(Kristine posting…) Welcome to our first installment of Meet the Crew!  I am really excited to introduce the amazing people who have committed to do whatever it takes to get Brian 3,000 from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD. We’re still finalizing the last couple people, but I will start the introductions with the anchor of our crew.

Wes Bates is a sophomore at Indiana University, and he will be our Crew Chief.  He grew up in Aurora, Colorado and started racing bikes in high school. He’s currently on the cycling team at Indiana University.  This past summer, he rode from Astoria, OR to Mobile, AL (3,400 miles) in 42 days with the Ride4Gabe fundraiser . He has a background in nutrition, fundraising, and event planning, and he is proving to be wise beyond his years. 

From Wes:

I am so excited to be a part of this adventure. I met Brian when I was finishing Ride4Gabe last summer. It is hard to not like the guy. In August, I told Brian that I would take the 2 weeks off to be on his RAAM crew. I didn’t think he had taken me seriously until he reached out to me in January of this year

Brian is the only person with whom I would to take on this journey. I have met with plenty of people [about RAAM], and they have all told me that Brian “has the goods” to be successful. There is nobody I trust more than Brian to get the job done. And hey, it will be nice to say that I am the youngest crew chief ever.

This is one of those experiences that you can’t turn down. I actually turned down a pretty good internship offer so I could make this trip happen. I know that this is something I have to do. Adventure calls.