July 4 -
We were in China when we got the news that Joel had overdosed on opioids. This day we celebrate our independence as a country built on the idea of individual freedom. That stands in contrast to the controlled society of China where individual freedom of expression and action were constrained and controlled. Today is one day of a project I was free to create and express through action without the concerns of outside approval. I am so grateful to live in this land; I could easily have been born into a land where I did not have these freedoms. I ride today to represent those who want to be free from the addiction to substances. They live controlled and constrained and often want desperately to be free, into a land many are born into. I began this journey on Independence Day weekend to symbolize the freedom sought by those on the way to recovery. Addiction is a brain disease. It disrupts the choice making pathways in the brain. It is treatable.