A grueling ride on a trail of mercy

It was a chance encounter at a small-town diner in Kansas.

Matt King and his team came across a man who organizes an annual motorcycle ride to raise money for a local orphanage. The man lost his house in an electrical fire last year and had been trying to buy one for $36,000 but was struggling while living on Social Security.

King and company offered to buy the house. The man was understandably shocked and humbled, as was his wife who he put on video through his phone.

“Overwhelmed, blown away” the man said. “Nobody’s ever tried to help me and my wife and my family. People see people like me that have tattoos and they turn around and walk away. They don’t want to do nothing for them. That’s a thug. My tattoos don’t define who I am. They define my story and people don’t understand that.”

King understands. This wasn’t a chance meeting. It’s the exact type of many his team sought out in overlooked communities for 12 days during a bike ride May 27 to June 8 from the Mexican border in Texas to Canada, covering nearly 2,000 miles.

King’s goal in what became known as theRide was to give away $1 million through GoBundance, a worldwide organization of high-achieving men looking for adventure and to improve their professional and personal lives. King, a 2008 Grafton High School graduate who lives in Austin, Texas, is the CEO.

Inspiration for theRide came from Matt Johnson, an ultramarathoner who ran across Texas to raise money for veterans. GoBundance donated $50,000.

King also remembered the words of his mentor David Osborn, who challenges people to find where their actions and words are out of alignment and act accordingly.

One of the core pillars of GoBundance is “genuine contribution.” King taught it to groups of men but realized he hadn’t been living it.

He was determined to put his pedals where his preaching was. There was just one hurdle.

“The most I had ridden before I had actually committed to this was 10 miles,” he said.

King’s motivation drove his mission.

“If you want to live a big life, if you want to make an impact, surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo and are willing to do what everybody else says is crazy and just keep on taking action,” he said.

King trained for five and a half months under a professional cyclist, biking six hours a day while juggling work, his wife and their children ages 7, 5 and 1.

He crossed into Mexico from Brownsville, Texas, and theRide was on.

But not for long. A severe thunderstorm three hours in caused the team to camp out in its van for several hours, eating Great Value French fries in an air fryer and orange chicken that tasted like orange but not chicken.

They had spray-painted their spot so they could return exactly where they left off.

That was the worst of their weather. Then the mission kicked into gear. Giving, tears and hugs. Heartbreaking stories and heartwarming contributions.

A teenage girl in George West, Texas, who founded the nonprofit I Am Third that has students repair people’s houses and worship God for a week each summer was $12,000 short of its $20,000 goal. theRide filled the gap.

A family whose son has epilepsy and a car breaking down received $20,000 for a new vehicle.

A volleyball team from Weatherford High School holding a car wash received several hundred dollars to wash the team’s van.

A family who lost power for 52 hours and all their food had an entire cart packed with groceries paid for.

“Just doing that for random strangers who we never met and who we may never see again,” King said. “I keep pinching myself that this is real.”

In Oklahoma, a man in a diner who lost his wife in 2019, with a young daughter, was first offered to have six months of his mortgage paid off, then 12. The team took care of it all for $50,000.

A military vet who just lost his wife owed $1,600 on his car. They paid it off.

“He just started crying,” King said.

Each day of theRide is documented on GoBundance’s YouTube channel. King’s personal channel provides more perspectives.

Sometimes, the team worked through nonprofit organizations.

King remembers giving 150 pairs of shoes to a Boys and Girls Club in Omaha, Neb. One little girl who was wearing size 5 had her feet measured. She wore a 9.5 and was given the correct size.

An 8-year-old boy spent five minutes to successfully tie one of his shoes because “Matt King said you can do hard things if you try and practice.”

In Oklahoma, the nonprofit Grace and Mae, founded by a sister of a GoBundance member, received $25,000 for its mission to support families of children with special needs.

“It’s going to change so much. It’s profound,” founder Sara Martin said.

King was also affected.

“It was just so impactful to have her look me in the eye and say I had lost hope in my ability to build this foundation that my grandma dreamed me to build for my daughter who has Down syndrome, but when I heard what you guys were doing, and I heard how far you were riding your bike, and I heard ironically that it was right through our home town, it gave me hope that I could keep pushing forward,” he said. And it just really moved me to keep pedaling, to keep riding and keep finding people in need.”

King and his team largely traveled through small towns, not unlike the place in which King grew up. His mother Pam was director of the Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade. His father Brett coached and officiated wrestling for decades.

“This area of Wisconsin raised me,” King said. “People helped people. Everybody says hi to everybody.”

Friendly conversations soon found people in need. Student loans, car loans and medical bills holding people back were covered. A hard-working young server at a restaurant got a $1,000 tip. She had just been rejected for health insurance.

King’s favorite encounter didn’t involve a donation. A third-generation farmer in Minnesota thought the group looked suspicious. The team told him about theRide and he didn’t believe them.

Soon after, the man returned with his grandchildren. He had checked theRide’s website and wanted photos with his grandchildren and the team.

“When you told me what you were doing, I didn’t believe you, but thank you for giving me hope that there are good people out there,” King said he told them.

King and theRide gave out $763,000 and its GoBundance team members a new perspective on life.

“I’m coming out of this much more spiritual,” Pat Hiban said. “I’m much more in belief that if you are a force for good, God will put you to work.”

Joey Hassett said, “Just seeing that impact in all aspects of people’s lives was something that was very motivating to me as an individual and as a coach, and just drives me to want to be better.”

After theRide’s completion, King held a short celebrating before his thoughts turned.

“Literally the second I got done with this we’re planning the next,” he said.

King hopes to cross the country the long way this time. He is trying to figure out how to avoid snow through the Rocky Mountains.

Donations are welcomed.

For more information or to donate, visit gobundance.com/theride.