Monday, June 16, 2003

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

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Today's ride through Dinosaur National Park, Colorado is dedicated to Raymond Francis and his crew.  Shown above is the ongoing torture-testing program his boys on the Amputees Across America ride continue to conduct under the most rigorous field conditions. No animals were harmed in these experiments.

Prosthetic Services

Raymond Francis, Barbara McKinney, Rob Pinkston, Bradd Rosenquist

Custom Fabrication

Bob Beatty, Chris Hart, David Holloway, Bill Jones, Matt Williams,  Tyler Grubb

Who said that one-legged men were dinosaurs? Certainly not AAA. Today we visited the Dinosaur National Monument, which was incredible. Perhaps most amazing is that they let this scruffy lot into the park at all. Not only that, but they were nice to us. Go figure.

Bruce and Jim theorize that this is the size Mark's thighs will attain if he keeps pushing himself up hill. Trish poses below in front of a cast replica of her wild side, which is truly bloodthirsty, as the boys recently discovered when they strayed out of the medians while cycling and entered normal traffic lanes. This behavior is something that Trish, "has serious issues with." The boys are learning, but we are slow. Be patient with us, Trish.

See the pack pounding up the hill? See the rider in the back? That is Mark, who is woeful on hills. See the rider on the left? That is Keith, our guest rider of the week. Keith is training for his first marathon. Keith is in very good shape. Keith is thin and able. We all hate Keith. But we cannot help but honor him today for his amazing uphill performance. Ergo we have named him our official "Mountain Goat Man," which according to a recent Discovery channel broadcast is actually an evolutionary dead end. The boys hope so, anyway, because if Joe recruits any more guest riders in this good of shape, we will have to drag Joe out of bed some night, strap him in chains to the back bumper of his huge truck, and boisterously tour the central plains of America.

What did we learn today? It was that even with limits, we can and do grow, if we have the right attitude and support. Eventually, the 3,000 foot climb we attempted beat us all. But we all climbed hills better today than ever before. Jim and Mark tanked first, but both walked up the hill they were on. They did not quit, even when it was easy to do so. None of us like our performance today, but we are are proud of our grit and attempt. And that is ATTITUDE that matters.

The scenery on our rides today was stunning. It made Mark very homesick for New Mexico. In the photo on the right below, we see the boys and support drivers, along with Keith, immediately before the Lifeflight helicopter brought in paramedics with oxygen bottles (just kidding, but we sure wanted it).

The down hill runs today were lovely. Jim and Bruce each hit personal bests with up to 48 MPH speeds. Mark hit over 37 MPH. Keith and Joe hit 12 MPH each, but that is just because we sabotaged their bikes so their brakes dragged ALL the way down.

Tomorrow is a day of well deserved rest and bicycle maintenance in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  On Wednesday we continue our journey over the passes of the Rockies and on down the hill toward Georgetown and Colorado Springs.

Jeanne, if Keith does this ride again next year, please fatten him up by about 40 pounds. You can do this by making him biscuit and gravy smoothies.

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