cycle to the sea 2013!

in march of 2011 my family's world changed forever when my stepdad suffered a spinal stroke leaving him paralyzed. i have written about his story here before, it's pretty amazing.

as a former marathon runner & kick ass skiier, brian has continued to say extremely active even though he can no longer use his legs. last year, he participated in his first cycle to the sea: a 180 mile hand cycle ride from charlotte, nc to cherry grove, sc. i wrote about it here. cycle to the sea is that annual fundraiser for his adaptive sports program - and brian has been the top fundraiser for the past 2 years! 

thursday morning they took off from a local hospital. last year brian's friend dan rode with him. this year, dan rode again & brian's best friend from NYC few down to join in on the "fun." they break it up into 3 days, about 60 miles a day. 

{tommy, b, & dan getting ready to leave on day 1}

{end of day 1. mom had to bring brian some things & brought little bert!}

on friday afternoon, momma picked me & her friend debbie up and we were off to meet them at the end of day 2's ride in mullins, sc. we hung out with them for a few hours while they had dinner & then we headed down to the beach. after a quick dinner and a few glasses of wine, we were all excited to crawl into bed. 

{day 2 is over!}

saturday morning we woke up and headed to the outlets. more on that later because i seriously feel like i robbed jcrew. after a few hours of shopping, i headed back to the hotel to get in a run. 3 beautiful miles of beach later, i changed into my bathing suit and met momma and her friends back on the beach. 

{post beach run}

{sweet carolina}

around 3:30pm, we got word that they were about 8 miles out and so we headed to the "finish line" outside the hotel.  watching all the hand cyclist & "able bodies" ride in after all they have been through for the last 3 days is pretty emotional. i am so extremely proud of my stepdad for all that he has continued to accomplish over the last 2 years. most people would give up. brian hasn't even thought about it. 

{the whole gang}

the local charlotte nbc station (wcnc) followed brian for the entire 180 miles & were at the finish line to get the last of their footage. 3 days & many hours of film later, they will air his story sometime in may. it's pretty incredible to have this opportunity to share his story & continue to raise support for his adaptive sports program. we are so proud of you, brian!

{interviewing brian after day 2}

{set up at the finish}

it was an awesome weekend that has left me seriously considering actually riding it with b & the guys next year.  we'll see!