Archive for June, 2010

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road. (Click here to see the rest of his notes.)

Eureka to Ely, NV

The one consistent thing we’ve had throughout the first 10 days of the ride has been inconsistent weather. Today was to be no exception. It rained overnight, and this morning it is still raining. The roads are wet as will be the bikers shortly. They donned rain gear called turtle gear. It must be called that because your head pops through the opening. Sure can’t be called turtle gear because it slows you down. Nothing seems to slow these riders of mine down.

The riders are showing some signs of fatigue. The laughter and smiles are being replaced with tired eyes and long faces brought on by sore hands, swollen feet, and painful joints. Yet in spite of these things that would stop most people from getting up in the morning, our riders arose, dressed, ate breakfast, and headed out on their next assignment with ambition. They had a job to do and – as I’ve seen – neither rain, snow, sleet, head winds, scorching heat or freezing cold have been able to stop them from making their appointed rounds.

We arrive in Ely ahead of schedule. The town was a beautiful slice of Americana. Narrow streets, old brick buildings, and wonderful people greeted the riders.

We began our day in Eureka, the county with the highest per capita income in the state, and we ended in Ely, the place in Nevada with the highest unemployment. We found that people are equally gracious and upbeat no matter where we’ve been.

Various hues across the skyline later, we arrived in Vegas at 10 PM, and by the time we found our hotel and checked in, it was midnight.

Another day; another adventure. And, as always, more was to be explored tomorrow.

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

Austin to Eureka, NV

It is Memorial Day. I had the honor of standing in a circle of proud veterans to observe a moment of silence. A sobering moment for us all;  we each offered silent prayers for the countless men and women who gave all they had in defense of our land, our liberty and our people.

Today, there would be no parade or community gathering;  just a group of heroes with sore, aching muscles whose only companions would be grit and guts  for the strenuous ride ahead.

Team ‘Gumby’ — recently self-named for our “flexibility” — cheated and looked ahead at today’s route, which would end with a six-mile 8% grade incline, reminiscent of yesterday’s climb. 

Our intrepid riders set out on another day surrounded by this country’s natural beauty. Though we had lots of technology at our finger tips, we discovered that there were more bars in Austin than on our phones.  The only blackberries handy were those growing along the side of the road.

Today it was just us and the road, giving us time to reflect on how we could be “Good Neighbors” to one another and our country.

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

Fallon to Austin, NV 112 miles

Today marks our first “Century Ride.” Yes, our champion athletes biked more than 100 miles today.  The last eight of those 112 miles were a near-vertical climb, requiring a Herculean effort as our riders entered Austin, Nevada with pride.

Having weathered a stretch of snow and cold, we were delighted with the abundance of sunshine, regardless of whether or not our spandex-outlined tans were flattering.

We soon discovered that Austin would be its own adventure.  We were staying in some rather unique motels.  Single-wide trailers had been converted into four individual rooms: one had a bed held up by a big can of beans, another was a tree house. We dined in an area that seemed exclusively ours.

Tomorrow would be another exploration; but for now, we’d sleep quite soundly.

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

Carson City to Fallon, NV

Once again, the day began before sun-up to give the riders a good send off with a thumbs up and a “woo-rah.”

Upon arrival at our first stop in Fallon, we discovered that we had run out of food supplies. So, with our riders burning as many as 10,000 calories per day, we decided to drive 60 miles in the opposite direction to shop.  After buying everything we could find, we returned, loaded with  Cliff bars, Mega-protein bars and Power Bars. 

We gathered the riders to meet their enthusiastic City Hall welcome.  In addition to our gracious Agent Brad Stokes,  the Churchill ROTC Color Guard, and several Marine Cop officers from a nearby station, it seemed as though the entire town turned up to welcome us.

We had a wonderful celebration near their new 9/11 Memorial, which was built to include a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. As riders walked over and touched the steel, their sense of duty was palpable.

We concluded our stay with a celebratory cook-out at American Legion Hall. Some pitched horseshoes for the first time; among them were a few who did so for the first time on one leg.

Every day that I’m blessed to spend time with these people, I realize how fortunate I am to live in a country where people willingly volunteer to be placed in harm’s way to protect the American way of life. These men and women are deserving of every handshake, salute and wave they receive along the way. I wish every one of the 310 million people who call this country home would come out to meet them. These men and women represent the best this country has to give — and they have given it.

What a day! Ha ha – it was worth saying twice. Since we all defied hills all week, they decided to allow us an opportunity to go above and beyond. Cold rain and a headwind kept us company through the morning as we climbed out of Utah and into Colorado. Thanks to the kind people of La Sal for some warm food for lunch and some coffee and hot chocolate to keep the spirits up. The group is really coming together pretty well and we are just tearing these states up. Thanks again for all the support and cheers and donations. This is continuing to be a very remarkable experience.

Yesterday, Van Brinson sent us this photo of the team at the end of their 1,000th mile, somewhere in Utah. Distance-wise, they’re one quarter of the way to Virginia Beach. (Check out the rest of Van’s photos, or the rest of the World T.E.A.M. Sports Flickr photos.)

Thanks to the film crew on the road, here are some snippets from the first four days of the ride. I’ll update this video as more footage comes in, and eventually you’ll be able to see them ride from sea to shining sea.

Click the map image to see the 67-mile route for Friday, June 18, which includes Colorado Springs, Castlewood Canyon and Denver, CO.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Click the map image to see the 105-mile route for Wednesday, June 16, which includes Salida, Coaldale, Echo Canyon, Penrose, Canyon City and Colorado Springs, CO. The riders will rest in Colorado Springs on Thursday, June 17.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Day 25 includes a 2,900-foot climb to 11,300 feet of elevation. Click the map image to see the 64-mile route for Tuesday, June 15, which includes Gunnison, Sargents, Garfield and Salida, CO.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Click the map image to see the 64-mile route for Monday, June 14, which includes Montrose, Cimmaron, Sapinero, Blue Mesa and Gunnison, CO.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Day 23 includes a 4,200-foot climb to 9,600 feet of elevation. Click the map image to see the 54-mile route for Sunday, June 13, which includes Naturita, Ute and Montrose, CO.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Day 22 includes a 3,600-foot climb to 7,650 feet of elevation. Click the map image to see the 81-mile route for Saturday, June 12, which includes Moab, UT, La Sal, UT, Bedrock, CO and Naturita, CO.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Click the map image to see the 47-mile route for Thursday, June 10, which includes Green River, Floy, Canyon Lands Field and Moab, UT. The riders will rest in Moab on Friday, June 11.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Click the map image to see the 102-mile route for Wednesday, June 9, which includes Torrey, Fruita, Cainville, Giles, Hanksville and Green River, UT.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

Day 18 includes a nearly 2,700-foot climb up to 7,900 feet of elevation. Click the map image to see the 34-mile route for Tuesday, June 8, which includes Escalante, Boulder and Torrey, UT.

Follow the riders via Chris’ GPS tracker

I know it took me way too long, but I finally found the time to get some photos from the ride online. Some of our riders, like Van Brinson, are way faster than me at getting photos up, so check out his awesome collection here.

I’ll continue to upload photos to the World Team Sports Flickr page, and below is a slideshow of photos from the first week of the ride (credit goes to our film crew on the road for these):

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

An overnight snowfall delayed our departure the next morning, but the sun eventually made an appearance.  We breathed a collective sigh of relief as we departed California, the first of many states on this odyssey.

The Nevada state line was marked only by a small green street sign … and five large casinos. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies blocked the (very busy) streets for us and the casino managers came running out to greet these warriors. There were handshakes and photos.  The riders deserved every second of the attention they got.

When we arrived at our first stop at the Round Hill Center, about 75 people were standing at the corner, waving flags and cheering.  In the crowd was a group of developmentally disabled children and young adults who marveled at the prosthetic legs and recumbent bikes. One store owner came over and said. “I’d be honored if these people would come over and use our restrooms.”  Gestures of respect and kindness by strangers show Americans at their best.

En route to Carson City for a meeting with the governor on the steps of the state capitol, we faced a spectacular climb followed by a six-mile drop right into the city. The riders were breezing along when our truck’s brakes gave out.

We tried everything we could think of to slow down, but gravity and momentum made things go downhill (so to speak) pretty rapidly.  As we rounded the final corner (while shouting phrases I can’t repeat here), we tried the brakes one more time. The van shook so hard we thought the front end would fly off.  The steering wheel jerked back and forth, as did the occupants; but we managed to stop.

Later, Howard would tell me the odometer read 30,666. Gee, that was fun.

“I have good news and bad news,” I said on the phone to Corporate. “The good news is the van is being fixed, and we are next to a restaurant and casino. The bad news is we are next to a restaurant and casino.” I suppose things could have been worse.

Sadly, we missed meeting Governor Gibbons at the Capitol building, but the riders managed a photo opp. In addition to a very gracious welcome, Gov. Gibbons offered an escort for the entire route in Nevada.

So, Day 7 was a lucky one. Not even the morning’s full moon, 30,666 on the odometer or the $5 lost on the slot machines could keep our riders from safely moving forward on their journey.

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

Welcome back to the road! As we continue our journey from Sea to Shining Sea and learn more about this country and its people, we’re also learning some interesting things about its weather:  such as that, much to our surprise, snow actually falls into late May in California.

This morning, we quickly bid farewell to Carson Pass, with its record low of 27 degrees Fahrenheit and heavy snow fall.  We skipped  a  planned stop in Kirkwood, but enjoyed our “3 hour tour” of Tahoe, despite the rough weather.

The highlight of the day for me, however, was sitting by the hotel’s fireplace after dinner, listening to stories of life in the service.   Though some of us have never served in uniform, we could relate to the drive, dreams and courageous approach to life of these wounded warriors.  Needless to say, dry eyes were hard to find by the end of the evening.

For many it was therapeutic to tell their stories; for others, let’s just say it was too soon. For some, it may never be time.  And for those of us who stayed safely at home, it’s impossible to fully understand their anguish.

The war stories weighed heavily on my mind, and I was unable to sleep that night, but the indomitable spirit of the story tellers buoys me.

Mike Claver leads the State Farm team that supports the S2SS riders. These are some of his notes from the road.

Just last week, on Saturday May 22^nd, a team of inspiring athletes took to the road with open minds, optimism, and yes, a bit of apprehension.  But by today, Day Four, Tuesday May 25^th, we couldn’t have been more appreciative to have a rest stop waiting for us, along with the open-arms and encouragement of some State Farm agents.

Today could only be described as a day of reckoning. What seemed like hills a day ago soon became large majestic mountains. They were hard and foreboding made of granite and covered with snow; nothing like the rolling tree covered hills the riders had climbed the day before.

The first stop was the little mountain – foothills by comparison – town called Pine Grove. Though we were grateful to have the momentary cell phone coverage to call and get the latest Doppler forecast, I wish I hadn’t.

While the sun was shining at Pine Grove, the next 9 miles was almost straight up. I could even feel the pull from inside the van. As our automotive transmission constantly changed gears, and knowing full well there were two more even higher climbs ahead of them, I could only pray, “God, give them the strength and courage to climb these hills you’ve made.” I remembered my old college battle cry that I used when things weren’t going my way, “ain’t no hill for a climber.” My heroes are climbers.

I’ve been so inspired watching the riders work as a team, helping each other make the climbs and push each other’s endurance to its limits. When Mark, one of the faster cyclists, got to the top of the 9 mile incline, I was standing to greet him. After we shook hands, he told me there were still more people coming up the hill. When he turned around and rode back down to get his comrades, knowing full well doing so meant he had to climb the hill yet again, my eyes filled with tears. I have a feeling it wasn’t the pine cone pollen.

Later in the day, we learned the forecast called for falling temperatures, rain changing to snow above 5,500’, and high winds. We were headed for 8,000’, and while they told me there wouldn’t be any math on this trip, I knew that 8,000’ was taller than 5,500’ and that meant a real threat to the riders and the support staff that would have to navigate icy roads up and down the side of a mountain.

These determined riders were given the choice to get in the trucks or to ride as far as they could until 5 p.m., but the choice was not unanimous. I was reminded of the John Wayne quote I gave my Mom when she was battling cancer, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” I once again saw courage in all of the riders.

When we finally concluded Day Four at the scenic (and serene) Lake Tahoe, we learned that many of them actually made the 8,000’ 9 mile summit, and those that didn’t were stopped only by an unpredictable weather event, not any inability or lack of strength.

When this ride began, we were lead to believe these riders had “disabilities”. I must tell you, if they are “disabled” I’ve not seen it in any of them. If their bravery and courage is any indication of the young men and women who serve in today’s armed forces, then this nation is very well protected.

Day four has come to a safe conclusion, and the stories are now part of what will become a legendary odyssey for these young patriots.

And we’re not stopping anytime soon.

On June 19th, the Sea to Shining Sea team will ride through Denver, Colorado. If you miss them in Denver, they’ll be in Lincoln, Nebraska shortly thereafter on June 25th, when Senator Nelson will join in to ride alongside these incredible athletes.

We’d love to see you all out there on the road as we continue our journey. Your support means a great deal to these ambitious athletes.