Act 1 Complete (Day Twenty Five)

“We all must hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately”

- Words of Benjamin Franklin, upon signing of “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united states of America (as it was known at the time), Philadelphia, July 4, 1776

We began our mission 25 days ago in Santa Rosa, CA, at SSG Jesse Williams’ gravesite on his 30th birthday. We called this first part of the trip “Act 1: Santa Rosa – Pueblo”, a trek that covered 1,615 miles and 86,100 feet of climbing across 4 states – California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

Matt and I both knew at the time that this initial act would set the stage for the ride. We had a schedule that included days of 8000+ feet of climbing and multiple 100+ mile days thru the desert and mountains.

25 days later, we are exactly where we planned to be – Pueblo, Colorado! We are humble about our accomplishment, knowing that the success to date of this mission can change in an instant. As coach Mike Groh has told us:

“You need to prove it to her every day” In our case – her is America. How appropriate given our cause.

As I sit in a Best Western Plus (high class for us on this trip!) reflecting on the past month with Matt, I found the words of Benjamin Franklin meaningful to me – we hung together and we made it together. That will be our focus the rest of the way.

Yesterday’s ride from Westcliffe to Pueblo was less strenuous than previous days. The day was highlighted by a 4000 ft. decent on a windy and scenic route 96 into a town called Wetmore. There we met a photographer from The Pueblo Chieftain, a local newspaper, who took some shots of Matt and I in action for an article that appeared in the paper today (see in the news).

We plan to attend a local music festival today called ‘Rollin on the River walk.’ We will have a booth there and look forward to connecting with people in this patriotic community and sharing The Team Jesse Foundation story.

Act II begins tomorrow. It ends on August 18th in Doswell, VA on the Atlantic Coast. Our SAG crew changes today, with my parents, Ron and Karen taking over responsibilities from my wife Heather, and whippets Java and Moka. Thanks to that crew for getting us here. We wouldn’t have made it without you!

We are also fortunate to have the original ridettes, Dorothy Sager and Kari Pettibone with us for the next 5 days.

We also add a 3rd member to our video crew as well – Austin Blindheim. Welcome Austin.

Happy 4th everyone – lets not forget how lucky we all are today to live in this great country.

To the limit,

/km/