Back to Reality.

It has been more than a week now since we dipped our front tires in to the Atlantic Ocean, completing our bike ride across the country. It has been a whirlwind of a summer, but one that we will for sure never forget and one that has definitely changed our lives. The experiences shared, the relationships built and the memories created will hopefully stay with us forever. I am just going to throw a few post-tour thoughts out there to wrap up this blog and I will probably never write a blog again.
It is amazing to think that 10 weeks ago we dipped our back tires in to the Pacific Ocean in Seattle, beginning the tour and having very little perception of what we were getting ourselves in to. While we surpassed the amount of training we did prior to the tour in the first week of the tour, it took another week after that to convince ourselves we could actually do this and to settle in to the biking lifestyle. This is a lifestyle that no one would completely understand unless they have been a part of something so frigging amazing! As the tour was coming to an end, we may have thought that we were ready to be done and were perhaps sick of the lifestyle, but boy were we mistaken. ha.. reality blows.. just kidding. There were days we dreaded getting on our bikes, but honestly, what could be better than waking up and only having the goal of riding your bike to the next check point by the end of the day? That's right, not much.
So, the aftermath of the tour is this. It is an abrupt transition back in to reality and the past few months feel pretty surreal. For some, it is back to school or work and for others (like me) it is stepping in to a perhaps daunting unknown future; or as like to call it, a world of possibilities. Figuring out life is not one of my most favourite things to do, however, if there is one thing I have learned over the course of the summer, it is to trust God in everything. He is the one that holds the future, we just have to let him lead us there even if it is not always what we have in mind. So, that is what I am doing and hoping He shows me soon : )
While the bike tour can be seen as a huge personal accomplisment for each one of us, even more we hope and pray that the money and awareness raised will help make a dent in the cycle of poverty because this is the real reason we were riding. The scope of poverty is something that we were challenged to keep in the forefront of our tour and what we've learned, I hope we will take in to our every day lives. Poverty is way too huge of a problem, but it is only through every small effort that we can hopefully one day make poverty history. Until then, we are called to serve those less fortunate than ourselves and we need to make it a priority to do so. Counting the many blessings in my life and having faith that justice will one day be a reality here on earth!
Thank you for being a fan of Denise and I this summer! Thank you to the entire tour staff for making such an amazing, amazing experience happen! What a wonder to be a part of. So many thank yous for all the prayers and support from our home churches and all our friends and family! They were so much appreciated along the way and were for sure felt!
And that's a wrap, it has been a pleasure!