Denver!

I have been looking forward to Denver for many reasons, and today was finally the day we arrived. After a great two days in Empire, we woke up at 5 a.m. to head east for Denver. It was only about a 45 mile ride but we had to get there early because we had some programmed events we could not be late for. The morning started very chilly, and my pace line and I kept warm by joking around and laughing. I rode with Michael Walton and Derek Dedeker from TCU who are both becoming two of my closest friends on the trip. They are both awesome guys all around, and we had an absolute blast riding together. Although the ride was short, the decent down Loveland Pass was very technical and only allowed us to go around 15-20 mph on the downhill.

We arrived in Denver around 10 and I was happy to see the Trans team meeting at the same area we were, outside of Sports Authority Field, home of the Denver Broncos. Push America has a contact that allows us to go inside the stadium and to tour the field, which was awesome. Being on the same field that Peyton Manning plays on was pretty neat. After lots of pictures, and fooling around we left the stadium and everyone had a great Chipotle lunch together, sponsored by a former Pi Alpha. It was really cool interacting with the other team, learning about where their guys are from and the types of experiences they have been going through on their journey. The two teams then got into a double pace line and with the help of a police escort we traveled to the Capitol Lawn in downtown Denver for a great arrival. There was a pretty nice crowd their to cheer us on, and some great speeches to welcome us. 

Pace line from today in Sports Authority Field 

Another exciting thing about staying in Denver is the hotel! We checked into our rooms and then first thing I did was jump on the bed. Although I am very fortunate to stay in safe places every night, sleeping in a comfortable bed can’t be beat. Everyone got ready and we left for Coors Field to watch the Colorado Rockies play the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a nice break from more serious programming we have sometimes. After a 9-0 Rockies loss we left the game and went back to the hotel to relax and hang out.

Tomorrow we have a day off the bikes in Denver, which should be a lot of fun. I look forward to touring the city, hanging out with my teammates, and enjoying all of the awesome events we have scheduled!