Notes From The Road

September 14, 2007: Touched in so many ways

We awoke this morning in the heart of San Francisco. As the sun was rising, we began our ride through Fisherman's Wharf, visiting with the sea lions on Pier 39. Continuing along the San Francisco Bay, we watched people swimming, riding their bikes and running while others walked their dogs. What an active city! We approached many of the runners and bikers and everyone thought it was great we were traveling around the nation to deliver the message of health and fitness.

As we rode over the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge, the fog hung low over us, but we could still see historic Alcatraz. We then rode into Sausalito on our way to VSP (Vision Service Plan) who had a team of riders meet us. We traveled about 20 miles together into their office complex where we FINISHED our week-long tour. There was even a finish line banner for us!

What an incredible day to end our tour…but it was also a sad day. A day we said goodbye to our team members who now feel like 'our extended family'. We broke down our bikes tonight and hugged each person as they left for the airport to head home. This tour touched so many of us in so many ways. We met new friends, talked with so many new people, reached new heights in our riding abilities and feel personally accountable to continue spreading the message of healthy living and wellness.

Our best to all the others who are riding or supporting the riders this coming week on the other tours around the nation!

September 13 - A special SAG volunteer to cheer us over the mountain!

This morning we woke up in Modesto California and headed out at 6:00 am towards San Francisco. The ride began with a steady climb through the foothills of California and a ride over Mount Hamilton which has a 14% grade at its steepest point. Of the 90 miles we rode today, 40 miles was pure climbing! Apparently Mount Hamilton is quite famous for the efforts of riders to make it to the summit.

Tom from our Hartford, Connecticut office was the first person over the mountain! Man can he climb! We are all in awe over his riding ability. Kristy (a.k.a. Mighty Mouse) from our Easton PA office was 4th - you go girl!!! Unfortunately, as she descended down the other side of the mountain, she was stung by a bee and fell off her bike - she is ok and rode into San Francisco with us.

Brian from our Delaware office broke one of his brakes in the descent down the mountain where we reached speeds of over 35 MPH... quite scary!! Tom fixed the brake with a plastic tie to get Brian to San Francisco.

We have to give a big thank you to Rick from our Hartford, CT office and one of our support and gear (SAG) crew volunteers. He actually got out of the SAG vehicle and ran along side the riders to cheer us on. Thanks Rick!

One of our stops along the way today was at CISCO Systems where we talked with their employees about the importance of healthy living. They interviewed many of our riders for a telecast that was being broadcast to thousands of CISCO employee desktops. Everyone was very excited to see us and congratulated us for making it over Mount Hamilton.

After leaving CISCO, we headed towards Oakland to visit with employees at a CIGNA office. We were greeted in the neighboring park and spoke to two sets children on the importance of eating right and living healthy. We then rode our bikes to the BART (the subway train from Oakland to San Francisco) and piled onto the train with our bikes just before rush hour. What a site that was!

Tomorrow we begin very early with a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge heading towards Napa Valley and then into Sacramento where we will conclude our tour.

September 12: Fried chicken, pizza, soda and hot dogs? Oh my!

This morning we left Morro Bay and headed towards Visalia to visit with our CIGNA HealthCare call/claims center. On the way to the office we made an impromptu stop at LeMoore High school (grades 9-12). It was 15 minutes before lunch as we rode up. The timing was perfect!! The administration welcomed the opportunity for us to reach out to the approximately 2,100 students on the campus. As the lunch bell rang we walked about the campus spreading the message of healthy living. As we talked to the students we noticed they were eating fried chicken, pizza, soda and hot dogs. We handed out almost 500 Health Awareness Tour bracelets that say, "Shifting gears to better health." As we rode away, we all agreed that our message is more necessary now than ever before in the schools and among our younger adults.

As we rode into CIGNA's Visalia office we were greeted with open arms, balloons and lots of cheering! The Visalia people were great! They even had chair massages and food waiting for us!

Tomorrow promises to be another challenging day as we climb close to 6,000 feet to meet up with CISCO and 100 of their employees who will lead us to their office.

September 11, 2007: My Daddy's riding a bicycle!

Today was a pure travel day, a beautiful 100-mile ride up the California coast, finishing in Morro Bay. Tomorrow we head to Visalia. Although we didn't visit any clients, we stopped and talked to people along the way about what we're doing and the importance of taking care of yourself. Margaret and Trey joined the Century Club - riders who have completed a 100-mile ride. All the other riders were already members. At dinner we observed a moment of silence for 9/11. Then we celebrated!

We had our first flat tire - wouldn't you know it was our team captain, Gus. We broke into two groups yesterday - fast and slow. The fast group, led by Gus, overshot a rest stop about 15 miles before the finish, got off their map, and got lost. They called the SAG vehicle and wound up backtracking a mile or two.

Gus, our team captain's family is traveling with the team. They've taken to going ahead and welcoming us into rest stops. His three-year-old daughter, Anna, rings a cow bell! At dinner, Anna took some Health Awareness Tour bracelets to the people sitting at the next table and said, "My Daddy's riding a bicycle!"

September 10, 2007: Glendale cheers us on!

The support vehicles have been stocked, the bikes have all been put back together after their long travel and everyone turned in early in preparation for the motivating week ahead. Whether it was on the plane or walking through the lobby, many of us have already begun to spread the message of health awareness. The t-shirts we are wearing and the large group we are in are really leaving a lasting impression on many people. This morning we woke to an early start in Anaheim and then headed towards the CIGNA office in Glendale where we had a police escort lead us through downtown. We were greeted with lots of CIGNA flags, cheering and music! It was great to see a crowd of CIGNA employees lining the street screaming for us as we arrived! We mingled with many of our colleagues about the Health Awareness Tour mission and headed down the Pacific Coast Highway into the sunset - literally! It was a beautiful ride along the coast as the sun went down. By the time the evening ended we had ridden a little less than 60 miles. Tomorrow (September 11) will be a challenging one and will test the team as we target a ride of close to 160 miles.