Some days, this journey is about the miles tracked or the wind at our backs. Some days, it’s about the heat, the hills, or the simple comfort of a bed and a cold brew at the end of a long stretch. We wake up and we pedal, making our way slowly across the vastness of this country, one rotation at a time.

But today wasn’t about the bike.

Today, every mile was a prayer. As Jeff and I rode, our hearts were home with my mother, Sharon, during her appointment with her new oncologist.

We both know the devastating shadow that cancer casts on the people we love. We carry a collective hope for a world where no one has to endure this struggle—a world where cures are the standard and “stage 4” is a phrase of the past. Sadly, that isn’t the reality of today. We learned today that my mom’s cancer has progressed to stage 4 lung cancer. Even when recent tests had prepared us for the possibility, the words still carry a weight that is hard to describe.

Yet, in the face of this, my mom is teaching us the ultimate lesson: she is receiving each new sunrise as a gift. She reminds us that none of us are promised a tomorrow, so we must cherish the one we have.

I don’t share this news to break your hearts, but to offer a reminder to hold your own lives a little more tightly. To give thanks for the breath in your lungs. We owe it to ourselves—and to her—to take the gift of life seriously. To live every moment fully. To even shout at the top of our lungs as we pedal across this incredible landscape:

“Oh my goodness… we’re riding our bikes across America!”

May your tomorrow be filled with joy. May it be filled with kindness, caring, and most importantly, an abundance of love.

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