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