Pedal Trans-America 2008: Our entrance to the Rocky Mountians

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.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Our entrance to the Rocky Mountians

Hello Rocky Mountains

Our introduction to the Rockies was climbing up to Windy point, our first summit. Windy point was also our first camping spot in the Rockies, the spot was tucked away behind this freight-converted home in the woods and in a very convenient distance to a local food mart, owned by the Kims from CA. The Kims, who also owned the freight-converted house, offered us to stay in it (above) but we decided that it would be nicer to sleep exposed, under the stars.

Our first respectable pass

After descending Kenosha pass at over 40 mph, we stopped in the small, high-plains town of Jefferson, CO. Both Dwight and I went in separate directions to fill up on water, Dwight had the better direction. He bumped into Garret, a real-estate agent and cool dude who owns a ranch, a realty office and a restaurant in town. He and his wife, Tess invited us to stay at their house. Tess cooked us dinner and we all watched a movie together at their house to end the night. We woke up a bit late and Garret remarked, "boy! you guys sure crashed hard." We got ready and met Garret at the restaurant where he had prepared us a hearty breakfast for the road ahead. Their openness, kindness and generosity still caught me by surprise, even after all our encounters so far.