4th of July Ride and Colorado Search and Rescue!!!

For the past two weeks, the boys and I have been planning a ride, with my friend, Matt. Our plans kicked off this morning, right on schedule. We started off with a great breakfast at Wade's Cafe in the Springs and then headed out for a ride on Rampart Range.

The boys following Matt and I on Acadmeny Blvd.












Unfortunately, we didn't get far, as Matt ran into electical problems with his GPS. After a short 30 minutes, we were back on the bikes and riding up Mt. Herman Road.










After about 5 miles on Mt. Herman Road, we passed a pickup on the side of the road. Just past the truck, we came upon a washout in the road and a woman standing on the edge. She was noticably upset and pointed down the hill... as her husband had just started down the hill..... Then I found the guy and the kid. A 19 year old....who had spent the night on the slope, heavily injured and in need of major help. The kid had crawled out of his Jeep and up the mountain about 100 feet, before he couldn't go any further.







There wasn't much left of the kids Jeep. The kid, 19 years old.... had driven up on Rampart to camp. We think he tried to get home in the dark, after a heavy rain and plundged down a wash-out.










A look up the washout where the kid and the vehicle fell. Yeah, we had to use the climbing ropes to get back up the slope.
















Colorado Search and Rescue, hauling the kid up the slope.










A pic of the "mule train', as I called them. The bunch of Search and Rescue folks that pulled the kid up.










Finally, they get the kid to the top of the road. An ambulance ride down the road and then a helicopter ride to the hospital.










Once we did our duty.... we headed down the road on our ride. Here is a pic of Matt and the boys. You can see Pike's Peak in the background.















We had to cut our ride short, due to time, but we stopped for a sandwich.

Thank God for safety and security!!!!