June is Riding Time

On the road again and feeling that good June feeling. Just rolling along despite the Attack of the Killer Cicadas, hills that never materialized, one or two cars too many, a taxi driver looking to take us home, the need for more yoga and meditation being the one thing you don't do that you should do!

Unsung Hero

My nearly 10 year old Trek.

Ready to Roll

I Thought They Said it Wasn't a Race!

After this rest stop I did one of the hardest 10 miles of riding I'd ever done. I pulled a young Army soldier through some of the toughest climbs of the ride. Fortunately, there was always a rider nearby who would come up and put a hand on my back making us a sort of sandwich of support.

The soldier talked openly about her injury and confided in me that for all her suffering, she had learned that her misfortune was a really gift that she could give to others, a strength that comes only through the crucible of experience. At the end of the 10 miles, I was exhausted but happy to take her gift with me now and long after the ride is history.

Gettysburg

This July will be the 150th anniversary of the battle. As we rode onto the battlefield one of the riders who was playing a CD was told to turn it off. This is scared ground. My thoughts were about how this strange, misshapen piece of land came to define the United States of America. This is another face of America. Driving home I think of my favorite passage in the Gettysburg Address:

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Iwo Jima Sunrise

Early on we pass by the Iwo Jima memorial where I am reminded that the ride is all about honoring the sacrifice of others.

Saturday on the Raod

I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday than tramping down the road on a beautiful morning in the early spring.

Awesome Indeed

Giving Support

So many of you supported me so that I could support these courageous athletes. Let me tell you, grabbing the moving pole of a moving hand-cycle is no easy matter. I forget how it throws you off and can make you wobble all over the road. But nothing is more rewarding on this ride.

This Too is the Face of America

Miles to Go...

With the day's end in sight I was thinking how growth is a journey of opposites. The man who racked my bike on Friday had a stump for an arm. The rider in front of me at the start of the ride was missing a leg. This is not the case with the people I usually encounter and that's a big part of why I do this ride. I believe that it is only in our encounters with people who are different from us that we are given the possibility to enlarge our own spirit. And maybe if we more frequently stood in the company of "the other", we could end the utter mindlessness of war altogether.