Traditions serve many purposes.
Some traditions remind us of our roots and core principles. When things get chaotic, some traditions calm and re-center us.
Some traditions are fun, and perhaps a bit crazy. Today, Becky and I are renewing one of those.
Serious cyclists, once they reach a certain age, begin to talk about “riding their age” on their birthday. It means riding the same number of miles as their age.
Today marks the beginning of my 73rd trip around the sun, so Becky and I will crank 73 miles together to mark the occasion.
This isn’t the sort of thing I would do just to say I did it. I’m beyond caring much about these kinds of individual achievements.
This crazy-sounding tradition will be a lot of fun, but it also reminds me why I do what I do.
I ride my bike these days partly for fitness but mostly because the miles matter to the kids at the Home of Hope. This ride will mean $73 for our kids as part of the Hope & Freedom Challenge. Sometime during the day we’ll stop and look at the handprints on our jerseys and think about the kids we support. We’ll remember we’re doing more than just riding bikes.
An old, bald, crippled guy cranking a bike 73 miles is slightly crazy… but this whole thing started with a crazy, impossible, God-sized dream. Jesus led me out of “I can’t” and helped me find hope.
HOPE changes what’s possible.
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Want to support our kids and encourage an old guy?