June 12 will forever live...

June 12, 2oo5, 60+ cyclists departed the Golden Gate Bridge on there way to Washington, D.C. During that journey, six guys became best friends. Exactly 5 years later to the day, one of those guys got married and a true southern hitchin party ensued. Thank you to the Hines/Morris families for such an awesome weekend in Georgia.


The events started as Eric and I landed in Atlanta at about 1am on Thursday only to begin JOH reunion tradition.....whiskey. It was great to see Joe and catch up over a few cocktails. We got so carried away, morning reared her pretty face before we could call it quits......just a prelude to what the weekend was going to entail.

In typical wedding fashion, we arrived at the rehearsal dinner reserved and behaved. Silence overcame the wedding party as we took orders and followed directions, but in typical Papa Bear Hines fashion, it did not take long for the southern hospitality to bleed through and the champagne of beers began to flow--I truly think Miller runs a distributor out the back of the Hines Astro Van because there was never a shortage.

I don't want to take away from the meaningful event that brought us all together. Katie and Joe were great and are two of the greatest folks I can call my friends. I was honored to be a part of their special occasion..........but HOLY PARTY!!!!!

By the end of the weekend, my phone was trashed, Joe's dad drank sister's contacts (don't ask how), I had a sparkler burn in my tux, shaky face took over the south, dancing was the new breathing, Knotts' phone was on a Caribbean vacation and I added a slew of great folks to call my family! I hope you enjoyed the pics and if you're patient, there is a surprise at the end.

SHAKY FACE HALL OF FAME......

The Iron Horse Classic

A few weekends ago, I ventured down to Durango for the Iron Horse Classic. If you are unfamiliar, the Iron Horse is a Colorado must. Over a thousand cyclists line the streets of Durango prepared to race the train to Silverton. Each year, the ride fills up fast and is very difficult to get a spot. Well....thanks to Chuck "Chucktown Larry" Knotts who lives in Durango, I was awared a spot at no charge the week of the ride.

At 50 miles, we climbed two mountain passes on a great Saturday in the mountains of Colorado. Unfortunately, Chuck has all the cycling pics and can't seem to get the pics from his camera to computer. I wanted to go ahead and post this anyways. So if he ever sends me the pics, I will update accordingly.

Upon the completion of the ride, we set off into the wilderness for a little backwoods adventures. Again, Chuck has most of the pics, but I took a couple and wanted to share. During our time in the Southwest Colorado wilderness, I shared with Chuck the great phenomenon that is a icy river bath. For those who have not had the opportunity, I highly recommend it. The icy waters from the snow melt pierce your soul and leave you breathless. It is incredibly painful at the time, but once out of the water, the alertness you experience amazing. It is truly one of my all time favorite things to do.

While limited I hope you enjoy some of our pics.

Just call us Eskimos

A month or so ago, Cameron and Jeff took a spontaneous trip out to Colorado for a long weekend. No details required for the description of how the weekend was kicked off. If you know the three of us well, you can trust that a few ritas were consumed.

Following our reunion binge, we set off for the mountains where we were determined to build a snow cave. The following pictures were taken at the base of Mt. Bierstadt....

My Life is Never Boring

It has truly been a crazy year-and-a-half, a crazy ride and the best experience of my life. Rather than write everything that has happened to me, I will give you the abbreviated version....

Decided to leave Push America to pursue grad school and a new opportunity, reported to Arizona for school, traveled Colorado for a month, moved to Cleveland, didn't work out, brief stint in Charlotte, back to Arizona for more school, traveled Utah and Colorado for a month, moved to Denver to work for a non-profit that does adventure sports for people with disabilities, decided school was not worth the investment, non-profit could not afford me, moved to Texas, contract work for Paps, dabbled in some consulting, started dating a girl, moved to Colorado....again, stopped dating a girl, got a job with a global company and find myself somewhat settled.

I say somewhat because you just never know what I will come up with. In all my experience I have learned so much about God, about myself and about life. I won't go into details about everything, but want to share three verses I love.

James 1:12 says "Blessed are those who persevere under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

James 4:10 says "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

John 3:16 is so famous, but John 3:17 really drives home the point: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Through my experiences, I have also learned the value of true friendship and family. To all those people who are rocks in my life, I thank you. You are truly a blessing and I am forever thankful.

I apologize I have not been updating my blog but promise to make a better effort because I have yet to scratch the surface of adventure and look forward to sharing my journey with all of you.

Also, I am thinking about getting another dog to travel with me. Yes? No? Maybe? Any thoughts?