Waking Up From A Dream

It's strange to be on this end of a dream, the waking up end.

I'm on the closing end of a Ride:Well year and it's exactly like waking up from a dream. I'm rubbing my eyes and scratching my head while trying to put together the parts I can remember. It's all very unlike any experience I've had before and as a result I'm not entirely sure it really happened.

What possessed me one year ago last month to complete the application to participate in Ride:Well? I can't say for certain. It doesn't make a lot of sense. And yet, and yet I'm glad I did.

I didn't know what to expect and the answers I got from past participants were wildly different. The only things any of them could agree on was that it was life-changing and difficult. That much seemed obvious enough. I was so aware of how challenging the tour would be that my anticipation was often less than joyous. I was stressed out over that and over concerns of if I would be able to raise the money.

In other moments, I imagined the summer playing out painterly and poetic, inspired and intrepid, like so many Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen songs. Come to think of it, the Boss' Thunder Road is ominously prophetic of our adventure:

We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold
Thunder Road

As rollicking a good time as the song is there remains the warning that the win won't come easy, that the deed to the promised land isn't free for the asking. " The door's open but the ride it ain't free."

Our ride was not without its uphill battles. There were crashes, injuries, cases of stomach flu, inclement weather, annoyed motorists, broken roads, and even a bit of misdirection thanks to Google Maps! Our support van was stuck in sand and more than twice its battery died. And then there were cuter problems like when my bike arrived in San Diego without its front wheel. But, we all shared one singular vision, a mantra that was repeated at least daily, "to live a better story."

Good stories aren't perfect stories. Good stories aren't delicate like a herd of ballerinas. They are fierce and riotous like roller derby girls. Our story was a good one because we were out to do good but doing good is never as simple as the desire to do it. To do good we must sacrifice because injustice doesn't run for cover at the mention of our "want to".

I render the experience like a dream though in some ways it was not. At no point during the tour did I wonder if it was real, not once did I pinch myself to find out but these miles were better than dreams. Now, as I think back on it my memories replay with cinematic excellence. That is the reward of living a better story, that it is worth remembering.

I'll leave you with a few final words from Mr. Springsteen. In his Storytellers appearance, Springsteen explained that the song was an invitation, an invitation to what he couldn't say. I would like to co-opt his words to extend an invitation to you. Be inspired. Get Involved. Sign up for a tour today. It's all right here:

Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me