of the ride J2 ran into a lot of rough terrain and fallen branches which did not let him go full speed in many sections. He was able to make it too checkpoint 1 in record time despite all the debris. As he continued on his way toward checkpoint 2 his chairs battery power started to rapidly drain. Before being able to reach check point 2 his chair completely died and day one of Trail Ride 2007 ended 13.5 miles from the start.
Day 2 of Trail Ride 2007 started at 12:00pm and began at Riverside Blvd where J2’s chair had died out the day before. Day 2, just like day one was a beautiful warm sunny day. The ride was going very well and J2 was focused on going as far as his chair would take him. Three hours, thirty minutes, and 22 miles into day 2 that time came. Again his chair died because of lack of power. His goal of finishing the 43 mile trail ride in two days would not happen. Just 7.5 miles and one hour from the finish, it would have to be completed the next day.
The very next day J2 was back on the trail two miles from Wadsworth Road where he left off the day before. The weather was beautiful once again. At 90 degrees, it was the warmest day of the ride. Fortunately, he only had 7.5 miles of the trail left to complete. After only 1 hour J2 had completed the long journey and adventure. Trail Ride 2007 was complete in 7 hours and 15 minutes. However, due to battery problems it took 3 days to complete. John J2 Mryczko was able to complete the challenge. However he was unable to complete it in his 2 day goal. He did something he loves to do and at the same time raised money for spinal cord injury research.
J2 had this to say,
“I completely enjoyed myself. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and the ride was unforgettable. I can’t wait to do it again next year, and hope others in wheelchairs will join me. I am also looking for sponsors that can help me beat this years Trail Ride time. If I had a wheelchair or battery sponsor I could do this ride in one day. That will be my ultimate goal for next year.”
Extreme Chairing would like to thank all of those who contributed to this years Trail Ride. The money that was raised for this years Trail Ride was donated to the W.M Keck Center for Collaborative Neroscience / The Spinal Cord Injury Project. If you were not able to donate or help for this years TR2007, please be sure to contribute for next years Trail Ride 2008. Everyone can always contribute in some way. Like they say, “What goes around comes around”.
If you are interested in volunteering, participating, or sponsoring Trail Ride 2008 please contact us or check back into Extreme Chairing in March 2008. |
