The Fuller Center Truck Adventure!

Greensburg, KS...

The BIG WELL in Greensburg, KS is apparently the 8th wonder of Kansas. Apparently it's climbable, too.

Doug made me my own verse to display proudly. How caring of him.

FULLER CENTER! SHUTTLE ADVENTURE! Thanks, Paul!

We still aren't sure why she's so excited.

The helmets get a much needed "day off".

If the smilie face on her leg doesn't tell you how happy Dani is to be priming for 5 hours, maybe leaving her cell phone and wallet in Greensburg might. Whoops.

Chris and I siding like it's 1999.

Katherine and Nate: American Gothic.

Doug! Actually doing something helpful!

Helping Pastor Marvin get a week's worth of work done in half a day: OYEE!

Well what an interesting few days it has been. I'm sure all of you have heard about my crazy skid show, my blown back tire and my possibly broken derailleur (mostly because it's French). Thanks for all your well wishes, but it looks like we'll have to wait until Oklahoma City until I'm back on two wheels rather than four.

We decided late last night to volunteer an extra day in Greensburg and help Pastor Marvin rebuild his daughter and son-in-law's house. We decided to forgo the biking due to slight 25 mph headwinds from the south and roads with shoulders as small as Twiggy. Since Paul (the incredible Kansan who survived the tornado and helped restore faith to a struggling community--see yesterday's post) actually volunteered to shuttle half of us to Woodward, OK this afternoon, the build was agreed to happily by all.

Some spent the day priming the inside of their house, some soffitting (facia-ing), and some siding. (See above photos.) At about 1 we went back to MDS and ate, showered and got ready for our new "adventure"--shuttling--to Oklahoma. We made the 88-mile trek in just under 2-hours--our fastest trip yet! Let's just say for the good of the cause that we had an 11% grade downhill...with a tailwind. Crazy day. When we got to the Oklahoma border we actually stopped to take our ritual picture and to sing the "state" song. Unfortunately it lacked pizzazz as our oyee's dragged and I sang the last chorus as "Fuller Center...Truck Adventure...". Something in me urges to bike again and something else makes me upset that that song from Oklahoma the musical doesn't start, "Okkkkkkklahoma where our roads are super-bike friendly//and our wheat is sweet....". Why does it have to be "wind rolling/sweeping through the plains"? No more wind, please!

We arrived at Lincoln Baptist Church here in Woodward, OK around 5 and were greeted very hospitably by the Youth Pastor Andrew, and later by his wife, Michelle. They provided us with a great dinner (pizza!!!) and were very loving as they encouraged us on our journey.

Tomorrow we head out early towards Watonga, OK, an easy under 80-mile journey. You know, these days if it isn't 100, we're not really scared. I guess that's one good thing that's come out of these long days. The other? Learning to sleep through loud, abrasive snoring. We're slowly figuring out that everyone on this trip snores. Yes, even your son/daughter/husband/brother/sister/friend/cousin/niece/nephew/local bicycle-rider on this trip.

Before I forget, we're also trying to bury the F--- word for good. So please if you have to use the word "FLAT", please use it sparingly. Some of us are starting to cover our ears at the very sound of it. Oh the horror!

Live from Woodward, Oklahoma,

Josh "Philly" Rothstein

"Experience is what you have after you need it"

We got to