April 29, 2025
Some Thoughts After My Ride: Part 1
One thing I have noted on the many long distance rides that I’ve done, is that there are some amazing people and some amazing stories that they bring with them. Retired spies, doctors, millionaires and corporate executives all ride as equals with ordinary people like me. We share stories, help each other through challenges and cheer each other on when the going gets tough. No one acts as though they are above the rest and while we mostly do our own rides at our own pace, we always stop when we see a fellow rider on the side of the road just to make sure they are okay.
In the past I’ve ridden with a Trump attorney, an Exxon executive, numerous medical doctors and professors as well as a drone pilot, an astronomer, a housewife and just about every other type of personal background that you could imagine. What we have in common is a sense of adventure and a desire to see the world from a slow cruise on two wheels. Around an evening meal or campfire we share glimpses into each other’s lives and tell our tales from the trail. I ridden with a woman who was partially eaten by a bear as well as a different woman who had to end her tour when an ox sat on her. One rider had participated in a bicycle race across the USA (he came in around 50th) and another who spent a year and a half as part of the crew in a sailboat race around the world. Quite a few of the people I have ridden with have been in serious accidents only to rise above their injuries and continue to do what they love. I feel privileged to be in such company.
Maybe it is the individual effort of covering great distance under our own muscle power that breaks down the barriers that such differences pose in our regular lives. We share the knowledge that each of us has to work through various aches and pains and overcome the mental walls that we all encounter during especially long riding days or tough riding conditions. Individual backgrounds and status melt away as we ride and when we gather at the end of a ride we do so as equals and with respect for each other.
