Two days after Lisa and I finished this year’s Climate Ride, we found ourselves doing something very different. Instead of riding bicycles, we were in Columbia, South Carolina, picking up trash with more than 50 college students at a Cocky’s Cleanup Crew event organized by our daughter, Allison. By the time the cleanup was finished, the group had collected more than 28 bags of trash. It was a fitting way to end the week.

A couple of days earlier, Lisa and I had completed my 16th annual Climate Ride in support of the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club. This year’s challenge was about 1,000 miles over seven days, beginning in West Virginia and finishing in Columbia. I rode most of the miles solo, but this year had an important difference. Each day, Lisa joined me for roughly 25 miles on our tandem bicycle as part of our celebration of 25 years of marriage.

The route took us through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina—including New River Gorge and the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. As always, things did not go exactly according to plan. A crash along the way cost us time and meant giving up our planned visit to Mammoth Cave. There were also long days, difficult climbs, busy roads, heat, and plenty of other challenges. But there were also some great moments, especially having Lisa there for support when I needed it most.

We settled into a routine of starting each morning together on the tandem. After our ride, Lisa would head back to the hotel to clean up, pack and eventually drive toward our next stop while I continued the much longer solo portion of the day. The next morning, we would get back on the tandem and do it all over again.

By the time we reached Columbia, we had ridden more than 1,000 miles combined and spent a lot of hours on bicycles. More importantly, we had surpassed our goal of raising $16,000 for our Sierra Club Connecticut. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, followed along, sent encouraging messages, or otherwise helped us get to the finish. The fundraising is the reason I continue to take on these challenges. Cycling is something I love to do, and Climate Ride gives me a way to use it to support a cleaner and greener future.

Watching Allison lead the cleanup two days later put the week into a different perspective. My contribution happened to involve riding a bicycle a crazy distance. Allison’s contribution that weekend was organizing more than 50 students to spend part of their Sunday cleaning up their community. Other people contribute by attending a hearing, writing to an elected official, volunteering with the Sierra Club, organizing in their town, donating to an environmental organization, or simply showing up when help is needed.

None of those contributions needs to look the same. We sometimes talk about climate change and environmental protection as problems so enormous that individual actions can seem insignificant. But meaningful change depends on people deciding that there is something they can do and then doing it.

I spent seven days trying to cover 1,000 miles. Allison brought together more than 50 people to take care of one corner of Columbia. They were very different ways of contributing toward the same goal. You certainly do not need to ride 1,000 miles to help create a cleaner and greener future. You just need to decide what your contribution will be.

Dennis Desmarais is a member of the Communications Committee of Sierra Club Connecticut.