Breaking Cycles: MVM Founder Bikes Across the U.S.

UPDATE:

It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of our beloved Founder/ Executive Director Ian T. Mouser. As some of you may know, Ian was pursuing his dream of cycling across the United States. Four days into the ride, on the morning of October 14, a pickup truck collided with his bicycle on U.S. 70 just outside Safford, Arizona. A deeply compassionate and creative person, Ian dedicated his life to using music to heal — touching the lives of over 14,000 young people. Words cannot do justice to this incredible person whose kindness, strength, and vision will continue to be a bright light for so many of us. 

Ian’s family and the organization are taking time to process this devastating loss. We miss him so much. Thank you for your love right now. Donations to My Voice Music in Ian’s honor can be made here.

ORIGINAL POST:

On October 11th My Voice Music Founder & Executive Director Ian Mouser embarked on a journey across the United States. He will ride his bike 3,000 miles- from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida, averaging 250 miles a day. You can follow his journey here and on social media @myvoicemusic.

Ian is dedicating his ride to My Voice Music’s staff and students. He hopes to raise $1 for MVM for every mile he covers. Donate today and help him reach his goal! Ian welcomes questions and/or encouragement.

A Message from Ian:

I’m leaving on a 3,000 mile bike ride that I hope to finish in 12 days. I’ll be riding an average of 250 miles a day. It’s just goofy. It is the silliest thing I have ever worked incredibly hard for. What’s the point?

Simply put: it brings me joy. I ride through forests, along rivers and through watersheds. The sound of the bike’s tires humming across the pavement is a meditation chant. I fall into it’s rhythm. Sometimes, I get to feel like a phoenix rising as I pedal through pouring rain and up mountains. Experiences that inspire awe and gratitude are just an arm’s reach away. I can grab them anytime I like.

The bike is a microcosm of life for me. It’s a practice session for the real world. An opportunity to embrace radical acceptance as a mechanism to foster endurance. It’s expected that I’ll be in pain, that I’ll be emotional, that I’ll be high on endorphins in one moment and at the lowest of lows when my energy plummets. Through it all, no matter what, a pedal stroke is a pedal stroke. Each one brings me the same distance forward. With enough of them, I go really far. Sometimes, just one seems impossible.

While growing up, I experienced trauma in my home and while living in a community rife with trauma. I survived the trauma, and then I survived the aftermath; the psychological toll. I am here because dozens of people taught me that even though I couldn’t see it at the time, if I just kept pedaling, each pedal forward would ultimately get me to a better place that I just couldn’t see yet. A place to catch my breath. The distance to look back with a new perspective.

We are all on a shared journey as we live out our lives. It requires perseverance no matter who we are. Of course, some people are given unbelievably steep roads to climb on this journey. All of us though, will have points in our lives where we can’t see beyond the bend and we are exhausted and we are overwhelmed.

At this point it’s fair to say, my life’s work has been to use music and the joy of writing and recording and performing it, to create opportunities that help young people to see that no matter where they are, what they have been told (or are telling themselves), or what their past may hold, that they are capable of turning the pedal one more time… and then one more time…and one more time. If we commit to that simple feat, it can bring us to places we would never have imagined possible.

This ride is goofy. I don’t know what my odds of completing it are. If it turns out that I can no longer turn the pedals I will stop and come back home and I will rest. And when I have recovered and I have caught my breath, I will pedal again.

The following sentiment will be a mantra for me on this journey. It is a sentiment that I offer to you on yours too.

Trust yourself. Trust your ability to adapt to changes. Trust your intellect and your intuition. You have earned your own trust. Believe you are capable more than you believe you aren’t.

Ian

* Written from a place of gratitude for this opportunity. I am excited for the journey ahead. I am afraid of not finishing the ride. Mostly, I am ready to pedal into the unknown and see what happens!

- Ian Mouser, October 11, 2021