STAGE 29 AND 33

MY TEAM MEMBERS ARE RANDY, CAROLINA, JENNIFER,CHRIS, AND HARRY, DORAN IS NOT IN THIS PICTURE. CHECK OUT THE JERSEY'S.


THESE TWO STAGES HAVE BEEN AT NIGHT AND NOT A LOT TO SEE. THE RALLIES ARE SMALL AND OUR START TIMES HAVE BEEN AT 1:00 AM AND MIDNIGHT. IT IS HARD TO STAY AWAKE AT 15 MILES PER HOUR. SWITHING BATTERIES IS THE MOST FUN I HAD FOR BOTH STAGES.

THE EFFECTS OF TROPICAL STORM TAMMY GAVE A VERY WET RIDE LAST NIGHT, 86 MILES IN THE RAIN. THE BIKES WERE FILTHY.


MANY OF OUR TEAM OF RIDERS ARE TAKEN TO RALLIES AND THEY SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MAKING THE PROMISE. THE TOUR OF HOPE WEBSITE HAS GREAT SHOTS OF THE TEAM MEMBERS.

TRAING AND MEETING THE NEW TEAM.

TOUR OF HOPE HAS ITS LIGHTER MOMENTS. HERE A OUR DECISION MAKERS LETTING OF STEAM. DAN, GINA, AND CHAD.
















MEMBER OF TEAM A. THERE ARE FOUR TEAMS. MARKUM, WIS, STEVE, CA., ADAM,WIS., BARRI, PA., JAMIE, WIS.












ENTIRE TEAM, SERGIE, RUSSIAN MASSGE, JAMIE, WISCONSIN DRIVER, WARD, IOWA MECHANIC, ADREA, WISCONSIN DIRVER, BARRI, PA NAVIGATOR, ADAM, WISCONSIN DRIVER, MATT, WISCONSIN DRIVER, TONY TEXAN TEAM LEADER. MARKUM WISCONSIN DRIVER.








TRAINING ON HOW TO KEEP THE RIDERS PROTECTED IN THE ENVELOPE AT ALL TIMES. JOHN AND ZACH ARE DOING THE TRAINING.

STAGE 17

THIS IS ADAM. HE AND I SHARED A ROOM DURING THE RIDE. SOMETIMES HE A LITTLE CRAZY. THAT IS WHAT SLEEP DEPRIVATION WILL DO.









OUR TRANSITION AREAS SOMETIMES ARE MARKED ONLY BY A SIGN AND AN CLEAR ARREA ALONG THE ROAD.












OUR STAGING AREA AWAITING THE TRANSITION. LAST MINUTES DETAILS FROM OUR TEAM LEADER TONY.











TEAM READY TO START THE RIDE.













THIS IS OUR BUS THAT HAULS US EACH HOTEL. 12 PEOPLE CAN SLEEP IN IT AND THAT MAKES FOR A LITTLE MORE REST TIME. RIDERS AND BUS DRIVERS GET PRIORITY. BARRI IN BLUE IS GUARDING THE BUS.

86.4 MILES OF ROLLING WEST TEXAS. WE STARTED IN MENARD AND ENDED IN LLANO. JUST TWO DIFFERENT ROADS. START TIME WAS 7:00 PM AND WE FINISHED THE STAGE AT 11:30 PM. THEN TO A HOTEL IN HOUSTON. 4 HOUR OF SLEEP AND NOW TO A NEW STAGE.

STAGE 5

AFTER STAGE ONE BEING VERY HILLY AND HOT WE HAD ANOTHER HOT DAY. TEMPERATURES IN THE 100'S. THE RIDERS DID VERY WELL AND HAD A GREAT DAY.

WE HAD A GREAT SEND OFF AT A ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE KIDS REALLY MAKE IT FUN. THE MESSAGE OF THE NEED FOR CLINICAL TRIALS IS SO IMPORTANT. HOPEFULLY THE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS WILL BE ABLE TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THIS WAS A 80 MILE STAGE. PETER DOLAN WITH BRISTOL MEYERS SQUIBB RODE ENTIRE STAGE. HE HIS THE CEO OF BRISTOL MEYERS SQUIBB. VERY STRONG RIDER. HIS SECURITY CREW IS A NICE THING OUT ON THE ROUTE.

STAGE 13.

THIS STAGE OF THE RIDE STARTED AT 11:00 PM. AND WENT THROUGH ONE TIME ZONE. WE HAD ONE CLIMB THAT ENDED AT THIRTY MILES. THEN DOWNHILL TO THE FINISH. 90 MILES WE ENDED AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING. WE THEN DROVE FOR 4 HOURS TO OUR HOTEL IN SONORA, TEXAS. THIS STAGE ENDED IN ORLA, TEXAS.

IT IS DIFFICULT IT REMEMBER WHERE WE START AND END EACH STAGE. SLEEP IS AT A PREMIUM. 3 HOURS PER SHIFT.

stage 25

THIS WAS A VERY EXCITING STAGE FOR THE RIDERS BECAUSE AT 40 MILES WE HAD LANCE ARMSTRONG JOIN OUR GROUP. HE LIKES TO SHOW UP AND RIDE AND KEEP AWAY FROM THE CROWDS. OUR TEAM RODE INTO THE TRANSITION WITH LANCE AND THERE WAS QUITE A CROWD THEIR. A FEW WORDS WERE SAID AND THEN OFF LANCE WENT TO RIDE WITH THE NEXT GROUP. I WAS CONFINED TO THE MECHANICS CAR AND DID NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAKE LANCE,S HAND.

OUR RIDE THAT DAY WAS FROM NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI TO JACKSON MISSISSIPPI.

THE ENTIRE RIDE WAS ON THE NATCHEZ TRACE.

STAGE 9

STAGE 9 WAS VERY HILLY AND THE ELEVATION WAS A CHALLENGE. 8600 FEET OF CLIMBING IN 80 MILES. THE PACE THAT WAS TO BE MET WAS REAL AGGRESSIVE. I AM NOT SURE THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT SPEED, EVEN IF I WAS FRESH.

TO KEEP THE PACE FAST ONLY ONE RIDER, HARRY SOLCUM DID THE LAST FINAL CLIMB. HE IS FROM BUFFALO, NEW YORK AND QUITE A CLIMBER. IT ALMOST SEEMED LIKEA.TAGE IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE. WE ALL CALLED HIM LANCE. SOME OUR RIDERS ARE PULLED AND TAKEN TO RALLIES. THIS WAY THE CAN SPREAD THE WORD.

WE WENT TO EL PASO AND SPENT A FEW HOURS FOR SOME SLEEP. I GET ABOUT 3 HOURS AFTER I GET MY BIKES CHECKED OVER, AND RELOADED ONTO THE VAN.