Repost from searchandstate.com

NYC to GSC / Rider Announcement May 29, 2014

NYCtoGSC

We didn’t know what to expect when putting this challenge out there. We had high hopes and the responses have truly exceeded anything we imagined. We’ve heard from teachers, farmers, scientists, physicists, parents, messengers, artists, laborers and everything in between. Some of the applicants have crossed the country multiple times while others have only crossed to the other side of town. There was one consistent theme in every proposal we read, that riding a bicycle brings great joy. For most, the chancre to devote one’s whole heart and soul to nothing else for three thousand miles was an opportunity too great to pass up.

We had to pick one, and should he accept our offer, Joseph Henry Holway will fly from Phoenix, AZ and be riding from our sewing room in the Garment District of Manhattan to Golden Saddle Cyclery in Los Angeles. He’s 21 years old, humble, and immensely qualified to take this journey. He has ridden the Tour Divide and his reflections on the experiences are inspiring. He shared a few thoughts on his application that we feel it’s important to share with you.

It is not a specific event, but the entire journey that makes me happy. Not only do I miss the open road, the amazing descents, and friendships along the way, but also have grown to miss each and every climb, thunderstorm, and all 23 long days. The simplicity of riding day after day brings unparalleled bliss, everything else falls from your mind, and you are able to connect with the beauty that surrounds.

We’re just as excited to live vicariously through Joseph, as he is to start riding. We don’t know what lies between New York City and Los Angeles, it’s up him to breathe in the wild air and find it for us.