Amazing stuff happens along the road on a bike tour. At lunch a guy says, “I wanted to ride a day with you for my seven-year-old daughter. I had to leave her with her grandfather while I get my life together.” His voice is shaking. “I’m scared for her, all this social media, I know […]
Continue readingMaybe The Time’s Not Wasted
Ever get frustrated when those train crossing guards come down and you have to wait and it seems like the train takes forever? Our team took off from Cheyenne on Saturday to begin our 500-mile FRONT RANGE Tour. Beautiful day, great ride, everything went about as well as possible–until the lead riders were about 3 […]
Continue readingIt’s Not A Sad Story
This isn’t a sad story though I confess I brushed away some tears as I wrote the words. If you’ve been here a while you know Monte’s my service dog. For 11 years he’s been 80 lb. people magnet, loving companion, and my bike riding buddy. Once he realized I was preparing for a ride, […]
Continue readingIt’s Time For The Theme Song
The theme song tells you the show’s about to start. We’ve got a beautiful theme song, about God and dreams and overcoming adversity. It’s performed by Kristen Orphan and the Finally Home Band. It’s nearly time for the FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR. I hope you’ll enjoy the video and the sound track. Can’t see the […]
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The Prologue–We’re On The Road
Act II of FREEDOM TOUR 2017 is in the books. FREEDOM TOUR Prologue 2017 was a blast! An army of generous, smiling volunteers in bright yellow shirts sent 65 cyclists off into the foothills and trails around Fort Collins on another picture-postcard Colorado day. 60 miles around Horsetooth Reservoir, over Carter Lake, and back through […]
Continue readingWhen Is It Enough?
Nobody cares. Work harder. Texas football coach Tom Herman stamps that motto on his program. Don’t tell us your problems–nobody cares. Want to get better, to win? Work harder. It’s a great bumper sticker slogan. Works well on t-shirts and posters and weight room walls. If you’re an athlete griping about the length of practice […]
Continue readingLook At What We’d Be Missing
FREEDOM TOUR ’17 hit the road for its first event last weekend. Eight cyclists sporting our spiffy new jerseys joined 7,000 of their friends at the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival in Castle Rock.We began with HELMETS UP on a beautiful morning, then they cranked a metric century (62 miles) through absolutely stunning–and difficult–terrain in the […]
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Just One Person
Do you recognize the name Onesimus? I didn’t, either, until a blog post pointed me to the short letter of Paul to his friend Philemon. I’d forgotten about Onesimus, but I suppose that’s what happens to slaves. The letter’s really about Onesimus, but we remember his owner’s name. We sometimes wonder why Paul, or Jesus […]
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Does Cycling Have Water Hazards?
I love riding my handcycle, but it does have certain disadvantages. A few days ago I was cruising along a wonderful trail, enjoying a great ride on a gorgeous Colorado day. Leaned into a right-hand turn to go under a bridge and OOPS! With no warning, my bike and I were thigh deep in about […]
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What If The Ending Is A Beginning?
Retirement has certain blessings. One of those involves returning to my former school as a guest speaker and observing looks of envy on the faces of previous colleagues. I tried not to talk about the sense of freedom and the winter trip to Florida—okay, I didn’t try very hard. What’s the point of having an […]
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Did You Think About Remembering?
This weekend was about remembering. Somewhere among the burgers and celebrations a lot of us paused to remember. A friend said he thought we should pay more attention to what we’re remembering and why we’re remembering. I agree, especially with the WHY part. But my friend’s comment got me thinking about the different ways we […]
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The Power Of Beginning Boldly
The act of beginning boldly opens the door to a darkened room. I’ve told you before–we weren’t prepared for the 1500-mile Mississippi River bike ride in 2011. Not enough training, insufficient planning. My longest-ever ride prior to Day 1 was 35 miles while training for an eight-week ride on which I needed to average 40 […]
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