Pedal Trans-America 2008: New Mexicarizutah

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.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

New Mexicarizutah

Mesa Verde bike caravan

We rode through a forest of fire-blackened trees to reach the ruins

We set foot on New Mexico soil at the four corners

And then we left

And went to Arizona. As you can see, Ryan has just done something totally hilarious.

Rosalita got her handle bars did

We've had very little luck with cell phone service or public computer access on The Navajo Reservation. The owner of the movie theater where we slept last night. Gordon, has been kind enough to let us use his computer for a quick update. Our recent daily mileage:2 miles from Durango to the outskirts of Durango, where we were cut off suddenly by another thunder storm and forced to take shelter under the awning of a shack behind a gas station; 35 miles to Mesa Verde National Park, where we met three awesome girls (also touring cyclists) who helped us get in on their parks pass and shared their campsite with us; 30 miles to The Ute Mountain Tribal Park Visitors' Center (plus 35 miles within Mesa Verde), another thunder storm cut us short; 97 miles to Kayenta, AZ, where we slept in the theater. Thanks, Gordon!