Doing The Hard Things – July 2026
What’s inside: A note from the Director of AdventureAdventure Team Iron County: Leading With HeartAdventure Team Marquette: Totally Changed My KidAdventure Team Midland: Showing Up, Even When It’s HardNew on Made UP PodcastEvents with 906AT A note from the Director of Adventure It’s Crusher week. You could look at the Crusher and call it dangerous or crazy. You could call the people who do it crazy, too. At some level, it is, and we probably are. But look around you. Read the news. Isn’t that crazy, too? How in the world did we get to the point that we walk around buried in a screen all day and everyone thinks it’s normal? That’s dangerous, and if we’re really being honest, sad. It’s hard to describe how simple the world feels when you’re in the middle of nowhere with nothing but your bike, your gear, and a few hundred miles to go. All the other shit we worry about kinda melts away as we realize how little it all matters, and we stop looking at other people like something that’s in our way – and we see em’ as someone we wanna get to the finish line with. Stuff like Crusher, and Marji, and Polar Roll, and the youth Adventure Teams keep us connected to each other and somethin’ innately wild – our spirit. The essence of being human is to face danger and adversity – and overcome, not run from it. Facing danger is dangerous. Running from it is, too. The hardest paths offer the most memorable and meaningful memories. That’s why we do what we do, and strive to pass it onto our kids. Adventure Team Iron County: Leading With Heart Roberta Scott has been volunteering with Adventure Team Iron County for three years. It’s been a family affair. Her husband volunteers as well and her 7-year-old daughter, Sparrow, participates. The Scotts moved to the Upper Peninsula three summers ago. Roberta says they joined Adventure Team to find community – a place where they could all, as a family, meet people and make friends. And that is exactly what the Scotts have found – community and so much more. “Sparrow found her independence. I remember distinctly – she can get herself ready, her t-shirt, helmet, water, snack – and then it was pulling teeth to get her to leave bike club every night. When we got back home, she’d bring her bike back in and unpack – she had a real sense of responsibility – doing the best you can, yourself. There is so much emphasis on team sports – it’s nice to find something that is individual based.” Roberta says there’s a great energy at bike club filled with camaraderie and activity. She says in a world full of divisiveness, it’s a place where you realize how much more similar we all are than we are different. Plus, she says she’s constantly learning new skills and leaves every night feeling better than she did when she got to bike club. “I learn something every time I go out there. Kids are so in tune with nature, animals, the plants and trails – they really lead the way, telling me where I need to go in a fork in the road, they talk about signs of animals that they just saw – I’m constantly surprised with the information I walk away with and much of it has very little to do with biking, but I’m also very impressed with the biking that I’ve done.” Adventure Team programming has been running in Iron County officially since 2021. It began with one man leading with his heart and the desire to better his community. That man is Benjamin Garcia, he continues to volunteer as a lead in Iron County, ensuring the program stays energized, organized and moving forward. Benjamin says, “I’ve always resonated similarly with Todd’s thoughts on kids, community and society as a whole – everything 906AT stands for and does programming wise, pushing people to grow – I feel the need of that in my community. Biking is great, but the aspect of what we do is the driver.” Benjamin admits it’s not always easy to find volunteers and to relay the value of what Adventure Team is – but he believes in the mission, he’s seen the positive impact it makes – and he remains determined to keep Adventure Team a part of his community. He’s encouraged by the growth of the trail system in the area, the work being done by volunteers to grow and support biking and he continuously leans on where it all started – Doing Hard Things – as a community, as volunteers and coaches, and as youth riders in the program. It’s Doing Hard Things together, but it’s also going back to the basics, says Roberta. “It’s grounding to do something almost very simple, ride our bikes with our friends and family. It brings you back to your roots. Just getting out, being without a phone, without a screen, focusing on the trail ahead, laughing with your friends, it feels pretty special and simple and it feels good to sort of round back to that.” Adventure Team Marquette: “Totally Changed My Kid” “Dad, I have found my sport.” It was a simple comment after the first night of bike club in Marquette between a father and son. But, that one comment from his son brought tears to Jason Swanson’s eyes. Jason’s son is 8 years old. This is his first year in Adventure Team. Jason says he and his wife have always wanted to get their son involved in activities, they tried baseball, talked about joining soccer – as parents they think both are great programs, but their son didn’t have much interest in either. Jason has been a part of the mountain biking community his whole life. He rides with his son – they both love riding bikes – so, Adventure Team seemed like it might be the right fit. Three weeks in and dad says the