We finally made it to Colorado! My home state, the greatest state in the nation, a state that is much better than any other state. The best part about Colorado so far, is that we have been busier than have been on the whole trip! Not only with riding, but also with friendship visits! We had a nice 60 mile ride into Fort Collins to start it off. Fo Co was a great place to start our journey through Colorado even though it home to the rams. We stopped at the border to light off fireworks because Colorado has a ban. Once we got into Fort Collins, we got to the Chapter house of the local Pi Kapps and they sponsored a lunch for us which was pretty great. We were able to use their internet and hang out with the guys from the chapter. That night we went out to a local bar and had a great time with all of the local Pi Kapps.

The next day we had a short 50 mile day into Boulder. My home town! It was pretty great being able to show the team my school and home town. It was a beautiful day and we really got to see Boulder at its finest! We arrived at the a local rec center to meet with some paralympic athletes who race wheelchairs. One of the men there is a former Boston Marathon winner with a time of 1 hour and 30 minutes! It was a pretty amazing experience to see the athletes in action because these guys are world class athletes. They set up two racing chairs on rollers for all of us to race each other on. Each person had one minute to see how fast and far we could go. Needless to say, after that one minute my arms were dead and the next day I could barely lift them above my head. These guys will average 19 miles an hour over the course of a whole marathon, and the fastest that I got in my 1 minute was 11 miles per hour working as hard as I could. It blows my mind that those guys can even begin to go that fast! Overall this was a great friendship visit that really showcased the abilities of people with disabilities. The media was out at the event and you can read the story and see the video they took from this link:

http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_15444552.

We also had a friendship visit with Sky'z the Limit, a local organization that works with people with disabilities. We had dinner, played basketball, softball, and yard games. That night our lodging fell through and Jessi, one of my older Boulder brethren let us all stay in his apartment. We crashed in the garage which was a funny site to see 20 guys pile into such a small space. Sara got home from Europe the same day that we got into Boulder so it was pretty exciting to be able to see her for the first time in a month.

The next day we all woke up really excited to get into Denver. We had a short 25 mile day and the weather was perfect. The route that we took was the same one that I took going home during training so many times, so I was really familiar with it. The team arrived at Invesco Field with the North Team cheering us in to the arrival. Brendle and I got to see some of our fellow brothers from Boulder who are riding on the North route this summer. Both teams got a tour of the field and took tons of pictures. After the tour both teams 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. They shut down Colfax which is a main road through Denver for us to ride in. We arrived at the Capital to cheering parents, friends, and sponsors. The Governor Ritter spoke about the initiatives the state had embarked on for people with disablitlites and came around to thank each one of us individually for the work we are doing. Meanwhile Momma Hamilton or "Momilton" as the team calls her, went down the line making everyone put sunscreen on their noses. 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 two teams join up with Special Olympics athletes and ride laps around the pond in city park. The Special Olympics athletes are sponsored for each lap that they ride. I rode with a high school student named Mellissa. Together we completed 9 laps around the pond and we had a great conversation and a fun time barking at the geese surrounding the area. 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. Everyone knows I like to bust a move, and if you are not everyone... I like to bust a move. I partook in the worm and a wonderful slow dance with Emily, a 24 year old special olympics athlete to the tune of "My Heart Will Go ON" by the one and only Celine Dion. Sara was able to come to the event as well, which was a ton of fun especially when she got a video of everyone dancing to "Party in the USA" - Miley Cyrus. That night we all went out to a bar with the North team to hang out, and then Sara and I walked up and down the 16th street mall for awhile.

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 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 in the chair and hit the opponents chair as hard as you can. At first it was scary but after being knocked around a couple times it 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. Sara and my parents met me at the game which was pretty great because I havent been able to see them all summer. During the both Trans and North joined together to start the wave which lasted the entire 7th inning which was a spectacle to see because guys were just yelling to the lower level to get them to do the wave with us. 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. I said my goodbyes to my brothers on the North team and my parents, headed back to lodging knowing we had an early wake up to get to Colorado Springs in the morning.

This post is starting to get long, so I will cut it off now and post another blog in a couple days, keep checking the photos tab for new photos!

Until next time, enjoy the ride!