Way To Go!

Have you seen the movie FORREST GUMP?

At one point, Forrest starts running. He just runs, and doesn’t stop. Eventually people join him and cheer him on. The rally cry becomes, “Run, Forrest, run!”

Today felt a bit like that. We had a nice article in the La Crosse Tribune Thursday morning. Thursday evening we were featured on the local CBS news program (Please click the link if you don’t see a video. Sorry about the 15 sec. ad).

It’s all fun, and helps spread the message of hope that’s the reason we’re doing this. A side effect was that our shiny yellow bike became fairly recognizable in a relatively small town.

So when we started riding from downtown La Crosse, folks started waving and honking car horns. We saw lots of “thumbs-up” signals. Several drivers shouted greetings.

No one shouted, “Ride, Rich, ride,” but it was still kinda cool.

Then, as I rolled south onto a beautiful road along the river, a cyclist pulled alongside and joined the ride. He’d been waiting along the route he found on www.richsride.org. All day people waved and honked and shouted encouragement.

Everywhere Bexky stopped, people commented. Drivers actually drove ahead of me and stopped to chat and express their interest.

Pretty fun, huh?

Of course, that’s not the point. This project isn’t about me and it’s certainly not about me getting attention.

But it’s evidence that the word can spread, that people pay attention. It’s evidence that people respond to a positive message, to a big dream, to the promise of hope.

When you tell others about Rich’s Ride, you’re not telling them about me. You’re telling them that hope changes what’s possible. You’re inviting them to become involved in something important, something bigger than one person.

Here’s what I told kids this week: don’t send a link. Send a link and begin a conversation. Use the opportunity to engage and listen. Build a relationship as you build the project.

Expand the circle.

What if people all around the world started talking about hope? What if the needs of starving children touched hearts everywhere?

Then we could all wave and smile and shout, “Way to go!”

Please leave a comment here.

Where’s Rich? Today This Week

Want to get involved with Rich’s Ride? Check here for some ideas. Send us a message, and consider riding along.
It’s going to be fun!

I’m doing a big project to share a big dream, and I’d love to have you along.
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Thanks For Joining Us

If you’re one of the folks who joined our little circle in the past few days, welcome.

The ride begins in six weeks!

We’re busy doing what feels like a million things at once to get ready. One major task, of course, is getting my old muscles in shape for the adventure. I did a little over six hundred miles in July, and I’ll need to  increase that by at least 25% in August.

However, my training got a significant boost today. I took my initial serious ride on my new bike.

Here’s a photo of my new yellow bike next to my 20,000 mile veteran. It’s lower and more aerodynamic, and places me in a much better body position for riding. Like anything new, it’ll take an adjustment period, but I can already feel how much more comfortable and efficient it is.

Sometime soon I’ll give you a video tour and show you all of the cool high-tech features on my new toy.

Getting involved

Several of you have asked about taking an active role in this project. We absolutely want to encourage you to get involved.

You can find a few suggestions here. Right now we’re especially interested in finding people to ride along for a few days. If that’s a possibility for you, check the schedule, send me a message, and let’s spend a few days together enjoying the scenery.

We’re happy to have you along for the ride. Something great is going to occur, and we’re going to be in the middle of it.