A lot of respect should be paid to Thomas and McMahon for this weekend’s ride, which he estimates should take two days, with a stop at night for sleep before getting back after it on Sunday morning. And if you’re around, Thomas wouldn’t mind seeing you.
“When we do our ride, I like to go live to keep tabs on where we’re at,” he said. “And if I’m in your area, if you are somewhere in the middle of Florida and we’re riding by, don’t be afraid to come by and say hello. And bring me some water. Or give me a ride. Or tow me to the next stop. That’s okay, too.”
Thomas laughs, and it makes me wonder, couldn’t he have just done a stand-up comedy show or auctioned off some old fight gear to raise money and save himself the wear and tear of a pretty strenuous bike ride?
“I could have,” the 45-year-old said. “But, at the end of the day, I want to get as many eyeballs on this subject as possible and I want to really make it memorable. Regardless, me going through a ride is still not as bad as what some people go through in their relationship and being abused. I really want to shed a light on that and bring that to the forefront. And being out there on the road, it motivates me. When I’m out there and thinking, ‘What am I doing this for?’ it motivates me to know why I’m doing it.”
It’s a topic that either affects, has affected, or will affect, practically everyone, and if it does, it’s important to not just acknowledge it, but to act on it.
“The most important part is to be able to take action,” said Thomas. “Because when you think about it, people go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a great cause,’ but they might even actually be in the situation themselves or have witnessed it, and abuse is so normalized now that some people don’t even recognize it. They just go, ‘Oh, that’s just the way they are,’ or ‘It’s a one-time thing.’ But the reality is, it’s a very serious issue. And even in the MMA community, there are women in the MMA community that have been going through some things and we think that just because they train and they’re fighters that they’re safe from it, and we know that’s not true when you look at some the women who’ve had situations with abuse with their significant other. And these women should not be vilified for that; they should be embraced and applauded for going out and seeking help. So hopefully this sheds a light on it and if you’re not affected by it directly and you know someone who is affected by it directly, do something about it.”
