Kyle and Brent "Love That Dirty Water" in Boston

Hey KPeasey Nation….Though I hate to push the summer away faster than I should, I’m really looking forward to our fall racing season. Somehow the heat of an Atlanta summer is not as conducive for racing as the crisp morning air of September and October.

 While Brent and I were traveling around Boston last weekend, Kevin Enners and several other KPF athletes were enjoying one of our favorite races, the 27h Annual Lekotek Run.  Kevin shared his race report in the paragraphs below.

 “The last Lekotek race I did resulted in the three letters no competitive athlete wants to hear – DNF. One of the pullies that kept my recumbent cycle chain taut was smashed as I rode over a speedbump. The speedbump was unavoidable as were all the ones spanning the entire width of the first stretch. Luckily, the damage to the bike was fixable, but it was devastating to my soul.

I thought that would be my last attempt at Lekotek, until recently, finding out that they had a new course, which turned the four-miler into a 5k and10k – without speedbumps! Instead, it had hills! Lots of hills. Grinding away up one steep sucker, cresting the top breathless, I found myself reconciling some life decisions. What had I expected? Maybe that the course would be friendly? Maybe it would seem manageable as I’ve gotten stronger? Wrong-o!

A fellow crank athlete, Jackson, accompanied me and suffered with me through massive, thigh-burning undulations. Drill the hills, I urged myself...just drill the hills. Jackson was a crank athlete who had raced with ConnectAbility in Dahlonega. He is aspiring to qualify for the Paralympics in a push-rim chair.

His racing tactics were the typical full-speed-downhill-grind-uphill method. Mine were just the opposite, as I consider myself a “climber” and a “careful-not-to-flip-over descender”.

With four-percent climb to ascend (according to Strava), I tried to hold my watts slightly below my FTP (Functional Threshold Power)– which is 100 watts – but had to go above FTP just to average a seven-minute-per-mile pace. It was a challenging course and one that makes you appreciate the finish!”

Everyone seemed to have a great time and this was felt in the power of Kevin’s words. Kevin is a hard worker, a published author and a gifted writer and teaches us all that a mere disability can’t hold you back.

 We had an equally great time in Boston due to the planning, connections and great hospitality of none other than our friend and co-author, Todd Civin. Todd’s itinerary for us included a visit to a wonderful adaptive gym owned by new friend Brendan Aylward, a TV interview with Worcester TV3, and two book signings.  The absolute highlights however were throwing out the first pitch for the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate for Boston, bringing out the game ball and the resin bag for the starting pitcher at historic Fenway Park. These are childhood dreams of every little boy and girl and were absolutely incredible experiences. We met Red Sox pitcher Andrew Cashner, who was so down to earth.

We also visited the bronze statue of the founders of our sport Dick and Rick Hoyt which sits overlooking the starting line of the  historic Boston Marathon. This was dwarfed only by meeting the Babe Ruth of our sport, Dick Hoyt, in human form. Rick was ill so couldn’t join Dick at the Expo for the Falmouth Road Race but meeting Dick was surreal. He is so supportive of what we are doing and without the efforts of he and Rick, our sport may have never existed and the opportunities to compete for so many would likely remain a fantasy.  We shared war stories with Mr. Hoyt and show absolute love and appreciation to the founder of our sport.

After competing in the Falmouth Road Race, we returned home as our athletes competed in one of our staple races, the John Tanner Tri. Several athletes competed with the help of some amazing volunteers. As always smiles were abundant and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and the comradery experienced by our athletes and their families.

Don’t forget that our book, Beyond the Finish is now available in Kindle form which we are super thrilled about.

Until next time,

Kyle

Braves Recognize the Pease Brothers and Launch their New Book!

As part of the Atlanta Braves’ recognition of community heroes, Kyle and Brent Pease were honored on May 14th during the game. The Pease Brothers were recognized for their continued efforts to promote inclusion of differently abled individuals in sports. For Kyle, a lifelong Braves fan, it was a dream come true.     

“As I got to wheel out of a tunnel to an amazing crowd, and to watch the video and all the photographs really put into focus what we are trying to do with the Kyle Pease Foundation. I was in awe of the moment.” 

“As a life-long Braves Fan it was a dream come true. Being by the Atlanta Braves was such an exciting moment for me, as I got to wheel out of a tunnel to an amazing crowd, and to watch the video and all the photographs really put into focus what we are trying to do with The Kyle Pease Foundation. I was in awe of the moment. The book signing was another terrific opportunity to share our story and go behind the scenes of brotherly love to realizing our dreams of becoming athletes together,” Kyle said.

Everything from that week set in after the book signing two days later, at which they debuted their autobiography, Beyond the Finish. “The book signing,” Kyle added, “was another terrific opportunity to share our story and go behind the scenes of brotherly love to realizing our dreams of becoming athletes together.”

From Brent:
In 1991, the Braves were finally out of the cellar and on the last game of the season they clinched their first of 14 straight pennants.  Sitting behind home plate were three of the biggest Braves fans and their mother (she might have been the biggest fan).  It was the first time we as brothers got to experience the real thrill of victory.  I know that HD & 4k tv's are all the rage, but nothing can replace the excitement of being there in person.  With more than 50,000 people cheering on the hometown team it was one of the coolest experiences for us as brothers.

Flash forward to two stadiums later, a move OTP and the Braves were getting ready to call our name.  For two guys who probably had no shot at a big league contract this was pretty amazing.  When they called our name and we walked onto the field it was damn near close to that game in 1991.  I might have even stole a glance at the jumbotron to see the smiles on our faces.  The most exciting part was feeling like an even bigger part of the Atlanta Sport Community.  The night was about honoring community heroes and the focus was as much on the foundation as the two of us.  Of course it didn't hurt that we got to wear custom game jersey's with our names on them!  We are incredibly proud of the work of the foundation and are ever humbled at the recognition that sometimes brings.

Because who does things easy?? We turned around on Thursday night and launched our book, Beyond the Finish! When we learned more about the process of actually writing a book we decided in 2016 to get started on the project then.  We figured when the last chapter occurred we could finally write that one.  After the Ironman last fall we were able to finally complete our book and begin the editing process to get this ready for 'mass consumption.'  A big thanks to Todd Civin & Mascot Books for helping us pull this together and helping us learn along the way the energy required to write a book.  The reception was fantastic and nearly 150 copies went out the door for that first event.  We hope that each of you can take something from the book as friends, parents, athletes and maybe even brothers.  We hope this brings you as much joy as it brought us along the way and even more so as the first books head out the door.  We've been told that the Amazon market place is pretty big so as you get your book please review and share your comments there and hope that you encourage your friends to grab a copy too!  Thank you to all of you who have ordered and started reading your copies already!

 Together WE Wheel!