Doing The Hard Things – August 2025
What’s inside: An update from Todd: Meeting kids (of all ages) where they areP2P: 500 miles of trails, testing skills and finding connectionCrusher 2025: A dream turned reality#CRUSHED: Welcome to Crusher Country (the Keweenaw)906AT: Bike club brings shared experiencesFreedom Machine shirts: On sale now!906 Volunteer Ethos: Service Before SelfEvents with 906AT An update from Todd: Meeting kids (of all ages) where they are When people talk about the 906 Adventure Team, the conversation can go in a lot of directions. If they have kids in our youth program, or if they’re a volunteer coach, they might talk about their Adventure Team. If they’re a participant in the events, they’ll probably talk about Polar Roll, Crusher, and Marji Gesick. If they’ve been inducted into the “Hall of Pain”, they will have some stories to share. Almost everyone who knows us knows we like doin’ hard things, and they’ll be quick to share that, too. I like to get into the weeds and talk about the stuff I think people miss, and today I’m gonna touch on something very important: Meeting people where they are. It’s an important part of our success. It’s the main reason we can connect with just about anyone, of any age or background. I’ll give ya some examples of what this looks like day-to-day for 906AT. We tell volunteers and coaches of the youth Adventure Teams to meet the kids where they are. Figure out where they are developmentally, and figure out how to help them advance. We’re invested in being part of their journey and showing them that they can get better at things they’re not as good at as other kids – and it’s ok to not be as good at something as someone else. Meeting kids where they are tells them we care about them. We want them to succeed, and we will walk with them, instead of leaving them behind. In all of our events, we celebrate the last person to cross the line after 25 hours (or more, depending on the event) the same way we celebrate all of the “winners”. And, can we be honest for a minute? Anyone who shows up and toes the line at a 906AT event can be a winner when they embrace the You vs. You mentality, because that mentality tells people that no matter how they stack up against someone else, their experience matters! A couple of weeks ago, we were up in the Keweenaw for “The Crusher”. After 29 hours, we had close to ten people still on course, after the cutoff. They would not quit, and because of that, we didn’t either. We waited. We let them know that even if it was past the cutoff… their experience mattered. People talk about Marji Gesick and the Crusher like they’re the hardest things you can do in a 906AT event, but I’m here to tell you, they’re wrong. The hardest thing you can do at a 906AT event is put another person’s experience ahead of your own. Support a participant through the night. Volunteer for 40 hours. And do it all with a smile, for someone else. Later in the newsletter, Julie writes about our volunteers. Without these people, there is no 906AT, because 906AT is people, and people meeting other people where they are when they don’t have to, is how you build a community, and create a feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself. It’s amazing to witness daily the selflessness of this community, and I implore you, all of you, to never lose sight of what got us here… Keep meeting people where they are. “I’m going to pedal my bike today.” Kristy McBride says her interest in the Crusher P2P 500-mile course had to do with the challenge behind it. She’s relatively new to bikepacking; this race was just her fourth time out, and she says she wanted to test her skills. Her approach was simple: she’d ride, camp alone, and get back on her bike. Her drive came from the deep connection one finds on an adventure like this. She says you just can’t find it anywhere else – not like this. The scenery. The breathtaking moments. Too spectacular to even photograph. They’re moments you have to feel and be there to see. There’s no explaining it. No scrolling through a camera roll after the event to show the magnitude of what she immersed herself in. “It was just gorgeous,” recalls Kristy. There aren’t adequate words to describe it. In total, Kristy biked for nearly four and a half days from the Stonington Peninsula to Copper Harbor. She pushed her limits. Did what many didn’t think was possible. And she did it feeling an immense sense of pride. She made it up big climbs, up Arvon and Brockway – she rode in the heat, the rain, the cold. She faced fears of hypothermia. She overcame feelings of loneliness, spending days without seeing another person. And deep down, she carried a sense of knowing – that unless she faced a medical emergency, she would finish. She says she woke up every day ready for the adventure of it. Telling herself, “I’m going to pedal my bike today.” And so she did. Minute after minute. Mile after mile. Day after day. Kristy originally had planned to ride the course unsupported – meaning she wouldn’t be able to accept aid or assistance from anyone along the way. At the last moment, she changed to ride supported. A decision she’s grateful she made. “It’s really special to have those connections out there.” From Spencer Prusi at West End Ski and Trail staying open late so she could grab dry gloves and nap on the floor to the countless others she encountered along the way. She looks back on those interactions with gratitude and love. “It isn’t finished until it’s finished.” Kristy says she felt a lot of emotions during her ride… emotions that she would often have to tuck away, and