Chance encounters

Nate talking to JC

I met Jesus Christ today at McDonalds. He works as a gardener in Pueblo, Colorado; Eastern Colorado, (the less pretty, but easier to bike part of the state.) He is working 2 acres of land right now, without any machinery or pesticides, and he is trying to pipe in water for irrigation. He grows beans, and maybe carrots. He mentioned that he once biked across the country himself, carried everything with him, and slept in a sleeping bag under the stars.

By now, I've come to realize that every third person we meet must have biked across the country. This is good for my humility. We are biking across America, and it is a wonderful experience, but if you ever catch me bragging about it, just remind me that I am by far not the only one. Though following in the footsteps of such vaulted people is still amazing.

You probably want me to explain more about my encounter, and the first sentence. Here is a long circtuitous account of the events that lead to the fateful meeting:

We were stopped at the McDonalds after another round of shuttling to avoid the interstate. It seems like the last time I posted a blog something similar happened. Lets hope this isn't a trend which continues. No excuses this time, though once again we weren't flattened (hit by a car.) You should know though, that the miles we skipped were all down hill with the wind, so except for the traffic, they would have been a piece of cake. (incase our prowess is questioned)

We left Colorado Springs at about 8 am, (It was a late night last night for us because of the fireworks show). With Pike's Peak at our back, we headed for a small town called Rocky Ford. In the middle of the trip, we broke up into groups and shuttled across part of I25. There was more confusion, and the second group ended up at a Mcdonalds on the eastern side of Pueblo waiting for the first group, who had taken a minor detour.

I was surly enough having to ride past the interstate in a car, (I'm supposed to be pedaling across America, not napping in the back seat of our support truck across america.) and now there was more waiting. But just to show that things might all work our for serendipitous reasons, the first person we met in the parking lot was a man who worked for the McDonalds, who had just donated to the Fuller Center, because of the Bike trip. (he hadn't even met us yet.) Point taken, sometimes things don't work out the way my pride wants them to; this doesn't mean they aren't working out.

As to meeting Jesus:

Inside the McDonalds, the four riders of the second group were engaged in conversation by a older gentleman who was a little dusty, and very grey haired. After he asked, we told him about our ride across America, and a little about the Fuller Center. In return for our story, he shared a little of his. Many years ago, he had been an engineering student at Berkley. Some time later, he had biked across America, starting from the East. "When I reached the Pacific," he said. "I turned around and biked back to Colorado."

I don't know much about what happened to the man in the years between his bike journey and the time we met him in that McDonalds, but he was working as a gardener, now, on 2 acres of his own land.

He asked about my bike, and seemed impressed with how light it was. His old bike had been made out of steel. Then he started to talk about the mountains in Colorado. "You're giving me the chance to teach." he smiled at me. After a lecture on local and not so local geology, he asked my name.

"Nathan." I replied.

"That's great! he said, "we're family."

Pulling out his drivers license, he showed me his name. Under his picture, and beside all of the other letters and numbers that come with a license, there it was; his name was "Jesus Christ."
Jesus' worldly father -"his step father" as the gardner explained- was Joseph, who was from the line of David, and as it turns out there is a Nathan amongst that lineage. (Once again he was teaching me.)

So I guess the point is; biking across America, you are never sure who you will run into. I can only hope that as a group, we are all aware of the chances and chance encounters we have; to both make an impact and have an impact made on us.

Oh... how was the ride today? We biked down hill, from 6,000ft to 4,123ft. But the second half of our journey was beleaguered by a strong head wind (it felt strong anyway) and by a dramatic increase in temperature Pastor Don of the Menonite Church said it was 102 degrees while we were bking. (We were quite comfortable with the 60 degree days in the mountains, thank you.) So it was hot and windy and 85 miles, but at the end of the day, there were showers, there was a place to stay, and a wonderful dinner, all provided by the Mennonite Church of Rocky Ford.
May we never begin to take our hosts for granted! They have continued to remain wonderful.
9 riders still accounted for. I hope that is all we are supposed to have.

We did bike along the "cosmic highway" the other day, so if we lost anyone, we'll blame it on ET.

Seriously though. We're all great, well fed and clean. If only there were some way to actually get that tailwind which has been rumored and promised. (Sometime after tomorrow though, that's my day to drive, I don't need a tailwind then.)

My suggestion; meet interesting people,
Nathan
(pictures coming after more rest)