Waking up the morning of our Denver ride, I was giddy… pure and simple. Not only was I energized to spend two days in a city I had heard so many positive things about, but I was also about to reunite with the three Elon boys on the North team route. Our teams happened to converge in the city at the same time and we were set to come together at Invesco Field, the home of the Denver Broncos. Since we had a shorter ride that day, we had some time to kill before the Northerners arrived. When Sam, Jim and Scotty came rolling in, it felt surreal. It was great to see nothing had changed (including Mr. Rampton’s lovable awkwardness) and we began swapping stories of our respective summers on the road. In a very cool surprise, the two teams were given access to walk onto the stadium field (my first time on legitimate NFL turf) to take pictures and witness the massive “Welcome Journey of Hope” sign that greeted us.
Following a formal arrival ceremony at the capitol building, North and TransAm met up again later that night for an event called “Pedal for Pennies.” The fundraiser was organized by Special Olympics Colorado and featured people with disabilities cycling around a track with Push America partners. It was inspiring to see how thrilled these individuals were each time they rounded a turn to the cheering crowd and there was at least one guy who was definitely speedy enough to hang with the JOH! After the cycling, everyone convened for dinner and we were treated to a speech by one of the athletes, Emily, who explained how much the support meant to her. What happened next was nothing short of awesome. A full-on dance party popped off! A few of the hits: “YMCA,” “Shout,” “I Want it that Way” (serenaded by all the guys to two of the female athletes) and, yes, “Man I Feel Like a Woman.” Definitely a candidate for best friendship visit evvvver.
Another Denver highlight: seeing my fellow Eloners and newfound Denver residents Mike Purcell, Kelsey Edwards, Liz Jazinski and Caroline Crouch. My first familiar faces (minus the North boys) in a long time! They picked a great city and I look forward to returning sooner rather than later.
After a bona fide vacation in JOH world (two off days, two light rides), we had to get back in the business of headed toward the east coast. This meant our earliest wakeup yet (4:45… yikes) and a 90 mile ride to Colorado Springs. On this day we had the pleasure of riding with Bruce Rogers, the man who began the Journey of Hope in 1987 and remains the event’s biggest sponsor through his company KRG Capital. I unfortunately did not get to speak with him much one-on-one, but it was awesome to simply be in the presence of the person who started it all.
The ride turned out to be a bit on the harder side, partially because our legs had gotten accustomed to forgoing daily abuse. When it came time for the 8 mile police escort into town (very long for us), we were told that the remainder of the ride was “all downhill.” Note to anyone ever considering taking this on: never never ever believe that phrase!! Regardless of the discrepancy, we arrived at the national Olympic Training Center on time to an enthusiastic crowd (many there for hometown boy James Frederick). Outline of the day at the OTC: mervings galore in the athlete cafeteria, a chance to meet Lopez Lomong (a former lost boy of Sudan who was selected to carry the American flag at the 2008 games in Beijing!), the former triathlon of the world and a four-time para olympian in cycling and skiing named Allison, who cycled into town with us. We also toured the center’s incredible facilities and everything was just ridiculous in the best possible way. We spent the night in lodging at Colorado College in… beds! A blessing and a curse (the whole waking up element), but always appreciated.
^ Lomong and I
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