Day 25: Farmland Nebraska

Day 25:

We started off the day with our earliest start of the trip as we woke up at 6am and were on the road by 7:45am. Getting the early start ended up working out better than planned, as we lost yet another hour coming into Nebraska. It has been an amazing trip thus far and seeing God work through the people we have come across on our journey. Yesterday we were able to have a RV park donated to us through Hitch 'N Post Campgrounds. Today Christian got us a sweet hookup (see video attached) in Culbert, NE. A special thank you to Hitch N Post campgrounds and Ted Rippen for so kindly making us feel at home. side-note: Gagne came up on his first flat (tire) since California. Anywho, we're all super stoked to get into Nebraska as we end the month. Also, just right now as Nate was taking pictures of the countryside he almost got eaten alive by a snake! (just kidding about the eaten alive part)...not kidding about the bitten by a snake part. This is just day 1 of Nebraska. any more adventures and stories to come...stay tuned folks.

Look Ma, No Hands!

Day 24: A relatively uneventful day lead to the making of our video as we got into Wray, CO fairly early. Hey, sometimes no news is good news (means no day 2 crash). Tomorrow we are scheduled to get into Nebraska. Enjoy the video, as we love making these videos for y'all.

Day 23: To Grandmothers House We Go!!!

Day 23: To Grandmothers House We Go!!!

We started our day at 7:30 with an amazing breakfast prepared by Margret Tom. As we left Denver and set out for Fort Morgan, Colorado, the scenery quickly changed from Mountains to plains and rolling hills. Today we burned just over 5,000 calories according to our new GPS system. We are hoping that it will help us not get lost so often. Day 1 with GPS = successful! As we arrived in Fort Morgan we were met by Garrett Lebsock’s grandmother, Elsie Naill. We quickly made up for those calories lost during the ride. It was clear that we had not been on the bike for a few days because all of our butts are sore, even Nate’s. If you haven’t heard the story of Garrett and his wife Kelly your in for a treat. I have known Garrett for over 2 years and Christian has known him for even longer. I first met Garrett on the baseball field at APU. I could tell immediately that he was one of those great friends and just a great person to know. Garrett’s wife Kelly is that same type of person. If you have noticed on the back of our jersey we have a Bible verse, Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good for in time we will reap if we do not give up”. To get a logo on the back of our Connect for the CURE jersey, we were accepting donations of $1000. About 2 months before we set off for New York City, Garrett and Kelly called me up and told me that they have been saving some money for over 3 months and wanted to donate. Needless to say, I was excited by the mere fact that this recently married young couple was interested in what we (Connect for the CURE) were doing and wanted to help. I was blown away when they told me that he wanted to donate enough money to get a verse on the back of our jersey!!! There is more.,, Garrett’s father had passed away recently to a long battle with cancer. Garrett and Kelly wanted to donate and have a verse put on our jersey in honor of Garrett’s father. To me it was extremely encouraging to see these two young people care so much about their father, our cause, and supporting their friends. Thank you Garrett, Kelly, Elsie and everyone else who has and continue to be apart of Connect for the CURE.

Day 22: A Day Through Matt's Eyes

Day 22:

7:15 am - woke up in my bed at the Kurica's

7:20 am - went upstairs

7:21 am - ate a bowl of Life while watching a couple of deer feed out in the front yard

7:33 am - walked downstairs

7:35 am - brushed my teeth while staring at Christian as he exited the bathroom

7:50 am - finished getting ready

8:01 am - ate a delicious breakfast(I ate twice) with the Kurica's(they made us eggs, bacon, and toast, yum)

8:20 am - hopped in the Kurica's Land Cruiser with Christian and Nate and headed for the Procycling parking lot

8:33 am - entered the Procycling parking lot

8:33 am - waited for Ryan to show up with the "support car"

8:34 am - Ryan showed up

8:57 am - got dressed and ready to go for the ride (quite a few people showed up to ride with us - awesome!)

9:14 am - met with our fellow riders and took a few pictures

9:28 am - said our final goodbyes to those we left in the Springs

9:41 am - started our ride (a little behind schedule)

9:46 am - a mile into the ride - first flat tire in CO (made the group wait)

9:52 am - fixed the problem and we were on our way again

10:10 am - about eight miles into the ride my rear hub was acting up

10:11 am - Larry stopped with me to try and fix the problem

10:13 am - didn't work

10:19 am - our "ride with us" people had to go (!dumb bike!!)

10:42 am - threw on the spare wheel and we were on our way again

10:43 am - really behind schedule - rode like the wind (during this time there was just a lot of riding...not a whole lot went on, so it jumps to 3:32)

3:32 pm - made it to Denver (Nate is a great driver...)

3:45 pm - made it to ABC 7 news station

3:51 pm - Ryan did a good job at the interview (YAY Ryan!)

4:02 pm - we rode a little to give the camera guy a few shots (footage of us riding)

4:13 pm - hopped in the "support car" and went to a local bike shop to get our bikes fixed

4:42 pm - went to the Toms (We want to thanks the Toms for opening up their home to us)

4:45 pm - took a shower in the steam shower room

5:00 pm - hung out with the crew by the t.v. to watch us on the channel 7, 5 0'clock news

5:41 pm - Nate and Christian talked on the phone with ladies

6:00 pm - many guests showed up including the Kuricas

6:15 pm - had a lovely dinner (pasta salad, cookies, chicken, appetizers, etc.)

9:30ish pm (I really don't know) - the guests left (had a wonderful time with them, sharing stories, touring the "support car")

9:25 pm - replaced another flat (don't know how that happened - mysterious) on my bike

9:45 pm - said bye to the remaining guest that were leaving

10:00 pm - went downstairs with Christian and Nate to relax (if there is any confusion we are still at the Toms) while Ryan was upstairs figuring out our new bike GPS!

10:12 pm - got ready for bed

11:37 pm - Good Night!

Thank You to all the riders that rode with us on our way to Denver. It was great having you there and truly appreciated to us.

Last day in Colorado Springs: Going out with a bang!

Day: 21

Big day for Team Connect for the CURE. We got up around 8:30am had breakfast, then headed for the Pro cycling parking lot where we had our event. We would like to give a huge shout out to Bob Athey and Chris Pratts for roasting the pig (they began roasting at 2:30am...crazy!). Thank you guys we appreciate all the work put into making the pig taste like Christmas. The team set up with the help of the Rosenhahn's, Kurica's, and friends. We each had free demos done by Kelli Crosby at Synergy, a physical therapy place in the same parking lot. It was weird...she used this thing called trigger points where she stuck needles in our muscles. The muscles were twitching like crazy; it was the first time we had this done. Back to the event. The event was great. There was family, friends, and even people who came because they heard about the event from either the news, an email, or word of mouth. It was especially exciting to see a couple we met in Pagosa Springs hot springs attend the event we had invited them to many days in advance. And they won a helmet raffled off. woot woot! We were able to share conversations with our guests over great food and live music by Danny Yuan. Thanks Danny for coming out, the music was awesome. We want to thank all of you who came out and for supporting us. We will be riding from Colorado Springs to Denver tomorrow, so come out and ride with us...it's going to be a blast from the past!

Open-house

Day: 20

Last night was a late night for the two cuddlers. They stayed up watching a movie and didn't get to bed until four or five in the morning! Oh!!! Last night we saw Black Bears near Laura's home; there was a mom and two cubs. Three of us haven't seen bears in the wild...it was an amazing sight. Moving on...We all got up pretty early to catch the Brazil/Portugal game (which was pretty boring - it was a draw) at the Kurica's. Ryan had to go run a few errands, so the three of us (Christian, Matt, and Nate) just relaxed and waited 'til the Spain/Chile game (which was more exciting). After he ran his errands, Ryan came and got the three of us. We went to Ryan's place to help set up for the open-house. After the set up, the four of us headed out for lunch. We had Chick-fil-A, a first for both Christian and Nate (there have been many firsts for all of us on this trip). When we got back to the house we watched Mr. Rosenhahn (Tom) make home-made root-beer which was pretty cool. Shortly after, our guests began to trickle in. Having about 40 or 50 guests, we were able to chat with them over tacos and drinks. We then presented to everyone the progress we have made on our trip and we presented our mission and goals. Afterwards we had question and answer time which was cool; it gave us a bigger connection with some of our supporters. We then showed some of our blog videos (we probably watch them more than anyone else). It was great to meet everyone and it's awesome to see how many supporters and followers we have in the Springs. Thanks everyone for coming out and we hope to see you at the pig roast and raffle tomorrow!

picture of Mr. Rosenhahn's famous home made root beer brewing.

Connect For The Cure: Diabetes USA Cycle Tour

Connect For The Cure: Diabetes USA Cycle Tour: "Riding cross-country to raise money and awareness for diabetes is personal."

Homecoming!!!!

We began our day bright and early. Ryan woke up at 4:45 to meet up with the team in Cañon City. Ryan had to purchase a new bike that actually fits him. Hopefully he will regain feeling in his feet. Thanks for the interest free loan from bank of the Rosenhahn family :) After drooling over the new bike, we set out for Colorado Springs to meet our family, friends, and news crew at 10:30. The ride was very hilly, but the locals still call it flat. Downhills today were epic and made it possible to make it to Procycling on time. We were greeted and interviewed by fox 21 (Thanks Aunt Sue). They asked us about our mission, details and stories about the trip. They were also interested in our event this Saturday from 3-7 at the Procycling, Carmicheal Training, and Synergy parking lot. We are having an 800 lbs pig roast, raffle, and product giveaway. We then had a great lunch with the Rosenhahn/ Kurica clan. We then toured the Rosenhahn's house where there will be an open house and taco bar event on Friday at 6:30. Be there as well! We then went to the Kurica's for dinner and had Mexican food for the first time since we left cali!! We watched the USA world cup game vs Algeria were Tom leaked to score of the epic match 20 minutes before the ending. hahaha. Matt then failed to write the blog and now is on blog duty for the next 3 posts. Please bear with us over the next few days! We are looking forward to having some down time, letting our bodies recover, and the exciting benefit on Saturday and open house of Friday.... Be there!

Day 17: Let Me Stand Next To Your FIRE!

Day 16: Pain only lasts 'til it stops hurting

Day 16: Wolf Creek Pass

Day 15: The beauty for Colorful Colorado continues

Day 15: We started our day off with a "full-filling" Fathers Day breakfast with the Rosenhahn Family, Laura and Mrs. Kurica, as we once again got our carbs in. After saying our goodbyes (always a tough thing to do) we left the beautiful, adventurous town of Durango, in sight for Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The scenery along the road was so awe-striking that it took the edge off of todays ride. We experienced everything from rivers and lakes, to horses and cows, and even a coyote running across the street no further than 5 feet to your very own Matt (Dr.) Kaiser. After an 80 mile day we stopped at the base of Wolf Creek Pass where we will start tomorrow morning's intense climb up the pass. After grocery shopping in Pagosa Springs, we then went to Bear Creek, a local hot spot for dinner. As you might be familiar with the term "what a small world," it could not have been any truer for us as we came to find out that our waitress in the tiny town of Pagosa, Colorado was an Azusa Pacific University alumni of '85. As we have finished all our duties early such as setting up camp, and cleaning the bikes we have some free time. Tonight we plan on visiting the natural hot springs and enjoy the rest of the night at Wolf Creek Run motor-coach site.

God Bless,

Team Connect for the CURE

Day 14: Colorado Family Day

Day 14: Today was a great rest day for the CURE. We all got to sleep in and catch the end of the Ghana-Australia game; it was a draw (Ghana should have won). We got ready and made our way to a river with Ryan’s family, his girlfriend and Mrs. Kurica where we ate Bojo’s famous pizza, and watched the kayakers and river rafters make their way down the river. We then made our way to Main Street. There was an awesome car show where we got to see many classics. Early on in the trip, Ryan was having problems with his left foot (it was going numb). Now both feet are constantly numb. We went to a bike shop on Main Street to ask what should be done. The lady in the bike shop was very concerned about Ryan having long-term damage (please pray for that) to his feet and other more serious future complications. We are analyzing the situation from every angle and it looks like he will have to buy a new bike that fits him. His bike is way too small, and it’s very difficult to find a bike that fits him at 6’4”. We then grabbed a quick dinner with his family (a special thanks to the Kurica and Rosenhahn families for the meals this weekend – we finally met our calorie needs for the first time since Vegas). After dinner we drove to John Etz’ place in deer country, CO (we saw a deer!). Thanks to John for his hospitality and Jacuzzi. While in the Jacuzzi we talked about not having any female contact (Ryan is the lucky one, seeing his girlfriend). Prayers are definitely powerful and have been evident in our ride so far and ask for continual prayers and support.

Happy Father’s Day to Papa Rosenhahn, Papa Gagne, Papa Martinez , and Papa Kaiser, and to all you Papa bloggers out there.

Day 13: Two hills?.....Felt more like Twelve!

Day 13: With a total distance of 50 miles today, we were able to sleep in and relax a little before setting off for Durango, Co. As you can see in the photos above, we definitely were able to experience a different type of climate; from the dry desert to the crisp mountain air with much greenery. We also found out that californians view mountains and climbs much differently than Coloradans. A lady had told us there were only two climbs where we thought there were about twelve. Once we got into Durango we were welcomed by the Rosenhahn Family. It was refreshing to be with Ryan's family as they treated us as their own. As the night rolled on we were able to spend some time with Ryan's girlfriend Laura and her mom, Mrs. Kurica for some late night nachos. We look forward to spending tomorrow's rest day sight seeing the beautiful state of "Colorful" Colorado.

Day 12: Colorful Colorado

Day 12: Hardly any winds today, thank you for the prayers. We left Kayenta, Az. at 8:30am as we rode 118 miles through the desert and arrived in Cortez, Co. around 4:30pm. After a long day of riding we decided to catch the nail biting Lakers v. Celtics Game 7 at a local sports restaurant. We tried Colorado's famous Rocky Mountain Oysters (if you dont know what they are...Google it.) Three of us were able to celebrate the Laker victory (you can probably guess which three) and after drove back to the camp site to settle in for the night. Tomorrow we plan on meeting up with Ryan's family and girlfriend in Durango, Co. for our rest day.

Top: Rocky Mountain Oysters

Bottom: State #4: Colorado

Day 11: Edumacation with Dr. Kaiser

Day 11: The Windy Dessert

Page, AZ was great! We got to relax, really, for the first time this trip and we even got to watch the Laker game. We began our day early as we set out for Kayenta, AZ. Thinking we could beat the gusting winds if we started early enough we woke at 6 a.m. We were soon met by a common theme. HEAD WIND!!! This was day 4 in a row and a true test to our blog a few days ago. Today was the first time we had to ride in 40 mph + winds. In fact when Nate was stopped, a cycling enthusiast pulled up behind him. He said, “I just saw your mates(he was from Scotland) riding at a 45 degree angle!” There were a few times where we were almost thrown from our bikes. It was difficult on the body and we couldn’t easily change positions. We finally made it though and we were met by wild dogs. Apparently Kayenta has packs of wild dogs just roaming around the streets. Tonight we sleep in a Burger King parking lot with some fellow truckers. The wind is still shaking the motor home. Needless to say we are very much ready to get out of the desert and into Colorado.

Day 10: "Elmer"

(HD version coming soon to a computer near you.)

Day 10: As we were able to rest our legs on our rest day we spent the day hanging near the city of Page, AZ. As we were hanging out the night before at our RV park, an accomplished triathlete and optometrist by the name of Vic Copeland stopped by our campsite. Vic holds a number of records in the cycling realm. He sat down and shared with us some of his stories and advice on what to do in certain situations. The next day we visited Glen Canyon Dam where we went swimming in the nearby river, and for the evening we were able to catch the Laker v. Celtics basketball game. Back to work tomorrow. Thank you all for following, and thanks for the prayers and support.

Day 9: With Wind comes Wisdom (we hope)

In light of our previous blogs this one will have a different tone. As we set out for Page, AZ we were met by a headwind (for the 3rd day in a row). When we were riding I looked over at Christian and he said, “I can’t believe how far we have ridden, I remember when I used to think driving to Lake Powell was far”. Wow, have our perspectives changed over the last week. With every mile, more like foot of today’s ride we were challenged by gusting headwinds. As some of you know a headwind while riding changes everything. It not only drains you physically but also mentally and spiritually. You constantly have to hammer down on the pedals leaving your feet aching and your body and legs drained. Downhills turn into mountains and climbs turn into Everest. As we sit around the campsite we began to talk about how we assume we should have a tailwind everyday. It’s as if the conditions are not correct unless the wind is behind us. Who are we to assume a tailwind everyday? Maybe this tailwind is teaching us or preparing us for something? Perhaps God is preparing our bodies to climb 11,904 ft in elevation through the Rocky Mountains? Who are we to fathom or know what we need? God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Or perhaps we are learning about constant pain. People living with diabetes never get a break. They are constantly having to check their blood sugars and monitoring what they eat. There is no “tailwind” for people living with diabetes.

Proverbs 3:5&6

-Trust the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Even though today was tough, our country is still beautiful. Here is a sketch of Glen Canyon Dam by Nate Martinez.

Day 8: Open Road

Day 7: Today we chose to stop in St. George, Utah instead of Caliente, Nevada. We rode the 15 freeway. to avoid the gorge ahead we jumped on the 91 (the old road) where the winds were so strong we couldn't ride past 12 mph and even slowed down on the downhill. While the guys were riding Nate called places in St. George to try to get a place to stay for the night. After 4 turn downs he called Green Gate Village Historic Bed & Breakfast. Thank You to Lindy Sandstrom for donating two rooms for the night. Goodnight to all following. Check out the video and feel free to comment.

Left: Ryan being interviewed by Ch.5 FOX News

Bottom: Team riding into Las Vegas.

Day 6: Taking advantage of our last full rest day in Vegas we were able to sleep in once more. Shortly after we had breakfast as a team before going about our day. Preparing for tomorrow's (today, being that its midnight) bike ride we went to a bike shop for last minute supplies. Ryan, Gagne, and Nate used their donated passes to the nearby South Point Casino Spa for a much needed massage, as Matt rested and took care of his injuries. Ryan and Christian treating their sore bodies from riding as Nate treating the stiffness of driving. All four of us met up later in the afternoon as we got ready to leave to the Luxor to see the Carrot Top show with the passes provided from Uncle Alfie. It was just as awesome as it was hilarious seeing Carrot Top perform his stand up comedy. Best part of the night goes to the carrot Top show where we would see Carrot Top sport a Connect For The CURE blue bracelet throughout his show as well as giving us a shout out (kinda) displaying the t-shirt to the audience. Its been a great couple days in Las Vegas to relax and prepare for our next trek. Back to the grind early in the morning. Keep the comments coming they really keep our spirits up and motivate us to press on.

Press On,

-Team Connect4TheCURE

Day 5: It felt awesome to finally sleep in. We got a call from my Uncle David(Alfie) telling us that we had an interview with Fox News Channel Five at 12:30PM. We got dressed and ready to go and met up with Tracy, the Las Vegas ADA rep and also with the reporter from Fox News. After interviewing for Fox, we hopped on our bikes and rode down Las Vegas Blvd. with Nate following us. It was awesome. We felt like an attraction of our own amongst all the sights on the strip. After getting past downtown we got in the motor-home and drove back to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign to take pictures. After that, my uncle took me to the emergency room to make sure my wounds weren't infected. Two and half hours later, I finally met up with the rest of the guys to see Lance Burton at the Monte Carlo (Uncle Alfie donated tickets). We had a great time and enjoyed the rest of the night in Vegas.


Grandview Cribbs

Beasting our way into Nevada.

Day 4: What a DAY! Started riding at 8:30am from Barstow, CA and ended in Las Vegas, NV at 7:oopm. We made great time starting out as we traveled through Death Valley where it is 282ft. below sea level (the lowest elevation in North America). Our impeccable timing unfortunately could not last us throughout the whole trip as we came upon the first pass. We had lost the tail wind that brought us into Baker right before hitting the first pass, going approximately 8mph in the dead heat. As we muscled our way past the first pass on the I-15 (our first experince on a freeway!) we came across one last pass where a sudden tail wind came to the rescue and helped us get over the hill as we flew down into Primm Valley at a whopping speed of 39.1mph! As a team we gathered and discussed our options and unanimously voted to keep going and make our way to Las Vegas, a whole day earlier than scheduled. If you would've asked us if we could have made it over 130miles in one day in this type of weather we probably would have called ourselves crazy to even consider it. But through the power of prayer and a sweet tailwind we made it! As we got into Las Vegas Uncle David (Uncle Alfie) met us at The Grand View Resort where he checked us in for two (sweet) suite rooms. video blog coming soon. Prayers and support have got us through thus far as we thank all who have fallowed.

Press On,

Team Connect 4 the CURE

"Historic" Route 66

Day 3:

The adventure continues…yesterday we battled broken bikes, mountain passes, and crashes. Today we rode through 112 degree heat on terrible roads (our bikes were taking a beating).

We woke up at 8 this morning and began our day. Megan and Josh Meissenburg (Tobin’s cousins) delivered breakfast burritos which lifted our spirits. We used Google Maps...again (worst application evah!) and got lost…again for the third straight day. We’ve quickly come to realize how that getting lost on a bike is not the same as getting lost in a car. You have to exert double the energy. At this rate we will have put in the mileage to travel from Santa Monica to New York…and back. Should’ve saved for a bike gps. Luckily we were helped by some locals who pointed us in the right direction and finally got us on our way towards Barstow, CA. God provided us with a much needed tailwind that helped us to average 19.1 mph for the remainder of the ride. We even got up to 30 mph for a couple miles without pedaling!!! The only problem is that it caused Rosie (Ryan) to get the “Speed Wobbles”, almost causing his first crash and the group’s second in 2 days.

Towards the latter half of our day, we were stopped because Route 66 became a Marine Base right near the outskirts of the city so we were forced to have to ride on the I40 freeway. Our FIRST freeway! It was great, Nate was able to protect us from zooming cars and we were still able to reconnect to Route 66…which is “Historic Route 66” for a reason. It looked as if no one had driven on it in years! Our bikes took some major wear and tear.

So we stopped just before the pass leading to Baker, hopped in the motor home, planned our new route on I15 for tomorrow and headed to Barstow to stay the night. We would like to thank Debbie at the Desert Springs RV Park for allowing us to set up camp for the night.

-Love, Team Connect 4 The CURE

Sweat, Tears.....and BLOOD.

Day 2: We started today bright and early 5:30 AM with Kaiser waking/shaking us up because we kept him up the night before. Have a feeling this might be a routine thing. Once we got suited up we headed over to “Team Mom” Kasaundra Domen and Kellie Muller’s apartment for one last delicious home cooked breakfast before we officially headed out of Azusa. Not only were the girls generous enough to prepare us breakfast but also helped organize the RV one last time. Not shortly after we started the day trouble struck in Rancho Cucamonga, when Ryan’s hub broke on his rear tire. We were blessed to have gotten stuck right near one of INCYCLE’s new locations, where they hooked us up with a brand new set of rims for a great price. We then hit the road again and ended up at the base of The Rim Of The World pass located near Lake Arrowhead and Crestline. Before we stared climbing we pondered life as a mountain and how a mountain is equally difficult yet rewarding and how you must take the good times with the bad. Gagne got a flat tire before we took off but the pit crew a.k.a the whole team was there to save the day. The climbing was extremely difficult but Nate was a boss (the man) providing us with the water and supplements every other stop we made while lifting weights. Once we got to the summit we saw recent chalk writings on the ground from the Tour of California cheering on Lance Armstrong that we stopped to take a photo of. That gave the team a boost to continue on before DISTRUCTION broke loose [see video on website]. After the end of Day 2 we’ve already experienced the sweat and tears ….and today we experienced the blood.

Also, please pray for Matt Kaiser’s family as they mourn the loss and celebrate the life of his grandma.

Special thanks to Victorville Cycles for fixing Matt's bike for free.

-Team Connect 4 The CURE

How far are you riding?...NEW YORK?

We finally embarked on our Cross-Country journey!!!

It's been quite a process going from our early photo shoots
to where we are now.
I didn't have a bike. I wore running shoes. Matt wore t-shirts. Matt had reflectors on his bike. Ryan wore a mountain bike helmet. We ALL had hairy legs.

But now we were a team! A legit team! We have Nate our driver, matching uniforms, & family/friends/sponsors wishing us all the best as we begin our adventure!

Our event on the pier was great. The ride began with us dipping our tires in the Pacific Ocean.
We were on our way back to the pier, turned around for one last goodbye and commenced!

On our way, we ran into a fellow biker on a Sunday cruise. We were at a stop light and to break the awkward silence he asked, "Where you guys ridin' to?" Matt nonchalantly, "New York." The guy was confused and perplexed. So he repeated himself. Matt's reply once again..."New York."

Google Maps recently came out with their bicycle routes so we decided to use them for our trip. We took 84 turns which was "ridiculously good looking" (Dr. Greg Kaiser), and by "good looking" we mean terrible. We got lost in South Central. It was frightening. Nate found some squirrels in the motor home. Also frightening.

We look forward to the next leg of this trip. Thank you all for supporting us and coming to wish us luck! We really appreciate it and couldn't have made this dream possible without you!

Pre-Trip Starting Weight:
Ryan - 205
Matt - 181.2
Christian - 171.4
Nate - 167.8

Kick Off!!!

Tomorrow is our Kick Off!! I'm so excited to get started on this trip!!
We've been planning Connect for the CURE since September, so we are
ready to begin our adventure.

If you live in the area, please come out to our send off at the Santa Monica Pier this Sunday starting at 10 am!!!

First 50 people to show up get a coupon for a FREE Chipotle Burrito so be there!!!!!

Team Connect for the CURE would just like to say thanks again to all of our supporters, our family, our friends, and our sponsors. None of this would be possible without you. None of it.

P.S. Check out this link to see the pics from the San Gabriel Tribune!
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/photos/photos.asp?a=1017666

Cheers!

Gagné

Update!!!!!!!!!! MATT just showed up to my apartment with silky smooth legs!!!!

Final practice ride

Yesterday was team connect for the CURE's last practice ride!

We thought we would give ourselves (and our buns) a rest before we hit the road this Sunday.
It was a beautiful day for cycling. Flying around the twists & turns of Glendora Mountain Road, climbing the switchbacks of Azusa Canyon, and trying to determine whether Nair-ing my legs really made me any faster.

It was a tough day for Matt and I. The heat and the speed really got to us as we were trying to keep up with Rosie (Ryan). He was trying out his new toy, a Camelbak tank-top, which made his bike a tad lighter and had us eating his dust.

It was a great practice nevertheless.

After riding, we got word from our publicist that we have an interview and photo shoot set up with the San Gabriel Tribune! We are extremely excited for this opportunity, so keep your eyes peeled for that! We will update the article and photo onto our blog for those of you who do not live in the San Gabriel Valley.

Don't forget to come out to our launch this Sunday, June 6th at 10am on the Santa Monica Pier!

Cheers!

- Gagné

Welcome to Connect for the CURE's first blog. Working hard or hardly working, We're working hard! Matt and I woke up at an hour we haven't seen in a while 5:30 am. Matt thought we left early enough, only to sit in LA traffic for 2 hours. Late for meeting.... while running to the pier Matt slammed his toe and broke it open on concrete cinder block. First injury of the trip, award goes to Matt. Made our way to the carousel building, which was creepy for anyone who's not a fan of clowns =Me. Met with Jim the pier historian and event planner, super nice guy. We were able to talk him down from $500 to $0, thanks to Christian's good looks. Avoiding the parking fee we left for home. 3 miles down the road we stopped because Matt's car was over-heating. Quick fix of the car and we were back on our way. We spent the rest of the day on Cougar walk (APU's social commonplace) making phone calls and sending emails for final preparations. Christian is currently nairing his legs and I plan the same tomorrow. Now the question is do you think Matt should nair his leg's (please leave comment)?