Many of you may know that for the past three years I have participated in the "Ride for AIDS". This year I felt the need to do something more. Thus was born my idea for a "Second Mile Ride". In my faith tradition, "second miles" come from a passage of scripture (Matthew 5:41) where if you are forced by obligation to carry a Roman official's packs one mile, you carry them a second mile. "Second mile" giving has therefore come to represent giving that is extraordinary, that goes above and beyond what you would normally give. This is what my ride this year is about.

I will be riding the "Grand Illinois Trails and Parks" ride. We will spend seven days riding between 35 and 100 miles each day. The total mileage will end up between 325 and 565 miles, depending on which leg I take each day (there is usually a long and short option). We'll be biking around the Illinois, Rock, and Fox rivers, camping overnight in the many state parks in the area.

The ride didn't come with any designated fund raiser, so I came up with a challenge. A BIG challenge. I'm asking you to ride the second mile with me with your time and money. I hope to encourage $7,000 of second mile giving, $1,000 for each day of the ride. Here is how it works:

1. Choose a cause or issue that is important to you. Maybe it is curing disease, eliminating hunger, fostering peace, ending racism, ensuring justice for all humans, end to genocide, ensuring all have a home, a clean environment etc.

2. Set aside 30 days. In each day take a few minutes to imagine what the world would be like if your cause or issue was no longer a problem in our world. Imagine a world without preventable diseases, where all are fed, no guns are heard, all are treated with justice, no one is killed, all have a place to call home, and we all breathe clean air and drink clear water.

3. Make a commitment to bring that vision about. Find an organization that shares your vision and is working towards it. Donate money or volunteer time to that organization so that they have the resources to do the work you visioned. Maybe you can set aside a little money each of the 30 days, and give it at the end. I will count volunteer time at $10 an hour towards the $7,000 goal.

4. During each of the seven days I'm riding (June 17-23), find someone to share your vision with.

If you are willing to take me up on this "second mile" challenge, please send me an email, note, or phone call with the following information (so I can keep track of how much we have raised together):

1. Who you are

2. The cause or issue you will be focusing on

3. The amount of time and money you plan on committing to the cause or issue (you can always send me an increase if you find more to give)

4. Any stories you have about why you took up this challenge or why you took up this particular cause or issue – also, please let me know if I can share your story with others.
   

After your 30 days of visioning, and 7 days of sharing please let me know how the "second mile" ride impacted you.

I will try to keep everyone updated on our progress towards the $7,000 by posting on this blog.