Tempe, AZ

7.1.2010

Today was a pretty frustrating ride even though it was a pretty short stretch. We had about 60 miles to get to our destination. We had to make sure we had made it 45 of those miles by 9:30. This meant for a pretty quick pace, and we were making pretty good time. Then I got in my first wreck. One thing I’ve noticed in my life is that I’m incredibly lucky when it comes to situations where luck is required. I’m not talking the kind of lucky where I’ll win $1,200 dollars playing blackjack (like Bill did when we were in Vegas), but the kind of lucky where I can get into a wreck and walk away with a fully functioning bike, an intact helmet, and a scratch on my finger. The wreck was completely my fault, and fortunately I was the only person in the pace line who was hurt as a result of my stupidity.

The crash put us a little bit behind in making the rack point, but we were able to dust ourselves off and push it out. What ended up happening is that the team ran into some unexpected construction, and EVERYONE got racked to the staging area for our arrival. Instead of a 60 mile day, we ended up riding about 35 or 40 miles, which was another huge frustration. The arrival itself slightly made up for it though. We had a police escort of 6 cars, and it was a nice long ride into the city of Phoenix. It was fun to hear everyone honking as we entered the city.

Phoenix was the first big city that we’ve been to since San Francisco, and we were welcomed at Arizona State University with dorm beds and showers with hot/cold knobs. We took a short train ride from center city to the main campus in Tempe where we would be staying the night. Fun fact, the total mileage of the trip so far is exactly the same as my Psi Chapter initiation number: 1127.

We had dinner and a friendship visit at a local community center where we played kickball with some students our own age with various disabilities. I was talking with a guy named Brian Ballard who was telling me about his job at the library. He was 19 years old and just finishing up a job training program in his high school that would prepare him to earn his own money upon graduation. He was telling me about how he likes to work out with his dad, what kinds of movies he likes, and his trip to France to watch his sister dance in a show. Although I hate to say it, he was the first person with a disability that I have met so far who really showed me how similar I am to the people we meet with every day. It was a really great experience for me.

Tomorrow we have yet another day off, and we get to sleep in until 11:00 if we so choose. It’s ok. We’ll be paying for it on Sunday when we go 500 miles in 5 days.