Ride for World Health: Coming to a City Near You
RIDE FOR WORLD HEALTH:
Coming to a city near you!
Yesterday, we all arrived in sunny San Diego ripe with expectations for our journey across America to meet the needs of the world. The eager group road tripped for 38 hours from Columbus, Ohio and met up with the other members like me who flew in from all over the country. We made some very quick introductions, gathered around the campfire for a bit, pitched our tents, and we comfortably slumbered at Campland.by the (Mission) Bay. We had a lot preparation to do on our first official day all together (21 of us, 20 national riders and 1 portion rider).
The leadership team had a big day planned full of activities to prepare our newly formed cycling team for the cross country adventure ahead of us. First we gathered in our awesome new orange gear for a team meeting to discuss the basic logistics of the ride. We talked about what a typical day on the ride will look like, lodging expectations, education lectures, basic bike maintenance, and group riding etiquette. We had a quick lunch of peanut butter & jelly, oranges, and bananas. Afterwards we got ready for our first bike ride, a practice ride around San Diego to get used to riding in a large group.
The Ride for World Health Team donned our snazzy matching team cycling uniforms for the first time and jumped on our bikes with excitement. We were giddy after months of preparation to finally be on our bikes together. A group of bright orange riders cruised around the beautiful San Diego bay that afternoon for 20 miles. Everyone had a smile on their face as we biked around Mission Bay and 2 loops around Fiesta Island.
One of the great parts of cycling is being able to ride next to others and get to know them while enjoying the sights and sounds of the road. I found out Casey and I both got into cycling for the same reason; after playing soccer all of our lives and suffering through 3 knee injuries, we both took up cycling to compete in triathlons. Riding next to Emily, we bonded over taking a break from our professional lives to follow our passions and bike across the country.
Throughout the day we all realized that finally we were on our bikes doing what we have been dreaming about for months. The ride ended with a trip to the Pacific Ocean. The salty sea air pungently hit the nose and filled our hearts with excitement. We enjoyed the velvety San Diego sand, looked out on the wavy Pacific Ocean, and pondered what the 52 day adventure East to the Atlantic Ocean would bring. After taking some pictures, I stared out into ocean just tried to soak in the moment. The brisk ocean breeze caressed my skin, the soft sand hugged my feet, and the waning sunlight seeped into pores. The next day we would officially start on a crazy, fun, tasking, outrageous, grueling, and courageous trip across the United States by bicycle.
The day wound down with a meal donated by Chipotle and a campfire. Over the next month and a half I would be spending almost every waking moment with this group of people who I met the night before. Individually, each person brought their personalities and strengths to the team so that collectively we could trek across the country. What challenges would we face? What amazing things would we see? What insights we learn about ourselves, each other, the communities we ride through, and the human condition? How would riding our bikes bring about global change?
As we sat around the fire I asked some of my teammates about their expectations from our trip across the country. With the trip of our lives at the tip of our toes, we sat around with no idea what the journey had in store, but one common theme prevailed, excitement.
“What are 3 things that you are most excited about for our bike ride across America?”Dan (me) – Being able to positively affect communities across the US through cycling, seeing the beauty of America from the saddle, the camaraderie to be gained with the team
Emily – Getting to know people from all walks of life across the country, a rock hard ass, & a farmers tan
Erika – Seeing the country, being outside instead of at a desk or in the hospital, hanging out with you cool people
Josh – Education, Advocacy, & Solidarity – Scratch that Education, Beer, & Solidarity
Bill – See the country, bike, support world health
Nick – My mustache, micro-brews across the nation, tan lines
Erin – Good Mexican food in the Southwest, Seeing parts of the country never I’ve never seen before, being fit for a bridesmaid dress for a friend’s wedding in April
Spencer – Knocking biking across the country off the bucket list, meeting different people and seeing the kindness of people across the country, getting in shape before residency starts
Sarah – Bike, campfire, & Sweatpants
Mike – Seeing in country in slow motion, education, meeting people in random towns that you wouldn’t otherwise meet
Jason – The first day of riding, lifting my bike above my head after we make it to Bethany beach, being part of a team for 6 weeks
The consensus shows that we are all excited to bike across the country. We can’t wait to share our journeys and positively affect not only the people in America but around the world. Stay tuned for more Ride For World Health awesomeness!