October 10, Day 1

If there is anything I've learned in this life, it’s that things rarely go as planned. Take for instance the very first day of The Standing Rock Bike Tour. I was supposed to leave bright and early in the morning so I could make it to a Sunset Water Ceremony, at the Garden of the Gods. Yet…as you might have guessed, things did not go as planned.

I drive a Pedicab around downtown Denver, and the weekend before I left, drunken masses took to the streets. For two days, The Great American Beer Festival flooded downtown, followed by a Broncos home game. All of this turned the Mile High streets a tipsy shade of blue and orange. In the end, the weekend should have completely roasted my legs.

After all, I was out for at least 12 hours a day, for three days in a row, pulling hundreds of pounds of plastered people behind me- all the while banging on a drum that I strapped to my handle bars.

Everything I earned that weekend was going directly towards my grocery fund, so I ran myself ragged; I'd need plenty of mangos and muffins to make it all the way up to North Dakota.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too spent by Monday morning. But, I did snooze my alarm clock a half a dozen more times than planned.

This was going to be my fourth bike tour, and I was confident I could make it- I just wasn't sure how long it would take. In less than two weeks, my friends were putting on a music festival up at Standing Rock, called the #LoveMovement, and my goal was to make it up there in time to play a set on the final night.

I wanted to make a statement to my friends and family, that,

“If I can ride my bike from Denver to Standing Rock, you can ride your bike to the grocery store.”

It wasn’t the first time I’ve made such a statement, though. When I was 19, I rode my mountain bike from my home in Woodland Park, Colorado, all the way to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, as a coming of age adventure. I wanted to prove to the world that I didn’t need a car. I could go anywhere I wanted to without burning any gasoline.

But... I couldn't do that, unless I got out of bed, and started making moves.

I had a couple items left to gather, and was chasing the minute hand to make up for lost time. Still, I knew I couldn't skip breakfast. So I scrambled up some eggs and veggies, and dug in. I washed my plate, and stepped outside right into another chapter of my life, to record the first video blog of my adventure.

"What's up everybody? This is Scott Mackenzie-Low, from Righteous Endeavors, and I want to welcome you to The Standing Rock Bike Tour! This little educational adventure will feature me riding my bike from Denver, Colorado, to the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. Not only will I be playing music for you along the way, but I'll be talking about Native American history, broken treaties, renewable energy, and of course... Standing Rock.

Although getting to Standing Rock is my main objective, I'm not going directly there. First, I'm going to go south to The Garden of The Gods, in Colorado Springs, to hold a little water ceremony. Speaking of which... I'm running super late. So, I'm going to get to pedaling. Much love!" *

I ended the video and began doing a final sweep of the house. I still needed to run by my friend Tyler’s place to pick up some video recording gear, but I knew that wouldn’t take too long.

When I finally met up with him, he was struck with disbelief: “Dude, I can’t believe you’re really riding your bike all the way up to North Dakota! Where are you gonna sleep?”

“Where ever I want to. Some people need a bedtime- I don’t. Some people need to know where they're gonna sleep at night too- but I don't. Just as long as I have my tent hammock, a sleeping bag, and these blankets, I’m gonna be just fine!”

“You’re crazy!” he replied.

“Crazy is colonial oppression my friend. I am a bicyclist.”

He curiously tilted his head and looked at me. “Huh?" He laughed, "You’re nuts dude. Just be careful alright?”

“Mmmmm… Alright.” I agreed.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I thumped up the volume on my stereo, and just like that- my adventure had begun.

With a drum and two bells strapped to my handlebars, along with a stereo system strapped to the bike rack behind me, I was set! So I started banging my drum to the beat of Bob Marley's greatest hits, all the way out of Denver.

Heading South out of the city felt a little confusing; I was heading in the complete opposite direction of the prayer camps at Standing Rock, and even though I knew why I had planned to go this route, it still felt odd.

My intention was simple: I wanted to hold some sort of water ceremony at The Garden of The Gods to commemorate the bike tour. I didn't exactly know what that entailed. I just knew I wanted to start my tour in a good way, by honoring the water.

I invited a handful of people to come, but only a few could attend. Heck, it was looking like I wasn't even going to be able to attend. I tried to notify everyone that I was running late and might not make it in time, yet the only person I was unable to reach was my friend Ben. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to get a hold of him, he was already in The Springs. Luckily, he had friends in the area to catch up with.

By the time the sun set, I was in the middle of nowhere. About half way in between Denver and Colorado Springs, I watched the sun fall into the horizon and explode into a radiant sky. Inspired, I pulled out my camera to record a video.

This journey was more about the message than it was the mileage, so I tried to aim at the heart of the matter when I started filming:

"I started my bike tour on October 10th for a reason. Today, is Indigenous People's Day! ...But to most of America, it's celebrated as 'Columbus Day.' Now, when I was younger, I had no problem getting a day off school, to honor of the man who 'discovered America.' But today, I know better, and am repulsed by the very thought of it.

Before setting out on this tour, I started researching Native American History beginning from the moment Christopher Columbus arrived, all the way to today's injustices. It's a kind of a long story, and I recommend you check it out for yourself, but let me simplify it for you.

When Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived in Espanola, the native Arawak people helped him and his men build a small settlement. Then, when Columbus realized that the native people were naked, unarmed, and would make decent slaves, he started his conquest. Founding the Trans-Atlantic Sex Slave Trade, good ol' Christopher, became America's first pimp, and forced thousands of beautiful (and often very young) women into the sheets with rotten old men...just for a couple extra bucks.

But it didn't stop there. The entire population was enslaved; disease ran rampant, brutality was common place, and a once flourishing island population, was now undergoing genocide. Within two generations, the Indigenous population was decimated.
An untold genocide occurred, and our history classes acted like it was nothing but 'cowboys and Indians.' Colonization raped the Native American way of life, and instead of trying to make amends, we are continuing to allow it to happen.

Beyond small pox, the settlers brought over another disease- greed and a false sense of supremacy. Now I can't speak for you, but I for one, feel compelled to be a part of the healing process.“ *

Cars kept blasting past me as I finished up the video, and a chilly wind led me to throw on a coat. Then, when I went to turn on my headlight, I found myself grasping at nothing; the darn thing must have fallen off!

This meant that I was in the middle of nowhere, pedaling into the dark, without lights. At first, I wasn’t too concerned. But as it got darker, I kept hearing my Mom’s voice echo in the back of my head, "Be safe Scottie..."

It was getting late, so I pulled over on the side of the road to sleep.

I woke up to headlights. Sleepy, confused, and slightly annoyed, I sat up and looked back at them. I tilted my head from side to side like a curious mutt, and called out, "Hello!? Can I help you? "

The red Sudan flipped around and then parked on the opposite side of the road from me.

I waved my hand at them to see if I could get some sort of dialogue going: "Helllooooo!"

I was super cozy in my sleeping bag, and really didn't want to have to put my shoes back on to talk to this guy… But I did want him to leave.

Eventually he left- but as soon as he did, red and blue lights strobed across the sky.

“The guy called the cops on me!? Without even talking to me!? Argggg... What's wrong with people!? I wasn’t even doing anything wrong! Unless sleeping's illegal now! Eeerrrggg,” I growled to myself.

I was clearly frustrated, but I managed to restrain my tongue when speaking to the officer. After all, none of this was his fault.

Luckily enough, the cop was a nice guy. He explained that the red Sudan that had been staring at me, thought I crashed.

"It's not illegal to sleep on the side of the road, but people tend to notify the authorities if they see something out of place, and we were getting calls about you."

We talked for a moment, and once he understood that I wasn’t hurt, or a vagrant, he told me that another half mile down the road, and then off to the right, there was a pull off that would work much better for me. I thanked him, took his business card, packed up, and continued on.

I must admit, the officer did pick out a pretty nice spot for me. It was off the main road, yet not on private property, and there was even a sprawling tree to hang my hammock from!

The only problem was- I was hungry. I was supposed to have gotten a set of bike bags in the mail, that would help me easily carry and access my food- but the bags hadn’t arrived, and I was so worried about being late, that I forgot to buy enough food for the night.

So... I phoned a friend.

I knew Ben was going to be heading back to Denver from Colorado Springs, and if I could get a hold of him, I could probably have him bring me some muffins.

An hour or two later, Ben arrived with pizza, muffins, chips, and water, as a true champion; a king among men! We spent the next hour or so discussing Standing Rock, my route there, as well as life at large.

After some time, we came to the conclusion that we both wanted to escape a traditional 9-5 lifestyle that left us working to survive, and instead embrace opportunities that allowed us to thrive, and live a life of contribution and adventure. WWOOFing and WorkAway were both unique options that we discussed, but he still felt caged. I, on the other hand, glanced over at my bike, and felt a budding sense of freedom emerge.

Eventually, tomorrow’s responsibilities beckoned Ben to return home. I tried to pay him for the snacks he brought me, but he refused. He knew I would be in need of some cash later. I thanked him again, and watched his red tail lights trace their way across the blackened landscape. I jumped up into the branches of the sprawling cottonwood tree, and then slid into my hammock.

Beyond the bug net, I gazed past the clouds of leaves which hung above me, up into the vastness of heaven.

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Just now tuning in? The Standing Rock Bike Tour is getting released exclusively on Steemit, day by day, for the next two months.

Previous Chapters Include-
Introduction- Igniting the Fire at Unify

The Next Chapter is
Day 2 - Musical Mantras

Learn more, and access all available chapters at-
http://www.righteousendeavors.com

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*quoted text may vary from the raw video footage for content purposes