For Cadence
A year and a half ago, I shared a crazy story about how I was training for a cycling adventure for a cause. The Music City Spin tour was a team of 22 cyclists who rode our bikes from Joplin, MO to Nashville, TN in 2015 to raise money for Lafayette House - a women’s shelter in Joplin. After seven days, the Ozark mountains, and the Mississippi River, my bike odometer read 591 miles when I arrived in Nashville. Much to my surprise, I had ridden every mile. My husband and young son, who was two at the time, were at the finish line beaming with pride, but nothing could compare to the pride I felt inside. I had gone on an extreme adventure to help battered women have a safe place to heal. When we returned home, I discovered that I’d had an extra passenger with me on the bike: a sweet baby girl who we named Cadence. Having a daughter of my own solidified everything I rode for on that tour - the bravery of women to seek shelter and stand up for themselves and their children. During that tour, I recall several stretches of road and pain upon pain where I swore to myself I would NEVER do it again. 591 miles, each racking up a new ailment - numbing hands with excruciating nerve pain, shin splints, aching knees and back, and the ever tender sit bones. The only experience I can compare it to is childbirth (which I experienced again eight months later), where your endurance is maxed out, but somehow the joy at the finish erases all memory of the suffering. You fight back the tears of disbelief that the Missouri Ozarks could possibly hand you another hill steeper than the last. The momentum stops and the incline hits you like a wall. In these moments, the only thing keeping your legs moving is the reason you got on the bike in the first place - the opportunity to make life better for someone less fortunate than yourself. My next adventure, the Break the Cycle tour will benefit an incredible program in my hometown: Circles Joplin. I have spent some time volunteering with the Circle Leaders and developed a deep respect for their courage to fight their way out of poverty and admiration of their gratitude for those who help them along the way. For the participants in the Circles program, life is syncopated, unpredictable, chaotic. The education they receive during the 18 month program and the support it provides becomes a consistent cadence in their lives and on their journey out of poverty. As I embark on this next physical challenge - 300 miles in four days - their brave journey will motivate every pedal stroke of my own journey. If you feel inspired to give to Circles on my behalf, you may donate here: http://circlesofjoplin.org/break-the-cycle-rider-donation/ and select my name. The fundraising goal for each rider is $2,500 - the amount it takes to sponsor an individual in the Circles program for one year. Thank you for your support!