For a writer, one huge benefit of an experience like the IJM Freedom Tour is the opportunity to reflect. The experience itself is amazing, but the looking back is where the real learning happens. As we head home after spending the weekend with our friend Jon Swanson, I’m trying to distill my thoughts. In the […]
Continue readingReview
Happy Monday! It’s great to be back after a week of R&R, and as our return home is an occasion for today’s word-of-the-week… REVIEW Have you ever felt like you missed important lessons? After a significant experience like the IJM Freedom Tour, it’s important to review, look back, and see what you learned. That’s what […]
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I’m normally not a museum guy. I think I’m not patient enough to really absorb the information. So today we visited the National Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian Museum Of American History. Normally you might not see much commonality in those two places, but I guess my recent bike tour has narrowed my perceptions. […]
Continue readingAbraham And Martin
On this trip I’ve confronted the difference between dreams and politics. Politics is about identifying and achieving what’s possible. Dreams are about hope, and hope changes what’s possible. I hope I never diminish my dreams by settling for practicality. Becky and I are taking a few days to see the sights in DC. On Tuesday […]
Continue readingA Face In The Crowd
On Monday our IJM Freedom Tour met for the final time. There were hugs and good-byes and pictures and tears. It was a bit like the last day of summer camp with an enhanced sense of impending separation and loss. When people share this sort of struggle and sacrifice, strong bonds develop. Our last gathering […]
Continue readingI Can’t Un-Know
On Sunday a small group from our IJM Freedom Tour team visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The experience of this tour has changed me in one significant way: I now know about the horrors of violent oppression. I’ve heard individual stories from victims of human trafficking, slavery, and forced sexual bondage. I’ve heard the […]
Continue readingWe Made It!
This past week has been one of the most intense weeks I’ve experienced. We’ve literally had NO time to catch our breath, and certainly no time to reflect and write. There’s a lot I want to share. For now, it’s another late night, and an early wake-up call awaits. But I want to share some […]
Continue readingR & R
Happy Monday! It’s been an incredibly intense week, prompting today’s word-of-the-week… R & R Okay, “R & R” isn’t technically a word. Last week’s bike tour has my brain scrambled. But now that we’re in DC, I’m taking a few days to catch my breath and see the sights. And I’m taking a break from […]
Continue readingThe Kindness Of Strangers
It’s not every day you roll into a driveway in rural West Virginia and see twenty-five people in spandex—dancing. I suppose I should tell you the back story. The team rolled out of Bridgeport, WV bright and early. I planned to join them after they negotiated the narrow, winding roads leading out of town. So […]
Continue readingClear Eyes. Full Hearts.–from the archives
This article originally appeared on the Rich’s Ride blog on September 28, 2011. Did you see the TV show Friday Night Lights? The show traced several characters through the craziness of Texas high school football. The team’s rallying cry was, “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” I love that expression. I’ve been thinking a lot […]
Continue readingFailure
How do you know when you fail? Today, I failed. My team disagrees. They tell me I did my best, so I can’t fail. This isn’t the heart rhythm of someone who’s about to have a heart attack. It’s the elevation chart for my ride today. I rode well, felt strong, and didn’t succumb to […]
Continue reading4 AM
It’s mid-week, so I thought I’d give you an update on our progress. Who know Ohio had this many steep hills? My team on the IJM Freedom Ride is an amazing group of dedicated people. We’ve completed two days and two hundred miles. Nearly everyone has done every mile—that’s two century rides in two days, […]
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