joelindley16

It’s an expression of who you are. And I want to know more.

It’s an expression of who you are. And I want to know.

“The way back up.”

I have officially been back longer than I was gone.

I have spent the last two months in a place I have never experienced before.

I needed to process the journey, what it was meant to teach me, and most importantly, how I can provide value to others through the lens of my experience.

I am going to continue the sharing of my journey across the country, but first, I need you to understand this lens I now look through.

The first few times you push yourself for something bigger than you could ever imagine, something that may seem impossible for you, there is a crash.

And I burnt myself out.

I thought the biggest test of my mental health was going to be the ride, but it turned out to be the come down after.

The truth is, I almost lost my life two times out there.

The amount of life essence that it took to continue and finish after each of these events, put me in sheer survival mode.

I expected to get back and continue with the same momentum I had before I left: To pick up the same training routines, to start swimming again and immediately prep for a half ironman.

But my mind wouldn’t let me.

I was a depressed version of myself.

Every week, it was “this week”.

“This week is when I turn it all around.”

I stopped biking.

I have only been on the bike twice since I got back.

I have felt unreliable to some of the people closest to me.

Even making this graphic and posting it has taken me over 2 weeks.

It just felt like I wasn't going to be able to get myself back up.

What is the point after all?

The real problem was that I wasn't actually in a bad place.

I was still eating healthy 90% of the time, still working out multiple times a week.

But the bar was lower than before so it felt like I was doing nothing.

We are our own worst critics.

But I wanted more for myself again.

I have thought a lot about how I want to share the rest of this journey.

So I start by sharing this graphic so that you may have a lens to view the rest of this story through.

To know that I will be broken on the other side of that finish line.

But I now know I needed to be broken to put the pieces back together stronger…

(Continued in comments)

Day 8: Foothills of Appalachia

“How do you feel?”

Incredible.

Today was a storyline in itself.

I started off in the rain. Then struggled through fatigue to make it to lunch.

I rode ribbons of road for long enough to really drive anyone crazy.

Into hilly farmland with changing vegetation as it all became more vibrant and green.

Into and through two small towns, before being spit back out into the first really long inclines; climbing uphill for minutes at a time.

After all that climbing, I had my first long downhill to reward the sweat.

A feeling like this can’t be found many other places.

You pour everything you’ve got into something and sometimes (when you need it most), it pays dividends.

As we sit here in this van overlooking the landscape we danced with for the first week, we can’t help but feel accomplished.

But we cannot forget, as we turn back around and look down into what is to come…

We will be faced with a whole new set of challenges.

And be forced to adapt to those all the same.

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made all these profound moments possible. They believed in what we wanted to do and helped make this ride for mental health REALITY.
Outdoorsy is the worlds biggest RV rental site and where we found this beauty: VANessa VANhalen

Day 7: Solo

“How do you feel?”

Incredible.

The last couple days have been draining.

It just felt like something had to go wrong one way or another.

We knew that it wouldn’t be easy coming into this, but maybe not that it would all happen so soon.

I’m not quite sure if it’s getting better, or if we are just starting to adapt to this life.

No, we are definitely adapting.

Last night we got kicked out of a Walmart parking lot and tonight we have the grounds of a distillery to ourselves.

The ride today was beautiful.

I rode solo on a greenway and saw some of the prettiest neighborhoods I have ever been through.

I spent a significant portion of the day in the flow state.

This made the heat more bearable, and the first day of significant climbing almost invisible.

However, what I didn’t notice for that portion were my surroundings.

Towards the end, I looked up and saw how pretty the clouds were for the first time.

This made me wonder what else I missed.

This makes me want to balance better.

The goal is to ride..

But I shouldn’t get so focused on the end goal that I miss the journey.

“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in awhile, You could miss it.”

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Day 5: Communication Lapse

“How do you feel?”

Thankful.

Thankful for people who help others.

Last night, I told about my knee pain and he told me to focus on using my glutes and hamstrings.

“Your glutes and hamstrings are 2 huge muscle groups. Use them.”

I started the day with a really intentional mind muscle connection.

The more I focused, the slower time went, but not only did my knee stop hurting.. I actually got a lot faster and more efficient.

So thank you, Eric for your willingness to slow down and teach.

Thankful for people who reach out and wish others the best.

reached out to me this morning before the ride and said to “stay vulnerable”, because it is inspiring to be so open.

That really got me through the first 40 miles.

So please never hesitate to reach out. It makes days better.

Thankful for friends who are willing to listen.

Life on the road with another person makes it easier, but it’s still hard.

Pat and I had our first lapse in communication today.

After listening to each other, we came up up with better strategies for communicating and the road.

And I’m extremely thankful for you.

Thank you for believing in us.

📸-
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The goal of this process is to raise mental health awareness.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Day 4: Broken Chain & Dave

“How do you feel?”

I feel so damn excited.

I was talking with Patrick that there will be a lot of slow days, but there will be a handful of days that make this all worth it.

And today was one of those days.

My bike chain snapped.

And in the process of replacing it with a new one, we realized I left my camera charger and battery in the last town.

This sounds negative, but it actually turned out to be a blessing.

Without this misfortune, I never would have met Dave and his wife, Heidi.

I would not have shed a tear or two with a stranger that I really hope to see again.

So here’s my takeaway from today:

Whenever things seem like they’re going horribly wrong…
.maybe they’re going terribly right.

I wanted to scream (and I did briefly), but I didn’t let it affect my mood towards life and others.

I brought positive energy to Dave and it turns out he was my reason for the day.

Control what you can, and stop worrying so much about about what you cannot.

And watch where it gets you.

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The goal of this process is to raise mental health awareness.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Day 3: The Lost Boy

“How do you feel?”

Nostalgic and hopeful.

I was deeply reminded of happy memories from childhood today.

I rode 4 miles out of the way just to say I rode in Virginia.

The state I lived in until I was 8 years old.

Before I moved so many schools and stopped riding the bus.

As I approached the sign reading, “Virginia is for Lovers”, I experienced unexpected emotions.

It wasn’t sad, but more of a longing I didn’t know existed.

As I got closer, a man pulled into his driveway.

I rode across the border, then turned around and pulled up next to the man.

Mike is his name.

I can’t help but think he was there so I wouldn’t have to experience this moment alone.

He was very friendly and kept me grounded on mile 33 of 70 for the day.

While intense and unexpected, I love these little moments when you can’t explain when or why you feel a certain way.

And not being able to explain it is okay.

📸-

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The goal of this process is to raise mental health awareness.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Day 2: Duck Thru

“How do you feel?”

Pat just brought up that we (humans) are back to worrying about just the essentials: food, water, shelter.

Having to fill up our water containers.

Where, what, and when we will cook food.

And where we will park the van to sleep.

This really puts things into perspective.

For most of us, these things are already taken care of, so our brains are free to wander and worry about other things.

The things we are worried about on the road are simple.. just not easy.

Kind of like this bike ride.

All we have to do is ~50 miles a day for 2 months, but it’s definitely not easy.

We can only do the little things every day to make this time more predictable.

It’s not a race to the finish line..

It’s a set period with the goal being to tell a story. A BIG story.

So I’m feeling determined.

Determined to do what needs to be done every day.

But mainly and perhaps most importantly do the little things to establish a routine and create some normalcy in a situation

That is so foreign

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The goal of this process is to erase the stigma behind mental health.

We partnered with and our goal is to raise $150,000 so that we can save as many lives as possible along the way.

Please help us make this difference. Follow , share our stories, and if you can, please donate to the nonprofit link.

Image 1: How it looks to turn 26.

Last Pic: how it feels.

All jokes aside, Besides my lower back which I have had issues with on and off for a couple years now, I feel better than ever.

This birthday was weird tho. I hadn’t even thought about it until it was suddenly May 31st.

I have been so fixated on planning and preparing for this ride on June 15th that I was living in the future.

I have to work on staying present and not constantly planning the next BIG thing.

It’s hard. I thrive on novelty.

And I constantly plan this novelty into my life.

Which makes my story one I am proud of..

But this makes me miss out on some things that matter NOW.

I get so caught up in writing the book, that I forget I’m also supposed to live it.

I’m telling you this, because I think we all need to slow down once in awhile.

I know I need to.

Take in the little moments and don’t miss the big one’s for others.

I love you all. Thanks for the well wishes 🤍

# @ Austin High School