We are asked many times why we cycle and in particular why long distance. Why not just ride 100 miles and that be good enough? I think, brevets that requires the rider to ride unsupported is the ultimate test in road cycling, that requires you to care for your body and the machine simultaneously to keep the pedals turning km after km, day after day. AND that's not including needing skills in navigation, decision making, and self reliance. Riding my bike, I'm taken to new places that allow me to see scenery that you can't appreciate from a car seat. Every mountain climbed, every corner turned takes you to new experiences, new smells, and new sounds. You push yourself into new territories physically and mentally. We not asked often asked what inspires us to ride, though.

In the summer of 2007 Lydia's friend, Ryan, rode his bike from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast on the Northern Tier Trail, 4,500 miles by himself. Lydia had just transferred to Purdue and started the Vet Tech Program and remembers logging on the school's computers every day to see if he had updated his journal yet. She was so mesmerized by all the places he visited and the people he met. She knew she wanted to do the same thing but couldn't see how she would ever get there. 3 miles was a long ride how would she ever do 50-100 miles every day for the whole summer? Spring 2008 Ryan's brother called. Ryan had been taken into the emergency surgery that day. He was diagnosis with stage 3 colon cancer, at age 24. After the first rounds of chemo and radiation Ryan was making plans to ride again summer 2009. Steve and Lydia had been dating a few years and she shared with him her desire to ride across the country. Next thing Lydia knows Steve buys a new bike and gifts her his old one. They spent the summer apart as their internships were in different cities each riding a few times a week and that fall at Steve's hometown local charity bike ride Lydia rode 25 miles and Steve 62 miles. Ryan was unable to make the ride as the cancer had returned in his liver and he needed abdominal surgery. Ryan, Steve, and Lydia stayed in touch and talked about riding. Over the next couple of years Ryan, Steve, and Lydia would meet up and ride together. In between two more abdominal surgeries, rounds and rounds of chemo and radiation Ryan rode from IN to AZ, IN to Maine, WY to Canada, a route around the perimeter of IN, and IN to Mackinaw Island. Steve and Lydia would talk about touring but it was all talk.

September 2014 they got that call that Ryan had lost his 6 year battle with cancer. Three days later at his viewing, they watch a video from his most recent tour "A Bike Ride Out West-Cycling from Wyoming to Canada. Steve and Lydia looked at each other and at that moment they decided no more excuses. They brought a map, brought some supplies, borrowed a tandem, borrowed some other supplies, and 9 days later they were driving to Fredsrickburg, VA where they would begin their first tour. They rode a route Ryan hadn't ridden yet and rode in memory of him. They raised about $500 dollars which they donated to Stand Up 2 Cancer, a organization Ryan believed in. They rode 380 miles over 9 days and fell in love with touring. Ryan was and continues to be their inspiration, even through countless surgeries, and treatments he found time to do the one thing he loved.