| |
|
|
First week heading east and we are putting in some serious time, effort, sweat and frustration into each and every pedal stroke. This is were your body starts shutting down and you find your limits. Find your limits then push your limits 2 steps up. I can tell you right now this isn’t the Sunday cruise through the park this is everything you have, everything you didn’t know you had plus some. We have done 7 hour days, day after day, going through 100+ heat in the middle of the desert. You don’t realize how important a little thing like water can be as we all try to stay hydrated and alive. And that may sound harsh but I really need you to understand that is true, that is what we are doing out here. Pushing until we can barely make it the next 1/8 mile to the top of the hill, throwing up in your mouth, your whole body completely shutting down. With our conditions which is spinal cord injury our whole body is affect and makes doing what we are doing a physical hard ship but a (I want to swear) mind struggle. There have been times this week where I didn’t know my body had that in it, I didn’t know that I could shut all off and focus so damn hard on 1 movement one stroke. Aaron and I talked about this the other day this maybe harder than us trying to wiggle that first toe, move something, anything that first time. I say that because now we have the taste of it, now we know it can work it just takes your all and this strength that comes from within that you didn’t know you have. A strength I wish I would have found earlier on in life. I will promise you these are the things that separate the greatest of all time from just someone else. With what I know now there would have been no reason why I wasn’t at the top of my game racing. But that’s living in the past I am now living in the present with this knowledge that allows me now to say you got this, don’t quit, don’t stop even when your body is shutting down. This week it has been weird to for once to not have the 2 men on your shoulder, one saying don’t quit the other saying just be done. I know you all know what I mean it was me before I would fight them the whole time while I was cycling or anything.
We all had our rough times this week everything from almost fist fights within the team to getting the awning ripped off the motor home in the high winds. But yet all had those personal victory’s, laughs and fun. We also adopted a little stray desert cat that found us and is now the light of every moment. I will say sorry to my mom for giving her such a hard time about her and her cat. I will say that I probably will still give you a hard time mom just because that’s what sons do out of love.
There is so many little story’s for me explain about this week and the lands we have come through, but I think more importantly lessons are to be learned from every moment. If you start taking each and every incident in your life, every problem, every struggle if you take that as hey there is a lesson to be learned here. Do this and find the lesson and believe that’s the lesson and learn from it. Personal growth through things little or big make us who we are today and who we are going to become tomorrow.
At that if anyone has any questions for me or anyone else involved in the remarkable things we are doing please email me at Jordan@norcomazda.com
Thanks everyone and hope you can take one thing from all this. One thing to help you with a problem or be able to help someone else.
Also check out the pictures life from my eyes on the road plus a pretty good tan line shot. Till next time stay safe, stay true to yourself.
J111
|
|
UTAH
Wow its crazy to think I am already a week into this whole adventure. Its been hard to keep connected with the world out here with no cell service or internet most of the way so forgive me I am trying my best to keep everyone posted.
So I arrived late Tuesday to salt lake and got all settled in in the motor home when the week started we had like 7 people on the bus. First day we had to be up at 430am to do a morning news show with this local news personality “BIG Buddha”. So after thee longest morning every doing all that they had a hospital presentation set up for the afternoon. A huge part of going on this tour and a huge part of why it is all possible is to raise awareness for C.O.R.E. along with raise money to get the first one opened.
The next morning we all we excited to get some riding in at a local park with a group of sci hand cyclists to do a little send off before we hit the road. This one of the first times I have done miles on the trike. I made it like 7 miles and was getting a feel of how my legs are working. Its thee craziest thing almost hard to explain, I have to think about every movement just to keep my legs spinning. It is a struggle just to do that let along keep going for miles and miles. This first week has been just getting settled in and doing filming for the documentary so we are just doing stage rides so its good to get my feet wet. So after we got all that done we headed south to a state park for some more stage riding but about 100 miles we got a flat tire in the motor home. Someone was looking out for us because we got the flat just before the only exit in 40 miles and sure enough there was a tire shop. Oak Creek Tire ran by toothless Pete didn’t have our tire and couldn’t get it till the morning so we just camped out. We all ate a DQ and shopped the truck stop. And let me tell you I am never buying real sunglasses again. I found the same pair of glasses for $11 that I paid $107 man do I feel dumb. I did a little freestyle rapping for the crew then we all crashed out.
Wake up the next morning and got the tire done and back on the road headed south for cedar city Utah. So as we are driving Rex and Dane the film guru’s decided I needed to make a music video of my rapping skills they had witnessed last night. I am hoping I can get that video to show you guys, I was pretty pumped on it. We make it to a KOA in cedar city and did a little stage riding to do some more filming. Once again riding the trike and having to give my 111%. The only way me and Aaron could explain it was that we are putting out the same effort as the leaders in the Tour De France.
Woke up feeling good about my legs and my riding just waiting to get on the real road and doing all the miles. We had to drive to another national park were we can get some more riding and filming done. We have been in what I think is the coolest country side I have ever seen. We made it to Bryce Canyon and did some more riding right in the middle of this red rock canyon and it was once again a good ride. We camped out along this river bed that had a little creek running through it and I had a brilliant idea I was going to cross the mud to go lay in the creek. I grabbed my Leki hiking poles and 6 inches of mud deep was I. Rex had his camera out filming me almost falling every step in the mud, while everyone else stayed out of flying mud’s way. After my outdoor shower and some food we could all just relax and enjoy the silence of the middle of nowhere. Rex and Dane had this idea to do light paintings and I had no idea what lighting was. So in a nut sell you have the shutter of the camera stay open for like 15 seconds in the dark and use flashlights to expose what you want to be exposed to the camera. Some of the craziest pic’s I have ever seen were made. Hoping to get those to so you guys can check out that adventure.
Morning came and there was people everywhere one on the roof a few outside on the ground on the couch on the floor of the motor home, you just have to love camping. That afternoon we headed out up to a pass that we were going to do some filming. We made it to the summit and you look over the cliff and see the road just winding back and forth down into the canyon. This day I started my riding on the recumbent bike and after the day of riding some of the coolest road I have seen I fell in love with that thing. I am thinking that’s going to be my weapon of chose until I can progress to a trike full time or a regular bike. That night we ate a awesome little restaurant one my mom would have fell in love with. Sad night because Rex and Dane had to leave to catch planes the next day, these were to of the most down to earth coolest cats I have ever met. Going to miss you guys………..
The next morning with Rex and Dane we all just took the day to get things cleaned up and get things organized. Aaron and I shaved our legs and heads which us most of the morning along with an outdoor shower which was quite a hook like everything we do together its always one big laugh. Even though we can be serious and get our stuff we both have a sense of humor with it all. Which I think you almost have to have that to get through the stuff we go through. We drove up to scenic look out halfway up the summit are going to climb tomorrow. It was perfect it was raining we had thee coolest view so we all just sat down and played cards and got rest for tomorrows big ride and the start of the real riding.
Woke up ready for this ride. Shortly after doing a 6 mile 8% grade down hill to the bottom which took us 12 minutes when then turned around and 1 hour an 30 minutes we make it the 6 miles. Half way up it began to pour rain like no other at one point I swear it was hailing. After lunch we were back to it to the summit. I rode the recumbent and going up a 8% grade I maybe average 4 mph for hours. This part of Utah is so awesome we had thee hardest up hills yet thee funniest down hills. I really cant believe how much better my legs got even since the morning, every pedal stroke was a new beginning, I was giving my all every push every pull just to keep moving and not stop and roll down the mountain. Its hard to believe how awesome we all were doing for our first ride. At the summit of 10,000ft I just kept telling myself that for every insane uphill there is an even better down hill. We went up to 10,000ft back down to 6,000 then climb back up to 9,000 so it was a 48 mile 6 and half hour ride of death. After we made it to camp I literally fell out of my bike and laid there in the grass feeling like I was still pedaling. DAY 1 of real riding CHECKED off. Way excited to keep this momentum going and head on to Denver.
I will do my best to update more often and have more pictures up. This is my first time working with creating my website so I am still trying to figure it out. Make sure to check out RISEABOVETOUR.COM for more updates. Thank You for checking it out.
|
|
| | | |
|
|
|
|
|
