Day 23 & 24 -- Denver, CO

Our last 50 miles out of the Rocky Mountains took us into Denver, Colorado. Since the day was mostly downhill, the team quickly finished pushing paces of 25 to 30 miles per hour. On our way down, we crossed Buffalo Bill’s grave perched on Lookout Mountain, the Coors brewery, and my pace-line almost hit a deer as it ran by the group and crossed the road right in front of the head cyclist. Before the last switchbacks downhill, we arrived at a bridge overlooking the city. Behind us, we could see the white peaks of the Rocky Mountains, ahead of us, the American flatlands extended to the horizon. We’re all excited for the change of scenery and the new challenges it will bring.

We were welcomed into Denver at the Bronco’s Invesco stadium at Mile High. As we rolled in to the parking lot, we meet the JOH Trans-America team for the first time. We’ll be spending the next day and a half with them. It was bizarre to meet a whole new group of people who have been doing the same thing as us for the summer. We quickly mingled and shared stories from our trips so far before we went on a tour of the stadium. The Bronco staff kindly allowed all of us onto the field where “Welcome Journey of Hope” greeted us on the Jumbotron! It was an incredible experience and for many of us, a first. The brothers of Eta Gamma chapter at Boulder then provided an awesome burrito lunch catered by Chipolte. After eating in the parking lot, a dozen police motorcycles and cars escorted us with lights and sirens out to the capitol building through the busy streets and highways of Denver. We all stared in awe as the police officers stopped traffic and marked exits for us for a 5-mile stretch into the city. It was such a magnanimous and incredible feeling to be treated with that importance and for passersby to look on as we proudly pedaled forward. The governor and mayor were both present at the arrival to welcome us into Denver! After a few speeches and an ice cream greet-and-meet sponsored by KRG, the teams went to the hotel to prepare for the afternoon events.

At 4:30pm, we rolled out to City Park for the annual Pedal for Pennies event, which benefits the Special Olympics of Denver. The Special Olympics athletes find sponsors to pay a certain amount of money for each 1-mile lap they complete around the lake. The Journey of Hope teams came to support the riders and bike alongside them. Although the event was delayed because of a thunderstorm, we all had a blast! I rode with Adella, who was so excited to be riding that she kept on jumping up and down while screaming of joy. We completed a full 6 laps before the end of the event. Some athletes were able to do as many as 12 laps in the one-hour period. We celebrated with a dinner and dance sponsored by KRG. If you’ve never seen 70 fraternity brothers singing “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys on one knee to the girls we rode with today, it was a sight to see!

On our day off in Denver, we went to Craig Hospital to play a game of murderball, also known as wheelchair rugby, with the Denver Harlequins. We got destroyed (watch the video!). The game involves rolling the ball into the end zone with any combination of 2 wheels (back, front, sides, etc.) and passing or dribbling every 10 seconds. I never thought a game on wheelchairs could be so aggressive and rough. Crashing into other players is a necessity, and people flipping over a commonality. It was a really fun time, I even scored a goal!