Phil Ladden . com

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT SERIES No 1
(Part 2) (Part 1)

DAY EIGHT – Steve’s bike is stolen at a stop in Phoenix.

Unreal. Surreal. Can you imagine? You are in your first week of the most exciting journey of your life and the object that is the focal point of the success used to accomplish the goal is taken. Not only the bike, but everything that you had for your trip. The maps, phone charger, your clothes, shoes, …

It was about noon and he had just ridden in from Wickenburg that morning and was making his way east to spend that night in Tempe or Apache Junction. We were going to get together and go for something to eat ( FYI, I live in the Valley of the Sun).

I get a text from him that says he made it and that he was stopping for lunch at a Taco Bell (Steve is not known for a healthy diet, which one might presume for a guy doing such a physically challenging goal). He says he is at 19th Ave. and Dunlap.

19th and Dunlap?!? I almost fell out of my chair. The building I work in is literally 2 minutes away. I often eat there for lunch. (I’m not known for a healthy diet either, that has to change.) My lunch hour is within an hour so I tell him to hang out and I’ll stop by.

He says he feels he needs to get going to make it another 20 or so miles that day. I text back that I would call him later.

Not more than 10 minutes later I get this text. “You are not going to believe this! My bike was stolen!”

I couldn’t believe it. I should have warned him. This particular area has one of the highest crime rates in the whole city.

By the time I arrive, he seems pretty resigned that whatever happens now will be ok. As hard as it is to accept, Steve says he feels more than ever God is in control. So if it is meant for him to continue, he will.

Fortunately he had taken his phone, wallet, and helmet with him. I meet him at the Taco Bell and we talk. The police actually come by and they say bikes are the transportation preference with drug dealers as they go house to house. The cop says that the thief probably had the cable lock cut within seconds.

I drop Steve off at a Walmart and head back to work. He buys a pair of shorts, sandals, t-shirt, and shows he still has good mental acumen by purchasing an Arizona CARDINALS t-shirt! He finds a Motel 6 just down the road to stay. That afternoon a friend offers to help by buying a new bike so that he can continue his dream.

The new bike. Here’s Steve the evening before feeling thankful and excited that he will be continuing the next morning. But it wasn’t going to be that easy.

He ends east and after going about 50 miles, encounters four flats in a matter of a mile stretch, and the chain gets tangled to the point where he can’t fix it. I go out and pick him up. It is at this point that I can tell he sees this as maybe a sign to end the trip. He is filled with frustration and disappointment. He decides to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning.

I really expected him to stop at this point. The truth be known, if I had been through all this, I would have quit.

But the morning brought good news. The bike shop quickly fixed the chain, gave some pointers on the changing of the tubes with this bike, and friends from Tuscon said they could come up and take him back to the spot where he had reached 2 days prior. That was huge as Steve admits the prospect of riding through Phoenix again was something he just couldn’t think about. He decides he has to give this at least one more try.

(pic by Brandi) This was the exact spot I had picked him up the day before and now friends Brandi and Joel from Tuscon return him to continue.

As of this morning, Steve is within 10 days of completing his dream of riding across America on his bike. He crossed the Mississippi the other day. Weather (snow) has slowed him presently. (A Steve phenomenon is that everywhere he goes, SNOW follows! Hahha. Last year while visiting Arizona, Tuscon had a huge snowfall.)

His friends have been inspired in his ride and look forward to all his pictures and stories he will have when he returns. More than anything, Steve has demonstrated a tremendous level of determination and faith to his goal and this is truly motivating.

Keep peddling east, my friend!!

Photo courtesy of Brandi and Joel. Destination: The Atlantic Ocean!

Part 3 will be the final installment of this Personal Achievement story and will be posted at the conclusion of this journey.