Riding a tandem bike as a blind man is exhilarating. My first few rides were a bit rocky, but still a lot of fun. Being on the back of a road bike feels like something between flying and riding a roller coaster. The feel of the road under you as the wind flows by heightens all of your senses. Going down hill at over forty miles an hour will keep you having some constant communication with God. I have no idea of what is coming or what the terrain has in store for us, but I hold on and lean in to the turns with the bike. This makes for a scary and exciting experience not to mention a great workout. You really have to have a lot of trust in the Captain. My training schedule has had Scoob Schmidt (Captain) and me riding 50 to 130 miles a week for the last 5 months. We have now ridden well over 1000 miles together and have found a solid balance and rhythm on the bike. My training for this event has been amazing and I am looking forward to seeing how it pays off.

The Blind Ride starts on September 25 and we plan on finishing on September 29th. This 390 mile route will have us riding a minimum of 80 miles a day to reach our 5 day goal. There are 4 of us riding the route and 2 support vehicles following. We have 2 Cannondale tandems thanks to team member Doug Bowden. Doug, Scoob and Gene Longwell will also have their standard road bikes along to ride when not working as the Captain. Ben Cane and Doug’s daughter Kelly Bowden complete our 6 person team as drivers for the support vehicles.

I started the Blind Ride as a fun way to help raise funds for the Foundation for Blind Children. Our hopes are that we will be able to raise $25,000 to help the FBC’s Braille program. If this sounds like something you would like to contribute to, thank you. To donate you can go to www.seeitourway.org… This is a truly worthy organization that made a huge impact in my life. Every little bit helps and will make a difference in a blind or visually impaired person’s life.

To follow our progress you can go to my website www.blindmotivation.com or you can check us out on www.seeitourway.org…

RIDE ON

Mike Armstrong will be taking the next few days to rest his injury and consult medical advice. Team Armstrong will restart the Mazatal Divide passage of the Arizona Trail after it is determined he can continue.

While Mike and his Team were not in any danger, it was apparent that due to the significance of the injury Mike would not be able to hike 54 miles of moderate to difficult terrain over the next 3 days. Mike wanted to express that his Adventure on the Arizona Trail is not canceled it has only been delayed as he recovers.

Updates will be posted as they arrive.

No, this is not an April’s Fools Joke. April 2nd is our first day on the trail. This is going to be an amazing experience! We have trained hard and I believe we are ready.

I would like to put out a huge thank you to our sponsors! Steve and Brad with Peace Surplus were incredible. Steve went out of his way to help me and my team out. If you are ever near Flagstaff Peace Surplus is the place to go.

I would also like to thank Merrell for hooking the team up with our hiking boots.

Evidently Wal-Mart took me serious when I said “Will hike for food!” Thanks.

We have KAVU to thank for our awesome hats (Chilba).

In case you have not heard about this adventure, Ben Cane, Yancey Herriage and I are going to hike 807 miles from Mexico to Utah on the AZT for the Foundation for Blind Children a Phoenix based 501c3.

You can follow our journey here on blindmotivation.com or seeitourway.org. We are hoping to raise enough money to put 43 kids through a summer program for the blind. If you would like to help a child go to http://blindmotivation.com/donations/

Keep an eye out for updates from the Crazy Blind Sensei Mike Armstrong.

While we are hiking the trail we will be making blog posts as well as facebook posts. So keep an eye out and we will let everyone know where we are and how we are doing.

Day 1 of 40 begins on April 2nd.

I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who supported Team Armstrong on Saturday by coming out to “Blind and Unplugged” with your help we raised over $1,000 that night. While this is a great start we have a long way to go before we raise our goal of $43,000 for the Foundation for Blind Children; Please help us attain this goal by spreading the word of our adventure to your friends and family.

In other news I wanted to let everyone know that Mike Armstrong and his Sighted Guide Ben Cane will be hiking the trail 100 for 2 hours every Mon, Wed, & Fri until we leave for the Arizona trail. We will meet at The Hiking Shack at 5 am. Feel free to join us but please give us a heads up through our Facebook page in advance so that we can expect you.

New Merrells after 5 Miles of Hiking. Next update after 800 something miles...

Just yesterday Sensei Mike and I went on a quick little 5 mile training hike in the McDowell mountains to stretch out our legs and break in our newly donated Merrells at the same time (we love these boots!).

As we were hiking we also came to the realization that we are approaching 2011 very quickly which means our Arizona trail hike is only a few months away.

Team Armstrong is very excited and we are going to be stepping up our fund-raising for the Foundation for Blind Children. Over the next few months we are looking to raise at least $43,000 for the FBC and we are hoping that everyone will help us make that possible.

If you would like to help the FBC and help support our Arizona Trail hike please visit our donations page at: http://blindmotivation.com/donations/

If you donate TODAY 12-31-10 you will still receive the 2010 Arizona Tax Credit. If you donate tomorrow you will just have to wait for the 2011 Arizona Tax Credit.

If you wish to come along on one of the training hikes drop a comment and we will work out the times. I also wanted to take a minute and recognize that we currently have two new sponsors.

Kavu – A outdoor clothing company from Seattle
Merrell – Most widely known for their hiking and outdoor boots

With their help Team Armstrong is closer to stepping foot on the Arizona trail and able to help raise more funds for the Foundation for Blind Children. We are still looking for more sponsors especially those who would be able to provide Backpacking equipment.

Don’t forget to donate to the Foundation for Blind Children! The great organization that has helped Sensei Mike and many other blind individuals achieve their dreams.