The Day That Flew Right By

I told Chris at Specialized Helicopters I would make a double push for donations for Kids with Cancer--Click HERE to donate!

Total Distance Ridden: 1266 miles

Total Distance FLOWN: 10 miles

Cumulative Elevation: 74,977 ft.

Today's ride profile: click HERE

Day 23 Vlog: click HERE

KION News Story of the Helicopter Ride: Click HERE

For those of you that don't know me, I love to think outside of the box.  I think there are some people out there that look for reasons why something can't be done and others that just figure out how it can.  And when you get a couple people thinking outside the box together? Watch out!  That is kind of how I felt when I contacted Chris Gularte at Specialized Helicopters a couple months before our bike ride to talk to him about an option for getting over the mud slide.  I knew the cost would not be something we could cover and I knew we were asking a lot.  But right away, I knew Chris was someone who figured out how to make things happen.  He suggested we mega-size the trip by also inviting a juvenile patient battling cancer and give them the trip of a lifetime.   But, it was easy for us to talk about generalities when you are months out.  The real question was, could our ideas actually take flight?  Day 23 was a pretty great day.

Katelyn and I slept in until late.  There was nothing else to do in Gorda and we didn't have to meet Chris until noon.  When we finally got up, Katelyn went and bought us each Costco muffin from the store--3.50 each vs. the 17.00 for eggs and bacon at the restaurant we already told you to avoid.  Then we rode back to Sand Dollar Beach, took off the wheels and seats, and waited for the helicopter to arrive.  Here was the plan: Chris would take Wendy and Ben (our young passenger battling leukemia and his mom) and Ashley the reporter all over to where we would be dropped off--a place called Ragged Point.  Then he would circle back and pick us up and take us back over there for interviews.  Of course the weather had different plans.  Ragged Point was fogged in so much that the helicopter could not safely land.  Instead, they landed where we were, fully loaded with people, to wait out the fog.

We have been reminded on this trip so many times about the reality of what cancer does to kids and their families.  In talking to Ben and his mom Wendy, they shared their stories of the time in the hospital, the suffering during treatment and the overall toll it took on Ben and the entire family.  As much as it pains me to hear of these stories, it is important that we are reminded that what we are fighting is real.  I think about everyone who has donated during this ride and if I hope I can convey one thing today, it is that those donations matter to kids like Ben and so many others that have had their lives turned upside down.  We are grateful they were able to come along for the ride and share in the adventure.  

With the fog issue, we decided to just reverse things: we would hold the interviews at Sand Dollar Beach and then, if the fog cleared, we would leave Ben and Wendy and get dropped off before the helicopter came back for them.  Ashley did a great job with the last interview so hopefully this story is even better.  The real hero today was Chris.  Knowing how much it costs to run a helicopter and his time and maintenance, I don't want to think of the number--I just know it is high.   We can't thank him enough for his willingness to serve others!

When we got dropped off at Ragged Point, we landed on a little patch of grass right in the middle of a resort.  The poor flowers that surrounded the grass--petals were flying everywhere!  Quite a few people were crowding around to see this big helicopter landing in this strange spot.  With the blades still turning, we quickly got out, unloaded our gear and moved it to the side and, just like that, Chris took off.  We were over the Mud Creek Slide.  

With Chris gone,  Katelyn and I felt conspicuously visible now to the people gathered around.  It was as if I was the spokesman for what had just happened.  While we put our bikes back together, people came up and had lots of questions about who we were, what we were doing, and why a helicopter would drop us off there.  We enjoyed talking about the mission of our bike ride and what we were trying to do.  A couple ladies donated right there on the spot and took down our blog information to share with their friends--awesome!  We even got to take some pictures with some of them--I sure hope they follow along on our trip!

As we left Ragged Point, we had a nice downhill and at the bottom we were met with flat roads and a tailwind that, if it could talk, would say, "you guys have worked hard enough for the day--let me take care of you for a while."  There were stretches where we didn't pedal for probably 2 miles. To say that this was our easiest day of pedaling would be an understatement. We did 41 miles and it was fun.   One thing that weighed on my mind though was where we were going to stay the night; I still didn't have a place set up.  However, the local Bishop had told me that the church members were having a bonfire potluck down on the beach and that we could join them and probably find a place to stay while there.  That turned out to be the case and, after a fun time on the beach, the Bishop offered us a room in his beach house that was partially occupied by some of his relatives from out of town.  Those relatives not only let us grab an empty room, they also fed us some more and let us hang out and socialize.  They had a girl about Katelyn's age so it was the perfect way to end a perfect day. 

We are now officially into the easiest section of our trip.  Today we are going to ride down into San Luis Obispo, visit the Bubble Gum Alley, then head down to Pismo Beach to visit Chris Burkhard Studios.  He is a famous photographer that has inspired some of the family trips we have taken just to see places he has photographed.  Finally, we will end up in Arroyo Grande with some friends that live there.  All that and our total miles will be only 35 or so!  Looking forward to another awesome day! 

For the second time on this trip, our bicycles found the self in pieces to go on a flight.  Last time I had to put them back together was in Canada!

The night arrived in Gorda, I fell asleep on the bed  while Katelyn was in the shower.  With no TV, no wifi and nothing really to do, Katelyn packed our bags and laid out our clothes for the day of the helicopter ride.  It was a really thoughtful thing to do while letting me sleep!

With foggy conditions, we sat here on this stump and put our ear to the wind to see if we could hear any helicopter sounds.   We heard it much before we could see it.

For a while, we were worried that the helicopter may not be able to land due to the fog.  We could  hear it loudly but could not see it until the last minute.  Compare this to the picture below when the fog burned off only 30 minutes later.

I won't caption all of these, but let's just say that Team Cardoza's fundraising efforts are trying to take flight!

This is a picture of me, Katelyn, Chris (Specialized Heli), Wendy and Ben.  Ben has been battling Leukemia since 2016.  Funny story about him: he had no hair last year and since it has grown back, he will not cut it.  Unlike previously, it now has these soft curls in it that would make most women jealous! 

The back compartment of the helicopter--big enough for our bags, front tires and seats.  Good thing too because the rest of what we had took up lots of room as you can see below... 

The back of the helicopter has 4 seats--2 forward and 2 backward.  We got in with Ashley, the tv reporter, and then they loaded in the bicycles right onto our laps.  I had my handlebars right in my face and Katelyn's front sprocket jamming into my leg and I didn't even care.  We were taking a HELICOPTER over the mud slide! 

Bike helmets off, headsets on!  

I had seen so many pictures of this spot as I did my ride research.   It was a bit surreal to see the mudslide area from the sky firsthand though. 

Back on the bikes, we had to make a stop by the beach at San Simeon to watch the sea lions sunbathing.  

Cayucos!  We didn't know it at the beginning of the day, but that ended up being our destination for this leg.

Unlike a lot of the forced smiles I'm sure this kid has had to put on during this trip, this one was real for sure.  A great helicopter ride, tailwinds, and a view of Morro Bay after super easy riding conditions.

Awesome day.  Can't say much more than that!