July 1st, a special date...

July 1st is a special date to me. First off, it's my boy JT's birthday, so happy birthday JT! I know you'll love the gift a bunch of threw in together for, a new pair of Mavic Cross Max SLR disc mountain bike wheels!

JT is one of the Navy Seal boys, and we all threw in together, with some other friends of his as well. He loves his Specialized Epic, and riding it. It'll be good to do some long MTB rides together when he begins his training for Ironman Florida. (By long, I mean 6-8 hours on the mountain bike! YEAH BABY!)

JT is doing the RAGBRAI soon, which stands for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Long name, for what could just be the Tour de Iowa. It will take him about a week to ride across with this big event. He's from Iowa originally, so it's a type of homecoming.

JT is doing the event to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) provides college scholarship grants, based on need, along with financial aid and educational counseling to the children of Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.

If you would like to help donate to JT's cause, here's the site to help him:
http://www.firstgiving.com/jttumilson

Happy birthday JT, and I hope you enjoy the event!

The other significance of July 1 is that it's the anniversary of my arrival to San Diego. I arrived in San Diego on July 1, 2001. It's been 6 years here, and boy, have things in my life changed. I was exposed to the sport of triathlon when I got here, found my wife, and live a life which is tough to beat. I get to enjoy the lifestyle of training and fitness, the beach, sun and ocean, all year long.

July 1 feels almost like a birthday to me, or a rebirth, because life really changed for the better when I arrived here.

Vance - 2007 NFA