Category: Rich’s Ride

About a year ago I started seriously preparing for IJM Freedom Tour 2012. I’d never heard of International Justice Mission. I sort of knew, in the distant background, about issues of human trafficking. But there was much I didn’t know. I didn’t know… there are places where a man can order a child for sex […]

A couple of days ago (It’s Too Hard!) I challenged us to re-think the notion that serving others is supposed to be easy. One of my role models for this lesson is my friend Una. I first wrote about her several months ago when we rode together on IJM Freedom Tour 2012. Una grew up […]

Can I challenge us a bit as we begin a new week? I talked to several people over the weekend about U COUNT Front Range Tour 2013. Common comments went something like, “Riding 450 miles in a week seems like it would be really hard.” Well, yeah. There’s sweat and work and commitment involved in just about […]

Suppose you could bring hope and freedom to victims of sexual exploitation by riding your bike through beautiful country with a team of cool people. What could be better than that? On June 22, 2013, a team of about twenty cyclists will roll out of Fort Collins for U COUNT Front Range Tour 2013. We’ll […]

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with blessings you couldn’t respond with anything except “Thank you” but “thank you” just wasn’t enough? That’s how Becky and I feel right now. We’ve been adopted in Carbondale, Memphis, Anguilla/Rolling Fork, and Jackson. People have caught the vision behind RICH’S RIDE and shared time, talent, and treasure with […]

We’re all so different, right? In the past four days I’ve spoken to: Folks from housing projects Kids in children’s church at a campus chapel Developmentally disabled adults Employees at a successful financial company Mentors for underprivileged inner-city kids learning character and life skills through golf Folks from an affluent suburban church Women in a […]

The Dream Center in Carbondale isn’t what I expected. The building’s kind of nondescript. Inside, things are plain. The furniture’s a bit worn around the edges. It’s serviceable, but certainly not fancy. At first glance, one might feel that the concerned people need to change the furniture, maybe buy a fancy table, drawer pedestal, or […]

I recently described the beginning of my “book tour” to a friend. Our itinerary includes a group of folks from a housing project, a school for disabled kids, and a ministry that serves homeless men. We’re going to one town where the entire population is about a third of our church. My friend said, “Uh, […]

A great group of guys—and a couple of ladies—invited me to their breakfast group Friday morning. We enjoyed a great discussion about bike rides and God-sized dreams. I think we might have mentioned floppy-eared blog writers along the way. One fellow asked a great question that went something like this: “Can a dream be an […]

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid is one of my top-ten favorite movies of all time. In the final scene, Butch and Sundance are surrounded. After some concluding wisecracks, they boldly confront the entire Bolivian army in one final, futile last stand. Earlier there’s a wonderful scene, including a memorable 60’s song, in which Butch […]

What if an alligator attacks me in Florida? What if I didn’t train enough? What if the infection from two years ago suddenly returns? What if people laugh at an old guy riding a handcycle around Florida? At the beginning of a God-sized project, it’s easy to get a case of what-IF’S. what-IF’S fall into […]

If you haven’t heard, there’s a bike ride coming up. Three weeks from today we’ll crank out of Jacksonville to begin Florida Hope Tour 2013. We’re excited. Becky and I will welcome some warm weather. Monte’s just anxious to get outside and go running again. One of my big hopes is for you to be […]