Jackson Hole, WY

Yesterday we had an nice 80 mile ride to Jackson Hole, WY.  We made it in just over 4 hours with a great tail wind pushing us along.  That afternoon we took the tram up to the top of the Tetons.  We were unable to go to lodging before taking the tram so when we got up to 11,000 feet in just spandex it was really cold.  It was a blast looking over Jackson Hole from the top of the Tetons and a group of us made a snowman at the top.  That night we had some great pizza from a local Italian restaurant and a team meeting to end the night.

We had a 6:30 AM wake-up this morning to make it to our sponsored buffet breakfast and it was worth waking up for.  We then headed over to Mad River Rafting to raft down the snake river.  We were on the river for about an hour and a half and had a great time going though the rapids.  We all jumped out at the calm spots of the river into the 40 degree water which was an easy way to wake up in the morning.  That afternoon we went to the Snow King Resort to enjoy the pool, hot tub, and alpine slide.  You take a ski lift up to the top of the alpine slide and it is like being on a cement luge.  Tonight, we are taking it easy as in the next 5 days of biking we go 535 miles!

West Yellowstone, MT

Yesterday we departed on a 90 mile ride to West Yellowstone.  We had a huge head wind most all of the ride which extended the ride by about 2 hours.  Everyone was very sore from the 109 miles yesterday but managed to push through and make it to lodging.  That evening we went to see "Yellowstone" at the local IMAX theater.  Today we had the day off and went to explore Yellowstone.  We spent about 3 hours in the park and then came back to a wonderful sponsored pizza lunch.  I spent the afternoon doing laundry and packing things up.  We have a 90 mile ride into Jackson tomorrow and another day off where we get to go white water rafting which should be a blast.  We have not been having too many friendship visits due to the lack of organizations that benefit people with disabilities in the towns that we are staying in.  Once we hit Denver we should have about 6 friendship visits each week which the team is really looking forward to.

Bozeman, MT

First media of the trip for me can be found at this link: http://www.shoshonenewspress.com/news/article_f9e39bce-7e12-11df-a4ee-001cc4c03286.html

Today we had our first century ride that ended up being about 109 miles.  I swept today with Jared and the last paceline.  It took about 9 hours to finish the ride.  We had 4 good climbs today and for part of the ride followed the Madison River through its canyons.  We arrived at Eagle Mount of Bozeman around 4 PM.  The organization provides recreational therapy for people with disabilities and children with cancer.  We got to tour the stables and see all the horses that are used in their horseback riding therapy program.  One of the coolest activities that they provide is their skiing program.  They have many different forms of skiing equipment to suit all different kinds of disabilities so anyone can enjoy the fun of skiing.  Just yesterday the organization was on the today show and was awarded the Lend A Hand Today award from Al Roker.  The award consisted of over 1.2 million dollars worth of supplies and equipment, a $100,000 grant to better improve their organization, and doubled their acreage so they can expand.  This is an incredible award for such a great organization and the entire staff was thrilled.  That night we got to enjoy their therapeutic pool which is kept at 90 degrees and called it an early night as we had another 5 AM wakeup to head to Yellowstone.

Butte, MT

Today we had a 60 mile day to Butte, MT.  The weather was cool and cloudy but at least it was not raining!  Today was the first day that we rode in pacelines of 6 instead of 4.  This makes the rides go by much faster with more people to pull the group and more people to talk to.  Due to construction we had to rack the bikes for the last 15 miles.  We arrived at lodging which is the newly build YMCA where we had a relaxing afternoon by the pool.

That night we had a friendship visit and dinner with BSW.  We had a huge ovation upon our arrivals and after introductions we had a great fried chicken dinner.  A live band got set up and the team and clients of BSW tore up the dance floor.  We danced for about an hour and a half and it was a great time.  It's bed time now and tomorrow brings a 5 A.M. wake up and a 105 mile day. Pictures to come tomorrow!

Philipsburg, MT

The team woke up expecting rain and lightening as the weatherman told us, but of course he was wrong. It was 60 and cloudy all day. Today was the first day we rode on the interstate. We rode on I-90 for about 30 miles with a really nice tail wind pushing us along. The last 20 miles of the 80 mile ride were rough. The tail wind we had turned into a head wind and we started climbing uphill. We finally arrived at the tiny town of Philipsburg, MT where we set up shop at the local high school. Overall, the team had a rough day on the road with 17 total flats.

That evening we had dinner with the local Rotary Club. They served us pasties, which are a pastry filled with beef and potatoes and were originally made for the miners. This week I was selected as the "Heavy Hitter" for being the best overall team member/cyclist from the previous week. So far, James and I are 2 of the 5 cyclists who have ridden every mile. I get to wear the Clif Bar cycling hat for the week and get to pick the winner for this week at our next team meeting.

Missoula, MT

Yesterday we had a short 30 mile ride in great weather.  We had the rest of the day on our own and I went to the bike shop to return my tire and get a new one since I’ve had 4 flats in 4 days.  That night we went out for dinner with the team and enjoyed the town.  We had all of Sunday off and had our first day to sleep in.  I went to the local bike shop and cleaned my bike.  We had a sponsored dinner from Jeremy Jones who was last year’s Project Manager for the Trans-America route.  After dinner the team cleaned the vans and relaxed.  We have a long 80 mile day ahead and it looks like it will be raining the whole day again.  I am really looking forward to the next week as we have our day off in Yellowstone National Park.

Thompson Falls, ID

Today we woke up to 35 degree weather and rain. Joel told us we had a 50 mile ride with one big climb which turned into 72 miles and 2 huge climbs. We ended up climbing to 4700 feet both times which was about a 2700 foot climb for both. The climbs were rough but nice because we could warm the body up. The downhills were brutally cold going 30 miles an hour as we were soaking wet. We arrived at the Thompson Falls High School about 7 hours later. We were welcomed by a local reporter who brought her son, Scott, who was disabled. Instead of showering right away, I stuck around and hung-out with Scott and played basketball. It was a great time and in about 200 shots he made 6, but those 6 shots definitely made his day. We had a sponsored dinner at a local restaurant and are now enjoying the internet and cable TV to watch the NBA finals at the high school. Overall, this was the hardest day of the trip and was extremely fulfilling completing the entire ride as only 10 out of the 18 cyclists finished the trek.

Kellogg, ID

Today we had a short 40 mile day on a bike path. The weather was 45 degrees and raining the entire ride. We got in and stayed at the local high school. We had no programming so we all went to dinner and then enjoyed apples to apples for the night. I have an interview tomorrow morning for the local newspaper and hopefully it does not get canceled like the last one.  Overall, a pretty short and relaxing day.

Coeur d’Alene, ID

Today we had an easy ride, or so we thought. The trek was 35 miles mostly along a bike path. Little did we know, there was massive amounts of construction and diversion through the path. It took two and a half hours to complete the ride. Once we arrived in Coeur d’Alene, ID we had five hours to enjoy at the Kroc Center. The Kroc Center is an indoor/outdoor recreation center where we hungout in the pool and activity room. That evening we enjoyed a night on the town with dinner with the team at Red Robin. We are staying at the Kroc center and getting free use of their awesome facilities. Their pool was created for the young ones but we had a blast in the hanging out in there. Tomorrow we have a short 55 mile ride on a bike path to Kellogg, Idaho.

Spokane, WA

Today I swept with Andrew for our 85 mile ride.  It was a gorgeous day and we just rode a flat ride through the wheat fields of Washington.  Andrew is hilarious and we talked about everything on the road.  Once we got in we went to a couples house to eat and swim.  We played an intense game of 3v3 basketball in the pool.  The next morning we had a sponsored breakfast at McDonalds.  We then went and visited the Shriner’s children’s hospital, the Ronald McDonald house and the local children’s hospital.  We then went to REI and Nick and I bought sweet $4 horns for our bikes (classic).  We havesponsored spaghetti dinner at the Ronald McDonald house to end the night.

Grand Coulee City

We had our first late wake up of the trip today at 8 AM. The team voted last night to wake up at 7:30 to make sure we got into Grand Coulee City to see the USA world cup game. We made the 30 mile trek in about an hour and a half in time to watch the game. The whole ride was on highway 2 which follows the Columbia river with incredible views. There was a team activity at the Grand Coulee Dam which produces more energy than any dam in North America. We had a wonderful sponsored dinner and then blew up the air mattresses and headed to bed knowing tomorrow is the first 100 mile ride of the summer!

For the past two days I have been in the lead paceline. This year we are sponsored by OnAsset, which is a GPS tracking company. I have carried the GPS tracker with me each day so that our project manager can track the team on the road. The team can also be tracked online by anyone at www.letsride2010.com and click on the OnAsset tracker.

Coulee City

We had an early wake up to start our ride to Coulee City, WA. It was sunny and 75 degrees the whole ride. We rode 75 miles and arrived at Coulee City Middle School for lodging. The team enjoyed an afternoon of shooting hoops and hanging out. That night we had dinner sponsored by the Cattlewomen's Association. Two women came and cooked one of the best meals I've ever had. After dinner, we all hit the hay for some well deserved and needed sleep.

Steven's Pass

Today was going to be a hard day and we all knew it. We woke up to another rainy day with temperatures in the 50's. I rode with James Loy today who is a fraternity brother and good friend from Purdue. Steven's pass is a 17 mile climb up the cascade mountains which summits at a little over 4000 feet. We started off the climb well until I had two flats in a row and had to change tubes twice. I found that I had a small piece of glass in my tire and had to change my tire because of the puncture. We got to the last 5 miles of the climb in about an hour and a half. The last five miles are steep kickbacks at about a 7% grade. We finished those 5 miles in 45 minutes and reached the summit. We were above some clouds and had an incredible view from the top of the cascades. The rest of the 75 mile ride was downhill. The paceline road at about 30 miles an hour down the mountain right alongside a river full of beautiful rapids. Everyone on the team made it up the mountain which was great. We arrived in Wenatchee, WA about 8 hours after leaving. We heading over to a park by the river to have a friendship visit. There were about double as many clients as team members at the visit which was great. We ate and then played volleyball. It was inspiring to see people gain so much happiness from hitting the ball over the net. The pleasure that they derive from serving the ball over the net really forces one to appreciate the abilities that one has. These sort of situations have really enabled me to focus on the little things in life to find happiness and not over look those situations.

First Day of Riding

The team woke up at 5:30 AM to rainy 50 degree weather in Seattle. The night before we all shaved our legs for the trip. Cyclists shave their legs to avoid infection after getting road rash from a fall. We set off for our first day of biking where it rained for about 50 of the 70 total miles. After 8 hours on the road we arrived in Skykomish, WA (population 250). We stayed at a little church in the city and locals were nice enough to let us use their showers for the night. After we arrived in Skykomish all we could think about was reaching the summit of Steven's Pass over the cascades the next day. After a few drinks with the locals at the watering hole right across the street, it was time to hit the hay and get ready for the climb in the morning.

The Only Disability is Having a Bad Attitude

Last night we had our first friendship visit with the Arc of Cook County. There I met a young man named Eric who has down syndrome. Eric works for the Arc as an advocacy speaker. He goes around the area to speak about down syndrome and is currently working with the state legislature to make more accommodating and fair laws for the disabled. We need to remember that no one should be defined by what they cannot do but rather what they can do. Unfortunately, the majority of society would see Eric on the street and assume that he would not be able to maintain such important tasks because he has down syndrome. Eric is a perfect example of how no one should ever be judged and every individual has a unique quality that can benefit society. All we have to do is invest the time in each other to learn those qualities that we each possess.

First Days

We all arrived in Seattle yesterday and began our four days of training.  Yesterday we had our orientation sponsored by Alpha Delta chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at University of Washington.  They were great hosts and cooked up our first sponsored dinner.  Today we started out with six hours of meetings at the REI headquarters in Seattle.  We then went to our first friendship visit with the Arc of King county.  The visit was at the Gas Works Park with a great view of downtown Seattle.  We had a Q'doba dinner with the clients and had a great time.  Lights out time as tomorrow is our first 5:30 AM wake up.

Training in Seattle

The days in Seattle were packed full of different trainings. The team had a skills assessment which everyone passed with flying colors. After the skills assessment we went for a ferry ride around the waters of Seattle. We then got to walk around downtown Seattle and have dinner there. The next morning we woke up to have our training ride through Seattle. That night we had our kickoff dinner at Buca Di Beppo which was the perfect carb dinner for the next day of riding.

And so it begins....

Sitting at the airport waiting for the next 6 hours to go quickly to get to Seattle to meet the rest of the team.  In the next 4 days we will be having meetings in Seattle to discuss safety and procedures as well as having our first two friendship visits.  We begin cycling on June 9th and it can't come soon enough!  Time to make sure people are defined by what they can do rather than what they can't do.