joelindley16

Day 8: Foothills of Appalachia

“How do you feel?”

Incredible.

Today was a storyline in itself.

I started off in the rain. Then struggled through fatigue to make it to lunch.

I rode ribbons of road for long enough to really drive anyone crazy.

Into hilly farmland with changing vegetation as it all became more vibrant and green.

Into and through two small towns, before being spit back out into the first really long inclines; climbing uphill for minutes at a time.

After all that climbing, I had my first long downhill to reward the sweat.

A feeling like this can’t be found many other places.

You pour everything you’ve got into something and sometimes (when you need it most), it pays dividends.

As we sit here in this van overlooking the landscape we danced with for the first week, we can’t help but feel accomplished.

But we cannot forget, as we turn back around and look down into what is to come…

We will be faced with a whole new set of challenges.

And be forced to adapt to those all the same.

-
made all these profound moments possible. They believed in what we wanted to do and helped make this ride for mental health REALITY.
Outdoorsy is the worlds biggest RV rental site and where we found this beauty: VANessa VANhalen

Day 5: Communication Lapse

“How do you feel?”

Thankful.

Thankful for people who help others.

Last night, I told about my knee pain and he told me to focus on using my glutes and hamstrings.

“Your glutes and hamstrings are 2 huge muscle groups. Use them.”

I started the day with a really intentional mind muscle connection.

The more I focused, the slower time went, but not only did my knee stop hurting.. I actually got a lot faster and more efficient.

So thank you, Eric for your willingness to slow down and teach.

Thankful for people who reach out and wish others the best.

reached out to me this morning before the ride and said to “stay vulnerable”, because it is inspiring to be so open.

That really got me through the first 40 miles.

So please never hesitate to reach out. It makes days better.

Thankful for friends who are willing to listen.

Life on the road with another person makes it easier, but it’s still hard.

Pat and I had our first lapse in communication today.

After listening to each other, we came up up with better strategies for communicating and the road.

And I’m extremely thankful for you.

Thank you for believing in us.

📸-
-

The goal of this process is to raise mental health awareness.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Day 4: Broken Chain & Dave

“How do you feel?”

I feel so damn excited.

I was talking with Patrick that there will be a lot of slow days, but there will be a handful of days that make this all worth it.

And today was one of those days.

My bike chain snapped.

And in the process of replacing it with a new one, we realized I left my camera charger and battery in the last town.

This sounds negative, but it actually turned out to be a blessing.

Without this misfortune, I never would have met Dave and his wife, Heidi.

I would not have shed a tear or two with a stranger that I really hope to see again.

So here’s my takeaway from today:

Whenever things seem like they’re going horribly wrong…
.maybe they’re going terribly right.

I wanted to scream (and I did briefly), but I didn’t let it affect my mood towards life and others.

I brought positive energy to Dave and it turns out he was my reason for the day.

Control what you can, and stop worrying so much about about what you cannot.

And watch where it gets you.

-

The goal of this process is to raise mental health awareness.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Day 2: Duck Thru

“How do you feel?”

Pat just brought up that we (humans) are back to worrying about just the essentials: food, water, shelter.

Having to fill up our water containers.

Where, what, and when we will cook food.

And where we will park the van to sleep.

This really puts things into perspective.

For most of us, these things are already taken care of, so our brains are free to wander and worry about other things.

The things we are worried about on the road are simple.. just not easy.

Kind of like this bike ride.

All we have to do is ~50 miles a day for 2 months, but it’s definitely not easy.

We can only do the little things every day to make this time more predictable.

It’s not a race to the finish line..

It’s a set period with the goal being to tell a story. A BIG story.

So I’m feeling determined.

Determined to do what needs to be done every day.

But mainly and perhaps most importantly do the little things to establish a routine and create some normalcy in a situation

That is so foreign

📷-

-

The goal of this process is to erase the stigma behind mental health.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.