Last of the Fantastic Four

Wednesday: Today is the day to drive the number from 4 to 2 in the XX1090 Scott & BR show radio contest. Ultimately the end result is that XX1090 will cover the required $10,000 entry which the other 99 riders in the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge are raising individually.

This has been a journey of a thousand steps or a million peddle strokes. I feel like I am riding on a train across the country. The scenery is constantly changing with beautiful pictures of forests, mountains, rivers and fields of gold. I'm just soaking it in, taking pictures and keeping notes in a journal.

This morning the final 4, Nina, Carl, Scott and myself, were asked to select one person to speak on our behalf. Their words and thoughts would be judged and used to determine who would move on. Two names came to my mind immediately, Crystal my wife and Todd Northup.

Crystal was more than willing to go on air and talk about why I should move on. She is an eloquent speaker, not afraid to talk about our relationship and passions and my biggest fan. However, she felt this was about CAF and that I should select Todd who has been a part of this journey along with me.

I called Todd and he indicated he would love to take on that role but was a bit nervous about what to say or how to say it in such a short period of time, one minute. We created an outline of topics that we felt would best represent the essence of the program and why I was in it. Todd then practiced saying the words. I could tell this was not an easy request that I had asked of him. My last comment was before hanging up last night..., "speak from your heart".

The first person on the radio this morning was Nina's mom. She provided a wonderful story of Nina's background and her family values in support of her mother. She let us know that after Katrina Nina received $300 in support but turned around and gave that to someone else who needed it more than she did.

Next up was Scott's wife. She said Scott is a quiet person but his heart is a banging drum filled with sounds of passion for this cause and others. He's not just a nice person when someone is looking. Scott always provides a kind word no matter what the situation.

Todd was next. One minute goes fast and he worked hard at getting the words out. He talked about the fund raising we have done, when I've stopped to help others during the rides, and 3 elements I thought were most important; CAF, QMDC and the XX1090 Scott & BR show. At the end Scott Kaplan asked him how our event went on Monday. Todd told him it was a huge success and that it put him and myself over the top of the required $10,000. (That has been our goal since the beginning)

Lastly was Carl and he select Brent one of the other radio contestants. Brent took his time to describe what a good friend Carl has become. He was the leader on their fund raising event and kept them on track. He also said Carl took time out of his schedule to help Dan Plummer of Wheels on Wheels to move his shop.

With that done Scott and BR took a few minutes to talk and then a message arrived, "...You've Got Mail". The names were announced and myself and Nina are the final two.

Emotions. That's about all I can say. I had this flood of emotions hit me like a rushing linebacker. I was crying, laughing, happy, sad, proud and relieved all at once. Butternut and Zeke, my dogs, came in to see what all the fuss was about.

Making it this far is an honor and not one I take lightly. And even when this is over no matter what the out come the cause of CAF goes on. I am very lucky to have a ticket on this train and will enjoy every moment of the ride. All I can say is thanks.