Sometimes we are in a place with our lives where we are able to make a difference. Such is the place that I find myself. My personal mission statement is …to be of service and make a difference in the world through my act of contribution.
There are dreams that call to you and then go quietly back to sleep and then there are those dreams that keep calling to you . . . again and again. . . “come home, come home…” and you just have to say “yes”!...for to end your life without heeding the call would mean a major regret on your death bed. Such was the dream that kept calling to me to Africa.
I first heard about the Tour d’Afrique when a Crescent old boy, Dr. Greg Wells, came to relate his experience for an assembly at Crescent School (where I have had the pleasure of teaching for the past 19 years). There was something about the passion with which he expressed his experience that ignited the dream within me. And then a few years later in the fall of 2004 I was traveling to South Africa. Synchronicity?
I had the opportunity to journey to South Africa along with another teacher and two students, to the Get Ahead Project School in Queenstown as a part of the Triangle of Hope Project which was being set up by the Stephen Leacock Society. The Triangle of Hope connects an inner city school, a developing country school and a school of privilege together. The belief is that each school has something to offer and give to each other no matter what the circumstances.
As I stepped off the plane I had no idea what to expect of this country. In my mind I had a picture that was created from the images, sounds and others experiences that I had read about and seen. What I discovered was a place that is like no other in the world. What have drawn me back year after year are the people I have had the honor of getting to know and admire and the magic of this amazing land. I returned home with a sense of leaving home…from a place I had just arrived at. I have since returned to South Africa and the Get Ahead School with other staff and students and developed a connection between Crescent School and GAP.
Always in the back of my mind and calling me louder and louder was the dream of riding in the Tour d’Afrique . . .a 12000km bicycle ride, through ten countries over 120 days that begins in Cairo Egypt and ends in Cape Town South Africa. I finally said yes to this dream in September of 2007. I filled in the registration application and pressed the send button. This blog, in the spring of 2007, is the start of my journey towards my dream. . . at least the web aspect!
Having been a runner for the past 20 years the transition to being a cyclist was the easy part. The challenge was to surrender to the fact that I knew little about what would be required. As Steven Covey points out in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, there are four stages to learning something new. The first stage is that you are unconscious that you are incompetent. The second stage is that once awareness kicks in you become conscious that you are incompetent. This was the stage I found myself at last fall. . . conscious that I knew very little about being a long distance cyclist, let alone being able to figure out what bike I would need. I knew that I had to set my intention as I set out to discover, learn and surrender. Gradually through training reading and asking questions I have moved to the third stage learning which is, that of being consciously competent. I look forward to being in the fourth stage, which is to arrive at the place where I am unconsciously competent, just being one with the bike and journey.
Always in the back of my mind was my dark side saying to me . . “you are too old…are you kidding! Do you really think you can do this…what will others think of you…how can you possible leave your job to do this?..” There were times when I let this voice become the loudest and I became trapped with the fear of what I was setting out to do. When the awareness kicked in of what voice I was heeding, I would breathe and reconnect to the dream that called me to action. Gradually the fear voice became smaller and smaller and the dream louder and louder.
Along with the learning that was taking place was the way that people and things I needed would show up in my life. It is said that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. My teachers have been books, television programs and people…in many cases people who are younger than myself…go figure!!!!...talk about going into patterns!!!
My intention with this blog is to provide a venue where you may read and follow along with me as I follow my dream. My intention with the ride is to arrive in Cape Town on May 10, 2008 safely and with my fellow sojourners.
I am calling this dream the Pedal for Hope. I am also setting the goal of raising funds for the Get Ahead Project School that I have come to cherish and love. The money raised will assist the children at this school to receive a quality education that they might otherwise not get within the regular school system. To learn more about the Triangle of Hope program and the Get Ahead Project school please visit The Stephen Leacock Foundation for Children at
So be sure to visit this blog regularly as I update it with training reports, photos and where I am with my fundraising etc. Once the actual ride begins I will updated it as a computer and the Internet become available. You can always follow the action in words and photos at
There are dreams that call to you and then go quietly back to sleep and then there are those dreams that keep calling to you . . . again and again. . . “come home, come home…” and you just have to say “yes”!...for to end your life without heeding the call would mean a major regret on your death bed. Such was the dream that kept calling to me to Africa.
I first heard about the Tour d’Afrique when a Crescent old boy, Dr. Greg Wells, came to relate his experience for an assembly at Crescent School (where I have had the pleasure of teaching for the past 19 years). There was something about the passion with which he expressed his experience that ignited the dream within me. And then a few years later in the fall of 2004 I was traveling to South Africa. Synchronicity?
I had the opportunity to journey to South Africa along with another teacher and two students, to the Get Ahead Project School in Queenstown as a part of the Triangle of Hope Project which was being set up by the Stephen Leacock Society. The Triangle of Hope connects an inner city school, a developing country school and a school of privilege together. The belief is that each school has something to offer and give to each other no matter what the circumstances.
As I stepped off the plane I had no idea what to expect of this country. In my mind I had a picture that was created from the images, sounds and others experiences that I had read about and seen. What I discovered was a place that is like no other in the world. What have drawn me back year after year are the people I have had the honor of getting to know and admire and the magic of this amazing land. I returned home with a sense of leaving home…from a place I had just arrived at. I have since returned to South Africa and the Get Ahead School with other staff and students and developed a connection between Crescent School and GAP.
Always in the back of my mind and calling me louder and louder was the dream of riding in the Tour d’Afrique . . .a 12000km bicycle ride, through ten countries over 120 days that begins in Cairo Egypt and ends in Cape Town South Africa. I finally said yes to this dream in September of 2007. I filled in the registration application and pressed the send button. This blog, in the spring of 2007, is the start of my journey towards my dream. . . at least the web aspect!
Having been a runner for the past 20 years the transition to being a cyclist was the easy part. The challenge was to surrender to the fact that I knew little about what would be required. As Steven Covey points out in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, there are four stages to learning something new. The first stage is that you are unconscious that you are incompetent. The second stage is that once awareness kicks in you become conscious that you are incompetent. This was the stage I found myself at last fall. . . conscious that I knew very little about being a long distance cyclist, let alone being able to figure out what bike I would need. I knew that I had to set my intention as I set out to discover, learn and surrender. Gradually through training reading and asking questions I have moved to the third stage learning which is, that of being consciously competent. I look forward to being in the fourth stage, which is to arrive at the place where I am unconsciously competent, just being one with the bike and journey.
Always in the back of my mind was my dark side saying to me . . “you are too old…are you kidding! Do you really think you can do this…what will others think of you…how can you possible leave your job to do this?..” There were times when I let this voice become the loudest and I became trapped with the fear of what I was setting out to do. When the awareness kicked in of what voice I was heeding, I would breathe and reconnect to the dream that called me to action. Gradually the fear voice became smaller and smaller and the dream louder and louder.
Along with the learning that was taking place was the way that people and things I needed would show up in my life. It is said that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. My teachers have been books, television programs and people…in many cases people who are younger than myself…go figure!!!!...talk about going into patterns!!!
My intention with this blog is to provide a venue where you may read and follow along with me as I follow my dream. My intention with the ride is to arrive in Cape Town on May 10, 2008 safely and with my fellow sojourners.
I am calling this dream the Pedal for Hope. I am also setting the goal of raising funds for the Get Ahead Project School that I have come to cherish and love. The money raised will assist the children at this school to receive a quality education that they might otherwise not get within the regular school system. To learn more about the Triangle of Hope program and the Get Ahead Project school please visit The Stephen Leacock Foundation for Children at
So be sure to visit this blog regularly as I update it with training reports, photos and where I am with my fundraising etc. Once the actual ride begins I will updated it as a computer and the Internet become available. You can always follow the action in words and photos at
