Day 3–A nice tour along the front range.

Day 3 broke warm and sunny for us at Clark Centennial Park in  Longmont. The six riders for the Team that day gathered and quickly got started on the 25.7 mile ride to Fort Collins.

Older brother Jake Warnecke joined his mom, Wendy in handling the support of the riders and driving the Pink Lightning Team vehicle. Jake has fallen in love with the Yukon XL—as it has every options a SUV can have.

Out on the route we broke into two groups—the three teens, Bryan, Ethan and Theron—setting the pace with "the Steves" and Terry riding behind. Mark this as a win for the "old guys" as they were never too far behind.

Overall it was a smooth, fairly flat ride—that only got us off into the weeds just once when our ride ended abruptly due to flooding wiping out the trail. We had to scramble over some railroad tracks. Such is the life of the road cyclist! Another great day filled with sunshine, teenagers, friendship and fun!

Thanks to these riders:

  • Theron McAdoo
  • Terry Opgenorth
  • Steve Roy
  • Steve Warnecke
  • Ethan Whitson

Day 2–Sunshine and rain, big support from Newton Running!

Day 2 of The Courage Tour had us starting at the Children's Hospital Colorado North Campus  and riding 17.7 mile ride to the home of Jerry Lee (Newton Running Founder). While the day was cloudy, the riders involved were very sunny—happy to come out and support us. The ride was a wonderful journey through the heart of bucolic Boulder county, where we encountered many farms, open spaces and grassland. We rode mainly west straining to see the Flatirons—alas, the were obscured by clouds.

After a short break we rolled through the hillsides as the clouds grew darker and lightning was striking the not-to-distant foothills. Thanks to the pace set by the Newton riders, we got to the Lee residence jet as the first raindrops began to fall. The best rider of the day award goes to Wendy Lee for her grit and determination riding a touring bike the entire way.

Jerry's wife Donna had prepared a delicious BBQ lunch for us, and the Team warmed up and dined in the beautiful home overlooking Sixmile Reservoir. The newest member of the Team, Isaac the St. Bernard greeted us and made all of the riders feel at home.

Unfortunately, the rain increased and scrubbed the afternoon ride. But given the camaraderie and genuine love and support from Newton Running we feel like the day was a fantastic success!

A Special Thanks to:

  • Jerry Lee
  • Donna Lee
  • Wendy Lee

Thanks to these riders:

  • Ian Adamson (Newton Running)
  • Ann Klein (Newton Running)
  • Craig Heisner (Newton Running)
  • Jerry Lee (Newton Running)
  • Wendy Lee (Newton Running)
  • Les Lee (Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation)
  • Don Reichelt (Newton Running)
  • Steve Roy (Vet DC)
  • Johannes Schmidt  (Newton Running)
  • Steve Warnecke

And another Thanks to those who showed up in support:

Wendy Warnecke and Ellie Newman

Tuesday we will be on Day 3—See Route Here

Day 1–A Wonderful Start!

Day 1 of our adventure was a smashing success! We gathered the riders at Children's Hospital Colorado Main Campus in Aurora in the morning. We had many riders show up to lend their support and join us for the 29.76 mile ride to the Children's Hospital North Campus in Broomfield. 

After suiting up in our new beautiful black and pink Team Pink Lightning jerseys, Steve, Bryan's dad, gave the riders final instructions and maps of the day's course. The riders fueled up on refreshments and snacks, then assembled for the official start of the Courage Tour.

After a ceremonial send-off involving the two youngest participants, Oscar and Hector Hyland, the Team took off and headed for the midpoint—McKay Road & 104th—18 scenic miles away. There, the Team to a short break as some headed back to the Main campus while others rode onward through the South Platte River trails towards Broomfield.

Three triumphant riders completed the ride at the North Campus in Broomfield—Bryan "Pink Lightning" Warnecke, Steve Warnecke and Steve Winsett. A wonderful start to the Tour on a warm, sunny day Colorado day!

Thanks to these riders:

  • Chris Callow
  • Frank Dean
  • Madeline Dean
  • Marv Goldman
  • Matt Hopkins
  • Erica Nagy
  • Bo Pihl
  • John Rehl
  • Lesia Rehl
  • Leslie Schaeffer
  • Sarah Trento
  • Doug Waltermire
  • Steve Warnecke
  • Steve Winesett

And another Thanks to those who showed up in support:

Jake Warnecke, Wendy Warnecke, Yvette Torrise, Madison Torrise, Martine Hyland and Ellie Newman

And now a little R&R before Day 2—See Route Here

Our new Home-away-from-home!

We just picked up The Team Pink Lightning Vehicle—2015 Yukon XL. IT IS SWEET—and will certainly turn heads throughout the Courage Tour! Its i simply gorgeous and Team Pink Lightning will be riding and style as we embark on our Courage Tour of Colorado.

Again, a special THANK YOU goes to Ivette Dominguez Drawe of Alpine Buick GMC, Mark Domenico and his daughter Nicole, at Artworks Serigraphy and Midwest Sign & Screen Printing for all of their support!

Running hard towards our goal!

The Pink Lightning Team is excited to announce that $1,250.00 has been donated from the Newton Running Elite men’s open team to our beneficiary—Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation.

The Elite team captured First Place, Open Relay, in the recent Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon. They graciously gave us their winnings to help us in our goal to raise $250,000.00 to fight cystic fibrosis. A deep "thank you" goes out to the entire Elite team—keep up the great work and happy running!