Category: The boys’ news

We decided to go for a swim at the town pool! The boys have been wanting a diving board for a long time and we finally found one. 

We don’t often have good wifi, but when we do the boys like to reconnect with the world 🙂 

The church invited us to the potluck they were having tonight just prior to their committee meetings. The food was great and we enjoyed speaking with a few of the church members about our bike trip. 

One of the church members who showed sincere interest in our bike trip was an elderly lady named Joan Humble. She was genuinely glad that we’d not only stopped in Girard but that we’d sought out assistance from her church. She asked many questions about our travels and said she’d love to take the trip if she could… She ended up giving me her address and asked me to send her a note letting her know we made it home safely. I’m sure she’ll be praying for us until we do 🙂 

Thanks for praying and thanks for following. 

Until next time… 🙂 

As usual, we planned to start out from Madison early. I was up by 5:30 and we had ramen for breakfast. Not the breakfast of champions but I figured it was quick and would get us on our way. But after all was said and done we didn’t get underway until 8:30. We filled up our bottles and headed towards Old Faithful. Since we’d driven through the Park as a family in June when we were heading to WA, we figured there was no reason to stop at all the sights again. Our agenda was to get through the Park and reach Colter Bay Village. It was a 75 mile ride–well within our reach; but we had to climb Craig Pass (elev. 8261) and cross the Continental Divide twice (at elevations of 8391 and 7988). So it would be a tough day. 

We rode by West Thumb and stopped at Grant Village for lunch. There was a store where we could buy some stuff for tortilla wraps and fill up our water bottles. We had a nice lunch in the shade, took a power nap, and I got to talk to Chantry on the phone. We were there for a good hour before attempting the next 42 miles to Colter Bay. 

During one of our roadside breaks another TransAmer came up behind us and stopped. She had a huge welcome smile and greeted us with an European accent. Her name was Karolina. She’s from Poland but transplanted to France about 15 years ago. After talking for a while we discovered she’s on the same trail and was headed for Colter Bay as well. “See you there!” we said as she took off. We arrived in Colter Bay to another full campground but thankful to know that they’d have a place for us. We set up camp and headed off to take a shower, do laundry, and get some stuff from the store for dinner. While at the store we saw Karolina. We had shared with each other on the road earlier that we were planning to ride the spur to the Tetons tomorrow (Saturday) and then head out of Colter Bay–her on Sunday and us on Monday. So at the store we agreed that we’d probably see each other along the ride to the Grand Tetons. 

We got back to camp and I got my kitchen out to start making soup for dinner. But as I tried to pressurize my MSR fuel bottle it wouldn’t pressurize. I took it all apart and tried again and it still didn’t work. Why wasn’t it working? It was like I’d lost a seal. It worked this morning well enough. Dumbfounded, I walked around trying to find help from another cyclist or camper. Unable to get any help I was at a loss to what to do for dinner. Diced potatoes and onions lay on the table with three cans of vegetable broth and a small bag of Lil’ Smokies sausages and the mosquitos were driving me crazy. Forrest and Rocky were both at the laundromat getting our clothes and I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly I thought, “Start a fire dummy.” I scoured all the dead wood I could from around our campsite and started a fire. And with Forrest’s bellowing help we were able to cook dinner on the provided fire grate. It took a bit longer but the boys said it was our best meal yet. 

We headed to bed around 11:00. It was the first time in 2-3 weeks that I’d been able to put up my hammock. Last time I froze as the cold air blowed under my sleeping bag but another cyclist (Samuel) told me the key was to bring my air mattress inside the hammock and sleep on it. As my hammock’s exit is from the bottom I didn’t know how well it would work. But I was willing to try it. And it worked great! I slept warm and cumfy all night. Thanks Samuel! I had my alarm set for 6:00 but didn’t get up until 6:30 because my phone had died during the night.

July 15 on the TransAm

I was disappointed to wake up late because we had 68 miles to cover, including our highest pass yet, Togwotee Pass (9658 ft). I had decided before going to bed that we’d have to skip the Teton Spur. It made me sad to do so because I’d always been determined not to miss them. So why skip them? 1) Doing the Tetons on Saturday meant we’d be spending our Sunday at the Colter Bay Campground and as far as I could tell forfeiting any opportunity to hear the preaching of God’s Word and fellowshipping with the saints. 2) it would also mean tackling a massive pass on Monday. 3) Tackling Togwotee Pass on Saturday would make Monday a breeze (the ride from Dubois to Lander is largely downhill). 4) Getting to Dubois, WY Saturday night would open up several options for worship on Sunday. ––So we opted to skip the Tetons and head to Dubois. 

Since my stove wouldn’t work we couldn’t have the oatmeal I’d planned. Breakfast ended up being strawberries, bananas, and carrots dipped in powdered peanut butter mixed with water. (Yes Michael, we finally got around to eating the powdered peanut butter you gave us. Thank you!). We got underway by 8:30 and I was tired. I was not looking forward to this pass. We’d have to climb a total of 3763 ft before the day was over. That’s a lot for one day. We’d done close to that a few times already, but this had been a week of climbing. In the last 5 days we’d already climbed an accumulated 14,785 ft and this would be almost 3800 more. But what ya gonna do!? Did we think this was going to be easy!? So off we went to conquer the world–or at least Togwotee Pass. 

The ride was not a little difficult. It was a steady, hard climb over many miles though it did level out–or even go downhill–several times. At one point it started raining slowly. Since the mosquitos, flies, and horseflies were so bad I figured it was an answer to prayer so I rode along happily. That is until it starting downpouring. Then I quickly scrambled to put away my phone and my iPod shuffle, dig to the bottom of my pannier for my rain gear (which we hadn’t used since June 16 on the coast of Oregon), and then cover my rear panniers with the rain cover. Guess I should’ve specified to God that a light drizzle would’ve worked 🙂 The rain didn’t last very long but I kept my rain gear on because it was getting chilly and because I wanted it to dry out before I put it away. 

We stopped at a gas station halfway up the Pass for lunch and met several cyclists coming down. One guy warned us that a wall of hail was coming. I could see that the sky in the distance was dark and rain-filled. I told the boys to get their rain gear on and we took off up the hill. It wasn’t long before rain and hail began pelting us. “This is pretty cool,” I thought. We can just ride this out, being the tough guys that we are. But then God humbled us. The hail got bigger, fell faster, and hit harder. We ditched our bikes on the shoulder and made for the trees by the road. I found it odd to see that Forrest had run to stand “under” a tree that was nothing more than an 8 ft stump. Rocky and I made for the ones that had lots of branches instead. Forrest soon joined us when he found that his first pick wasn’t stopping much of the hail. We probably waited 5 mins until the hail stopped before getting back on the bikes. The rain was still coming but what ya gonna do? Ride on. When we left the trees Forrest looked back and said “That’s where I was standing at first. I thought it was a full grown tree!” I told him I wondered what he was doing there. Too funny. 

As we continued up the Pass the sunshine broke through the clouds and crazy head winds started blowing. It reminded us of that crazy storm we’d had off the coast of Oregon. At the top we first encountered the Continental Divide at an elevation of 9584 ft and then after pedaling a bit more reached the summit of Togwotee Pass (9658 ft). It’s the highest we’d been yet. It felt really cool to be up so high that nearby mountains at elevations of over 11,000 ft seemed within reach. We took the usual photos and gave praise to God that it was behind us. 

The ride down was long and gradual with its share of hills. The sky looked dark so I kept my rain gear on and we headed for Dubois, another 30+ miles. I knew it would be a push. I continued to pray for the Lord’s help and trusted Him that we’d make it. It seemed like forever but we did make it. We stopped by the store for dinner before locating St. Thomas Episcopal Church, which also serves as a warmshowers site for hiker/bikers. We arrived here by 6:30 looking forward to a rest day. A hiker named Josh was already here and so he showed us around. We cleaned up, ate dinner, and spent a while catching up with emails, texts, and this blog. We hardly have any reception and our wifi is usually poor so this was a refreshing pit stop. Not intending to attend the Episcopal service, I looked online for local churches. I found a Baptist church in town and a community church so close to here that I could almost throw a rock at it. So we opted for the community church. 

Just as we were getting ready for bed guess who shows up? You guessed it, Karolina! Turns out she’d decided against the Teton Spur as well and headed out of Colter a bit later than us. She already knew I was a pastor and that we were taking Sunday off for rest and worship but as she was getting unpacked she mentioned to me that she’d decided to take Sunday off as well. I told her we were voting to church in the morning at 9:30 and she laughed that that was too early to get up on a rest day. I figured that if she happened to be up in the morning I was going to invite her to join us. 

July 16 on the TranAm

I woke up at about 7:00 but figured I’d let the boys sleep in until 8:30 or so. But a little before then Karolina got up and we started talking about religion, Protestantism, Jesus, and the gospel. She’s had some bad experiences with churches and religions in Poland. I told her she just needed to meet the real Jesus. She then asked me about the church I was planning to attend and said she wanted to come with us. Wow! God was on the move and we were in the middle of it. I told her it was a Protestant church and according to their website they love Jesus–that was enough for me. I had no idea what we’d hear or what the service would be like but I knew God had something in store for all of us. So at 9:25 we walked to Warm Valley Community Church. 

The interim pastor, Duane Dewalt (I think tha’s his last name), greeted us at the door with a handshake and a smile. And we could hardly get to our seats without being greeted by another 10 people or so. What a warm church! [It reminds me of my own church and makes me miss them.] We sat near the front and I sat next to Karolina to help her find her way around the Bible. Soon a man stood up front with a guitar and began to lead us in two songs. After he was done another man gave some announcements and led us in a prayer for the needs of the church. Then we sang two more songs and the pastor came to the lectern and began preaching. I think it was his second Sunday. Last week he’d preached on what the church was and today he was going to preach on wha the church does. He took us to the Great Commission in Mt 28.18-20, to the “commission” before the ascension in Acts 1.8, to the evangelism of Andrew in Jn 1.35ff, and then to the evangelism of the Samaritan woman in Jn 4. He spoke very simply and plainly about the need everyone has for Jesus and about the need the church has to tell people about Him. Not only was it a blessing to me and the boys but I was amazed to see how wisely and perfectly God had planned this sermon for Karolina. It was the first time she’d ever been in a Protestant church and the gospel was plainly presented. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship with the church after the service and then came back to our hostel where Karolina and I spoke about the things of God for the better part of an hour. Please pray that the Lord will do a saving work in her. 

After our talk Karolina headed into town to drum up lunch and dinner for us all. She visited several stores and restaurants asking for perfectly good food that would otherwise be thrown away (past its expiration date, etc.). She soon returned with an armful of bread, boxed pasta, cereal, cookies, and macaroni and cheese and said she’d go it again after 8 PM and hit up the restaurants to get us dinner. Apparently she does this all the time and 80% of the time comes away with a cartload. As she puts it, she’s on a moneyless trip across America–and you know, I think she just might do it 🙂 

We’ll be heading out tomorrow for Lander, 75 miles away. It’s the next ideal stopping point on the Trail and we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting there as it’s relatively downhill from here. I hear there’s a great bike shop there and a City Park where we can stay for free and even take a shower and swim in the pool. After that it’s on to Jeffrey City, a ghost town left over after the Uranium mines shut down. There’s a “warmshower” site there at a Baptist church. Then it’s Rawlins, WY. And then somewhere in Colorado. So if all goes well we should be CO by Thursday night. 

Thanks for praying. Thanks for following. Karolina will be leaving with us on Monday. Whether or not we cycle together we’ll at least be stopping in the next few towns together. Please pray that she’ll see Jesus in us and that we’ll yet have the privilege of seeing Him in her. 

Until next time… 🙂



We arrived in Missoula on the 6th and had a nice stay at the Shady Spruce Hostel–a block from the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) office. On the morning of the 7th we made our way over to the ACA at 8:00 for free drinks, ice cream, and internet, as well as the opportunity to get our picture on the wall of cyclists and our bikes weighed. It was great to meet the people behind the desk of the TransAm, people passionate about cycling and sincerely interested in helping us on our way.

One of the things I needed to do was get online and find a place to stay ahead of Missoula. Though we had not used it yet, I thought I’d check the warmshowers.org site (a community of cyclists hosting cyclists) for options. While online at the ACA I overheard a conversation between Samuel Rhoades (whom we’d met, with his brother Chad, in Corvallis, OR, and with whom we’d met up a few times so far along the TransAm trail, whether at campgrounds or hostels) and two other cyclists passing through on their way to Astoria. They were recommending to Samuel that he really should plan to stop at Phil and Linda Teakell’s house in Conner, MT. They spoke so highly of it that I immediately looked them up on the warmshowers site and sent a request for lodging for either the night of the 7th or 8th.

By the time we finished doing our laundry, updating the blog, getting our bikes back from the shop, and saying goodbye to the ACA–and Samuel, we didn’t leave Missoula until 2:30 PM. It so was much later than I’d planned that I had to check my attitude. It was a blazing 98 degrees. I had wanted to leave by noon. I wanted to make it closer to Chief Joseph Pass than it now seemed we’d be able to do in a day. Forrest had ran over–and crushed–my expensive shades and I couldn’t find a replacement in town. And I felt I was forgetting something. I was not happy. The ride out of town began quietly. On top of that, I had trouble getting us on the Bitterroot Trail (a dedicated paved bike path which runs for 50 miles from Missoula to Hamilton). I had to mortify my discontent and realign myself with the fact of greatest comfort–the God who is, is my God, and He’s in perfect and wise control of every part of this journey.

Once we found the Bitterroot Trail (after getting turned around 3 times) we had a road to ourselves and pedaled on. We arrived in Lolo within the hour and decided to go shopping. I also decided to check my email and saw two replies to my requests from warmshowers. One from Curtis Bunton in Darby and the other from Linda Teakell in Conner (14 miles further). Curtis was more than willing to host us, along with the 6 other cyclists arriving that night, and Linda’s door was wide open. What to do. We obviously couldn’t take advantage of them both because there’s only 10 miles between them. Darby was a 64 mile ride from Missoula and Conner was 78 and, honestly, I didn’t feel like going either distance so late in the day.

I had heard that Curtis was a great host; but something was drawing me to Linda’s. I thought on it for a while as we biked on and decided we’d spend the night in Hamilton (48 miles from Missoula) and then bike 30+ miles to Conner the next day to enjoy a stay in Conner with the Teakell’s. The ride to Hamilton was hot and just a few miles before reaching town a man cycling the opposite way stopped ahead of us with the obvious intention of speaking to us. We stopped and greeted him and he said, “Do you know where you’re staying tonight?” I told him I wasn’t sure yet. He then highly reommended the Black Rabbit RV Park (where he was parked). I thanked him and told him we’d meet him there.

We pulled into the tenting area and within a few minutes of getting set up he came pedaling over asking us if we needed anything in town. I told him we’d already shopped and I was planning to make dinner after a quick shower. After I got out of the shower Bill had already been back to the campsite with cold drinks and fruit. Thanks Bill! After dinner I emailed Curtis and Linda, setting up our stay for Friday night with the Teakell’s. We had a good night’s rest and got on the road in the morning with only fruit for breakfast since we knew we had a short ride to Conner.

On the way to Conner we stopped off on the side of the road for a break and a man, going in the opposite direction, stopped his truck on the other side of the road and said, “I think you’re going to my house.” “Are you Phil?” I said. “Yes I am.” “Then yes we are!” After giving us directions to his house he headed on and so did we. He was such a nice man that it put a turn in our crank, causing us to pedal on with more ease and joy.

We arrived at the Teakell’s at 1PM, greeted by a chalkboard sign on the door with the words, “Welcome James, Forrest, Rocky, and Samuel!” “That’s awesome,” I thought. “Samuel’s on his way here too!” After a knock Linda opened the door with a smile, walked us over to the kitchen for a glass of ice water, and then marched us out behind the house to sit on a log and dangle our feet in the Laird Creek which rushes by no more than 8 feet from her back deck. In fact, she joined us and we talked so comfortably and easily that you’d think we were friends at a reunion. This was going to be a great stay.

We came inside for a late lunch and the boys were soon climbing the hillsides that surround this beautiful home on the creek. Later in the afternoon when Phil returned from town Linda took me and the boys on two four-wheelers several miles up into the hills to the fountain head of Laird Creek. It was a fun ride up and back and the views we got were stunning. After we got back and ate dinner I learned that Phil had 50 bails of hay to get out of the field into the barn. So I offered our help and soon we were bucking hay. It was such a blessing to give something back to these kind people who were giving so much to us.

Back at the house we started talking about the things of the Lord. They were both brought up in the Nazarene church but heard nothing of the real grace of God until they came out of it. The Lord has led them to a small community church in Sula where the preacher preaches the Bible and proclaims the grace of God in Jesus Christ. I was wishing we’d arrived at their home on Saturday night so we had the possibility of staying over on Sunday to go to church with them. When I expressed that to Linda she said she’d love to have us. That’s when I started thinking about the possibility of staying until Monday… It would mean taking another rest day. It would mean passing up the chance to actually cycle with Samuel. But it would also mean enjoying some sweet fellowship and getting some good soul food. So we stayed–and I’m so glad we did.

We had a wonderful Saturday which began with helping milk the goats 🙂 Then around the breakfast table Phil shared how the Lord healed him of stroke-paralysis when he was 25 and how the Lord healed him of hate when He converted him. Samuel sat quietly and listened. I pray the Lord will use it to draw Samuel to Himself and I pray we’ll have the opportunity to add our testimony to it the next time we see him. Once we got Samuel on his way Linda began arranging for the three of us to float down the Bitterroot River on tubes. What fun! She dropped us off at Hanson Crossing and we floated for about 1.5 hrs to Darby Bridge. After we got back the boys finished weeding around several fenced-in trees–a job they’d started in the morning. We had a wonderful evening together, looking forward to the Lord’s Day.

It was a real joy to be in the Lord’s house today. The saints at Sula Community Church were delightful. They welcomed us gladly and the sermon from 1Sam 30 was just the dose we needed. Pastor Del Abbey spoke of the things Satan likes to steal from us, things like our joy, our faith, our peace. He commented how sad it is that we’re often more grieved over losing our toys than we are over losing our joy. He reminded us that God is able to restore what Satan has stolen. I kept thinking of the saying of Thomas Brooks, “If Satan can’t keep you out of heaven (which, bless God, he cannot), he’ll do everything he can to keep heaven out of you.” I was encouraged by the good Word. Thank you Del!

After church Linda took us on a beautiful drive to a bison ranch which a guy in the church (Gary) manages. He met us there and we were enthralled to watch 75 bison feed in the field. We got to see them much closer up than we will in Yellowstone. Thank you Gary! I also enjoyed a great talk with Gary afterwards about the importance of the preaching of God’s Word and the need of the church for a steady diet of it. On the way back to the house the clouds were gathering and soon dropped a ton of much needed rain and a surprising bunch of hail. It was a cool sight for the boys.

I’m so glad we stayed the extra day. I don’t know what the church situation would’ve been like in Jackson, MT but I do know the Lord had a blessing for us here in Sula. The church was half the blessing. The other was the fellowship we’ve enjoyed with Phil and Linda Teakell. They have been a tall glass of cold water for our souls. They love the Lord. They love to serve, give, and do for others and they have a heart for hospitality. In fact, we’ve already arranged for Chantry and the girls to stop by here for a drink. I pray it blesses them as much as it’s blessed us. Thank you Phil and Linda! I pray we’ve blessed you as much as you’ve blessed us.

We’ll have to leave tomorrow, heading over Chief Joseph Pass towards Jackson, MT.  Not sure what the Lord has for us in the coming week, but I can’t wait to meet the people He’ll bring our way. We’re almost finished with our 4th week of biking. We’ve gone over 1000 miles (nearly a fourth of our total journey) and we should be in Wyoming by Friday.

Thanks for praying and thanks for following.

Until next time… 🙂

We left Council with our eyes on Slate Creek Campground, 81 miles away. It would be our longest day yet; but if we could make it we’d be within 12 miles of the dreaded White Bird Hill. We had a hearty breakfast and set out. The ride would involve a good bit of climbing until New Meadows, but then it would be largely downhill the rest of the way.

We stopped at a store near Tamarack for ice cream and a refill of our water bottles. The man gave us a notebook to add our signatures to the rest of the many TransAmers that have stopped there so far this year. He then warned us about the dangerous–narrow–ride along a stretch of the the Little Salmon River. Apparently there is no shoulder and the semi-trucks fly by at 65 mph leaving us very little room. He even said several bikers have been hit/bumped by them because the road is so windy and narrow. We thanked him, committed it to the Lord, and got back on our bikes.

First of all, let me say the many miles of riding along the Little Salmon River were absolutely gorgeous. I simply couldn’t get enough of the scenery. The river rushed by with canyon-like walls of rocks and hills on both sides and scattered pines everywhere. I wish a camera could capture the full beauty of what we saw.

Secondly, when we reached the section of the road about which the man warned us––the long 2-3 mile windy section in which the shoulder was lined with concrete barriers, leaving us less than 10 inches between the barriers and the yellow line––I prayed for the Lord’s protection and rode on. And amazingly, not one car or semi passed me the entire time along that stretch. I kept flying down the windy hill as fast as I safely could, looking back to keep Rocky in view, and trying to get through it as fast as I could. But not one vehicle passed me until at the very end a pick-up went by and honked–maybe he was just saying hello…

On the way down we found a stunning waterfall we just had to stop and see. So we hung out for a few minutes, took some great photos, and then headed into Pollock. When we reached the small town of Pollock the path turns off the main road and goes through Pollock only to join the main highway again 4 miles later. So of course we took the turn to pass through Pollock. But since I had forgotten to check my many pages of addenda that accompany my map I didn’t see that this side road was closed to thru traffic. Oops! Within 2 miles we came to the reason for the road closure. A section of about 200 feet was completely caved in. There was definitely no way a car could get through–but what about bikes? We had no desire to bike up the 2 mile descent we’d just come down to get here. So we carefully walked out bikes across the cracked, twisted, turned, and upheaved road to get to the other side.

We stopped in Riggins with a half-a-mind to stay at the RV Park. The day had been long, hot, and stressful. I was tired and didn’t really want to go on. But Riggins was 30 miles from White Bird–not close enough for comfort. So we grabbed a Gatorade and corndog and hoped that the next 22 miles to Slate Creek Campground was more downhill than up.  Thankfully it was. And moreover, it was along the Little Salmon River the entire way. The ride was breathtaking. We were compelled to stop at a section of the road filled with hundreds of trucks and camper trailers. What were all these people doing!? We learned they were all down on the river fishing for salmon. We stopped and watched a few men fish until one caught a nice sized salmon.

I had lost track of how many more miles we had to go so we stopped at the Steelhead Inn and asked. I was bummed when she told me it was 4 more miles. I was hoping it was only 1 mile more. She knew we were on the TransAM and asked if we were traveling West or East. She then invited us into a room where the fridge was filled with juice and sandwiches and told us not to be shy. We weren’t. We downed two juices each, two sandwiches each, and I used the phone to call Chantry to let her know how far we’d made it.

We arrived safely–and very tired–to the Slate Creek Campground (between Lucille, ID and White Bird, ID) early enough to cook dinner and sleep along the Little Salmon River under the stars. It was an 81 mile day, but praise God we made it. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t believe the millions of stars I could see. I immediately thought of Ps 8, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?” I thought to myself, “The God who made all those and who knows them all by name, knows me, loves me, and cares for me.” I went back to sleep with a grateful heart and a smile across my face.

Thanks for praying and thanks for following.

Until next time… 🙂

After a shave and a haircut at the Spoke’n Hostel we headed for the climb out of Mitchell at 9:00. Pat said it was 7 miles and 1700 ft from Mitchell to the summit of Keyes Creek Pass. I thought to myself, “Oh! That’s nothing compared to McKenzie Pass.” And off we went, tackling that teeny hill with bravado. But after about 5 miles of that hill in the blazing sun my bravado completely melted and I happily walked nearly a mile of it. I figured I didn’t need to prove anything to anybody and I was just plain tired. And actually, walking felt very nicely today. I held my head up, smiled, and enjoyed the scenery. Because the truth is, I’m not sure why but today’s climb was harder than McKenzie. Maybe it was because this was our 10th day of biking (6th day in a row; thus our first full week). And maybe it was because of the endless heat (we ran through all our water just before reaching Dayville, where we’ve stopped for the night). And maybe it was because of the constant headwind that beat us backwards. And maybe it was because all three of our bikes were in desperate need of a tuneup. After many breaks and a bit of walking, Rocky and I reached the summit just after 11:00 (2 hours later). Forrest had arrived there 35 mins earlier and was practicing his karate katas 🙂

Pat told us that we’d have it pretty easy after the summit all the way into Dayville (31 more miles)–and he was right. Despite the aforementioned complications (especially the heat and the bikes needing to be looked at), the ride was relatively downhill and level until just shy of Dayville. In fact, it was an absolutely beautiful ride. The landscape, the rocky hills, and the ever present river, were all so picturesque and wonderful. If I wasn’t so covetous of the downhill, I would’ve stopped for a lot more pictures than I did. 

At one point we thought we might press on to Mt. Vernon; but we decided against it. As I said, we neeeded a break from the heat. But besides that, we knew there was both a bike shop and a church in Dayville–and we needed both. Our bikes needed looking at and tomorrow is our rest day so we wanted to find a place to go to church. As it turns out, the town church has been hosting cyclists on the TranAm since 1976. So, like yesterday, we’re sleeping in another church. We’ve got a shower, full kitchen, laundry, wifi, and the whole fellowship hall to ourselves–that is until tomorrow morning when it’ll be used for a Sunday School class. 

Our host here is Rose, a lady who lives in a house just behind the church. She greeted us, welcomed us in, and showed us around. I thanked her and asked her if we could stay two nights since tomorrow was our rest day. She said, “Absolutely!” and proceeded to invite us to church. I told her we had every intention to attend church tomorrow. Then she said, “Well, you picked a good Sunday to visit because tomorrow is potluck Sunday.” Looks like we’ll have good fellowship and free food to boot. Thank you Lord. 

We dropped our panniers and headed down to the Dayville Mercantile Store where I heard there was an excellent bike mechanic and a full service bike shop. Simon greeted us and invited us right into his humble bike garage adjacent to the Mercantile Store which he just bought 3 years ago. As it turns out, he’d gotten tired of living in the city of Portland and decided to move to Dayville. Knowing that Dayville is on the TransAm, and being a Master Bike Mechanic, he decided to add a bike repair shop to the Mercantile Store. Wise move Simon. He put our bikes up in the stand and made several adjustments on each of them that I’m very confident will make for a better ride and happier riders come Monday. My rear brake disc was bent and rubbing and my rear derailleur hanger was bent, giving me a problem shifting. Rocky had a twisted chain link (How in the world did that happen!?). And Forrest’s right bar-end shifter was ready to fall out. When all was said and done, we were very pleased with Simon’s expertise, attention to detail, and friendly service. Thank you Simon! 

We’re settling in for the night and look forward to a day of rest. I pray the Lord will bless the man coming to preach at this church tomorrow and will send him with a word for us. I should get a chance to blog tomorrow night and I’ll let you know how it goes. And I pray that wherever you’re going to church tomorrow the good Lord will bless you too. Thank you for all your prayers and for keeping up with us. 

Until next time… 🙂 

Rocky and I had a nice ride to Starbucks this morning and were rewarded by a Cold Brew and a visit from the ladies 🙂

We loaded up most of our panniers so that we could get some idea of cycling with the extra weight. Not to mention, every ride we can get in before we go will help acclimate our derrières to our saddles and give us a chance to work out any bugs in our bikes.

During the ride to Starbucks and back (11.2 miles) we found we both had trouble with slipping gears. So it’s back to Sea Sports this afternoon for an adjustment. I’ve learned how to do it myself, but they’re a bit faster and Jeff, the owner, called and said he had some vests he wants to give us. Those guys have been really great all along the way with discounts and overall kindness. I think they’re as excited as we are about this trip!

Until next time… 🙂

Tonight was a perfect night for a ride. Rocky and I rode just under 10 miles, making a loop from the house, to the West Main rotary, down to Craigville beach, and back home via Old Stage Rd. Many thanks to the great crew at Sea Sports in Hyannis (Jeff, Larry, Mike, Dusty, Sean, etc.) for all their help fixing us up with our bikes and gear!