“Do you and your family want to come to Spain and France for 2 weeks to follow our cycling trip on a journey to raise money and awareness to fight blindness?”
How do we even begin to answer this question other than an immediate, yes? So many details to be figured out but it was obvious to both of us we should not let a chance like this pass us by. In retrospect it was one of the most transforming, exhilarating and exhausting trips of our lives and it was worth every second spent.
Tom and Becky Egan invited our family to join. Both of their sons were on the trip with us at only 14 and 15 years old! Their oldest son Thomas was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and ever since his parents found out they have been giving him experiences around the world to enjoy the days of sight he has left while also learning how to keep enjoying it even when his sight moves on some day. It was an honor to get to know each one of them and share this life long memory together.
To recap the journey we had is to give one last effort to hold on to a moment in time that is already fading and connect some of the incredible lessons learned in writing forever. Thank you for sharing the joy with us. I hope we can paint you a beautiful picture.
Anticipation and Planning
2 weeks on the road is a lot for any family. Factor in an almost 2 year old, switching hotels every night, lots of driving each day, eating all our meals out. It’s also important to remember Anthony is almost completely blind now at this point in his life which means sitting in a car enjoying the surrounding views isn’t an option. We will need to find a way to really experience things in a way he can also enjoy.
Preparing for a trip like this is both a mental and physical battle. There are so many “What if’s” that can jump out. Second guessing the decision to even go in the first place can be completely normal. For us we knew immediately that this was not just an opportunity of a lifetime but a redemption trip in a sense.
Rewind to Summer 2024, our family was in France on our way to San Sebastian when Anthony got a pretty serious infection that landed us in the hospital during those days instead of crossing over into Spain. It felt like it could take years to ever make it back there and I was pretty sad to have missed a place I had been dreaming of traveling to since I was young. It was to our disbelief when Tom Egan told us the trip would start in San Sebastian and end in Barcelona. San Sebastian? Are you kidding? Exactly one year later and we already were given the opportunity to go back! It was divine intervention.
OK but first we have to pack! How do I even wrap my head around packing for myself and a toddler to stay in a different place each night in various weather conditions and not have to haul a huge suitcase with me inside each hotel? In comes AI and I type my situation and boom, packing suggestions and a starting point. The plan is to rent a van when we arrive and be able to live out of there bringing in only what we need each night to the hotel. But do I have it in me?
There was a lot of doubt and fear we also both needed to work through to brave this journey. I was scared I didn’t have what it would take to do the driving, take care of our child, edit videos, film videos, eat, be a good wife, be a good person— could I actually handle it all without hitting a breaking point? Anthony’s doubts and fears were of a different sense. The never ending thought that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with his work while we were gone or that he wouldn’t be of any value to the group. Fears that when spoken are so obviously lies but at the time felt like such huge mountains to climb over.
A Journey of a Lifetime
And so it begins! A trip of this caliber was always sure to have several highs and lows. Moments that can make or break you. Times when it feels impossible to continue but impossible to not keep moving forward. The cyclists knew they had 540 miles and over 64,000 ft of elevation to complete their journey but our family would make a decision each morning as to what our adventure would look like. Some days we would follow the same path as the bikers and other days we would break off as a family on our own pilgrimage.
On day 4 we woke up in Saint-Savin and had the most incredible breakfast on the patio with the surrounding mountain and valley views of the peaceful town. We then realized we were only a 20 minute drive from Lourdes. Although we were currently on a journey to raise money to help fight blindness with science and research we felt it was important to also make this a journey of faith.
When Anthony was a little boy his Grandfather brought him back Holy Water from Lourdes France. A place where many people in need of healing make a pilgrimage to with faith that bathing under the healing spring will cure their ailments. Historically the sight has been deemed holy for many years and if you can look past the chaos and step into the vortex there is a spiritual connection you can feel as the presence of God still flows though the cave and spring water there. But as a little boy going blind there was no vortex yet, just this Holy water that Anthony would find himself dumping the entire bottle over his eyes crying out to God to give him back his sight.
So why even go back to Lourdes in person? The water didn’t seem to work the first time, why would it work this time? Faith isn’t doing something because you know it’s going to happen. It’s quite literally having the faith that maybe this is the thing that will make me see again. As we turned on the spring where bottles can be filled to bring home I looked over and saw Anthony, his head fully under the spring letting the water pour into his eyes. He was baring his soul and crying out to God to heal him I imagine the same way he did when he was a little kid. Looking back I don’t know what took more faith. The act of going there in the first place or having to walk away at the end saying “maybe next time”. I am grateful to have a husband with such devotion.
And so the journey continued as we summited mountains, witnessed some of the most insane views that I was at a loss for words half the time trying to describe but still found a way. We searched for sounds and smells and ate so many amazing foods. The cows, horses and sheep all had bells of a different tone that filled the clean mountain air with a natural musical accompaniment. The smell of manure added to it all and making sure we didn’t step in it was also a fun adventure.
Col d'Aubisque we find ourselves in a place that is usually surrounded by clouds blocking some of the most magical mountain views a person can describe. Endless layers of blues that lighten with each layer, leaving only the smallest space for the sky. The tree line disappears much sooner here than in the mountains back home. How are there wild horses surrounding us with a gentle energy and joy? Who feeds all these sheep that seem have a home but are literally on the open range with no fear of predators. Our daughter is trying to chase the sheep and the smile on her face can be felt for miles. The laughter she adds to the music of the bells. Could our hearts be any more full at this moment? As the bikers start to pack up Anthony looks over at the group and says “enjoy this place because you never know if you’ll ever be back here in your entire lives!” And then it hit us all that he was right and time stoped for a moment before we moved on.
From Anthony:
Being a high level competitive athlete, I had to wrestle with the urge of wanting to be out there with everyone pushing myself every day. I didn’t know what I actually needed was to enjoy being in the passenger seat with my family and practice being fully present. When the day came that there was talk I could potentially ride a bike, I was ecstatic just at the thought. Riding a bike used to be such a main form of transportation to me when I was younger being that I could see a little better. I would always navigate in groups with my friends biking to all of our destinations.
The day finally came where my eyesight became too little and I ran into my first parked car. It was time for me to put the bike down. I was upset, but knew it had to be done. There's something to be said for the term “just like riding a bike” because when I got on the seat and my feet hit the pedals, it felt natural to just go. This time it was a little different having to trust the guides on either side of me, who were also on bikes. I could tell they were nervous. I immediately started peddling as fast as I could feeling electric. It felt like freedom! I was in the driver seat this time. Was I terrified? Yes. Nervous, I might fall off a cliff or react wrong when given a direction and fall horribly? Also yes. These were thoughts, but the freedom, independence and the joy of being on the bike outweighed all of those things.
After doing a small loop on the bike, I proved to my guides that I was capable. Everyone in our group thought it was over, but I challenged the guides to keep going and I immediately started peddling again, trying to get ahead of them as we were going down a decline. I started to accelerate. I don't know why I had this urge instantly. I wanted to go fast and I felt such a strong desire to keep peddling as much as my legs started to burn. I could smell the mountain air combined with the salty sea breeze. The heat from the sun pounding down on my back and face. The sound of cars driving by and the yells from my guides on which direction to go. Not to mention they were constantly telling me to slow down.
To do some things Blind that might be out of the ordinary take a great deal of trust. Trust from the people around you that you are capable. Trust in your team. Taking directions immediately without questioning. It is a total group effort, but so is life. I believe we cannot achieve true success or happiness alone as it is better shared. If we all work together, we can achieve great things.
The Ultimate Life Lesson
The days and views started to blend and blur together as we pressed towards the final day. It became difficult to embrace all the incredible things surrounding us and happening to us as each day passed by slowly. At times we had to push the thought of “this will never end” out of our heads and then it hit us. This is exactly what it’s like to be a parent. Every single day there is something beautiful happening but it’s also hard to realize that this is only a moment in time that will enviably end. In the same way this trip is now something to look back on so will our journey as parents. This 9 day trip was a window into the next several years of our lives. It’s so unknown, unplanned, chaotic, sleepless, tiresome, beautiful, gratifying, intense, heart filling and so many times feels never ending. But the reality is that this trip did finally reach an end and we were all sad it was over.
During a speech from Dave at our final dinner together he looked up at our family and said, “Kelly you apologized to the group for having to put up with a little kid on this trip. But I think I can speak for the entire group when I say, thank you for brining your kid on this trip. You made us all realize how hard it is to raise children but just how important it is to get it right.”
You don’t have to take your kid on a crazy 14 day trip through France and Spain to “get it right”. Finding a way to enjoy the never ending trip of parenting is getting it right. Just like our trip through the Pyrenees, parenting yields days when it’s hard to enjoy the beauty surrounding us that our kids bring and we find ourselves at times wondering if it will ever end. It will end someday and we will look back on this journey and be grateful we didn’t forget to live.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
Tom and Becky Egan
Trek Travel Trip Guides - Thomas English, Miqui Rueda Sureda and David Sances!