July 31-Aug 2 on the TransAm

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… 🙂