MONTGOMERY COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT PARAMEDIC ERIK RICHENBERGER
WE NEED MONTGOMERY COUNTY TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND HELP THIS GUY OUT. HE GIVES TO THE COUNTY WITH HIS DEDICATION AS A PARAMEDIC AND HAS BEEN TRAINING MONTHS ON EVERY WAKING MINUTE THAT HE IS NOT WORKING.HE PLANS TO START HIS 2,753 MILE RIDE ONE MONTH FROM TODAY.
TO DATE THERE HAS BEEN LESS THAN $1,000 DONATED TO THE CAUSE AND LESS THAN $500 FOR EXPENSES.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE FOR THE CAUSE
CLICK HERE TO HELP ERIK WITH RIDE EXPENSES
My name is Erik, and a couple of years ago I watched “Ride The Divide” on Netflix. It’s a documentary about a mountain bike race that loosely travels the continental divide from Banff, AB to Antelope Wells, NM. It spans 2,753 miles and sustains an elevation gain of 220,000ft throughout the route. There is no entry fee, no finisher medal, and no vehicles following behind in case you have a mechanical. This is an unsupported, self-sustained, carry everything on your bike, self-navigate, figure-out-your-own-logistics type of event. Competitive cyclist average 100 – 150 miles a day for 18 – 25+ days straight, and they are on the bike for 18 – 20 hours per day. So why do this? What’s the point? Some say that it’s a spirit quest, and that they come out of it with a better sense of who they are or what their purpose in life is. Others do it for the experience of biking across the most beautiful landscape Canada and the USA have to offer. Everyone who accepts the challenge of the Tour Divide does it for different reasons, but in the end there is nothing to gain or lose from this event, but honor.
I’m a man born of modern times, but whose soul yearns for days of past. As I sit here trying to formulate my thoughts for a letter of intent worthy of the Tour Divide, I’m finding myself at a loss for words. How does one formally announce to the world their intent to race in the greatest mountain bike event of all time? How does one give justice to the countless training hours, time away from family, constant hunger, cold early mornings, and the sacrifices they’ve made to prepare for such a race? It’s hard, and it can be even more difficult explaining why we choose to pedal human-powered machines down the spine of this great nation, unsupported, for nothing but the honor of saying we rode a competitive, yet clean race. How do I explain that my inner soul is yelling at me to give up modern conveniences such as, automobiles, a warm bed, showers, treated water, and sanitary infrastructure; only to become more in tune with nature, myself, and experience the reflection that emerges when one realizes just how small we are compared to the world around us, yet how big of an impact we can make if we learn to focus on things that truly matter in life?
I can’t explain how or why, but I know that a force greater than me has pushed me to race the Tour Divide. This race is going to be hard, very hard; however, it also has the capacity to be very rewarding. With that being said, I’m throwing my hat into the ring and formally announcing my intent to compete in the 2015 Tour Divide. Somewhere between Banff and Antelope Wells, I might find some answers to these questions, but if not… that’s ok. When I finish, I know that I will have pursued my dreams, and I will have helped out some great people along the way.
“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” ―Ernest Hemingway
