Entry from: Tuesday July 21st 2009 Springfield, KY
Today has probably been one of our busiest days yet, and it had a few new adventures in store for us!
Rest Stop
We had our first experiences with hills... 63 miles of them! I think we all gained a special appreciation for how flat Indiana really is:). And of course the hills are only going to get higher over the next week or two! Everyone did an excellent job tackling the heights, though, despite a few additional obstacles—two flats for Megan and Esther’s alarming, but ultimately unproblematic, incident with a hungry dog that bit her. Congrats to everyone for getting through our first hilly ride!
Krystal & Millie rocking one of the many hills
When we finally rolled into Springfield, KY (the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln!) Steve Hale, the Chairman of the local Fuller Center, had a special treat for us—professional massages from the Springfield Chiropractic Center!! Many of us have never had a massage at all, beside those given by our wonderful resident chiropractor, Krystal, of course. So with that on top of the 400+ miles we have behind us so far on this trip, we were all pretty excited! While we took turns at the chiropractor we were also well fed by the Temple Baptist church and showered in various locations, including the Hale household and the Johnson household—offered by generous members of the Springfield Baptist church where we'll be staying tonight.
Beautiful View
Then, not long after lunch, we were served dinner with some of the volunteers we’ll be working with on the build sites tomorrow. It’s a good thing we’ve all had the opportunity to improve our skills in eating frequent and plentiful meals during our FCBA experience thus far :). After dinner we visited the local nursing home and talked to the residents about the Fuller Center and our adventure—Mr. Hale has asked them to pray for us during our journey, and it’s always wonderful to visit with those who are thinking of us as we make our way across the country.
Local nursing home
Thanks to the many people who’ve helped us on our way so far! Now it’s bed time, before a new day and all its new adventures!
written & photos by: Melissa Merrill
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6 comments:
wow - 3 days of postings in one. Glad you had the opportunity to get well deserved massages and internet connections. Did I read that you have a rider who is a massage therapist - what a treat. Ride safe and keep building. Doug
Looks like I left too soon - the massages must have been great, especially after getting into the hills.
Esther, I hope the dog bite was not too serious. Can you still ride?
The pictures are great - keep them coming.
Someone be sure the newer riders know how to spin up the hills and save their knees - except Kyle and Esther, of course, who are on fixed gear bikes!
FCBA 2 - Oyee!
Tony
Wow, Betty! Kyle and Esther are riding fixies! Hard core, indeed. I hope the hills aren't too steep. Maybe you could write a piece for a friend's fixed gear/commuting 'zine, Urban Velo. Let me know if you're interested in that, they thrive on reader submitted articles, and it's another outlet for the Fuller Center message to get out there.
May the wind be always at your backs!
Chris
Hey Tony! We miss you! The dog bite was not serious at all...it just got a tiny bit of blood out so I am still riding up those lovely hills!
Chris I would love to come up with something for Urban Velo! It would be a great way to get the cycling community involved with the Fuller Center.
Was one of those photos of Ryan singing to everyone? He looks as if he is looking at someone that is not sitting at the piano playing! Miss you guys!
Sandy
I knew I should've stayed until Springfield... free chiro-massages!?
Hyejin- glad the bite wasn't too bad :)
Hope everyone's doing well, and I wish I were still with you guys!
-Ivan
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