I am going to make this short in concise because we have a lot to do today and tomorrow in Dallas. There will be many more crazy stories to come because I finally have a taste of what this summer is going to be like.

Day 0 - It was an emotional send off from the UT tower. We had a huge amount of supporters there and each rider dedicated the days ride to someone very close in their lives. I think the supporters there got to finally see the power of what drives each one of us to do what we are doing. We then got a police escort through Austin to attend a couple of events. Before we knew it, we arrived in Cedar Park to spend the night in a middle school gym to prepare for the ATLAS RIDE on Saturday morning.

Day 1 - Atlas Ride - We left Cedar Park with close to 700 outside supporting riders to Lampasas to enjoy the afterparty at Pillar Bluff Winery. It was an emotional ride that made me realize that each of us riders have so many people we cannot let down. The event was a huge success and ,like always, I met even more incredible people with stories that will make you put on an extra 25 miles when you feel like quitting. The team then had a night with the 2009 team to go over last minute advice and some celebratory traditions. We went to sleep very late outside and woke up early and sweaty.

Day 2 - The whole group finally set off in their separate directions. People were sad and some were even crying knowing the fact that they wouldn't see each other for another 58 days. I however was more excited about the situation. We will not only be spreading out mission along the Rockies, but another groups of incredible people will be doing the same along the Sierras. I am going to miss them, but I am really excited to meet up with them on day 60 in Whitehorse.

Our day was suppose to be a 93 mile route to Stephenville, but we started the morning off by doing an extra 30 miles due to one wrong turn! It got up to 102 degrees that day and we were taken on an insane amount of miles. I cannot tell you how proud I am of my teams performance. Each rider did not allow themselves to get beat down by anything. We all know Cancer doesn't rest on hot days, so we weren't going to take a break either. We ended the day spending time with another organization that was dedicated to remembering a close family friend who had passed away from Cancer. We shared stories and enjoyed a great meal by a non-profit bus that feeds the homeless. I am blown away by the people I am meeting, the person I am finding deep within myself, and how close I am getting to my fellow riders already.

Day 3 - We had a sweet ride to Dallas today. It was smooth and we had a HUGE lunch donation from Sonic today. I must run now to get ready to go to an event brought to us by some T4k alumni.

Things you should know when biking through Texas on your journey for Alaska:

1.You will put on a full bottle of sunscreen in 1 day

2.You have to be a glutton. There is no choice. We are not a Toyota Prius...We are Hummer H2's that have no option but to move on.

3.Fitting all of your belongings into a 2ftx1ftx1xft bag is kind of difficult....even for a guy.

4.Diaper rash cream is a must....

5.Drink water...Drink water...Drink water...Drink water...and stretch....all the time

6.You will say "Man those were some really nice people" about 20 times a day.

7.Cancer sucks and always will

8.Roadkill smells 20times worse on a bike then in your car. But you can always have fun with roadkill and random objects to send to the other route because nobody is tougher than the Rockies.

9.Be positive and give your teammate a pat on the back whenever you can. You never know when somebody is having a bad day, climb, stretch, or moment.

10.Think about the people you are riding for and you will dominate more miles faster than you thought.

I am learning at every moment and time seems to go by way slower. I might even start losing track of the days. It is a beautiful thing.

Here we go,

John