'Hearty greetings' from S.L. to Torino

"Tyler never left Salt Lake, but it couldn't have happened without him," said Dunn, of Dunn Communications, whose firm was commissioned to video the journey. He was there when the cannister left the City-County Building on April 4, he helped bicycle it across parts of the United States and he was there yesterday morning for the climax in Torino.

He did not, however, ride in the sailboat. "But I wanted to," he said.

"This is not an official Olympic event," Dunn explained of the privately sponsored venture. "The idea is there's a bigger movement than just sport. This is a chance to share ideas and values and hopefully make the world a better place."

"It was neat when it finished today," he said. "The riders were met as they came into the city by about 40 college-age kids who cycled with them. That fit with the day the message left Salt Lake and sixth-graders from Oakridge Elementary were there to send it off. There was a full police escort through town; it was pretty regal treatment. We were not stopped all the way to City Hall."

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.