Monday, June 12, 2017

  Day Two on North route began when we set out from United Methodist Church around 6:00am. Throughout the ride our paceline was in an amazing groove which helped prevent fatigue and allowed the 65 mile ride to fly by. But by far the best part of the ride was the staging up in double pacelines to rolling up to the capital with a great greeting from a few members of the Southside Arts Center just seeing the joy and exitement on their faces made the 65 mile ride totally worthwhile. After spending time talking to a few people from the Arts Center we left to ride to our lodging which was graciously provided by Dan Hitzke.

  Once we showered and looked presentable we left lodging for our friendship visit at Southside Arts Center. Upon arrival I was amazed to see all the artwork they made that was related to Journey of Hope. The amount of time and pride they put into their work was very impressive and made me appreciate the amount of time and effort they put in to make us feel welcome. As the night got underway I got to know a guy named Matthew We bonded over having the same name and he was very friendly and began telling me about how he is an aspiring musician which was very intriguing to me because he was blind and i just assumed he was a singer… I was wrong, very wrong. Matthew plays the piano and sings, and just watching him play the piano and sing along with his bandmates from Southside Arts Center blew me away. They played so many classic songs and Matthew never missed a note.

All in all the ride from Napa to Sacrtamento was great but it did not compare to the friendship visiting Southside Arts Center and meeting Matthew.

 

Matthew O’Brien

University of San Diego

2017 graduate

Cyclist