My Brother is Rad.
My brother Alex is biking across the country this summer. He’s in Beatty, Nevada right now. When I was doing the same thing 4 years ago, I think we managed to take a wrong turn and head straight up a mountain that contains/will contain the nation’s nuclear waste. It was hot. Al says the weather has been pretty tame so far, and by tame I mean it has stayed under 100 degrees. That’s nice weather for the desert.
You should read his blog. It’s intelligent, real and it’s funny. You’ll laugh out loud. He updates when he can, considering there aren’t a ton of internet hot spots in the little towns across our dear country. But sleeping in high school gyms can sometimes provide one access to some old school computers in some old school libraries. You’ll laugh, i swear.
So why’s homie g funk biking across this here country? Well, we brothers believe strongly in supporting those less fortunate than us. Al is riding with a team of men on the Journey of Hope. The mission of their trip is to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. They ride all morning - starting circa 4am - and volunteer all afternoon and night. They do tv interviews, radio inteviews, puppet shows, and countless other things to spread the good word. They will literally touch the lives of thousands on their 64 day journey, and they’ll reach millions more. Little towns and big cities alike celebrate the team coming through by declaring it “Journey of Hope Day”. Groups of people gather at the finish line each day, waiting for the “Bike Riders” to come. Dances are held, water parks invaded, baseball games attended, and wheelchair basketball challenges met.
Biking draws attention to their ultimate goal, spreading awareness that people with disablities have abilities too, incredible abilities. Support them, befriend them, love them.
And if you’re around when the cyclists are coming through… Check ‘em out. It will change your perspective on any given day, the team will give you a sense of hope. And we can all use that.
Filed by ryanroth at June 20th, 2006 under Dijyano