Fun, sunshine, and a lot of sweat brought some new folks into the FREEDOM TOUR circle last weekend at a place called Elephant Rock.
More specifically, our team joined 7000 cyclists for a glorious day at the 29th annual Elephant Rock Cycling Festival. We officially unveiled the 2016 FREEDOM TOUR jerseys. They look great on a team of riders rolling down the road.
In addition to a team of 25 cyclists, we had a tent in the outdoor Expo area. Several volunteers spent the day telling the story of the HOME OF HOPE to hundreds of people who stopped and wondered what we were up to. We talked about our 22 kids and the way God’s transformed their lives. We told people about the FREEDOM TOUR and watched a few eyes light up at the prospect of “next year…”
It’s amazing how the words HOPE and FREEDOM attract folks. Monte the 80-lb people magnet helps, too.
There’s no such thing as “flat” in this portion of the Rocky Mountain foothills, so riders were challenged by all of the Elephant Rock courses. Whether they did 40, 62, or 100 miles, or even the family fun ride, everyone had to contend with hills, hills, and more hills. But everyone returned with smiles and reports of a great ride. And hills. As one-day rides go, Elephant Rock isn’t an easy ride.
I talked with one of our team members about “easy.” He told me he looked at one of the hills and thought of Jesus’ command to “take up your cross and follow Me.” We wondered together whether climbing a hill on a bike to bring hope and freedom to rescued kids might have been a small piece of what Jesus had in mind.
I’m not sure about whether riding a bike is anything like carrying a cross, but my friend and I agreed that this thing we’re doing isn’t supposed to be easy. We do this as a team, is a spirit of shared sacrifice, precisely because it’s hard. It’s a lot of fun and we become a wonderful, close community.
But it’s not easy.
