Not leaving the room, but riding for a cause I believe in

My Peloton bike doesn’t go anywhere. That’s the whole point.

It sits in my bedroom, stationary, pedals turning against resistance I set myself, wheels spinning in place while the rest of the world stays exactly where it is. No cross-country route, no open road, no wind at my back. Just me, a screen tracking miles that will never take me past my own front door — and somehow, that still counts. That still matters.

This fall, I’m riding in Save One Life’s Wheels for the World fundraiser, and I’m doing it on a bike that isn’t going anywhere.

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An event that now includes me

Wheels for the World started in 2012, when Barry Haarde rode his bicycle across the country to raise money and awareness for people living with bleeding disorders in developing countries who lack access to treatments many of us take for granted. Haarde, who had hemophilia, completed six of those cross-country rides before his death in 2018. The event has continued in his memory every year since — and this year, marking Save One Life’s 25th anniversary, it’s the largest and most inclusive version yet.

That word — inclusive — is doing real work this year. Organizers have expanded what counts as wheels. A cross-country motorcycle ride. A wheelchair. A stationary bike in someone’s living room. The event isn’t asking everyone to ride the same way. It’s asking everyone to move — however that looks for their body — and count it toward something bigger than themselves.

I don’t have a personal history with this event. I never knew Haarde. I’m not chasing a memory here. What I have is simpler than that: I believe in the cause. Save One Life supports children with bleeding disorders in countries where factor isn’t guaranteed, where a bleed can mean something far more dangerous than it means for me. I know what it is to wait for treatment, to advocate for access, to sit in a system that wasn’t built with people like us in mind. I don’t have to know Haarde’s story to understand why this matters.

Show up as you are

I’m not built for a cross-country ride. My joints don’t allow for that kind of mileage, that kind of impact, that kind of unpredictability. For a long time, events like this one would have simply excluded me by design — not out of malice, just because wheels meant one thing, and I didn’t fit inside it.

This year, it means I can log miles on a stationary bike in my bedroom and have them mean exactly as much as someone else’s miles on a cross-country motorcycle. Nobody is asking me to prove I belong in this by doing it the hard way. The event redefined the finish line instead of asking me to redefine my body.

That shift matters more than it might seem from the outside. So much of living with a bleeding disorder is being told, implicitly or otherwise, that the version of participation available to your body isn’t quite participation. That you’re cheering from the sidelines, technically included, functionally absent. Wheels for the World is doing the opposite this year. It’s saying: However you move, move. It counts.

Every mile, wherever it happens

So I’ll be on that stationary bike between now and November, watching the mileage climb on a screen while my living room stays exactly where it is. It won’t look like Haarde’s ride, or Richard Williams’ motorcycle trip from the West Coast to the East Coast this fall. It doesn’t need to.

I’m not riding because I have a story tied to this event. I’m riding because I believe kids in this community deserve the same access to treatment I’ve had — and because, for once, an event built around motion didn’t require me to prove anything about my body to take part in it. That’s worth pedaling for, even if I never leave the room.

If you want to ride, walk, or track your own miles for Wheels for the World, registration is open through Nov. 14, and if you are inclined, you can also support my effort.

Note: Hemophilia News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hemophilia News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hemophilia.