Its only fingerlengths.

Hello Everyone. I write to you from McCook, Nebraska. The internet is a hit and miss thing around here, so I’ll post this when, no, if I get connected again. Today I was in 3 states, crossed 2 state lines, and crossed into another time zone. The last bunch of days we’ve been biking east from Denver which has been more or less the same. Denver was a great city, my favourite city so far. I spent Sunday, our day off, touring the downtown area with 4 friends particularly down the outdoor mall on Denver’s 16th Street area. The terrain east of Denver has been full of small and large rolling hills, more sage grass country. The days have been long, hot, and with endless road ahead. Our shortest day was yesterday at 138km. This week is our longest riding week on average with 148km daily. Today we rode our second longest ride so far on the tour at 152km. The nice thing about this area, meaning no desert or mountains, is that there are lots of small towns to visit and stop at for a coffee or ice cream on these 35+C days. Today it reached 40C, very hot. We’ve experienced head winds, heat, and distance. It makes thins tough on a lot of us. But it’s best to take it one peddle stroke at a time. On our way from Fort Morgan, CO to Wray, CO two days ago, we stopped at one of the SAG vehicles (Support and Gear) as we normally do. Anyway, as we were there a guy and his daughter and mother who stopped in wondering what we were doing. So we talked to him, his name is Jerry Traylor. Look him up online. But in short this is his story, which is incredible, inspiring, and intense. He was born with cerebral palsy, has had 14 corrective surgeries so we can walk with crutches instead of having leg braces. He has run, with crutches, 35 marathons; his best time for a mile is just over 9 min. But what was incredible is that he ran down this same highway (US-34) in 1985 as he ran, ran, and ran from Los Angeles to New York. This guy ran across the United States with crutches. And to top it off he has cerebral palsy. Anyway. Meeting Jerry has been the highlight of the week, I’ll never forget him, he is a motivational speaker, and author of a couple books; one about his journey across the US. We are now in Nebraska, and now crossed into Central Time. We also reached the half way point of the tour, time wise, today after 4 ½ weeks of solid riding. Tomorrow we reach the half way point distance wise. I’m thankful that as we biked out 152km today we slowly exited sage brush country (essentially desert) into a greener, more agricultural area.
I hate doing this, but I ask again to keep these people in your prayers. Sadly we lost another rider to an accident, 2 riders in two riding days. Sadly, Cynthia Aukema was involved in an accident with some roadside debris and is injured enough to not be able to ride with us anymore. We will miss her a lot. She’s a great person and was committed to this tour more than the average person. As I have said before. We are a community, a family, one. We have lost 3 of our own, and we miss them all, we pray for them all, and we wish they could still be riding with us. So again, please keep Arnie Issette, Tyler Buintenwerf, and Cynthia Aukema in your thoughts and pray for quick healing. Physically and emotionally.
Peace&GodBless
Matt