Category: Freedom Tour

I’m a fan of “simple.” Not simplistic, or superficial, or misleading over-simplification. As a leader/mascot on the FREEDOM TOUR team I always look for simple, straightforward ways to express why we do what we do. 2020 was a big lesson in trust. I was certain COVID would create a lost cycling season. Our team convinced […]

At the beginning, they play the theme music. If you’ve been here a while you know the FREEDOM TOUR has a wonderful theme song. If not, you’re in for a treat. Please enjoy this video as our 2020 FREEDOM TOUR team rides while our friend Kristen Orphan sings her beautiful version of “Anyway.” Can’t see […]

I like words. I like them so much that I tend to fill every available space. I want to explain, and then explain again. Recently my wise friend Ron gently reminded me of the value of white space. Ron’s correct. White space and margins leave room to take a deep breath, to think, to make […]

I follow the Auschwitz Museum on Twitter. Each day they commemorate an individual victim. A photo, a birthday, a name, an occupation. How they arrived at the camp. The (often tragic) outcome. This week marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. I tend to think of the holocaust as “really old history” until I realize many of the […]

People want a place to belong. The TV show CHEERS became wildly popular around the simple notion that ordinary characters just wanted a place of their own, in this case a neighborhood bar. Norm even had his own stool. The chorus of the CHEERS theme song explains the entire premise of the show. Sometimes you […]

What’s “courage?” Bravery? Facing your fears? David standing up to Goliath? All good examples, but courage is really pretty simple. Courage means doing what’s right regardless of consequences. Simple, perhaps, but certainly not easy. I’ve had this conversation – with myself and others – and here’s what often happens. I might lose friends. Family members […]

Let’s all agree that 2020 was horrible. Nobody liked 2020, and we’re all glad it’s over. So let’s get the griping and complaining out of the way. It was, to quote Dr. Seuss, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. Now, can we let it go? Can we acknowledge that the pain was real […]

Planning FREEDOM TOUR 2020 was tricky. Our team absolutely believes we’re called to support the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. We take that seriously, and their needs didn’t disappear with a global pandemic. We also care deeply for the community that’s formed around riding bikes to support these special children. So we did our […]

We forget. For eight years, whenever a group of Freedom Tour cyclists completes a difficult ride, everyone celebrates. Smiles, hugs, handshakes, silly pictures. Watermelon and chocolate milk and ice cream. It’s a universal experience of joy and achievement. You know what NEVER happens? We never divide into men and women, conservatives and liberals, Black and […]