All Trip Journals (629)

The road we started on, way back in June on a beach in San Diego, came to a joyous and bittersweet end on a beach in Virginia.  For the rest of my life I will remember the shear joy and exhilaration of riding down a street with 14 of my dearest friends screaming “Take the lane!”.  We were crying, slow clapping for ourselves and generally losing our minds over the stretch of sand waiting in front of us.  I seriously doubt I will ever be able to carry my bike over my shoulder and run…

Tour is wrapping up pretty soon and once again I apologize for the lack of blogging. Wifi hasn't been as often available as we thought.

Time for a story:

Monday, July 25th. Leaving Nashville, TN. 

Our team gets word that a bridge along the route to our new location is "tradition to jump off of" 

We hop on our bikes and head towards this famous red bridge. 

No one said how high the bridge was or how deep the water…

Last Saturday night I stood in the deserted kitchen of a large church in Seattle.  With the help of my teammates (who now are closer to family than teammates), I slowly disassembled my bicycle.  I removed the pedals, handlebars, and seat, remounted the stem, and then placed everything in a large bike box ready to be shipped.  Each turn of the Allen wrench was a vivid reminder that the summer adventure had come to an end, but still I found myself laughing as I remembered the events of the…

At the beginning of the tour, it was strong but somewhat tempered by the excitement of the journey ahead.  However, through the excitement, I still had days that I thought I just could not go on, I could not do this ride.  I cannot live like this for two months.  The tug of home was strong. 

As the tour wore on and the reality of being on the road set in, the tug of home was there, but not as strong.  I had a job to do.  This ride was my…

• Mind really is over matter
• Riding with people is exponentially better than riding alone
• There is a reason why EVERYONE told us that riding from South to North was the wrong direction, that reason is called headwind.
• Honey and mustard sandwiches are the most brilliant discovery! 
• Dance parties are always appropriate 
• Not everyone from Minnesota wear bonnets and have chickens... but many do
• Life is more fun when you share it with a…

First off, I must apologize for not blogging recently. It's been difficult balancing tour life and taking advantage of wifi when we do have it. 

We are currently in Nashville having some time off. It's been great thus far!

Now let's talk. 

A question that most often is asked along tour is "Well, what have you learned so far?"

What a loaded question! To walk away saying I've learned only one thing would mean I…

This quote appears in a letter written by the David Crowder Band to their fans.

"We are hopeful and expecting, and praying that what is ahead of us deepens our need and experience of redemption and multiplies our ability and effectiveness in expressing the story of God in light of the call he has on…

Hello Everyone...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a long time.  I have been struggling with what to say.  I want to be encouraging and postive, but find it difficult to write words that reflect my heart and not my circumstances.  Each day is filled with physical strain, high activity, and emotion. I fear writing about those things would give wrong impressions.  And my sin wouldn't reflect God's heart for Ride:Well.

First let me say again how honored I am to be…

Over the past 6 weeks, these 9 people have added immeasurably to my soul. Together, we rode more than 2,000 miles to raise support and awareness for the organization Blood:Water Mission. We became family and practiced community in a very intimate and beautiful way. I thank God and feel very grateful to the many…

Spent the day in Seattle, debriefing and discovering. Pikes Place: crumpets, coffee, good food and flying fish. Last dinner together and last night as a team: guys shaved and became unrecognizable, team pictures, leader gifts, debriefing, reminiscing, lake walk, fro yo,…

oh what a triumphant day! it was fabulous to ride into the city blasting the song that has been our mantra since day one! we worked so hard. we rode, we climbed, we ached (some of us crashed). and we had so much fun. we sang, we danced, we laughed (and laughed, and laughed). and we were finally here. there was nothing else to do but dance to our ride:well song of the day: hello, seattle by owl city!…

That's right. Today's the day we finally reached Seattle. We were tired and worn out, but just sitting around a big table together and looking back on the tour together brought us to life and filled us with lots of laughter. I can't stop saying how much I love this team, and this…

so we have been living in this strange limbo for the past few weeks. i think we have all been asking this question of ourselves; is this real life? we have been living almost completely contrarily to our lives at home. we are with a group of about 10 people 24 hours a day. we pack up all our possessions in a rubbermaid bin every morning and rarely do we stay the same place twice. we mostly rely on the generosity of the people we meet along the way. none of us are working for a salary. we…

First of all, sorry to everyone to whom I promised, "I'm really going to blog on this tour!" My intentions were good but time has been limited. Love ya.

We're in Arkansas! I like Arkansas. It welcomed us today with cloud cover and our first rain shower of the tour, a park where we laughed and swung and spun and threw up, a Sonic break, and a yummy BBQ dinner. Thanks, Arkansas. So far, you take the award for my favorite day of riding.

Before Arkansas,…

To call Amanda Park, WA a one-horse town would be generous. We ate dinner at a restaurant named "Restaurant". While the town was small, the scenery surrounding it was anything but. Olympic National Park loomed over the landscape like a giant cedar tree over a swamp. We bathed in the view of endless forest and trees…

we have redefined the word “bathroom”. it basically means any enclosed space. but squatting in any convenient bush works, even though it burns the quads.

snot rockets. no big deal. who needs tissues anyway?

i now find myself echoing what other people say. even when i’m no longer on the road and everyone could most likely hear them the first time.

shouting or pointing out road obstructions in a group now seems totally normal. even when walking. and sometimes driving. car…

the sounds that inhabit our trip:

early morning:

• pshhhhhh of everybody letting the air out of our sleeping pads
• creek of the bathroom door as we groggily change into spandex
• the pop of the lids of our bins as we open them to pack up.
• click click click of peoples’ clipped shoes (the ones who got ready fast)
• (note there are no talking sounds in the early morning)

on the bike:

• the constant whirrrr of chains…