Don’t break the cycle
What a bike trip disaster taught me about kindness
The day I lost my job remains a vivid memory. People in suits showed up in our office. They read an official memorandum that our department was being eliminated.
I remember that I couldn’t stop shaking as I tried to wrap my mind around not having a job or a paycheck. It didn’t seem real.
But then another strange emotion rose up at the same time. RELIEF.
Suddenly all the deadlines piling up were meaningless. I never had to come into this office again.
The mixture of fear and freedom was like walking out of my final class of college. Now I could finally take the bike trip of my daydreams.
Except without a job or much savings, I’d need a little help from friends — or complete strangers. I would have to rely on kindness.
I had no idea just how much that would be true.
I chose a route that would be the most practical. I planned on carpooling to a bachelor party in Denver. Then I simply biked 1,200 miles back to my house in Milwaukee.
