Oh, the places you'll ride

Oh, the places you'll ride

(inspired by Dr. Seuss).

Congratulations!
Today starts your ride.
For your first day of Kindergarten
You'll bike the Continental Divide.

Lake Louise to Jasper, Canada;
That's not very far.
At least not with a full tank
of gas and a car.

Yet 233 kilometers
Is hard to complete
When the Mule and the Turtle
Pull you up 5,000 feet.

In the wild things can happen
And frequently do
To people as gutsy
And kooky as you.

And when the gears starts to turn
Don't worry. Don't cry.
The best is only in view
If you try.

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL RIDE!

Your first days of Kindergarten
won't be average at all.
You'll learn physics and gravity
and how summer becomes fall.

You'll touch glaciers and rivers,
See avalanches and lakes.
You'll climb high up to waterfalls;
Learn how canyons take shape.

You'll do yoga every morning
To stretch out your spine.
Except when it's cold out,
You'll sleep until nine.

Which is most days it turns out
When you're sleeping near snow.
The summer temp may reach
A whopping cold three below.

You're expected to journal
and record your thoughts.
You will be tested
On all that you're taught.

Sometimes you'll be cranky
Or angry or crass.
Perhaps it's from spending
All day on your ass.

Some days it may rain
and the wind will be brutal
You should bike up a mountain
But feel like it's futile.
So you'll stay at a hostel
And instead of paying cash
You'll stack 4 chords of wood
and take care of your rash.

Campgrounds and outhouses;
You won't choose to go there.
You will hope to sleep somewhere
With a view and a bear.

But a bear you won't find,
You are five and too loud.
It's amazing how two people
Sound like a crowd.

Instead friends you will find
When you're not in a hurry.
You'll trade drinks for cookies
As you share your journey.

Every day will bring wonder
And magic and mystery.
Please remember those glaciers
For they're almost history.

Darien and Sawyer,
you were worth the extra weight.
When you weren't hungry,
You made quite a good mate.

You have come to a place
That is special and wild.
I am honored to witness
you grow as a child.