7/25/08 Shreveport, LA

Oh, man, we had such a bad start today. It's kind of confusing so stick with me. Instead of eating the continental breakfast provided by the hotel, we were going to bike 4 miles out of the way to eat breakfast a diner cooked by a Pi Alpha named Tim. So 8 miles with no forward progress, ok. However, Tim was not able to get in touch with the diner's manager to open the restaurant and so ran to Wal-Mart to get donuts, bananas, and juice. So we arrived to find less food than we usually get from a crew chief breakfast. It got worse when we learned that: a) he never called us to tell us not to come because the diner is closed, b) the Wal-Mart is across the street from the hotel, c) Tim stayed in the hotel with us, or d) all of the above. The answer is d), and we were all upset with him to say the least.
We got red flagged for a bit on the ride because the hand cyclist from yesterday rode with one of the back groups and was having some derailleur problems that slowed them down. It was nice to hang out at the stops and goof off for an hour and a half. Because of time, we had to rack to stage up and then rode an escorted arrival to the Shriner's Children's Hospital where we met some really cool kids. Some only spoke Spanish and I had the opportunity to sound like an idiot with them. We ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria (actually it was really good) and then played with the kids until it was time to go. Matt and I were able to finish a puzzle of a bunny just in time...

7/24/08 Longview, TX

I swept today because no one else wanted to and was surprised with an arrival! Sweeps ride at the front of an arrival. The ride turned into a hundo but it went fast considering. Lunch at mile 70 helped to break up the trip. Texas is now rolling hills and pine trees and humidity. Lodging at a Marriott and a big steak dinner. We meet one gentleman at dinner who uses a wheelchair in is handcyclist. He let us try his bike and it was pretty neat. I can definitely imagine a serious arm workout coming from it.

7/23/08 Terrell, TX

My new wheel is working fine, no problems at all! A quick ride and nice lodging at a Super 8 Motel. The team ceremoniously destroyed my old, cursed wheel in the parking lot. After showers we headed over to a TA truck stop for a buffet lunch with the Terrell Lions Club. They were very gracious to us although we did have to sit through a long-winded speech by some kid from the 4-H club. After it all I still don't know what the organization does, but I do know every position that kid has held in 4-H. Apparently the group was started by a bunch of kids who wanted to crow corn better....
We did a KOB at day care and headed back to the motel for some downtime. Dinner was at Terrell Hospital. The facility is an interim location for people who may be a danger to themselves or others; for example, substance abusers or those with emotional problems. We had Texas Blue Bell ice cream for the first time and is the best ice cream I've ever tried. Way to go Texas.

7/22/08 Dallas, TX

The team began the day off with breakfast burritos and Toy Story, so I would say it was a good start. Our first friendship visit was at a church with toddlers with disabilities. It was my first experience with indiviudals with disabilities at such a young age. Behaviorly, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. There were about a dozen kiddie pools and slip n slids set up in the yard and we had a blast. I splashed with a kid, Freddy, for about an hour until Peter hit another kid, Jeremy, in the eye accidentally with a frisbee. From then on, Jeremy and I waged wars on the rest of the team by filling up buckets of water and dumping them on everyone. Needless to say, it escalated quickly and pretty soon everyone was soaking wet.
The day was based around water events and from the church, we headed over to the Six Flags water park, Hurricane Harbor. Drayton, PVO, Curphey, Ciani, and I were paired up with a girl with a visual disability and her siblings. Samantha had the opposite of tunnel vision and couldn't see straight out of her eyes but was able to enjoy all the rides fully. Vanessa, Christina, and Gilbert (her sisters and brother) all had a blast with us as we had some sweet water slides.
Dinner was sponsored by a former Pi Alpha, Randy Stillinger, who is now an officer in the Army. We went to Humperdinks Brewery and I was able to chow on a cheesesteak, a JOH delicacy. The resataurant even made up neat JOH specific menus for us. Randy still had one more surprise for us after dinner: Whirly Ball. No one had heard of it before but it is about as awesome as wheelchair basketball. Try to stay with me as I explain it. It is a combination of lacrosse, polo, and basketball but in bumpber cars. We each have our own bumpber car and a hand held scoop. About six or seven on each team. Goals are raised backboards with a circle cut out of the middle. The object is to whip the ball into the holes. You have only a limited amount of time to hold on to the ball and the cars do not have breaks. A crazy game with crazy fun.

7/21/08 Dallas, TX

A loooong 30 miles through the city! Fort Worth is connected to Dallas through Arlington, and we stopped 9 miles in for a second sponsored breakfast by the Arlington community. We did get a motorcycle escort for a few miles and that was really cool. The best part is not having to stop at the red lights, because those slow you down so much. We rode and staged up for a second arrival at the Bachman Rec Center. There we preformed KOB and had a short FV. Great success at the local bike shop were I was able to pick up a new rim for my bike! It was cheap relative to all the other rims in the shop (the first one I saw was $1099!) but still more than I had planned to spend on the trip.
We had really sad team meeting at the end of the day. Andy had to leave the team for a violation of Policies & Procedures and his best friend, Zack, choose to leave with him. Just in one day we lost two crew members. We now only have enough for one per van. I feel Zack's commitment should have been to the team and Push America over loyalty to his friend, but he has a good heart and I was sad to see him leave, he was my van driver. The same night we were informed that the Project Manager and a cyclist were sent home from the North Team.

7/20/08 Fort Worth, TX

Borrowed Drayton's bike for the ride today. Sean, a TCU brother who looks like Jesus, joined us for a ride along and we had a lot of fun on a speedy ride with rolling hills. Chipotle sponsored a lunch and arrival for us and it was really great treat. The TCU guys were there again and had outdone themselves once more, they made us shirts! They are JOH 2008 South Route specific shirts with sponsors on the back and everything. In addition, one of their guys is a runner and he gave us all dry-fit style triathlon shirts that feel great in this hot weather. They even had a mechanic in the parking lot to do minor repairs for us! What a welcome.
More nice surprises at lodging. It was my first time staying in a YMCA and I never though they were so nice! The Fort Worth one has a beautiful facility and even had massage therapists on staff for us! I had my first massage and it was one of the most painful experiences ever. The reason was that each therapist only had about 15 minutes with us and our muscles were so tight from weeks of riding. My lady attacked my legs and neck; I couldn't breathe at all! It felt really good afterwards though.
We played wheelchair basketball against the University of Texas Mavs and were dominated. These guys were jacked and could somehow move from baseline to baseline without spinning their wheels once with their arms--just moving their bodies! I've never had more fun playing a game of sport than I do playing wheelchair basketball, it is truly a great time.

7/19/08 Stephenville, TX

Welcome to the cowboy capital of the world! Last leg of the triple crown today, and I was able to ride Noah's bike after he racked for knee problems about 45 miles in. I wanted to be on everyone else's level, just as exhausted, so I pulled 46 miles for my group---that did the trick! Noah's bike is nice and I was feeling really good. We had a lunch sponsored by the Pi Kapp chapter at Texas Christian University (TCU) and they were real good to us--brats! The TCU brothers were really nice and their chapter consistently raises the most money for Push America (not counting JOH fundraising), around $20,000 annually from what I heard.
The perfect way to cap the last few days of long mileage was to see Batman: The Dark Knight. Stephenville bought tickets for the team and we had a great, relaxing night. The movie was fantastic; Heath Ledger pulled off a convincing Joker and I would strongly recommend it.

7/18/08 Abilene, TX

I think windmills actually make for pretty scenery. There are very many dotting the landscape around this area of Texas, and this has been the only time that I have been unhappy to see them turn because that means winds for us! I read in an Abilene newspaper that there will be a $5 billion wind-power network built in the area over the next five years. It is nice to see a region built on oil invest in alternative energy. I started the day off great, pulling for about 26 miles and reaching 21.5 mph uphills. However, I did break a spoke and was unable to retrue the wheel when I replaced it. The reason I wasn't able to true the wheel was that the rim had begun to crack around the spoke nipples and needed to be replaced a long time ago.
The team was busy with two friendship visits before we even reached lodging. Lunch was at a BBQ sauce factory and chocolate bakery that is staffed by people with disabilities. We were lucky to try the sauces on our food (very good) but unfortunately the bakery was closed to us. I danced with few friends at our next visit, held a a community center. I shared a song with the talented dancer, Rosemary, and sat with her as we watched a KOB presentation. Lodging was generously provided by Hardin-Simmons University.

7/17/08 Snyder, TX

Yay, more Texas roads! We pushed through the ride today like it was mud, very slow. Maybe its the thick stench of dead armadillo, those things are nasty. The upside at least is that we had more time to enjoy the scenery. I hope when this trip is over that I am able to remember everything I see. The landscape is slowly growing fuller with trees, and the oil pumps are thinning out. We had a very brief friendship visit with the Snyder community. Today is the first day I've had country-fried steak. It is definitely a unique and tasty way to serve beef.

7/16/08 Lubbock, TX

The ride was longer than it should have been; 70 miles on strong headwinds and an awful road. The way roads they do roads in Texas is pour asphalt and then throw loose rocks on it. Dumb. Sam and I made the best we could out of it by talking in Texas accents (This is Amurica, and if you don't like it, you can git out!). No flats for me, but for others in my group, maybe the new tire is working.
Lodging at Lubbock Christian University. Single rooms again! I went overboard and spent a whole dollar on new flip-flops at Wal-Mart and picked up some of that tasty Icy-Hot.
Dinner and softball with the Lubbock State School. We had some good brisket, and Adam and I ate with a woman, Lisa. She had been around the program for awhile and now volunteers with the State School. Fox and NBC were there to do a story on us. Phil slipped up in his interview and told the reporters that our Triple Crown would be 300 miles in 300 days, not 3. Haha. (I don't know if I should keep writing "haha," it feels weird). Softball was fun, I hadn't played for a long time. And then I broke a bench when I sat down. Unfortunately, Jaffee forgot to set his alarm for Central time and overslept the friendship visit. I hope he doesn't get in too much trouble.

7/15/08 Muleshoe, TX

1st day in Texas baby! We stopped to take pictures at the state limit sign only to stop again 20 seconds later at a more elaborate welcome sign. No flats! Finished the ride but it was tough. After the first 10 miles we had a really thick headwind. Halfway through we stopped at Joe's Boot Shop, a South Route tradition. Some guys bought cowboy hats and belt buckles and looked pretty ridiculous.
We had a really nice lunch with the Jenny Slippers Ladies Organization. Follow this: Muleshoe used to be a stop back in the day for people to re-shoe their mules; a female mule is a called a jenny; slipper=shoe. The JSLO is an extension of the Chamber of Commerce here and they do charitable work. We did a KOB at a nursing home. Tough crowd; wrong demographic.
Dinner was AWESOME! Best so far for sure. Steaks, baked potatoes, green beans, rolls, apple pie, peach cobbler, and all sorts of cookies. The clincher is that the steaks were from a steer they slaughtered the day we came! The fresh taste is notable. The potatoes were even dug up that day. I was so full!

7/14/08 Portales, NM

Well, I made it 50 miles before racking with multiple flats. I guess the rim liner wasn't the key. I hate to rack but I feel its best for the team. Every time I get a flat, my paceline has to wait, and if that keeps happening everyone gets slowed down and I don't want them to get racked for time or slow their pace so I hop out. There was an ice arrival at city hall (apparently it is also the city fallout shelter) with water, friends, and a KOB. It was kind of awkward standing instead of riding in but I had fun hanging out with the little kids...until they told me I had "girl-eyes."
We stayed at Eastern New Mexico University. Confusing hallways but we got our own rooms. At the bike shop, I was told the rim was not a problem (now I'm really confused) so I bought a new tire. Drayton gave me a thick thorn-resistant tube so I have a very well protected wheel now. We'll see what happens.
Gant's mom sponsored a dinner and we went to Pizza Hut. The four slice limit sent us to Burger King after.

7/13/08 Roswell, NM

Late wake up to a continental breakfast at our glorious Ramada Limited. Roswell High School never returned our call so Ezra was able to swing us two nights in a hotel. By now, I'm actually uncomfortable in real beds! We went to a horse stable with the same group of friends from yesterday. They have a nice barn and program for children with disabilities. Therapeutic horse riding is provided there, and one girl, Alyssa, demonstrated the drills they do. I helped support her as she showed us her moves. She is wheelchair bound, and told me that riding a horse helps he simulate walking, and is the closest she will get.
The team was anxious during lunch because we were hoping to do runs AND visit the UFO museum. The UFO museum was awful! We were all disappointed. Instead of big displays and interesting exhibits, it is essentially cubicles with homemade crash scenarios and newspaper clippings hanging on the wall. What a let down! I didn't have to do laundry, so Zack, Zabala, Ciani, and I visited every alien shop in town. Also kind of unsatisfying.
Tom was able to contact a bike repairmen in town and we headed over. He couldn't find the problem but put in a new rim liner. While truing the wheel he told me there was an issue with the spokes and I may have to get a new wheel soon....
Trish got mad when I had to postpone her phone call to watch "Manswers" with the guys. Definitely worth it.

7/12/08 Roswell, NM

Another ride with Adam in the van, it was nice to have another cyclist with me again. The ride looked really nice today and I was sorry to miss it. New Mexico had a really temperate climate for us and it wasn't too hot at all and actually chilly in the morning. Ezra pissed a lot of people off by racking Colin, Jaffee, and Curphey for overlapping their bikes while climbing. They didn't cross the white line and it was a ridiculous call. He has a style of leadership that is ambiguous, and we are not used to it.
We staged us for arrival at Valley of Fires, a scenic area that had a magma flow years ago. Appropriately, a fire truck escorted us. The people welcomed us as if we were aliens! They stood creepily on the sidewalk, holding signs above their heads with the Journey of Hope AND extraterrestrials depicted. They reminded me of the Men In Black aliens who wore the human skins... Oh, and yes we did look for UFOs the entire time we were there. Bikes, balloons, and trash bags were all under suspicion.
Delicious enchiladas for dinner (yours are still better mom) at a sponsors house and played about 3 hours of volleyball afterwards. That was really a lot of fun. There was nothing to do in Roswell at night, but that didn't stop us from going out and learning that the hard way.

7/11/08 Carrizozo, NM

Didn't even try to ride because my wheel wouldn't have fixed itself overnight. Hope there is a bike shop here! I rode as a celebrity crew member in van 4 with Zack and Khankles and Adam. We had to mark a turn at this abandoned intersection with few scattered buildings and Adam and I practice our zombie walk down the street. We tried to scare Zack and Khankles but we couldn't stop laughing. One of the empty houses was a shop that sold "lore." Maybe that's why it went out of business....
The New Horizons of Carrizozo hosted our lunch and we visited with their residents. They were very gracious to us and I talked with a woman named Chiquita, like the bananas. She wouldn't stop smiling and was a pleasure to eat with. The school we stayed at was close and kind of crappy. I shaved the legs for a second time (I don't know how girls do it so often), wrote in my journal and had dinner at the church across the street. Beef brisket and mashed potatoes. So good. Two of our sponsors take care of skunks they find and brought out a baby and an adult for us to play with. They called themselves Skunkdaddy and Skunkmommy. Luckily no one got sprayed!

7/10/08 Socorro, NM

Ahhh! 3 flats in the same wheel within the first 20 miles of the ride. I told the group to go ahead on the last one and walked down a creepy road until a van picked me up. There were no people about, barking dogs lined the street behind fences, there was a knife handle on the road and I passed a street called "Dos Locos." I just wish I could ride without problems; it has to be a wheel issue and that will cost.
The shower lost water at New Mexico Mine and Technology and we couldn't move in until six so the team had to waste time at a park and then a Wal-Mart on this rainy day. Someone forgot the sandal bag and now my flip-flops are gone. It's just not my day!
Our friendship visit was at a school hosted by this...woman. She had called a day before to tell us to be more enthusiastic, because she was disappointed with last year's performance. She was crazy and had about 4 long rat tails. I don't understand the style. I talked with this guy, Carlos, who really liked "The Price is Right." He would call himself Bob Barker or Drew Carey. Carlos was about 13 but looked much older because he had a cyst in his head that put pressure on his pituitary gland and made him mature faster. He drank my Gatorade right and front of me; I didn't know what to do.
I helped serve fruit salad during dinner and I had the help with the spoons from a 4 year old girl named Jordan. She and her sister Justine ate with us and watched me do a KOB. Then we played Jingle Bells with our armpits. Then they helped decorate my bike for a decorating contest and it was awesome. It looked great with crepe paper, balloons, shiny things and stuff.

7/9/08 Albuqurque,NM

I was able to ride today! All I had was a slow leak in my front tube that I changed while we racked over INterstate 40. A really easy , scenic ride. The red rock formations that I think of unique to the southwest came into view in this area of New Mexico, especially around this one neat turn called Deadman's Curve. (It's not dangerous though). Luxurious accomodations at the Marriott. It will be nice to sleep in a real bed and catch some current events on CNN.
A rock climbing wall was brought to our friendship visit and we were able to test ourselves on it. It's a hard thing to do, my feet and hands were tired and shaking at the end. It was definitely cool to watch kids in wheelchairs hoist themselves up by their arms. I ate lunch with a nice kid named Chris and his caretaker. He was into videogames and movies alot, I learned that a lot of movies are shot in Albuquerque, including Transformers and the new Terminator 4. After, we went fishing and I hung out with a kid named Jordan. He lost a ton of bait and caught no fish but we had a lot of fun.

7/8/08 Grants, NM

I am hating this right now. I have no idea what to do and I'm getting really frustrated. I don't know why I am having all this bike trouble. I put brand new tires on a week ago, ones that were recommend to me as the most durable by a bike shop back home. However, on today's ride I racked up because of my tires. It went like this: I used a biking trick to make a ripped tire last. I folded up a dollar bill and placed it against the rip on the inside of the tire. The fibers in the note are strong enough to hold. I made it twenty miles before getting a rear flat. As soon as I fixed that my front tire went flat. I pulled out two metal slivers and changed the tube. When I finished, I noticed that my back tire was flat, AGAIN. I was slowing my pace line down so I decided to pack it up. Something must be really wrong for all this to be happening, and I want a professional to look at my bike.
Again, no bike shop in Grants. I don't want to rack again, so when I had some spare time I completely disassembled my wheels and examined the rims, tires and tubes to find some sort of problem. After checking and cleaning, I pumped up new fresh tubes and we will see how far I get tomorrow. There will definitely be a bike shop in Albuquerque.
Dinner with the Kiwanis club. They did not stop bringing out food; hot dogs, hamburgers, chili, sandwiches, taquitos, and ice cream. We were grateful for the variety.

7/7/08 Zuni, NM

It's our first day in New Mexico, but there is no reason to come to Zuni. The town is on, conveniently a Zuni Native American reservation, and there is not much that makes up the town. Still not as rundown as Mina, NV though. Zuni is 110 miles north of Lakeside, so we go north into New Mexico, and then spend days working back down south to Roswell. It would be more efficient to go straight east through the state. We wouldn't miss anything because we had no friendship visit, and our sponsor didn't stay for dinner, just dropped off pizza and fruit and left. Sad to say, dinner wasn't even satisfying, we had to order more pizza.
I didn't ride today because of my ripped tire, and I didn't want to use Drayton's bike the entire ride because I would have had to make some precise adjustments to be comfortable and I don't want to make those changes to some one else's bike. Unfortunately no bike shop in Zuni, so I'm not sure what I will do. I spent the day as a celebrity crew member with Drayton, Farva (Brian looks like Farva from Super Troopers), and Eric. The company was good but I was so bored. I badly wanted to be out on the road.

7/6/08 Lakeside, AZ

A lengthy, challenging ride, but with great scenery. We spent the first half of the day climbing through a rocky mountain range covered in short, green trees. The best part was reaching the Salt River Canyon. Its like the Grand Canyon, but not quite as grand. The view is spectacular, and so was the descent, zig-zagging down to the river, and then crossing it. Unfortunately, what goes down, must come up, and we climbed up the OTHER side of the canyon. I was very frustrated with the flats I had on brand new Gatorskin tires. A half inch vertical sidewall rip deterred me from using my bike for the rest of the day and I finished as much as we could on Drayton's LeMond, because he was racked for knee issues. Towards the end of the ride, the entire team was racked for thunder and lightening. Storms are rare for us, and it was cool to watch.
There was a strange vibe to the people who hosted us the local Episcopal church. One woman told out Ezra for denying our use of the women's restroom....For no good reason we presented a KOB (the audience consisted of 6 senior citizens). Wrong audience but great comedy. David Brown unknowingly had his puppet facing the opposite way the entire show. Also, there is an ongoing joke for whoever plays the Mark Riley character to substitute "crusier" (Mark's name for his wheelchair) with another random vehicle. Chuck started it off strong with a "Dodge Stratus" followed by a "Kia Sedona," but Peter took it to a new level tonight with a "Bell Attack Helicopter with Sidewinder Missiles." It was hilarious. To us.

7/5/08 Globe, AZ

Had my first crash today! Leaving Tempe, we ran into a lot of stoplights, and Gant was slow to call out a red. My front tire rubbed his, and I went down and slid a few feet. My left side a little ripped up, especially down my forearm and my upper leg was road rashed. I was surprised at how easily my feet came unclipped from the pedals, with out me even trying. Matt Larson was behind and ran over me and my bike, but luckily everything is ok.
The desert views of Arizona were great today, because we did a lot of climbing. The landscape here is still dry, but there are lot more trees and bushes. I like Arizona the best so far of all the states we have cruised through.
The nice people of the Globe Lions fed us a new combo of fried chicken and pizza. I talked to them and learned more about their service work overseas and the work they do locally. Apparently Hellen Keller had contacted the organization in the early twentieth century and ever since the Lions have been serious advocates of eyesight, providing glasses to people who need them.

7/4/08 Tempe, AZ

I got an unheard of 10 hours of sleep, and still had time to run downstairs and do my laundry. We essentially live in the same jersey or t-shirt everyday, and it gets a little grimy. A Pi Alpha from ASU provided lunch for us: fried chicken, something new! To follow that up, we crusied over to the Tempe Center for Habilitaion (TCH) for an ice cream social with the residents. I ate with Sharon; she told us stories about her family, who was spread out all over the western United States. Eric and Eddy didn't talk much, but they sure enjoyed their ice cream.
The rest of the afternoon was ours and the team was given tickets to the Tempe Town Lake 4th of July Festival. It is a big deal here and we had a lot of fun. People flooded into this area near the lake, where live music, vendors, and tv crews crammed the area. We all got a great seat right near the bridge and enjoyed the 40 minutes worth of fireworks. I had never seen a show that long. Some good classic rock but also some corny patritotic music was playing in the background. Phil was being an Air Force nerd and stood up during the Star-Spangled Banner, he was the only one in the crowd to do so. It was a nice night with the team.

7/3/08 Phoenix, AZ

We had an easy ride today, but it became longer and longer. The grade was relatively flat and a lack of headwind kept our speed high, between 18-23 mph. My pace line (but not me for once!) had about 5 flats, which slowed us down. Approaching Phoenix, we encountered a bunch of stoplights and had to blast through when we could, to beat our rack point.
The ASU campus in Phoenix welcomed us for a stage up, and we got a police escort 15 miles until we reached the Tempe campus. It was an exceptionally long arrival, but it was cool to have all the lights changed to green for us. The local Pi Kapp chapter and some of their sorority friends provided a great pizza lunch and we got our mail. A nearby bike shop preformed free labor and discounts for us, so I stocked up on tubes (you can't beat $2.50). Afterwards, the team proceeded to Lazer Quest for a friendship visit. Unfortunately it was mediocre. The laser tag was a blast, my team swept, but the friends were not very enthusiastic or interactive.
We had the night to ourselves but for some reason Tempe didn't have much to offer. It didn't matter much, though, because we were exhausted and ready for and 11:00am wakeup.

7/2/08 Wickenburg, AZ

Today was one of the roughest days on the bike. A total of nine people racked throughout the ride; the 110 miles and 118 degree heat took a toll on everyone. I was feeling absolutely terrible and was llooking for a reason to stop. I felt like passing out; it was hard to focus and my body was exhausted. Salt from my sweat covered my face, arms and stained through my jersey.
I couldn't wait to finish but I didn't quit. Matt Gant helped a ton to keep me peddling. A combination of encouragement and some clutch hydration tablets he uses in his triathalons sustained me until we reached Wickenburg High School.
Lodging was a nice relief; plenty of space and A/C. A nap before dinner recharged my batteries. I think spending the entire day in the sun at Parker really drained a lot of energy. Live and learn. Thanks to the Wickenburg Elks lodge for dinner. Can't wait to collapse.

7/1/08 Parker, AZ

Only 30 miles, no head wind and only a few hills. The shoulder got rough at one point and Yragi hit my rear tire and fell. For some reason, when two different bikes' tires touch, only the person behind falls. He's okay though. We were the first to arrive and made it before 10:30 am. What was waiting for us were kind folks, refreshments and a house 12ft from the Colorado River. We jumped off the story dock and enjoyed ourselves in the cool water. It was a beautiful day and I read my book and rode a jet-ski for the first time! I was timid at first but it was a ton of fun. Not much to tell about the day; it was spent pretty much all in the river, and was very relaxing.

6/30/08 Lake Havasu, AZ

The team was tiny bit disoriented this morning. We were told that Lake Havasu would be our only completely free day off. However, we were woken up early for a friendship visit breakfast. Needless to say, our enthusiasm was lacking, as we were totally exhausted. The organization that hosted the meal was called New Horizons, and we given a tour of the facility. I was impressed; the help their clients live independently in the apartments the provide.
I skipped errands today to swim in the wave pool and enjoy the water slide. It was awesome until the lifeguard started correcting me on my water slide form, and so I left for the hot tub. For lunch, we went to this real nice house, enjoyed some great burgers and more swimming in a private pool. One of our sponsors, Brigid, brought us all copies of the local paper, where we made the front page. She was very gracious to our team during our stay.
We stuffed more food into ourselves a few hours after lunch at the Golden Corral. How can we resist a buffet? While Ezra left our table, we put all sorts of food and condiments into his drink. He brought it to his lips and then caught on once some vanilla ice cream made it to the top.

6/29/08 Lake Havasu, AZ

Glorious Havasu! The greatest place in the world! An easy ride, the last 20 miles we rode with Lake Havasu police and fireman, which was neat. We had a sweet police motorcycle escort that rode ahead and blocked intersections for us. Our lodging was a nice surprise; it was an aquatic center (with a wave pool!), and the first sight of it was a three story water slide!
We had lunch and spent the afternoon on the lake with the yacht club (la-te-da!). They took us out on their boat and provided us with a jet-ski and another boat that pulled a tube on the back. It felt amazing to just float in the water for a few hours. The lake was beautiful and warm. The club also provided us with gift bags filled with the essentials: toothpaste, soap, goldbond, and postcards. We had a great time. However, I did lose my RoadID jumping off the boat.
I preformed my first KOB after dinner, which was a ton of fun. I play the lovely Brenda, who interacts with a blind boy named Renaldo. Two thumbs up.

6/28/08 Bullhead City, AZ

3 big happenings today. We left Vegas at about 5:00 am to beat the heat, and I saw my first real-life prostitute! She was walking home and blew me a kiss……and everyone else in my pace line. That’s one. Second, shortly after that, a crackhead shouted to us that she hated us and wanted us to die. Pretty funny. Third, WE ARE FINALLY OUT OF NEVADA!! Save Las Vegas, I hate that state. There is nothing there. After a long, hot ride over yellow hills, we crossed the Colorado river into Bullhead City, AZ. Its pretty close to California; we actually passed a town, originally named Cal-Nev-Ari. Coming downhill into Bullhead City, we hit a wall of heat. It was warm to begin with, but as we crested our last hill and rode the 6% grade over the river, it covered us like a blanket. It was an interesting experience, because I had been warned about before this trip. Our excitement turned to frustration as we pushed through the last five miles to lodging on a busy, graveley, and waterless ride. Our efforts were again rewarded with no running water at Bullhead Junior High and we were shuttled to a motel that was kind enough to let us use the showers in their rooms. We caught some CNN to catch up with the real world, only to find that there is nothing else happening in the world except for our presidential election.

We had dinner with Freemasons at lodge NO. 68. We got a tour and the opportunity to learn about this “secret society.” I got a t-shirt and hat from them as an award for having the most flats

6/27/08 Las Vegas, NV

We spent this entire day in Adventuredome at Circus Circus, which is an indoor theme park. It was an all day friendship visit, during which we were each paired with a kid from the Lorenzi center to take with us on the rides. My guy was Sheldon and he was a blast. We paired up with his friend Tommy who was with Alex. Unfortunately, Shelley didn’t want to ride a lot of the fast rides like the roller coaster so I had to wait with him and then do it again while some one watched him. However, he did come with me for the pirate ship, disk-o and laser tag, and we had a blast.

Back at the Lorenzi center, we had to sit in a room for 4 hours until the BBQ was ready, a decision that really disappointed us, as we could have used that time to nap, shave, or do other things. I killed time with a few guys by walking to 7-11 and McDonald's. Its starting to get really hot out here.

A bunch of people game out to the BBQ; the weather was perfect. I played with a kid named Jake for awhile, until his ball got stuck in a tree. The funny part came when his dad threw a woman’s wallet in the tree to get out the ball and it got stuck! I nearly choked on my food when I saw it happen. I was able to get some good sleep for our century to Bullhead City tomorrow.

6/26/08 Las Vegas, NV

We had a strong headwind into the city, and then took an obscure route up and down the suburban outskirts. The crew had made it seem as if we were close, and no one stocked up on food and water, so we were quite miserable as we struggled to our stage up area. We made an arrival at a local community center and received a hero’s welcome from dozens of screaming kids. The city of Las Vegas declared today, “Push America Day,” which was pretty cool. The little guys were 5-13 years old and I always have a blast with them. Cheering and high-fives everywhere! We put on a Kids on the Block show and played a nasty game of wheel-chair basketball. We got our butts kicked! IT was a ton of fun but the team we played had girls going to play wheelchair ball at college, on scholarship! They stuck on us like white on rice.

We racked to University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and got dinner at IN-N-OUT burger, courtesy of Drayton Perkins' parents. If you ever go, get “animal style” for an extra kick. We were then unleashed on the city. Alllllllllll right.

I went out with Alex Mitchell, Peter Van Overbeek, Andrew Metcalfe, and Drayton. We walked through a couple shady areas but finally made it to the strip. We started at the MGM Grand and walked the entire strip, all the way to the Stratosphere. We rode the coaster at New York New York and checked out the inside. The main floor is made out like Manhattan; there is a Chinatown, Little Italy, and Central Park, with foliage everywhere. We caught the light show at the Bellagio and were very impressed. After seeing a pirate ship battle outside of Treasure Island, we toured the Venetian. I had no idea that there were canals and gondolas inside! Very cool. The hours passed and we wrapped the night up at the Stratosphere. The Stratosphere is a casino hotel similar to the Seattle Spaceneedle, but has 3 rides outside on the very top. We chose the Big Shot, and it was hands down the best ride I have ever been on. Seats surround a square pillar and after the red lights and gas goes off, we were shot up at 45 mph. We were as high as you could get over the city, and that’s all we could see beneath us! Then came the free fall, my stomach found its way into my throat. It was awesome! I liked it enough to buy a picture of the priceless faces we made.

6/25/08 Indian Springs, NV

Each town gets worse than the last. I had a record 3 flats today, Chris Curphee and Adam Upshaw each had one, so 5 as a team. It was ridiculous. There were many games of “throw rock at glass bottle” as we changed tubes. Again, tailwinds at the start, headwinds at the end of a 75 mile ride. A weird thing happened at one of the crew stops. At dinner in Beatty, there was an attractive-ish (by our new standards) girl. She and a friend had followed us to the stop! This was about 50 miles in and their excuse was that they were going to Vegas to “wash their car…but Vegas was 115 miles from Beatty. We think they just wanted attention, or that our crew guy Andy was working some of his magic. As he chatted them up we kept yelling at him to give us pumps, water, and food, anything to distract him.

Ready for shower at Indian Springs High School, we discovered the water was off! We hate Nevada! We made Wal-mart, Bike Shop, and laundry runs in Vegas (clean clothes!) and had a nice restaurant dinner at the Lone Star Steak House. I need to give a shout out to the ProCyclery Bike Shop we used in Las Vegas. They appreciated our cause and gave us towns of Hammergel, Chamois butter, and electrolytes for free. IT was very generous, so I dropped some money on new tubes there. Pumped for Vegas tomorrow!

6/24/08 Beatty, NV

I was finally able to mail some stuff home in Tonopah so my load is a lot lighter. We got ourselves 95 miles away from Tonopah, which is not far enough for us yet. Beatty is yet another small town, however, it is bigger than the collections of shacks, like Mina, that we had passed on the way. It was my first time riding with Chuck Knotts, Matt Gant, and Colin McKnight, and I got to know those guys better. Chuck and Matt are from Colorado and Gant had actually ridden with Marc Saintraymond and John Caldwell, two of my brothers from Virginia Tech. We passed through the ghost town of Goldfield, which had actually been Tonopah’s competition in terms of population growth decades ago. You can guess what its main industry was. Many games of : “throw rock at bottle”.

The Nevada rides are desolate. There is gray desert with light brush for as far as we can see. Endless lines of wooden telephone poles follow us and mountains surround us in the distance. IT is as tough mentally as it is physically. T

o prove that the puppets really talked and that the one with cerebral palsy could walk (that’s impossible because he can’t). We promptly ended the show then.