Tyler Thomas is preparing to relish in his unique opportunity.
The Park City native, who is currently participating in Push America’s Journey of Hope disability awareness ride, started the cross-country trek in San Francisco over a week ago. On Sunday, he and his team are scheduled to ride through Park City and spend time with folks at the National Ability Center, among other activities.
Thomas, a Park City High School graduate, spent time over the winter months trying to raise enough money to be able to participate in the event.
“It’s going amazingly,” he told The Park Record Monday. “It’s been a great time.”
He said the hardest stretch for him so far was the 90-mile ride from Jackson, Calif., to Lake Tahoe, Nev. It involved about 12,000 vertical feet of climbing through four different passes, he said.
“We were on our saddles for about 10 hours,” he said. “It was a tough day.”
The nine-week, 4,000-mile cycling trip is designed to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.
According to a press release, the Journey of Hope is a program of Push America, the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity that raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities. The Journey of Hope team consists of men from Pi Kappa Phi chapters across the country. The team plans to cycle an average of 75 miles per day, beginning in San Francisco and ending in Washington, D.C., on August 13.
“The team has been getting along great and the team has been riding along as well as if we’ve all known each other for a long time already,” Thomas said. “We’ve had friendship events that have already changed our lives.”
The trip to Park City is scheduled to go through Ely, Nev., then on to Baker, Nev., and through Delta, Utah, north toward Payson and then up Provo Canyon to Park City, Thomas said.
He said he is excited to show some of his teammates what to do in his backyard. He said the team will probably try out the activities at Park City Mountain Resort and the Utah Olympic Park.
“Time’s flying already,” he said. “It’s been two weeks since we’ve been together. I’ve really been enjoying it. I think we all have. We’ve been really pushing through these rides. We all say it’s all about the program and doing something bigger than ourselves.
“Every morning we ride for someone and ride for someone who isn’t able to ride.”
For more information about this event or more on Push America’s summer programs, please contact Matt Martyn at (704) 504-2400 ext. 159 or log on to www.pushamerica.org .