Month: August 2017

Well, well, well… today didn’t go the way I’d planned it to go…

We had a great night in Ash Grove and woke up at 5:00 for an early start. We were headed to Hartville 76 miles away. It’s a small town which allows cyclists to camp on the courthouse lawn. I’d tried to get ahold of the churches in the area to see if we could find a place to worship on Sunday and housing for Sat & Sun PM, but as of yet I’d gotten no response. So I figured if I didn’t hear back in time we’d camp on the lawn, go to church, and hopefully find a family that would take us in for Sunday night and send us on our way. 

We left the bike hostel in Ash Grove around 6:30 after a meagre breakfast. I figured we stop in town if we passed something. If not, we’d head on to Walnut Grove and get something there. Well we didn’t pass anything; so Walnut Grove it was––an 8 mile ride. 

hills, HILLS, HILLS!!! It’s crazy how hilly it is out here–and we’re not even in the Ozarks yet! You get going so fast on the downhill you think, “Whoohoo! I’ve got that next hill licked!” But it’s so steep that all your momentum comes suddenly to a 5 mph crawl with all the grind you can crank out. And no sooner do you crest that hill and there’s another, and another, and yet another. There doesn’t seem to be any rest between them; just one after the other. You’re totally puttin out on the downhill to get up all the speed you can and then you’re totally puttin out on the uphill just to get over it. It’s exhausting. And you’re constantly running through your gears. Hi. Low. Hi again. Low again. Click, click, click. Click. Click. Click. I don’t know whose more whipped, us or the bikes… 

We got to the small town of Walnut Grove and there was a gas station open. We stopped to use the bathroom and I saw that they sold breakfast sandwiches as well as biscuits and gravy. Forrest and I ordered the biscuits but Rocky wanted pizza. We sat down next to 3 old guys. You know, the sorta small-town guys that meet every day at the gas station for a cup a joe and a chat. They knew exactly who we were and what we were doing. I think they’ve been sitting there a lotta years watching cyclists go through. One guy even made mention of the original 1976 ride running through there! They said they see guys every day biking through Walnut Grove, most going East like us. They started off with a battery of questions and we enjoyed telling them our story. 

We left there tanked up and ready for the hilly ride to Fair Grove. Up and down we went. Down and back up again. It was early enough that there was very little traffic on the road so we had much of it to ourselves. 

During one of the climbs I reached for the right-hand bar-end shifter to move my chain to my granny gear. I lifted the shifter up to its highest position and suddenly a sharp wire poked into my index finger. Not good. That’s a loose wire frayed from my shifting cable. I yelled to the boys that I needed to pull over–yes they were ahead of me––but I was in third place! Oh wait; that’s last place… 

I pulled over and took out my fingernail clippers to clip the wire. Done. We pedaled off. A little further down the road I reached to shift and was poked by a bundle of about 8 wires. Not good. Thankfully (on this shoulder less road) there was a driveway directly next to me. I pulled into it and called to the boys to stop. “I gotta pull over boys; I’m done. My rear derailleur cable is about to snap.” Now what!? I prayed for help and started running over our options in my mind. I took the shifter off to assess the cable. It was down to a few strands and since the fray was at the top there was no way of pulling any slack up from the bottom–of which there was hardly any anyway. I put the shifter back on and as I tried to run through the gears it wouldn’t budge out of the granny gear. I was dead in the water. No way around it. Whatever we did from here the first thing we needed was a ride. The next bike shop on the trail was in Farmington–on the other side of the state. I told the boys to put out their thumbs for a truck and see if they could get us a ride to Fair Grove, the next town. Meanwhile I called the Davises for prayer. I called Johnny but he didn’t pick up so I left a message. Then I called Mark in Wichita. When he answered I told him where we were and what happened. He said if I called the Bicycle Pedaler in Wichita to order what I needed Debbie would go pick it up and they’d bring it to us first thing in the morning. A four hour ride! Are you kidding me? “That’s too far brother.” “Well you need it don’t you?” I love that guy. “Ok brother. I’ll call the Pedaler.” I called the Pedaler. “I’m broke down on the TransAm in the middle of nowhere and I need a rear derailleur cable.” “I’m so sorry to hear that. So where are you?” “Ten miles west of Fair Grove, MO.” “Ok, well there’s a bike shop in Springfield 18 miles to your south.” You have to understand that on our bike maps we’re zeroed in on our own trail and have no idea what’s around us. We could be a mile from the Taj Mahal and not even know it. So I had no idea I was north of Springfield. All I knew was that there was a bike shop in Pittsburgh with which I was not entirely happy–and you never ever go backwards–and the next shop was in Farmington. “That’s great!” “Ok. I’ll text you the address and I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re coming.” 

Get this! I’m in the middle of my conversation with Aaron at the Pedaler who’s telling me I need to go to Springfield and I turn to see a woman pulled over on the other side of the road in a small white truck with a canopy yelling at the boys, “I’m going to go home and get my trailer and I’ll come back in 5 mins and you can put your bikes in the trailer and I’ll take you to Fair Grove. Just 5 mins! I’ll be back!” “That would be great!” I yelled back. “Thank you so much!” “Sorry Aaron, I’m back…” As soon as I knew where we neeeded to go God sent the means to get there. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. 

Mitzi Gordon pulled up in a big dually truck towing a huge horse trailer, opened the back, and told us to load up the bikes. “Thank you so much!” “No problem. I’m just paying it forward. But there’s not a bike shop in Fair Grove is there?” “No there’s not,” I said.” “But there is one is Springfield. I’ll just take you there and then I’ll bring you back and drop you off in Fair Grove.” “If you could that’s be great!” 

She took us to A&B Cycles in Springfield and they got my right in. My bike was up in the stand in no time. I watched the mechanic replace the cable. “Did you know you’ve got a broken spoke on your rear tire?” “No I didn’t!” There was more than one reason for this stop. In fact there were 4. Forrest broke one of my bottle cages on Thursday when he hit it with a basketball. And my bar tape was breaking and thinning badly. “While you have the bike up can you install this new cage and put on this new bar tape?” Might as well get ‘er done–$150 later. 

Given the time we’d lost I was thinking about our proposed destination: Hartville. I hadn’t heard from any of the churches I’d called. It was a really small town. If we didn’t find any hospitality how would we spend the Lord’s Day? I texted Pastor Terry in Golden City to see if he could help. He said he didn’t know anyone there. Maybe we should stop in Marshfield. It’s a much bigger city. We’re sure to find a good church and more than likely hospitable brethren. “Do you know any of the churches in Marshfield Terry?” “Yes! There’s two great churches there.” Terry gave me their information and reached out to one of them himself. When Mitzi offered to drop us off in Marshfield I was happy to accept. It seemed the Lord was directing us there. I left a message with the two pastors. Thank you Mitzi! You were a blessing from the Lord to us. May He bless you in return. 

When Mitzi dropped us off we headed to Dairy Queen for lunch. Just as we finished lunch Pastor Dan of Son-rise Christian Church returned my call. I explained our need and he said he was an avid cyclist and would be glad to have us stay at his house and worship with him tomorrow. Thank you God. 

After we pulled into Dan’s driveway and got settled in I was feeling bummed that we cycled so few miles this week. They’ve nearly all been short days and we lost a whole day in Girard when we were waiting on parts. I was thinking we might finish early and get home early. Now I’m not so sure. And whatever edge we gained in Kansas with those long days and three century rides has now been swallowed up by these short bursts. … But when I forget the destination and just think about our journey, it’s so very clear to me that we’ve been in the right places at the right time. Without the shorter days we’ve had this week we’d never have met Mitzi. We were in the right place at the right time to meet the one lady God had chosen to give us a ride to Springfield and back. If my cable had not broken there where would it have broken? On a downhill at 30 mph? In traffic? At the end of the day it’s not my show. It’s my Lord’s. He’s in control. He’s at the helm. It’s His glory to direct and guide and it’s my duty to trust Him and not complain. So that’s what I’m trying to do. He knows the end from the beginning and He’ll see to it that we finish this bike trip exactly when we’re supposed to. So we might as well enjoy the journey and trust Him with each day’s destination. ––You’d think we had that figured out by now. 

Pastor Dan Raymond and his wife and daughter have welcomed us warmly into their home. We’re set up in their guest room. They did our laundry. The boys got to swim in the pool before dinner and shoot a crossbow after dinner. Tomorrow the church is celebrating its 10 yr anniversary so they’ll have several testimonies during the service and a catfish fry afterwards. We’re looking forward to meeting the saints and seeing what God’s doing here in Marshfield, MO. Lord willing we’ll be back on the road early Monday morning. I’ll let you know where we end up but I’m thinking Houston, if not Summersville. 

Thanks for praying and thank for following. 

Until next time… 🙂 

The pastor of the church in Girard, Laurie Anderson–with her daughter Bonnie–took us out to breakfast at Eastside Cafe. We enjoyed wonderful conversation and good food before leaving town at about 9:00. The bike shop in Pittsburgh didn’t open until 10 anyway so we knew we could take our time. It was a 14 mile ride but it was so easy that we pulled up to the bike shop at 10 AM about 30 secs before the guy came to unlock the door. Once inside the shop we checked on our order. He said his UPS shipments didn’t usually come in until 12 PM so I gave him my number and asked him to call me when they arrive. Meanwhile we headed over to Root, a local coffee shop 1/2 mile away. I got an iced coffee and the boys got fraps. They didn’t mind us hanging out to enjoy the wifi so the boys got online and I went outside to sit at a table and study our map through Missouri. I really wanted to get on the road since the weather was nice, but we just had to wait this one out. 

Tailwind Cyclists called at about 12:30 and said my parts had arrived. We rushed down there, unloaded our panniers, and they got started on them right away. Roger owned the place and Ryan was his assistant. Roger was working on my bike and Ryan was working on Forrest’s. The boys were on the wifi but I stood by and watched the repairs. I was probably prejudiced due to a review I’d read about this place the other day but they didn’t seem to have it all together. They were distracted in their work and I don’t think they were comfortable with me watching. Forrest and I both were getting new chains and I noticed right away that their method of sizing them (little-little) was the exact opposite of Mike’s preferred method (big-big) in Wichita. Mike said the little-little method tends to make the chain too tight; so this made me uneasy right away. But since Roger was an accomplished cyclist with many years of riding with the pros I thought maybe it would be alright. What do I know!? I went from sitting behind a desk to riding a bike across the country. Roger said he gave me a break on the labor but it was still $280 before I left–and that was on top of the $190 it cost me in Wichita. ––I was pleasantly and gratefully surprised to receive a $500 gift recently. The costs of this trip (both ours and the girls’) have really added up… Now I know why the Lord gifted me that $500 😉 Thank you Lord; and many thanks to those who gave. 

We didn’t leave the bike shop in Pittsburgh until 2 PM. It was too late to go to Ash Grove as I was hoping (68 further miles) so we’d probably have to opt for Golden City. I figured that might happen so while we were in Girard on Wednesday I’d called First Christian Church in Golden City to see if we could get lodging for Thursday night. Pastor Terry Longan assured me we could and told me to call when we got into town. 

We rode hard out of Pittsburgh we were so eager to be on the road again. Maybe we could make it farther than Golden City? Then again, maybe not. The humidity was worse than we’d seen in a while. The sweat dripped down our arms, faces, and sides. It stung as it dripped into our eyes. As much as I was hoping to cover more ground, I figured we’d better call it quits in Golden City. 

We pulled into town by 5:00 (a 33 mile ride from Pittsburgh). I had no idea where the church was but we stopped at the library and went inside for a little AC and water. I spoke with Carol, the lady at the desk, and explained that we were cyclists staying at one of the local churches tonight. “Do you know the pastor’s name?” “Yes, it’s Terry.” “Oh, Terry Longan. That’s my church, it’s right over there.” She pointed to a church less than a hundred yards away on the same block. Sweet providence indeed. I asked her if there were showers there by chance. “No. But you can shower at the city park.” Nice! I stepped outside to call Terry and ended up leaving a message. 
After my shower at the city park I connected with Terry. The church had an air-conditioned second floor above its “Family Life Center” (gymnasium, kitchen, classrooms, etc.) and we could pick whichever room we wanted to bed down in. The kitchen was ours to use but there was a senior citizens group playing cards in the dining area. All in all, we were to make ourselves at home. While at the park a lady walking her dog came over to speak with us. Apparently she lives next to the park and keeps an eye on all the cyclists coming through, all of whom sleep in the park. If the weather is poor she usually takes them in for the night. “So I see you found the shower.” “Yes we did.” “And are you staying in the park, then?” “No. I’ve contacted Pastor Terry in town and we’re staying at First Christian Church.” “Oh, great! That’s my church. I’m glad you’ll have someplace dry to sleep tonight, especially with the hurricane coming.” Did she say hurricane? “You mentioned a hurricane. Should we be worried?” “No. It’s south of us; we’re only getting the rain.” “Oh. Okay.” 

We left the park and headed straight for Cooky’s Cafe in town. We heard the pie was good so I figured we’d eat dinner there as well. The service was very nice but I honestly wasn’t impressed with the food. The steak was pretty tough for medium rare, the curly fries were so-so, and the spinach was sort of bitter. Forrest really liked his fried chicken though. We opted for pie anyway and weren’t disappointed–especially since my good friend Linda Teakell said she’d reimburse me if I ordered it 🙂 I got warm pecan pie with ice cream, Forrest got the coconut cream, and Rocky got the butterschotch cream. They were all really good. 

We headed to the church after dinner. We entered via the gymnasium door and the boys immediately started shooting hoop while I went into the kitchen looking for someone who was looking for me. There were about a dozen seniors playing cards and one lady (Sue) looked at me and said, “Are you one of the cyclists?” “Yes I am. I’m James.” “Great! Welcome. Let me show you to the upstairs.” Sue showed me around, introduced me to all the seniors–some of whom had a few questions about riding a bicycle across America for fun–and offered me and the boys some of the snacks they’d brought with them to their “card social.” Thank you Sue, for your warm smile and hospitality. 

I picked the couch room for us. There were several lazy-boy chairs and 4 couches spread around the room. It’d be better than sleeping on the floor and we wouldn’t have to get our air mats out. I took my stuff upstairs right away so I could pick out my couch. Since the boys were playing ball I figured I got first dibs. Later on when we were winding down for the night an older man walked into the room. I figured it had to be Pastor Terry and it was. He introduced himself and we took the opportunity to express our thanks for the use of the place for a night. He took a picture of us and said he’d post it on the screen on Sunday so they could pray for us. He also said he’d continue praying for us over the next month until we got home. Wow! It’s crazy how many people are actually and regularly praying for us. I remember thinking–after our first day on the bikes, when we were camped in Nehalem Bay State Park in Nehalem, OR–I remember thinking how awesome it was that we had a whole congregation praying us home. It blows my mind now to think how many more prayer warriors have been added to that number over the last 2 months. We’ve met so many wonderful Christians along the way and I know that many of them are indeed praying us home. What peace! What joy! Thank you all so much! 

Aug 11

We got up at 6:30 and headed back to Cooky’s Cafe for breakfast. I ordered biscuits and gravy with sausage and eggs. It needed more seasoning but it wasn’t bad. Either way, we needed a good meal in our stomachs for the 66 mile ride to Fair Grove. After breakfast we headed back to the church to get on our way. The sky was dark and heavy but at least it wasn’t raining. I got all ready to go and looked outside. It was pouring–hard. Ugh. Guess the effects of the hurricane about which the lady had spoken. Now what? We weren’t afraid of rain, but this was a lot of rain. We were going to get wet, very wet very quickly. I looked at the forecast, it was supposed to rain until noon. To stay or to go, that was the question. I texted Pastor Terry. He said we could hang out as long as we wanted. Maybe we’d set out after lunch. Forrest wanted to shoot a few hoops and I was feeling a bit tired. So I figured I’d get a power nap.. As it turned out, Forrest had the music in the gym so loud that I couldn’t sleep. At least I rested my eyes. After 20 mins I headed downstairs. I checked the forecast again. Now it wasn’t supposed to let up in the area until 3 PM. And every city which we’d reach today, tomorrow, and the next day were all forecasting a ton of rain for the next several days. if we try to wait out the storm we’ll be here for a week, I thought. Might as well get on the bikes. Either we get wet today or tomorrow. What’s the difference? I figured we probably wouldn’t make it past Ash Grove, but some progress is better than no progress. So we got ready and headed outside. Terry asked for a picture of us with our bikes so we stood in front of the church door under the overhang. All of a sudden a man rode up in his truck. He got out and walked over to where we stood. It was one of the seniors I’d met. He asked if we’d had breakfast. I told him we did and that we were heading to Ash Grove. –I wonder if he was coming to take us to breakfast?? I asked him to take our picture and we left there at 9:30. 

Before long the rain was falling much heavier than before and we were soaked–inside and outside of our raingear. At one point Forrest rode up beside me and said, “This is bad, really bad.” “I was just thinking that. It reminds me of the storm in OR.” He slowed back into position behind Rocky. Nothing to do but keep on pedaling. After about an hour the rain slowed and soon let up. We stopped to take off our jackets and figured on drying our shirts by riding into the wind with them. It worked well and by 2PM we arrived in Ash Grove. 

I don’t think we’re officially in the Ozarks yet, but we’ve definitely hit the Missouri hills. They’re plentiful and steep. You head down the hill convinced that you’ll get up enough speed to make it over the next… but instead you slow to a crawl downshifting in an effort to at least keep moving. And we did alright until our chains started giving us trouble. Forrest’s chain came off twice and he had trouble getting onto his smallest crankset in front. My chain kept skipping and clunking into gear on the back cassette. We let out a few complaints and I wondered if our chains were too short. Now what? Forrest’s chain came off again. I adjusted the front derailleur. Mine kept misbehaving. We pulled over and, with frustration in his voice, Forrest said “This is not good! I can’t get to my granny gear and it makes it really hard on these steep hills.” “You’re right son; it’s not good. We’re both having chain problems. But what are we going to do about it now? We need to bring our hearts to our condition and pedal on.” And we need to pray about it, I thought. Ask God to put His hand on these bikes and help us on our way. So I committed it to the Lord and we pedaled on. We didn’t have any more problems on the way to Ash Grove. 

Typical of Kansas and Missouri, cyclists are allowed to camp in the City Park. But we’d heard from 3 other cyclists that there was now a bike hostel set up in Ash Grove next to the park. So once we got into town we headed for City Hall to get the key. A very nice lady welcomed us. We signed the cycling log and she gave us the house key and took us outside to take our picture. We headed to the house, got cleaned up, and then walked to the library to use the wifi. Now, once I finish this up, we’ll head to the Mexican Restaurant for dinner and a cold one. 

Stopping here today has thrown a monkey wrench in my plans of getting us across Missouri by next Wednesday. Now I’m not sure where we’ll make it tomorrow. We need to find a place with good lodging and a place to go to church. I hope those two can be the same place again. 

PS… for all you prayer warriors, I don’t have an update on Karolina. We passed her in central Kansas when she broke a spoke (for the second time) and had to order a wheel from Pittsburgh. The last I heard she was down for a week–which means she should’ve been back on the bike on Wed or Thusday (yesterday). I’ve texted her several times but haven’t heard a thing. I’m wondering if her phone’s off the hook… Keep praying and I’ll update you as soon as I hear something. 

Thanks for praying and thanks for following. 

Until next time… 🙂 

The 40 mile ride from Rosalia to Toronto was an easy one. We rode the whole way under heavy cloud cover wondering if it was ever going to let loose and ran. It never did and we were very thankful for the cooler temps and breeze. We left Rosalia by 9:40 and pulled into Lizard Lips, the convenice store just shy of Toronto, by 1:30. Wanting to put the miles behind us, we’d decided to skip a real lunch and get to Toronto asap. The trail mix we’d picked up in Wichita served well to hold us over until dinner. 

Sometime before reaching Toronto I’d looked online for churches in the area that might be able to host us and located The Cowboy Church. I called and left a message. And since it was on the main road I figured we’d just stop by when we reached town. 

When we turned onto the road into Toronto, at the corner of which stood the Lizard Lips, I wanted to keep going and get to the church–eager to secure lodging for the night–but the boys wanted to stop at the store and drool over the ice cream and cold drinks inside. (As it turned out, The Cowboy Church stood next door to Lizard Lips). I waited for what seemed like forever by the bikes for the boys to come out of the store. Finally Rocky came out. “What’s taking you guys so long!? Come on!” “You should come inside Daddy.” “No, I really want to get going. Come on.” “There’s some really nice local ladies in here. You should come in.” Well, maybe they can help us find a place… “Ok.” 

Three ladies sat a table visiting over a meal. “Are my boys giving you a hard time?” I said jokingly. “No. They’re fine.” “So where are you boys from?” one lady asked. “Cape Cod.” “Oh… good ‘ol P-town.” “You know the place,” I said with a smile. “Are you from there?” “No. I was a tour guide for years on several New England foliage tours so I’ve spent a good bit of tiem in New England.” “Wow. That’s great.” A nice conversation began. We talked about our bike trip (she was very familiar with the TransAm) and about my sabbatical. Finally I asked, “Do you know anything about The Cowboy Church? I was hoping to find lodging there for the night.” “Well I don’t know whether or not they take cyclists in but you could stay at my house.” Really? Who is this lady? Can we trust her? “That would be nice! Thank you so much. Where do you live?” “I live right in town, two blocks from Main St. You’ll see my white house. You can park your bikes in my garage.” “Okay! We’ll head there now. By the way, what is your name?” “I’m JeanMarie Dancer.” She took out her tour guide business card so I’d have her name and number in case we got lost in Toronto. Wow. What an answer to prayer. A real bed. A warm shower. And the hospitality of a local. 

We got to her house before she did but she arrived quickly after and brought us right in. She told us to relax and make ourselves at home. Once we got cleaned up we sat around together and got to know each other. I shared a bit more about my church, faith, and family and she shared about her life and recent struggle with a diagnosis of cancer. She asked us to keep her in our prayers and we agreed to. May God use this to draw her to Himsefl and to the new life in His Son Jesus. 

For dinner we headed back to Lizard Lips for pizza. When we arrived we saw a bike outside. I didn’t think there was anyone so close behind us and by the way the bike was parked I figured he was heading West. When we got inside JeanMarie went right up to him and asked him which way he was headed. “West,” he said. And she proceeded to give him a contact in the next town where he could stay the night. JeanMarie has been hosting cyclists on the TransAm since 1996 but instead of signing up with warmshowers, she prefers to spontaneously hang out at Lizard Lips and see who might show up. I introduced myself to Reid as well and also suggested places he might want to stay as he journeys through Kansas and beyond. When my list was getting long I finally suggested he look at my blog and see where we’ve lodged along the way. I also asked Reid how long he’d been on the road. I was surprised to learn that he’d reached Toronto in a month, “with several rest days and a slow start,” he said. There’s 1548 miles left from Girard to Yorktown and I was figuring it would take us 5 wks. Could we finish a week early? Depends on how well  we handle the Ozarks and the Appalachians…

After dinner JeanMarie took us for a tour around the lake in Toronto before taking us back home. Once back home her friend John came over to look at the bikes to see if he could help with our aches. He was able to further straighten Forrest’s chain ring, for which we were grateful, but we still need to visit the bike shop in Pittsburgh for the new parts. 

Aug 8

We were up early and JeanMarie fed us a hearty breakfast to get us on the road. We left at 7:30, heading for Girard, an 84 mile day and the end of our 8th map(!!). Given an overcast sky and low humidity the ride was cool… but whoever said Kansas was flat!? We’ve now biked across the entire state and it’s anything but flat. Granted, the hills are neither mountains nor passes… but neither are they level. We went up and down, up and down again, and up and down yet again. And we had a slight headwind the whole way. All in all it was a good day’s work to get to Girard by 5:30. 

You may remember Cody and Sharon Shrader and thier family. We met them at the city park in Lander, WY. Once we learned that they lived in KS and near the trail we’d planned to see them. They weren’t able to host us for the night but they did want to provide us with dinner when we arrived and a to-go breakfast for the morning. So when we stopped for lunch I got on my phone and called First Christian Church in Girard. Rev. Laurie Anderson picked up. I explained my situation and told her we were looking for lodging for 2 nights. She said that woudn’t be a problem. I was to call her when we got into town. She met us at First Presbyterian Church, which is where First Christian Church also meets, let us into the building and showed us around. She gave me a key and said we had the whole place to ourselves, the lounge, kitchen, fridge, etc. and we could sleep wherever we wanted. I thanked her for the hospitality and we headed out to the park to meet Sharon Shrader with her mother and children for dinner. We were sad to miss Cody, who is away at work in Portland, OR. 

Sharon had kindly and generously prepared us a nice Mexican meal for dinner as well as breakfast burritos for tomorrow and a care package for our bike travels. After the meal I had a wonderful talk with Sharon and her mother while the kids played at the playground together. We encouraged each other with stories of the goodness of God and shared in the joy that comes from trusting and following so loving and wise a God as we have and Sharon shared how blessed she’s been by reading my blog. 

Sharon’s mother–after the numerous other questions she asked me about myself–asked how they could pray for me and my church and then shared about their church, asking me to remember them in prayer as well. It was really funny when, after our conversation together, Sharon’s mother asked, “Now what kind of Methodism are you a part of!?” “He’s a Presbyterian mom!” said Sharon. With a big smile I said, “I’m an Orthodox Presbyterian. It’s a very conservative Presbyterian denomination. Bible-believing and Bible-preaching. The website is OPC.org.” “Write that down for me Sharon,” she said. “We’re in the vein of the Reformers, the Scottish Presbyterians, and the English Puritans.” “Well because you not only sound like a Christian but you live like a Christian too!” “That’s because I am a Christian and the OPC is a solid Christian denomination :)” Before leaving we made a circle and Sharon prayed for us, for our trip, and for our family and I prayed for their family and church. What wonderful providence. We met these people in Lander, WY so that we could enjoy their fellowship in Girard, KS. God is so good. 

We returned to the church, made a few phone calls, and then bedded down for the night in the sanctuary where the AC works the best. Thank you Lord for a cool place to stay, for brethren who pray for us, and for the love of Christ which binds us together. 

Thanks for praying and thanks for following. We’re going to hang out in Girard today. There’s a swimming pool in town that we’ll probably visit. Otherwise we’ll enjoy the rest day. Tomorrow we’ll head to Pittsburgh for the bike shop and hopefully be on the road again after lunch. I’ve contacted a church in Golden City that’s agreed to put us up so we might stop there. 

Until next time… 🙂 

We arrived in Alexander around 9:30 PM. As they said, besides a few homes, there was nothing there but the rest area and a grain elevator. But as the rest area was maintained by the state like the ones on the interstate it was very nice. I had some trees from which to hang my hammock, the boys set up their tent on a nice, level lawn, and the bathroom was clean. A few travelers stopped by during the night but we still slept really well. 

We left at 7:30 headed for Sterling about 100 miles away. There was camping at Rush Center and Larned but both of them were too close so even though we weren’t too keen on a 100 mile day, Sterling was really the only viable option. So we hit the road hoping for and easy ride and friendly winds. 

My addenda from the ACA alerted me to the fact that the 30 miles of road between Rush Center and Larned had become unrideable because they’d since rumble striped the shoulders. No worries, I thought. We’ll just take the alternative route. But the problem included a 10 mile stretch on gravel road. You’ve got to be kidding me…! Neither of us was satisfied with that option. So Plan B was to ride the 13 miles to Rush Center and see if we could hitch a ride to Larned. I stuck my thumb out for about 30 mins. One man stopped (with a bed too short) and seemed inclined to help. I said, “Can you fit 3 bikes in the back?” “Can you?” he replied. He told me we should be fine riding the road and also suggested we take another road (head further E and then S instead of S and then E). I really didn’t want to be on a road where the local drivers were not expecting loaded cyclists. We asked the guys sitting around at the gas station drinking coffee if any was going to Larned. None was and they said the road wasn’t that bad. Finally an older man stopped and said he sees cyclists on this road all the time and we should be fine. I figured the Lord was telling us just to go for it. After all, we’ve driven hundreds of miles on roads with absolutely no shoulder, putting us in the lane itself. So we headed out. The shoulders were indeed unrideable and we were forced into the lane, but the truck traffic wasn’t any worse than we’d braved so many times before and we were soon in Larned. Thank you Lord. 

I didn’t want to ride into Sterling without a plan for lodging so when we stopped on the way to Larned for a snack, I called every church in Sterling hoping to find help. Every number but one rang off the hook. I left a message and planned to try later. A few hours down the road I tried again. Same thing. I didn’t leave a second message. Did the Lord have a different plan? Was I knocking on the wrong door? 

Since I always carry the map and have the GPS, the boys are always asking “How far to the next town?” “How many more miles?” As I was studying the map to add up the remaining miles I noticed that while Sterling was 3.5 miles off route (3.5 there + 3.5 miles back in the AM = 7 miles out of the way), Nickerson was only 8 miles further and on route. Maybe I should call the churches in Nickerson… I Googled and found several churches. The first in the list was Christ’s Bible Church. I’ll try that one. It rang and the answering machine picked up. I started with my message. Before I was done a man picked up. I gave him the who and what and he said, “We have VBS this week (that’s why he was there late) but yes you can stay here.” I hung up the phone with a thankful heart and said to the boys with a smile arising from God’s sweet, fatherly providence, “We were never supposed to go to Sterling. We were always supposed to go to Nickerson. Let’s go!” 

We arrived at the church a little before 8 PM (107 miles). The parking lot was loaded with cars and I knew Phillip was still busy with the VBS so we waited outside. Within 15 mins a young man came out dressed like Robin Hood, reached for my hand with a huge warm smile, and said “Hi! I’m Philip. I don’t always dress like this!” Soon we had 20 people around us eagerly asking questions about our bike ride. One was the church secretary who heard my partial message. “Did he announce our coming?” I thought. It’s like we were celebrities or something. Both adults and kids had questions. It was fun to see their interest. 

“So you can stay at our house or you can stay here.” said Philip. “We’re okay to stay at the church…” “Well, why don’t you come to our house so we can feed you breakfast in the morning; otherwise you’ll be fending for yourselves.” “Sounds good to me!” We biked the few blocks to Philip and Torey’s (sp?) house and they welcomed us warmly. Torey heated up some spaghetti and we sat around the table like the Christian family we are. They have 2 kids, Keziah and Malachi. We had such fun asking riddles of Kezi! I think she’s 10 but she acts much older than that and gladly served us with warm hospitality alongside her sweet mother. It was such a nice visit! I can’t believe we never got their last name! I think it might be Lee but I’m not sure. In any case, thank you Philip, Torey, Kezi, and Malachi! God bless you and your church! I told them of warmshowers and of Karolina and they were quick to say, “Send her here!” What warm hearts… Mt 25.40. 

We left Nickerson around 8:30 heading for Newton, KS–around 50 miles. There was also an addendum about that ride but I was confused by it and figured we’d just stay the course. The ride was fine and we arrived in Newton at about 1:30. We were so excited to visit the legendary Newton Bike Shop. I’d seen pictures of it in the blogs of others. We needed repairs. Rocky needed a new tire. We’ll get to sign the wall, joining the hundreds, maybe thousands?, of others. And they have ice cream. 

My heart sunk when we reached for the door only to see a sign which read, “Temporarily closed for much needed expansions. We will reopen in mid-August.” What!? You’ve got to be kidding me! We rode over 2500 miles to get here and it’s closed? We were so disappointed. I knew I needed to quickly bring my heart to my condition. Complaining would be a sin and I couldn’t change the situation anyway. The same God who’s cared for us this far is still in charge and has a better plan than I did. I remembered Mark Davis (who lives in Wichita and with whom we’d be staying until Monday morning) mentioning that there were good bike shops in Wichita. I quickly texted him to let him know that he’d need to bring his bike rack and that we’d need to find a bike shop in Wichita for our repairs. He said no problem, grabbed his bike rack, and headed out for Newton. Meanwhile his wife Debbie got on the phone to see which shop could get us in. She called the Bicycle Pedaler. The lady was genuinely sorry that she couldn’t help. They were 2 weeks out (facing an overload because the Newton shop was closed) and she only had one mechanic on duty today. Ruth got on the phone with me to give her apologies and said she’d see if she could find help for me at another shop. Soon Debbie called back. The other 2 bike shops Ruth had in mind were closed. So we were to head to the Bicycle Pedaler and Ruth would see what she could do. 

We walked into the Bicycle Pedaler and Ruth knew who we were immediately. She explained that the other two shops were closed and that there was nowhere else she could send us. So instead, we were to bring our bikes in and she/her mechanic would evaluate them and see what they could do quickly. Mike came out right away and looked at began to look at the bikes. After explaining that he couldn’t help us and that he was 2 wks out, he suddenly said, let me see what I can do… The next thing we knew he’d fixed Forrest’s handlebar and kickstand and he’d replaced Rocky’s rear cassette and chain. My bike also needs a new rear cassette and chain–and had he had one, he would’ve put it on but he didn’t. We ended up calling ahead to the bikeshop in Pittsburgh, KS so he could order it (along with a new 48 tooth chain ring for Forrest’s bike) and get it in before we get there. What a wonderul providence. Thank you Mike! 

When Mark pulled up to where we were to meet him in Newton the kids said, “That’s gotta be him; he looks just like Johnny.” And Mark was thinking, “Is that James?” With my beard shaved off he hardly recognized me… We stopped by the store on the way home so Mark could pick up some more taters for Debbie. So when we pulled up, I let the boys start unloading all our panniers while I headed straight to the kitchen to bring the taters to Debbie… I walked in and said “Hi Debbie!” and reached out to give her a hug. I thought she looked a bit standoffish and cautious but I hugged her anyway, hoping for the best. Turns out, the reason she was so cautious was because she didn’t recognize me 😀 

We have had such a great time here with Mark & Debbie. They’ve spoiled us with great food and wonderful fellowship. They’ve put their arms around us like family and really made us feel at home. We’ve laughed together over funny things, had our eyes well up together with tears over God-things, shared stories of amazing providences, and enjoyed the blessing of Christian fellowship. We’ve even played a few rounds of Hand and Foot together (a card game) into the wee hours of the night. 

Yesterday Mark took us on a field trip to the Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Strataca. It was so cool. We went 650 ft underground and toured the place from which they mine the salt which the trucks put on the roads in the winter. Apparently they mine 500,000 to 1 million tons of salt every year from this mine and ship it all over the country. The next time you see a truck spraying salt on the roads it probably came from Strataca. Also, because there’s no humidity in the mine and the temp is a steady 68-70 degrees and there’s no varmints that can live down there, it’s a perfect storage vault for all sorts of things. We saw costumes and outfits that movie stars have worn in films and we saw thousands of boxes filled with who knows what that businesses, companies, and Hollywood have paid to have stored in the mine. It was really cool. Thank you Mark! 

Today we went with Mark & Debbie to their church, Newspring Church (newspring.org). It’s the first mega church I’ve ever been in (though it’s a lot smaller than a lot of mega churches) and it certainly was different than we’re used to. But we were blessed. For starters, when Mark introduced us to the greeter at the door, he said “Oh, you’re the cyclists! We prayed for you this morning.” Really? Us? Wow! Thank you God. Upon entering the foyer we met another greeter standing at the door to the sanctuary (I think it was the other greeter’s wife) and she excitedly greeted us and said, “We prayed for you today!” Really? You too? Wow! Mark & Debbie were really hoping that we could meet their pastor but knew that in a such a huge church it was very unlikely. Before heading off to get our coffees, Mark saw the pastor and flagged him down. He stopped and Mark waved us over and introduced us. He greeted us joyfully and wished God’s blessing on me as a fellow pastor and on the remaineder of our bike trip. Mark took us down the hall to the coffee shop and we ordered our drinks. While we were waiting he introduced us to one of the couples serving drinks and they were also very excited to meet us and wished us well on our trip. 

We sat down in the second row and waited for the service to begin. The worship team led us in three songs before the pastor came out to greet the congregation and give a few quick announcements. He then went to the other auditorium, I suppose to do the same thing, and returned after one more song–the theme song for the message series on which he was preaching. His message was on the after life, comparing and contrasting heaven and hell as fixed destinies. He spoke from Lk 16.19-31. I would’ve preached the text differently but I appreciated several statements he made regarding Christ as our only hope. But most of all, I appreciated the love and welcome we received from every person to whom Mark introduced us. 

It’s been good to be reminded on this bike trip that the Church of Jesus Christ is bigger than the OPC. Regardless of our differences and disagreements on many things, it’s clear that God has seen fit to spread His people across many different cultures and denominations. We’re not all meant to be in one church right now and differences are a testimony to the diversity of Christ’s Church. How much better would the Church be if we focused more on the things that unite us than the things that divide us? If we accepted where God has people in their stages of growth rather than trying so quickly to change them to be like us as if we’re perfect? Debate is good, discussion is good, and we all need to grow, but not until heaven will we all be on the same page. We’ve enjoyed seeing that God is at work in all the hearts where His Son is King and Lord. Given my heart and my convictions I’m thankful to be in the OPC and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. But I’ve really appreciated seeing that God is at work beyond my denomination and outside of my church. I’ve appreciated being reminded that while denominations must exist for the time being it cannot annul the oneness and unity we share as the body of Christ. And one day soon we’ll all be gathered around the Table of our Lord as the one people that we are. 

We’ll be leaving the Davis’ tomorrow… Instead of driving us north back to Newton Mark’s going to take us east to Rosalia and we’ll get on the bikes there. Monday night should find us is in Toronto, KS and Tuesday night should put us in Girard where we may need to rest for a day until our bike parts arrive at the shop in Pittsburgh. That’s my plan… I’ll let you know what God’s is after the fact 🙂 

Our time here with Mark & Debbie has been both a blessing and refreshing. We’ll miss them a ton. There’s simply nothing like the family of God and the love of God’s people. Thank you Mark! Thank you Debbie! May God bless you for blessing us, Mt 25.40. True selfless and self-sacrificing hospitality is shamefully uncommon in Christ’s church and it has been a real privilege to see–and receive–so much of it in our journey across the country. I pray God’s people recover the true joy of Christian hospitality. The world needs it. And God’s people need it. 

Thanks for praying and thanks for following. 

Until next time … 🙂 

We had an absolutely wonderful time of fellowship with Pastor Jeb Brown and his lovely family in Ordway. The kids really hit it off and played well together. Jeb and his wife Gayla have 6 children and every one of them welcomed Forrest and Rocky into their family circle and between playing cards, outside games, shooting the 22, and setting off fireworks, they had a blast together. 

I woke up early so spend some time with the Lord and Jeb was already at his devotions with a cup of coffee ready for me. It was a nice quiet morning for the both of us and then we spent some time talking about the scriptures. Gayla was up just after us and made a mess of biscuits of gravy for the whole lot of us. It was plate licking good and there were no leftovers 🙂 Honestly, it was hard to leave their house. Jeb and I really connected as two pastors; but besides pasotring Jeb is a horse trainer and a cattle driver. The boys wanted so badly to stay for a couple of rest days so we could experience a little of his “ranching world.” But alas! as hard as it was to leave a place that felt like home we had to get back on the road. The destination? Eads. 63 miles. We didn’t know where we’d stay but Glenn, one of Jeb’s elders, gave me the name and number of a fellow believer there, Tom Davis. He was hoping we could stay at Tom’s church. Tom was the pharmacist in town so we were to go to the pharmacy and introduce ourselves. 

Before leaving Jeb’s house I got a text from Karolina. She’d stayed the night in Eads and wondered where we were heading for the day. I told her we were in Ordway and were heading for Eads. She replied that she’d stayed with a nice couple she met in town and could probably make arrangements for us to stay there as well. I thanked her but told her I had a contact with whom I wanted to follow up first. She never texted back… 

The ride to Eads was really easy. There are a few long hills here and there but we’re definitely in the plains states. We pulled into Eads by 3:30 and headed straight for the pharmacy. I walked back to the counter and greeted the elderly man. “Hi, are you Tom Davis? I’m James La Belle” “Yes! Hi. Let me tell you a story.” He came around to the front of the counter and sat down in a chair. I sat next to him while the boys stood before us. “I went to Bible study this morning,” he began, “and my friend Larry told me the story of how he and his wife hosted a female cyclist last night. All she could talk about was her friend James and the book he’d recommended to her.” “You’re kidding me!?” I said. “That’s Karolina! She was hoping to arrange for us to stay with them. What wonderful providence!” “Well then let me call Larry,” Tom said. “I haven’t been able to get ahold of Pastor Russell.” He called Larry and couldn’t get through but then Larry called straight back and I could tell from the conversation that Larry was more than ready to have us stay with them tonight. He got off the phone and before he could tell me anything about the call Larry’s wife Carla walked down the aisle with the look of, “I’ve come to get my cyclists.” Tom looked up and said, “Larry is going to call you.” “Hi! You must be James,” she said. “I saw your bikes out front and knew it must be you. It’s all set Tom, we’re already expecting them. You boys come with me. I live just up the road a bit.” Why are we surprised when God goes ahead of us and prepares the way? How small our faith is sometimes! 

Carla led us to her house, immediately filled up our water bottles, and offered for us set up our tent in her backyard anywhere we wanted–only she wanted to mow the spot first. I told her the boys would be happy to mow it for her. In no time Forrest had the backyard mowed and he and Rocky also cleared the area under the apple tree of all the fallen–and now rotting–apples. Carla was so grateful–and we were grateful to help. The boys set up thier tent and I hung up my hammock. She showed us to the shower as well as the washer and dryer so we could get cleaned up and wash our clothes. 

As she was making arrangements for dinner we walked back into town to do some shopping for breakfast and to satisfy a few cravings. When we got back Larry had gotten home and we all sat around with glasses of iced tea talking about our bike trip and God’s wonderful providence in Karolina’s life. It’s clear that God is at work and we prayed that it would soon result in her conversion. They had an intense conversation with her the night before and even helped her download the Bible on her phone. They confirmed what Tom said, “All she talked about was her friend James the amazing book he recommended to her!” Please continue to pray for Karolina. 

We had a wonderul time with Larry and Carla. After a great dinner we cooked s’mores over a fire and were blessed by good Christian fellowship. As the night came to an end Larry prayed for us and our trip and I prayed for Zachary, thier prodigal son. 

Aug 1

Carla knew we’d rise and bike early so she got us all set up outside with a toaster and cold water so we could eat our breakfast and be on the road as early as we wanted. I was up by 5:00 and we were able to leave b y 6:30–which was good because we were heading for a warmshower in Scott City, 105 miles away. 

We were off to a good start at a steady pace. I was in the lead with Forrest and then Rocky behind me. At about 7:15 I heard Forrest take a big draft from his water bottle and then, “Scrape! Slide! Crash!” I looked back to see what had happened. When Forrest went to put his water bottle in its cage his front tire slipped off the raised pavement and down into the gravel/grassy area below. He reacted by trying to turn himself back onto the pavement–which we’ve already proven never works–and crashed. However, since Rocky was followsin so far behind him, he suddenly crashed into him. It was a 2-bike pileup. An ugly one. Forrest had scraped his chest on the road (he was shirtless, as he often is) and Rocky had scraped his right hand on the road. Small injuries, easy fixes. Now for the bikes. Rocky had managed to run directly into Forrest’s front crankset, bending the largest crank inward and thereby puncturing his front tire, ruining the tire itself, blowing the tube of course, and tweaking the rim. Forrest’s kickstand also twisted and came off and, somehow, his front axle had loosened–which we didn’t notice until much further down the road.

Now for the repairs. I’d bought Rocky a new tire in West Yellowstone–just in case–because both his tires are pretty worn. I was hoping they’d make it to the bike shop in Newton, KS. I’m so glad we had that spare; and of course we had a spare tube. I was able to install the new tube and put on the new tire, but the wheel is untrue and wobbly. I think he’ll need a new wheel in Newton. Forrest used his leatherman and carefully “straightened” the crankset but he was limited to keeping his chain on the smallest of his triple crankset–which meant he wouldn’t be able to travel as fast (Sorry Forrest!) without mimicking a hamster on a go-nowhere-wheel. Thank the Lord, within 45 mins we were back on the road, a little worse for the wear, but grateful the crash didn’t happen with any cars around. I took the lead again and we found a good pace that could work for all of us and set our sights on Scott City. 

I’d emailed the warmshower in Scott City several times (starting Sunday night) and never heard back but I figured he’d get back to us in time or the Lord would have another plan. We pulled into Scott City around 7:30 and headed for a gas station for water. I’d never heard back from the warmshower so I googled the churches in town and started calling. Nothing. It was too late. So we headed for the city park where cyclists are allowed to camp, passing a community church and a Catholic Church on the way. We pulled into the park near the pavilion and picnic tables to an ear-piercing symphony of cicadas. “This is crazy,” I thought. We can’t do this. “Boys, one of you head down to the Catholic Church to see if the doors are open. I’m going across the street to Dairy Queen to see if someone can help us.” 

“Hi, do you know how to get ahold of someone from the Catholic Church there? I’m cycling across America with my two sons and we’re supposed to sleep in the park but the cicadas are going to drive us crazy.” “No I’m sorry but I don’t know how to get ahold of anyone from the Catholic Church… But I do know how to get ahold of someone from the Baptist Church and I know they let cyclists stay there.” “That would be great!” I called the boys to come over and we decided to have dinner and ice cream at Dairy Queen. Amy made arrangements for someone to let us into Area 96, the Baptist Church’s youth center where we’d be staying. She meets there weekly for her Celebrate Recovery meeting and recalled last week seeing a bunch of cyclists there. So when I said I was a cyclist needing a place to stay, she was able to help 🙂 Do we have a great God or what!? Area 96 had a kitchen, a shower, and three so-cumfy-couches that it was hard to get up in the morning 🙂 

Aug 2

I woke up to my alarm at 5:00. I reset it for 6:00. At 6:00 I thought, “How far do we have to go today?” and reset it for 7:00. At 7:00 I got up, packed up my sleeping bag, and walked to the gas station for a cup of coffee, 3 breakfast sandwiches and 3 hash browns. 

“Rise and shine, shine and rise!” No response. “Time to get up. Breakfast is getting cold.” No response. “Don’t blame me when you’re eating cold breakfast.” Movement on the couches. “How far do we need to go today? I thought we weren’t leaving until 10:00,” said Forrest. “I could sleep here all day,” said Rocky. “I said we could leave as late as ten, but I never said we were. We have almost 80 miles to go today so you guys need to get up.” 

We left Area 96 by 8:30. Some cyclists stop in Ness City, 56 miles away, but we decided to head for Alexander, 76 miles away and the end of Map 7. Yay! Besides, we need to try to even out our ride between Scott City and Newton so that we can reach Newton by Friday. We need to drop the bikes off for a bumper to bumper tune-up and we want to spend Saturday and Sunday with Mark Davis (Johnny’s brother) in Wichita. 

The ride was really easy. We stopped at one of the few shade trees in the state for lunch. PBJ and chips and salsa. It was by an Historical Marker, a large plaque with a write-up about George Washington Carver who lived for a while in Ness Conty. We pulled into Ness City by 2:00. We decided to stop at the gas station for water and then head to the grocery store to grab some stuff for tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch. Alexander has a population of 60 so I knew I shouldn’t figure on shopping there. I thanked the lady at the gas station for the water and told her we were heading to Alexander. “There’s a rest area there we’re supposed to be able to use…?” “There ain’t nothing in Alexander but a rest area and an [grain] elevator.” “Oh,” I said. “Good thing we’re planning on shopping here in town.” 

… Hmmm. It’s 2:00. Alexander is 20 miles away. At this rate we’ll get there before 4 and have nothing to do but set up camp and go to bed. We need a place a hang out for a while. “Is there a coffee shop or library in town with wifi where  we can hang out before we go to our rest area?” “Yes, there’s a library a few blocks down and there’s also wifi at the Cuppa Joe.” Coffee?! “Great. Thanks.”

We rode down the street looking for Cuppa Joe. I found it and we parked our bikes. We walked into an empty restaurant (not the coffee shop I expected) and were met by the kind smile of a sweet ‘ol lady. “Hi! How can I help you?” “Do you have iced coffee?” “No, I’m not a fancy coffee shop. I just have hot coffee and iced tea. So you don’t want anything to eat?” “No we ate already. But we’ll take 3 iced teas please.” “Ok. It’s right over there and if you need more I can make more. Here’s the cups, I won’t charge you for it, just drink up.” “Thank you!” “How are you for food? Do you have dinner? Yes we have stuff for dinner but we need to go shopping for breakfast.” “How about some cinnamon rolls, would that be nice for breakfast? Here let me show them to you, theyr’e freshly baked.” “Yes! Those would be great!” “Ok, I’ll box up three of them then.” “Thank you so much.” 

We sat down to enjoy our iced tea as she swept the floor preparing to close up. She talked to us as she swept. Soon she sat down too. “So are you staying in town tonight?” “No, we’re heading to Alexander. But since it’s early and there’s nothing to do there but sleep we need a place in town to hang out. Do you know of any?” “Do you want to stay in my shed? There’s air conditioner and you can watch TV and you can take a shower.” Is this lady for real? That’s not my idea of a shed. “Sure! That’d be great!” “Ok. I’ll bring some water and ice with us. The water at my house is no good but the water here is reverse osmosis water. Here, don’t forget the cinnamon rolls.” “I still need to pay for those.” “No you don’t. A pastor with 7 kids, it’s on me…” 

Soon we were off to her shed. We followed her on our bikes. She lived just a few blocks away in town. We pulled up to a two car garage with a room attached to it. She let us in through the garage to the room, a large approximately 30×20 room with two fold out couches, a full kitchen (sans stove), a bathroom with a shower and washer and dryer. She turned on the AC and got us settled. “Do you have wifi?” “No. I do at this restaurant though. Do you want to go back there?” We left the bikes and headed back to Cuppa Joe so I could work on this blog (unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish in time to upload it). “I’ll bring up some more ice for you. Drink all the water you want.” “Thank you. We never actually introduced ourselves….” “I’m Forrest.” “I’m James.” “And I’m Rocky.” “Nice to meet you. I’m Connie.” 

She finished cleaning up and when she was done we headed back to the shed. She dropped us off and told me they won’t start playing poker until 8:00… Thank you Connie! 

So here we are, in Connie’s shed. We’ve all had a shower and I just put our cycling clothes into the dryer. I seriously thought about asking her if we could stay here tonight. I bet she’d let us. The only thing is that if stop here for the day it leaves us about 170 miles to get to Newton in 2 days, 170 miles which would have to be divided into 110 and 60. Not liking the 110. But if we stay in Alexander tonight then we’re looking at 90 and 60. So as nice as this shed is, I think we’ll eat our dinner here and leave around 7:00 so all we have to do in Alexander is set up camp and go to bed. 

Tomorrow we should stop in Sterling and then Friday we hope to get to Newton early enough so they can start on the bikes right away. I pray they’ll be ready by Monday morning… otherwise we might need an extra day at the Davis’. Although I’m sure that would be awesome 🙂 

Thanks for praying and thanks fore following. 

Until next time… 🙂