Smiles are a big part of the FREEDOM TOUR. Yeah, there’s sweat and struggle and sacrifice involved in cranking all those miles. But I’m always struck by the big, broad smiles. Some will remember PROLOGUE 2020 for COVID – masks, social distancing, and all the flexibility people offered to make it happen. I’ll remember the […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
(Sort Of) Done
We’re done! One-day Prologue. Front Range Tour. Colorado Mountain Tour. 140 riders cycled 11,000 miles and climbed 400,000 feet. A year of plans and COVID revisions, all the training, and FREEDOM TOUR 2020 suddenly ends. Except, that’s not how it works. The quest for justice doesn’t end. Bringing hope and freedom to the kids at […]
Continue reading
I Was Sure It Wouldn’t Work
FREEDOM TOUR 2020 completed its third event this week. COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR, FRONT RANGE TOUR, ONE-DAY PROLOGUE – 132 cyclists cranked 10,100 miles and climbed more than 400,000 feet. And the HOPE & FREEDOM CHALLENGE is still going strong. If you’d asked me at the end of March when everything was shut down, I was […]
Continue reading
It’s About Trust
COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR 2020 blasts off today. Isn’t that amazing? With all that’s happened, through historic financial disruption and social isolation amid a global pandemic, our team kept hope alive. Instead of giving up, they trained, spread awareness, and raised funds to support the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. During the next five days […]
Continue reading
Advice Of Consequence
Could you walk calmly toward an angry man intent on beating you? A few years ago, Becky attended a conference when she worked at Timberland Corp. John Lewis, the featured speaker, told the audience of his parents’ admonition to him as a child in the segregated South. “Don’t get in trouble, don’t make noise, don’t […]
Continue reading
Be Like Mike
My friend Mike took his HOPE ROCK on a trip. He’s working on a bucket-list item to ride his bike in all 50 states. During a 9-day stretch in early July, Mike and his HOPE ROCK did 177 strategically-chosen miles of cycling in 14 different states! Like many of his FREEDOM TOUR teammates, Mike carries […]
Continue reading
Tough Conversations
I’ve been in some tough conversations recently. I’ve had opportunities to learn, or re-learn, or un-learn. Opportunities to examine my beliefs and either re-think or hold myself accountable. I’ve also had opportunities to engage in arguments. Maybe you’ve had similar encounters. And maybe, like me, you’ve wondered why these discussions so frequently devolve into verbal […]
Continue reading
Seek Justice
We all believe in justice. I wonder, though, if we all agree on what it means to “seek justice.” In this highly-charged political environment, even this notion has become divisive. A recent Facebook post about justice elicited a comment — from a friend — about “social justice BS.” In scripture, justice is primarily a relational […]
Continue reading
About Lines
It seems lots of folks are drawing lines these days. Everywhere I look I see lines about US and THEM. Here’s the line: you’re either on my side, or the wrong side. Those who draw them are certain they’re absolute, true, and righteous, but in fact they’re mostly opinions transformed into hard-and-fast rules, unnecessary false […]
Continue reading
Struggle And Celebration
Paul Hurkman spoke to our team last week about justice. Paul is Executive Director of Venture. In 2012 he taught Becky and me the blueprint for doing a group bike tour, about shared sacrifice and doing what we love to benefit a cause bigger than ourselves. He began with words written by another Paul: “We […]
Continue reading
Freedom & Truth
I told you last time about our team’s ZOOM conversations. Dick Foth said he wanted to discuss freedom. He began with Jesus’ words: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” So there’s a chain: obedience –> truth –> freedom. It’s […]
Continue reading
Reflections On A Stay-At-Home Tour
Every tour is unique. Maybe you think after 8 years it’s just rinse and repeat. When you bring a group of people together with different backgrounds, riding abilities, and expectations it’s never same-old-same-old. Toss in the stay-at-home model and the uncertainties created by COVID-19 and you’ve got “unique.” It’s a bike tour, so first thought […]
Continue reading