Rainy Day
Today was the third day of biking and we had a very pleasant surprise, RAIN! Now, feelings about rain while biking will differ depending on the biker you are speaking with. Some cyclists love it, they love the feeling of being drenched, while others dread the idea of even seeing a cloud that could drop a few sprinkles. All of us on this trip seemed to share the same discontent about the latter. Regardless of such though, everyone presented a very good attitude towards the inevitable weather forecast. After about two or three miles, it wasn’t so bad. Everything that could possibly be wet, was wet, so there was nothing else one could do but keep pedaling, AND watch out for those crazy semis passing us at 60 + mph that tended to spray us with the ever delightful road/rain water. :-D. As our journey continued south the rain lighted up and then eventually stopped allowing us to finish the day’s ride nice and dry.
Once we arrived at our wonderful host church for the night, First Presbyterian Church, some of us travel two miles down the road to Victory Bike Shop for a few repairs. Susan and myself (Emily) were experiencing some difficulty with shifting so we needed the gears, shifters, and de-railers looked at. While we were doing that, a few others took a gander around the shop for some nifty gadgets. One hour and approx. 15 minutes later, I had good news, my bike was fixable and would be OKAY! Susan on the other hand was not as lucky. She needed to replace the left shifter, yikes. They did not have the part at Victorys, so she was referred to another bike shop in town. On our way out, Susan and I went to go pay for the work that had been done, and Michael waited to buy one of the shop’s very own T-shirts. As we inquired about how much we owed we were told, “Nah, it’s not necessary. What you guys are doing is real great, don’t worry about it, be safe on your ride.” What generosity!
Ryan's parents fed us too well
After that we all chilled a bit before dinner and then feasted on pizza , salad, and watermelon provided for us curtousity of Mr. and Mrs. Iafigliola. The rest of the evening was then spent in community. Tonight was Tony’s last night with the group so we decided to just spend some time with him, playing games, eating popcorn, sharing stories, and chilling.
Susan got her bike fixed
It was a good day!
Tony played us some awesome tunes
photos by: Esther Hyejin Chung
Posts
5 comments:
Tony! You are wonderful! Thanks for being an inspiration!
I cannot imagine how that felt riding a bicycle and to have that wind velocity from a tractor trailer hit you at 60+ mph, AND to be blasted with the rain water?! You guys rock!
There's a reason that bike shop is called Victory. I haven't met them, but I know I love them for taking care of you guys! It is God's work that you met up at Victory!
Keep up the good spirits! I am talking it up here in Janesville/Rock County, WI! Keep it up and keep God with you as you pedal (I love that inspirational that Tony had at the send off celebration!).
Even before I read the blog itself I said, "Hey, that looks like mom's yellow container with watermelon!" and sure enough, it was! Glad to see that mom and dad made it to help for a bit, and know that we're also thinking of you (and laughing often) back at home too...
It's been my pleasure to ride this far with FCBA year 2. We have some really strong riders and a wide range of backgrounds all united in publicizing the need to eliminate poverty housing.
I wish I could ride further, but I'll be in touch via the blog.
Ride safe.
Tony
Too bad you guys had to ride in the rain but that's life. How nice that the bike shop did the repair work for free - God's work in action! Also glad that you actually got to eat that watermelon. I remember carrying one around last year in the trailer for what seemed to be the entire trip with some riders threatening to throw it in the Atlantic upon completion of our ride, but much to my delight we finally got to eat it!
Tony - Thanks for riding with the group - the spokeanator rocks! Safe travels and fair winds, Doug
Looking great FCBA #2. The shot of the inside of the SAG triggered memories of bagels, nutella and peanut butter. I can only hope you've all learned how to pace your rest-stop eating. And Ryan, nice to see you're still wearing the SAME yellow rain jacket (if you can call it a jacket)--ripped, still I bet.
Keep on keeping on.
Post a Comment