaunt into the town of Dinosaur, Colorado.

The town was really interesting because everything is themed for Dinosaurs. There are dinosaur named restaurants, stores, and even dinosaur models. Our dinner was hosted tonight by the local Baptist Church and our lodging was located at “Dinosaur School.”
While we all enjoyed our short ride today, I know that we are all excited to get back on our bikes for a real ride tomorrow!

June 30 2009 - Park City - Duchesne

Today was another great day on the bike!

We started off the morning with a fantastic crew chief breakfast consisting of our usual cereal, bagel, and juice. Immediately following breakfast, we departed from Park City, Utah and quickly merged on US 40 towards our final destination of Duchesne, Utah. The first section of the road was a busy 4 lane highway, but eventually turned into a less traveled 2 lane road for the remainder of the day.

The ride was similar to past days with several short climbs and mountain passes. The scenery became breathtaking when we reached the first summit and saw a large reservoir lake with rolling green hills and snow capped mountains in the background. After riding the ridgeline of the mountains, we quickly descended into a hot, arid climate with limited scenery. The end of the ride of was fun, however, because as we entered the town we saw Starvation Lake on the left which was very beautiful.

As it turns out, we had the opportunity to boat on Starvation Lake today. The Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce hosted our team this afternoon by renting out boats and taking the team tubing and boating. While the tubing seemed extremely exciting, I was much too worn out from a long ride so I spent a couple of hours floating on the lake. The Chamber of Commerce was also kind enough to provide the team with drinks and information about the area.

After spending the afternoon in the lake, we returned back to town for a sponsored meal from the local Lions Club, including the mayor! The company was pleasurable and the food was absolutely amazing. In my opinion, it was the best meal of the entire trip! After dinner, we returned back to lodging at Duchesne High School for some much needed rest before our long ride tomorrow.