Ride 2 Recovery Day 2: Go Ahead, Make My Day

Santa Cruz to Carmel:

What can you say about a day in the saddle that anyone in the world would love to experience? The icing on the cake was a dinner at Clint Eastwood’s Carmel Mission Ranch. The whole day was about as good a day as anyone could imagine. The weather was perfect, the ride less hilly than the day before, and the riders were stating to gel. Nate continued to impress everyone as he looks to become the first R2R participant to handcycle from SF to LA.

The biggest difference this year is the participation with the VA system in California. All of the major VA teams have brought new injured vets into the program. One such group is from Antelope Valley; in all, six riders made the trip to join the ride. Many of them received their bikes just two weeks ago. Although they would have like to have more time to prepare, they have had a great time. Today two of their members, David Balladarez and Gary Sandoval, made the first group. They could not have been happier. They learned about drafting and how much you should eat when you are riding.

At dinner tonight, they were joined by another AV rider Anthony Cabrera and Navy Seal Lt. Robert Ramirez. Lt. Ramirez was awarded a bronze star with V for Valor for his service in Iraq. He was part of a joint integration team with the US Army Special Ops and the Navy Seals that help counter the insurgents in Irag. A famous novel called the Sheriff of Ramadi chronicled this effort. Ramirez is now attending the Naval College in Monterrey.

The riders are now looking forward to the biggest day on the tour as we leave Carmel and head down to San Simeon and through the beautiful Big Sur national forest.