Ride For a Reason 2008 - Our Blog: July 2008

So, we just made our way through the incredible Rocky Mountains putting to shame just about anything else that we had seen yet. Much has happened since our last blog: people have graced us with their hospitality, new friends have been made, way too much time has been spent, mountains have been conquered, and sadly, as of now we are down to only three people from the original group- Aaron, Shawn, and Billy. Here is a recap:

Jonathan- The night before heading into Colorado, Jonathan got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit a metal beam sticking out leaving him with a gash on his forehead and all the way down his nose. He eventually had to be sent to an out-of-town hospital for surgery accompanied by Shawn and Helen. (Luckily they were camping next to a hospital at the time) Realizing that we had to get him home we had to cheat and get a ride from Kansas to Colorado Springs, CO. (thanks so much to Big John for helping us out by giving us the 200 mile ride.) After finally meeting up with everyone, we had to see off Jonathan. I must say, saying goodbye was extremely tough, I found myself actually fighting back a bit. To spend that much time with someone on this type of new journey, things were really put into perspective on how far we had really come. We were in Colorado. We left from Maryland, the East Coast, the Atlantic Ocean by bicycle. People don't even associate with the East Coast just as we Marylanders/NC'ers don't associate with California. Each state we have had to get more and more general in our description of where we were riding from. By then we didn't say any towns or anything, only east coast, Maryland. That is how far we had come, and to see someone not be able to continue on was very grounding after such a journey. We enjoyed your company Jonathan, and look forward to touring again in the future. Miss you man.

Ah, now I am realizing that this post is taking far longer than expected and computer time is limited. I'll try to update with more info later (although i don't know how accessible the internet is in the desert.) Just want to say thanks and bye to some more people real quick, but more to come:
Steven- thanks for hangin with us and your patience in helping out with our un-bike knowledge. Have a safe journey on to San Francisco, look forward to catching your stories on your blog.
Walker- good times man, sad to see you move on, but it was awesome, enjoy the meeting of the ocean and Denmark next semester.
Patty and Jeremy- Wow, thanks for the incredible hospitality/food/help in welcoming complete strangers into your home. Congratulations on getting married!
Daudi, Tania, and Reuben- Also, thanks so much for letting us into your home, you made Durango one of our favorite places so far. Look forward to visiting again.... no but seriously. Thanks so much for the food, raft, car, ripsticks, and time with you all.
The Dutch family- thanks for the ride through Mesa Verde.

Pics...

Sad day, so long Jonathan

Garden of the Gods, awesome campsite in the bush the night before

What a badass

Headed down to Johnson Village, 13 mile downhill, can't beat it. Although, Monarch Pass followed it

Cerca de Mesa Verde

Bill and I saw some snow and decided that climbing to 11,312 feet on bike wasn't enough so we climbed to 12,000 to build a snowman

Bridge in Durango. Walker actually had just slipped off the Guard rail and is now trying to re-straighten himself before hitting the water. Also: movie fact- this is where the Sun Dance Kid jumped off the rocks in Butch Cassady and the Sun Dance Kid