Denver, CO

Today we all woke up very excited to get into Denver.  We had a short 25 mile day and the weather was perfect.  The team arrived at Invesco Field with the North Team cheering us in to the arrival.  James and I got to see some friends who we have met through other Push America events who currently cycle for the North team.  It was also nice to see some people that were a part of my brother's Trans team last year.  Both teams got a tour of the field and took tons of pictures.  After the tour both team ate lunch and prepared for our arrival to the State Capital Building.  We had a police escort from Invesco Field to the Capital for the entire 5 mile ride which was awesome.  We arrived at the Capital to cheering parents, friends, and sponsors.  The Governor of Colorado spoke about the initiatives the state had embarked for people with disablitlites and came around to thank each one of us individually for the work we are doing.  After our huge arrival we departed for lodging which was at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Denver.  Lodging was provided by Bruce Rogers, one of the founders of KRG Captial, Journey of Hope's title sponsor, and the man who rode his bike across the country in 1987 to raise money and awareness for Push America's mission.  Bruce is the inspiration for the Journey of Hope and it was incredible to meet the man who started it all.

That evening we had one of biggest friendship visits, Peddle for Pennies sponsored by KRG Capital and Push America.  At the event, cyclists from the teams join up with Special Olympics athletes and ride laps around a pond in a local park.  The Special Olympics athletes are sponsored for each lap that they ride.  I rode with a 24 year old girl named Emily.  Together we completed 10 laps around the pond and she was ecstatic.  We all had dinner together and had a huge dance afterward with all the athletes and the Push America staff that flew in for the festivities.  That evening we had a chance to go out on the town with the North team and enjoy each others company.

We woke up early the next morning to go watch the 30th annual Paralyzed Veterans of America Wheelchair Games.  We watched table tennis, nine-ball, and the slalom, which was essentially a huge obstacle course meant to mimic the daily obstacles that one in a wheelchair encounters.  Watching the slalom was really inspiring and once again showcased the incredible abilities of one with a disability.  That afternoon we traveled to Craig Hospital (I know, great name) which is one of the top 10 rehabilitation centers in the country for spine and brain injuries.  We toured the hospital which was extremely interesting to see the medical advances in the field.  After our tour we got a chance to take on the local quad rugby team.  Quad rugby, or murderball (should still be called this), is a 4 on 4 game where athletes who are quadriplegic try to advance a ball down a court to score through a goal line.  Jason, a Gold Medal quad rugby player from the Beijing Olympics, taught us the rules and we jumped in the chairs to play.  It was 2 JOH members and 2 quad athletes per team.  We each played for 5 minutes and those 5 minutes were exhilarating.  There is a main strategy to set blocks for the player with the ball.  To set a block you literally get going as fast as you can and the chair and hit the opponents chair as hard as you could but at first was scary but then became fun.  Some guys got hit so hard that they got air in the chair and one of the guys actually had his chair, which is about 50 pounds, knocked over by a hit.  The teams then split and it was our best four versus their best four.  We scored first and then they went on a 10-1 run and won the game 10-2.  This sport is part of the total rehabilitation for patients at Craig Hospital and once again showed that no one should be defined by what they can not do but rather by what they can do.

That night we had a sponsored dinner at Chipoltle and headed over to Coors Field to watch the Rockies play the Cardinals.  As an avid Cubs fan I obviously rooted against the Cardinals.  During the both teams joined together to start the wave which lasted the entire 7th inning.  The Cards were up 7-4 in the 8th when the Rockies scored 4 to tie the game. The game came to the bottom of the ninth when the Rockies hit a walk off home run and everyone went crazy.  It was a great way to end an awesome two days in Denver.  We said our goodbyes to the North team and headed back to lodging knowing we had an early wake up to get to Colorado Springs in the morning.