The Ride of a Lifetime

My most sacred childhood memories include my Huffy bike. When I was only ten years old, my coveted five-speed granted me enormous freedom. It was the 70s and my bike was my vehicle to exploration. I rode miles in the summer sun, meandering the hills and neighboring towns, a curious and excited traveller. My little brother Jamie and I coined one of the “foreign” neighborhoods, the Land of the Lost. It was ours to discover and we pinky-promised not to bring friends to our secret treasure.

When riding alone, I was a contender in the rally of my fantasies, passing cars, hugging curves and jumping sidewalks. I relished every summer fragrance, each newly discovered street and kind neighbor who offered ice cold water or a refreshing popsicle.

All these years later and a honeysuckle breeze brings me right back to my favorite adventures in my childhood town.

(The year I learned how to ride a bike).

For as long as I remember, I have always made it a priority to challenge myself both physically and mentally. When Hope Loves Company (HLC) turned ten years old this past October, I wanted to raise 10k in a unique and challenging way. My husband Benton and I wanted to remember the lives of those we lost, including our late spouses Kevin and Tina, and countless friends. We wanted to honor those who live with ALS and the families we serve at HLC. We wanted to personally spread awareness of ALS, HLC and the programs we provide.

In August, 2022, our friends Don and Elizabeth Crouse had just come back from a three month long TransAmerica bike ride from Washington, D.C. to Oregon and that’s when it hit me- what if we did something similar as a tool to raise awareness and funds for HLC?

Then my husband Benton had a thought, what if we incorporated the words hope, love and company in our event? Brilliant.

Hope has always been a huge part of my life and has fueled every dream from going to college to starting a non profit, so we needed a hopeful name. We Hope (We Make it) Bike Ride for HLC it was!

We decided that we would ride from Hope, New Hope, PA that is, to Love, Love, Virginia to be exact. The distance between the two was calculated at 350 miles. That was a huge undertaking for me. I haven’t ridden more than 20 miles at a time in nearly thirty years. The rest of the crew however, are avid cyclists who promised to teach me the ropes.

And with that, my husband Benton and I began the process of creating an epic adventure and started training by riding our bikes inside over the winter months (on trainers) one hour a day, for seven months. When the weather allowed, we also took short rides of 20 miles or less around the flat terrain of Mercer County, NJ. With the help of our friends Don and Elizabeth, we made a list of supplies, a clear route and a thorough plan and the idea quickly became reality. We bought lights, seat covers, panniers, padded clothing, snacks and socks. We ordered custom HLC 10th Anniversary jerseys in bright yellow.

We marked our calendars and the monumental event was graved in stone.

On Wednesday, May 24, at 10 am, we received a surprise visit from four excited friends. They brought goodies, played music and waved us goodbye as we set out for the D&R Canal trail which brought us to New Hope, PA in nine miles.

Within the first two hours on the trail, we met another biker. He was traveling by himself from Maine to Maimi- the East Coast Greenway. The writer in me wanted to stop and exchange stories and contact information, but we were on a schedule.

Over the next eight days, we rode on trails- including the Chester Valley, Enola and the Pennsylvania Green Way.

Don and Elizabeth Crouse, resting at a church in West Virginia (and my Hokas)

We tackled concrete highways in the hot sun and avoided daunting 18 wheelers. We rode when we were tired, when our bike chains weren’t cooperating and when we ran out of water.

Help arrived when we needed a clean bathroom, when our bike lock was stuck and when we desperately needed a cozy ride home.

We rode through Amish country and ate stawberries freshly picked that tasted like heaven. We met strangers and left as friends. We received questions and hugs about why we were tackling this mission and we cried to hear of other ALS stories.

Our route.

My husband Benton rode behind me the entire way. He coached me through the toughest hills and enouraged me to enjoy the reward and to coast down the hills at 30 miles an hour. He fixed my bike chain twice and adjusted my seat when my hamstrings were screaming.

You don’t do something huge without learning something big.

Enola Trail, PA

Here are five things that I learned from accomplishing this incredible undertaking of 401.19 miles on a bike. Although the route was estimated to be 350 miles, detours, hotels and side trips brought the total to more than 401 miles. Whether you are starting a non profit, are thinking about running a marathon, or hope to go back to school, these five lessons apply!

Our celebration!

1. Dream Big and visualize the outcome. When starting Hope Loves Company, and while planning our bike ride, I visionalized success from the very start. I saw my self creating and doing the exact thing I was planning. In my mind’s eye, I saw the events unfold and ways to adjust as growth happened and challenges arose. Dreaming is a necessary part of growing, evolving and succeeding. Thinking of all the things that can go right and wrong help to flesh out a plan. Preparation and strategy are key.
2. Enlist a team. No one succeeds alone. Whether you are building a business or climbing the hills of West Virginia on a bike, it takes a team of varied skills and talents to accomplish something new and challenging. Canvass your list of friends and colleagues and talk to them. Do the research. Gain knowlededge and proceed with strategy and inspiration. Independently, you won’t have all of the answers but as a team, you will.
3. Engage your mindset. I know how fortunate I am to spend 8 days doing something that brought me joy. This was an active vacation, the only one I planned this summer. Vacations typically mean down time, but for this particular experiene, it meant these things only, getting in the miles, staying safe and inspiring both awareness and contributions. Every morning, although tired, my mindset was dedicated to accomplishing those goals only. I focused on the tasks at hand and understood that for the time being, everything else was secondary.
4. Give gratitude. Life is a journey peppered with both difficult and wonderful experiences. Due to extensive grief, it took me years to focus less on my challenges and more on my blessings. When I read this quote and began to live by it, happiness ensued. “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” Eckhart Tolle
5. Learn from every experience. Every challenged offers teachable moments. Every gift does as well. One of the greatest highlights from our ride was being met at Love Ridge Mountain Lodge by our friends Allison and John. Not only did they bring our car, which they cleaned, they met us with ice cream, sorbet and hugs. Their enormous dedication to our journey reminds us that giving is our greatest gift and that we can always give more. Give of our time. Give of our hearts. Give of our resources. When you ride 47 milies uphill to your final destination and are welcomed by friends, hugs and mango sorbet, you have a memory of a lifetime.

We made it!

Honestly, the bike ride was not the highlight of this journey, it was the people who made it special. Connie Pennock offered to bring down our bike carriers. David Brown, who lives with ALS in Texas, was our car chase sponsor. The HLC Board of Directors and Team rallied around us. Family and friends shared our story and their resources. Reporters followed our progress and aired our success. And somehow, our Hope (We Make It) Bike Ride for HLC resulted in more than $11,000 for Hope Loves Company and the children we serve.

Hope abides. Our bodies are sore, but our hearts are full.

To learn more about Hope Loves Company, visit http://www.hopelovescompany.org