Wind and Poverty

Ride Against Hunger
Friday, July 2, 2010
Goodrich to Glenfield, ND…77 miles

Today was another day of fierce winds. We rode directly into the wind for the first few miles, then turned east and fought very stiff crosswinds the rest of the day. Both Joe and I feel beat up tonight after riding for the past several days struggling with the wind.

Most every rider I know would rather climb hills than ride into a wind. For some reason wind kills the spirit. It seems we are working as hard as we can, and still making very little progress. And in the meantime, we are becoming more and more tired.

As I rode today, I though about how riding into wind must be like living in poverty. I’ve known families that work so hard, and still can’t keep up. They may lose a job, or can’t pay the rent, or get cut off of a government program that paid for medicine for grandma. The car breaks down and needs a new generator that cannot be afforded so getting to work becomes an even more difficult chore. And then on top of it all, the baby gets sick and has no insurance. And now there is no money left for food, the most basic need of all.

Riding into a wind is nothing compared to this scenario. It is play vs. real life. But today I was tired and wanted to quit. After lunch I wanted to throw my bike on the motor home and say, “Take me to Glenfield; this is just too hard. Let me rest for a while.” But because we made this commitment to ride, we got back on and kept going.

And about ten miles from our stopping point, the beautiful Lutheran Church in the picture appears on the horizon. The sign says, Lutheran Community Center, and I could imagine this building being a sign of hope and help for families over the years in this North Dakota community.

And I thought about how Catholic Charities and the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership have become signs of hope for families riding against the economic winds of our times.

Send what ever you can to one of these organizations and put a not on the check that says, “to help a family riding against the wind.”