The Cyclists

Who is the Cyclist?

I am an adventurous Soul, a Restless Spirit with a Passion.

“Traveling is a vanishing act, a solitary trip down a pinched line of geography to oblivion.”

- Paul Theroux, 1979

My name is Aaron Lisco. I am 37 years old, a Veteran Bicycle Mechanic, an EMT-1, and a cyclist for over 20 years. I feel fortunate to have found a job I love as well as a passion for cycling and helping others.

I started thinking about a long bike trip after the summer I spent riding The Great Divide Mtn Bike Route. In the fall of 2002, I moved to Maui, HI thinking my stay here was to be a short stop over to somewhere else, and that somewhere was me on another long bike trip. After 7+ years, I have yet to bring to fruition my thoughts. It has been a long process to get into the mindset that I find myself in now, a long journey filled with many ups and downs. Thankfully, the downs have not surpassed the ups. Nonetheless, it's been hard to realize that I am who I am and cannot be anyone else. This last year, I took a long hard look in the mirror and I'll bet that if you have not done so lately or have never taken a real good look, you may not like what you see. Personally, I didn't like what was staring back at me in an accusing manner. I've been, for the better part of four years, on a journey. Instead of taking me somewhere, this journey has brought me back to where I was before, not leaving but discovering that you can change your job, change your name, but you can't change who you are. It's just not probable.

I don't believe that God goes around controlling our destiny. I firmly and without hesitation say that we are in complete control. You have probably heard the saying, "Find what you love to do and do it for the rest of your life. Then you'll never work a day in your life." I just spent the past four years ignoring this. The journey I've been on was about trying to find a better job. (Now here's where the staring comes in.) WHY? Why was I looking in the first place? The answer won't even startle you because "society says I should"! I was told so many times that my "job" was not a real job and this started to influence my thinking. I found myself looking to get a better job, fulfill the "American Dream", be "somebody", have a nice car, live in a nice house, raise a family, BUY, consume, spend, "live the life", become enslaved to a credit card... STOP! I awoke from a dream (or perhaps it was a nightmare). After soul searching for my true feelings about life, I realized that I'd always been where I'm supposed to be. Looking only loses "me". It is now time for me to bring to harvest the thoughts I've always had... An epic bike journey is in order. It will be a way to celebrate the non-over consuming, sustainable, earth-friendly, human powered way to everything... the BICYCLE!

So, come along with me as I discover what awaits Beyond The Great Divide.