Written by: Melissa Safran
I’m writing this afternoon with a perfect view of the beautiful Mississippi mountains … of laundry. Laundry day is such a special time on the bike adventure; everyone’s opportunity to fully give into the adventure and throw their smelly bike clothes into a pile with everyone else’s smelly bike clothes and trust it all comes back a little cleaner. And the Bike Adventure’s true saints shine – the laundry team, who hauls it all to the laundromat (extra heavy today – everything is soaked from two rainy days in a row) and loads it into the machines with their bare, saintly hands.
Seriously though, I think laundry day is a pretty cool example of how this adventure forces us out of our comfort zones — out of the control we like to think we have in our every day life — and into a team that relies on each other like a family. Through the whole adventure we’re forced to let go of a lot of little things and just trust: trust that the route sheet is taking us in the right direction, trust that we’ll find shelter if the weather turns sour, trust that we’ll have a roof over our head and food to eat at the end of the day even though we’re not always in control of the plan.
Today I got to ride with Andrea, a new rider, and experience one of my other favorite parts of the Bike Adventure! It takes us out of the rush of our every day lives and we bike along slowly (in my case at least :-)… and often in the rain, on this ride at least!) really getting to know each other. We come from all different backgrounds, ages, abilities, and personalities, and we become friends despite our differences because we’re pushing ourselves through adversity for a purpose together.
These are a couple of the big reasons I’m back again for my 9th ride with the Fuller Center. These rides are a beautiful reminder that the world is really full of amazing people willing to help you on whatever journey you’re on!
