The Second Day: Thatcher to Miami

After the great greeting that we had in Thatcher the night before, we had proceeded to the home of Luke and Tiona Hoopes, good friends who used to live in our ward in Peoria. I had previously arranged to have us stay there, get our showers, and have our dinner and breakfast. Well, no doubt about it, they really pulled through for us and was very accommodating. We had a great meal from his mother's restaurant, and had a little time to visit. Bedtime came fairly early for all.

That morning we had a great meal again of breakfast burritos. Thank you Luke and Tiona for making this such a special stop off.

After breakfast, the rest of the group went back to the place that we had ended the day before so that they could begin there, and then they made a stopoff at Safeway, where water was being donated. Shane Stutzman works for Safeway and they were a big supporter.

Kyle Crump and I waited down closer towards the Hoopes and across from the hotel where Leisa had stayed. One special experience I had there..... I had an aluminum can in my hand that I had finished drinking it's contents, and the thought came into my mind about Tina Roose, our owner operator payroll manager, whose children had crushed enough aluminum cans to exchange them for $100.00 which they turned over to Rally For PoP's. I will always have a special feeling regarding her children and their thoughtfullness to do this.

We left Thatcher and headed west. The terrain at first was flat with low hills. My legs were not quite working yet but doing fairly well. The group pretty well got ahead of me, which was fine, as I did not want to hold them up in anyway. I made a stop across the highway from the Gila Valley Temple and asked Shannon if he would take a picture of me with the temple in the background. He gladly obliged. We proceeded on. Shannon chose to lag behind and ride with me. I am so grateful to him that he did that for me. It was like a big dose of dopamine. I could move, and then we started to ride. Shannon is a great cyclist. He is easy to talk to and I really enjoy being around him.

After so many miles I got into the support vehicle for some resting. Ed and Mona were the people in the van. They are both very fun and treated me great. Thank you Ed and Mona!

At a certain point of the road they were putting a new surface on it.

The First Day Ride: Border to Thatcher

The ride from the border to Thatcher started out with the first leg being a 20 mile winding road uphill and downhill. We had a great time being together. I felt great!

We arrived at 3 Way Arizona and I knew what was ahead of us. Just a couple weeks earlier Jordan and I had come out to that point and I successfully made the 7.8 mile hill. This time was different. I didn't have the energy I needed. Shane was with me and he told me to just take it slow and steady but at any time if I felt I needed to stop and take a break I could, and if need be even get in the SAG Wagon and not do the hill at all. It didn't take long for me to decide that the SAG Wagon was the better option. So we put my bike on top of it and then I rode with Ed and Mona, the SAG team that day. Mona is a hoot of fun and made it very fun for me.

At the top of the hill I was able to get back on my bike and we descended down to the Gila Valley. It was downhill, some flat, and windy.

We had a great welcoming crew to greet us!

The Border Reunion Was Sweet!

We got there early enough to relax and get ready for them. Leisa and Jordan painted the sign on the sheet and we was able to put it right at the border signs. It was so great to see them come down the hill. They had been anticipating this as well and it was a real boost for all involved. In addition to myself, the other riders there were Casey Knight, Jake Knight, Kyle Crump, and Keith Barr. I had brought Casey, Jake, and Kyle, and Keith is a friend of Shane's from work. Keith is now a friend of ours!

They Are Getting Closer!

Shane, Shannon,and Kyle, the amazing cyclists of POP's Ride,are in New Mexico and are on schedule for our Wednesday meet at Three Way, AZ. What an exciting day this will be!

My Rally For POP's! Jordan and I on a training ride in Eastern Arizona

On May 11th, myself and great friends, Casey and Jake Knight, and Kyle Crump, will be meeting up with Shane and Shannon Stutzman, and Kyle Worley, the famous POP's Riders of www.popsride.com. We plan to meet them at Three Way, AZ, about 20 miles from the New Mexico border, and ride with them on into Phoenix, two and a half days of bicycling. They started their journey on April 10th in St. Augustine,FL, and will continue on to the finish in San Diego on May 21st. They have had an awesome journey and you can check out their blogs. I am so excited to meet up with them and start the ride. I am doing a fundraiser in conjunction with them to help them reach their goal of one million dollars for Parkinson's research. I am so grateful for the donations so far. Thank you everyone who has made a donation!