Today we rode into the Boys and Girls Club of Carson City and preformed our first Kids on the Block puppet show. The puppet show, I have found, is one of our most important tools for advocacy. Each skit we preform portrays an interaction with two children, one with a disability, such as Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, or Blindness, and another trying to understand what their lives are like. In all of the skits, the similarities of both children’s lives are highlighted; like their ability to play sports and have stable jobs. As I have gotten older, I have obviously forgotten the willingness of a child’s imagination. They are so eager to speak with the puppets and ask questions about the characters with disabilities that we play. Sometimes their questions are as simple as how do you brush your teeth, but every now and then, one bright mind will shine and ask something like, “How does blindness affect your daily basic functions,” for instance. These questions along with their answers open the eyes of children surrounded by those that may look or learn a little different. During our visit, I was also hit with the forgotten harsh reality of being a kid: the required small clique creating the playground caste system that resonates childhood. Sitting down at this groups table was almost a blow to what I like to consider a pretty sound 21 year old confidence. All in all, kids are mean and judge harshly-it’s a little like staring in carnival mirror. What you see may be a little exaggerated, but essentially you are staring at yourself. I think seeing these few “cool” kids and their ill-advised perception of how someone should be has made me realize to what affect judging someone can harm.

We had an early morning today- up at 5:30 and on the road by 6:00. The ride was, as we were briefed, “flat like a pancake then hills like ‘mashed potatoes’ at the end,” whatever that means. The beginning was a piece of cake- my pace line and I averaged around 18 to 20mph for the first 30 miles and then came the mashed potatoes. It is now official, if that is what mashed potatoes have now become, never EVER will I eat them again. At the end of a 50 mile ride, those mashed potatoes were the worst thing anyone could have ordered. Incline-wise they weren’t too bad but after the ride we had already done, I was thinking about calling a cab.

Tomorrow is a ride as notorious as Biggie himelf within the JOH (Journey of Hope) group: Kirkwood. It is an 80 mile ride with a 7,900 ft acention up a mountain. I know I have commented on my surprising climbing ability in a previous post but I think after my ride tomorrow I might have the oh-so-subtle taste of foot in my mouth. We will see. Nervous: yes. Hopeful: even more so. I will let everyone know tomorrow how my dominance of a spirit crushing mountain goes.

Our pace line is tight and slicing through the wind like it’s whipped cream. Everyone is shouting and the occasional fist punches through the cool morning air. To the left- the open San Francisco Bay; to the right: Alcatraz. And behind us, fading with every pedal’s rotation, is the hustling city of San Francisco crowned by the Golden Gate Bridge.

We made our first ride today- kicking it off by riding across the Golden Gate Bridge. Breakfast was a little more extensive than usual: muffins, pasteries, oranges, juices…etc. I’m sure to convince the parents that’s how we eat every morning. The kick off was great. The ride started through Sausalito then north all the way to Napa. I had my first encounters with a few vicious hills which quickly taught me exactly how much heart this ride is going to take. There are times where you want to rest or quit but if you dig deep into what we are all doing, you find the next wind to crank it up. Honestly- I think a lot of us impressed ourselves. Even if everyone didn’t make it, the effort and dive we all pulled out today was courageous. I will say though that being in the first group of 6 guys to make it in felt incredible.

Our friendship visit today was at the home of Patty Saunders, an outstanding woman within the Napa community. She constantly opens her home for families and friends of those with disabilities, and let me tell you, she does it well. The food was plentiful and delicious and the drinks were flowing non-stop (water and soda of course). We all could see the true joy she brings to the members of her community. Everyone there was smiling, talking and having fun to the point we almost forgot the 75 miles we had ridden earlier. One of the culinary highlights of the day for me was without a doubt the “thousand-chip cookies” as I so warmly refer to them. Chocolate chip cookies about the size of my hand with enough chocolate chips in them to take out the next Iditarod all in a basket weighing—no joke—30 lbs.. The evening progressed and everyone gathered around for the baseball awards ceremony (which all the participants couldn’t stop talking about all night). After the awards ceremony, we did a quick team clean up, thanked Mrs. Saunders, and loaded up the vans for our fist night of comatose like sleep after a hefty ride.