Colorado Springs, CO

June 8, 2009

Today's ride from Denver to Colorado Springs was one of the hardest rides the team has experienced. It was extremely hot! The ride was approximately 91 miles and we had a rack point of 73 miles by noon. There was a 2000 ft. climb and a strong head wind on today's route as well. We made it to our police escort by 12:30 pm. The police escort was very neat today as they escorted us for 8 miles taking us to our final destination of the Olympic Traninig Center.

When we met up with the police escort, we were also joined by Alison, a four-time Olympian who competes in skiing and cycling paralympics. Alison's leg was amputated above her knee and she has a special bike that allows her to clip her leg into a fixed clip on the bike frame. She pedals with one leg, and let me tell you she could definately keep up with us!

The Olympic Training Center was a great experience and a special part of the trip. We enjoyed a buffett lunch at their facility cafeteria followed by an interesting tour of the building. The team had the privilage of meeting Lopez Lumar, a USA track & field Olympian who carried the flag at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lopez was one of the last "Lost Boys" of Sudan who was split from his family at a young age during the war. When he was living in Sudan, he would run for miles and miles as a coping mechanism to keep his mind off of being hungry. As Lopez was starving, he was training his body for distance running and endurance. Lopez then won an essay contest which sent him to America as the prize. He gained his US Citizenship in 2007. Lopez was voted on by all of the US Olympic athletes to carry the flag in the 2008 Beijing games. He competes in the 1500m run. We also had the opportunity to meet the triathlon athlete who was ranked #1 in the world in 2006.

After our visit to the training center, we headed over to the University of Colorado and arrived at our lodging which was an old building converted into a dorm. The dean of the University sponsored our dinner and I enjoyed meeting him. Today was a long day and we are all ready to hit the sack!