I am Daniel Hurd, often known as Lt. Dan of Ride With Dan USA and the One Pedal At A Time Movement (OPAAT Movement). This is how this journey all started for me and how a movement was born for us.
In 2017, I was in a dark place in life. I had tried to commit suicide for the third time and felt like my life was this dark void. After I was released from the hospital I was in the stage of telling everyone I was better but deep down I still had no idea how to change my life or what direction to go in.
My best friend had tried for years to get me to go bicycling with him with no success. He was an avid rider and I never really had the motivation to join him. I rode motorcycles and in my mind that would be a downgrade. This time though for several reasons I ended up taking up his offer. With nothing to lose I decided to ride with him and two mutual friends. We rode 20 miles. It felt good in the moment but I still felt the same after. A few days later we rode again. This time 30 miles. Again in the moment riding felt good, but this feeling of being in a void lingered. What changed everything was the third ride I took with him the following weekend. We took a 166 mile trip. I remember in the first half of the ride falling asleep while riding and barely made it to our destination. What helped me get through it though was the encouragement of my friend who told me "stop worrying about what we've done and don't worry what we got left; it’s left right left, one pedal at a time."
After that trip everything changed. I realized what got me through it wasn't worrying about the past or the future but only by living in the moment. Taking it “one pedal at a time" became my mantra and my turning point. Hearing that being said to me was like someone throwing a glow stick in the void. My void wasn't as deep as I thought.
I fell in love with bicycling quick and started planning longer trips. I became addicted to cycling. This was a better addiction then my past choices of alcohol and drugs. Only a few months of riding I knew that I needed to do something EPIC. Realizing living in the moment was the key for me in my life which has led me to this journey. On March 5th 2018 from Massachusetts I started on an EPIC Journey of the Lower 48 States.