Music For Free: Update From Brush Mountain Lodge
Keenan and I are a little over halfway through the Music for Free Tour. A week ago, on Father’s Day, we made a quick hour-long stop in Helena, Montana for a show at Great Divide Cyclery. We then got back on our bikes to begin a big, seven-day, 900-mile push through Idaho and Wyoming to Colorado. We have moved through some incredible landscapes crossing paths with storms, wild horses, and many incredible people who opened their hearts to share their stories with us.
While Montana was rainy, cold, and snowy it seems we have left most of that behind. Yesterday, we entered into Colorado where the sun was shining hot and bright. We were met with an incredible welcome of bells and cheers as we rolled into Brush Mountain Lodge where I will be playing a show tonight for the local ranchers and whatever riders end up here for the night.
Many of my friends who have ridden the Tour Divide or Great Divide Mountain Bike Route have talked about how emotional it is and that many times throughout the ride they burst into tears at random. This has happened to me on previous trips, so I fully expected it to happen on this journey. To my surprise, the most emotional moments have not been while riding, but when I’m performing.
This morning I interviewed my friend Jay Petervary for the film Keenan and I are making. Jay has been very involved in the Tour Divide Race since 2007. This year he is not riding, but for the last week has been hanging out up at Brush Mountain helping Kirsten take care of riders as they pass through. He mentioned how moving it is to see people impacted by the work that he has done as an ambassador for the sport of bikepacking. He also pointed out that when you do something because you are fulfilling your passion, you don’t always recognize the impact those actions have on others. It's a very powerful moment then when you are given an opportunity to meet and interact with the people whose lives you have impacted. In a sense, when this happens the energy you once gave to your passion or vision comes back to you and is reabsorbed into your own life. It is humbling and moving, a gift of incredible fortune.
This is about as close as I can come to explaining why I have almost broken into tears each time I have played a show on this trip. It’s something to do with absorbing the reality of how this undertaking is impacting people and how it continues to impact me, to teach me, and help me grow as a human being.
After this short rest at Brush Mountain we leave to push through the last two states of this journey and will have more updates to share as we roll forward. In the meantime, I am grateful for all the people who have believed in me along the way, who have stuck out their necks and helped me to stay on my path.
Enjoy your summer and continue to do what you love!
-------------------------
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BEN WEAVER'S MUSIC FOR FREE TOUR
CATCH A MUSIC FOR FREE PERFORMANCE!
