7:30 Sunday, 62 degrees, quiet and beautiful. Jim Haake and
I are heading out to finalize the map for the ride on Saturday the 15th. We have decided that having a 25 mile run
that starts and ends at the office will commemorate my 25th Cancer
Survivor anniversary, then complete part of it to get to 60 kilometers for my
birthday years. Kind of hooky, but it
works for me.
Down Troost Ave, and right into the Brush Creek Trail. Jim has noticed an entrance that I missed, and
it makes the transition very smooth. Head to end of trail, circle back and stop
for a breather at Paseo. Right at 7 miles for that leg. Cool.
Head up Paseo and a nice slow hill. I am pretty pleased to see that I am making
the climb in a higher gear and at a higher speed than when I started 90 days
ago. No pain or struggling. Also cool.
We turn where we expect our first water stop to be at the 12
mile point, then head down Campbell. The old Campbell Soup jingle, which is the
Campbell Clan bagpipe song is playing in my head. In bagpipes. Pretty cool.
We swing back onto the Brush Creek trail, and head through
the Plaza. This is the part that I was trying to fit into the ride, and it is
working well now. We also head over to one of our projects on Westwood. I think
we will include that on the tour.
Back to the Trolley Trail, left at 85th, (I have
decided not to take the group on the piece of the trail that the City has
closed; I won’t say that I have ever ridden the closed part, but I have seen it
done.) A not too bad climb up a hill
puts us on Paseo, and heading back to the office. Almost exactly 25 miles. With stops and making notes etc., it took us
around 3 hours, but it will probably go faster on the ride itself.
As I was riding, I noticed all the houses that NHS has built
along Paseo, at least 25. All along the
route I saw houses that NHS has rehabbed, including new roofs, new windows, and
complete rehabs that we have re-sold. It
reminds me that we are having a significant impact on the neighborhoods we
serve, and that our work continues to be both relevant and important.
This is the last pre-ride blog entry, so if you haven’t, I
hope you will make a pledge to me or another rider, or a donation to NHS. The need is great, and the resources are
continuing to contract.
Our Board Chair made a statement at a Board meeting a while
back; invest your resources where it will impact you. Basically, you should
support those organizations that have an impact on your neighborhood and your
life. I hope you will support NHS as we
continue to strive to have that positive impact.
Post Ride Blog next. More to follow.
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