Team Jesse Ride Begins - Day One in the Books

On Wednesday evening June 8, the city of Santa Rosa showed their support for Team Jesse and families of the fallen with a great turnout at the send-off dinner. Thanks to MOMS (Mothers of Military Service members) for their partipation and successful silent auction that complimented the rest of the fundraising for the evening. June 9, 0900 am, Santa Rosa Memorial Park: Happy Birthday Jesse! I am honored to have had the opportunity to wish my dear friend a happy 30th birthday with Amaya, now age 5, in my lap at his gravesite. Joined by members of Jesse's family and the entire Team Jesse leadership team, I was able to talk about Jesse and how he inspired The Ride with his approach to life.

Immediately afterwards, Matt and I took off for New York! We were lucky to be escorted out of town by Don Winkle, Navy Veteran and former pro rider. Don let us draft off him for the first 20 miles toward Sonoma. Afterwards, we were able to meet up with team members at the Sunflower Cafe in Sonoma for a great lunch and visit to the Sonoma historic barracks.

From there, Matt and I cycled on together and ended up taking a wrong turn. We decided to stay the course since we knew it would 'get us there'...but what we didn't know was that it was not flat and we tacked on 1700 ft and 18 miles to the day. Ultimately though, we enjoyed a scenic ride through the wine country!

We were happy to arrive at our hotel in Vacaville and relax a bit as we prepare for day two - 90 miles to Placerville!

To the limit,

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