Dbacks and Desert

The last two days, as you would expect, have been filled with events, appearances, challenges, interviews, and more. I spent the morning of Mother’s Day, grabbing breakfast with my hosts before getting ready to head to the ballpark for the Diamondbacks game. David and Andrea are unbelievably good at spoiling me.

The game was an afternoon game, which with the Phoenix heat, meant for a sunny, and awfully hot game. Thanks to Erica Scherzer for buying our tickets for the game! The game was a good one, with the Dbacks hitting a few home runs to grab the win. Moving the home team to 5-2 in games I’ve attended. It was also fun to spend the game with fellow B4B’ers Rex, Steve, and Corey who will be joining me for the leg to Denver. I don’t have to ride by myself for a few days! Woohoo!

Chase Field reminds me a ton like Miller Park, in fact, I think Miller Park definitely copied a lot of the attributes of the park. From the roof, to the overall design, the two are very similar. However, Chase Field does have that pool out in right field. So that’s pretty cool! Especially with the hot Arizona sun, a dip in the pool while watching a baseball game is a perfect combination. As I made my walk around the ballpark, as I do at every park, I had someone notice me as the guy biking around to all the ballparks! I’ve been starting to get recognized more often, and it’s actually pretty cool. To have a following of people who support not only yourself, but the ride and the cause is really cool. It makes it feel like you’ve got family everywhere you turn.

After the game, the gang and myself headed back to David and Andrea’s where we were treated to a steak dinner with Dave’s world famous mashed potatoes and corn. Boy, did it hit the spot! With a long ride the next day, the steak and potatos were the perfect fuel that we needed. A huge Hi5 to David, Andrea, Madison, and Jersey who welcomed B4B with open arms. After the delicious dinner, we headed to our hotel in downtown Phoenix which was also courtesy of Erica and Max Scherzer, two huge supporters of B4B. Thus, we were sharing the team hotel with the Washington Nationals. How cool is that?! We get to feel like we’re part of the team!

We hit the bed, and got up early to start the ride to Denver. We got about 56 miles in, which was less than we hoped to ride, but it was a tough stretch. It was hot, very hilly, and very difficult. We were exhausted. We were also driving back to Chase Field to catch our boy Max Scherzer take the mound versus the Dbacks that night.

During the ride, we had honorary B4B’er Travis join up for a good portion of the ride. He kept up on his fixed gear bike, and was an awesome guy to ride along with. I’ve known Travis back from this fall, when I worked at REI in Madison. He moved down to the Phoenix area, but he’s kept following Biking for Baseball all this time, and reached out to ride along when he saw we were coming through. Thanks for riding along Travis! You’re welcome to join up anytime!

After the ride, we quickly showered up and headed on down to the ballpark for the game. Erica graciously donated us tickets in her suite. I’ve never watched a game in a suite, which made for a memorable experience. The Nationals jumped out to a 10-0 lead with only recording 4 outs. Thus, the game was kind of over from the get go. Max was dominant on the mound and only gave up one run over 7 innings. Solid start.

I even was able to get interviewed by Fox Sports Arizona during the game, and got some more publicity for Biking for Baseball and youth mentoring programs. Thanks to Fox Sports Arizona for doing the story!

After getting more than lost, in trying to find our way back to our car after the game we actually arrived back at the hotel at the same time as the Nationals bus. That meant, I was riding the elevator up to my room with Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and the rest of the team. Jordan Zimmermann, being from the small Wisconsin town of Auburndale, which is only 30 minutes from my hometown of Wisconsin Rapids, was the one I talked to for a shortwhile before exiting to go to my room. It ends a perfect cap to a great night.

I’ve got more miles to ride tomorrow while fighting more heat. Riding through the desert is difficult and challenging, but not impossible. You’ve got to drink lots of water, and apply tons of sunscreen. Slowly but surely you’ll make it. You just gotta take it one day at a time. It’s tough, draining, and exhausting, but you keep on pedaling. I’ll work my butt off to make it.

 

Matt