Follow Up on 100 Bikes for 100 Miles

We can do no great things. Only small things with great LOVE.

~ Mother Theresa

THE RIDE

Well, Saturday was the ride of all rides for me. 102 miles of pleasure first and then some serious pain! It was a beautiful course through the mountains and along the Colorado and Eagle Rivers. But the last 32 miles was a huge challenge of mind over body. My right knee started hurting at about mile 40. If it weren't for a couple of Advil at mile 68, I'm not sure I could have finished. All along I kept thinking about all of the lives this ride has impacted and will impact in the future. Not just the farmers and their families, but all of you who have been on this journey with me. In some way, large or small, your lives will be, or have been, impacted. There is a much bigger picture here than any of us can see today. Someday, I believe, the BIG picture will be revealed to all of us much more clearly than we see it now.

(For you fitness junkies out there, my average heart rate was 158 bpm, calories burned were approx 6,400, average speed was 17.8 mph and it took me 5 hrs and 45 minutes, with 5 bathroom/fuel breaks!)

UPDATE on the BIKES

As of today, we are at right now, we have about 95 bikes spoken for, thanks to all of you. 95 BIKES!! This is based on my calculations from your emails back to me indicating your commitment to purchase a bike (or make a smaller donation) and what has been booked through the website.

I want to thank you again for making this initiative a HUGE success. I'm still in awe of what WE did together! Honestly, when I sent the original email, I thought it was quite a reach. You proved me wrong. 5 more bikes and we reach the goal?! You've inspired me to make this kind of initiative a bigger part of my LIFE WORK. Africa has been pulling on my heart for a long time. This effort has only further confirmed it for me. Time to get out of the boat I guess. Thank you for helping it become my reality!

And, I would invite you if you have any interest to further your own interest in Rwanda, to let me know. I'd love to assist you in plugging in where it makes sense for you. There is so much good happening in Rwanda right now and it starts with great leadership---Leadership that calls on its people to rise up and leave the past behind while providing hope for a better future for generations to come. Who would have thought that tiny little Rwanda with its bloodied past would 14 years later be looked to as one of the best investments in all of Africa and a place of great HOPE?

Last, I'd like to share that I'm confirmed and ticketed to go to Rwanda(my 4th trip to Africa) in late August to meet some of the farmers who have been the beneficiaries of these bikes and to hear and document their stories---ultimately to share them with all of you. Part of my week-long trip will surround the 3rd Annual Wooden Bike Classic---An event that is gaining great exposure for Rwanda as one part of the Rwandan renaissance. see http://projectrwanda.org/Wooden-Bike-Classic.php

That's it for now. Blessings to you and yours. Enjoy the rest of your summer. Go ride a bike!