Day 12, January 16, 2002
JEFF'S
UPDATE
What an incredible day! Over the halfway point and after the struggle of the last few days, today's ride of 137 miles in rolling hill country seems like nothing! The big factor: we had the wind in our direction for the first time in 12 days!
The day consisted of rolling hills with 50-500 foot climbs. It seemed to really come together today. Kevin rode like a madman and he inspired me to push myself to beyond the levels I would normally ride over these type of distances.
Today was special for me for another reason; for the people we rode for. Shirley Rushton, my aunt [married to my Dad's younger brother], dedicated the day to her mom who she lost to cancer, and to Doris Willard, her step mom, who is a cancer survivor. I thought both about that fact all day, and about how lucky I am to have such an amazing extended family on both my side and my wife Diane's side. From my grandparents, to our parents, to the extended family everyone has been incredibly supportive sending emails, calling, and writing letters. It is times like this that you really appreciate the power that a family can give you.
Tomorrow we have one of our lightest days of the the 24 day Coast to Coast ride but one of the most important. We are meeting with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, one of the two charities we are riding for, and several members of the Austin media. We were excited to receive a comment from Lance directly today that is in our comments section
Jeff
KEVIN'S UPDATE
I feel like celebrating!! We rode like the wind today. Now we are ahead of schedule by 60 miles, thus allowing us a shorter time tomorrow as we go to Austin and meet with the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Today's ride was incredible; more climbing through Texas Hill country, and today we had the legs for it. Today's ride will allow us to catch our breath tomorrow and "only" put in about 100 miles. We hope to be done early afternoon so we can say hi to the folks from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, do some media interviews in Austin, and liason with some new support team members [my sister Alison and Eric Jensen], and drop Kenn Rushton at the airport. Kenn has played an important role in keeping this team together and organized. He drove the RV, got the groceries, cleaned the dishes, and generally did everything and anything required. He will be greatly missed. I've been thinking about how much of an asset he has been as we continue our journey to Florida.
On other news, Alison Sydor's World Championship Jersey contribution inspired me to ride my guts out today imagining how much hardwork she put into earning that jersey (click the link to see it and make a bid). Our team is honored that she is donating it to our cause. It will fetch a pretty penny and all the proceeds will go to the charities we are supporting. Thanks Alison; it means a great deal to me personally and I'm proud as a Canadian that we have such a compassionate, professional athlete in our country.
Cycling has been a big part of my life and I owe everything I have to my love for biking. I hope the bicycle will continue to inspire and improve the lives of many.
Love you Rose, Andrew & Jonathan. Keep the dream alive.
Kevin Wallace