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Netherlands, Belgium, France ... windmills, chocolate, wine. I had traveled into Eastern Europe before, and the lure of a Western European adventure called to me. The deal was sealed. But wait! This package came with a twist.

"Travel to Europe at your own cost. Lodging accommodations include an 8' x 6' tent and an assigned spot to pitch it. Meal service provided daily under the big top. Bathroom facilities include hundreds of identical blue containers appropriately labeled "toi-toi". Showers are close by ~ yes, in that trailer behind the semi. Expect to be transported by feet, bicycles, U-hauls, vans and buses. Hopefully never via the Medical Transport. No guarantees on the weather. Anticipate rain."

All this, in the name of helping the world to be a better place. The adventure, the 2002 European AIDS Vaccine Ride, would be my second assignment with Pallotta Team Works, the first being the Montana AIDS Vaccine Ride in the summer of 2001.

Amsterdam was the arrival city. What a place. Green trees, winding cobblestone streets, flowers everywhere, canals and bridges and bicycles, beer and cheese and pancakes, friendly people, amazing architecture, art everywhere, historical lessons waiting to be learned. How easy it would have been to get lost in the city and forget that I was there for a reason.

Meeting 200 other crew members, 100 staff members and 600 riders made it impossible to forget. Catching up with Chris and Meaghan, friends from the Montana Ride, made it impossible to forget. And, thinking about the 56,000 people throughout the world who would die of AIDS during the ten days I was there made it impossible to forget.

I live in Montana. I'm ready for anything weather wise. My Patagonia jacket has withstood white-out conditions and 30 degree below wind chill in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. After four solid days of rain in Europe (during what they referred to as "an English summer") and many soul searching moments, it was Patagonia-schmatagonia. It didn't really matter.

We were up before dawn. Riders pedaled their hearts out in the rain. There was singing in the rain. Eating in the rain. Setting up tents in the rain. Taking down tents in the rain. Changing flat tires in the rain. Sightseeing in the rain. Most of us don't know the pain of dying from AIDS and trying to make a deal with God to please see one more day. So, we were wet. In the big picture, it didn't really matter either.

I had asked to be assigned to the Lunch Crew, just as I had been the year before. I had fantasies of hurling Perrier and baguettes at riders as they pedaled by. Being a part of the Lunch Crew offered the opportunity to see every rider, every day ~ to greet and cheer and hug and warm and encourage and smile and joke and hand off delectable delights such as hawaisnack, fleischwurst, vegetable balls, gatorade, water, fruit, and our favorite, cakes for desert. My fellow crew members included several vivacious college students from Maine who did a marvelous job of bongo-drumming on the drink containers and chanting "we love you riders" through the bullhorn. Other Lunch Crew friends included a florist and a dentist and a PhD, all from Chicago, as well as a few Minnesotans, yah hey, and others. Ted was our Staff Guru and Sascha was a German assigned to hang with us for the week, as our official food service rep. (We believe that Sascha will never be the same again. See photo of him squeezed into a snazzy little number on dress-up day !) Throughout the Ride event, other volunteer crews were assigned to route signage, gridding off the Tent City, loading and unloading gear trucks, offering medical assistance and PT sessions, managing hydration stations, collecting trash, sweeping bikes back to camp, or guiding German bus drivers through the countryside. The world of wonder and extreme teamwork. Everyone mattered.

Riders dove head first into the flavor of the Amsterdam, Arnham, Brunssum, Namur, Charleville-Mezieres, Laon, Meaux and many towns along the way. Bakeries and coffee shops and markets offered fuel. Locals would wave and cheer riders on. Children would come to the town square ~ for many, this would be their first interaction with Americans. Bike shops were inundated ~ many gave of their services for free, after hearing the riders' stories. Riders had to be passionate about what they were doing. Each had a minimum fundraising mark of $5000 to hit before they could participate in this journey; imagine, all that work, and then, buy a bicycle and a helmet, train for months and ride 500 miles in 7 days. Donations and support came from friends and coworkers and families and businesses. We reached out to the world, and the world responded. We were making a difference.

We stepped outside our daily routines. We walked and rode on foreign soil, acting as ambassadors of awareness. We shared challenges. We didn't slam the porta-potty doors in the middle of the night. We headed for France and ended up taking a wrong turn into Germany, and then rode 15 miles back to the route. When cursed at, we didn't curse back. We rode single file, even when it wasn't the most efficient thing to do. We reminded each other to ride and travel and work safely.We gave comfort by offering medical care or words, when nothing else could be done. We let others go before us in the dinner line. We carried luggage for those that were too tired to do it themselves. We whispered and we talked and we shouted. We gave up jackets to shivering strangers. We traded t-shirts on the street. We adjusted when the mudpuddles drove our tenting neighbors out of their spaces. We made room for one more pair of shorts to dry in front of the heater. We rode and carried and moved when our bodies said "no more". We smiled and laughed and cried and sighed, individually and together. We negotiated. We never unpacked our egos. We were human-kind in motion.

I embraced the opportunity to act as a role model for my daughters, Sarah and Emily. I hoped to share the world through my eyes, letting them know they, too, can make a difference in the world's future.

So, there you are. The question is, where do you want to be? Be passionate, step outside and embrace your own opportunities. If you choose wisely, an upcoming adventure will change the world ... your world and our world. Best wishes.