Support.
It’s one of the great things I love about the cycling community. From local charity rides to big multi-day events or just a hand on the back of your riding mate, cyclists are a giving bunch.
We love to suffer for our sport and by the looks things in my experience we’re pretty happy suffering for others as well. When the call comes to go and ride one hundred miles for a charity, most of us answer, yes. We support each other during the training. We help less experienced riders navigate the do’s and don’ts of a long distant ride. For the love of cycling and the support of others we give our time, our expertise and our hard earned cash.
Giving is getting.
I know it’s an old saying, “you reap what you sow” but there is truth in there, which is why it’s an old saying that’s still around. It’s not that we need another excuse to go out for a long bike ride but the added knowledge that it could help someone else, helps us get through the work. And it is work, giving that is, it’s work that takes us from our families, chores, playtime maybe even our jobs. But it’s work worth doing and work that needs to be done.
We can’t ride in every event on the calendar, nobody can, okay maybe Jens can, but nobody else can. So we pick the spots where we can help. Where the work we’ll do in support of a good cause, a charity or a friend is most connected to us. Worthy of our time and our effort.
In return we glow.
I’ve crossed under many charity ride finishing kites with miles on my legs and big a smile on my face. Only to see even bigger smiles and cheers from the people that might benefit from my effort. Every turn of the crank is worth it. Every mile, every day of training, every set back and every victory — all worth supporting others.
They say give until it hurts. Well tapping into the cycling community is a brilliant idea because us bike riders seem to thrive on pain. So as our cycling season slows and the winter training starts up, put a charity ride or two on your calendar for next year. It will motivate those days in the pain cave when you just don’t want to be there. It will get you outside in the early days of spring because you have a goal. A goal to help and support your fellow riders and humans.
Ride safe.
Michael
All of the images on this page were created as part of a project for USA Cycling.
I was given a brief to explore “Support.” While support means many things to different people to me, the hand on the back of a cycling friend was the most interesting image. It’s all still a work in progress but then again, isn’t everything. These 36×48 inch paintings are available for purchase.
Contact me if you’re interested.
