By Kert Emperado
I rejoined the bike adventure this weekend in Rock Springs, Wyoming, where I attended my first live rodeo. It was the National High School Finals Rodeo which had participants from USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia and we were fortunate to be in town at this time. The majority of the audience were themselves also cowboys and cowgirls, sporting big metal belts, jeans, long-sleeve button-down shirts, boots, and of course cowboy hats. It was a totally new experience for me. I was amazed at the skill and
courage of these young students.
As with the bike adventure, today was my first riding day, and it was a century (100 miles) distance, from Rock Springs, WY to Pinedale, WY. Fortunately, I had many things going in my favor. Although the
distance was far, most of the route was flat-ish with “only” 2500 feet of climbing. Most of day had what I felt as tailwind, except for the last 20 miles. The weather was mostly cool and sunny. And lastly, I had
a returning rider, Dave Skinner, who was super cool to ride with and who stayed with me while I started to fade during the second half of the ride. Thanks Dave!
Today, also reinforces the importance of persistence and focusing on something bigger than ourselves. This Fuller Center for Housing is dear to my heart and the bike adventure is the biggest fundraiser for
the organization. If you’re reading this blog, you may already know that the mission of the Fuller Center is to positively impact the millions of people in need of a simple decent place to live by building (with the
to-be homeowners), and fostering a community of participation.
I’m grateful to have this continued opportunity to fundraise, bike in new states, and meet like-minded
people.
