Fijis Across America 2010

“Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.” 

-Matthew 10:39 

I awoke late in the morning to the smell of bacon, eggs, and keesh. Mmmm….me and Chaz devoured that down fairly quickly slurping it down with some tiger bengal tea or some type of animalistic beverage like that. After breakfast we headed out to the Best Buy parking for an Alzheimer’s fundraiser where we actually had about 70 people show up and raised close to 5,000 dollars from in kind donations, t shirt sales, and the like. It was really great to catch up with all the rest of my brothers, friends, family and to tell all the stories that we have experienced in the past month or so. It was also a real treat to see my girlfriend along with Suzanne, Kelsey, and Alyson. All in all, the event turned out to be a major success and it was a real pleasure to see the happiness in all of the eyes of the rider’s families as well as the displayed unconditional love. We have a lot of blessings to be thankful for in this beautiful world. 

After the event, I invited the Vittitows and a select crowd of girls (already mentioned above) down to my house for some pineapple ice and cookies. I’ve truly been waiting for this day for quite some time. It was good to catch up with my friend’s and to hear what they have experienced since the summer began. The porch was comforting and round 3 of pineapple ice couldn’t feel any better. After several hours of meaningful conversation I said my last goodbyes which was a pain in itself, however, I know I will see them as soon as the ride has concluded. 

The next day I awoke once again to the smell of a wonderful breakfast and the sound of Bob Roll, Phil Ligget, Paul Sherwin on the tube which means it is time for the 2010 Tour de France! I literally slouched on the couch for at least 2 hours watching the full coverage of the prologue. This years tour is definitely going to be epic as the old, experienced Lance Armstrong battles against the young, super power of Alberto Contador. Congrats Fabian Cancellara for winning the prolouge with beasting a 5.5 miles course in 10 minutes flat. Wow..I have so much more respect for these professional riders traveling at such high speeds on such technical courses. Hopefully throughout the remaining days on my bike I will be able to watch some of the stages. Once the coverage ended, I headed to town to run some errands and recieve a haircut and a much needed beard trim according to several people. The first trim felt awkward as all get out, but I managed the pain and paid the price. 

That night I had supper with my family which consisted of a delicious homecooked meal of barbecue, corn, salad, and even more pineapple ice. During the meal it was good to catch up with some of the family and to hear of some of their experiences. The rest of the night I traveled to my dads house to continue telling the stories, then arrived home fairly shortly to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming morning and replace a few items I lost in the Great Drop. The rest day was relaxing and much needed to say the least.