Alright so I know that typically it makes more sense to go down the progression of the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions but I wanted to draw you in and allow you to understand what the main platform of this blog is about. Granted the biking and the trip itself will only make up some of what I want to talk about, but it will be the context in which I find myself discussing everything else. It is quite possible you may not necessarily be interested in a particular post of mine (hopefully not all of them, but it's fair if that be the case). I would just ask that you try to keep an open mind, but if you just aren't feeling it, please feel free to skip on to the next entry I write.
So about me if I may. I don't particularly find myself to be all that interesting, but I guess in a sense that makes it all the more worthwhile to demonstrate just how ordinary I am so you can say to yourself, "man, if he can do that, I wonder just how much I could do!"
My name is Matt and I'm a 23 year old senior at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma majoring in theology and ministry. I plan on going on to pursue a masters in business administration (MBA) and I have always felt a special place in my heart for the poor and marginalized so I imagine that my career will focus in on how to best serve those in the inner city. It is for those I have served in my past that I am writing this blog. I have had dinner with these people and shared laughs with these people but I also have had my heart broken by the thought that many of my friends go to bed each night wondering where their next meal will come from and when it will come while I had the opportunity to return to my family's home in suburbia where I knew I would eat at least three times a day. It's NOT EASY to know that there are people out there who struggle to survive, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to ignore it when you know their names and that they are just like you.
I grew up in Bedford, OH, a suburb of Cleveland in a house of seven. I have a younger brother who is now a sophomore at SNU with me and back home I have three lovely sisters, two of whom are twins but very much different from each other.
To understand just why I ever started wanting to do this ride I have to explain two things, 1. my history; 2. my geographical identity.
First my history. I was born to two amazing parents. For the sake of this blog I will name them mom and dad to protect their privacy (and because it's creepy to call them by their names for some reason). Mom grew up in a single parent home with her mother (I'll call her grandma from here on for sake of clarity) and her brother after her parents divorced. She moved around a lot growing up until they finally settled in an apartment complex in Bedford. The apartment just so happened to be right behind the property line of my dad's house so they met because of their close proximity.
My dad lived in a single parent home from the time he was 14 years old with my grandfather and an older brother and sister after my grandmother passed away at a young age. He was an excellent pitcher who excelled at the high school level because of his ability to throw a fastball in the 90mph range (I was lucky enough to play in an adult league game with him when he was 40 and I was 18. I started and he came in to relieve for me while I played first base but that's another story).
They married young as my mother was 19 and my father was 21 and they welcomed me into the world only a couple years later.
How does this relate to why I'm doing this trip you may ask. Well my parents have worked virtually their whole lives to support me and my siblings and provide for us. They have done a great job at that, but not without having to make personal sacrifices. Starting a family so young, they welcomed in a particular kind of joy into their lives but it meant not backpacking through Europe or going on crazy adventures with no plans. When we were young the family would go on vacations, including a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando as well as Disney Land in Anaheim and several other trips as well. While they certainly seem to have enjoyed their lives as parents, I personally realize that I am not ready for this part of my life as much as they may have been. I have never heard either of them complain about not being able to go on a cruise by themselves or explore another country and enjoy the romance of Paris. I suspect they would enjoy all of those things, but the bottom line is that they hold no resentment toward having children and they have no regrets. I can only hope that when the time is right for me to settle down and start a family I can look ahead with that kind of joy and satisfaction.
So I'm taking a trip.
My geographical identity is one of pride despite the struggles of the city of Cleveland. Being associated with terms like "mistake by the lake" and the "rust belt" is not easy. Add that to the well documented struggles of our professional sports teams and it's easy to understand why Cleveland is the topic of many jokes around the country. Having attended school in Oklahoma City, traveled to Orange County in California every Spring Break, and gone to many other places along the way, I find that there are a lot of things about Cleveland that are not ideal. It is a place that cannot seem to keep jobs from leaving town and our city government has had a recent history of fraud and scandal. Still, Cleveland is my home and I'm certainly proud of it.
I guess taking a trip on a bike just makes sense to me for whatever reason. It's a chance to do something that not everyone will do in their lives (I know, there are a lot of things nobody would be stupid enough to do in their lives. Maybe I should go do those too while I'm at it right?). Maybe a proud citizen from this so-called mistake of a place can go on to do something a little special even if it's been done before. Maybe I can ride a bike across this great country and still return to Cleveland with rose colored glasses on and smile upon this place that I've called home.
I know going in that I will experience beauty in a way that I have never been able to by driving in a car. I will feel every degree of incline, every bump in the road, and the wind in my face as I fly down a hill. I'll smell the air and the trees (or sometimes the pollution) of the places I go. I'll see the blades of grass a little more clearly as I travel far slower than I'm used to, and I'll stumble upon little treasures of towns that you may not see on most maps. Most importantly, I hope that the interactions I have with those across this nation will help to change the way they view the people of Cleveland if only by one person at a time. Maybe when they say goodbye to me as I head on to the next town they'll think of Cleveland with a fondness they never knew to have before and they'll realize that with me I carry the influence of all the amazing people I have shared those meals and laughs with.