Day 10 San Jose to Monterey 72 miles

From the San Jose Mercury News:

A team of three cyclists biking from Seattle to San Diego to raise money and awareness for injured war veterans took off from San Jose City Hall today at 9 a.m. heading toward Monterey.

"Operation American Spirit," a group formed by Emmy nominated actor Jack Scalia.

In addition to Scalia, the trio includes J.R. Martinez, an injured veteran from Louisiana, and cycling coach John Wordin. The group started their 1,500-mile bicycling trek Sept. 22 and plan to finish in San Diego on Oct. 7, averaging about 100 miles a day.

So far, the team says they've raised at least $6,000, which they plan to donate to the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, the Fisher House Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project. The group's Web site says the goal is to raise $50 million in the next several years.

While in Silicon Valley, the cyclists visited with patients Sunday at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital.

In case any of you were wondering how much Jack eats or how many calories he burns each day, here is a quick rundown: In a typical day of 70-100 miles, Jack will burn about 5,000 calories. He is a big fan of Peanut Butter and CytoSport gels. He consumes about 3 PB sandwiches and 3-5 gels each day to help keep up the energy stores.

Tomorrow OAS heads down Hwy 1 towards San Simeon taking in the most scenic roads in California through the Big Sur area.