Front Range FREEDOM Tour wasn’t a bike ride.
Colorado offers plenty of serious bike rides. Ride The Rockies. Courage Classic. Triple Bypass. MS 150. Anyone searching for a hard-core, go-at-your-own-best-speed, put-your-head-down-and-get-cranking bike ride has lots of options. The FREEDOM Tour would have frustrated riders seeking that sort of experience.
Our team cycled more than 400 miles from Cheyenne to Raton Pass, with a couple of other challenging climbs tossed in. Collectively we accumulated about 2,750 total miles in the saddle. We rode bikes, but this wasn’t a bike ride.
We had some strong cyclists on the team. Experienced riders establish their own pace. It’s actually harder, and certainly less satisfying, for them to ride slower than faster. But every day the best riders reduced their speed and stopped more frequently than their individual ability dictated. They spent more time on hot roads and arrived later at destinations than they had to.
We were a team. We rode together. Nobody rode alone, and no one got left behind.
Sacrifice. Service. Love. Losing yourself for someone else and something bigger. Those aren’t part of a bike ride.
Every morning we “wasted” a precious cool hour when serious bike riders would have been on the road. We sat around a table and ate breakfast. We prayed and spent thirty minutes talking together about Jesus and staying aware of why we were here. We shared concerns and victories, anticipated challenges, and made sure everyone was ready for the day.
Then we circled our bikes and someone shared a “word of the day.” Encourage. Enthusiasm. Eucharisto. Relentless. The person who offered the word talked a bit about why it mattered and why we should focus on it during the day. Usually we came back to the word a few times along the route and discussed how it impacted our thoughts.
Finally it was time for my favorite moment of each day. HELMETS UP is a tradition we borrowed from our friends at Venture Expeditions. It’s a moment to stop before the chaos of the day and acknowledge the One for whom we ride. We raise our helmets to remind ourselves that we follow Jesus and trust him to use our efforts to accomplish His purposes.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ve heard me say RICH’S RIDE isn’t about Rich and it isn’t about a ride. I thought I understood, but the words are easy to say and difficult to internalize.
Every time I cranked to the top of a hill and found my teammates waiting and cheering me on, I got it a little better.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)
It’s not about me. It’s certainly not about a bike ride.
Interesting paradox, though. As I let go of riding for myself, my ride becomes more meaningful.
I think that might work in life as well.
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