Oh what another amazing day in Colorado. Today our short 50 miles from Fort Collins to Boulder took us along some really cycle friendly roads with views of farms and the Rocky Mountain Range. There was this one road that we cycled with a shoulder wide enough to ride three deep, that is just unheard of in the other states we have been. Colorado is so biker friendly and the cars respect you whe
n on the road. One of the roads we were on we saw about 150 other cyclists, it was amazing. It’s so cool seeing so many other cyclists out enjoying some physical activity. There was one cyclist in particular that was riding and got a flat near our crew stop. He came over and asked us what we were doing and pretty soon we were all talking for about 20 minutes. He is a pilot for International Airlines and loves it in Boulder, CO. He said that there are anywhere from 500-1000 cyclists on the road we were traveling on a weekend and usually a couple hundred on week days. He went on to tell us about how great Colorado is and how much he loves it here. This got me really excited to go through Colorado and see what each community is like. Rolling into boulder we soon made it to the University of Colorado – Boulder. The campus in Boulder is beautiful; it sits inside a mountain range that spans across the Rockies. The community here is all about the outdoors and I was told there are more bicycle shops per square mile than anywhere else in the country and everywhere you look there is an outdoor sporting store full of backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, biking, river rafting, canoeing, and all other outdoor gear.
After showering at the local Pi Kapp chapter house we headed to lodging at a local church where we set up for the next two nights. In the afternoon we headed to a gym where we met some very special people that play a sport known as Murderball or quad rugby. This was hands down the most fun friendship visit we have had. We got to learn how to play rugby in wheelchairs. Its played on a basketball court and the rules are you have to dribble every ten seconds and must cross the half court in 15 seconds. To score you must have both wheels roll over the “end zone” line with ball in hand. The score does not count if you catch the ball while in the end zone. Watching these guys play was intense because the game is so physical and just like any sport there is a lot of different strategies in both offense and defense. All players had physical disabilities because of damage to their spinal cord, many
of them were fully functional before they became paraplegic or quadriplegic. One individual broke his neck while riding a mechanical bull, another dove into a shallow pool, one woman had Muscular Sclerosis. Some of them have more function in their arms and hands than others. All 12 of the individuals were astounding people, all of them fully functional mentally there. After watching them play a game they invited us to play with them. We all took turns playing 4 on 4 and it was one of the coolest things we have done all trip. They really didn’t ease up on us at all, I went head to head against their big man and he knocked me backwards on my wheelchair onto the ground. Everyone watching got a good laugh out of it and I couldn’t believe how physical they get. Two of them are going to be attending the Olympic Games in Beijing and were extremely quick and physical players. Once everyone got to play they then challenged us to a game of our best 4 against their best 4. I was one of the lucky ones to represent our team! They had no mercy on us and burned us a few times; however, we held our own and scored on them twice. They said it was the best a random group has ever played against them. After the game I was sweating and my heart pounding. This was such a fun opportunity to get to know these guys and play their sport. It’s once again the perfect representation of the abilities of people with disabilities. I am continually learning that just because some of us look different or are born different, we all have abilities. Some of us more strengths than others but none the less, each of us are individually made with different unique abilities.
Leaving the friendship visit none of us could stop talking about how cool those guys were and the game they played. Getting back to lodging a lot of us were hungry for dinner. Some of the local guys recommended a pizza place down the road. All of us sat down at this home-made pizza parlor and ordered some great dishes of pizza! Af
ter dinner a bunch of us went to the bars in Boulder to get a feel for the culture around here. It was a great day and I’m looking forward to our day off tomorrow in Boulder to explore.
n on the road. One of the roads we were on we saw about 150 other cyclists, it was amazing. It’s so cool seeing so many other cyclists out enjoying some physical activity. There was one cyclist in particular that was riding and got a flat near our crew stop. He came over and asked us what we were doing and pretty soon we were all talking for about 20 minutes. He is a pilot for International Airlines and loves it in Boulder, CO. He said that there are anywhere from 500-1000 cyclists on the road we were traveling on a weekend and usually a couple hundred on week days. He went on to tell us about how great Colorado is and how much he loves it here. This got me really excited to go through Colorado and see what each community is like. Rolling into boulder we soon made it to the University of Colorado – Boulder. The campus in Boulder is beautiful; it sits inside a mountain range that spans across the Rockies. The community here is all about the outdoors and I was told there are more bicycle shops per square mile than anywhere else in the country and everywhere you look there is an outdoor sporting store full of backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, biking, river rafting, canoeing, and all other outdoor gear.After showering at the local Pi Kapp chapter house we headed to lodging at a local church where we set up for the next two nights. In the afternoon we headed to a gym where we met some very special people that play a sport known as Murderball or quad rugby. This was hands down the most fun friendship visit we have had. We got to learn how to play rugby in wheelchairs. Its played on a basketball court and the rules are you have to dribble every ten seconds and must cross the half court in 15 seconds. To score you must have both wheels roll over the “end zone” line with ball in hand. The score does not count if you catch the ball while in the end zone. Watching these guys play was intense because the game is so physical and just like any sport there is a lot of different strategies in both offense and defense. All players had physical disabilities because of damage to their spinal cord, many
of them were fully functional before they became paraplegic or quadriplegic. One individual broke his neck while riding a mechanical bull, another dove into a shallow pool, one woman had Muscular Sclerosis. Some of them have more function in their arms and hands than others. All 12 of the individuals were astounding people, all of them fully functional mentally there. After watching them play a game they invited us to play with them. We all took turns playing 4 on 4 and it was one of the coolest things we have done all trip. They really didn’t ease up on us at all, I went head to head against their big man and he knocked me backwards on my wheelchair onto the ground. Everyone watching got a good laugh out of it and I couldn’t believe how physical they get. Two of them are going to be attending the Olympic Games in Beijing and were extremely quick and physical players. Once everyone got to play they then challenged us to a game of our best 4 against their best 4. I was one of the lucky ones to represent our team! They had no mercy on us and burned us a few times; however, we held our own and scored on them twice. They said it was the best a random group has ever played against them. After the game I was sweating and my heart pounding. This was such a fun opportunity to get to know these guys and play their sport. It’s once again the perfect representation of the abilities of people with disabilities. I am continually learning that just because some of us look different or are born different, we all have abilities. Some of us more strengths than others but none the less, each of us are individually made with different unique abilities.Leaving the friendship visit none of us could stop talking about how cool those guys were and the game they played. Getting back to lodging a lot of us were hungry for dinner. Some of the local guys recommended a pizza place down the road. All of us sat down at this home-made pizza parlor and ordered some great dishes of pizza! Af
ter dinner a bunch of us went to the bars in Boulder to get a feel for the culture around here. It was a great day and I’m looking forward to our day off tomorrow in Boulder to explore.
No comments:
Post a Comment