I hopped off the bike after Dan and I finished our first 12 hour pull in Congress, Ariz. and said to Drew's Crew as they prepped to do an exchange, "My knees hurt, my neck hurts, my shoulders hurt, my feet hurt, and my butt is killing me...I'm having the best time of my life!" They high-fived me and knew exactly what I meant. I can only speak for myself, but this is simply an amazing experience. There aren't enough adjectives to describe the way we're feeling.
The weather has been perfect. An occasional whipping tail wind has helped the day-shift guys. Last night was cool and I think we did have a little help from, well, let's say, the “wind angels.” Last I heard all of our teams were doing awesome, holding amazing speeds in the 20 mph range. We were 20 minutes behind Team Sami and 13 minutes ahead of Drew's Crew. I am excited because tonight I get to see my friend, Chad Leathers, who has flown into Arizona with a friend. They will be shooting some video of all three teams.
Our song for this trip is called "Calling all Angels" by Train. It is an old song, but I heard it, and literally got goose bumps as I looked around at our riders and crew...and for that matter the other 38 "angels" that have showed up on this adventure. I guess you have to be here to understand it entirely, but the feeling of common purpose is prevalent everywhere...gotta go, we just caught a catnap here in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Bill and Billy are meeting us 50 miles east for the exchange for our next shift!
Life, is most definitely good!
Steve
Click here to view additional team photos.
Hey NFET RAAMers! Great job everyone - we are following all the teams and digging the photos on here. We watched your progress on the time station maps - made it hybrid so we could see the climbs - ouch!!! Keep it up - Drew is so excited - we are checking every few hours and right before bed and the moment he gets up. Alan - Drew was wondering if he should put an A on his thigh to keep you going?! Thanks everyone for everything you are doing!!! Drew, Trisha, Steve and Ashleigh
ReplyDeleteYou are all so amazing and inspiring! Rodney and I LOVE getting the updates. We check back about every 5 minutes for pictures or updates. God Speed!!!
ReplyDeleteJill Markland
Jeez -- you guys are going to be done before I get around to making a donation.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up!
-- J
Thanks for all the updates Steve! It's great to be able to follow up on how things are going since I won't be able to make it up to see you guys pass through Indy. Keep on keepin on.
ReplyDelete