It’s an incredible thing to concoct an impossible vision and then watch it hatch before your eyes. Saturday morning I felt a bit like a mother goose as I watched the line of cyclists roll away from the Wyoming State Capitol building in Cheyenne. The chicks were leaving the nest of this God-inspired dream. Front […]
Continue readingTime For The Theme Music
If you’re reading this on Saturday morning, Front Range FREEDOM Tour is underway! Our intrepid team will gather in the shadow of the Wyoming State Capitol building in Cheyenne. We’ll take lots of pictures and burn a bunch of nervous energy. We’ll do helmets up. And then we’ll begin Stage 1, 60 miles from Cheyenne […]
Continue readingWhat Does Anticipation Look Like?
Tomorrow we begin Front Range FREEDOM Tour. This picture captures how I feel as I anticipate the start of this new adventure. The open stretch of road above my front wheel seems like an empty canvas. During the next eight days our team will fill the canvas, painting a messy, beautiful collage consisting of nearly […]
Continue readingWhat It’s Like To Feel Surrounded
This week I was honored with an invitation to ride a few miles with the Colorado leg of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride. This event salutes first responders, especially emergency medical personnel, who sacrificed in the line of duty. As we began riding, the route was lined with fire trucks, ambulances, and an honor […]
Continue readingWhat If You Can’t Get There From Here?
Sometimes you really can’t get there from here. I’m putting the finishing touches on details of our daily routes, and I hit a significant snag. I’m blaming technology. It’s better for household harmony than blaming Becky, especially since she had nothing to do with it. I actually worked out the general layouts several weeks ago […]
Continue readingSurvive, Strive, or Thrive?
When I began riding my hand cycle, it was all about survival. I didn’t try to ride well, or fast, or even better. I simply tried to get to the end of the route. It didn’t really occur to me that it might be any different. I was, after all, a quadriplegic. I was weak, […]
Continue readingWhich Way?
A pastor friend used to look around the room and proclaim, “Nobody’s here by accident.” As a new believer, that drove me crazy. I figured everybody else knew exactly why they were there, and I had no clue. Now I know better. I watch people frozen by a lack of direction. “Just tell me what […]
Continue readingWhat If Things Get A Little Intense?
Preparing for Front Range FREEDOM Tour is a little like trying to watch a sunrise. There’s a sense of impending opportunity, but the experience can be so intense you’re tempted to look away. I think the intensity I’m feeling flows from a heightened awareness of the issue behind the tour. A year ago I could […]
Continue readingFuel
Happy Monday! An empty gas tank gives us today’s word-of-the-week… FUEL Last week I started out on a great bike ride with a plan. Miles disappeared behind me as I cranked along, lost in the beauty of a Colorado summer morning. Exuberance got the better of me, and I decided to extend my ride. Everything […]
Continue readingBeginning And Remembering
A week from today our team for Front Range FREEDOM Tour will gather for the first time. This beginning reminded me of an ending, the final official gathering of our IJM Freedom Tour team. There were hugs and good-byes and pictures and tears. It was a bit like the last day of summer camp with […]
Continue readingWhat Would Change?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about What if…? The idea was to consider opportunities by pondering their implications. What if … I read a book per month? What if … I made the effort to meet all of my neighbors? The notion is to think about what might change in my life. # […]
Continue readingMonte Talks About His Job
Hi. I’m Monte, Rich’s service dog. It’s been a while. The last time I wrote we were still some place called “Florida.” If you’re new here, Rich lets me in as a guest writer occasionally. It turns out that I’m usually the most popular author on the blog, but I don’t think that bothers him […]
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