NUMB

July 2, 2009

Loving(ton), New Mexico

This morning my teammates (namely Erin White) bestowed upon me the award of “awesomeness” for my efforts on our bike ride yesterday. It consisted of water bottles and Gatorade bottles duct-taped together in a sculptural-cactus-looking-form. (photo of piece will follow soon). :)
Yesterday we rode approx. 110 miles. The first 20-or-so miles consisted of an 8,650 ft mountain. I made it and it was amazing.

Lovington is a little town in New Mexico. There’s not much here.
Love is Lisa Ralph’s favorite word (that and the word “sphincter”, which comes second favorite). ☺

Seven miles out from Lovington, I was riding alone. I had just left Deb and Seth (who had a flat tire).
This white truck and trailer turns off a dirt road and stops on the shoulder up ahead. This man gets out and goes to the back. Then, right as I pedal by, he comes across the road holding two water bottles. With a smile, he gives me one and says, “Want some cold water?” I gratefully accept. “Thank you”. “You bet. I know it’s hot out here.”

Not five minutes before I had just commented to Seth: “This is so boring! There is nothing here! I feel sorry for anyone who has to live here! There is nothing of visual interest!”

But in that moment, with the cool water bottle perspiring in my hand, I felt sorry for myself instead.
I was so honored.
He had stopped to offer me water—my own little support vehicle when I had run out. I only brought one bottle on my bike today and was just going to “make it” the last ten miles.

I hope moments like mine happen for the people of Marsabit, Kenya.
I hope they feel honored and loved by our actions and the support of people all over.
I hope they realize (with me) they don’t have to “just make it”. Rather, they can live healthy, brimming lives.

My fingers are especially numb tonight.
Somewhat like the way I feel my life has been for the last six months. Only…I feel tingling—reawakening. It’s painful, but love is starting to seep back in through the cracks.

“When we gaze at the magnificence of an ancient monument and ascribe its achievement to one man, we are guilty of spiritual embezzlement. We forget the army of craftsmen, unknown and unsung, who preceded him in the darkness of the ages, who toiled humbly—all heroism is humble—each contributing his small share to the common treasure of his time. A great building is not the private invention of some genius or other. It is merely a condensation of the spirit of a people.” (from Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”):

Perhaps this book is a strange place to find inspiration for the Ride:Well Tour…but it struck me. Each one does have something to contribute: a single bottle of ice-cold water on one of the boring-est roads of the tour, a smile, a hug, a dollar. These all condense to create the spirit of this team and of this movement. “A movement rooted in love” –(Erin White).
There is no small action. Being the recipient of a humble, simple act taught me the truth of that today.