Hello family, friends, and new visitors,
This is Matt and Amy Suderman and welcome to The Narrow Shoulder! We’re just two friends who got married, left our hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba and started riding our bicycles east around the world. We left on July 10, 2017 and so far we’ve had no regrets! We love dreadlocks, coffee, and pugs!
As we travel around the world, we’d love to share our experiences with you. Everyday we have new adventures, meet interesting people, and see beautiful sights.
We also endure trials such as fatigue, rough weather, and bug bites. If you enjoy the trill of travel and the everyday lifestyle of the open road, then you’ll certainly enjoy our Photos page. We’ve made a photo album for every country we’ve cycled through and added small captions to tell an overall story of the experience.
In addition, we also love Jesus. Yes, that man from long ago who proclaimed peace, performed miracles, and loved the poor. That guy is awesome! Our passion for Jesus has definitely added a very spiritual component to this website and it’s probably the most unique and interesting part of this trip. We love to write stories about our experiences with God and the crazy miracles we’ve seen. If you’re interested in stories about being guided by God, living by faith, or want to know more about the Christian lifestyle, then I would encourage you to explore our Stories section.
Lastly, we made this website for our family and friends who care about our whereabouts and our personal well-being. If you want to know where we are in the world and how we’re doing you can click on the Current Location page to find out.
If you subscribe to The Narrow Shoulder then you will receive an email whenever we have exciting news, if we write a new story, or have any current updates to share. We thank you in advance for your support 🙂
Six Questions we get asked ALL THE TIME.
*(Warning: these answers may help you understand our motives.. But they may also cause you greater confusion. That’s okay, because we feel that way most of the time too.) 🙂
The opening question: “Where are you going?”
Our answer: We’re traveling east. We started our journey in Winnipeg, Manitoba and we’re traveling east around the world until we arrive at the west coast of Canada. This is our end destination and there’s no specific time frame to accomplish this distance.
The assumption: “Wow, you two must be strong cyclists!”
The truth: Nope, not at all. Honestly, we hadn’t ridden our bicycles for nearly two years before leaving on this trip. We mostly built up our endurance and strength as we travelled. For this reason, the title of “cyclist” doesn’t really suit us. I believe the term “traveler” would probably describe us better. We simply use a bicycle as our mode of transportation.
The next question (which is usually asked with some confusion): “If you’re not cyclists… then why are you doing this?”
The short answer: Well.. God sent us. As crazy as that sounds. However, we cannot deny that God has indeed called us to travel east. Although we do not fully understand why, we have chosen to leave the comfort and safety of our home in faith that God has a good plan for our lives.
Intrigued but still confused: “But, why travel by bicycle?”
That’s a good question. We didn’t really understand at first either. From our own perspective we could see that there was a certain freedom and romance about riding a bicycle. The slow pace, living in the moment, and enjoying the journey. However, God has shown us a deeper purpose for the bicycles. It’s a very humbling lifestyle. Living on a bicycle requires us to live simply and openly. We’re always being exposed and vulnerable to the many people we encounter. It’s this honest lifestyle that has created so many opportunities for us to be invited into peoples homes, sit around campfires, and come alongside fellow travelers. We share the good news about Jesus, tell stories about the good things God has done in our lives, and pray for those who are hurting.
Next Question: “So, what’s the overall goal of your trip?”
Oddly enough, our goal is NOT about reaching our destination. Nor is it about becoming a great cyclist, or making a name for ourselves.
The honest answer: We’re simply learning how to listen to God’s voice and obey His instructions. Jesus is our teacher. As we travel with Him, our faith is strengthened and our character is refined. Our ultimate goal is to have a closer relationship with the Living God and to “ride like Jesus” everyday.
Last Question: “Why did you start The Narrow Shoulder?”
We have so many awesome stories about the great things God has done. We can’t help but share them! We also believe that there’ll be many more stories to come as we travel east and we want you to be a part of the story and the experience. We believe that The Narrow Shoulder is at its very core- a faith journey. Our hope is that as you take this journey with us, it’ll inspire you to courageously follow God’s leading in your own life. That together we may we step out in faith and witness God’s great love and power. As we travel east, we don’t know where the road will lead us or the difficulties we may face. Yet we know exactly where we’re going. Everyday this journey is taking us closer to God, His Son Jesus, His Spirit, and His Kingdom. Discovering Him is the greatest adventure this life has to offer. Won’t you join us on this very narrow shoulder?
“But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”(Matthew 7:14)
