The Big Why Question…..

It has been a monster riding week for me here as I have forced myself out on the road every day and more so, cranked up the mileage and climb elevation to boot.  The legs are rather numb at this exact moment, but I will likely get out tomorrow morning as well for at least a two hour ride before taking the bike to a local shop for some fine tuning and maintenance.  A final training ride on Monday then before packing the bike up and heading to the airport on Tuesday (though Tuesday night is in Brussels before a 10am departure for Bujumbura on Wednesday).

Tasza and I have had a few chats about the Burundi trip this week as her school teacher has discussed it a bit in class.  The big question was "why are you doing this?" and that one has been on my mind quite a bit as a result.  Certainly the challenge of preparation physically was a draw at first, but there are marathons and bike races locally that would easily provide such a physical challenge.  As our discussion evolved this week, I could really only best explain it as something that I think God has presented for me to do.  There really is not a better way to explain it.  It does not feel as a self-serving thing, as certainly those of you that know me well would expect a Scotland golf trip or something along those lines (don't worry - Scotland with the college roommates is coming up in 3 years when we all hit 50!!).  Burundi is a great cause and certainly the more I have learned about the place and its people, there may not be too many other places on earth with a bigger "8-ball" to be born behind than in Burundi.  That said, passion-wise I would love to be spending a week there running a basketball clinic, not torturing myself on Burundi's mountains.

Thus, after a week of thinking about the "why" (and trust me - 12 hours on the bike allows for some thought!) and how to explain it to Tasza, that is my answer - it is an opportunity that I have been led to that I think will be pleasing to God and return just a tiny bit of all the great things He has given to me to date in my lifetime.  It just FEELS right.  It feels a good time to give back, to organize an opportunity for all of you to give a bit too as many do not have the time or flexibility to do some of this, but certainly many of you would do the same given the opportunity!

Next post soon along with some training photos, packing lists and anxiety attack descriptions!!

Thanks for the great words of encouragement and donations made to date!!  Please do consider a donation.  It is great way to double your donation dollars as I am matching all donations up to $30,000!

All the best…….