Boulder Day 11

Slept in
Cleaned bike
Packed
Ate a solid bowl of oatmeal, chia seeds, etc
Downloaded like 10 new Tiesto Podcasts. Each are about an hour long, so I now break up my rides based on how many"Tiesto's" it takes to finish!
-reverted to my old way of carryingy gear: underarm our shirt, cinch bag on back tied around my chest, with the cycling jersey over top! Look ridiculous I'm sure, but practicality is the key
I Hate SuperJames! This climb, which is probably only 5 miles or so, is one of the harder things I have done to date, especially without anyone else there to push me or any of that.. I did this same climb last year, but with Rudy and a pack it was much more doable/ bearable. Today the climb just smoked me.. And immediately after I hit this stretch of dirt road, something I stil have yet to really enjoy. But today's rise was a good way to get my body back on track, in training mode & away from drinking mode! I promise that I will go out at least one time here in boulder just to go out, not get completely wasted. I have yet to find that balance of just having a beer or Tri to loosen up.. Instead I just get bombed and end up regretting it (well, kind of). So there is my next objective: always looking to improve
-tomorrow's hike should be epic! I will clean up this blog & send up a really good report about my Long's Peak experience soon!

Boulder day 10

Wednesday
- not really a day, like 9 hours!
- slept until 3pm
-awesome hangover trail run with Andy.. One of the harder things i've done thusfar (but it shouldn't have been!)
-saw a really,really hot girl running today, Andy and I are still talking about her now.. We said hi but that was it. What were we thinking!
-hung out with Will on his last night & will Nabours came over to chill as well, talked Alot about cycling
-started looking at all the races/ weekends coming up this fall.. I clearly want and need to get back on track, stay healthy and get in shape! The focus will be on balancing out this weak/ tight left side of mine, what the heck!
-riding back up to Estes tomorrow with my hiking gear, here we go!

Boulder Day 8

True recovery day. not a fake recovery day, like "only" working out for 2 hours, but instead I only rode all over town, did extra core work/ pushups, but besides that I just enjoyed Estes Park! Some things of note from my easy day:

-the YMCA o the Rockies is awesome! I will be swimming there in the morning, but it is basically a busy little village on the side of a mountain with millions of activities going on. I would love to work at a place like that (or would have in high school/ if I had normal college summers)
-Goodwill/Salvation Army/ thrift stores are hit or miss, but out here in Colorado I have become a fan. I bought 3 outfits for $5 total today, which is clutch because now I can go out not wearing basketball shorts/ my dri-fit Pearl shirt (more to follow on the clothes I found!)
-The Oxygen Sanctuary was pretty awesome! I took in 30 minutes of 95% oxygenated air (sea level is 21%, up here is like 15%!) I definitely felt more relaxed/ better afterwards
-The Estes Park mtn store is cool, but as the only bike store in town, I was very disappointed to find out that they didn't have replacement Keo cleats.. I broke my left cleat on the climb yesterday! So i really can't do any serious riding until I head down to grab a new set.. I'll have to spend a day o seimming, running & hiking tomorrow I guess!
-tomorrow will be a big day of working out, connecting with and establishing guidelines and goals to strive towards over this final year at West Point. When I go too long with a Big Picute focus I get caught up failing to do te small things that I must to be successful. It's one thing to go down swinging, but to fail when you can pour to areas that I failed in is frustrating. Moving forward, I will put myself in a position to be successful. I may e called crazy along the way, but what successful person wasn't at some point? Do it for the story, Go big or go home, YOLO, however you want to put it, these life philosophies are ones that I subscribe to and will not lose sight of again. Ahh, what a recovery day, nothing like it to re-ignite the passion and desire I feel for triathlon, exploring, and loving life to the fullest!

Boulder day 7

Slept in
Got ready
Rode to bus stop
Chased bus to edge of town
Got out in Lyons
Climbed up with gear to Estes Park
Checked in
Watched Tour de France highlights
Called home
went out for 50 min jog (see picture!)
Showered
Walked down to Dinner at Ed's Cantina
Shopped at Safeway for a few groceries
long walk home in rain
Watched TV, planned
Not tired...

I ended up watching Alot of the tour recap today & recovering from all the recent climbing!

Boulder day 6

Saturday- most longest day of training to date (at least it felt like it!)

0630- wakeup
0710- swim 5000m w/ Jane Scott & every big name in the Tri world out here
0930- get home, eat a bit
1100- leave on ride with Bobka, meet up with some ASU Tri/cyclists led by Ryan Petry
*the rise started out okay, but before I knew it we were hammering at times, especially around turns/ surging Alot. On the first main climb I dropped my chain, and the ASU guys didn't even look back. Luckily Bobka sat up for me, and he carried my butt up to Estes, climbing for over 20 miles straight! A great sustained effort.. I've never really done anything like that.. And Estes is beautiful! My first view of the area is attached. We ended up riding 100 miles when it was all said& done.. Wow! What a day out here
6:00pm- got ready & jumped on the bike to head to church! I went to the 6:45 service at flatirons church in Lafayette, which was awesome, but it was 11 miles away! So I ended up riding another 22+ miles in jeans! Needless to say, I was falling apart by the ride home (which was far from flat). Luckily I forced down a buffalo chicken footling sub from Subway right after church, and this held me over until I got some well-deserved pizza later in the evening.
I had the dudeplex to myself again Saturday night, so I ended up watching a few TV movies & falling asleep on the couch! Before moving to a bed and crashing hard.. I slept until 1:00pm the next day, making it about 13 straight hours of sleep!

On the agenda upcoming is yet another ride up to Estes Park to check into our RCI resort called the historic Crag's lodge.. Look forward to telling you all about that next week!

Also, good luck to everyone back home racing IM Lake Placid tomorrow, should be an awesome day to take on the adirondaks & become an ironman! Definitely I race I'd like to do some day

Boulder Day 5

Finally slept in!
11am swim at SC with Rudy, all form work, which was great for me. Figured out I was finishing my stroke really wide, which was throwing off my balance and causing me to lose power
12:15 sit-down lunch @ Colorado Pizza. I totally enjoyed The Works
1:15 shopping at Target/ goodwill for odds & ends including soap, a fan and a few new clothing items! Pretty exciting
3:00 chill out, ate a second lunch back at the house!
4:00 nap (long!)
8:00 Evening Run 55 min down the Boulder creek path heading east
9:30 big salad for dinner, watched a movie
10:30 read a book one one of the guys's shelf.. It was about Mormons (more to follow when I finish it)
12:00 sleep

Boulder Day 4

Thursday

5:30 wakeup
5:55 hop on the bike (7mi to Res)
6:30 putting on wetsuit/signing in at he Boulder Res
8:00 3.5km open water swim complete
8:45 10mi bike long way home
9:00 moe's bagels breakfast (The Denver+ a Mix1 shake)
9:30 Recovery boots+ tour de France
10:30 Nap
11:45 bike to No. boulder Rex center
12-1 Yoga
1-2 strength work + sauna
2:30-3 big Salad for lunch
4:15 ride with Rudy (2.5 hours) up Old stage, up to Jamestown, 6x2 min intervals on way up.. I gin on for 4 good ones, final two were rough.. Wy down was good decent practice
7:00 20 min transition run, including 5x 30 sec pickups on creek path
7:30 Jump in Boulder creek for an ice bath. Creek was packed today
7:30-8 talk to crazy old man about te good old days in Boulder (former pro cyclist living in the past!)
8:00 leave for night hike!
8:15-11:00, hike up to Royal arch with Rudy, his brother & a friend from Rudy's lab. Pretty awesome view of Colorado at night
11:00 walk home; talk to Mackensie Williams on the phone about West Point
12:00 Bed!

Boulder Day 3

Wednesday I was able to sleep in thanks to the "warm milk" that got me to bed last night.. Today turned out to be a very productive day.  In fact, it was probably the best i've ever felt after going out the night before!  Here was my day in a snapshot:

-7am natural wake-up, went back to sleep until about 9am
-9:30 went out for a 30 min jog.. actually felt solid, headed east on Boulder Creek Path [nice, quiet route]
-10-11:30 breakfast, watch the TDF with Andrew, chill out
-11:45 ride to North Boulder Rec
-Noon-1pm YOGA class! was much needed & very productive, my left hip is already feeling looser
-Hot-tub
-Ride home
-Sprouts to pick up salad stuff, organic oatmeal, chia seeds, a fresh deli sandwich & other necessities
-short nap
-4pm ride with Andrew & Andy.. took me out on the flats nice & easy for about 90 min (ninaow loop+)
-quick transition run (12min) just to get that routine going again
-jumped in SC pool with Andy for a short 1500m swim just to get wet/ keep that daily feel of the water
-7pm CU Tri team frisbee! We didnt really play but I got to meet some of the team & toss around the fris with Rudy & his brother
-Dinner at the Farmer's market. Very unique way/ place to grab a bite to eat
-got back & chilled with Will Nabours & his girlfriend Stephanie. They tole me about this kid Named Jonathan Hilton who went to Boulder last yr as a freshman, reapplied to West Point and is now a new cadet! Sounds like Tri team material based on his background (he worked out with the CU Tri team last year), but apparently he is trying out for XC this fall. Small world.
-had trouble Fallon asleep this night, but still any sleep out here beats the non-rest I was getting back at school!

Boulder Day 2

Tuesday morning I expected to Sleep in, but i naturally woke up around 7:30 am.. and i actually felt rested!  The day started off routine enough. Some of my activities included:

-6 mile jog down the Boulder Creek Path
-First trip to Sprouts, the local WholeFoods-type grocery store
-11am Swim with Boulder Aquatic Masters (BAM) at Scott Carpenter Pool (50 meter pools are awesome)
-Watch the Tour De France, Nap, recover, etc
-5pm Group ride out of North Boulder called the Bus-stop Ride (up to Lyons & around). It was insane!
-Registered & got my BAM card at the North Boulder Rec Center
-Chill out, get ready to go out with the Boys
-Head to "The Dark Horse", started with Dinner & a pitcher of Bud Light in preparation for Tuesday Tryke Night (Yes, it a drinking game that involved racing throughout the Bar on a Tricycle).. my teammate Andrew Murphy & I definitely did NOT get the win!
-House Party with Andy's Co-workers
-Bed around 1am

All in all, it was a great first night out on the town, and it definitely let me relax and start unwinding a bit out here.  Moving ahead, i probably won't go out too often, but being 21 now has allowed me to start learning my limits and how to be more responsible while out (which was definitely not the case for me in the past!)

Boulder Day 1

Normally I wouldn't have counted today's travel day as a real training day, however b/c my flight was delayed and I left Monday morning, I was able to arrive today in Boulder with plenty of energy to unpack, build my bike, get to know some of my new housemates as well as train a bit.
I decide to jog down to East Boulder Rec Center to finalize my BAM swimming membership for the next month, but they told me I wasn't in the system yet, so we'll see. The "jog" in totally was over 6 miles, and probably running faster than necessary, but at least the legs aren't dead after SGR/ the long journey here. I Got bak & hope on my bike shortly after, riding the 8 miles down to Tony's house & ended up hanging out, talking with Tony for a while.. I really look forward to working closely with him this month.
I got back & met Andy, another member of the house, while stretching out. I began my 8 min plank when the neighbor walked into my room to use the laundry machine.. Awkward! But at least her dog like me (he licked me a bunch as I tried to side plank on one leg, I guess there's a first time for everything!) I finished up with 10x10pushups/20crunches] before showering, eating a little sandwich (yes mom, the food you packed me lasted all the way through tonight with even some left for tomorrow!)
Hopefully I can grab a fan for this room somewhere tomorrow, but besides that the set-up is great for me.
Tomorrow I am going. To sleep in a bit b/c the morning Boulder Res. open water swim is cancelled, so I'll swim at 1100 with Jane Scott at the main outdoor 50m pool here, Scott Carpenter. I also tentatively plan to jump in the Tuesday night "bus-stop" group ride, which I heard can get quite intense.. But hey, thats why I'm here, in Boulder, the train in the best environment possible!

Back to the Bible

     So something that's been tugging at me recently, especially when I have had a minute or two away from my busy west point schedule has been my (lack of) spiritual life. Maybe it was easier in high school/ growing up to connect with God because my family members are such great followers of Christ, always giving him credit and seeking to follow Him no matter what. Even when I temporarily lost my way, someone was there to remind me to "pray about it" or "bring that concern to God".

       At school I flat out forget about t spiritual life. Thank God for those few cadets that do openly share their faith, or else I'd probably be totally derailed by now. My last semester roommate Aaron Jacobson was that reminder this past year for me. We for back to playing Christian Music aloud just for fun. He encouraged me to go back to church on post (something I completely dropped upon starting plebe year), but most importantly he left his Bible open all the time on his desk. Because my closet was right next to his desk, I'd often find myself checking out what book & verses he was currently reading with nothing more than passing interest. But God was planting a seed that would come back.

         On our bike trip back from Niagara Falls, one of the most significant things we did was visit Joseph Smith's hometown of Palmyra, where God revealed himself and the Church of Latter Day Saints was founded. Now, regardless of my beliefs, the guided tour through the village, walking through the sacred Grove, seeing the famous Hill Camoura as well as the brand new Mormon Temple was enough to get me thinking about my own faith, why I believe in Christ and how I can better display my Christian values to guide my life decisions.

     The day before I returned to West Point this summer, I randomly picked up my old Bible from back in the day. I found it in the same old green case, with the same tabbed books separated the easy-to-read Young Persons' Bible that infest read about Abraham, Moses, David and all the other heroes of the bible in. Flipping through the book, God was begging me to take it with me and go through it again, but i once again brushed that tugging aside, leaving it on the dusty shelf in the basement where I found it. I returned to West Point Bible-less. "Reading the Bible won't fit in to MY plan" I thought, "MY schedule will be too busy". Besides, everything was going well, why would I turn to God when Life's good? "I Don't need God's intervention right now, it can wait..." Oh how wrong that thought process proved to be, and only after a month of struggling can I really look back and say "God, you offered me a chance & missed it."

      This past month at West Point I completed my Leadership Detail, the final required summer training block I needed to check in order to graduate next May. I dove straight into my job as Transient Company Company, putting in place a system that 4 total cadre could house, account for and take care any need for over 400 cadets at any given time. Looking back, I am still very proud of the body of work my small team accomplished, but I faced the largest struggle I have taken on as well. From the start, I had big-time issues working with my TAC officer. He was new to West Point, aggressive by nature, coming in with no idea how to interact with cadets, what his position of TAC officer encompassed or any respect for the work my team and I were putting in. I am pretty sure I will never be able to walk down the north-area side of MAC short 3rd floor without getting a sick feeling in my stomach, dreading just the thought of entering that man's office. Each day the situation just mounted and got worse. I left West Point with no closure to the situation; I think the circumstances will eat at me for a while. Needless to say, I did not turn to God in any of this. I took on the storm alone, refusing to ask for guidance,4 like Jonah as he sat in the Belly of a Whale for 3 days!
        The plot thickened when God placed a new Bible in my hands. While clearing the barracks wary in our detail, we found Alot of gear left behind, & we did our best to leave it as lost & found or return it to its owner. This one Bible, however, appeared to never have been used. Titled "God's Game Plan", this Bible is tailored to athletes & has great supplemental material for reflection. I flipped through it briefly, intrigued, but we left it sitting in lost & found for weeks. At the end of my detail this Friday, as I packed up, I noticed this Bible again. By this point I had no where else to turn; God was telling me to give his word another shot. I thank God everyday for not giving up on stubborn people like me, I truly do, because he's made Himself so apparent to me at times it's ridiculous that I still struggle with (or ignore) my faith as often as I do.

In the end, I've decided to make it a habit to read this Bible and fill out one of the activities every day while here in Boulder. I'm also planning on going to church with Tony this weekend at Flatirons Church which I am very excited about, it's great seeing Tony in his element back here in Boulder!

Well, now that I've got that off my chest, I look forward to updating my blog/ Facebook daily with my training.. Check back soon for a day 1 recap! Oh, and please ask me if you'd like any particular pictures posted, any of my rambling explained further, etc, because I really want to share my journey as best I can! Thanks again

-Brian

Brian's Next Journey/ Overdue Update!

Hello again,

After a good amount of time away (one day at home between West Point & my flight!), I decided that an outlet to record my thoughts, adventures and stories is something that could really help me communicate how much I appreciate everyone that has supported me along this crazy ride that my final summer as a cadet has been.
I am flying out to Boulder, Colorado today, July 16th, and will be returning home on August 11th, one day prior to starting Firstee Year!
I will living with CU-Boulder triathlete David Bobka and his housemates at 750 30th street, right in the middle of town there. I joined the Boulder Aquatic Masters (BAM) swim group for the next month. I really look forward to getting smoked by the some of the world's best athletes in the pool, on the road and down the trails as I push myself towards new levels as an athlete.
With that being said, I've jumped into big training blocks in the past & found myself hitting the over-training wall. Balancing my upcoming training with lots of sleep and some fun activities is really what will make this trip unique for me. Being able to come back from a hard workout, put the legs in Boulder Creek then pass out for an hour or two will do wonders for me. Even after one decent night of sleep at home, after averaging 4 hours of sleep per night this past month, I can feel my body coming back! I've lost the tired bags under both eyes & I've started waking up ready to tackle the days challenges with added vigor, not just going through the motions, but making every moment special & meaningful.
Through this blog I hope to regain the momentum Rylan & I began this summer with by riding to Niagra Falls & back! I aim to fill my next month with the same passion, excitement & meaning that those epic 6 days encompassed (okay, maybe I'll avoid a crash this time around;).
This time, however, I am aiming to post everyday I can, post more pictures, etc. during this next month & communicate with loved ones more often. Thank you once again to everyone who had gotten me to this point!
On a different, more significant note, Rylan is currently halfway through his training at Camp Buckner back at West Point right now. With 12 days to go, Rylan is thriving as usual. He is one of the toughest individuals I know, therefore any challenges still ahead of him I am sure he will overcome & do so in a special way. Rylan showed up at Air Assault school 2 days after our bike trip & absolutely dominated the trainin there, winning both the 2 mile PT test and each of the main Ruck Marches, including the final 12 mile test! I am extremely proud of my teammate, and I look forward to hearing about his recent adventures once he returns home on leave for the final 2 weeks of summer. Can't wait to be back training with you Buddy!
With that, I plan to encourage Rylan to update this blog as well. I know personally I can't wait to hear some of his Buckner war stories! Post again soon

The Journey

On June 1st about 50 miles into the ride Brian and I stopped to get lunch at a Subway. We examined the map and came to the decision that rather than dragging out our trip another day, we were going to finish that night. So rather than going another 30 miles to the lake place, Brian and I rode 85 more miles to return to his home in Clifton Park. The journey of over 700 miles was completed in 6 days despite a crash, tidal force winds, and broken bikes. Brian has road rash all over his arm and a nice bruise on his hip. I was fortunate enough to only have abrasions on my hand. I will return to West Point tomorrow for Air Assault training and Brian will have time to recover at home.
Our journey consisted of:
A bike store without a bike pump
Three drivers who were very concerned about our wreck but could not so much as spare a band-aid
Niagara Falls
Train Track Falls
Religous and American History
700+ miles of beautiful land
High winds, strong rain, mountians, and valleys
Friends and Family
Adventure

Thank you to those who supported us along the way and thank you for following Brylansride!

"Niagara Day"

Well, the past few days have given us quite a few more challenges than expected but so far nothing has stopped us from moving forward.
Day 3 consisted of 150+ miles into a 20 mph headwind. While the route looked nice and flat on the map, I would have rather been climbing than cycling into the wind the whole way. About 70 miles into the ride we rode through a storm for about an hour. We got wet and dirty and when things looked most miserable, I got a flat tire. "At least it wasn't the back tire" Brian said. Little did he know that both of my tires were flat. We continued after changing both tires and finally made it into the city, satisfied beyond measure.
Day 4: Today we left the house around nine for the falls. Along the way we stopped at a bike shop because we needed new tubes and some air. The bike shop did not let us use a pump because "there's no bike service on wednesdays". A little frustrated we continued to the falls. They were incredible. After seeing the falls we started our journey back. Unfortunatly we had a slight accident that involved Brian on the ground and me running him over. Both pf us bleeding, people rushed out of their cars to help, but none had first aid kits or water. We only had sports drinks and we did not want to wash off our cuts with gatoraide. They offered to take us to the ER, but we knew that the ER was behind us and that it would only make our journey longer. So we used electrical tape and napkins to cover our wounds and continued. We tried to stop at another bike shop about 5 miles out of the way because my bike was badly damaged in the wreck, BUT there was no bike shop there any longer. We decided that our best shot was a 70 mile effort to the house we were staying at. We averaged over 20mph on the way back which is a nice pace for 70 miles. Upon arrival we immediatly took our bikes to a REAL bike shop for some quality work. We are safe and content and ready for another exciting day tomorrow. 

Day 2

Today Brian and I rode 110 miles from the Muller's lake house to Syracuse. The course was a lot hillier than expected. We alternated 3-5 mile pulls and moved pretty quickly. The majority of our trip was through farmland with a few scattered small towns. The end of the ride had a surprise hill for us and as we reached the top, completely spent, Logan our host past us in a car and told us that a car was a much more efficient way of travel. As we got off the bike we did a quick two mile cool down jog followed by a hop in the pool(even if it wasn't open quite yet). We're feeling great and ready to conquer our hardest day tomorrow.

The Spiritual Experience

Day four of our epic journey will lead us to Palmyra, NY. Palmyra was the city where Joseph Smith (founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) was raised. Brian and I will be visiting three key spots while there.
1) The Joseph Smith House: The first place we will stop was the home  Joseph grew up in. The surrounding land, known as the sacred grove, was where Joseph recieved the "first vision" in 1820. Joseph Smith saw God the father, and Jesus Christ and was told here that he would restore the Church of Jesus Christ to the latter-days.
2) The Hill Cumorah: The Hill Cumorah, located a few miles from the Joseph Smith house,was where Joseph Smith,through inspiration, found the ancient plates that he would translate into the Book of Mormon.
3) The Book of Mormon Printing Site: In 1830 the first publication of the Book of Mormon was made. The site was restored in 1998.

In my experiences, I find that I grow spiritually under trying circumstances. Day four will be where our bodies are just starting to realize just what we got ourselves into. This will be an oppurtune time to recover physically and mentally. We will be able to contemplate what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what we have learned about both the limits of our body and mind.

For those who like Google Maps..

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Clifton+Park,+NY&daddr=Canada+Lake+Store,+Old+State+Road,+Caroga+Lake,+NY+to:Onandaga+Avenue,+Syracuse,+NY+to:Buffalo,+NY+(Canisius+College)+to:4245+East+Avenue,+Rochester,+NY+14618+(Nazareth+College+Community+Music)+to:Canada+Lake+Store,+Old+State+Road,+Caroga+Lake,+NY&hl=en&ll=42.797416,-73.605652&spn=1.134612,2.469177&sll=43.028745,-76.311035&sspn=4.52108,9.876709&geocode=FZQTjgIdg1aa-ym1LD-zchTeiTHXO3P--tBK7w%3BFdXIkgIdWQKP-yFjDM9u9crg_il5C2SjuejeiTFwy7ypsGJksA%3BFW06kQId1Ah1-ymRHUYAqfHZiTG-CmMq0ZxcoA%3BFYb7jgIdi9FM-yGtNogGqV8mHw%3BFROpkQIdbjZh-yEBR5I1gTQU5ik3PE4W1jTRiTE0cFGbsQKS9g%3BFdXIkgIdWQKP-yFjDM9u9crg_il5C2SjuejeiTFwy7ypsGJksA&oq=Canad&dirflg=b&mra=ltm&t=m&z=9&lci=bike


Here is a link to the general route that we will be riding along during the trip.  This map does not include our Day 4 detour up to Niagra Falls upon leaving Buffalo, but it is a decent outline of the trip.  Click on the tabs at the top of the page for specific info on each leg of our journey!

-Brian

10 reasons to go on this trip..

Many people want to know why Rylan & I would give up a week of freedom to hop on our bikes and pedal for hours on end across the state of NY.  Among a million reasons I personally am motivated to do this ride, I will try to list out 10 reasons that may make sense (I'll gladly explain any if you ask!):

1.  Celebrate. 
2. Reflect.
3.  Bond.
4. Test Limits.
5. Get Fit.
6.  Forge Lasting Memories.
7. Visit New Places.
8.  Learn, Learn, Learn.
9.  Do it for the Story.
10.  Because We Can.


It's easy to say that we know "It's not about the journey, it's all about the experience"  but we so often forget this as we just try to get through, to get by, to get to the next checkpoint.  At West Point I often feel like I am settling for mediocrity because i simply cannot accomplish everything put on my plate with the passion and devotion i would like to.  Instead, I to my very best to follow the WIN strategy of prioritization, using the saying "What's Important Now" to get me through each hoop and over each barrier.

Well, for the next week, the only hurdle will be the horizon before us & the setting of the sun each evening.  At the beginning of my time at West Point I often shied away from challeneges that seemed ridiculous at first.  One of my best friends once said, "Well, I just did it for the story.  I had no reason to drive across the country, staying with friends and seeing a new MLB game each night other than to have a great story when i got back, and it was totally worth it."  This explanation stuck with me and helped me face the pessimistic, fall-in-line & don't look around attitude that seems to surround this place at times.  Refuse to settle for the ordinary; go out and seek the extraordinary.  This trip will totally be worth the story if we stumble upon even a glimpse of this extraordinary that we pursue.

-Brian

The Trip: An Introduction

Family, Friends & interested readers,

thank you for joining Rylan & I on our Cycling journey from Albany to Niagra Falls and back!  I will put up maps, timelines and additional info about where we are going, how we're getting there, who we are staying with and all the rest, but first I want to explain a little bit of how this trip took shape.

Our Destination!

 Rylan and I began our journey together before he even entered West Point.  I sent Rylan some info about our Triathlon team before he officially decided to come here, but we didn't speak again until he showed up at tryouts that fall.  Rylan almost slept through the 0530 swim, but he made it with a frantic determination to show us what he could do.  I offered him a few words of encouragement before he took off slashing through the water, enroute to a gutsy 1000y effort.  Rylan made the team, and the rest is history.  Rylan will be a fixture on our West Point tri team this coming year & beyond.

I look foward to sharing more about our trip in the coming days and adding details to this site, both before we begin the journey this weekend & each day as we document our travels.  Finally, we are open to any/ all advice, encouragement & inspiration for the long miles ahead!

a shot from my ride home from Dartmouth last weekend

 -Brian (my first Blog post ever!)