A message from the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation

Ryan and Dwight hope to raise $10,000 to support the burn camp, which will host 70 children between the ages of 8 and 18. They are determined to reach the West Coast as a personal challenge as well as helping young burn survivors.

Started in 1991, the Arthur C. Luf Children's Burn Camp is located in northern Connecticut on 176 acres. Every summer, burn survivors come to the burn camp, which is a safe and fun environment that helps kids heal emotionally and physically. The Burn Camp is free to the children, who come primarily from the Northeast and some foreign counteries, but any burn survivor child anywhere is welcome. More than 70 adult counselors, primarily active and retired firefighters and burn unit nurses, occupational and physical therapists, child psychologists and even a doctor will serve as mentors for the week.

It's also our goal to promote burn awareness and fire prevention and education, which we do year around. We sponsor a burn survivor, burned in a car accident that involved speeding and drinking alcohol, who speaks to high school students throughout Connecticut. We also support the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital, helping to purchase equipment.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more

The power lines couldn't bear to watch us ride toward the state line

So long, sunflowers!

We rode 70 miles, yesterday, to Idalia, Colorado. Lightning storms flickered on the horizon as we crossed the state line. We could see but could not hear. I suffered my fifth flat in the dark just east of town, thanks to the Goathead, a thorn which is apparently famous around here for flattening bike tires. Dustin's grandmother runs the only motel in town, The Prairie Vista, and he arranged for us to stay there last night, no charge. Ryan's first flat of the trip took place this morning, just west of town. The valve on his only spare tube was busted during installation, which he tried to replace with the valve from the old tube, but only managed to make that unusable, too. Now, we can't ride anywhere without first visiting a bike shop, and there ain't one of those (or much of any thing else) for another 80 miles. We'd have to go a bit off course to get there, unless we want to go directly to Denver. Looking to hitch a ride. Apparently, there was an armed robbery in town, this morning. We've been advised not to accept rides from any one driving a light blue mercury with a busted grill. Duly noted.

1 comment:

jesse Hoff said...

Dwight, your stories of americana that you've experienced on your trip are awesome and inspirational. I've always wanted to do one of these. Maybe I just will one of these days!

Have a great trip and keep posting and pedaling.