Although today is a scheduled day off from riding, routine is often hard to break. As the light of day appeared through the window to my right, I rose with a start feeling that sense of panic that overcomes me when I am late for work. Of course, it was a day of riding I was worried about getting a late start for and not work. After quickly realizing that it was a scheduled day off, I remained in my bunk bed and reflected on the journey thus far knowing that I would be writing today’s journal entry. I wondered what experiences I might share with each of you from our day off.

A short time after I awoke, I heard the sounds of others moving about in the Search Center in Pueblo where we are staying and wondered out of my dorm room in search of a morning greeting. Initially I thought others might also have had trouble sleeping late, which was not the case! As I wondered into the main room on the second floor, I found a few of my fellow riders who had gotten up for a 6:30 a.m. publicity event on a local talk radio station. The scheduled interview was already complete and had apparently been short. The riders, however, were fully awake (after what must have been a few cups of coffee) and remained in the room sharing various stories about life and family back home. Following an uninterrupted night of sleep, I appreciated this warm morning greeting.

After nearly four cups of coffee and a hefty breakfast of pancake, eggs, sausage and hash browns generously prepared for us by the Knights of Columbus, I was ready to begin the day. Although I had had plenty of coffee, I was, however, still feeling rather irritable and decided to slowly ease into the day by cleaning my bike and doing my laundry that I had put off washing for nearly a week. These are tasks that I actually look forward to now, as they enable me to have mindless time to myself without appearing to be overly self-involved or contemplative.

While I was beginning to clean my bike on the sidewalk outside of the Search Center, I found myself in the middle of a publicity event with the local paper. A local journalist and a photographer assigned to cover the journey of Brake the Cycle arrived just before 9 a.m. I was not exactly prepared for this publicity event, as the riders who were already scheduled to participate in it were dressed in our official jersey with bike in tow. Unfortunately, I did not look the official part for the photographer, since my jersey was still in the washer. For some reason, the official bike cleaning uniform of an apron, similar to that which a cook might use in the kitchen, must have intrigued both the journalist and the photographer. The journalist began asking me questions, including whether I was the bike mechanic for the group. I gladly responded to his questions, eager to share the story of Brake the Cycle and inform him that I was not the mechanic for our group. This is the part of the journey that I love. As I begin to talk with others who are excited to hear the story of Brake the Cycle, a certain fire grows within me.

While the local paper was interviewing some riders, others headed for a local vacation bible school. At the scheduled presentation there, Jack Hogan and the riders talked with local children about poverty in the United States and our bike journey to spread awareness of poverty.

Since I had no scheduled plans for the day, I continued to work on my bike centering my thoughts on why I was originally eager to participate in Brake the Cycle. I focused on this particular topic based on the earlier morning interview and due to a discussion a few of us participated in over ice cream last night about the educational events at which we speak where we are to concisely indicate who we are, where we are from and why we are participating in Brake the Cycle. Simply put, each rider has a unique way of expressing their reason(s) for this journey in front of a group audience. Prior to this evening’s educational presentation, I had developed and continued to use a somewhat generic, short statement about why I was participating in the ride. Being a rather private individual, I have not been entirely open with others about what this journey means to me. I recognized today that the more I share with others about the reasons I am participating in this journey the deeper connection I can make with them in my effort to get them to think about, talk about and take action with respect to poverty in the United States.

After a couple of hours of bike cleaning, I was back in the right frame of mind to continue my day and join others over lunch that the youth group of three local parishes prepared. During lunch, we talked with a few members of the Pueblo community about Brake the Cycle.

While others were seeking free massages donated by a local facility, reading, sleeping or doing laundry, a few of us spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering around the historic part of downtown Pueblo. We started out at the local bike shop on 4th and Santa Fe, since I got my first flat tire of the trip just as we reached the historic district. While I was working on repairing my tire with the assistance of the shop bike mechanic, Kevin and Erin decided to entertain us all by taking a spin on a foot tall bike that looked as if it was built for a two year old. After fixing my flat tire and with my newly purchased tires in hand, we all headed out to the library in hopes of checking our email. Quickly realizing that the demand for Internet access was great, we opted not to wait in line. Instead, we headed off to Wireworks Coffee for an afternoon jolt. We visited there for a short time before heading back to the Search Center.

Shortly before 6 p.m., we headed off to the educational event and potluck that three local Pueblo parishes hosted. We shared the story of Break the Cycle with a rather large group from the Pueblo community, which included many youth. At the end of our presentation, Kristen Connor, a founder of a local organization partially funded by CCHD, gave a heartfelt, in-depth presentation about the work her organization does in Colorado to enforce the laws established under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At the end of the event, we had those that desired to take a pledge to help break the cycle of poverty sign the banner that we are carrying across the country. Following the signing of the banner, we headed back to the Search Center to prepare for tomorrow’s day of riding.

Once back at the Search Center, I headed off to complete this journal and ended up spending a good portion of the night talking with one of my fellow riders, Erin, about life and our journey. Although it was 1 a.m. when we headed off to bed (meaning that we would only be getting just four hours of sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s 90 mile ride), I have no regrets about spending time on this journey participating in such in-depth conversations with my fellow riders, especially Erin who has such a special, faith based and unspoiled way of looking at life.

Jennifer Seibly

Special thanks to Rosemary Stoker and the United Methodist Church of Haswell for sharing their church and opening the community center for us.