For those who might be new to this blog, I am a preschool teacher riding my bicycle across America and blogging for young children as I go. The purpose of this ride is to raise money for Ryves Youth Center in Terre Haute, IN
If you'd like to donate to Ryves Youth Center in Terre Haute, which is the cause for which I've dedicated this ride, you can donate here (all donations go to Ryves Youth Center; I receive nothing): Ride Across America
For information about what Ryves Youth Center is and the different services they offer, click here: Ryves Youth Center - Catholic Charities Terre Haute - Terre Haute, IN
This is a stained-glass window from Epiphany Catholic Church in Lake City, FL
Apologies for not getting this out sooner! I've been spending a lot of time in the last week visiting with family and friends whom I won't get to see very much of for awhile.
I wish I had more wisdom I could share with all of you about what I've learned on the way, but what I have the capacity to share right now is fairly short: It's the people I love, the people I've been able to see along the way, the people I've been able to help and to honor, and the people who've helped and honored me--that's been the most important part of this ride. A few days ago I got to visit with an old friend of mine who is not very old herself, but who has lived with chronic health problems for her entire life. In reflecting on the difference between her life and the lives of "mostly healthy" people like me, I realized that she is less liable to fall into the delusion that she is a "self-sufficient" or "independent" person. She has to see many specialists regularly just to keep her in passable health. But the truth is that none of us are independent, no matter how healthy, competent, or intelligent we are.
We are creatures in community. Whatever we create--a sentence, a blog post, a book, a bicycle ride, a mountain climb--we are in dialogue with all who have come before. Whether we're imitating, competing, critiquing, informing, or entertaining, we are dependent on our forebears and contemporaries for the vast majority of our own knowledge and abilities. If I claim that I am better than all others, that I can do great and mighty things as a mere individual outside of community, or that I need to withdraw totally from the human family in order to achieve true fulfillment, then I am at the height of vainglory. I am like the top brick of a tower that claims to be the highest, not crediting all of the bricks below on which it rests.
Each of us is a crazy amalgam of strength and weakness bound up together. Often our biggest strength is just coming to terms with and confessing our weakness. As I sat with my young friend and her parents the other day, I talked about some of the hard times that I'd faced in the last year or so, and about a particularly difficult day I faced on my ride across the southern United States. In turn, she opened up about some very raw struggles that she'd had in her journey. One of the most sacred spaces between two human beings is when we are able to abandon all pretense of appearing strong, cool, or competent and just admit our bankrupt state. Of course, there is a healthy way and an unhealthy way to do this. Self-revelation should never be used to manipulate or coerce, and one must be careful never to overwhelm; that's why as adults we shield children from our adult troubles as much as we can. But when struggles are admitted rather than covered up, then we can begin to find strength in community.
What does all of this have to do with cycling?
I don't claim to be an elite athlete. There are thousands of people who've ridden faster, ridden longer, and ridden in more austere conditions than I have. But I have a circle of people around me that is totally unique. I find joy in having been able to show up at their doorstep on my bicycle, or meet them somewhere along the way, or honor them with my actions. I've also been able to challenge myself physically--to ride harder and longer than I sometimes want to. Part of what motivates me to do that is to finally arrive at the home of a loved one--to no longer be physically alone in my journey, at least for a little while. But the physical challenges along the way (perhaps from the heat, the humidity, the lack of sleep, the hills/mountains), those remind me of my frail human condition. My friend is reminded of her condition and her need for others every day, by virtue of the body that she has. Sometimes I have a great day riding: The weather is temperate, I'm full of energy and motivation, and I'm tempted to forget about my dependence upon others, but then I remember: I wouldn't be able to make it without my bicycle (which I couldn't build by myself), without the roads (that someone else had to pave), without the easy resupply of food and drink (which was all made possible by other people), without the knowledge of how to ride a bicycle in the first place (which others passed on to me).
Why do we need to feel better-than? Even within our communities, why do we feel the need to say that "our group" is strong, competent, and successful, and the "other group" is weak and dependent? In the end, most bragging is a lot of nonsense. The truth is that the elite athletes are "strong" because of their weakness. They endure pain and discomfort to pursue their goals; their weakness and pain are all part of the same thing. In the Christian theological tradition, pain can be a source of redemption. Christ redeems the world through his suffering, and the believer shares in the suffering of Christ. But pain doesn't automatically make us holy. The ultimate test of our values comes with what we choose to do with our pain. We can allow pain to fill us with a lot of resentment (towards those who caused our pain, or towards those who don't have to suffer as we do), or we can use our pain to build empathy with others. As I reflect on what I've accomplished, I feel like it's not very unique. And I don't mean that as a humble-brag, like I'm saying that it was easy or something--it absolutely wasn't easy. But human beings face difficulties every day that don't get a lot of attention because they seem so mundane:
* The average parent has a much more difficult task ahead of them in raising a child for 18 years than I do riding a bicycle across the nation for 33 days; it's much more difficult to parent for that long with true love in your heart than it is to pedal a machine for a month.
Human beings face other kinds of difficulties that don't get our attention because they involve forms of suffering that make us uncomfortable:
* My young friend has had to muster up much more courage in her life than I have. On this side of death, there is no break from having a chronic incurable illness; no victory lap when it's done, no loud party, no big trophy for being the best of the best at enduring pain, depression, surgeries, and chemo-brain. Thousands like her endure these hardships without most people knowing about it at all. The worst part about it might be that it makes you feel like such crap that even when you are doing "good" at it, you never feel like you are.
So many people helped me out along the way when I was on my bicycle trip across the Southern US. Especially in the southern states (which we sadly and ignorantly stereotype as being full of unintelligent and bigoted people), I was shown so much kindness by locals when I was in need of a place to stay. Here I'd like to thank some of them, as well as others (in all parts of the US) who helped with my ride [If you'd rather skip reading this list, I do have a little bit more to say at the end, so please skip down past all of the asterisks]:
* Tina, Mark, Billy, and all of the Kroshl family, for putting up with my taking up space in your garage as I was getting my bicycle ready, and for donating use of your printer for making business cards for the trip.
* Dad & Bev, for use of your garage and tools in getting my bicycle ready.
* Mom, for following my ride closely and for all your encouragement.
* Mark and Kara, for a nice place to stay and wonderful memories (e.g. impromptu shoe repair) in Pine Valley on day 2 last year.
* Todd, for graciously seeking me out and letting me stay in your camper in Salome last year.
* Bob, for letting me stay with you two nights in Sun City West last year and for showing me around the city.
* Richard at the library in Superior, AZ for some good conversation.
* Francine, for a place to stay in Columbus, NM last year
* Manu, for a place to stay in Marfa last year.
* The wonderful folks at MTZ RV park in Uvalde for your wonderful hospitality last year.
*Johnny, for offering me a place to stay at your RV park in El Paso last year.
* Gulley family for letting me stay at your place in the San Antonio area last year and for some great conversation and food.
* Powell family, for a place to stay in Ingleside last year and for great hospitality and help fixing my bicycle.
* The wonderful folks at Pit Stop RV Park in Anderson, TX for your gracious hospitality.
* My cousin Aimee and her family for a place to stay last year in Harleton and for all your help this year, letting me stage my car there and giving me a place to stay before/after the trip and for all the many things you did to help.
* The friendly men at McDonalds in Winnfield, LA for your advice and directions.
* Officer Smith of Jena, LA police department for helping me to find a place to stay for the night; A.K. at the convenience store "Birdie's" in Jena for a few minutes of good conversation.
* Lorenzo and James, who talked to me at the convenience store in Jonesville, LA
* Bobbie B, who talked to me at the McDonalds just past Natchez, MS
* Darryl whom I talked to in either Bude or Roxie, MS
* Elisha, the clerk at the town hall in Bude, MS for helping me find a place to sleep for the night, as well as Dirk, Mr. Flower, and Mr. McFarland in Bude for making sure I was OK.
* Oscar, for stopping near Collins, MS to offer me some water and make sure I was OK
*Kalia at the package store, mayor Tommy Wood, and the police department of Grove Hill, AL for making sure I found a safe place to sleep on my ride and that my needs were taken care of.
*Ross, Justin, Crystal, and Sierra at Rocky's Campground in Perry, FL for all of your help.
* My cousin Jessica and her family for putting me up in Dunnellon--especially thanks to Robby for letting me stay in your room for 2 nights and to Tommy for use of your garage area.
* Gordon for a safe and dry place to stay near Flagler Beach once my ride was over with.
* Aunt Delores and cousin Jackie in Lake City for your wonderful hospitality after my trip was through.
* Matt & Heather in Austin for a place to stay after my trip was over.
* Sam, for giving me a ride to the airport last year to start my ride, and for all the daily phone calls that have helped keep me sane.
* John, for helping me with a new pair of cycling shoes and a Gerber tool for the ride.
* All of my preschool students, past and present, for just being who you are. I've learned so much from all of you, and I'm sorry for my own limitations which have kept me from learning as much as I probably should.
If you'd like to help some children who have started out their lives with an acute awareness of what it means to be in need, I would recommend donating to Ryves Youth Center. They serve many low-income and underprivileged youth in the Terre Haute area. If you'd like to donate in solidarity with my recently completed ride across the southern US, you can do so with any amount you'd like, or with any of the suggested symbolic amounts below:
Total mileage for the trip was 3,361 miles, so if you would like to donate based on that total, here are some possible amounts:
1/2 cent per mile: $16.81
1 cent per mile: $33.61
2 cents per mile: $67.22
3 cents per mile: $100.83
5 cents per mile: $168.05
6 cents per mile: $201.66
10 cents per mile: $336.18
Click here to donate: Ride Across America
Now for the nerdy part: The mileages given below are approximations--I tried to account for errors on the speedometer, missed miles, etc, but there is still an error of up to a few percent in the data below. The "wheel time" refers to time spent physically riding the bicycle every day, and there are a few errors in wheel time that probably resulted in a slight overestimation of my overall speed. However, these errors should only affect a few days and should not affect the overall totals significantly. I also had odometer problems on a few of the days (accidentally reset the odometer before the data could be logged), so mileage had to be estimated and I had to make my best guess at the speed. I was not always consistent in what kinds of miles that I logged as well (i.e. sometimes I counted miles I spent riding back and forth inside of a daily "stopping point" city to get groceries or go to a restaurant, sometimes I didn't).
