day 32
July 3^rd, 2007

A most eventful day that changed my life.
For breakfast this morning Steve's girlfriend Bobbi treated us to Mcdonalds. The ride today started with a short climb out of Boulder. Near the top of the climb I captured this great panoramic picture of the Flatiron mountain range. Unfortunately at this stop we also got the horrible news that the last group of guys had an encounter with a car. The last two guys in the line were struck by the car and went over the hood and off the side and the front two guys were scratched in their legs but were not knocked off their bikes. All the the men are ok and thankfully no one had any serious injuries. However, the two bikes were totaled. After the climb we had a gradual down hill into the outskirts of Denver. Once we arrived at Mile High Stadium we met up with the North team. The North team is a lot larger team. It was great to meet all of their team members. We were then given a small tour of the stadium and got a chance to go onto the field. The stadium holds Invesco field where the Denver Broncos play. On the big screens of the stadium was a greeting welcoming Push America and the Journey of Hope. After the tour we had borritos from Chipolte. For our arrival we were escorted from the stadium to the capital building. It is our second largest arrival of the trip next to Washington DC. Once we rode up to the steps of the capital the assistant to the governor read to us a letter from the governor. We also got the opportunity to do our first Kids on the Block puppet show to a large group of children from the local YMCA. We also gave a bike safety presentation on the proper ways to wear a helmet and ride a bike. From the park we rode down the street to the Marriott City Center were we slept for the night. After a quick shower and a short nap we were off again to Peddle for Pennies. Peddle for Pennies is a fund raiser for the Denver Special Olympics. The event is sponsored by KRG, which is also the main sponsor for the Journey of Hope. During the ride the athletes go around a .9 mile loop while a person counts their laps. I rode with a great kid by the name of Matthew. Matthew, Justin and I rode around the loop a total of 7 times. Matthew was a great cyclist. After an hour of riding around the track it was time for dinner. The dinner was also sponsored by KRG. KRG is a capital investment firm that was started by Bruce Rodgers, the man who also started the Journey of Hope. After dinner was a dance. The dance was a lot of fun but it was too loud for Matthew so he and I went outside and danced for a while. I also got the opportunity to talk with Matthew's mom about Matthew. She painted a beautiful picture of how loving and caring Matthew is. He is my hero.