BolderBoulder Race Today and Bike Ride Tomorrow

Mary Kay and Matt ran the BolderBoulder 2010K this morning.  Matt ran with Mary Kay they finished together.  Mary Kay was 35 our of 168 in her age group.  There were nearly 50,000 runners.  Phoebe, Sylvie and I went to Boulder with them and had a nice breakfast at Denny's.  We got to the Colorado U. football stadium in plenty of time for the finish.  Kyle and Sarrah came up, also.  It was hot weather for the run, probably in the mid 80's when they finished.  They did get a free beer at the end of the race.  I drank Mary Kay's.  When we got back to Matt's I took my hat off and looked in the mirror - a real bad case of hat hair.  That made me think about what was going to happen after nearly 30 days of riding - I have visions of Helmet Head!!         

Tomorrow starts the ride.  I am really proud of Mary Kay for running the race one day in this altitude, and then being ready to start the bike ride in the morning.  We have made a few changes to our route schedule.  As we started looking at the TransAmerica Bike Route maps, we will be going through some very desolate areas.  If we are not careful we could end up with a very, very long ride just to get to a place to get a drink of water, let alone a place to pitch our tent for the night.  I think we have it figured out now for about the first four days.  Some days we won't have any access to the Internet.  If we have cell access I am going to at least Twitter our status and have it posted to the blog.  If no one hears from us for a couple of days, you better contact Verizon and ask them to trace our cell phone.   Matt and the girls are going to meet us at our first campsite and probably stay with us overnight.  Kyle and Sarrah and maybe Julie will come for supper, too.  After that we will be on our own.

On the right hand side of the blog there is a new link - "michael noel magee scholarship" and a link to the Marshall County Community Foundation.  We have the scholarship set up and ready for anyone to look over.  There is also more information on the added pages about Noel and the reason we have established the scholarship.  We will be giving a scholarship to an individual in what would have been Noel's graduating class at Plymouth High School.  Part of the criteria for selection will be an essay stating how the individual and his/her family have encountered and dealt with adversity in their life.  We are very excited about the potential for this scholarship and encourage you to look at the information. Tax deductible donations can be made directly through the community foundation website.  We would like to thank everyone at MCCF for their help in setting this up.   Above all, one of the major things we hope to instill in people through our ride is a desire and a willingness to do something for someone else.  If it is the Michael Noel Magee Scholarship, that would be great, but please, do something for others!!

Well, hopefully the next time your hear from us (tomorrow night) we will have completed our first day of riding and it will have been a success.  Please think of us and keep us in your prayers.

Jack and Mary Kay