There are two key words that sum up riding with the Fireflies. Hurt and Pain.
There isn’t one person I know who doesn’t know what hurt feels like. We have all experienced it in one form or another. Breavement, abandonment, loneliness, isolation, depression, anxiety, fear, the list is endless. If you haven’t felt any of these, then all I can say is that you are very lucky. The human spirit is far more powerful than anyone can truly comprehend. Some of my closest friends are incredibly brave with what they have to come to terms with, I ride for them always.
In my experience this is fundamentally very different to pain. There is a world of pain waiting for us in the alps and we are not in Kansas (Richmond Park) anymore. It is time to show our true colours (again) and give every ounce of our existence to support those who need us most. The rest of my time is spent appreciating everything I have, the friends I hold dear and making one’s own life as unique and as beautiful as possible.
Alan McKenzie Donation