Day ONE: Valor Christian High School to Georgetown,CO

Miles on the road: 62

Terrain: Mountainous ... about 4400 ft of climbling

Weather: Partly cloudy with ranging temps from 80 degrees at the start to high 60's at the end

Wind: headwinds, but with the temps it felt oh so good

# of Gatorade bottles I drank: 4 or 5

# of riders at the start: 17

# of riders that went all the way to G-town: 5

Amount of sunscreen I put on this morning: none (whoops)

# of miles on a dirt trail: 3

# of yards we had to walk our bikes b/c the road was unridable: about 500 yards

Songs Stuck in my head: Oddly enough, there really wasn't one. Hmmmm, what could this mean for the rest of the trip?

What was it like to ride today? Check out this vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP6Bb8SQ3eQ

THE START -20 Miles to Morrison Rd & C470

Wow, what a day! It's hard to put into words how awesome it was to have 30+ people at the start of Hunger Ride III. We feel so incredibly blessed. We departed from Valor at approximately 8:34am this morning to blue skies and a light breeze. We had an awesome crew comprised of 6 students, a couple of faculty, and friends that rode the first 20 miles to Morrison! The lesson learned today is that whenever you plan a bike trip, always ride the route before you actually do the trip. But who would've thunk it that the well traveled path of the C470 bike trail would be under construction. I mean, seriously!? Are you kidding me?

Doh! Never assume things bloggers. Just don't do it. Just say no. Resist the urge. Because oftentimes, as the saying goes, it makes a you know what out of you know who. But the tough, determined, Zulu warrior-like crew we had this morning de-saddled, literally picked up our bikes and tackled that 500 yards of unridable terrian like Atwater nailing Okoye.

It was gravy. Or, duck soup as my father would say.

THE REST OF THE WAY

The Day ONE crew of seven continued on to Evergreen through a very windy, hairy canyon with very little shoulder. We stayed together as a group and got er' done, climbing our way to Idaho Springs and then on to Georgetown. It was a glorious day and a perfect ride for Day ONE.

We feel very blessed.

SHOUT OUTS

We gotta give it up for Derek of Lamars donuts in Highlands Ranch for hooking us up with 24 donuts for the pre-ride festivities. Also, thanks to Pamela at Panera Bread. Even though I spilled hot coffee all over my hand early this am, we are still grateful (and eating) the bagels that she hooked us up with.

NEWS FLASH

I actually got a new job today. Yeah, you know I wasn't going to let everyone know about the Auto Shop that I recently opened (this morning at 5) in Kittredge, CO.

(see pic above)

I mean, here's the deal. This is how it all went down. The good folk of Kittridge heard about how I once fixed a flat tire when I was in high school .... and they became curious about my mechanical skills. Then they saw that I had chain grease all over my leg and they salivating. But the kicker, or clincher if you will, is that they heard that I might be able to change my own oil... it was then that they were sold. The begged, pleaded and offered me a six figure contract to have a shop in their town. So, what else could I tell them?