Here’s Rich Dixon:

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Still seeking patterns – I soon understood that training isn’t the same as the real thing.

When I ride at home, it’s too easy to shorten a ride when I’m tired, avoid the tough hills when I’m struggling, adjust my route to accommodate the wind. I can skip a bad-weather day.

On Rich’s Ride, I couldn’t choose a different direction or skip the hilly sections. My choice was ride or don’t ride. Either choice had real consequences.

When Rich’s Ride began, I’d cranked thousands of miles in 10+ years around my hometown. I “knew” my limits, which turned out to be largely self-imposed. I discovered my true capabilities only when I had no other choice.

I think about how I often respond to everyday circumstances, how I frequently choose the easy path, avoiding tough decisions and unpleasant conflict whenever possible.

We claim to trust God’s provision, but most of us live with a safety net. We don’t approach our actual capabilities because we don’t need to. As long as the net’s there, we never quite know how we’d respond if it suddenly disappeared.

God-sized dreams don’t include safety nets.

Maybe I tackled something crazy-big like this ride because it’s one way to see what I can do without an easy escape. Perhaps it’s good to purposely step beyond our “easy zone” just to determine our true capabilities.

Dream-following isn’t thrill-seeking, because dreams aren’t about the dreamer. I believe God invited me into this dream to pursue a bigger purpose than I could imagine on my own. Following a dream means leaning on God for what seems impossible.

You follow a dream with hope that allows you to believe – despite the evidence – and then watch the evidence change.

I exceeded what I – and many others – believed possible. Maybe that’s only possible when doing more is your only choice.