Rough start to California , 6700 miles

Scott finally took the time to sit and add up totals and saw that he is over 6700 into the milesformoney.org journey! Hooray! However so far California has been rough. Besides the three flats, he has had two falls. 

The first fall was very scary. Scott always strives to be cautious. Even so accidents happen. He was on a good road with a good shoulder on a beautiful day with no adverse conditions when his front tire caught in a rut. Scott came over the handlebars of his bike and went face/ headfirst into a guard rail. Strangely the Garmin incident notification that had gone off a couple of days earlier when his bike fell over in the wind did NOT go off with this unbelievably bad fall. I found out when Scott called me. I had just left Glamis North RV Park and Scott came off near Brawley CA. I was 20 minutes away and Scott sounded very shook up and not quite normal.

 A truly kind angel, Miguel, stopped to block traffic with his vehicle and to help Scott. I talked to Miguel, and he agreed to call the ambulance. Scott and his bike were transported to the local hospital. Meanwhile the truck, camper, dogs, and I all headed to the hospital.  I found a place to park a few blocks away and moved the truck and camper a few times to keep the dogs in the shade while we waited for the very busy hospital to help Scott. 

End result: Scott had 7 stitches, a mild concussion and loads of bumps bruises and road rash. X-rays were all negative. Grace, PA did an excellent job checking him over and cleaning up his face. While very scary, it could have been much worse. Thank you, Grace, for the great care! Stephanie, NP took out the stitches a few days later at U of C and cleaned him up so more.  Thank you, Stephanie, for the great care. 

Scott's bike was also damaged, mainly the front wheel.  Thank you to Rene at Bicycle Warehouse who took care of Scott's bike. We swapped out his extra wheel set, replaced the back red safety light. Scott also ordered a new helmet- sent to our new friend Char outside of Oceanside, Newport area where we had planned to connect with her. She allowed us to mail the helmet and other replacement parts to her. 

Scott got right back on the bike the next two days after the fall but on his back up, road bike with his back up helmet. He is not as comfortable on this bike and it does not have disc brakes, so Scott was a bit uncomfortable on the hills.

After a couple of days of cycling a day off was necessary due to torrential rain. The next day after getting himself and his bike all situated, Scott fell again. Scott was on a ride from San Diego to Oceanside when he slipped going over very slick railroad tracks.  Scott scraped up the other side of his body this time and lost a hearing aid, but thankfully was able to continue (and the bike was ok too.) 

Saturday Scott cycled Oceanside to Newport Beach. He wanted to bike through Camp Pendleton and while we tried to get a permit we could not as they are not issuing them until next summer when they expect the main visitor center to re-open. So, Scott had about 17 miles biking on the shoulder of Highway 5. Happily, he also got to ride after getting off the highway with our new friend Char, and her friend Maya, though some hills. Scott will not be riding tomorrow; he will be taking a few days off due to an "atmospheric river" with flooding rains and high winds anticipated.  

Hoping to experience some sunny happy California time AFTER this next rainstorm!   

Why does Scott do this? As you can see it is not easy. Scott wants to honor his life and his son Benny's life (see full story on the website Scott's story.) This is a mission, it’s raising awareness and funds for prostate cancer and schizophrenia. Without this strong WHY for the mission it would be even harder to continue through adversity. Scott's ongoing courage and determination is extraordinary (if not heart stopping at times for his wife!). https://www.milesformoney.org/