It’s been a year since we left Astoria, OR on our bicycles to cross America via the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. We left on the morning of June 14 and arrived in Yorktown, VA on the afternoon of Aug 31. The memories flooding our minds right now are so many and so precious. The beautiful sites. The amazing landscapes. The long roads. The hard uphills. The awesome downhills. The conversations. The people.
So many wonderful people. We remember you all so fondly. The kindness you showed us along the way made our journey what it was. Some of you fed us when we were hungry. Some of you opened your homes and took us in for a night when we needed a place to stay. Some of you gave us water when we were thirsty. Some of you brought joy to our hearts by a passing conversation, a sweet smile, a cheer and a hoorah to keep going. Each state we crossed had its own beauty, its own set of challenges, and its own precious memories.
We write this post today to say thank you. Thank you to all of you who made the most memorable of trips possible. We will never forget it and we will always treasure the time it gave us together. And thank you especially to our church family (Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod), who prayed for us so fervently and faithfully until we all arrived safely home. I remember our first night on the trail as we were conversing with some fellow cyclists at a campground in OR. In the face of an oncoming massive storm forecast for our 2d & 3d days on the trail, I was thinking to myself, “What in the world was I thinking!?” But I remember the comfort and peace it gave me to say to the other cyclists, “We’ll be alright. We’ve got a whole church of people praying us home.” Thank you so much for those prayers. We made it. Sometimes I can’t believe it; but we made it.
I can’t wait to take another bike tour. It’ll be quite a while before I can set out on a 4,228 mile trip… but I’m thinking of riding to Philadelphia in September. We’ll see!
Thank you,
James, Forrest, and Rocky
