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 […]
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When 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 […]
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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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I get to do some remarkable things. Becky and I were able to spend the last four Tuesday evenings with some men and women currently living at the Fort Collins Rescue Mission. I shared some of our story and a bit of what I’ve learned about overcoming adversity. As always, the teacher learns from the […]
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When Will It Finally Be Enough?
If I could just do a little better. Not perfect, or great, or even really good…probably can’t get there. But would just bit better finally be good enough? You and I think those thoughts occasionally, don’t we? We wonder if maybe, just maybe, a little bit better might get the approval we so desperately seek. […]
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Do You Ever Feel Like Sisyphus?
A colleague and I had sort of a running joke about Sisyphus. If you don’t know his plight, he’s a character from Greek mythology who offended the gods. As punishment, Sisyphus was ordered to push a rock up a hill. Each time he reached the top, the rock rolled to the bottom. He was condemned […]
Continue readingMore TagIs Your Parking Brake Stuck?
“My training this spring feels like the parking brake on my bike is stuck.” I encountered my friend along the trail last week. We talked a bit and he asked how training was going for the summer tour. He started to lean over to check my brakes but I laughed and assured him the bike […]
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