Thursday, July 6, 2017

Waking up in Denver on Thursday after our day off is a mix of some great emotions. Although it was hard to get out of the comfortable (real) bed at 5 am at the hotel so generously provided by KRG, and say goodbye to our families who came from all over just to see us, you could tell that the team was eager to hit the road again and start to inch closer to our final destination. Seeing our families and getting to spend time with them at the baseball game (also generously provided by KRG) and the off day really rejuvented the team and gave us a much needed boost as we hit our half way point. Thanks to Gordon Dolver, a Pi Alpha from Indiana University, we were treated to some delicous donuts and muffins in the morning which helped make the ride feel a little more special than it already was. After breakfast next up was a 98 mile ride to Fort Morgan. Clay, Christian, Jantzen and I departed first and as we waved by to our families, we embarked on a beautiful trail that lead us out of the city and onto a steady ride to FM. The last 40 milesd were difficult with some rolling hills and brutal headwinds, but it made all the difference having the guys by my side.

We arrived to lodging at the Fort Morgan United Methodist Church around 2 after a long, but rewarding ride. Later that night we were treated to dinner by the FM Elk’s Lodge & Bicycle Livery who told us they had been sponsoring JOH for over 17 years! They served us some amazing chilli and hot dogs and had plenty of food to fill us up and prepare us for the next day! We later helped them set up for their town’s annual Bobstock Festival as a way to give back, as they shed some words of wisdom and motivated us to keep going. 2 riders even made the local newspaper which was awesome to help spread our mission and message. Determined to stay focused on our 5 stretch of difficult days ahead we returned to lodging stuffed and exhausted and went to bed in prepartion for the next day’s ride to Wray!

Sam Blythe

Eta Gamma – University of Colorado Boulder

Cyclist