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 […]
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Survive, 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 readingMore TagWhat 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 readingMore TagBeginning 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 […]
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As a cyclist, I enjoy following le Tour de France each year. I don’t always understand all of the intricacies of strategy and tactics, but I appreciate the difficulty of riding more than one hundred miles per day for three weeks over some of the highest, steepest mountains in the world. Like most sports, competitive […]
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If you wish to convince a man of anything, you must first convince him you are his friend. -Abraham Lincoln I believe what unites us matters ore than what divides us. Leaders too frequently have an interest in highlighting differences. Their power derives from creating a defined group of followers, and they work hard to […]
Continue readingMore TagSix Things You Shouldn’t Say To A Handcyclist
A handcycle is different, and different things attract attention. I’ll confess that it took some time to appreciate that attention and perceive it as an opportunity. I had to learn to smile when people stare and point. Different things like handcycles and wheelchairs occasionally make others uncomfortable. I’ve heard some pretty crazy things as people […]
Continue readingMore TagDo You Share The Road?
Recently a project got me digging in the depths of the Bouncing Back archives. It’s dusty in there! Hard to believe I’ve accumulated more than 1,000 posts in nearly five years, and that doesn’t include the stuff here at RICH’S RIDE. As I looked through those old articles it seemed there might be some ideas worth […]
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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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My thoughts about The Easy Button reminded me of a 1971 cult movie called Billy Jack. If you haven’t seen the film, you might recognize its theme song One Tin Soldier. Tom Laughlin plays a native-American Green Beret Vietnam veteran. The film centers on cultural conflict between leaders of an Indian reservation school and corrupt, […]
Continue readingMore TagThe Easy Button
As folks in the Boston area begin to put the pieces back together, I notice a nearly universal phenomenon following tragedies: the search for an “easy button.” We want THE answer, happy endings, a fast fix. And mostly, they don’t exist. In real life, there’s rarely an easy button. When faced with significant loss, people […]
Continue readingMore TagA Tale Of Two Pictures
I recently had the honor of speaking to my church’s Prime Time group. They’re in the prime of life—past age 55 and eager to deploy their accumulated wisdom and experience in service. I shared a story centered around two images. The first image was a hospital hallway about five weeks after my injury. Therapists loaded […]
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