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Home again, Part III
Someday, if you are blessed ...
You will depart in obscurity
And complete a grand Tour
Way far away from
Easy
There shall be no: uniforms,
Fashion tees,
Followers,
Or blogs.
A Tour without buzz
Or promotional materials
Printed in four colors
And folded the right way.
But if you have Love
You will find your Reward,
Your legs
And your soul, alive.
But Love is such that they might see it
And want to follow,
So let them come along
If they can ride.
They might want to be your friend,
So take them to the mountains
And show them the places
That made you.
And if you find a nice brochure,
pocket it,
and at the next stop
give it away.
You arrived on a bicycle
And you'll never be richer than the sum
Of your Love,
And your stories, wild and true.
Team,
I publish my final Tour reflection. I write not to capture the spirit of such a trek-- impossible-- but because such prose might lead us back to the feelings and experiences we have shared during our time together. As long as we live, these lessons will not be forgotten.
I dedicate this blog to the original "Riders on the Storm"-- Jesse Olson, Aaron Smith and Mike Dobbelmann-- and to everyone who has traveled or partnered with Venture Expeditions since our first cross-country trek in 2002. We've come a long way, but I truly believe Venture's incredible story is just beginning.
To more bold adventures, to new connections and to our friends in need.
Godspeed,
Andy
You will depart in obscurity
And complete a grand Tour
Way far away from
Easy
There shall be no: uniforms,
Fashion tees,
Followers,
Or blogs.
A Tour without buzz
Or promotional materials
Printed in four colors
And folded the right way.
But if you have Love
You will find your Reward,
Your legs
And your soul, alive.
But Love is such that they might see it
And want to follow,
So let them come along
If they can ride.
They might want to be your friend,
So take them to the mountains
And show them the places
That made you.
And if you find a nice brochure,
pocket it,
and at the next stop
give it away.
You arrived on a bicycle
And you'll never be richer than the sum
Of your Love,
And your stories, wild and true.
Team,
I publish my final Tour reflection. I write not to capture the spirit of such a trek-- impossible-- but because such prose might lead us back to the feelings and experiences we have shared during our time together. As long as we live, these lessons will not be forgotten.
I dedicate this blog to the original "Riders on the Storm"-- Jesse Olson, Aaron Smith and Mike Dobbelmann-- and to everyone who has traveled or partnered with Venture Expeditions since our first cross-country trek in 2002. We've come a long way, but I truly believe Venture's incredible story is just beginning.
To more bold adventures, to new connections and to our friends in need.
Godspeed,
Andy
Comment
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Comment by Jesse Olson on July 15, 2009 at 11:10pm - That picture is very authentic. We met a biker on the road about 2 miles from Montauk Point, the end of Long Island, NY. He snapped this picture just as we reached the beach to complete this tour. Which, when we started we didn't even know if we could pull it off. I thought this moment of finally arriving at the end of our journey would be so spiritual... But, these huge biting flies where eating us alive. It sorta sucked. To me it was such a lesson in things not being about the destination. The journey was where we encountered God.
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Comment by Erik Pelttari on July 13, 2009 at 9:08pm - Final tour reflection? Well written, I hope we get to ride again someday.
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