The UConn medical and dental students who are cycling from California to Connecticut to raise money for leukemia research have made their way to the Rockies.
So far, along with the occasional flat tire, Pat Field and Dan Beauvais have encountered huskies in California, wild horses in Nevada, and two other cross-country cycling teams, including one from MIT that rode with them through parts of Utah. A member of that group produced a short video (featured above) of Beauvais and Field’s travels that showcases some of views of Utah by bike.
Their blog, at http://coasttocoastforacure2013.blogspot.com, is a nearly daily chronicle of their adventures, including picturesque scenery, interactions with the locals, creative recipes, a run-in with airport security, a restaurant where dollar bills coat the ceiling, and a snapshot of American history in the form of an old Pony Express recruitment ad.
Of Telluride, Col., where the two recently stopped for a day off from pedaling, Beauvais writes, “The town has a bunch of neat boutique stores and cafés, and the views of the mountains didn’t cease to impress us.”
To reduce exposure to the desert heat, they have started doing some predawn riding, thus enabling them to witness daybreak as they head east toward the rising sun.
“The pictures do a terrible job showing how beautiful this trip is,” Field writes to accompany a sunrise photo taken in Utah.
Field, a UConn graduate who is going into his second year at the UConn School of Medicine, and Beauvais, a Boston University graduate entering his second year at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, make up the eighth team of students with UConn Health Center ties to embark on Coast to Coast for a Cure. The ride is an annual fundraiser benefitting Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research, a Hartford nonprofit and philanthropic supporter of UConn’s Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Beauvais and Field say they each hope to raise $4,000, which is about a dollar per mile pedaled. Those interested in supporting the cause can go to http://leasfoundation.org/events, find the “Coast to Coast” box, and click “Donate.”
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